[MINGLE] Great Shakes

[sixthiteration]

WHO: EVERYBODY
WHERE: EVERYWHERE
WHEN: 13 July (afternoon, main quake) - 14 July (morning, last aftershocks)
OPEN TO: ALL - MINGLE
WARNINGS: Potential injuries, PTSD, and anxiety

---

The sun is still high when the earth begins its initial, almost benign sway, but seasoned villagers know well enough that what follows will be far from gentle. Vibrations ramp up swiftly, exponentially, until within the space of a few seconds, the whole world is shaking — Dishes pinging down from shelves, young trees sifting free of the earth, shingles dislodging and tumbling like rain.

After 20 seconds, the worst is done, and after 30 the shaking has ebbed completely. Some will have escaped relatively unscathed, but others will not have been so lucky...

...and the aftershocks are still to come.

Comments

Samantha Moon | Rescue and Recovery | OTA

[thegreatexperiment]

Main Quake
It figured, somehow. The first day Sam was actually feeling better, the first day Sam was beginning to feel like herself again. The first day she'd managed to finally get her wig back on. That's when hilarity ensued.

Sam was awake when it happened. Of course she was awake. Sleep was something that people did. Sam wasn't people any more. She was on her way to the kitchen to start working on a new batch of vodka. And what bothered her the most was how calm she felt, as the floor jolted beneath her and she careened into the wall of the Inn's staircase. The world was going sideways again, no big whoop. Just another day in paradise. This was her life now, from the Rain of Fire forward. Maybe further back. Maybe from the moment she died.

Which wasn't to say she didn't let out a colorful stream of variations on the word 'fuck.'

She was still Sam, after all.

But then she snapped into LA mode. She was a Ventrue, with ice in her veins. She could handle anything. And maybe if she repeated that damn mantra enough, she'd start to believe it.

"Get out of the building," she roared, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Get out into the open." She turned to shout up the stairs. "Can everyone hear me? Get out! Does anyone need help?"

Aftershocks
She ignored the too-tight feeling in her skin that she remembered from her sunburnt days and walked into the light. The only sign of her displeasure and discomfort was the way she held the knife she'd grabbed from the kitchen. It was a death grip, so tight and so steely that her knuckles would have turned white, if she still had a circulation to speak of. Frankly, Sam was better in a crisis when there was someone to hit, but barring that possibility, she knew plenty about rescue and recovery.

What was an earthquake beside the Rain of Fire?

Well, that wasn't really a contest anyone could win. But for all of her posturing and pretending that she was too jaded to ever be wide-eyed again, Sam knew what she was doing.

She planned out a methodical circuit in her head and started to follow it, going in wider and wider circles out from the Inn. Without fail, when she ran into someone, she asked if they needed help. For someone who preferred to sit back and watch people, she threw herself into the thick of it this time. There was more to the Blue Bitch than potato vodka.

It was time to prove it. To herself and the village.

[notbadcakeboss]

He hadn't really experienced an earthquake before. There were the things the game makers did to get them moving from one location to another, but never an earthquake. His first thought had been of the island suddenly spinning out of control, the last arena when they had figured out that it was all a clock. He had been fine of late, the nightmares had subsided, but in an instant, he felt like he was back in the games again.

He had been frozen in place during the earthquake, rooting in the doorway as everything fell and collapsed. The bakery, only recently cleaned was now in disarray. The supplies had fallen from the shelves and rolled out of his reach, under the stove and furniture that had collapsed. In an instant, his hard work had fallen apart.

He didn't stay in the bakery to lament over it. Instead, he went outside to get a look at the damage and to see if anyone is hurt. When he came across Sam, his first thought wasn't what she could do to help him but if something had happened to her. "You sure you're all right?"

Closed to Frank

[3ofswords]

Someone had been stupid, or someone had taken the label off of a gift to get away with downing half of it--because in gathering and noting supplies, he's found a bottle of whiskey tucked behind the bar. Immediately tucked in his coat, held therein until enough people seem to be grabbing the reins of this emergency that he can leave what feels like his fiftieth emergency sign-in clipboard at the front desk and go find his dog.

