Night time on Oahu is a glorious time. Especially downtown, if you're into the lights and activity that a 24 hour downtown can offer. While it might still be somewhat busy with people coming and going, the fact that it was still Hawaii kept it fairly chill. The scent of hibiscus and other Hawaiian flowers rode the soft, warm breeze and kept everything feeling just as much like paradise as it did during the daylight hours. Of course, that might be helped by the fact that everyone was still dressed like they expected a little sun, or maybe just a lot of fun.
Peter wanders through downtown, not really looking for anything in particular. He's managed to find a small stall that sells meaty things on a stick, and so he enjoys a few shish kabobs while eyeing the nightlife. This particular night sees him dressed differently than usual, blue jeans, dark tshirt and a pair of black boots. The young man paused near the corner of a busy intersection, munching hungrily on his shish kabobs, and a thoughtful look on his face as he looked around.
Lola is patrolling. Or something like that. In spiff new duds, her favorite possession slung over one shoulder, Lola walks the streets with the air of someone you don't want to trouble. A dour expression and aggressively roaming eyes say that to some. Her black and red hair would say that to those who know her better. Row'an gleams with each bright light she passes. But other than her dour expression, she doesn't present any open threat to those around her.
Lola is patrolling. Or something like that. In spiff new duds, her favorite possession slung over one shoulder, Lola walks the streets with the air of someone you don't want to trouble. A dour expression and aggressively roaming eyes say that to some. Her black and red hair would say that to those who know her better. Row'an gleams with each bright light she passes. But other than her dour expression, she doesn't present any open threat to those around her.
Aolani is out enjoying a very rare night off, making a break for downtown while other hula dancers entertain hoards of tourists at Paradise Cove. Her nights off are few and far between, and she's making the most of it, dressed to the nines in a scarlet swing dress and twirling down the sidewalk like Julie Andrews in the Sound of (Island) Music. The Hawaiian woman has her luscious dark locks swept back in a half-ponytail secured by a dozen or so yellow plumeria blossoms, and every street cafe she passes, she stops and peeks in like she's looking for someone, only to dance off again just as the hosts notice her.
Angela is ... well, she's lost. Downtown isn't her terrain but she's trying to turn being lost into exploring. So far she hasn't stumbled into anything untoward and even managed to find a guy selling pulled BBQ chicken sandwhiches a block or so ago. Tonight she's got her long hair pulled back back a silver and tuquoise comb, her leather jacket slung over one shoulder, but otherwise in her red t-shirt and bluejeans.
The mountain of a man was dressed in a pink Hawaiian shirt, the buttons of which were not quite feeling the stretch, a pair of tan board shorts and throng sandles that made a light snapping noise with every step. Balancing a couple of togo boxes in his hand, he squeezed Nala around the shoulders with the other arm. "Your mother is good people, and I'm not just saying so because she offered the food she didn't eat. She is kind and she smiles a great deal."
Xanthe has most night time hours off, unless there's been some sort of emergency. And there hasn't, so! So here she is, in downtown at night. It's a new thing. She had been exploring the shops and lost track of time. Or just stopped paying attention to time. One or the other. She's dressed in boots of a practical nature, that are flat, a pair of dark blue jeans, and a purple tshirt with a unicorn on it. Her hair has been pulled back into a loose tail, and she wears no makeup. She pauses in front of a stand of night blooming flowers, and admires them.
Nala walked with Akhlut, looking happy as she smiled and had herself tucked in against his side, an arm around the massive man's waist. She was dressed like they'd gone out, wearing a bright blue dress with pretty, white lilies printed all over it. The cut of the dress was favorable, form fitting through the top in a sundress style, loose and flowing around her thighs to where it stopped a few inches above her knees. Her toned, tanned legs were left bare and on her feet were a set of thong-style, white sandals that suited well with the dress. All of her thick, tumbling brown hair was pulled back into a heavy braid done the French way, keeping it out of her face and eyes. With her hair out of the way, her bright, blue green eyes were more noticeable than usual, and she seemed to be sweeping the area ahead of them as they left what likely had been some sort of late dinner date. "You know, I'm not sure if I'm always happy that we go running the second she calls for a dinner, but I'm glad she's at least giving with the food for you to take on the way home. Especially when I'm pretty sure she orders double everything just to make sure you have something to take with you. It's like she favors you or something."
The traffic continues moving along, sounds randomly coming from the cars, various honks and beeps. Mostly just a lot of engine noise. The lights proceeded through green, yellow, red, lighting up the roadway and the hoods of cars as they pass underneath.
