It's one of those nights. Even if it wasn't a new moon, the overcast sky would stop any light from shining down on Tamarack Falls. It's also warmed up some, warm enough to be above freeze, and wet enough to create a thick fog that rolls off the hills and moves to settle into the valley. It's still cold, and damp, and the fog seems to dampen the sounds of the night. Or maybe that's just the imagination.
Inside the Crossroad's Cafe, it's quiet enough, with a half dozen or so people gathered for whatever reason, excluding the workers. It's nice, to get in, get out of the cold, get a warm drink and a warm meal.
Ashe has been up since before dawn. Ashe is cold. Ashe is bloodied. Ashe is extremely fucking hangry. The Shadowsoul is at her table in the corner, sitting in a bit of shadow and for those that can see her Mien, they are pulled close to her, only allowing the gleam of silver in her black eyes to be seen. The Autumn might murder someone if they mess up her warmth.
Dielle is sitting at a table with Max. She's got the remains of a salad off to one side, and a side of fries that she's currently eating one by one, with plenty of salt and no ketchup. She's chatting amiably about the joys of temporary unemployment.
It's dark outside, and so, the Hazel on duty now looks to many eyes more like the daughter of the Hazel who takes a shift in the early morning when the sun is up; good old darkness has peeled away some of the years on the diner owner and waitress. Hazel is not, however, waiting tables at the moment. Instead, she's at the spot farthest to the back of her restaurant, the table right up close to the kitchen, where she sits with notebook and pen and watchful eye of her patrons. From the looks of it, she's preparing for her upcoming event, the murder mystery; there's notecards out that she's scribbling on as well. With her prim dress, for once NOT the diner uniform, she looks like an escaped Goth Alice in Wonderland, hiding out in the diner.
Paige slips into the cafe, pulling off her knit cat and tucking it into a pocket. Despite clearly being cold she does put off some warmth. Go go strong Summer Mantles. Her coat is unzipped and she smiles as she looks around the cafe at those who are already here, or maybe just pondering a place to sit. She does recognize at least a few faces, lifting a hand to wave to Max and Dielle, sending them both a smile.
Aneira probably doesn't mind the cold at all, being all carved out of ice or whatever, but she does get hungry sometimes, and after a long day of... doing whatever it is that she does, her footsteps take her near the cafe. She wanders in wearing a trench coat that's too light and too fashionable to be a good choice for a Vermont that hasn't gotten the message it's spring and casts a glance over the area that has her dipping a few nods toward the faces she recognizes. Then she makes a beeline to inspect the dessert case.
The only green on Max's plate is the little bit of parsley they put on the side and the lettuce in her juicy burger. The enchanted mortal is chewing happily on her burger. Good thing she's not a loud eater or she might actually be saying omnomnom. Dressed casually as usual, she wears a jacket, hoodie, jeans, and boots, all various shades of grey. Her hair is worn down in loose curls, a small braid added in by her temple. "You know, if you got a job here you could get me a discount on the food," she suggests jokingly to Dielle, ensuring that her food is swallowed before offering a playful smirk to her current dinner companion.
Ashe remembers to send off a quick text to her Gargoyle. She wasn't going to be home soon. Which sucked. As others come in the Shadowsoul looks to those that enter and a few are recognized. Aneira gets a nod of greeting as she makes her way to the dessert case. Other than that, she goes back to her food and her coffee.
Dielle grins at Max and says, "Well, on the one hand, it'll be closer than that dive bar. But I'm gonna try working at Aspire Arena instead. I have an "in" with the owner...since he's my landlord, among other things. I could probably get you a discount there, we have a gym. And an indoor/outdoor obstacle course. Among other things."
Monday is Chicken Pot Pie night; Hazel's specials also appear to include a banana cream pie on the massive dessert rotunda. It was a hit some other night, so she's brought it back. The diner owner raises her head to call towards unfamiliar faces, "We're still at sit-anywhere-you-like busy. It's Monday, after all." The quietest of nights in the restaurant biz, given the weekend rush and more. It might be why the more complicated meals are on offer on Monday nights; more challenge when there's less to cook. Dielle's claim of working at Aspire earns her a moment of attention, as if taking stock.
