[IC] TFW Chapter 2: Wrath

[Shamitako]

OOC

 

Raid

 

The fires of Wrath burned brightly around as the raid team teleported to their location. It seemed that, much like the hexagon, the long-range transporters here were kept some distance from the facility. In the distance was a manhole that led down into the maze. Merlin seemed to be back to her usual self, complete with far less clothing. It had only been three days since their encounter with Ansuz, and many of them still felt raw over Gypsy's death. They'd all had a chance to better acquaint themselves with each others' abilities. They had been joined by Dreaming Guardian, who had been unable to make it to the first raid, only the day before, so she was still a bit of an unknown. As well, the contents of the maze beneath them was largely unknown. But Genie seemed certain that it would be heavily fortified.

 

Merlin led the way down the ladder. The facility was lit by a dim red light, extremely dark in comparison to the overbearing glare of Wrath's sun. The corridors were rather narrow, with only room for two people shoulder to shoulder. It would be hard to fight in them. "We're here." Merlin announced happily, "Fedora, you go sneak around. Bartek take the front, Dreaming Guardian hold the rear. We may have to split up if we get into a fight, so all of you be ready to leave at the drop of a hat." She hefted her broom and prepared to follow Bartek down the hall.

 

Babbysitters

 

Genie set Ice's leg back in the chemical tub, where it floated numbly. She'd just finished redoing the bindings around it. The damage was extensive. It had taken Genie hours upon hours to put the injured girl's bones back into some semblance of order by essentially taking them all out and gluing them back together. She wasn't exactly a surgeon but she did have experience working with bone adhesive, so she'd been able to manage the reconstruction with little trouble. "Everything seems to be going well. With proper treatment the bones should be healed within the week." Genie told Ice, "But the muscles were in bad shape, I don't think you'll be walking again for at least three weeks, probably more. Sometime before that you're going to need some of the bones shards removed. I recommend visiting a proper surgeon for that. In fact, as soon as you're safe to move again I absolutely insist you see someone who actually knows what they're doing." Genie jotted down some notes and hung them on the end of the bed.

 

Anemone was in the infirmary for a checkup as well. Genie took her heavily bandaged arm and looked it over, deciding it didn't need anything done. "Everything seems fine for now. But I still want you back tomorrow." She told her. Anemone's injury looked horrifying but, unlike Ice, it was actually mostly intact. Her fingers would need some extra effort to repair, but Genie was sure she could have the whole thing functional again in a week and a half. She was about to dismiss her more mobile charge when a question she'd been jumped to mind. "Hey, can I ask you guys something?" She asked.

 

Cheryn Babbysitting

 

Cheryn was on the hunt for her charge. She'd been specifically assigned to handle Caliber because nobody else had the capacity to contain the unruly teen. But having the capacity to contain her apparently didn't mean she was going to succeed in doing so, because Caliber had already given her the slip. Right now she was searching through the barracks, having already checked the biology sector. Most of the other children had been relocated here from the child bank, although strangely some of them still insisted on sleeping in stasis pods. She received several looks of interest and accompanying strokes of fear. It seemed they were still uncomfortable around her. Now that she had met Caliber, she was starting to understand why she spooked so many of them.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Anemone

Tomorrow huh? Anemone wasn't really sure why but whatever. The one with questionably more medical knowledge than herself said so, so she would.

She was taken off-guard by Genie asking a question suddenly. She was planning to get out of here as soon as possible. She'd probably need to save energy while on rest. Genie wouldn't see her jolt, but her ponytail would've stopped it's slight rhythm. Perhaps noticeable, but who knew? "Well, you can. As to whether l'll answer... or even have one, depends on the question."

[Chevaleresse]

Ice

 

"I see," she said simply in response to Genie's statements about her recovery. A week before I can start recovering. A month before I can do anything useful. If this made her feel anything, it didn't show on her face. Truth be told, the situation was incredibly uncomfortable. She would have rather fought through the pain than having her legs numbed, though she accepted that she did not yet have the concentration to do so. I need to work harder. 

