2020.03.26 - Attack of the Killer Not-Quite-Tomatoes
The story continues in: 2020.03.26 - Exactly What Kind of Witch Are You?
The moon is bright tonight, not at all obscured by cloud cover. In the evening, when all of the hustle and bustle of the day has died down, after hours at the park are mostly a quiet affair. Usually there are some sounds coming from the woods, the animals of the forest out and about. Tonight, however, the entire park and the forest beyond are still and soundless. A gentle breeze blows through, shifting fallen leaves and a few pieces of litter tossed carelessly on the ground.
Something called Ciaran to the park on this night. Not too worried about being accused of being a vagrant (this time), he enters the park dressed in a t-shirt borrowed from Jesse and his own dark blue jeans. At some point, he would really need to shop for his own clothes. Tonight, however, he threw on whatever he found and headed to the park. Pausing several yards away from the edge of the woods, he stares into the forest. His head tilts first to the left, then to the right, almost as if he's trying to solve a puzzle. A deep frown crosses his lips and he shakes his head faintly, muttering something under his breath.
Noah had just finished his shift over at the Hidden Grove cafe, still dressed in his usual cartoon cloud shirt fitting tightly to his chest, his dark blue jeans, and black flip-flops. The night air stirs around him, and the silver-eyed boy immediately looks around with a look of concern bordering on confusion painted over his soft face. "Something..." he murmurs to himself, letting himself be guided by the strange pull, the anomaly, following the grip of it as it plays on his curiosity and feeling.
And as such, Noah ends up at the park, drawn toward the dark depths of the local woods. More curiously, he spots someone mere feet away and stares with his silver eyes wide. "Er...Ciaran? Is that you?" he ponders, moving closer to the fellow.
One thing that Jesse is always going on about is how close to the Sylvan Court the Enchanted Forest is. It is very close to the Park to the south of their home. One thing that the Autumn Court is known for is patrolling and monitoring the ways through the Otherworld. Tonight he is planning on an expedition to the Ways to get in some practice. He may or may not have permission to go on Patrol. He was very secretive about the whole thing. Like really secretive. He didn't lie to anyone, but he was very evasive when questioned. He is dressed in leather pants and a sleeveless hooded leather shirt that is laced up in the front. Very Green Arrow of him. He grabbed some of his weapons and he slipped out of the Sylvan Court. He wasn't trying to sneak out, just leave without people noticing. Although, he may be able to move unnoticed. It's hard to cover up his scent, especially from those who are attuned to the blond's scent. Which is where Otis might have noticed him trying to leave the club. When he gets into the forest however, it is his natural element and he is stealthy even in the silent night.
Apparently this is the way that Rinne also goes every night when he does his job of taking care of the souls of the dead. He had just left the club, and he is flying through the air. However no one can see him as he is cloaked in his invisibility. However this time as he comes up the area around the park something is different. He could tell at least that but he couldn't actually sense anything else. However he floated down towards the park, spotting two other people, one he knew and one he didn't know. As soon as he landed he became visible to the two people, Ciaran and Noah. Rinne also held his scythe to him, "I feel that something is amiss going on.. I pass by here every day and night and I haven’t felt like this before, "Rinne says with a bit of a frown. He then looks to Ciaran and Noah, it seems like they know each other.
Otis isn't really one for stealth, so Jesse is probably aware of the big man following him through the night. Jesse's important for a number of reasons, all of them worthy of protecting the kid. The big man doesn't carry any weapons, or any kind of outerwear. If one were to see him, they might think he was out for a stroll. If they didn't see the blonde teenager just ahead of him. The bear's eyesight is pretty good in the dark, but that scent is easily traceable. As they near the edge of the park, Otis growls as the hair stands up on the back of his neck, and he violates the rule of tailing someone by whistling sharply at Jesse and freezing in his tracks. He can see the shadows of the others, and his keen hearing tells him who at least two of the people are, but he's not moving any closer just yet.
