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Summary: A group arrives at a rave in Brooklyn to find an unholy reception waiting, the Cult of Kalumai rears it's ugly head.
Date: June 17, 2010
Log Title Demon Rave
Rating: PG-13
NYC - Abandoned Warehouse
It's a bit warehouse! There are lots of boxes and crates scattered around. However, most of it is dusty and appears to be untouched for ages, though the floors seem to be clean in spots.
The transit took them to the bridge, across and soon into Brooklyn. A few quiet blocks and they would find the vacant looking location the flyer designated, the building specified looked empty, dead the dark hours made it that much creepier. Nothing to it in the least aside from two other teenagers looking at it holding the same pink and yellow flyer they were, "This is the place?" Asked the girl to the guy who nods," Yeah, doesn't seem like anything is going on." A door on the side of the building was slowly opening, stepping from shadow a squat man pushed his head out, one eye blinks then slowly opens to reveal a smiling face, "Hey here! Raves enter here!"One large hand lifted up and waved that same paper at them. Those two before them walked over to the door, stood before it and showed off their wrists, the man inspected them, one then the other and waved them in, from inside fog and music could be heard.
"You four here for the rave as well?" The man at the door would ask.
Star is eager to get off the transit and on into this rave. She'll even lead the way, unless someone else steps in front of her. Pausing for a moment before approaching the door to fluff her hair and shake it out around her shoulders in a cascade of milk chocolate, she marches right up to the guy manning the door and holds out her left arm to have the bracelet inspected, "I am." She looks up at him and flashes a bright, confidant smile, showing no sign of the moody girl she was at the mall, "So, you going to let me in, or what?" The others are ignored for the moment. Either they'll go with her or they'll chicken out and go back home one. She, for one, needs a distraction and this seems to be just what the doctor ordered!
July is more of the opinion that the doctor that prescribed this needs to have his license revoked, but she keeps herself quiet for now, following the group to the abandoned warehouse, ever now and then frowning as she sees this and that she doesn't like, like young people smoking things that don't really look like common cigarettes, and she thinks that her idea of following Star was a good one. She'd hate to have her friend's sister to get in trouble. She silently offers her arm, wearing the bracelet, if asked to show it.
Laura wasn't far behind Star, her attention shifting between where they were going and the group she was with. It hadn't been exactly what Laura had been planning for herself for the evening, but it worked. As they reached the warehouse, she stuck out her arm, sliding the long sleeve of her hoody up to show off her own bracelet. A glance spared for July, her unease was easy enough to see, and she tried offering what was meant to be a comforting smile, but probably looked more like a grimace. "I'm sure it will be fine." she murmurs in a low undertone.
"Ooo pretty girls pretty bracelets. In in." Chortled the bulky hunched over form upon closer inspection the guy at the door had a large pacifier in his mouth that he was speaking around,and after observing their arms for bracelets the man's hand waved as the door opened up, having moved aside no longer hugging the door now he was visible adorning him was several loops of glowing necklaces and bracelets lit up and off set by the darkness inside, once inside there was a long hallway black on each side curtained from view bright light could be seen at the end of the tunnel, fog filtering from it along with hyperspeed hardcore raver music. Along the walls in what bits of flashing light was cast down the hallway graffitti of all sorts was visible, very uniquely stylized.
Jakob showed off the armband and moved in with the girls. "Don't worry theres lots of candy inside!" The guy laughed as they passed, Jakob gave him a questioning look then said quickly, " Thanks." his sweater coming off as they moved down the hall being wrapped about his waist and tied, underneath was a tanktop that displayed the young man was in excellent physical conditioning. Toned and built like a boxer. At the end of the hall the world would suddenly be engulfed in music and lights, the warehouse inside seemed far larger than it looked outside, from wall to wall were bodies crammed together in artificial fog. Laser lights shot in all directions as blacklighting created patches, their teeth, whites of their eyes, anything bright worn was amplified in color while darks would vanish all together. Bodies moving in one undulating dancing wave.
Star almost bounces, seeming younger than her years for a moment, and slips off down the hall toward the sound of music and the wave of emotion that washes over her. The mindless euphoria that greets her causes her pause for a moment and she closes her eyes just shy of stepping into the masses and becoming one with the undulating mob. It's been too long since she just let herself not think and just feel, to not worry about the twin that she last saw at the beginning of the year.
It's bliss.
With a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, she steps forward and allows herself to be enfolded in the same euphoria that everyone else is feeling, her petite form swaying along with everyone else to the sound of the music that pounds at her ears.
July smiles lightly to Laura, almost a grimace as well, "Thanks. But both of us know it's unlikely. This 'party' doesn't look legal at all. We better keep our eyes open." Thank goodness for enhanced hearing, so her whisper can only be heard by the clawed mutant with said powers. July looks around as she follows Star and Jakob, looking around to see if she notices anything outrageous to warrant action.
Giving the doorman a long stare, finding the pacifier rather absurd, she moved through the door. Laura only lifted up a shoulder, shrugging in response to July's words. As she moved down the hallway with the small group, She was at ease in the dark, seeing at almost perfect clarity. The music grew progressively louder, the further in they went, and Laura had to really concentrate on not covering ehr ears. The already defeaning music, seeming doubly bad for her exremely senstive ears. She narrows her eyes as the flashing neons, and blacklights reach her, long eyelashes feathering down down over her vision to ease the glare. Her somewhat shielded gaze, flickering to Jakob as he removes his sweater, and then to each of the other girls in turn. "It's loud.." she half mouths, half shouts, a frown tugging down at the corners of her mouth.
The music, trance obviously and extremely upbeat seemed to be spoken in another language, dark, deep, yet oddly in tune with what was playing. Almost in wild abandon the crowd surged around them, people were flipping their hair about, arms flailed, bodies jumped and moved, people were holding eachother aloft, it seemed almost as though they were in pure ecstacy, caught up in the dance. The DJ was a large form, a robe worn and a stylized mask that had curling horns, bright paint causing its scary appearance to look sort of well, cool. Off setting it, dancing on the stage were attractive young women, their ages hard to pinpoint as they thrashed about in wicked quick movements.
All around the warehouse were lit up bright torches, each of them hosting fire that was of a different color. Here and there men and women walked about holding large bowls, full of different colored 'candy' obviously if anyone knew anything about drugs… well, that was the obvious. On closer inspection that same graffiti that existed in the hallways, was also here, scrawled across the walls in bright glowing sigils and glyphs. Something about this place was infectious, the crowd craze, the mixed emotions and excitement, the atmosphere itself was alive almost tangible. Like animals set lose indoors to insane music.
Jakob felt it, his entire composure was rigid, his hearing was always on the notch of enhanced and he caught July's remark deciding she was the obvious stick in the mud, glancing over his shoulder at her and Laura "Liven up a little we can be 24/7 students!", the only one here who seemed to want to cut loose was Star, his hand came up towards the center of her back and he nudges playfully towards the dancing bodies, shouting, " Come on, lets go have some fun!" One hand waving Laura and July on after him. The night had just begun and anyone with enhanced senses was even more assailed by the bombard ment of unnatural 'energy and thrill'.
The little nudge isn't needed isn't needed, but it does get a glance back over Star's shoulder at Jakob and the other two girls, "Hells bells, I'm not a student right now: It's summer!" As far as she's concerned, that 'team' she was assigned to can go rot. She's not like the other students at the mansion, after all; she's perfectly normal except for having a twin brother that's a mutant and a magnet for trouble. She spins a couple of times, traveling farther into the crowd.
July mutters something unintelligible under her breath, before speaking a bit louder, "This is *not* my student side speaking." she says softly but doesn't make any accusations. She just shakes her head, and stands apart from the big dancing group. She would rather keep an eye out on Star.
