2020-04-22 - The Choice

Rebecca had just gotten out of a meeting with several potential new suppliers for Patisserie Vydal, and she walked through the door of a restaurant to get some takeout for dinner when everything went black. The personal assistant is in a charming pale cream-colored minidress with a deep V of jacket-like lapels, buttons, pleating, and gold shoes. Her hair is piled up on top of her head in an elaborate updo, and her blue-gray eyes are wide as saucers when her vision and awareness returns. She looks around in a moment of panic, feeling that unhappy mind beneath all the rest pressing in on her.

Finishing a text on the phone, Erin rises, leaving her phone on the coffee table with every intention on going back to the bedroom to join her significant other back there. The door doesn't lead to where she expected though and when, in a brief panic, she turns around to go right back through it, she finds the door gone! The darkness was disorienting and she tries to lean against a wall that isn't there, causing her to almost topple over. Catching herself, she stands in silence, afraid to make a sound. However long she remains like this she doesn't know, but eventually she can hear voices first.. then she can see things is the only word to describe them. Mostly. With a soft sound of dismay, she takes a step back to try and make sure she's behind something, or at least not in clear sight. Maybe shadows? Anything to do while she gets her bearings.

The last time Byron was pulled into a Dream in this timeline, universe, whatever the hell you want to call it, he was in the hospital watching over Lilith because they'd both just exited another Dream prior to him being yanked into another one. Two Dreams over the course of one day. Today, however, he's back in full business form at the casino where he's been spending more and more time rather than being cooped up in his home office the way things were when he just had the Bayside Apartments to manage.

Speaking with his security team as he informs them of the layouts of all of the security cameras placed within the floating casino, something which he had been personally working on, Byron excuses himself when he receives a call. It's from an unknown number which does raise his curiosity as he takes a few steps down the corridor and rounds the corner to take the call, all while the security contractors await his return at the elevator. Who knows just how long they'll be forced to wait, because before Byron knows it, he's engulfed in darkness.

With his phone still to his ear, his hand slowly lowers on the realization that something was amiss. Did the lights go out? Did /he/ black out? Was he seeing things? A look of confusion on his features, his eyes narrow as he tries his best to find something to focus on.

That's when the flood of chatter starts up and he finds himself in what looks to be a busy... "God damn it." He can't help but mutter in disgust. It doesn't take too long for him to know where this is. Or, if not the location, what sort of Dream this is. There's the variety of different races of people. And just like the last time, there's signs of turmoil in an already chaotic scene. Shaking his head, he tosses out one of his favorite catch phrases of complaints, "Unbelievable." It doesn't take him long to come across the familiar face of Janna in the crowd and if their eyes ever meet, Byron does not look pleased to be here. May as well try to figure out what's going on this time, so he wanders that way to make a small inquiry. "Don't make me regret asking, but was our arrival foretold again?" Well, HIS arrival. He hasn't quite seen anyone else as of yet.

He's also speaking in quiet enough tones for her ears only. And he's wearing a suit. Go figure.

Itzhak is cracking into a shipment of bright, shiny, perfect metric tools when it happens. In the midst of reaching for one to test the heft of it this happens, the sudden symphonic flourish of a Dream, and he's standing in this weirdly sumptuous...warehouse...? one hand outstretched. "...Why wake up alive?" he mutters, but he's not worried. Yet. First he's gotta case the joint--and look at who's here! "Bex!" he calls to her, and points at the wild-haired satyr. "I know that guy," while he's striding over to Bex. "Pwill!" The satyr gets yelled at.

Lilith is in a mood. She hasn't been able to get things the hell out of her system the way she needs, wants, and likes lately so much, she's irritable, and she's in the process of letting someone have it over the phone while pacing around a little on the Penthouse terrace. She's absently looking at the floating casino in the distance, knowing passively that's where Byron is dealing with his own work affairs, but she worked incredibly early this day and is already off by late afternoon and out of the shop because she just can't do people well today.

"... no, I paid for shipping insurance, do you know how much that lamp is worth? How do you lose a tracking number, Nathan when you do this every day?" Pause, a turn to head inside, but she never makes it that far, "No, huh-uh, forget all that, I don't want it anymore, you give me a full refund and we're done trading for--" The woman looks at her phone first, when everything goes wrong because she's sure she got hung up on and she's ready to call back and escalate the situation she's having at. But then she notices why it's not working and what happened to her surroundings while slowly, warily pocketing the thing. She tries to focus on the details, the threats, the arguments, but something is pressing on her head, she doesn't like it, it's foreign feeling to her untrained mind, and it's giving her a pressure headache.

"... of course this happens today. Of course it does."

The captain's just locking up his office for the night; a jangle of keys being shoved into his pocket, and a fluorescent overhead light that starts flickering as he passes by. Thump, thump, thump, pause as he cranes his neck to look up at it as something odd catches his eye. What the fuck-

-is this? There's a scowl on de la Vega's face as he backs off a step, expects to see the break room to his left, and instead finds himself in some sort of veil warehouse. With strange fucking creatures milling about. Great. He checks his gun in its rig, unholsters it to make sure he's got a full clip, then shoves it back in again while he tries to gain his bearings.

