This gorgeous part of Mililani backs right up against lush rain forest creeping down from the mountains. The perfectly manicured lawns end abruptly at a hedge that barely holds back the encroaching jungle. The night is dark. The waning crescent moon spills just enough light to illuminate the outlines of fences, lawns, plants and perfect cookie-cutter suburban houses. Down the street, the cheerful din from a lively local bar is the only thing that breaks the night's stillness, besides the headlights and engine noise of taxis carrying people home.Three slight shapes move across one of the lawns towards the barrier hedge, and though they're quiet, the movements are erratic and slow, struggling with themselves. In a violent fit, the three figures come to a halt and a woman's voice gasps and screams "HELP ME!" into the gentle breeze.
Joachim had stepped out of that very bar, having come down from the observatory for dinner and a drink before heading back up for the rest of his shift. Dressed in a pair of jeans, boots and a light pink short sleeved shirt, he had begun to amble back when he heard the yelling behind him. He turned slowly, eyeing the darkness and the three strange figures before starting off in that direction, a muttered curse under his breath in a strange language.
Joachim says, in Coptic, "Oh well shit, I hope to hell it's just some asshole burglars you lazy cat."
Well, someone is out tonight to have fun. Or, at least, she was; Molly is wandering up the road, having spent the day on the beach, and apparently decided to travel light; as such she's currently dressed in a black bikini, her glasses, a silver cross on a leather cord around her neck, and a pair of flip-flops. She's had her thumb out to try and hail a cab, or hitch-hike a couple of times, to no success; still, there's nothing wrong with a walk home.
Well, nothing wrong with it until there's someone screaming for help; then the young student immediately changes course, and slinks into the bushes, hoping to sneak up on what is happening. Tactical advantages and all that; Molly remembers that well from playing Dungeons and Dragons when she was twelve.
Lola can dance anywhere and this lovely spot is much the same. Right down a sidewalk she goes, twirling and swaying with the music in her head. A hint of grace and rhythm in her movements. Something natural rather than trained. And an expression of simple pleasure. Her green and purple hair swirls around as she goes and a new dress is worn. Her simple, white sundress traded for one with a bold tiger stripe pattern running horizontally. And an extra necklace bounces along with her movements, a silver chain with a mix of shells and polished stones. She slowly pauses as she hears the person calling out, her brow ceasing slightly as she glances towards the direction of it. She notices Joachim nearby and starts to drift in his wake, some number of paces back, bare feet padding quietly along.
Casey is coming out of that noisy neighborhood bar, combing her hands through her messy blonde hair and drawing in a deep breath of fresh air, free of the odors that come along with a whole bunch of people having a whole bunch of fun in a small, enclosed space. The curvy Southern steps out onto the pavement, her honest-to-God cowboy boots giving a satisfying clunk on the sidewalk. She's wearing a black tank top that says "This ain't my first rodeo" in big white letters, and a pair of cuffed off denim shorts with a belt slung low around her hips. "What in the...?" she drawls, squinting into the dark street before shouldering a big black sport bag and tearing ass in the direction of the woman's scream.
Rick looks as though he might be about to go //into// the bar -- at least, he's almost at the doors, close enough so that when Casey comes out, he stops to let her go in front of him. However, just as he's about to pass, that scream rings out. He stops short, looking around. He doesn't seem as hurried as some might be initially, but when he sees that other people are hearing it, as well, his expression becomes more concerned, and he looks around until he spies those dark shapes. He starts to jog over there, not quite as fast as Casey, but still quickly.
One of the figures clamps her hand down over the screaming woman's mouth, cutting off the sound. She hauls up on the brunette's arms while her twin blonde wrangles the brunette's legs, and they try to resume their struggle towards the hedge, and the forest beyond. "Shut up, Lydia, or this will go badly for you," hisses the blonde holding her arms.
Haleakala dropped Lydia.
Haleakala dropped Ashley.
Haleakala dropped Mary Kate.
Joachim kept moving, eyes narrowing as he hunkered slightly lower in what was becoming a run. His eyes flashed as he past a stray lampost, and anyone in front of him would have seen his eyes reflect a bright yellow. Seeing the two women manhandle the one they called Lydia, those yellow eyes widened as he took in what they actually look like, and half bit back a scream. "Holy shrieking shit! What the hell ass are you?!" He put a hand out, and the sprinklers all burst into life as he started chanting in the same tongue he'd spoken in earlier. The water flew through the air, spinning around the woman Lydia to form a barrier of water. Hands on hips, he eyed them both. "Normally I wouldn't
Joachim finished. "Be so rude... but you ladies are... really freaky."
