2019.09.14 Community Cleanup
| Community Cleanup Event | |
|---|---|
| The Bone Gnawers organise an event to clean up an area of the City. Things go awry! | |
| IC Date | Sat Sep 014 2019 |
| IC Time | Lunch |
| Players | Alessio, Logan Jackson, Frankie, Acacia also as ST, Ansel, Chess |
| Location | Prospect, Parkarea in an area around some area in the City! |
| Spheres | Garou, Gaian |
This is not the slated location for Cait's event. This is not where they are building. This is the area around it where the gutters are littered with trash, and cigarette butts line the walkways and there are broken beer bottles and needles and every other imaginable thing. Acacia has assembled her crew of kinfolk. Everyone is dressed for a day of comfort and work. They have a little 'Volunteer' section cordoned off in a slummy little park, displaying their permit to assemble in the area. There is a grill going, being manned by a few of the cooks from the Dead Mall. Water and tea is being served - nothing else. Acacia's wearing shorts, ya'll. And knee socks. And a tank top. She is helping to assemble everything and she has, sitting dead center in the middle of the table, a sign decorated like this:
"Alright. We got cloth bags, gloves, food is going good, drinks. Permit. Sign. We rockin'." She plops down on one of the four picnic tables there, trying not to get splinters in her ass, and waits for people to show up
Heading into the area is Logan, who is as usual dressed in his gothic apparel. Long chained bondage pants, a black shirt that says ZERO across the chest and his Victorian styled trench coat and level three backpack. His long black hair is pulled up behind him into a bit of a messy man bun. As he approaches Acacia, he offers her a small smile. "Told you I would come." He says as he puts his bag down, then starts to work his jacket off to reveal his barely touched by the sun arms.
Wearing a t-shirt, bermuda-length shorts and most notably sunglasses and a ball-cap from under which her blonde hair is tied into loose ponytail, Frankie arrives to the area with a Black Fury kinfolk to whom she is chatting idly as the two disembark from their vehicle. "Thanks for this," Frankie is stating, her voice quiet but her face expressive, even under the slightly large sunglasses. "Even picking up trash like this - it's great to just get out and about, you know?" Her companion is similarly dressed for work, giving Frankie a bit of a grin with her response, "Mmmm. You might not be thanking me when we're done. Hard work today." It's about this time that the two women are in conversation distance with the ring leader of the day's event - or at least who appears to be such - a Frankie gives a mock salute to Acacia. "Frankie and Sarah, reporting for duty."
There is nothing about Alessio that would really scream Glass Walker. He dresses more like any person who does not sport a lot of cash and sort of belong to the lower strata of the people within the city. Torn clothing, not dirty but.. just worn. Black jeans, hooded jacket in dark green. He's just trying to blend in with the streets. Something which is a bit laughable considering that most people he would pass even on a good day would most likely mistake him for a mugger or some other violent offender. And that is whom arrives at the little social gathering. Cleanign the streets! For all his talk of cleaning up the streets, now its time to show he can do it without using his guns. And lots of screaming and shooting.
Acacia grins at Logan. "Well, hi there. You DID say that, didn't you?" As Logan takes off his jacket, she pulls her sunglasses down over her head. They're heart shaped, black mirror. "Whoa there," she teases him. "Trying to blind everyone." Frankie and her buddy get a smile and as people wander over that way, there is a point where the Rage just ebbs down to something wholly manageable. Alessio gets a nod. She rises and steps backward up onto the picnic table, which wobbles a little bit and she lifts her voice just enough. "Looks like this is at least most everyone. We've got this little area all to ourselves. Anyone hungry passing by can get fed, and we're not telling anyone they can't help. But this is for us mostly." She toes the sign lightly. "If things get weird out there, come back here. We'll get you some nice, fresh tea to drink. We have reusable and biodegradable bags for everyone. Pokey sticks, gloves, and a couple of pairs of those hip wader boots for... that." She turns her upper body to point over toward... the pond. Dun dun dun
Hands come out of the front pockets of his hoodie as he arrives to the location. Alessio glances around, as if he was looking for someone. Not seeing the someone he was looking for, however, he simply gives a light shrug. He gives Acacia a nod in return before moving for some gloves. He's otherwise a man of few words.
Into the park comes one more - Ansel, wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a loose hoodie over all of it. Looking up when Acacia speaks, he listens, quietly, then nods. Turning toward the pond, he arches an eyebrow, then shrugs, as if he'll take on pond duty. Approaching the table, he offers, when the timing's right: "Hey. I'm Ansel. I can do pond duty, as long as those things'll fit me," he nods to the waders.
"Aw, come on Casey. That's cold." Logan says with a laugh to the Gnawer kin as he gives a squint of his eyes at her. "So, we're doing garbage clean up duty? That's cool. I always wanted to use a stabby stick. It looks cool on those movies involving prison inmates on the side of the highway." He says as he bumps his shoulder into hers playfully. At the sight of the others, his brows raise upwards over his mirrored shades, then peers over to Frankie. "Hey, she's on TV."
