[h2]Ranch House[/h2]

Dawn wasted little time in her reaction- a necessity, really, given how pressed of it they were to begin with, and how quickly the stranger had forced himself into their means of escape. In three deft motions she had slipped her hand into her bag, turned, and swung her pistol out and into the man’s face, muzzle held flush against his forehead. 

[color=#2d50ff]“Put your hands on your head. Where we can see them.”[/color] In another, calmer time, perhaps she would have chuckled at her own statement. It was ripped straight from the pages of the withered novels she had found stuffed under mattresses, wrapped lovingly in plastic to protect it from the elements. But now, her lips were held in a thin, bloodless line, voice firm, raw panic clashing at her insides and working up her throat. 

Internally, Dawn was aware that there was something oddly familiar about the stranger’s face- something vaguely unsettling that she couldn’t quite put a finger on- but she brushed aside the feeling for the time being. Trying to place a face was a luxury she couldn’t afford, not now. 

Her attentions were stolen with Spire’s sudden dive into the garage, Hel in his arms. The end of her gun still trained on the stranger, Dawn moved to open one of the car doors, only to find Soren had already moved to do so. He moved calmly, picking Hel up and seating her beside Clockwork, buckling her in securely. 

[color=#7fe817]“Keep that on,”[/color] he instructed. His voice was remarkably gentle, kind for the circumstances, and, with both children secure, he slid back into his own spot, shutting the door behind him. [color=#7fe817]“If you did truly come to help us, then we greatly appreciate it, young man.”[/color] Carefully, Soren pushed away one of the weapons that had edged dangerously close, frowning a little. [color=#7fe817]“But I’m sure that you can understand our caution.”[/color]

Clockwork’s gaze was steady as ever, even as it moved from the chaos outside to that within the car itself. However, her hand found Soren’s almost instantly as he sat down, holding onto it as if the stability of the world itself depended on it. [color=#7b68ee]“You have quite the number of weapons, sir,”[/color] she noted idly. Then her eyes turned back to the outside world as the gunfire rang out, to her brother, and her fingers curled even tighter around her father’s. 

[@RabidPorcupine]