| Meteorfalls and Fireballs | ||
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Summary: The citizens of the city of Denko are shaken by disaster. The mayor says that a meteor hit one of the buildings! Fire and medical teams rush onto the scene to help the people in the emergency zone, but there's more going on than they understand.   |
While something like pedestrians on the broad sidewalks might be a varied mix of beasts, there is some pattern amid the chaos. Larger animals tend to walk closer to the center of the walkway and smaller animals to the sides. Same-species couples tend to get more right of way compared to other groups and there is an unmistakable and undeniable bubble of personal space that seems to be present whenever some animals are near others. This nation has words for those two peoples, however: Carnivores. Herbivores. There is a bell marking the exit of another customer from a small grocery store with a sign in the window claiming it to be a specialty place for Large Breed Carnivores. The door opens with the press of a hip and a rather large brown bear steps through the big doorway with arms wrapped around two hefty paper bags full of purchased goods. Despite his size, it's still awkward to fully see everything while carrying such a load. As he steps by the side of the trail where smaller animals walk, there is a protest from one couple: a pair of shrews only a few inches taller yell at the bear's carelessness. The bear manages to quickly double-step to avoid incident, then twist enough to call out in apology (if they care to listen), though this places the massive ursine walking in a way that introduces a new blind spot to where he's going. One would think that it's just another day in the city from how things are progressing. But then, who knows what's going on in the shadows and alleyways? Probably the people in them, but they're be ignorant to the event in the skies. Off in the distance, towards the mainland in the sky, is a giant rolling ball of flame. A meteor? Those that happen to be looking up, and at an angle where they can see past all the skyscrapers, won't have long to look, because the great rolling red ball of flame is going insanely fast. The air superheats and leaves a long white jet trail behind it, or maybe that's some kind of magic residue. If anyone has magical senses, there's an insane amount coming from the destructive force. As people try to react, they only get about five seconds. Enough to point, maybe scream and flee, before the meteor slams through the upper part of a skyscraper. It slams through diagonally and does nothing to slow the catastrophic ball, which then falls straight down towards the sidewalk and street, right around where Riz is. It's about this time though, that against the laws of physics, but certainly not magic, the meteor shrinks. The flaming burning light channeling down and getting smaller and smaller until it's in the shape of a girl with wings. This impacts the ground with way less force than the rapid descent warrants. The girl skids, flips, then comes to a rolling stop right in front of Riz's way. Smoke or maybe steam flows up on her. No, from the smell it's definitely smoke. The light obscuring her features blinks away, almost like a warning light going on and off a few times. There's still magic radiating out of her, but it's way less than before, if one can sense such things. "Uuuuaaaahhooof..." she moans from where she's come to rest. Turned away as he is, Riz is unable to see any of the incoming catastrophe as it bears down upon the city. The meteor punches a hole through what is now an empty office highrise -- thankfully the workers have recently left the building -- and causes debris to rain down upon the surrounding area. As it would happen with any residents of a city experiencing such sudden crisis, the animals react to run for cover even as the worst of the danger has since passed. Whatever social biases there may be, they quickly disappear as animals large and small, Carnivore and Herbivore alike, help one another to get in off the street. A few are not so fortunate. No doubt many animals are dialing emergency services already. Instead, the sound of impact and yelling throws others into confusion as to what is going on that don't see it happen. Riz, being one of those animals, cringes at the loud sound as he backsteps only to wind up tripping over something and tumbling over backwards. Rather, he trips over somebody. Landing on his back against the hard sidewalk surface, his jeans-covered legs rest over the top of this figure, but even pushing the half-emptied bags over the front of his hoodie aside onto the ground doesn't help him to identify who it is; broken egg runs down his face that even a quick wipe doesn't help (or a subconscious licking of the fingers after). All he sees are wings. "Hey, are you all right, bird?" asks the bear as he tries to sit up, but the positioning is very awkward. Mentally, he's distressed about the loss of some of his food, but that's just his stomach talking. "Something just happened. We need to get inside. Need me to carry you?" An anklet on the bear's right foot hidden underneath his denim pants but over his sock beeps a few times near the mystery person's...ear? Bird? What bird? Marigel rubs the side of her head and tries to get her eyes to focus. Did someone just trip over her? She shifts her arms, but isn't going anywhere with someone the size of Riz's legs above her. The wings on her back flap a few times, sending some feathers flying on their way. Someone's talking to her. Her cat ears cock towards it. Oh, it's whatever is on her. She hrgms, trying to process the words over the ringing in her ears. Apparently a bird got hurt? "Carry?" Maybe she should be carried. She can't even see straight yet. That stupid wizard. Most of the smoke coming off of her has started to dissipate. Her stomach rumbles, though it's doubtful one could hear it over all the sounds of scattering people. "Hold on." It takes a push of one bag of groceries to the side to make room to plant a hand and redistribute his weight, but it's enough for the towering wall of fur to negotiate the position of his legs. One, then the other, are pulled away and to the side allowing the bear the opportunity to get them underneath himself, sneakers firm against the food-littered walkway. Leaning in, reaching under, Riz aims to get the poor animal into his arms so that he can begin carrying her back toward the small store he just came out of. Being a creature of almost nightmarish levels of natural strength, as a large breed Carnivore, this might not be that big of a problem. He finds most other beasts to be very very light. "Once we get inside, I'll find a spot to let you lie down and we'll call an ambulance." Not once in this does Riz get a closer look at the 'bird' even with his eyes clearly wide open and his pupils narrowed in focus to stare through the sting of egg albumen in finding a path to safety indoors. Marigel is incredibly light for her size, so it's even easier for Riz! Now she's picked up! Yeah, okay, that's fine. Sure! It's probably another person who wants some of her magic. Go fig. She rubs at her eyes, stop being blurry! She blinkblinkblinks. Phew, there! That's better. Okay. She looks around to get her bearings. Doesn't look like Center City at a glance, but that doesn't mean it isn't. She hasn't explored the whole place. Wait, ambulance? "What's an ambulaaahhhh!" She screams as she finally looks at what is carrying her. It's a flipping bear! WHAT! Her tail twirls into backflips and she FREAKS out in Riz's arms, struggling to get free! But really she's not that strong, and if she does manage to get out she'll end up face-planting into the floor rather than roll out in any kind of stylish way. A mixture of annoyance and frustration overcome the bear's facial expression as he tries to carefully navigate through the door that another animal thankfully holds open without hitting the girl's head on the frame...only to have her suddenly start freaking out. "Relax, easy, I'm not going to eat you or anything," objects Riz only to lose the grip when other animals turn to look at the distress. Her descent to the floor isn't graceful, it would seem. Other animals taking shelter inside the relatively small store with wide aisles for big beasts gather around. At first, it's to help. That, however, turns into staring. "What kind of animal is-" "She's a hybrid?" "...oh, it's a hybrid." Riz takes a moment to furiously rub the egg from his face with a sleeve before speaking up. "It doesn't matter. I thought she was a bird, but I fell over her when I heard that explosion. Are you hurt?" Marigel is going to have the opportunity to look up and see a brown bear, a rhino, a mongoose, a coyote, a