cat·a·clys·mic

the sound of the other's voice does in fact bring her back to reality -- and although she appears suprised to be spoken to, jamila doesn't turn them away. " i donno, darlin'. wish i could give ya a better answer. " jamila speaks, gentle as she always was -- even if she was both physically and emotionally tired. " it's really comin' down out there. tried peakin' out. and i could barely see a thing. " at the mention of the cards, the waitresses eyes perk up as her mind rolls through games. " well -- how many card games exist? sounds like a perfect time t'learn 'em all... and i'd be happy t'be your partner. if you're interested. "

how many existed! what a question, mijn god. the space between what ade knew and couldn't ever understand was a chasm, but she kept the optimistic look towards what she could teach. "there's...." they hummed thoughtfully, trying to consider one that would be familiar starting territory. as with most of ade's interests, it was always a strong start before fizzling into the next exciting topic. it seemed as though this topic would have to outlast the snow! "go fish."

Unfortunately for everyone, when Sue wants to be, he can absolutely be focused on an objective, taking a situation very seriously, even being perfectly cooperative. The key to it being, when he wants to be. Right now, with no one to really take up the mantle of making sure important people are safe and taken care of, and thus Sue has taken it upon himself.

Having already made sure Bash, Sullie, and Joni have found one another and have a place safe enough that they can lock if shit hits the fan, he's been walking around with a piece of paper and a pencil to make a crude map of this maze to the best of his abilities, while keeping his eyes out for more people he deems important—and avoiding those who he'd prefer didn't know of his or his friends' existence, of which there are quite a few running about the place.

It's how he finds his way aside Ruth, casually sliding his hand into hers as he puts the pencil behind his ear. "What's a cute girl like yourself doing in a shitty place like this?" he asks, shoving the map into the back pocket of his jeans. With a slight tug, Sue pulls Ruth to the side, eyes moving from one person to the next, as though threat-assessing, before they move back to her again.

"Got anyone important here? I've a place we can sleep without having to worry about..." Sue glances sideways at the handful of people currently in the room. "Well. You never know. My sister's there too."

"yanni and ari are here. and, i don't have..." the first clue on how to keep herself alive in these situations. sleep hadn't even crossed her mind, a safe place to close her eyes didn't seem possible.. she opened her mouth to start listing the other names of every familiar face, a class roster of those to protect against elements unknown, everything unknown. "i'm just trying to keep a medical space."

she held his hand still, studying the long gaze that kept darting behind her. she trusted his assessment far more than her own. security for something that she felt, but still couldn't name. "what don't we know?"

fuck, why is this so hard?

"i work here." his words are icier in her mouth, unable to resist the urge to recite them back, the same vagueness waiting in the dark. she'd refused the army. she'd gotten close, desperately close to taking any way out of that house, but she'd waited instead. taking the position as a structural worker instead, and now able to claim an even higher rank. "i was promoted."

there's another beat where she pulls her lips into a firm line, willing herself to stop talking there. in another world, she's stronger than her brother, she's not the first to give in. in another world, maybe she's the older sibling. in this one, she's still standing in the street staring at her brother asking why why why. "they moved me the the compound, for the time being."

dr. yanni made his rounds through the floors of the hospital at least once per shift. when he was otherwise on the trauma floor teaching and assisting and picking up the slack wherever needed. it's part of why he was so tired, so exhausted all the time yet always in motion. he needed to check in with all of them, he needed to know they were all okay. if he could solve their problems quick and without involving too much other involvement, it was easier to keep them on board and help him with the ultimate mission which was simply to always help, never hurt which was one of many steps to changing what went on with afterglow research solutions.

ruth was by far one of his favorites, though he would say he didn't have such things. she'd been with them for a long time and she was smart as a whip, among many other like-minded traits she possessed. rounding the corner, he spotted her through the windows to a room. he pushed open the door with raised brows and a slight smile to greet her. "how are things going in here, then?"

