ArchivedLogs:Bitter Harvest

Bitter Harvest
Dramatis Personae Faelan, Ducky, Ross, Sophie, Kai
In Absentia	2013-07-05 Things get ugly near the carnival.
Location <WES> Harvest Moon Farm - Westchester
Open to the public year-round, this farm has been run by the Moon family since the turn of the century, though it has changed quite a bit over the years. The pick-your-own fruit orchards and cut-your-own Christmas tree farms are popular seasonally, and the jams they sell here are renowned throughout the state. By far the most popular draw of this location, though, is the back acres of the farm, which in spring and fall play host to a Renaissance faire, complete with jousting, minstrels, and all manners of food and crafts and entertainment. It's a lovely day for fruit picking! The orchards out behind Harvest Moon Farms (seriously? That's their name?) are ripe with brilliant red Sparta apples; delicious and crisp and crunchy and FILL YOUR BASKETS WITH AS MANY AS YOU'D LIKE. There are also -- watermelons! And strawberries! And /blueberries/ om nom nom nom. The four students are each given a large basket, a nice big straw-hat (to keep the blistering sun out of their eyes and off their shoulders), and the freedom to pick whatever they'd like! After the first few minutes of picking, though, one of them is bound to notice an unusual anomaly -- the remains of the Madame Web Carnival (still in the process of being packed up) is stashed behind the farm, close to the pick-your-own-fruit orchids. Trucks are brimming with all manner of rides; tents have been broken down -- trailers are being pulled back up on their wheels. But that isn't the unusual bit. No, the unusual bit would be Sophie -- red hair tucked up, clad in a casual blouse and skirt -- wandering boredly among the carnival trailers, as if looking for someone -- stepping just along the borders of the pick-your-own-fruit orchid. The expression on her face is -- odd. Annoyed, in a decisively /un-Sophie/ way. But when her eyes briefly alight on the students in the field, she pauses -- eyebrows darting up -- and suddenly, a glazed, confused expression settles over her face. Apples and fruit gathering seems like a safe enough event, and Faelan figures it is good to get out with all the others. He is dressed for the rediculous warmth of July, wearing a pair of long shorts, tennis shoes and a shirt in dark greens. With a few apples already in the basket, he sees Sophie in the distance, and with a smile he gives a wave, though her confusion causes a frown. He does however take out his school phone, and scrolling through the saved numbers, he texts her a hello. To say Kai is excited by this impromptu trip to the farms would be underselling it. The young teen practically bounced the entire way to Harvest Moon, and there's a smile on his face that won't go away. The floppy hat is a nice addition to his attire of a green tank-top and cargo shorts that only highlight his thin, pale legs. Taking his basket, he works among the blueberry bushes, chattering away happily to whoever is within earshot. "We did not grow things such as these on the farm where I was born. We only grew rice and grain. This is much better." The chatter dies off as a blueberry is snagged for nomming. It's rubbed gently on his shirt before he pops it in his mouth, chewing slowly as he looks towards the remains of the carnival, and the familiar form of his friend. There's a brow furrow, and a slow head-tilt, but the boy does not greet her just yet. He seems more intent on studying her. Floating in the air above the brightly dressed girl with purple highlights is a mist of both boredom, excitement, pheromones, and possible contempt. Ross could never tell. She had no idea who these people she followed were, she just followed them so that she could get out of that boring mansion. Anything was good with her, though. She grabbed her basket, pretended to smile, and silently, slowly followed behind. She obviously wasn't in a good mood, which was rare for her. She spent a few moments looking around for a way out to the city, but decided against it. She'd have to make these impromptu friend-esque people WORK. This is the first time Ducky has been off campus in weeks, but the offer of fresh fruits and the safety of a farm was enough to bring her out of her dorm and out with friends. She is wearing a pair of long, worn blue jeans of a random off brand, and a hooded short sleeve shirt, the dappled gray and white pigeon that is her constant companion nestled into the hood of her shirt. Her tawny hair is a bit fluffy, peeking out from beneath the floppy straw hat and ruffling in the wind as she walks about through the blueberry bushes, a row over from where Kai is picking fruit. She's being oddly picky with what berries she chooses, and her basket isn't that full, and a handful of little finches are bouncing about through the bushes in front of her, pointing at berries occasionally. Once in a while, another bird will fly over and drop a few berries gently into her basket