[ WEEK THREE ]

[sheriffexe]

WEEK THREE

CURRENT POPULATION: 35 It's a rather quaint town when you get down to it. At least, that's what the Sheriff would argue. Warm and dry in the mornings and afternoons with a brisk coolness in the evenings. The perfect type of weather to just sit out on your rocking chair and observe the comings and goings. ... Of course, there's not much in the way of comings and goings when there aren't any actual people here to watch. Nevertheless, don't let that get you down! The town is your oyster and those roosters won't stop crowing until everyone's out of bed. Up and at 'em, rise and shine, it's time to make the day yours! Except there is, perhaps, a few things amiss. This post functions as the general mingle post for the week. Wanted Posters and other small events will be posted in top levels below. If there's any questions or requests, please send a PM or shoot a PP to robowest.

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Thursday afternoon

[ceded]

[ Around midday on Thursday, Xion comes pelting down the main road of the town. For any who saw her start, she emerged from the clinic. She seems to have something of a limp while she runs.

She slows up to a trot as she gets closer to the hotel, and she'll start calling out at pretty much the top of her lungs: ]

We found Natalie! She's alive, Natalie is alive!

[ In front of the hotel she slows to a stop, pressing a hand to her chest and trying to calm her breathing.

Incidentally, she is covered in blood. Like, just everywhere, her clothes, her hands, her face, wow. It's a lot of blood. She holds her right leg slightly off the ground, like it might hurt, but otherwise she seems, you know, fine. ]

( ooc: natalie will jump into threads for anyone who wants to go visit her! she is in stable condition as of the time of this top level. )

[thatsthespirit]

[THIS IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO HER INTERESTS]

Where--?! Xion what happened to you!

[ceded]

[ eek ]

Huh? Me?!

[ She takes a second to look down at herself and ... ah. Well. Quickly she shakes her head. ]

I'm fine! This ... all of this is Natalie's. [ That part is soft. ] She's in the clinic. Dr. Lecter is with her.

[thatsthespirit]

You're limping.

[christ, though. all that blood. . . Milla reaches out to steady Xion by the shoulder]

Take me to her. Where did you find her?

[ceded]

I'm fine! This -- it's nothing. I'll be fine. She's in the clinic! I can take you.

[ With most of the adrenaline fading from her veins, though, a lot of things are becoming more pronounced. Like the ache in her leg or the stinging in her hands. So it might be slower going on the return trip. ]

ZOOMS IN

[impulsiveness]

Whoa—!

[Automatically moving over to her, reaching out in case she needs a human crutch to help with that leg. Holy shit.]

Where's Natalie?! No, what happened to you?! [TALKING TOO QUICKLY. SORRY, XION.] Are you okay? Are you both okay? Who are "we"?

[ceded]

[ She takes his grip without thinking, since it lets her take weight off her leg. To her credit, in the face of his multiple rapid fire questions, she stays pretty calm. ]

I'm okay. Natalie was really badly hurt when I found her, though. Dr. Lecter is with her in the clinic. She'll ... be okay, but it was bad, Jason. Really bad.

[impulsiveness]

[He allows her to lean on him, then, making sure she doesn't need to put too much pressure on that leg. He sounds relieved now, talking more slowly.]

Thank god. [One found, one to go.] You did your whole Paul Revere skit. Now let's get you to the clinic, too. You can fill me in on how you guys found Natalie on the way — and if you know anything about Seizaburo.

[Though he can guess they only found Natalie, from the wording.]

[ceded]

Paul Revere?

[ why does everyone use references she can't understand

Either way, she just. Lets it go, and she'll continue to lean on him as they head back for the clinic. ]

Seizaburo ... he's still missing. I mean, he wasn't with Natalie. I found her underneath the floorboards of the clinic. I guess there was a tunnel down there that she came up through. And-- [ wait, that just processed ] I'm fine! I'm not hurt.

[ she says, limping. ]

[insincerely]

Xion!

[Yeah, he's running towards her.]

What the hell is going on? What happened!?

[ceded]

Shinnosuke...

[ In a reflexive motion she starts to clasp her hands, and doing that causes her to wince, so ... she stops. ]

We found Natalie. She was in some kind of tunnel underneath the clinic. I got her out, and Dr. Lecter is taking care of her. ... she was hurt. Bad.

[insincerely]

[Taking in a breath to calm himself (as he eyes Xion to affirm that she's not badly injured herself), he pauses, before:]

... I'm guessing that means you didn't find Seizaburo.

