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NiveisPermalink Reply by ✓ Autumn Murphy on June 24, 2020 at 12:30

She’ll have to worry about the break room later, when she has more time to focus on what she’s doing. If she can sit down and focus maybe she’ll be able to manage something about that but that will come after they get what they need. A gas station is bound to keep supplies that they could use. While Dom’s gone to gather whatever it is he wants, she heads to the stock room just to see what they might have. He probably notices her displeased frown as she jiggles the locked doorknob. She’s never exactly picked a lock before but surely they must keep spare keys somewhere… She joins him behind the counter and bends down, looking at the shelves behind the counter to see if she can find any keys anywhere, glancing up when she hears him speak.

“Too late, I’m already worried.” He can hear her shuffling things around, moving until she finally finds the shiny silver key and she starts wading back through the water after pulling it from behind some magazines. He does pull a soft laugh from her with his comment and she looks over her shoulder at him to smile. “I didn’t say anything, I think you’re projecting.” It does seem to have reassured her that he’s okay a little though. The key slides easily into the lock and she finally opens the door, leaving the key right in the handle as she goes into the room, her wings still illuminating the space. Toilet paper, cleaning supplies, extra stock for the store, a mop which prompts a tired giggle from her as she pictures someone trying to mop up this mess with the tiny thing, and there in the corner what she was looking for. She comes out of the supply room carrying a box full of large towels, placing them down on the counter beside Dominic and taking one out to start to dry her hair off with. “Believe it or not,” she begins, glancing up at him through her wet bangs, “I don’t actually like staying in it either. But we can’t both fit on that counter all night…” Which brings her back to her plan to attempt to use her powers to clear out some of the water. She needs to regain a bit of her strength first though so she does as he asks and hops up on the counter beside him, letting her wings mold back into her back as though they had never been there.

While he’s leaned over to break into the case she takes a piece of the beef jerky from the bag, slowly chewing on it and raising an eyebrow at how easily he pops the lock off. She leans away from the smoke a bit as he exhales, wrinkling her nose at the smell that invades her senses. “Nope, don’t smoke and too young to drink. I’m boring.” She gently takes the bottle of aspirin from him when he offers it back, taking a couple from it and quickly swallowing them before she answers him, hoping it’ll make the ache in her shoulder go away. “Actually I know a few of us who smoke, but I’d hardly say I’m an expert on the matter. ‘You know that mess will kill you right?’” She’s obviously imitating someone with the way she drops her voice and makes a goofy expression. “That’s what I’m always told, you know right after someone’s lit one.” She’s moved the towel to rest in her lap now, leaning her elbows on it as she looks toward the shattered glass door. “I messed my shoulder up a little when I fell but I’m alright. Seriously though, you’ve done all the hard stuff, I hardly deserve that sort of praise. If you’d been with any other niveis you wouldn’t have to worry about this storm at all, they’d just… make it go away. At least enough not to have to worry about all of this.” The smile she turns on him now is self deprecating to say the least. “You got unlucky, stuck with the weakest of us.” Also the newest but to her that doesn’t matter very much. That doesn’t mean she can’t at least try to use her powers to help though, no matter how slow going it might be. She focuses her gaze on the water at the base of the door to the break room, silently willing it to move backwards and clear out. The markings around her wrist start to glow faintly as the water sluggishly responds to her, flowing backwards. It’s almost unnoticeable at first but before too long there’s a visible swell that’s moving back into the main part of the room. She can already feel the headache coming on but she’s honestly a little proud of herself. Her training with Mikaere is slowly paying off, even if her ability with ice isn’t up to par yet. “I can try to freeze the water at the door… but I make no promises.”

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on July 8, 2020 at 20:20

Dominic gave her a single nod of understanding with a grin as she confirmed his suspicions about not smoking while grabbing one of the towels she'd found. He haphazardly dried his arms off quickly before shaking his hair out again. Even if getting warm was going to be a bit of a struggle in their current situation, he was glad for the small relief the towel had provided. Dom draped it over his shoulders and ashed the sweet smelling cigar out towards where the floor would normally be, watching as the wisps evaporated in the surrounding dark water that had filled the station. A small shake of his head came as the thought of being in this strange circumstance went through his mind. Never in his life could he have predicted this scenario. He set one of the cold beers down on the counter between them and looked to her with a slight smirk. "I won't tell anyone if you won't. You deserve a little rebellion." 

