Encounterlogs
Caelums Odd Encounter Sr Savannah
Caelum found himself subject to the scorn and hostility of the patrons at a local Starbucks, where his quiet contemplation over a cup of coffee and an untouched croissant evolved into a scene of public condemnation. An elderly woman’s disapproving glare and subsequent huff initiated a series of events in which customers and staff began to express their disdain towards him with glares, disapproving comments, and eventually outright accusations. The situation escalated when a Starbucks employee rudely insisted he leave, claiming he had been causing problems and sparking complaints from other customers. When an old lady accused him of harassing her with his eyes, the scene was set for open conflict.
The climax of the confrontation arrived quickly and violently. After breaking the finger of a confrontational patron, Caelum was berated and threatened with the arrival of the police. Instead of backing down or fleeing, Caelum’s frustration boiled over; he locked the doors to the establishment, preventing everyone from leaving. What erupted next was a chaotic brawl, fueled by pent-up aggression and a sense of injustice. Caelum lashed out at the crowd, repurposing trays and the contents of the coffee shop as weapons against those who had turned against him. The fight concluded with customers, including an old lady and a belligerent young man, littering the floor as victims of Caelum's wrath. Bearing the marks of battle himself, Caelum spit blood in defiance, muttered a curse against the town of Haven, and forcibly made his exit into the bitter cold.
(Caelum's odd encounter(SRSavannah):SRSavannah)
[Sat Dec 23 2023]
On the beach
The brick and reclaimed wood from the outside continues to the inside, more polished here than the exterior. Tile flooring paves the way underfoot, and high ceilings with exposed beams make the building appear spacious without giving actual space. An ordering counter greets newcomers to the building with merchandise as well as baristas ready to take orders, signs posted behind it and above heads for easy viewing.
It is about 50F(10C) degrees.
(Your target has been cursed with persecution, it is up to them to survive a world suddenly turned hostile until their allies can come and help get them to safety or deal with the curse.
)
Caelum huffs over at his cup, dispelling some of the smoke wafting over the covered coffee - but then takes a long sip. It appears to be an uneventful evening, where he sits at one of the small tables near the entrance of the town's Starbucks. His plated croissant remains as untouched as when he ordered it, already cold while he quietly stares out the window, in silent daydreaming.
It does seem like an uneventful evening, a croissant on the plate, a sip of coffee here or there. The Starbucks is always at least a little busy given that it is a Starbucks. There are plenty of people ordering their various spice offerings during the winter time. The line gets longer, some of the employees are struggling to keep up with a sudden afternoon surge. Perhaps people are gathering their caffeine for a trip home for the holidays while Caelum sits there alone at that table and for now, things seem normal. A woman does pass by and look towards Caelum. She seems like an older lady and perhaps something about his look causes her to give him a face. There is disapproval there before she makes a snerky huff and moves to get herself into the line already forming.
Caelum doesn't initially notice the look of the lady, initially - lost in thought while the line grew longer and longer. He'd have taken another sip then, if he wasn't pulled out of his head with that snerky huff clearly meant for him, and turns to stare behind the lady who promptly left. "Wha- " A brow lifts, his eyes narrow skeptically. That line was *not* that long before. Yet he's undeterred by it still while he goes along with his intent to enjoy his coffee with another sip.
There are people waiting for coffee now, names being called out, "Mailyn!" Another one, "Kirsterina!" There don't seem to be too many new customers, maybe it was just the timing, but after Mailyn seems to get her coffee she walks over towards the tables to try and find herself a seat. She looks towards Caelum and stares for a moment before shaking her head and moving onwards. The older lady didn't respond to Caelum's almost query, and instead waited in line. Another name, another drink, "Brett!" It seems like as people pass by the man sitting at his table, minding his own business, there are just looks if disapproval, some of them more determined than others, some lingering, some just moving on after a brief glare. One of the employees, a younger woman, perhaps closer to Caelum's age begins to filter through the tables, picking up various trash, sweeping a little and keeping the place clean. She stops near Caelum's table, and even with his coffee clearly not finished she says, "Are you even going to throw that away or are you just going to leave it for us to clean up like?" Her tone is terrible. She clearly has a bone to pick with people leaving out trash, or perhaps just Caelum.
