Breaking the Veil

RUSH:
All through Cyrus's explanation, Rush has been staring at him slack-jawed.

"Possess-- wait, WAIT." He stands up, just because it's easier to gesticulate that way. "Cyrus, if they're screwing themselves over by attacking the, uh, whatever the hells, we need to WARN them!" His gills start to flutter with agitation. "Look, I know that finding the other mage is important, I mean, I asked you to, but we can't let them die! Can't you make a portal back there? Would you even have to go along, or can I grab the kids or something while you work?"

((GM-- at your convenience, may I roll to try and find the nearest hedge gate?))

((Rolled - the nearest hedge gate is two blocks or so away, next to a bus station!))

((The cops are cleaning up bodies!!!))

((The vast majority of the waitvamps have vanished quietly back into the kitchens - including Alexander. Two are left, standing at the door to the bar.))

((this is an interaction between Adam and a gigantic horde of black-eyed strangers))

The black-eyed people walk right past Adam without even noticing him.

((Rufus Re: Larry's question about Claire))

"Well Larry, given that she's twelve, she's either Harry Potter, or they're total creeps."

((This message affects all players, particularly those in the bar))

A portal opens up in the middle of the bar floor - a portal through which you can see Rush and Cyrus standing in the middle of an empty apartment, beckoning at you.

Do you jump through? Or continue outside? LET ME KNOW BEFORE YOU MOVE!

Cyrus nods at Rush's request. "I can indeed make another portal, if you make sure people get through. Give me one second, and please don't let any cops or stuff in if you don't have to."

Cyrus shifts the mirror so it's propped upright against a wall, and then performs another Portal spell into the bar. This time, he doesn't go through it, but instead focuses on keeping it open.

((everyone's kind of in the same place for five minutes, so...))

"Larry, where's Adam?" Constantin asks, concerned. Disappearing into a strange portal isn't something he'd normally recommend, but, given the general atmosphere and clientele of this bar so far, he'll take any exit he can get, but, not to go all American marines on everyone, he'd rather not leave anyone behind.

[I Freaking Live. :'D]

Claire

Claire is currently huddled under the table Constantin firmly-but-well-meaningly pushed her towards, though she didn't notice the change of scenery, really; her knees are drawn tightly to her chest and she's been muttering to herself and rocking back and forth at varying speeds for the past several minutes.

When the portal opens her head snaps up just as it pops into existence. Her eyes widen to a would-be comical size if it weren't for having pupils dilated enough to almost block out all the blue. The result is a very thin blue ring which is, of course, rather jeebie-giving when stared at for too long.

The girl presses her back against the solid wall behind her, thunking her head on the bottom of the table in the effort to get away from it as she stares in breathless horror.

((Alert! Alert! We have a Harvester on board, and he's talking to Claire!))

Cyrus tilts his head, trying to get a better look at Claire through the portal. His eyes widen, and for a moment, all expression drains from his face. But quickly, it's replaced with...worry? Is that an honest-to-goodness emotion over there?!

"Get the others through," Harvester mutters to Rush, before bolting through the portal and over to the table. He pauses a moment when he reaches her, crouched in front of the table and ignoring everyone else.

"...You're scared, little one, are you not?" The corners of his mouth twitch, as if he's thinking of possibly attempting to smile. "Everything is fine. You are simply Awakening to magic. It is...perfectly natural."

As he speaks, Celine hops off his shoulder. The cat wanders to Claire and rubs her head against one of Claire's arms.

"We can explain what's going on. Tell us what you see." After a long pause, Harvester adds, "...Please."

[Interaction between: Cyrus (Harvester) and Claire.]

Claire

Her eyes slowly raise up from Cyrus' feet to his face. There's something...strange about him. In a hair's breadth of an instant, her stare takes on a slightly more lucid sheen; she noticed the red covering his shirt--more brown now than anything.

The small amount of awareness fades as her mouth tightens. Red, brown, red, brown, roses are red and autumn leaves are brown and both always die--blood. That's what it is. Blood, blood, gallons, out damn spot...

She blinks once, and locks eyes with Cyruster. Just...looking.

RUSH:
Rush also steps through the portal, though he freezes just as he steps on the barroom floor at the change in Cyrus's voice. Harvester...? He watches the mage kneel in front of Claire, trying to shake the eerie feeling off. Harvester wouldn't be so kind, it doesn't make sense...

"Larry? Sam?" He looks around for the wolf boys anxiously, feeling the presence of the police all to keenly. "We need to get out, there's too many things to fight-- where's Adam?"

So one of their friends is missing in a horde of zombies, and now the mad mage who went all Bateman on the bar is crouched in front of Claire going on about her being afraid?

Even Darth Vader doesn't have enough 'NO!' to cover this situation.

Constantin turns, trusting Rufus to have his back should the zombies choose to break in this very minute, casually vaulting the far-too-short table in a burst of worried energy (some cover that was, Constantin you absolute idiotul!).

"Making sure everyone gets to the portal?" He asks Cyrus, shifting to be able to step between him and the girl should that be necessary. "Good idea. Let's make sure no one gets left behind, or alone, this time," he agrees, or maybe warns.

