[ It took fighting through endless distractions and an exploding pen, but Ford finally has Dipper's hidden message sorted out—and then Pollux lands on the book right as he's trying to dot the last period. ]
Pollux—!
[ ... Wait a second. Pollux doesn't usually seek him out directly like this. Seeking out Castor is one thing, but Ford himself? Even if she hasn't gotten so distressed as to outright speak to him, that's still not a good sign.
Ford closes the book, not even worrying that it's going to smear the still-drying ink. ]
[The question gets her to stop squawking, and she shoots off into the air and over Ford's shoulder. She's very fast, but she purposefully leaves a thick smoke trail for Ford to follow.
It takes him down the hall, past quite a bit of gunfire damage, and down the stairs. Once he hits the ground floor her trail leads out the door, but he probably won't need it anymore at that point. From there he'll be able to hear Stan struggling in pain.
When Pollux left Stan was still face down in the dirt, but he's trying to get himself up on his feet now and using the Red Herring for leverage. "Trying" being the key word, of course - every time he moves more than half an inch he hisses and has to still so he can catch his breath and keep everything from tilting.]
[ Ford, fortunately, has a great deal of experience chasing down omens. And, fortunately(?), he does not in fact need to be guided once he's outside. ]
Stanley!
[ Not dead, but clearly injured and struggling. Ford hurries to his side. Castor fades into existence in a swirl of dark smoke alongside him, then zips ahead and swoops in anxious circles around Stan's head. ]
[This is excellent news. Honestly he thought he was going to have to force himself up the stairs to go get Ford, but not having to deal with that is such a relief.
Castor is less of a relief though, and Stan makes a weak half-hearted attempt to shoo away.]
Cut it out, I'm trying to get uh--!
[That was a little too much though and Stan wheezes. He reaches out for Ford though. A little help?]
I...broke some ribs, I think? Ugh, I feel like...like I got hit with a BOULDER...
[ Were it anyone else, Castor might be hurt. But Stan's default state of being is 'curmudgeonly', so it's a good sign if he's feel well enough to try to shoo her away. Satisfied, she flutters away and settles on the ground.
Ford is a little less relieved, however. ]
Broken ribs?! What on earth happened?
[ He does offer a hand out to Stan, though not more than that right away. He doesn't want to risk making it worse. ]
[Pollux with fly over and join Castor on the ground - she hasn't gone away fully just yet, because someone needs to caw at Stanley if he tries to do anything stupid.
He takes Ford's hand and after a second of steeling himself he pulls himself upright with a loud hiss of pain.]
M'good! I-- [Wheeze!] I just needed to be on my feet...
[Pollux SQUWACKS and encourages Castor to join in, and Stan makes a face their way. Jerks! He hasn't actually let go of Ford's arm though, just in case. That being said, he's doing a better job ignoring the pain now that he isn't actively bending to try and stand anymore.]
Anyway, uh. A lot happened? Pretty sure I know who killed Dipper, for starters. Loop's chasing 'em down now. Got in a fight with Odile over it though. She did some... [He's blanking on their word for it.] ...magic thing? Hit me in the back. Possibly with a magic bolder.
[Ford's welcome to look if he needs to, Stan won't stop him. There is indeed a big bruise on his back, at his ribs! There are no boulders around though.]
[ Oh, that's a lot of information to be receiving all at once! He'll have to address it piecemeal. ]
Loop is? Will they be alright?
[ Ford doesn't know them that well, but what he's seen and heard makes him think Loop is a little... precarious, when it comes to nerves. As for Stan, ford takes a look, but after a moment... ]
Well, you're not bleeding—on the outside, at least.
Yeah. From what I gather they're just as ticked about it as us. Different reasons though.
[He tenses while Ford looks, but sighs with the bare minimum amount of relief when he's done.]
Well. ...Guess it could be worse then?
