bananas are hardly that slippery, but watch your step anyway

[theoldgirl]

It's a beautiful, cold March day in New York, and street cleaners are upon us!

[Anyone receiving Cecil's broadcast on their phone or other device will be quite convinced of its veracity, thanks to his Radio Voice now being a rift power. Listeners can either call in at the broadcast post to discuss current events / ask for survival tips / tell their loved ones good bye, or use this post to act out their totally irrational justified panic.

But, here are the good news! (Real good news, not life-is-pointless-but-at-least-ice-cream-exists good news.) Since Cecil will make another broadcast the next day saying that nothing unusual actually happened, your characters won't actually remember this crisis as a crisis, so you can backtag to your heart's content without it affecting later events. Go somewhat literally nuts! And really make the TARDIS feel like a moron for letting Cecil do this.]

Comments

[stronglikebear]

Yuri chews his lip, feeling like he ought to take charge but really sort of liking the way Daine's acting like she knows what to do. He certainly doesn't know how to help all those people aboveground, and the thought of someone else taking charge and telling him how he can help is comforting. Daine has experience with this kind of thing, doesn't she?

"But we don't know who the street cleaners are," he reminds her.

[wildmage_daine]

"Exactly," she says with a grave nod. "That's why we'll have to be extra careful and time everything just right; elsewise, they'll realize what we're doing and make their move even earlier. And we definitely don't want that."

As they head for the exit, it occurs to Daine that there might, coincidentally, be street cleaners going about their innocent business up there. She's fair certain that Yuri wouldn't stay near one for long enough to see first-hand that it wasn't killing anyone, which means that for now, they really are best avoided.

"We might not be able to pick out who the street cleaners are, but we know what the machines look like. I can have the People keep an eye out for them; that way, we'll know where they're coming from and where they're headed. We wouldn't want to send folk running right towards them." She looks up at him for confirmation, wanting to make sure they're on the same page. "What do you think?"

[stronglikebear]

"That makes sense," agrees Yuri, feeling a bit calmer now that he has a mission. Finally, someone's taking this seriously and helping him help the others. The scale of this is bigger than anything Yuri's ever attempted before, and he's grateful not to be facing it alone.

"But how are we going to convince them all?" he asks, worried.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine pulls in a considering breath. The idea is to prevent Yuri from trying to convince anyone for as long as she can. "We may not have to," she points out with perfect honesty (though she expects Yuri's interpretation will be quite different from her meaning). "But if we want to convince anyone of anything, we're going to need proof."

She pulls up short before they actually reach the door, holding up a hand. "Hang on. Let me make sure it's still safe."

And then she has to sheepishly ask the pigeons to keep an eye out for street cleaners and to let her know at once if they spot any and where they are, especially if they're anywhere near where she is. Odd's bobs, this is ridiculous.

Fortunately, there aren't any near the southern end of the park. With a little luck, maybe she'll be able to either convince Yuri that the world isn't ending or get to the bottom of what's caused him to think as much.

"Okay," she tells him, "the coast is clear."

[stronglikebear]

"I should have brought my camera," laments Yuri. "I guess I can use my phone...but if we get close enough to take pictures, they might get us. I can't ask you to take that risk."

Is it really a good idea, he asks himself, to let Daine put herself in danger for this? Shouldn't he be going up there alone? Then again, she's the one with the plan right now. "Let's go while we can," he decides, even though there's a knot of fear in his belly.

[wildmage_daine]

Awww. It would almost be sweet if he wasn't all rift-addled. And if she wasn't in a much better position to save herself than he seems to give her credit for. Not that she'd ever ditch the dogs in the event of an actual attack, but she can shapeshift.

She gives him a small, reassuring smile. "I've got the People keeping an eye out for street cleaners, so I'll hear about them well before they get anywhere near us. We'll be fine."

She nods at Phil as they head out the door, and once they start up the stairs, the dogs perk up noticeably, pleased to finally be on their way. Daine reminds them to behave themselves, as half of her attention is on Yuri and his rather obvious discomfort over leaving the safety of the base. It's a rather ironic role reversal compared to her first day here, and she finds herself wondering if she ought to take his hand to keep him from haring off.