"dr. shteynhoyz, meet private garcia." she introduced, never ignoring the third person in the room, even when the conversation would quickly bypass layman's terms. "just a minor training incident," she spared the details that she'd discussed already, turning back to set everything on the suture tray. "you'll be good as new by next week. the nurse will have instructions for you." taking on a few simple injuries was not technically part of her work. in fact, some other surgeons might have scoffed at the idea. but she didn't mind stepping in when the clinics were understaffed, seizing the opportunity to practice each and every skill that might be asked of her.

she stood up to dispose of her gloves and give her full attention to yanni, ready to step out into the hall and on to the next. "i'm still on pace to assist with this afternoon's class." she was used to days running long and demanding every last scrap of energy they could give her. now, it was almost more uncomfortable to be without, yanni was her only hope at some reprieve from a day too straightforward, a shift that was too easy. "unless you're here to tell me you don't need the hands."

unlike the rest of his siblings, xander tended to ignore his past and act like nothing bad ever happened or could happen. it was his coping mechanism, avoidance. but when it came to family, he was actually quite attached to all of them and while he was annoyed that they all seemed to spread out after they were rid of their father, that didn't keep him from seeking them out or making a point to be in their lives whether they wanted him there or not.

blame it on being the baby, or needy, he didn't care.

that's why when he spotted his sister at the market he snuck up behind her and popped out at the last second to grab her shoulders with a quick little 'boo' for effect. "fancy seein' you here miss ivy, i figured you'd be too good to shop in this market when you have access to all that special stuff they must give you at the compound." xander wouldn't know, he'd barely spent any time there and when he did it was usually to visit someone in the hospital or pick up from the morgue when they couldn't deliver. xander leaned down to get a look at what she was holding. "what cha lookin' at? anything cool?"

"you can't spend every day on the compound." not even she, who hoped to avoid just about every scrap of burnington, could stay content with such a closed world. she turned the flowers in her hand once more before setting it down and finally turning to look at her brother straight on. she never had anywhere to store trinkets anyways, she never had much to say to her siblings anymore. the cycle went on. "i'm just browsing."

far be it for beau clary to ever stray far from festivities, particularly when they're centered around a celebration of love―his love, unyielding and undying, for the partner he couldn't have even been so bold as to conjure up in his most indulgent of daydreams―but after the ceremony, he finds that he needs just a moment to come down from the height of emotions. the last thing he wants, after all, is to appear at his own reception with red eyes and a puffy face, still choking back the last of his tears. even if he doesn't think anyone in attendance would be surprised ( it is no secret that the farmer is deeply attuned to his emotions ) he's been trying to keep it together. it's a happy day, after all. the happiest day of his life, he thinks, having snatched the title from the day he met ziggy. he only needs a moment for it to sink in before he goes to join everyone else.

the field is quiet, peaceful. it's unseasonably warm for november and beau shucks his suit jacket, tossing it onto the tall grass before lowering himself atop it. he thinks about his mama, wonders if she's back home on the farm down in the republic of texas thinking about what's happening up here. even if he understands why she couldn't make the trip, he does wish she could be here. it would've been nice, he thinks, for him and dixie both. he ain't seen her, after all, since he left that night his baby sister called him for help.

but, then, the most curious thing happened to her. she'd seen the face of beau clary before. not on the streets of the central market, or anywhere else it seemed people kept exclaiming she must have known him. she'd nearly forgotten that face, the drawn expression that had been engraved across it, so different from the joy that she saw now. it was almost enough to drive her away from bothering beau— almost.

"no. they understand." any event was an ebb and flow of people, waiting for a moment when they could catch a breath. weddings most of all, she assumed, though she never had the expectation to know. "i was taking a break," from what, she couldn't answer, "is company alright?"

LOCATION: the mad scientist, outside. FOR: ivy ambrose.

she could keep walking, but for some reason she does not. she sighs, giving into the ache that has settled in her bones long before. the bitterness that seeped through and can't seem to find its home. the light caught her face as she finally looked at him, illuminating what she hoped would be apathy, as she answered his own question. "what do you want?"

He couldn't help the light snort at the proclamation of her job, it was biased, it was resentment, it was bitter but it wasn't towards her but the organization she worked for, "I would say I disagree but then I'd be a hypocrite because you liking your job is what saved my life." At this point the words were light and in good humor, they would always disagree on it, that was no way to change it, but didn't effect their relationship. Ashton had long hoped Ruth no longer had it hanging over her, and yet he knew he could never be able to repay her. She was the only one he trusted in Afterglow. And that trust did not extend to the rest of her job and colleagues. "I definitely could, wouldn't be here if I wasn't working," Ash flashed a cheeky grin, more than happy to stay at home, knowing the headache he'd have, but he knew close friends of his might want him here, and he would never like to disappoint them. So might as well be paid to be here.

