alderwitch

How many are left in how many groups?

Alex was in the red and white costume she usually wore. She was still coating her arms and legs in sunscreen as they teleported into the jungle heat. Unfolding an incongruous floppy red hat from her belt, she tucked it over her hair and loosely knotted the ties under her chin before launching herself after Edet, leaving a sparkling trail in her wake. 'Mental communication is going to be spotty while I'm esp'd out, so we're on verbal communication with Mike relaying up to me from the ground while I get a good look around.' Alex's serene mental 'tone' filled their thoughts briefly as she trailed after Edet, including him in the circle of communication. 'I'll warn before I project any rapidfire images.'

Taylor glanced at Stesha's bundled look before glancing down at her ensamble. There-in lay the problem with asking the vampire if she'd dressed appropriately for the weather outside. Jack had given her a sweeping glance that seemed to linger on her legs before pronouncing the coat sufficient. Next time she'd glance out the window to see for herself how bundled people were. Rolling her eyes at herself, Taylor stepped between Stesha and the wind to provide some shelter. No doubt Moira would make with the hugging again as well. "I can wait out here for Lynn if you two want to go in and get a table," Taylor offered offhandedly. "I'm sure she'll be along shortly."

"It's hard not to worry. I can see all the hurt under the surface. She keeps running so hard and fast but she can't run from herself," Alex said a little sadly, her hazel eyes suddenly impossibally old in her pixie face, "She's so manic sometimes that it scares me. I don't want either her or Eddie to end up hurt but I think its inevitable."

Taylor was reduced to a blushing laugh but she didn't disagree with Atlas's suggestions. She flashed a fond smile at him before sliding gracefully into James arms. It didn't escape James' notice that she glanced over his shoulder too, to find her new husband in the crowded party before she returned her attention to James' face. "You're such a flirt, James Prophet," Taylor teased him with a lighthearted smile. She meant, of course, his dance with Grim. She wasn't the world's best dancer, but surprisingly, Taylor could follow someone else's lead. Of course, without using magic, trying to push Jack around the floor would have been like trying to shove the wall over and just as futile, "That cowboy gave you such the hairy eyeball."

Taylor is dazzled: 4

"My father's an anesthisiologist, my mother is a trauma surgeon. They both work at the hospital. Actually, so does my brother in cardiology. Three doctor Chuns in the family." Taylor said with a slightly rueful tone to her voice. Her discipline was considered a 'soft science' a little indulgently by her right-brained family. She had griped many, many times to Jack on the car-ride home about that fact. Taylor nodded along with the doctor's explanation as that was along the line of what she had surmised of her condition herself. Her lips parted to respond when her brain caught up to Archevielle's lightening quick summary of the vampiric condition and she briefly boggled at him. "Hey, the rising is perfectly fine. More than fine, really. Exceptionally good." Explaining supernatural hijinks, easy. Talking about her sex life and she always turned into such a ninny. Taylor made a somewhat strangled noise at that, her cheeks burning bright pink as she shook her head desperately. She turned a pleading glance to Jack as she made one last ditch attempt for recovery. "There's no problems with any of that is all I'm trying to say."

"Nice try." Phantom slashed one hand out from the folds of her cloak, parting the dark folds. If before she had sorted and collected the shadowy strings of the spell, these she snapped with a single curt gesture. They had a view of the darkness forming up into a murky mirror before it shattered from the pressure that pulsed out of Phantom's palm. With a rustle, she resettled her cloak around her body once more and strode forward. Phantom's voice was a livid growl, "You have no idea of the forces that you are playing with. I should toss you all into the shadows to learn the folly of your ways. You foolish, arrogant amateurs!" She spat the last like it was the foulest curse she could think of.

I don't think so Dimensional Nullify, 40ft area affect. Power check: 1d20+8=23

Pissed as she was, Phantom's arrival was more frightening than usual as she rose from the floorboards of the stage, her cloak billowing out like dark wings around her form. Eldritch power already crackled around her fingers as she rose up behind Stesha. Her eyes glowed like twin angry stars below the shadow of her hood. "Hey, blonde-and-badly-dubbed," Phantom growled, bringing her hands in front of her as she fired off her own massive crackling bolt of energy, "Enjoy some eldritch blasts."

Taylor will take her move action to float up through the stage, and then return fire: 1d20+11=30 to hit. DC26 Tou Save.

"No, no more of that. I promise." Phantom murmured quietly, crouching down to run light fingers over the animals. It was only a cursory examination, Phantom lacked the medical skills to make a real examination but she was satisfied the dogs were in no urgent danger. In a low soft tone, Taylor explained quietly that there would be no more of such things. The 'two-legs' hand been punished for their crimes. That they were mad things, unusual and despised by their own kind. When Avenger returned with what little there was available, Phantom backed away before turning to face him. She began to roll her sleeve down slowly, and pull her glove back on, "They need a vet and a rehabilitator. The pups are too young to have been trained, but she'll have trouble finding a home. She's not crazed, fortunately, just reasonabally mistrustful."

Taylor laughed at that, finally dimpling her cheeks with the smile she flashed at Stesha, "I already told Jack we're blaming any odd-ball invitees on his side. So far he's taking it with good grace once I accepted that Ace was coming as my friend. He is actually a friend of my family so that's not actually a stretch. I think Jack just didn't want to have to deal with 'his brother Vince' again. I know Ace would have reveled in it. He's not coming to the ceremony. The only person we're inviting outside of my family is Elena. She's helping with somet of the legalities of it all."