"Thanks," Paige calls to Hazel with a quick smile. She spots the desserts though and moves closer, making a low 'ooooh' sound, completely forgetting, for a moment, about even the semi-familiar faces to zero in on the sugar. Or so it seems. "Hi Max, Dielle," she calls while staring. At least she doesn't drool!
Aneira waits patiently for someone on duty to come take her order, looming in front of the dessert case for a few minutes before catching the eye of a passing uniformed soul. She stares at the waiter in a manner which would probably be deemed uncomfortable, silently, until her look manages to get him to stop and ask her what she would like. "A slice of the cheesecake," she says in response to the inquiry. "And a cup of coffee. And a glass of ice, please. And you know what, maybe a slice of the pie, too. Yes. Thank you." Benefits of being a changeling: not having to worry about cholesterol. Was she supposed to sit down to order? Probably, but this is equally effective. She takes her two dessert slices and wanders over to Ashe's corner, saying, "Hello. Are you waiting for someone?" And she's probably oblivious to Ashe's desire to fend off the cold, paying absolutely no mind to the air conditioning effect she seems to throw off.
At the mention of roommates, Max chuckles lightly. "I should probably find somewhere more permanent to stay than the hotel I'm staying at. Nothing wrong with it, but, rent would probably be cheaper somewhere else in the long run," she says with a few small nods. Another bite is taken of her burger, and she grabs some fries to stuff those into her mouth too. Spotting a few other familiar faces, even hearing her name called, the enchanted mortal looks up from Dielle and her food. She waves in a friendly manner to both Paige and Aneira. "Hey Paige, how's the dessert looking tonight?" she asks in return, because obviously she's going to have something sweet after her dinner.
A car pulls up in front of the cafe, followed shortly by another. An old Crown Vic, surely bought from some police surplus auction, and then a newer sedan. Unremarkable, really. Two men step out of the first car, and then one out of the second. One man remains in that Hyundai, sitting in the dark, a hand hanging out the window with a cigarette in it.
The trio talks for a bit, outside, and then brushes on in. "Gonzaga," one of them says. No, not says. Insists.
"You been saying that all night, Rick. What's going to make me change my mind now?" says one of the others. There's a huff, and then that man waves a hand, dismissing Rick, who mutters out a curse and turns to step over to a table, closest to the door.
Ashe's eyes go to Aneira when she nears and the shadows seem to slip away a little to show her permanently stitched smile. A shake of her head, "No, Byron is at home. I'm just getting a quick meal before I head there. Have a seat." she offers to her. When there are others coming in though the woman focuses on them for the moment.
"Delicious!" Paige calls back to Max cheerfully. "But then, anything sweet looks delicious to me," she says, tossing a grin toward the Enchanted. She glances toward Ashe and Aneira, before back over her shoulder at the two who just entered. Quick smiles are given before she straightens to ponder where to sit again.
Dielle turns and waves at Paige and calls out, "Sorry, I didn't see you there!" Her attention is drawn by the newcomers, but she shrugs, she has no clue what they're talking about, that's not hard. "Oooo. Dessert. That's a moral imperative. And I get lucky, I live over the Arena. Swear to god, never had an apartment this big before. Jon and I are gonna have to save up, get some real furniture for us to break!"
"Wait, why are you breaking furniture?" Max naively asks, raising a light brow at Dielle. Although the group of men that wander inside catch her attention, Ashe steals it momentarily when she hears the Shadowsoul speak a familiar name. She's eyed curiously for a few seconds, interested. Then she's looking over to Paige, offering the woman a wave in an inviting manner along with a friendly smile.
