the veil is thin . . .

[thespaceopera]

[ On the night of the 16th, the feeling of tension and horrid anticipation comes to a head. Everything stops when the sun goes down-- even the ever-present music in the hoppingest part of the city center. One by one, everyone turns their eyes to the skies. The young and old alike pour out of their houses, some in bare feet, and they point to the velvety blanket of stars.

It takes a second to find it, especially if one is unaccustomed to the starscape. But even a casual observer can see it.

A brightly-shining star, larger than the others, and growing larger.

An announcement cuts across all communication channels that encourages people to evacuate to the space station, but it’s clear that these are just people and they’ll need some help. Supplies, equipment, organization, there’s something for everyone to do.

Civilization is disrupted by a panicked stampede of people vying for limited seats aboard spacefaring craft. Within hours, there will be crushed glass, looting, and chaos.

The clock is ticking. Will you help? Or would you rather watch the dying gasps of a Singing Planet from a safe distance? ]

[OOC: Please see this post for plot details. Phase two has begun! Feel free to use this post as a reaction post, mingle, etc. or make your own!]

Comments

[bryces_pup]

[Now that the pain's been drastically reduced, Riona relaxes a fair bit. Once her arm's set, she carefully rotates her shoulder, testing out the joint. Reassured, she then gingerly moves her arm, bending it at the elbow. A tad stiff, but nothing that can't be worked out with some stretching. Lastly she rotates her wrist and wriggles her fingers. Everything feels okay.

Carefully she sits up, though immediately her head spins a bit. Oops, a bit too much blood loss. Ah well, she's worked her way through worse.]

Thank you, both of you. It's been awhile since I got healed up like that.

[But it was a lot of magic. She peers at Anders, brow furrowed in concern.] Are you holding up all right? You push yourself too much most of the time. Make sure to rest for a bit before going back at it.

[whatisright]

[The relief at seeing Riona sit up, weak but healthy, is dizzying. Justice has never been so invested in someone else's health regardless of the justice or injustice of their condition. When he looks down at her face, the corners of his mouth twitch, his eyes soften, and it's almost like a smile. The fact that he cares so intensely should probably worry him, but he can't be worried about anything when she's okay.

Well. Almost anything.

Anders is clearly going to overtax himself if he keeps healing. It's just as obvious to Justice as it is to Riona. Justice slows the flow of mana to a trickle, but he doesn't cut off the connection between him and Anders. Anders had suggested not long ago that Justice help him with patients. Riona isn't the only patient here.]

I will assist.

[Justice doesn't bother to ask. It's a statement. Anders is running low on his own mana, and Justice has plenty of power to offer. Together, they can help more people than either of them can help alone. Working together is the logical thing to do.]

[apurrstate]

[His mana pulls back completely and Riona doesn't seem any worse or like she's struggling still, other than the usual aches and stiffness healing always leaves behind. He breathes a sigh of relief for it.

Exhaustion rocks him and he presses his fingers to his eyes a moment as though that would shake the sudden swirl in his vision. It was one thing to heal in an unrefined burst, it was another to carefully weave spirit healing into a delicate tool and hold it like that. Without Justice, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold the magic together for so long. The underwater planet had quickly retaught him his own limits without Justice's energy at his fingertips.

But he took his hand from his face and waved off their concern, fixing Riona with a firm look.]

You've still lost a lot of blood, you should sleep to allow your body to do the rest. And, Maker help me, I will make you sleep if you fight me on it.

[But then he looked to Justice and Wolfe next.]

Even with your help, I'm afraid there's only so much more I can do. Love, will you see if anyone else is in desperate need of help and let me know?

With this I think Wolfe's out so feel free to skip him.

[wolfehawke]

[The request for more patients is one that Wolfe takes with a dubious look on his face. Anders is clearly near the end of his reserves of both mana and energy. Even so, Anders calls him Love despite his earlier transgression and it settles a steady warmth in his chest that for the moment outweighs his wariness of the situation. Riona will be alright, Justice logically has no reason to do anything to Anders. It's fine.

Well, other than his love's tendency to work himself to exhaustion.]

I will. We're likely going to be getting more refugees in just now that had a rough time getting out during the shockwave, but you promise me that you'll stop before you do yourself any harm, alright? It's more than your patients that need you.

[He makes certain he holds Anders' gaze for a long moment, too uncomfortable in present company to cross the small gap between them for a kiss, but the look in his eyes should be enough to get across his meaning. A small nod after that exchange, and Wolfe turns to go, already hearing the clamor from the docking area of ships limping in from the devastation. He takes a breath and dives in, memories of his arrival in Kirkwall playing out at the back of his mind.]