jem carstairs will be the light at your side (mizpah) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-02-28 21:57:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, jem carstairs, peggy carter |
Who: Jem Carstairs and Peggy Carter
What: Agent Carter assists when Jem is attacked by Jabberjays
When: Backdated: Monday, February 22nd. Late Afternoon
Where: Not far from Jem's
Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly
Status: Complete!
Jem really should have been used to the strange things that went on in Orange County these days, but the last couple of days were like nothing he’d ever seen before. Sure, they’d had a weird fog a month earlier, but the fog that had rolled in and out in random places on Saturday apparently hurt people and it had rained blood on two different days then there had been the rabid monkey creatures that he and Will had come across Friday evening when they’d gone patrolling. It was one thing to have one crazy thing happen for a few days, but this was a whole bunch rolled into one and had been a little overwhelming.
He’d seen someone write on the Net that the things that were happening were from their dream world and Jem could only imagine the situations this person was in in their dreams to have all of these things happen to them.
Were it not for the fact that some of his classes were still in session; there were always those few professors who didn’t cancel no matter what, Jem might not have left the house that day. He’d heard about a few people being swarmed by birds and luckily he’d gotten to the UCI campus without running into any of these birds and it looked as though he was going to make it home without incident as well and was deep in thought over an essay he needed to finish that evening that he almost didn’t hear the voice that called him until he heard it again.
His mother.
Frowning, Jem stopped and turned to look around him, but he was alone. He was alone and his mother was in England. However, he could have sworn he’d heard her voice. Not only that, but he could have sworn he’d heard her voice call him by his Chinese name. Tightening his grip slightly on the head of his jade dragon head cane, Jem began moving faster down the street.
”Ke Jian Ming!” ”JAMES!”
Jems head snapped up, silvery eyes wide as he heard not only his mother’s, but now his father’s voice as well. Voices that sounded like that were in pain. Voices that were soon multiplied and accompanied by the flapping of wings. Looking up, he saw a swarm of dark birds coming straight at him, his mother and father’s pained voices getting louder as the birds got closer.
Dropping his messenger bag to the ground, Jem pulled on the head of his cane and unsheathed the dagger that was hidden inside of it. He slashed out at the first bird that came near his face and it fell to the ground dead. Part of him wished he had a Seraph Blade with him, because he’d be able to get more of a reach, but he had trained with the dagger both in and out of the dreams and would have to make due and began slashing out at the birds that screeched at him in his parents’ voices, which began to remind him of his dream when he’d been poisoned by Yanluo.
As he continued slashing out at the birds, killing a few, the ones that got close enough would peck and scratch any exposed skin they could reach and the more he fought the quicker Jem began feeling weak as a result of his illness and soon he fell to one knee, still slashing out at the birds as he tried to shield his head and face with his other arm.
The sound of the birds screeching drew Peggy’s attention and she started off in that direction. She had been out patrolling the area once seeing reports on the network about what was going on and knew that she would be able to help someone out if they truly needed it. This week had been absolute insanity and she wished she knew what exactly was going on, but it was obviously a horrible dream for someone or someones. The Agency had been on high alert all week and keeping a close eye on things and sending out groups to help patrol.
It wasn’t odd for her to rush to the potential aid of someone, but she was shocked to see someone trying to fight back against the attacking birds. Oh no, this wouldn’t do at all. She grabbed her firearm out of her shoulder holster and took aim. The boy could probably hold his own, but he wasn’t in the kind of shape to keep it up for long. After a pause to set her aims she began to fire and picked the birds off one by one until she killed them. There weren’t enough at the moment that she had to use up her entire round, but she was afraid more would come.
After putting her gun down she rushed towards the man and lifted him up from the armpits to standing, “Are you okay? We need to get you out of here.”
One of the jabberjays had just slashed at Jem’s cheek when he heard the gunshot and the birds scattered for a moment, which gave him a chance to regain his senses enough to slash out at the next bird that came at him. Within moments the birds were all dead, thanks to the help of the woman who was coming towards him. “Thank you. Yeah….I’m okay…” Jem started coughing, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth. Once the coughing fit was over, he noticed the blood on his palm, but quickly wiped it off on his jeans, hoping the woman hadn’t seen. He’d been getting worse, but had yet to say anything to Will or Tessa.
Reaching for the strap of his bag, he slung it over his shoulder then grabbed the bottom of his cane and sheathed the dagger, “What were those?” His parents’ pained voices still echoed in his head and he already knew that he would be calling them the moment he got home.
The only blood Peggy noticed was on his cheek because she was too busy trying to wrap her mind around what was happening and checking to make sure all the birds were dead. You couldn’t be too on guard with something like this and the last thing she wanted was to be attacked while her back was turned. When he questioned what they were all she could do was give a small shrug, “I have no idea. I’ve never seen anything like them before. They’re bloody awful. I’m just glad I heard them and found you before anything worse could happen.”
Jem leaned on his cane for a moment longer as he slowly regained his strength. If he were alone or with Will or Tessa he’d give himself a stamina rune or an iratze rune, but he’d live and once he got home he’d assess the damage the birds had done and decide if he needed any runes. “Thank you for coming along when you did. For a moment there, I felt like I was in that Alfred Hitchcock movie.” Jem wanted to believe that he would have been able deal with a flock of birds on his own had it not been for the fact that he’d been a little distracted by the fact that they had apparently been able to mimic his parents’ voices much like he’d heard them in his dream as well as the fact that he had been getting sicker. He was only glad that Will or Tessa or any of the other Shadowhunters hadn’t seen him like this. “That was some extremely good shooting.” He had been a little distracted, but with each shot he’d heard from her gun a bird had fallen to the ground so he assumed she’d hit each one she’d aimed for.
“That’s exactly what it’s like,” Peggy agreed with a slight grimace. Those birds had killed in the movie and she was really hoping to not find a body count thanks to the birds here. They seemed like the type to attack, but she wasn’t sure if they were dangerous enough to kill anyone in the process. The screams were also unnerving because she had heard them from so far away. She had heard rumblings about them sounding like people the victim’s knew, but she hadn’t had the pleasure of finding out for herself. And she hoped to keep it that way. A small smile appeared when he complimented her shooting ability, “Thanks, top marks in the military. Glad I haven’t lots those skills. Now, shall we get you out of here? Do you have a vehicle nearby or do you need a lift?”
Part of Jem wanted to assure her he’d be alright and continue on home on his own, but the fight with the birds had taken a lot out of him and all he wanted to do was get home and lay down before Will or Tessa got home, “Normally I’d be fine walking home, but that was surprisingly exhausting.” He readjusted his bag on his shoulder, “That is, if you don’t mind of course. I wouldn’t want to put you out.” Even exhausted, Jem was still nothing but polite and thoughtful of other people. It was then that he realized he’d never introduced himself. If this woman was going to give him a ride home it only seemed right that he introduce himself and vice versa, “I’m Jem Carstairs, by the way.”
“Never a bother, love,” Peggy replied easily with a smile and it only widened when she realized that he was introducing himself. They probably should do that before she offers a ride in her car to a stranger, “Peggy Carter, lovely to meet you. Now, let’s head over to my car and you can give me directions back to your place. Then you’ll be able to rest up.” All in a day’s work to make sure that people stayed safe and she was more than willing to give someone a ride home. She also assisted him with getting to her car and hoped that there wouldn’t be any lasting effects on him from this attack, but she would have to try and make contact with him later to check in.