[stronglikebear]

"We do have to get pictures -- or, or something -- though," he says. It won't do any good if they go up and just avoid the street cleaners and don't save anybody. He's twitchy as they ascend the stairs, looking around lik he expects the cleaners to come sweeping down into the subway system and wipe out all the commuters. With how keyed-up he is, it really wouldn't be any wonder if he did head for the hills.

[wildmage_daine]

She hums in acknowledgement. Actually, that's not a bad idea at all. If she could get them in a good position to watch a street cleaner trundle along without hurting anyone, maybe that would convince him that everything's okay.

... Of course, that would depend on Yuri actually watching it without screaming, running off, or trying to drag random two-leggers out of its way. As she watches him fidget, she concludes that such a scenario might be more difficult to arrange than it should be. He looks about ready to bolt even now, and they haven't even made it all the way up the stairs.

"Then we will," she says, reaching over to give Yuri's hand a squeeze. Hoping a distraction might help, she adds, "I've been through worse. Did I ever tell you about the siege at Pirate's Swoop? There were battle mages. And a giant squid."

[stronglikebear]

Give him a little credit; of those three things he's at least most likely to do the last (unless the street cleaner is bearing right down on them, in which case he might lose his head entirely). He squeezes her hand back and looks over at her in surprise. "Then you know," he says, confirming his earlier thoughts with a rush of relief. "You know how these things go, right? I've never...."

He trails off, embarrassed and frustrated. He's just some spoiled American kid, and he knows it.

[wildmage_daine]

Well, she can't say she's ever been through a 'street cleaning' of the sort Yuri seems to be imagining. She's not even sure what the Tortallan equivalent would be; their street cleaners are all two-leggers with brooms, employed by the crown. But she's certainly been in some sticky situations, and the fear in Yuri's eyes can't be so different from the terror that stormwings send before them when they attack.

"I've seen battle," she says, and there's nothing deliberate or feigned about the gravity in her tone. Her brow furrows as she notes his embarrassment, and she adds, "But there's no shame in being lucky enough to avoid it. It's not anywhere near so glorious as folk make it sound."

[stronglikebear]

Yuri gives her hand another squeeze, both grateful and sympathetic. "I'm sorry," he says, sorry both for the fact that she's seen violence and for how he somehow is the one needing comfort right now. "But you understand that we have to protect all the people who don't know what's coming."

They're out in the open now, but he's at least slightly calmer than before. He looks around urgently, though, eyes wide open for any sign of people-eating machinery.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine nods, because she does understand. Despite her firm belief that Yuri's been muddled, somehow, she can't help but appreciate his bravery and his concern for all these people. The danger might not be real, but if it was, she's not sure how many folk would be trying to do what he's trying to do right now, despite his fear.

"Okay," she says, considering their next move. "There aren't any street cleaners nearby, and none of the ones out on the streets are misbehaving themselves yet. And I don't think any warnings would go over well without proof that they're really dangerous." She looks up at Yuri, trying to gauge his response. "We could sneak up on one - approach it from behind." And then watch it continue to do absolutely nothing untoward.

[stronglikebear]

Yuri's hands are sweaty, and he gulps as he imagine actually sneaking up on one of those hulking monsters. For a second he wants to turn around and go right back down into the base and hide under his bed (wards -- he's got to figure out how to put up wards). The moment passes, though, and he just draws a shaky breath and nods. "Don't let your animal friends get too close to any of them," he says. "Do they know where one is?"

[wildmage_daine]

She's beginning to notice, but decides that's all the more reason not to let go. Whatever's prompted his belief in street cleaning, his fear seems genuine enough... and she can't just leave him to it without trying to offer some comfort.

"I won't," she promises. It's an easy one to make; the People are probably the only ones on the island who could take any harm from a street cleaner. "But there's one about eight blocks away on Park, heading north. If we walk quickly, we could catch it."

[stronglikebear]

Maybe she should have just found a way to knock him out and stow him somewhere safe.

"Okay." Yuri fumbles for his phone, nearly dropping it when he gets it out of his pocket after a few moments' struggle. "Now or never, right?" Shooting her a nervous look and trying to smile and be strong, he strides off in the direction of Park.