Grant ducked into the back room of 808 Bayside to grab his phone. Small sketchbook in hand he's itching behind his ear with the eraser of his Bic mechanical pencil. Predictably he's following his nose back towards the name room that's still got Catherine and Pierce going on about the World's Most Extraordinary Homes. "Vyv what's the name of the thing you're making. It smells awesome like..." and he's not in the living room. "People." he observes. He stops and looks around, "Not that i'm calling you a canni...cannibal. But there's people... a lot of people in your living room..." He blinks looking concerned. "Vyv?" The tone turns with more uncertainty, "V?" Target acquired. Breathing returns. "Check this out." Turning and pushing through the crowd, not afraid but curious and there's no halting the guy's curiosity.

Sticking close he finds 'Lobo' a.k.a. Ruiz, and ah!! Cousin Becca and- oh shit. Giant nudibranch? it's floating... and GLOWING?! OH if Bax's eyes could get any bigger he'd have tiny hearts floating around his head and star highlights cartooning his eyes. Yup. So much for playing it coola nd responsible. he's bolting for the bug with his voice going up an octave and a half, "Dudedudedudedudedude!!! OhholyshithisisthecoolestthingI'veeverseen!! Oooh can I ride it? What's it's name? Can I feed it? Does it eat people? Can I pet it?"

So much for chill.

"Itzhak!" Rebecca echoes back. She looks completely relieved to see him and rushes over (like a champ in those heels people!) to throw her arms around the lanky mechanic. "Where are we?" she whispers to him. "I was just picking up some Indian food for dinner and suddenly I was here!" She looks towards the satyr when Rosencrantz indicates he knows him, blinking. Then she spots Ruiz lurking about and tips her head that way. "Javier is here too," she notes.

Vyv worked early today, as he often does, and thus is home by now, leaving the preparation for the morning and the locking up to his sous chef and other employees. One moment he's stepping out of his kitchen and into the rest of the living area, and the next he's-- nowhere, which is new and unsettling and not at all what he was aiming for. It doesn't last that long, but it's long enough (and new enough) that finding himself in the midst of the crowd is actually a faint relief, though not so much as one would likely notice through the irritable glance around. "Oh, yes, good, this again. Precisely what I had in mind for the evening, thank you very much," he remarks to mostly-himself, taking in the layout and what familiar faces he can spot. Identifying Jannah gets a sharp sigh, as it confirms he's exactly where he thought he was but... well, at least it confirms he's exactly where he thought he was.

He's been getting comfortable, and as a result is unusually casual: no jacket to his suit and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, cufflinks removed and set aside, just burgundy trousers and tie with a traditional tattersall waistcoat over a pale blue shirt. "I guarantee I have never baked any people," he replies to Grant, following the shorter man through the crowd as he's handily doing the pushing part of things for them, "unless one counts gingerbread men." He inclines his head slightly to his assistant as they pull up alongside her, with a resigned, "Hello again, Rebecca," then reaches out to grab the back of Grant's shirt and, hopefully, prevent him from attempting to ride the nudibranch. "It's probably rude to ride the debaters, Bax."

Itzhak wraps his arms around Rebecca as she flings herself into them, squeezes her tight, and if he rumples her exquisitely pleated dress, well, it's an emergency. "I dunno, teibeleh, I think we're in the City." Ruiz he looks at unerringly, as if he could hear his melody alone over a cacophonous blare. "Yeah, he don't look happy," he says, mouth quirking. "C'mon." He heads for him, and Vyv and Bax and Thorne. "...That probably is a people, so enhance ya calm, Grant Baxter. Thorne. Chef." He didn't clock Erin.

"Chef," Rebecca greets with an exasperated look at Vyv. Oh, this is the place with the contract office, isn't it?" she says to her boss when she spots Jannah. That was some of her best work, truly. She illusioned her way out of that entire situation. "I can feel it, that presence, that mind, underneath all of this," she says quietly to those gathered. "It is so unhappy, and restless." As they are summoned to the platform she looks nervously at the gathering and ruffles Cousin Grant's hair with one hand to cover her worries. "Crotchbiter," she greets the artist with a grin and a fond tone. Then she looks to Ruiz. "Javier."

There's a voice in her head, a librarian from another place of chaos saying don't touch it in regards to a fake Grant. So when the young girl approaches and offers her hand, Erin shakes her head, "Oh no, not at all. It doesn't sound like everything is okay at all." The yelling at least.

It's only when Itzhak and Byron and the others approach that she leaves her hiding place and walks over, not quite taking the girls hand, but not dissing her either. Summoned, she joins the others and instinctively stands closer to Ruiz, for no other reason than he's the man with the gun!

Grant is caught and does a standing lean at arm's length. If he's embarassed about referring to a sentient being this way it doesn't show. Shit, you'd think he just met Gaga. He does hold up the book and compliment, "You are... amazing. Maestro Bax. Can I get your autograph?" His focus is brokenwhen his hair gets a tossling and he looks to his cousin giving her a half hug, still not wandering because Vyv has his shit He's caught onto the skater it seems. He returns the epitaph, "Hey, pretty. Itzil." Looking back he waits to see if he can get the autograph because ...amazing "Uhhh, mind if I ask what's the status on them allowing or disallowing art in the public space? How's that going?" Casually he informs the other humans/Maestros nearby noting Byron again and back, "There was a revolution started. It was amazing."

