what's that eerie quiet feeling OTA

[dr_riley]

WHO: Drake et al
WHERE: Temba
WHAT: Storm ghosts
WHEN: The Storm
WARNINGS: none as yet




Drake has never particularly liked storms. Of course, he's used to crashing thunder and concerning torrents of rain, and this.......this isn't that. With the heavy blanket of fog and eerie muffling of sounds, this is a little too they're coming to get you, Barbara. It had seemed to happen so fast, too, crowding him, gathering in thick, stifling banks without his notice. It was cold. It was quiet. It was horrible.

I will make you feel alone.

NOPE, no, that was...that was a nightmare, and it's over, it's fine, he's fine, everything is fine. Everything is...

There was a glimpse of color. What was that? Movement? Should he call out? His primitive monkey brain was urging him not to, fog bad, fog hide, danger danger danger

There it was again. Bright teal. Unmistakable. Out of place. There was a horrified suspicion simmering at the back of his mind, trying to bubble to the surface, but it was too awful to allow any consideration - until...

"...'Drea?"

It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible, it was too cruel, but the fog curled away from her enough to see

her red hair, styled in graceful waves and pinned in a victory curl
the turquoise shirt dress that cost a bit much but looked amazing
dat ass

How did she get here? Why hadn't she reached out on the network? Was she okay, was she in shock, where was she going?

"'Drea!" The fog swallowed her up again. "Andrea, wait! Andrea!"

Given his work and his many close calls, Drake should have been deeply suspicious, but any alarms that might have been going off in his head were tinny and staticky like an old radio with a bad signal. He didn't even notice when the thin tendrils of the Storm reached in and quietly switched it off.

Comments

[tsundullahan]

She'd seen fog before, but it was never like this, even if for all purposes, it looked like any other fog. But there was something more to it, or perhaps it was the stillness that accompanied it, at odds with the rumble of thunder overhead that promised no rain.

What's going on? Celty wondered. It made her feel strange, as though she were surrounded by some kind of insulation. The world around her seemed muted to her, and it put her at unease. Even Shooter was not feeling himself, and so she was perhaps a strange sight to see, mostly walking her motorcycle about.

Hearing someone made her almost jump, so abrupt a sound that came out of the nothingness. It had to be close. Ugh, was it the fog or just her own senses that were dimmed that made it so much harder to see? Come on, Shooter, she thought, patting her motorcycle before she slipped onto it. It made no sound but rolled forward all the same, a tame pace by far compared to what it was usually capable of.

[dr_riley]

Where did she go, where did she go?

There.

But every time Drake thought he got close, she would vanish again, just out of sight, just out of earshot, just out of reach. This went on, losing her just long enough to get turned around, but not quite long enough to realize it. A glimpse, and he kept following, because of course he would.

It went on long enough that once he did realize it, he found himself deep in the forest, away from any of the lights and sounds of the city. And he only realized it because the phantom had served its purpose and abandoned him.

"...oh. Oh no." He turned in a circle, breaking into a cold sweat as he finally began to suspect a trick. "No no no no. Andrea? Are you- are..."

He was interrupted by the sharp snap of a twig and belatedly realized he did not have his sidearm.

[tsundullahan]

It was harder navigating through woods on a motorcycle. There were no real open spaces, no smooth terrain for a street cycle, even if Celty's was sturdier than those slim sports cycles. Perhaps just as well that they moved at a slower pace, although even traveling through woods prompted some sense of nostalgia.

Ah, she thought. Maybe I used to ride through woods like these before. Memories that were no longer with her, separated now by worlds.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard that voice again, somewhere ahead. Her vision was not as good as it usually was, and her motorcycle had no headlights, not that it made much difference since she didn't need them.

There! she urged her motorcycle forward. She couldn't call out to the man, but he sounded like he was in trouble.

[dr_riley]

There was a tense, quiet moment during which Drake watched the darkness where the snap had come from with wide, unblinking eyes. He took a slow step backward, reaching for his field tablet to use as a shield.

But it was a lucky thing it was still Velcro'd to the back of his tac vest, because something huge and heavy came crashing from the woods behind him, striking a blow that knocked him down before he could even gasp in surprise.

In that moment, he felt both strangely betrayed and yet wished the phantom hadn't left. But that was that. A crushing paw on his back and his face smushed into the damp earth were the last things he'd get to feel. Bloody hell.

[tsundullahan]

What is that?!

Apparently being in the woods didn't register the possibility that there were big things living in them. Celty thrust out her hand, only to belatedly remember that her shadows weren't working as she'd like them to. She had no weapon, except for maybe.

Shooter, go! she thought, and she could feel her mount push itself forward. It wasn't as fast as it could go, but it was still a sizable thing, and in nearing Drake's attacker Celty brought her vehicle into a wheelie to strike the creature with its front tire.

[dr_riley]

He couldn't breathe. But maybe that was for the best. Suffocate first. Drown. It wouldn't hurt after that. But God, it was scary when his vision began to darken around the edges.

The Ka-Rou let out a screech of surprise and stretched its great head around, pushing down harder on its prey as it twisted. Drake felt something snap and sear in him and his fingers curled in the dirt.

But then the weight lifted. There were sounds he couldn't identify and when he tried to lift himself, the pain in his chest stabbed at him and he dipped his forehead against the ground with a grimace. What he couldn't see was the beast reevaluating its situation and retreating into the forest to find prey that didn't have backup.

[tsundullahan]

For a moment shadowy hooves beat at the beast, an echoing, otherworldly neigh piercing the area. And then the Ka-Rou was gone, and the wheels of the motorcycle landing in the soft dirt with a smug whicker.

Celty leaped from her bike and hurried over to Drake's side. She couldn't speak to him, but she could at least try to see just how badly injured he was. Gloved hands tried to gently support him as he moved, or whenever he was ready to try to sit up again. She was stronger than she looked, at least, even if her senses were being weird.

[dr_riley]

He was dying, right? Was that a horse?

From the outside, he doesn't look injured, but his pale, pinched face and his forehead slick with sweat tell a different story. When Celty moves to help him, he doesn't question it for a moment.

"Thank- thktch-"

He grabs onto her shoulder and digs in harder than he'd have meant to when a coughing fit takes him. Most concerning might be the little dribble of blood from the puncture in his lung caused by a broken rib.

[tsundullahan]

Given what dullahans usually symbolized, it was probably better off for Drake not to know who his savior was.

Celty flinched at his grip, but she remained where she was otherwise, holding him steady. Her helmet shook from side to side, a silent suggestion that he not try to speak. She needed to get him back to the city. Ah, if only she could use her shadows! Whatever was going on, she did not like it at all.

Slowly she shifted an arm under one of his once he wasn't overtaken by coughs, hoping he would understand her intent as she nodded towards her motorcycle. Can you walk? Shooter, come closer, she thought, knowing Drake couldn't hear her words, but at least her mount would know what to do.