She's had about the same idea he has: as downstairs and away from people as she can get. Aurora's stuffed in a corner of the cellar, behind the end of some shelving, drool running off her panting mouth.

Whatever some might think, he's not entirely irresponsible about the dog. The bird is easier: the bird fucks off when it wants something beyond chewing Kira's hair. And if he has to retain sobriety a little longer, taking care of Aurora is at least distracting from the press of too many people in one place, the rumble of aftershocks under their feet. It's a little too much like armored cars rolling past the safehouse, without even snow to dampen the chaos, but he still heads back up to the kitchen to get a bowl of water for her and a jar for him.

This is what it comes to: his watch tells him it's the middle of July, middle of the day. The cellar is barely lit from the large gap beneath its door; Kira doesn't bother to feel around for a light. He sets their water on the lowest shelf, tucks up at Aurora's panting side, and doesn't shake near as hard as she does, when the jars start rattling, when dust shakes free and filters faintly through the light.

It's fine, and if it isn't: Kira fishes up the bottle and knocks the first sip back.

[oorah]

After he felt the first tremors, he'd ventured out to see if anyone needed his help. His first thought is the Inn because people will likely gather there in an emergency. His hood is drawn as his eyes scan the cellar for anyone who might be alone (or scared.) He really shouldn't be surprised at who he finds, letting out a small sigh as he makes his way over on silent feet.

He doesn't say a word, as is customary for them by now, sliding down along the wall to sit at Aurora's other side. He strokes a calming hand along her back and tries to suppress the smile when she licks at his face and throat with her watery tongue. Frank leaves the slobber there like a badge, rubbing her head and murmuring Good girl as he depresses to slump against the wall. He doesn't bother asking Kira if they're okay, satisfied enough that they're visibly in one piece each.

The familiar smell of bourbon takes him aback, however, turning his head sharply as the young man sips at the amber liquid. God, he misses alcohol. His regular shipments of rosé and whiskey delivered to the stoop of his mayoral mansion at the start of every month without fail, carried by the Natives' own hands. The Observers aren't nearly so generous, but there's also far less to drink over here unless one were to count on Frank's own interpersonal drama. Somehow, he took that wherever he went.

"Where'd you get that?" he insists in a low tone, ready to bust out his own puppy eyes to get a taste if he has to.

Closed to Kamala

[3ofswords]

After firing off a series of messages to everyone still alive, conscious, and with a working watch--Kira tries to put aside what every lack of a reply might mean and minds his fucking lists.

The schoolhouse is worse off, shocking no one; Mark and the animals are fine. As names trickle in, either through the device or from the people passing through, he stays behind the bar with the books and a bucket of the weirdly vitamin rich peaches, handed off to the shaken up and less seriously injured.

Throughout the day, the glasses in the cabinets rattle with the windows, the lights flicker but hold. It's unnerving, more-so knowing his poor dog is probably in the cellar, smart enough to express the level of spooked he's starting to feel. Whatever his stupid journal said on the subject, he's never felt anything like this outside of brief explosions, the tremors of heavy vehicles or artillery. The latter didn't do much to the buildings downtown.

Watching another round of shingles slide off the roof, falling past the nearest window, he decides that upstairs trumps outside, when nature inevitably calls. The stupid books will be fine, he indicates for someone else to take the post. He might as well see what else he can bring down while he's up there, and make sure nobody is trying to wait this out under a bed.

[morphogenia]

She came here with Frank to check on people. There is of course safety in numbers thing. She's pretty sure that is why they're lingering here even if as usual they're both off doing their own thing. Kamala for her part is trying to learn more about the strangers here. It's during her quest that she starts to put two and two together. She smiles because the timing is so terrible but, her mischievous side wins out. She follows him upstairs and looks for her opening. The second it happens, Kamala doesn't hesitate. She's punching Kira with everything she has which really isn't much now that she has zero weight or muscle behind her.

"Hi!"

Bela Talbot | OTA

[cleptes]

13th:

Right up until the earthquake struck House 33 was at peace. It was also occupied by its current owner, Bela, who was conducting a quick inventory check before heading out for a walk by the lake. Bela didn't have a lot of belongings to begin with but what she did have is important to her. Having a roof over her head is important. It made things in the village a lot more tolerable.