((Harvester, Claire, and Constantin!))

Harvester doesn't move as Claire stares at him, though he doesn't realize why. Before he speaks again, he hears Constantin. Slowly, he turns to face the young vamp.

"Yes, that does seem to be Cyrus's plan. And for now, we agree with it."

Returning his attention to Claire, he adds, "This would likely not be the best place to explain things. Are you capable of standing up and walking through the portal, or do you require us to carry you out?"

[Interaction between: Cyrus (Harvester), Constantin, and Claire. C³]

Claire

Her mouth parts ever so slightly. She seems to be searching for words, or perhaps the right language, she looks so lost.

"We...can't leave, yet," she finally settles on, staring at the space between Cyruster and Constantin.

((Same peeps as last time))

Harvester raises an eyebrow at this. "Explain the reason we cannot leave. We understand if focusing on this world and the Watchtower simultaneously is too much at once...but we really should be getting out of here."

Perhaps Cyrus would be better at this whole "comfort and empathy" thing. Oh well, too late for that for now~

((Cool as a CuCumber))

"We're still missing Adam, why don't you go help find him? I'm certain Claire and I will be ready to leave by the time he's been secured. That way we waste as little time as possible."

The poor girl's had her father shot, strangers gutted in front of her, and is struggling with god-knows-what. He'll not have her interrogated too.

((Still the same trio. Still the same chaos.))

Harvester gives Constantin the most apathetic death glare in all of existence. "We must stay with her. She needs someone with her as she Awakens, or she will have no idea what is occurring, and no idea how to control her magic."

He sighs, waving the vampire away. "Besides, you have interacted with the werewolves more than we have, and have more of an idea as to their location. You would be better suited to searching than us."

Once more, Harvester returns his attention to Claire. "...My apologies for the interruption. Do you see a watchtower yet, by any chance...?"

[Interaction between: Cyrus (Harvester), Constantin, and Claire. C³]

Claire

Claire huffs in, surprisingly, frustration--a muted form, but frustration nonetheless. Her skull clonks back against the wall, hard.

"There is nothing or there would be nothing if this place that isn't a place had ever known something." Her eyes seem to be tracing invisible creatures around the room for a moment as she pauses. "Things made of nothing...are they things?"

No sooner has she enlightened us all with that introspective statement, she pitches forward, clutching her chest with a thin whisper of a cry--like the air to do so properly has been taken away.

((Claire, Cyrus, and Constantin: custody battle bitchiness interrupted by actual worries))

Constantin immediately ducks and reaches out to stop her momentum, before she hits her head. Again.

This protective cover thing is turning out to be more of a danger than a help.

"I'd say so," he says, softly, slowly righting her. "Even if it's just in your head, it's real enough to matter," and there's something almost like understanding in his voice. "Can you breathe?" One of his hands goes to her back, sliding down it like he would with Mina's coughing fits, as if it ever helped. As if it will now.

((Keep on rolling along~))

Harvester winces a bit at Claire's reaction. Not just for her safety, but from the familiarity of it--Cyrus's memories of it, at least. It's most distracting.

"Things that are nothing...yes, that's possible. You're seeing the Abyss." He's doing his best to sound calming, though it's barely a step above his monotonous, emotionless tone. "It may be hard to uncover, but you need to find a watchtower. Everything will be better once you do. Do you see anything that stands out while not standing out? A spire, perhaps?"

This concept of worrying...is quite strange. Harvester doesn't like it. But at the same time, he has to make sure this girl Awakens properly. Especially since she's so much like him/Cyrus. It's...strange.

((demonic zombie horde? I have no idea what you're talking about. I'll be over here. Behind a table. With Cyruster and Claire. We Three Cs need to stick together))

Constantin looks up, at that. Cyrus might be an untrustworthy possessed who-knows-what, but he seems to actually know what's going on, which is several steps up from him. When Claire doesn't respond, Constantin prompts the pair of them, "Tower, spire... Should she be looking for something tall, or just any place that seems more a protection, than the rest of the... landscape?"

((Ack, why didn't I see this post?! Anyway, got the C's over here. Party on.))

"All Mages gain their power by carving their names into the Watchtower they Awaken to," Harvester explains. "The forms are variable, so either a high or protective place could work. All Awakenings differ, and the Watchtowers manifest differently for all."

Harvester glances over his shoulder at this point, trying to see what progress has been made. The others better get through soon, he thinks to himself; otherwise, he's grabbing Claire and bolting back through the portal alone. Cyrus wanted to save everyone, yes, but Harvester doesn't have such qualms about leaving before the black-eyed beings have a chance to try following him into the apartment.

[Sorry, guys, I'm trying.]

Claire

Claire seems...ticked off? She's frowning, at least, and has that stubborn set to her jaw--all pursed lips and clenched teeth--indicative of annoyance.

"Things don't happen just because you wish them to," she half-snaps. After a few moments of staring heatedly at the space between the other two C's, the expression fades to something more introspective.

