TP: Parade

Abnormally warm temperatures for this time of year have ensured a large turnout for the vampiric peace festivities! Throughout the day people have been partaking in the mini-carnival - rides, face painting, cotton candy. There are games to win little vampire-dolls and stuffed-animal-esque TruBlood bottles, many of them promotional items donated by the American Vampire League.

Not everything has been fun and games though. The Dallas Police Department has been out in full force. Monitoring the festivities, keeping several of the bible-thumpers at bay. While they can't rightfully remove the members of the Fellowship of the Sun, they have relegated them to one corner of the event, allowing them to hand out pamphlets and spread their word - after all, it's meant to be a day of peace.

Mayor McNaab has yet to arrive, though he's been promised for this evening - to kick things off with an official ceremony, and the parade.

Night has just begun to drift over Dallas, the soft blues of daylight deepening into light lavenders. The lavenders darkening to indigo. It is at this point that the human festival goers have begun to thin out, many not wanting to interact with the vampire populace.

-

Arisen at the earliest possible moment, dressed and scoping the terrain comes a darkly-dressed figure, lithe of form and quick of step. William Grant, Sheriff of Dallas, travels through the assembled folk with practised ease, weaving deftly past families, loners, drinkers and festival folk as he goes. Perhaps less obviously, he is surveying the surroundings; the Fellowship in particular, picking out faces and making mental notes.

-

Having decided that seeing what will happen's worth the potential risk Michael made his way to the parade, he seems to consider it all with an indifferent air, the stalls are mostly ignored, as are what they sell, his attention instead seems to be on the stage, and to a lesser degree those moving around him.

-

It is out of morbid curiosity that Lillian decides to close up shop early and come witness this Vampire Pride Parade. She may be a traditionalist, but she has never shied away from technology, so the cellphone's battery is fully charged for some picture-snapping. In addition to the phone and her purse, the witch also brought along a set of Holloween vampire fangs. You never know, maybe there's a masquerade party afterwards, right? And Lillian Haul just cannot resist indulging in a bit of inappropriate fun.

-

Due to this being a city-sponsored event, the library has been closed for the duration. Chloe, ever true to her profession, was reading silly vampire stories to children. Wouldn't her brother be so proud of her? But that was earlier, and after a break for dinner, it's apparent that there won't be many children in that area this evening. So she decides to go and check things out, while attempting to keep her powers blocking out the voices. Stupid vampire blood making the meds not work. Grumble.

-

Nolcha being one of the curious, or perhaps just out to see what this parade is really going to entail has decided to join the crowds here in the Downtown area. A bottle of beer in one hand she weaves in and out of crowds, pausing every now and then to take a look at one of the games offered. Apparently at some point earlier she decided to get her face painted and there's an amusingly cheeky bit of pink flowers painted onto her face at the moment.

-

Another one of the curious folks is the red-headed Aislin. And she probably showed up a bit later than she should have. Being short is a bit of a problem when it comes to crowds. But that doesn't stop her from trying to get to the front of the crowd. "C'mon," she mutters as she tries to weave past people. "You can see right over my head. I want to know what's happening."

-

A member of the Fellowship starts to offer a pamphlet out to Will, then shirks away at the realization that the man is a vampire. A cross is held up, a hand patting a stake at her side. "The evil that walks amongst us should not be celebrated! It should be abolished! These creatures of darkness are the children of Satan! They should not be honored, as God's Holy Light does not shine upon them!" The words may not go over all that well, considering that the festivities are now being populated with more than just semi-interested humans.

Lights begin to flicker on on the rides, loud carnival music starting up. Up on the stage things are underway for the Mayor's visit. Chairs are set neatly, the podium is tidied up, there is a sound check going on.

"CHECK ONE, ONE, CHECK TWO." There is about to be a third check, when the sound amplifies through the microphone causing a horrid screeching noise.

-

A slender finger lifts and wags at the Fellowship member, with Will allowing them a pleasant smile. Marked for later perusal. A graceful turn takes him past Aislin, momentarily distracted and amused. Perhaps sympathy for a fellow shorty. "Very little at the moment, I'm afraid-" He cuts off, head turning with a wince for the feedback.

-

Michael hears the comments from the Fellowship member, his attention turning to the woman, and then slowly to those around him, he's also spotted Will, and then Aislin as he instead keeps somewhat back from the crowd, happier to watch events from a distance than get too entangled in them himself.