As she moves a little further in, Laura still remains on the outskirts of the dancing and swaying masses. The rapid, near frantic rhythm of the music pounding rthlessly inside her head, and as it reverberates in her body it seems as if her would pulse quickens to try and match the frantic beat. Laura could feel the infectious atmosphere, and did the only thing she knew how to - fight against it. But her body already began disobeying, growing more antsy and fidgety with each moment passed. It had the petite half-feral girl pacing in a small patch of empty space on the outer ring of the chaos. She watches Jakob and Star surge forward into the crowd with tight eyes, flickering a glance over towards July and shrugging again. Not a dancer, by any stretch of the imagination, the overwhelming urg to want join in with the alomost ritualistic jearking movements that seemed to be preferred by most of the crowd, had Laura on edge. Aside from her pacing she tried to keep the rest of herself still, doing her best to not let the contagious, unnatural energy take a hold on her.
Smiling as he moved in, cutting loose as any youth had to time to time. Dancing in a crowd of others with his arms thrown around, feet moving, occasionaly spin or pop being given. Amazingly Jakob was one hell of a dancer, a perk that came with his mutant abilities. He was moving infront of Star, lights cascading down on the rave mob, shouting loudly, " Whats with that chick? To think Caleb told me I was uptight." This would be drowned out beyond them, Laura would be able to hear it, she was probably hearing near everything here right now. The yells, the shouts, maybe even a scream beyond the massive crowd. Jakob felt that strange adrenaline rush, that burst of energy and life through him but chalks it up to the enviroment and that weird swing of mood that is lashing out randomly (which in fact is not Star's pheremones this time but outside influence).
With Jakob being the only one of her new found friends, or at least companions for this party, to come with her out into the midst of the seething, swaying mob, Star has forgotten about both July and Laura for the moment. She grins to find that this guy she just met, this admittedly very hot guy she just met, is a good dancer and moves and sways to the beat with him. Her movements may not be quite as coordinated as his, but she's obviously having fun. The petite girl is doubly influenced by the environment around her, both from her unknown empathy and whatever influence is in the air. The girl closes her eyes and just gives in, surrendering herself to a world of sensation and forgetfulness.
A few days had been spent observing life outside of what she had come to know. Watching everything was like dowloading a program to a computer, and once the hahrdware was in it was known, but it did not save her from ignorance of people in the slightest. At some point today though she had been approached and handed a bracelet that fit over pale wrist and cast off a glow. That alone was enough to make her smile and turn it in place as she came to the door of the place and stepped within.
Walking down the dark hall Renate did stop, despite the bass line driving her feet she was sweeping pale fingers almost adoringly over the glyphs. Platform soled feet altered her height taking her 2 inches over six feet, buckles and belts holding the leather to bind to mid calf, from there she stole what would "match" the purple bracelet, black nylons underlaying purple fishnets, holes strcuk through viciously.
This look was copied from another seen in the park, just with her own flare. It was a party right? Dress up - the swathing of stockings finished beneath the hem of a black vinyl dress that laced like corsetry up the back and bound around her waist in strikes of puple through the ichor. White hair was left free falling around her face and down to mid back. Admiration stopped as curiousity drove her deeper to the ebb and flow of bodies and there she stood, flicking deep blue gaze from the stage to the floor. Somethng wasn't right..Wait were those lyrics German?
July is starting to get entranced by the beat, much to her own chagrin, but, before the spell can fully entrap her, July's cellphone rings. She picks it up, and reads the message. That brings a frown to her and a light curse is spat at the timing of the message. She closes her phone, her mood long gone now as she grumbles. She approaches Laura and whispers, "Please, take care of Star. Make sure she returns safe to the school. I unfortunately got to go. One of my teammates at college botched our lab reports and I gotta go remake them." She says to Laura, nodding to her, "Sorry for dumping this on you. Gotta go now." and then the girl leaves the place, while making a mental note of the place and address to check it up later.
Checking up on it later would be pointless as it constantly moves location, July would also wander around for sometime lost inside of tunnelways and odd passages that seemed only to lead to empty spaces or more patches of dancing ravers until she removes the bracelet, then she will end up back out infront of the warehouse.
Laura fixed Jakob with a narrow-eyed overbright, emerald glare, and she would continue to glare until he looked over her way again, just to make sure he knew that she'd heard him. She pushed the wild mess of ebon hair from her face. Her cheeks were flushed, a dark crimson, to say that she was hearing everything, was a gross understatement. She also smelled and saw everything - that was in ehr line of vision, of course. Laura's nostrils flared out the sensory overload was near maddening, and it was taking all her control to not run screaming for the door. But she was supposed to be trying to "adjust" to acting like a normal.. well mutant. She stopped her pacing, planted her combat boot clad feet into the ground and standing stock still. Her chin tilted up an inch as she closed her eyes, and just took in the scents and sounds. the most pungant of scents being the sweating mass of people, undulating and swaying to the rapid beats, but under that, and all the usual scents that went along with parties such
There were several scents that didn't belong. The first that Laura was able to dredge up out of the chaos was blood. The distinct coppery smell making her nose wrinkle up. Searching green eyes open wide, as she scans the crowd. Not that she could see through the uddles and swaying masses, but it didnt stop her from trying. Both hands were balled into tight fists at her sides, her adamantium claws, just barely breaking through the skin of her knuckles as she flexed and released her fists. She inhales again, deep as before and another wave of infectious euphoria moves in. Her body sways for a moment, finding the beat. A growl uner her breath had her body stopping and obeying her once more. A strange chemical tang dusted the air. Next to the smell of sweat it was the next most pungant. She scowled at nothing in particular as she moved forward a little further, her eyes searching for Star, Jakob and July.
Laura didn't have to find July, as it turned out. July found her. Her brow creased, as the frown returned to her face, but she nodded at July's words. "I don't like this place.." she half screamed, "But I'll keep her safe." She lifted up one hand, the neons glinting off the little bit of blade that was showing between her knuckle as Laura waved and watched July disppear into the crowd, towards the exit.
Like some giant E-bomb in close proximity of Star, Jakob was lost. So were those near them in a growing number, Star's pheremone powers were amplified and amplifying the mysterious effects going on in this rave. Whatever was occurring had people acting absolutely wild, almost animal like in their abandon. Upon closer look, some of these people appeared sickly, skin odd colored, gaunt, sweat pouring from their glands, a person would topple and a robed form in black almost unseen scurries through the bodies to grab the fallen indvidual. These mask wearing beings would vanish back into the darkness hidden from the lights. Anyone under the influence of the released chemicals in the air would overlook this though, appearing oblivious to anything beyond their own enjoyment and pleasure. July had exited, several of those black robed forms would follow her for several minutes until she removed the bracelet and was 'ejected' from the rave, those masses of faces would continue to move and jerk, dancing and crowding. Jakob in his mindless caught up state was moving with and against Star, the change she was causing did not go un-noticed, even the horned DJ pointed at her and the music got louder. Those fires, in their rainbow coloring around the room would spark up with the music upbeat, the potency of the pheremones, aided by chemicals and one could even say magic picked up beat. Something, was definitely not right.
The salesperson at the store was rather helpful, she went back and stole what was recommended later, but she was trying to adjust outside of a jumpsuit and this had her shifting from one foot to the other, tugging at the hem of the dress but slowly her sense of care was dwindling and watching the others dance as well as those on stage was another study that had her eyes trained and locked. Everyone's doing it. If Renate knew how cliche that was she would have wrinkled her nose in disdain, but all she knew was that it looked fun.
Someone offering a bowl of candy paused in front of her and held it out with a beaming smile and dreamy eyes of the lost. "C-can-dee?" Her thick accent rolled forth and the one holding the bowl nodded and pulled out a piece, a pill, nd swallowed it down. Renate reached in and grabbed a few, shoving them into her mouth and chewing, watching the person leave as her eyes began to water and her tongue stuck out with the chewed remnants on it, her hand brushing them off as she spat to the side. "Bumsen sie mich schlechte suSigkeit!" [Fuck me…bad candy!] It tasted horrid and she shuddered it off as best she could.