Listening to Autumn speak, he could tell she was still being hard on herself. He wondered what it was in her life that caused her to be so critical. "Listen, kid, give yourself a break." Dominic pulled out another piece of the beef jerky and snapped a bit off with his teeth. He pointed it towards her as he spoke as if it was a way to strengthen and solidify his point. "You may be the weakest, but you're just new to this whole niveis game. You'll get better using your abilities with time like everyone else that's just starting to stretch their legs. Have to crawl before you walk before you run." Dom thought back to when he first turned into his brown lycan form and how getting used to that was both natural and confusing, especially when it came to his enhanced senses. "I can tell you that with my temper, it wasn't fun losing control and inadvertently ripping my clothes to shreds because I couldn't help wolfing out by accident. Awkward encounters when that happened to say the least."

Dom's eyes moved to follow her gaze and he watched as the water began to slowly bend to her will. His hues moved to the niveis markings that intricately wrapped her small wrist as they began to emit the blue glow he was becoming familiar with at this point before looking back to the storm water. At first it was barely noticeable, but soon he could make out the tiles of the floor underneath as the wave pulled backwards from the door. "Not bad," he commented with a smirk and tossed the last piece of his jerky into his mouth. He leaned back against the register again, pulling a knee up and letting the other leg dangle off the side of the counter as though he owned the joint. "Don't exert yourself. The water is just going to keep seeping in anyway." He looked towards the large glass windows and watched as the water moved about the street in the continuous river. Dom spoke then with a teasing tone. "Unless you can craft an ice boat and we can paddle our way out of this nightmare."

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NiveisPermalink Reply by ✓ Autumn Murphy on July 10, 2020 at 13:03

Her new companion looks a bit too pleased with his correct assumption if you ask her, but she hates the way those things smell enough not to want to even test her luck. She’d rather not be sick on top of everything else and something about those things always makes her feel a bit nauseous, they’re cloyingly sweet, much like poison. Though she supposes they are in a way. She blinks a little at the still-cold beer he sets on the counter between them, looking at him with a raised brow only to laugh at his bad influence. “I think you’re trying to get me in trouble. Should cops be encouraging teenage rebellion?” Yet despite her words she picks the beer up and looks at it, almost suspiciously, before popping open the tab and taking a swallow. The face she makes immediately after is picture worthy, her eyes and nose screwing up as the strange flavor hits her. “Ugh that’s bitter…” To her credit she doesn’t start coughing like some would. “Do people actually drink this for fun?” The disbelieving look she turns him is nearly as funny as her earlier one.

She finds his presence during all of this strangely comforting despite them being strangers, he really reminds her of members of the crew she spent several years with. Perhaps it’s odd that she compares them but to her they seem quite similar, though she doubts he spent several years in the arctic ocean. Only stupid people do that. She eyes the bitten off piece of jerky that he’s pointing at her and though she wants to retort she finds that she really has nothing to retort with. He’s right. Since arriving here she’s been told many times that she’s too hard on herself but old habits die hard and that’s a lifetime of learned behavior to try and unlearn. His admission does cause her to chuckle and she steels herself to take another swallow of the bitter drink, mostly because she’s actually thirsty and doesn’t feel like wading through the water again for something different. “I can’t even imagine how awkward. It’s hard to unlearn old habits though, isn’t it?” Figuring out how to get a temper under control sounds hard, though she imagines it causing you to turn into a giant wolf and ruin your clothes would help you get a handle on it faster. “Being honest? Mikaere thinks my biggest struggle is that I’m scared of my powers. That I can’t separate them from my old phoenix abilities… no one’s been able to give me a solution to that one yet.”