-

Honestly, Lillian's stance on the vampire issue is as neutral as one can get, so she is really, really not interested in taking sides in the debate. But sometimes she just can't, can't resist. While she stops at one of the stalls to order up an ice-cream cone with - what else? - bright red strawberry syrup all over it, she glances aside to another Fellowship…. fellows handing out pamphlets, the witch just can't help but grinning and playing agitator. "Hey!" She calls to the man, and only continues once she has his attention. "So which verion of the bible do you fine folks read? I don't remember it mentioning vampires being the spawn of Satan."

-

Chloe actually takes the pamphlet. Why? Well so she can give it to her brother to show what she was doing at the festivities if he asks. While perhaps not appropriate to lie to him, she's not ready to let him in on her little secret yet. Rather than heading /toward/ the crowd by the stage, she neatly avoids it. The pamphlet is tucked into her purse, and she stops at a non-busy vendor to procure a beautifully large, fluffy piece of cotton candy. A sugar-induced coma won't stop the voices, but it will make her a tad happier about them.

-

Nolcha isn't a tall woman by any means but she doesn't seem to mind just moving with the crowd. The Fellowship booth is avoided though, neatly making sure that there's at least a person or two between her and it when she passes, who wants to have to carry paper when there's so much else to do. The sound of the microphone has her wincing, a finger going to her ear to attempt to stop its ringing once the feedback stops.

-

The screech causes a visible cringe on Aislin's face and she lifts one hand to stick a finger in her ear, rubbing it a bit before shaking the potential headache away. "Ow. Whoever set that up needs to be smacked." Eyes peer over towards the person speaking on the stage and she just shrugs. Chairs. Well. She can always stand on one in the back. And so the petite redhead turns to head towards the last few rows of chairs, whistling a pleasant tune to herself. Any 'anti-vampire' pamplets handed in her direction are denied with a dismissive wave of her hand and a shake of her head. "Not interested. I have other, more important things, to do with my time."

-

A pamphlet is held out to Lillian who is (thankfully) human. His response is a bit muffled due to the continued sound check after the feedback issue has been fixed. "… Holy Bible," he says, patting the pocket that holds it.

As ice creams and cotton candy are purchased, someone may just notice something a teensy bit odd about the vendors. The ice cream vendor, a human woman, wears a wearied expression. Her face is nearly a gigantic bruise, the bridge of her nose set nicely as though it's been recently broken. The cotton candy vendor, a vampire, doesn't even bother taking the money and has a stack of sugar bags set about oddly in his little tent.

A woman in her mid-forties appears upon the stage. "Thank you all for your patience. The mayor appears to be running a little late, so we're going to start off with some wonderful music by the Insandi Vampire band!" The band appears on the stage as the curtains part, all set up behind the podium as they begin to play a bit of old-school punk.

-

Will continues to drift through the crowd, looking to catch an occasional eye with a spotted vampire. A quiet and solemn reminder to them that he is here, and watching, and that behaving is the order of the day. As he reaches the edge, his steps carry him easily towards the entrance of a building. Stopping just inside it, he keeps careful watch from there, mostly on the stage.

-

Michael seems to have settled himself a little, his glances over the crowd showing little emotion, although he does ocassionally stop to focus on people, perhaps he too is hoping he can help keep the peace.

-

Lillian actually takes the pamphlet from the Fellowship rep and takes a brief look at it. "I am quite certain it's not in there." She points out to the man. "Unless it is a new edition that just came out, in which case I haven't read it yet." Smiling a facetious, sweet smile, the witch waves a goodbye to him and heads towards the crowd, turning her attention on her ice cream cone now while she walks. Eventually spotting someone she recognizes, Lillian strolls unhurriedly towards where Michael is standing. "Mr. Isonzo, fancy seeing you here."

-

Sugary goodness in hand, Chloe knows it's time to make her way toward the crowd. She does so slowly, pulling off a piece of the cotton-fluff and gently noming on it. Only once she's away from the vendor does she realize that the sugar was stacked up in an odd manner. The man had a blank void though, so it's not as if she'll be able to pull anything useful from him, right? She's now on alert, not fully scanning, but no longer fully trying to block all the voices. An attempt is made to sneak up to the front of the crowd at the stage, just in case she needs to let anyone know of any danger.