Pushing through the crowd now she was seeking out the candy dealer with a vengeance, she was intent the person was trying to poison her, but lost in the release in the air, slowly her shoving hunt through the crowd on the dancefloor lead to her stopping, blinking, and shaking her head with hands pressed to her face, fingers interlacing white hair in a spideresque grip. What's this feeling? Somewhere in her mind, training was setting off an alarm - but at the same time chemicals were blanketing it in a haze. The heels of her hands pressed to her eyes at the confliction, smudging the kohl lining around her eyes as Renate chanted. "Make it stop, not right..Make it stop.." Even as her body began to shift to the beat, from one foot to the next, hips taking up the dancer's roll beneath vinyl encasing.
A brilliant smile lights Star's face. The petite empath is lost to the world as much as anyone around her, breathing in the emotions of the swaying people and returning them with her own bliss. She doesn't care, for the moment, that Jakob an others are moving against her, finally kicking off her flip-flops so as to be able to move easier herself and not caring just what filth she might be dancing barefoot in. Her hair is tossed in time with the beat.
She saw the body go from a franctic jerk and sway, to collapsing like an automaton that had just had it's strings cut. The robed figure surged forward, and snatched the unconcscious party goer away. Her lips curl back, exposing a row od ivories as a low snarl bubbles up in the back of her throat. That had been enough for Laura. The Adamantium coated claws surged forward, breaking through sun browned skin of her knuckle with a low *shhkt* sound. A light trickle of blood coming from each where each claw protruded through her skin. In the blinking and surging light, it would almost look like she was holding two glistening knives in each hand.
Her sense flared out, Laura willing them to go further, as she began moving with a preadtory grace through the roiling waves of people, not bumpbing into a single dancer. Finding the most impossible spaces in between, to just narrowly miss being sandwiched ebtween sweating bodies. Screw the guys in robes, was her thought. It was time to find JAkob and Star and get the hell out. Jakob was the easier of the two to spot. Standing tall above most of the crowd, and she weaved her way through to him. "Hey!" she screamed as loud as she was able, hoping he would hear. "Time to go!" she added equally as loud. This whole place had the young mutant on edge, every natural warning her body could give was blaring loud and clear. Green eyes shift down to the dancing Star, and Laura retracts the claws of her right hand to attempt to place t firmly on the girl's shoulder. "Star! We need to head out now."
Caught up and nowhere in the mindframe to cease what he was doing, Jakob continued dancing, his body entirely in motion with the beat, he was assimiliated with that surge of undulation this mob was caught up in, no control over hands or body they were entirely taken in and anyone near him, Laura, Star or one of the faceless masses near was getting full wanted to unwanted attention. Somehow the empath mutant had become a focal point, drawing those around her in a ring, where the emotions and power ran highest. Two of those black clad forms would be weaving through the crowd, both closing in on Laura a hand from each grabbing out at her shoulder, trying to haul her away from those in the center. "Lusa fedr ic!" Came a guttural voice from under horned mask. On each fingertip was an obvious clawtip. Their strength though was about typical to a full grown strong man.
The DJ with the horns was pointing a glowing raver wand at Laura from his vantage a shout of "Cdub ran, cra ec hud yvvaldat!" blasting from him. Signaling more of those black robed masked being take Laura away.
The body that crumpled went unnoticed by Renate, she was too busy pressing frantic fingers over her eyes, eyes that were slowly fluxing in dialation and back to normalcy, making the lighting beat the rhythm of a pulse through her head while the music took over her body. For a moment, when hands fell away her own skin bearing a sweaty sheen began to writhe with the other bodies, hands sweeping up through her snow huen hair and pulling it back from her face in a lock of fingers as her body dipped and swayed, pressed between the masses of others.
There was a moment of bliss, and forgotten trials in that step of platformed soles, but not long lost to it when she rose back up with her back arching in serpentine prose a hand wrapped her hip and jerked her back that her moment of carefree froze. "Don't..no..beruhren sie mich nicht!" Her words snapped out like a lash and her own hand slammed down over the other's and squeezed with a force that would have the tiny bones grating on one another in that person's hand.
Whoever that was, was now drug into a dance unwilling or not in an odd mix of that extacy mangled with a brute force, body on body but a sharp cry was inevitable as bones in the hand were fracturing and a metacarpal became compound, thrusting up above the skin to have him bleeding, the red running over their interlaced hands, but the other's cry more more a pained adoration then the scream she wanted. Not right.. Her eyes darted through the crowd now, landing on the flash of blades and the surrounding cloaks.
Star actually shivers faintly as Laura's hand touches her shoulder and she opens her eyes to turn pure amber eyes on the other girl, shouting back through the beat, "Lighten up! This is a party!" And she's happy for the first time in a long time; she doesn't want to give that up. She tries to pull away so that she's free to move and and sway with the people crowded around her. She's only felt similar to this one other time; when she was at a party with some guy and he talked her into trying something that was being passed around. That left her feeling euphoric for all of about ten minutes before she got sick and demanded to be taken home. This feeling is so much better. This feeling she didn't have to take anything artificial for. It's just the simple joy, or so she thinks, of being surrounded by people of a similar mindset; of being a part of something that seems to be bigger than herself.
Of being at one with every beating heart around her.
She doesn't seem to notice, for the moment, at least, that the cloaked figures even exist. Instead, she turns back to Jakob and the others, a small giddy giggle ringing out when another girl brushes against her back. For some reason, the touch struck her as funny, though she would normally be more protective of her bubble of personal space. For now, she feels as though she's in her element; wrapped in layers of belonging.
A low snarl of frustration at jakob as she was jostled and pushed withon the crowd. Laura's burning gaze shifted away from her new friends of sorts, towards teh DJ and his foriegn shouting. Lips curling back again, she snarled louder. It may have looked almost comical, to see this five foot nothing girl snarling up at a masked figure in the distance, but as she heard the robed figures moving closer, her hand dropped from Star's shoulder and with a flick of some unnatural muscle withing her forearm, her indestructable claws were back out.
Turning in place to face the oncoming… minions.. Laura's arms spread as far outa s she was able to in the confined space, clearly putting herself in front of Star and Jakob. As the first claws tipped hand reached out towards her, Laura's surged up in a tight, but perfectly controled arc. Adamantium flashing to near blinding brillance in the neon lights about as she lunged forward into her strike, fully intending on taking the creatures arm right off, and possible keeping it as a trophy later… if they got out of here alive, anyway.
"Back off!! All we wonna do is leave!" She snarls, her tone climbing up to near defeaning shrillness - had it been any other situation it would have been unbearable to even ehr own ears - as she tries to force herself to be heard. Whether her intial blow landed or not, Laura, would continue forward, slashing and thrusting, claws out at whoever got in her way. "MOVE!" she screams, urging the dancing bodies to move from her path of destruction. Why couldn't they just stop? Couldn't they see what sort of trouble they were all really in here?
Whoever got in Laura's way could have been just about anyone, fortunately the first she had swiped at was one of the Black Robes, it's arm fell to the ground and it screamed other hand coming up to clutch its shoulder, instantly tumbling backwards it fell into that large brazier holding a brilliant green flame knocking it over in a sprawl fire dashed out and scattered across the ground, ceasing its life. The creature rolled in this same fire, writhing and wriggling in open agony on the ground as its Robes went from black to flame green, turning it to ash. Everyone within a good fifteen foot radius of that brazier suddenly stopped moving, a few of them collapsed but they all held to a very dazed and confused look.
Jakob's eyes were suddenly awash with clarity, at least barely he was still being affected by the pheremones but those, unaided by the mysterious external power he could focus on and battle. His hands removed themselves quickly from Star's hips as his eyes widened seperating his body from her own to step back, "What the hell!?" He shouted loudly, around them others still danced but in the immediat vicinity around that green fire, those people had stopped, those same were beginning to panick as more Black Robed beings surged past them, knives out two were coming at Laura another having seen what Renita did was racing at her.