Lola sees Joachim do things and water flies, but she's more interested in the strange ladies. And one that doesn't seem happy to be with the others. She frowns a little to herself and lights forward in a light footed run, eating up ground rapidly. Easily overtaking the trio. She skids to a pause a few feet ahead of them, between them and their goal. The pause being a skid of her bare feet on the grass, leading her to lean, one foot planted as the other leg sweeps around gracefully, ending in a low, tense crouch. She rises up slowly and says to them, "You shouldn't make people go where they don't want to. It isn't nice," she informs them. Just in case they weren't aware.
Casey pauses at the edge of the lawn and squints into the darkness, raising her voice. "Wait, who's freaky? Which ladies? I can barely seen anything other than a big ol' lump movin' towards the fence." She unzips her big black bag and pulls out a gen-u-ine Louisville Slugger, the holy grail of baseball bats. She also pulls out a flask, that she tucks in the waistband of her shorts. Just in case. Using her bat to help her feel her way, Casey moves towards the group, rubbing at the backs of her eyes to help them adjust.
Rick has not yet seen any reason to be quite as horrified as Joachim seems to be, but he can see that what's happening is not what one would call 'good.' So, he springs into action -- or at least more action than he had been doing before. "Hey!" he calls, and he picks up the pace into a run as he goes toward them. "Let go of her!" He may not know who 'her' is, but apparently that doesn't matter at this point.
The twins reel back as Joachim's shield of water surrounds Lydia, who falls to the ground, protected by the shield of water. Startled by the sudden arrival, the twins turn to look at the new arrivals. Ashley turns to face Casey and Joachim, and Mary Kate turns to size up Rick and Lola.
Lola slips her hands behind her back, eyeballing the woman who turns towards her. "You should go away," she tells her. "If you don't, Sister will come. And Sister wont be happy. She doesn't like wearing dresses." This is calm, firm advice. Because 'Sister' coming is apparently not a good thing, given her tone.
Rick doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to Mary Kate at the moment, even when she looks at him -- instead, he hurries toward Lydia, crouching down near her though not //too// close, just in case she doesn't want strange men in her face. "Hey," he says, his voice quiet but not hesitant. "It's okay. You're gonna be fine, yeah?" Maybe it's the semi-stoner surfer vibe he does give off, or maybe it's because he's a Nice Guy (TM), but his voice does sound calming. At least, it might to some. Maybe not to all. "What happened?"
"Listen, this is all just a misunderstanding," Ashley, the twin who had been holding Lydia's feet, coos gently. "My sister and I are with the Anti-terrorism Task Force. This woman is a suspect in the recent deaths around the island, and we need to take her in. We weren't expecting to find her here tonight, but the opportunity to get her in custody before she can kill again, well...it was too good to pass up. I know how this looks, believe me. But we're the good guys, here."
Molly has finally caught up to the action, just in time to here Ashley claim that everything is okay and they're anti-terrorists. Her flip-flops flop audibly as she rushes into the bushes, and then skids to a halt, standing there in her bikini with arms folded beneath her breasts. The display of magic doesn't seem to be putting her off, either, if indeed that's what it is. "Somehow," she declares, "I don't believe you. I mean the story sounds good but I'm pretty sure counter-terrorists don't go around abducting nightie-clad women, nor do they go around completely unarmed while on active duty." She pauses, and sucks in a deep breath. "Also you're not human. Just thought I'd point out. Your mouth is too big, and you have glowy red eyes. Who's bodies were those before you possessed them?" The young student adjusts her glasses, taking another closer look, before glancing off to the side. "Oh, hey Joachim. How's stuff?"
For the moment, Mary Kate seems content to let her twin do the talking. She reaches down and grasps a handful of soil, idly toying with it in her palm. But when Molly starts poking holes in Ashley's story, Mary Kate's eyes flare and she hisses a series of words that sound like nails going down a chalkboard. A bracelet on her wrist that connects to a ring around her forefinger glows searingly bright and as her incantation ends, she points sharply to the ground and everything on it becomes heavier. Gravity itself begins to tug at everything and everyone in the area.