-

Nolcha's attention is caught at the mention of a band, standing on her tiptoes she tries to get a feel for where the stage is and then moves in that direction. "Didn't know there'd be music, might be worth the sloppy flower." is muttered to herself good naturedly as she takes a drink of her beer.

-

Punk? Really? Aislin wrinkles her nose slightly and gives a shake of her head, but doesn't verbally protest the music. Instead, she tucks her purse snugly against her side and climbs up onto one of the chairs. With an extra couple feet of height, the shortie is able to see significantly more of the events. A smile comes to her features and she turns 360 degrees, taking in the full sights of the area. From where she's currently located, at least. Her smile fades somewhat at the sight of the bruised woman, eyes settling on her and studying her from a distance.

-

"Then you simply haven't read it fully," says the man sternly, disliking those that toy with him. He waits until the woman moves on, then slides down his little area to the next unsuspecting person, offering out yet another pamphlet.

The music is blaring, it's not the worst music in the world, but it's certainly not going to be to everyone's taste. After the punk song begins to wind down, the same band begins to play a haunting melody which has been long forgotten to the human ear, though many of the vampires in the audience and at the carnival may be able to recall it.

A darkly dressed fangbanger looking type runs into Nolcha, knocking into her arm that holds the beer. "Oi! Move outta the way!" He, like a few others in the crowd, are sending out a nervous vibe as they wait for the mayor to appear.

Aislin may notice from her vantage point that there is something strapped to the roof of the ice cream vendor. Hard to make out exactly what it is, or whether it's meant to be there. Though an astute eye will notice that it's an electrical box.

-

Will Grant continues his vigil, starting to track a few dodgier types in the crowd with an experienced eye.

:Via telepathy: Will says, « If you are in this crowd somewhere, Chloe, I am up to the right— ah, there you are. Two of the clock by my reckoning on your position. In the doorway. »

-

Michael smiles slightly as Lillian approaches, his tone's relaxed as his eyes continue to scan the crowd. "Ms Haul, it's good to see you. And please call me Michael." He again scans the crowd, if he should meet eyes with Will he'll offer a respectful nod. "I wasn't sure if I would attend, but then this is one of those events that I thought it worth seeing first hand."

-

Lillian nods to Michael. "My sentiments exactly." She follows his gaze towards whoever he's looking at, curious at the man Michael offers a nod. Perceptive, but no point being nosey. Instead, she scans about the crowd, taking in the odd mix of humans and vampires. "I have to wonder what they hope to achieve with this event. When you throw cats and mice into the same pen, someone is bound to get frisky." She observes cheerfully.

-

"GAH!" The yelp comes from surprise at the sudden noise in her head. Chloe nearly drops her cotton candy, but manages to rescue it at the last possible second from meeting an untimely death on the ground. Her body pivots quickly, and she begins to march directly toward the stage. Upon reaching Will, she actually /swats/ his arm. "Don't /do/ that! You have a cell phone, for crying out loud!" Her voice lowers to naught but a whisper. "Besides which, there's a lot of noise up there right now, thanks to the other night. Meds aren't working."

-

Nolcha's lips curl at the intrusion, her beer splattering down her arm at the jostling. "Hey! Come on party foul, that was my beer!" her tone aggravated as she urges the fangbanger on his way with an 'oops I hip checked you because its crowded' move. She does keep an eye on him though, not a close one but occasionally she glances back towards him. Perhaps to just make sure her beer is safe. The music at least doesn't need to be watched and her head cocks to the side as she tries to follow just what their whole 'theme' is from punk to hauntingly old.

-

Aislin hasn't the faintest idea what an electrical box looks like, but why would there be a box at all? She squints a bit, a puzzled expression reaching her features as she considers the situation for a moment. With a slight shrug, she hops down off the chair and moves through the crowd to make her way over towards that ice cream vendor, a wide and friendly smile appearing on her face as she moves towards the bruised woman. "Good evening!"

-

The haunting melody continues, softly, gently, before crescendoing and crashing against the audience. Something meant to soothe and calm those who are still waiting for Mayor McNaab to appear.

The fangbanger just smirks, shoots Nolcha a very unflattering gesture and then tumbles as he sets to moon her and she hip bumps him. "Oi! Sweetie, do that again and ya might not like the outcome." Mouthy little bugger, isn't he?

"How can I help you?" The blonde, bruised woman tries to smile at Aislin, fails miserably due to her semi-caved-in and injured face and nods toward the sign listing the flavors and dips.