Her burst of enthusiasm had drawn up laughter from his throat, shaking his head in joking dismay, "cheers," he poured himself just a glass of water to rehydrate and raised that to her as she enjoyed her drink, just slow enough so she didn't choke. He rested his own arms on the counter after cleaning and drying it, chin on palm mirroring Ruth's previous position as she watched him curiously, tables now turned. "I thought you might like lavender in it," satisfied that she liked it, he grinned brightly into his glass. "Then you'll just hafta come back to me in this building for a drink then, simple solution." Ruth had always been kind with her compliments, sometimes ruthless with one's she really didn't like, but it comes with the years of friendship, despite the long gap missing. "For that, I'll give you two songs. Of your choosing."

"a necromancer with a twist, a corpse reviver..." paired with the halloween imagery, they weren't exactly the kindest depictions of her job. but, ashton was always fair, he was always honest with her. and she knew that they had a fair amount of disagreement on what exactly she could and could not do within the afterglow compound. "i'm not a magician. just a doctor." such conversations were easy to tuck away with another swig of her drink and a smile.

"you might be here if you weren't working." she had little authority on such matters after all this time. but out of ten invitations to an event, at least one had to be accepted. she would take those odds every time if it meant another night slipping back into old laughs with her friend. "just think, you could have dressed up too!" he wouldn't have gone that far, still she liked to ink it wasn't just the money that put them in these spots. her gentle ribbing was thrown off immediately by his next words.

"you know, if you're going to bother people, best not to do it around people who won't put up with it." the words drip like ice, and the person on the receiving end of them seems, at least, smart enough to get the message, though a cursory comment has to be tossed derek's way for the sake of pride, he supposes. he hears enough on a daily basis that it rolls off, and his eyes linger on the retreating figure until it's been completely swallowed up by the crowd before his attention turns away from it and back to the person now freely sitting at the bar.

It's been sticking to the edges of the forest, sitting in solid, load-bearing branches of its outermost trees, watching people come and go, having fun—seemingly—participating in their little rituals and their interactions. They are fascinating, of course, but there's a reason why Cilou sticks to the forest, wandering into the city only for as long as it takes to drop off animal carcasses at the butcher. It's not because it doesn't want to interact. Simply that people don't want to interact with it.

But this is the third day that it's been watching, feet swinging idly, lights twinkling as the sun sets, pumpkins grinning their wicked illuminated grin, and it's been wondering, for days now, what their purpose could possibly be. How the little drinks would taste upon its tongue. If the snacks are as crunchy as they look from this distance.

Patience is a virtue, a virtue that Cilou often does not possess.

Feet hit the ground with a thud, and like a cautious animal filled with terrible curiosity, Cilou makes its way towards the thick of the crowd, eyes as wide as its grin, head tilting slightly at every new smell-sound-sight. It's almost overwhelming—almost.

Curiosity leads her to a table, hopping upon the surface of it to sit down with her legs folded under her, staring down at the occupant of said table from the elevated height, head leaning forward—making absolutely no mistake where her attention is focused on. "What are you doing?"

she turned her notebook to show the writing, as though it would make sense to anyone other than herself. recipes did not write themselves, they took trial and error in an amount of flour that the bakery didn't have. so, sometimes she had to write, to figure out where to go next. it was hardly her favorite, but someone to bounce ideas off of was the perfect gift! she seized the opportunity quickly: "what are you doing right now?"

Despite her good-naturedness about the whole thing, Ellis frowned. He should be glad that a knocked-over drink is about the only incident that has occurred thus far in the night, but it didn't make him any less apologetic. He forced his shoulders to unknot as she smiled up at him, at the very least grateful he hadn't bumped into someone less forgiving.

"you don't have to apologize." she's not forceful, but she does mean it. the napkins find their way to a garbage can as she tries to wave off the rest of the words. she wasn't exactly going to win the costume contest, but his thoughts are nice, exchanged with her own platitudes of "accidents happen!"

and, when they weren't life threatening, she was poised to take them all in a stride. "you know, all the best outfits have a second look." there was nothing about a spilled drink that could ruin the night, she would find a spin for whatever he said. she looked down at the stain again, pondering that likelihood of turning it into some new idea, before his own admission reached her ears. "you didn't pick it?" she reassesses the fit of the suit, the detail in the makeup, "someone knows you very well."

