Museum Madness

Players:

Alessia

Felix

Maddie

Quinn

'A little background: The fundraiser is to start a program at the musem to educate kids about art history and encourage them to create as well. It's open to the public to hear about what they have to say to determine if someone wants to give money. Free snacks and beverages are available and afterward, everyone will get to tour the new children's exhibit they've put together."'.

It's the middle of the afternoon. The sun's out and shining brightly; another hot day in New York but through some kindness, the weather has allowed for a light breeze. This manages to keep it from being absolutely intolerable.

The fundraiser held at the Museum is an outdoor event. Tables are set up at the entrance with beverages and clerks ready to take donations or offer pamphlets to people as they arrive. Attendees are dressed casually thanks to the temperature, milling about the sculpture garden while keeping an eye on the makeshift stage complete with a podium and microphone.

The official types are gathered in a semi-circle having a conversation near some chairs. They seem to be preparing to make a speech or at least find a creative way to ask for money. For the most part, things are calm and relaxed; people seem to be enjoying themselves (especially the ones that are obviously only present for the free stuff).

Thank goodness there was a valet, or Maddie might have had a problem parking her brand new mercades. Coonsidering she drives like a mainiac. Hey, that is what comes of not being able to learn to drive at a young age. The woman no doubt looks a bit out of place, in a white dress and hajib with a diamond-pendant on her circlet in the shape of the arabic word 'allah'. (http://artizara.com/webcart11/prod-AZ113006.htm). On her arm is a lithe, handsome young man just out of his teens. He's cleaned up nice, Felix has, in a black tailored suite. Casual, however, seems to be adhered to: he's not wearing a tie. Patting his arm, the woman leans in to the man, and whispers, gesturing to the official types. SHe makes her way over that way to introduce herself.

Alessia is just sort of milling about, in a dress appropriate for the weather and the event, dark green lace over cream fabric, with cap sleeves, skirt flaring at midcalf. She was only here because she was interested in art history and their idea to start a program to teach it to kids. Glass of something drinkable in her left hand, small green clutch in her right. Pausing at one of the table to hand over the money, admittedly from her mother, to donate to the program. It was in a sealed envelope, she didn't even know how much was in there. Then it was back to eyeing sculpture, and making sure to keep an eye on the makeshift stage, so when the time came, she could find a good spot to listen. These sorts of gatherings usually had a fair share of the smart people she wanted to network with, so after graduate school, she would have more options.

Quinn hadn't even known about the fundraider when she arrived. She'd just planned her day around a visit to the MoMA when she spotted the event on her way out of the door. It's just as well it's not a more formal event as she's dressed in t-shirt and jeans. She takes a small paper cup full of ice water, but otherwise leaves the snacks alone, having already gotten a fourteen dollar caesar salad at the cafe inside the museum. Neither art history nor the teaching of it is exactly a huge interest for her, but in her new position...well she's not exactly an educator, but she supposes it wouldn't hurt to listen.

Felix grins down at Maddie. She looks ... stunning. Well, at least to him, she does. Hazard of being /seriously/ smitten. He's still getting used to the whole engaged thing. It's a good thing, but ... takes getting used to. As does this sort of shindig. Maddie'd be doing this sort of thing a lot. He'd need to get used to it, and this was a good place to start. Not overly formal with rules and ranks up the yingyang. He grins down at her and nods, walking by her side as they head towards the official-looking types.

As Maddie and Felix make their way across the garden toward the stage, one of the men breaks off from the circle of organizers to approach the microphone. He clears his throat and the 'ahem' echoes out with a little squeel from the speakers. Fortunately, the feedback is short lived.

"Good afternoon," His deep voice resonates through the area, easily reaching everyone within the confines of the garden and then some. It ends some of the louder chatting but most attention turns to the stage. "My name is Walter Tomlins, head of this little gathering. I'd like to thank you all for coming to our fundraiser for the children's Dream a Dream Fantastic exhibit. As most of you probably know, this has been a labor of love but also hard work..."