She knows that’s why she finds something that should come so naturally to her difficult. It’s why the water responds to her sluggishly instead of fluidly to her whim and direction. It’s why holding the water back is giving her a headache as she forces it instead of compelling it. She hears Dom talking to her but her focus is on what she’s doing so she concentrates instead of answering quite yet. Once she’s sure she has the water pulled back enough from the door her attention shifts into freezing it. She shifts her eyes toward him to answer him. “Have to practice somehow don’t I? Don’t worry, the worst that happens is I lose control of it and the room gets flooded again.” Which would suck, she really is hoping for somewhere dry to sleep for both their sakes. Ice is beginning to creep up the wall of water she’s made, white patterns of frost beginning to overtake it. It’s quite slow going though so she doesn’t imagine she’ll be able to actually make much headway. His joke manages to completely break her focus and she barks out a laugh as she loses her grip on the wall, allowing the water to flow back into place. “If I figure out how to do that you will be the first to know. I’ll leave finding the paddles up to you though.” Well, the progress she made is gone now but hey, at least she accomplished what she did. She’s too tired to start from the beginning again so instead she leans back and closes her eyes, willing the headache she just gave herself to go away.

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on August 22, 2020 at 1:04

Dominic watched as the water continued moving to her will, but he could see the forced concentration it seemed to be taking. The wall of ice continued to climb and he watched impressed as the frost crept along, etching intricate patterns as it went. It was quite interesting and impressive to witness despite how unskilled she clearly felt. Dom was of course no expert on the matter when it came to helping a niveis harness their abilities, but he'd been known to help more than a few different supernaturals on and off the Guard. He wondered when they might bring into their ranks the first of their kind. 

Her sudden outburst of laughter from his remark about a possible escape out of their predicament made him chuckle in response though he instantly felt bad as the water Autumn managed to pull away from the floor instantly filled the space again. "Ah, shit, I'm sorry," he apologized, nudging his knee into hers. "I'll buy you another beer for the trouble." Dom was of course joking, but then a sudden and rather crazy idea came to mind. He glanced at the can she had been sipping from and then to the dark water that surrounded them still, finally deciding that it was worth the mentioning because it wasn't like they were going anywhere fast. 

"Okay, hear me out." Pulling a long drag from the skinny cigar, the therian tipped the ash down and glanced to her with a grin. "You're having issues with your powers because a mentor of yours thinks you're scared? You seem unsure of that and perhaps it's true, but your brain is not really accepting that either since you're wavering on the idea." He reached down for the can she'd been drinking from then and lifted it to her. "I say you lower your inhibitions a little so you aren't overthinking it so much. Perhaps a little buzz will do you some good. You don't have to get drunk or completely wasted, but it might help you relax a bit and let the natural course of your powers flow through you better without the walls you subconsciously put up from the possible fear of what may happen."

Dominic gestured towards the space they currently occupied. "This is now your training playground." He picked up his own beer and touched hers with it in a toast. "Beer isn't the most ideal of choices, but sadly Colorado gas stations don't sell the good stuff. This shit is an acquired taste and still isn't necessarily my go-to if there are other options available." A grin formed then as he pulled from the cigar again. "Seriously, what have you got to lose? Sometimes you have to think out of the box and go the unconventional routes instead of the straight path to an answer and solution out of the rule book." He tipped back more of the cold drink in his mouth and then chuckled with an added note. "Just maybe don't mention it to your mentor." 

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NiveisPermalink Reply by ✓ Autumn Murphy on August 31, 2020 at 1:15

The headache she’s currently experiencing makes it hard for her to feel too bad about the water rushing to refill the space. She turns her head to Dominic when he apologizes, flashing him a brief smile to show that she’s fine and he really doesn’t need to worry about it. Actually, she appreciates him trying to make her feel better with the jokes. A chuckle blows past her lips as he jokes again and she half rolls her eyes. “Make it a coke instead and you have a deal.” She quietly pulls her knees up to her chest as he falls into silence, staring at the dark waters around them and only barely pulling a face as she takes another sip of the beer.