-

Spotting Michael, Will acknowledges him with a barely perceptible movement of his own head. Unfortunately, he is then the subject of a vicious assault by a marauding Chloe. "Cell phones are significantly less reliable," he notes, idly, continuing to follow a couple of folks with his look. "Anything I should be informed?" he wonders.

-

Michael shrugs his attention on Lillian his words come slowly, obviously thoughtful. "There are many things they could be hoping for." He sighs a little. "I suppose that's as much a part of why I'm here as anything else." He does offer a slight smile at the music as it changes. "Perhaps they're simply trying to learn who are the cats, and who are the mice."

-

Lillian turns her eyes away from the crowd back to Michael. "That's what market research and polls are for." She points out, a lopsided grin on her lips. "If you suspect there is a minefield, you don't march all your little soldiers across it to find out." She even makes a little walking motion with two fingers, before bring her ice-cream cone up for a nice, long lick.

-

At least she's not being shrill about it? Chloe chews on her lip, glancing around the gathered crowd. "Too many voices to pick up on any one specific thing. You know how it is," she says pointing about at various people, "Sex, sex, sex, the band, sex, anger at the vampire death that the gas station, tension between the League as the Fellowhsip, sex, sex, sex. Pretty much the same thing as usual." Beat. "Something weird at the cotton candy booth," she says, holding it up. "But maybe paranoia is just rubbing off on me." Shrug.

-

Nolcha narrows her eyes at the fangbanger. "Unless you want to buy me another beer after I pour this one on your head I suggest you move on." the words are delivered in a pleasant tone. She flashes a smile before turning away to look at the stage, taking another drink of her nearly empty beer by this point.

-

"What's with the box on the roof?" Aislin asks simply, one finger pointing up. "And it's pretty admirable to come out here and work after being in a confrontation like what you seem to have been in. That has to hurt." The woman receives a sympathetic smile and Aislin's green eyes lift up to the ice cream options, studying them quietly while listening to any response she gets.

-

Blending in is extremely easy to do in this location. The festivities, or picketing of them, bring a great distraction. There is someone walking around, trying her best to properly assess the situation. It's been days since she's eaten a proper meal. This may be Texas, but walking around without a jacket or any proper clothing is taking a toll on her. The twin that has lit up the news recently looks like hell frozen over. Literally.
In one hand the new 'vampire' holds a wooden stake. In the other hand is a silver knife. Irony, it is, that a vampire can be mutated to the point that it can tolerate such things. The poor woman's mind is nearly fried: she knows what's going on, but due to her treatment and ongoing torture she just doesn't get it. Somehow, amidst the band playing and the intermittent speaker, the insane Faith Rose Tyler stumbles onto the stage.

-

The haunting melody finally comes to an end, and the forty-something woman reappears at the podium. "Mayor McNaab is stuck in traffic at the moment," she says, with a little laugh. Several people move out onto the stage, though they look nothing like the city workers that would be taking care of the event. In truth, there is another reason for the mayor not appearing. Something about being detained somewhere.

One of the 'city workers' drops the basket he was holding, in order to make a grab for Rose. He is not security, though they are quickly making their way onto the stage now as well. "Fuck," he says as he tries to grab for her. "You were supposed to come back," he hisses at her. All he can think of beyond getting Rose out of the way is 'shit shit shit, they're going to find the devices and the silver'.

"STAND DOWN," shouts one of the security guards. "Hands off the girl!"

The blonde ice-cream woman glances up to the roof, and shrugs. "Electrical box? Runs the freezer I think," she lies. The box has a blinking red light on it. "It does. Bastard kicked me in the face." She looks grim, but it's hard to look otherwise when your face is one gigantic bruise.

-

The Sheriff watches the stage activities with no small measure of interest. "Rose Tyler is on the stage, and there is something incorrect regarding the staff members. I am undecided as to whether to fetch her." He shifts in place, readjusting the somewhat more metal clothing underneath the obvious. Chainmail, of course.

-

Distracted now by the fuss suddenly happening on stage, Lillian simply inclines her head at the commotion. "Case in point." She gestures at the stage with her ice-cream cone, for Michael's benefit. "Like I said, someone is bound to get frisky."

-

Michael's unaware of the thoughts of anyone nods slightly. "Perhaps, still polls can't prove everything, there's always the x-factor." He begins to view the crowd with more interest now, plannint exit statergies as he does so.