Max gets a little nod back from Aneira, a greeting which probably encompasses everyone in that area. "Thank you," she says to Ashe, dropping into a seat across from her. She positions herself a little bit weirdly, probably, so as to get a better view of the door, which may seem slightly paranoid. The new arrivals get a once over, but the cheesecake wins her attention while she waits for her coffee and glass of ice cubes. She takes a big bite, swallows, and says in a slightly stiff attempt at conversation, "Oh, well. I haven't actually eaten here before. What's good?" Besides the cheesecake, which she is obviously enjoying.
Hazel repeats, in her distracted way to the party just coming inside: "It's seat yourself so far, there's lots of space." She leans back and calls towards the kitchen: "Billy! The service is picking up!" What is a waitress without her genial holler? It is a life skill, that unobtrusive way of shouting. There's a moment where it seems she might be ready to recite in Aneira's direction what she thinks is good, but she contains herself, just barely. Let others do the word-of-mouth evangelizing for the food.
"Oh, you all going to come out?" one of the two men says, fixing his gaze on Hazel. "Not necessary, really. Just looking for a couple slices of pie, couple of cups of coffee, to go, if you can?" he asks. Accent is decidedly southern. "Trying to make Canada by midnight," he adds, with a smile, a flash of coffee and smoke stained teeth. The man remains lingering at the counter, by the register, waiting for whomever is going to come serve.
The other, he stays near the door, sitting, waiting.
Dielle eyes the men, then nods back at Aneira and Ashe. "Umm..." She's clearly trying to think of how to frame this. "Jon's big. Like really big. And built like a brick shithouse, so sometimes, furniture gets broke. He's also pretty strong and it makes for the occasional accident. On the furniture." She says that quickly, as if realizing that it sounds like he beats her or something. Or maybe just piddles on the floor.
Paige's gaze lingers on the man by the door before she glances out to the car. She considers a moment before she moves toward Max and Dielle's table. She whispers to them whens he's close enough, "I don't trust these guys." But she keeps a smile on her lips, even though she tries to keep her expression mostly turned away for now.
Ashe gives a look over to Max and there's a nod of greeting from the woman. Then she looks to Aneira, "Thanks for not blocking the door." she gives her a huge stitched grin. Then she takes a sip of her coffee and watches the men with soulless eyes. The silver striations ticking up like heartbeats on a monitor. "They've got good french toast. Bacon. Bacon is always good." she muses.
Hazel gets a (curious? more like an indecipherable) glance from Aneira at the yell. Billy had better be bringing her coffee whenever he wanders back out... oh, and there he is, with the coffee carafe and a glass of ice. What excellent service. "French toast. I'll have to try that next time," she says agreeably. Billy gets a polite, "Thank you." As soon as his back is turned, she picks two ice cubes out of the cup and drops them into the steaming hot coffee mug, then picks it up for a sip. "I like a clear field of view as well," she informs Ashe conversationally.
"Oh, he's clumsy then?" That's Max's assumption and what she makes of Dielle's answer. "I'm glad I have a bit of finesse. Though, I would be lying if I said I never tripped or fell on my ass. Of course, I do so spectacularly," she tells the unicorn with a playful expression. It fades though when she glances toward the men, then back to Dielle. Her voice lowers as she whispers, "What's up?"
Hazel, it must be said, doesn't much look like a diner authority after-hours, unless you've met her and know her well. The shout might seem out of place. She jerks a thumb at her server du jour, Billy, who might be slower than she likes. A Winter taskmaster, poor recently promoted busboy. "To-go cups for the gents are under the back counter," she steers him a little. It's not that she's as twigged to trouble as others, but perhaps she's learned to read the vibe of a room.
Dielle glances at the men, not even close to being subtle, then up at Paige. "I'd say somethin' smartass, like why trust men ever? but really, I'm kinda curious as to what's up, aside from them being kinda creepy." She eyes them. "And acting like gangster wannabe's." She keeps her voice low, she doesn't want it to carry. This is on purpose and everything.
"Thank you, miss," the man says to Hazel, when she orders Billy to get to it. His eyes then linger on Hazel for a long moment, because, well. A pretty lady that yells and orders people around. Who isn't going to stare for a moment. "Tarheels," he says, idly, to the man beside him. The man laughs and shakes his head, and then his phone comes out. Tap-tap-tap.