 

At Genie's question, she simply nodded after meeting the woman's eyes.

[Shamitako]

Genie

 

"Well, it's just that I was sort of wondering..." Genie started. What she wanted to ask was very strange and she didn't really know how she was supposed to ask it. She'd made several flismy attempts over the past couple of days but it had been so hectic she'd failed to really say it. Now that the raid team had left, she had a much easier opportunity in asking just her two wounded patients. "Well, um.. Why do you all keep referring to Ansuz as a 'he'? She's a 'she', isn't she?" She asked, nervously scratching her arm.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Anemone

 

Anemone looked at Genie with... blank look on her face. She just stared at her for a moment. Probably for a time that made the hanging air, super uncomfortable. The gears in her head were turning however. As she was thinking about the question. Such didn't really occur to her before. She'd just taken it for granted. She was told something she took it for face value. However, the doubt introduced here didn't really change her mind just how she thought about it. "That explains his name being Natasha." Anemone thought to herself.

"Do you mean biologically or Ansuz's gender? Cause Ansuz himself refers to themselves as male. Therefore that is their gender. l'd not know about you know... that though. l assume you do though. Hence why you're asking. l'm not sure l'd have pinned Ansuz as transgender, but it fits given what l know and can infer from your question."

[Strider]

Sense followed calmly in the middle of the group. He hadn't been doing it previously, but as soon as Merlin mentioned the possibility of splitting up, Sense began to closer attention to any doors they might pass. In a firefight, those would quite possibly become the only options for escape. So he kept an eye on them, looking for ones that might be marked, giving some idea of their quality as an escape route or hiding place. He tried not to let it distract him too much from the path ahead though, since he had been appointed Spotter.

[Chevaleresse]

Ice

 

"Ansuz identified himself as male. Therefore, I referred to him as male." It wasn't particularly shocking that the boy was biologically female. The short stature, the effeminate voice. . . if he hadn't called himself a boy initially she likely would have referred to him as female. Not that any of this mattered at this point. The only reason he was still alive was her failure to finish the job. And, despite the more serious nature of his wounds, it would likely take him less time to recover. . . She should have been more focused. She needed to be more focused.

[ElfCollaborator]

Bartek

"Understood, Merlin! Stand behind Bartek, little friends! Bartek is on the job!"

Indeed, Bartek starts lumbering forwards, a barrier up to intercept anything that might strike at him. A new day, a new challenge, and, even with what happened three days ago, Bartek was as ready as always.

 

After all, as Mother Kemmerich had always said, "try not give up".

 

[Komodojoe]

Dreaming Guardian

 

The Dreaming Guardian turned to Merlin to give her a thumbs up. "You got it, Merlin. I'll keep everything on lock-down back here." She made her way to the back of the group. To be honest, the thought this would be easier for her. DG would be keeping guard in the back here while the big guy takes all the heat up front. Still, it was an important job, so she'll do her best.

 

Just after she went behind everyone else, she covered her mouth and let out a quiet yawn. "Guess I overslept a bit, though..." She thought to herself. She might look a bit drowsy, but it's like she said; she's got things on lock-down in the back. No one's getting past without dealing with her.

Edited August 21, 2017 by Komodojoe

[Shamitako]

Genie

 

Genie was totally bewildered by Anemone's response. Normally she'd spout off on some tangent, but she had no clue where to even begin with this. Genie had seen with her own eyes that Ansuz was female. Why had the girl told Ice and Anemone otherwise? It was unfathomable. Genie decided it was best not to push the issue. She was too uninformed on the mater. She made a mental note to refer to Ansuz using male terms and started hunting for a way to quickly change the subject.