-

One second, Chloe is making fun of the crowd for all the thoughts of sex. The next moment, all of proverbial Hell is breaking loose. The first thing she notices is that the woman on stage is lying. "There's something wrong," she whispers to Will. "It's not traffic, but I'm not sure what it is… this isn't the mayor's fault though, I don't think."

Then she spots Rose up on the stage and she gets a really worried expression. "She thinks she's a vampire, she's going to do something stupid. Will, go grab her!" The thoughts on silver hit her next, and she actually staggers back a step. "No, don't! They've got some sort of silver!" An arm grabs for Will's. An anxious one. "Don't you dare get hurt, you're supposed to keep me safe!"

-

Nolcha just here for a good time and well to gawk doesn't seem to have any clue to whats going on. Brown eyes narrow at the shout and she strains to get a look at what's going on on the stage. The confusion on her face turns to a frown as she drifts further in the crowd trying to get a better handle on the situation.

-

"Electrical box?" Aislin's eyes drop from the menu to peer at the woman curiously. She takes a step back and raises her eyes again to try and get a better look at it. "Freezers typically run off of generators. You wanna try that again?" An eyebrow arches curiously at the woman, but she isn't actually expecting a response. Whoever hit her must be what's keeping her silent. That's the theory, anyway. Eyes squint at the blinky-box and she begins to look around for one of those security-esque people. Who, unfortunately, seem focused on some drama on the stage. "Great." Eyes shift back up to the box as she speaks. "So with the chaos, you going to try telling me the truth?"

-

The sad part is that it doesn't really dawn on the young woman where she is exactly. She's here for a reason and that reason isn't here at the moment. It's enough to bring tears to her eyes. Life just isn't fair. This is what she gets for trying to do the right thing.
Suddenly someone is reaching for her, and he does succeed in grabbing her. "H-Hey!" There's little life in her at this point, and not much of a struggle. How she hasn't collapsed by now is a miracle. The world passes by in slow motion until shouts are made, then it seems as if life is jolting back into her. Faith gasps for breath and begins to pull away. As always, she's not able to accomplish much, but at least she's trying.
"Let go or I -will- end you." Looks like someone is becoming a vampire hunter. Sadly she doesn't know who is and who isn't a vampire anymore.

-

Right on cue, only it's been interrupted. The woman in the ice cream booth smiles at Aislin. "There is a wire, here, that goes into the box up there, and is hooked to the generator over, there." Point. Sucks to talk but she's got to say something. "You may want to head the other way though. Looks like things are about to get messy." Grim look, and a silent nudge to get the hell out of there.

The security guard on stage is trying to remove the man, and Rose is trying to remove the man. "Chill, lady. I'm human. You want to end a vampire, there's easier ways…" And he nods briefly to the woman at the podium, just smiling at the guard as he releases the girl.

-

"I know who this is," says Will, his eyes developing a dark and predatory look as he scans the stage. One arm flashes out, pointing sideways. "Those two. Tell them what you told me." Then he is gone, a dark shadow that scores across the intervening distance, too fast for the human eye to make out as anything except a hallucination. He re-appears on the stage, standing dead straight in front of the poor mad girl. "Rose. You are coming with-"

-

The forty-ish woman at the podium grins. She sweeps her hair out of her face, and just as Will jumps onto the stage, she twists the microphone causing an extremely loud screech of feedback to blast out on the speakers. The sound is loud enough to cause the right decibel of vibration, and the baskets that were carried out just moments ago explode outward with silver shrapnel toward the crowd. Little pieces, larger chunks. All angled in a spread pattern from the edge of the stage.

-

Michael's only short, he's also pretty much as far back as one can get while still being considered part of the crowd, these two factors combine to see Michael clear of getting caught with the silver, it also leads to him taking a step back, his fangs beginning to extend in preperation for further trouble. "I think Ms Haul, it may be an idea for you to leave." He seems to give little to no regard to the person that acted as his shield from the blast, or anyone else caught in the blast, instead he's looking for signs of further threats.

-

"Whoa." Lillian's eyes widen as Will suddenly appears on stage to get in on the commotion. She's about to make another little quip when that sonic blast sends her - and almost everyone in the crowd - wheeling back with her hands cupping her ears. While those near to the stage may be thrown to the ground by the sonic screech and the silver shrapnel, Lillian is back far enough that she merely stumbles back a few steps. "What??" She shouts back at Michael - cuz she can't hear him now!