Confirmation of the situation came to Renate as she moved in a dance with the other body pressed against her own. It was an odd dance though. The nameless person was being used as a human shield now, spun to be placed between Renate and other gripping hands, slammed into a pin of more gyrating bodies while her own moved with the wave. It was easier to get through this way, move with them instead of against them, nearing the one with the blades drawn and encircled by cloaked figures.
"You are lost.." No pity touched Renates eyes as the one dancing with her, bleeding ribbons of blood over their interlaced fingers just smiled at the face of the pale woman, now keeping that grip as her eyes spotted another splitting the crowd and heading her way. The sickly body of the one in her hands was now used like a human battering ram, shoved from her body and lifted from his feet to be thrown towards the cloak, toppling him beneath the slight weight of the younger male.
Renate's stance changed then, lowering to a trained poise of a fighter while her head shook, snapping off the press of bliss that still fought to cloud her senses, stepping back one after the other to seek a solid backing and instead her heel found the back of one of Laura's own, ceasing her press back and away.
The cloaked figure was rising to a stand from beneath the now limp body of Renate's former dance partner, shedding it like a weighted skin only to lunge back for Renate.
Star does not want to leave, thank you very much! She lets out a slightly irritated grumble as Laura's anger intrudes on the bliss she's bathing in and she shoots the shorter girl an annoyed look, the joyous amber of her eyes darkening into a muddy brown, "Hey…" Then one of the braziers gets knocked over and faint confusion blends with the bliss she's still breathing out the concentrated euphoria of those around her, but there's more to her emotions now than just self absorption: Confusion, annoyance, even a little bit of fear when she realizes that everything isn't as perfect as she thought. Her mind is still clouded by both the chemical and those around her, but she manages still herself for a moment. "Holy…" The word is lost in the noise and she backs up half a step into the press of bodies away from the fallen robed figure and her companions, taking a deep breath and starting to lose herself in the mob again.
A wicked grin spread over Laura's features as she felt her claws shred through the Balck Robed figure's arm asif it were nothing more then paper. One of the few times when LAura actually smiled in earnest was when she was fighting. A hoarse snarl ripped from the small gril's throat, as she broke into a dead sprint, towards one of the Robe's that were brandishing a knife in her direction. With no more then a moment's pause, her right leg came up, a third adamantium claw protruding from the toe of her combat boot, and as her leg arced up it connected, shredding through the figure's robe and up through his torso, sending a spreay of crimson-black blood into the crowd. She pulled her knee in, her claws still lodged in the Black Robe's chest, and once he's a mere foot from her she kicks back out with an unnatural amount of force sending his ruined body into another of her assaileants.
At Jakob's exclamation, Laura whirled around, a spray of blood up her front darkening ehr hoodie, and speckled across her sun browned face. Both clawed hands dripping, and a pool of the blackish blood around one foot. "GET HER OUT!" she screached at him, though the authority was firm in her tone. "Now!"
At the feel of someone's foot against her's LAura turned from Jakob, a clawed hand raised and ready to slash back whatever was coming towards her. She paused as she saw Renate. "Are you a puppet too?" she growled at her, having barely more then a moment to say that, as more Black robed figures lunged towards her. The conversation would obviously have to wait for later. Another brandishing aknife slashed forward at Laura, catching her arm in a wild strike, sending a spray of her own blood back out to meet her attacker. She grinned. A wide, lopsided, genuine smile fo amusement at the creature. "Big mistake." she mutered as she lunged back into the ring of hooded figures, let foot out, as her right elg bent at the knee, she slid on the ground, propelling herself towards him, and slashing at both legs with her clawed foot, severing both in one clean shot. Barely a hesitation from her as she lept up and bobbed and weaved away from a third coming at her, hands out and ready to wrap them around whatever part of her was closest.
~Get her, get out~ Seemed sensible enough not that he was in the order taking mood, rarely was he in such a mood of course. His foot lashes out towards the legs of one of the black robed wearing men who ended up face planting before he could make it to either Renita or Laura, before he could get up Jakob was hitting him on the mask where he anticipated the bridge of the nose was with a meaty fist, the form slackened beneath his feet and he looked over at Star, only to see that DJ pointing again, more shouts and more of these mysterious black rave roadies were after them, namely Star. Who had something they wanted, her mutnat power.
To Laura's yell Renate's lips twisted into a lopsided smile, the irony called for that one. "Not any more.." One cloak that was coming in from her left was suddenly down, Jakob over it so her attention was back on the one. The thick accent rolled out those words, but that was all she managed before the other cloaked figure was within range, the metallic flash of a blade aiming for her side. When Laura lunged forward into her own fray Renate jumped into that opened spot, using it to dodge the blade that sliced through vinyl and scathed her skin beneath.
Red painted over black lustre, but not as much as their should have been with such a blow and when the cloak's strike left him swinging wide and open one arm struck down, her elbow slamming into the bend of her adversarie's own - something gave and the knife clattered to the floor. While the cloak's form was nearly doubled over the platform sole rose in a kick, aiming for his middle to double the bend. Her other arm rose, aiming to bring her elbow to the back of a cloaked neck but the cloaked figures hands lunged out slamming around Renate's waist and taking her down.
The crushing force of the figure above her had her relearning how to breathe while her body reacted nearly mechanically, bucking beneath him to allot space for her knees to kick him up and out, rolling away and back to a stand.
Star doesn't know that she really wants to leave, not with the bliss that she can still feel washing over her even with the fighting going on so close. Not to mention that she hasn't known these people that she arrived with for more than a few hours tops, anyway. Who says that they're the 'good guys'? Why should she trust them? Other than the fact that July is a friend of her brother's; but July managed to get out before any of this mess really started. She presses the heels of her hands against her forehead, just above her brows while squeezing her eyes shut tight. Confusion starts to overwhelm everything else coming from her and while the robes close on her, shoving bodies out of the way to reach the unknowing mutant. It's only when she feels the brush of clawed hands on her shoulders that she finally reacts and screams, trying to jerk away and stumble out of reach, their touch taking her back to a night at the end of last year when Cloud saved her from similar grasping hands.
That's enough to snap her out of her haze and make her decision for her; she'll stick with the one's she came with. It's rude to leave a party with someone different than you arrived with, after all. She staggers a few steps when one of the figures grabs a handful of her long hair and keeps her from fleeing, her scream turning pained.
Laura gave a low grunt as she dodged the outstretched hands, slapping them away with a flash of metal, that sliced through the cloak's fingers. sending them falling to the floor in a pool of brackish blood. Another lunge forward had her claws at his neck, puncturing dual holes straight through, before Laura forcibly shook him off her claws. They could fight all night in here, but it seemed that for every Robed figure she disposed of two more took it's palce. Another hoarse, growl issued passed her lips as she suddenly, turned and bolted. Retracting her claws as she pushed and forced her way through the crowd, trampling people if she had to to make progress towards the DJ. He was clearly the one running things, it seemed to her.
At Star's scream, Laura pauseed for a moment, turning in place to look back the way she had come. Another growl, but this time a name. "Jakob!" She hollered over the crowd. The dancing bodies beginning to press back in and confine her. Laura grunts as she feels strong hands grabbing at both of her arms. She drops down to a knee, releasing both sets of claws as she swings both of her arms out in front of her, sending one cloaaked figure ramming into that of the other that had a hold on her. As she felt each body go limp as clws dug in and destroyed whatever sort of internal organ system they had, she shook her arms free and pressed forward towards the stage.