Of course, Byron's not all that pleased to see Jannah here, but she's a familiar face. The first of several, he'll come to learn as the others move through the crowd to join them. A dark brow lifts when the Satyr calls out to the lady with the metallic red hair and from his distance he'll study Pwill, before his sharp eyes resettle on Jannah when she invites the group up on stage. "Don't tell me that..." His voice lowers into a whisper, "this is part of some protest or rebellion." He's overheard someone mentioning a truce in the crowd, but that wasn't his conversation to have and it was one in a sea of voices.

Did Byron really want to get up on that stage? Hell no! In his mind, it was best to blend in with the others than draw the attention of-- And here his eyes scan the area for those pesky guards and the metal beasts they unleash for crowd control. That's the time when he hears Itzhak calling out to not only him, but a few others. Itzhak gets that same displeased look that Jannah did from Thorne. "Rosencrantz. So we meet again," He turns towards the stage, "for what will probably be an unpleasant time." This would be the third time that he got pulled into this crap.

The other faces simply wade out of this deep and crowded ocean of people, things. Beings. He had work to do, for one, but because of this nonsense, that was put on hold. Somewhere in the midst, he thinks he sees a familiar face, but most of these are the usual suspects, or people he's encountered in this City time and time again.

Is that Lilith? Everyone's being drawn to the stage, so he'll reluctantly follow suit, while looking over his shoulder to make sure that he's wrong. When he faces forward briefly, he spots Erin. "Great. You're here too?"

Having taken some time to orient himself to the Veil's present fuckery, and take stock of who all's been pulled in here with him, Ruiz happens to spot Erin approaching. Crotchbiter's given a quick up-down of his eyes, and there's Itzhak and his girl over there, too. He watches them like a hawk, before shifting his attention back to the tall brunette. "Any idea what the fuck's going on?" he murmurs to her, skipping completely over the fact that it's been ages since they spoke last.

"It is," Vyv confirms to Rebecca, with a head-inclination of greeting for Itzhak, and another for the others as the GH contingent find themselves coalescing. Jannah gets her very own, with a faint and slightly strained smile; this remains not where he wants to be, even if, okay, yes, that nudibranch at the least is worth seeing. He does not get any happier to be here as what's going on becomes somewhat clearer. "Ye-es," he mutters to himself, "just what I was looking forward to," but lets the skater head toward his quarry, if possibly largely because he may well not be able to stop him if he's determined. Not mundanely, at least. Not actually letting go, though, because yes, he has indeed caught on. No desire to actually get up on the podium, however. "What happens to anyone remaining if she's freed?" he inquires, curiosity winning out at least that far.

Lilith was undressing gradually to get herself toward the bath to take a time out, so she's wearing fuzzy black and white houseshoes with her skinny jeans and her black lace-trimmed camisole. Oh wait. Actually, those are panda bears on her feet as house shoes. Even better. Shhh. At least she has shoes.

Mostly, the woman is standing holding her head a little apart and aside from familiar faces in the crowd, trying to figure out what's what in that don't-move play possum kind of way. Then people are motioned and spoken for bringing to the stage and she notices Byron. Instead of racing after him, though, she stays down in the crowd of things not like her and back a bit to listen and watch. The way people were greeting each other tells her that this may have been a scenario setting he's familiar with, especially when he goes using a name.

Maybe she'll blend and be able to come in from a different direction if something goes wrong. She expects it will, something always does.

Itzhak makes his way through the crowd, arm around Bex's shoulder. He beckons to Ruiz with a wave and a hike of his eyebrows. "C'mon," he says to him, and also, "Oh, hey, Erin. Gang's all here, huh?" The talk on stage sure as hell catches his ear, and he turns his magnificently-schnozzed head thataway. Then he's making to get on stage and offer Pwill an embrace. "Youse guys talkin' about Her, ain'tcha." Not quite a question.

Erin doesn't mind having the escort beside her, the girl seemed friendly enough. "I'm Erin," she offers, leaving off the last name since she was pretty sure it mattered none here. "I'm not sure yet. I'm just trying to figure it out by their discussions really." The response to Ruiz when he voices the question. "I definitely don't want to get on the stage though." Looking expectantly towards Byron when she says it. He was the leader sometimes. He was good at commanding an audience!

Rebecca listens to Jannah's explanation and she looks utterly horrified at the truth of the foundation of this city. "It's like, all the inhabitants are parasites, living off a self-aware, intelligent being's body. Homes can be rebuilt, or relocated, can't they? This 'Her', she can't choose another body to be in. How is this even a discussion?" She looks to the other Gray Harbor residents as if worried she's missing something major in the conflict.

Hearing Itzak, Erin gives a lopsided smile, it comes naturally despite the surroundings. "Here we all are. At least we're all stronger together."

Just the thought that they were on or in -- no, let's go with on -- that they were on someone's body was a disturbing thought as it were. Byron will state, "None of this is any of our affairs. This place has nothing to do with us, except that people keep dragging us back here. For whatever reason." That last part comes out in an annoyed murmur. With his hands tucked deeply into his pants pocket, he doesn't look over thrilled to be up on this stage, taking up a far more casual stance. "de la Vega too." He can't help but bring up when he finally notices the police detective.