duck, and a leopard either gathered about or nearby. Marigel grnfs as she hits the floor. But at least she's not in the arms of a giant bear monster. Proximity is still problematic though, so she ignores the minor pain and does a half crawl forward before getting up on her knees and looking around. Riz's reassurances don't fall on deaf catears now that her senses are more or less restored. She looks from one animal to the next. "What the..." Animal people? Is that a DUCK? Wait, bird? She gets up to her feet and finds a shelf to get her back to! Yeah, back safety. Her tail smacks against the lower shelf, and her eyes dart between each person. Suspicious! "Where did that wizard end up sending me. What a psychopath." She murmurs. She finally looks up at Riz. "I'm a little hot and a lot hungry. And I also might be hallucinating because you all look like animal people." Those gathered look among themselves in an effort to understand one another's feelings or thoughts without actually saying anything other than some confused vocalizations. "Well, if you're hungry, we've got food. We're in a food store," says the bear. "If she's a hybrid, she may not be able to digest animal proteins." "Well, you can avoid dairy and onions and grapes, just to be safe." It would seem that eating according to your diet is a very important thing in this culture and it's not always so simple as just going to any store and buying a snack. An entire conversation can be had in debating the dietary needs of a hypothetical animal hybrid, all while ignoring the confusion had over the beasts present being animals. After all, she was an animal, too. Bits and pieces of a few, by the look of it. "Wow," comments the mongoose. "You must have one heck of a family tree." While there is commentary and discussion, the bear wanders over and picks up a basic soy-based protein bar naturally sweetened with some red bean and carries it back to the gathering. "Hey, you have to pay for that," objects the leopard which, by the uniform, must work here even though he isn't a large breed Carnivore. Sighing, Riz sticks his hand into his pocket only to find it empty. "I put my change in one of the bags I was carrying home." Going back outside right now isn't the best option until help arrives to clear things up. There are sirens in the background, at least. "Somebody have 200 yen for the hybrid girl? Hey, what's your name anyway?" Marigel shifts her gaze from speaker to speaker, ready to maybe bolt if things get out of hand. But they all just seem to be talking calmly about what she can eat? So they're being considerate? Maybe she's judging too much by their appearances. She supposes if she saw some of her sisters wandering around randomly she might be off guard if she didn't know their past and how they came to be that way. Okay. Okay. She takes in a deep breath. Even if she is hallucinating, or that wizard's spell sent her to some world other than TRI, she's here right now in one of those states. So yeah. She nods to herself, then looks at the mongoose. "I might, I don't remember before I lost my soul." She then looks to the big bear and at the protein bar. Then he begs for money. "Marigel." Hybrid huh? She'll let that slide for the moment. Who knows what might trigger these people. Animals. Hm. Oh! "Candy!" She says suddenly. "If anything, candy instead, please." Manners. The soul comment at least causes the duck and coyote to whisper among themselves. If anything, the girl doesn't seem all that hurt, so the gathering slowly starts to spread apart. The cat keeps an eye on those present with worries over his job as much as whatever it was that happened outside. The rhino keeps vigil near the door while trying to get a better look at the damage done. The mongoose tries to make small talk and mentions something regarding a meteor, but that there was no crater. The bear looks between Marigel and the soy bar in his hand a couple times, then takes a few steps to hand the bar over to the clerk. "Nevermind, I guess. I- Hmm. Oh, wait." Riz goes about patting his pockets on his hoodie and is met with the crinkle of plastic. "Hey, I still have some honey chews." The cat gives the bear a suspicious look until the bag of chewy candy is removed. They don't sell that brand here. Dumping a few individually wrapped toffee-like candies out into a very large hand, he holds them out in offering. "I'm Riz the Brown Bear. Sorry for falling on top of you. You okay?" Marigel's tailtip twitches back and forth as she assess the room. Animals seem to be calming down and going back about their business. Okay. Okay. Her ear cocks at the mention of a meteor, highly suspecting that might have been her, but she's not about to self-incriminate in an alien world! What if she gets thrown into prison? Wait, wouldn't Luna eventually come looking for her? Not that she's the biggest fan of her or anything, but...wait, candy?! She looks to the offering, and giggles lightly as he says his name. "I guess my full name would be Marigel angel cat human then." She reaches over and attempts to take all of them from his hand. "Oh, right. That was you, hahaha. Candy always works as an apology for me. " She titters slightly nervously. "Um, yeah, no broken bones. I'll need to clean my outfit though." It's a tad scuffed up and dirty from the land and roll. "How bad is it?" voices the mongoose as he wanders over closer to the rhino. They both peer through the windowed store front trying to discern the state of things. There seem to be no other pedestrians outside wandering about. Everybody must have taken shelter in a real hurry. When the rhino replies it's with a slow shake of the head first and words, softly spoken, don't follow for a few seconds. "Hard to tell from this angle. I see a lot of smoke, though." The sounds of sirens persist and come from many directions. The duck wanders over to the clerk's counter while pulling out a phone. "I'll see if I can find a news broadcast," she offers. "Can you help? I'm not the best with these." The cat behind the counter works with the avian to navigate news tabs in an app. "Why do you look so bummed?" asks the coyote of the bear while curiously looking over the girl. "You're safe. And so's your friend." Riz also keeps an eye on Marigel, but it's not out of the same regard that other beasts stare. The bear sighs. "If I don't get back to my dorm in time I could get in trouble." The school is probably very well locked down at this point, although official head count won't be for a few hours. He'd normally have a part time work shift during these hours anyway, but it's a day off. The coyote does dig out a sanitary wipe from her purse and offers it to Marigel, though. "It won't wash clothes, but it could help you clean up a little, maybe feel a bit better. Do you live in Denko or are you visiting?" The angel catgirl keeps hold of her candy tightly in one hand while receiving the sanitary wipe with the other. Well that was nice. She brings it up to her nose to sniff it before wiping at some of the dirt on her skin at the least. How nice! Huh. Her cat ears twitch and she tries to think if she's ever heard of a place called Denko. Nope, never! But if she tells them that, will they figure out she was the destructive meteor that fell from the sky? Yeah better keep it secret for now just in case. "Visiting, but I'm lost." That's generically safe! She tucks the cloth aside then looks at her candy filled hand. Yes. She dumps all of it in her mouth and starts chewing, looking over at Riz. "Hey, careful, don't choke. The clerk is being a cheapskate." "I'm just trying to keep my job! If you care so much, buy a fruit soy for her to drink," responds the clerk in kind. He's clearly not the owner of the place. He's just a young employee. Before there can be a rebuttal, a siren announces an emergency vehicle rushing by just outside. Flashing lights streak as the deafening noise of a firetruck zooms through followed by two ambulances and a police vehicle. Each passing vehicle comes with shifting Doppler and, in mere seconds, the sound changes as they all move on their way. For that moment, the natives around Marigel all stare somberly toward the window in silence. "...we can find somebody to help with that..." softly assures Riz. Marigel chewchewchews, ears flicking towards the sounds from outside and the talking. It's not like she's to blame for the destruction, even if she caused it! It was the mage who used her in his spell workings. She peaks out a window. This place seems modern even if it is full of animal people. She swallows the candy and feels instantly better. And anyone with any kind of magic sense will feel a giant surge of magic just rippling up and around her, as if someone had just tapped five hundred ancient wizard souls and funneled