[His laugh is awkward and a little too quiet for him, because he doesn't wanna aggravate the injury even more. It's also not actually funny, but he's pretty sure living through it means he's allowed to be flippant about it.]
Anyway Loop, uh. Their friend Siffrin? Apparently he's some kinda evil copy that might've killed the real one too. And Dipper. So they're-- they're y'know. Prolly getting their own revenge kill in...
[Wow, talking sucks right now. But what is he gonna do, not talk? There's so many things going on that he's just going to have to wheeze his way through them, obviously.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Pollux—!
[ ... Wait a second. Pollux doesn't usually seek him out directly like this. Seeking out Castor is one thing, but Ford himself? Even if she hasn't gotten so distressed as to outright speak to him, that's still not a good sign.
Ford closes the book, not even worrying that it's going to smear the still-drying ink. ]
Where is he?
no subject
It takes him down the hall, past quite a bit of gunfire damage, and down the stairs. Once he hits the ground floor her trail leads out the door, but he probably won't need it anymore at that point. From there he'll be able to hear Stan struggling in pain.
When Pollux left Stan was still face down in the dirt, but he's trying to get himself up on his feet now and using the Red Herring for leverage. "Trying" being the key word, of course - every time he moves more than half an inch he hisses and has to still so he can catch his breath and keep everything from tilting.]
no subject
Stanley!
[ Not dead, but clearly injured and struggling. Ford hurries to his side. Castor fades into existence in a swirl of dark smoke alongside him, then zips ahead and swoops in anxious circles around Stan's head. ]
no subject
[This is excellent news. Honestly he thought he was going to have to force himself up the stairs to go get Ford, but not having to deal with that is such a relief.
Castor is less of a relief though, and Stan makes a weak half-hearted attempt to shoo away.]
Cut it out, I'm trying to get uh--!
[That was a little too much though and Stan wheezes. He reaches out for Ford though. A little help?]
I...broke some ribs, I think? Ugh, I feel like...like I got hit with a BOULDER...
no subject
Ford is a little less relieved, however. ]
Broken ribs?! What on earth happened?
[ He does offer a hand out to Stan, though not more than that right away. He doesn't want to risk making it worse. ]
no subject
He takes Ford's hand and after a second of steeling himself he pulls himself upright with a loud hiss of pain.]
M'good! I-- [Wheeze!] I just needed to be on my feet...
[Pollux SQUWACKS and encourages Castor to join in, and Stan makes a face their way. Jerks! He hasn't actually let go of Ford's arm though, just in case. That being said, he's doing a better job ignoring the pain now that he isn't actively bending to try and stand anymore.]
Anyway, uh. A lot happened? Pretty sure I know who killed Dipper, for starters. Loop's chasing 'em down now. Got in a fight with Odile over it though. She did some... [He's blanking on their word for it.] ...magic thing? Hit me in the back. Possibly with a magic bolder.
[Ford's welcome to look if he needs to, Stan won't stop him. There is indeed a big bruise on his back, at his ribs! There are no boulders around though.]
no subject
Loop is? Will they be alright?
[ Ford doesn't know them that well, but what he's seen and heard makes him think Loop is a little... precarious, when it comes to nerves. As for Stan, ford takes a look, but after a moment... ]
Well, you're not bleeding—on the outside, at least.
no subject
[He tenses while Ford looks, but sighs with the bare minimum amount of relief when he's done.]
Well. ...Guess it could be worse then?
[His laugh is awkward and a little too quiet for him, because he doesn't wanna aggravate the injury even more. It's also not actually funny, but he's pretty sure living through it means he's allowed to be flippant about it.]
Anyway Loop, uh. Their friend Siffrin? Apparently he's some kinda evil copy that might've killed the real one too. And Dipper. So they're-- they're y'know. Prolly getting their own revenge kill in...
[Wow, talking sucks right now. But what is he gonna do, not talk? There's so many things going on that he's just going to have to wheeze his way through them, obviously.]