What he's more interested in is whether that was Lilith, her doppleganger or someone else entirely out in the crowd. But with so many people down there, he's lost her by the time he's up on stage with everyone else. That is until Pwill brings her up, or... directs his attention to this 'someone in the crowd'. On realization that it /is/ Lilith, she can see that familiar displeasure in his expression and for a time he does another scan of the crowd, looking for guards, metallic guards, lizardmen. Anything, before he steps forward, his gaze catching Lilith's. He'll offer her a hand to help her up onto the stage if he senses that she wants to be there, otherwise, he'll do his best to pretend that he doesn't see her, in the hopes that no one else does.. Well, no one besides Pwill.

Pwill's look toward de la Vega is met with a good ol' stinkeye in return. Like, don't even fucking think about it. And speaking of the stage, he spots Itzhak up there, and a look of irritation darkens his features even more. "What are you doing?" is muttered under his breath as he lingers near Erin.

Grant seems perfectly content getting an autograph and looks to Vyv, happy. This is a happy Baxter. Then? Then he's looking to Ruiz and says to both with some concern, "she is the city and she's been silenced, and crushed and effectivly kept in chains. Cities are living things but there's got to be a balance like any ecosystem and that's... not been kept from all I can tell." Okay sooooo he pays attention even if he's the draws through class sort.

He looks to his cousin and then Itzhak knowing them best, "We were brought here for a reason. The Veil in all its parts is no different from this city or our space or the spaces between. Somethings broken. Needs help. Who are we if we don't like do something when we can?"His hand, now freed pats the back of Vyv's shoulder, "This is the calling, man." He heads up to the podium: the artist, and the one that kept throwing gasoline on that revolt. He looks to the new person with a nod and the man organizing it, "Pwill."

Itzhak leans in to whisper to Pwill, with a quick gesture towards Ruiz and Rebecca in turn. It's probably not hard to intuit what he's telling him. He's proud, the ridiculous jerk. And he catches Ruiz's look of irritation and just lopsidedly smiles at him. "Look, Thorne, it is our business. God forbid it don't have anything to do with money, I know, but what we do here? It's gonna affect our corner of Over There, too." Looking at the mantid, he bows one of his elegant little soloist's bows to them. "My people and Crotchbiter there's people," grammar is hard okay, "been in exodus until a couple generations ago. Most of us still are. I ain't saying it's great, but it's part of us."

Lilith looks around, like she's totally unclear of who the horny ol' goat (ok satyr) is referring to, because surely, she blends better being humble and clueless, right? Not so much. But she's also realized she can hear things down here that the others possibly cannot. Also her head is still thick and pressured with... something. Something. She's not of a way to much figure it out quite yet. She doesn't like it though, and it's distracting. Maybe she can figure it out on her own.

Once she's finished putting on a show of playing totally ignorant as to who Pwill is referring to, she grins a touch at Byron and locks eyes with him for a beat once conversation has moved on to much more pressing matters for the stage inhabitants and the room. Then she stays right where she is.

Sensing that Lilith doesn't want to be acknowledged or seen, Byron steps back towards the others, pretending that she's not there all while keeping an eye on her in subtle fashion.

When Itzhak brings up money, Byron's brow arches? Money is the last thing that was on Thorne's mind. Getting the fuck out of here is the first thing. Just because the guy is rich, doesn't mean everything is about money! "How will it affect our little corner of the world? This isn't our fight. We don't live /here/. If whatever chaos spreads out to our corner of the world, then we deal with it. Otherwise, this is interference in business that is not ours." He then narrows his eyes sharply at Jannah when she tries to push the fact that this is their business. Or HIS business.

"Then please, explain to me how this is my business."

"What are the Wastes like? Is there nowhere else they could live? Is there some way that residents here could benefit Her, so they can remain? What does She need?" Rebecca is full of questions and her brow is furrowed with the effort of trying to put all the pieces together in the way she's known to do. Which means she misses Pwill's attentive leering at her.

Vyv notices that look from Pwill, and his stance shifts fractionally, chin lifting a touch as he takes a decidedly subtler glance in return. One doesn't see satyrs every day, at least not on their usual side. Certainly not with hooves. He arches a brow slightly, and quietly 'mms' at the answer the nudibranch passes on, though when Grant starts to head up, he lets go to let him do so instead of going along. "My number is unlisted," he replies dryly to the painter, though he does glance to Rebecca at her questions, and make a 'yes, those things' gesture in her general direction. "Is it known why the world water rolled back?" he adds. The satyr gets a level and slightly dark look at the question to Itzhak. "Yes." We would mind. You can't just steal other people's pets, Pwill.

The city.. is alive? This is clearly new information to Ruiz, who squints at Grant for a moment while he ponders that. Then that satyr thing is looking at him like a cut of steak at a meat market, and he bares his teeth slightly in return. It's a brief, almost reflexive motion. Back off. "This is fucked up," he informs Erin, pulling away in order to approach Itzhak and Rebecca - and the stage - at a ground-eating prowl. "Rosencrantz. We've got to get out of here. You know this piece of shit?" Pwill, he means.

"It's nice to meet you, Naoith. I'm from Gray Harbor." As if the girl knows where that is or something. Or maybe she does? "Whose mind are they going to lobotomize?" The words are spoken quietly, but only loud enough for the girl, herself and Byron too, since he'd moved closer. Ruiz, not so much since he walked away. There's concern in Erin's eyes and she doesn't move them from the girl at present, suddenly needing the answer to the question.