all of their magical energy into a single rush of power. Of course if you can't sense magic, the most you'll feel is mayyybe a gentle rustle of the air around Marigel. "That'd be great." She turns to look at Riz. "Although I think I'm a tad far from home." Like probably in a different world far. "Do you ever get tired from work and just want to be able to have a social life?" asks an unfamiliar voice coming from the counter. It's not the big cat or the duck. "There's a way. BeastBook!" "BeastBook!" "BeastBook." "BeastBook?" all chime in different voices. "That's right. Keep in touch with your besty beasties from the comfort of your own home or phone." "Why, before I signed up for BeastBook I didn't know how I was going make it through each day at work. But now, after I-" The voices stop as the clerk helps the duck press the Skip button on the ad playing. "-join us now as first responders are on the scene of what appears to be an unexpected catastrophe in the business sector of the City of Denko." The clean calmly and slowly spoken words are typical of the television presentation seen in the island nation. The rhino and the mongoose don't move from the store front, but they, along with everybody other beast native, turns attention toward the duck's phone. All, at first, save for Riz. He eyes Marigel quietly with very kind eyes, although a few gears turn in his head regarding something. "Denko officials have stated that there has been significant damage to the top four floors of the Gizou Medical Technologies offices. Eye witness reports claim that 'something fell from the sky'. Debris has littered much of the surrounding area causing widespread damage and destruction. According to helicopter teams, the spread may stretch multiple kilometers. Due to necessary prioritization of rescue personnel and the reports of spreading fires, residents are asked to remain indoors yet alert. If you must evacuate, travel calmly by foot." "Evacuate? Is it that bad?" voices the mongoose. "Sounds serious," responds the coyote. Riz remains quiet while the others comment as the reporter reads on. Marigel's attention gets drawn towards the sounds. She wonders if BeastBook might be good for Morai to keep track of all of Luna's wives. But the ad is skipped! Well, maybe she'll try to remember if she ever ends up back in the right reality. Right now it looks like she's stuck in a world of animal people. The magic energy exploding out of her quickly starts to fade away, not that she is bothering to do anything about it herself. "A catastrophe." Her ears fold back slightly. They don't mean that literally right? Like a CATastrophe? Surely no one actually saw her hurtling through the sky and could identify her? Wasn't she going really fast? Maybe she should make herself scarce. She tries not to talk over the news too much, but still asks. "Does anyone know dimensional magic?" None of them LOOK like magic users, and usually she tries to avoid them because they tend to find her body as great resource for spells, but staying here and getting possibly arrested or killed for the damages caused don't sound like a better solution than being someone's magic battery for awhile. "Medical teams will assist anybody harmed either through transportation to local medical facilities or nearby aid camps," continues the report as those present listen and discuss it among themselves. Riz, absolutely towering over most in the store except the rhino, peers down at Marigel once again when she asks a question. "I don't think anybody knows anything like that around here. The only magic I hear about is through ceremony at the temples. A priest might know more," he says, voice low enough to be library conversational. "Helicopter teams are reporting a thick black smoke coming from Gizou Medical Technologies although they are unsure what the source might be. GMT's offices host more than five hundred employees, yet they had left at the end of office hours only moments before the incident took place. Overnight and cleaning crews seem to be accounted for and there seem to be more injuries to those of the local area than from those from the building itself." Riz leans over to be a bit closer. "Why do you ask?" Marigel's eyes widen as Riz leans over towards her. Yeah he's been kind to her and all that, but he's still a huge grizzly bear, it's natural to be afraid of such things. "A priest?" Gosh, temples and cults and ceremonies? Sounds like a recipe for her to get sacrificed piece by piece. "I don't have a soul, there's no way they'd have any use for me." Just nip that whole route and keep any rumors about her wanting a priest dead in the water. She'll consider that a last ditch effort if nothing else pans out. That news report, sounds like no ones dead? That's good. Not that it's her fault the mage sent her hurtling like this, but causing less 'catlateral' damage is better than causing more. "Why? To help me get unlost. They could track my origins, right?" Despite being a magical battery multiple times, she's never used it herself, so it's not like she knows the ins and outs. "Well, maybe" The brown bear raises a hand to his head and scratches a bit. While Riz is by no means stupid, he's still pretty inexperienced in matters outside local social politics and the juvenile judicial system. A glance around the store at the other worried animals listening intently to the news broadcast reveals that, while a few of them are adults of some notable age, nobody really looks like a 'magic expert'...for whatever that would make somebody look like. "Maybe somebody here knows something more." "-with the streets near the incident locked down for rescue crews to have access. While evacuation routes exist by foot, any local public transportation will be limited until things are clear. The mayor has released a statement," states the reporter in the video on the duck's phone, "regarding what is now being called an accident:" A lion is shown on the screen next offering a soft smile. Strangely, his teeth are not sharp like other Carnivores. Instead, they are all designed after the plant-eating teeth of Herbivores. The effect can be jarring. "Evidence shows that the terrible tragedy suffered by the people of my city comes not at the hands of some attack or statement against Gizou or the Carnivores that work there, but instead due to what seems to be a fragment of a meteor that broke up in the atmosphere. The city will render aid to those families affected as it is able, but, for now, my heart and those of the council members go out to those in distress." The image cuts back to the reporter. The rhino squints as he looks back out through the storefront. Two cheetahs carry a poodle over to a vehicle. The dog seems to have been injured somehow and they must be trying to get the canine to some medical care. The others murmur about the meteor confirmation. It's powerful imagery in their culture, to be sure. "A meteor, huh?" says Riz under his breath, perhaps to Marigel. "I wonder how big it was. Strange that it didn't leave a crater." A meteor? For real? Marigel can't believe her luck. So no one noticed it was her, that's fantastic! Looks like she's in the clear as far as blame goes! Hooray! Her tail sways in celebration. If her luck holds, then maybe the mage that sent her off with his stupid spell died in the aftermath of using more magic then they knew what to do with! The angel catgirl is all fanged smiles now. Of course, Riz probably knows the truth, having been there when she came down and all...but uh...he's keeping it a secret, hopefully? "So strange! But the lion looks trustworthy, I'm sure it's the truth." There's someone speaking on behalf of something like a government, so this must not be TRI. Unless she's in a really weird part of Synthatek, but then magic wouldn't work, so she wouldn't have kept hurtling through the sky, right? So yeah, got to be a different dimension. Hopefully Luna notices her missing at some point and finds her or she can find a way back. Those from areas without a governing body over a territory yet are familiar with the concept might immediately recognize the shadows of democracy when the mayor provides a statement. Elected officials. He even mentions a city council. If it goes higher up, there could be other governing bodies above that and perhaps even a group that helps run the island nation as a whole. However, there is much that people wouldn't see. Not everything is as ideal as the island natives would have themselves and others believe. The mongoose turns his attention to the storefront window as the rhino watches the cats load somebody carefully into the backseat of a car. While the rhino watches, the mongoose's gaze drifts a bit higher in silent confusion. "Could be. Doesn't really matter as long as every animal in