Peter spots a familiar person, and soon slips into an easy pace behind them. Trailing Lola by about ten paces, Peter eyes the oar over her shoulder. Trouble looking for trouble tonight, it seems. He finishes off the last of his kabobs, and picks his teeth with the point end before tossing the stick aside. A thoughtful look spreads across his facial features as he seems to ponder things, and he calls out to the woman ahead. "Hey, Lola! What's up?", he says, moving ahead to fall into step beside her.
He pauses then, staring at something nearby. "Huh?? Do you see that?", Peter asks of the red-headed woman, and points. "There in the intersection!"
Aolani smiles at all the happy couples and excited downtown explorers, continuing her happy twirling. Until she tries to focus on the cars. The hapa-haole woman covers her amber eyes, rubbing at them, her dancing steps becoming increasingly disoriented as her vision does the same. She stumbles half-blind on the edge of the sidewalk.
Angela pauses in the middle of a large bite of her sandwhich, chewing the tender meat slowly in thought, as her eyes narrow towards something in the intersection. She mouth something like "What the...?" but it comes out a bit muddled around the sandwhich. Angela starts heading that way when a more immediate problem appears: somebody about to Julie Andrews her way into oncoming traffic. She gulps down the food and pickes up her pace, trying to catch up to Aolani before something bad happens. "Whoa, hang on there ... "
Lola comes to a pause, her head turning as she spots.. something. It's hard to tell what she's looking at, really. Into the street? Or perhaps past it. She turns, eyeing the.. something she's looking at, her lip curling slightly. Her nostrils flare slightly, as if trying to scent the air. Peter's voice gets a snap of his head toward him and a cirl of her lip. A rumble in her throat that lingers only briefly before it quiets. "You," she greets him in her harsh, husky voice. Then comes his question, which refocuses Lola.. back towards where she was looking. Or the general direction. She looks that way, the looks back to Peter with narrowed eyes. "You see them?" A hint of incredulity in her voice.
Akhlut stared at the nearing intersection, his steps slowing a touch. Instinctively clicking his tongue, it followed with a low whistle. "I recall why I tend to avoid the busier places here. The noise comes constantly and the many things moving and shining, it's distracting like schools of fish." The man's mouth curved upward in a smile, "Albeit, not as delicious." His chuckle was closer to rocks grinding over one another. He gave Nala another squeeze as he scanned the area, "Your garments have tried to steal my breath on many occasions. It would be cruel to have you ride over my shoulder so soon after eating."
Xanthe is admiring flowers, and possibly thinking about a certain someone, if her expression is anything to judge by. She doesn't notice whatever it is in the intersection, and she's doing her best to ignore someone doing something kind of disgusting. With people pointing, she turns to look at whatever they're looking at. Not that she sees anything out of the ordinary. With a slight shrug, her gaze turns back to the flowers, perhaps pondering over which, if any, to buy.
Nala blinked, looking out at the intersection for a long moment, then frowned slightly. "I'm pretty sure that the fish we ate wasn't bad or poisoned.. so.. are you seeing this?" She blinked again and looked up at Akhlut, laughing softly. "I think that'd be more cruel to your clothes than mine, as you'd be the one I'd be puking all over." She squeezed Akhlut tightly and looked back toward the intersection, in time to see Aolani teetering on the sidewalk. Then, of course, Angela was running that way, and Nala let out a sharp, cracking sort of whistle, followed by a loud "AO! Are you drunk?!" Worry for the possible traffic cone that Aolani might make of herself seems to have overshadowed the worry for whatever she'd seen in the middle of the intersection.
As if out of thin air, in the center of the intersection a child came into view. He or she was fairly young, easily 4 or 5, with curling hair down to their chin and a thick, long coat that made it all but impossible to denote whether it was a boy or a girl. One moment, the child wasn't there, the next, it was. The pale skin of the child's face reflected the lights of the car driving toward it, and then the peeling of a horn was heard.
Tires squealed, marking the pavement as they melted due to a sudden press of breaks, and the red car that had been heading right toward the small child in the road swerved to the left, driving right into the other lane of traffic.
The driver coming in the opposite direction turned right, attempting to avoid getting into an accident with the red car, but barreling directly into the form of the small child. The horrendous sound of metal on metal was heard then, as the next car after the red car ran dead on into the car that had just swerved into the kid in the center of the road.
Another crunching, metallic sound could be heard as someone rear ended the red car, then someone rear ended the car behind them. On the side of the road opposite the red car, another set of brakes squealed and a bright white car turned hard into the island dividing the two directions of traffic, causing its front left tire to burst in a loud, almost gun-shot sound, followed by a large, blue truck driving up onto the rear end of the white car.