Lilith is getting some serious stankeye (multiple eyes in some of these creature's cases) and for just a moment, she's tempted to stare back just to see what the creatures around her do. But then she remembers why she's standing down here instead of up at Byron's side and she starts to pay more mind to the conversation at the stage and little murmurs occasionally creeping up around her.

Idly, the woman's hands go down to rest against her hips and there's a moment where she starts surveying the warehouse they're in while listening, clearly looking for points of entry, exit, hiding places just in case, things she can explode to effect, etc. Outwardly, she just looks curious, though, composure wittingly intact enough to not seem as if she's casing the place. That and... for a moment she looks up overhead, pensive a few beats before her eyes swap back attentively to the stage.

"This's Pwill. I know him, he's a real reprobate but he ain't half bad. Pwill, that's de la Vega, this is Bex. That's Thorne, Erin, Crotchbiter, Chef, and Lil." Everybody gets pointed at. Then Itzhak tips his head in a wry nod to Ruiz like, I know, I know. We gotta get out of here. "We're in a city that's built out of a person. That's the problem. An awful lot of people live here."

Rebecca reaches a hand out to squeeze Ruiz' arm when he is close enough, giving the police captain a tight smile. She looks to the Mantid and straightens to address him more formally. "There is one being who knows what happened, as She was there. We need to ask her what happened, if it can be undone, and if there can be a compromise. If she is not willing to continue as your host, well, you should be grateful for her hundreds of generations of sheltering you from the Wastes."

Grant waves his hand knowing his whole rebellion encouraging is endured and that is not the same as supported. He pauses as Pwill futz with his hair and smiles taking that as a compliment and not at all literally (which is how he winds up in half+3 of the situations he does). "Everyone here is so friendly." Warms the heart yo.

Looking to the Carapace having residents he listens and looks to Itzhak and back to them offering sympathy and solidarity, "Yeah, our people got dumps in some wastes too. Very not-ok to do to folks. Uhhh, Pwill, if I may ask?" is he the spokesperson? uhhh nope! is it going to stop him? Meh not at all. Erin, now found, gets a wave and he waits for Ruiz's quiestion saying, "Look, yes, people are scared. No...no one wants to be homeless and," There's a pause and he swallows hands signing as he goes, book stuffed into his inside coat pocket. "Ya know, I been there for a while. that's not what we wanna do. Whacking the city on the brain with a club so She can't live? That's still oppressing so let's look at some solutions for things that caused this and see what can't be done about the water drinking thingmaybe? See if we can create opportunity. What you can't do is hurt others so you don't get hurt."

"Makes us no better than then that which hurts us and let's be honest? She can't sustain herself that way and She will die and then everyone?" He sighs hating that scared displaced shit and finds himself some place to sit and perch and take in information and not freak out. "Everyone will wind up with nothing and that's...terrible. So what do we know about the stories, what caused the drought?"

"So I've heard," Ruiz returns, drily, as Itzhak informs him of the state of the city.. person. Thing. He looks like he's about run out of patience for this whole mess, and when Pwill calls him feisty, he starts to take a big step toward the satyr. And god knows what he'd have done, if Rebecca didn't have her hand on his arm right about then. The contact stops him, and he snarls something at the creature before shooting Itzhak another look. "There's got to be a way out of this place. I suggest we start moving, unless we want them to lobotomize us next."

With no one willing to tell him just how any of this will affect him and their own world, Byron remains annoyed (not that his mood would've changed if told otherwise), his arms crossed over his chest now as he remains vigilant in his observation of the crowd in regards to everything being argued on the stage. He's not here for these people, who, from what he can tell, will be losing their homes due to this mess. In fact, his shoulders lift and he leans his head in one direction to stretch out his neck, before doing the same in the opposite direction. If anything, he looks like he may be preparing for the worst, but then again, he's been here three times already.

Obviously, the fate of what happens here, despite the feeling of despair and everything, has no bearing on him. He experienced the woes and anguish from both sides enough for him not caring to choose sides-- despite being attacked by some of these fuckers! When Ruiz looks like he'd like to make his escape, Byron is intrigued to see if the cop's found anywhere safe to go. He has doubts.

However, when Itzhak goes and points at Lilith, Byron's sharp gaze returns to the crowd to see if anyone's taken notice. Or if they even care. Just as an aside, he murmurs, "These waters. Are they drying up because..." Okay, that's rude to say about an aging woman.

Vyv looks to Naoith when she chimes in to answer him. Oh, god. Children. Veil children. Things just keep improving, don't they? At least this one looks reasonably presentable... and is being helpful. Fine, okay. Who knows, she might even just look young! "Tides are generally predictable. Do you know when it's supposed to come back in?"

Itzhak's eyebrows pop up as Ruiz gets testy. You'd think he'd love to see a throwdown between Pwill and his favorite surly Mexican. But he addresses the mantid next, as that doesn't happen (to his possible disappointment). "You don't know what'll happen if she's lobotomized. Maybe everything you use her for will die. You don't know what'll happen when the tide comes back in. You also don't know what'll happen if you leave and make homes somewhere else, but it's possible. Ya fate's in your own hands if you do that, and personally, pal, that's what I'd take any day of the week and twice on Shabbos." He thumps Pwill on the chest, companionable-like, and strides back to Ruiz and Rebecca.

