forcing momentum into a moment [CLOSED]

[jediparkour]

WHO: Cal and Magnus
WHAT: Cal's kept his head down for a long time, but with tensions getting high, it's even harder to hide - especially from another telepath.
WHERE: Middle Ward, just outside Arcadia
WHEN: Late February
WARNING(S): Some violence


Cal stumbles back from the punch he took, catching himself against a nearby wall, already feeling a wet trickle of blood streaking down his nose and over his upper lip.

When he had found a trio of jerks picking on a smaller kid with a face half-covered by purple scales, well, Cal wasn't the type to stand by and let it happen. All that yelling about the otherwise mousy-looking Meta being one of the Yakashbah was just an excuse to pick on someone. Three against one was hardly a fair fight either, but the other Meta had run off nearly as soon as Cal had the bullies' attention, leaving him in a situation that had quickly developed into a brawl once they realized Cal wouldn't back down.

Cal couldn't say he was expecting anyone to intervene - they were in the back lot of a closed store, half out of sight from the street beyond. Sure, he knew how to handle himself in a fight, but he wasn't expecting to win this. He was just trying to buy enough time for the Meta kid to get far away from here.

When he sees the glint of a knife, Cal throws out his hand instinctively, reaching for a mental moment of calm... and this time, he finds it. She stumbles backwards as though she'd been pushed, her eyes going wide with surprise. After that, his concentration is shattered again as the other two come after him, leaving Cal covering his face with his forearms to ward off a couple more blows.

Comments

[rubricatus]

Even in relative sobriety, Arcadia is filled with enough bustle for the sound of an alleyway scuffle to be swallowed up, unheard. Unless, of course, one is already looking for it—and, lucky for Cal, someone is. For a panicked meta-human child, someone large and with obvious reason for sympathy is a far, far safer bet than the police. As Magnus steps into the half-hidden lot, his eye skims over the sight in front of him, and he allows himself a second of relief when it seems he's reached the scene before it's had the chance to spiral too far out of hand.

But it won't stay that way for long if he does nothing. Drawing all of his considerable capacity for authority into his voice, he says, "That's enough." One of the boys whips his head around, and the half-formed, wary expression on his face quickly shifts into one of shock. It's an opening Magnus is quick to seize on, skimming the surface of his thoughts and finding a kernel of fear there. It's in all three of them—and why shouldn't it be? Magnus stands at double or more their height, an imposing figure whether or not he wants to be one.

And, right now, he very much does. It's almost laughably simple to reach out with his mind and stoke that fear in them. Like so many terrified of their kind, their aggression is as much bravado as it is genuine, and they're quick to believe we should run is their own thought. He isn't met with resistance as he moves closer, a steadying hand coming to the shoulder of their victim almost without thought. "Find your fun elsewhere."