Day 2, Noon, Palisade National Park, Camp Watzmilion

Jenny and Volt laughed with Angie. "We can fix that problem", Jenny said as she started down the path. "By the way," Volt added, "Candy does like you guys."

A minute later they reached a circular clearing about 80 feet in diameter. At the center of the clearing a 20 foot tall stone jutted up out of the ground. It was so thin compared to it's height that one could imagine that it grew up believing itself to be a tree. 7 similar but smaller stones, lying on the ground as if they were sleeping, formed a semi-circle on the side closest to them. "Say hello to the sundial stone," said Jenny. "When they first built this camp the central pillar was already here, and they brought in the others to act as markers for it's shadow. It looks like it will be noon in a couple minutes. Let's get our picnic set up."

They did, and as they were eating Jenny said, "I heard from some other campers that the supernova yesterday took place exactly at noon," she paused as she took another glance at the stone's straight shadow, "and its noon now. I propose a toast." She held up her water bottle. "To making it through the last 24 hours in spite of how crazy they've been."

Day 2
Arida, Arenico
de Mon Castle Grounds

Evangeline followed Candi as she led them down the hall toward empty rooms. She walked beside Christopher, but she ignored him for the most part. When Candi showed her an empty room, Evangeline pushed the door open, turned to face them and said, "See you in the morning..."

~~~

— 2 AM, Day 2 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park
Lui's Cabin

Lui padded to the center of the garage and lay down on the cement floor, the whole time thinking how odd the situation was. There was no way to get out of the garage if it was locked, unless you had the key. Terra had taken the key and locked the door. It was for the best, Lui reminded herself.

She rested her head on her paws, her thoughts already crowding her mind. It was clear that she would get hardly any sleep tonight.

— 2 AM, Day 2 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park
Lui's Cabin

Loretta nodded to Terra, and followed her slowly back to the cabin. At the porch, she met the puppy who she scooped up into her arms and carried inside along with the flashlight and paper. After she returned the paper and pencil to the table and the flashlight to it's shelf, Loretta curled back up on the couch and set the young wolf beside her as before.

She laid awake, despite being exhausted, worried about Lui and disturbed by the whole day's happenings. She finally sighed off into sleep somewhere in the wee hours of the morning.

Day 2
Arida, Arenico
The Convent
The Surgery Room

Julietta's hands shook as she realized the gravity of this situation, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She had to keep it together... otherwise this girl might die. It was only then that Julietta realized she had no idea of the girl's name. She resolved to ask the two women that had brought her in to tell her all that they knew about this girl after the surgery was over - and, hopefully, successful.

Her hands stopped shaking, but only a little. What was wrong with her? She'd never acted this strange in the middle of a procedure before. Then again, this was the first time that someone's life was on the line. That was bound to make anyone nervous. Especially with Julietta's reputation for breaking things.

She nodded to Romano, blowing a wisp of bangs out of her eyes as sweat broke out on her forehead. "Can you grab me those bandages over there, too? We're going to need them." She looked at the amount of blood that typically came from this kind of a surgery. "And the paper towels." Unlike Romano, she didn't get queasy around blood... but she was a klutz. It was still unclear which was worse. She only hoped that now, for once in her life, she would rise above her klutzy tendencies. This was when it mattered the most.

Holding the tool steady now, Julietta watched as Dr. Wallaby worked.

— Day 2, Noon —
Palisade National Park
Camp Watzmilion

The Baxters raised their own water bottles to Jenny’s toast with hearty “Cheers!” coming from each of them – even Grace, who was thrilled to be included in such a “grown up” activity.

They all took a drink, and then Dan raised his own bottle again. “And to family and to new friends – may they give us strength and hope in this new world.”

A short time later, their meals eaten, Dan and Angie Baxter walked around the sundial stone. Both found it fascinating, and he was typically curious as to how it was set up and how it worked.

Grace, meanwhile, was playing with Candy as Jenny and Volt watched. “Jenny, thanks for being my friend. If Daddy can get the car going, we might go back home to Parksville. I’ll miss you when we go.”