The interior seems more interesting to watch than the exterior, so it captivates Caelum 's attention quickly enough. He watches as the names are called, drinks and food is distributed - and the casual mundaneness of it has him almost smile for a moment. That's how things should be - not terrifying at every turn, right? That thought quickly falls apart when he picks up on the bizarre attention he's getting with almost every face that passes him by. Until when one of the employees takes an interest at his table, and his eyes turn to watch the younger woman with a muted, half-narrowed look again. "Excuse me?" He asks, in a tone entirely polite, before he looks at his cup. It was barely halfway empty, but then, his croissant still in its plate on his table is entirely untouched, fresh and warm. "I'm not finished."
The young woman looks towards Caelum, having interrupted his almost smile. It seems like he won't get a peaceful croissant and coffee afternoon today. He stands up, one hand moving to her hip, jutting it out to the side and looking at him like he is the crazy one. Her tone is terrible once again as she says, "Exccccuuuseee meeeee..." It is very mockingly trying to sound like a terrible version of the man before she reaches out towards his plate, "Well you are now, been sitting here giving everyone the creeps. I've already had a few complaints." She looks at him with such frustration, bordering anger, and her eyes narrow. It is drawing a crowd of eyes now, sets of them turning and looking towards him like some damn horror movie. Everyone stares nearby and then the old lady is moving over towards a seat nearby, "That young man gave me sass! I saw it when I came in... he was staring right at me!"
Even knowing what she intends to do, Caelum watches as the young woman reaches for his plate. Her mocking tone drops his expression further, his easy-going features quickly falling to that steel stern tune even while he doesn't protest. "Complaints?" He asks, though it is clearly not with the expectation of an answer. His coffee is tipped over, chugged to empty before he sets it on the table beside the plate. The old lady from earlier piping in has him briefly look her direction, before he pans his attention across the Starbucks. So he says the most likely thing any normal person in this scenario would say, with a bit of a bitter humor in the tiny smile he offers with his words. "Is this a prank?"
The woman is already clearing the plate and moving to a trashcan nearby to place the fresh croissant and coffee cup into it. She places the plate on top where plates go and she turns towards Caelum now, her voice rising up as she points towards him, "Yeah, this is a prank. We really don't take customer complaints seriously and you are definitely not going to get trespassed off the property!" She does not seem to be joking, there are no cameras for this prank show. There is a man that stands up, you know the type? The sort that does not like being passive. He has 'bro' attitude all about him as he steps over towards the commotion and then looks between the employee, the old lady and Caelum, "What is going on here, my man? Are you causing a problem?" He looks towards Caelum now, his eyes flash with excitement of potential conflict.
Caelum watches mutedly as his food is wasted in the garbage. Another meal lost, twice in one day. Today was full of things to sour his mood, it seems. Maybe he woke up on the wrong end of the bed? The young woman's seriousness coupled with her mocking attitude has him almost retort, though he bites his tongue to prevent escalation. He would've at least, if some dude type pulled up from another table to join the public bashing. He knew those eyes, at least. Enough so that he leaves his chair quietly and stands up, stopping briefly to retrieve his coat hanging on the back of his seat. "No, no problems. Thank you for the food and coffee, have a good afternoon."
When Caelum begins to stand up, the man only briefly backs down from the look that was showing he was ready for violence, or at least escalation. He nods to him and says, "That is what I thought." Typical. The employee tells Caelum as she gestures towards the door, "Don't come back here for a while!" There are people who start clapping as well, the ones nearby, and they all look at poor Caelum just trying to enjoy a meal with such contempt in their eyes. Their gaze shows a story of disappointment, frustration, perhaps some of them are showing pity, but none are smiling. They are all just staring at him, slight frowns on their faces.