Upon hearing Noah's voice, Ciaran turns his head to look at the other man. "It's wrong. It's all /wrong/. Can't you feel it?" His gaze is almost haunted as he stares back into the forest. "It's... dark and twisted and..." Shaking his head firmly, his hands turn to fists at his sides. "FOUL!" he screams out into the forest. As Rinne appears nearby, Ciaran blinks several times rapidly as if caught off guard. Suddenly, his eyes widen and bug out. "Oh my God, they're coming. Can you sense it!?" He's raving like a lunatic now, waving one arm at the forest as he looks directly at Noah. "They're coming now!"
Suddenly bursting forth from the bushes, a host of plant-like creatures spread out on the grass. The plants crawl around on legs of ivy, writhing back and forth to move them forward. Atop several plants, large flowers emitting a sickly sweet stench snap closed before opening again, seeking prey. The other plants are a mass of vines sweeping all around, tendrils ready to wrap around anything they come into contact with. Sensing people nearby, the plants hesitate.
Noah looks to Rinne as he appears near them, and he does open his mouth to say something, but then Ciaran's raving like a lunatic and his own silver eyes are growing wider as he looks over the fellow. Concern sweeps over his face as he reaches forward to rest a hand lightly on Ciaran's shoulder. "Hey, hey, I know. That is why I'm here," he says, wincing at the abject expressiveness of the taller male.
"It's going to be okay, okay?" he intones slowly, purposefully. "Whatever is wrong, we will do our best to fix. That is why we are here, so...hold on to that," he suggests quietly. He doesn't have time to ask about what might be coming, as he snaps his attention toward the plant-like creatures that burst from within the forest. "This...is not good," he murmurs, looking over to Rinne with a small nod. Clearly, something is wrong, and he doesn't quite know what to make of these goings-on. Noah sighs and lets out a huff of breath, remaining as still as possible, hand reaching for his back pocket.
Jesse wasn't expecting to hear the screaming from a frantic Ciaran. He stops the way that he was going. Otis' growl of a warning gets him to turn to look towards the big man. "Oh man. What the hell are they doing out here. And what the hell is going on." He stops to listen to what's going on around him. "Shit. We better get over there. I don't like this. And we will discuss you following me later." He keeps his hood up on his blond head and he pulls two blades from his legs. They aren't the sword that he has on his back. But he's been experimenting with weapons. He darts through the tree's as if they weren't even there. When he comes to the place where Ciaran and the others are... he blinks his ice eyes as he see's things bursting from the bushes. "What the hell is that."
A scream -definitely- isn't good, and Otis grimaces as he hears Ciaran's voice. He can smell the odd scent on the air, and his expression darkens as he begins to remove his clothing, surprisingly quickly for a man his size. Once he's naked, his body begins to shift and change, muscles and tendons rearranging themselves and wiry black hair sprouting all along his body. Dropping to all fours, the big man follows after Jesse even as he finishes his transformation into a giant Kodiak bear who chuffs as he follows Jesse, his nose flaring against the breeze and tracking both the scents he knows and that sickly, -wrong- scent.
Rinne blinks a few times as he sees Ciaran start to panic, and the other man trying to calm him down. Rinne frowns a bit, "What’s coming?" Rinne asked the question to Ciaran. He gave Noah a nod as well as he calms Ciaran down. However Rinne senses that two more souls are nearby...Rinne can feel who they are even. One must be Jesse and one must be Otis, however he spots the plant like creatures crawling out of the forest, "alright guys.. this doesn’t look good.." Rinne says getting into a stance and putting his scythe up in a pose that he is ready for battle, "I can feel Jesse-san and Otis-san.. they are nearby.." Rinne calls out.
For a brief moment, it seems like Noah is actually getting through to Ciaran. He seems to be calming down, at least. He opens his mouth to say something else when the forest bursts into life with man-eating plants. Shrugging Noah's hand off his shoulder, Ciaran yells out "I have to stop it. I /have/ to!" Taking off at full speed, he skids to a halt right at the edge of the woods. Kneeling down, he digs his fingers into the dirt and closes his eyes. Magic pours out of him and into the forest, flooding the area with Fae energy. "I have to undo it," he mutters under his breath. "Have to... counteract it." His voice isn't carrying very far, all of his focus on combating whatever dark magic is at work in the woods.
