fandomhighdorms | The Lobby, Sunday Afternoon

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The Lobby, Sunday Afternoon

A rip opened in the middle of the dorms lobby-- but it was unlike any void the island had seen before. It didn't precisely shine, but white light did filter out, almost tentatively, like the rays of the morning sun. It did not pull or pluck at anything, and when it vanished, it would leave the dorms exactly as it had found them.

It was not a rift that would take; it was a rift that would give.

Give back the people it had taken, that is.

[[ for those who were formerly strewn across the multiverse, after they touch their part! come home, folks ]]

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Beka'd not been ever so grateful to see the familiar lobby. Relief washed through her at the familiar surroundings and she moved away from the tear, making room for the others.

She sagged down in an armchair, Pounce instantly jumping up in her lap. Soon, she'd go to the clinic to have her wounds tended to, but for now she wanted to make certain her friends would be returning as well.

After a while, a magpie landed on the top of the chair, making noise and tugging at her hair. She tried to shoo it, but it'd not give up, hopping around her and making more noise than the fish sellers at the Nightmarket. He disappeared after a moment, then returned with sommat shiny and silver, dropping it in her lap.

Pounce was laughing by that time. I think your great grandson is glad to see you back.

"George?" she blinked. At least he didn't seem hurt.

Leia stepped out from the rift but barely gave herself three seconds to relax. She knew Tahiri was safe since they'd been together, but she needed to find her father and Ben to reassure herself they were all right as well.

She did pause briefly to make certain she still had her toy pony, knife, and necklace. Priorities.

Bod almost fell out of the rip. His leg no longer wanted to hold his weight so he had to crawl to a chair and pull himself up onto it. The bandages were already dirty and dingy and, underneath, the burn still ached.

He was back though. The lobby was familiar, no one was on fire, and he was back. He swiped a hand across his face, feeling mucky and dirty but relieved.

When they were suddenly sucked home, Alex was ready. He'd been fine until the end, fine until he'd started seeing his father as a vampire, fine until he'd taken a lead pipe to the back of his neck and fine until his father insisted on following him around that vault, trying to strike or bite him.

The lobby was bright, not a wasteland and Alex had never been happier to see the dorms.

Helen fell through the rift, staggering a little as she landed. It took a few moments for her to realize she was actually back in Fandom and then all she really wanted to do was collapse and sleep and maybe cry for an hour or two in both horror and relief.

She settled for pulling herself to a quiet corner and watching to see if everyone else got back safely. She was filty and bruised and cut up a bit, but she was alive.

Edited 2010-08-08 16:23 (UTC)

Despite Kyle's warning to stay away from the windows, Kate had been keeping an eye on the area surrounding the Efferton Manor. And in the early evening, she'd seen things starting to look normal again, bit by bit. She'd ran out of patience soon after that, picking up her bag and her pitiful knife and heading out, determined to find people.

So she ran to the cabins first, but found no one. Next stop? The dorms.

By the time she rushed through the lobby doors, knife still in hand, she was very, very out of breath, so Bod would have to forgive her for not calling out his name as soon as she'd seen him and was scrambling towards him, trying not to trip over her own feet.

Mitchell hit the ground shoulder-first. This was something of a relief, because the last thing he'd have wanted was to land on his face, but it still meant pain spiking up through his body.

With a groan, he pushed up.

After some of the things he'd seen, he didn't immediately believe that he was seeing Kate again. He closed his eyes, fully expecting her to be gone when he opened them but she wasn't.

The relief really enveloped him then and he would have stood up if he thought he could have when he knew she was real. Instead, he just kept his eyes on her, letting her know that he saw her too.

She looked all right and that relief spiked at that. She was all right.

Well, moderately all right, anyway. There were what looked like blood spatters on her skinny jeans, and her knife was covered in (thankfully dried) blood and... something else.

But she was in one piece, and he seemed to be too, and that feeling of relief was mutual.

When she stopped in front of him, the knife fell from her hand, and her backpack joined it on the floor soon enough, and she wanted to say something but she really just had to double over some right now, just to catch her breath.