She was about to leave the house when the earthquake hit, violently shaking the walls and the ground, causing Bela to fall over as she didn't have time to grab a hold of something. Mercifully, Bela doesn't hit her head but she does manage to twist her right ankle, causing her to cry out in pain.

Fuck she hopes it hasn't caused any serious, long-lasting damage.

The sound of crashing is the next thing to cause Bela some concern. She looks up to see some of the support beams broken in two, one half resting on the ground below. While it did not seem like the whole roof was going to come down, Bela knows that she needs to get out of the house now.

Slowly, she rolls onto her front and crawls out through the door onto the grass outside. The shaking had stopped but there was always the risk of aftershocks. With a grimace Bela gets up to her feet, careful not to put too much pressure on her sore ankle. It's a struggle to get to the inn, but she makes it.


Outside Inn

Finding a seat outside, Bela elevates her ankle as best as she could. Anyone who comes across her will note how miserable she looks. Some might even notice discomfort or even a slight wince crossing over her features from time to time.

"Some ice would be bloody brilliant about now."

Spoken to no one in particular but loud enough for passersby to hear.

"Better yet, a stiff drink."


14th:

Rather than heading back to her home, Bela had decided to spend the night at the inn and rest up. At least her ankle didn't hurt as much but she was still being careful. A stick rested beside her, acting as a crutch to help her walk. She was grabbing a quick bit of breakfast when the aftershocks hit - a cause for concern when Bela was worried about the condition of her house. She waits it out near the bar, watching the shelves rattle and the more unstable objects falling over.

Perhaps checking her home would be a good idea when the aftershocks subside. She may need some help in getting to it on one piece, but for that to happen Bela needed a willing volunteer.


[ooc: If you want something else, you can hit me via PM or comment with your own prompt!]

Outside the INn

[thekittenqueen]

It had taken a bit of time to collect herself as much as she was going to. With her animals secured in the jail again and her home still intact, she went around the village to check on the others, needing to occupy herself rather than stay idle and dwell on what happened. If she stood still for a moment and let the silence take her, she would break. It was there at the back of her mind, threatening to rear itself.

Bela was a relief to see, though her injury immediately made Margaery concerned. "What happened?" She asked, taking a seat next to her friend. She knew her scrubs allowed her to take on the pain of someone else, but she doubted Bela would accept the offer, if it was made. "You didn't break it, did you?"

Vasquez | ota

[quinientos]

He's not a stranger to earthquakes, having spent a lot of time recently in California, but that doesn't mean he doesn't hate them. He's outside having a smoke when it happens and he very nearly gets smacked in the face by a tree, having to jump up and away from the area (cursing heavily as he does). Everything is still shaking a little by the time Vasquez manages to steady himself.

Staring around him, his attention goes to the inn first, just to make sure that his home hasn't been destroyed (because he's a little selfish and wants to make sure that his home is fine). Eventually, he thinks he should at least check on anyone else in the near area. The fallen trees require him to shift them, hauling fallen logs as he hopes he hasn't turned up somewhere new just in time for someone to die because the earth shakes.

"Is there anyone here?" he calls, just near the foot of the trees as they start to thicken. "Is everyone all right?"

Re: Vasquez | ota

[dann_0]

Not everyone was alright. Danny had been in the woods actually working on his archery skills when the earthquake had started and just his luck a three had fallen on his leg. He is pretty sure it is broken but he hasn't been able to get up to check. He had just been about to text Steve on his wrist device when he hears someone calling.

"Hey! I need help!"

stella gibson | ota

[ex_assertiveness90]

She's at the dining table at home with her second tea of the day when the earthquake hits. If she had time, she'd get outside, away from potential falling objects — but everything happens so quickly that all she can do is duck under the table and hold on for dear life, watching as her teacup rattles its way off the edge and cracks to pieces all over the floor, spilling hot liquid and shards of porcelain.

