As the daylight creeps to a close at the end of business for the 9-5 crowd in downtown Honolulu, the warmth that had soaked into the buildings and sidewalks of the city kept everything toasty and comfortable. All that bright sunlight was starting to slip away as the sun itself sunk too low in the sky to overcome the tall spires of the buildings within downtown, so the nighttime lighting was already starting to come on along the streets as they were bathed in dusky shadows.
Making his way around the city as it starts to light up all pretty like, Bjorn is dressed in his usual board shorts, hikers, and today's funny tee consisting of rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock. His hair is tied back into a tail to keep out of his face, and the residual warmth must be fine for him as he doesn't feel the need for jeans or long sleeves, course he hasn't fully gotten adjusted to Hawaii weather either. He looks about in the occasional shop, though he doesn't appear to be in a particular rush acting the part of a tourist today.
Eve slipped out through the side door of her office building, her hand pressed firmly to the heavy pane of glass to open it. She looked like she had spent the day doing business, and she'd dressed to kill it. Her hair had been slicked back into a flawless sweep away from her face, then secured back into a ponytail that hung down along her back with the severity of a sword's edge, and seemed just as precisely designed.
The already rather tall woman had slid her feet into a set of black, patent leather, heels that easily carried 6" to add to her height, bringing her total height towering well over six and a half feet tall. Rather than being bare, Eve's lengthy legs carried a delicate, black, haze from the silky hose she wore, and when she walked, the tops of those thigh highs just barely peeked from within the confines of her skirt, but only along the slit up the back. The skirt itself was designed to be pencil thin along her figure, and the slit was absolutely necessary, or she'd never be able to walk with the tight, obsidian black, wrap of fabric that clung to her from the waist down to the mid-line of her thighs. Rather than carry on the seemingly monochromatic ensemble, Eve's shirt had obviously been selected to stand out, as it was a silk camisole that shimmered with the vibrant color of raspberries as it fit against her form like it had been poured on, the thin spaghetti straps at the shoulders decidedly more for show than support.
Over her shoulder, Eve carried the black jacket that matched her skirt rather lazily, and turned with an evil, razor-blade sharp smile slashing its way across her wine red lips as she looked at Heath, who was following her out of the offices. "I'm quite sure that decision will haunt him for the rest of his life, but in the end, it was the only one he could make without losing everything. I can't wait to put that listing on the market tomorrow. It's going to be like I've dropped a fresh, bloody, corpse into a pond filled with piranha after scenting the water with chum." Her dove gray eyes flashed as the wicked edge of her smile carried it's way to reflect perfectly in their shimmer.
Felix had come downtown AS the light had begun to fade and the sun sank over the horizon. Day was for studying and doing what needed to be done. Night time was for partying. Dressed 'up' for the evening, for him that meant a pair of black slacks that weren't jeans, clean sneakers and a rather crisp looking white shirt opened at the collar to expose some chest tattoos. A black blazer went over all of it, and he walked down the sidewalk with a boogie in his step, moving to the sound of the music in his headphones. Spotting a familiar, and frankly unmistakable fella, he waved to Bjorn as he started moving through the crowds. "Bjorn! Aloha!" His eyes immediately went up to the roofs of the nearby buildings. "How goes?" He spotted Heath and Eve walking by, frowning slightly. "Huh. I think I saw those two at a party once."
Heath pressed pass the heavy glass door after Eve. The man obviously couldn't give up New York complete as he was wearing a gray Brioni suit. The moment he stepped outside, his fingers moved to his throat to loosen the crimson silk tie, and unknot the material. The imagery of fishing corpses to fish did nothing to rattle the man, but rather caused the corner of his mouth to lift in a smirk. "Do people actually get haunted by things? I, personally, can't recall losing even a minute of sleep over anything." His eyes narrowed as he pondered and glanced at the sky for an answer, before giving the slightest shake of his hand, "Certain of it." His eyes searched the sidewalk for a moment, and he exhaled a snicker when he chanced upon Bjorn, "He's not wearing the suit, but I understand it does nothing to confront the locals." The man leaned towards Eve and whispered, "I can almost smell the despair being to radiate off of you..."
With the sun having given over to shadows in most of the streets, unless they were oriented JUST so toward the diving ball of fire, the movements of night had already begun in downtown Honolulu. People were heading home from work, so traffic was already a nightmare, and music was starting to play in apartments, many of which had the windows open in celebration of the beautiful day. Random snippets of different kinds of music could be heard, and conversations from people passing by on the sidewalk, or talking loudly in some living room a story or two above the streets. Scents from the local food trucks started to inundate the air as they prepared for the dinner runs that people would make to pick up something to eat. Not far from where Heath and Eve had exited her building, and where Bjorn and Felix were now standing, the sound of someone beating on a door or a window could be heard, from a couple of stories up, down an alleyway.
Shadows lengthen and the light turns golden as the sun sinks toward the west through a clear sky.
