[color=lightgray][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/YGxzxVR.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/AVwIuBJ.png[/img][/center]
[color=D0B4EC]Time:[/color] Evening 
[color=D0B4EC]Location:[/color] Tough Tavern
[color=D0B4EC]Attire:[/color] [url=https://i.imgur.com/cNnyMvV.png]Outfit[/url], [url=i.imgur.com/2SBcciZ.png]Amulet[/url]
[color=D0B4EC]Interaction:[/color] [@CitrusArms] Stratya [@Apex Sunburn] Sjandehk, your fellas outside [@Potter] Olivia [@Samreaper] Kazumin
[color=D0B4EC]Mentions:[/color] [@Tae] Kalliope [@ReusableSword]

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[color=lightgray]Charlotte stumbled outside just as boots thundered past her. [color=D0B4EC]“Wait—”[/color]

The word came out soft, swallowed by the rush of bodies. She swayed a little as her head pulsed with an insistent throb. But she forced herself upright anyway and caught the first face she could. [color=D0B4EC]“Did you see a woman—red hair, green eyes—being pulled through here?”[/color] 

The man didn’t slow for more than a second. His gaze flicked over her. [color=lightblue]“No, my lady,”[/color] he said, already turning back toward the dark. [color=lightblue]“We cleared the back rooms. Come back inside with us—you’ll be safer.”[/color]

And then they were gone, sprinting through the kitchen door as if the floor was on fire. The door began to swing closed behind them. For one brief, awful instant, the inside of the back rooms flashed into view.

It was then that Lottie noticed the shapes on the floor—A half-dozen bodies lay where they’d fallen, blood in spreading pools along the planks. Charlotte’s breath snagged so sharply it hurt, and her eyes dilated. She stood there as if her feet had been nailed to the earth. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t even [i]blink[/i]. 

The door kept swinging until it finally closed. Then a whistle cut through the ringing in her ears.

Charlotte turned on instinct, and the sight of Stratya made relief hit her so hard her knees threatened to give. [color=peru] “ye’rr alrrigh’, Lady Charrlo’e? ...oh, yerr head. Le’ me see..”[/color] Her left arm remained tucked close as she stepped closer to Charlotte, her right coming in to gently cup her head to hold her still while she looked at the injury. [color=peru] “... coulda been worrse, easy. We’ll still ‘ave tae ge’ ye some attention, tho’.”[/color]

The tenderness of her movements and words undid her before she could process them. Lottie’s eyes stung, and she tried to speak with composure, but her voice betrayed her with a tremor. [color=D0B4EC]“Captain…”[/color] And before she could overthink it, she stepped forward and threw her arms around Stratya, hugging her tight and burying her face into her shoulder.

[color=D0B4EC]“I am—”[/color] She swallowed, forcing the words out of her sore throat. [color=D0B4EC]“I am so relieved you’re alright... It’s been so [i]dreadful[/i]. ”[/color] 

Her fingers tightened at the back of Stratya’s dress as she tried to remember how to breathe properly. After a long moment, she drew back, still trembling, and immediately looked mortified with herself.[color=D0B4EC]“Please pardon me,”[/color] she managed, [color=D0B4EC]“I did not mean to forget myself— I simply…”[/color] She shook her head, then glanced toward the tavern door, and subsequently swallowed against the nausea rising in her throat.

[color=D0B4EC]“We must go back inside,”[/color] she said, voice soft but tinged with resolve. [color=D0B4EC]“They said we would be safer... And we need to make certain the others are well. We must get everyone out before this worsens.”[/color]

Her brows knitted as she took in their surroundings once more, as if she might suddenly see Kalliope somewhere. [color=D0B4EC]“I cannot understand how they saw nothing of Kalliope if they truly came this way,”[/color] she murmured, half to herself. [color=D0B4EC]“Unless... magic was involved.”[/color]

Then her gaze snapped to the door, focusing despite the lingering fog behind her eyes. [color=D0B4EC]“We will find her,”[/color] she told Stratya. [color=D0B4EC]“But first we must ensure no one else meets a terrible fate for want of our aid.”[/color]

She reached for the kitchen door and pushed it open, keeping her eyes lifted toward the ceiling. She refused to look at the bodies again. [color=D0B4EC]“Come, my dear,”[/color] she said to Stratya. [color=D0B4EC]“Let us go.”[/color]

As she stepped back inside,  the tavern swallowed them again in a mixed aroma of heat, smoke, and a metallic stink. The lanternlight suddenly felt too bright against her eyes. She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth, then forced herself onward anyway.

Her gaze lowered, and she found herself meeting the gaze of Sjandehk. Her lips parted in surprise. Despite her condition, she registered the look in his eyes—knew exactly who he was looking for. Her expression crumbled as she informed him quietly, [color=D0B4EC]“ She wasn't outside."[/color]

And then she saw them.

Olivia was on her knees in a widening puddle of blood. Dark, oily tendrils clung to her hands. Nearby, what remained of Marius lay ruined and still. Kazumin was at her side, his arm around her.

[color=D0B4EC]“Olivia—”[/color]

Charlotte crossed the distance too quickly; her balance wavered, her left hand stinging as she caught herself on the edge of the bar. The pain shot up her wrist, but she did not stop. She dropped to her knees beside them, the impact sending another throb through her skull.

Gently, she closed Olivia's hands and held them until the tendrils slowly evaporated, receding until they were gone.  Then, with trembling care, she lifted her hands and placed them as gently as she could—her left to Kazumin’s cheek, her right to Olivia’s—thumbs barely brushing skin. [color=D0B4EC]“Look at me... Are you two hurt?”[/color]

After an emotional moment between the three friends, she drew them into a warm embrace, then rose with determination. [color=D0B4EC]“Captain Durmand! Please go to Lord Ravenwood, and we will go to the Edwards."[/color]


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