Ivy and Chrome PbP Forums

Lysanthra looks from Marshall to Emily recognizing the familiar dynamic. Marshall always thinks he's better than them maybe because they are girls. She's not sure why but Liz doesn't look for respect from him. She doesn't care what he thinks because she knows her own worth. Emily on the other hand tries hard to be liked and easily gets her feelings hurt. Lysanthra finds Emily annoying as well but doesn't purposely try to put her down. She glares at Marshall and tries to get Emily's attention. When Emily looks at her Liz says "Just ignore him. He's not worth it anyway." Then looks at Marshall again with a smirk.

OOC: Recap as Dane and Meg leave the Bottoms Up:

Vi grimly stares at her like she's her next opponent, "Then find a trainer who is patient enough to deal with you because I'm not that person." She quickly finishes her food, then carefully stands up and walks back outside; destination - the gym. On the way, she thinks to herself, oO(At least the damn gym should be somewhat empty. I need to get away from this fuckery)Oo

OOC: Vi posts will be back in her own thread.

As Vi leaves, Emily watches in disbelief, like she'd never been told no. Steve grins at Em, "Lighten up, I can teach you a little bit."

"But I wanna learn from the best!"

"Hey, I've never boxed her, so you don't know!" Steve laughs.

"Dude! You lost to Angelo just last month! And he doesn't know how to fight!" Sam laughs.

"He hit me in the back of the head with a skateboard like a pansy ass B!744! Then ran!" Steve retorts.

Lysanthra looks from Marshall to Emily recognizing the familiar dynamic. Marshall always thinks he's better than them maybe because they are girls. She's not sure why but Liz doesn't look for respect from him. She doesn't care what he thinks because she knows her own worth. Emily on the other hand tries hard to be liked and easily gets her feelings hurt. Lysanthra finds Emily annoying as well but doesn't purposely try to put her down. She glares at Marshall and tries to get Emily's attention. When Emily looks at her Liz says "Just ignore him. He's not worth it anyway." Then looks at Marshall again with a smirk.

Marshal frowns and runs out of the restaurant, chasing after Vi.

Miss Hoffman downs her drink and sighs, "Dane, let's go try this obstacle course thing."

Ingrid frowns and glances at Lysanthra, handing her something small, "This is a key to my place. I have something to take care of." She then also leaves.

"Did I fart or something?" Steve scoffs, watching everyone leave.

Brad notices Maya continually, yet occasionally, glance at him. He's pretty sure that she probably likes him.

Dane finishes the last watered-down bit of his drink and rises to follow Meg. As they walk, his mind shifts gears, replaying what he’d seen earlier—the successes and the failures. He notes where competitors rushed, where momentum helped and where it betrayed them, where hesitation cost more than speed. What worked and what didn't.

He flexes his fingers once, testing his grip strength, then glances toward Meg with an awkward but mischievous grin. “If I break something,” he says lightly, “you get to explain it to my dad.”

The tension from the chess match hasn’t fully faded. It sits in the back of his mind like an unresolved variable. So he focuses instead on the angles, timing, leverage—things that make sense.

As Ingrid, Vi, Marshal, Dane and Miss Hoffman leave the restaurant. Sam stands up, "With that, I'm gonna see if Megana needs any help. I'll catch up later, guys," and heads into the bar.

"I didn't think anyone would smell that one," Steve laughs as Maya elbows him and glances from Brad to Liz. Their voices slowly fade as they leave.

"They were getting to be a bit much. I'm sorry if you wanted to stay," Meg sighs as they walk back into the thronging festival masses. A fresh surge of drunken men and women fill the air with loud voices and boisterous laughter. Judging by the position of the sun, Dane figures that it's getting close to late afternoon and some of the more adult events should be starting soon.

As if on queue, Lord Stein can be heard on the loudspeakers, "MMA fights will be starting soon. Following that, we have the King of the Ring competition. Fighters will need to begin gearing up soon. If you aren't wearing headgear, leg pads and gloves, then you will be disqualified." He repeats the announcement two more times, as though this is his favorite event.