Though she gives friendly smiles to others who arrive, Frankie sticks pretty close to the gal she arrived with, at least for now. And then, things seem to start to get into motion, she turns her attention fully back to Acacia. While the instructions are being given, Frankie is nodding along - paying close attention to the parts about 'things getting weird' and coming back to base camp. She gives a careful once over to the large trash-pokers, starting to nudge her companion to indicate them, when the pond is revealed with the faux-ominous music. As the blonde surveys the murky and unpleasant looking mire, the somewhat earnest expression on her features noticeably falls. Clearly, wading in the muck was not on her agenda for the day. Yet, even as Frankie is looking on to the pond with noticeable dread, the kin to her side grins a bit and raises her hand. "If you're taking volunteers, I know Frankie here would love to tackle the pond." To which the blonde girl goes all wide-eyed, head turning between Sarah and Acacia as she blinks and blurts out, "Wait, what...?" The offer from the latest arrival seems like a proverbial lifeline which the blonde latches onto, "I mean - I, uh, wouldn't want to take that away from someone who really wants to do it...!"
"Just like my heart," Acacia assures Logan with his comment about the cold. She grins at Ansel and just shakes her head. "The smell alone will make you want to barf. Before people get suited up in whatever manner, let's have some chow. Chill out. Get everyone assigned to different spots so we aren't just running amok." She smirks at the kinfolk and shakes her head. "No. We'll leave the pond to squishies today." She again nudges the sign with her toe. It's out of range and that thing is fucking GROSS. "So.." Acacia hops down from the tp of the table. "Let's eat. Chill for a few minutes, gather ourselves."
Having grabbed himself a pair of gloves already, Alessio pauses a short moment, looking up. He gives a light nod, putting the gloves into his back pocket. He then moves up to the table. Hands go back into the front pockets of his hoodie, giving a quick look around, "Chill, yes." he agrees. He's the anti-chill, though. Not a single chill bone in his body. Effin' Full Moons!
At the words 'chow' and 'chill out', Ansel arches a brow, like he hadn't accounted for eating or socializing, instead having viewed this as a mission to be swiftly carried out. But, he adapts, nodding in agreement. "Sounds good," he says, then glances around, lifting a hand to wave at the folks working the grill, while also nodding at the others gathered.
There's an audible sigh of relief from Frankie as she evades pond duty, though she does give her companion a poke and a wrinkle-nosed expression, the response to which is a bit of a mischevious look of faux innocence. Frankie quirks her mouth in at one corner, shaking her head before she moves over towards the eating area, taking another look at the others assembled. She picks up on the comment made by Logan, crossing over towards him to offer the individual a brief smile to acknowledge his recognition of her. "I'm trying to keep a low profile," she intones quietly. "But thanks... Show's been off the air for a couple of years but I think they're still doing re-runs all the time." The tone she uses when she speaks is pretty neutral, as if she's trying to keep it close to her vest as to how she feels about the current state of the program she used to be on.
Burgers are being put on buns. Little bags of Sunchips are set next to them. Acacia hears Frankie's comment, of course, and her brow arches and then suddenly, she looks around and reaches into her pocket and pulls out a simple bracelet, bedecked with a couple of bottle caps that are painted with just a child's version of closed eyes. Just a curved line with some eyelashes on them. "Put this on. Don't take it off." Alessio is considered as well and she hands him one that is much the same, explaining quietly - since they have a pretty good radius around them, "Bracelets that make you pretty much unnoticed unless you draw attention to yourself. Only works in public. Put them on, take them off when you're in a safe spot or WANT to be noticed."
"The cold never bothered me anyways." Logan sings to Casey as he heads over to take a seat near the food, settling his trench coat and bag next to him to safe guard them. He snags some chips and a hot dog. To Frankie, he gives her a grin. "So, what are you? Furry or kin?" He asks curiously as he crams a chip into his mouth for a large crunch. As he munches around it, he says, "My little brother had a huge crush on you."
Alessio is not accustomed to get gifts, that much seems to be certain. When he's handed a bracelet all of a sudden, he ends up taking it and then just holding it to stare at. He blinks a few times, "Uh." he begins, "Fetish?" he wonders, glancing up at Acacia, then back to the item. His other hand lifts up to scratch at the side of his head, "Can't.. sense a spirit to link to." he tries, "How do I .. make it work once its on my wrist?" Cause Wonders makes no sense to the poor Ahroun!
