Event: Target

"Thanks for saving her," Doc told Riesy.  The big man took Eve back as carefully as if she'd been made of the most delicate spun glass, mumbling, "Won't blame you if you'd rather go with someone else."

Whatever she said to him in answer, she didn't budge from his arms, and after a moment he nodded.  He looked down at Lilybeth as she slumped against him.  "Your pa'd be proud.  Yours too, if he wasn't an ass," he added, reaching out to clap a hand on Tanner's shoulder.

Riesy blinked and let the tears roll down shiz cheeks again, happy for everyone involved. "Whether we like it or not, Doc," s/he croaked, hoping he would remember the rhyme from his time at the farm. But even if he didn't, it was looking like s/he'd get the chance to teach him he had people now.

With the cadence of someone hauling in lines, Lilybeth chanted "whether the weather is fine/whether the weather is not/whether the weather is cold/or whether the weather is hot..."

"You would," Riesy drawled at Lilybeth, before leaning closer to Doc. "Together we'll weather whatever the weather, whether we like it or not."

Lilybeth laughed a little bit hysterically. "I thought that was just a sailor thing. I guess it's a lumberjack thing too?"

"We use it to stay calm," Riesy agreed quietly. "Yknow. When you're fifty feet in the air." S/he looked back to Doc. "Or a few feet underground."

Tanner startled at the unexpected contact, but didn’t duck away, and he blinked quickly, not quite sure what to say to that. Not quite sure how to accept the praise, when it seemed genuine, and not quite sure how to acknowledge how grateful he was to hear it.

Fortunately he didn’t have to, Riesy and Lilybeth drawing attention with some kind of rhyme that they both clearly knew. It sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough for him to place it, but familiar or not, it was a distraction that let him get away with a vaguely mumbled, “Thanks,” that would no doubt be lost in the background.

Which, really, was how Tanner preferred to handle emotional moments.

Doc's craggy face wasn't much made for smiling, and the bushy beard didn't reveal much, but his expression softened from its customary scowl as he looked around at them.  All he said, though, was, "S'not bad here.  Felt solid ground underfoot, only 'bout waist deep."

"What???" Riesy yelped, looking over at the tile. "Alright. Enough of this hellhole." S/he wiped shiz face, sniffed enormously into a snort to clear all the snot out from the back of shiz nose from crying, then spit it out in a wad that sank into the tile. S/he looked at Isabelle. "That poetic enough for you?"

Isabelle laughed a full on belly laugh and then grabbed for the end of the ladder. "Let's get out of here," she agreed.

Once they had gotten across into the music section and extended the ladders to their full twenty-eight feet height, Riesy waved everyone back from the drop point. "Let me drop it. Stay back for this one, guys. It's gonna suck."

"Why?" Isabelle demanded. "What's going to happen?"

S/he shrugged one shoulder, smiling wanly. "Well, I'm scared. So my Trouble's up." S/he looked around their bedraggled group. "I don't know what it's doing to any of you, but when it crashes, that noise isn't going to be pleasant to feel any type of way." S/he looked back to Isabelle. "So just. Stay back."

Isabelle's eyes widened and she held up her hands in acquiescence, taking three steps back.

Doc nodded and tucked Eve into his jacket, where the thick leather would muffle the noise.

Tanner accepted the warning at face value, backing off enough that the sharp prickle of the white tile against the dark carpet faded to a muted itch. Hopefully that would be enough.

Lilybeth wasn't sure if she should cover her ears or her eyes, so just nodded and stepped back.

"Y'all're cute, I mean like go all the way the hell over there," s/he said, jerking shiz chin across the department. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna go in after if the fucker sinks, that's why we got two."

When everyone had gone, s/he let first one, then the other on shiz own, fall. S/he was right. The landings sucked.

They found shim sitting cross legged with shiz face in shiz hands when they came back. "Anybody ever break their nose before," s/he intoned flatly. The ladders were a little crooked from each other, but both were clearly supported both on their side and well out the door. They were free.

(Catching up)

The second Eve felt Doc falling, she scrambled to her feet and tried to jump for the shore. She missed, one paw brushing the edge before the sand grabbed at her. Panic set in at the suctioning feel of the sand closing in around her, dragging her down, and she froze completely - fortunately that worked in her favor, as thrashing would have sent her under faster.

A second later she felt a hand grab at the back of her neck, painful and choking off air she didn't have anyway, and then she was being hauled up and out to a shouting scene, into Riesy's lap, where she clung with all claws, shoving her face into shiz belly but turning her head just enough to see the others haul Doc from the mire.

Then Riesy was handing her over like a baby and she didn't even have enough left to care, she just hooked claws into Doc's leather jacket as soon as she was close enough. <Don't you do that again, don't you ever do that again, okay? You scared me. Can we just get out of here now?>

Izzy rubbed Riesy's shoulder. "C'mon, let's get the hell out of here," she prodded shim.

Stepping carefully Izzy navigated the ladder and emerged into the bright mid morning light outside of Target. She could have laid down on the solid ground of the parking lot and cried for hours. Instead she watched like a hawk while the rest of her team made their way out after her. When they were all out safe and celebrating she closed her eyes and tilted her face to the weak winter sun, relishing the light on her cheeks and eyelids, breathing in deep lungfuls of cold, free air.

Doc waited for the others to cross, wanting to be sure that if the ladders collapsed it wouldn't strand anyone else inside.  He wasn't a man of much emotion, but he was damned glad to be out.  "Never stepping foot in there again."

Lilybeth tried to stay focused as she crossed; she had good balance from years of maneuvering on deck, but she was exhausted and wobbly with it. It seemed to go on forever, those few steps, until she was practically knocking her head against the metal doorframe. She scrambled out with a vast sense of relief.

Eve smushed her face into Doc's shoulder as they crossed over, and only peeked when they were safely in the parking lot. She peeked, and relaxed, but she didn't move from her perch on his shoulders. <Mind if I stay?> she asked him hesitantly. It sounded like maybe she wanted to add more, but couldn't quite bring herself to do so. <I mean, up here... with you.>

Doc looked surprised.  "If you want, 'course.  I didn't keep you safe, though."

She snorted and wiggled into a comfortable riding position, setting her chin down on her paws on his shoulder. <You didn't keep you safe, either! I should have told you to do that too, apparently! I'd be very upset to lose you, you know. I mean... I know death happens, but that doesn't make it less hurtful to miss someone you like!>