It's a few moments later, just about when Billy is back with the coffees, that the door opens again. This is bound to grab just a bit of attention, as the man entering is dressed in some old, ill-fitting brown suit, and is wearing clown make up. He glances aside, to the guy parked near the door. "What's taking so long?" he asks.
"I'm not sure. I mean...the guy--" is as far as Paige gets in her whispered conversation before the door opens again and she glances back. Her brow furrows and her head cocks, a little birdlike, and she stares. "Well that's kinda bizarre," she says, voice no longer a whisper. She just seems too surprised to be subtle about it.
Ashe gives a look to Aneira and then leans across the table a bit to whisper something to her. When that's done, she drops one hand down to the side and out of sight from the men who just came in. The other one takes the cup of coffee and drinks as she watches them.
It's a clown? You don't see that every day. Hazel opens her mouth, and starts to give the usual spiel about how you can sit anywhere, it's a free country and the restaurant isn't so busy, but the fact that a guy in clown makeup just walked in actually silences the Winter, who wears a truly perplexed expression. Odd things are uncomfortable to the Coldest Court. They usually mean trouble. That's what she waits for, before she gives any kind of welcome.
Dielle finds herself picking up her fork, which she'd been ignoring in favor of eating her fries with her fingers. She then looks around and grabs a few more forks. What the hell, right? Forks for everybody. No. Forks FROM everybody. Maybe she's out of spoons and is substituting.
For a few long moments, Max is staring at the man parked near the door that the clown just questioned. There's a look of concentration, but eventually she blinks a few times and leans back. It was similar to someone being dazed momentarily. Glancing over toward Dielle, the enchanted mortal attempts to keep a calm look as possible. "Okay, those dudes are totally planning on robbing this place and have guns," she whispers rather quietly to the unicorn. A concerned expression is in her bright blue eyes as she glances toward the other Lost in the restaurant.
Well, Hazel's very effective running of the joint gets the tiiiiniest of approving nods from Aneira as she sets her ice-cube-cooled coffee down again and digs back into the half-eaten cheesecake in front of her. Said cheesecake is disappearing quite quickly, even though Aneira's gaze has since shifted to the new arrival. Her face doesn't really change expressions. Maybe one chiseled eyebrow arches up a fraction and whatever Ashe just said garners a stiff nod from her, and she shifts her weight subtly in case she needs to get up quickly.
"Calm down," the man who has been talking says, as looks back to the clown. "Pie's coming right now." And sure enough, there is pie, and then a big smile. "Thanks, Billy," he says. He reaches into a pocket, and out comes... well. It's black! But it's sure not a wallet. A pistol, an nice black snub-nosed revolver. "Open it up, Billy," he says, still smiling.
"Alright!" yells the clown, rather loudly. There's a gun in his hand now, too, pulled out from behind his back. "No body fucking move a muscle! I see anyone reaching for a phone, I swear to the God of Clowns I will fucking end your life!" he says, his voice dark, rough, and gravelly.
The man, sitting by the door. Rick. He steps up, and steps in front of the door. The other man by the register, who we can call Harry, has his piece out, and is slowly looking around.
Dielle freezes, when all the guns pop out. She's still hanging onto her fork, though. And it means she doesn't move at all. Her eyes go all wide, so one can see the whites around them, and she moves her head slowly to take in where everyone is and what they're doing.
Dielle freezes and does nothing, and for a moment Paige does nothing but stare at Billy and the man with the gun. Her gaze may be focused on the gun. Okay, it's definitely focused, her eyes narrowing for a moment before her expression smooths, just a little. But like Dielle, she doesn't get out of her chair. "No reason to hurt him, or anyone else," she says, voice as calm as she can make it.