Alex laughed, and gave a little shrug but she didn't disagree with his assessment. She did do the right thing almost all the time, mostly because it was the right thing to do. Alex flashed him a gamine grin as he 'stole' the pile of leaves, happily crunching the remains under her boots in his wake. After a few moments, she returned to his unanswered question, "Zoe's okay. I worry about her a lot. I think its harder in some ways because I'm not so very different mentally than the mother she remembers. I am more emotionally mature than most forty year olds. Physically, however, I still am sixteen. Plus, she's right at the age to rebel. It makes things... complicated. She gets along better with Mike."

"Again, I don't honestly know," Alex said apologetically, as if it was her fault for the gaps in her knowledge of advanced tesseracts and dimensional physics, "It really depends on what methodology that's being used to create the singularity. Something would have had to be in this dimension to use as a target, I assume, but there is always a possibility that there is some configuration that I am completely unaware of. As the plane vanished midflight, I imagine that we'll find something on the ground or in the air around there to help narrow our search. There must be some reason that the plane vanished at that exact instant in time and space, once we have that, everything else is cake." After her mini speech, she quickly demolished her smaller sandwich and drained a glass of water, before neatly putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

"Hrmmm," Phantom made the displeased noise low in her throat. Reaching up, she unfastened the cloak around her throat and then began stripping off the thick leather gloves, "Why don't you see if there's anything like food or water in this place and I'll see if she can be approached." The fact that she expected to be bit a few times was clear as she rolled her sleeve back, exposing one smooth pale arm. It was a pity that regeneration didn't mean she didn't feel the actual injury, but Phantom was hopeful that her intangibility would keep the teeth from setting into her flesh. If that wasn't the case, she'd rather not have the pit bull getting mouthfulls of the costume as well. Any damage to her arm would heal fast enough and it wasn't like she could catch anything. She began to trace out an arcane pattern with her fingertips before she thought to explain to Avenger, "This is going to sound really strange." As she finished the pattern, the whines and yips changed to clearly understandable if still oddly pitched cries for help. Not every world Phantom visited spoke one of the many languages she knew. Sometimes, something extra was required. Dropping the echo from her voice, Phantom crouched down, "Its alright. We'll get you some food and water, and someplace safe."

Looking as addled as she felt, Taylor stepped back when she was released from the hug. Oh, that was how she got talked into these things. Moira, right. Blinking to clear the lingering fog, she shook her head firmly, "No, its not a big deal. With my travel speed, I'm usually the first one here. It's really not a big deal." Reaching up, she tucked her long hair back behind one ear and asked, perhaps a little desperately, "Stesha and Lynn should both be here any minute."

"Only if you're sure," Taylor said honestly, raising up her hands, "That would be wonderful, really wonderful. There's certainly a part of me that would love a normal wedding day like everyone else but I'm well aware we're not everyone else. I just don't want to have it turn into the usual debacle, you know?"

Alex gave him a little shrug and said quite seriously, "I never claimed to be morally perfect. That would be arrogant beyond belief. I have a temper and a whole host of other besetting vices, just like anyone really. I'm just a bit more self aware than the average sixteen year old, that's all. Well, a lot more aware, but that's mostly due to my psychic acumen than any native moral compass."

There was a bit more kibitzing back and forth until sushi was settled on, and then a bit of further discussion about which sushi place to go to. Eventually, they settled on a semi-upscale sushi place that was more of a sushi-and-bar establishment. It was a popular Friday night destination but as it was Moira wheedling the reservations, there was no real problem getting in. Taylor waited outside for the rest of the group, forgetting to look affected by the brisk december weather as she stood outside under the neon sign. There was already a small line forming to the outside which was why she'd decided that the best tactic was to stand and wait for Moira and the others to arrive. She didn't mind the weather after all. The tailored coat over her pleated knee skirt was mostly for appearances sake. Taylor stuffed her hands in her pockets and wondered briefly, and not for the first time, what she was doing out at a nightime hotspot. She imagined she'd be carded. She was always carded.

Taylor beamed up at him, as content as any bride on her wedding day. She peeked around his shoulder (as peeking over it was out of the question) and saw Jack escorting the good doctor to the bar. As the dance came to an end, Taylor twirled easily under one of Atlas's giant hands and grinned, "I think you're right. I'm not going to question it. I'm just going to enjoy the moments as they come. Think you could escort me over to find our young hellion before he finds himself another girl to whisk around the floor? There's a few people I do want to dance with before the night ends." She nodded at James to elucidate her request. Other than her father, her teammates were about the highest on that list. Deadhead, she'd have to owe a dance to.

Taylor returned Derrick's nod, her entire posture already different as she turned and shoved her way out of the crowd. Three steps into the shadows and she dove headfirst into the floor, phasing out of synch as she did so. Her flight instinct kicked in even as she reached up to touch her amulet and let the cloak and cowl of Phantom explode around her body. Grimly, she ghosted through the floor and headed for the stage that Stesha had been standing on. Ninja-boy was about to have a bad day.

Alex shook her head with a sweet smile and told him with a grin, "No, nasty was when I threatened Eddie's ability to reproduce if he hurts my daughter. This was just plain and simple honesty. I'd probably even feel bad eventually and put you back together right. But not before pictures."

Alex floated back down to him, bracing her hands on his shoulders and letting Mike actually set her on the ground. She still felt shakey enough flying that she didn't really want to risk carreening into the crowds or one of the pews. Plus, it was a nice feeling to be picked up and set safely on the ground. She slipped under his arm as she shook her head and started gathering her things up, "No, I think that I've gotten the ones that I needed. There's so many more people here who need comfort than me."

Sure, you want me to move it forward at the end of my post and set the scene for dinner?