before joining the crew in the bushes in front of her. "Yeah - berries like this are kinda huge in this area. They grow wild around here, too. But it's easier to pick them here, 'cause you can't get poison ivy or anything from going to the wrong place," Ducky idly responds half to Kai, half to the birds around her for no reason. She doesn't really notice Sophie wandering off, and continues picking the berries until things are pointed out to her. Sophie is-- confused! Entirely. By this whole thing. She's holding a hand to her head and frowning a little as she approaches the group of students, though she has managed a faint sort of smile. "Uh, hey, guys.. I guess I wandered off?" Clearly she is entirely uncertain about what the heck is even going on here! So she approaches Kai and Faelan, mostly, since she's better acquainted with the two of them and actually. Doesn't recognize Ross at all. Though a little wave is indeed given to the two girls regardless. "Sorry about that. Um, I guess I'm just super tired lately. I didn't worry you or anything did I?" It's around this time that there seems to be some stirring back on the carnival grounds; Sophie's sudden flash of confusion -- followed by her approach toward the other students -- has not gone unnoticed! There are now three people approaching the group of students, breaking off from the carnival grounds. There's Person A -- we'll call him 'Mr. Muscle', because he's a /huge/ McBeefcake in a green-and-black striped muscle-shirt, with short reddish-brown hair cut in a sharp widow's peak -- is flanked on both sides by Person B (we'll call him 'MeltyFace', because -- he kind of looks like Freddie Krueger! Lots of burn scars, and a trilby hat, along with a brown shirt with sleeves rolled up and jeans) and Person C (we'll call him 'Toady', because he looks -- actually kind of Toady. A little green, lanky, clad in a loose fitting green jersey and untucked white shirt, also with jeans). They're coming up behind Sophie, their strides steady and sure -- Mr. Muscle's face is locked into a scowl; MeltyFace is wiping his nose with the back of his hand -- Toady is, uh, /picking his nose/. In a sort of 'Fuck-You-I'll-Pick-Whatever-I-Want-To' sort of way. It's Mr. Muscle who speaks, as they approach -- still about ten yards behind Sophie. When he does, his accent is thick, speaking in a language probably no one here is familiar with -- a Latverian dialect of Romani: "{What are you doing? Come with us--}" Mr. Muscle begins, before eyeing -- the other children -- and just kind of freezing. With the other two. Toady's still picking his nose. "Hello Sophie. We didn't know you were gonna be here really, but its good to see you. Are you alright?" Faelan tilts his head a moment then gives a shrug and glances to the others. "We didn't think the carnival was going to be here still either. Were you.." he breaks off as the people show up, and he blinks a few times. "Do you know those guys?" He frowns and looks to the others, seeing if anyone was out of range. Kai frowns as Sophie approaches, and there's a glimmer of yellow that rings his irises as he lifts his hand in a wave. "Hello, Sophie," he says, offering a small smile as he studies her a bit more. "It is probably the sun making you tired. Where are your hat and basket?" Because clearly, she should have been issued these, as well. "We are here with Ducky," he says, finding the older girl and pointing in her direction. "And that is Ross. She is new to the school." Then there are PEOPLE joining them, and his eyes widen a bit, the yellow beginning to flicker as he shifts between the three. When the biggest of them speaks, he actually takes a step backward, giving Sophie a confused, questioning look. Ross suddenly snaps out of her boredom trance, seeing the creepy people. AND NONE OF THEM ARE HOT! She holds her hands together, watching intently. No one, absolutely no one, will ruin her boredom. Unless they'll kill her. Then ruin her boredom all you want. She steps back towards everyone else. She takes a deep breath, stretching her tank top a bit, and watching. Waiting. Ducky offers a small wave to Sophie, although she isn't as familiar with the other girl, but has seen her around the school before. She starts moving towards the others, since safety and numbers are a good thing and she is more than a little bit jumpy being off campus. She glances between her school mates and the three people approaching from behind. She wrinkles her nose a bit at the trio, especially at the one digging in his nose. The birds that were previously chirping in the bushes fall silent as Ducky starts to get nervous about the approaching three, especially after the speech in the unknown language. When she's addressed in /Latverian/, Sophie's initial instinct is to reply back in-- French? "{I'm sorry, but I do not speak much good French.} Wait, is that French? {Speak more slowly, please?