The two pass twenty tables, featuring mostly elderly and young kids playing bingo, trying to win a slice of the proceeds from people buying bingo cards. Usually, towards dusk, the marksman and archery final competitions occur, which is sure to trigger bad memories for Dane. Upon approaching the obstacle course, Dane and Meg notice the line is incredibly long. Rumors are abound that they may increase the entrance fee up to two credits and some say as high as five credits. Yet, most don't care. The obstacle course is a challenge and quite fun.

Meg squeezes Dane's hand again, "Yeah, at least your dad is nice to me. The others, not so much. But if you get hurt, then I'm sure he'll find out before I can tell him," she laughs at what looks like a thought that ran through her head, only to be interrupted by Sheriff Ericson arresting a middle aged man by holding him facedown and cuffing him. A revolver rests on the ground several feet away from them.

"That man murdered dozens of people! Arrest him!" the man screams.

"Yep, sure, buddy. You get to sit in the drunk tank tonight!" The sheriff cheers as he hoists the guy up; a rugged looking, curly salt and pepper haired, tall man who looks as though he hasn't bathed or shaved in a week.

"He killed my dad and I haven't had a drink of anything! Let me go!"

Seconds later, Dane's dad, Deputy Stryker, bursts through the surrounding crowd and grabs the man's gun. After a very brief examination, he just says, "It's a replica of a Wilks," and chuckles, "Which is a replica of a... revolver..." he shrugs confusedly, "Who even does that?"

"Very funny, George. Let's get him into holding. Would you write up the report?" the Sheriff asks.

"Actually, Joe. It's an important part of the day. I need to find my boy and make sure he's okay. I mean... his mother..."

"Alright, but you owe me..." the sheriff grins.

Dane finds it hard to hear over the drunken members of the crowd shouting, "Friggen hang him! No trial!" and, "We don't need your d-bee loving kind here!" mixed with obvious false accusations against the man that are obvious lies.

Meg squeezes Dane's hand again, "Are you okay?"

The noise and shouting blur into a sharp buzzing in Dane’s ears. For a moment, he wants to close his eyes and shut it all out—just for a second. But Meg’s hand is there. He focuses on the pressure of her fingers, the warmth. Breath in. Breath out.

“I’m okay,” he says. There’s a slight catch in his voice that betrays the effort it takes to steady it. He swallows. “It’s just… this day’s usually quieter for me.” A small, self-conscious shrug. “Library. Games. Fewer guns, explosions and fires.” He huffs a faint breath that might be a laugh. “Today’s different...better,” he adds more quietly. “You’re here.”

That thought lingers, heavier than he intends, and he clears his throat, recalibrating. “Anyway. Let’s go tackle that obstacle course before I overthink it.”

The noise and shouting blur into a sharp buzzing in Dane’s ears. For a moment, he wants to close his eyes and shut it all out—just for a second. But Meg’s hand is there. He focuses on the pressure of her fingers, the warmth. Breath in. Breath out.

“I’m okay,” he says. There’s a slight catch in his voice that betrays the effort it takes to steady it. He swallows. “It’s just… this day’s usually quieter for me.” A small, self-conscious shrug. “Library. Games. Fewer guns, explosions and fires.” He huffs a faint breath that might be a laugh. “Today’s different...better,” he adds more quietly. “You’re here.” That thought lingers, heavier than he intends, and he clears his throat, recalibrating. “Anyway. Let’s go tackle that obstacle course before I overthink it.”

Meg squeezes his hand back as a shift in the crowd mentality drifts away from the arrest scene. She looks confusedly at Dane, probably wondering what could be more exciting than some guy bent on assassinating someone with a loaded gun at the festival. But then, Dane hears someone scream out, "Vi and Teddy are fighting in the gym boxing arena!"