The last time an earthquake hit the village, Stella broke her arm and spent almost two months healing from it, even with occasional trips to the hot springs; she has no intention of letting that happen again, so she waits until she's absolutely sure the shaking has stopped before she makes her way out from under the table. She picks up the bigger pieces of teacup to throw directly in the rubbish and sweeps up the rest, then goes to assess the rest of the damage with the studied composure of someone used to suppressing her emotions in a crisis. Miraculously, the dishes in the kitchen remain intact, but the exterior of the house is another story; the wooden parts of the front porch columns are starting to break loose, and what looks like half the roof shingles are either loose or dislodged entirely into the front garden. Not an entirely impossible repair job, just time-consuming — and something to be reserved for later.

Now, she's just going to do what she sees as her job here, which is to check in at the inn first in case anyone is looking for her — Peggy, mostly, she expects — and then to go around checking on everyone else. Having been through this once already, she knows it might be best to wait till after the aftershocks have passed to repair any structural damage — but emergencies she can help attend to. Injuries, lost persons, anyone in imminent danger. Stella has really never stopped being a police officer to her core, even here.

[fishermansweater]

They currently only have five geese. They'd scattered and flown off in fright when the earthquake hit, and only some of them had made their way back either to the house or to Annie. He'd found her, and some of the birds, and brought them back home, but Annie had been insistent, too upset about the lost geese to let him stay and comfort her. So he's gone out back out, after making sure she has East and a couple of the other birds with her to help her recover. He's brought the little hairless dog with him, because Coco had managed to help in settling the geese when they'd first come back from their explorations and had found the birds shut out of their pen by the wildly overgrown plants.

It turns out not to be a good idea. There are downed branches in the path, and as Finnick is stepping around one, there comes the quivering rumble of an aftershock. Finnick throws himself to one side, away from the tree that dropped the branch, and Coco bolts in a different direction.

"Coco!"

The little dog is gone up the path by the time Finnick feels safe to follow him, and the hunt for the geese becomes a chase after the dog, along the path back to the village. Fortunately, Coco doesn't keep running; he darts off the side of the road before he gets out of Finnick's sight, and when he gets to the spot, he finds the little creature huddled under a bush, whimpering.

"Hey, Coco, c'mere. I'll give you some fish when we get back."

That's the moment when he hears the sounds of footsteps coming up the path, and looks up to see Stella approaching. Finnick holds up a hand, his fingers gesturing down, in what he hopes is an understandable be quiet gesture. It had been for the Careers.

"Come on," he coaxes as the little dog sticks its lizard-like head out from under its bush.

It's only once he has the dog safely scooped up into his arms that he turns around to greet Stella.

"Sorry, just didn't want him to run off again."

Margaery Tyrell | OTA

[thekittenqueen]

The Observers were testing here. That was the only thing she could think when the shakes finally stopped. She had adjusted to the constant pulling and pushing of villagers, those being brought in while others were sent away. Despite the cutting pain of loss, she had understood this risk and tried to manage as much as she could. Despite the heartache, she had continued with her daily routine, not allowing the Observers to win. Which was why they were testing her now, summoning a quake to knock her off her feet and bring all of the memories of the Sept back to the forefront of her mind.

She had been with her animals, watching them graze when it happened. The pandemonium of their fear and her own had knocked the wind out of her, as though she had been punched. She fell to her knees, hearing Gilbert chased and round the animals up on his own, not letting any of them run far. He was trained well, as Margaery could do nothing else but hold herself together until it all finally ended.

She expected to hear Robb calling for her, sliding to her side as he had last time, but he wasn't here. She was alone. She took a shaky breath, shoving away any tears and hysteria that threatened her, preferring to shut off her emotions entirely than to succumb.

Much to her surprise though, someone came to her side as she struggled back up to her feet. "The animals..." she started with a shaky voice, nearly collapsing again as a bolt of fear seized her. "They haven't run to the forest?"

[theimmortalweapon]

"You okay?"

Danny had been making a wide loop through the village after the earthquake to make sure that no one had gotten stuck beneath a collapsing building or wayward branch. He hadn't seen Margaery at first but the sounds of frantic animals had caught his attention. He had calmed down a frightened goat before spotted the girl kneeling in the grass. She didn't look injured but she also looked like she was struggling to stand up.

"Did you get hurt anywhere?" The question caught him a little off guard but he answered it while trying to help the girl to her feet.