}" But she still seems. Entirely confused! And even moreso at Faelan and Kai's replies. "Wait, didn't I come here with you guys?" She looks around a bit, and suddenly finds herself really preferring the company of her friends to this group of large men, and thus she sort of edges a bit closer to the boys. "I think I'm... really not sure what's going on, and I have no idea who they are." "{Shit,}" Toady says, still speaking in Romani -- his eyes swinging back over to Muscle and Melty. Booger is extracted from nose and /flicked/ furiously aside. "{Her friends--the mind-worm's getting too weak to control her. S'gonna croak.}" "{Let her go,}" Melty says, suddenly. "{Not worth the risk.}" Muscle is suddenly /grinning/. Big and wide and with a bright flare of those rows of white, small teeth: "{Better idea. Why don't we just,}" and now he's gesturing to the four children, even as his eyes survey the orchard -- looking around to see who else is watching. "{--take them /all/ to Web.}" "{We don't know what they can do,}" Toady responds, a little nervously. He's bobbing, now, a little hop from one leg to the next, as if nervous. "{No,}" Melty agrees, and now a tiny little spark crackles along the cracks of his eyes, swirling and dancing along his irises. A tiny-grin peeking up through that mass of scar-tissue. "{But we know what /we/ can do.}" "Hey, kids," Muscle is now saying, stepping forward gently -- those massive arms of his swinging out in what /could/ be a very warm, very welcoming hug for ALL of them! "Just relax. I think there's been a bit of a mix up here, yes?" His voice is deep! A rumbling avalanche that starts in the chest. It's also notably thick with -- a weird accent. Slavic? Well, Latverian -- but no one here is likely to realize that. When Sophie denies knowing the three men, that's all Kai needs to hear, and he drops his basket, holding out his hand. "Come over here, Sophie," he says, his trembling voice undercutting his confident pose. "Where it is safe." He frowns. "Saf/er/." When the big man steps forward, there's a visible tremble that runs through Kai, and he shakes his hand. "We should go home." It might be to the big man, or to his friends, but he definitely seems confident about /that/. Ross's first reaction is to reach out for someone, anyone. She places her hand to the person closest to her, leaning in to tap them subconciously. Inside, her teeth are gnarling, and she wants to punch someone. No one threatens her and gets away with it. She makes a small shrill, speaking for the first time, both scared, stubborn, and anxious. "What do we do....?" Holding out a hand in front of him to indicate halt, Faelan looks to Sophie. "Sophie come over here with us we should probably get going yes?" He nods to Kai at his words, and glances to the other girls judging distances. "I think we are going to be going home now sir. We have enough fruit, we do not need to go anywhere near the Carnival." His hand goes to his pocket and starts pulling his phone out, since panic buttons are a xavierites best friend. Ducky moves even closer to the others, chewing on her lower lip nervously and staying near Kai and Faelan, although she seems loathe to let go of the basket of berries her feathered friends have been helping her pick. "Um, I think, yeah, we should probably go home. Home is good. 'sgetting really kinda hot and I think we should go. Before we get heat stroke, or, um, anything," she rambles hugging her basket of berries to her protectively like a shield. Within moments after Faelan starts talking about leaving, she is pretty much right next to him, not really wanting to get left here in the event of anything going down. Sidling in behind Kai, Sophie rests one of her hands on his arm, holding on to him as a means of making herself feel a bit more /comfortable/ with this situation. When Faelan pulls his phone out, though, her tone shifts slightly as she adds, "I don't think you need to go that far, we can handle this on our own." Ducky's basket is noted and, perhaps a bit inappropriately, she leans forward to /pluck/ a berry out and pop it into her mouth. Danger doesn't mean berries aren't delicious!! ... But oh, right, big guy. "Yes," she nods quietly, her voice sounding appropriately normal again. "A mix-up. Which is why we're going to be leaving now." Toady is back to picking his nose again. Seriously, dude seems to be looking for /treasure/. That nervous agitation is still present, though; he's almost /hopping/ from foot to foot as he watches the group clustering tighter together, sees their apprehension... "{Remember. Phones.}" "{We doing this?}" Melty asks, as if to confirm, throwing a quick glance toward Muscle. "{For real? Shit goes wrong, we could get in a fuckton of--}" "{Nobody's watching. Perfect opportunity,}" Muscle says, still grinning, arms outstretched -- not taking another step forward, though. "{Fry their phones.