[ceded]

[ ... she shakes her head slowly, a certain discontent coloring her expression, but her reaction is no more than that. ]

No. It was just Natalie. I heard banging, like someone was knocking on wood... and when I realized it was coming from the clinic, I went to check it out. That's when I heard Natalie call out. She was trapped under the floor. But ... it was just her. I didn't get to see very much, but I think the tunnel past her was empty.

[alcobrawlic]

[ Well. Sara's going to let everyone fuss over Xion first, because the poor kid probably doesn't need everyone panicking over her. But after a while, she's going to walk over with a damp towel. ]

Here, hold still.

[ AND OF COURSE SHE'S GOING TO VISIT NATALIE TOO. ]

[ceded]

Sara...

[ That ... wasn't what Xion expected. Natalie's the one people need to be looking out for, not her! ]

Here, let me. It's okay.

[ She'll reach out for the towel, if allowed. There is blood just seriously all over her and it actually would be nice to clean off. She doesn't want to make Sara do it for her, though. The idea feels a little strange. ]

[alcobrawlic]

[ That's fine, she's not the coddling sort. Xion's free to take the towel, and Sara rocks back on her heels. ]

And here I thought you weren't the type for excitement.

[ceded]

[ That wins a surprised stare.

Abruptly she smiles, sort of sheepish, mostly still surprised. ]

You think...?

[ One out of two. One out of two. Natalie is alive.

She'll set to cleaning herself off, scrubbing at the skin of her face and neck and hands. At the very least, all of this ends up making it clear that all the blood was most definitely Natalie's; there's not a scratch on her, aside from a few scrapes on her hands. There's a few splinters stuck in her fingers and palms, too. She doesn't seem to pay it much attention. ]

[sating]

[ If you come to the clinic after Xion has come to let people know that Natalie is indeed alive and (at least now) relatively well, you'll definitely find Hannibal there as well. There's blood on his clothing and forearms from working on closing up and properly treating her arm, though he doesn't seem too bothered by that.

He's not going to speak up and greet people when they come in, since they're certainly here to see Natalie, but if you'd like to talk to Hannibal, he's cleaning up the the tools he used for the surgery. He's not too concerned about the clinic, since he thinks that might be a losing battle, but. He'll properly take care of the things that they very well might have to use again. ]

[thatsthespirit]

[Natalie is sleeping when she arrives, and it isn't until after Milla sternly lectures Xion on taking care of herself that she approaches Hannibal]

Dr. Lecter, correct?

[sating]

[ He looks up as she approaches, then nods in response. ]

That's correct. Is it all right for me to call you Milla, or would you prefer Ms. Maxwell?

[ Though regardless, he looks back towards Natalie, since he'd noticed that she had come from seeing her. And lecturing Xion. Which, good, because Hannibal hasn't had the chance. >:[ ]

Is she resting well?

[thatsthespirit]

Milla is fine. Formalities aren't necessary.

[she folds her arms and shoots Natalie (and Xion!!) another glance]

She seems to be. I imagine she'll sleep for a few more hours.

Thank you. . . for taking care of her.

[for doing what she couldn't do]

[leadastray]

[Elizabeth, who has joined the gathering crowed in wake of the news approaches him]

I didn't realize you were a surgeon as well.

[sating]

It is not something I advertise, to be fair.

[ He continues cleaning the instruments dutifully and carefully, but he gives her a small nod of greeting. ]

Technically, I am not. It was the profession I originally picked up, but the work was... [ He trails off with a thoughtful tone, then shakes his head ] It was not for me. So calling myself a surgeon would be a misrepresentation. But I do not forget things I learn easily, so I'm glad it could be of use for Natalie's sake.

[impulsiveness]

[Hello, Whole Ass's #1 Food Critic... Jason waits until Natalie is asleep and Xion's ankle is taken care of before approaching him.]

Hey, uh— Hannibal, right? [Like he didn't memorize all the wanted posters??? Hilarious.] Heard you patched Natalie up, so... Thank you for that.

[Or what was left of Natalie, anyway. God. He gestures towards the tools so he doesn't think too much about that.]

Do you need any help cleaning up?

[sating]

[ He looks over to Jason as he approaches, then gives him a small nod of greeting, though he returns to his task of cleaning. There's not too much, but Hannibal is being quite thorough with cleaning and sterilizing them. ]

No thanks are necessary. I'm glad that I could use my skill to help her. Even gladder that she lived.

[ At the offer, he motions for Jason to join him ]

If you're offering, I would appreciate the help. Unfortunately, we may need to use these again.