✘ 002 | Action/Audio/Catch-All | Day 110

[lightgunhustler]

[Action, for Ellen:]

[Jo is in the back when the earthquake hits, suddenly and without any warning, having been making an effort to tidy up what serves as the Harvelles' living space. Things begin to rocket off the shelves before she can run for cover, and she has a few narrow misses as she scrambles for the doorway, bracing her hands against either side and cringing as she hears things crash to the ground behind her. She tenses when she hears glass break in the direction of the still, her chest growing tight.]

Mom?! Are you okay?!

[If there's an answer, she can't hear it over the rumbling or the racket caused by things falling apart around them, but all the hard work they've put into the bar seems to have paid off, because the structure is secure enough that it's still standing (as far as she can tell) when the quaking dies down. As soon as things seem stable enough, she pushes off from the door frame and runs in the direction of the still, skidding around some debris on the way.]

Mom?!


[Private Audio to Raphael:]

Raphael? If you can hear this... I might need your help. Mom's been injured. I can't tell how bad it is, there's a lot of blood, but I'm pretty sure the first aid supplies I have aren't gonna cut it. I'm sorry to ask, but -- you've helped us before. Mom trusts you.

[Given a certain value of trust.]

[Audio:]

Is everyone out there okay? If you're in need of first-aid or trapped somewhere, let the network know as soon as you can, someone will come find you.

[She intends to be one of those someones.]

Anyone who isn't hurt and can move around easily, we should all fan out and make sure nobody's stuck or injured so badly they can't get someone's attention.

Comments

[Action]

[justrunsasaloon]

[Ellen is counting bottles. Not because she's worried about running out, but because it's habit and she needs habit, sometimes. The bottles for the still are ready. She's got the bottles set aside for wine already. She might try to get a few for Poítin, or vodka. They need a variety of alcohol.

She's still working out a few calculations when the rumbling starts. It's habit, but her eyes immediately go to the door, looking for the angel. When one of the feather brigade doesn't show up, Ellen grips the bar. Something isn't going right.

Because things always go right, of course. She skids off her feet and grabs at the bar, going down. Ellen rolls into a ball, closer to the door when things start falling. Wrapping her arms around her head, she waits for everything to stop.

The crash of glass echoes around her. She doesn't want to think of the mess around her when the bottles break and shatter. A line of fire shoots up her arm and she winces. When everything finally stops, Ellen pushes herself up, hissing when her hand lands on glass.

She's surrounded by shattered glass everywhere. Ellen looks down at her arm and winces, seeing the piece of glass sticking out of her skin. That is going to be a bitch to get out.

Jo's voice penetrates and she sighs.]

Here!

[She looks at the still and bites off a curse, grabbing one of the clean towels, wrapping it around her arm, careful of the glass. The Still is a mess, and that batch is completely ruined.

Her boot kicks at the mash. Completely worthless.]

Dammit. Jo! You alright?

[She picks her way across the broken still to check on her daughter.]

[Action]

[lightgunhustler]

[Jo picks up her pace and runs when she hears Ellen's voice answer back, turning the corner and letting broken glass crunch beneath the soles of her boots as she makes her way over to where Ellen is standing with a towel wrapped around her arm, the blood already soaking through and showing up in screaming red on the outermost layer.]

I'm fine, just a bump or two -- let me look at that!

[She doesn't wait for permission, taking Ellen's arm and being careful of the towel, peeling the corner of it back just enough to see that there's something sticking out of the wound. Glass. Shit.]

Crap... a cut like that's gonna need stitches at the very least.

[justrunsasaloon]

[Ellen grinds her teeth together, and holds onto the towel. That hurts. A lot.]

I've survived worse. Still's done, though.

[She waves her uninjured arm to indicate the still that's scattered all over the small shed now. The mash is cooling and sinking into the ground. That's going to be a pain in the ass.]

[lightgunhustler]

[Jo sighs heavily, pursing her lips. That's a lot of hard work right out the window. It's possible they could piece it back together, get it up and running again, but that won't be easy. Not by a long shot.]

Think any of it is salvageable?

[justrunsasaloon]

Pretty much all the hardware can be washed and used.

[Ellen crouches down and flicks a finger through the hot mash.]

This stuff though? Completely worthless.

audio »

[intraining]

[ guess who is majorly freaking out but has definitely managed to avoid any serious damage. thank god for tables. ]

Jo? [ nope her voice definitely did not shake not at all. ] That was just an earthquake, right?

audio »

[lightgunhustler]

Charlie?

[She's glad to hear another familiar voice coming through -- and she feels it's safe to assume that Charlie's uninjured. Otherwise she would have said so. That's good. One less person to worry about.]

I think so, unless there's something going on underground we don't know about.