}" And then, with a nod, Melty turns -- glancing toward the four -- and slooooowly drops to the ground. Like he was assuming the position before a squad of police cars. A crooked smile fitted to his face. His palms flatten out across the soil, fingers digging in... and then his eyes /crackle/, as winding paths of lightning jump and weave between his knuckles. There's a sharp, unusual whining sound. And then, there's a FWOOSH -- and an unusual, prickly static feeling. Anything electronic on any students' person has just gotten SMACKED with a miniature EMP. Tendrils of smoke rise up from Melty's clothes; his teeth are grit, that grin suddenly much /harder/ and maybe a bit pained. "Toasted," he says. Muscle's grin gets bigger. And suddenly, his arms are -- /swelling/. As his feet seem to /melt/ into the ground. His skin and clothes beginning to take on an unusual coarse, yellowish texture. "Everything's fine, kids," he informs them. "This'll only hurt for, like, /maybe/ ever." As mister panic button ceases to be an option, Faelan blinks, looks to his phone, looks to the others, then looks to the creepy guys, then back to his phone. "We're going to be in So much trouble." Glancing to the others real quick, he starts edging backwards. "We should run, run first and run fast. Plan B, stay in range... arm width of me. Run Now!." He starts pushing at the others to get them moving if they aren't so inclined. Ross just saw maybe the most terrifying thing ever. Giant melty man goo. She completely turns around, screaming, running as fast as her nimble figure can take her. Luckily not tripping, she keeps within pace of the others, screaming the whole time. The tingle that sweeps over Kai is too close to other electrical tingles, and his eyes snap into yellow lightning as he begins to push Sophie backwards. A hand comes up to pull Ducky along as well. "I like Faelan's plan," he offers. "With the running. It is a good one." Then he is beginning to demonstrate, his shoe-clad feet making the effort difficult, at best. It's really more of a quick hobble, at the moment. A very quick hobble. At the conversation in a foreign tongue, Ducky tilts her head to the side in confusion, staring, as though if she just stares owlishly enough, they will start speaking English. Or bird. Either would make more sense to the be-pigeoned girl than what she is currently hearing. When the whining pop and strangled electronic whine indicate that her phone is now dead, Ducky's eyes go wide in terror, "Oh. Oh shit. No... no no no." The basket is, in a moment, half dropped and half flung, the berry haul forgotten. She doesn't really need too much encouragement from the others, and as soon as Faelan says to run, she is moving, hands scrabbling about to grab hold of Faelan and Kai, figuring that keeping people close would be good. She's surprisingly good at running, and easily keeps pace. The pigeon on her shoulder has now turned around to watch the three men from the safety of her hood, tiny black eyes keeping the men in sight. If nothing else, the benefit to skirt-wearing is that there's nothing around Sophie's feet to trip her up. She's even got bike shorts on under it to prevent any unfortunate exposures. When Kai starts pushing her back, she's this close to falling over entirely, but she gets her balance well enough to take a few backwards-steps before whirling around and. Running. That-a-way. One arm is thrust forward to try to keep a grip on the back of Faelan's shirt, the other hand reaching out to grab hold of anyone who might be behind her, but otherwise she's in full-on panic-mode. "{Fuck, they're running,}" Toady says, but this isn't a complaint; it's more of a laugh, wheezy and relieved. Meanwhile, Muscle's arms continue to expand -- his entire /body/ expands, in fact; he's swelling into a larger and larger figure -- his features becoming fuzzy and indistinct, lost as his skin and clothes grow coarse -- becoming a growing statue made out of /sand/. His arms extend -- /whipping/ outward like two waves, each swinging in a sudden /rush/ of grit for opposite sides of the retreating group of children -- like two sheep-dogs attempting to herd the flock into a single-file line. As the waves extend, Muscle stops swelling -- and starts /shrinking/, his size rapidly dwindling as he expels his mass in pursuit of the children. The two waves are then /meeting/, slamming into each other just ahead of the children -- to form a 3 foot wall looped around them -- which is suddenly, violently /retracting/, attempting to scoop them up and back toward Muscle -- who is now swelling once more, as he /retracts/ the sand he extended. "{Five for the price of one,}" Melty says, rising to his feet with a slight waddle. "{Don't /suffocate/ these ones, Sandy.