need gets some help, really," responds the bear to the self-titled 'angel cat human'. "But I'm going to be one of the animals in need if I can't get back before my curfew." Seems that students must have strict hours for going out if they're to make it back in time. Again, Riz would normally be at his part time job now, but he's very concerned about how long this will take. Doesn't help that his grocery bags were left outside when he carried Marigel inside and he doesn't really have the money to buy more on his recent paycheck. "That reminds me, I should probably step out and try to rescue what I can from my food." The moment the last cheetah enters the car, the shutting of the door causes a deep sound to reverberate throughout the building. Items shake for just a few seconds and everybody suddenly goes on alert again, wide-eyed and spooked. Marigel cocks her cat ears to the side. Curfew? "You have a bed time?" She finds that hard to believe, who could tell a giant bear monster when to go to bed. Maybe he has parents and is younger than he looks? "I can help carry them, I guess." That part is her fault, since she got carried in here after all by Riz, so offering to help shouldn't hurt. At the door shut thrumming her tail goes rigid and she snaps her attention towards it, instinctively moving towards the doorway to exit the building. Less closed in space the better when in danger. "What was that?" She whispers to...Riz maybe? Or maybe everyone. The mongoose does a hop and points a finger with a loud exclamation. "It was- A f- A fireball! In the sky, over near where the meteor hit the building!" Everybody murmurs; the reporter on the broadcast is slow to include the sudden announcement about a reported explosion that left them out of contact with one of their investigating helicopter crews. The rhino, still standing guard at the door, doesn't see Marigel's approach because he's too busy watching the events unfold. For as strong as he looks to be, he's entirely powerless to do much as he also points. "I think I see your fireball. It's...heading this way." Horrifically true, a streak of fire seems to be heading in the general direction of the neighborhood that includes the Large Breed Carnivore Grocery those present hide inside. "Oh, crap!" yells the mongoose as he immediately flees the glass storefront to head as far back into the small store as he can. Riz's eyes dart from the window to the ones now scrambling to the back to the rhino and then to Marigel. Instead of taking cover, he rushes forward after her to try to keep her from going outside. "Hold on, wait up a moment." The rhino is way too mesmerized to move. "Come on... Step on the gas, step on the gas. Move your asses; they- They don't see it coming..." A fist bangs against the glass, but from outside the evening sun's glare keeps the cheetahs in the vehicle from seeing or hearing anything until illumination lowers enough to be visible in the driver's side mirror. Despite the dangerous intensity rippling through her, the angel catgirl doesn't flee to the back like the mongoose does. But maybe she should? It's not like she has a big herd mentality or anything like that. The cat in her wants to know what's up! The angel in her doesn't want to be inside if danger is about. So just more pulling at her to go outside rather than in, but Riz is telling her to wait. Despite believing herself to be a strong independent person, that's all talk when a large bear tells her what to do, even if it isn't aggressive sounding. So, she stops and looks at Riz. "We should get out. Right? We should. Shouldn't we?" She looks to the mongoose, then to Riz, then back out, ears twitching this way and that trying to track all of the sounds at once. The driver of the vehicle finally notices something terrifying approaching their location in the mirror's reflection. Mouths move in exclamation, eyes widen, and the passenger leans out the window to look up at the blazing ball of metal and fire crashing down toward the street. Tears immediately well up in the passenger's eyes even as the car lurches forward with so much acceleration that the tires spin against the asphalt as they vie for grip. The skyfallen inferno comes down hard against the street surface just where the car was only seconds ago. The rough design of the helicopter is visible through the flames; its momentum causes it to skid across the pavement while a still spinning rotor causes damaged blades to slap at the road chaotically and pull the aircraft in an erratic spin. The impact isn't just visible from inside the store. It's also easily heard throughout the initial impact, the teeth-rattling scraping of metal, and a still-powered engine roaring yet unable to go anywhere. The rhino finally pulls back into reality and turns away from the glass to face Riz and Marigel even as the others taking cover scream and yell from the danger. Riz never has a chance to respond to the angelic catgirl. The blades almost immediately fly apart from the abuse and debris gets flung and bounced around. One piece catches the speeding vehicle's back tire, breaking the axle and rupturing the tube, causing it to rapidly slide out of control until it hits a parked car, flips, and rolls. Another piece loudly bounces off the glass leaving only a crack; the rhino and bear both move in to protect the girl as much as they can with their burly bodies in sheer reaction to the stimulus. Not even a second later another piece shatters the storefront and the rhino's rugged back is showered with glass shrapnel. Marigel's ears fold back as the explosion rocks the area. Her tail curls in a loop de loop and her wings flutter as if she's about to take off. She doesn't though! Flying inside is not a good idea. "Wh-" She doesn't finish even her first word as shrapnel is incoming. Is she fast enough to get out of the way? Who knows! Because a rhino and bear get between her and the destruction! She can sense the impact on the rhino though, something hit him. But he's a rhino right? Aren't they made of leather or something? Maybe he's fine? While some of her sisters are passive and would likely just go try and hide or maybe cling to one of the larger mobile barriers protecting them, she fights against that piece of her brain and speaks up quickly. "Did someone shoot a helicopter from the sky?! Are they after all of us? Did they aim for me? Or is this normal around here?" After all if she's in a different world or dimension, maybe exploding helicopter's happen frequently. She doesn't have the hero gene, so thinking about asking about helping survivor's or others hasn't occurred to her yet. As fast as it happens, it's over. The helicopter stirs in place, but doesn't move. Its rotor blades are all too damaged or missing to keep moving as a threat. The storefront glass removed in such a violent way, not only is the sight of the downed copter all the clearer, but the smell of its fire-driven fumes become apparent, too. "Is everybody all right?!" calls out somebody from the back amidst the crying and general distress from having such a terrible thing happen in plain view. "I don't know what happened," comes a very simple answer from the bear. Despite the crazy amounts of stress thick in the air and tenseness of muscle of those present, the bear is able to do an amazing job at remaining...gentle. Soft. Safe. Like a giant teddy bear. "But it's fine as long as we're okay." "ARE you okay?" interjects the rhino with a far more worried expression, widened eyes searching both the bear and the girl for any signs of immediate injury. "I felt the glass against my back, but I think I'm fine. Takes more than that to get to me." The rhino talks tough, but he's mostly well. Minor cuts only. "I just think we- Wait, that car!" The rhino pulls himself away from the two and bolts outside through the undamaged door, equally untouched bell jingles happily at the motion, as somebody else in the back yells out in protest. "Don't go out there!" Riz reaches to place a very large hand on Marigel's shoulder as he turns his head to look over the property damage. "But, no, this isn't normal. Probably just an accident. Why would somebody be after you?" Marigel checks herself over, patting here and there. Clothes are still dirty. Skin just has smudges here and there from her initial impacts and landing. "Fine here, not a scratch from that. Thanks." Although her general sense of danger isn't so much from physical threats as it is people hunting and capturing her. She actually IS about to follow the rhino outside to get a better look at things from curiosity if nothing else, but a bear holding her shoulder is more than enough to keep her in place, even if he didn't mean it as an intentional don't move gesture. She nods at Riz. "Lots of reasons, but mostly for experimenting