lucetilogs | There'll be trouble when the kidz come out

As the progression of the virus grew steadily worse throughout the infected still roaming the city Sabriel can’t help but shutter as her Death sense starts to pick up all of the newly Dead now roaming the streets. It was a slow slide but it felt like a vice creeping tighter and tighter around her the longer she had to stay in the down town area. She had heard of the concept of the Dead being born of a virus only once over the journals but to actually see it, see the decline of once healthy individuals as they suffer and almost burn inside to tear others apart was another thing entirely. As Runners they had all of the aggression of the Dead she knew from her own world, but they were still alive, and there was nothing she could do to fight the death slowing eating them away from the inside.

It’s the morning of the 29th when she’s forced out of her hiding spot to try and find some water. The bottles she had brought with her had long since emptied and she couldn’t afford to be dehydrated. It happens as she passes by one of the store windows, a cold chill travels up her spine and she spins on the spot, eyes wide as she tries to find the source. Breaths slowly growing more frantic she turns and runs from the cold, from the Death surrounding her on all sides, all the while feeling that shiver clinging to her skin.

Got to get away. Got to get out.

She’s running like a madwoman through the downtown area, trying to find her way back to a safe place but from the way she moves it’s like she’s blind to where she’s actually going. Try to stop her? Try to calm her down? Good luck.

Draco's in the middle of his last sweep of the day over the streets when he happens to spot someone down below running through them. In the dark, it's impossible to notice the shadow of the dragon following after, and so he manages to shadow her from far above for a few minutes. He's waiting, watching, and trying to discern if her movements are those of an infected runner or a terrified survivor.

In the end, he decides to take the risk.

It's only a human. What could he have to fear from them if they even are in the throes of the illness? He draws his wings closer and swoops down among the buildings, the speed of his descent shooting him over Sabriel to a clear enough spot for him to land. There's now a dragon in her path, turning to face her.

"Hold there! Are you bitten or are you not?"

That will be his greeting to her. It's worked to make people stop from fleeing before, so here's hoping it'll work again. Of course, his voice, even at it's quietest, might also be enough to bring a swarm upon them.

That's certainly one way to bring her to a scrambling halt. At the rush of air rushing over head she chokes out a cry, drawing her sword out of instinct before she looks up...and up at the towering dragon. Panting heavily for breath his call makes her flinch, her shoulders tensing as her head snaps from side to side as if listening to sudden cry.

"Not...bitten but-they...they are coming...not safe- have to...keep running."

The sight of the sword gets a snarl from Draco, but it is a reflex from memory rather than a rational choice. He knows it isn't meant for him and, so, the show of teeth lasts for only a few seconds. This woman, he knows her from somewhere. The beach, if memory serves, and, of course, it does.

"They always are, Sabriel," he states the name firmly, trying to bring her attention back to him. "But you are not in danger with me. Come here. We should leave."

The snarl pulls an unsteady gasp from her, making her stumble back and away from him a few steps. Hands shaking she continues to look around, feeling more and more lives snuffed out by the virus like drops of ice water on the back of her neck; and still they move, still angry and hungry and there's more Dead than alive now it seems, just like back home.

"There's no escape- the Dead will always come for me."

That was bad. Draco didn't mean to scare her like that, but there isn't a whole lot he can do about that now. He does, at least, manage to stay put where he's landed for now. Going after her now might only get her to run away, he imagines.

"There is an escape. They cannot reach you where I can go." The sky, of course. "Please, we can't stay still like this for long, lest they do find us here!"

Taking another slow step backwards Sabriel freezes when she feels that same chill run down her spine. With a huff of panicked breath she turns to look around her but there's nothing there...nothing in sight but she could feel it, whatever it was watching her. It was getting closer.

"I-it's coming..."

Fear of that dark cold overrides her fear of the dragon and pushes her in to a sprint towards the great creature and the safety he promised.

"They're coming!"

He looks around again, trying to search out what has her so frightened in the seemingly endless night of this enclosure. He can't find anything, but that's no cause to deny that something is out there, is trying to get her.

Draco almost breathes a sigh of relief when she finally decides to be more afraid of what's out there than of him, but, well, who knows what might still happen. They might still be in danger here!

"I suggest putting that sword away if you don't wish to lose it," he tells Sabriel, extending a large hand, palm up, towards her when she arrives. "Because we're going up and I'm not coming back for it if you drop it."