Joachim shook his head as Ashley started talking. "Yeah see... I just don't buy it. I could totally tell you weren't human from the get go. Just like Molly said." He waved to her absently. "Hey Molly. Doing good. Weird night." He turned his attention back to the two women. "Anti-terrorism task forces are usually a bit more... tasky forcey yeah. Now why don't you scoot before I make like an angry pepper and get jalapeno face?" He pushed forward, stopping short as gravity increased. Physical strength and a bit of willpower got him back on his feet, and he eyed Mary Kate. "You are not seriously trying that shit on me are you?" He responded with a burst of energy that flew from one hand, the sudden blast avoided by his target and melting a good deal of sod. He waved his hand back and forth, glaring at her. "Dammit bitch... ow ow ow hot hot hot..."
Casey has heard all the stories and all the conclusions, and almost been smooshed to the ground by an angry...something not human. The blonde in cowboy boots narrows her eyes at the big mouth closest to her. "I don't know what you and your sister are, Miss, but you're a slick talker and these nice folks seem to think you're pullin' a fast one on us. Only way to settle this is with a nip, don't you think?" She drawls with savage sweetness, drawing the flask from her waistband and splashing the holy water inside across Ashley's face. "Ain't that somethin', Unclean Spirit," she accuses, blue eyes blazing with righteous fury as she gives her bat a test swing.
As luck would have it, Iara just happened to finish working her shift at that very same bar, and by the time she had stepped out, the scuffle had already started. Well, she's not a PI or police or anything of the sort...And she reeeeally should just keep on walking, because they DID say they were professionals, detaining a terrorist..Right?
Still, she pauses and watches from a safe distance, curious, uncertain if she should intervene..And then, one of the blondes utters a spell, and the ground seems to suddenly buckle and cave in around her. Her eyes widen fearfully, and before she can even process what is going on, her body moves instinctively, hand-springing back out of immediate danger, peering intently at the girls as she listens to what the others have to say about her.
"What's going on? Who are you, really?" she narrows her eyes, "And what do you want with that girl?" Glancing over at their would-be target, she carefully places herself between the twins and Lydia. What she plans to do? She has absolutely no idea...Just yet.
Lola pauses, seeming confused for the moment by the nature of her expression. The woman puts forth a good argument. To her at least. "Oh.." She takes a step back, then the others start talking and she seems a bit more confused. Peering at the women. Then the magic happens. And the assault on Lola has an immediate effect. She sets her feet instinctively, bearing the brunt of the gravitational yank. Her head drops suddenly, hair falling over her face. Hair that steadily shifts color. Green and purple color runs away as an unnatural red with black roots takes over. Her head snaps upward, hair parting just enough to reveal a feral grimace. "Those are some nice legs you have there. Be a shame if something were to happen to them," she rumbles. An instant later she's leaping at the blonde woman with the abandon of one who loves what she does. And what she does is come down with her heel just below the woman's knee, wrenching it hard enough to be terribly painful in the moment. "Smashie smashie, bitch!" Her shriek is full of glee. Disturbingly so.
Rick doesn't know what they are, either, but he can tell when someone is lying. At least this time. So, he doesn't stop what he's doing, though he does have to take a moment to steady himself so he doesn't fall to the ground. He keeps his feet, and then goes all the way to Lydia, reaching to help her keep her feet. Strange man in her face be damned. "You're gonna be okay!" he repeats, perhaps not quite as calmly. Hopefully his words before have done enough so that she won't freak out about this, too. And then Casey's throwing water and Lola's lunging at Mary Kate, and, well...this is all a lot of take in. But at least he's on his feet and ready to run if need be.
Ashley hisses in pain and rage as her face is burned by the holy water. "Enough of this, Sister. Kill her where she stands and fulfill the terms of this bargain. Any human sweetness melts away from her features and an inhuman snarl remains. As her fingers elongate into vicious claws, she opens her wide maw and lobs a gout of sizzling acid saliva right at Lydia...but Iara takes the blow, sparing Lydia any harm.
"Oh no you don't! Not on my watch!" Molly glances down, shuffling about for a moment before hooking her foot under a piece of deadfall and kicking it up into the air. She catches it, just in time to see Lola go... Well, like, like that. The young student takes a step back, then moves around. "Uhm, make a note in the log, Captain," she mumbles, "Don't upset /her/." She steps to the side, focusing herself back on the actual enemies, today. "You better run before I brain you! For England and Saint George!" she declares, running the short distance up to Ashley and swinging her branch in a wide arc, bashing the woman right where she got scorched by the Holy Water. Ooooh! That must hurt. It certainly sounds like it did.