The hesitation on the part of the plants doesn't last long before they're all heading in different directions in a frenzy. A vined plant rushes at Rinne and another at Jesse. One of the snappers sets off towards Otis. The last four plants, sensing something different about Ciaran and Noah, rocket towards the Fae and witch. Two snappers clamp their petals together and open them again, trained on Noah. The last two vined plants head towards Ciaran, their tentacles lashing out in preparation of wrapping around the Fae. For his part, Ciaran is completely oblivious to the oncoming attack.
Well, that fell apart almost immediately, which does not put any bears worried about the security of three of the people in this park in any better mood. Rather, the opposite. But they're just far enough away that he can't help, and he's got things of his own to focus on. Otis growls when he sees the plant-creatures, and he stops when he spies the snapper heading his direction. He stands, then, on his hind legs, massive paws hanging at his sides, and opens his mouth in a roar that is impossibly loud; akin to that of an alpha wolf, only much more ursine. Challenge issued, the bear growls low as he waits for his opponent to get within range.
Noah doesn't really have time to process exactly what's going on. There's Ciaran, freaking out, but clearly intent on doing something. Noah can feel that familiar energy as it pours out from the fellow, and he focuses his attention on the plants rushing toward them. He reaches into the back pocket of his jeans to procure a large quartz crystal, holding it within his hand as his fingers stroke over its smoothed facets.
Noah kneels down next to Ciaran, slipping quickly out of his flipflops so that he can press his hands and bare toes to the grass, his crystal pressed to the earth. "Power of Nature, by Greenman's Tree, wrap your protection all around me! Power of Nature, Gaia Supreme, lend us your aid, So Mote It Be!" It doesn't take more than a few seconds for the energy within Noah and the crystal held in his hand expands and bursts into a dome of roots ripping and twining from the ground to surround himself and Ciaran. It won't last indefinitely, not by any means, Noah hopes he can at least buy a few moments' reprieve so aid Ciaran in his work.
Rinne glances towards the others for a moment but only a moment as the plants become rushing towards them.. a vined plant attacks him. Rinne rushes in twirling his scythe around and then he moves in quickly and attempts to slash at the vined plant. He has no idea what is going on, but he can at least sense something ominous around.
Jesse just listens to what is going on. When the unnaturally large Kodiak bear follows after him he feels the Fae magic fill the area. He knows who that magic belongs to and he exclaims, "Otis. We have to protect Ciaran. It's his magic that can counter these things." He knows all about Fae magic. His magic is good at cleansing the plants to clear the way for rebirth. He is Autumn Court. The Autumn brings death to plants. The hooded Fae turns on his speed and he sees the vined plant. He is not going to fuck around. That much is certain. If you thought that Jesse's ice blue eyes were bright before, that was nothing. His magic ignites in him and the air around him chills. His blades freeze over. He isn't going to allow the plants an easy path to get to Ciaran. He swings both blades forward and slams his daggers into the earth and a massive power surges from the Fae. His entire body glows with blue light and from the daggers in the ground a massive wall of ice explodes forth. Jesse goes all Elsa on the plants and to add to Noah's protection. The wall of sheer ice grows and cuts off the direct path in front of Ciaran. Once his wall is up, he pulls his daggers from the ground and prepares to take on the plant that was heading his way.
The plants rushing toward Noah and Ciaran don't slow down for a moment, approaching the dome of roots. As Jesse's wall of ice quickly forms, two of the creatures manage to get by first and crashing against the dome. Tentacles beat at it in futility and one of the snappers presses its open bloom against the dome. There's no give at all, though. The other two plants, a vined and a snapper, collide with the ice wall. Shifting gears entirely at the loss of their prey, the snapper rushes at Rinne even as the vined crawls quickly over to join the snapper attacking Otis. Otis' roar doesn't faze the snapper at all as it continues to rush the bear. Once it's nearby, it's "jaws" open wide as it seems to attempt to wrap around the bear's whole head. Further away, Rinne's skill with his scythe is clear as it swings toward the plant nearing him and slices completely through it, the plant falling apart in a mess of ivy and vines.
