And you can't pull me down

[musacal]

[ There's a groundhog anxiously pacing around the halls when suddenly everyone appears in the lobby and she's rushing up after all the initial reactions. ]

Wh... What happened?!

[ And where the FUCK is Maya UHHHHH ]


(ooc: y'all can respond to this however you want and make any generic top levels you need!)

Comments

[comeandfindme]

She- she'd- she was-

[ Sorry! Your Peregrine has experienced an error and needs to restart! ]

[mayavericks]

[Peregrine, you might have more important things to worry about! Namely, the raccoon that comes running in. Can raccoons look startled? Because you know, he kind of looks like he's seen a ghost?]

[comeandfindme]

[ this raccoon is not ruddiger right, we know what ruddiger looks like, he looks like a blob of flesh and fur because farrah can't stop feeding him things that are bad for him but he loves who is this fucking raccoon

wait it's ruddiger. what's happening. ]

[mayavericks]

[Rude as fuck. This is, in fact, a blob of flesh and fur that looks very annoyed now.

He'll pull on Peregrine's pantleg and head outside.]

[comeandfindme]

[ sorry baby i love you

Animals are empathetic. Janis is lying there on the floor and Peregrine wants to check on her, wants to do something with every explosive emotion that's inside her right now—

But she follows Ruddiger. Outside. ]

[mayavericks]

[The moment Peregrine heads outside, she'll hear it -- a pained scream, one that might just sound familiar considering everything. Regardless of whether she's able to follow the noise, Ruddiger takes her into the woods.

And from there into a clearing.

Where currently, Maya Tendo is still breathing. She's currently trying to force herself to her feet, using a sword. It's not her own, but rather one from the pit. And judging by the blood seeping from her leg, it's pretty obvious where it came from.]

[comeandfindme]

[ She follows Ruddiger, but mostly she follows the scream. Through the woods.

The trees are still there so we have to prepare to go back again—

She runs through the woods. Without the fearful gait she's had since waking up with the memories of her stupid, stupid mistakes (God she makes so many of those), she runs. She doesn't know if anyone's following her. She doesn't care.

And then— ]

Maya.

[ She breathes heavily. There are so many things to say. But instead, she just launches at her in the hug she wishes she'd given in the goddamn auditorium. ]

I love you. I'm sorry. I love you—

[ Like Sunday, all over again. ]

[mayavericks]

[Given that Maya is A) down a leg, B) in pain otherwise, and C), competely exhausted due to her ropes class from hell, there's no hope for her in terms of staying on her feet. She falls to the ground in a heap, dirt getting everywhere and probably in places it shouldn't be.

But she's alive. She doesn't know how, or what was done. Part of her is terrified for Hester, another part is terrified for Janis. But the part of her that mourned the loss of Peregrine, the damage done to their relationship, is so relieved. She buries her face within her hair.

Through the sobs, she manages:]

Not -- Not a curse. Never a curse.

[musacal]

[ Nana sees Peregrine follow Ruddiger and tries to go after her... when she also hears the scream.

And then she's running behind her. She didn't get to help with Maya this morning, couldn't even go to her side, and has been full of worry and anxiety ever since.

This time she doesn't care. She's going to Maya. She's going to one of her dearest dearest friends.

Peregrine already has her in the hug, so Nana just falls to her furry knees beside her. Already there are tears in her eyes. ]

M-Maya-chan!!!

[ Maya's here. Maya's back.

Maya's alive. ]

[mayavericks]

[Everything hurts. But gods, if she doesn't feel some semblance of relief staring up at Nana. She would have thought she'd never see those eyes again.]

I -- think I may have your mistake beaten, Nana-chan.

[musacal]

You... You sure have! Y... You big idiot!!

[ Aaaaaand now she's fully crying, covering her eyes with the paws of her suit. ]

[mayavericks]

Bakaya does not have the same ring, does it?

[Okay yall. Don't mind her she's going to have a dirt nap. But like. A not permanent one? She's not even asleep but she sure is flopped out against hte ground.]

[musacal]

[ Through her tears there's a weak little smile at that reference to their friends. ]

M... Mabaka!!