"Oh, hello Felix." Bjorn smiles as the man greets him, though his gaze already settled on a familiar duo as Felix decided to point them out. "Oh there was the Vog party, and probably others but that's the one I remember best." Considering what transpired that's probably easily explained. Still the big man offers a wave to the duo, though he doesn't go running over to them, in case they had things they needed to do, as many people were trying to do by any indication of the traffic. His attention focused back on Felix as he asked, "What brings you out here tod- er.. tonight? Late afternoon perhaps..."
Eve gave a short, chortling sort of chuckle that couldn't quite be called a laugh and glanced over at Heath from the corners of her eyes, raising a brow. "Not everyone is blessed with your clarity of purpose, darling." She reached out and tugged at the knot on Heath's tie, dragging it lower down, with a grin. "People regret and are haunted by decisions all the time. It's part of the spice of life. Consider yourself lucky that the only regrets and nightmares of your life aren't those you've got to deal with yourself, but only those you might inspire in others." Eve winked her pale, grey eye at Heath before she turned her attention down the street toward the noticeable form of Bjorn. "Ah, yes, I see him. You should see him in the suit, it does good things for him. But I'm imagining it's a very special occasion kind of thing. It wouldn't do much good for the fabric to be used while he's teaching, it would just get paint or whatever medium the class was using all over it, and it would have to be replaced." Eve smiled and lifted her free hand, giving a wave to Bjorn and Felix, along with calling out a rolling, almost purred, "Aloha ahiahi!" When Eve turned her gaze back to Heath, it was with a wry turn of her lips as she grunted slightly before speaking quietly, but directly to the man in response to his last little statement. "I obviously need to start wearing perfume if you're smelling anything other than how delightful my new shampoo and soap combination is."
The tide is low and slack.
Snapping his fingers, Felix nodded. "Riiight right. That vog rave thing. Uh... yeah I remember most of that night." He looked away, grinning slightly. "Doing alright. Done with all the stuff I have to do, so I figured I'd do what I want to do, right? Beer, dance. All that jazz." He frowned slightly, sticking a finger in his ear at the banging. It looked like it made him a bit jumpy for a few moments but it passed quickly enough. He returned the wave from Eve with one of his own and a grin. "Aloha! Wow you two are pretty topped up to the nines." He looked from Heath to Eve and back again. "You guys know any good parties tonight?"
The evening stars come out as the red-orange sun sinks below the horizon.
Heath let out a chuckle as he straightened once more. "On the contrary, I would argue I'm blessed with the clarity of no purpose. Choice is the most glorious thing in existence." His attention drifted back to Bjorn as Eve mentioned him again, and he gave the slightest nod, "I think the reason you say so is he looks like a man that could simply flex his way out of said suit." Heath smirked, "You can't wear perfume, Eve. The act would have you setting yourself in parallel with my father's wife. I'd never let you live it down." His attention zeroed in on Felix, "Know? It's easier to create them as deserved." At the banging, Health narrowed his eyes, attempting to zero in on the sound and identify it with no luck, so he shrugged it off.
Down the alley, the sound of something smashing could be heard, like glass shattering, then raining to fall off of metal and ultimately hitting to the pavement. Afterward, some crunching occurred, as if more pieces of glass were broken, but at least the banging stopped.
The waxing gibbous moon rises into the sapphire blue of the night sky, dimming the light of the twinkling stars.
The stars glitter like diamonds in the deep sapphire blue of the night sky.
The banging at first was ignored as Bjorn chalked it up to someone trying to get someone else's attention at a residence, and having lived in Chicago and L.A. ... Yeah it happens. The broken glass though gives one pause. Bjorn blinks and asks, "Did anyone else hear that?" This is one of those moments where one could just simply chalk it up as none of their business but Bjorn was never the type to just let something go especially if it put someone in a bind. Cringing from the sound of the glass he starts toward the alley. "What in the world..." He runs fingers over his hair, tucking a few stray strands back as he ups his pace to go to look into the alley and try to figure out what's going on, everybody else sort of forgotten as he tries to see if someone got hurt.
Eve shuddered slightly, the concept of being anything like the Trophy in question giving her a moment of revulsion she couldn't hide from her face. Or perhaps she simply chose not to. "Considering that woman's terrible taste in scent, I think you might be confused between what a perfume is meant to be, and what one wears to hide the scent of decay from leprosy, dear." Turning her attention to Felix, Eve raised a brow at him and then looked down at her clothing. "I'm afraid I'm still dressed for the office, but I appreciate the compliment. I can, however, promise you that when I elect to actually dress up, this looks like the business attire it is." Eve gave Felix a slash of a grin, then nodded her head to him in gratitude for the compliment. "I'm sure if you're interested in attending a party there's a benefit or something somewhere. You can hardly go a day or two on Oahu without someone asking for money for some reason or another." Eve blinked as she heard the glass break, then the massive form of Bjorn was on the move down the alleyway. There was a moment or two of hesitation, though it seems that the woman's curiosity was piqued enough that it won out, and she took a few long-legged strides toward the mouth of the alleyway that Bjorn had just entered, peering down it to see if she could actually spot anything. The shimmer of broken glass on the ground a bit into the alley had her peering up toward the windows, a sharp frown on her lips. "Never good for property values."