Lilith blinks a few times after making her survey, then considers the back and forth of solution over whether or not to lobotomize. She thinks about the pressure in her head, the fact that the city was a... okay, maybe the pressure is making sense, now. After wetting her lips, she suddenly launches into motion toward the stage at a quick walk and reaches her hand up for Byron to take and pull her up, sensing all the confusion and commotion in the crowd while up close and personal with it. And while he's pulling her up, she murmurs to him low under the others.

"I think there's doors. I can break the stage as a distraction. Or you can just change the thing's mind. I think I feel it. The big mind. It hurts. Try to find it and make her want what works for everyone?"

Vyv rolls his eyes, with an irritated sigh, and raises his voice to be more easily heard. "Then this is not a difficult decision. If everything's to be destroyed in a few centuries in any case, the logical option is to take the opportunity to leave on purpose while there's still reasonable time to plan and build something new, not in a panicked hurry. And as a bonus, no need to lobotomize enslaved creatures who'd rather prefer everyone got off their back. Perhaps she'd even be willing to allow people to remain for some period while the new place is created, if a proper agreement were approached. Is that all? Can we go back to sorting out our own lives, now?"

What Naoith says makes a little sense to Erin who looks to Vyv then Byron. Until she catches the wave from Grant who gets a cautious smile in return. "So the World Water, that's the water in our world or yours?" Just trying to figure everything out in her own time.

With things continuing to be in debate, Erin glances from the girl to Pwill, then those she knows. The normal people from Gray Harbor. "We are here for a reason, there's always a reason. Why don't we just help them with what they need so we can get home sooner. That's how it always works. We do what we've come for and we're somehow back home again. We're wasting time."

"Something safe to return to?" Byron practically scoffs. "I'm hoping to never step foot in this place again. In fact, I told whoever," Probably this City that they were all in, "To lose my number. And yet here I am. On one hand you're fine about displacing the people who've lived here for who knows how long and overturning your own government." From what he's witnessed, "On the other," He gestures all around them, "They are living on this thing. If it were so simple to uproot and leave, I'm sure they would've done so a long time ago."

That's when he catches Lilith from out of the corner of his eyes and as he scans the crowd below, he finally moves towards her to help hoist her up and onto the stage, catching her whisper. "We don't know /what/ works for everyone." He adds annoyed emphasis to this in his response. "That's the decision they are trying to come to now and I wish they'd hurry up, so we can see what the aftermath of the whole thing is." His tall, lean frame is tense. Yes, he's still expecting the worse. "It really depends on the price of moving, however they even do that, I have no clue." If it was mentioned in conversation, he didn't care to hear. "If this place is dying, they'll eventually have to move anyway, so they may as well prepare for that."

Ruiz isn't even going to bother to weigh in on lobotomies and living cities and how, precisely, they might fix their problem with too much pressure. No, he cares about one thing, and that's getting the fuck out of here. "No hay ninguno tomado," he murmurs to Pwill, suggesting he's not really angry at the satyr; perhaps just irritated at this situation in general. "We're leaving," however, is announced to the group at large. Lilith's cut a direct look when she mentions distractions, and he tries not to smile. He has some idea of what her distractions tend to involve, after all. "We're leaving," he repeats. "Pack the fuck up, and move it." Someone in the crowd bitches about the Council, and he grunts, "We'll burn that bridge when we come to it."

Grant looks to Byron and points to a bench, "Bruh, I do not know you but if you want to sit out there are seats over there. Some of us want to make sure the City and her people like don't die." Occasionally the lad has his causes. This is like way totes beyond 'do not draw on stuff'. He looks to the other Humans and says, "We weren't brought here cuase we have to do shit. We brought here cause we can and if you do or don't? That's on you. What happens when we are the ones that need help?" Looking to Vyv's suggestion for negotiation he asks the others, "Can we talk to her? Have we considered she's scared and might want her feelings regarded. She might be able to help if asked. I think that was a solid suggestion." Looking around as everyone's talking he decides fuck it and turns to the nearest flat building and throws up more art on there impressing the illusion to it that reads: Ask Her. The City is Not a Slave.
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"Sure, in a couple hundred or thousands of years or whatever, but if the beast was soothed, doesn't it moot everything for a while so you don't get yanked back here again? I'm pretty sure we'll be dead by then. It feels all irritable and impatient and it's making me that way. Maybe just chilling her out some would shut everyone up." Lilith murmurs aside to Byron with a thoughtful expression, though her interest in trying to find another way wanes some as the crowd starts moving and possibly bringing this damn thing to an end (for now).

It wanes more when Byron gets pointed at and Lilith looks about to tackle Grant on principle because her impulse control sucks recently, especially today. Instead, she snipes aside to Byron, loud enough to be heard, "... ugh, I'm all for solutions to get the hell out, but why do people stiil want to be superheroes when this stuff tries to kill us on the regular?"

When Grant tries to talk down to Byron, his eyes narrow in annoyance at the little brat. Damn punk ass kid! "If there's a point where we need their help, all hope is lost. We've been fighting our own fights this whole time." Does he step off the stage, like Grant said he could. Nope. He's not budging to a kid. To Lilith though, that same look of annoyance is given to her because Byron Thorne is not in the best of moods. First, Lilith was in this situation too, one that he was not happy to be in since Day One.