[ That one has a slightly better ring to it.

But now that Maya is ok and here, she's getting back up and running back towards the school. She knows what she can do to help this time and so she's shouting: ]

She's in the woods!! Peregrine-san found her in the woods but she's bleeding...!

[mayavericks]

[Okay, she's just going to cry into Peregrine's hair some more]

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine still is only wearing her sleep shirt and her cloak. Her feet are positively covered in dirt and probably more than a little scratched up from how fast she ran. She looks down at Maya and runs her hands over her face, checking for any injuries as she just. Completely loses it, crying just like Maya. ]

Never— you can never do a- anything like— never— I'm so fucking— sorry, I'm so mad—

[ It's mostly little fragments. Someone should.......probably? Get her off of Maya? Since the girl has a leg that needs to be bandaged? ...And oh god, she'd only wrapped her stomach, she should probably have those sutures, she left her fucking backpack in the dorms— All these thoughts do somewhat occur to Peregrine! But she's too busy with the explosion of relief for any of it to matter, as she starts laying kisses on Maya's head.

It's been a long fucking day. ]

[mayavericks]

Will you -- at least [She winces. She sobs. She laughs. She feels so many things at once.] -- Keep me around long enough to make amends?

[comeandfindme]

[ There's so much to say that it's impossible to do so. Through fractured sobs, she quietly sings into Maya's ear: ]

In a clearing,
In a clearing,
In a break from the trees
In the arms of someone.

In a clearing,
In a clearing,
We can feel a little touch of the sun.

[ Yes. Yes. If you try to leave her again, she'll track you down. Like she should've before. ]

[mayavericks]

[Oh good. Peregrine is singing. She can feel relieved.

For a second.]

Janis? And Hester?

[comeandfindme]

[ Ah. That— ]

...Janis is in the lobby. Kind of— she- I dunno what they did, it was like— suddenly it was happening and then it wasn't and then it was and—

[ Peregrine please breathe and answer the question. ]

[employeeoftheyear]

[Spongebob, distantly, saw the commotion going on. A part of him wants to ignore it. He was sure it was more bad news, and after what he just saw he didn’t want any more.

But... he had to be there. For his friends.

He tentatively walks outside to where everyone is. Even more tentatively when he sees that there’s a body.

But then he sees the body moving, and talking, and suddenly he realizes that the person looks very familiar. ]

Maya...?

[He takes a second to just stare in shock. He thought... he thought she was...]

MAYAAAA!

[She’s still here, she’s still moving, she’s still alive

Spongebob sprints as fast as he can to where she is and joins in on the hug, sobbing tears of sadness and joy.]

[mayavericks]

[Maya's pulling him in close. It's hard, considering the pile she's in right now, but she's made enough miracles happen today. What's one damn more, right?]

You never left me, Oniisan.

[employeeoftheyear]

I-I didnt. I stayed with you, like I said I would. And dear Neptune you’re still here.

[There were still a lot of things Spongebob was uncertain about. He didn’t have the slightest idea how to stop the Wizard. They don’t know if Hester is alive, much less okay. They don’t know if the Wizard’s going to pull an even worse motive next week as punishment.

But his sister was saved from the Wizard’s wrath, and that’s all he needed right now.

He breaks the hug, slightly, to grin at Maya.]

I guess it’s my turn to tell you to never pull anything like that again.

[mayavericks]

You will... have to get in line for that one.

[Peregrine and Janis both have been saying it since they found her. Still... even if she hurts and her leg is still bleeding, she cannot help but smile.]

I promise I will not.

[employeeoftheyear]

[He laughs, genuine and boisterous.]

Good, and I promise I won’t do anything stupid either.

[Well... anything stupid that would get him killed.]

I’m just so glad I didn’t have to pick between my sisters. I already hurt one sister this week; I didn’t want to hurt the other.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cass arrives shortly after everyone else - and for obvious reasons. She sits astride Fidella, who's having a slight difficulty weaving through these trees, but seems to be handling it exceptionally well. And she's not alone.

Slung over the back - no, no. Riding behind Cass, and leaning a bit heavily into her, is Janis.]

...Is everything okay?