Though Caelum tries to be amiable still, by force of will even, he pauses with his coat in hand. Today really had been too much - and something inside, despite his best efforts to push it aside, sparks a flare of anger to his eyes. Seagreen dark and brooding pointedly glaring at the table where his food was. A petty fratboy in the morning jealous over his cousin, and now this - he finds himself speaking before he can tame himself, "Thought what?" and his glare is directed at the dude all too ready for violence. Not at all hiding the sudden hostility in his eyes earned by the looks he's so openly under now, all a myriad of distasteful emotion.
The reaction from Caelum has the man looking back to him with excitement in his eyes though he does not entirely move to start a violent reaction, just talks some more shit, "You know what I thought! You're in here bothering these ladies and I won't really stand for it, my guy..." He points a finger towards Caelum now, "They told you to leave, so leave, take your little bitch ass on out of here before there is more of a problem!" Even the old lady is joining in now, it seems the longer Caelum lingers, the worse it gets as she rises up and points a crooked finger at him, "You don't have any respect for anyone! I'm going to call the police, they'll take care of you... harassment! He was harassing me with his eyes!"
It's too late. Caelum can't help it. He looks aside for a moment while the man speaks, and the lady accuses. His teeth grace the bottom of his lip with a bite in effort to still himself- his words, at the very least, but it doesn't extend to what he does next. His hand shoots up at the accusing finger of the man, in his excitement, and he grabs. Any other time he'd have left in a hurry, any other day he would. Before he came to this town, he may have even apologized profusely, but everything wearing him down bit by bit, he spares no hesitation to what he does. At an instant, he pushes on the digits, attempting to bend it back in a way it isn't meant to until there is a loud crack. "Fuck you."
Now that might not have been the expected response, and perhaps the guy who is having his finger gripped right now was just showing some bravado, at least at first, but when that crunch happens and that finger bends the wrong way the man tries to pull himself back and says, "He fucking assaulted me! Did you see that?" His voice cracks some, as if having actual pain is a problem and he is usually talking a bunch of shit in situations that don't actually escalated, but now there is even more attention on Caelum. There are people rising from there seats, some are approaching and others are shouting, "Call the police! Look what he did!" The mob mentality is starting to form even more than it was before, and that creepy level of staring now turns into angry faces, all around, everywhere. A new person enters the establishment and seems almost immediately drawn into it as well.
Caelum doesn't pursue as the man tries and pull himself away. It isn't until he starts screaming about his assault. He bites his lip again, having nothing to say at what he did. Rightfully so, now everyone had a legitimate reason to accuse him of things. Yet, all the shouting, the mob mentality, the growing number of people rising up to join the fray - it is as if that all culminates in a sense of liberation in the young man. He takes a step forward, and his hand shoots again, this time to hit with an open palm on the poor man's shoulder so he can shove him aside in his path to the door. "Fuck all of you, leave me alone, call the cops if you want to." Is that wise? No, no he's been spending time with entirely the wrong crowds.
The man stumbles some from the push, still pissed off and wanting to do something, but perhaps the bravery to do it after actually being hurt is just not there. As Caelum walks towards the doorway now the newest arrival looks towards him and says, "Asshole!" It seems like everyone is against him and nobody is on his side right now, but the doorway is available to exit with, nobody is stopping him from leaving, just shouting on his way out, "You'll hear from the cops soon I bet! They'll come get you!" The employee, whether it was a lie or not says, "He didn't even tip!" There are jeers and some people are following him towards the exit, but maintaining a distance, like confronting a wild cat that might lash out, one only gets so close for now.
That is quite the crowd, isn't it? It's enough to be intimidating. At least Caelum isn't obstructed further while he approaches the glass double doors so common in Starbucks establishments. His hand holds the handle for a moment, uncaring of the goading at his back. Or seems that way. He should just leave, get the fuck out, but again he bites his lower lip in agitation. The others collected behind, maintaining their distance, might see him shake his head in the kept silence he breaks only to curse. Then he reaches up to the deadbolt lock above the door, to pull the lever down and pull it shut. "Fuck it." The most dangerous two word combination preceding the stupidest actions takes place while he kicks the lower deadbolt, effectively locking the place down. He's not locked here with them, though, they're locked here with him. Because he turns around right after to grab that newcomer calling him an asshole without even seeing what happened or how, and yank him from the cuff of his coat straight onto his knee to drive it into his stomach and knock the wind out of him. Go go wildcats!
