[VIDEO]

[demonicbeauty]

[If Omens are just extensions of individual souls, then it should be no surprise that Ariadne's Omen--Windy--is, like her, something of a caretaker. It's, at least, fairly evident that the oversized hummingbird is broadcasting the image. Because Ariadne doesn't appear to be in any state to be using her Omni.

She's on her knees, in the middle of a sooty pile of rubble. Some folks might recognize the area. It looks suspiciously like where the Winchester cottage used to be.

Emphasis on 'used to be.'

There's no cottage there now. Nothing but a smoldering pile of ruins. And poor Ariadne, with long tracks of tears running down her face. She's either screaming or sobbing. It's kind of hard to tell. But every time a sound comes out of her mouth, it seems to actually rustle the grass and leaves and ash around her.

Her entire body is shaking. And her skin keeps going back and forth between pink and green. There are a few words garbled into the whole meltdown. Mostly "No!" and "Dean!"

When Windy decides that the message has gotten out there, she stops the images, with one last haunting cry from Ariadne.]

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[Video]>[Action]

[subject_013]

[The link might show Wesker looking into the device or Cypher's eyes, concerned, though a flicker of a reddish glow might flare behind his eyes before the link cuts out.]

-------

[A wash of wind rustles in the nearby trees, accompanied by a low sonic boom, and something dark, moving too fast to be seen darts up the path leading to the cottage site.]

[Wesker suddenly manifests, standing at the edge of the wreckage, surveying it solemnly before looking at Ariadne. He remains still for the moment, quiet, yet clearly concerned, even angered that Something has happened to someone whom he has come to regard with protectiveness.]

[demonicbeauty]

[Even distressed, Ariadne is still a spy. It's impossible to ignore the sound, the shift in the wind, the scent of Wesker as he appears.

She looks up at him, her hands shaking as she raises them to her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs. It doesn't do much good. She's still too upset to compose herself. Maybe too upset to think straight.

The last time she was this upset, she was a child.

Now she feels like one again.]

He's gone.

[subject_013]

[He approaches her, carefully picking through the rubble before taking a knee among the ashes, just at arms' reach from her, close enough that she can close the gap with ease, but far enough away to respect her space.]

Someone close to you. May I ask whom?

[demonicbeauty]

D-Dean. Dean Winchester. My... He was like my brother. I can't...

[Fresh tears start rolling down her face. She curls into herself, her shoulders shaking.]

[subject_013]

[He says nothing, but knee walks to her, close enough that she can reach him if she chooses.]

I know that connection. [It's as much of an empathetic word as he can manage at the moment, but it's the truth: his connection with Alex, in spite of their conditioning was as deep of a sibling bond as if they shared the same blood.]

For what it's worth, I'm here for you.

Video: UN - Runeseeker

[onerthes]

Ariadne?!? Are you alright? What happened?

[She didn't know Dean well, so this whole sight came as a surprise. Ariadne was always so calm, after all.]

[demonicbeauty]

[It's a few hours before Ariadne replies, her face swollen and puffy from crying.

And it seems likely that there will be a lot more crying, because she hasn't exactly stopped. She just isn't screaming any more.]

I found the house in ruins.

Dean's...gone.

[onerthes]

Oh god...

[She sighed, partially in relief. When she'd heard the scream, she was concerned that on top of whatever emotional issues had to be going on, Ariadne was in physical danger right then. But now that she heard it, she replied as soothingly as she could.]

I'm deeply sorry to hear that. I never knew him well, but you two were very close weren't you?

[demonicbeauty]

He...he...

[There's some intense sniffling. This girl is an absolute mess, but she's trying.

She's really, really trying.]

Was a brother. Near enough to one.

[onerthes]

I'm very sorry. Losing someone that's become this close can't be easy. It's so hard to develop a trusting relationship in this world. Do you have somewhere to stay?

Voice; un: lothrat

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ariadne?

Where are you? [Even as he asks, he's not sure he should expect a response. So, he's reaching through the Force. He can usually find people, if he's spent a fair amount of time around them. Although the background 'noise' of corruption does make it harder, here.]

[demonicbeauty]

[She doesn't answer. Not that she wants to be rude or anything. It's just that she's going through something of a crisis.

Wave after wave of intense emotion is coming out of her, much stronger than anything she's given off before.

There's grief. A lot of that. And a good sense of guilt as well. Nothing dark. No anger or hate. But possibly some suffering...]

[ezra_of_lothal]

[That much strong emotion does make it easier to track her down. A couple of lamp post jumps to roughly triangulate and then, after a little while, he's jogging up to her. He gives fiery ruins a glance and reaches towards them with the Force.]


I don't - I don't feel anyone in there, Airy.

[demonicbeauty]

No. There's no one.

[She can't smell anything living there either. No pulses. No cries for help. If she could hear or smell anything, she wouldn't be sitting on the wayside like this.

Helpless.

Useless.]

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Quietly-]

Who's home is this?

Action

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul feels the ripples in the Force of Airy's agony and grief around the same time the video from her Omen goes out. That's all the impetus he needs to find her. Maul is very familiar with where Dean Winchester lives....had lived. He'd had drinks there with the man a time or two, determined to balance out the scales of how Maul had failed him in getting him killed before.

He arrives on his speeder, slowing down and then turning off the machine as he draws near to Airy. She's not alright, that much is certain, so he doesn't bother asking stupid questions. He just comes up close and crouches next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.]

[demonicbeauty]

[She knows his scent. Not that she would be in much of a position to react differently with a stranger.