Aneira shifts her weight slightly and gives the men a steady, steady look, staying silent while she observes them. Then her diamond-bright gaze flickers to the door. For anyone paying much attention, an almost imperceptible chill seeps into the room and the glass in the door goes a little foggy. The floor near it starts to look a little bit glassy. "Why don't you let the boy sit down?" she says rather coolly. "You want something, we have something, let's just get this over with, shall we?"
The quartet of men stand in their positions, not moving much. Not right away. Thomas has that gun at Billy, and then he draws back the hammer. "How much is your life worth, kid?" he asks, smiling all the while. Billy breaks, near instantly, and starts pulling out money from the open register and stuffing it into the bags, on top of the pie. "No, not-... Fuck just... keep going," Thomas says, with a heavy sigh.
The clown starts moving, stepping forward. "Ladies... purses. Wallets. Phones," he tells them. And as he's moving, Harry is right there beside him, with a white 'Thank you' to-go bag. "And I know I said don't touch your phone... so let's not be cute. Grab it, put it in the bag. He ends up at Max and Dielle and Paige's table first. The gun goes right to Max's face, while he looks across to Aneira. "I love good sports. So go ahead and get that purse out," he says.
Hazel does move, but not from her chair. She stays quite put, and might be altogether easy to miss, given her spot at the back of the cafe, her seat alone. But she can't help but mouth the words "God of Clowns" with a manner that says: of course this would happen to me and MY place of business. Of course. Her head turns; all her attention is on poor Billy. Only just promoted from busboy, and now this. Her face is a mask of calm she in no way feels, given the way her fingers grip the table. She doesn't reach for a purse, since she doesn't have one with her, which makes this altogether awkward for her. She just points at her pages, shrugs, and holds hands up as if to say 'I've got nothing for you'.
The shadows to seem to drip down the walls behind Ashe for a moment. "You guys really picked the wrong place and the wrong time this evening. I just wanted to eat." the woman states as her bandaged fingers twitch against the side of the .357 she has. "Shhhh...soon..." the Shadowsoul whispers out to..no one in particular? Autumns were fucking creepy.
Although Max is a bit wide-eyed at the situation, she does manage to appear calm under the circumstances. Even if her heart is racing a million miles a second, she forces a composed expression on her face. When the gun is put in her face, a frown tugs at the edges of her lips. Not cool. The rest of the room is ignored now as she focuses her attention on the clown, the apparent leader of the group of robbers. Once he looks back to her, the enchanted mortal locks her gaze with his and starts to speak. "There are better things to do on a Monday night than rob a bunch of innocent people," she starts. Ever seen the vampires glamoring on True Blood? She gets that look of concentration on her face and the more imaginative types can hear that violin music playing in their minds. "You don't want to do this. Instead, you want to order your men to leave us all alone and head back outside. And then you're going to follow them out as well. It's a nice evening outside, after all."
The clown stares Max right in the eyes - glaring at her as she dares to speak instead of complies. The gun moves to point at her. But then she's speaking, and the man looks transfixed for a moment. "Uh..." Then the lights start getting dark. He gives a quick look around. "Y-yeah..." he says. "C'mon, fellas, that's... let's get the fuck out of here." Of course just because the clown is turning off, doesn't mean the other men are listening to him. He doesn't care. He doesn't look back. He seems content to leave... only, when he pushes past Rick to the door, and grabs the handle, he's left bewildered. "What the fuck... did you lock it?!" he blurts to Rick.
Rick quickly shakes his head. "No, I didn't fucking lock it!"
Dielle reaches out under the table to lightly tap Max's elbow, once. There's a little flow of unseeable sparkles going from her to Max. She's glaring at the men with the guns and she almost immediately pulls her hand back. She's trying to do this unseen.
The men are starting to leave, sure, but Paige doesn't particularly trust them. Then again, she didn't trust them before the guns come out. She leaves Dielle to protect Max, while she slips away from the booth, toward Billy, and she's careful not to turn her back on any of the armed men.
Aneira grabs a steak knife while the men's backs are turned and stands smoothly in the same motion. Something about her movement causes a very slight crackling noise, like the sound of ice freezing and grating against itself. At the same time, the door unfrosts itself a little bit.