She almost jumps when he starts talking again, having apparently entirely spaced out in the couple minutes of quiet, but she quickly turns her head to him with interest. ‘Hear me out’ is usually followed by a rather ridiculous idea and for a moment she thinks he’s about to joke with her again. She stays quiet as he starts talking about her powers and, since he’s obviously older than her and seems to know what he’s saying, she seems content to listen to the idea. It’s… not a ridiculous one actually. Though it’s certainly something she could see Mikaere having a problem with. He can see as her expression turns thoughtful and she slowly takes the can from him, glancing between him and it. “It’s not a bad idea.” She just wishes this crap tasted better. To be fair, she does think Mik is right. She spent her entire life suppressing her powers, trying to get rid of them even, so it’s no surprise she’s struggling now. “Alright, I’ll give it a shot. Just… if I start to lose control and ice starts flying everywhere, stop me.” The look she turns him for a moment is completely serious. Ice and water isn’t as uncontrollable as flame but right now there’s an overabundance of it and she has no idea what drunk brain will cause to happen, if she manages to cause him to get hurt twice in one night she’ll never get over it. With a slightly withering look towards the can in her hand she decides to get this over with and tips the beer all the way back, downing it in one go so she doesn’t have to keep dealing with the taste of the crap. She can’t help but give another shudder as she puts the now empty can down. “Ugh, I don’t know how you drink that with a straight face.”

Still feeling fine, if rather disgusted, she grabs another one out of the box alongside a piece of the jerky. “It’s good to know that the other stuff tastes better. If all of it tasted like this I’d probably think you were insane to drink.” It’s a joke… mostly. Thankfully a few sips into the second one and she can feel heat rising to her face, prompting her to put the can down. She really has no intention of overdoing it, especially not in the middle of a storm like this. Though… there is the added side effect of her brain apparently no longer caring about the thunder. That’s nice, she doesn’t want to curl up in a corner with earplugs in. “How many messes like this have you gotten yourself into?” She turns her eyes to him again, watching as the smoke wreathes around his head as he puffs more on the cigar. “My grandfather was determined to keep me where I couldn’t hurt anyone. Or be hunted. Other than the shipwreck this is probably the biggest mess I’ve been in. He was an earth master so, out at sea, there was no one around to help us.” She’s rambling a bit but doesn’t appear to be too out of it.

“Part of me wishes it hadn’t taken me dying to get these powers. Did you know that extreme cold smothers phoenix fire? I couldn’t produce a flame out there when I tried. It’s the happiest I think I ever saw him.” Happiest she’d been too. Would he have been so terrified of these new powers of hers? Hard to say for sure. She puts her feet back into the cold water, lightly kicking them and watching it move. “Apparently the strongest of our tribe can change the weather. Just for a little bit but how cool is that?” Why exactly is she telling him this? She has no idea, she just feels like talking and he’d seemed interested in her powers earlier. It’s not fair that she can’t use her powers like the others either. Logically she gets it, part of her is still fighting their expression, but people don’t hate niveis like they do phoenix, right? Not that it isn’t still dumb, phoenix can’t help their fire powers and it’s not like ice is that much less dangerous. Almost as though she’s proving a point to herself she focuses on the water at the door and, with a soft huff that speaks to her internal irritation, freezes the entire way around it, the crackling noise immediately overtaking the sound of water coming in as the rushing water stops instantly.

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on September 22, 2020 at 4:22

Dominic watches as the wheels begin to turn in her head. It seems she might be considering the crazy idea he's proposed, though he's still not so sure it would be as outlandish as it might seem. Sometimes lowering one's inhibitions makes for progress when the fears dissipate that have been holding you back for so long. "No, no, no. None of that shit," he quickly interrupted with a shake of his head as Autumn warned him to step in if she should lose it. "Don't begin with the uncertainty of you losing control. That's already starting you off with doubt." He nods towards the beer for her to continue and watches as she tips it back and finishes it all in one go. "Look at you," he says with a sly smirk, scoffing at her next comment of his ability to drink the beer without a hint of despair. "Years of practice, darlin'. I'll introduce you to the better stuff when we get out of this little impromptu vacation." 