The deadbolt gets locked and now the doors are closed, at least that entrance as Caelum locks himself in here with them, but the them might be the ones in trouble. The knee takes the man by surprise and he doubles over with a loud groan and collapsing against the floor, curls himself up into a ball. The others see this violence and then it seems like it might be on! Something about those angry faces, the rising tension, and now overt violence against some random person? There are a couple people approaching, even the old lady wants a piece! She acts like she is the leader of this gang of approaching people and says, "Get him! Call the cops! Hold him down for them to show up!"
Isn't having *any* of it today, as the mob starts to approach together. The tension surrounding them all is palpable, something suffocating the festively decorated, absolutely adorable Starbucks. And in in honest Christmas spirit, he escalates like it's a family gathering. The man doubled over by his feet is given not even a second look as he starts to walk straight at them, host to an expression glazed entirely in pissed-off rage. In passing, a tray left on one table is picked up with his off-hand, and right in the midst of the old lady barking her order, he smacks her across the face with the back of the tray! Jesus fucking christ, Caelum
The insanity truly begins as Caelum smacks the old lady across the face with the tray! She crumbles, falling over and hopefully not breaking a hip. There are stunned people now, watching someone bash an old lady like it was nothing at all makes for a sobering moment, but soon someone is lunging at Caelum, hands are reaching out, like a horde of zombies, he might be overwhelmed should he not be able to keep up! But today, it might be Caelum's day to shine, letting that violence go, and not caring for the consequences.
It's a wild, wild world out there. There are three things one should fear; the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle soul. Well, he's not so gentle after all. There isn't even a blink while Caelum exercises his every right to defend himself - even if he first escalated things out of proportion. The lunging horde experiences exactly why some fighters are incarcerated for using their fists, because the young man before them, by miraculous happenstance, just so is one. Trays fly, hot coffee is poured, someone screams in pain while another hacks blood. It isn't until someone is shoved into the glass doors and thee whole place looks like its ransacked with toppled tables, a broken chair, and cracked glass displays with someone's imprint of their face on it that things come to an end. An end with Caelum standing stock middle in a bunch of people, old ladies, gentlemen, one or two fratboys and even the rude waitress all crumpled up and groaning while he supports a split lip, bleeding brow, and a host of bruises smattered across his neck and face coupled with an eye that's probably going to grow black come the next morn. He spits on the floor, a red-tinged smattering across the floor. "Fucking Haven." Is all he mumbles hoarsely, before he storms on his heels and spears his way through the broken doors, and into the cold winter air outside with a slight limp. Likely because of the chair someone had hit him with on his side. Merry Christmas!
The climax of the confrontation arrived quickly and violently. After breaking the finger of a confrontational patron, Caelum was berated and threatened with the arrival of the police. Instead of backing down or fleeing, Caelum’s frustration boiled over; he locked the doors to the establishment, preventing everyone from leaving. What erupted next was a chaotic brawl, fueled by pent-up aggression and a sense of injustice. Caelum lashed out at the crowd, repurposing trays and the contents of the coffee shop as weapons against those who had turned against him. The fight concluded with customers, including an old lady and a belligerent young man, littering the floor as victims of Caelum's wrath. Bearing the marks of battle himself, Caelum spit blood in defiance, muttered a curse against the town of Haven, and forcibly made his exit into the bitter cold.
(Caelum's odd encounter(SRSavannah):SRSavannah)
[Sat Dec 23 2023]
On the beach
The brick and reclaimed wood from the outside continues to the inside, more polished here than the exterior. Tile flooring paves the way underfoot, and high ceilings with exposed beams make the building appear spacious without giving actual space. An ordering counter greets newcomers to the building with merchandise as well as baristas ready to take orders, signs posted behind it and above heads for easy viewing.
