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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.”

"Your room doesn't have a lock on it?" he asks as he follows Waver into the place. How strange, to just have people bursting into his room. That sounds pretty illegal too.

There was a small seating area near the door under a window near the fireplace, with armchairs and a sofa situated around a small coffee table scattered with books, forgotten mugs, and a Gameboy Advanced. The rest of the space had the odd bookshelf or table cluttered with materials and books for whatever he was working on. One even had a bowl of something, though if asked he’d have to admit it was unfinished soup from lunch that he had put aside and never gotten back to, rather than anything magical in nature. What used to be the bar counter was arranged far more carefully, with a few separate projects waiting to be picked back up or checked on.

Waver closed the door behind them, his awkward expression stayed in place at the very true observation that he hadn’t been expecting Zack to make. Damn it… “Well… Yes, it does.” He responded and continued in a tone that was vaguely childish. “Locks don’t always stop people, though.” A lame excuse, really, and he knows it.

Sighing a little, he finally added a little more quietly as he shrugged off his coat to leave on the back of a chair. “And frankly, being told where to live and staying where you’re expected to never sat well with me.” There he said it. It’s a little more about the freedom of having a place of his own that he chose instead of someone else. He clings to what small decisions he can make for himself, when most of the time he’s honor bound to do what everyone asks of him.

Yeah, that doesn't sound right. Locks stop anyone who is mostly honest. Anyone who really wants in, they'll find a way. That's just how stuff works.

"You were never in the military then."

Being told here to stay and what to do had been a common part of his life.

The statement gets an undignified sound, maybe a laugh or at least something close enough to one. Expression slightly self-deprecating as he shrugged and offered a response. “I think tonight’s events alone should make that fairly obvious, yes.” Sure he’d fought in a magical war becoming the last living retainer for a long-dead king, and he had something of a tactical mind… but that wasn’t the same as being ‘in the military.’

The expression faded, and he dropped to sit on the sofa. “I’m the head of the Modern Magecraft Theories department at the school I teach at, and a substitute Lord of the Clock Tower.” And problem solver for everyone until he paid off the El-Melloi’s blockbuster movie sized debt. Until that was cleared, he went where he was told and did what was asked. Choosing where he got to live was one of the things he’d managed to secure for himself.

"That sounds pretty important. Like an executive."

IT's the best reference he's got for all of this.

“It is. Though as a substitute, I’m more of a figurehead than an actual lord. I’m just managing things and sitting in on the position until my foster sister is old enough to take her place.” He responded with a small shake of his head, that and it moved a target off her back somewhat.

The other lords mostly found amusement in his presence more than anything, or tried to manipulate him into shifting the El-Melloi’s alignment at the clock tower before Reines took over. Lords were an inherited position through the more important families. Waver was an outsider and his predecessor would probably be rolling in his grave to know he carried the title. “An executive isn’t a bad comparison, though.” He wouldn’t miss that part of things when it was over. “I much prefer teaching my class over the politics, to be honest.”

"Yeah, politics seemed to such for Lazard. Seemed to just make the guy's life miserable."

And there wans't much that could be done for it. He was gone now.

Waver didn’t know who Lazard was, but he felt a bit sympathetic at the notion someone else found politics made their life as miserable as it did his. “It does make one miserable in my experience. I think it takes a very specific kind of person to enjoy politics.” He shook his head a little, of all the things he didn’t enjoy about his current situation (of which there were several), this was probably among the highest. Stupid Lords with their manipulative, self-important attitudes.…

"So," Zack said, looking around. "Uh... You cool here? Safe and everything?"

Because he didn't know what to do now that he was here. Damn. He's sorta lost now.

Waver could see the guy was a bit lost, and it had been kind of a long night. Now, more than anything, he wanted to just pass out on the sofa and put the evening behind him. So he offered a nod. “I am. I’ve never known the wererats to be able to pass through the bounded field, and you’ve seen how effective it is.” So nothing dangerous was going to get him tonight, as far as he could tell.

“Just don’t forget about what I said if you need anything, and I’ll see about those… buns.” He added clumsily by way of parting. He’d say the guy could just come find him here, but… Well, Waver kind of wonders if it’ll take more than once for him to get used to passing through a bounded field. The tell-phone is probably the best bet.

"Saw how effective what was?"

Yeah, it's already gone from his head. Sorry.

"Awesome on the buns man!"

Waver startled at that with a look that could be described as somewhat concerned and heavily confused himself at the fact that apparently Zack had forgotten about that whole ordeal already. Was this just how the man was??? Or was there something about Zack that allowed him to be influenced by magecraft like the field a little more strongly? “The damned bounded field we spent 20 min-?!” And then he stopped. No. This was not the time to start that again. A small sigh escaped before he shook his head. “Never mind. We’ll talk about that again at some point. Just know that nothing can probably get in here for now.”

The excitement over the buns at least was a positive. It was better than nothing as far as repayment went for now. “I’ll send you a message or something when I have them, and you can let me know where to drop them off.”

Panic at the harbor!

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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

Re: They have worked hard for it lol

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LOL Never change, Zack

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