aterat | Panic at the harbor!

Entry tags:

Panic at the harbor!

Who; Waver and Anyone
What; Smart idiot needs ass saved
Where; Harbor district at night
When; During the event
Warnings; Being attacked by a wererat pack. So there will be fighting/injury/giant rat people.
Note; If you would like something specific or have an idea, you are welcome to talk to me about it. I am also open to writing personalized starters or doing other stuff, just drop me a line over on the plotting post or send me a message on discord @ WhimsicalSpook#8219

Waver had decided to head to his workshop in the harbor district that evening. He cut rather quickly through the more populated area with its businesses. Passing by the forges and the louder taverns where people were being sent away after last call, he started towards the more rundown area where his destination was nestled. It wasn’t too far from the docks, surrounded by a few equally ramshackle, dilapidated abandoned buildings. All he had to do was cut down another back alley stretch and a turn down another and he’d be there.

Truth be told, Waver had been more than a little lucky in his time here. He had picked the area, knowing full-well that it was less desired because of the occasional situation with creatures overrunning the area since they weren’t dealt with as often as they were in the main areas of the city. But he’d set up a solid bounded field to deter things (and strangers) from getting too close to the workshop, and he was mindful of what alleyways had reported sightings of the harbor's less pleasant denizens.

That said, luck had an unfortunate way of running out, considering the recent warnings going out in the city. As the professor fiddled with his lighter to try to get a flame to light a mystic code for the last stretch of his walk, there was the unexpected sound of footfall ahead of him. A group? “Hm?” His eyes narrowed slightly, and he lowered the lighter, the shiny gold glinting in the moonlight as he glanced around, only to spot a group of people-no... Wererats, ahead of him. Those… are definitely some rodents of unusual size… He mused with a growing panic, as one seemed to make a sound and all eyes turned to him.

He had been so confident he knew which routes were best to take to avoid things like this… It was then he realized it was signalling to another of its group, who’d been positioned in the shadow of the building. “When the hell did they get so organized?” The magus jumped back just enough to avoid taking a direct strike, but it still caught his side with a tear of fabric and a shot of pain that caused him to let out a shout.

A follow up curse on the tip of his tongue as he looked to the alleyway’s exit, backing up further to try to keep out of arm’s reach of the wererat that had attacked first. But… Well, there were a few more at either end of the alleyway. A whole damn pack? Fantastic…

Thunder rumbled in the distance as he dug a small glass bottle out from one of the inside pockets of his jacket and considered his options. A storm was coming, probably one of the fast moving ones that had plagued the weather recently. Not something he wanted to be caught in the middle of on top of this. Swirling the liquid inside, he activated his circuits and uttered a quiet word to add a little extra bang to the mixture, then wound back to throw it at one end of the alleyway to hopefully scattered the wererats there. The bang and the flash of light that lit up the night blinding and sending the creatures shrieking. A simple trick, but effective nonetheless. Probably wouldn’t work a second time, so he took off at a run to the next alleyway in hopes of getting to his workshop before they caught up…

Only to get tackled by the first wererat again, the others not far behind to circle around and close them off. Its jaws snapped at him and causing him to recoil and try to push it off of him even as he fell to the street. This was not happening. He was not about to become a wererat himself. Nope. Definitely not!

“Not interested in joining your little club, you fucking demonic beast!” He snapped, tone high in a panic, trying to push back against it and get in a decent opportunity for a feeble gandr shot that might deter it.

This just wasn’t his night.

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The relief at them being down on solid ground is absurdly obvious, letting out a sigh as he loosened his hold again once they landed. “Not far. The building is just ahead. It has a faded sign hanging next to the door. It used to be a tavern before I cleaned it up.” The counter space was fantastic for his projects… “The edge of the bounded field should be a few feet ahead of us. Around…” He glanced at the other nearby landmarks. “The edge of that broken lamppost.” He nodded, so really close.

"Alright then," Zack said marching forward. And just as he hit the edge of the field he stopped and tilted his head before turning away.

"Sorry, got distracted. Which way next?"

Waver had been slightly afraid of this, which was why he was extremely glad he insisted that they be on ground level when they approached. Taking a deep breath, he put himself in the same frame of mind as he did when Gray didn’t know something. His apprentice wasn’t actually a mage and needed to adjust to things like this or learn something about what was going on frequently. “It’s only natural.” He confirmed with a sigh, “I’ll need you to turn back around and to start walking in that exact direction.” He would have pointed, but from his current place, Zack wouldn’t have seen it anyway.

“As I mentioned, the field affects the mind. Whatever thoughts entered your head and distracted you were likely caused by it. You’ll need to focus very hard on the destination and to keep walking, even as your thoughts suggest otherwise.” He reminded the man before continuing. “If it helps, focus on my voice instead of your own thoughts. My apprentice needed some time to get used to things like this, so it’s a bit tricky the first time. I’ll describe what you’re walking towards and how much further.” And then once he was a few steps beyond the field, he would be fine.

"Okay," Zack said, because that sounded weird. SO he turned around and started walking that way.

Except nope, there's a cart pulled by a chocobo going by now and Zack coos.