Felix grinned at Heath, nodding at that. "Cool cool. Hey well if you've got the space I can go get my deck and uh..." He was thumbing back towards the rough direction of 'home', but ended up indicating the alley instead. "Yeah I totally just heard that. Someone is absolutely breaking out of somewhere right now. There's the window. Someone's freaking out." He nodded. "Right. That's the fire escape." He looked to the others, half bouncing on the balls of his feet. "What were you saying about deserving a party?" He rubbed his hands together and looked to Bjorn and Heath, then Eve. "Alrighty. Frank. Joe. Nancy. It's not an abandoned amusement park but I am totally down. Frank! Wait up!" He called out after Bjorn, looking back to Eve and Heath as he moved past. He smiled at Eve and waggled his eyebrows. "Oh man you do NOT want me at something fancy like that. And I don't need the temptation of all those sweet, sweet rich people." He laughed and charged after Bjorn on light feet.
The tide is low and rising.
Heath took a deep breath when he heard the glass fall, and glanced at Eve, staring at the woman in silence as if it was meant to communicate something more than just his attention being on her. "If there was a jumper in the office, I would have expected that you'd have us move to that side of the building, Eve." The man chuckled as he unbuttoned his jacket and followed behind Eve at a leisurely pace. "If I'm going to be spur of the moment, it usually involves prostitutes or scotch... The latter sounds too good." Reaching into his jacket, Heath plucked out his flask, unscrewing the top and taking a drink from it. "And for some reason, I'm blaming Jonathan for all of this."
Up on the fire escape leading down the back of the apartment building that formed one wall of the alley, a young man does seem to have climbed out of a window. The gaping hole of emptiness he left behind him also seemed to indicate that the window had been broken, especially with all the glass that had fallen to the concrete down below. The guy looked to be in his mid-20's, with brown hair that was cut a bit shaggy. He definitely wasn't bad looking, but his face was pale and his eyes were wide as he moved down the fire escape shakily, gripping the side rails like he was afraid he would fall off. Even from a full story down, it was easy to hear his fast, harsh, breaths as he made his uncertain way down step after step, and seemed to almost be keening at the back of his throat. Despite his obvious issues, the man seemed to be attempting to hurry, which led to him swaying from side to side, and left his footfalls very loud and clunky in his tennis shoes against the metal fire escape. For clothing, he was dressed in a pair of jeans that looked like they'd been stained by something, but in the dark, it could have been anything from oil to paint. His shirt was a normal looking, dark colored, T shirt that was ripped along one side, leaving his skin exposed. The shirt, also, seemed to be stained in heavy blotches, but it was harder to see on that fabric than it was on the jeans.
As he sees the person on the fire escape Bjorn slows up, looking up. He sniffs at the air and then frowns. "That's...really bad. Might need the police or an ambulance." He glances to the others that followed him then calls up, "Hey mate, alright up there? Do you need help? Is someone hurt up there?" He isn't sure if he can see anything up there from way down below, especially in the shadowy near-night, but cranes his head some, and then mutters to the others as they approach, "Guy is scared How you say...shitless?" Or Urine-less to be more apropos.
Eve blinked at Felix, raising her brows higher. "Nancy? I hope you're calling Heath Nancy, and not me. I think I might well despise that name. I'll be Joe." Eve grinned darkly over at Heath and nodded her head toward his flask. "A man always comes prepared to bring what he needs to the party. Are we going to find out this is just one of our night's entertainments being delivered? I have to say, I'd be impressed at your foresight with this one, Heath darling." She scanned the alleyway, front and back, before looking up at the man moving down the fire escape with amusement slowly filling her expression at Bjorn's words. "You have to wonder if he's just robbed the wrong place." Eve looked at Bjorn and then back to the man running down the fire escape. "Hmmm... so this is probably not something fun so much as it might be something that needs to be handled." Eve brought her jacket around herself, then reached into the pocket to slip free a small cellular phone from it. "Do I need to call the police, then?" Eve sniffed at the air a little, curiosity glinting in her eyes as she did so, her attention drawn to the man has he shambled his way down the fire escape.
Felix came to a pause as he made it in easy sight of the attempting escapee. Came up quite short actually, spotting the stains on his clothes and the general look of the man. "Oooooh wow that dude does not look ok." He eyed the window the guy had escaped from, craning his head as he raised his hands to the guy. He spoke in a stage whisper, loud enough to be heard but maybe not by whatever he was escaping from. "Hey! Dude! Dude! Over here! Jump, we gotcha!" He looked out of the corner of his eye to Eve and laughed. "That's for you two to work out. I'm obviously both Scoob and Shag."