At the edge of the forest, the bushes begin rustling. Energy is still pouring out from Ciaran, the protected Fae pushing as much of his power as he can into the forest.
Otis grunts at Jesse's instruction, but he's already tracking that snapper and can't really move in that direction yet. He can see -- and feel -- the show of magic, but it doesn't break his focus, and when the snapper gets to him, he's ready, planting his back paws to present a solid wall of bear flesh for the creature to slam into. Massive claws slash at the plant, attempting to rend those jaws before they can get a purchase on the bear's head.
Rinne smirks as he managed to take out one of the plants, but he sees the other plant the snapper coming for him as well, "Oh so there’s more where that came from? Good!" Rinne calls out as he once again comes up and swings his scythe towards the snapper plant, this time it was a swing from the ground up, blade facing plant.
Noah continues to remain in the same position at Ciaran's side within the dome of roots, focusing his energy into the crystal to channel that which he had stored before, doing his best to fuel their protection. It's a powerful spell, though, and Noah continues to strain, digging into the ground with his hands and feet, feeling the earth beneath them as the lets himself become a vessel of the energy flooding through him. It's certainly not going to last much longer at the rate he's going. "Ciaran...how much longer?" he pants.
Jesse did what he was intending to do and that was help Ciaran by throwing obstacles to prevent the other Fae from being attacked. Now it's time to take out the plant that was coming his way and then help take out the rest of these things. With the plant still charging forward to him, Jesse is readying himself. The charges the daggers with the ice magic. His glowing blue eyes never leaving the target. He dances through the tree's like they are people in a club. And when the plant thing gets close enough he unleashes his ice and slice attack. He slashes at the plant to prune it down a bit and then like he did with the Ice Wall. He slams his daggers into the plant and unleashes the frozen energy he charged them with. Plants and Ice don't get along. And he can fight for hours, this is what he is training for.
Jesse's attack on the plant does more than just slice it, the plant freezes solid before shattering completely into slivers of ice. As Otis swipes as the plant attempting to "eat" him, his claws cut cleanly into it. Petals fall into pieces in front of him, the ivy carrying the plant forward collapsing into the mess. Up close, the sweet stench is almost sickening and probably offensive to the bear's keen nose. The vined plant slides forward, tendrils lashing out in an attempt to find purchase on the bear. Rinne's upward slash causes the snapper to actually catch on the scythe, the petals closing around the blade in one final act before it's sliced to death. The pieces fall to the ground, joining the vines already there. However, it leaves a sticky residue and that disgustingly sweet smell on the scythe.
Ciaran hears Noah's words and the strain in his voice. "It's... it's so dark, Noah. Whatever's bewitching these plants feels like poison. Magical poison, there's no other word for it." Beads of sweat drip from Ciaran's forehead as he digs his fingers in deeper. "Don't wear yourself out. I can do this. I just... I just need to keep it up for a little bit longer." There's uncertainty in Ciaran's voice, and his estimate of how much longer it will take to undo the magic sounds like nothing more than a guess and a big dose of hope.
Suddenly, from the forest, two larger plant-creatures make an appearance. These are more sturdy, with six bushy legs to carry them. Large petals fold down to reveal a tall, central shaft of some sticky secretion. Two large vines snake to either side like arms, covered in thorns. The shafts bend forward, aiming at their quarry before the creatures dart towards the men. The first makes its way toward Jesse while the second charges at Rinne.
Otis makes a pained noise as that stench floods his sensitive bear nostrils, and he shakes his head to try and clear it. The vine writhing around is hard to avoid, with his bulk, and he drops to all fours, bringing his weight down as heavily as possible on the seeking plant. Instinctively, he dips his head to bite at it with his massive fangs and possibly tear it apart. If he had tear ducts as a bear, he would -definitely- be crying as that foul, poisonous stench floods every sensitive part of his head. But he bites anyway. Hopefully it won't kill him...that way.