"Oh man! That's a cool looking bird!" he says and he is immediately turning them to follow it. "Wanna pet it?"

Waver opened his mouth to keep talking, to make sure Zack stayed focused on the destination, only to find that it didn’t even work. The expression on his face was a mixture of absolute befuddlement and exhaustion. Where the hell did that chocobo cart even come from??? The timing was impeccable, and again the mage is left wondering if some kind of being in the universe found this amusing.

With an exhausted and frustrated groan, his head drooped. “No, Zack, I do not want to pet the bird! I am literally bleeding here. Probably on you at this point, I might add!” Seriously, that makeshift wrap wasn’t going to help forever.

"Oh? We should get you to a doctor then," Zack said with a sound of concern. "Oh wait! Let me put you down. I've got healing materia!"

STill not moving for the man's warded place.

If there were a real doctor around here, Waver would be surprised. He wouldn’t be trying to reverse engineer his own medication if there were. He opened his mouth to respond, to try to re-direct Zack towards the workshop again when the man just kept talking. And… Waver stared. “Healing materia.” Does he know what materia is? No, but he can make a few educated guesses based on the ‘healing’ aspect of it. What wasn’t lost on the mage was the fact that this had probably been an option the entire time?

“Yes, put me down and whether we do that or I lead you to the workshop by hand, I’ll need to be on my feet at this point.” He finally agreed, because it was pretty clear Zack wouldn’t pass the bounded field on his own. While Waver was good at setting them, it was particularly interesting that Zack seemed more affected by them than some people.

"I mean, I could totally heal you right there, but okay," Zack says, lowering himself so Waver could get down onto his own two feet.

“Details like that would help.” He responded with a sigh. He literally didn’t even know Zack had magic up until the alleyway. The man had only ever mentioned preferring swords for a weapon before. Wobbling a little once, he was standing on his own, held his head slightly and waited for things to settle again. “If it’s not going to take long and be something easily interrupted, then I’d appreciate it. If not, then we should get inside where it’s safer. Though if we do, then at this point I think I’m going to need to lead you the rest of the way with how easily you get turned around.”

Waver rambles about where they should consider doing the healing. It's a lot of talking. By the time he's finished talk Zack had already charged the spell and released it, directed as a general curative over Waver because he didn't know where specifically the guy was hurt. Then, just to cover his bases and since he knew he had the MP, he cast it again.

Waver would argue he wasn’t rambling exactly, so much as trying to keep the man’s attention to ensure they got to safety and hoping for some details about what they were talking about here. Except… Well, he stops a moment or two after Zack finished what he was doing so very easily (too easily, the envious part of him would complain) healed the wound on his side. His expression as he glanced down at his side and then at Zack could easily be read as ‘What the fuck?’ with a mixture of something awkward. “Oh… That answers that.” Kind of, but it also didn’t answer other questions he had.

Manners were something Waver did have, even if he was an awkward, grumpy hermit of a man at times. “Uh… Thank for that. I guess I owe you more than one now.” He ended awkwardly, because he’d only have been able to do some basic shit to encourage his body’s natural healing process and patch himself up. Which, for Waver, meant a longer recovery than most mages.

"Oh," Zack said with a smile and a nod. "Those buns at the bakery? The ones with the sweet black bean paste? Those are a good thank you gift."

Because they are really tasty and he'd love to share some with his friends.

Waver paused, internally wondering if Zack was for real here. Debts like this weren’t exactly a ‘buy me snacks and we’ll call it even’ kind of deal. It caught him off guard, because most people in his own society would expect proper compensation. There were maybe one or two exceptions, but even they expected something in return, even if it was a more reasonable request. All in all, Waver Velvet took owing people seriously.

So… he raised a brow, almost like he was waiting for another shoe to drop. But from what he’d seen of Zack so far… Well, he might be one of those ‘exceptions’ to the rule. It left him a little off balance, and again feeling awkward. “I don’t know that buns cover all of that… Most people wouldn’t, anyway. But yeah, I can probably manage an order of them.” Sweet black bean buns. He’d commit that to memory and have some sent to the guy. A sense of propriety had him added. “But if you need something more down the line, give me a call.”

He says call because he didn’t think Zack could find him if he was at the workshop. That was clearly a lost cause for now. Which was also where he was going next, because damn, he was tired. It was close, and it had a sofa.

( ooc: we can end this here if you prefer. )

"Oh, I guess I could do that," Zack said. NOt that he thought he would. He's got a support network that he doesnt' have to stress out so why would he do that to someone who might get stressed.

"I should get you back to your place first though. Where is it from here?"

See, that was actually what was appealing to most people in Waver’s world. Seeing him stressed or getting him to react to something amused certain people to no end. “See that you do. I’m not… much with combative magics, obviously.” Otherwise, Zack wouldn’t have needed to help out. “But I’m decent at analyzing magical items and figuring out abnormal situations.” Which was mostly how he was repaying debts already in his world, so it was nothing new.

The question gets a rise in his brow. Oh god, it was a repeating cycle. He had trapped himself in a repeating cycle without meaning to!… Which was pretty on point for Waver’s luck. Straightening a little now that his side was healed up, he gesturing at the property beyond the lamppost. “It’s right this way, but you just keep getting turned around by the field I mentioned.”