As Autumn picks up the next can he chuckles slightly, taking a last pull and putting the flavored Black out on the glass counter before turning back to her. Her inquiry about ever being in predicaments like this before causes a grin to pull at the corner of his mouth. "Like this? Well, life and death, far too many, but this new added element of weather being the cause of all the drama is certainly a new one." His hazel hues moved out through the large panel glass windows and to the storm water that continued its merry way along the once visible road which seemed like a black river in the night. "Of course, I also have a niveis beside me and that's something I'm not used to having either. A lot of the company I keep during times like these are trying to kill me. I'd say this is a big step up from the usual."

Dominic listened as she slightly rambled which he knew would be from the beer. Hopefully the long chug of the cheap drink wouldn't make her feel sick in the long run since beef jerky and their previous junk food snacks weren't the best thing to have settled in the stomach under a coating of beer. Regardless, he felt bad for her after hearing what her grandfather thought about her powers in her previous phoenix life. The shame Autumn must've held onto and was still holding onto to this day wasn't fair. She never asked for any of this. 

As her words suddenly fade, Dom follows her gaze towards the gas station's door. He can see the concentration and focus, but it wasn't as before where the hesitation was hiding behind her eyes. The familiar glow of her markings began and despite the darkened space they were in, he could see the water across the room had solidified. "Nice going, kid." Raising another beer in a toast to her success, he sipped the bitter drink and shivered from the taste. "God, this is shit." He chuckled, looking back to her new accomplishment and seeing the ice crystals start snaking their way on the glass. "How are you feeling? I'm not so sure we won't be getting that boat out of you soon enough." 

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NiveisPermalink Reply by ✓ Autumn Murphy on October 25, 2020 at 22:38

This stuff tastes like crap. If it weren’t for that she might actually enjoy the camaraderie… well that and the storm still raging outside. She can ignore it better now but it’s still niggling at her. The cautious look she gives Dom when he mentions “better stuff” is accompanied by the private thought that it can really only get better and she hopes it gets a lot better. "Fine. I trust you'll introduce me to stuff that doesn't taste like old socks." Instead of focusing on that she focuses on what he’s saying, following his gaze as he speaks out the window and to the storm and flooded streets outside. How she wishes she had the strength to just fly them both out of this mess but in wind like this she’d barely manage to get herself out, let alone a passenger. “Ah, so you work alone a lot then? I would make a lone wolf joke but something tells me you’ve heard a lot of those.” Is it dumb? Yes. Does she care? Absolutely not. She does at least manage to keep herself from giggling like a moron at her own joke.

She realizes her own success about the time he does and the proud little smile that comes over her face at the congratulations is nice. “Hmm… things feel a little fuzzy but other than that I’m fine. No headaches.” A marked improvement, though she’s still waiting for the migraine to start. It’s nice when it doesn’t. When he shivers at the taste she snickers, reaching out to touch the can and rechilling the drink for him so it maybe wouldn’t be so horrible. “I still don’t think we’re getting a boat though. First.. I vote no to going back out in that and second, can you imagine trying to paddle with ice oars?” She mimics trying to paddle and the oar just flying out of her hands as though to prove her own point. “Also you seem to dislike the cold so an ice boat probably isn’t the best bet.” But perhaps this time she can actually manage to get the water out of that room. She doesn’t really want to overdo it, she’s heard stories about what alcohol can do to someone later and she does not want to magnify a hangover, but a dry place to sleep would be worth it. Right? Right. Without worrying about the cold or wet she hops back off the counter, heading over to the door to the storeroom. Technically she doesn’t have to be closer, but it’s a higher volume of water so it makes her feel better.

This time, instead of focusing on the spot, she closes her eyes to help her draw the water out. Since she can’t exactly see the inside of the other room it makes it a bit easier. The water moves far more quickly this time, flowing out of the room and back past the counter, forming a swell in the main part of the store but it thankfully doesn’t get bigger since she’d stopped more water from coming in earlier. Then she closes her hand and ice starts to race through the front of the swell, forming a solid ice wall to hold back the water. This time when she opens her eyes she gets incredibly dizzy, swaying on her feet a little and having to catch herself on the side of the counter but she actually managed it! She turns to Dominic with a bright smile despite the rather pale look to her face, gesturing toward the now dry area like he doesn’t already see it. She looks like she wants to cheer but she restrains herself, settling instead for an over-the-top smile. “Great! I did it! … I think I’m gonna sit down now..”