"Help the sacrifice if you choose. I will reduce you ALL to cinders!" Mary Kate howls, her eyes blazing with fire as she conjures a gout of black-tinged flames towards Lydia...and by extension, Iara and Rick. She drags her crippled leg behind her, courtesy of Lola, seemingly unaware or unconcerned with the condition of the body she's wearing.
Joachim stepped back, frowning as he watched the flesh melt away from one of the women. "Holy hell! Told you you weren't human..." He tried to get a read on them, trying to figure them out, but shook his head and looked to Molly. "What exactly are they? Best way to kill them?"
Casey takes a knee, both hands atop the handle of her baseball bat as she bows her head. "Lord, I don't know what all of this is about. But these creatures are unclean in Your sight, so when I stand up, I'm fixing to send them on to their just reward and make this yard unclean with little bits of 'em. In your Mercy. Amen."
Lydia cowers behind Iara, leaning heavily on Rick. "I don't know what's going on. They ripped the window out of the bedroom wall, and dragged me out of my bed. I've never seen them before." Her voice shakes with fear and she shivers in the chily night air.
Iara grits her teeth, standing her ground, fists clenched as she eyes the twins warily. She is not a fighter, not a hero, and she really, REALLY should have just crossed to the other side and gone home but..Too late for that! Waiiiit, did they just say..Sacrifice?! She glances sidelong at Rick and Lydia. "Get her out of here! She's the one they're after!"
Glancing back at Ashley, she narrows her eyes, dropping down into a practiced, defensive stance, perhaps unexpected in a petite, shy girl, dressed still in a black minidress and high-heels..But one should never underestimate their opponent!
Crossing her arms in a defensive stance, she steps swiftly between the woman with her grotesquely stretching mouth and Lydia, taking the brunt of her acid attack, which easily burns her bare arms, causing her right forearm to sizzle a bit. She cries out and winces a little from the pain but stands her ground.
"I wont...Let you hurt her, whoever you are!" and then the fire comes..Dammit, more magic! But this time she is prepared! But at these close quarters, she really has no other choice but to shrink down to a more..Maneouverable size..The fire burns through her clothes, but suddenly she is not there. Instead, a large golden, predatory bat stretches her wings and rises to the sky, screeching furiously at Ashley, and divebombs towards her, deadly sharp talons outstretched as she attempts to slice open her skin, to draw blood if she can!
Lola strikes a bootleg, cheesy action flick karate pose after her leg smashing. "Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy," she declares, a mock punch tossed out with each phrase. "Especially not for ugly bitches." She grins, all teeth as her eyes fix on Ashley. She's not paying attention to Lola. Too bad for her. In an instant she's charging again. And in the few steps it takes for her run up, she cocks back her fist. No doubt the monster woman will be seeing stars with how solidly Lola's fist slams into the back of her head. The crack is audible, even over the din of combat. "Eat it!" And.. she keeps going, laughing madly as she leaps the dividing hedge and runs off into the woods. Yeah.
Rick is still holding onto Lydia when the fire gets spewed at them all. "Shit!" he exclaims, which is not exactly chill, but then, would you be? Well, maybe you would. But he isn't. However, he does manage to keep his head enough to move out of the way do that he doesn't get burned, and then attempts to get himself between Mary Kate and Lydia to block any other unpleasant things that might come their way. He hears the crack, though, and glances back briefly to see who got hurt. Oh good, it's one of the people they //want// to be hurt!
Ashley, now slavering and gnashing her teeth, takes the blow to her head with rather poor sportsmanship. She wheels around and slashes at Molly with her elongated claws, missing the branch wielding student, which sends her into a frenzy.
Molly isn't having none of it. She knocks Ashley's close aside with her staff, managing to avoid getting said claws sunk deep into her soft, delicious looking skin; and where other people might run screaming from the supernatural, Molly has just gotten angry. "Bugger you," she spits, as she pushes the creature's arm away and shoulders into her, knocking her back just enough that as Molly retreats, she can wind up properly with her improvized club. The young student swings, grunting with the effort as she brings her branch to bear, connecting very audibly with the side of Ashley's head. There's a loud crack from the impact -- may have been the branch, may have been Ashley's skull, hard to say -- And Molly takes a step back to adjust her glasses. "Better surrender," she growls, "Or I'll hit you /again/."