Lillian's going to hope she didn't get hit by a silver shrapnel, that she needs to go home and create a suit of armor to keep herself alive.

-
Right up front. Her own fault, but she really should have seen this coming earlier. Had she been practicing her powers instead of blocking them, she would have been prepared for the mass of minds, and able to single certain thoughts out sooner. Chloe has just managed to make it to the two vampires in question, telling them about the silver and forcing them to hit the ground so they can get Will out of there, when a chunk of silver flies toward her face. With her new speedy reflexes thanks to the little nibble the night of espionage, Chloe manages to avoid it, but the dodge causes a smaller chunk to lodge itself in her stomach. With a cry of pain, she curls in on herself holding her hands to her stomach, and gets scooped up by one of the two aforementioned vampires. He winds up being safe from that piece of silver since her hands are in the way, but there was some that singed the back of his neck as he hit the ground.

-

Nolcha is going to have to learn to drift /away/ from issues instead of towards them. The only thing that saves her from being completely peppered with silver is the fact that she's quick and happened to be looking at the speakers when the baskets blew. It gave her just enough time to hit the ground though she isn't unscathed, her arms have taken a few pieces of shrapnel and it looks a piece skated across her forehead but she's at least on the ground now her hands over her ears as she tries to regain any sort of sense from this.

-

Chaos. Yelling. Explosions. Shit, what's happening? Aislin's eyes snap back over to the stage, eyes widening in shock at the erupting panic. "How could no one have anticipated that?" she hisses softly to herself, forehead pinching together in mixed concern and frustration. With the amount of screaming and panicking, Aislin's attention is focused on the crowd.

-

"You did this to me!" Rose actually has no idea who she's talking about, but the way he's treating her she recognizes. She supposedly is some sort of tool and she does not like it. Not one bit. "Where is he? Where is Ivan?" They saw her with him, they did. It's all her fault. She caused this. He's likely in trouble and it's all her fault.
These thoughts continue to boil inside the insane woman to the point where she loses it. Once she's let go, she spins instantly and swings as hard as she can with her dominant hand. That is the hand holding the silver knife. It is mid swing that Will decides to appear. If he isn't quick, he'll likely catch the tail end of the attack. She's not going to let up, though: someone has lost it completely.
Before she can even process what is going on there is a horrible sound coming from the microphone. The weapons in her hand fall to the ground, possibly to the delight of those around her. Both hands attempt to cup her ears but there is little time to flee. After the blast of shrapnel, which causes a few minor scrapes to her only due to her positioning around others, Rose ends up toppling to the ground with a loud thud. The fall alone is enough to stun her, not including anything else that may happen.

-

To answer Aislin's question: They did anticipate it, though those that had anticipated it were the same ones that planned it. The group in question is a very, very sneaky movement.

Beacause Aislin isn't moving, and the goal isn't really to kill anyone, just injure, the woman in the ice cream booth comes diving out the front. "Crap. Come on. Why didn't you listen to me?" She grabs Aislin by the elbow, starting to drag her toward the merry-go-round and away from the crowd. "Quickly. This isn't the end."

Those on the stage are going to be hit the worst by the silver, as they're at ground zero. Even the group that perpetrated this incident don't go unscathed, the man who accosted Rose getting a piece of silver right through his throat before he crashes to the stage in a pool of his own blood.

The people at the back, who figured they were safe, may not be. Both the ice cream booth, and the cotton candy stand explode next, sending silver dust in a WOOOSH toward the crowd. Granted, it's not as deadly as the shrapnel, but sucking it in is probably not going to have the best effect on nearby vamps.

-

Will doesn't bother to block the wildly flailing knife, allowing it instead to smash against the metal beneath his clothes. But then; utilising every moment of the power and speed of his age, Will twists his body to slightly better interpose himself between the explosion and Rose. As a result, the clothes on his back are blown away, exposing the steel of chainmail beneath. Fortunate to be worn, really, since high velocity chunks of silver smash through unprotected limbs and the side of his neck, and more than one pierces the mail to drive into the skin beneath. Slowly, with eyes widening, the vampire falls first to his knees, then forwards, face-down. Right on top of Rose. The delicate hiss and sharp stench of burning flesh begins to rise from the barely stirring body.

-

Lillian may be temporarily deafened by the initial blast, but she is not oblivious. Suddenly, the pendant she wears on her necklace glows a bright yellow, as if a quick electric shock just coursed through her body. "Duck!" She shouts to Michael without thinking, giving the vampire a shove away from the nearest stall a second before it explodes.