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on November 8, 2020 at 17:30

Dominic can feel the can become colder as she used her powers to change it from its lukewarm state. Warm beer was never a good thing, so he was thankful for the refresh. He tipped his head to Autumn in thanks and finished off the can before chucking it across the room at the ice wall she'd created and making a face. "I'd say the most useful skill in the supernatural world to be able to make a drink cold again," he joked, glancing from her and back to the ice wall. "I'm going to need you to come over on game day." The wall was holding steady and she seemed to still be okay if not expressing just a hint of confidence which was a definite change from the self doubt that held her features some time beforehand.

He watched as Autumn lowers herself from the counter, making his brow raise. At first he thought she might be going to grab a couple more beers from one of the fridges, but then he knew that wasn't the case at all. Her markings began to glow again and that newly forming belief in herself seemed to drive her even further as he watched the water from the storeroom begin to pull out from behind its door. His eyes followed the water until it solidified like the other wall making him smirk a bit at her next little triumph. The words of congratulations and praise were on the tip of his tongue until he watched her falter slightly, needing the counter for support. Dominic hopped off and placed a hand on her shoulder to make sure she was alright and chuckled. "Think maybe that's enough practice for now, huh? Nice going, kid." 

Leaning over the counter, Dominic grabbed one of the plastic bags used for the groceries to stock up. "Shall we?" His boots splashed over the lowered water on the floor while he led the way to the store room, glancing back to make sure Autumn was alright to follow. The shelving in the store had shifted from the water, some having fallen over, but it wasn't going to stop him from digging through the snacks. "Any special requests?" he asked, tossing the bags of chips aside that he didn't want while making sure to fill the bag with all the barbecue chips he could and moving onto to the peanuts and candy. 

His finger slid over the tab of the new beer he'd taken from the refrigerator, popping the tab. After taking a sip, Dom walked carefully over the floor which he soon noticed was slightly icy by the wall Autumn created having used her powers before pushing the door open. There was a large table that he tossed the bag on before glancing around the space. It was dark, as expected, but it was typical, seeing the boxes of product stacked along the walls. He could see they also used it as a break area for the employees since there was a microwave and fridge nearby. 

Dominic sat on the table and took another long sip of the drink before laying down. He made enough room for Autumn if she wanted to sit or lay down on the opposite side, letting his legs dangle off the one end. It wasn't a bed, but it was dry and that was just fine with him given the circumstances. The popping of the bag of chips broke the quiet as he munched on a few noticing the heaviness he was feeling from the long day. He could imagine she was feeling the same now after her display of abilities. "How do you feel about sleeping the rest of this nightmare away and hoping by the time we wake up this will be over?" he asked, his voice a bit deeper and raspy from the exhaustion and sleep his body demanded. His eyes closed then, giving into the request that he could no longer fight against.

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NiveisPermalink Reply by ✓ Autumn Murphy on December 1, 2020 at 3:07

Her eyes follow his movements as he jokes with her and she doesn’t seem to mind, ducking her head and chuckling at his comments. “Hmm, I suppose I can arrange that so long as there’s food involved.” Food is going to be a concern for future Autumn. Eventually she won’t be willing to bum off the tribe’s good graces and the money left to her from her grandfather is swiftly drying up. But that’s to be worried about later. Surviving this - and explaining to Rhydian what happened to the car- are far more immediate concerns.