 

Genie was in luck, as a change of subject chose to walk in right then. Bulwark, or rather Wendigo as Genie had been informed the night prior, stood in the doorway. She was dressed in a red button up blouse with long sleaves (the one over her missing arm was tied off just past the shoulder), a pleated black skirt that just covered her thighs, knee-high black socks, and black mary jane's. Most of the children had been taken to find some clothes other than leftover labcoats. Genie still had medical duties to attend to, so she couldn't indulge in fashion. Besides, she'd grown accustomed to the labcoat. Still, she was a little jealous of how well Wendy pulled off the outfit.

 

Wendy curtsied, lifting the edge of her skirt just so. "Miss Anemone, I was hoping you could assist me once your medical check is done." She said, her voice quiet but deliberate.

"We were just finishing." Genie said, "She's clear to help if she wants."

[Sutoratosu]

Cheryn

Cheryn sighed under her breath; shit could just never be easy, could it? When merlin had asked her to look after this one girl in particular, well... she had already seen why.

 

Nevetheless, She returned a few of the strange looks the kids gave her with the best smile she could manage, given the situation. Under her breath she muttered something- a small illusion charm she had been cobbling together and tweaking during the past couple of days.... its purpose was honestly rather simple: to change the appearance of her irises from crimson to alternate colors, but she hadn't really had anything that specific in her basic kit. She had known several illusions that would be useful for hiding and getting away from a fight if things got to dicey, invisibility, decoys, and other such, but she had never really cared nor had any use for... glamours before.

 

Until now, that is. With how obvious it was that her own natural color reminded the kids of Caliber's more volatile side..

 

With another sigh though, she finally stopped in her tracks and looked around... it was obvious Caliber wasn't in here. Buuuuut... she knew a certain little someone who might be able to help. She'd done a fine job pointing Tallow out afterall

 

"Hey, guys," she began, calling to the kids in the room. Rather than their true crimson, her eyes were now a dull, misty blue thanks to the charm she'd uttered just moments prior... hopefully at least some of them would be a bit more at ease this way "Has anyone seen Poppy- I mean Chip? I wanted to ask her help with something...."

 

It was ironic really, she'd come up with the name poppy afterall, yet for some reason, it still felt a bit better to keep calling her by the other name...weird... force of habit, she guessed.

[Yours Truly]

Feardorcha quickly nodded at Merlin before he quietly said "I will try to make sure that my hat isn't the one being dropped then". Immediately after saying that to Merlin he would cast a deflection spell before he started to scout the area ahead of the group to try and discover any traps that might be lying in wait for them...hopefully not with his feet this time of course.

[Shamitako]

Beza

 

Cheryn was approached by the charcoal-skinned girl. The two had actually had several interactions over the past few days. Beza was considered rather "scary" herself but over time she'd become familiar to the other kids, so she had become Cheryn's liaison. She pointed to a stasis-pod-turned-bed with a tiny occupant, Chip. "She's sleeping. Is it urgent?"

[Sutoratosu]

Cheryn

"Well, I..." cheryn started, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. She continued in a hushed tone, only loud enough for Beza to hear- she'd already lost track of her charge, she doubted any good would come if the other kids knew that Caliber of all people was running about, free to do as she pleased... "I uh...look, Caliber kinda got away, and it will take way too long to find her if I try scouring every inch of this place... I just need chip to point me in a general direction, narrow things down, then she can go right back to sleep."

[Shamitako]

Beza

 

Beza gave Cheryn a concerned look but nodded. "I'll ask her." she said, "She really doesn't like you. Not that she likes me either, but she'll at least talk to me." Beza went over and gently woke Chip. Chip pouted and sucked on her thumb while Beza asked for her help. Chip looked over at Cheryn and scowled, but she pointed for Beza anyways. She then rolled over and went back to sleep. "Seems like Caliber headed over to the magic sector." she whispered, "Let's hurry up and catch her before she causes any trouble."