Taking the offered bracelet with a bit of a dubious look at first, Frankie then nods as Acacia explains the jewelry's function, eyebrows lifting with a combination of incredulousness and appreciation. "Really?" she begins, quick to fasten the item around her wrist. "Wow, thanks... Sure could have used something like this over the last year..." she muses. She fiddles with the object a moment after it's on her wrist, getting used to the feel of the strange feeling of the bottle-caps fastened to it, before she moves to grab herself some food. Just a burger and a hot dog for Frankie - no buns, no chips. Just the meat. She takes a seat next to Logan, smiling a bit ruefully. "Yeah, he wasn't alone. You should have seen some of the fan mail I got..." She pulls a bit of a face, before picking up the plain burger patty to start munching on it like a cookie. "Ah, furry," she answers quietly, making sure to keep her voice down. "Barely, anyways. Cub." A shrug is given before she takes another bite of her hamburger patty.
Ansel watches with interest as the bracelets are handed out, like maybe he's never seen such a thing. "That's pretty cool. I wish I could use those on my clients," he admires, his tone indicating that he would never dream of actually doing such a thing. "Make my work a lot easier," added, and then he reaches for a burger, also without a bun, when the time comes, although he seems inclined to let everyone else go first.
Acacia shakes her head at ALessio. "Not quite. I make things, but they aren't spirits. It will just help you be not so... Rawr. You just put it on. The activation is putting it on your wrist. It's an extension of your WILL, not a spirit." Still quiet, making sure that her voice doesn't carry outside of the circle of non-humans that Alessio (mostly) creates with his rage. "You can keep it if you'd like, or give it back when we're done, or tell me to go fuck myself because you don't want it. Any of those is perfectly acceptable." To Fraknie, she smiles. "Really. Keep it. It's yours." Ansel gets a grin and a shrug. "Not safe outside of those who know what the eff is going on." She hands Alessio a burger and a little bag of sun chips. "Water or tea, m'dude?"
Alessio continues to stare at the bracelet a few moments, "I got a spray a while back. To make people forget. I was told it works like that. You just use it and it works. Someone.. pretty much told me it was .. 'made'." he pauses, "Is it like that?" he asks Acacia, "Because, if so, where were you years ago when I started patrolling the streets." he puts the bracelet on, "You've no idea how many awkward situations I could have avoided with this." he grunts out. He accepts the burger and chips, "Uh. Water. Too much sugar in that tea." he says, channeling his inner European.
"Yeah," Ansel agrees with Acacia as he settles into his seat. "Not safe, but, super cool," he admires again, keeping his voice equally low. Glancing at Alessio, his mouth opens, like he was going to say something, but then there's a slight hesitation before he decides to commisserate: "Sugar, man. Screws me up."
Glancing down at the bracelet again for a moment, Frankie gets a thoughtful expression on her features, one which prompts comment from the kin that she arrived with, as Sarah takes a seat next to her with a full plate of burger and chips. "Don't even think about it." Franke glances up, trying to feign innocence. "Think about what...?" Sarah makes a 'tut-tut' noise as she opens her bag of chips, though Frankie doubles down on her apparent confusion, turning back to the rest of the conversation taking place at the table. She pays brief attention to the fact that at least one other person present seems to be Atkins-extreme, though doesn't make direct comment to Ansel about it. Instead, she turns back to Acacia, curious. "So - when the sign-up for this was done with the city.. What sort of group name was used?" She pauses just a beat before she tries to clarify. "I guess I mean - when we do things like this - do we like, say it's us?"
Acacia nods to Alessio. "Probably. A spray sounds like alchemy, though. Like once you use it, it's done. Like a talen would be. This can be used over and over again until you break it or whatever. And this doesn't make people FORGET. It just makes you less noticeable, but that might be just as good if you do what I've heard you do." She smiles at Frankie. "I just went to get a permit to have me, Acacia Evans, and a bunch of my friends, do a cleanup and reserve a small place where we can set up a homebase to serve drinks and food to our volunteers. That's the easiest, least complicated way to do it."
"I've no idea if it works. I once found it in my pocket and I came close to spraying my own face with it." Alessio mutters, "Then I doublechecked and, well, recalled." he then nods once, "If you heard what I do and you have that reaction, then I think you heard the right thing." he pauses, "Although, I am here to clean up the streets the mundane way today." he eyes the place, taking a bite out of his burger.
With a nod to Acacia, Frankie takes another cookie-esque bite from her hamburger patty, the disc of meat almost gone. "Yeah, but... I guess I mean, when we're done and the place is clean and there's a playground here... Will anyone know who did it? Shouldn't..." The former TV personality hesitates a bit, a delicate frown pulling at the corners of her lips as she continues to speak, her tone suggesting that she probably knows at least part of the answer to her question, though she still feels the need to ask it. "Shouldn't we ...get some sort of credit for it?" Even as she finishes the question, Sarah next to her gives the blonde a bit of a disapproving look as she eats her chips. Frankie then gives a brief glance to Alessio, a single eyebrow lifting slightly in response to either what the man's just said or how he's said it. Or maybe both.
