[log] Saltomons and the gang [closed]

[devoutish]

Characters: Alfie Solomons, Charlie Kelly, Emily Kaldwin, Royce Melborn, Stephen Strange, Tifa Lockhart
Location: building 43
Date: afternoon of 205 to morning of 206
Summary: problemas
Warnings: n/a; will edit if anything comes up

A standard two-story house with a basement. The first floor has a kitchen, living room, and dining room, while the second floor has two bedrooms and a bathroom. One of the chairs in the kitchen has been broken, with a leg missing, and pushed off into a corner out of the way. Another chair is broken in a more obvious way--it's missing a leg, too, but it looks like it was slammed against a doorway or something. There are scuff marks on the dining room floor. All of the furniture has been scattered about. The basement seems to have been converted into a veritable sports shrine. There's an old couch in front of a television stand that's empty of the large television that must have sat on it. The couch is missing a lot of its stuffing. The wall is covered in posters of various sports stars--none are people anyone would recognize, but the sports are: basketball and hockey. Even the area rug beneath the couch is a bold red and blue with the logo of the hockey team on it (an angry-looking goose, if you're curious). The TV stand in the basement looks like it was broken and then put back together. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, STEPHANIE BROWN, GREED, EDWARD ELRIC, DAY FORTY THREE, TRAVELLING NORTH." has been carved into one of the walls.

Comments

[bywolves]

[ Royce is quiet most of the day. He's getting restless, but he can't leave his people behind - and they've got a lot of people coming to them, people they need to see. At least this isn't the bead house or the clown house.

At some point during the night, he goes to sit down to a visibly seething Alfie - but for the rest of it, he can be found just about everywhere in the house, arm splinted poorly. He'll also probably sneak up on just about everybody in the house at least once. ]

[devoutish]

[Visibly seething is an understatement.]

I did not know he was this stupid. I honestly didn't. How is this man trusted by anyone to get things done? Fucking hell, he's not even good at being subtle.

[bywolves]

Not sure. [ Royce says, raising his eyebrows as he looks down at his tablet. ] What I am sure of is the fact that you're not the only one who might be angry about supplies being destroyed. Should anybody believe you.

[devoutish]

I challenged him to make an honest post about it - without victimizing himself, and without vilifying me beyond the facts. He's not going to.

[He sounds at once smug and frustrated about this.]

[bywolves]

He won't. You've made yourself a wonderful villain for everybody to pin things to.

[thewarningafter]

Arrival

[Get in, give the little girl her pills, get out.

Well, no. At least one person in this house has a broken arm, which means Stephen's going to be doing the rounds. He's wary as he approaches the house, aware of the day's frictions. He's careful to announce his presence, knocking on the door before pushing it open. He looks much the same as he has in his appearances on the network, though the burns on his hands are new.]

Hello?


Slightly later

[He can't linger long without risking being locked out, but he's literally spending the night next door. Stephen can afford to take a little time to go around seeing each of the people in this house, checking their wounds, checking their splints and bandages. He makes a point of seeking out each of them if they don't come to him first, knocking on the door (or doorframe) of whatever room in which the next patient is holed up.]

[devoutish]

[Alfie is sedentary for most of the day. Generally, he's either sitting on the couch or napping in a bedroom, only shuffling away to check on (dote on) Emily from time to time, if she isn't already near. When Stephen knocks on the mostly-closed door, he's sprawled out on one of the beds, lying on top of a blanket in his bathrobe and socks. He cracks an eye open.]

Yeah?

[thewarningafter]

Alfie, I presume?

[He takes a second to glance around the room before entering.]

Doctor Strange. I'm not staying long, but I might as well offer my services while I'm here. You hurt?

[devoutish]

Mm, yeah.

[He opens the other eye, but doesn't try to sit.]

Broken ribs. You've checked on Emily?

[thewarningafter]

Mmhmm.

[That had been the main point of this expedition, after all. He makes his way to the bedside, slinging his backpack off onto the floor and stooping to fuss at the zipper with uncooperative hands.]

One of the big risks you're facing right now is pneumonia -- I know it hurts to breathe deeply, but that's what's going to keep your lungs clear. Mind if I take a quick listen?

[Antibiotics are something he can actually supply, should it come to that.]

[bywolves]

Hello.

[ Hi, Stephen. Royce just so happens to be lurking near the entrance to the house, and he just melts out of the shadows when Stephen enters. Maybe his goal is a little to scare the fuck out of the guy, but he's not going to say so. ]

[thewarningafter]

[See, he announced his presence precisely so no one would be surprised and do anything regrettable. Stephen stiffens, hands raising in something halfway between a defensive posture and the first position for summoning a shield. He forces himself to let his breath back out, hands slowly lowering again.]

Jesus, don't do that!