-

Michael spots Will fall, and was about to move for the stage, but instead he throws himself away using a combination of speed and strength to hopefully get out of range of the new blast. He calls out though. "We need to get to the stage."

-

The two vampires that Chloe warned make their way to the stage. The one carrying her sets her down. "Wait for an ambulance," he says. The two then move on to the fallen Sheriff and his bounty. Although he's no longer got a hold of Rose.

"OHMYGOD…" Chloe, injury and all, is clambering up onto the stage. "Christ. Will, you're not allowed to die, okay? Please don't… you guys need to get him and Rose out of here, please?" The two move in to do just that, one helping Will up, mostly carrying him. The other going to grab Rose.

"It'll be okay, Rose. I promise. Will is going to help you, just go with these guys and I'll be right there, okay. Remember me? It's Chloe. I'm gonna help you." Thankfully the vampire blood in her system is stopping her from bleeding out due to the stomach wound, but it's still painful… and she's still bleeding. Even so, she's going to chase the heck out of the two vampires once they start moving, trying to get out of there as soon as possible.

-

Nolcha's breath hisses out as she holds her position a moment longer, making as small a target of herself as possible. And when the explosion happens on the other side of the stage her muscles tighten in anticipation of more pain. When it doesn't come though she raises her head, ears still ringing she starts upwards pulling silver out of her arms and hissing in pain. "Damnit damnit damnit, can't a person just listen to some music these days!" she glances around, accessing the situation and trying to figure out if there's anyone particular in need of help, or more help than those near her who she starts picking silver out of. Some of them didn't make it but such is life.

-

Aislin stumbles along with the woman as she's grabbed, easily tugged along until her mind completely kicks back into gear, sorting out the situation. A glare is given to the ice cream vendor and she yanks her arm back and away. "How could you do this? Do you have any idea how many innocent people are out there?!" A hand is held up to cut off any protest. "I don't care if you like them or not, there are -humans- out there. Lots of them!" She scowls at the woman, taking a few steps away from her. "Are there more of those little 'electrical boxes' that are going to explode? And if so, where are they?"

-

Snap. Ow. There goes her wrist. If she had known he was going to get involved she wouldn't have swung the knife to begin with. Sadly she knows very little about anything that is happening even though she's a part of it. Granted, she's not supposed to be here, but that is their fault for letting a mentally unstable woman go.
As if she isn't in bad enough sorts, she's now with broken wrist and is bleeding from random places. This isn't as bad as other people, of course, but it's quite a bit for her to walk into considering the fact that she doesn't even know where she is really. To make matters worse? A man in freaking chain mail is falling on top of her. Despite the sudden weight on top of her, Faith doesn't move. The pain and the fall have already caused her to be near unconsciousness, and Will has just pushed her just over the edge. Her eyes are still open but nobody is home.
Even as Chloe is speaking to Rose, all she can do is look at her. At this point she's at the mercy of whomever it is that happens to grab her.

-

The woman just eyes Aislin, "Don't push me, I just saved your life." And there goes her moral compass. She has her duties, she did them. She even saved someone. "I'd suggest you get out of here before the injured vampires decide they need a snack to replenish them and take their retribution."

There are no additional boxes, and no security. The only thing that could possibly be rigged at this point are the rides, and even the group in question isn't insane enough to tamper with those.

Members of the crowd have started to panic, run, cry, bleed, and call for help. Sirens begin not too far away, both police and ambulance heading to the scene to assist those who need the help.

-

Bodily lifted, slowly bleeding, the Sheriff of Dallas is being rapidly carried away by a pair of loyal and stalwart vampires. Lifting his eyes to them, he manages to whisper, "Home. Blood. VVEMT. No feeding, not here, not yet." Then, and only then, does the hideous pain of burning flesh overtake him, the bloodloss starting to take real effect. William Grant lapses out of consciousness.

-

Breathing silver dust isn't just going to kill vampires; it's going to lacerate the humans' lungs or something! Quickly covering her nose and mouth with both hands, Lillian is nonetheless still dazed by the explosions. It prevents her from speaking now, so she can't object as Michael chooses to get on stage to help. She shakes her head vigorously to signal that no, they should be getting out of here. Except she can't hold her breath for too long, so Lillian eventually just makes a quick exit from the scene. It just doesn't pay to be a hero.