}" "{Fuckoff,}" the heap of sand groans, the sound more or less what you'd expect from a man who's currently gargling a heaping pile of /sand/. Apparently it isn't /easy/ to talk when he's doing this. As Ross runs, the shadows grow, until they are cornered in the wall. She begins backing towards the others, as close as possible JUST TO BE NEAR SANE PEOPLE. She breathes heavily, but then remembers her power. She then realizes she's fighting a beast of sand, and starts hypervenilating again, and trips, breaking her ankle, as she screams out in pain, unable to move. Kai is easily towed along, and isn't looking back to see where their pursuers are. So the slamming of the sand walls around them brings him to a skidding halt. "No," he says, shaking his head violently. "No, no, no, no." It's a panicked sort of mantra that only picks up as the wall of sand beings moving towards them. Then -- it's gone. And while the panic is not gone from his expression, the younger boy looks at Faelan with a bit of awe. And maybe a little bit impressed. "That was very helpful." Ducky is not willing to let go of Kai, although she's apparently not able to keep up with Faelan as easily, and she ends up grasping at air instead of snagging hold of his shirt. Grimacing a bit, she picks up the pace, still dragging Kai along as best she can, the floppy hat flying off her head at some point in her run, fluttering along on the breeze at the remaining imposing, chasing men. Her steps falter slightly as the sand walls form around them, cutting off their apparent exit. And then they are gone. Just like that. She blinks at Faelan, brown eyes wide in surprise, managing to wheeze, "Holy crap." Bringing up the rear - though only by a foot or so - Sophie almost slams into Kai's back when he stops at the wall, letting out a little yelp of, "Kai!", as she approaches. She DOES stop just in time, but when he starts to shake his head, she's in there wrapping her arms around him-- protectively, almost? Though there's some sense that she's kind of afraid of him potentially /flipping out/ which wouldn't be a good idea even in this situation. She suspects. But once the sand vanishes, she just sort of looks a little shell-shocked. "What the--" Oh, right, teleporting. She knew that. It's at this point that she notices Ross on the ground and asks, looking to the other students with an expression that's gradually becoming more helpless, "Guys, um, does anyone know first aid?" "{What--}" Toady's eyes /pop/ open as Muscle just -- vanishes. Like that. There one second, FWOOMP -- gone the next. Melty's response is a little more vicious; there's a soft 'tsssst', an exhalation of breath -- and suddenly he's stepping /way/ back, pedaling away from the children. "{/FUCK/,}" he exclaims, and then follows it up with: "FUCK." And: "{Get out of here. Now. /Shit/. Shit shit shit, this was so fucking stupid--}" He's turning to /run/, just -- booking it for the carnival. Because he has absolutely no clue what the fuck just happened, beyond -- one of his dudes apparently just DISINTEGRATED. Toady throws a frightened glance over his back, toward the carnival -- and then he /bounces/, leaping a good -- 20 feet into the air! Like a little bouncy ball, just -- FWOOP! Zoom! Then he's skipping back toward the carnival himself, at full tilt, apparently to run off and tell Madame Mommy that the bad children just disintegrated his /bro/. Meanwhile, in the middle of Pigeon Forge, Tennesee -- there is a little restaurant on a corner entitled 'HAPPY DAYS DINER'. It's got an Elvis statue out front playing guitar; the front entrance looks like a juke-box. A waitress named Stacy is popping gum as she takes an elderly couple's order; fries and a milkshake. When suddenly, directly behind her, an 8 FOOT TALL MONSTER OF SAND APPEARS. "{...what the /FUCK/?!}" the monster roars. Cut to exterior of diner: DOZENS OF PEOPLE RUNNING OUT, SCREAMING THEIR HEADS OFF. Ross has basically gone silent. Bone breaks for her are way worse than someone else, mainly because her bones are as fragile as twigs. She begins writhing in pain, unable to lift her ankle at all. She'll be unable to walk on it for atleast a few weeks, but was lucky to have not broken anything else. She looks up to them, completely ignoring the vanishing sand monster. "Uh...A LITTLE HELP?" "I can, but not now. No not now at all. We don't know if they're coming back with someone who can do worse." Faelan kneels down looking to Ross. "Um, I think I'm the only one big enough to carry you. Its probably going to hurt like crap, at least till the endorphins set in. Don't go into shock please, but the bouncing leg is going to hurt." He is careful, well as careful as a gangly eighteen year old can be picking up another student. "I hope you don't weigh much. We need a phone, and a car. I don't want to try and jump us home, because well... probably Canada right now. So, we are walking, maybe running to find some help. I can make us disapear, but if you aren't used to it, you'll probably miss step and break your leg too. Hard to move when you can't see where your body is." Sophie's protective embrace seems to bring some of the panic out of Kai, and his trembling subsides enough that it's hardly noticeable. He watches as the other two men make their exit, and wrinkles his nose. "I thought this was supposed to be a /good/ place," he complains, suddenly, throwing his hands into the air (as best he can). "Why is the world so full of /danger/?" There might be more, but then Faelan is taking charge, and the smaller boy falls