No time to cast a worried glance over her shoulder at the cold wave she could feel rolling closer and closer, she scrambles to shove her sword back into its sheath. Rattled as she was the once familiar action felt strange and foreign, almost cutting the tips of her fingers before she scrambles into the leathery palm of the great beast.

"GO!"

Never let it be said that he doesn't listen to the ladies. Draco still couldn't see what it was out there that she was so frightened of. Would his keen eyes pick up hordes of infected if he stared out into the dark streets long enough? Well, of course, they probably would. The city was no doubt filled with such horrors.

Still, he sure wasn't going to stick around to find out. Once Sabriel was safely in hand, rough, scaly fingers closed carefully around her, he took a tremendous leap back into the air, wings beating to get them aloft.

The take-off would seem sudden and wild to someone who hadn't flown via large flying lizard before, but once they clear enough space from the ground, the wingbeats settle into a much steadier pace and the ride will smooth out to something much, much more stable.

With a sudden shiver as Draco's fingers close around her like a cage a gasp is forced out of her as her stomach seems to drop with that first leap into the air. While this was not Sabriel's first flight in a dragon's palm it felt all the more disorienting and jarring when her perception of the flight was unclouded by pain. One arm still looped determinedly around one of the fingers Sabriel curls into a tight ball in Draco's palm, her breathing tight and shallow as the thrill of the flight draws out a memory that plays infront of her eyes in the shadows.

Her Paperwing had been flying well until the Gore crows attacked, and in her panic the gale she had summoned to bear the craft to safety had grown out of control, throwing the paper construct around like a leaf. Falling, she was trapped in a nosedive headed straight to unyielding earth. Between the impact below, the Dead diving down from above, and the unleashed Free magic elemental beside her it seemed like nothing waited for her now but Death.

With a choked sob Sabriel holds on tighter, trying to fight the memory and anchor herself in the present.

"No...n-no...not again..."

Once they reached a fair gliding height, he turned towards safer grounds and found a wind to glide on some of the distance. He was aware of Sabriel's reaction to the flight and, while worrisome, it was something easier attributed to a fear of flying. Humans had never been meant to fly, no matter how they had found their own ways around being land bound.

Draco frowned down briefly at his passenger, curled up in his hand like that.

"We'll be landing soon enough!" He called over the rush of air around them. "You don't need to worry so much. I won't drop you."

Billy's actually in the middle of a teleportation spell - trying to locate Teddy, since they'd managed to get separated again - when he spots Sabriel running through the streets below. He pauses mid-chant, watching worriedly for a long moment, trying to figure out where she's going or what she's running from, until he finally drops down, flying low to the ground beside her as she runs.

"Sabriel? Sabriel!" He's hoping she's not so lost in her fear that she can't hear him. What's wrong with her...? "Sab, it's Billy! Slow down!"

Panting heavily with each step Billy's words are initially drowned out by the frantic beating of her heart, her wide eyes darting from side to side as if she's staring through the buildings, horrified at what she sees. In one of these glances she catches sight of the fluttering of Billy's cape and gives a soft gasp of shock, instinctively reaching for her sword but the sudden motion of sets her balance, leading her into a harsh tumble but at least it brings her to a stop.

"N-no...no- can't stop," she wheezes between heaving breaths as she shakily pushes herself up from the ground, "too many...dying- all...around now..."

"It's okay. Sabriel, it's okay, just stand still for a second." His feet touch the ground, and he reaches out to grip her shoulders, trying to keep her balanced and steady. She looks like a wreck. "There's no one else here, and you're safe with me. Is something chasing you?"

He can't see anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's really safe. He'll trust his instincts for the moment, though, trying to catch her eyes to try and let his confidence reassure her somehow.

"No, no it's not."

Tensing at his touch her head jerks to the side as that same chill from earlier runs down her spine, her knuckles white as she grips her sword's handle. Her mind is too frazzled to pull together any semblance of a spell but her free hand almost twitches with the want to throw something, anything at the shadows to make them go away.

"They're everywhere. I can feel them-"

Hiccuping a sob she tries to pull away from Billy, her eyes searching the end of the street for some unseen shape. In her minds eye she can almost picture a mass of black flames in the vague shape of a man, a smile of pure malice spreading across it's distorted face as it hunts her.

"...Got to keep moving. Can't stay..."

Okay, that's decided it for him. His grip on her tightens, murmuring an apology, and he tries to pull her closer to keep her from escaping suddenly. There's something after her, even if he can't see it, and he'd rather avoid getting ambushed by some invisible foe.