and spell battery usage, oh I'm not supposed to tell people that." It's a bad idea to advertise herself as a never ending magical resource for obvious reasons. She's been locked in a mages prison more than once, it's getting old! On the bright side, the brown bear has no idea what precisely that means and he doesn't exactly get a chance to ask about it further before the rhino throws open the door again. He's out of breath, panting, and leans heavily against the door's frame. "I need- I- The car-" The rhino is staring at the only other large breed in the building: Riz. "Somebody is trapped. You gotta help. The fire- Just come on -- hurry! I can't do it alone." It would seem Marigel's notion to go outside is finally warranted. The brown bear looks to Marigel quietly before shifting his weight to fully rise in order to follow. Time seems to be of the essence. Despite the destruction, urgency, and possibility of multiple deaths that have just occurred, the angel catgirl smiles at Riz as he looks at her, one of her fangs gleaming briefly in the light. She then turns and will hop outside through the broken window, careless of the razor sharp glass that surely still occupies its space. It's almost like she doesn't care if she gets cut by them. Or maybe she's just young and foolish and thinks she's invincible? Once outside she'll stretch her wings out fully, feathers straining as if wishing they could be free of their holdings. Did she really not get cut? Agility! She takes a look around! The rhino said someone was trapped and there was fire! The smell of spilled fuel becomes apparent once outside whereas only the acrid smell of smoke and burning plastics was most notable indoors. Marigel makes it outside before the bear is able to go through the door; the door seems to remain open even as Riz leaves it. The mongoose is there peering out at the devastation yet refuses to leave the building. Inside, the duck calls emergency services to let them know of what they are probably already aware. The road is as chaotic of a scene as somebody might imagine a helicopter crash onto a used city road to be. More than one parked car is totaled or heavily damaged. Not one hundred feet away there is a car flipped upside-down, the chassis crumpled from its own weight, leaving damaged doors and collapsed windows to cut off most avenues of escape. Shattered safety glass and metal fragments litter the area. The bear follows the rhino about halfway before pausing to look around. From Marigel's perspective it can be easy to see how overwhelming such a hellscape can be. "Over here!" yells the rhino and the bear hurries over. What the two would-be rescuers of the car passengers don't see is the trail of fuel on the blacktop. The piece of metal that damaged the car's axle must have also punctured the fuel tank. The blazing wreckage of the aircraft through heat alone has set the fumes ablaze. It's not a direct line of liquid gas, though. The fire has breakpoints where it takes time to ignite the next patch or puddle of inflammable evaporate, but fire is terrifyingly efficient at spreading. The cheetah driver is trapped inside along with the unconscious poodle in the backseat. Coughing, the disoriented cat struggles to try to get free. "Maybe through the sunroof! The sunroooo-ghkkaff kaff! And my friend- My friend was here but he's gone. And there's this other guy in the back!" To access the sunroof the rhino and bear would have to lift the car, but the people inside might need help getting out. And the passenger cheetah that was leaning out the window before the crash? He must have been thrown free, but to where? Marigel takes it all in. She's seen some horrifying scenes, but usually they're from magic spells going wrong. Peoples insides exploded into outsides, that kind of thing. This is new. Despite being able to explode with magic by eating candy, she's never taken up spell casting herself! "Are there any mages around here?!" She yells into the streets! "Someone cast snowfall or blizzard!" She's used to there being spellcasters about, so surely that'll stir someone into action. But she's not going to wait for an answer. She runs over to where the bear and rhino are heading for the upturned car. Is she strong? Nope! But that doesn't stop her from trying anyway. She doesn't seem to care if fire is going to come and possibly engulf her at some point, or the shards of glass she puts her hands against as she pulls at one of the cars broken windows. If she pulls hard enough maybe she can snap it out and help the trapped animals inside! She'll flap her wings to give her a little extra pulling power. It's all pretty frantic and uncoordinated. The bear and rhino also try to find places to grab, to support, while trying to lift the vehicle enough to expose the roof window. The vehicle rocks a bit, but it only serves to weaken and collapse just a few inches more. There is a very real sense of panic that starts to creep in. "Marigel, can you- If we lift the car, can you get in under and help guide them out through the sunroof?" grunts the bear. The rhino widens his footing but doesn't wait for an answer. "On the count of three," the rhino huffs, knuckles going white in their grip on buffeted metal. "One. Two. Thr- Hrrrrgh!" The metal sound that follows is sickening as the two large beasts dig in hard and heft the car upwards. Muscles flex, limbs tremble, jaws clench. Knowing every second counts, the driver starts to wriggle in-between the broken front seats to head in the direction of the only opening left large enough to safely allow exit. The poodle lies there in a crumpled heap nearby, completely zonked out, but there's no time to stop and help the dog just yet. He has to get out first. A grasping hand reaches outward while the car rocks unsteadily in the animals' grips. The rhino exhales in great effort. "Hurry...!" Sadly, if there's one thing many of Luna's soul-stolen wives have, it's a general rapid response to requests. So when Marigel is asked to switch tactics she does so immediately, pulling away cut up lightly bleeding hands and getting down on her hands and knees, tail swaying wildly as adrenaline starts to run through her. She reaches out and grabs hold of the reacher's wrist with both of her hands and yanks, pulls, and tugs, wings flapping like crazy. Not that many would be paying a lot of attention, but a small white pinprick of magic starts to form ten yards away from the group. Once it appears it starts to flood upwards, like a small firework fountain, minus any sound effects. Little by little, tug by tug, the cheetah gets closer and closer to that window despite the awkward angle, despite the cramped confines, and despite limbs and head aching in ways that just makes a person want to curl up from the pain. Progress is made. First, the arm. Then, his head. Then the shoulders, the other arm, and legs kick and push at anything they can. The unconscious dog gets kicked, too, but there's no time to apologize. The poodle may not have even felt it. Half-in and half-out as the cat is, dropping the car now would be unthinkable and fatal. The pair struggle, yet they keep it aloft. Somehow. Marigel's guidance and help pays off soon; once there's enough space for the driver to stretch their legs fully, they quickly help scramble out and across the littered asphalt to a safe enough distance. "I'm free!" exclaims the cat in a voice dripping with exhaustion before trying to hug the strange girl that helped him. The words act like a trigger. The strength drains from the rhino's arms and the bear alone is unable to keep the car up. It drops with a crunch and the rhino can't stop apologizing while panting. That took all he had. "Catch your breath and we'll try again," says the bear. The beasts have no idea how limited the time might be. "I gotta- I've...gotta find my friend, too. I don't know where he went, what happened. What- What DID happen? Is that a helicopter?!" Marigel is hugged! That's the third? Fourth time someone has done close contact with her. It's like being stuck with Calint the eternal touchy-feely hugger. Well this is a lower level. It's fine though, it's in a moment of triumph and all! Her hug back is light and quick, neither encouraging or discouraging it to continue. Once free she wipes some sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. Phew. Yeah, right, still the dog in the car. You can't leave a dog in a car when fire is coming! You have to roll down a window! She nods at the cat. "It crashed, we're all going to go up in fire soon." She says it like it doesn't matter to her, as if one were discussing a cloudy weather day. The white pinprick has fountained up even more now, and while it's not a flaming crashed helicopter, it isn't nothing either. It's quickly taking on a human