His wish falls on deaf ears.

Evan closes his eyes, blocking out the feeling of the fall, the would-be resistance of Laurence's wings as they manifest. Somehow the fall never quite seems to end until they hit the ground but it's not the one at the bottom of the ocean they were headed for. Evan tries to find his balance on Laurence's shoulder. He holds on tight and breaths deep before he opens his eyes.

He'd heard word of the strikings of these false gods on the lips of his regulars, seeing them in person made them real in a way his mind never could.

The shiver in his spine is alarming, his eyes turn to the other two. The impervious joker is alarmed in an unusual manner. Even Lars has yet to know how the affairs of the gods effect him, influence him, plague him. His jaw tenses under the eyes of skyler dross, his eyes focus on Laurence Anderson' movements and he finds himself again between the pair.

Evan does not find himself speaking, only moving. Actions distract him, calm his mind and silence the worries. A mimikyu, a musharna, the vaporeon and his corviknight find their way to the field.

Though he finds no solace in this awkward fitting nightmare, he will find it aiding the wounded and moving the fleeing.

skyler dross & Laurence Anderson
>>Evan's freaking tf out a bit
>>Responding to general response to the chaos and aiding pokemon/humans fleeing the celesteela attacks!

Evan chuckles, sweet and devilish all at once. The man finds a little too much jpy in watching the other one deliberate over eating his carefully made treat. He takes the dive though and Evan watches for a few bites as the other man tries to scarf it down before he reaches out.

He plucks the fork from Laurence's grip, preventing him from eating on the treats further. Instead of quietly, and with a grin scoops out a bite for himself. However, unlike lars he eats it slowly, eyes on him.

Then he scoops out another bite and holds it out for the blond to take, from the fork, Evan won't be letting him take the fork back just yet. "You're supposed to be enjoying it not trying to swallow it one bite."

Laurence Anderson

"Clothes. On. Now please." evan does not turn around and face him, does not dare to look and have his face flare up or worse there are so many ways this could go down the route he's managed to avoid for eight years and all it would take is a little smooth talking and a little willingness on Lars' part.

Arceus what was he thinking. No. He couldn't slip up, not now, not after how long he's managed to keep himself in check.

He moves away from the door, down the hall a ways and towards the balcony off the side of the second floor. "You're gonna want to be dressed for this anyway, okay?" his voice is surprisingly steady, all things considered.

Laurence Anderson

It's the oddest of feelings when he never touches the water. More than that it's like he swings upright until he's standing with his feet planted in a tower he's never actually seen for himself. There's a moment where his stomach lurches at the change in motion, the sudden stop and then at what he sees before him.

Evan can't make sense of it and instead, he finds his eyes franticly moving and searching for the one things that's been consistent in this mess so far. Laurence is somewhere and he seeks him in the mess in front of him, eyes avoiding the grotesque scene. He spots the blond, his feet move to navigate towards him and then suddenly they fall out from under him.

No- the tower falls.

They're plummeting "Laurence!" his hand reaches for him as they fall, clinging for the one thing that makes him feel safe in this endless illusion, mirage, cruel joke of the gods, whatever it is.

"Don't let go." he knows he won't, not if he can help it. The one things that's become truly stable in his ever changing life is the knowing that Laurence is there. Will be there. Protectiveness be damned, in moments like this Evan is grateful for it.

And then- as they fall, a teal tag slaps against his other palm. His fingers close in on it out of reflex. With effort he pulls it near his chest, eyes darting to the bright teal of the tag. He knows what it is, recognizes it from stories and murals and other such paintings in his travels. The story is so old.

Evan cannot be sure he has any right to a wish but he asks for something nonetheless. He asks of this, of why they are here, of why he has been drawn into the matters of the gods yet again.

Why have you brought me into this?
Why do you drag me back to you when you once rejected me as you did?
What do you want of me?
I wish you would tell me why you want me here
When you rejected me all those years ago?

VRXSnoOy

Evan watches him with a steady gaze. Perhaps too steady even, if one were to be watching the two of them. They were an odd little how of opposites weren't they? Where Lars was clearly rattling loose every marble he had to drop and lose Evan had his all neatly tucked into corners where they would not roll away. They were probably organized by colors even.

The man doesn't move until the blond seems unable to find the right words. At which points he places a hand on his shoulder and guides him to his usual seat at the bar. Evan moves behind it without saying a word, the only sounds for the moment is the clink of glasses on the counter top. The shuffle of him reaching for the alcohol. One is set in front of Lars, Evan pours himself a shot. Three actually, to be on the safe side.

He proceeds to tip his head back and take each one without hesitation before he speaks.

"I went too, I saw what was down there."

He waits a moment, lets the sentence breath.

"What happened Lars? Breath, take it slow and easy."

Laurence Anderson

Evan is grinning like a fool, moreso than he normally does. Well beyond his typical joyful grin. There's something more mischievous here. It makes it almost cheshire like beneath those red-black eyes.

The dark haired man pushes tall and blond onto his back and moves to straddle him. He reaches for his wrists when he starts to call uncle, pinning him down. Evan himself is too much of a trickster not think it might be a trick to get him to let his guard down.

But he so did enjoy that laugh. It shows on his face, in how it softens a moment later. There's something sweet in his eyes as he looks down at Lars.

"Might be a little disappointed, i expected you to have a bit more in you." he teases.

Evan is unaware of where they've wound up, of what Lars can likely see over his shoulder. The mistletoe dangles from a tree, innocent as can be.

Laurence Anderson

"I appreciate it." and he means it, it shows in his tone and how he can't quite look Orion in the eyes right now. Because he wants to think they can work together to figure things out, to find answers for the odd little beasts at their feet.