Rinne huhs as his is weapon gets caught up in the snappers mouth, "Why you little.." And then his scythe slashes all the way through. However in the meantime the snappers gunk or whatever is all over the head of the scythe, "Ewwww.. gross.." he says with a disgusted look, but enough about that there are lives at stake as he realizes Ciaran’s in trouble. He spots those plants.. and rushes over towards the dome, he runs and jump at slashes his blade several times against the two plants, the snapper or the vine at the dome, "I'm here guys!" Rinne yelled out.
Noah is clearly at the limit of what he can do as the root dome beings to waiver and starts to untangle slowly. "I...must keep you safe," he admits to Ciaran, not looking up at the fellow next to him as he keeps his focus singularly on his task. "Not...much longer now," he says with a deep, slow breath in and out, his hand gripping firmly around the crystal quartz. "What could have caused this?" he whispers.
"Poison?" Shit, that is one of Jesse's expertise. He knows all about poisons and potions and alchemy. Well he can't help Ciaran with all of these plant. And then those massive creatures appear and he grumbles. Not a normal Jesse witty remark. Just an Otis like grumble. Perhaps the bear has rubbed off on him. He turns his gaze towards the two thorny creatures and he snaps. "I am Jesse Outono, Last Born Prince of the Autumn Court. Protector of the Ways. Bringer of the first chill of Winter." Mother of dragons, breaker of chains... Sure Jesse could add more to the title. The daggers are tossed into the earth, not to use as a conduit as he had previously. But now it is to free his hands. The power is building in him... scary power. The air around him swirls with Fae magic and he taps into the magic in the Earth and the air itself. It is Winter time after all... when his powers are at its peak. His hood flies back and while his eyes were glowing before. The color washes out of Jesse. He looks a whole lot less like an Autumn Fae right now. His hair shocks to silver white and his skin pure alabaster with just those glowing blue eyes. His voice echoes with power and he calls, "ENOUGH!" The best way to describe the unleash of power is a flash freeze. Below Zero temperature blasts out of Jesse and hurls forward towards the giant attacking thorns. But not just those targets are going to be affected as it starts to snow. Not just in the forest around him, In the whole damn city.
Otis' weight crushes the plant beneath the bear, his jaws tearing at the vines reaching for him even as they begin to wilt. Fortunately for him, the vines don't have any of that nasty smell to add to the mix. Rinne's rescue of Ciaran and Noah within the dome has the expected result - the plants are sliced to ribbons. Unfortunately, Rinne's a bit too overzealous with his swinging and his scythe gets stuck in the roots of the dome. It doesn't penetrate deep enough to harm the two within, but it's inconvenient nonetheless. As the dome begins to untangle itself, the scythe comes free, although it now has pieces of root stuck to it because of the earlier plant's stickiness. As the root dome withdraws into the ground, Ciaran's breathing is heavy. "I don't know," he answers Noah. There's passion in his eyes and conviction in his voice as he adds "But you'd better fucking believe I plan on finding out."
That's about the moment that Jesse unleashes his power and causes winter to come storming in. Ciaran shivers as the snow begins to fall, but doesn't waver as he attempts to counteract the magic. The two sticky thorns turn to ice immediately, unmoving. A moment passes, then another, and suddenly they shatter like the plant did earlier. Ciaran's breath is heaving now, the magic shifting in his body as it attempts to mend the tear of magic in the forest causing these changes to the plants.
Just when it seems like the tide is turning, Ciaran's gaze darts toward the woods again. "No, no, no. I've almost got it, but there's still more. This one's... this one's bigger. Bigger!" he calls out over his shoulder. No sooner does he yell the words to the others than the largest creation thus far ambles out of the forest. It's a living, moving tree. Its roots have been pulled from the ground and pierce the grass as it walks forward, leaving upheaved dirt in its wake. The tree is ten feet tall and moves slowly, with no low-hanging branches but several larger ones up top. As it walks, it shakes its boughs and releases pine needles everywhere like a porcupine shooting quills. Add a touch of snow, and all you need is lights to make it a proper Christmas tree.