It would seem another brazier and another were on the ground, more of the mob were standing there, confused. A man in a simple white t-shirt was kicking them over, wrestling with a crowd of the black robed creatures to make it to the next one, shouts coming from him," Knock them over! Free those kids!" Jakob was already yanking at the man holding Star's hair, fingers closing at his windpipe as his fist rose and fell in well timed and accurate pounds. His knuckles bloodied from the rough masks but he didn't seem to be slowing on account of the pain, crushing an instep and breaking a wrist of another, warding them away from Star as best he could. The next brazier was grabbed by the lip, that man in the white t-shirt even going so far as to burn his hand as it toppled over covering the ground around him and unfortunately one or two of the dances, bright blue flames leapt up. That masked DJ sees Laura trying to cut a swath his direction and turns around, disappearing behind the makeshift stage leaving three of those black clad forms behind. It was pandamonium now, utter chaos as people were waking up and screaming, freaked out or in shock, though a couple where actually starting to fight back.
Renate was ready when the cloak came at her again, despite the deep gulping breaths she was still taking that crushed ribs against corsetry. Feigning right the cloaked figure followed, but her step left had her spinning back and the flicker of a blade was seen too late. Renate had cupped the cloak's dropped knife and kept it hidden in line with her own wrist, flashing it at the lest minute to slam it upward beneath the mask where his neck met jaw beneath the mask. If the mask was not reinforced it was a killing blow and the viscous paint of red over her hand told otherwise; followed by the slump of the cloaked figures body.
Swallowing the permiated air now her head throbbed, but the blade had lost its original flash to a sheen of blood. Renates eyes searched for the other, seeing her srping through the masses with an ease that were slowly waking. "Bewegung..move!" A dancing blur of motion carried her through and trampling a few of the wary wakers as she followed Laura to the melle surrounding a girl [star] and a man [jakob].
Renate heard the yell and spun, searching for another brasier, one hand darting out to catch up within that of a lunging cloaked figure that went for jakob and star wrapping it in her fist rapidly and dragging him away with her as she wound up for the pitch and threw him into one of those flaming booths, his body spinning with the unwind and free falling with the release of its robes into the flames.
Whatever spell it was that was holding Star and the others in its grasp seems to have been broken, at least as far as the empath is concerned, and the cloud of pheromones that she can't seem to control has taken on a strong flavor of fear and defiance, her eyes deep violet shot through with black. Yes, she's terrified, but that's not going to keep her from fighting back. Not when these… creatures… seem to want to keep her here and in a blissed out haze! No, she's still got to find her brother; she doesn't have time to be held in some blissed out state with a bunch of other kids. Nothing doing! "Let me GO!" Then Jakob pulls the man off of her and she turns with her fists balled up at her sides, prepared to swing at the next person who tries to grab her, no matter who it is.
As more brazier's hit the ground and more people awoke in a state of utter confusion and panic, Laura had finally managed to shove ehr way to the stage. Another wide grin broke out over her features as she paced her assailants. Coupled with the blodd that spattered over her face, and was dripping from each claw in turn, it was a macabre sight, to see this small girl pacing and watching the three like an animal stalking and planning it's attack against it's prey. As one finally gets impatient and jumps off the stage in a sloppy lunge, Laura catches him int he stomach on both sets of claws. aferal snarl rips from her throat as she shakes him off, throwing him towards one of the few remaining brazier's and toppling it to the ground. The figure goes up in vivid, wild colored flames, as he screams in agony.
As Laura watches the sight, the two remaining move forward, lunging off the stage in the same manner. One get's his arms around her waist, pinning her hands to her sides. She kicks off the one in front of her, punching holes up his torso, with ehr foot claws until one through his neck. He falls in a heap, sending Laura's feet back down onto the ground, with not so much as a wobble for balance. Ignoring the third completely, she moves forward purposefully, trying to reach the stage dragging him along with her, with all of his forgien protests. She shook her upper half, at the waist, trying to jar his hold on her and as she took the first step up onto the makeshift stage she got what she had wanted. His hands broke away from her, and she wasted no time in throwing a spinning kick right into his face. Her claw pierced through the side of his skull with a sickening squelching sound, and she shook him off her foot, letting him drop to the ground with the other.
Setting to work ont he music first, Laura knocks over both turntables, sending records and mixers askew, bringing the pounding music to an abrupt stop. She turns in place, looking out over the half confused, half panicked crowd, until she finds Jakob, Star and Renate. A single, quick nodd given, before she disppears behind the stage, in persuit of the DJ.
"Wait!" Cries the man in the white t-shirt the one who had shouted about the braziers, moving after Laura he reaches out to grab ahold of her, "Don't follow him, he's an avatar. He's just the extension of something far more powerful and we need to get out of here… trust me. We are not in a good place, we are in their world. " Turning around he knocks over the disc jockey booth disrupting the music with a clatter, the cries and screams still loud as he tries to talk over them with the mic. "Please, everyone… calm down, listen to me please." Behind the stage was a pitchblack tunnel, no real ability to determine its depth it simply seemed like a large black hole.
Jakob caught one of the stumbling by robed black forms, giving it a swift jab and a cross in a simple one two, dropping the already falling form to the ground in a crumple, unmindful of Stars current state he turned around, " I think we're safe now." He says loudly. Nodding over at Renita, "You got some moves…" Going quiet as the man on the microphone spoke up.
The break of whatever this was had her head throbbing. It was the cherry on the chemical cake she had chewed. When the screeck came over the speakers by the toppled booth her bloodied hands rose to her temples, one still holding the knife as she pounded at her head with thumps from the heels of her hands. Her body was still warm, but not a warm she was used to and the smooth feel of blood between her fingers was like silk she could paint with.
The voice over the loudspeaker drew her eyes upward with the rest of the forms, her body rising from the hunch that made her want to curl in on herself since it all had come to an abrupt halt. A swallow had her downing the lump in her throat that was welling an enraged scream of confusion, keeping her silent even as Jakob spoke to her. She couldn't trust her own voice so instead she listened, her hand clutching the blade lowering, but not releasing the weapon.
Jakob's words don't register with Star for a moment as she stands ready to do battle. When the tall man reaches for her, she turns on him with a little battle cry and all the fury of an angry kitten to try to take a swing at him, not realizing for a moment that it's the guy she was just pressed up dancing against until it's too late to pull her punch. She's not entirely effective, but she does have four older brothers and one younger that were all involved in football while in high school and taught her a little bit on how to take care of herself. Or at least how to throw a punch without totally killing her own hand most of the time. She's not a happy little girl at the moment and that's made abundantly clear both with her mildly ferocious attack and the thick haze of anger, terror, and defiance that hangs around her like a cloud of negativity.
She does realize after that first swing that she's trying to wail on someone that doesn't seem to have actually done anything to hurt her. In fact, she seems to remember that he pulled the guy with a fistful of her hair off of her. The anger melts off of her and she gives him a chagrined look, "Sorry… I thought you were one of them for a second there…" She folds her arms across her chest and shivers faintly, finally taking a look around at the bewildered crowd, having to swallow hard when she sees the handiwork of the others and looking a little green around the edges. She's never seen the aftermath of a real fight before. Not one like this, anyway. Sure, there's been the occasional school brawl that she egged on with everyone else, but nothing this violent before. Nothing that resulted in death.
"Oh my God…" She starts to shake with reaction, the beginnings of her very first panic attack starting. She's not cut out for this. Not by a long shot.
With her chest heaving up and down in violent, gasping breaths, Laura shook the man's graps off her. "Don't touch me!" she snarled, backing away from him, and turning back towards the dark hole. Her senses flare out, but there is nothing to be descerned from the flat back space. She takes a steady step forward, wanting nothing more then persue the DJ, and and not stop until his body was a crumpled mess under her, like the rest of them. But the man's words had given her pause for a moment.
Green eyes flitted back towards the man in the white t-shirt, and Laura's head tilted to one side, her dark hair, matted and sticky with blood. "How do you know so much about 'em anyway?" she asks supiciously. Both sets of claws pushing out from her knuckles once more, as she turns to face the man fully. Her clothing soaked through with blood. Granted it was black already, but the ere were darkened wet spots up her front. Onleeve cut almost all the way off, exposing a perfect, tanned arm. No evidence of a wound remained, only the dried blood that that still clung to her skin.
