Convergence

[Tenzin]

A low growl vibrated the column of her throat as the inquisitor emerged. The sentient woman stunk of fear and scuttled away, though only so far as to cause more problems. Tenzin had no inclination to violence just because of her ability, whatever the ink on her arm promised. She had made her own promises and they did not include cold murder for an accident of birth. Distantly, the wolves beyond the city grew agitated by what they sensed in her. The disillusionment discovered in a pack she had followed her whole life. They welcomed her back from the den of men; called her to them. A howl wanted to burst free, swallowed down in a scowl instead. She eyed the guard and placated again with an upheld hand. Edged a step backwards. The same direction the inquisitor had gone.

Her ears pricked for Jacinda’s voice through the earpiece, torn between the desire to protect the sentient from her own stupidity and concern over the inquisitor’s swift disappearance after Nox and the girl. The bark of Jacinda’s earlier words still echoed, as did the inquisitor’s last orders. But she could not protect both.

“Run, woman,” she hissed.

For in the end, she chose to protect the girl. 

A run pushed her through the hospital doors, hackles ablaze, sharp eyes searching.

The idiot had pulled a gun. In public. Outside a hospital.

And then chaos burst like a supernova. Tenzin shielded her eyes from the blossom of flame, alarmed and afraid and angry at the damn pup who blundered into exactly what he had warned against.

[Raffe]

Sterling was on the edge of a freak-out. Raffe glanced up from the phone as he slid a thumb over the contacts, aware of the swelling tension but not sure what to do about it. He didn’t doubt Nox’s words. He didn’t doubt the danger. But Nox couldn’t very well bundle the kid up like he had out of the hospital. “Can’t hurt to speak to Juliana though, right?” He cocked his head, trying to catch Sterling’s gaze, but her attention was transfixed at a point behind his shoulder. He blinked and twisted as the horrified words hissed out, then flinched as flame spouted and Nox began a string of expletives. Though his blood ran utterly cold, his first instinct was to try and pull Sterling back from the fire. Why wasn’t she moving?

Then steam hissed, the flames doused, and suddenly it was like her limbs unjammed.

Nox grinned like this was all perfectly ordinary. There was a strange reassurance in his calm, and Raffe’s gaze returned to the man with the weapon pointed right at them with a surreal sense of disbelief. Menace weighted the air around them, pounding like a fist on his skull, demanding entry. It was strangely still. Nox was a channeler. A gun was nothing, right? Yet he was still inclined to be the broker of peace, which was why he moved to push himself in front of the other man. The phone still grasped in one hand, but the other made a calming gesture. “You maybe want to put that down?”

[Jacinda]

A cold hand gripped her spine at the Inquisitor's words. Sentient. No wonder the guy had been acting like a moron. She pulled the door handle open and jumped out. Nox and his people disappeared around a corner. Tenzin told the sentient to run before taking after her.

Jacinda growled as she ran, torn between going after the woman or joining Ten to protect the girl. The minute Nox saw her face, he'd know. But Ten....she'd never leave her to him. Girl or no. She skidded into the building, trying to figure out where they were from what she had seen from the video feed. She heard a rumble and headed in that direction.

There, she saw the Inquisitor, feet encased in...the dirt or whatever. Her shoulder winced as she remembered shards of earth striking her. The other man was standing in front of Nox, hand out in a gesture. The Inquisitor was holding a gun. Stupid idiot! God, what kind of moron was this? They were in a hospital full of people and there were cameras everywhere. She stopped, looking for Tenzin, heart pounding.

Such a fucked up situation. Now all they needed was the Sentient turning a bunch of security guards on them all.

[Jerry]

It all happened so fast. It was like Jer knew something bad was going to happen, and then it did. Fire popped up around the girl? Holy fuck! And then the earth erupted around his feet and instinct took over Jer pulled the gun from behind his back and was advancing - except he stumbled forward. He couldn't move - even a little. His eyes went straight to the sidewalk trapping his feet and then flicked back up to his quarry. That split second was all the boy needed. He could have killed him then and there. But instead in front of Jer's own very eyes hung a wall of silvery light. His finger twitched and a bullet flew threw the air.

It impacted the shining curtain and then floated in mid-air. The boy and his friends had their back to him and they were running away. Jer commanded the drone to follow the boy. But it would take minutes for it to correct course. Fuck he was getting away! "He's getting away." Jer struggled against his bonds, wearing himself down.

[Sterling]

The invisible bonds let her go but Sterling was dumbstruck by what happened next. The fire just went out. It was gone like it never had been, but... And then the sidewalk erupted around the guy's feet and Raffe was in front of Nox, and Nox was telling her to run.