His words falter a moment as he sees something in the crowd. A woman cries out "Ouch! You're hurting me! What do you want? Let go!!"

The response; from a ragged looking homeless man with a thick beard and thread bare clothing, is without any emotion whatsoever. It's like one of those zombie moments only slightly more articulate. "Where is the light?" Come the words as his glazed eyes seem to wander over her. Monotone and without inflection, he continues. "Give me the light. I must have it."

While one of the men is breaking off, Maddie still takes the time to introduce herself to the rest of the group. Can never have your name circulated enough. "Excuse me." She says, her accent slight and her voice soft. Her english has improved greatly since she's arrived. "I'm Princess Madiniya Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, and this is my fiance, Andrew Felix Debonay." SHe gestures to the cutie on her arm. "I would just like to give my congratulations for this project." Then the man starts speaking. Her eyes, hwoever, turn to the back of the crowd as the homeless man starts to bug out. Now Maddie doesn't really know much about homless men. She doesn't even see them that often, in the circles she travels in. Still, her free hand goes to Felix's arm, frowning. She's holding him though. DOn't go away, Felix. Stay.

Alessia winces with the feedback, before blue eyes are fixed to the stage and the gentleman there, moving to stand closer to the stage, and out of the direct line of speakers. Turning at the sound of the woman crying out, the man, however, was what caught her interest. In a sea of what the redhead calls auras of color, the man is a blank spot, like a dark spot on a colorful canvas. Woefully out of place to her eyes, fingers clutching her purse a shade tighter. She's seen people emotionally repressed.. but not quite this far. She isn't moving, isn't trying to intercede, instead biting her bottom lip, heedless of her lipstick.

Felix twitches a bit as Maddie introduces him. He's still getting used to having his real name bandied about after four years and a bit of not hearing it. He nods respectfully to the gathered bigwigs, careful not to lift his head enough to make his completely inhuman eyes visible. The bum has him twisting his head to glare, though, and shifting to put himself between Maddie and the potential danger. He glances down at her briefly, smiling reassuringly before returning his attention to the others. "Pleasure to meet you."

Quinn glances toward the stage as the speech begins. Skimming through the others around the podium, her brow arches. Is that...? Her attention is understandably distracted by the guy in the crowd. She doesn't evince too much reaction, although her free hand grips her purse just a bit more tightly. Not that he seems particularly interested in it...unless 'the light' is a fiver.

Maddie and Felix are met with kind smiles and all but when the speech starts, the attention falls to Walter. Then the commotion and...

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" The woman cries at the homeless guy who sighs and lets her go, literally grabbing the next person who just happens to be staring. As the first victim stumbles back into the crowd, the new victim struggles, trying to push him back.

"Get off me, you creepy bastard!" He shoves hard but the homeless man won't let go. He repeats his questions about the 'Light'. Others are moving to interfere now, stepping closer. "He's breaking my arm!"

Maddie watches with wide eyes, but she still maintains a good posture. "Isn't there any security?" She asks the person beside her. Indeed there is. Felix and Maddie are as of yet unmarried. That means that the tweedletwins, two men dressed in black tuxs and who could be the secret service if they weren't middle eastern, come pushing through the crowd from their place just outside. Maddies hands tighten on Felix. No. Leaving. Her. Now. The twins know Felix is with Maddie, but that doesn't stop them. One, Mohommad, breaks off from his push to get to the homeless man and pushes towards the Princess now. To make sure she and her husband are defended.

Felix gives the bum another evil look, then nearly snorts in amusement when the tweedletwins shove into the middle of things. He ignores them, as he has since they arrived. As far as he's concerned, he can count on them for nothing. He does a fast scan of the crowd, checking not just for exits, but for any other potential trouble. And gives a bit of a start when he recognizes two faces. Then he glances down at Maddie and whispers to her.