Acacia nods to Alessio with a grin. "I had four years of trauma-induced amnesia. You don't want to forget yourself. If your squirty thing doesn't have a lock on it, I can put one on so you don't accidentally discharge it." She looks over at Frankie and then shakes her head. "No. We absolutely should NOT get some form of credit for it. And this isn't a one-shot deal. It's going to take months, years maybe, to get this place the way way we want it, so that it's safe for us and for our children and for their children when it comes. We'll do it, over and over and over and not a single person outside of US will know who was responsible. We need to draw LESS attention to ourselves. Not more. Realistically, I'll probably talk some hippie greenpeace group into coming out here a time or two and get them to take credit for all the hard work they've done."
Silent again, Ansel contemplates his burger. Should he eat it with his fingers? Or waste a fork on it? Even if they are biodegradable, they still had to be manufactured, right? But. Manners? He shoots a sly glance at Frankie to see how she's eating, then, decides to go no-forks as well. At her question, though, his own brow furrows, like he disagrees. But, even if he heard her say she's a cub, he's clearly not going to be the one to contradict her, as he remains quiet, instead, nodding in agreement with what Acacia says. HAH! There are no forks!
Alessio is the sort of person that most likely never saw a fork growing up. There was no question about it; the burger had buns and thats what you use to grab hold of it when you eat it from your hand! And he eats it in a few short bites, not the sort to take it slow with food, "Its safe now." he pats a pocket, "Thanks anyhow."
Finishing her hamburger patty, Frankie glances at her slightly greasy fingertips for only a moment before she just forges ahead and licks off whatever meat-crumbs and grease is there, as if she just finished some fried chicken instead of a bun-less hamburger. She listens to Acacia's impassioned response then, her own eyebrows furrowing a little bit as she wraps her head around the philosophy of doing all these types of things and deliberately trying not to be noticed about it. Her mouth twists a bit to one side, lips drawing together. It doesn't take a mind-reader to know that the girl is having a hard time reconciling not getting some type of acknowledgement for hard work. Finally, after another slight frown, she answers, "So, when people say 'the satisfaction of a job well done', that's pretty much the payoff here. Just like, knowing it was us and the good we did..." She's reasoning this out as she speaks, her tone thoughtful as if this is a concept that she hasn't had the occasion to really give much consideration to before.
Acacia shakes her head at Frankie. "Nope. Not even that. I would MUCH rather be in the rat nursery playing with baby rats all day or making fun of Logan. We're doing it for a reason. We are doing it to make this area safer for us, for our families. OUR people will know who did it. The Storytellers will make sure of that. But they.." She nods over toward the outside of the park. "... they don't need to know."
"And, like, survival," Ansel decides to risk offering Frankie his thoughts after Acacia speaks, although his tone is gentle, not meaning to offend if they continue to have dueling points of view, just share how he was taught. "Nobody's going to keep things up just for acknowledgment, long term. But, when Gaia hurts, we hurt," he adds, sounding like he's repeating something he's been told since he was old enough to remember. "There's no order to this," he nods to the litter in the park. "Ponds shouldn't smell in a way that'l make you want to barf. Gaia gives us a home. If we don't keep it nice, we'll drown in the filth. Choke on our own puke. We have to put things back in order."
Cramming a hot dog into his mouth, Logan gives a few strong chews and a swallow. "Sides, it's more fun this way to have a bit of mystique about it. We'll help a lot of people with something easy and simple on the surface, but deep down, you gotta think what it does to the soul. It's life changing." He gives a lick of his lips. "Feels like a superhero a bit."
Alessio starts in on his sun chips. Its a small bag, so he basically opens it and begins to upend portions of it into his mouth. He eyes Frankie then, "You should listen to her." he tells Frankie, nodding once to Acacia, "She knows what she's talking about." he finishes the bag of chips, to then finally reach for some water.
Nodding again, Frankie seems to be getting it as she listens to both Acacia and Ansel in turn. "Right," she answers. "That's what I mean, just... us," the last word getting a swivel of her head to indicate those gathered at the eating area, and others of the same ilk. And as Ansel explains the specifics of healing Gala, the blonde nods again, "Oh, I totally get that. Believe me," she comments, wholly on board with the idea of putting the park back to a natural state. "I guess I'm just so used to getting on the soapbox about conservationalism and saving the environment... Different mindset doing something like this and not shouting to everyone else about the fact that I did it and they should do it to." Frankie smiles at that, offering a light shrug of apology, the gesture suggesting that she knows she has quite a bit to learn yet about.. well, everything. Then, at Logan's and Alessio's follow-ups and the sudden realization that she's sort of become the center of attention, and not necessarily in a good way, the girl flicks her gaze about the table before focusing on the lone hot dog that still remains on her plate, picking it up by one end. "Sorry, I... I'll just finish my food..."
