lucetilogs | and the bass keeps runnin runnin

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and the bass keeps runnin runnin

Who: Anyone who heard the announcement, caught a flier in the plaza, of heard by word of mouth. Everyone's welcome!
What: A rave! Well, "rave." Luceti makes everything a little different.
When: June 21st, nightfall to early morning
Where: the beach near Adele's house
Summary: It's the first day of summer! This calls for bonfires, naturally, but why not spice it up with loud music, flashing lights, drinks, dancing, and a conspicuous lack of curfew?
Rating: PG to PG-13, please move anything steamier to appointments ~~or Adele will take the hose to you~~

Getting all the firewood, food, and drink out to the beach had been, honestly, the hardest part of preparation. Whatever else one might say about running things on magic, it certainly did cut down on the trouble of constructing edifices and machines to run the entertainment side of a party. As it stands, the setup is labour-intensive but otherwise minimal, and there's not much to do by sunset. Escape the house before Max and Zevran, the culture-displaced madmen, can put any more eyeliner on him. Arrive at the beach. Light the bonfires. Make sure the bonfire-cooking-compliant food is set out. Put up a table loaded with bottles, cups, ice, and permanent markers. Thank the resident doctor and quartermaster once more. Plug in the stereo system.

The speakers and light show have been with him since he left his house, in the form of the resident god of mischief, and they confer over sheets of paper with track names and times written on them for a little while just before the start. That's the last of it, and by the time the sky above the mountains is beginning to darken into twilight, the first thumping, trilling strains of dance music begin to echo out across the sand.

It's the shortest night of the year. Best make every second last.

[OOC: Feel free to post your character for mingling, since this entire event is very free-form anyway. For everyone's enjoyment there is a drinks table, food, several bonfires, the ocean (lifeguards not on duty, splash drunkenly at your own risk), and of course a dancing area with lights and music. Music will probably be primarily EDM with a heavy bass line, but occasionally wander into the territories of electro-swing and the like to give even less modern partygoers a chance to show off. The light show as well will stray out of the typical at times, with the expected abstract wheeling and flashing lights giving way to more complicated illusions. Don't be surprised to find yourself and your fellows occasionally dancing in a forest glen or a Rivendell look-alike for a few minutes at a time. Loki is working the tech booth, after all.

The party will go as long as people stay and are enjoying themselves, so have fun and tag around!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And then what? Do you really think that would have ended the cycle that's existed since humanity's birth?

[He's more than aware of what humanity is capable of-- he's seen and experienced the worst of it firsthand, been through things that he's never shared with anyone else and probably never will. Humanity is cruel and selfish, that much is truth. He'd be the last person to ever deny that. And, in truth, it probably makes him more than a bit of a hypocrite to have such distaste for humanity while fighting to save it. But one thing he has also learned is that there is good in people as well, and while it might not be as common as the selfishness and cruelty, it's something worth saving.

However, the rest of what he was going to say gets forgotten when he spots that strange blue light near Elizabeth's shoulder. Even though he has no idea what it is, his soldier instincts kick in almost before he's even aware of what he's doing.]

Get down!

[His movements are too fast to follow as he drops his bottle of limeade and springs at her, intent on getting her out of the way of whatever this bizarre blue light is.]

It might have. [Elizabeth's tone is bitter and torn while the tear over her shoulder continues to flex its muscle. She doesn't even notice it's there.] If there was no one left--

[For such a heavy topic, Gai's sudden shout startles Elizabeth out of her dark corner. Before she can ask why, he's knocked her over the log and onto the ground. Elizabeth gives a strangled cry as she and her bottle upend into the sand. The tear manifests the same instant Gai shouts at her, depositing the grainy, blue afterimage of a large wrench in the sand right next to her head.]

[Gai may not have any idea what that thing is, but one thing that his experiences have taught him is that strange glowing objects generally spell trouble for everyone involved with a very few exceptions, and he isn't planning on waiting around to see whether this is one of those few exceptions.

Instinct leads him to try to cover her with his own body, which fortunately isn't difficult given that he's several inches taller and quite a good deal heavier than she is.

... it also means that she's on her back in the sand and he is on top of her. This doesn't look sketchy at all, nope.

MOVE ALONG, PEOPLE, NOTHING TO SEE HERE.]

[Elizabeth has absolutely no idea what is happening here. It's almost as though Gai was hugging her, but being extremely violent about it. He's knocked her over, and now he's laying right on top of Elizabeth, covering her.]

[She almost expects to hear gunfire, or rockets. But there's nothing like that for a few long seconds. Elizabeth just lays there, eyes wide, until she feels the tear and the wrench next to her. Oh God, oh no, he probably saw it.]