"Get out of the way, or I will move you myself!" screams an enraged Mary Kate, who conjures in her rough, chalkboard voice and rips a piece of the lawn and bedrock up from the earth and hurls it at Rick. Either he is particularly dodgy or her rage is affecting her aim, because she only clips the man, and takes out a significant portion of the house's lanai, instead. Inside the house, an infant wakes up and begins wailing.
Joachim winced as Ashley took a sucker punch to the face and a branch to the head. "Hey Molly! What's brown and sticky? A stick!" He grinned, yelping as Mary Kate produced a stream of fire. He frowned, standing up straight and shaking his head. The clod of earth that slammed into Rick seemed to settle something. "Hey bitch!" He called to Mary Kate, getting her attention. "This is what happens when you do that."
Joachim turned suddenly, facing Ashley again as he breathed in heavily. A pair of wings unfurled from his back, flapping back to keep him stable as the smell of ozone filled the air. There was a crackle of electricity before the electrons in the air just completely stopped giving a shit, and a brief but overwhelming beam of plasma flew from Joachim's open mouth to crash against his target, burning her flesh away and leaving her a charred mess. As it died he blinked and laughed, throwing his hands into the air. "One point twenty one gigawatts!" He blinked and then started spitting onto the ground, brushing his tongue with his hand. "Oh god my mouth tastes like an ashtray."
Casey rises from her prayer and comes up swinging. She charges Ashley, takes a mighty swing and hits a home run, with Ashley's charred skull serving as the ball. The blonde in boots knocks the head clean off of the big mouthed twin, exploding it into bits of charred ash after Joachim's handywork. "May the Lord have mercy on you, 'cause there ain't much to be found here," she tells the body that collapses into a heap, and begins to disintegrate into ectoplasm.
Lydia screams, and as Ashley's form becomes a walking pillar of ash, only to have her skull exploded, she turns green and doubles over. Emptying her guts on the ground nearby, Lydia staggers and mutters, "This can't be real."
Suddenly, it seems almost everyone is focused upon taking out Ashley, and the spectral bat darts skywards after her initial draw of blood, backing off and letting the others finish the job. She pauses only briefly, arching a brow as she watches Joachim sprout wings and spew some sort of plasmatic force at Ashley. But now is not the time to ogle.
Turning on Mary Kate now, she snarls and dives for her instead, golden eyes flashing hungrily as she opens her mouth to reveal a set of long, deadly fangs..And this time she goes right for the jugular, attempting to violently tear into her neck, spurting blood everywhere.
"Fuck you!" Rick calls in response to Mary Kate. And //that// is not surfer chill at all. However, the retort has cost him, and the rock hits his shoulder, taking a chunk out of it. Luckily it's not a big chunk, but it still hurts. He grunts in pain, but keeps his body in between Mary Kate and Lydia, at least as much as he can as blood starts to stream down his back. No surfing for him for a while, sadly. But he does manage to get out of the way of the vomit. So that's nice.
Well, one of them is down; very down, and most certainly not going to be getting back up. "It's real," she observes, glancing towards Lydia, "But when this is all over if you'd rather pretend it isn't, that wouldn't be a bad choice." She straightens, shouldering her branch for a moment as she rounds on Mary Kate. "Alright then, the other one chose the hard way; what'll it be for you?" She winds up with the branch, and swings it hard, aiming to knock her right off kilter. Aiming, but missing; that passing beetle sure gets it, though.
Mary Kate ducks away from Molly's blow and turns to sneer at Joachim and Casey. "You think you've done something? You think you have performed some great service? You've done nothing but free us from the bargain that brought us here. And now, we will return Down Below, and we will remember you. But you will feel what my sister felt before I return home!" And with that, she chants in her painful rasp and sends a plume of black-edged flames at Joachim.
Joachim stepped back, his wings fluttering as he settled down again, avoiding the blast of fire from Mary kate thanks to the smashed up leg that threw her off balance. That lack of balance, and the loss of blood from her neck wound were what let Joachim strike true and deadly, as water was torn from the sprinklers again, this time to assault and buffett the woman, crashing against her, dousing her flames and breaking bone and flesh. "After a comment like that, it would be a little too cliche for me to just blast you with fire again so... I guess you're just all wet." He called out to Casey, looking for the woman with the bat. "Take her freaking head off!"