"Well, it's fucking locked!" the clown insists, and then steps back and gestures to Rick, to let the man try. He looks back, at the others. "Well come the fuck on!" he says to them.
Rick looks entirely confused, and agitated, by complies. He reaches out and yanks on the door, and it opens freely. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he asks. He looks back to the others, as well, waiting for some sign if they're going or staying.
Harry, he was to be collecting purses, watches the exchange between Max and the clown, and he looks baffled. "What-..." He starts, then turns to watch them go to the door. "I don't-..." He looks back, and that's when he spots Ashe. And then his eyes slowly trail around the room, watching the gathering darkness. And then the woman is talking to herself? "Nope," he says. "C'mon, Tommy," he adds, then starts out the door.
Thomas, who still has the gun on Billy, looks annoyed. Very annoyed. He turns that annoyed glare over to Paige, and points the gun right at her. "I'd spent the rest of the night contemplating just how lucky you are, blondie," he says. Then a huff, and he turns, and he's walking out, too.
Hazel is still at the ready, even as the thieves are making an ignominious exit; there's a little feeling of chill near her, like someone opened her deep-freeze supply closet door, as she watches them go, frowning, a small sense of her Glamour in a subtle enough way. "Billy, take the week off after this," she says, not so very loud. "The whole week, I don't want arguments. That can't be good for you."
Ashe draws her .357 with lightning quick reflexes when Aneira is grabbing the steak knife, apparently she's going to cover the Winter. "Shhh. It's going to be alright." the woman whispers softly. She keeps the gun on them until they are /completely/ out the door. Because she didn't trust any of these bastards. One bloody finger is steady on the trigger, just in case.
Max lets out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in when the men turn and start to leave. She's confident in her abilities but she knows they don't always work. As the men start to make their way out, those bright blue eyes land upon Harry. Before the robber can get too far, she points out to him to grab his attention. "You. Leave everything you've taken by the door," she commands with that compelling voice of hers. Then she gives a glance over toward Thomas. Though she doesn't use her abilities on him, she does offer a suggestion to him. "You might want to follow the example set by your friend there," she tells him. Okay, the mortal /may/ start to be getting a little overconfident now.
Oh and she had given Dielle a bit of a horrified look at being touch. But Max was too busy trying to be a hero to say anything at the moment about it!
All four men had been walking out. Rick holding the door, the clown just outside, Thomas and Harry moving on out. But then Max calls out to them. Instead of existing, the men stay. At least, they all turn to look at her. Thomas, the only one with any money scored, drops the bag on a chair there, as if possessed. He friends look at him, entirely aghast.
"You should really leave now," Aneira says rather flatly toward the men still hanging by the door, steak knife probably well in view at the moment.
Paige shifts so her full five foot flat form is directly in front of Billy, doing everything she can to make sure any bullets will have to go through her to get to him. But when Max calls out those last things she does spare a moment to give the mortal a dumbstruck look. "They were almost gone," she mouths before looking back to the group.
Thomas drops the bag, and then turns to look at his friends. They stare back at him. "Fuck are you doing, man...?!" the one blurts. Thomas doesn't answer.
"It's that fucking dumb bitch right there!" the other yells. His eyes go wide. There's a moment's delay, and then the gun comes up. "Fucking witch!" And then the trigger is pulled. And as soon as there's a pop, the other man - Rick - is grabbing the bag of money and shoving Thomas out the door. Harry doesn't stay to see if his shot landed true. He's already moving out.
They SHOT her PATRON. HER PATRON in HER RESTAURANT where things are NICE and there is PIE, and you can just hear the violins at the back of Hazel's brain start up all REE, REE, REE, and it's amazing she doesn't go all Firestarter right then and there out of sheer upset from the disturbance of her haven. But what she does do is bad enough. "FINE." One arm thrust to the sky, up she stands. She points at the gun of the shooter, then down to Rick's knee. "KNEECAP HIM." And whoops -- there goes the gun again, only this time, it's going right for his buddy with the money. The guy holding it probably never knew that was coming.