Acacia smiles at Frankie and nods. "It's a different world we live in. I mean, I can go out with some humans and bust up some bad guys, break a few knees, tell them to stay the fuck out of my area and take credit for that. But for this?" SHe motions around. "We're in the process of bu--" Someone wanders through what she considers to be 'too close' and she looks up and smiles. "Hey, 'Fredo. Grab a burger, then high tail it out of here. I'm meeting with fam." Fredo does indeed grab a burger, and wanders off. Acacia waits for him to be clear, then continues. ".. building a Caern, a sacred space. In the middle of the City. That's DANGEROUS. So we have to be super careful." She waves a hand at Frankie's embarassment and shakes her head. "Nope. QUestions are good. You should come by the mall sometime. See how shit happens here in town."
Listening to Acacia, first, Ansel nods again. "Super careful," he agrees. "And, nothing for you to be sorry for," he assures, shaking his head. "Your approach makes sense, wanting to get everyone involved. I get it," he offers. "I was mostly just telling you what my parents told my brother and I when our room was dirty," he tries to lighten the mood. "Our socks probably smelled as bad as the pond."
"There's no such thing as a wrong question. Mostly. Though I've been told I've came close to asking a few in my time." Logan says with a wry grin on his face as he crams a second hot dog down, chomping away three or four times before he swallows. "Asking questions is good. It's how you stay alive longer than most. Means you're willing to learn shit."
Alessio grunts out to this, shaking his head slowly, "There is such a thing as the wrong question, but at the most you would be allowed to ask it once.. and learn to not ask it again." he finishes his water, then moves to cross his arms over his chest.
Also waiting until Fredo wanders through and leaves, Frankie's expression lifts with a bit of confusion as Acacia details part of the ultimate reason for this endeavor. She casually chomps off the end of the hot dog in her hand, chewing on it and then swallowing as she mulls, "You can have one of those in the city? I thought those were only out in the wilderness...?" Yes, this one has quite a bit to learn yet - but, to her credit, she does at least seem to be interested in learning it. For the most part. The blonde turns to Ansel then, offering him a smirk from behind her oversized sunglasses. "Twice as bad if there were two of you and it was anything like my brother's was..." she quips. The smile on her features fades briefly almost immediately after the comment, though the girl is quick to force it back into place. Her tone's a little quieter as she adds, "He used to say, 'There's no stupid questions, just stupid people who ask them...'. I hated that saying..." Her tone and expression are nostalgic, the smile growing more genuine again.
Chess heads toward them, brows lifting a little when she sees Alessio. "Acquila," she says, by way of a greeting. She gives Acacia a little up-nod. "Hey, gorgeous." The other two get measuring looks, and a little tilt of the head as Chess studies Frankie. There's a little thinking-line between her brows, the looks of trying to place someone with a vaguely familiar face.
"Mhm," Ansel agrees with Frankie, on the toxic smell of socks. He gets a faraway look in his eyes, as if also nostalgic in his own way for messy rooms and smelly feet, but he tunes back in as Frankie quotes her brother. Listening, he quirks an eyebrow, then nods agreeably, like he's not a huge fan of that saying, either. "Understandably," he offers, then looks to Chess. "Hey - how's it going with your power word?" he asks, his expression deadpan despite the fact that he's making a reference to self-help/law of attraction material.
Alessio turns his head to Chess as she arrives, giving a nod to the woman. For the moment, he's just standing around a table that has food and such on it. He's .. chilling. Trying to be social and sociable and talkative. It it not working out too well for him, bu he is trying at least.
"Alright. So, we're all fed. Let's grab a pokey thing and a bag. If you get past those red markers over there --" She indicates four little flags, about 25 yards out, one in each direction. ".. then you're outside of the Rage dampening effect, so you fuzzies be careful once you cross that border. It's not JUST a full moon, it's also Friday the Thirteenth and I don't give a fuck how much or how little stock you put in that date, but I was alive 20 years ago when this happened and it was a WEIRD day, so just pay attention to your rage. I'm willing to hit the pond. If someone wants to come with me, cool. I don't want to die stuck in muck. Watch your feet. If you don't have on good shoes, I brought some extra boots along. I had a needle stuck in the leather of my steel toed earlier."
Making much shorter work of her hot dog than she did her hamburger patty, Frankie licks her fingers again after finishing off the stick of meat, and then pushes herself up and off from the picnic table. She offers a friendly wave and nod to the new arrival, her sunglasses and the ball-cap on her head likely making the facial recognition a little more difficult. The blonde girl grabs a quick drink of water and then starts to peruse the gloves and trash-pokers, looking for ones that seemed appropriately sized. After all, she doesn't want to be saddled with gloves that are too big (likely) or too small (far less likely) once they do. Despite the prodding of the kinfolk that she arrived with, Frankie does not step up to volunteer for the pond, instead happy to let Acacia or Ansel or someone else take on that task, or at least the first crack at it. Instead, the girl gets her gloves, a moderate sized trash-spearer, a garbage bag, and starts to pick a plan of attack...