" 'Sovegna vos a temps de ma dolor'," she mutters, with surprisingly fair pronunciation, at least for a twelve-year-old. "Poi..." Here she smiles, more a faint, pained grimace than a true smile as she clutches at her chest again. "Poi s'ascose nel foco che...gli...affina."

Claire sighs rather wheezily then slowly, almost carefully, oozes sideways to press her cheek to the floor. She traces circles in the dust, watching in apparent fascination.

She seems to be asking one or the other of the men, perhaps both, perhaps neither; either way, her voice is...unbearably, painfully young, really, as she questions, "Does this mean I'm the princess locked in the tower, or that I'm the prince come to save myself?"

[Ack, sorry! I never got the notification, for some reason...]
[Cute, Crazy, Crack]

Constantin slowly, gently, brings her back to sitting, and, between Cyrus and himself, tries to give her something real to draw her attention, over magic mirages and circles of dust.
"You can be both, but if it helps," he smiles, and it's almost teasing, "I am a prince." He laughs a little, as he tries to distract her, glad that his outdated title is finally of some use in this country. "What do you say we all try to save each other? Can you take my hand? Cyrus'? We could carry you, if you like, but it's time to leave, printesa mea."

[C³.]

Claire

...Both?

Interesting.

So very, very...interesting.

Far more lucid than before, Claire makes frantic eye-contact first with Cyrus, then Contantin, holding it with the latter as her cold fingers curl into tight fistfuls of his shirt.

"Daddy," she says, quickly, panicked; tears are pooling in her eyes again. "We can't leave my daddy, he'd...he'd be all alone, and, and--." Sh breaks off, chewing her lip.

((C to the 3 up in here~!))

Harvester doesn't quite understand why the girl is so frantic. Her father is dead; why should it matter if his body is left behind? That's not what matters. And surely, his ghost, if it manifests here, won't be alone...

"We can take your father with us if that will keep you calm," Harvester finally relents, a faint trace of annoyance in his voice. "But we need to get you out of here first."

With that, he tries to hold one of her hands, hoping Constantin will grab the other so they can pull the girl out of here. They really are, he thinks, wasting so much time as is...

[C³.]

Claire

Suddenly, there is anger--and a lot of it. She's blinded for a moment, and part of her is afraid because she's never been so furious in her life, but also because anger has never hurt like this; it's like a particularly bad asthma attack, the way it stabs at her.

"Don't talk about him like that!" she snaps, voice edging towards shriek again, though it's not quite there yet. Oi vey.

"Don't you...don't..." Claire's edging towards hysteria again. She starts trying to pull away from Constantin in earnest now. A bright, fearful, almost crazed gleam shines in the pooled tears that haven't yet fallen. If she can just get past all the people and the nothingness trying to come back and consume, if she can get to her dad, he'll, he'll be alright, and they'll go home and mom'll make dinner and reprimand them both with that stern tone she uses when they do something "dangerous" like going out into the world for too long and dad will sneak a bag of crisps to her and they'll watch Doctor Who reruns and he'll try to scare her into going to bed on time with Weeping Angels and Daleks and Cybermen and she'll call him silly but go to bed soon anyway, and daddy'll be fine, absolutely fine, if she can just...get to him.

[C³.]

Constantin gently just lays one hand over her own where it's fisted in his shirt, not forcing her to stay, not holding her down, just a reminder.

"We'll take care of him, alright? But we need to take care of you, too. Your dad asked me to look out for you, and I'd like to right by him. Can you trust his judgement on that, trust me to take care of it?"

And that was horribly repetitive, but he wants to make sure that she hears care not dismissal.

[C³.]

Claire

Claire is quite visibly torn, eyes darting from Constantin to Cyrus to the broken bodies, including that of her father's, that she knows is just beyond the two men but that she cannot currently see.

She swallows, nodding slowly. He's right. Of course he's right.

The half of her mind still entrapped in the strange vision wobbles, the nothingness getting lighter by almost negligible degrees, but the more lucid half of her metal processes is partially eclipsing noticing it for now. Disbelieving that she's saying this for once, she can't hide the truth of her words. "Constantin? I...I wanna go home."

Old home. Not the new home, the one with Something missing. But she doesn't know that yet.

Maybe she'll discover a new Home yet.

[[[OOC: Okay. What the heck is going on, you guys? I know I've been slow at posting, but that's mostly been in an effort to let other people have a chance to post, as well as attempting to not beat a dead horse.

I've talked to Amelia a bit, but I still don't know much beyond things that I need to do soon-like. But where's everyone else? Seriously. Did something horrible happen? I'm starting to worry about y'all's welfare, here.]]]

RUSH
Rush opts to address the nearest policeperson, since, he reasons, they've all been pretty useless so far, and it's not like they're working under trauma like his young wolf friends.

"Hey, you! Where the hell did the big guy go, the one with the beard? He's not outside, is he?"

The police officer blinks up at Rush, still a little shell-shocked and dazed.

"Wh-who?"

[Rush + unfortunate policeperson.]

RUSH
Rush sighs heavily and tries to run a fin through his hair, which never works as well as fingers.

"Come on, I know you saw him-- he had to be the biggest guy here, came in with those kids?" He points to Larry and Sam. "So where is he?"