"let me know when," although the trip to the laundromat doesn't sound exiting, it'll probably be better than trying to throw the stained dress in with the rest of her clothes and hope for the best. an "that way we keep the damage to a minimum." but that adventure wouldn't be for a while yet. for now, they still had all of the party around them, and drinks to refill.

At this point the dance floor might just be better than the awkwardness here as long as he was with someone it made it to squeeze pass them over the stairs, he was about to agree and simply go with it out of desperation and Ruth despite mostly knowing her studying in the dead of quiet, he knew she always had a brightness to her, like a radiant sun to can't help but gravitate to, partying with Ruth would be just as fun even for someone like Tomas who hated to party. If he had to he rather it be with someone like Ruth.

But she was kinder than most, absolutely seeing his cry for help and offered an olive branch that would be significantly less exciting for her. "--really?" He blinked as he lit up, "I mean- yes, yes.. me too, let's.. go, somewhere, -not there." He lightly tugged onto her sleeve and let her lead the way in wherever she wanted to go, except the direction of interrupting two people sucking their faces off. Once they were far away enough for Tomas to relax, he piped up to his curiosity, "where were you before heading back to dance? I.. I've never been in here before, it's so huge.. I-- might get lost in all the floors."

"i was on the gluttony floor," the night's mission to try all the drinks still had plenty more before it could be accomplished. but, if she knew tomas as well as she liked to think she did, he wouldn't be one to join on that particular journey. the other part of the floor seemed to hold much more of his interest, "surprised i didn't see you there!"

she took a turn, hoping that it was in the right direction to find a gasp of fresh air. usually, finding the exit was not in her plan. but, this was just a break! everyone needed one from time to time. "i usually just follow the sound of dance music." she wasn't one for the lust floor, using it as the halfway point in all her traversing instead of as a stopping point. but otherwise, hell's gate was daunting, even if someone knew how many floors there were. "what made you finally decide to check the place out?"

The stairs are crowded, the music is too loud, the lights flicker too fast, but none of that bothers her -- not the way this does. She had ducked out of the main floor hoping for a moment to breathe, but then a familiar voice, high and tinny, cuts right through her. Ruth skips into view, an easy smile already forming like she didn't once stand elbow-deep in Ani's spine.

"it is a party." her defense is clear: she doesn't have one. as always, she turns open-armed towards someone, the best that she could provide on offer. the decisions that mattered had all been made, nothing in hell's gate would fix that. "you look a lot better." if she didn't have to strain to be heard above the chaos, her tone might have been been genuine, but still she persevered. "the lighting really suits you."

"y'know i didn't think i was going to be here either but here we are." if that wasn't already obvious by his severely underwhelming costume which consisted of a thick black line of face paint under each of his eyes and his old football jersey from school. he looked her over trying to figure out what she was dressed as. "are you, um, i'm sorry i am having a hard time trying to figure out what you came as, care to give a bad detective a hint?" he laughed, still trying to move to the music as he did. emil was trying to keep a low profile after seeing at least two of his ex's siblings in the crowd so far. the peacekeeper didn't know what they thought of him and he wasn't looking to find out, either.

"i could be a princess." she looked down at her own rather non-descript blue outfit, a consideration for something that might be easier to identify. "just lost my crown." now there was an idea for her to consider, though she had even less to barter than she'd had walking in. "there's a case for you, detective."

THE WILD & WONDERFUL APPALACHIA WELCOMES… ivy florence ambrose as written by jen ( she / her ).

✱ affiliated with EAST ATLANTIC GOVERNANCE ✱ working as STRUCTURAL OFFICER ✱ has taken up residence in AFTERGLOW COMPOUND ✱ born on FEBRUARY 14TH ( 33 ) ✱ identifying as CIS WOMAN ( SHE / HER ) ✱ known to be INDEPENDENT, PRACTICAL, COMPOSED ✱ also know to be MERCURIAL, INSENSITIVE, DISCONTENTED ✱ portrayed by WILLA FITZGERALD