Chess listens, though there's maybe a little lift of her brows as Acacia speaks. She heads over to the equipment as Frankie does, offering an introduction before getting to work.
Alessio fishes out the gloves he took earlier, stuffed into his back pocket. He puts them on before he goes to grab one of the poker things. And a bag. To put trash in. Because he is not going to fill his pockets.
"I'll help you with the pond," Ansel says, ready to make good on his earlier offer. He gets up, then, after cleaning up after himself, moves toward the waders that have been left out, sorting through to find a pair that fits.
"Please tell me you're gonna take your shirt off, Jarhead," Chess says. "Make all the straight girls blush." She's looking a little less skinny, moving with more grace and strength these days. "Oh, and," she adds as she passes him, "I'm workin' on that Christmas present." Almost jaunty, she heads in Alessio's direction.
There are only two waders. A big pair and a big pair. Acacia grabs one of them that is pretty much exactly the same size as Ansel's and she stuffs herself into it, reaching into her cleavage to pull out.. three baby rats, which she hands off to one of the kinfolk who isn't going into the muck. "Stay safe, little squeakers," she says, hauling up the straps to put them over her shoulders and adjust the tension so they don't fall off.
"In the pond? No," Ansel replies to Chess, his expression still deadpan, and now his tone of voice has gone gruff. Maybe that's just to conceal the fact that a flush is spreading from his neck and up into his cheeks. Shaking his head, he bends and starts tugging on the other pair of waders.
Alessio eyes the poker a few moments, much in the way of a man that is pondering if he can use it as a lethal instrument or something. He makes a jabbing motion in the air with it, then shakes his head. He instead looks around to find a good place to start poking at the ground that has trash.
"It's a nice shirt," Chess comments, with a glance over her shoulder. "Wouldn't want you to ruin it, now." The corners of her mouth twitch a little when she sees his reddened face. And then she applies herself to her chosen corner, jabbing up bits of trash and efficiently popping them into her trash bag.
Ansel just grunts at Chess, shaking his head as he wriggles into the waders. Before pulling them the rest of the way off, he does take off his zip-up hoodie, leaving it at the picnic table. And then, he pulls on gloves before making his way into the water.
Having gone quiet, Logan is currently using his poking stick to fish out trash and stuff it into a bag. He has a pair of headphones over his head as he listens to some music. He took his own shirt off in the meantime, revealing his mostly pale skin, riddled with bullethole scars along his back. He also has a couple of piercings. Fun.
While still stubbornly not shirtless, taking off his hoodie reveals that Ansel's arms are covered in various military themed tattoos, including having the words "Semper Fi" inked on his left forearm. There are flowers in the background to make the work look more cohesive. Moving slowly, carefully through the water, mindful of his footing, he starts plucking whatever trash he can find.
Chess gives Logan a look over one shoulder, but... given the headphones, she doesn't make any attempt to chat with him. Instead, she keeps a weather eye on Alessio, keeping track of the Ahroun.
Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab. Logan works the stick through various cans and other debris, then tugs his headphones down to flop upon the top of his shoulders. He takes a quick sip of water from a bottle, giving a glance over to the others.
Acacia takes a breath and clomps out toward the water with her pokey stick and a net and a bag which she clips to her waders. She heads on out and gets about two steps in before she makes a little gagging sound. "Oh god. Please kill me." She wades out a little further and there is a.. bubble.. that rises to the surface, somewhere out in the middle of the little pond. Just a little gross drip of nastiness that rises to the surface and splutters.
"What the - " Ansel mutters, at the rising bubble, tense for a moment, like he's ready to fight or help Acacia flee, depending on what follows. After it pops, he stays fairly close to Acacia, figuring there's some safety in that for the two of them. Silent though, if he's fussing and gagging, he's choking it back, doing his best to keep up a stoic facade, other than that expressed shock over the bubble.
Tilting his head over towards the pond, Logan watches Acacia with a grin. "You need some help in there?" He calls out as he waves a hand across his face.
Alessio is putting about at the edge of the park, near the red markers, deciding to work from the edge and inwards rather then inwards and to the edge. Cleaning, picking track, filling his bag!
"Oh, god, the smell," Acacia mutters to Ansel, but she doesn't seem worried. "Trapped gasses and we're dist--" And then her hands flail upward, pokey stick nearly knocking Ansel in the head. She gets her footing back before she falls, but then there is a slurping sound. Ansel will feel the ground beneath them shift slightly and then Acacia goes under the algae-covered sludge pond. Slurp
Blinking at the stick means Ansel's too slow to even try to prevent Acacia from going under, initially. But he shouts a loud: "HEY!" clearly meant to get everyone else's attention. Then, he thrashes through the water, then ducks down before getting to the spot where Acacia once was, probably hoping to grab her.