Haruka is wandering about downtown, having decided to check out a new nightclub that a friend at school recommended to her. So she caught a bus and found herself wandering about. She's dressed for the occasion, a short skirt to show off her legs, ankle boots with a bit of heel, and a sleeveless kimono-styled wrap-top.
The night's been enjoyable so far, she's had an excellent sushi dinner, and maybe in the mood for a bit of ice cream. She's about to head into a street-corner shop that offers such delights when the sound of squealing tires and what her first instinct insists is a gunshot sends her ducking away from the shop and around the corner, getting herself out of the way of whatever might be happening until she has an idea of what's going on. +vote peter
Xanthe finally seems to make up her mind on the flowers. She buys one of the plants and then makes her way off, just missing the wreck by moments.
Peter peers at Lola for a moment, an eyebrow raised. "Would I point them out if I could not see them? Yes, I see them. I've good eyes, you know. I did see a shark at a distance at night take out that surfer, remember? When no one else saw it, I did." He tilts his head slightly. "Why do you sound surprised? Uh. Are they ghosts then?" At the first sound of the horn, Peter gives a start, as if he were about to have a heart attack. "Jesus H Christ!", the young man yells out as cars start to swerve and screech about. He steps protectively in front of Lola, for what good that might do against a careening car or truck. Then it seems to be all over.
"Go check on the driver of the red car and the cars in front and behind... did you see where the kid went? I think that car hit him but..." He gives Lola a bit of a push. "Start opening doors and shutting off engines if you can!" Peter runs into the chaos, ducking his head low, checking under cars.. and between them. He stops by the car that appeared to strike the child, and pulls on the driver's door handle. "Hey, you okay?"
Aolani reels and whirls, her balled-up fists pressed to her eyes. Before she can lose her footing and go tumbling into traffic, she feels Angela catch up to her. "Oh...aloha, and mahalo...your voice is so familar. Angela? From Waimea?" The willowy woman in red reaches out in Angela's direction with one hand, the other continuing to shield her eyes. "I'm sorry, I just...these headlights feel like exfoliating my brain with the wrong end of a pineapple. What's everyone shouting about?" Then one of the shouts becomes more distinct, in the unmistakeable way that hearing your name makes it. "Nala! Maika'i no au, I just looked too long into the traffic abyss, and it looked back. Maybe I should've been drinking, it might've hel-" and then her quip is cut short by squealing tires and the thunderous crash of colliding metal. Aolani jumps with yelp, in the general direction she's heard Angela's voice. "What's going on? What's this about a child? Was anyone hit?"
Haruka is wandering about downtown, having decided to check out a new nightclub that a friend at school recommended to her. So she caught a bus and found herself wandering about. She's dressed for the occasion, a short skirt to show off her legs, ankle boots with a bit of heel, and a sleeveless kimono-styled wrap-top.
The night's been enjoyable so far, she's had an excellent sushi dinner, and maybe in the mood for a bit of ice cream. She's about to head into a street-corner shop that offers such delights when the sound of squealing tires and what her first instinct insists is a gunshot sends her ducking away from the shop and around the corner, getting herself out of the way of whatever might be happening until she has an idea of what's going on.
It takes her a moment to make out the details, but she steps back out of the side-street and back towards the accident easily enough. Her first reaction is to head towards it, one hand reaching for her phone in case she needs to call an ambulance. Fortunately someone seems to be taking charge of things, which is a bit of a relief for the girl. She pauses to take a quick couple of pictures, just to document things in case it's needed.
Angela nods to Aolani, "Thats me! Osio, Aolani right?" She takes Aolani's hand to steady her and keep her out of the street. "Tell me about it, I hate headlights at night. My aunt June would've- " And then collisions happen. Lots of them. "Holy crap!" Angela remembers that she has a temporarily blind woman to deal with, "Multiple vehicle collisions. A little kid, maybe all of five years old, just appeared like he stepped out from under a curtain or something right in the middle of everything." She looks Aolani up and down, "Are you going to be okay if I go to help?"
"You're not supposed to see spirits," Lola tells Peter, her voice troubled. She grunts when he pushes her, eyeing him with a dangerous look. "You open doors," she answers Peter's directive for her. Obviously not interested in the wreck, outside of making sure that she won't get hit by any cars going out to investigate. Not the accident itself, having not batted an eye at the collision of cars, the potential death and destruction. She breaks into low, loping run, her oar brought down to be handled with both hands. The better to maneuver with it as she passes by cars, criss-crossing her way towards where she last saw the spirits.