Otis makes a satisfied grunting noise as the vine withers, and he pulls his claws through the debris to be certain that it's dead. He can feel the shift in the air as Jesse calls on his power, and then suddenly it's full-on winter, with driving snow and other inconveniences. The bear looks to the princeling, and moves in that direction, chuffing a bit as he shakes snow from his massive back. His keen ears pick up Ciaran's voice over the wind, and he pauses, looking around until the final boss reveals itself. The bear watches the tree advance, inhaling sharply once before he grunts, and pulls himself back on his hind legs. Clearly two feet taller than the killer tree, the bear surges forward, claws raised to deliver as many slashes as possible. He's sharpened his claws on bigger timber than this poor sap.
Rinne was at least thrilled that he had chopped the two small plants down but he gets his scythe stuck in the dome, "Shimata!" Rinne yells out in his own language, as he pulls and pulls on it until it gets unstuck, moving back a bit with the force, "Ughh.." Rinne says looking at his weapon and branches are on his scythe now due to the stickiness on the top of it. And what makes matters worse is he hears the big 'boss' coming and it’s a tree, "Well.. think we may have gotten to the root of the problem.." he points out, however he sees the thorns coming or the pine needles and his bracelet that he wears on his wrist, the 'hoop of judgement' grows as big as a hula hoop, hoop becomes a barrier as he tries to protect Ciaran and Noah from the pine needles and himself as well. However, the weather was bitter cold, good thing he is wearing two layers of clothing.
And with the last of the energy in his crystal spent, the roots begin to pull away and slither back to the ground, his energy severed from the spell. "Augh," he groans, straightening up next to Ciaran, staggering as he rests a hand on Ciaran's side. "I...can't keep the barrier up, but...I can lend my energy to your work, if you will allow," he says, his eyes glowing silver as he all but wraps his arms around Ciaran's waist, looking at the snow and everyone as they do their part--Rinne, Jesse, and Otis--and he closes his eyes and focuses his energy into Ciaran's spell, opening himself up as he focuses on this one singular task.
Jesse has a bit of ice magic at his disposal but he is not used to tapping into it all at once. And he really isn't used to using this magic so close to the Ley lines of power. He was a conduit for the Fae magic. He created a big blizzard that is now going to be snowing down on the entire city and area around them. As Giant-Bear Otis comes by him, he smiles and then the now white haired teenage Fae drops to his knees. "Get it Otis." He isn't spent, however he is a bit drained for the moment. And he probably couldn't call on some magic just yet. He is panting as he tries to recover. Give him a moment and if Otis needs his help, he will jump in.
Rinne's hoop achieves its objective, completely blocking the oncoming needles from hitting him or the two trying to undo the spell. For his part, Otis' size is definitely an advantage against the tree. As the big bear lunges forward and begins clawing at the offending pine, the tree immediately stops its assault of needles. With no other method of attacking or defending itself, it's at the mercy of the bear. And Otis isn't being particularly merciful right at this moment. The tree, halted in its forward progress, shudders as pieces of bark and branches go flying. It gives Ciaran and Noah the opportunity they needed to focus.
With Noah lending his energy, Ciaran is able to push back the flow of magic. "I've got it," Ciaran whispers to himself. "It's DONE!" he yells out loudly. The magic flares once, suddenly, and then dies down in the forest. With that, the giant tree loses momentum and collapses to the side into the snow. Ciaran's fingers are still digging into the dirt though, and he whispers words of power to Nature itself. Slowly, the grass reaches up, growing tall and wrapping around the remains of the plants. As they are drawn down into the ground, which opens up to receive them, the only thing left is the impression in the snow where the tree fell. Even that is slowly covered up with bits of white.