It finally registered and she ran. She wasn't sure where to go so she just ran the way they had been going. Down an alley, around a corner, down another alley through a crowded sidewalk. She ran...

[Nox]

Raffe stepped in front of him. He was trying to defuse the situation. Nox saw the scar around his neck and knew that he would - it was in his nature. It made Nox smile inside that this man thought he could stop the Atharim from shooting him. And his ploy had worked the man looked down and Nox wove a three foot thick wall of air between them. As thick and hard as he could possible weave it. He prayed it would stop a bullet and it wasn't much longer after the wall solidified and Nox tied it off that the gun went off and the bullet flew at them stopping in the middle of the wall right in front of Raffe's left eye and it would have gone through and gotten Nox if he new the type of gun - which he was pretty sure it would.

Nox shoved the plant into Raffe's hands and grabbed him with his good arm and let every other weave go. He wasn't going to be able to hold the plant and keep them safe on the run by splitting his flows. He knew his limits. "Keep this safe for me and I'll keep ups safe." Nox said as he grabbed Raffe's arm. "We gotta go."

Sterling was already running and it took everything in his power to catch up to her, and keep her safe from on coming traffic and people as she continued to barrel forward. High above them Nox heard the tiny din of a drone following them. He could turn and shoot it down, but it was just better to get out of sight. At the next grate in the alley he shouted, "Sterling, stop."

Nox didn't waste any time while he pulled the grate up with a weave of air and a might groan of the metal bending. "There are eyes everywhere they can't know where we went."

[[ continued in Safe for now ]]

[Nox]

When the last of Jerry's friends passed her by - the last of the Atharim Kali knew it was time to go. She left the security guard. It was probably best to leave the city as well. Plans needed to be made, but she would be gone within the week. At least that's how it had always happened in the past. This was the first time that things had happened this way. How could she have found the worst possible people to try entrap this time!

[Raffe]

Raffe flinched badly when the bullet dinged in front of his face, heart beating hard, glad he’d placed his trust in Nox’s abilities but also feeling pretty foolish. The plant thrust into his grip, and the words were somewhat blurred, but the grounding of a hand pulled him onwards. He found his feet soon enough, and ran.

[Tenzin]

It was over quickly.

Tenzin’s jaw hardened, hackles spiked, muscles tight. Anger snarled in her like a primal storm, though she contained it as best she could. Instinct warred with the hierarchy of men. She adhered to titles, aware she had two feet not four paws, but she could not follow this. She would not follow this.

She could smell Jacinda’s approach. It was unlikely her sister had dispatched the sentient; she would not be so foolish in a public place, and for that Tenzin was glad. Perhaps the woman was not innocent, but she did not deserve to die for it, and Tenzin did not wish that extra blood on Jacinda’s hands.

The inquisitor struggled against whatever the channeler had done. Tenzin did not prowl closer, and certainly gave no indication she wished to help. “Yes. Your fault.” A brow rose for the apportioned blame. She had been content to give him the benefit of doubt for his actions while he was trapped by the sentient’s manipulations, but this had been all of his own volition. 

Dark eyes roamed to her sister, but she said nothing -- too angry with the situation to speak. Her expression was gravely still, shadowed by whatever thoughts ran through her mind just then. After a moment she stalked away.

[Jerry]

It wan'st his fault. Well not exactly. Why had he looked at him? He hadn't drawn his attention. And the girl. She'd have a kill order out before the night was out. Still a young one - still easy pray, unlike the boy who had trapped him in the ground.

"I never asked for your help." He growled. And he knew that it was his fault that things went awry. He'd been played by Kali first, but the boy hadn't tried to kill him. When the archangels went after him he never had attacked them either. He was defending himself. He was a traitor to the Atharim, but he above himself had saved more lives than he had. But his feet were still trapped and they were long gone, even the drone had lost them to the underground. The bullet still hung in mid air trapped in nothing.

The crowd around him and scrambled the moment the gun had gone off. Sirens were in the air. And even that the only sound in the air Jer heard the soft tinkle of the bullet falling to the ground. Whatever held it in place gone. Jer watched it dance on the ground until it stopped. It never even exploded on impact, just stopped dead in the air.

Jer tugged at his feet. The sirens drew near. He tugged until the brittle earth fell away and he stumbled to the ground on his knees. Whatever the boy had done was crumbling now. Gone... what had he done.

With bruised knees and more of his ego bruised he hurried to pick up the fallen bullet and rushed to follow after the boy. He couldn't let him lose - he was a danger. He was Atharim and he knew the way of things, and now he knew he was hunted once again. Time was short.