[ALWAYS POSSIBLE.]

Otherwise it seems pretty standard. Just... you know. Massive. You okay?

audio »

[intraining]

Oh good, now we have to worry about mole people. Greeeaaatttt.

[ yeah she's uninjured enough to crack jokes. always a good sign. ]

Yeah, not, you know, bleeding out or anything. Can't say the same for my house- you know I was actually a little attached to it? [ huff huff ]</small. But I'm okay. You too?

audio »

[lightgunhustler]

Hey, if there are mole people, maybe we can raid their food supply.

[She'll just play along with you, Charlie. It's easier than freaking out. Much more productive, too.]

Crap. The bar is pretty wrecked up, too. Is the house still standing? Salvageable?

[Or did it collapse like the general store? Yikes.]

I'm okay. I'm in one piece. That's enough for now.

[audio]

[blackmagus]

Fine, fine. Hell of a time for some dusting.

[There's the sound of wood groaning, as Fortescue shifts a bookcase back into place, and then a cat mewling.]

What about you?

[audio]

[lightgunhustler]

[Jo winces at the sound. Sounds heavy, but at least it doesn't sound like Fortescue is struggling.]

I got caught mid-housework too. Lucky I was near a door. I'm okay. A little bruised, nothing seriously. Mom got cut up pretty badly, though.

Is Jazz okay?

[audio]

[blackmagus]

[Fortescue frowns. She likes Ellen.]

I'm sorry to hear that. Let me know if there's anything I can do.

The fuzzball's fine, he's just a little shaken up. This is his first earthquake. I've only been through one other, myself.

[audio]

[lightgunhustler]

Appreciated. She seems to be okay for right now, we got her some medical attention, but there was a lot of broken glass. Bad news. Jazz must have been scared out of his mind, with everything crashing down around him.

[Everything is so much bigger than he is, after all.]

I've only been through one before, too, and it wasn't anywhere near this big.

Private to Jo

[servingmichael]

Can you get the bleeding slowed down or not?

[ Because that answers whether he's coming now or in a few minutes. ]

[lightgunhustler]

We're putting pressure on it right now. Got her arm wrapped in a towel, that's where the worst of it is, but there's some glass stuck in the wound.

[That makes her nervous.]

Haven't taken it out yet. That gets tricky. Might make it a hell of a lot worse if we do it the wrong way but it's got to come out pretty soon.

[servingmichael]

Fold a cloth into a tight package or a ball, place it on the underside of her arm, continue holding with the towel. Glass is easy to remove, just don't move her arm much.

[ He's certain if it was life threatening Jo would say so. ]

Don't fuss with the glass, just be calm. There's a doctor making her rounds - I'll send her over, I need to sweep through the town, make sure no one is dying. I'll check on your mother as soon as that's done.

[ Triage. ]

[lightgunhustler]

Thanks. I appreciate it.

[Sending a doctor their way is just as good as him coming himself in this situation, seeing as it's not life or death. Usually, Jo is no slouch when it comes to patching people up, but she doesn't have the extensive supplies she would have had back home. It makes a huge difference.]

I'm hoping we managed to avoid any really serious injuries through all this, but somehow, I don't think we'll be that lucky.

[intelligently]

Are you okay?

[lightgunhustler]

Yeah, I'm all in once piece. A little bumped and bruised, but otherwise okay. My mom got a nasty gash from some broken glass but it's not too serious.

[Serious enough that she called in an angel, though.]

What about you? You okay?

[intelligently]

Yeah, I'm okay.

[ Surprisingly better now than she has been for a while ]

How did she get hurt?

[lightgunhustler]

One of the windows in the shed where we keep the still broke.

[She grimaces. It wasn't pretty. The still's done for.]

Had to pull some glass out of the wound. That's always rough.

audio

[venatical]

I'm on it. [ His voice is crisp and brisk because they're working here, at least until they figure out who needs help. But then he pauses, maybe even audibly stops walking. ]

You sure you're alright?

audio

[lightgunhustler]

I'm fine.

[Her voice is just as short, partly because she means business, but there are other reasons, too. Things are still strained between them.]

Some bruises. Nothing major. Mom got a nasty injury but it's been taken care of. [Thanks to Raphael.] I'm heading out in a minute. Going to check all of the buildings near the bar first.

[venatical]

Store's caved in. Diner's still standing, but it's messy inside. Haven't run into anyone who's in really bad shape yet.

[ Still down-to-business. They can have down-to-business until there's room for something else, if there ever is. ]

[lightgunhustler]

If you need a hand, let me know.

[There's every chance that getting someone un-stuck could be a two person job, but beyond that, she doesn't offer to join him.]

Maybe it'll turn out we got real lucky and avoided any major injuries. I'm not hopeful, though.