— 2 AM, Day 2 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park
Lui's Cabin
Terra tossed and turned for hours on the rug. Wondering what was happening to her, worrying about Lui and Loretta and everyone else, fearing what the next day would bring. The first rosy streaks of dawn were entering the cabin's windows when she finally drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Day 2: Arida

The Convent--Surgery Room

"You mean gauze," Romano corrected, handing the gauze to Julietta and giving her a slight--but not too encouraging!--smile. "There's no such thing as paper towels in here."

The Convent--Xandria and Allee's Room

Xandria finished rinsing off her arms and face, getting the remnants of dried blood off of herself. A new shirt was produced out of her suitcase, and she was shortly in presentable style. She plopped down on the desk while she waited for Allee to finish cleaning up.

"Should we go look for your cousin?" She finally asked.

De Mon Castle

Candice took advantage of a passing servant boy to order him to take Christopher to a room. She shot him a smile as he left, then turned back to Vange, leaning against the door.

"I would love to hear your story, and to find out more about Chris," Candi said softly. "I don't quite trust him, so if you wouldn't mind telling me some of his background, I would be quite grateful. I do not mean to keep you up, but, perhaps an early morning tea, tomorrow? Or coffee. I have both. Either way, I shall see you in the morning, dear. Goodnight."

Candi smiled a genuine smile to Vange and gently placed the oil lamp on small table, then vanished into the darkness of the hall.

-Day 1-
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine

"Liam," said Dreyman seriously, looking him in the eye, "The world has changed. I'm sure you've recognized this. There's been a supernova and it's affected everyone, including the government." He paused meaningfully. "We're in need of leaders who know about the circumstances of the supernova, who have prepared, who know what to do now, in the aftermath."

He stopped moving and grasped Liam's shoulder with a hand. "I need people around me that I can trust. Can you promise to be loyal and help me?"

-------

-Day 2-
Outside of Green Hills Highschool
Parksville, Erbaine

Cat nearly collapsed outside of the school as the building collapsed behind her. Too much had happened in too little time, and she was overwhelmed. Wait, was Fred alright? She looked around for him.

Day 2: Arida

The Convent--Surgery Room

"Right. Gauze." Julietta tried not to roll her eyes. That had been what she'd meant, but it just didn't come out right. Like usual. Now Romano probably thought she was totally incompetent for this medical job. She was beginning to wonder if she was.

Still, he had smiled at her. That was an improvement. It had to count for something. She took the gauze and returned the smile, trying her best not to look ridiculous.

The Convent--Xandria and Allee's Room

Allee changed into a clean t-shirt, hoodie, and jeans, and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Yes. I need to go make sure Laney's okay. With the power out, it makes connecting with her so much more difficult. I have no idea where she would be, but at least we could start looking." She gathered up her stuff, dropped it into her messenger bag, and slung it over her shoulder. "She's either at home or her martial arts studio. That is, if she's not hurt." Allee's face paled at the thought. "Where should we go first?"

Day 2: Arida

The Convent: Surgery Room

Romano was back to concentrating on the patient. The Doctor's hands were not too steady, and Romano dearly hoped that his hands wouldn't slip and further damage the child. He knew it would be hours until they had completely finished working on the girl.

(Time jump soon?)

The Convent: Xandria and Allee's Room

Xandria gulped.

"I guess...let's try her house first. I really doubt she would be working the day after the supernova, right?"

((OOC: Backtracking a little. ))

Day 1
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine

Laramie stood with the backpack stuck to her fingers, wondering what in the world to do now. Suddenly, the backpack peeled away from her hands and fell, landing with a loud whump on the floor. Laramie stood frozen in surprise for a moment, before kneeling down to pick it up. "No problem, Liam," she said, her mind racing for something, anything she could say to make this situation appear normal. "The backpack straps do get slippery. I dropped it myself this morning."