Aunt Lysia would disapprove, probably. A spy doesn't survive long with that attitude. But she's not a spy. Not right now, anyway. She's a grieving girl.

And despite her insistence that she's an adult...she's still only just barely in her twenties. With a lot of pain behind her that she's buried under optimism and a forward-thinking attitude.

The problem is, it hurts to think forward. Because it means thinking about a life without Dean in it.

All that to say, she isn't alarmed by Maul's presence. She doesn't look up at him. But she leans in slightly to the touch, comforted by the fact that at least someone is still here.]

[survivalthroughhate]

[Too often Maul says the wrong thing. He can't help it, he learned to be silent as a survival mechanism to get through his childhood intact, thus his communication skills suck even now as an adult. He's aware of it but it's number 99 out of 100 things he needs to work on to improve himself so he hasn't done much yet.

Right now, he's afraid he'll say the exact wrong thing to Airy when someone she cared and loved about so much is now swimming around in the ocean as a squid again. So he just stays silent. It's not like words are always needed anyway. So he just pats her gently on the shoulder, letting his friend know that he's here and he understands.

If she needs to cry, she can cry all she wants. He's not going anywhere right now.]

[demonicbeauty]

[She does need to cry. You wouldn't think someone so tiny would be capable of producing so many tears. But while her body may be small, her feelings are just so big.

Which isn't to say she isn't immune to fatigue. Even a survivor like Ariadne gets tried, needs to rest.

And it's when she manages to stop crying, at least for the moment, that she stares into the smoldering ruins and whispers:]

It's always fire. I really hate fire.

[survivalthroughhate]

[He lets Airy get all her tears out, at least for the moment. He knows there will be more to come later on.]

I understand.

[It's lightning that does it for Maul time and again. Somehow, it's those primal fears that always seem to hit the hardest, the ones that they feel on an instinctive level rather than with the logical part of their brains.]

video | un: graham crackers

[possessum]

( Peter doesn't know the young woman on the video feed, but he recognises her. He's seen her on the network before, and maybe a few times around the city, but he's never spoken to her himself.

He's not one to reach out to strangers, usually. He's timid in ways that run deep, guarded. But.... he can't just look past someone's suffering. The young woman cries out, screams a name, and Peter's heart hurts for her; he's shaking.

He turns on his own video to reveal a gloomy-eyed young man who's in his late teens, maybe early twenties. His gaze is wide, dark eyes a little glossy with his own upset for the girl. He leaves a message for her, unsure if she'll even respond, but... he has to say something. )

Hello, I— I saw... ( The words trail off, and he swallows thickly. )

....I knew him. Dean. Not well, I only spoke to him a couple of times, but... he was nice to me. ( Something catches at the back of Peter's throat. He's lost a lot of people, here. Each one is an ache that's left him feeling like less and less. )

Has he... gone? Back to the ocean?

[VIDEO] UN: [username not set]

[demonicbeauty]

[It's a while before Ariadne responds, but she does respond. Even to a near-stranger. And it's more than manners that compels her. He knew Dean. She doesn't know him. Somehow, that could add up to a way to stay connected to him.

And connected to the part of her that opens up. That's free to open up to near-strangers. The part of her that's living the life she could have known.

Still, her eyes are puffy and she's got a pretty nasal voice, her sinuses swollen with crying.]

I found the house in ruins. And I can't raise him on the Omni. I hope he's gone back to the ocean but...I don't know.

He could be...

[Ariadne can't say it. Saying the word gives it power.

But Dean could be dead.]

[possessum]

( By the time the young woman replies, Peter's managed to calm himself down a bit. Still, he can't help the lump in his throat returning at the sight of her. Seeing someone else's upset always stirs it in him, coaxes it up and out. He's frowning deeply, sadly as he listens to her.

He'd certainly noticed the ruins in her original video, the dilapidated remains of a building; it'd be impossible not to. But he hadn't quite been able to process the implications of that; there's still so much in Peter that can't.... handle things like that. It shuts down part of him, makes him foggy and strange and dissociative. He's just now really able to understand that the ruins must have been Dean's home, and a quiet horror is slowly appearing in his features. )

Something.... happened to his house. I...

( What could have done this...? He asks softly, gently, trying not to upset the poor girl further. All of this is awful, but if he can help solve this mystery... )

Do you know if there's anyone.... after him? Anyone who might've wanted to... hurt him?

[demonicbeauty]

[A dark shadow passes over Ariadne's face.]

Anakin Skywalker killed him once before.

[It's a memory she'd rather not drudge up. Especially in light of this.

At the same time, she doesn't have Anakin's scent. And it isn't his style. If he wanted Dean dead again...well. She's reasonably sure he wouldn't have blown up the house, for one thing. Anakin and the rest of those lightsaber wielding maniacs seem to prefer to do their killing up close.

Oh, that's an unkind thought. She's got to get that out of her head.]

[possessum]

( Peter's quiet for a moment, taking in the name, searching it for any traces of familiarity. He often forgets things — dates, names... faces. His mind is such a strange place. )

I don't think I know him. ( He admits, but he isn't entirely sure. There's a soft frown that lingers, before he gives his head an equally soft shake. The name's such a unique one; surely he'd... remember it, right? But he supposes that much doesn't really matter. In this place... there are many reasons why someone might kill another. He doesn't want to push into this poor young woman's business too much, but he does want to help.... )

Do you think this guy would... target him again? Or... others?

( Maybe this Anakin is a threat to more people...... Something happened to Dean's house, so what if it happens to others? )