Alessia is feeling flustered, she doesn't have that little handgun, it wouldn't have fit in her purse. Surely she can't be the only one around here who knows anything about defending.. she's in heeled sandals, for heaven's sake! High heels didn't make for easy movement in ass kicking, not to mention it would draw more unwanted attention her way. She's getting fond of just being on the edges, and just an acquaintance to a lot of people.

Quinn frowns at the altercation, staying where she is for the moment. Perhaps she could do something, but it's a bit public. Besides, what's the point of men a foot taller than her if not for situations just like this? She does take note of the man complaining about his arm. It doesn't look like that much pressure is being exerted, but she can see for herself after the other man is removed.

"Just give me the Light," Still that same monotone and as the man starts to sink to his knees, he is let go. The bum, now approached by the guards, directs his attention to them. "Do you have the Light?" He asks them both, his glazed eyes roaming much as a blind person's might... or someone dead asleep with their eyes wide open.

Other people are moving toward the door. They haven't started panicking but the general sense of the crowd is fear. Outright and abject; and it's not entirely a -natural- fear. It's that sort of feeling that makes the hair on the back of the neck stick up. Security for the museum move into action as well now just as a space is made for Maddie's security and the bum.

"Try to remain calm," Walter says in the microphone. "I'm sure that it's just a misunderstanding. Everything will be just fine."

Mohommad stands between Felix and Maddie and the altercation. He looks over his shoulder and says something in Arabic. Maddie nods and pats Felix's arm, smiling up at him. She speaks softly to him, keeping her arm linked with his, her off-arm resting on his bicep. She whispers again, this time giving him a sad sort of smile.

Privately to Felix: 'The people here are scared and it's going to mount to terror. The guy is radiating some kind of an aura--it's scary and it's really getting people. He can probably smell that sort of pheramone.'.

Privately to Alessia: ‘I wanted to let you know that the fear in the crowd is mounting and it's going to turn into terror. It radiates from an aura around that bum.'.

There is one guy in this crowd who is ... quite sensitive to certain things. Namely, Felix. He's staring fixedly at the bum now, and his body language is shifting from human to lion, lip curling up to expose his teeth, and one hand flat against Maddie in a clearly protective gesture. "We're getting out of here /now/." He rumbles, forgoing whispering. "This is about to blow wide fucking open."

Alessia isn't buying the whole staying calm and everything will be fine speech. Someone's manipulating the crowd's emotions and it's not /her/. It's enough to really make her skin turn into goosebumps, a taste like when there's still foil on your gum in the back of her throat. It's coming from the whacko muttering about the light, and he's between her and the only exit she knows of. A short little breath huffed in and out, setting her cup down at her feet. This crowd is more than she wants to try and tackle with her empathy, control being what it is. The fact she was even out at something crowded was something she's proud of herself for, but.. yeah. Time to go. Blue eyes darting about, trying to find the path of least resistance to getting out, before she's trying to slide along, between people, unnoticed and untouched.

A pang of fear chills Quinn's blood. Feeling a drop of sweat on the small of her back, she begins to back away from the scene. The cup of water slips from her hand, spilling the icy liquid onto her open-toed sandal. "Damn," she hisses, the cold shocking her just a bit. 'Damn it Quinn, act like a doctor,' she berates herself silently. She slips her slender form through the crowd, most of whom don't seem in any hurry to move closer. She kneels down in front of the man on his knees and says, "It's okay, I'm a doctor. How's the arm?"

"It hurts!" The guy replies to Quinn, revealing deep bruising from the guy's fingers--like he'd been put in a vice. "I think he broke it!"

Security approaches a bit more forcefully. "Alright, fella," Says the first, a larger man with a big moustache and more New York cop stereotype than a fireman with a Dalmatian. "Let's move out." He takes hold of the bums arm and gives a push toward the exit as if he plans to lead him out.

The path of least resistance... well, several people are making their way for the front exit. Some have already left. Others are just getting as far back as they can... and still it escalates some.

"I. Must. Have. The. Light." The man says, struggling with the guard. The other grabs hold. They all start to wrestle. It's clear that despite the fact that the two guards are much bigger, they are -losing- the battle. The guy will get free.