"No. They haven't. They're all safe but we should get them inside so they don't run off." He assumed that she had a place to keep the animals given that she had so many of them. "Lets get you inside and I'll take care of it."

Danny had a way with animals.

Re: Margaery Tyrell | OTA

[tooktheblack]

"No, they haven't fled this time," Jon said. As soon as the ground started shaking, he'd known to go to Margaery. She was afraid of the earthquakes (like any rational person ought to be) and without his brother here, someone had to take care of her. He hadn't wanted her to be alone.

"Come, let me take you to rest somewhere. I know you hate these quakes."

Danny Rand [Open]

[theimmortalweapon]

"What the-"

He'd been splitting wood along the side of the inn when the ground beneath him began to violently shake. Danny hadn't experienced an earth quake before but he knew the basics. Which amount to 'don't let anything hit you on the head.' That would have been easier if he didn't have an ax in his hand.

Danny crouched down and dropped the ax safely on the ground holding an arm above his head. There wasn't much else he could do and he was thankful when, thirty seconds later, the shaking stopped. Danny exhaled a slow breath and listened. He heard a lot of scuffling in the inn but it sounded like everyone was okay.

He quickly made a path around the village to make sure that no one was trapped beneath a fallen house before coming back to the inn. He didn't know if there was going to be another earth quake. In fact, he knew nothing about earth quakes so he walked up to the nearest person and tried to see what he could do to help.

Danny hated feeling helpless.

[super_seal]

Steve had been out running when quake hit. Having lived in LA for a couple years when he was a teenager gave him a bit of familiarity with what to do. As soon as it was over, he was back on his feet and headed to the house - where he knew his sister would be. Mary, having lived in LA much longer than him, was good and already cleaning up the inside of the place. That just left Danny. Steve knew that he'd gone out to the woods to practice with the bow but he had no idea where he'd decided to go.

After checking in with Mary, Steve ran back to the main village. He didn't know where Danny was, but chances were people would be heading to the inn, either for care or to help, and expected that's where Danny would go as well. As he's coming into town, he slows his run to a walk, looking around for his partner as well as others who might need help.

When he sees someone he doesn't know but who looks a bit lost approaching him he slows and tilts his head. "Hey, you alright?" He calls out to them. "You need some help?"

Vergil Sparda | Open

[demonic_divinity]

Vergil had been looking around the storeroom, praying to find something he could write with. Things he had read in the record book and things he was seeing he wanted to write down and keep a record of for himself. Things that would come in handy. The room had a great many things inside. Surely there had to be something.

Aside from the weapons, which he should have paid more mind to, many things did catch his eye, the clothes for one, a copy of David Copperfield and a box of condoms. Then just as he saw what looked like a small stack of journals the shaking started.


He just had enough time to look up as everything started to shake violently. Items around him crashing down, his hand had been outstretched to grab one of the journals when a machete just barley missed his hand. The book dropped as he let out the moist undignified shriek. He was human now, and already learning pain hurts. As he pulled back he could hear dishes in the kitchen falling and the sounds of the inn violently moving with the shakes.

It seemed like time to get out of Dodge... and Vergil tried to back out of the room as it shook violently but, before he could the shakes stopped. His hand clutched the door frame, and as if he could get any paler he seemed to drop a shade, he stayed there surveying the damage. The journal was buried now so he was going to have to clean up to get back to it.

Karen Page | OTA

[digging]

God, Karen hates earthquakes.

She went nearly her entire life without being in one, and would have been more than happy to continue on that streak, but it's not the actual shaking itself that's the problem. As much as it sucks, it's not the breathlessly easy destruction or the helplessness that follows. No, it's that earthquakes inevitably bring to mind a very specific place and a very specific time, shut up in a police station with people who were mostly strangers, everyone waiting for news and only Foggy and herself getting the shittiest kind.

She hadn't even been home when the shaking started today, although she's checked in with Claire and took a quick stock of the mess they'll have to clean up. Going to the inn isn't any safer than anywhere else, in her estimation, but everyone seems to gravitate there when things go to shit, and it doesn't hurt to take stock. If people weren't headed there already, Kira's messages might still do the trick.