Akhlut stops in place as the domino effect of vehicles crashed into one after another. "Nala... I have a lose understanding where their parts are supposed to be, see if anyone needs aid and I'll speak to someone with a phone to call their doctors. Sand may not be much aid." Uncoiling his hand from around Nala, Akhlut pointedly counted the vehicles involved before moving to the nearest store front to head inside to them on the phone to call the hospital.
Nala grinned to Aolani and shook her head, noting Angela and allowing her smile to broaden. "Aloha Angel! Of course you're here to help, Angels are like that." Seeming to be pleased that Aolani was alright, Nala opened her mouth to say something further, then the first sound of squealing breaks was heard, and it quite obviously jarred her. Jerking hard against Akhlut, Nala let out an involuntary scream of alarm that she cut off just as quickly. "AKUA.. Aolani, get away from the road!" She looked up at Akhlut and nodded to him quickly, swallowing back any protest she might have had, before she started over toward Aolani and Angela, motioning to the cars. "Aklut's going to get to a phone, are you ok to come help, Aolani?" Nala asked the question as she reached out to touch the other woman's shoulder, then looked at Angela and just nodded. "Go, I'll help her if she's not OK, then I'll be behind you."
Horns still blared as people were likely laying against them. The sound of ticking engines and clicking metal as it started to cool after being suddenly heated by friction filled the night, making it sound like someone was letting off poppers. Other sounds, those of screams, crying children and likely adults, groans, and people trying to open car doors that seemed rather stuck could be heard as well.
In the center of the road, where the red car had veered off and the second car had hurtled into a child, two adults seemed to just be standing there. One moment they weren't there, the next moment they were. Both wore long, dark coats and solid shoes. One was obviously female, more sleight than the other, and wore a delicate hat on her head. The taller male was staring forward, his hair close cropped to the scalp, but dark against his skin. Both of them looked pale, and were staring in horror ahead of themselves, looking at the ground.
"Don't tell me what I'm supposed to see or not.", Peter says to Lola. "And for fucksakes, at least help out. Those spirits can wait, these injured people cannot." The young man growls in his throat and shakes his head. "Someone please call 911! I don't have my cell phone on me.", he called out to the crowd. Peter pauses for a moment to wipe away the tears now flowing from his eyes, and the mucus dribbling from his nose. "Eugh. Remind me never to smell a car accident ever again. Man I wish I could turn this off..."
The car door he was pulling on opens after a bit of tugging. "FUCK." He reaches into the car and turns it off, pulling the keys from the ignition. The sound of a blaring horn stops when he gently pulls the woman's head back. Looking around, he now looks very lost.
Seeing the two adults standing looking at the ground, Peter sees just what it is they are looking at. Thaaaats when he has to turn and retch.
Aolani shakes her head at where she supposes both Angela and Nala are, waving the hand not covering her eyes up in the air in the general direction of the noise, then reaching it out for a nearby fence, or light post, planter, whatever, really. "Go, go! Both of you. I'm fine, just dazzled. The others need you more." She gives her eyes another good, solid rub, and squints through swimming vision at the scene in the road. "Someone tell me what I'm looking at?" As her vision starts to clear, she stares as hard as she can at the newly formed figures, rubbing her eyes as if needing confirmation that her vision is actually working again. "No...everything about it is wrong. This isn't how it's done. How did you even manage it?"
Haruka nods to Peter, calling out, "I've got it!" to let anyone else who might be about to call that she's doing so. Then she hits 9-1-1 on her phone and waits for it to connect.
She stands by the edge of the road, not approaching the accident yet, since with a hand busy with the phone she'll not be able to do much to help anyone.
"Yes, I'm reporting an auto accident, somebody was saying something about a kid in the street, please, send an ambulance quickly!" If there's one thing she's learned from her father's shipmates, it was to speak calmly and clearly when reporting an emergency, even if you're panicking inside. "Yes, it's at -" she names the streets intersecting, then nods. "Please hurry."
Angela nods to Aolani and Nala, which is a little silly if Aolani's only starting to see straight. "Thanks. Try not to move around too much until your vision clears, it's gonna get pretty chaotic." And then she heads out into the intersection at a sprint, heading up towards where the main collision occured. "Oh, gods, pleasepleaseplease ... " They tried to instill a bit of emotional detachment for jus such occasions in the academy but that just doesn't cut it as she gets a look at the poor child and the body thrown clear of one of the cars. "Oh, dear gods ... "
Lola skids to a stop next to the appearing adults, staring at them with narrowed eyes. "You should not be seen. Why are you seen?" she questions them firmly, as if they were doing something wrong. The accident does not seem to factor to her as she looks down at the broken 'child'. Her expression dour. She crouches down, the butt of her oar planted as her other hand goes out to touch the dark fluid, lifting a hand to get more light. Checking the color before passing it near her nose, sniffing. Her eyes lift towards the two adults, then go back down. Frowning as she mulls this strangeness. The cries of the injured, the eerie honk from the slumped dead? Ignored. She looks at the adults. "What do you feel?" She doesn't expect an answer, but she firmly asks the question regardless.