She took the backpack from Liam, her fingers brushing against his, and sent him an apologetic look, already regretting the way she'd lashed out at her friend. "I know," she said, lowering her tone to a whisper. "Don't worry; it's a short walk home. Leon and I will stay together. Just...try not to get stuck to anything, okay? I'll see you later."

Raising her voice a bit, she added, "Stay safe." Her eyes flicked over Liam's shoulder to Dr. Dreyman and his son. "All of you."

Stepping back, Laramie watched him walk to where the Doctor and Connor waited. When he looked back over his shoulder, she gave him a smile and a bit of a nod. We'll be fine. As Liam joined the Dreymans, Laramie tugged a strap of her backpack more tightly over her shoulder and looked up at Leon. "You coming?"

Day 1
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine

"Huh, what?" Leon fell out of a daze as Laramie called for him. What had happened? He was sure that he'd been with the group, but his mind had been reeling with strange thoughts and feelings. If he remembered correctly, he had glanced at his reflection from something in Dr. Dreyman's room, and his mind had drifted off since then. Oddly enough, it had gone off to things about him. How strange that he now realized he has flaws like being too opinionated and being very disorganized, and much more info about himself that he never knew.

I definitely need to go to bed, this cold is twisting my nerves! Then he remembered: He never got weird thoughts when he was sick. Ok, no more thinking for you today. Just because you're terrified and excited about the horrific event today, you don't need to literally see your life flash before your eyes.

Trying his best to shut his brain off, he turned towards Laramie with his best fake smile and replied "Oh, yup! I'm coming. Besides, I live next to you, I have a cold, and I think I've gained some mental issues from today." His hand slapped his face. Why did he say all of that, for goodness sake? "Just ignore everything I have to say, ok? I just need some rest. I think we all need rest after this disaster." It was best if he didn't tell anyone about missing the last while and the thing that had occured to him, or else he'd sound like a weirdo.

Peeking at Laramie, who was beside him, he slowly started to walk. "By the way, I want to thank you for all you do for me. You're the only person who treats me with such kindness and care. I promise that I'll make sure we all get through this. Everything is a-ok, or at least that's what I'm telling myself." But the more he thought about it, the more he was sure that nothing would ever be the same again.

Day 1
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine

Liam nodded along with everything Dr. Dreyman was saying. He agreed with him, too, which had never happened before in his life. There was a first time for everything, he guessed.

The thought of being a leader appealed to Liam. A lot. Besides, Dr. Dreyman was right. The world was falling apart at the seams and Liam had to help.

"Yes, sir." Liam smiled confidently. "I'm at your service."

Day 2
The Convent: Xandria and Allee's Room

"You're right, she probably wouldn't be." Allee shook her head. "So, her house it is." She exited the convent and took off down the street, knowing that Xandria would follow.

((OOC: Lady A and Chloe, a time jump for me in the Surgery Room would be perfect.))

-Day 1-
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine

Lewis grinned at Liam and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good man. We'll fix things in this town yet."

He looked over at Connor, who had been standing silently through all of this, and thought they ought to talk alone. He knew almost as much about the supernova as Lewis had, and he thought that Connor deserved to have an idea of what he was planning to do.

"Liam, I need you to do something for me, for the people of Judicia." He looked at him intensely. "Connor and I have been stocking supplies and clean water at our home for months. Tell anyone you meet that there are supplies and food at my home." He gave Liam an address and a general idea of the area. "I need to talk to Connor, now, so I'll see you later." He waved goodbye to Liam.

-Day 1-
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine

Connor had been walking along with them all this time, not saying anything, but observing everything. He was very confused as to what was going on, his mind working quickly to try and figure it all out.

It dawned on him just a couple of moments before his father sent Liam away. The supernova. It had done something to them. To their bodies. They'd . . . changed. There was something going on with Liam. Something had changed his molecular structure, giving him some sort of . . . ability. He wondered if he had changed as well.

P.S."Brooklyn!"