[Location: Osten, somewhere back behind Merlottes and the Magic Shop] [open]

[aesthetic_mojo]

After a few nights with no meaningful sleep to speak of, Charlotte had had enough. When she opened her eyes two dozen times to see if the man sleeping next to her was who he was supposed to be, she knew something had to change. She didn't watch him like a hawk while they were awake, but she did touch him periodically. Not with her body, but with

Comments

[fudgingkillyou]

Don't ask why or how Dean was around there when Charlotte was, because even he wouldn't be able to answer. It's one of those flukes, a lucky sort of break for the both of them. Dean's driving in the Impala, doing one of his usual patrols that he's taken up on himself on doing, and he sees her head off towards the park.

Alright, so maybe it's curiosity that causes Dean to follow after her. It's definitely curiosity when the pulse of power reaches out, throbbing through his car. No way he's not investigating that.

He actually arrives at the park just in time to see the crescendo of colors build up, and then vanish, and Charlotte's down, collapsed. Dean's out of his car in seconds, moving for her quickly. Once he reaches her, he drops down to check if she's alright, shaking her gently.

"Hey. Charlie, hey, what the hell did you just do?" Dean mutters, checking her over. "Charlie, wake up."

[aesthetic_mojo]

Dean just lucked out being the first person to see Charlotte. It wasn't anything he did specifically. Well, shaking an ungrounded witch with trauma issues might not have been his best plan. Before she even looked up at him, he was up off the ground and she was shaking him.

Maybe the lucky part was that the moment she opened her eyes, she realized who he was. She managed to put him back down gently. "Don't DO that." She backed away from him, pulling her knees up under her chin to watch him from under wild hair. "Sorry."

[fudgingkillyou]

So Dean is used to being thrown and/or shaken around, so he takes it as gracefully as he can. Rubbing at the back of his head, he stares at her, backing off a bit. Right, no touching recently collapsed witches, on his check list of what not to do ever again.

"S'fine, not like I'm a delicate flower," Dean remarks, crouching next to her. "Y'alright?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

It was a good thing to put on his list. Well up on his list, really. Somewhere near where don't wake up next to hungry vampires was on hers. She pulled herself smaller ball, watching him warily. "Not a delicate flower, either. I'm fine." She looked around, tracing a few lingering bits of energy. "I wouldn't stand up too quickly, though. They might bite."

[ohnotespecially]

Sookie was working one of her self-imposed 'long-ass' shifts at Merlotte's, during which normally nothing (at least in Taxon) of particular note tended to happen. She hadn't paid very much attention when Charlotte had come in to buy a bottle of rum-- just another customer, right? Of course when she happened to go out back to take out a bag of trash and spotted the light show going on, she was suddenly a whole lot more interested.

"What in the world...?" She murmured to herself as she watched- the interest quickly turned to concern when she saw Charlotte collapse, however, and she went haring off into park without hesitation- the bar would survive without her, she was sure.

"Hey! Hey, ma'am, are you all right?" She asked, kneeling down next to Charlotte's prone form, out of breath from all the running.

And watch as I completely ignore continuity!! Woooo!

[aesthetic_mojo]

Not touching her was definitely a wise choice on Sookie's part. Charlotte was up in a moment, up on her knees and backing away. Her eyes were a little wild as she tried to take in the woman in front of her. Still ungrounded from the magical work, she had trouble focusing at first. "Who? Who are you?"

She did manage to see the bracelet that marked Sookie as one of the captives. That helped.

...who needs continuity anyway? ffff.

[ohnotespecially]

Whilst Charlotte was getting up, Sookie remained firmly down on her knees, holding her palms face-out to show she wasn't a threat-- she really didn't want to alarm this woman any more than she clearly already was.

"My name is Sookie Stackhouse, ma'am, and I work at the bar just there- Merlotte's? I couldn't help but notice the lights and I just came to check you were okay- I didn't mean no harm."

I scoff at continuity!

[aesthetic_mojo]

Clearly Sookie had some practice dealing with panicked people. After taking a few deep breaths, Charlotte sat down properly and groaned loudly. She hadn't though anything she did would be visible outside the immediate area. Her voice was a little shaky when she answered. "No harm done. Just wasn't expecting anyone." She shuddered. "I was about finished."

[valaunbound]

Mitchell had arrived in Taxon a couple of days previously, and since then Vala hadn't really surfaced from the SGC to even see the light of day. As comforting as being in the mountain was, the presence of the Stargate was nothing more than an infuriating frustration, taunting her with its presence and refusal to lock on any of the chevrons. She needed to clear her head, and that need found her sauntering past the park that curiously enough was now emitting sparks.

That's not the kind of thing you leave uninvestigated, well Vala doesn't anyway. If she knew Charlotte was responsible, she probably wouldn't have approached armed, but who knew what was waiting just around that corner.

"Charlotte....?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

Although she'd been grateful Dean checked on her and young Sookie was sweet, Charlotte had been glad they ultimately left her to her own devices. She still hadn't done anything specific to ground the magical energy she'd raised. Without that, the sparks would continue to fly and she would still be a shaky mess. She couldn't go back to John like this. Hell, she probably couldn't safely cross the city this way.

When she heard Vala's voice, she groaned softly and hid her head against her arms. "Do you have any food?"

[valaunbound]

Vala's initial instincts told her someone else had done this to Charlotte, and although she was now crouching down next to her friend, she was acutely aware of and checking the surrounding area for evidence of the perpetrator.

At the not so oddly posed question though, given Charlotte's apparent weakened state, she did pull a chocolate bar from her jacket and placed it directly in Charlotte's hand.

"I hope you know I'd been saving that for later," she lightly jibed, offering a soft smile by way of questioning her.

[aesthetic_mojo]

Charlotte did not not grab the chocolate bar, rip open the package and have half of it in her mouth before answering Vala, but that was only because she was a woman of extraordinarily strong will. Instead she took it, neatly opened it and had one small square first. "You are an excellent friend and I will remember this." She took another square, making a small and happy noise as she chewed. "I will repay you with...something really good."

She closed her eyes for a moment, then shuddered as she felt the energy start to settle in her. It was a little like the pins and needles when a limb fell asleep. "I forgot to bring anything. Brought the stuff to make it all start, but not to stop it. I always forget that."