The Street Between the Rocky Bits and the Park, Thursday Evening

[alreadyhollow]

The going was slow when you were a fifteen-foot monstrosity made of fire and molten stone. Or, rather, it felt that way. Every movement was a slow, deliberate one, but the extra height made up for it. One could clear a lot of road in a single step, when one was as tall as some of the buildings in town, after all.

So, what was the fifteen-foot

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[gettingoldernow]

Peter had, against his better (or worse?) judgment, headed out to see if he could find any of the new people and bring them to safety. The heavy footfalls made him freeze, and dark violet energy circled one hand as he sped for shelter and made his way closer.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw who it was. Peter's sanity might be in doubt, but his magic wasn't, and it told him that despite appearances this person was the same as always. "Jono."

With a crackle of green energy from the other hand, a bubble surrounded him and floated him up to face (if not eye) level. "Trouble?"

[alreadyhollow]

//Always,// Jono replied, tilting his head slightly as Peter floated up to greet him. //Though nothing any more immediate than usual. I take it you've already noticed the fresh blood?//

It would be hard to miss. There was a lot of it.

[gettingoldernow]

Peter nodded. "I felt the dimensions shift. I can tell there's more...normal, out there. I thought I'd find any I could, bring them back to the village."

[alreadyhollow]

//Any luck so far?// Jono himself hadn't found any just yet, but really, he didn't imagine many were chomping at the bit to come and greet him. He wouldn't much blame them for that, either. //You'd think they'd be everywhere. Or at least their bodies would be.//

Morbid, Jono. Honestly.

//It's as lively as it was before, here. The island is still bleeding out, but... it feels more alive.//

[trulyshelved]

The thing they liked the best about ruined streets and empty spaces that hadn't been empty once upon a time was that there was always things to look at and do and explore, amusing themselves in endless games that always went on just a little longer until they got tired of one game and switched to the next.

Allu-Nika's heads turned, red hair bouncing around their shoulders, as footsteps came down the street. They floated over to the nearest (half broken, half blocked) window, and peered out of it, their hands pressed against the grimy stone.

Oh! Oh! It was He-On-Fire! They knew him!

It took both of their hands to muffle their giggling. They knew just what to do, too.

It took no effort, none at all, to ever so caaaarefully toss an invisible trip wire into his path. They were very, very good at doing it so that no one saw. Sometimes they caught him, sometimes they didn't.

They pressed their faces against the boards and waited, shivering with excitement, to see if he would fall.

[alreadyhollow]

The unfortunate thing about being so high up was that a tripwire, something so, so very down low, was one of the easiest ways to... well... to trip Jono up.

The other unfortunate thing was that he had so very, very far to fall. And the landing could do some very real damage.

He made solid contract with the broken street, and the ground shook with the impact. It took him a few dazed moments more before he managed to regain his bearings, the fall leaving him dazed and snapping off a few stony growths on his forearms, and he slowly, laboriously moved to press his hands into the street, to push himself up again.

[trulyshelved]

They tried, they really did, but glee made it impossible to keep from giggling and their voices filled the street with joy.

In the half-gone home they did a few loop-de-loops in the air out of sheer exuberance before wriggling out through the broken window to skitter through the air to hover by him.

Still giggling

Hi-hi-hi! They got you! They did! Wasn't that an amazing thing?

[alreadyhollow]

The giggling. He should have known it was them, really should have seen it coming. They were one of the reasons he rarely left the rocky bits. The more heart-rending of the reasons, at that. He'd hoped, maybe, because of Nanika, that Alluka would be spared, but...

Slowly, painfully, he turned his face toward her, and then let his head fall again, to stare down at the ground.

//Got me again, Sunshine,// he murmured. //Got me again, just like you always do.//

[verzauberth]

High in the branches of one of the park trees, Hanna had hung her hammock.

She was fast, and strong, and having no memories didn't really bother her. She suspected that she didn't like a lot of what she would have remembered, anyway.

The giant was back, which was always nice. Hanna climbed a little higher, and sang out a greeting. "Good morning. Good morning!"