That's enough for the people around them. One of them yelps and -runs- for the exit. Still others just scamper backwards as quickly as they can, stumbling and bumping...

Privately to Alessia:  'Someone bumps into you; not a panicked person... it's a young woman. She's actually shoved into you and mutters an apology before moving off. If only that little impression was all there was to it. Quite the contrary, it's like being granted an emotional rush--even more powerful than all the fear and it's especially blinding compared to that bum who is emotionally vacant. She has such a profound state of calm, it is absolutely unreal. Completely and totally unnatural calm. But when you actually -look- for her in the crowd, either she blended in totally... or has disappeared entirely.'.

Maddie grips Felix. Mohommad, however, nods. "Out." He says in very broken english, pointing across to the nearest side-exit. Unfortunatly, there's no side exits by the stage so they'd have to go across the group of people while staying against the wall to get out. But it's not as crowded. Still, as Mohommad starts to press foreward to lead them, one arm on the Princess, the other on his undrawn weapon. He could make it through, he knows. But Maddie, being so tiny, probobly wouldn't. He looks back and speaks in Arabic, to which Maddie translates to her finace. "He says he's afraid to push us through the crowd, we might get crushed." We, being she. Mohommad talks again, one hand still on Maddie. Then he looks at Felix as Maddie translates. "He says we should probobly go back ot the corner and just stay low, by the stage or beside it."

Felix just nods, hand flat against Maddie's shoulder and clavicle. "Get back." He tells her, pushing her away from the group ... and Mohammed. He pushes her back into the corner that's furthest from the melee, and then stands fully in front of her, every muscle in his body tense, slightly crouched, teeth bared. He might still be in human form, but everything else is the lion. "Don't /move/, Maddie. No matter what."

Quinn says dryly, "Probably not the best place to treat you." She offers the man a hand for his uninjured arm and says, "Can you stand? If so, let's get you away from here. Elmhurst Medical Center isn't too far, and if we can't get an ambulance, there's always cabs around here."

Alessia tenses as someone's being shoved into her, head swimming from the power of touch. Young woman.. but.. Shaking her head, red hair catching at her sleeves as she's trying to regain her mental footing. She hadn't been.. Head twisting, looking around, not seeing who, or what she was looking for. She sees Felix, but now's hardly the time for a social interaction. Just that one, brief contact was making her head throb for the moment. Someone was running the show, and she was sure it wasn't the homeless guy. Stepping aside out of the flow of people to avoid being crushed, small as she was, stopping in a flood of people was not bright. But she had to know what was going on..

"Get the cuffs!" One of the guards shouts. "He's slipping free!" It's true. The bum, in his quiet, calm way is starting to slip free. That realization sends -several- people bolting for the exit. This causes a major scuffle.

"Out of the way!... Stop it!... Don't push, asshole!" Countles other voices break out over the crowd as they try to get away from this situation. The suits move inside the museum as casually and inconspicuously as they are able.

"You cannot stop me. I must find the Light." The words are repeated over and over like a mantra as the bum works to free himself with the most unnerving display of strength...

Maddie stands behind Felix, crouching down against the wall as she's told. She's very frightened now. Mohommad in the meantime, stands in front of Felix, watching as it happens. Jassim, the other Arab guard, is in the middle of the scuffle, trying to subdue the man. Maddie pokes her head up a bit, just enough for her diamond circlet to catch teh sun a bit. "Mohommad..." She asks him something in Arabic to which he answers, and it seems good enough. She slides back down again, after resting a hand on Felix's shoulder for a moment. Just cause she's not touching doesn't mean he can leave. Him. Stay.

Felix actually /snarls/ at Maddie when she pops her head up. STAY. DOWN. How he's staying in human form right now is going to end up being one of those mysteries he scratches his head over for /months/. His thinking process is nowhere near human, at any rate, and all it's going to take to snap his control like an overly dry twig is /one/ person ... just one ... making a move towards the woman behind him.