Fortunately, the place looks like it's still mostly in one piece, no obvious cracks in the foundation or walls, although the kitchen is predictably a wreck. Pulling in a breath, she tucks her notebook into her back pocket and stoops to begin picking up wayward pots and pans.

[underpinnings]

The San Andreas Fault hadn't much cared that the world already ended, that there were carpet-bombed shells of cities along it that really couldn't handle a quake. Owen doesn't think the buildings here are any more up to code, but at least there's nothing higher than a second floor, and anything's better than spending the day under another tree.

Passing storms press the issue, and when he checks in at home the shaking's already tripped a few wires in the house. Nim is intact, and only claws the entire shit out of him when he drags her out from under the couch. She's a surprisingly big cat, one of those weird breeds people walked down the boulevard in a rhinestone collar, lifetimes ago. Getting her to the inn involves dumping his pack, stuffing her inside, and shifting it to his front to keep her head down on the walk.

Kero puts himself under a porch on the way, and Owen leaves him to it; local wildlife probably knows how to cope with local disaster.

Nim, taking her turn as the problem child, breaks free at the entrance and makes a run of the first floor; Owen follows the sound of banging pots and rolling glass into the kitchen, in time to see a low cabinet slap shut on her tail, the hinge creaking as it leans back open. "She's with me," he sighs, easing the pack down his arms and leaving it over a chair.

Seeing Karen on the floor, he realizes he's forgotten someone. "Shit, do you think anyone's dealt with the livestock?"

Erik Lehnsherr | ota

[frankensteinian]

Erik has really only experienced one earthquake in his life, and that's all it takes to know he's not a fan. (Not that he expects that anyone is.) The last earthquake had been more than a literal shaking of his world. There had been plenty of figurative aftershocks too, which if he ever gets home again aren't likely to fade anytime soon.

Luckily for him, he's out in the open when it happens, crossing between two buildings. So he's in no physical danger, and he knows it. Which doesn't stop him from reacting like he's in physical danger. He throws his hand out in front of him, fingers splayed, like he would do when he wanted to control something. It's instinct more than anything at this point; even if he had his powers right now, he couldn't make the earth stop shaking.

The rumbles subside and he slowly curls his fingers up and lowers his hand back to his side. It takes a moment though, and by the look of him, he's not here anymore. He's somewhere else at the moment.

Poland. That's where he was the last time this happened. And then his entire world changed. He can't stop the images and sounds from flooding his mind. Nina's terrified cries. Magda's assurances. The moment that ended it all. It's too overwhelming.

He stumbles against the nearest building, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. He just needs a moment to lean here and catch his breath, and come back to himself again.

Re: Erik Lehnsherr | ota

[ashandflame]

Jean isn't a fan of this place. It's been an understatement, to say the least, and this earthquake has shot this to the top of places she just doesn't want to be right now (the storms were bad enough, okay). Really? After all she's been through, after everything, and she gets to a place where she doesn't have her powers and there's natural disasters.

When she spots Erik out in the open, for a fleeting moment she thinks that he can fix it. Erik's whole power has to do with being able to move the very metal of the earth and if anyone can fix this, surely it's him.

But he can't. None of them can.

When she gets her feet steady, Jean bolts to where he is, wanting to be close to someone she knows. "I'm done with this place, Erik. I really, really am."

Haymitch Abernathy | ota

[juststayalive]

For someone who lived his entire life in a mountainous region, Haymitch is not as used to earthquakes as might be expected. He doesn't even remember hearing about them before, from anyone who experienced one, and it's not like the topic was covered in school. Not much was covered in school, in fact, and he hadn't had to finish, anyway, due to winning a deadly game at the age of sixteen. Doing that also meant he'd never had to go down in the mines. If he had, he might very well have experienced a different kind of earth shaking by this age, like his father had.

He wasn't even in the arena when the ground shaking meant a change of the layout (although he could have been, if it hadn't been for Peeta). It's not something he's gone through personally, although even if he had, it wouldn't have made him any more prepared for it happening this time.

At least he's sitting down when it happens. At one of the tables at the inn, with a mug of tea in front of him, wishing that the tea were anywhere near strong enough to do anything about the headache he can't get rid of. Weren't those supposed to be going away by now?