[bywolves]

[ Okay, that actually puts Royce in a pretty good mood. Maybe he smiles a little, but it's tiny and only the corners of his lips. His hood is up, face partially obscured. ]

Who are you? [ He has an idea. ]

[thewarningafter]

Doctor Strange. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that your name isn't Emily.

[He's not impressed by the hood thing.]

finally spills out here

[empireofrats]

[Emily seems only marginally better than Alfie, being young. She finds she can't lie down, and she can't put any weight on the side with the fractured rib. Breathing hurts, so she usually takes careful, short breaths, and that limits her to not moving.

But she's still curious, so she sits quietly and listens to Royce and Stephen's exchange (what a good guard Dog, sorry Royce) until Royce leaves.

Then she ventures out, like a mouse, peering at Stephen from around the corner.] Are you the man with the medicine?

\o/

[thewarningafter]

[Put that dog on a leash before he bites someone, Emily. She doesn't get the visceral reaction Royce did, at least.]

That's me.

[He smiles faintly, already watching the careful way she moves.]

[empireofrats]

[She smiles just a little back, cautious but thinking it's okay by the way he answered. (People who don't want her around say things like House: go away.)] Royce likes to make sure things are okay.

[Her way of apologizing for his stand-offish behavior.] But he's not a bad person if you're nice to him. [Carefully, she comes out from behind the corner, shuffling slow and stilted, not putting weight on her right leg and side.] I'm Emily.

[thewarningafter]

Only if you're not nice to him, huh?

[This was never his strength -- talking to patients, dealing with children. Was never something he was interested into developing into a strength.]

And I'm Doctor Strange.

[Not Stephen. Not to a kid.]

I should have a look at where you're hurt. Then we can talk about your medicine.

[mightyratslayer]

[Charlie has made a little nest for himself under the dining room table. He didn't mean to stumble into this group, but even though he knows this many people in one spot is dangerous, it's nice to have company. The sound of other people in the house is comforting.

Given that everyone is still plenty wrecked from whatever that shitshow was the other day, Charlie decides to spend the early evening keeping to himself. He's holed up under the table coloring in one of his coloring books. It's... moderately enjoyable. He kind of just wants to sleep, but he's bummed that he made no progress on musical writing today. Art is hard when he feels like this. Maybe coloring will help get the creative juices flowing.

Or it won't, in which case he'll go bother the house's other inhabitants. Talking to people is always fun, right? Why isn't anything fun anymore?]

[devoutish]

[Alfie isn't doing a lot of wandering, thanks to his ribs, but he does shuffle into the kitchen at one point. He immediately spots Charlie under the table, and stops, peering down at him.]

Did Emily lend you those?

[The coloring books don't look familiar, but maybe she'd picked up a few that he hasn't seen yet. And why else would a grown man be playing with them?]

[mightyratslayer]

[Charlie's not sure if he's supposed to be afraid of Alfie or not. The dude seems kind of grumpy, and he had that whole... thing... with Charles, and it's common knowledge that Charlie and Charles are in Cahoots. But he's also hanging out with Royce and Tifa and Emily, two of which seem nice and one of which he is also in Cahoots with, so maybe he's fine?

But Charlie's happy to have a visitor. He'll proceed with caution. He pokes his head out from under the table to look up at Alfie.]

No, I found 'em. I found the crayons and stuff too.

[devoutish]

Mm. You took them for yourself?

[Sure, he's colored with Emily before, but he's never felt the desire to do it on his own.]

did someone say coloring...

[empireofrats]

[But she doesn't know Charlie exactly, so she stands far away and half hidden, watching him for a little bit to get a better judge of him. He's coloring--drawing? (She can tell by the movement of his hand.) So... he can't be that bad, right?

After ten minutes or so, she comes out, walking slow and somewhat lilted from the broken rib. She stops just out of reach of him.] What are you drawing?

[bywolves]

[ Royce, in a a weird turn of events, actually likes Charlie. Which means when Charlie wanders through, Royce doesn't seem to mind very much that he's there. Charlie is quiet and keeps to himself, and it's a little like Emily in the way that he just, y'know. Colors.

Royce crouches down, hood up, cloak all sprawled out behind him, and rests his chin in his palm, watching Charlie color for a moment. ]

Did Yvry give you the glitter I traded him? [ There's no other reason Charles would've wanted it, Royce thinks. ]

[powersouls]

[Tifa is of much the same mind as Charlie—logically, she knows the chances of running into a monster go up when there are more people, but the more people there are, the safer she feels. She's always done better in a group, and even being in Norfinbury all these months hasn't shaken that. Charlie goes to hole off by himself for a while, and of course Tifa goes over to say hello, because she always does.

He's made a little spot for himself underneath the table, and Tifa can't help but smile when she sees it. She crouches down, not quite invading his space.]

Hi. Is it okay if I join you?