Among the cries out panic and general chaos, Laura hears Star, and her head swivvles back in that direction. The line to the stage from where she was standing was irddled with the blodded bodies of the black robed figures. And in a Circle around Star, Renate, and Jakob was more. Laura's claws pulled in then and she gave a sort of sheepish look towards the two that she knew, feeling she may have over reacted just the slightest. A quick shrug of her shoulders, and she turned her attention back to the man in the white t-shirt, she was no good at calming other's down anyway. "How do you know so much?" she demanded again.
Jakob's head slung back from the strike on it, his lips quirked up and he managed a brief frown instartlement before wiping his hand across his jaw. "Jumpy lil thing…" His only retort. Looking around at fallen, dead to groaning bodies once his eyes leave her he pales abit, his sweater having been lost in the confusion. Seeing the trembling mess Star had become he spoke, " Try and relax abit… we're okay." Almost touching her again as if that would comfort but deciding against it, instead directing his attention to the man on the stage.
The man, covered in muck and gore of his own was haggard eyed, older than the others here. Perhaps the oldest present, but he was also wearing one of the bracelets. "I know many things, but I can't explain all of that to you not right now at least… what I can explain is this, we all need to get out of here and soon, when that avatar returns, he will not be alone. " Gripping the mic again he held up his wrist showing the armband, "Okay, everyone here should have one of these, I want you all to rip it off and just think of being away from here, will yourself back home, gone, back to where you were before you came here, please, everyone just rip it off and do it. Trust me…" Watching as several did as he instructed they would vanish, a waver, a shimmer like a mirage folding in on itself then they were gone. " See, now, everyone else, quickly do it also. " Looking at Laura, " Who are you?"
The paniced swing from Star had Renate shifting, but not in anything too noticable, the motion alone was just a twist of hardening grip around the hilt of the knife, squeezing out any excess blood she was clutching to make droplets patter to the floor in dark splatter. The girl wasn't wearing a cloak and she seemed to have been a target for a fleeting moment, but the fight was not quite out of Renate yet and the panic was enough to bring her back to fighting mode. She bit it back when Laura spoke a similar inquiry to the man in the white t-shirt, this bringing one step followed by the other, closing distance slowly, passing Jakob and Star.
If his answer was ot sufficient enough, she wanted to carve a chunk out of him..There are ways of making you talk.. When he started explaining her eyes left the man and went out to the crowd, seeing some of them vanish in display Renate blinked and looked down to her own bracelet, holding her wrist up and sliding the knife beneath, pausing to hear more, if there was any.
It takes Star several minutes of hyperventilating before she can finally start to calm down, her eyes closed as her breathing slows to a more reasonable rate. When she's finally able to breathe normally, she takes one huge, deep breath and lets it out slowly before she opens her eyes, now violet tinged gray, and looks around again. It's almost as though she's trying to commit the sight of the bodies around her to memory so that she won't forget; so that she might could understand a little of what the heroes she worshiped as a little child deal with. Finally she looks up at Jakob, her toes wiggling bare against the floor as she tries very hard not to think about what she's standing in, "Sorry…" That one word is all she says as she tightens her arms around herself in an attempt to keep herself separated from the situation for another moment.
Then she watches as the gore covered man on the stage pulls the band off of one of the other ravers and they vanish. That's exactly what she wants to do, but she's not about to leave alone, no matter if there are other people being sent away at the same moment. She doesn't want to be alone with people she doesn't know at all and the two she met at the mall are at least people who's names she knows. So as to feel like she's being useful and actually contributing, she starts mincing her way across the floor, trying to be careful of where she places her feet, and begins ripping the bands from other people's wrists and moving on to the next person before they've finished shimmering into nothingness.
Laura's chin rose up defiantly as she glared at the man, her nostrils pulling out as she drew herself up to her full height, as unsubstantial as it was. "Doesn't matter who I am." she replies curtly, her hands balling up into fists at her sides once more, the sharp edges of her adamantium coated claws poking through the surface of her skin. "What is really the question of the day is who -you- are? How do you know so much? Why didn't you stop this sooner if you did? And -what- and -where- the hell is this place?!" It was probably the most she had spoken to anyone at once in quite some time, and the questiosn were fired without so much as a pause between them.
Her gaze left him then for a brief moment as she watched people start vanishing as their bracelets were removed. Her gaze focused on Star. She had promised July that she would make sure she got her out safely. Her steady gaze shifted to Jakob, not saying nything just watching as he looked around at the gore. Then finally, her gaze fell on Renate, who seemed to be making her way forward towards the stage.
Laura felt comepletely in her element here. Blood and conflict was something she could wrap her head around. People… eh.. She tried to avoid that when possible. She shook her head at the white haired woman's advances, she didn't want anyone being stuck here longer then was absolutely necesarry. "You should get out of here. Me and smarty pants, have some talking to do, I think." She murmured over the din in the warehouse, her gaze flitting between the three faces.
With those words spoken she returned her attention to the man who seemed to know too much to be stuck here like the rest of them. The strange muscle flexed in her forearms and both sets of claws were out with a quiet *shhkt*. "Now, get to talking, guy. People are getting out and I want some answers before you poof on me." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Star moving forward and pulling bracelets off ravers, a slight smile pulled at the corner of her mouth before vanishing just as quickly, her attention soley on the man who was on the stage with her.
Jakob watched what Star was doing and began grabbing bands off the more catatonic, some of them just were not budging, their minds probably broken from… from what exactly, too much erotic dancing? He couldn't help but stare down at a few of them, almost feeling bad until he comes across a kid with odd blue skin, pale nobs that looked like warts riddling his flesh, a mutant. Jakob stared long and hard before stepping away from its unconscious form, only to get guilty feeling and turn back, taking off the band with a quick snap. Muttering under his breath as he worked at a few others. Maybe he'd get some good karma or some shit…
The man in the white shirt, only watched what they were doing his bushy brows set into a frown as piercing blue eyes followed them around looking at Laura, "Really chivalric what all of you and your friends are doing but we really do not have time, if you want to know more we can meet once we are back in our own world, here…" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card, apparently the man was a door to door salesman, his name was Edward Perdurabo. "I entered here from Staten Island… please, take my card, hold onto it and shove it somewhere where you won't lose it, when we leave here we may not remember
everything, there were glyphs I recognize all around this place, ones of forgetting… so our memories may be lost or hazey when we leave here, but ifyou are curious, and you want to help. Take that, keep it, call my number when you return… " Behind him the black tunnel seemed to be sparking to life, in a most gruesome way, eyes, one by one hundreds of eyes in the dakrness began to appear as if opening up, the entire building began to sound as if it was…. breathing.
Renate watched Laura and the man on stage, her shoulders tensing visibly and then relaxing. Despite the throbbing headache and the swoon of pills still racing through her bloodstream she knew this was over and the need for her presence was done. This was no party, it was a battle of some warped kind and it was over, her purpose here over as well. She was not the good samaritan so what Star was doing did not inspire anything from her.
One staggering step away from the stage and she was stepping over bodies, in the low utter of murmurs and dissipating people the heavy footfalls of those boots sounded over the floor in her exit towards the hall. Think of where to go.. Where was she last, that was real before the bracelet? "Battery…" The knife slipped through the bracelet like butter and she was gone.
Star isn't trying to be noble, or anything, she's just doing something to make herself feel useful until her companions decide to cut and run. Although every person that she sends away from this place gets a little wish that they return safely to the people that love them. She is missing her own brother, after all, and she would desperately wish that there would be someone to do something similar for him if it would get him sent back to her. She casts a quick glance up at Laura and the man on stage before she snaps off the band on a catatonic girl that couldn't be much more than fourteen that's made up like a Barbie doll, frowning slightly and muttering to herself about kids growing up way too fast.
And then there's the sound of breathing and she freezes once more, her hand on the band around another raver's wrist. She blinks stupidly a couple of times before she removes the boy's band and straightens, "Could we please get out of here? I don't like the sound of things…" No… Breathing buildings can't be a good thing.