shape as well, about six foot or so. Looks like someone is teleporting in? Never the safest mode of transportation on TRI as teleporting and dimensional travel can often result in injury or death. "Fire? What fire?" comes the question from both the bear and rhino almost in unison. Being closer to the back end of the vehicle, the rhino only now examines the greasy stuff on his hands. He then sniffs it. "It's gas!" he yells, taking a step back, searching around only to see what Marigel had already spotted. He points with dread. "The fire is- The gas- It's coming this way!" The bear clenches his jaw and fists in frustration. "Get out of here if you've got gas on you!" commands the bear. "Go wash up. Move!" The rhino hesitates, glancing at the last occupant of the car, before starting to sob in guilt as he rushes back toward the store. The mongoose at the store front opens the door for the rhino quizzically as they all have questions as to what's going on. The coyote hurries over to guide the crying rhino to the bathroom, but the mongoose no longer watches the large breed. His eyes are fixed upon whatever is going on out there completely apart from the emergency. "What the..." Riz quickly paces back and forth beside the car, working himself up, before reaching up to yank his hoodie off and toss it away off to the side. Attacking the car like a real predator, the bear rushes forward to grip where he can to lift. He growls and fights the mass of the car along with the clock, tugging, heaving, claws digging through plastic and upholstery to scrape against metal in their grip. There's no denying it; the bear looks bulkier and more monstrous by the second. Even if he manages to lift the car, though, the dog isn't awake to pull himself out, but Riz doesn't seem to think about that just yet. "Go FiNd YoUr FrIeNd AnD gEt To SaFeTy," he rumbles ferally. There's no way to do this on his own, right, but there's still somebody out there that might still be found who could be hurt. The angel catgirl doesn't care that she has some gas on her. She was crawling around on the ground to get the cat out moments ago. Her thigh high socks are soaked along with parts of her seifuku and even some of her hair. But she's helping! Or she did help. She's never actually saved someone in her life until now. Well, that she remembers. Her time before her encounter with Luna is alllll a big blank. But for some reason, this is feeling a little natural. Maybe the angel pieces of her are thriving on it. Whatever the reason, she gets back down and as soon as there's a gap she squeezes her upper half into the car! She's putting a lot of trust in Riz not to crush her! She'll grab hold of the poodle around the head and pulls just to get them in a better position, before switching to under the arms for a better grip! "Hhrrrrrgggg!" She growls as she pulllllls, trying to squirm out before getting crushed, or catching fire. The white light finishes forming a full on human man. Welll, part of one. His entire right shoulder is missing and it looks like someone poked his entire right eye into its socket. Blood soaks the long billowy robes that just ooze with the title of sorcerer. As if the robes and beard weren't enough of the stereotypical magic user, he also has a staff he holds, the tip of it embedded with a white crystal. He exhales a long, "UAuuaughhglkkch," before spitting out a large glob of blood and tissue. He doesn't even glance around, but looks right towards Marigel, or the part of her that's sticking out from under the car. He wipes his bloody lips with a long sleeve. The driver scoots backwards on the ground as Riz really gives in to his Carnivore side. Even as a Carnivore himself, this is a scary sight. Large Breed Carnivores can be terrifying and Brown Bears are second in size only to Polar Bears. Exhausted and in pain, the cheetah forces himself to his feet to try to look for his friend even as Marigel takes the initiative to try to free the poodle. Bulked up, jaws larger, claws bigger, muscles rippling underneath his fur, Riz leverages the vehicle up with more seeming ease than with the rhino's help. His blood boils, saliva leaks from his mouth, and the docile expression on his face is swapped for one of great malice. His anger and frustration are redirected toward the large car in this way. His claws begin digging into the metal itself. Marigel has the opening she needs, though the poodle is unconscious and dead weight is very hard to move. There may be some surprise, then, as the bear reacts to seeing the flame come into view: Riz takes a step backward and begins to drag the car along, step by slow step, trying to buy as much time as possible. In response to the phone calls and to the obvious crash, there are finally sirens on the way. They'll be too late to help the car, though. Sounds like a full accompaniment of police, fire, and medical. Gone unnoticed, Riz's anklet monitor has also reported his hormonal change. "Hey!!" calls out the mongoose from the store. "What the- Who are you?!" He looks over his shoulder. "This ape guy just appeared out of nowhere, flashy lights and everything. Yeah. Are you still on the phone with the Emergency operator?" "So heavyyy!" Marigel growls as she pullllls on the unconscious dog! It'd be a real sad thing if they were already dead and she was grappling underneath a car for nothing! She'll just ignore those random thoughts though and give another tug! Almost there! If she can just get a gri- "Ah!" The car actually MOVES?! At first she thinks Riz lost his grip and she's about to get her midsection crushed flat as a tortilla, but no, he's moving the car? BEARS MAN! She shifts her footing, squeezes her elbows in tighter and gives another pull. Just a few more and she thinks she'll at least have HER upper body out, then she'll have to keep working on the dog. The old man starts to walk towards Marigel, Riz, and the dragged vehicle, staff clunking against the pavement in time. When called out by the mongoose, the sorcerer squints over then raises an eyebrow. "This that island of beasts? Hmf. Senta." He hacks out another chunk of blood and tissue. No need to answer some animal. That bear near Marigel could be a problem though, and are those sirens? There's an actual police force here? No matter. He stops ten yards from the car wreck and raises his staff. A white light emanates from the crystal in it and he begins to chant. "Craz la na ko to min charoogun!" A nation island devastated by civil war; what non-District cities remain are guarded by a very zealous policing body and a government system that barely seems to hold together without the secrecy they cherish or the help of the current Beastar -- a beast with near unlimited monetary and political power with the unquestioned jurisdiction over what can make the nation better in whichever field they specialize in. There actually is no current Beastar. The last one, a veritable superhero horse named Yahya, stepped down but has been playing vigilante since. An amazingly powerful protector, anybody that falls underneath his critical gaze is in for real hurt. There's no telling when he might show up and it's unclear just who might know this outside of their own insular culture. Riz isn't fighting to take a life, though. He's fighting to save one. This is unusual territory for him to tread, but that's what the circumstances require so that's what Marigel and the poodle get. He shows no signs of slowing or giving out. If anything, he likes it. He hates that he likes it, but he'll feed into whatever he has to to see the injured to safety. The angelcatgirl can do this. He just needs to keep buying half-seconds while he can. "Hey! If you're not gonna help, buzz off! Cops are coming," calls out the mongoose again, annoyed. He looks back again to the others. "I think it's some creep trying to take advantage of the bad situation." The one chanting may also find some measure of annoyance when SOMEBODY THROWS A ROCK! It's not even a nice rock. It's a chunk of concrete. The clerk and the rhino now stand side by side near the mongoose, just out front, while the duck on the phone watches through the shattered window. Along the street, among the other stores, other beasts poke their heads out to see what this new fuss is about. Somebody is attracting a lot of attention. "Just a little more Riz!" Marigel's strained voice grunts from under the car. And it's true, if she can just pull a little more she'll be outside of the car herself, then it should just be a couple good yanks to get the poodle out as well! Hooray! She's going to save two people! Well, more her and Riz and the rhino guy, but technicalities are for elves. The sound of the car being scraped across the pavement and her own sounds of exertion don't even let her cat ears pick