While what ever powerful wave of emotion has no effect on Byron at this moment, he will concede that the last thing he wants to do is be dragged back here to fight for strangers who he'd just met that fateful day. "Then you already know what side you're on. Because I'm drawn /here/ because /She/ wants to be let free. She's been telling me that over and over again. And do I care? Not really. I told her specifically to keep me out of this." Whatever is going on, he only feels a small inkling of. He can sense it, but he's in no way impacted by it. Nor will he fight whatever Lilith wants to do. "Fine. We do it her way."

The City's emotions wash over Rebecca and she is able to parse and subdue them to a dull roar rather than a mind searing wave. She closes her eyes and sends out her own sense of calm, of control, of peace and composure to the others from Gray Harbor who seem adversely affected.

Itzhak is so. Freakin'. Proud of Rebecca and Ruiz. Rebecca administrating the shit out of the problem, and Ruiz making people get it done. The look on the lanky guy's face is pure kvelling. Oh man, he's gonna have to hold a book in front of his crotch or something.

But then, She makes Her voice heard, and Her cry reverberates in Itzhak's skull like he stood under a bell a light-year across. He cries out too, hands clamping over his ears even though it doesn't help, it never helps, the VOICE is inside his head. Curling over himself, he winds up in a crouch on the floor. No no no no make it STOP!

One of the great contradictions about de la Vega, is that while he's a temperamental son of a bitch when prodded at, he's actually quite steady at his core. Like the eye of a storm, still and dark and quiet while the fury rages all around. A shaky breath sucked in through his teeth is all that indicates his discomfort, as that attack slams into his mind. And then he's taking it, distorting it, sanding away the edges of it and rolling it back out again like warm, soft velvet; an almost visceral sense of calm.

Aaaand there's those emotions again, and again they wash over Vyv like a flood over a stone. He can feel the soil starting to erode and ends up thoroughly wet, but remains unmoved, taking a slow, deep breath as the feelings fade past and glancing around. It's the sense of radiating calm from his assistant that catches his thoughts first, and he latches on to it, adding his own determined self-possession and pushing it a bit farther outward across those around them. Calm. All is we-- all is acceptable, anyway. This is fine.

Rebecca's eyes slit open to glance over at Vyv, feeling him bolstering her efforts, and she spares her boss a grateful smile, before reaching for one of Itzhak's hands, and one of Ruiz's, to try and bring the mechanic into the circle of calm energy and protect him from his own mind.

For several moments it's very overwhelming and Erin almost sinks to the floor to become a statistic. Someone who wandered into the veil and never came back! Then there's a calming presence that is stronger than the other voice and while she still shudders from the other, she doesn't lose her composure because of it. Whatever the people do, she's going to follow. Her people, not the veil people. Ruiz had left her side to go to the others so she moves closer to Lilith and Byron, "I'm with you two."

Grant looks back to Pwill with that look, and signing: you wanted things to change. We don't get to control change. We must guide it and ride it out. "Fair goes both ways." And then... it hits and it cracks through the skater's head like a lightening bolt to a point he takes a knee. There is not enough Adderall in the world to keep him focused right now. Looking to them he winces, cheeks wet from catching that raw wave. "We had to ask. We had... to try, my peeps." His fingers comb into his hand and his hand presses flat to the stone feeling the city's proverbial heartbeat. "HOW... we do this matters."

Itzhak finds his hand in Rebecca's, and he holds on to her, throwing himself into the soothing, calming waves of the group kythe. He's like a jangly collection of broken violin strings in there, but the calm is so powerful, it catches and holds him, softens those prickly edges. Even though he feels like a burr in a sock. But he can uncoil himself, rise carefully to his feet.

Well. It's a good thing that these creatures are starting to calm down. But there's a very uncalm Lilith reacting to the flood of emotion and sentiment and it's a wonder she doesn't break the stage they're standing on. Her teeth grit and her eyes close, posture going rigid before all of the air closeby gets cold and she's lashed up flame at one of her hands. But instead of throwing it, the proxy fingers of calm emitting from the efforts of others gets enough hold on her to make it disappate.

Then Lilith shakes her head brisk and hard as she comes back to her wits and control, furious about being here all of a sudden because she hates the way things feel inside her mind.

"Okay, no, we're done here." While some of the stunned quiet is still on the room, she lashes out with words in whipsnap instead and grabs for Byron's hand, voice raising, "Clear way to the door or I'll bring the walls down. Now!"

Rebecca rushes out with Itzhak and Ruiz, nearly hit by debris until the mechanic deflect it at the last moment. How she runs in heels is the real magic here.

With the crowd rising in panicked chaos, Byron ignores all of that for now. Lilith wanted him to reach into the heart and mind of the city. She wanted him to do whatever it took to appease this thing, so that She would no longer be in any need of his services, which means not being dragged back here ever again. He felt an inkling of what everyone around him was experiencing, so once the crowd starts to freak out and wail or try and run or do whatever it is they do when affected by so much emotion, Byron tries to do just that: Tap into the City's mind in the hopes of calming her enough to stop this madness.

He sifts through all the emotions he'd expected to feel, emotions that he'd felt before in his prior journeys to this place. They were uncomfortable and wretchedly painful, but he was annoyed at all of this too. For whatever reason, he was chosen to help with this task, when he would've happily been oblivious to the plight of these people! In fact, the words 'Why me?' blend in with his mental probing, because he's been asking himself that question when he learned that he was being forced to take part in this Revolution.