[alreadyhollow]

//Good morning, good evening,// Jono replied, turning to look toward Hanna, giving a slow if pleasant nod. She didn't have much in the way of her left, perhaps, but for the time being, she was still a welcome distraction from the ones who took his presence poorly. Or the ones who had nothing at all. //I hope you're having a good whichever it is today, luv?//

[verzauberth]

"Time to hunt," Hanna said agreeably. Hunt food. (That was always first). Hunt supplies (always second). Hunt monsters (third). Due to sheer persistence, Jono fell into the category of Things: Other, which meant Hanna didn't have to worry about him. Or hunt him. She also sometimes said hello to any buildings she recognized, or animal types that she recognized. "New place?"

[alreadyhollow]

//Same place as always. New people are about, though,// Jono sighed. //Plenty of those.//

Almost too many, though he didn't imagine they'd be around for long.

[allie_vamp]

Things had been getting weird when Allie had been forced to sleep this morning.

Waking up in the ruins of her apartment proved that things had only gotten worse.

Sword in hand, Allie was walking the ruined streets of Fandom trying to figure out what the hell the island was doing this time.

[alreadyhollow]

The face was familiar, and the mind behind it was whole. That was all that Jono really needed. He paused as he walked the street, all glowing stone and fire, and turned, slowly, to face the girl walking through it.

He raised a hand. The intent was to wave, of course. It was after dark, the time when Allie came out, and waving hello was only polite.

... If a hugely intimidating gesture to anybody who didn't know who he was, perhaps.

[allie_vamp]

It was intimidating. But since he could have just as easily tried to swat her, Allie was going to give it...him? the benefit of the doubt.

But she was still going to be prepared to bolt if things went to hell.

"So are you a friendly sort?"

[alreadyhollow]

//Friendly as they come,// Jono replied, after a moment of startled silence. //... Allie?//

He tilted his head, lowering his arm.

//You are Allie, aren't you?//

There weren't that many people on the island, he was pretty sure he'd known them all. Though the population had increased, he hadn't really thought the island would be fortifying itself with more of the same.

Huh.

[that_oldsaying]

There was at least one happy person on the island today and that was Alluka. She'd helped the nice man at the church, she'd found Kathy (Kathy!), and now she'd managed to get off on her own again.

Since she didn't really want to get in trouble (more than she already was) Alluka was skating pretty fast. But then that turned into a bit of a game, as she tried a couple of jumps that Ringo had been working her on.

Which was how she came flying out of an alley and spinning to a stop triumphantly in the street. She beamed at her own accomplishment, not even realizing there was a giant, fiery thing near by.

[alreadyhollow]

And the giant, fiery thing... well. It would have blinked if it could. It did tilt its head to one side, pausing in its stride before another step would have had it colliding with the girl who had just appeared in the street.

And then... then it just stood there, staring.

If somebody had told him that morning that Alluka - Alluka - would come skipping out of an alleyway directly in front of him, he probably would have wondered what year they thought it was, and if they'd lost a few in there somewhere. But here she was.

Making his heart hurt.

[that_oldsaying]

She continued to beam for a moment longer, then did an extra spin out of sheer exuberance, and then, finally, finally noticed the big, fiery thing nearby.

Alluka blinked, hugging Mr. Bubbles to her chest as she looked up and up. Doing that hurt her neck, so she slid backwards a few steps on her ATs.

Then she frowned, studying the fiery, rocky, mountainy thing.

She wasn't afraid of it--and Nanika was barely paying attention to it, more interested in some slithery thing a block away; Alluka hadn't noticed it but Nanika had said it was there--and it...

"... Papa?" she said hesitantly.

Had Papa gotten so mad he'd become a fire mountain to find her? Or, or was he like Kathy, some other Papa?

Maybe he wasn't Papa at all.

[alreadyhollow]

Ah, yes. That was the sound of Jonothon's heart breaking. He wasn't certain he had one in there, everything was all fire and molten rock, and he hadn't had one before. but there it went, breaking on him.

//Alluka,// he replied, gently. //Hello, Sunshine. Don't you know it's dangerous out here?//

Fire mountain or no, he would always be Papa.