Alessio is alerted. Yep, he's an alert man! When the call is made out from the pond, he looks over to see that there is at least one body missing there. He slings the poker up over his shoulder and, along with the bag, he jogs over, "What're you all up?" he grunts out, not having seen what went down.
Blurp. Bubble. Blurp. Acacia's bag still floats on the surface, probably still attached, but then that also slips quietly under the surface.
"She went under - " Ansel shouts back, then pauses, like he's just felt something from below. His hand shoots into the water, by his ankle, like he's grabbing for something that he feels down there. Pond muck goes everywhere, soaking his shirt and even splashing onto his face.
Dropping his stick and bag, Logan rushes forward toward the pond, looking back and forth. Biting his lip, he steps out of his shoes and tugs off his socks, then hops into the pond. He blurs his way into the glabro form for a bit of height, then shoves his hands down into the water to search. "Casey!"
Dropping his stick and bag, Logan rushes forward toward the pond, looking back and forth. Biting his lip, he steps out of his shoes and tugs off his socks, then hops into the pond. "Casey!" He calls out as he sloshes about, shoving an arm down to try and find her, fishing about rapidly.
Alessio is not panicking. Well, at least not yet. And he is not leaping into the pond. Instead, he lifts his heavy hand up towards his face and makes a prayer, "And let my eyes see what can not be seen.." he mutters, slowly sliding his hand down over his eyes. He then opens them and looks at the pond. He sees not people anymore, but sees instead heatsources. The ones splashing about in the pond are easy to detect. But its the subtle one he is looking for now.
"HERE!" Ansel shouts with his hand under water, like he's got something that he assumes is Acacia and not the pond monster trying to get him too. His ability to communicate is otherwise limited, probably due to the fact that he's getting pond water in his mouth every time he opens it, right now. He moves around, water rustling around him and filling those coveralls, as he's probably trying to get a more solid grip on her.
Ansel and Logan have a hold of SOMETHING out there. Acacia has not resurfaced, and there are more bubbles coming up
There, indeed. Alessio sees it. He has his eyes set upon the thing. So, without waiting he just dives into the water. All he needs is to get a finger to touch that shape and he can do what he wants to do. Splash and splush! There seems to be no worry regarding his clothing at this point.
And people ARE paying attention now.
Well. There must be a powerline or something in that water because once Alessio has gone in under the water, there is a moment before the entire pond just lights up light a christmastree. It just FLASHES of blue electricity, even if nothing of it actually affects anyone in the pond. That can be seen. But looks flashy!
Chess, furthest away and clearly slowest, comes running up with--where did that knife even *come* from? She's assessing, but not really fast enough. Heedless of her boots, she finds a place to wade in. "Jarhead! Do you have her?"
"I - " Ansel's trying to answer someone, while also trying to figure out how to at least get Acacia's head above water, if anything. And then there's that flash of blue, and he's still for a split second, probably thinking that he's spent his last moments on earth flailing about in shit-water. But, once he's still alive, he redoubles his efforts to get her out. "Strap - I have her strap - "
As he finds something beneath the water, Logan digs his boots in and pulls upwards, sliding his other hand down under to try and grasp what may be an arm. He tries not to puke on himself from the smell, focusing on the task of yanking the kin up. ".. The hell was that?"
Fortunately, people are not CLOSE and the algae that sits atop the water mutes the flashy down at least a little bit. ANd just after
Ansel speaks, and then Logan, with all the tugging, Acacia is finally pulled free from .. whatever hole she stepped in. That's totally what that was. She comes up gasping and sputtering, weight of the two men with a grip on her shifting. Ansel, at least, stays on his feet. Not sure about Logan yet
Swimming away a bit under the water, Alessio then breaks the surface some two bodylengths away. He made sure to get closer to the shore as well. He pushes himself up to his feet, to then wade out of the pond. If he's feeling sick or wanting to puke from the water, he's not showing it. But he is from top to bottom drenched as he dove head first into the crappy crap of crappy water.
"Out of the water - " Ansel barks, as if slipping back into old military training in being clear and direct, even in the thick of chaos. Probably concerned that there's still Something lurking, he seems willing to drag or carry Acacia if needed, rather than risk lingering in the water any longer, although he's certainly not going to do that if she's steady on her own feet.
Chess grabs at Logan's arm, right when he starts to go down in the disgusting muck, and hauls him upright. Once he's stable, she's quick to get the hell back out of that nasty water, eyeing it warily.
The feet of Logan slip-slip-slips comically as he gives that hard yank to help tug Acacia upwards. "Oh crap!" He calls out as he starts to fall backwards, just to be snagged by Chess by the arm. He whips himself around, then nearly collapses into her as he hacks up a lungfull of muck.