Snatching the card from the man's hand, Laura tucked it into her back pocket. She gave a slow, curt nod and was about to say something as the tunnel started teeming with life again. She turned towards the eyes, staring out at the mass of chaos and gore, and her knees bent, her stance widening readying herself for a fight. "Come on, then!" she growls, the same sick, twisted grin sprawling over her features as both foot claws protruded from the toes of her combat boots. Sticky strands of hair ell haphazardly around her face in lank strips. As the warehouse seemed to start breathing a constant growl pulsed in the back of her throat.
Hearing Star, though, Laura straightened up some. One more glance cast towards the man and then the eye-filled black hole, and she grunted under her breath, taking one step back and dropping down from the stage. She doesn't take her eyes away from the stage area as she back up towards Star and Jakob. As she reaches the girl, one claw on her left hand slides back into her arm, and she reaches for Star with the one, making an attempt to slice the bracelet from her wrist. "Alright, lets go." she mutters, giving the man a significant look. She would be looking him up again in the future. Whether Star allows Laura to cut her bracelet off or not, her claw moves to her own bracelet, slicing it from her wrist. To hesef, she thinks of the Salem Center, holding the image in her mind until she too, disapears.
The man would fade from view, swallowed in the mirage like folding after his band was torn away. Jakob straightened up, staring into the swirl of eyes in shadow, "Stare into the abyss and it looks back at you… I remember a phrase like that in a book I read recently." Looking towards Laura and Star he waited until they'd removed their bracelets then his was ripped off tossed aside and the world shifted, no longer was he held in that strange pocket Limbo but now standing on a chilly early morning Brooklyn New York streetway infront of the warehouse. Confused as to what he'd been doing the last few hours, his feet felt as though they'd gotten use and he was missing his sweater, images of dancing abit up close and personal with some girls and all else was a blur. He remembered getting here, looking for a rave dance and… very little else.
This was not Battery Park. Her deep blue eyes lifted down the alley way which seemed to be like one of those twilight zones, each step only made it longer, and made it shift as if it was not real or never ending. Renate was aware other's were showing up behind her but she didn't seem to care as her shoulder pressed against the brick and she slowly slid downward to a crouch with her neck turned to press her forehead against the cold stone. At least the park had water, and she was thirsty, that was all she knew.
Clutched in her hands that were fisted in her lap was that knife, still omnipresent like a forebodance coated in blood. It was not the killing that had her like this, it was the drugs, but it seemed to be lifting from her with each deep breath, as well as a few of those memories.
Star dearly misses the simple joy of wearing shoes. She grimaces at something wet and sticky under her right foot and swallows hard, refusing to look down to see what it is that she's standing in. A trail of footprints follows the wandering path she'd taken through the room. When Laura goes to cut off her band, her eyes widen; the sight of the blade coming out of the other girl's hand enough to almost freak the taller girl out again. She closes her eyes tight and tries not to breathe, knowing what those knives can do from the condition of the bodies the mutant left in her wake and hoping that she isn't next on the casualty list.
Then the piece of rubber parts like butter and the world fades back to reality. She frowns lightly when she looks up at the warehouse, echoes of the heady emotions she experienced still lingering on the edges of her consciousness. She doesn't remember anything about the last few hours but the bliss of belonging and the press of bodies around her. She shivers faintly in the cool morning air and glances down at her feet, confusion radiating from her, "What in hell happened to my shoes..?" And why does it look like she's been walking through paint?
The scene before her shimmered and dispersed, like a dream. Laura swayed on her feet, though only slightly. Her vision blurred and as she brought a hand up to wipe at her face, it cleared. She was in Brooklyn, staring up at a warehouse, that she vaguely remembered coming to. Still panting slightly, Laura looked around, seeing both Jakob and Star, and a feeling of relief washed over her. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, though unsure as to why she felt it, Laura's gaze dropped down to her own bady. Her eyes widened as she looked down at herself. Her hoodie ruined, blood coating ever area of exposed skin, and darkened her clothes.
She turns away from both of them, her face returning to an impassive maska s she brings her hand up, sniffing lightly at the now almost dried blood that covered her. Some was her's, and this fact she passed right over. Another sniff, seeking out the foreign blood that she'd managed to cover herself with, and as soon as she smelled the tangy, coppery scent mixed with sickly smelling chemicals , a sharp flash of images ran through her mind's eye. Her body seized up, going rigid and trembling as her eye lids flickered, watching the last few hours replay in ehr mind in fast foward. When it fnally came to a finished, she gasp, losing her balance for a moment and dropping down to ehr knees, her hands pushing out instinctively to catch herself before she ate pavement. "We should leave." she mumbled breathlessly, keeping her gaze on the pavement as she spoke. Unsure of how much of what she saw was real or hallucination, Laura wasn't keen on finding out at this precise moment in time.
"Uh." Best answer he could offer in question of where the shoes where. Hearing Laura he agreed of course but his destination differed from their own, "I'm late for morning P.T., shit." Jakob manages out, now seeing Renite - he studies her, his tongue pushed to the back of his teeth, she was exotic. A hand reaches up to the back of his neck and he frowns at those present, "Hey uh, let me hook you up with my number and we can meet up sometime…. "Almost feeling bad for Star and her lack of shoes but really, who goes without shoes on, was she drunk or nuts? And Laura's dilema, damn… it was all too bizarre, none of this made any sense. They have an albino with them in place of July, Star is shoeless, hes sweaterless and Laura looks like she just slaughtered a kindergarden class.
"Ja, gehen sie.." Renate's voice was low and likely what she said was more to herself. She did not know the three to her back and with a press of platform soles against the pavement she was pushing her body upright, her arm grinding along the brick. A deep breath made shoulders rise and fall before she smoothed her hands down her sides and gathered herself enough to walk…A swerving line…out of the alley and towards the Park lifting the bloodied blade and tucking it between corseted side and vinyl coating. She was keeping her memento, and Jakob's want to exchange numbers, went unheard or ignored.
Star nods slowly in response to Laura's suggestion that they leave, a longing look given the warehouse and vaguely remembered feeling of euphoria, "Yeah… I need to find out if there's been any news about Cloud…" She grimaces and gives hier head a little shake, giving Jakob a little bit of a forced smile at the offer of his number and hanging out again, "Yeah, sure. That'd be cool." Especially if they could find somewhere that she could experience that bliss again. She may not really remember much, but she remembers that and wants to feel that way again.
Laura was standing again with one graceful movement, and without a word, she kicked off both boots, sliding them over towards Star. With a glance down at her feet, Laura pursed her lips. Her mouth opened to tell Star that she had blood all over her feet, but then decided against it. HEr gaze shifted towards Jakob, and she tilted her head to one side slightly. "I don't have a phone." she replied resuming her soft, almost monotone voice once more. Not that she was really sure she wanted to see Jakob again, considering the whole cdlub thing was his idea. Clubs. One more place for Laura to add to her "Never go to again" list.
Jakob Had been distracted by the awkward movements of Renate while the other two women spoke, blinking almost as if in slow motion still trapped into this afterworld confusion. "You don't have a phone?" Seemed like everyone had a phone now days, but, Laura was definitly one of the creepier people he'd met, unsure why he had some natural dislike for her, she seemed absolutely normal to him. Well normal-ish. "You two don't go to the same school do you?" He asks Laura and Star while pulling out his cell. Renate's activity still had him casually watching the albino.
Renate's hand rested on the hilt of the blade she had tucked away into corsetry, seeming unmindful of the fact it would not bode well there, but she could get a proper holster for it laster, she was keeping it. Fingers stained in drying blood extended out and pressed against the dumpster in passing - it could have passed for a moment of balance, but then they began to dance over the rusted metal in a painting, etching the effigy of one of those runes there, one she had taken the time to trace in passing on the way into the place.