The woman with the bat is all too happy to oblige. "So, you're saying, Unclean Spirit, that all we're doing is sending you back to Hell where you belong? Doesn't sound so bad to me!" And with that, she takes a mighty swing at Mary Kate's neck and shatters it with a sickening crack. "Because wherever you and your wicked sister go back to," she brings the bat down again on the center of the demon-blonde's spine, "it's better than letting you corrupt people up here, or drag them from their homes for God-knows-what! So get thee behind us, Demon." And one final sickening crunch as she brings the Louisville Slugger to bear on the back of Mary Kate's skull, before the body begins to dissolve into ectoplasmic goo.
"They're gone?" Lydia ventures, looking like she could sing and faint at the same time. And then she hears the cries from inside the house. "Oh shit, did that rock hit the nursery! I've got to check on Jenna's baby!" She turns for the house, but staggers as her ordeal takes it's toll on her.
The golden bat's bloodlust is only brief, darting out of the way as more mystical spells are exchanged between Joachim and Mary Kate..And then Casey delivers the finishing blow, with a holy bat, of all things? The bat looks quite impressed by that as she continues to hover in the air for a few moments, watching Lydia thoughtfully, seeming to understand her words with some concern. However, A glance at her own burnt clothing down below reveals that it is quite unwearable, and her wingtips are still burnt and stinging from the acid burns. Right now, she's not much use to the woman and so with a squeak, she flutters to a nearby lamppost to rest briefly.
Rick keeps himself in between the second twisted sister and Lydia, up until Casey has beaten the crap out of her. Literally. "Damn," he says, his eyes wide, "good job, girl." He turns away then, just in time to see Lydia stumble. "Whoa," he says, and he takes a couple of quick steps to catch her, lending her his unbloody shoulder to help her into the house. He does move a little stiffly, but he's able to get there without too much difficulty. "I'm sure the baby's fine," he says. He is not at all sure, but he //sounds// like he is, and that's the important thing, right?
Molly pants softly, resting her hands on her knees for a moment as the second demoness is defeated. "...Yeah, sending them right back to Hell does seem like a good idea. But then, they climbed out of Hell once, so I'll assume they can do it again, sooner or later. We may've just inconvenienced them." She rubs her chin, standing where she is in bikini and flip-flops, after tossing her branch back to the ground. "Say," she inquires of Lydia, "Got any salt handy? That might help."
Joachim grinned at Casey, giving her a thumbs up and then turning away to spit several times, his voice slightly hoarse and cracking. "Good... job. Bleh." He looked to Lydia, watching her go for the nursery and sighing. "So... demon hell monsters. Funny... I had totally the wrong idea." He shrugged, walking over to Rick. "How you doing man? And how is she?" He kept some distance, looking to Molly and shrugging. "So... some of the crazier stuff we've seen tonight aside... and admitting I might have some explaining to do, did anyone see that big goddamn bat tear that woman's neck half off? I mean... demons and flying dirt and fire sure but a sentient bat?" He grinned. "Hawaii is damn weird."
Casey cleans off her bat, though the ectoplasm from the two demonic shells has already mostly disappeared. "I'm glad the big goddamn bat's on our side," Casey drawls with an easy grin. "Damn near took the magic one's head away with her as a door prize." She casts a casual glance at the discarded clothes on the ground, the ones Iara had been wearing, but doesn't ask questions. "Glad y'all were here. Poor lady in the nighty needed more than just a hand. Fourteenish was about enough." She offers out her hand. "I'm Casey Grace Creedence. Just landed in Oahu earlier this afternoon. Wasn't quite the introduction to the nightlife I was expecting, but it's something worthwhile to be in, so I'm in the right place."
With Rick's help, Lydia goes into the house, and after a few minutes returns with the baby in her arms, with a bottle to soothe him. "I'm watching my friend's baby while they have date night. I've been staying here since..." she closes her eyes and winces. "Everyone around me is dying. First, my husband went and got himself /blown up/ at some socialite's hostel. Then my f-..." she cuts off, quickly and too rapidly correcting herself. "My friend...Our friend...Family friend. Was crushed when his boat was destroyed in the marina. Two of our business partners and friends killed out on the water on the island. It's me, isn't it? I'm the only common thread." She gives the baby in her arms a worried glance, and bounces him gently.