(ooc: Okay, awesome! I was worried, I know sometimes I keep threads going longer than people like and wasn’t sure.)

Right, toward the lamppost. Zack starts that way again, then stops, looking at Waver.

"I don't see a field here. Just a building. Let's go find your field. We clearly ended up in the wrong place."

No brain here.

Waver doesn’t even bother to start walking this time, instead watching Zack as he already knows what’s going to happen. Seems smarter to save himself some steps, and it gives him the opportunity to see if anything… stands out other than the obvious. Doesn’t stop the very long sigh that escapes at the words of his current company, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tries to think about how to proceed. He’s starting to wonder, really… Zack clearly has the kind of mind more easily affected by this kind of magic. “Not that kind of field, Zack.”

Finally, the man held out his hand. “Come on, let’s try this another way. Take my hand for a moment.” He would lead him through it, maybe… maybe that would work better than trying to talk him through it. A physical guide to negate the fact that Zack kept getting distracted!

Uh, he supposes he can do that. Zack moves to take Waver's hand.

"Are you going to do something cool? Are we going to teleport to the field?"

That doesn't seem likely.

Something cool? Waver couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes with a self-deprecating sound between a laugh and a huff. “I’m the wrong mage to expect ‘cool’ things from, Zack.” Seriously, most mages would laugh at the very idea that he might be impressive outside his ability to teach… And sometimes they would deny that as well, if only on principle due to who he was and his own skill levels.

Taking the offered hand, he gestured and started walking while keeping a hold of the man’s hand. “No, I’m going to lead you through the bounded field I set up, or try to. You seem more affected by it than I thought you’d be, so I’m curious if I can keep you focused by leading you through directly.”

"Alright," Zack says, but his tone says he thinks maybe Waver's sorta lost his mind here. "If you insist."

It wouldn’t be the first time he’d heard that tone in his life, so he doesn’t comment on it aside from a little roll of his eyes. “I do insist, so trust me on this for a moment.” Or humor him, at least, if that’s the best he can hope for. “Just let me lead and focus on that instead of where we’re going.” So with a firm hold of the other’s hand, and takes confident steps towards the bounded field and past the lamppost. He can almost see the finish line, the field only a light tug at the back of his mind to let him know he’s through it.

See, the thing was that he was getting pulled through, and Zack's mind was shouting that he needs to go away.

"Dude, shouldn't we be getting you home?"

If only home (his real home) were an option… Waver ignores that thought, and focused on the task at hand. Lead Zack through to the other side, so they could get past the being affected bit. So he could, hopefully, not deal with this again in the future. He intends to tell Zack to just focus on following him, but instead something catches his notice instead. “I’m not ‘Dude,’ I have a name.” He responded with an obvious frown in his voice. A name, an official title he hated, several nicknames he also didn’t like… He wasn’t looking to add Dude to that last category. Trying to get used to hearing his own name regularly from people outside Melvin again had been weird enough as it was here, really.

Rather than go on a rant about that, he takes a deep breath and keeps walking and hoping Zack allows himself to be towed along. “We are going where I need to be. Just trust me for a little longer, okay?” Just had to get Zack past the lamppost, that was it. That was all he had to do. He could do that much, surely. Maybe…

"You got it boss," Zack agreed to the name thing. What was it again? Had he ever actually properly gotten it? Damn if Zack could remember.

He is focused enough on talking that he actually does get past the lamppost. Applause everyone. He'll be here all week.

"So why are you being all hush hush about where you live?"

To be fair to Zack, he’d never properly introduced himself. Between not hearing his name much after being thrown into a temporary lordship and the fact that Waver was… Not really good with socializing?? He’d kind of forgotten to give Zack his name. So if anyone was to blame, it was himself. This detail doesn’t actually strike him until after Zack calls him boss next. “Boss-?” And then it hits, a few insults at himself bounce around in his head and he awkwardly clears his throat. “Just call me Waver, okay?” That’s not really a proper, formal introduction; but it’s a little late for one of those at this point.

The utter relief at the realization that they’d properly made it through the ward strikes once he noticed Zack was beyond the lamppost washes over him and he relaxes somewhat. FINALLY. He felt like he’d unlocked a particularly difficult achievement!… Which was dramatic, but it was still a small victory tonight.

Taking the keys out of his pocket and crossing the distance to the door to unlock it, he shakes his head. “I don’t exactly live here. I do have the assigned apartment in the red building.” But he did practically live here, and the ‘assigned’ aspect of his proper living arrangements was part of why. Same reason why he didn’t live at the El-Melloi estate with his sister back in his world… Instead of stating the full truth, he shrugs as he turned the key as he gives the more general answer. “I just needed a private space to work on various mage-craft projects. Some of it can be delicate at times and needs the proper controlled environment to be worked on. A place out of the way, where random people can’t just walk in and stumble on it. Mages in my world don’t work on these things in the open as a rule.”

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I laughed so hard when I read this. Zack is a precious bean.

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are you kidding Zack's being hilarious.

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and here I throw them a bone

They have worked hard for it lol