sixthiterationlogs | if the sky can crack [OTA mingle]

Hail had been falling for two days now, peppering the ground and shredding the grass but rather than melt away like a late spring storm it had only intensified, growing in diameter and moving from a mild annoyance to damned near deadly. As the storm raged, ice flew up through updrafts and was forced back to earth in the downdraft, accumulating layer after layer of murky debris until it went hurtling toward the earth with wicked accuracy.

Shingles were ripped from roofs, the wind howled and lightning cracked. The hail had driven both humans and animals into the safety of the indoors, to the dark corners of buildings that might withstand the assault. With only candlelight and the hushed voices of villagers to stave off fear and boredom, the storm raged like a sentient being heedless of those who might be caught in the path.

After the storm, a calm came over the land and weak sunlight glinted off smoke-tinged ice. Steam rose from the melt and humidity was thick in the air; petrichor hung heavy, a soothing scent after a savage display of natural fury.

[OOC: Your hail mingle post. Feel free to have characters on the run, gathering animals or inside the Town Hall waiting out the storm.]

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There were three that had broken away from the herd. The nannies had followed the herd of cattle, having better sense than their male counterparts. ~~Wasn't that always the way of things?~~ One of the billies was making a dash towards the forest, likely thinking to return to where she had found him the year before. She would let Sam wrangle the two that were still in the field, she couldn't let the other get too far.

By the time she manages to catch and carry the errant billy back, Sam has already lassoed one of the others. "Did you see where the other one went?" She asked, looking around frantically. Of course it was Florian the Fool that disappeared. Damned creature was likely charging into a house or caught in a bramble patch. He seemed to forever live up to his name. "He's wearing a yellow ribbon. He should be easy to spot."

She let out a low whistle, sending Gilbert to begin sniffing him out. "He can't be far. Florian doesn't wander too far away from the station." Unlike the others. She at least had some luck on her side.

As a soldier, and then as an Avenger, you had to pay attention to a lot of different things on the battlefield. True, in this case he was battling goats, but the principle of paying attention and staying alert still applied. He's already pulling on the goat to start getting it back to the police station.

"I saw a flash of yellow head off in that direction -- towards one of the ruined houses," it was relatively close to the police station and, now that Sam thought about it, it might have even been his first place to stay. "Want me to take these and you go after him or what?" It seemed foolish to abandon all the other animals to go after one. They needed to secure this group first.

For a moment she wondered if Florian was racing back to the home she had before the earthquake, but he went the wrong direction and he would not know the place. She had brought him from the woods after she moved. Wherever he was going, he had no clear direction or sense.

"I will take these." She said, grabbing hold of the ribbons about their necks, slowly pulling them back towards the station. "It won't take much to put them in their cell now. Go after Florian. He will get hurt if he wanders to far away." Or something would attack him. She hadn't forgotten about that creature that had been brought from the woods.

Sam nodded, heading in the direction he'd seen the ribbon-marked animal. The hail was starting to get worse, making him even wince a few times when it struck. He wished he had better tracking skills to make this easier. But, the animal was most likely looking for shelter. Sam ducked into the unstable building, listening as it accumulated more holes. He paused, listening, and caught the sound of bleating.

"There you are," he muttered, heading in the direction of the sound. A few minutes and more bruises later and he had another member of the livestock in his arms, heading back.

After a few minutes, as the hail fell more steadily, Margaery felt herself become more anxious for Sam. She watched from the doorway of the police station, wondering if she should look for him. The question was thankfully answered as Sam emerged from the house, Florian in his arms. She let out a sigh of relief, rushing out to meet him.

"Are you hurt?" She glanced over him quickly, quickly depositing Florian back in his cell.

It was hard to move fast with a goat, but Sam did his best. He ducked into the police station next to Margaery, letting her handle putting the goat back in its cell. "A few bruises...nothing major," he said, mostly as an automatic response. The injury to his arm was starting to throb a little, which probably meant he shouldn't be lugging around any more livestock.

He might also have a cut on his forehead, but he doesn't notice it just yet.

"The animals all okay?"

"They are fine as far as I can see, only a little spooked." She said, glancing towards him after latching the cell. There was a stream of blood along his forehead, small but enough to catch her attention. Wordlessly, she collected a bit of cloth, quickly wetting it and pressed it against his brow. "Thank goodness this is all you received in way of injuries. I think you might survive."

She grinned, giving him a small nudge.

"Do you want to sit a moment before we go to town hall?"

Good. He didn't have to worry about losing some animals then. Hopefully they'd calm down in a little bit--if the storm would grow steady or die down instead of getting worse. He's a little surprised when she moves in, but then realizes he had a cut on his forehead among his injuries. He looks at the blood on the cloth and the fact that it isn't dripping into his eye tells him it's a small cut.

"We risk the storm getting worse...but the animals might settle faster if we hang around a bit and keep them calm," he replied. It might be better, too, to wait it out a bit and see if it started to get better. "We can spare a few minutes I think."

He made a good point and she needed to consider the best interest of her animals. Her cow was pregnant and needed to be cared for and kept calm. It was clear from the noises that the animals were making that they were frightened by the hailstorm and anxious. She pulled over two chairs, setting them beside the cells.

She gestured to the other chair, "I wish I had something for us to eat or drink." This storm caught her by surprise, and knowing the storms in this place, it was likely that it would last longer than a day.

"It'd be nice...but I think we'll manage without," Sam said, trying to be reassuring. It wasn't like they were facing a blizzard again. It was unlikely they would be trapped in this make-shift barn. "Normally I have rations in my pack...but I didn't even bring my pack with me. Shows how much I thought ahead on this," Sam added. He kept a couple of different things in there, important for emergencies. But he'd started to slack again, walking around the village and not having it on him at all times. He'd learn from his mistake this time he hoped.

if the sky can crack [OTA mingle]

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