Acacia flails about, gasping, coughing, weighed down by the hip waders that have about a zillion pounds of water in them. She can't seem to get her feet under her. Lack of oxygen, breathing in funky water, whatever it is. Ansel can probably get her to her feet, or Ansel and Alessio or .. someone. BUt she's too busy hacking up a lung and gallons of water to be MUCH help
Stubbornly, Ansel keeps dragging Acacia toward solid ground. If the waders have hook straps that can easily be undone and give her some relief, he'll try, but he's intent on getting the both of them the hell out of the water as quickly as possible. "It's okay. You're okay. Keep coughing, get it all out. Almost there," he urges her.
"Thanks, gothboy," Chess says dryly, as Logan coughs on her. Her expression is tight, though, her eyes on Acacia and Ansel--ready to jump back in if it looks like Ansel needs help getting the woman out. She holds out a hand as they near the edge, offering another support.
Meanwhile, Alessio just sort of wades out of the water under his own power. He's not trying to stay stable or upright. He will walk / crawl as needed until out of the water. He glances to the pond; Ansel seems to have Acacia well in hand. The other two does not seem to be in any danger. Instead, he just grunts out, "Gonna need to do a cleanup job on whatever floated to the surface." he says in a low voice, as if he was giving a suggestion and not an order. That done, he starts to head for the perimeter of the park. He fishes into his pocket to take out his phone (thank the Weaver for phonecases to protect from damage and water!). While the others flail about in the water, he taps out a phonenumber.
Acacia gets out to the shore and flops onto her face, still coughing and sputtering. Attention has been drawn that way, but still no one gets too close. There are a couple more bubbles from the pond, but now there's a larger.. bubble? No, it isn't a bubble. It's an object, that floats just belong the scum on the top of the pond.
"Welcome." Logan sputters out with another as he turns his head, then wipes away at his mouth. "Oof. I need some heavy duty Crest." He grunts out as he steps out on to the shore, soaking wet. As he turns back to the pond, he squints his eyes at the large bubble that is floating upwards. "What is it?" He calls over to Alessio.
"Hey guys - " Ansel calls to the kin who were helping with the food, if they're still there. "Can we get some water for her?" He keeps an eye on Chess and Logan as well, and, once they're safely out of the water, he turns back to Acacia. Watching her, probably wary for any lingering consequences of being in the water, he starts to wriggle out of his own waders.
Oh, she's gonna puke her guts out for a while. Green and .. hey, is that a fish? Also, that was just a big wad of algae. At least she's quiet about it. And when someone from over THERE calls out to see if she's okay, she manages to give a thumbs up and just keeps horking up all the nasty. When the water is brought to her, she chugs some down, fills her mouth, spits it out and then goes back to quietly vomiting up pond water
Chess gives Alessio a nod, and goes to Acacia's side--keeping a side-eye on whatever it is. Or hopefully was. Most of her attention is on holding Acacia's hair, though. "Okay. You're all right, go ahead and get rid'a all that..."
"Beats me." Alessio calls over to Logan, "Felt like an old powerline. She must have tripped on it. I poked it and it went ZAP." he says, as if to explain to anyone listening that should not hear sensitive things. He then focuses on the phone, "Need a ride. From the park. Yeah. As fast as you can." he grunts.
Once he's out of his waders, Ansel seems less nurturing in the moment and more clinical, still focusing on the 'not dying' aspect of this. "I know this sucks, but, when you can, try to flush out your eyes," he advises Acacia, then calls for more water.
"A downed power line? We need to get that out of there then before it hurts someone." Logan says once he's done gagging and dry heaving. He pulls his wet hair back behind him, wrapping it up again in a rubber band. He gives a thankful smile to Chess, then looks over to Acacia worriedly.
Chess nods quickly to Ansel's words. "They might have one at the techie workshop," she says, looking over to Logan with the question.
There doesn't seem to be anyone dying, so the crowd starts to break up. And the thing that bows up the surface of the water is bubbling a little more, but the thing itself seems to be getting smaller, deteriorating. The color of the pond is a little darker than it was, but no one really seems to have noticed the thing floating. Acacia nods to Chess and manages to push herself up to a mostly sitting position and holds out her hand for the water. "K," she manages before she starts coughing again. And dry heaving. "Cleansing.." she mutters, then follows that up with a loud, "Hyeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk," and a burp that smells like it came straight from the asshole of some giant sludge guardian
"Oh god *damn*, that is nasty," Chess murmurs. "Yeah, um, let's all get to somewhere with showers. Like... now."
Never far away on a full moon, Alessio would have one of his Kinfolk drive up in a dark blue Ford E-Series van, minus the windows on the sides. Into this vehicle goes the Ahroun before he lets himself get whisked away.
At the scent of the burp, Ansel closes his eyes, like he's probably trying to count to three, to get his own gag reflex under control. Once water's delivered, he puts it in Acacia's outstretched hand.
".. Oh that's.. nasty." Logan says as he waves a hand in front of his face a few times, letting out another ragged cough. "I think it's a good time to go get a shower in." He says as he looks over to Acacia.