Dizzy spell aside she seems to be alright and by the time he’s put his hand on her shoulder she seems to be straightening herself out. The color still needs to return to her face but she isn’t wavering and doesn’t look sick. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Still… thanks. I think that helped.” Her smile is a touch more tame now, but she still seems quite happy with her triumph. She follows him and gazes around as he starts rummaging through the shelves, the sudden hunger that hits her not entirely unsurprising considering what she just did. Inside the room, though things are a bit frosty, the floor is at least dry enough she has no issues walking in her soaked shoes. “The biggest bag of doritos you can find would be nice.” While he rummages over there she walks to the other side to see if there’s any sort of soda or fresh water stored in here and after a minute of looking, and a few bags of m&ms that she snatches, she takes her haul over to Dominic and the table he managed to drag out in the break room. Without saying much of anything she tosses him one of the bags of chocolates and hoists herself onto the table, grabbing any bags of doritos he managed to find and immediately setting in to start eating.

She only says something after he stretches out, a brow raising as she notes his dangling legs. “That can’t be comfortable. I can move if you’d like?” Normally about now she’d be doing just like him and falling asleep but as he drifts off she finds that sleep is a good way away for her. So she lays there for a while, eyeing the window as the storm howls away outside, until eventually her own exhaustion manages to override everything else and put her to sleep. The silence in the morning is what actually wakes her. The complete nothing after a whole night of raging storm, though the sky is still dark from the remnants of storm clouds. She sits up groggily, rubbing at her eyes in hopes of getting rid of the pounding headache that’s currently splitting her head in half, but it shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Not wanting to disturb Dominic on the chance that he’s still asleep she gets up as quietly as she can, taking the remnants of her snack with her into the other room and gazing out at the water as it continues to flow past the building. Her ice wall held up but it’s beginning to melt. Pretty soon the place will be filling up with water again.

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on December 8, 2020 at 16:26

Dominic's ears perked up at the movement somewhere near him, rousing him for the uneasy sleep. He groaned from the immediate discomfort he felt in his back from sleeping on the table and sat up in annoyance. His half open eyes moved out of the room where he saw Autumn staring out of the windows, noticing that it wasn't the storm which woke him but her movements instead. It was actually eerily quiet compared to the chaos that the storm had brought on yesterday. Forcing himself to focus, he could see that the water was still flowing outside in its current river form, but the weather had finally calmed. The worst of it had finally ended. Still, their problems weren't exactly over yet.

The therian stood up and stretched, making a face of discomfort with a growl from the pain that still ached in his back, seeming more like the animal side to his species due to his audible annoyance. He rubbed a hand over his face in attempts to make himself wake up as he stood along side Autumn to follow her gaze. Scratching his beard, Dom tried to gauge what they should do next now that there current place of occupancy wasn't exactly water tight. He didn't want to ask if Autumn could continue keeping their current fortress in tact. Not after her clear feeling of strain she'd had after the display last night.

It was then his acute hearing picked up something else. His brows pulled together as the sound began to register in his mind before the sudden realization that passed over his features. "A boat," he said somewhat quietly, still trying to process the sound as if his mind was playing a trick on him because of the need for some hope. Dom's boots splashed through the water and it was no doubt the motor of a small dinghy that was coming closer. Looking through the glass, he could just see the vessel turning the corner where two people with reflective vests were on board. If he had to guess, they were probably with the ECPD looking for people who were stranded. "Definitely a boat."

The natural reaction was to go for the door again, but then he remembered what actually was out there once they stepped through. The thoughts from yesterday's ordeal was already attempting to cause his body the reminder that it was still tired from everything that had happened. Being out in the high waters again was definitely not ideal, but at this point, there weren't many good options left to them. In fact, there weren't any options at all. Braving the cold and unforgiving water again was just going to have to be the drawback of finally getting somewhere safer than where they were now. 

Dom turned back to her, nodding towards the boat. "Listen, I know you can easily just fly out of here if you wanted now that the storm has moved on, Autumn. Don't feel obligated to stick around. I can just catch a ride and you can head out after they've passed. Do you feel strong enough to?"

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NiveisPermalink Reply by ✓ Autumn Murphy on December 22, 2020 at 14:30

Her eyes shift over to the room when she hears the shuffling coming from it, watching as Dom gets up and grumbles his way through stretches. It brings a small smile to her face despite everything as she can picture the wolf for the first time since meeting him. To her ears things are eerily quiet outside, no birdsong or frogs or anything of the sort following such a bad storm. She knows perfectly well that they need to get out of here, Dominic especially as the water levels will only continue to rise as storm surge flows in from up river and refreezing the water around them is likely not going to happen thanks to the throbbing in her temples.