up the chanting sounds. Way too busy! "Forna mang lo no ig t-" Whack! A rock hits the sorcerer in the shoulder that once held his arm before he teleported here. His lips sneer in pain and anger, revealing uneven yellowed teeth that surely hold breath as foul smelling as sewage. Yet, he's an old sorcerer, and it's not the first time he's been attacked while casting, so he doesn't miss a syllable in his spell despite the pain! "-o rah k rah k foreing!" He finishes casting moments later and extends his staff towards not Marigel, but Riz! A great popping sound like the opening of a vaccuum tube thrums as the white light that gathered around the crystal fwooshes outwards in the oldest trick in any old sorcerer's book, a big giant flaming white fireball! Does he know Marigel is also covered in gas? Perhaps he doesn't care, but it's quite possible Riz, the angel catgirl, poodle, and car are about to all catch flame from this source, rather than the looming danger of the helicopter's fire! The brown bear tips his nose upward, jaws massive and teeth razor sharp bared in a passionate display fueled by adrenaline and frustration, while claws continue to dig into the fiberglass and plastic and metal of the car being held up. The bright white illumination from behind lights up the site of the accident far more than the early evening sunlight partially obscured by coastal cloud cover can do alone. There are multiple screams and yells from the audience taking shelter across the local stores at this display. The mongoose yells 'look out' at the top of his lungs, but his warning has little impact on the reaction provoked. Marigel is the first to experience what happens as the car lifts higher, but not slowly; the entire vehicle pitches upward and over in a half-roll as the monstrously bulked bear tosses it just enough to flip it onto its wheels and the sudden rotation might actually help her efforts in freeing the limp poodle. And, if not, the new exit might be a help, too. The display is accompanied by a sickening rip of metal, for when the car is flipped forward the door in Riz's claws remains in his grip. Like a makeshift shield, the sizable chunk of thick metal paneling is spun about as the bear about-faces in one smooth motion to place a barrier between himself and the incoming projectile. The fiery impact explodes, flash igniting the drifting fuel fumes nearby that the car might just be clear of, and the flaming attack obscures the impact against the shielded bear and the subsequent force that throws him backward into the side of the right-side-up car. Not only does the car feel the impact from the rolled landing, but it almost immediately gets jostled by the bulk of the bear getting knocked into it. When the initial flash subsides, Riz remains standing on his feet. His shirt is on fire, but a quick yank pulls the already ripped fabric from his torso. This isn't the bear that saved Marigel. This is a monster. Pinprick pupils lock onto the assailant. The magic-flinging sorcerer may have weathered a thrown chunk of concrete from a nobody animal-person nearby, but the spinning shape of ragged metal hurled by the singed bear is a much greater threat. Marigel is super intent on getting this poodle free! Is that adrenaline rushing through her? She's not sure she's ever had this kind of excitement rippling through her muscles and brain! Even when she was in various states of imprisonment, experimentation, or what have you, it wasn't like this. Maybe saving people and getting this emotional state of urgency and panic are what makes people want to do it? Either way, she's about to give another yank when CRWUANK! The entire car goes 180 and smashes down! She cries out in shock rather than pain! "Anti-grav magic?!" Being part cat with some angel as well, her balance is top notch, so despite the spinning and turning she lands onto her feet! Well, some of her is still in the car, but there's no snapped ankles or limbs on impact. With a final pull she gets the poodle OUT of the car! "VICTORY!" She cries, straightening up and then face going more pale than it already is as a the heat of an impacting against car door washes over her. "Althena's pits!" she curses! What is happening? Once Riz tosses the car door she can see the old sorcerer. Ugh. She got followed after all. But Riz is...obviously taking care of him, so...she grabs the poodle and drags it away from the wreckage and flame. She'd rather not catch fire herself either since she's dowsed and all. Unfortunately the flames are just about to hit the gas tank and EXPLODE it and the area into pieces! The sorcerer raises his staff as the fireball is released. Yes excellent. Cook the bear to a crisp and then he can get at the magic battery. He actually takes a pre-emptive step forward, assuming all has gone well before the flame even impacts. Then Riz flips the car, shields himself, and chucks the door right at him. "Oh f-" Whatever else he was going to say is cut off as the door clobbers into him, lifting him off his feet, and sending him sailing through the air with it and then skidding across the pavement. A pair of purple sandals are left where the sorcerer once stood, the force of the hit having separated him from his footwear. Blood, cuts, and likely multiple fractured bones from the way his body lies are the old caster's current state. He might actually be dead from the blunt force trauma. His staff also went flying off, skidding to a halt in the middle of the road. The driver cheetah finds his buddy cheetah just as flame fwooshes. The other cat is dazed with minor injuries, lucky that it wasn't worse, having been thrown from the vehicle when it skidded out of control. Marigel drags the injured poodle off to safety as the cheetah tries to do the same for his friend while Riz stalks forward step by heavy step with a face that screams in thirst for the violence at hand. He spent so long in therapy in Juvie to help avoid this and now he's right back where he started. He's aware of this and that only makes him angrier. With a high-pitched sound of air superheating from the catalyzed ignition, the car finally goes up in spectacular fiery fashion. The illumination and smoke serves as a background to the approaching grizzly while casting his front in shadow except his cruel eyes. For all anybody present knows, this stranger might be the cause of the city's damage; his appearance and actions surely haven't helped. If the magic user is injured or dazed and unable to react, things could go even worse now that such a beast has been provoked. A van skids around a corner nearby with a quick whoop-whooop of a siren, side doors opening as police-dressed individuals pour out. "Large Breed Squad! Stop where you are and put your hands in the air! We WILL shoot!" They most definitely have firearms. Only, they aren't there for the sorcerer. They're all trained on the bear. "Your monitor has alerted us to your dangerous status. In violation of your probation and in light of the damage you've done here, you are under arrest." Riz...stops in place and raises his hands high. What else can he do even if the police don't understand what really happened? They probably won't listen to his explanation. Carnivore discrimination is still a matter of bias with the police. The sorcerer doesn't move. He is, in fact, dead. He already had a lot of blood loss from the mangled teleportation. Well, this kind of stuff happens. Self defense, right? Marigel drops the poodle once they're far enough from gasoline and fire! Finally! Yes. She did something heroic. It was super neat! She smiles and pats the unconscious dog on the head. "Good puppy." Her ears perk up as the sirens sound, then fold back. Too loud for her hearing. She looks between them and Riz, then laughs and walks over...well, not near the giant bear, but, ya know, a little closer so she's obviously taking his side and not...totally afraid of the apex predator. She'll wave a hand to get the attention of the cops, or authorities, or possible mercs in stolen police cars. "It's okay, he was helping me and saving everyone." She then notices the dead sorcerer with the car door embedded in him. "Oh hey, it's old man Wigglewart. Is he dead? That's great! But...wow did he dimensional travel from TRI to get to this dimension?" She's kind of talking to Riz and the dead body, assuming that her explanation given is more than enough to settle things down. "Hey, the Hybrid girl is right!" calls out the mongoose from nearby. Some of the others, including the rhino, come out from hiding to stand near Marigel. "Take our statements before you make a mistake." There's a lot of talking among one another and even the rhino takes a moment to ask if the angel cat human is okay. The cheetahs call out from where the poodle is unconscious. "Stop