His energy spent, Ciaran collapses to the ground. Falling face-first into the snow, he completely passes out.
Rinne smirks as the needles hit his barrier and hit off of it, bouncing here and there. He was glad to have saved Noah and Ciaran from those needles so that they can concentrate on other matters, and then suddenly it was done.. the magic.. Rinne watches the tree fall over like it was dead, "TIMBER!!!" Rinne calls out with a grin and then he turns to face Ciaran, "Ciaran... " Rinne then turns toward the others, "Otis-san!" Rinne calls out, "He's still alive, just.. worn out.. why don't you take him to the club?" Rinne asks and then he turns towards the new guy, "Rokudou Rinne.." Rinne says, introducing himself, "Are you... okay?" Rinne asks.
Noah winces as the spell finishes, then looks to Ciaran who is collapsing onto the ground face-first. "C-Ciaran!" he yells, shaking the fellow. "A-Are you okay?" He looks to the forest, feeling that things are much more in balance, and then hugs Ciaran lightly. "You did it," he whispers, that look of concern still on his face. And, now, for the first time, Noah is able to look up at Rinne, Otis, and Jesse, his silver eyes glowing pale in the night. He slips his crystal back into his pockets and gets to his feet, slowly, uncoordinatedly, slipping them back into his flip-flops. "We....should get him out of the snow, where he can rest," he says to Rinne, not quite introducing himself properly in the least.
Otis is a woodworker of the first class, even in bear form. He knows the weak spots on even killer trees, and his blows are swift and deadly. Obviously. When the magic is disrupted by Ciaran and the tree drops, the bear stands there watching it until the grass claims it and the snow begins to cover it up. Then, slowly, the bear begins to shift and fat, fur, and muscle melt away into the big man. He looks around at the others, checking Jesse and Rinne to ensure they're all right. Then he spots Ciaran, and he's moving in that direction. "Home," is his confirmation for Rinne. He crouches next to Ciaran, then, gently brushing the snow from him before lifting him and carefully slinging him over a massive shoulder. Noah gets a long look before the bear grunts something that might be a thank-you, and stands, his bits swaying in the cold air (and unaffected by it). He pauses, waiting for a moment to see if Jesse is coming, as well, eyebrows hiked inquisitively.
Jesse is fine. And when Ciaran neutralizes the dirty magic, and then Otis finishes off the tree. He looks relieved. The Fae goes and he picks up the two daggers that he threw into the ground. He sticks them into his boots and then he says. "As much as I love the view big guy. You're going to scare the locals if they see you walking around naked. Too hot to handle." He doesn't have his cold magic right now but he has his Fae glamour and he glamours up some clothes to cover Otis in the same thing he was wearing before he tore through his clothes. Jesse then says, "I can't turn off this storm. But I can tell you, it's going to get worse before it gets better." With a wiggle of Fae powers from Jesse, Ciaran glamours back to human as well.
Noah can't help but outright stare at Otis, his eyes wide as they're inevitably drawn downward. It takes the boy a moment to clear his throat and look to Ciaran. "Is...he going to be okay? I'd like to go with him, I'm...I'm worried." It doesn't really surprise him to see Ciaran with pointed ears, knowing he is Fae anyhow, but it is something he'll certainly remember. He looks to Rinne and Jesse, quite the intensity in the boy's eye.
Rinne looks at Noah, "Yes we should.." he watches Otis take a hold of Ciaran, "He.. did good.." Rinne then turns back towards Noah, "I think that would be okay, but I would like to know your name though perhaps?" Rinne asks, "How do you know Ciaran?" he asks curiously, "And I think Ciaran will be okay, he just needs some rest,"
Otis doesn't look terribly thrilled with Noah coming along, but the kid -did- help keep Ciaran alive. He nods agreement with Rinne, motioning with one hand, indicating first Jesse, then the group at large. "Home," he repeats, his voice weary and brooking no real argument on the subject as he turns and heads in the general direction of the Court. "Now."
The story continues in: 2020.03.26 - Exactly What Kind of Witch Are You?