Felix paused in his excoriating the fella down and stepped back slightly. He looked back up to the guy. "Yo! Hurry that shit up dude! Either someone's waiting their turn or you need to like... book. Now!" He kept his eyes on the window, pointing it out to the others. "This is like some Single White Female meets Victim style stuff..."
Heath watched the man on the fire escape as his feet came to a halt near Eve. His lips formed into a smirk, "She who touches the cellphone first is the one who calls... The question is what do you actually tell the police. Someone broke a window? I've broken windows before, and I generally appreciate it when people do not inform law enforcement about it." He tilted his head and squinted at the window as Felix indicated, "It's still just parties involved in something I wouldn't call a crime." The man took another drink from his flask.
The man came down to the ground level, making it with a whimper as he got free of the metal fire escape and rushed forward, looking up behind him at the window he'd left at Felix's cue that there was someone behind him. He turned and looked up at Bjorn, eyes wild and terrified, before he made a strangled, completely animalistic sound. "I... I don't know." Panic had turned whatever the man's voice normally sounded like into a high, thin, version of itself, and he sounded like he was speaking and breathing through a partially collapsed straw. "I... You should get out of here." Motioning toward the opening of the alleyway, the man that had just barely managed to get down the fire escape without going ass over teakettle shook visibly. He swallowed hard, staring at the three of them for long moments, like he wasn't quite sure of what he was seeing, or just wanted to make sense of it. Either way, he didn't look good, was decidedly pale enough and covered with sweat enough that even his naturally attractive appearance didn't do anything to make him look healthy.
Loa dropped Matthew.
Holding out a hand to the guy if it looks like he's gonna try to book it, which would probably cause him to trip and fall anyway if he's shaking that badly he says, "Alright now, there's a bunch of us here, you're safe. What happened?" Looking him over briefly he asks, "That blood isn't yours? Don't go running off now, if the Cops see you like this no idea what might happen, catch a breath. Does someone need help up there still?" He keeps glancing back to the window, then looks to Eve. If she doesn't look like she's calling anyone as Heath suggested not to do, he'll slowly start up the fire escape.
Eve sighed and shook her head. "It's alright, it's near my work. I might as well be the one to call if someone has to. Besides, depending on what's going on, I might have a nice, new, listing very close to the office." Eve grinned slightly and looked over at Heath, before she turned her head toward Felix and Bjorn. "Heath's right, though, there's no reason here to call the cops so far. The guy could be just out of his mind on drugs, and that's nothing I feel alright sending someone to jail for. Not here, people go to jail here and get shipped off to New Mexico. I wouldn't wish that on anyone." Peering past Bjorn at the man who'd come down the fire escape, Eve gave him a once over and raised her brows. "He really is terrified. Sir? Are you alright enough to listen to the tall man and get your shit together?" Looking up the fire escape at the dark window the man had obviously fled through, Eve tsked softly. "If there's someone else coming down, let's hope they don't fall like this fellow seemed to be so close to doing."
Felix's eyebrows went up as he caught sight of Matthew coming down, and got a good look at exactly what those stains were. Eyebrows going up, he stepped away from the young man and watched Bjorn as he went up. He gave another "Hissing while you speak loudly doesn't make it a whisper, stupid" kind of whispers. "Bjorn! Oh damn dude yeah this guy is freaking out." When the big, big fella started up the fire escape, he started looking around for other ways up. "Shit I hope not. Maybe the big guy can help em down." Though for all that he was already eyeing handy drain pipes and whatever else he might use to climb.
Heath stared out his flask, arching an eyebrow at Matthew. When the silver container left his lips, he re-screwed it once more. A barely suppressed chuckle came from him, "See, he can take charge just fine, going straight up the fire escape." Calling up to Bjorn, Heath sighed, "Relay information when you're up there, for the police... Or whatever." Shrugging a shoulder, he glanced at Felix. "If you're looking to go up too, why not use the fire escape also... Drainpipes are notorious for peeling away from walls."
The man might seem to be like he'd gone over some wall into a deep well of crazy, but he was also managing to get himself back together. He nodded in response to Bjorn and Eve's questioning, though his eyes nearly looked like they'd jump right out of his head as Bjorn moved up the fire escape. "NO! You don't want to go up there, man!!" His words were emphatic, and he rushed forward to the end of the fire escape ladder, reaching up to grab hold of Bjorn's ankle, or at least attempt to. "Don't go up there!" Terror sheeting off the man like water and his voice had gone shrill.