-

Rising Michael spots Chloe, he's also noticed that Will was speaking with her, so she will find Michael considers giving her his blood to help her heal, but decides that would likely not help him win the approval of the Sheriff. Instead he reaches down to pick Chloe up with incredible care. "Perhaps we should see about getting you somewhere safe, where a doctor can look at you." He frowns a little. "Then we must get to the Sheriff and ensure he's safe."

-

Once they've gotten Rose and Will away from the stage, they immediately start for the estate. The word VVEMT doesn't mean a whole lot to them, but they know enough that when the Sheriff says no feeding, he means it. Chloe looks at Michael, blinking at him a little. It's probably a good thing that he's a blank void to her, because she'd utterly freak at the offer. Bad enough she's let Will con her into drinking the blood twice.

"You're not hurt? Good…" Chloe looks a little weaker, though not at all as injured as she should be considering where she was hit. "Just take me to the Sheriff's estate? I don't need a doctor, I just need to make sure he's not dead…" Damnit, she's crying. She doesn't want to cry.

-

Nolcha picks her way through the crowd, eyeing the baskets that held the shrapnel. Ripping the bottom of her shirt off she ties it around her nose and mouth to keep the dust out. After hauling a few of the crowd off to a side so they can be seen to easier by whatever EMTs show up she winds her way back through, moving out into the night to go home and lick her own wounds.

-

"I hope you and your friends are proud of all the HUMANS you killed or hurt today," Aislin tells the woman flatly before turning to look towards the crowd. She wants to help, but she knows that the woman is right about one thing: These vampires are going to need to feed. And she doesn't want to be around for that. So with some hesitation, she turns to leave the area.

-

There is absolutely no struggle coming from the mental patient of doom. DOOM. Apparently life really is just out to get her. Ivan's smart by not being around. So Rose is now injured more but finally she's in the hands of someone who may be able to help her: if he survives.

-

To be fair, only the humans on the stage were killed, and they were (with the exception of the security guard) prepared for it. Injuries within the crowd range from serious, to only nicked with the shrapnel, but the EMTs and paramedics are soon on the scene trying to assess the damage and load the most injured into the waiting ambulances. The first aid tent near the little entry way to the carnival has already been bombarded by those that could run out of the worst of the damage.

The ice cream woman just jerks her head to the side. "Scram!" Geeze. You do a nice thing for someone and all they want to do is yap. Unlike the girl she just helped, she walks deliberately toward the crowd. Either to act as food, or to act as one of the injured. Whatever her intentions, she's easily lost in the chaos.

There is one basket that didn't detonate at all. The mechanism within it likely faulty. The rest are veritably destroyed, in several pieces littered all over the stage. The one that didn't detonate is not filled with bits of silver and chain, but rather buttons that were printed up by the American Vampire League to promote interspecies peace.

Police are swarming the area now, looking for whoever did this. Several of the Fellowship members are detained for questioning, and hauled back to squad cars.

-

There's a smile that's probably meant to be comforting from Mike, yet he still has his fangs extended, which kind of defeats the purpose. "It takes a lot to hurt me, I've become too good at running away." He doesn't miss the concern and it occurs to him that Chloe may be more important to Will than he thought, so he nods slightly as he begins to run in the same direction as those carrying Will. "Of course, I don't intend to allow anything to happen to the Sheriff." He seems to be considering the possiblity of a follow up attacks on the wounded vampires.

-

Chloe doesn't have such thoughts in her head. Her only thought is that Will needs her help, and maybe, just maybe this time it'd be prudent not to deny him what he most desires of her. Despite her injury she knows she's got to do it. And yet for some reason, she just can't stop crying as Michael races her toward the estate. Stupid vampire. Stupid tears.

-

Chaos is what is left. The chaos and aftermath that should be expected after this type of explosion. Police and paramedics move throughout the crowd helping those that have been trampled due to panic, those that are bleeding due to silver shrapnel slicing through their skin, and those that are just in shock at the entire thing.

Before things have even the slightest moment to settle down, the vultures begin arriving. Cameras poised, microphones at the ready. Harassing the injured and the non-injured alike, trying to get the pulse of the situation.

All in all, the casualties could have been far worse, and would have been had the mayor and his entourage shown up. It's more than obvious that this attack was not meant for the human contingent, but rather the vampires… or to create tension between the species…

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License