Snow in the Summer

[subconmodo]

Who: Avery Atchison, Jailbreak, Valvatorez, Hieke, Héctor, Puella Tempus, James Griffin, Ekkehardt Gehring
What: A mission to stop a queen who just can't let it go.
Where: A museum ice manor in Germany, August 20th.
Warning: Violence, disturbing imagery, one (1) yandere

[No top text here. Will instead be breaking everything down into sections. Make sure to hit up the plotting post if you haven't already!]

Comments

[nor_iron_bars]

...Yeah, that's fair. [She appreciates your understanding of her terrible life choices, Val.] No structural damage if I can help it, I'm going for "small but concentrated" here.

...Just, uh. Be sure to back up a few steps if you hear me shout "fire".

[unpocoloco]

[He doesn't think he's going to stop being afraid for Puella (and himself) and wishing she weren't in the line of fire. But she's here and so after he takes a minute to swallow down that fear, he offers a weak smile to her and a hand held out low for a quick five.]

Sounds like we're team distraction then, ay Puelita?

[And to the others.]

We'll do our best and run like heck.

[hattersgonnahat]

[Puella gives Ekkehardt one last little nuzzle before requesting to be put back down. Now that she's more aware of Vanessa's literal mind games she shouldn't stall like that again. Probably. She better not.]

[And yeah, running fast and away from explosives. That doesn't seem too bad compared to everything else.]

[So she fives back.] We can do it..!

[onebetter]

Good luck, both of you. I'll give you covering fire, make sure you won't fall victim to attacks from unexpected places.

[ He doesn't feel great about letting Puella do this himself, but she is here, and she's here for a reason. ]

This would leave the professors and Ekkehardt for active offense.

[subconmodo]

[Not a one of them suggests using him as bait. Not a one.

Not like he'd do it even if they tried to make him, but still there's something... something about it. He can't put his finger on what exactly.]

If either of you get hurt, you're paying your own hospital bills. Don't go blaming anyone else if you get frostbite.

[That seems like fair enough warning]

[unpocoloco]

[It's hard not to be charmed by her optimism. Smile pulling and aching at once.]

That's right.

[And to Griffin:]

Gracias. And if you see anything weird just... keep doing what you're doing.

[They don't have the time to worry about hiding abilities here.

Avery gets a softer look too, if a tinge more wry. (Bait was never an option.)]

We'll be okay, promise. Alright, Puelita, let's go. We know the way.

[He starts ahead, making sure to lead and give her the chance to turn tail if she needs to. He imagines the others will follow, but doesn't look back as the halls get colder and colder. She's coming close. But maybe if the can reach that room in time...]

[hattersgonnahat]

[Why would she have to pay for herself? Doesn't the school already cover that?? That's what Ekkehardt and Hieke were for...]

Yeah!

[She appreciates Héctor leading. Not that she was very far behind at all but it was one last brief moment of defense before she had to be on her own. It they stayed too close together their distraction tactics would be less effective. Assuming their mission was to confuse and disorientate her long enough for everyone else to make their move.]

[Either the rooms were getting smaller, dense, or the ice was starting to get thicker and colder. Some of the Queen's 'handiwork' could be found all around. Not even just the bodies but display cases had been frosted over and artifacts beyond salvation. Good thing there was no taxidermy in this room in particular. Last thing needed with the darkness, tension, and ice imagery is a creepy extinct animal looming over...possibly also frozen.]

[Finally, Puella could see the door to the storage room on the other side, if that was still where they were heading. It wasn't much, but it did lift her spirits just enough to keep going. They were almost there.]

[And then she could see it. She could sense it at any rate. There was a haze wafting from one of the other hallways. It's easy to guess what could possibly be on of the other side.]

S-she's...

[spelleton]

[ He doesn't need the sound of Puella's voice to sense the queen's approach; she's a weight on the world, distorting everything around her.

She laughs. Or cries; he's not sure. He doesn't listen to the sounds coming from her; she'll worm her way into his head again. Can't have that. ]

Just keep moving. [ His voice is clear and quiet, just loud enough for Puella to catch. ] We're right behind you.

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jail's hands move nimbly, darting from one pocket to another to pull out little components, twisting them together and dropping the results in a pouch hanging on her belt. She doesn't even seem to need to look at them while she works, head up and gaze alert as she moves forward with the group.]

[Bomb-making while in motion and not looking at the devices in question might not be a very smart idea, but most people aren't Seers. Maybe that tinge of extrasensory perception gives her a bit of an edge there.]

[Or maybe it's just years of practice.]

Last call for grenades. Anyone who wants a couple, speak up now.

[Her voice is clear but quiet, intentionally avoiding too much extra noise. She's not sure if Vanessa can here them from the other room- frankly, she's amazed that someone in such a dark, twisted haze is aware of the outside world at all- but she'd rather not take the risk.]

[onebetter]

... never thought I'd say this, but grenades sound good right now.

[ Jail's probably familiar with the eyebrow-raised 'this might as well happen' look he gives her as he takes some of her explosives and stashes them in his clothes.

Then he's off, following Héctor and Puella. He doesn't want to leave them alone for even a moment too long. This place is freaking him out, its influence creeping under his professional attitude. They can't let this go on to long, or he fears someone in the group will break. The thing he's most afraid of is that it might be him. ]

[unpocoloco]

[Fear would almost have him answering yes to the call for grenades but no way does he trust himself to be able to pull that off and not get someone else hurt. For that matter, going out in a blaze is probably one of the ways he actually can go out.

His eyes fixed on the way the air seems to shift around the Queen's approach, but he manages to reach down and give Puella's shoulder the barest squeeze. If it's half for his own comfort, he doubts anyone will call him for it.

He arcs away from her and the rest of the group. A distraction works far better split apart. He steps to the side, sticking to shadow as best he can to stay out of the Queen's vision. He readies an arrow and draws it back. A little vase sits some ways behind the approaching shadow, a priceless artifact no doubt, but it's a history that'll just have to be sacrificed. He fires, causing the little thing to shatter. With any luck, it'll have her turning around. Without luck, he prepares to run.]

[hattersgonnahat]

[The vase shattering sure draws a lot of attention, but who knows for how long. While the shot was fired Puella decided to go her own way, sneaking around the Queen as she looked for who the arrow belonged to. Eventually, she was going to discover the rest of the group.]

[Puella was...well aware that her strategy will probably not go along well with others, it was not really something she wanted to do either. But she also was not completely stupid. A method to the madness? After all, she would not have signed up for distraction duty if she did not know she would have to be live bait.]

HEY!! [She shouted loudly to get Vanessa's attention. The piercing red eyes and...distortion, sure cause for some hesitation now, but it was too late. Gotta run, and run the child did.]

[And by run it's really more like a somewhat choreographed parkour to get as high up as she can. Who knew the kid could even jump that high, or that fast. So long as she can keep the Queen's back turned from the people armed, and stay out of reach, she should be perfectly safe. Though it was very cold and somewhat slippery even this far from the ground.]