silent, pursing his lips in an apologetic sort of look for the stricken Ross. Blinking repeatedly, Ducky realizes that one of the other students has fallen - the vanishing act of the sandwallman distracting her enough to not notice the screaming. She lets go of Kai as Sophie starts hugging him, and glances over to Ross and Faelan, opting not to go over there - her first aid knowledge extends to setting wings and bandaging talons, not so much with the human people type limbs. "It's ok. Not /everything/ is full of danger. I think they were from the carnival over there. It's um, well, ok, yeah, I don't think I wanna leave campus anymore. Between sandmen and barfing acid birds, I'm just going to live on campus. Or something," Ducky babbles, still trying to catch her breath, "There might be a phone at the main farm house? I mean, farms still have phones, right?" Ross begins cackling like a mad woman, laughing. She's immediately changed her mood around, which is strangely creepy. "That...was awesome! Like, seriously. Probably the best circumstance of me breaking a bone yet." She smiles, as she is being carried, but still can't walk. She also may have brain damage, hopefully not. Regardless of Faelan's warnings re: possible reinforcements, Sophie nonetheless lets out a little sigh of relief, and loosens her grip on Kai a bit. Though she's still hugging it out. Resting her chin on top of his head - as she is, now, standing behind him! arms sort of looped loosely around his shoulders - she looks over at the others, in a sort of awkward (though pretty much entirely on her part!) silence. "So, um. Can anyone explain what the heck just happened?" Yeah, she's still completely clueless, apparently. "I ammm.. really not sure what I was even doing here if you guys didn't bring me with you." "Don't know Kai. If I knew the Carnival was still sticking around, then I probably would have stayed home. The carnival had a creepy magician with a fishbowl head that Kurt had gotten Sophie and I away from." He shakes his head abit at what Ducky said, "We can try the thing, but we need to watch out for other creeps like them. They're afraid for now, but they attacked us first so fear wont last long. Priority is to get away from them first, then find a phone. So if we aim for the road, and flag down a car, we can maybe get some help." He shakes his head, not much liking being in charge. "I don't know Sophie, I really don't know." Kai doesn't seem to mind being used as a chin rest. He might even be leaning back into Sophie a bit. "It is all very strange," he says with a deep frown. "I think we should tell someone as soon as we get home." Which sounds like a good plan, and he rolls his head under Sophie's chin in a nod. "Maybe we can call the school from the farm house, and we can meet whoever comes on the road," he offers in compromise, nodding at Ducky. "Then they will know that we have been in danger before we have left." Ducky cringes slightly as Ross starts laughing in Faelan's arms, looking nervously at the new, and as yet mostly unknown, student. She looks at Sophie, and shakes her head, "I don't know. We were just supposed to be on a kinda excursion thing to get berries and apples and stuff. I... I thought the carnival was closed down and gone and stuff, not that it was just closed and lurking all creepy like." She nods, and looks around for the farm house, or main office of the farm, "I can go call the school from the main office phone, I think. I mean, they're a business, they gotta have a phone, right?" She nods and fishes her phone out of her pocket, as though checking to make sure it really was dead, "Um... does... anyone have their number? I kinda had it saved in my phone, and, uh, never called, and," she rubs her head sheepishly, ruffling her hair a bit, "I can go. The birds'll give me a heads up if something's coming at me. Usually." She grimaces, "In theory." As things seem to be calming down enough, Sophie gives Kai's shoulders one last little squeeze before she releases him back into the wild; her hands go up to untie her hair, letting it fall all willy-nilly about her shoulders. "That's better," she mumbles under her breath, brushing it out a bit with her fingers. "They probably have a phone," is added, to Ducky. "I mean like... yeah, it's a business, if nothing else people are gonna want to call about hours and directions and stuff, right? I'm sure if you tell them that uh--" There's a pause, there. "--our batteries died, I guess, they'll help you out. I /think/ the phone number is uh.. 266-5928? Does that sound right?" "Yeah, that's right. I've had to call it often enough, its in my emergency bag in a ziplock baggie too. But well, I'd need to set her down to get to it." Faelan shifts her weight slightly to avoid squishing her against the bag under his shirt. "So farm house, then head to road. We'll make sure we stay close to the farm house till she gets back. Don't want anything to happen." With the plan now set, it was just sit back and wait for proper teachers to arrive.