[Desperately, Elizabeth squeezes her eyes shut and forces the tear to close despite how fast her heart is beating and how panicked she is right now. Could she have reached out and taken that? It had been a while since she pulled anything out of a tear, all of her previous attempts were met with intense failure up until now.]

[It's gone though, and Elizabeth is still being covered by Gai. Maybe he didn't see it? Maybe he didn't realize what he saw? Maybe she should react the same way she would if someone had grabbed her in Columbia--]

Gai, what are you doing?! Get off! [She puts her hands against his chest and pushes. Of course, he's bigger and heavier and the few times she shoved Booker he hadn't been trying to cover her...]

[Given their size and weight difference, Elizabeth's attempts to shove him off aren't very fruitful (and in fact she'll most likely be able to feel that yes, he is in fact pretty much all muscle when she pushes on him). He has no idea what that thing is or where it came from and most especially not what it's capable of; moving is the last thing on his mind right now until he's ascertained that it's safe.

Ignoring that shoving, he looks back to where that strange blue light had been just a moment before, only to see that it's... no longer there?

It's gone. Just as suddenly as it appeared, it's gone. And now he's even more wary because he has no idea what the hell it is and whether or not it's going to show up again.

And that's why he's absolutely not moving from where he is, not just yet.]

Did you hear me? Gai! [Elizabeth pushes again, more insistently. She's starting to feel trapped again, flustered and panicked. Now she can feel them, like a thousand tiny cracks all along the beach. All of these variables, everything holding out a hand to help when Elizabeth just wants to get up off of her back. She has to do something before she inadvertently opens more tears.]

Gai... please... [Elizabeth's voice wavers, scared and tearful.] Please stop holding me down.

[Please stop holding me down.

Those words slice through his consciousness like a knife, suddenly making him aware of just what he's doing and where his body is.

He's holding - no, pinning - her down with his entire body weight, all 175 lbs or so of it. Crushing her. TRAPPING her. He knows that feeling far too well, and the realization that he's doing it to someone else and that it's frightening them makes him feel sick.

That isn't what he wanted. Never what he wanted. Because no one should ever...

Slowly, as if he's moving through water, he sits up and moves aside, climbing off of her. There's guilt written all over his face, though he doesn't say a word to her in response.]

[Elizabeth slowly sits up as Gai retreats off of her, watching him warily. She was going to rear back and punch him the second he got off of her, get out from under him, find Jack if she had to. But the way he's looking at her...]

[Her ploy was a landmine she'd stepped on now. Granted, she didn't like being held down when she was alone, when she couldn't open tears how she used to. She had to use other methods to push back. This time though, Elizabeth figures Gai doesn't need a knee to the stomach or a face full of her fist.]

[She pulls her legs under her, rights her skirt, combs her fingers through her short and now sandy hair, all the while not looking at Gai. She feels guilty as well.]

I'm sorry... I shouldn't have-- I was upset, I'm sorry I didn't control it better.

[And there it is, right out there in the open. And now she can hear Booker, over and over again in her head: 'No, but I'm afraid of you.' ...But I'm afraid of you. ... Afraid of you.]

Thank you-- [Elizabeth picks up her now-empty bottle, clinging to it as she tries to get to her feet.] --for the dance, I had a good time. I have to-- I have to go!

[If she had punched him, Gai wouldn't have protested at all. He would've let her do it, because he deserved it for that. Scaring her, panicking her like that, had been absolutely the last thing on his mind when he jumped on her; he'd just been trying to protect her from that whatever-it-was that it now seemed SHE had caused herself.

He can't blame her for not looking at him. He's not sure he wants to look at her right now either.]

No, I overreacted. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't want you getting hurt.

[Instincts. Reflexes honed from years spent on battlefields, where even the slightest hesitation could lead to death.

So much for a fun and possibly romantic evening.

When she moves to stand, he allows himself one more movement towards her, reaching out to catch her wrist with his hand. It's a light grip, though, one she could easily escape if she wants. Hopefully that will be enough to send a message.]

I'm not angry at you.

[That was... almost painfully new. Someone not wanting her to get hurt. He had been trying to protect her from the tear--if she'd just said something...]

[Elizabeth looks up sharply when Gai takes her wrist, not afraid but surprised he's touching her. Surprised he hasn't let her run as far away as was possible in their enclosure. She looks up, right into his eyes, looking for that flicker of fear or unease. That silent thought of 'Dear God, what IS she?']

But you're afraid of me. [She says that with utter conviction and regret. There's no other alternative. Everyone, when they found out, was afraid of her.]

[She won't find any fear in his eyes, nor even unease. Curiosity, yes - only a natural response in a situation like this - but no fear. To a man who has already died, what is there left to be afraid of? Death holds no sway over him anymore. Even if she is dangerous, there's nothing she could do that could possibly be worse than anything he's already experienced.]

I've been afraid of many things in my life. You aren't one of them.