Most else was nearly forgotten, but what she did remember was what she took the time to learn; the runes and a bit of dancing - the rest was automatic like breathing.
Once done there she glanced back at the trio and let deep blue eyes weigh on them like an oceans deep wave, life giving, and taking. "Was ist dieses.." An inquiry that was paused and then she shrugged, looking away and down to her fingers, tapping them together in a lost rhythm, the tackiness of drying blood studied.
Star blinks in surprise as Laura takes her boots off and pushes them her direction, gratitude blending with the longing she's giving off, "Thanks…" She doesn't care much for standing in the grimy street with what to her seems to be dark red-brown paint all over her feet. It's probably a good thing she doesn't connect the drying color with blood or she'd likely be freaking out again. She shoves her feet into the borrowed shoes and offers a small, genuinely friendly smile over at the girl that seems to be covered in the same 'paint' that's on her feet, "I'll give them back when we get back." If Laura's going the same way she is, anyway. She looks up at Jakob at his question and shrugs, "I don't know… I didn't get to Xavier's until after the semester had already ended. I've only met a couple of the students there."
She checks her pockets to make sure her issued phone is still there and comes up triumphant in her right hip pocket. Woohoo! She didn't lose it with her shoes! For her part, she doesn't even seem to notice Renate or her fingerpainting, though a sudden frown and more confusion flavors her little cloud, "Where's that July girl, anyway?"
She frowned at Jakob, and the slightly incredulous note in his voice. "I don't need a phone." she replied back her tone crisp and short. A slender hand lifted and pushed through her hair, fingers getting stuck in the tangled, drying blood. After another particularly big knot had Laura wincing, she gave up on the futile attempt of cleaning herself up. A shoulder lifted up in a half shrug at Star's gratitude. "I don't need them, I can acquire others." would be her reply.
With the movement of Renate, Laura's attention shifted to the tall woman, she watched as she traced the glyph and her brow creased over, a scowl coloring her expression. "July left. I should get you back to the school." Laura said as she continued to watch Renate. Then finally tearing her gaze from the woman, it settled back on Star. "I told her I'd make sure you returned safely. We should go now."
No one, any one, Beuller? Perhaps it was the fact that she was forgetting to speak their language. How rude of her. Either way Renate had gestured with the words and if they weren't getting it she was not about to repeat herself and waste any more time. Hearing their passing conversation back and forth held no meaning to her, names passed, meanings held. It was irrelvant and she had nothing to add.
"Guten nacht..Night..Good night.." Renates head rose and the shift of her eyes went back down the alley that no longer replicated a twilight zone effect and her hand left the dumpster, a bit more sure in her steps as she finished her path down the alley way and turned, heading back to Battery Park.
Wait a minute here… Star doesn't need a babysitter! (That would be Cloud that needs the babysitter, not her.) "Well you don't have to bother. I can get back just fine on my own, thanks." Indignant teenager, anyone? It's not like she can't figure out what stop to get off the transit at, after all. She frowns when she hears that the other girl left and rolls her eyes. It's no wonder her brother keeps coming up missing if that's the kind of friends he's made here. It's only when Jakob mentions Renate that the albino woman is brought to her attention and she frowns slightly, giving a small shake of her head, "Don't think I've ever seen her before in my life…"
She bites her lip lightly, trying to hide a faintly amused smile at the older boy having missed her phone and frowns down at the little piece of electronics. She has to look her own number up before she can give it to him, her eyes finally finding Renate as she tells them all goodnight. A small frown draws her brows together slightly and she offers a little wiggle of her fingers to the woman, "Uh… Yeah. Goodnight." Whatever.
With a shake of her head, Laura's eyes were on Renate again, "No, I don't know her." she replied, a single nod given to the woman as she murmured a 'good night'. Turning on the balls of her feet, away from Star and Jakob once more, she started back the way they had come earlier in the evening. "I told July I would see you back safely." she replied again, a stubborn edge in her tone now. She stopped a few yards away, and turned back to the pair, a brow arching up. Green eyes shifted to Jakob and she supressed a scowl in his direction. Very much blaming him for the night's events.
She scuffed her bare foot against the grimy pavement, impatiently her attention shifting once more to Star, clearly waiting on the girl. Babysitting wasn't exactly one of Laura's favorite things to do, but July at least seemed to be trying to extend a friendship towards her, and she would keep her word to the girl.
"All right. "Jakob manages a forced chuckle as Laura begins to stride off, a wave given at Star. " Was fun, I think." Before he was turning and walking the opposite direction, stopping to look at Renite. "Uhm, need help finding somewhere? "her attire suggested a few places that probably wouldn't get him a good response. "Uhm, beno er ben… hrm b-benotigen sie hilfe?"
Renate's attire would have been the least of any worries. She was already out of the alley and lowered to a crouch washing the blood from her hands in a gutter that still held rain water, one hand held poised over it watching the pinkened liquid drip from fingertips like raindrops back into the puddle. The ripples seemed to be studied, and when her language came from another her eyes slowly shifted towards Jakob and settled there unwavering as if she was trying to comprehend what he said while taking in every minute detail of his face.
Too many heartbeats passed before she pushed back to a stand that had her altered height at a couple inches over six foot. "Battery Park? You speak German?" Her vocals were laden with the accent, but her english seemed well placed enough, it was habit to not speak it, until recently.
Star's phone is returned to her pocket and she rolls her eyes once more, a stubborn set to her jaw for a moment before she sighs. She needs to get back to the school anyway and it seems that the shorter girl isn't going to just let her go off on her own no matter how much she may want to. A sudden yawn catches her by surprise and she hastily covers it with one hand, blinking a few times when it's finished, "Holy crap, I'm tired…" She looks back over at Jakob and nods, a light blush darkening her face, "Yeah. It was." That much she's sure of, at least: She enjoyed herself. She folds her arms back across her chest and stomps over to Laura, "Alright… You want to get me back to the school, so get me back there."
There's a tiny bit of relief around her now. She really wasn't looking forward to making the trip back to Westchester alone, after all. What if she falls asleep on the transit and misses her stop?
Laura watched Jakob and Renate walk off in the opposite direction, mostly ignoring Star's attitude as the girl stomps over to her. As her gaze refocuses on Star she nods once, turning away again and moving back down the alley towards transit. Laura walked in silence, having nothing to really speak to the girl about and having more then enough to think of over, of the night's events. A small hand dug into her back pocket, pulling the man's businesscard from it, flecked with dried red-brown flecks of blood. Laura stopped then to turn and face Star a moment, "May I use your phone?" she asks, extending a ahand outward, before the question was even finished.
Jakob nods to Renate, "Some, one of my instructors is German, also had a drill sergeant who used to scream in it constantly. Guess he figured it made him more intimidating. " His talk would carry on as he began to walk off towards Battery Park, mentioning he was headed that way anyhow.
Renate stayed along side Jakob as he spoke, listening as he spoke and nodded with the faintest flick of a smile to one corner of her lips at the mention of a German drill sergeant. She would inquire later, instead she seemed more absorbed in listening, learning.
The request to use her phone has Star giving Laura a calculating look for a couple of seconds before she shrugs and hands it over, "Not like I have to pay for the minutes, or anything." Beat, "Just don't lose it or anything. I don't think they'd be too happy with me if I lost it…" No… not when it was issued less than a week before. She keeps walking along with the other girl, not even trying to hide the fact that she's listening in to hear her side of the conversation. It's her phone, after all. She has a right to know!
Laura punches in the numbers quickly and hit send, with the phone ringing as it rose to her ear the man's voice answered on the third ring. "Yes. Where should I meet you?" she asks, not bothering with a greeting. She made no attempt to hide her conversation from Star, although all Star would get from the phone would be a soft buzzing as the man replied. "Yes, I know where it is. I'll speak to you later then." Not bothering with a good-bye either, Laura hung up as the man was saying his, and handed it back to Star. "Thank you." she murmured, picking up her pace as they reached the transit station.