Seen by Lola: As Lola might look around, the number of spirits in the area is increasing. From within the car that Peter had been looking into, a woman steps out, pale and almost transparent, though the clothing she was in matches the woman slumped over the wheel of the car. She looks befuddled, turning around in place as if to get her bearings.
From under the car on the opposite side of the road, a man stood, coming up through the car that was parked on top of him. He was pale, virtually transluscent as the woman, and equally confused as he stared down at his legs, and his hands, and then turned his head to look up and down the road.
Akhlut explained the situation the best he could, which was mostly the part about multiple injuries. Nodding, he headed back outside sorting who was moving and wasn't, but more importantly who didn't have someone administering aid in some form. Rather than clog up the works, he moved back to Nala and Aolani. "The emergency number was called, it seems they are receiving multiple calls." The man surveyed the area for a long and silent moment.
Nala squeezed Aolani's shoulder firmly, then nodded to her. "Alright, you be careful, don't walk out there if you can't see, wahine." Her tone was slightly firm, but also distracted, as her eyes had shifted attention out to the accident. "I'll be right over there, checking on people. If you need me, call my name, I'll hear you." Since Akhlut had come back, Nala reached over to grab his hand and tug him with her. "Come help, we need to check on the cars, make sure people are OK. And we need to check on the people in that white car that hopped onto the island." She motioned to the car after saying it. Once Nala was sure that Aolani was on sure footing, and then she was moving, out to the cars. She stopped at some of them that were freaking out, knocking on windows and having them rolled down, checking in on them, asking if they were injured. If they weren't, she moved on to the next car, approaching the white car that was involved in the second serious accident, her eyes wary as she did so, considering the way it had violently slung itself into the dividing island.
While some people seemed to be calming down, others weren't. In fact, the two suddenly arrived in the middle of the road didn't seem to be calming down at all. They threw their heads back and screamed, the sound cutting through the night like a knife as it ripped from their throats.
Their mouths contorted, tearing along their cheeks to allow their jaws to open further than they should, and their teeth became long, sharp daggers of black. As their fingers began to elongate and take on the appearance of whithered claws tipped in virulent points, they threw themselves at the hood of the car that had hit into the child.
They didn't seem to notice Lola, even though she was speaking directly to them, and instead began tearing at the hood of the car in a violent, hateful way, sheering through the metal with those pointed fingertips. It almost looked like they were attempting to murder the thing that had hit the child...
Peter looks to Haruka for a moment, wiping at his mouth and nose, and gives her the thumbs up. He turns back to the woman in the car, and then the person who'd been thrown clear. Then the two 'adults" begin changing and attacking the car. The young man ponders this situation for a moment, before he steps over to where Lola stands. "Need to borrow this a sec..", he says, the Irish lilt in his voice thickening. He snatches the oar from her hands suddenly, and then moves to leap atop the car being attacked. "HEY!", he says loudly, waving the oar in the air. "It was an accident. This vehicle didn't mean or intend to hit your child. But like any large creature, it spooks easily. It is already dead. As are others." He gestures to the broken cars and broken people with the oar. "It won't help get your child back."
"Stay away from the ones in the middle! They don't belong here. They /forced/ their way in. They must be hehena, raving lunatics to even try it," Aolani bellows after Angela and Nala, though anyone near is likely to hear as well. "Don't let anyone near them!" It was as descriptive as the hapa haole could be from within the safe cloak of ambiguity, the one that made you not sound completely batshit to the uninitiated. Ao held onto the railing of the little cafe fence she was using to steady herself, too aware now not to participate. Of course, before she's even finished speaking, the shapes of the figures have twisted, and her warning hardly seems necessary.
"You can't /reason/ with wraiths," the Owl-eyed woman gives up her perch and charges into the fray, reaching for anything she can to steady herself along the way, heading directly for Lola and Peter as the multi-colored girl and the oar-waving man try to converse with the enraged spirits. "Keep everyone else BACK!" She bellows and blinks furiously, like she could ratchet her vision back up mechanically.
