Time: 4:28 PM
Weather: Raining
Location: Materion Square
PC: Threads
Other PCs: Lazarus
"I guess it's about time for me to go back," he remarked to no one in particular. Whiling his time away along 7 Tranquille Drive didn't make it any easier on anyone, and he suspected that the raven that had warned him off going back for a while was probably gone.
Besides, he was starting to see lightning in the distance, and he didn't want to see if that could strike him or not.
He'd been trying to be more considerate of others largely because he realized that even while he was aware that the parallel people were as alive as he was, it was hard to reconcile yourself with people who you couldn't talk to, touch, or be seen by. It was ironic that his first conversation in a while had been with a bird.
Perhaps-
"SOMEBODY SAVE MEEEEEEE!!"
"Wha-"
He turned in time to see a bizarre-looking creature almost bowl him over. His first instinct, to run, was quickly supplanted by a second: the strange creature was tangible.
Perhaps he had been spending too long away from people after all, that the first two things he should talk to in a whole week would have been a bird, and... whatever this was.
Stumbling several steps back before pushing the strange creature off of him, it immediately became apparent that it had been this which had issued the cry for help. Dressed in suspiciously prison-like garb, the bear-headed being seemed as disoriented for the moment as he was, which gave him just enough time to wonder if he should run before deciding against it.
"Who... or what are you?"
The bear, however, seemed too disoriented to have heard his question.
"Owowow...! Aa - AH! I'm sorry!"
Despite his suspicions, he found himself slightly concerned for it. It certainly seemed more out-of-place and panicked than he was, which put him in mind of how it had begun for him so long ago now.
"... It's fine. Are you alright?" He inclined his head a little, indicating that his question was directed toward the whole ensemble and not just the creature's current disposition. Was it running from the rain? The lightning?
The creature seemed to mirror his movement, tilting its head as well as though trying to assess the situation. "Eh? I'm fine..." Then, looking like it had properly gotten its bearings, the creature spoke again, albeit still hesitantly, "Are you a Crosser? If you are..."
Unexpectedly, the being leaps forward at him again, its arms latching around his abdomen. "Please bond with me! Pleeeaase - !"
Crosser? Again with the strange words. It was twice now that others had thrown these weird names around him. Did they have some neo-reality lexicon he was unaware of?
Despite his internal questions, he was finding it increasingly difficult to ignore the desperate advances of the bear suddenly attached to his waist. He attempted to nudge the bear's head, gently at first, then progressing to firmer pushing and then half-serious elbowing.
"Hey, hey, seriously. I... don't... think... this is the... best... time," he said between efforts to shove it off, shouting above the rain pouring around them and the shadows which seemed to be appearing at the edges of his vision...
What?
"Hey, I'm serious," his voice took on a more serious tone as his eyes quickly picked out the outlines of several shadows even through the thick haze of rain. How had he not noticed them before? "It looks like you've got some of those monsters chasing after you."
The bear-thing didn't seem to be in any hurry to let him go, although it did look up at him in response. "B-but... but...! I need to make a bond to get rid of those Blights..!"
Blights? Was that what they were calling these monsters? Another pause; the creatures seemed like they were moving closer now, and now he realized they were moving at a faster speed than he was accustomed to. He was about to say something else when he realized that the bear's grip was weakening.
"Unless..." a hint of confusion crept into its voice, "you're also a Stray?"
"Look, I don't care about Strays, and I don't know how a bond is going to solve anything, covalent or otherwise, but--"
Fully aware of the fact that they were running out of time, he took advantage of the sudden loosening of arms to break free of the creature's hold. Instinctively he grabbed it by the arm to prevent it from falling to the ground, and quickly pulled it to its feet in an awkward stumble before breaking into a run.
"There's a time and place to discuss this, and it's not now!"
He had only one thought in his mind: to get to Fukami Mansion, a place he knew and wasn't their territory. Even as they ran, he saw three or four of the shadows seem to break away from the others in an all-out chase. His hand was locked in a death-grip around the smaller bear-thing's wrist, literally dragging the slower runner along with him. Now they were along Lagann Street, and he couldn't see the other end through the poor visibility of the rain...
Damn.
