[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

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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

[oorah]

He wasn't expecting what he said to upset Kira further, watching him get up with a hurt expression of his own. Aurora gets up with him, but Frank doesn't chase either of them. This isn't Reims, he's not Mayor Dad. They can leave if they don't want to hang out with him and his dumb feelings.

"Jesus Christ, why does it mean so much to you? I'll talk to her, okay. Just--" Stop yelling at him!!!!! Frank stretches his legs back out and lets his head thunk back against the wall. "Thanks for sharing your booze." You're free to go.

[3ofswords]

"Because I care about you, and I care about Karen," he says, more like a gauntlet tossed back across a line than real endearment. Twisting the cap back on the bottle, he swings it idly in his hand, hitting that punchy side of terror and liquid courage. "And if you let your bullshit eat her alive, I'll make you spit her out."

The how of it can be left to Frank's imagination, Kira unsteady on unsteady ground, tossing the bottle at his chest. "Fucking keep it, I'm done."

It sounds more final than it is; Kira tells Aurora to stay, and she only follows him to the stairs before a tremor sends her straight back to Frank, whimpering and trying to hide in his armpit.

[oorah]

Frank gets that, he knew it already, but the way Kira says it is still from a place of hurt. It selfishly makes him want to get up and wrap the man in a hug, but he doesn't seem like he's in a place to accept physical kindness either. He settles for hugging the dog, as ever, gathering her to his chest and stroking her spine until she evens out a little. "It's okay, girl. You're safe. I won't let nothin' hurt you. Shhh." It seems to do the trick, Frank's voice like a balm as her ears perk right back up and her tail thumps against the ground.

He looks up at Kira's retreat, attempting to staple him there with his gaze even as he catches the thrown bottle easily and sets it aside. "You don't have to leave, I won't say anything else. I usually don't unless it's you, you know." Talk. Karen and Kira are two of the only people he spares full sentences on. He knows it isn't always what they'd prefer anyway.

[3ofswords]

Kira puts an arm over the railing, another under, eyes closed as he rides out another roll of earth beneath their feet. The steps groan, the building shivers. It's a nauseating kind of fear, and tempting to ease back down with Frank and the dog. As far as earthquakes go, he assumes this one is fucking bad, but--he wants to find his bird, he wants to see Karen with his own eyes. He wants to go find Mark and be given a real task, even if he's too drunk now to do it well.

"I don't care if you talk," he admits, still holding on as the shaking stops. He slides upward, one step taken between the words. "It's fine, Frank. Better than fine. I'm the one who needs to shut the fuck up, and I don't trust myself to do that."

So he'll go. Gold star for self fucking awareness, even if he winds up concussed in a ditch for it. "I'll message you later," he promises, finding the swaying door and pushing out into the inn.