Haruka shakes her head, staring for a long moment as she takes in the scene out in the street. Right. Not much she can immediately do about that. The crowd, though...
"Alright, come on, folk! Clear away! We've got to have room for the ambulances to get in! There's people in there that are going to need medical help, and they're already on their way!"
She starts beckoning people aside, anyone she doesn't recognize as being aware of the supernatural already. Trying to get the looky-loos clear of the mess that's about to get worse.
Angela jumps well back when the parents monster out and start attacking the car, "Yikes!" Then she hears Aolani shouting about wraiths and to keep people back. "Wr- crazy, pissed off ghosts?! I know I should've paid more attention when grandfather was covering that." Angela gets clear and tries to keep anyone else back as well, "Stay back for when the ambulances come, folks, there's not much to be done up here." She mutters under her breath about never having an owl around when you need one.
Lola stares at the two when they change and start to ravage the car. More curious and confused than frightened. Her eyes narrow and on some level she hears what people are saying nearby. But then Peter decides to grab her oar and wave it around, which takes her full attention. She starts, then snaps to her feet with a throaty growl. "Mine!" The word barked out in a harsh, not at all pleasant tone. Even as Peter waves it around and shouts, she snaps up after him, snatching at the oar to get it back. "Do not touch what is mine," she warns him with all due hostility.
Akhlut narrowed his eyes, "Your people really should consider burial at sea. Nala... Fighting the wind is pointless." The mountain of a man took a deep breath and broke into a run clear across the intersection. Barely breaking stride, Akhlut scooped up the deceased child into his arms, holding it close as he ran towards the sound of the ambulances.
Nala spared a glance behind her at Akhlut and managed a slight smile to him, though as she approached the white car, and looked into the windows, she sighed softly and knocked on it. When the window rolled down, she leaned closer and started talking to the driver, peering into the rest of the car to see if anyone else was visible. As Akhlut broke into a run, though, Nala lifted her head to look over the white car, and let out a click that sounded seriously pissed. Apparently, she couldn't even muster human words at this point, and when she saw him lift up the child and continue running, she lifted her chin and made a sound into the night sky that most people only heard on water, a chittering, clicking, squeal that ended with a whistle.
The creatures beating on the hood of the car paid no mind to the fact that Peter and Lola were on the car. They continued to maul it, shredding the hood to pieces, ripping the sheet metal into long, thin strips that whipped around and slashed back at their own hands. Of course, it also meant that strips of metal and eventually chunks of engine were flying up into the air at both Lola and Peter since they were up on the hood of the car, now fighting over custody of an oar.
As Akhlut picked up the broken form of the child from the ground, blackness suddenly covered the front of the large man like a pool of ichor had soaked him. The pool that the child had been laying in on the ground started to slowly dissipate until it was just gone, leaving some chunks of safety glass in the wake, but no indication that the shattered, crushed child had ever been there.
It didn't take long, really, for the Wraiths to figure out that their child had been taken away. They stopped beating at the hood of the car, its terrified occupants white as sheets themselves, then both wraiths turned as one to face the direction that the lumbering mountain was carrying their child off to. The screech that was made into the night could be likened to wind tearing through and destroying the windows of a huge, old, church. Shattering and shaking, high pitched, and volatile. Windshields, side windows, and the rear windows of all cars in the pathway of the scream shattered, blowing out violently in a spray of safety shards, and leading way to many more human screams of terror and fear.
In the distance, the sound of several emergency sirens could be heard approaching, from multiple directions.
Peter holds onto the oar for a moment or two after Lola comes to reclaim it. "Stop being so selfish.", he mutters as he relinquishes the oar. Then he's all but throwing himself from the car as the destruction orgy continues. The young man does a neat tuck and roll, standing up and looking around in a panic... til he sees that Lola too has leapt clear. Then the child is lifted up and carried off, and the two wraiths scream loudly enough to shatter glass and windows. Covering his now ringing ears, Peter turns and runs off down one of the streets, towards the sounds of sirens.
Aolani scrubs at her eyes, staggering back when Lola and Peter dodge away from jagged metal shards. "What I wouldn't give for sunrise right now...I NEED A DISTRACTION!" The owl-eyed woman bellows back at Angela and Haruka ushering the masses away. "Anything, get them to look away from us." The scarlet-clad woman breaks into a dead run, the plumeria blossoms in her hair scattering to the wind in her breakneck, erratic and staggering mad dash. "Please, can anyone help herd them to me?" Ao is gasping for breath now, as she bolts to catch up to the mountain of a man. And she reaches out, her hand disappearing into a window...somewhere else.
