Night 52: North of the Institute (woods)

[tsunagari]

[from here]Sai hit the ground and rolled as the blasts from their opponent ripped through the air to either side of them. He crawled up onto his knees, pawing around for the flashlight that had been knocked from his hands in the attack. "Naruto?" He hadn't seen if the blond had been hit or not. If he had, this whole venture would have been a

Comments

[its_the_mileage]

[from here]

Indy waited until he thought they were well out of range of any psychopaths on the rec field before he slowed down. He pulled the flashlight out, flicked it on and took a quick look around--no obvious threats, and none of those grabbing plants, either. "How bad is it?" he asked Richter, this time in a more sympathetic tone.

[unheroed]

Harvey had only really had the chance to grab his belongings from where they'd fallen in the grass (and honestly, he wouldn't have been able to find them so quickly if it hadn't been for the fact that a few nearby trees had been on fire) before he had to race after Jones, who was pulling Recluse along with him as if he was an animal -- though really, Harvey knew it was to make sure that the man kept up despite his injuries

[tartaros_avatar]

Recluse had stumbled as Indy led the way, pulsating after-images of the light all that he could see apart from a few suggestions of vague outlines. Once they stopped, he turned his attention to one of the burns on his arms, touching the edge of it with a gloved fingertip, clenching his jaw as the already intense pain flared

[its_the_mileage]

[It's fine if the others see his shadow!]Indy nodded. Richter'd been moving remarkably well on the uneven ground for someone who couldn't see, and he was also right in noting that they had no real way of treating the burns out here. Even if they'd been bad enough to warrant turning around and trying to get help in the Institute (was that clinic even still running?), Indy didn't imagine the others were any more eager than he was at the prospect of dodging the guy with the blade and whatever other screwballs Landel had brainwashed tonight. He continued forward, slower than before but at a decent clip nonetheless

[unheroed]

[Same here!]

In regards to the burn wounds, Harvey was caught between sympathizing because he knew exactly how it felt (Recluse's burns weren't as severe as his own, but a burn was a burn) and being totally unfeeling (if he'd been through it and survived, even if he was less of a man now, then Recluse could too). But it seemed that Harvey was often of two minds these days, and there wasn't much point in commenting on it.

He didn't have any of those bandages with him, since he always stripped them off at dinner and discarded them in his room to be dealt with by the staff at some point. Though even if he had brought them along, using them on Recluse's wounds would have been downright unsanitary. And it wasn't as if the nurses gave him extra.

So they all seemed to have agreed to just keep moving, and so Harvey kept after the other two, staying close in case Recluse started to collapse. What he hadn't really expected was for the moon to suddenly show itself out of nowhere. He'd heard of fast-moving clouds, but this was ridiculous. It

[tartaros_avatar]

[fff, like anyone wouldn't be able to guess Recluse is a bad man. Take a good look, the thing's probably doing backflips by now!]

Recluse followed Jones, eyes slowly ceasing their visual screaming at him, the afterimages of the light fading. Well. Now at least, he could see.

Hold that thought. Of course the moon came out without any warning whatsoever. Recluse made an irritated hiss, holding up a hand to block the moon's light out of his vision as best as he could.

"Good." If they could just get to somewhere dark, Recluse would be thrilled. With the whole problem of light once again, it took him a moment to realize what Jones was referring to when he spoke next. He eventually looked down, raising an eyebrow as the man's shadow warped and shifted. "As I suspected." He turned to look at his own and Dent's, watching them move with detached interest.

"I'm sure Landel has just informed everyone of something in the most melodramatic way possible. It's such a shame we're missing it." Really. Shadows moving on their own? Was this really

[its_the_mileage]

When he followed the other men's gazes, Indy realized his shadow wasn't the only one moving on its own. Both Dent's and Richter's shadows were distorting themselves as well. He shot a glance at the nearby trees, but he wasn't surprised when he saw that those shadows were obediently still and the right place. Only the three human shadows were affected. Was this supposed to be Landel's demonstration of hypocrisy?

Apparently Richter was thinking along the same lines. Indy didn't share his views on the lack of originality inherent in manipulating people's shadows (evidently Richter knew people who could play shadow puppets unseen in the middle of nowhere like this--but what did you expect from a guy who thought giant blades and fireballs were old hat, for God's sake), but he was similarly disinterested in whatever Landel had to say about their moral standings

[unheroed]

While both Recluse and Jones seemed relieved that they hadn't had to listen to Landel's speech that had probably gone along with this sudden change, Harvey wasn't so sure he felt the same. While it was true that the Head Doctor was downright annoying to listen to, at least they would have had some sort of insight on what the hell was happening. And unlike Recluse, who seemed to think he was above all of this, Harvey wasn't exactly used to shadows suddenly moving of their own accord.

Still, all three of them were having the same problem and nothing terrible was happening yet -- which didn't mean it wouldn't eventually, but for now they were just going to have to keep moving. If they let this change of events stop them from achieving their ultimate goal, then they were letting Landel win

Augh sorry LJ ate my post and forgot to tell me D8

[tartaros_avatar]

"I might have to go on walks like these more often. It's pleasant, once you get past the raving idiots on the field," Recluse replied, following after Jones. "There are multiple ways that it could be done. Most have to do with magic," he pronounced the word as if it were a curse, "which is not my field of expertise. But some work has been done by noted scientists on illusion that can also appear to manipulate shadows."

It was a relief that they were drawing close, although he'd never admit it. The fresh burns were exceedingly painful, and he was simply gritting his teeth and refusing to acknowledge it. Getting to somewhere darker would at least improve his mood.

Then, of course, things just had to get more complicated. As he turned his head to watch behind them, the movement of his shadow caught his eye again. He was just about to turn away, when he noticed with a slight shock that it was actually reaching a hand out of the ground. He stopped, turning fully to face the shadow, drawing a long knife he'd slipped into his boot,

[its_the_mileage]

Indy appreciated the derisive emphasis on the word magic. It was a step toward putting them all back on solid, sane intellectual ground, despite the inexplicable, impossible-to-ignore movement of their shadows. He wasn't sure what research scientists (what scientists? Indy couldn't imagine what college would give anyone funding to study illusions, but maybe things were different after the depression ended--or in Richter's world, if he indulged that theory) would be doing on shadow manipulation, but for now he was ready enough to labor under the assumption that there was some

[its_the_mileage]

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