this is a robbery [closed]

[atouts]

Who: Childermass, Lambert, Cole, & Yuya.
When: Sometime later during the Harbinger invasion.
Where: The Wishmuth Museum of Art
What: The Harbinger of Fortune has his eyes set on ruining an exhibit opening for the museum's more lucrative patrons...
Warnings: Lambert's ass, Cole's TMI memory theater, and Yuya possibly wishing he'd chosen to team up with two completely different Guardians at that point in time tbh.


What would have otherwise been a quiet gathering of Wismuth's elite, to ooh and aah over the Wismuth Museum's newest additions, has ended up going a more poorly than anyone could have ever planned for. It all started with requesting to see the invitation of one man, having strolled into the reception in an indolent, uncaring manner. No one recognized him. No one was surprised when he told them he did not have one.

Surprise only came when the shadows all around them sprang to life before anyone could try and eject him.

Now the museum is surrounded by the flashing lights of cop cars and news vans, the radio and TV all announcing a strange hostage situation to add to the rest of the bizarre and dangerous events taking place in Wismuth these past few days. Not that the police can get in contact with the hostage-takers. Not that they can go into the building itself, either! The few who have vanishing just like everyone else who'd been in there before, considering their sole contact having been a short-lived emergency call from a security guard and then... nothing.

Overall, it's a mess all around the locked-down streets bordering the Wismuth Museum of Art.

Comments

[hurtcomfort]

Nobody told Cole about the bird thing either. So he just looks up, downright confused, wondering just how hard he got kicked in the head as he stares up at the giant bird thing.

Nigella seems to be the only member of the group who's actually registered that they should do something about the bird, as she zooms through the air in an attempt to...tackle Childerbird with her tiny little nug body. As such, she bounces ineffectively off. Childermass: 1, nug: 0.

[atouts]

Childermass keeps a lot to himself, especially when it came to magic. What all he can do, what tricks he has up his sleeve these days, no one else would ever know, which is probably why he's chosen this route. It's a surprise.

Poor little Nigella is shrugged off, not even spared a glance because he's leaping after Lambert. He rears up, drawing back a clawed wing and snapping his serrated beak, blatantly poised to strike the witcher while he's down, but he doesn't. He wavers, uncertain now that CY-Ren isn't taking up all his thoughts on who he cares about.

Killing a pack of Star Guardians should be an easy decision and yet--

He moves back a step and lets out an angry shriek at the witcher instead, then fight turns to flight, literally. He brings his wings down, sending debris flying everywhere, all save his scattered cards. Those all blink away, out of sight, in little flashes of blue light. Then, he takes off, barrelling through the exhibit hall for the big bay windows that line the high parts of the walls.

[whattaprick]

In the moment before Childermass strikes, all Lambert can do is grab over his shoulder for a sword that isn't there, his weapon having gone clattering out of his hand. Scrambling backwards towards where he dropped the sword just brings a hand into contact with the small iron knife still slick with his blood on the floor, and even as the iron burns his fingers, Lambert has a brief, wild mental image of grabbing it and flinging it into the beast advancing towards him.

But Childermass hesitates, and so does he.

When the crow shrieks, Lambert flinches, ducking his head in a vain effort to protect sensitive ears. From there, he quickly has to move to covering his head as everything goes flying -- until he realizes what it means.

"No!" It's his turn to yell denial, rolling to his feet and starting to run after Childermass as he flees, hand already raised to summon Pig back into bike form again. He doesn't have any plan, just running after him to catch him and drag him back ... except he's forgotten that he's been stabbed in the damn calf, and he stumbles after a few steps. It's not bad enough to incapacitate him by any means, but it does slow him down.

"Get after him!"

[hippocarnival]

Yuya flinches as Childermass takes off, sluggishly bringing an arm up to block any debris. He pushes himself to his feet, swaying a little as he's recovering from a daze.

Yuya takes a step forward, but he knows immediately he has no hope of pursuing the crow on his own. He's only got his feet under transformation, and his running isn't so good he can keep up with something that flies.

"Lambert!" He turns to him, initially to pursue Childermass together--but then he sees the blood and the wound. "You're hurt!"

They're all hurt, but he's probably hurt the worst. So he rushes to Lambert's side.

[hurtcomfort]

The problem with Cole's magic is that his weapons are also his familiar. And his familiar is currently lying on the floor on the other side of the room. He can't really do anything either and can only watch as Childermass takes off and starts flying away.

"There are potions at the carnival," Cole says, as he looks over at Lambert with a worried frown. On the other side of the room, Nigella gets to her feet and (slightly dazed) flies over towards Cole. "I can't help with that right here."

And he's not entirely sure Yuya knows how to treat stab wounds either. "We need to be somewhere safe."

[atouts]

And without anyone in pursuit, the giant crow smashes through the windows, adding more glass and debris to the hall below.

It's far enough away that the three Guardians won't have to worry about stray shards adding injury to even more injury, but Childermass is most definitely gone now. The lights that kept his shadow teleportation at bay aren't out here, in a nighttime city, and he's gone for good as soon as he finds a shadowed wall to fly through.

[whattaprick]

Lambert straightens when Yuya heads the exact opposite direction he wants him to, but any yelling is cut off by the sound of shattering glass and Childermass's unmistakable departure. He's furious -- for the second time this week, pursuit's cut off by his own injury -- and he turns to the other two.

"Cole is right," Pig pipes up, trotting over, seemingly unruffled. "We can't stay here."

Lambert looks around -- at the scattered cards, at the hulking shape of the cooled fire elemental now fused to the floor, the debris and the remaining cards Yuya still has yet to pick up -- and swears under his breath. He tugs the bandanna from his tail and uses it as a makeshift bandage to tie over his wound.