Haruka takes a quick glance over at Aolani and nods curtly to her, then goes back to her work. "Come on now, clear out, the druggies are going that way, you don't want to get their attention, do you? Make room for the ambulance, and they're sending cops to take care of those guys. Let's go get a coffee, hey?"
She keeps it up, a running line of pretty much utter bullcrap, but it seems to work as she ushers people off the streets and away from the mess. "Yes, I saw them too, people will do anything to get attention these days, won't they? Crazy costumes, and jumping out in the street like that? No, let's let the cops do their jobs, they'll catch those guys and figure everything out."
Angela huffs out a breath, "I really should have learned that clothes trick ... okay, one distraction, coming up." She unfastens her jeans and blurs into a form of a large, apparently very pissed off, North American mountain lion. The great tawny beast throws back its head and lets out a shrieking roar that would carry for miles in open country but echoes about in the concrete jungle.
Seen by Lola: The ghostly form of the female driver of the red car has started walking away, heading down the road, toward a very bright, white light. The man standing in the middle of the road has started shuffling off as well, moving toward a building nearby. Inside the building, white light burned like a beacon.
Lola snatches her oar back and hops lightly off the car, just before rent metal might start cutting into her. The woman now completely ignoring the scene around her. "Do not take what is mine!" His chiding ignored as well. "You're lucky," she adds in a throaty rumble. Staring daggers at Peter before she glances after the spirits made.. 'flesh'? With Akhlut leading the creatures away, Lola seems to have lost interest in the whole scene. At least, to the point of wanting to stay. She still seems confused, staring after them for a few moments before she turns to go opposite the way Peter went, clutching at her oar possessively.
Akhlut slowly for only a split second as Aolani passed him and slick her hand in the air. Really, it was into the air, so the mountain ground to a halt to feel out the air, because clearly it was broken. His brow knit together as he stared at Aolani, then back to the screaming wraiths. "The plan was to get them away from vehicles and the people there. They may not be pleased with me, so perhaps you shouldn't break the air." Feeling the child in his arms, Akhlut craddled it, "Is this the quicker way to sea? I may have picked up a non-child..." The ichor was pouring down Akhlut's shirt and pants at this point.
Nala narrowed her eyes for the fact that her mate actually ran off with the child of the enraged Wraiths. "Ohhhhh... you are gonna hear it later." She grumbled the words and focused her attention on the Wraiths. At least until the cougar suddenly let out a primal call that would have made someone quiver on any hiking trail in North America. Nala looked at the huge cat and had a sudden moment of joy wash over her face as she recognized it. "Beautiful." She murmured, then blinked back to what she had to focus on. "WRAITHS! GO GET YOUR CHILD!" She hissed the words at them, then pointed at Akhlut and made a sharp, whistling sound, standing her ground like a road sign to hopefully get them to freaking move.
Overall, the effect of Haruka's urging had people starting to move away from the scene of the accident. Sure, they were a little shell shocked, but having a voice of reason that sounded like authority called to them, led them toward a little more order than the horrendous scene of the multiple car accident.
When the roar broke out, though, people turned from nearly zombie-like movements to get away from the road to hell-bent for leather-like movements, rushing and stumbling, eyes going wide as saucers as people saw the Puma. It didn't help a few poor souls that were already in a mindlessly numb state, but the rest with a shred of awareness had their heartbeats jacked up like they were on Coke and moved like they planned to climb the nearest treet, or building, ASAP.
The Wraiths hadn't really taken their attention from Akhlut, and as the big man slowed to a stop, they proceeded to move forward. Their motions were ghastly, disjointed and foreign as they moved with strange leverage in their legs, almost like their knees were bent backward. That was, at least, until they started to simply fly over the road. Their feet lifted a few inches up as they levitated, and started whooshing past people and cars on their way to their query, Akhlut, the man that snatched their child.
The sirens are decidedly closer now, flashing red and white lights coming up two of the streets toward the intersection.
Aolani smiles back at the oh-so-normal explanations of why this is utterly boring and not worth looking at, and then the sudden appearance of the magnificent, very rare island puma, the attention of the unawares well diverted. "Mahalo!" she calls back into the chaotic din, and gives her portal a hearty tug and opens wide the portal into the Nevernever. "It's a quicker way to /a/ sea, probably...but not for us, Ak. Let's put them back where they belong. Can you lead them in? Take someone's hand so they can pull you back through while I close the portal behind the wraiths." Before she can say more, she has to turn all of her attention to keeping the rend between worlds ajar.
Haruka has mostly given up on shepherding the mundanes once they start running in terror, really. It's hard to calmly guide someone who's panicking. And they're heading away, exactly what she wanted.