Then there's this overwhelming... pain? Chaos. Something that going through his mind, making him stagger back to place a hand at his temple. "We're trying to help you." Bitch! Yes, he thought that last part even if he doesn't come out and say it! His head was throbbing and Lilith's hand is suddenly lit up. When it breaks out of this mental link, it takes him a moment to realize what the hell is going on, feeling the lovely brunette's hand reach for his now. In fact, he's watching as everyone makes a run for it and all he can says in his aggravation is, "Fuck! If we leave now..." They'll be dragged back into this again. "How do we free you, already?" He calls out. "How do we find you!"

He's more furious now than he is afraid of those Harvesters, even if he knows exactly what they can do. Watching as those in the Rebellion turn and flee just angers him even more, hoping that they'd stay and fight. That this would be the last stand. Something.

Either way, with all of these thoughts racing in his mind, he's easily enough pulled along. He's encountered the Harvesters before. Running away from them, of course. While he doesn't know who to ask exactly, as Pwill is nearby, he might hear the entrepreneur slash luxury apartment building owner slash casino co-owner slash suit wearer call out, "How do we even put a stop to those things?"

His lovers did their part. Now Itzhak does his. As the Harvester splits the room open, as chunks of marble-shell come raining down, his shine swells in him. It seems like there's too much of it for one man, even a tall one with a nose like that, to contain, like a window into his soul would show nothing but a vast ocean of glimmer. The falling debris skews away from harming anyone, leaves dents in the floor. Itzhak doesn't need further coaxing. Still holding on Rebecca's hand, he bolts, knowing she and Ruiz are with him...even though he has a score to settle with those Harvesters.

What was it? What was coming for them? The Harvester? What was it? Erin manages to avoid the debris on her own, but the help doesn't go unnoticed. Until it does. Careful what you ask. THe Harvester is huge and scary and.. "Fuck! Fuck! Run! Faster!" Erin doesn't curse much, but there's reason to now. "This is a fight we can't win! Go! GO!" Yeah she's not hanging around even if the others are! "You won't win.."

Grant runs up to the Nudibranch and Pwill. His hand fabricates in the air a will and that will becomes a shield and he using himself to ablate incoming debris from hitting them. he's still there for them. The offer to help evac the civilians? Yeah he heard that after 'Get on'. This was how his trip here started and it's a shock that he's not shaking apart from adrenaline.

Without asking twice he's on the back of the glowing giant bug holding a hand out to Vyv and looking to whoever else is going, and then he's off like Bastian on Falkor. "WOOOOO!!!!!" Change is exciting and chaos is terrifying and he's rarely felt more alive. "Tomorrow, whatever happens, everyone will live free."

Vyv never did get up on that stage, but he steps closer to offer Grant a hand up, or possibly down, depending how one looks at it. Moot, though, as the skater's up by the time he gets there to do it, and he finds himself rather distracted in any case as a large chunk of marble comes sailing right at him. He makes a sharp gesture away from himself, fingers spread, and the debris sails away to thunk against another wall and drop back to the ground.

When he looks back, his target's suddenly getting a free nudibranch ride, and then, rather unexpectedly, so is he. His hand closes around Grant's automatically, for balance, and his mouth opens as though to protest, but it doesn't actually emerge. Instead, he reclaims the hand, wraps the arm around the painter's waist instead, and grabs a nudibranch appendage to hold onto with the other hand. Hopefully, not an overly familiar one, but who knows on something like this? "What are the odds, do you think, we could ever end up here without fleeing for our lives within an hour?"

Lilith loses a little of her haste when it sinks in that Byron was discomforted while she was heat lashing with panic response to the weight of emotions. Stepping into the crowd that initially is still, she turns to look at the man, then realizes the crowd isn't really listening to her part-way request in lieu of the crash in. Fascinated, she takes a heartbeat to study it and about gets clipped by debris, which sets her into motion twice as fast as she was moving prior, hand still connected to the suited dark-haired man's, "...babe, maybe we have to..." Fight it. Fight it! She wants to fight it, she can't tell what it's made of fully, she wants to know!

Erin's words of warning keep her running, though, as does the bit about the control center from Pwill. But Erin's words ALSO make her want to see if she can win. So while she's running? She lashes out with an exhilerating burst of destructive power at the thing like a rogue shot of testing defenses. It doesn't do a lot. One leg gets scratched and seeps some smoke.

For someone who's been difficult the entirety of his stay here today, Byron has had it with the running, the metal freaks and just about everything and everyone. The others can debate and determine the fate of a city and the people who reside there all the way. Wanting to be the hero of a people. But what people? Who? Either way, that's not Byron's calling. Lilith was here, however. And that was on him. Because of him, she was dragged into this mess.

Thorne is more going with the flow than outright panic running, taking a glance back to try and gauge where... the control center. But by then, all of his aggravation over the day-- for being dragged out here, listening to some kid think he knows best and this right now. The panic, the chaos. This is how it always ends. All of that builds up inside of him and he unleashes a surge of electricity, hoping that he can fry the circuits of one of those things. But even then, he calls out once the bolt is sent, "Where's the control center?" While he may have been griping all day long, Byron Thorne was ready to end this.

Because of his own actions, he can't be upset by Lilith lashing out in her own recklessness, but for her sake, he continues to trail behind them, still grabbing a hold of her hand.