Laurence Anderson' face flashes in his mind and he finds his hand covering his mouth. Perhaps he is trying to hide how this weighs on him, how times changes things in manners he couldn't possibly have expected.

"And if you don't I understand, I don't expect either of us to risk things we can't be risking."

For once life is good, and he went and botched it by doing this. Making this. And it's going to eat him whole.

Orion Lykos

Oh well doesn't this sound like a delight?

Evan brings snacks, because of course he brings snacks. The tupperware in his hands when he makes his entrance is filled with various cookies and one even has a couple of cupcakes. He's not much for the sweet baked goods inside, the fact they're about as sweet as the smile on his face makes them horrible for his stomach. "I hope everyone likes cookies, I get the feeling we may all need one by the time this over."

"There's some for the pokemon too." Evan winks at the lucario by the door, he'll be sure to set one aside for him to eat when this is over.

Rather than dwell over the heavy feeling in the air, the tension that seems to be surrounding Lars, Evan busies himself with setting out the cookies. There's more than enough to go around and though baking is not his greatest strength in the kitchen he's not bad at it by any means. His delighted humming is a stark contrast to the rest of them, all grim and ready for the weight of such a meeting.

He hands one to Lars in particular, who definitely needs one if he's calling a meeting that includes a reserve ranger like himself. The contacts in his eyes help hide the weight he feels. His shoulders are a little straighter than normal, the only sign of how the tension gets to him. The man puts his best effort into the smile, into being nothing less than a smiling face in a room that's.... not.

@ya'll

Familiar voices, familiar hands, they're reaching for him and for a moment it seems he's found salvation in the mayhem.

"Laurence?"

He never gets an answer to his question.

Before he can find grounding in the echos of the past with the sounds of his present it all falls out from under him. Evan Fader never makes it to the back of the metagross.

He's falling but this time it's through time and place until his back is thrust into the wood of the docks. He's flat against them, splinters plucking at his sweater as he's groaning and grimacing. It takes a moment, the sounds sink in, the screaming chaos. This can't be right, none of this is right?

"Who are you? A civilian?"

The face is unremarkable, nothing strikes a bell and Evan is surprised that the man even notices him. It's only when the man's pokemon makes an appearance, a dragon, a salamence, all teeth and claws with fire crackling in it's maw, that Evan registers the situation is dire.

Perhaps it is luck that saves him, as it often is. The collision with the docks has knocked loose one of his pokeballs, it has rolled into the waters beside them. The vaporeon frees itself and watches from the surface of the water.

"you don't want to do this. Don't make me do something you'll regret." the man does not heed his warning, looming over him like a reaper awaiting prey.

Evan reaches for his pokemon, the one already free leaps from the water. The sheen of his acid armor still fresh on it's body as the water type collides with the man and knocks him into the waters.

The salamence lunges for him, the man screams as the acidic surface of his pokemon clings to him and burns at his skin, bites into flesh. The protective diva holds less mercy than his master. The man yells a command and is drowned by the hissing and now violent waters that hide the vaporeon as it strikes.

The joltik is already on the back of his hand, releasing the strings of electro webbing in the face of the dragon. It connects, the beast reels back and Evan rolls. He rolls for the edge of the dock, looks for the water.

Evan does not touch the surface, a ghost falls into the waters.

Laurence Anderson
>>Still free to recognize and interact

Bare feet move about the wood panels of the Stray's balcony. A place Evan often finds himself these days. His fingers are still wrapped around the wine glass when he rises from he seat and moves to enter the building.

The door way does not open up to the second floors halls. There are no hotel doors on either side for him to enter, no stairway to walk down further. Instead there is a hitch in his step and he's reaching forward with his other hand to catch his glass before the contents are gone. Droplets hit the floor of the cavern and when his eyes rise to wander he finds himself in a rather unlikely place.

Evan's eyes grow wide at the sight of the old god in front of him. The words drifting past his ears are fleeting and barely have a chance to sink in before the stories of the old gods tumble through his mind instead.

"Why? Why me? Why again?"

He moves to avoid a flying rock, taking shelter behind a boulder and abandoning his glass before reaching for the pokeballs kept on his belt bellow his sweater. "Cervantes, steel wing, carry saffron into position." the flying rocks worry him less than the charging hyper beam.

The joltik scurries up his arm, leaping from his hand to the back of the steel bird as it appears. Cervantes takes to the skies, striking down flying boulders as it maneuvers through the cavern. The joltik knows it's job, when the beam fires off the Protect barrier goes up. Evan hopes for the best.

>>feel free to recognize evan
>>attempting to protect against the hyper beam!

They hit the snow pile and lars seems to waste no time with going for his sides, a valid and perhaps even smart decision on his part. Evan wiggles about, arms reaching to cover his sides and he tries o contain his laughter but it doesn't quite work.

Giggles give way to the full belly joyous laughter the man is known for. Before long he's reaching for Lars's sides in much the same form of retaliation.

Two can play the tickle game after all.

Laurence Anderson

"I'm in a lot of plaes hun, you gotta be more specific."

not really, Evan has heard the rumors and he knows what he's seen and what's occured. He knows what he was told even. The entire thing had rattled him though somehow not so harshly as the nightmare had. Perhaps it was because of how the bird handled his inquiry he wasn't sure.

"Come on." it wasn't like it was the first time lars was in the stray after hours, so Evan stepped aside to let him in.

He had a feeling there was a long night ahead.

Laurence Anderson

"Just go put the clothes back on Laurence"

Laurence Anderson