The 'big bat' in question quietly licks the blood off her claws, and is busy cleaning her fur, watching the events below but trying to keep a low profile. She is rather shaken by Joachim's remarks, and it's enough for her to stretch her wings and take flight once more. She pauses only briefly, listening to what Lydia has to say, and something about what she says reminds her of a certain party at a certain Hostel..
But for now, still feeling a slight bloodlust after tonight's events, it's time for her to leave, and ponder those events another day. With a soft squeak, she takes to the skies, soon little more than a dot on the horizon, or perhaps a slightly spooky silhouette against the backdrop of the moon before eventually vanishing from sight.
Rick isn't holding Lydia up now, but he does stay close, just in case she collapses again. After all, she's holding a baby right now, so that would not be good. "I'm good," he says to Joachim with a nod, though now that the adrenaline is wearing off, he's feeling that hit a little more than he had been before. He nods to Casey with a smile that looks a little wan, but it's a pretty good attempt. "Rick," he says, and then looks back over at Lydia. The smile fades from his face like it was never there. "Sorry for your losses," he says a little more quietly. "I'm sure it's not you." After all, how could it be?
<The Sight> Joachim has turned on The Sight.
Joachim shook his head, looking to Rick for a moment before his gaze returned to Lydia. Something seemed to settle over him for a moment, his eyes growing slightly distant as he used the Sight. The moment was brief and somewhat staggering, and when he opened his eyes Joachim was frowning. "I'm sorry... but you're right. You're hiding a lot of something and it looks like someone's throwing something really heavy at you." He shook his head. "If you want to keep it from killing you and the people around you, my suggestion is that you come clean about it. Otherwise this..." He twirled his finger around in a circle. "May well happen again." He shrugged and looked over to Casey. "Do you know how to help with this sort of thing? Demons are a little outside my experience at the moment. Aside from this, clearly."
<The Sight> Joachim has turned off The Sight.
For her part, Molly takes a moment to unashamedly adjust her bikini-top, pulling the front part an inch away from herself and letting it snap back properly into position. "...These are really not meant to fight in," she observes, and shrugs her shoulders. "I'm Molly; pleased to meet you, Casey." She bobs her head, and is about to say something cheerful and upbeat when instead she listens to what Lydia has to say. "...I'm so sorry," she murmurs instead, poking her glasses up her nose with one finger. "Look... listen to him." She nods to Joachim. "He's speaking right. Tell us what we can do to help, and we'll help."
Casey looks up in time to see a certain silhouette soar across the moon, and she smiles up at it and gathers up the discarded clothes, folding them and putting them in her big black bag. Then she catches Rick and Lydia emerge. "It's a pleasure, Rick. You're a gentleman to look after our lady here so well, puttin' yourself in harm's way. Chivalry ain't dead, after all, and bless you for that." She nods to Molly and smiles. "The pleasure's mine, Molly. I might have some salt in my bag. You've got a hell of an arm, you should come to the batting cages with me some time and practice those swings for the next time something nasty throws a curveball." She turns to listen intently to Joachim, nodding thoughtfully and frowning. Then she tells Lydia, urgency adding an electric buzz to her lazy drawl, "Get to a Church. Tell 'em you need absolution and safe place to stay, on church grounds. But listen, you've got to mean it, if you ask for Mercy. There's no pullin' a fast one on the Lord Almighty. Or on his Enemy, understand? Those were demons, but this ain't their world. They work through human beings, or that's what the Good Book teaches. So I don't know if you let them in or somebody else did, but they talked about fulfulling a bargain, and that means somethin' human is tryin' to kill you. But you gotta start by gettin' your own soul right."
Lydia smiles softly, sadly, nodding her thanks to everyone's reassurances. Until Joachim confirms that she is the center of all this. "Everyone's hiding something," she says defensively, taking a full step back. "And nothing I've done is worth being hunted by those...things." Casey's rant on getting the sin off her soul makes Lydia all but snarl. "It's just business. And that's not a sin. It's called success." But something in her demeanor makes the baby start to whimper and turn away from the bottle, and just then the sky is lit up blue and red as sirens fill the air. Lydia shakes her head. "This just...insanity. The police are coming. You should all go or this is going to be hard to explain. If you have questions, talk to me later. You can find my contact information on my company's website. www.symbiote.com. Don't mention anything weird by email, we'll talk somewhere else. And...thank you. All of you. For saving my life." And with that, she turns and takes the mewling baby inside.
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