[And then, just to show her that he means what he says, he allows his own eyes to glow for just the briefest moment. He already knows he won't be able to see anything due to her not being from his time in his world, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that she'll be able to see that.]

[Elizabeth gasps softly when she sees the distinctive glint. What it does, what it's for, she doesn't know.]

[But even if he's swearing he isn't afraid, Elizabeth is still being careful.] I can open holes in midair and step into them. Step into other worlds. I can wish for a world with a different variable and step into it. I can kill people with what I pull out of these holes...

[Maybe she's trying to scare him now, or maybe she's laying everything on the table and hoping he still won't be afraid.]

And yet none of those worlds make you happy.

[Because if they did, she wouldn't be so certain that he would fear her, or so hesitant about contact with other people. Sure, it sounds like an amazing power on the surface, but like every other power he's ever dealt with, it comes with a price.

And the price in her case seems to be being feared and ostracized.]

[It was true... none of them made her happy. Not even this one where she was a prisoner again.]

[Elizabeth pulls her wrist out of Gai's hand, holding it firmly instead. Maybe when she'd first escaped, crying would have been cathartic and would have helped her sort her feelings out. But Elizabeth has had most of her deeper emotions regarding the past stripped completely out. But it's a moment, a tremendous moment, in her life. There are two tears that roll down her face, and she tries to blink them and brush them away before Gai can see them.]

What was that light in your eyes?

[Gai does in fact see them, but chooses to say nothing. They're partly his fault, and commenting on them would mean admitting to his role in causing those tears in the first place, something he'd rather avoid right now.

He keeps his face neutral, controlled. His "leader face." But he does let the corners of his mouth lift in a slight smile when she asks him about his eyes.]

You aren't the only one with an unusual ability, although mine is useless here.

Mine is more or less useless too. Otherwise I would have left within minutes of arriving. [Not that it's a contest, but Elizabeth does feel the need to point out that Gai didn't have to wonder what she could do and if it could be potentially harmful.]

Does this-- [She reaches to gesture to the crystals on Gai's body.] --have something to do with it?

[That smile disappears again as he nods his head in response.]

Call it a double-edged sword-- I get a superhuman power in exchange for the slow crystallization of my body.

[He doesn't sound too upset over it, though. It's been long enough that the anger and fear have long since subsided, leaving only resignation and ultimately acceptance in their wake.]

What? [Gai may not sound too upset over it, but Elizabeth does. Because last she checked, organs didn't work when they were crystalized.]

Why? How does that happen?

[Her curiosity is cute - sweet, even - but he's feeling like he's already said too much. This is definitely not a happy subject to be discussing at a party, even if it doesn't bother him to be doing so.

So he just reaches out to place a finger against her lips and gently silence her.]

It isn't something either one of us needs to worry about-- Law has been taking care of it. Besides, death isn't permanent here. I'll be back in a week as good as new if anything happens.

[Elizabeth's eyes follow Gai's finger, effectively stopping her line of questioning. Normally, one would put their finger to their own lips, wouldn't they? To ask for silence. But Elizabeth was never terribly good at that, honestly.]

[She frowns and moves back and around Gai's finger.] So they say. It sounds to good to be true to me.

[So Gai is noticing. To be honest, he kind of likes that. Spunk is a characteristic he finds quite attractive in women, not that he considers himself to be actively looking for anything beyond a bit of fun at the moment.]

It's true; I've seen the results of it myself. That's enough proof for me.

My luck has a tendency to run out right when it's most important. I'm not going to trust anything that can be taken away by someone I've never seen before. [Something she learned recently.]

And who is 'Law' anyway?

My doctor. It's thanks to him that this hasn't spread more than it already has.

[And he smiles again.]

You're wise not to rely on luck, especially in a place like this. The only thing you can really trust are your own abilities. Anything else is just an added bonus.

[Well... okay, if Gai already has a doctor, Elizabeth won't offer. But she's a damn good doctor--she's kept Booker from dying of some of the worst gunshot wounds.]

And my own abilities are unreliable here. [She folds her arms and looks back towards the bonfire. How had this evening become so serious? The same way all of her conversations turned so serious, of course--she talked about herself.]

Sometimes I'm glad to be away from where I started. Other times I remember that people were actually afraid of me there, and for a good reason. I could do something to change my life's direction.

[Alas, the sort of doctoring Gai needs would be far out of Elizabeth's range of skills. Transfusions and antivirals and whatnot are complicated enough for Law, and he's a surgeon. Not that Gai blames him, really; the Apocalypse Virus is sort of in a class of its own.]

There's nothing stopping you from doing that here either. You have the ability to make your life here whatever you want it to be-- don't let yourself be bound by "mights" or "should haves." The only one holding you back from changing your life's direction here is yourself.

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