All of a sudden, he heard a crackling reminiscent of the lightning he'd heard, and a sudden light flashed out from behind him. Once. Twice. Against his better judgement he turned, in time to see sparks arcing from the frame of the bear behind him, its arm outstretched in the direction of the shadows, where only one of the three which were catching up now remained.
Another sharp crackling issued from the bear, a flash of electricity seeming to arc through the rain, illuminating the street behind them for a short period before the last monster evaporated in a cloud of smoke. Despite himself, he was impressed.
"That lightning from just now... was you?"
The creature seemed to be too focused on the shadows to hear him. "Nnnn... they just keep coming - !"
And it was right: the few ones it had taken out were soon replaced by others, undeterred by the demise of their brethren.
"What are you, some kind of extra-tasty monster snack? Why are there so many after you?"
The veneer of calm he'd attempted to maintain now betrayed a little bit of desperation as they continued to run, but he was well aware that the short respite its attacks afforded was ineffective, not to mention unsustainable, if it was anything like him. They wouldn't reach Fukami Mansion in time, unless...
"Here goes..." He concentrated for a moment, feeling the pattern he'd built into himself seethe with his Ether as he pinpointed the blueprint he wanted. As he did, the gloves he wore began to glow with strange symbols and patterns.
"Ugh... Don't attack them anymore while we can get away; I think you might agitate the others." His tone was less desperate now that they'd put some distance between them and their pursuers, but he was fully aware that he'd spent more of his Ether and used a blueprint he only had one more of.
"Okay... I think you're right." The bear-thing looked back at the shadows, but now seemed more interested in what he'd done. "... Was that your Enomena?"
"E... eno... what?" Now that the adrenaline was gone, he was beginning to feel a little wearier. "Ugh, just... no more questions until I can be sure we're safe."
And just as that moment, the gates of Fukami Mansion came into view. No bird, no entourage of happy people. Which was about right.
"Whew." His footsteps slowed, the weight returning to his body as his spell ended over the both of them. Letting go of the bear at last, he found his hand suddenly extremely sore, and realized how tight he'd been clenching its wrist the entire time. More importantly, though, it was something surprisingly refreshing: he hadn't actually come into proper contact with another living being since that time.
The bear, for its part, seemed less weary than on edge. "Where... are we? There aren't any Blights here, are there?" Its gaze, or at least where its glassy eyes seemed to be gazing, took in the decrepit and shadowy interior of the building, not least the gaping holes, broken windows, and leaking ceilings of the place he had come to call home.
Feeling somewhat self-conscious in the relief of the moment, he rose to defend the place. "It's... fine. I've been protecting this place a while. It's safe." His words were a timely reminder to himself of the last thing he had to do. "Oh, right. I still have to cover our tracks, though."
He stood as close to the bear as was possible without feeling significantly uncomfortable next to a bear in what appeared to be prisoner-garb, he recognized now. "I'm going to need you to refrain from using any Ether while I do this."
Using the sympathy of Solace was unpredictable, and he didn't want to end up spending any more Ether than he needed in what was almost certainly the longest day he'd had in a while. There was a long pause before the bear realized that he actually required a response.
"Oh... okay." It looked rather nervous for an expressionless bear, but it seemed to be making an actual effort to not move. At all.
"That works." Satisfied, he took the scarf in his hands, trying not to think about her as he did so. A light shimmer seemed to emerge from his frame, cleansing the area about him of the ambient Ether. As it crossed the threshold about the bear, the creature seemed to flinch a little as he attempted to include it into his own pattern recognition.
A slight pause, and then the shimmer washed over it, leaving them in an environment that felt... clean. Sterile.
"Okay. It should be fine now."
The bear seemed not to respond for a moment, then tilted its head again questioningly. "So... we're safe now?"
Safe. It was such a subjective term that he found himself even now beginning to reevaluate his position. He'd wanted to be more considerate of others' feelings, begin to treat people as people, but this? There was a fine line between compassion and gullibility, and he didn't know if he'd crossed that line a long time ago.
"From the monsters? For now." Now he took a step back. "But how safe am I from you?"
The creature makes as confused a gesture as it can manage with its bear head. "I'm dangerous..?"
Despite their ordeal a moment ago, he couldn't allow himself to let his guard down.
"... You tell me. I'll ask you again. Who or what are you?"