Oops

[thecanopycrew]

It's still early in the morning as the increasing winds roar outside the little fairy homes, rustling the small balconies and gusting slightly through the crack in the fourth floor wall. It's nothing but a bit of bad weather, something the week has been full of.

...that is, until a deafening crack is heard outside the tree, only to thunder into the tree itself with such force that it shakes the whole trunk.

The air is quickly filled with ash and soot, blackening everything outside.

Comments

[alley_kit]

Kit sighs softly as they pass through the lifestream, its golden light melting the fear and tension out of her too. Maybe it's just a trick of the magic, but it still feels good. Everything will be fine, it says. You're safe. It feels good to be safe.

Kit also stays near Riona, on the opposite side from Orcelito, ready to help if its needed. She doesn't really think it will though. It's really not that far down to the baths and the magic will certainly hold til then. Plus it's easier to breathe as they move away from the smoke.

"We should probably wait a little while at least yeah," Kit says. "If we don't hear anything after a little while, one of us can go out and check what's going on, and whether it's safe to go back to the house."

[evantuality]

Oh, no. [Evan inclined his head, giving the man a wary look.] No, I see a semantic trap when I see one.

You're doing something and I don't take kindly to it.

[He'd finished up shoveling charcoal into leaf wrappings and then into his backpack. He wiped his hands off on his now very cruddy jeans and straightened, heart rabbiting behind his ribs.]

I don't know what you are or how you know what you know and frankly I'm not interested in finding out. [Evidently fear dulled his natural curiosity.] If you'll excuse me I've got to get back to the tree.

[princeandscholar]

As Orcelito watches Riona accustom herself to floating, he wonders why the residents of the Tree weren’t given more quantities of this dust. It looks easier than flying with wings. Wings are often bulky, disruptive, and take a great deal of coordination – floating appears effortless. Perhaps there is more significance behind the two gems on the ground floor, and the wings they give?

He nods at Kit’s suggestion. “Agreed. We’ll wait.” Since the baths are a social location, he hopes others may pass by so he can get a report on the situation.

Orcelito slows his decent as they reach the fifth floor. As he suspected, the large doors to the outside are shut tight and the animals are huddled in their pen. The tack is resting on the walls and there’s no sign of evacuation.

Where they would evacuate to is a pressing question. Would the mist let them leave if it was their only choice? He imagines so. But without knowing for sure his eyebrows draw together in a worried frown. If the Tree is in danger, they could be trapped by the very thing that should protect them. Wouldn’t that be absurd? He’d like to think whoever is in charge of this place is more intelligent than that.

Orcelito touches down on the bath floor, wings sweeping out for balance then folding neatly. Instead of heading straight to the pool to wash up, he kneels down and looks at the floors below.

He looks up to address his roommates. “I’m going check the lower floors. Stay here.”