"Easy, easy, Sabriel. I'm going to get us out of here. Just hold still. IwantussomewhereelseIwantussomewhereelseIwantussomewhereelse..."

Magic flares around them, on his hands and in his eyes, and unless she pulls away from him he'll be zapping them somewhere (he hopes is) safe.

As the magic bursts into light around them it illuminates a figure standing in the shadows; eyes sunken and skin cracked and flaking with a deathly grey pallor the Cultist raises a hand pointed directly at her before she and Billy disappear in a flash, cutting off her cry of fear as they teleport away from the alley.

Whatever the Dead monstrosity had done it felt like being submerged in icy water, eyes wide as she begins to shake, clinging tightly to Billy once they land. In a voice made of fire and dripping of hate she can hear it murmur to her as memories, horrors from her world come rushing to her like a tidal wave. No matter how many you fight, no matter what you do, the Dead will not rest until your blood bursts free on the edge of my knife. Squeezing her eyes shut against its words she can almost feel the slosh of water around her legs from the Reservoir, a high, crackling laugh and the cry of the Dead marching and wailing all around her.

"N-No...please..."

He lets the magic fade as soon as they're away, winding his arms around her and attempting to urge her down to her knees. He's afraid that her trembling will cause her to drop anyway, so may as well get them closer to the ground so she won't hurt herself. He's also hoping it'll keep her from trying to run away again.

"Sab- Sabriel!" He tries to keep himself from yelling, but at the same time it's hard to get through to her just by talking. "It's okay, it's okay! It's just you and me now. You're safe, I promise."

"No...I'll never be safe, not now."

Eyes watering the darkness of the Reservoir gives way to a blinding light, a pillar of blue white fire coiling around her and closing in, the heat burning her face as it leans down towards her. The blood debt must be paid! With a sob she shakes her head, following Billy's lead like a doll as her nightmares replay over and over behind her eyes.

"I-I never wanted this!"

"Sabriel..." Billy winces, holding her closer once they make it to the ground, biting hard on his lower lip and watching her uncertainly. There's nothing around them, and he can't feel any danger, even if he uses his magic. Just what is she seeing? Is it all in her head, or do the monsters have some kind of power he can't sense? He presses one hand against her hair, stroking it in what he hopes is a soothing manner, and keeps quietly trying to get through to her. "Sabriel, come on, look at me. Focus on me, okay, not whatever you're seeing. You know I'd wouldn't let anything hurt you, right?"

In the midst of the flashes of the Dead, of elemental monsters just waiting to be unbound that touch sparks another memory buried under the layers of fear. In a world of cold and grey a warm hand reaches through the fog to pull her out, pull her close. That last embrace with her Father in the Reservoir had been far too short; there was so much that needed to be said but sentiment had been sacrificed to pass on the duty she would have to take up. Focusing on that touch she slowly lifts her head, her cheeks wet with tears but she's trying to look through the visions at the young man in front of her.

"I'm s-scared Billy."

"I know." He keeps his voice quiet, as calm as he can despite how worried he is and how much he wants to start panicking. He isn't the best at this kind of thing, but he knows it's what Teddy would do, and Teddy's the best teacher.

I should have taken her to him...

"Just try to stay focused. Whatever you're seeing, I don't think it's real. This is real-" The hand on her shoulder gives a light squeeze. "I'm real. There's nothing else here. You don't have to be scared."

"When I go home it will be r-real. S-so many Dead...so many th-that want me dead t-too."

Blinking hard past the tears she fights to stay with him, trying to ignore the visions as they flare up around her like fog; a prowling beast made of black fire, a man torn apart by a Dead parasite buried deep in his torso, a group of children chained together as bait for the Dead. All of them she'd seen before...and though she had managed to cope with the horrors at the time it seemed like all of her mental barriers keeping her fear in check were gone.

"I-it's too much...I can't..."

His eyes widen at that, visibly startled, and he has to really fight to get his expression calm again; he knows if he starts to panic, it'll just be harder to calm her down. Stubbornly he pushes aside his questions and fears and winds his arms around her, holding more tightly. Maybe if he gives her something to focus on with more than just words, more than just sight, it'll help. Contact has always been his greatest comfort, and he's hoping that some of that comfort and confidence will pass over to her.

It can't hurt, right...?

"Easy, easy... I'm here. I'll protect you, okay? And you're strong, Sabriel... you're so strong. I know you're stronger than this. Remember when you made that Charter stone? That was amazing... you were amazing. And you still are. You'll be fine."

There'll be trouble when the kidz come out

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