So she turns her attention back to the mess itself, the crash and the wraiths, just in time to see them start after Akhlut. There's really very little she can do about them, so she just tries to get out of the way so as not to get trampled by the crowds.
The big cat chuff out a breath, (Okay, people distracted. Cops incoming. Time to go.) The mountain lion gingerly takes up her formerly-human self's clothes in her teeth and lopes into an alleyway to change back ... and get dressed.
Akhlut listened to Aolani's full explanation about wraith, arching a brow like he was already wearing a meat suit and the charging bear was on his heels. With hesitation, the man stepped through the portal and carefully laid the child on the ground in the alien landscape of the Nevernever. Testing the ground with a bare toe, having lost a sandal in his sprint, he looked back to the portal and stepped aside so the wraiths had a clear path. "I like the ground here. It feels solid." A fierce grin appeared moments later.
As the Wraiths moved after Akhlut, Nala followed closely behind. She didn't attempt to overtake the Wraiths, but instead stayed at their backs, as if she might have some hope of redirecting them toward Akhlut, Aolani, and the waiting portal if they elected to turn around. Still, whether there was hope or not, she jogged along after them. Once she got within earshot, her voice could be heard as she chanted under her breath "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up..." on repeat. When Akhlut stepped through, Nala sucked in a breath and stopped speaking entirely, keeping her attention on the goal, which did not include losing a specific mate at the end of the evening to some gaping maw in reality.
As the Wraiths approached Aolani and the doorway she had open, there didn't seem to be any hesitation. They followed their child into the NeverNever, swooping down toward the broken little body with clacking claws and teeth, snarls and shrieks of rage. While they weren't tearing the child appart, they likely gave the impression as they converged on the body, touching and sniffing at it like crazed, wild animals.
Two ambulances and a fire truck converged on the intersection and things suddenly got lit up like Christmas. Red and white flashed, radios echoed back and forth, men and women in uniforms were unleashed from the giant metal conveyances and started checking passengers, triaging need immediately, and assessing injuries on the living as well as the dead that had been struck down in the accident.
"Are you kidding me?" Aolani squints into the portal after Akhlut. "We'll go sightseeing when you aren't being chased by insane wraiths! I promise, I'll show you the best places where things only maybe want to kill you! They're in, come back to this side. I can't keep it open any longer and if I lose you, Nala is going to have strong words for me." As she lets the rip into the Nevernever close, she looks back to the returning Haruka and gives a grin. "Cocktails? I think this calls for cocktails. And not police questions. Table for five...? Where did Angela prowl off to...?"
Haruka sighs with relief as the sirens arrive and actual professionals take charge of the accident scene. At least that will be taken care of properly.
She dodges behind a newsstand to avoid being noticed by a cop looking in her direction, which puts her in the right place to spot Aolani as the girl addresses her. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Count me in." She walks over and claps Aolani's shoulder. "Good work."
Angela exits the alley, kicking into her shoes, as she approaches Aolani and the others. "Just finding a less public spot to put my clothes back on." She slips into her jacket. "If these cocktails come with lots of food, I'm all for it." Her stomach growls almost as loudly as her feline form.
Akhlut held his hands open in front of him in a helpless gesture as he waited for the wraiths to pass him, and took a few measured steps to carry himself out of the Nevernever. "I understand that parents get angry if I hurl their child under most circumstances. This was as close to laying the child to rest as I could manage." Wicking the tail of his shirt, the black ichor began to fade and became transparent. "Why are more creatures not so considerate? I may not have to spend so much time washing these." Laughter rambled for a moment, "My mate and I tend to use the cover of night as some feel the need to shame us into being covered."
Nala finally remembered to breath when Akhlut came stepping back out of the NeverNever, moving up to him and eyeing him up and down, her brows raising as the inky blankness that had soaked the front of him faded into nothing. "Wow... that... really is considerate. I like that shirt." She managed a slight smile, then looked over at Aolani and nodded. "Akhlut dropped his leftovers, we'll have to get him something else to eat now or a few blocks closer to home, and now with friends seems better." Nala's attention turned to Haruka and Angela, her smile broadening as the pale blue-green of her eyes lit up slightly in the flash of an ambulance's colors. "You two were amazing, mahalo for being here. I don't know how much worse that could have been if no one got the onlookers away." She shook her head and slipped her arm around Akhlut's waist now that he wasn't dripping ichor, then nudged him a touch. "We'll pick up your sandal on the way, I ran by it, but I was in a hurry, so I didn't grab it."
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