In the dark window, something moved, something just pale enough to catch the light that had come on down in the alleyway, and it formed the shape of a woman's torso, wearing a negligee, or at least some sort of slinky nightgown. A long-fingered, decidedly feminine hand found its way to the edge of the windowsill, and a sigh could be heard before a honeyed, warm, female voice called within the dark apartment "Ronnie, Matty went and broke the window. We're going to have to go get him." A moment later, a rather delightful looking woman stuck her head out through the gaping hole of the window, her long, auburn hair falling in a sleep tousled spill as she gaze into the alley. When she caught sight of not just Bjorn, but Felix, Eve, Heath, and the man that had left the apartment, a wide, winsome smile curved along her lips. "Oh! I might be OK, he's right there. I don't have to go far. And it looks like he's made friends. Hello there, can you bring him back up to me? He isn't quite ready to leave the apartment just yet!" She called down the request as she waved her arm up over her head a little.
A woman... a gorgeous woman... but of course that's usually the most dangerous kind he's found. Bjorn stops on the escape, trying to keep his large frame between himself and the less babbling man. "Is everything alright up there? He has quite a bit of blood on him... We were just about to call medical services, feared someone had hurt themselves quite badly. I'm sure you understand." He glances back to Eve and the others, perhaps curious what their take on it is. It'll be noted he most certainly makes zero move to bring the man back up, or let him back up the fire escape.
Eve peered up Bjorn's back, then glanced over at Heath and grinned darkly. "I don't know if it's taking charge so much as giving in to the nicer urges. Bjorn seems like the kind of man to go make sure everyone on the battle field is fully dead before moving on." She watched Felix as he obviously looking around for an alternate route up the building, and she motioned toward Heath as she spoke to the man, "You know he's right, yeah? Those things aren't designed to hold up humans. They're designed to passively divert water. You wouldn't believe how many people have ripped them off the side of houses and buildings trying to climb them. It's a very common piece of property damage that most people commit to their own property." Eve nodded solemnly before she stepped a foot or so to the side to look up at the woman in the window and frowned before looking back at the man that was currently attempting to keep Bjorn downstairs. "Hey brah? You've got a seriously hot chick up there that's worried about you, you sure it's all that bad? Where did the blood come from? And why did you want out of the apartment so badly that you'd break the window?" Eve's tone seemed to have gone soft, almost soothing, like someone that might well encourage someone to give up all sorts of secrets.
The tide is high and rising.
Felix paused in his eyeing things and foot bouncing, looking to Heath and Eve, blinking stupidly. His face fell and he kicked at the ground. "Aww maaaaan. Hollywood lying to me again." When the woman above poked her head out, his eyebrows went up and he looked from her to Matthew. "Uh... wow. Dude." He eyed the blood on Matthew's shirt again and spoke loudly. "I dunno. That's a lot of blood for forgetting the safe word. Ready for what?" His attention kept going between Bjorn above and Matthew and Eve. He put one hand on the fire escape, looking above. "If you guys aren't rehearsing Sweeney Todd or doing an amateur dramatics version of Carrie, this doesn't look totally copacetic." He doffed his nice jacket, handing it over to Matthew. "Here. At least you can cover up with that."
Heath stared up at the woman at the window, a frown forming on his lips. "I am ultimately a believer in choice... Good choices, okay choices, but especially bad choices... Those have a special place in my heart." Slipping the flask back into his jacket, Heath sighed. "Now, I'm sure there is a great number of choices that made you of the opinion that Mattie is yours... Matty is also aiming to leave, and is suggesting that that a tank of a man go nowhere near the window." Heath rolled his hand open, "Ritual sacrifice? A bit of blood letting and biting are perfectly okay in my book. But I'm going to have to agree with Eve here... If about the time people start diving through closed windows..." The man paused as he looked back at Eve, "Is it still the act of defenestration if it's self-inflicted?" He reached into his jacket to get out his smartphone, thumbing the keys, waiting, then reading, "Auto defenestration and self-defenestration are acceptable apparently." Heath let out a 'huh' and looked to Felix, "There are also free-climbers that use every nook, cranny, and finger hold to scale a building. If you're seeing particularly athletic, you're free to try."
Loa dropped Vivica.
The man at the foot of the escapeway seemed to be crumbling, his shoulders began to shake and he looked up at Bjorn like he was a man truly lost. When Eve managed to get his attention, he turned his eyes her way and stared up at the extraordinarily tall woman like she was some sort of mirage seen across the lonely, dry, desert of his soul. "I don't want to be ready to leave, I want to leave now. I don't care if I'm ready. The blood..." The man, Matthew apparently, started to rub at his neck, then at his side, shoving his hand through the hole in his shirt to do so. "Mine, theirs. All of it. So much. And everything smelled like it." The hand on Matt's throat seemed to almost choke him, as if he were attempting to black himself out a'la Seal Team 6. Pulling his hand free from his shirt, he took the jacket that Felix offered him and dragged it closer, choosing to hug it like a teddy bear instead of pulling it on over his ruined clothing. He whimpered, then turned his eyes to stare up at the woman who had leaned out of the window. "No... Viv... please?" Even his lips were trembling when he spoke. The dark color of his eyes seemed to grow darker still, and Matthew's eyes soon enough turned to be entirely black, just orbs of midnight in his head.