Deputy Stryker and Sheriff Ericson both sigh as they hoist the man up and begin escorting him through the crowd towards the jail. The sudden surge in the mob nearly bump both men over as the handcuffed man makes a run for it, using the crowd for cover.

Dane tenses as the man wrenches free and disappears into the crowd. Without thinking, he shifts a half-step forward, angling himself between Meg and the direction the man fled. His focus sharpens. He scans for elevation—a bench, a step, anything that might give him a clearer line of sight without losing track of the movement ahead.

His brain starts taking into account all of the different variables. Flow of the crowd. Cuffed hands. Limited speed. His breathing steadies as his mind begins mapping likely paths. .oO Where are you going? Oo. He watches for patterns in the flow that will give him the clue he needs.

Dane tenses as the man wrenches free and disappears into the crowd. Without thinking, he shifts a half-step forward, angling himself between Meg and the direction the man fled. His focus sharpens. He scans for elevation—a bench, a step, anything that might give him a clearer line of sight without losing track of the movement ahead. His brain starts taking into account all of the different variables. Flow of the crowd. Cuffed hands. Limited speed. His breathing steadies as his mind begins mapping likely paths. oO(Where are you going?)Oo He watches for patterns in the flow that will give him the clue he needs.

Dane quickly finds a bench and steps up above the crowd, adding an extra two and half feet to his elevated view. He turns and quickly spots the man, who's clever enough to move with the flow of the crowd, keeping his head low. He moves towards the edge where several groups of people are heading towards the back of the school and out of view; obstructed by the presence of the Bottoms Up.

Meg jumps on the bench, as well, trying to scan the crowd, "Where'd he go?"

Both his dad and the sheriff split up and begin scanning the crowd, rushing from person to person, trying to gain a glimpse of the man.

“There—by Bottoms Up!” Dane says, already pointing as he tracks the man’s movement.

He raises his voice, sharp and clear. “Dad! That way!” He keeps his arm extended long enough for his dad to see where he's pointing before shifting his focus ahead of the fleeing figure.

As the man breaks Dane's line of sight he steps down from the bench, already calculating angles. If he can cut across and get ahead of him, he can regain visual contact—and keep directing his dad.

Lysanthra squeezed Ingrid's key in her hand. Suddenly it was way too loud here for her liking. She decided to head out back to Ingrid's house. She was tired and needed time alone to think. She would take a shower and find a snack. Liz walked slowly enjoying the quiet outside away from the crowds of people and the sun on her face.

“There—by Bottoms Up!” Dane says, already pointing as he tracks the man’s movement. He raises his voice, sharp and clear. “Dad! That way!” He keeps his arm extended long enough for his dad to see where he's pointing before shifting his focus ahead of the fleeing figure. As the man breaks Dane's line of sight he steps down from the bench, already calculating angles. If he can cut across and get ahead of him, he can regain visual contact—and keep directing his dad.

His dad immediately sees him and nods, running in the general direction of the man. The sheriff trots right behind him as Dane figures that if he cuts around the far side of the Bottoms Up, then he can get closer and avoid the majority of the crowd. As he circles around the south side of the bar, he briefly spots the man amongst the crowd, draping a blue blanket over his hands as he casually meanders further west, towards the lumberyard. He once again disappears behind a group of people.

He eventually spots his dad at the front of Bottoms Up, scanning the crowd as the sheriff rushes towards the Justice Center and talking into his radio. Dane's dad eventually spots Dane and tries to make out where Dane is pointing, unable to hear above the noise of the crowd.

Meanwhile, the sheriff uses the tall steps of the Justice Center to get a better view of the entire crowd, but the guy is already out of sight.

Dane lifts his arm again, sharper this time, pointing hard toward the lumberyard until he’s sure his dad sees. “I’m going ahead,” he tells Meg, already pushing into the crowd in that direction. “Meet me at the obstacle course if you’d rather not chase him.” He moves as fast as he can to clear the crowd before settling into a purposeful jog.