wasting time. This guy needs a doctor!" One officer approaches the fallen stranger and looks over the chaotic display. Things really went to shit somehow! Riz can only stand there as an officer comes over and handcuffs him anyway, just in case. The bear looks...sad. He only did what he had to do, but if he gets sent away he might not ever get out of prison. The rage has drained from his face. His eyes no longer look so 'mean'. He's just way bulked up and half naked with scorch marks that probably need treatment soon, but is otherwise the same guy that gave Marigel honey chews after the initial 'meteor impact' at Gizou Medical. It wasn't even that long ago. A lot suddenly happened all at once. "Everybody calm down. We'll get statements, one at a time, and get fire and medical response units in to help. What the hell even-" A border collie cop steps to the side with a notebook. "One at a time, please. Who is first? And, please, let's stick to the basics. No imagination needed. This is already a mess as it is." A few beasts look to Marigel, but the mongoose and rhino will step forward if she doesn't. Marigel nods at the rhino, brushing her clothes off. They're completely dirty and soaked in gasoline, but she gives it a light effort. "Yeah, just more clothing damage." She wonders if the sea she saw when she was coming down is fresh water or salt water. Maybe she'll take a stroll soon and find out. After all, if that sorcerer is dead she doesn't have to be in a rush. Plus, now they're asking her what happened. Her angel pieces won't let her outright straight up lie, but... "That guy there?" She points at Wigglewart. "He's a crazy murderous sorcerer! He's the reason that building got damaged earlier." It's true! It's his fault he cast that spell and sent her hurtling through the skies! "I don't know but he probably brought the helicopter down too!" Guesswork, but she didn't see him teleport in so she's just assuming he was already here looking for her and...for some reason caused a scene to draw her out? "So then Riz, the giant bear there, and the rhino...” She’ll then give a nice truncated version events, though she emphasis how crazy amazing Riz was one he lifted the car and such. “Not sure I would have got the poodle to safety if he hadn’t.” "We had to lift a flipped car to help the occupants get free, yeah," adds the rhino. "The copter came down and crashed, the car lost control, and we rushed out to help. I could only help get- I- I could only help get one person out, but there was fire and leaking fuel. I had to go clean up. The girl here is soaked in it, but she stayed to help. I- I couldn't. I'm not as strong as I look. I feel like a failure." The coyote lady gives him a pat on the back. She helped him clean up, after all. "You did more than we could," she adds. "Then that old ape guy just popped in out of thin air and threw, like, a ball of fire at the car. We tried to draw his attention, but it didn't work. There was this big explosion of fire, the girl got the last person free, and the bear threw something back before another big fwoosh of fire! That's when you finally showed up." "Hey, buddy, we're taxed enough as it is, right now," adds one of the other cops keeping an eye on Riz. "Maybe you didn't notice the meteor that hit one of our buildings?" "Is he serious?" "The girl just said it was the old guy chucking fire bombs." "If you don't believe us, then ask everybody else here on the block that saw it happen!" "Was it really a meteor or was the mayor lying?" The cops look impatient, but they are stressed. Notably, not one of them is asking the bear for his side of the story. Marigel nods in agreement with the others statements. She’d rather Riz didn’t get arrested, considering all the help he provided for her. And that candy was delicious of course. She eyes the old sorcerer. Undoubtedly he brought candy with him to give to her. “How bloody could it be.” She murmurs under her breath to herself. Oh, yeah, cops. She waves her hands to draw a little attention to herself. “You can trust what I say, I’m part angel so I can’t straight up lie you know.” She ruffles her wings to emphasize her words and throws a smile out for good measure. Everybody goes silent for a moment as attention is drawn to Marigel. Silence persists as eyes move from Marigel to the cops. Eventually the border collie sighs and throws his hands up. "All right, all right. It's standard to detain raging Carnivores, especially Large Breeds. Can't be too careful." The officer turns to another. "Doesn't seem to be a reason to hold him, but we should still write up an incident report. His monitor did go off, so that's paperwork either way." Approaching sirens, similar to the ones from before, announce the arrival of the fire and medical teams. The fire crew gets to work spraying a material on the wreckage that looks like snow or some type of foam. They work alongside the medical crew to check for any survivors, help the injured, and... The medics that stand around the fallen old guy look puzzled. They have to work with the cops to maintain the scene with markers so that they can remove the guy. Whatever happens to him from this point forward, it can't be decided out on the streets. The cheetah driver is given water and a sedative while his friend and the poodle -- apparently a total stranger that suffered some kind of episode when the traumatic 'meteor' impact hit -- are loaded up to be taken to a nearby care center. It'll be hours before any cleanup crews arrive; for as terrible as this incident is, a few places closer to Gizou actually got it worse. Riz is finally uncuffed after some quick questions and a check-up on his monitor anklet. His size and muscular bulk has lessened a bit and one of the medics comes over to check on his burns. The bear sits there, silent, while most of the others start to get back to their own lives. Many are on their phones talking with loved ones. Riz isn't. Marigel just idles around, watching people go about their cleanup and what not. As long as they’re not going to arrest the person that saved her and others, that seems good. It’s probably time to go find that ocean. Probably...that way? Sure! Why not? She walks over to Riz though, he seems a tad down, or maybe bored, or... “There’ll be other grocery bags to fill.” She jokes about his likely ruined bags he was holding before. She reaches over and patpats his shoulder to comfort him. “I’m going to the water to clean myself off. Thanks for helping me with...” She zooms her hand through the air and makes a little quiet “...kaboom...” sound, indicating her arrival here. “And good work saving those people, what a thrill!” She flashes a fanged smile. Riz looks up even as the medic applies balm to some scorched spots. He flinches because it's cold. "Oh, hey. Mm, I'll be okay. They're going to contact the school so they know if I'm late. They said they can't really keep me, but they don't want to let me go just yet, either. Paperwork." The bear turns this around. "You sure you'll be fine? You said you were lost and needed help, but if you want to visit the beach there are a few good ones. I'd suggest a train route to get there, but some of the local public transit is probably affected, like they said. Hmm... Thanks for helping earlier, though. That was really brave. A lot was a bit of a blur, it all happened so fast." The bear's hands loosely clasp together and his thumbs slowly wind in circles around each other. Marigel nods in agreement. “I feel a lot safer now that old ugly is dead, and there don’t seem to be many magic users around here so that’s only good news for me!” Her tail twitches. “Plus I just helped save people! I feel really good about that. I didn’t know it was so fun to do. Maybe I’ll look into it more.” Could be fun sticking her ears in peoples business to save them from terrible people. Then again, there might not always be a giant bear to help her out. “Thanks for getting me on my feet, I’ll look for you later if I get lost again.” She winks and pats his shoulder one more time. A train? So there’ll be train tracks. Okay. She steps back, hops once, twice, then jumps forward. Her wings flap wildly, taking her up into the sky. She’s not the smoothest flier, but it’s a much faster transportation method than walking through streets. The bear watches Marigel depart while the medic continues to patch him up. He did a good thing. They all did. All together. It was different trying to help, but the moment the strange person attacked it all shifted. It was like before. He may have even killed the guy. He didn't think. It all just happened. Will that kind of thing happen again? Why did it feel so good? Once the strange girl disappears from sight, the medic begins asking questions and Riz's attention shifts focus away. | |