Up in the windowsill, the woman looking down the fire escape at everyone smiled warmly. "You guys are so sweet, worried about poor Matty. But I promise. He needs more time up here before he leaves, he really needs to get his head straight before he's wandering around and losing his shit." The woman, Viv apparently, leaned back into the window, but a moment later, one trim, shapely leg stepped through the darkened portal to the apartment, followed by the second, as the woman fully came out onto the landing of the fire escape. There wasn't any blood on her pale nighty, and the silk slithered over her skin comfortably as she stepped further out, seemingly unbothered by the glass that crunched under her bare feet. "Let me get him inside, where it's safer for everyone. And I can promise next time he comes out, he'll be far better." Vivica looked up at Bjorn and smiled to him sweetly, the expression sitting far too easily on her face, and far too naturally. "You're really sweet, though, helping him out. What's your name?"
The wary look on Bjorn's face changes. It goes to a skeptical, scoffing 'bitch please' type of look. "I may have been born on a Tuesday, but I was not born on this Tuesday dearie. The chances of us just passing over blood covered traumatized man to someone he's obviously scared shitless of is zero. Perhaps if you were honest I could even entertain the thought, but as it stands now, not happening." He looks back to Eve and the others. "Let's get ready to get him out of here. I'd almost say it's time for the police though somehow I fear that would be very bad for them..."
Eve was watching, listening, but only half to the tartlet that was upstairs talking to Bjorn. Mostly she was listening to the man she'd asked questions of, since he was answering her. When he went on to go into a further state of degradation, she frowned, her head cocking to the side as she looked back up at Bjorn. Lifting her hand, she motioned him down the fire escape. "I think the mountain needs to come to Mohamed in this case, so why don't you get your ass down here to where I am, yeah? Nowish." Any insinuated urgency there could be heard, because Eve's voice had gone a bit strained. Her pale, pale eyes widened as she looked back at Matty and then took an involuntary step away from him, pressing her back up against Heath's side. "Darling, I think it's best if we... were cautious. And moved slowly. Perhaps even carefully, while we help this dear boy away from the fire escape." She reached out and grabbed hold of the back of Felix's shirt, tugging on it to keep the man from going up the fire escape.
Felix was nodding his head at the negligee wearing woman, looking from her to Matthew. "I mean... maybe it's like a drug detox thing? Or like that movie with that cult?" He called up to Vivica. "Are you guys de-programming this dude?" And then Bjorn was actually talking sense and his eyes wandered away from what the woman was wearing. Further protestations were curtailed as the adults started getting super nervous. Never mind the mountain on the fire escape, the tug on the back of his shirt from the otherwise put together Eve set his nerves a-janglin. Swallowing, he looked back to her and Heath, and then over towards Matthew, who they were backing away from. He edged around the man to join Heath and Eve, giving them both a once over. "So uh... on a scale of one to I'm going to have my face pulled off... how is bad is this?"
Heath frowned at his phone before returning to the inside of his suit jacket. His attention went back to Matthew as if Heath was attempting to sort out exactly what drug the man was on. Maybe it was the look in his eyes that made Heath think that Matty was also untrustworthy. "Does anyone have water on them? Because I will totally bless the shit out of some water right now." He arched an eyebrow, "I thought we were being cautious by keeping our hands and feet inside the ride at all times." He gave Felix a slight shake of his head, "Breath deeply and carry a big stick... Or a Jonathan, who apparently wants to get fired."
The woman that had been making nice toward Bjorn only a moment ago seemed to realize just how off the mark she'd been. Her sweet, almost too comfortable smile twisted, leaving her lips contorted into a snarl as she leapt forward at the mountain of a man, screaming at the top of her lungs "ROOOOOONNNNIE! I need you out here!" The hand that flew past Bjorn's face as she tried to cold clock him solidly in the jaw was moving damn fast, but Bjorn somehow had the grace of a dancer in him and dodged it handily, leaving Vivica's fist to break no bone or flesh, but just to crack its way through the air and hit nothing.
"Biggest mistake of your life, both seconds of it." Bjorn would normally song and dance, and try to at least get naked, but with a swing like that no time for that nonsense. He shifts, growing from big to Effin HUGE and uses the spatial distortion of growing to propel him forward and keep her from dodging as his face that was getting punched turned into a huge maw with sharp teeth, that then worked to bite down on her face.
