asher_talos | (no subject)

This was a bad idea.

Asher had know as much going into it, of course, but he played along. What was the harm? It kept Danica happy, for one. That in and of itself was reason enough. The other one being that Asher had never really expected them to find anything. They had an eternity, what were a few months wasted, scouring the four corners of the globe, chasing a myth they'd never meet in the flesh?

Only this time, they did meet him. And he was pissed.

Wolfie was dead, his ashes wafting in the stale air of that subterranean deathtrap as the ground beneath them began to groan and quake. Their lanterns flicked, lighting up a terrifying vignette of an armored creature, rising out of the earth, thrashing and growling and headed straight for Danica.

She screamed.

The ground was still moving and lights still flashed in and out, but the scream faded into more of screech by the end. A whistle? When the lights finally hold steady, Asher's eyes dart around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

A train. He was standing on a train, Grimwood, Danica and that thing nowhere to be seen. What was this? Did he get knocked out? Had he met the same fate as Wolfie? What the fuck was happening and why was it happening on a fucking train?

Threaded | Flat

After the third kick to his ribs, Ray decides then and there that this carrying malarkey has to stop. It's a bad habit to have gotten into but sometimes it's easier to give in than to argue with her. Like father, like daughter.

"You're lucky you're a minor," he warns, hefting Celia higher on his back and trudging along the broadwalk. "Otherwise I'd haul you in for assaulting a cop." Technically, he's already hauling...

"Glooooooorrrrrrriiiaaaaa!" His sister's screech is so loud even Daniel pulls his hand from Ray's to cover both his ears. There is at least one difference between Ray Vecchio and Celia's miniature horse though and that is the ability to use elevators, a huge advantage when lugging around a five year old. Daniel gets to press the button for good behavior, which earns Ray another kick. It's pretty difficult to discipline anyone when they have their hands around your throat, so he files it away in his ever-expanding mental folder of Parenting Problems To Deal With Later.

When the doors ping open, it's not the basement floor they find but a narrow carriage, stretching straight ahead. Were it up to Ray, he'd stay planted to the spot but it seems the island has other plans, propelling him forward, kids in tow, until he's stood next to a guy with his nose buried in the Darrow Reporter.

Daniel's hand finds Ray's again and he looks uncertainly over his shoulder, the elevator having been replaced with a door connecting the carriages. Celia's grip tightens around his neck and the train suddenly rocks, knocking Ray into the commuter, earning him a shove back.

"Aw, great," he whines, rubbing at his chest. "I hate it already."

Thank God they'll only be here from anywhere between one and thirty days. Preferably the former.