Ashe stares for a moment when the shot goes off and when it hits the mortal there's a growl that she gives when she reholsters the gun at her back and yanks her phone out of her pocket and dials 911. All the while there's blood that is being licked off her hands by the little bat that's hiding in her hair. "Someone see if you can get the lisence plate." she shakes her head a bit. She was tired. Very tired.
When Ashe asks someone to get the plate number, Uvall skitters onto her shoulder, "I'll go." he tells her and then the bat flaps off to do his minion business.
That confident smile of Max's started to fade when she overshot her mark and the men turned their gaze to her. Before she can further react, she hears that gunshot go off. Who got shot?! That adrenaline pumping through her causes her to not realize for a second it was her. Why is her shirt getting wet? Looking down, the mortal realizes that she was the victim as her clothing starts to get soaked with blood. "Oh fuck," she yelps as her hands instinctively move to press on the wound that landed near her gut. There's a heavy grimace on her face, the pain rushing through her now. "None of you happen to be doctors, right? Fuck, I can't have too many people touching me!" Even when she's bleeding out, she's still concerned for the fate of others. How sweet. Of course, to the Lost, she just has a weird thing about being touched.
Dielle moves forward, to try to get to Max. Because sometimes you just have to try to stop the bleeding, even if it's just pressing against the wound with a paper napkin. She does remember to drop the fork.
Pop! ... "What the fuck?!"
The noise outside makes it clear that someone's been shot, and there's some harsh words about who shot who and why and oh god and did that woman just scream and...
Whatever the case, the quartet of robbers make off with a bag full of pie and whatever amount they scored from the register. They are quickly into their cars - cars that Uvall is able to flutter after for a little bit - and then they are gone, up the road in a hurry.
It will be a little while before paramedics arrive. Volunteer force, here in Tamarack Falls, with no real hospital for half an hour. Fortunately, Dielle will be able to deal with Max's wounds, at least enough to stop most of the bleeding, to hold pressure on with napkins.
Paige is no doctor, and Max has Dielle, so though Paige does look concerned for the woman, she stays where she is. Sure, the men may appear to be leaving, but that's no guarantee that they'll /stay/ gone. So she continues to shield Billy, eyes narrowed as she watches, waits, until the paramedics arrive and she's sure everyone's as safe as they're going to be.
When Dielle reaches for her, Max slightly freaks out. "Nonono, don't touch me!" That's her first instinct, knowing she curses those that make contact with her. The pain starts to fade though, which is weird but she's not going to complain. It makes her more susceptible to being helped by the unicorn. "Only help if you know what you're doing," she warns, then allows Dielle to stop the bleeding for now. And once she hears the sirens? Well, Max is making her way out if she can as quickly as possible because she doesn't want to go to a hospital or talk to cops.
"Did anyone get the license plates? Any information you might share - I'm going to make someone's life a living hell for this." Hazel says this with all the sweet conviction of telling a customer that of course they want the butterscotch pie, it's a doozy. "Towels for the girl," she says belatedly, still slightly stunned. "Wait -- is she trying to leave?" And Hazel sits down, so very blindsided.
Ashe reaches up to catch Uvall when he returns with the plate information. The shadows fully receed from her now and her pale face and black eyes can be seen. "Max, you might not like people touching you and I understand why, but you have to get patched up. Your other choice is bleeding out and we don't want that." the Shadowsoul tells the young woman. Yes, apparently she was told of her. Then there's a look to Hazel, "We got it. I'll write it down as well." she states as she heads over to the counter. She'd stay until the police and ambulance were down.
Aneira glances back toward Max and Dielle, her expression shifting to one that is probably a frustrated glower as she looks back toward the door. It's hard to tell by looking at her, but judging by how she's pacing, she'd really like to be pacing out the door and after the car. Once Max leaves her radius, she probably starts feeling stabbing pain again, which... may or may not cause her to rethink exiting the premises.
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