Bod kept quiet for a few more moments, glancing down at the knife, the blood on her pants and then her. Finally, he asked, "Are you all right, Kate?"

His voice still worked, even if it was quiet. He'd gotten used to talking quietly in a place where noise attracted danger.

The world had whirled, making her sight a hindrance and it was a very nauseous Hinata that landed, still in a Jyuuken stance.

It took her a few seconds to orient herself enough to register--Fandom, dorms, safe.

Then she sat down, hard, and let her eyes go back to normal. Pressing her hands to them, Hinata breathed deeply.

She'd get up in a bit: she was filthy, she needed her back looked after, she needed to fall over on a bed and sleep for days.

But right now, right now she was just going to concentrate on breathing.

Kate choked out a quiet, dry laugh. Was she alright? What a ridiculous question! She wasn't the one who'd disappeared for days!

Of course, there were minor cuts and bruises, especially on her legs, and a whole lot of stress and trauma, but. She didn't think she was the one anyone should worry about.

"Yes," she said, still sounding out of breath but at least able to speak without wheezing too much, now. "You're here."

At that, he half smiled though it was brief and gone before he could think about it. "I am. I'm really very glad to be here. I didn't know if it -- if I ever would -- "

He cut himself up and rubbed his still aching and red eyes, thinking he didn't really have to finish those statements.

She didn't even want to hear them finished. She'd thought that way enough, herself.

Instead, she reached for him. It was an awkward sort of embrace, what with him sitting and her standing and leaning down towards him a little, but she didn't care. It didn't matter.

And he returned the embrace slowly but steadily. He thought about warning her that he was dirty and probably smelled but selfishness overtook him and he just wanted to hug her and hide his face in her neck and sort of stay there for the duration of things.

She didn't care about him being dirty or smelling. Jesus, all her clothes were going in the trash anyway, and really, she probably smelled too. She'd claim she hadn't taken a shower because they'd been conserving water, but she really just hadn't cared enough.

She just cared about him, and so she lingered, taking comfort from the familiar feel of him.

"I missed you," he said into her ear, really trying hard not to start crying on her shoulder in the lobby. It wasn't the pain that was encouraging those but the exhaustion and what he'd seen and couldn't stop seeing.

"I missed you," he said again, hands gripping her shirt tightly like he thought he might get swallowed again.

It was a wolf that came through. So much for keeping secrets and he damn well didn't care. It was Fandom. No more demons and roaches and smelly, freakish things that were almost making him feel normal.

Now to get himself to calm down and change back.

"I missed you too," she murmured, quite possibly meaning it more than she ever had before. "So much."

There was a tight feeling in her throat, and she swallowed. "Do you want to come up to my room?"

If they were going to fall apart, they might as well do it in private.

"Yes," he said immediately, nodding. "You're just going to have to help me there. I can't walk that fast anymore. There's...I'll show you when we're upstairs. I'll just need some assistance."

He looked down at himself and winced. "And possibly a change of clothes."

Ino blinked at the light, knowing she looked a mess--soot covered, her clothing charred in places, her hair an absolute disaster--and couldn't quite bring herself to care.

There was light, there were people she recognized that hadn't been in that dreadful world...

She leaned against the wall and told herself, firmly, that she wasn't allowed to cry until she was alone.

Ino had a good guess at who this was, by now, as he'd been there but then he hadn't been and yet their numbers hadn't changed.

"Thank you," she murmured to him quietly.

For distracting the nurses, she meant.

"I'll get clothes for you," Kate promised. "And anything else you need."

She moved back, picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Then she picked up the knife, too. Call it a reflex. She'd dispose of it eventually. Just... didn't feel like it quite yet.

Then she offered him a hand, to help him up and leaning on her for support.

Bod reached for her hand, tangling his fingers up with hers as he got to his feet, not even bothering to wide his wincing. He did manage to move closer to her, sliding one arm across her shoulders to use as support.

"All right," he said, nodding. "I'm ready. Let's go."

His wincing made her wince, but at least he was alive. At least he was here.

And at least she had something she could actually do now. Like help him up to her room and take care of him.

So, she'd focus on doing that.

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The Lobby, Sunday Afternoon

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