Eve frowned and looked upward as Vivica screamed for someone else, and then elected to try to hit Bjorn. When there was suddenly a giant BEAR at the top of the fire escape, she made a low, grunted sound and looked over at Heath. "I'm pretty sure he can handle her, but if there's another guy up there, he may need to get down here, quick." Noting their proximity to the stairway, Eve took a couple of large steps to the side to leave a landing zone for the giant white bear, and looked back over at Matthew, giving him a winning sort of smile. "Now then, Matty, is it? Let's just take a nice, deep, breath and walk out of here without getting involved in any more scuffles. You don't want to go back into that apartment? No problem, I won't make you go back into that apartment."
Felix's brow furrowed and he looked to Mattie and Vivica again, stepping further back. "Bless some water? Wait are you fucking serioh holy shit!" He gaped as the nighty wearing woman lunged for Bjorn, outright staring as Bjorn responded by going full on ursa major and taking a chunk out of the woman's face. "Oh fuck THAT escalated fast!" He stepped out of the way from potential drop bears in a rush. Looking to Eve and Heath, he gave an apologetic smile as glanced at Matty. "Ok so uh... get ready to hold him. And I don't think you have a gun but please don't shoot me." And with that he sighed and... shifted.
It was... unpleasant to say the least. The tendrils that exploded from his back and immediately wrapped around his body hid whatever was actually happening, even as their thorns constricted and crushed him. A thick coat of fur spread across the back as a hideous, skull like muzzle protruded from the whole mess. Whatever had replaced Felix stood on slightly shaking legs, it's tendrils rattling against each other and the ground as it looked up to where the bear was giving the woman a good chewing on. The voice that came out was low and rumbling and sounded like tumbling rocks. "BjooooooOoooorn! Fire in the hoooOoooole!" It's jaw opened, fire already spilling out as it sent a lance of flame at the woman above. And while Felix might not have been really thinking about his aim, at least the bear was able to leap free in time to avoid getting roasted. When she dodged however, it snapped taloned fingers. "Shiiit!"
The tide is high and slack.
Matthew whipped his head back and forth, looking at Eve, then at Felix, then at Heath, his eyes wide and still deep, dark, black pools that reflected the lights of the alley. He seemed to be holding himself where he was, until of course all hell broke loose up above. With the sudden emergence of a massive Polar bear on the emergency steps, he backed away from them, his jaw working but no words coming out. And then, well, some visage of horror fantasy sprung up in the place where once a young man stood, and it caused Matthew to let out a shrieking scream of terror as the tremors that had been running through him before turned into full on, jerking, muscular contractions.
Loa dropped Scene Aspects.
Heath's brow tightened up when Bjorn decided to go all bear, and a frown formed on Heath's lips. "And here I thought I was just really drunk when I saw a polar bear last... Or maybe tripping balls and having a Lost flashback." When Felix decided to go... Fire breathing creature, Heath lifted an arm to guard his eyes from the heat. "Alright... Fuck this." He focused on Matthew, "I don't know how fucking gone your soul is, but if you're even a bit human, you need to fucking run away now! Because staying means you've gotten everyone else wrapped up in your bullshit. So step the fuck off and run!"
Loa dropped Ronald.
From the darkened apartment beyond the broken window, a series of really quickly running footsteps could be heard. It wasn't but a moment later when a man shaped figure launched itself out the window in a line driving directly at Bjorn. When who could only be assumed to be Ronald hit into the massive bear, it was with the force of someone being shot out of a cannon. And he managed to get himself in just low enough against Bjorn's body as the massive bear was resuscitating itself post-dodging the torrent of flame that he had a serious advantage. And so, while it wasn't pretty, or even a directly vertical drop, Ronald managed to get Bjorn to fall over the railing on the fire escape, and forced the bear to kind of drop down onto the concrete below even while Bjorn slowed his own fall enough to avoid any damage. Once it was done, a man stood there at the landing of the fire escape near Vivica, breathing heavily, with shaggy, dark, hair falling forward ahead of his face. Unlike Vivica, though, this man was mostly naked save for a set of boxer shorts, leaving his somewhat swarthy skin exposed, and demonstrating that he was not covered in blood like poor Matthew.
Rolling with the fall after landing, Bjorn gets back to his feet, four of them making it far easier than if there were two. He looks to the side of him then, to Matthew and does almost a double take. Well isn't that some shit. He moves back toward Eve and Heath, careful not to crowd a potentially volatile Matthew as he sees what he'll do before continuing the fight.
The moment that the giant form of Bjorn was knocked down over the fire escape railing, Vivica moved into action. She wasn't following the giant bear down, however. She was moving up. Her legs carried her swiftly up the fire escape toward the roof, though with the fact that she was barefoot and the metal was somewhat not designed for daily use, really, she was a bit slower than she perhaps could have been otherwise. Still, she was heading away from the alley, and away from everyone else.
Eve was completely grateful for the fact that she'd stepped away from the fire escape. Not only was she NOT having to stand next to a creature that was blowing fire up toward the next level, she didn't have to risk being crushed by a giant, falling, bear. Sucking in a breath, she stepped over to move a bit behind Bjorn, so that he was in between herself and Matthew, but she nodded in agreement to what Heath had said. "He's right, you should get out of here. Get somewhere safer than this, and stay the heck away from... them." Eve glanced up to see Vivica running up the fire escape, then frowned slightly as she looked at Ronald. "Jesus."