[Chevaleresse]

Ice

 

The girl more or less stared straight forward for a few moments, glancing to the side at Wendigo's appearance briefly before returning to her intense study of nothing in particular. After another moment or so, she spoke up again. "What can I do right now? I want to avoid further injury." She would have to be careful when practicing her magic not to let her emotions grab hold of her. Accidentally triggering her own Spark hadn't happened to her since her first few weeks of magical training, but she hadn't been under this amount of duress. . . ever. And there was the issue of Charity. The woman, if she knew what was healthy for her, would be best off not coming within a hundred feet of her. "Would moving about via wheelchair be feasible?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Anemone 

 

Anemone noted Genie's response. She didn't really answer her question so she probably hit it exactly on the head. The girl seemed completely dumbfounded and it was clear she was searching for an out. "Hmmm, made it awkward. That's a new one. l'm usually not the one that causes that. So, that's a new one." she thought to herself as she made her mental note of Genie's reaction. 

 

Luckily for Genie, Wendigo had just shown up shifting the conversation somewhere else. "Damn, lucky, l had complete control over you for a moment. Had ya against the ropes could've gotten whatever l wanted. Oh well~" Anemone mused as she waited for the new arrival to speak.

"Wendy, you look fabulous in that~. l see l've still got my knack for fashion then." Anemone said proud of herself. She made a point to help the kids out with that when they had gotten home. She figured it help them feel more at home to have helped them with their clothing choices and get the clothes of their own. Her ponytail wagged back in forth as she lost herself in thought for a moment proud of the girl in front of her. "OH! You wanted me to help with something. Ye, l can do that! Not like l've got anything to do today, arm falli... hmmm." she said picking up her injured arm with her other and waving it around a little before remembering it was Wendy she was talking to. "Okay... maybe l am the awkward one..." she thought to herself. "Anyway... me being an idiot asiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide... Ye. No problem Wendy. l can help ya out no trouble."

 

She then quickly looked over to lce. "And you stay out of trouble. l'm not supposed to be babysitting you too." and then she walked over to Wendy and bowed. She outreached her hand towards her. "You may now whisk me away fair maiden.~ l shall assist you to the best of my abilities." she waited for Wendigo to take her hand and lead her out of the room.

[Shamitako]

Wendy

 

Wendigo seemed largely unperturbed by Anemone's fooling around. She did take anemone's hand, but only because she wasn't sure Anemone would actually come if she didn't. She led Anemone to her room, she'd asked to have one of the manager's rooms and no one had seen any reason to object. The room was surprisingly bare considering its previous inhabitant was one of the most important people in the facility. There were several desks and bookshelves about, but nothing seemed to exist without purpose. The bed was larger and looked more comfortable than those in the barracks, but it was still just a simple bed with dull blue blankets. Or at least that was how it was supposed to be. The covers were upturned slightly on the right side and Anemone could see a strange fleshy mass crept over the edge of the bed and stretched to the floor. "Can you see anything there?" Wendy asked, "I've already confirmed that it's not just in my head, but it may still be an illusion of some kind."

 

Genie

 

"Oh no, you're staying put." Genie said firmly, "I don't want you to move an inch. Your bones should have set, but I don't want to risk it. Just moving you into a wheelchair could cause a whole host of problems, at worst I might have to completely remove one or both of your legs. And don't even think about using magic. I got a rundown on your Spark from Merlin, I don't want you to risk a misfire, no matter how unlikely." Genie may have seemed rather harsh, but it was also clear that she was concerned about her patient's health. unfortunately, it looked like Ice was still bedridden. She'd been mostly out for the past few days, so she had a ton of energy and nowhere to put it. Genie realized this, and so she attempted to offer a consolation of sorts. "I've still got  few more checkups scheduled for today. I need to check that nobody is exhibiting any side-effects from sleeping normally, particularly those who had magic knowledge installed in them. If you're not too tired, I could use some help with that. Mostly you'd just be talking to them and asking questions. But it's probably better than laying there doing nothing. And you'll get a chance to know them better."