The silence stretches out between them as she offers him a bottle of water, broken only by his low muttering. She looks at him with a question in her eyes, her own ears unable to hear anything but then she doesn’t have the acute senses of a Therian either. She trusts him though which is why it doesn’t surprise her when she sees the boat rounding the bend and coming into view. She smiles at him, relieved that they finally have an option for getting him out of here, only for that to morph to a slight frown when she considers the newly formed river in the road. The water won’t bother her, she can swim in it so long as there’s no poles down, sending electricity through the water, but Dominic? He’s obviously still sore and tired from yesterday and she can scarcely blame him.

Concern is clear on her face when he poses his question and she regards him quietly for a moment before she nods. “I can… But I don’t feel right leaving you behind in all of this.” She nods out toward the river. “It’s going to be a lot worse than it was yesterday, the undercurrent might take you down with it. Is there… we might be able to signal them!” Draw the boat in closer so he doesn’t have to force his way out through the water. Her shoes splash in the small amount of water left on the floor as she turns to move quickly through the room, heading into the back and towards something she’d caught sight of earlier. She returns just as quickly with a box of small fireworks. Nothing special or big, but quite loud which is perfect since they don’t exactly carry flares with them. “I don’t have any matches but you still have that lighter right? These were out of the water so they should still work.” With a small smile she hands them over, glancing out to see that the boat is still a short distance away. A bit closer and they should be able to hear them and come over, at least enough that he won’t have to try and force his way through the worst of it.

“I’ll be nearby in case something goes wrong… but I don’t want to take space from someone who can’t get out like I can.” He was right after all, she can just fly herself out and that’s a luxury many others wouldn’t have in a situation like this. “Go ahead, I’ll be fine. And hey - I expect that treat you promised later, okay?” She grins and nods at him, then ducks around the corner so the officers in the boat won’t notice her and insist on her joining them.

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Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on January 6, 2021 at 17:16

Dominic took the Zippo from his pocket and looked out the front door to the boat. It wasn't far off now and if ever there was a chance for this to come to a decent end, it was now. Still, he wasn't exactly thrilled about leaving her behind. His eyes moved back down to the blonde and he nodded to her. She was clearly strong and needed to remind himself of that. After all, it wasn't he that got himself out of the water when the bridge fell. Autumn could handle herself. She was better in this crazy circumstance than he was, that was for sure. Usually he was the one pulling people out of the fire, but it was in this unlikely girl that the roles were reversed and it was time he accepted it. It certainly wasn't a hero complex. It was just hard to step away not knowing how Autumn would be.

"I think I owe you more than what I could give at this point, little koala," he responded with a smile and unlocked the door. He recited his phone number for her as he moved out of view. "You better call me and let me know you're alright too." Glancing outside, the boat was as close as he was going to allow before giving himself enough time to hopefully make this work. He pulled on the handle and stumbled back slightly to gain his footing as the water rushed in. Dominic grabbed the side of the doorframe and pulled himself through the force of the river to get outside. "F-F-Fuck, this is cold."

Wading over to one of the cars that was nearest to him, he pulled himself onto the hood and lit the fireworks, watching as they began to sizzle and then fire off into the eerie silence outside and fizzle to the water. He put his index finger and thumb into his mouth, whistling to grab the officers' attention which was easy enough. It was hard to miss the commotion when it seemed the rest of the world was quiet. 

Soon he was stepping into the boat and the gas station was becoming smaller in the distance. He felt a blanket go around him which was welcoming, but almost missed as his hues glanced at the destruction around him which was now more discernible in the daylight. The library was nearly leveled from the storm and explosion and he couldn't believe either of them had managed to get out of there. His thoughts went to the rest of Evermore and how badly it might have been damaged and all the other lives that might've been lost, his almost being one if not for Autumn. 

At this, Dom's eyes looked to the gas station once more which was very small in the distance, but he was sure he saw a familiar niveis emerge and the figure take off into the sky. 

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