HF: Brianna and Ronald

[trixie]

Brianna turns a ghostly white colour and stops dead in her tracks. So far she's been going along with Ronald and Lionel, listening to Agnes tell her all will be fine. But it appears she's come to the shocking conclusion that they are in the full blown throws of war.

"You mean....." she stammers and blinks, unable to put her thoughts into words, then blubbers, "Oh my god! It's a war isn't it! I never....I....shouldn't......no.....no!" All the while the adults were having their conversation about this, she was busy eating and looking at Ronald's pigeon, Edgar. She hadn't been paying attention in the least.

She looks at each of them in disbelief, tears streaming down her cheeks in long fast drops, and falls to the floor.

[O.C. Sorry that Brianna has to make everything difficult....I know I'm playing her realistically and making some things more involved than they need to be....but welcome to children in general right. ]

[Mr. Handy]

[OOC: If you think Brianna's made things difficult now, you should see what she does when she's a few years older. ]



"Brianna!" cries Lionel, kneeling beside her and looking her over. "I think she's just fainted. Come on, my dear, we have to keep moving. If you're not up to walking, one of us can carry you. It will be all right. We're going to win the war, remember? And those nasty bombers that are on their way here? Our brave lads in their Spitfires are giving them what for right now! They're up in the sky to protect you, to protect all of us."

[trixie]

Brianna sits up, silently rubbing at her eyes, and stands, clutching Lionel's hand in one and Ronald's hand in the other. Her palms are sweaty and clammy, and her hands shake in their grasp.

She follows along after the group silently, blearily staring at the hallways and others as they shuffle out their doors.

[Mr. Handy]

"It's going to be all right," says Lionel, giving Brianna's hand a reassuring squeeze as he helps Ronald guide her. "This will also give us a chance to meet the neighbors. Most children have been evacuated to the countryside, but maybe there will be others your age."

[DSIGFUSS]

Ronald grips Brianna's hand tightly. There was no way in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks that she was getting away in this crazy scene.

Hold tight kiddo! We can't get separated here!

[Laraqua]

The closest shelter is in the cellar of a pub. It has an external access via hastily constructed concrete steps erected in 1939 (much to the pub owner's chagrin). The entire block of flats is in an uproar as people hurry out onto the streets in a desperate bid to reach the shelter and get a nice spot before everyone else trundles in.

[Mr. Handy]

"Come on, let's keep moving quickly," says Lionel. He continues to help Ronald lead Brianna, following Agnes to the building's exit and then the shelter.

[kabukiman]

-We are almost there, Brianna, just have some courage. As soons we arrive, we are safe.

[Laraqua]

They can see the searchlights searching the sky as they reach the cellar staircase. The cellar is already quite crowded.

[Mr. Handy]

"And here we are!" says Lionel. "Not a moment too soon. Come on, let's try to squeeze in."

[DSIGFUSS]

Ronald looks down into the shelter and shivers. He wasn't big on crowded spaces...

I don't know Lionel. Is there a way out of here? If those Ghost kids come back or this place gets infected... we'll be trapped like rats or stampeded.

Ronald seems worried and scared at the same time. It's difficult to tell though from his expressions if he's afraid of the close quarters or the possibility of monsters coming down here and tearing everybody to pieces.

[Mr. Handy]

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will be all right," says Lionel. "With all the people crowded in here, there's no space for even a rat to hide, much less anything larger. I can't imagine we'll run into anything bad down there. I know it's going to be a tight squeeze, but it's a lot better than being caught outside when the bombs are falling. Believe me, I know from personal experience." He taps his bandaged head.

[kabukiman]

-One problem at the time-says Agnes-for now we must worry about surviving the bombs, and then save the future world.

[Laraqua]

They can hear the distant thumps and whooshes of bombs hitting the East End. The mournful wail of the air raid sirens continues. A young woman beckons them urgently. "Come on! Come on!"

Inside, a series of benches have been set up around the cellar and casks of ale. All of these benches have been taken over. One bench is being hogged by a large, drunk man who lies curled up on it. Many others crowd the floor. It's going to be a tight squeeze.

[Mr. Handy]

[OOC: A page or so back I asked if our characters in HF have survived a full 24 hours yet and thus would be eligible for +1 to a stat of our choice, but it looks like you didn't see it.]



"Ladies first," says Lionel to Agnes and Brianna. He makes sure they're safely inside before entering the shelter himself, then looks around for any available casks for them to sit upon.

[Laraqua]

[OOC: At this point, yes. +1 up people!]

[Mr. Handy]

[OOC: Thanks! I'll update my character sheet in the evening, but first I have a few questions:

• Does a +1 POW give a +5 to current Sanity (it normally doesn't according to the rules)?
• With the 20 skill points from a +1 EDU, what is the maximum that can be given to any one skill?
• Must those skills be among our professional skills, or can they be any skills (I'd guess the 10 skill points from +1 INT could be used for anything)?
• Do bonus skill points have to be for skills we've used?

]

[Laraqua]

OOC: Good questions. All good questions. +1 POW does provide the rush of additional sanity - but roleplay that. Have the POW-up follow an epiphany or - in Ronald's example - perhaps due to a strengthening of resolve (such as to protect Brianna). Educational skill points can only be spent on Professional skills. Otherwise it robs Intelligence of it's charm - whose skill points can be spent anywhere, regardless of use, as the harsh lifestyle gives you more clarity and insight in dealing with many things.

[trixie]

Brianna bites her lip after hearing Ronald talk about the wet kids and various other 'monsters' she didn't want to think about. But the screaming sky made her decision for her pretty quickly, and she charged into the crowded shelter, shaken and uncertain of the many others inside. She looks around for an empty spot to sit, and hunches down, rifling through her backpack for Edgar to make sure his cage was right side up.

It already smelled like armpit in the crowded shelter and they hadn't been there long. Brianna tugged on Ronald's sleeve to get him to sit and stop worrying. She glanced ruefully at Agnes and Lionel, worried for their predicament should any of Ronald's fears come true. But there was no sense in worrying about it, thought Brianna as she wrapped her arms around her knees and shuddered.

"Does anybody have a deck of cards or something?"

[kabukiman]

-Wait to close the doors, and then we will think of something.