The guy that Quinn was helping up seems to only be calm due to her presence and complies with her whatever she chooses to do.

Alessia is biting her tongue now, back pressed to a wall, judging her chances and her choices. She didn't even know if she /could/ influence the homeless man, but someone had to do something. She wasn't some superstrong Amazon woman that could take him down or anything. A deep breath, in and out through her nose, before she's locking her gaze on the homeless man, trying to scatter his emotions, to disrupt that fear he was casting out, and confuse him.

Well Quinn's not going to be that one person. She's already had more experience with nearly getting clawed by Felix than she needs. Bedside manner, misnomer though it may be at the moment, takes over. "I'm Dr. Morgan," the small woman offers as she escorts him towards the exit, "What's your name?"

"Sam," Comes the reply to Quinn, but his eyes fix on the bum, staring. "What... the hell...?"

Suddenly, all at once, the bum's struggles cease... he coughs... his eyes blink (it's unnerving to consider that maybe he hadn't been blinking at all. "What the hell?" Inflection! Tone! He's confused, trembling, scared now that he's come to his senses bound up in a few hundred pounds of security guards and testosterone. "What... let me go! I didn' do nothin'! Get off!" His voice is -considerably- different. Rough from too much smoking and drinking but that's not what it was like when he was on about the Light.

Privately to Alessia:  'That blank look in his eyes lasts a few -seconds-. He's not the -source- of the fear... but just as you start to feel this profound state of sleepy apathy from him, it's gone. He's freed of whatever influence it was but you're left with a very well defined -sense- of what was influencing him. Off the top of your head, you'd call it a highly advanced state of mental suggestion.'.

Maddie blinks in surprise as felix yells at her in his own fashion. But she ducks down behind him once more and stays there.

Felix will apologize later, when things calm down. Right now, he's in superprotector mode. So much so it takes him a minute to realize the atmosphere has changed somewhat. He lifts his head and sniffs the air, suspicious.

Alessia stays close to the wall, knowing there's no way she can interfere on the man's behalf.. what would she say .. ' oh, it wasn't him, someone was messing with his head and making him be like that'? Yeah, she'd just get hauled away along with him, or treated like she was crazy, among other things as possible consequences. Someone else had been putting the poor man up to this, whether he wanted to or not. She knew it, and she had no leads where to follow it, or where to go with the news.. or did she? She'll make a phone call when she gets home, and see.

Quinn's brow lifts at the sudden change in the guy's temperment. "Don't worry about it. Looks like security's got things under control." Right, even she doesn't believe it. Still, Sam's got his own health to worry about. She continues to help her patient out.

"Alright, whatever," Security guy says, hoisting the guy up. "You can tell it to the judge." And with that they start dragging him away. Threat removed, the unfortunate thing is that the fundraiser has been mostly cleared out. There are only a few people left--even with the weird 'fear' thing gone, no one wants to just hang out here anymore. Those left shuffle toward the exit, muttering quietly about how 'weird' that was, even for New York.

"Thanks," Sam replies to Quinn and starts also to leave, wincing a bit as he looks at his injured arm.

Alessia is still rattled, but collects herself, joining that exodus out of the musuem, hand rubbing the opposite bare forearm, trying to get rid of the creepy feeling she's still got clinging to her. Home, a couple aspirin, a glass of whiskey and an old movie on the couch, while making that phone call. Maybe she can get some answers.

Felix keeps them where they're at until the worst of the crowd clears out ... he's not risking Maddie. Only when things have calmed down does he head for the door, her close behind, his eyes pinning everyone in sight with a piercing look as he hustled to the safety of the mansion as fast as he could get them all to move.

Quinn leaves the area, small talk turning into chatter as Sam proves uninterested in keeping the conversation going on both ends. It's fine, just something to distract him from the pain anyway. There's another option available to her when it comes to fixing that, but it'd be just a bit difficult to explain, and he'll be fine once he gets to the hospital.