It is about 50F(10C) degrees.
(Your target has been cursed with persecution, it is up to them to survive a world suddenly turned hostile until their allies can come and help get them to safety or deal with the curse.
)
Caelum huffs over at his cup, dispelling some of the smoke wafting over the covered coffee - but then takes a long sip. It appears to be an uneventful evening, where he sits at one of the small tables near the entrance of the town's Starbucks. His plated croissant remains as untouched as when he ordered it, already cold while he quietly stares out the window, in silent daydreaming.
It does seem like an uneventful evening, a croissant on the plate, a sip of coffee here or there. The Starbucks is always at least a little busy given that it is a Starbucks. There are plenty of people ordering their various spice offerings during the winter time. The line gets longer, some of the employees are struggling to keep up with a sudden afternoon surge. Perhaps people are gathering their caffeine for a trip home for the holidays while Caelum sits there alone at that table and for now, things seem normal. A woman does pass by and look towards Caelum. She seems like an older lady and perhaps something about his look causes her to give him a face. There is disapproval there before she makes a snerky huff and moves to get herself into the line already forming.
Caelum doesn't initially notice the look of the lady, initially - lost in thought while the line grew longer and longer. He'd have taken another sip then, if he wasn't pulled out of his head with that snerky huff clearly meant for him, and turns to stare behind the lady who promptly left. "Wha- " A brow lifts, his eyes narrow skeptically. That line was *not* that long before. Yet he's undeterred by it still while he goes along with his intent to enjoy his coffee with another sip.
There are people waiting for coffee now, names being called out, "Mailyn!" Another one, "Kirsterina!" There don't seem to be too many new customers, maybe it was just the timing, but after Mailyn seems to get her coffee she walks over towards the tables to try and find herself a seat. She looks towards Caelum and stares for a moment before shaking her head and moving onwards. The older lady didn't respond to Caelum's almost query, and instead waited in line. Another name, another drink, "Brett!" It seems like as people pass by the man sitting at his table, minding his own business, there are just looks if disapproval, some of them more determined than others, some lingering, some just moving on after a brief glare. One of the employees, a younger woman, perhaps closer to Caelum's age begins to filter through the tables, picking up various trash, sweeping a little and keeping the place clean. She stops near Caelum's table, and even with his coffee clearly not finished she says, "Are you even going to throw that away or are you just going to leave it for us to clean up like?" Her tone is terrible. She clearly has a bone to pick with people leaving out trash, or perhaps just Caelum.
The interior seems more interesting to watch than the exterior, so it captivates Caelum 's attention quickly enough. He watches as the names are called, drinks and food is distributed - and the casual mundaneness of it has him almost smile for a moment. That's how things should be - not terrifying at every turn, right? That thought quickly falls apart when he picks up on the bizarre attention he's getting with almost every face that passes him by. Until when one of the employees takes an interest at his table, and his eyes turn to watch the younger woman with a muted, half-narrowed look again. "Excuse me?" He asks, in a tone entirely polite, before he looks at his cup. It was barely halfway empty, but then, his croissant still in its plate on his table is entirely untouched, fresh and warm. "I'm not finished."
The young woman looks towards Caelum, having interrupted his almost smile. It seems like he won't get a peaceful croissant and coffee afternoon today. He stands up, one hand moving to her hip, jutting it out to the side and looking at him like he is the crazy one. Her tone is terrible once again as she says, "Exccccuuuseee meeeee..." It is very mockingly trying to sound like a terrible version of the man before she reaches out towards his plate, "Well you are now, been sitting here giving everyone the creeps. I've already had a few complaints." She looks at him with such frustration, bordering anger, and her eyes narrow. It is drawing a crowd of eyes now, sets of them turning and looking towards him like some damn horror movie. Everyone stares nearby and then the old lady is moving over towards a seat nearby, "That young man gave me sass! I saw it when I came in... he was staring right at me!"