The tide is high and ebbing.
Matthew seemed torn, on one hand, things were looking good, on another, things were looking completely terrifying. But... everyone telling him to get the fuck out of Dodge had an excellent point. He nodded, not just once but several times, turned toward the opposite end of the alleyway from where Bjorn, Eve, Felix, and Heath had entered, and started running. He was fast, too, Matthew could easily have set some best collegiate times with the way his feet ate up the distance and he cruised to the far end of the passage way. In almost no time at all, the young man stained in blood with the nice jacket Felix had given him was gone around the far corner.
Heath grimaced, his eyes staying on Matthew as he ran away. Reaching up to his neck, he pulled the knot out of his tie, drawing the line of fabric out to wrap around his hand. "Alright, asshole... You managed to boot a bear off a fire escape... I got to hand it to you." Heath nodded, "The wildcard just cut and ran. The bitch ran upstairs. So now you have all eyes on you. That means you have a pissed off polar bear. A fire spitting 'I don't know what the fuck'..." He thumbed over his shoulder to Eve, "A pale rider..." His mouth turned into a fierce grin, "And me... The guy that is going to start blessing everything around you while hurling prayers endlessly. I promise... You won't like it."
Ronnie looked down at the four people gathered, and the expression on his face as seen through the tendrils of his dark hair was almost feral. He bared his teeth, watching for a long moment, until his eyes focused on Heath. Rather than spitting back any comments, he made a low, unhappy sound in the back of his throat before he turned his blackened eyes toward the upward fire escape where Vivica was running. And then, he simply turned his whole body to follow after her. Apparently there wasn't any worry in him for running along with just the boxers and nothing else, because he didn't break stride, and just ran up until he could lift Vivica up by the waist and help her along until they both disappeared onto the roof.
Well, that was over... Of course now he was a bear in an alley. After making sure, or as sure as one could that they were indeed gone, Bjorn shifted back, naked and on hands and knees. "That was... not the best of situations. What the hell were they?" Yes, says the was Giant bear of a Bjorn to the other insert special individuals present. He moves to get to his feet and looks down at being naked. "...Fuck." Cause what else does one say when they're stuck downtown without a lick of clothing on?
Eve watched as the three, almost human, things ran off in their separate directions. Taking a slow breath, she pulled her phone back out of the pocket of her suit jacket, pressed a single button, and lifted it to her ear. "Get your ass along with the car down the alley next to the side entrance, Jonathan. Now." The order was given without any anger in her tone, but it was a little terse. "I think it's best if we were gone as well." She glanced over at Heath and gave him a little razor-blade grin as she looked at his tie wrapped around his fist. "Nicely done, mlaka lauxum." She made a dark, almost chuckle, then looked over at Bjorn, the smile on her lips becoming wider, but all the more wicked as she examined him without the slightest hesitation. "You're welcome to a ride in the car, Bjorn. And you can use my jacket as a blanket across your hips if you'd rather not sit on display, though I can assure you, there won't be any worries on my part, or on the part of Heath, if you want to simply enjoy yourself nude in the car ride." Eve shifted her attention to the creatured form of Felix, nodding to him. "If you'll go back to your more youthful and human faced self, I can offer you a ride as well, if you need it?" Notably, Eve didn't move to hand Bjorn her jacket yet, simply content to have the big man nude in the alleyway with them for the time being, at least while they waited the scant minute or two it took before the large, black, vehicle could be seen pulling into the opening of the alleyway with Jonathan behind the wheel as always.
Felix... or, whatever Felix had become, watched as the weird couple fled. He stood there in the alley for a few moments, regarding that way before he looked to Eve and nodded. "Goooood riddance. Right." There was another... less than pleasant moment, and a tired, weary looking Felix was back in the alley, no longer wearing a shirt but still wearing pants at least. He smiled at Eve. "I will absolutely take you up on that. Cause that guy totally ran off with my jacket. Oh hell." He laughed and shrugged.
Heath watched as the beings retreated, and turned back to Eve. "Four versus one wasn't good odds for him. On the other hand, he's likely pissed enough that he won't forget our faces anytime soon. So we may not want to show up on TV anytime soon." His attention drifted back to Bjorn, and Heath made a popping sound with his mouth. "No need to cover up that slice of prime beef. Besides, he thought it fit to discard his rags for our viewing pleasure." He paused for a moment, and gave an upnod before looking to Felix, "Your jacket may save him the trouble of being completely fucked over by a cop noticing him, so... Good thing, I guess." Heath shook his head, moving back down the alley for the car to arrive. "I'll sit next to Jonathan so I can whisper 'You're fired' to him on the trip home."
|