 

(OOC: Merpost later if I have the energy)

[Chevaleresse]

Ice

 

The short woman's eyelids lowered just barely enough to be noticeable; she was disappointed. It's as if she read my mind. Strange. Most people had a difficult time reading her, and frankly she preferred it that way. But, she supposed this sort of confinement would have produced similar emotions in anyone. "I am not tired. I can help." Working with children. . . it was going to be odd. Ice didn't spend much time around them; what little she did was usually composed of them hiding away behind their parents legs, unsure of how to deal with her seemingly emotionless self. These ones, though, they weren't exactly a typical situation. 

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Anemone

 

"Oh l can definitely see it Wendy. But... it's definitely not an illusion of some kind." Anemone's other hand was still in Wendy's so she couldn't put a hand to her chin to strike that signature thinking pose but she looked deep in thought. Her ponytail swung back and forth rythmically much like a metronome as she puzzled over it. She had to read out what her truesight was telling her. "lt's definitely magic but it's not an illusion. A golem of some sort? Weird, but it seems to be made of organic matter. l don't recall that being possible."

 

She stared closer realizing truly what it was. "Wait, this is... Wendy. You summoned this? But it's not just any generic magic. lt's your spark. lt has a trace of magic to it l've never seen before, so that's the only explanation."

[Sutoratosu]

Cheryn

Cheryn only nodded, dropping the charm and letting her eyes return to normal. She didn't bother pondering too much over Chip's disdain for her; more pressing things to worry about, like uh... just how much flak she would get if Caliber caused too much trouble while she was supposed to be under her watch. Thank god merlin was away leading a few of the others on a raid, cause... 

 

"Alright, lets go." She told Beza before turning and heading towards the magic sector.

[Twinwolf]

Forge

 

Forge sticks near Sense, in the center. As they walk, she drops a few metallic balls. Two roll on ahead, sensing around for anything of suspicion. Another goes behind them, checking for any attacks from the rear. She has two more roll beside them for the moment, to split off if there's a divergence in the path.

[Shamitako]

Merlin

 

It didn't take long to find a split in the corridor, in fact that seemed to be everywhere. It seemed this place being a maze was no joke. Eventually the hall stopped going straight and they were forced to turn. The turn immediately led into a dead end. Strangely, Forge's scouting ball thing was nowhere to be found, despite having just gone around the corner a moment before. "Forge, where's your scout?" Merlin asked. Her voice was still relatively cheery despite the obvious concern creeping into it.

 

Tallow

 

Tallow was glad to be inside. The light in Wrath was even more uncomfortable than it had been in Sloth. He felt far more comfortable indoors, even with this eerie red lighting. To help mitigate said eerie lighting, he spawned a wisp in his palm that was made of comforting pure white light. He was more than a little frightened to be doing this but he had been the one who asked to come along so he pushed through. He didn't know why he felt so strongly about fighting these people. Whenever he thought about fighting before he felt scared. But now he felt a different emotion that he couldn't place, it felt like a burning in his stomach. 

 

Fedora

 

Feardorcha was already much deeper in the facility than the main group. He hadn't run into any opposition yet. He was currently at a T-shaped junction. To his left the hall went on straight for some time and to his right it turned forwards again immediately. As well on the left there seemed to be a blue glow mixed into the red emanating from around the corner.

[Twinwolf]

Forge

 

Forge concentrates for a bit, finding the specific one that had gone that route. Huh... "It went this way, definitely. But... it feels like it's still going. It hasn't run into anything yet."

[Strider]

"Went through a wall or something? Maybe an illusion? Not teleported somewhere, cause you'd notice that, right? And there's probably people out there who can interfere with telepathy, but unlikely?" Sense stood in front of the wall. He didn't touch it, but he inspected it closely, trying to see whether there was anything odd about it.