The shaking takes him by surprise. So much so, in fact, that his chair tips over and he lands on the floor. He's not as coordinated as he used to be, after all, or as fit. But he is at least able to sit up again, and nothing feels broken.

Jean-Luc Picard | OTA

[enterprisingheart]

For all that it's been some time since Picard has last been anywhere where an earthquake might potentially occur, he hasn't entirely forgotten how to handle them. That there should be another one less than a year from the last one he'd experienced in the village is... concerning, but that's something to worry about later. Right now, getting to safety is the most important thing, and in absence of any particularly sturdy structure, he opts to wait out the shakes outside, where things are less likely to fall on him. Although he does do his best to avoid any particularly large trees just in case.

He's lucky, this time, although the quake is larger than the ones he'd experienced shortly after his arrival; he manages to come through no worse than a bit shaken about.

The same, however, can't be said of the village, and as soon as the worst of it dies down, he's already heading towards the places people are most likely to be, offering whatever hand might be necessary. Whether that be helping to pick up fallen debris from the more major thoroughfares, lending a hand to any injured, or simply helping to put things to rights.

(The fact that there's almost certainly bound to be aftershocks hasn't escaped him either. But better to fix what can be, he figures, and deal with any subsequent mayhem as it comes.)

Annie Cresta + a flock of angry fowl | ota

[treadswater]

As much as she's been unsettled for the past few months (the past couple years, the past number of years), Annie has developed her routines here. One of them, the most notable one, is to walks her birds. Mostly, it is the eight geese she takes with her on her various circuits, keeping them inline gently with her switch. Other times, some of the peafowl may come with her. Mostly, the peacock and three peahens stay within the fences Annie and Finnick have built.

Unlike most of the residents of the villages, Annie's used to the daily storms. It's so far the most reassuring and familiar weather she's experienced. It reminds her of the rainy season around District Four's capitol and the Victors' Village. So she sees no real need to hide herself away unless it looks like a big storm, and today, the forecast seems to be for rain later.

All of which explains how and why Annie is walking up the path from the middle of the main village towards her house, escorted by ten birds, when the earthquake hites. Her eight geese, Star the peacock and fussy, fussy Port the peahen, all of them get uneasy, cranky.

"Hey, hey, birds, what's wrong? Hey!" The last is sharp as Aloft nips her fingers. "No! No biting- Birds, what are you doin'?" It becomes a struggle to keep them together, keep them moving in the same direction. Then it becomes impossible.

She doesn't scream. She throws herself to the ground, hands curled over her head. In her panic, the birds are forgotten. As Annie lies on the ground, whimpering with every shake and every moment of stillness after, the birds scatter. Star, Port, and two of the geese fly off back to the safety of their birdhouse in the Odair-Cresta house's old front porch. East, always close to Annie, had startled into flight, but comes back to her human. Several others do the same. But most of them?

Well.

The villagers all want to deal with a number of very agitated geese on top of all the normal earthquake damage, right? Particularly agitated geese who've scattered this way and that, and so are rather harder to avoid than normal...

---

[ooc: Feel free to use Annie and Finnick's geese as an additional plot device! Just don't kill them ;) ]

[tosavecocoon]

As soon as the earthquake hits, Vanille has her own set of problems. Fortunately, she doesn't have enough animals to cause too much trouble and catching them isn't too difficult. The problem comes with finding the puppy and Bhakti. Once the purple ones are calm again, Vanille leaves them where they won't get into any more trouble before she runs off after the two dogs.

"Bhakti! Raine!" she cries, following the direction the two of them ran in. It takes her a while to track them, following the sound of them and the prints in the grass, although the latter is a bit more difficult to decipher. Could be the animals, could be a person. Either way, eventually Bhakti comes back to her, more comfortable with her than away.

Raine, on the other hand, seems to have found something else to occupy himself with. When Vanille and Bhakti finally find Raine, he's found some other animals to worry with. He's in something of a stand-off with a couple of angry large birds. Watching him, Vanille doesn't think he wants to hurt them. It looks more like he's trying to keep an eye on them.

"Birds, huh?" she says. "Do they belong to someone?"

Raine whines, fixated on the birds, even as he keeps very low to the ground.

"Wanna try herding them back to towards the houses?"

