( OPEN )

[competing]

Who: lance (competing) & anyone!
What: catch-all for the first part of the october event
When: oct 1 - 15
Where: around
Warning(s): none at the moment! will update if necessary

market district | day of attack

[ he was along the outskirts of the market district when the explosion occurs, sidelined in his usual patrol by an overenthusiastic child regaling lance with his exploits during playtime of the previous day. one second laughing to the young child's uncanny imitation of his nanny, and the next lurching forward reflexively, protectively, when suddenly the ground shuddered and screams erupted in the air. tehro is already crying from his confusion, rushing out of lance's hold to crash into his mother's, who stood terrified nearby, eyes turned towards the sky. lance's gaze soon follows, feeling dread pool at the sight of a thick cloud of an unnatural purple waft into the air. he takes a second to swallow down his fear, before shouting for everyone around him to vacate the premises as quickly and calmly as they can. (spoilers: they only manage to do one of these things.)

he runs the opposite way, pace slowed by the throng of people eager to escape. by the time he gets to the scene, all he sees is chaos. ( 1 ) he rushes towards the nearest person on the ground, reaching out to help them back onto their feet. ]

Hey — I got you, I got you, it's alright—

[ ( 2 ) if you are one of the able-bodied, he might try to flag you down with a shout. ]

Over here! [ he's in the process of trying to lift a wooden stall that had overturned on its vendor. given his noodle body, he could definitely use some help... ]

around | days after

[ the next couple of days are kind of a blur. ridden with guilt, burdened by his dwindling confidence, lance winds up throwing himself into doing as much as he can for the people who lost the most that day. at any time during the day, you can find him doing any number of the following:

( 3 ) pushing around a wooden street cart, its sign and his wares changing from day to day. one day he could be selling produce from a local farmer, another day he could be selling questionable, ah, toys from another local business person. some days he might be accompanied by an npc (the vendor's bored child along for the ride, their grandparent out to make sure lance is marketing right, etc), but every single time he'll be out there, running that motormouth of his dry, trying to get everybody, anybody to stop and consider a purchase.

( 4 ) getting chewed out by a local, far too upset to realize he has long since stopped saying anything, and instead just stands there with his head lowered, nodding mutely to their angry accusations. this is all your fault, where were you, you should have been there, you think you can try to make up for it now, etc... he stands and listens to it all without protest. ]

shooting range/training yard | days after

[ he's stopped wearing the royal guard insignia. he's still dressed in all-black, though, but only really because it had wound up encompassing most of his attire anyway, but he hasn't actually been back near the barracks or the yard in some time. hasn't felt right, in all honesty.

but today he wanders close to the training yard, which bustles now with activity. everyone working double-time to try and find the culprits, probably, doing just about everything lance isn't — can't — which explains why he keeps his head low, avoiding any eyes.

he's got his rifle in his hands, but he doesn't seem intent on training with it. rather, it looks like he's trying to subtly turn it back in... ]

cyoa/notes

( if none of these prompts work for you, please feel free to work something else out with me! you can reach me at ellipses, PM this journal, or my plotting comment!

also, please let me know if you'd like to know about the RUMOR that lance overhears, and i can work it into our thread somehow! c: )

Comments

[bentbloodline]

I am the chairman of a council of five that runs a nation.

[Or he was, anyway. He's not going to mention the way he screwed up his own career by attacking the Avatar when she wouldn't cooperate with him.]

When a domestic terrorist group was causing problems within our nation's largest city, Republic City, I formed a task force and worked closely with the police.

[competing]

Whoa, so you... really know what you're doing. [ not that he had had any reason to doubt before, of course. it's just surprising how close this experience must be to him.

they're nearly onto he other man, who'd been slowed down considerably thanks to the throng of people. ]

Did you get to catch them? The terrorist group?

[bentbloodline]

[Tarrlok is keeping his eye on the prize as they continue their conversation. While it was true that his task force was somewhat of a vanity project, he was entirely genuine in his desire to protect Republic City from the Equalists and willing to put himself in harm's way to do it.]

Some of them, but not all of them. Our investigations revealed that the group was larger and far better funded than we'd imagined. One of the great industrialists and inventors of our time was financially backing them and making weapons for them.

[competing]

[ lance's eyes bug out, and he momentarily forgets their mission. ]

No way — that's so crazy!

[ that kinda stuff sounds straight out of the comic books.. though, considering lance's own life, who is he to even say that?? ]

You got that guy, at least, right? Tell me you at least got that guy.

[bentbloodline]

He escaped, but we did seize all of his assets that we were aware of.

[Unfortunately what they were aware of was the big problem. There was plenty that they'd been unaware of.]

The storm hit before anything else. I know their leader is currently still...in recovery.

[He chooses his words carefully, because he knows the Natha would not appreciate any slip ups around the locals.]

[competing]

[ lance responds with no more than a short, understanding nod, because they've finally caught up with that jittery man. he's quick to rest a hand on the man's shoulder, halting him and holding him steady. ]

Excuse me, sir? Could we have a word??

[bentbloodline]

[Tarrlok is glad for the change of subject, because he doesn't want to get into further details about the Equalists. Not when he was seconds away from losing his bending at their hands, and especially not when he recognized the grip that held him in such a vulnerable position in the first place.]

We'd like to ask you a few questions about any suspicious behaviour you might have noticed around here.

[competing]

S-Suspicious behavior? [ the man's eyes dart around nervously, sweat starting to bead at his brow. ] I haven't seen anything...

You seem distracted, [ lance cuts in suddenly, arms folding across his chest. ] Looking for someone?

[bentbloodline]

I...I'm just worried about my wife. She was shopping around here.

[It's not said with conviction and Tarrlok isn't convinced. But he pretends that he's at least considering it.]

What does she look like? We'd be happy to help you look for her. If she's pinned under something, you may need the extra manpower to help her.

[competing]

[ lance isn't convinced either, but he's a lot more willing to hope that that may well be the case. the man goes on at length to describe her in detail, even down to the bright pink headscarf she'd worn outside of the house that day. despite himself, lance begins to look around. ]

Do you know where she might have gone to shop?

[bentbloodline]

Practically every store in the area? She loves to have a fully coordinated ensemble, and has to look at five plus stores before she'll make up her mind on anything.

[Tarrlok is still suspicious, and the amount of detail the man used to describe his wife is actually more suspicous to him rather than less. Aside from one fashion designer he met, he's never known any men to be able to describe their wife's attire with that degree of detail. If Lance wants to look around to be helpful, Tarrlok's not going to stop him, but he's not letting this man out of his sight. He's also going to watch Lance's back, because he's worried this man might attack Lance from behind.]

Where were you when the explosion first happened?