Raine whines again, slinking around to the back of the flock and slowly working them forward. Vanille keeps to the back of the grouping with Bhakti at her side, more because she knows what angry wildlife, and birds especially, can do. Hopefully, they can find the owner of the birds soon. Or, if they don't have one, well... she's just adopted some birds!

John Druitt | OTA

[borneinblood]

Druitt's immediate reaction, when the quakes start, is to get somewhere else. Which isn't bad! Except for the part where his immediate kneejerk reaction is to do so by way of his teleportation; it's only when it fails to do anything that he remembers Helen's comment about any powers that people had previously possessed being stripped away upon arrival. Unfortunately, this is cold comfort when he's still in common room at the Inn while an earthquake is going on.

He's on his feet bare moments after the realization that his teleportation is going to be of no use; while he might not have that option, even he knows that it's probably not the best idea to stay inside during an earthquake.

The earthquake, however, has other ideas and a particularly violent shake has him careening into the furniture instead, which returns the favor by sending him head over heels. Fortunately, he manages to avoid any serious injury, but it's deeply embarrassing to have to dig himself out of tangle when the quake finally stops and he limps his way out of the Inn battered, bruised, more than a little shaken about and quite entirely displeased besides.

(Eventually, he might get around to seeing if anyone else needs assistance. But he needs a moment to deal with his irritation, first.)

Killian Jones | ota

[seekingcrocodile]

Today is a day like most other days for Killian. He started out with some fishing, then dropped his catch at the inn. He stayed around to have some lunch, and then started his afternoon routine. Lately his afternoons have been spent making repairs to the boat he'd found, which are progressing, but slowly. He thinks that soon it will be seaworthy enough to take out on the lake, at least to sail it back to the village so he can complete the repairs there. That would be more convenient, for one thing, and even taking it a short distance close to shore would be more efficient, and then he could still work on finishing the repairs, without having to go as far.

The earthquake, of course, takes him completely by surprise. He's never even experienced one before, as much time as he spent at sea, and has no idea of what to do when it happens.

He's straddling the gunwale of the boat when it strikes, with a tool in his hand, patching a hole in the wood. He's got nothing to hold on to, and he loses his balance and topples to the ground with an audible 'oof.' At least he lands in the grass instead of on something harder. Even so, something is definitely bruised.

He waits for the shaking to subside, then picks himself up gingerly. Nothing seems to be broken. Small blessings. Slowly, one foot in front of the other, he starts to limp his way back to the inn.

Steve Rogers | OTA

[ex_enlisted288]

[ Earthquakes are, oddly enough, something Steve doesn't have much experience in. New York isn't a tremor-rich environment. Not like California, or places even further West. So when things start shaking completely out of the blue, he doesn't realize what's going on first. Only that the rumbling, moving floor beneath his table in the common room is not supposed to be doing that.

And then he slides into a crouch, throwing himself over the nearest person who looks like they're in danger of being hurt.

Afterward, when the earthquake itself has gone, and all they have to worry about is aftershocks, Steve makes an effort to check people on the ground floor, asking perfect strangers if they have medical or first aid training, and then checks the upper floors for any victims who might not have made it down. And when people better at actually administering medical aid are there, he starts checking buildings away from the Inn, prepared to offer help as long as he can. ]

am i taking the easy bait yes i am

[freightcars]

[ So the thing is Bucky's not sure whether or not to be offended that he apparently meets the qualifications for looks like they're in danger of being hurt; that being said he doesn't have much time to protest when Steve practically tackles him to the ground and covers him like an actual god damn meat shield.

The world shakes around them, plaster and splinters falling, things falling off of walls and vibrating off of tables, and distantly for a second he's thinking bombs, that they're experiencing the outskirts of a blast, an explosion. He grips one of Steve's forearms with his flesh one, and throws his metal arm over the back of Steve's neck to protect his head, leaving them in an awkward haphazard embrace.

It lasts too long for an explosion, though- it keeps going, these things never last that long, and once his PTSD-addled brain catches up, dimly he thinks the word earthquake.

Eventually, it stops. Tentatively he lowers his arm, peering out from under Steve's shoulders, face screwed up in disbelief. ]

What the hell?