Even knowing what she intends to do, Caelum watches as the young woman reaches for his plate. Her mocking tone drops his expression further, his easy-going features quickly falling to that steel stern tune even while he doesn't protest. "Complaints?" He asks, though it is clearly not with the expectation of an answer. His coffee is tipped over, chugged to empty before he sets it on the table beside the plate. The old lady from earlier piping in has him briefly look her direction, before he pans his attention across the Starbucks. So he says the most likely thing any normal person in this scenario would say, with a bit of a bitter humor in the tiny smile he offers with his words. "Is this a prank?"
The woman is already clearing the plate and moving to a trashcan nearby to place the fresh croissant and coffee cup into it. She places the plate on top where plates go and she turns towards Caelum now, her voice rising up as she points towards him, "Yeah, this is a prank. We really don't take customer complaints seriously and you are definitely not going to get trespassed off the property!" She does not seem to be joking, there are no cameras for this prank show. There is a man that stands up, you know the type? The sort that does not like being passive. He has 'bro' attitude all about him as he steps over towards the commotion and then looks between the employee, the old lady and Caelum, "What is going on here, my man? Are you causing a problem?" He looks towards Caelum now, his eyes flash with excitement of potential conflict.
Caelum watches mutedly as his food is wasted in the garbage. Another meal lost, twice in one day. Today was full of things to sour his mood, it seems. Maybe he woke up on the wrong end of the bed? The young woman's seriousness coupled with her mocking attitude has him almost retort, though he bites his tongue to prevent escalation. He would've at least, if some dude type pulled up from another table to join the public bashing. He knew those eyes, at least. Enough so that he leaves his chair quietly and stands up, stopping briefly to retrieve his coat hanging on the back of his seat. "No, no problems. Thank you for the food and coffee, have a good afternoon."
When Caelum begins to stand up, the man only briefly backs down from the look that was showing he was ready for violence, or at least escalation. He nods to him and says, "That is what I thought." Typical. The employee tells Caelum as she gestures towards the door, "Don't come back here for a while!" There are people who start clapping as well, the ones nearby, and they all look at poor Caelum just trying to enjoy a meal with such contempt in their eyes. Their gaze shows a story of disappointment, frustration, perhaps some of them are showing pity, but none are smiling. They are all just staring at him, slight frowns on their faces.
Though Caelum tries to be amiable still, by force of will even, he pauses with his coat in hand. Today really had been too much - and something inside, despite his best efforts to push it aside, sparks a flare of anger to his eyes. Seagreen dark and brooding pointedly glaring at the table where his food was. A petty fratboy in the morning jealous over his cousin, and now this - he finds himself speaking before he can tame himself, "Thought what?" and his glare is directed at the dude all too ready for violence. Not at all hiding the sudden hostility in his eyes earned by the looks he's so openly under now, all a myriad of distasteful emotion.
The reaction from Caelum has the man looking back to him with excitement in his eyes though he does not entirely move to start a violent reaction, just talks some more shit, "You know what I thought! You're in here bothering these ladies and I won't really stand for it, my guy..." He points a finger towards Caelum now, "They told you to leave, so leave, take your little bitch ass on out of here before there is more of a problem!" Even the old lady is joining in now, it seems the longer Caelum lingers, the worse it gets as she rises up and points a crooked finger at him, "You don't have any respect for anyone! I'm going to call the police, they'll take care of you... harassment! He was harassing me with his eyes!"
It's too late. Caelum can't help it. He looks aside for a moment while the man speaks, and the lady accuses. His teeth grace the bottom of his lip with a bite in effort to still himself- his words, at the very least, but it doesn't extend to what he does next. His hand shoots up at the accusing finger of the man, in his excitement, and he grabs. Any other time he'd have left in a hurry, any other day he would. Before he came to this town, he may have even apologized profusely, but everything wearing him down bit by bit, he spares no hesitation to what he does. At an instant, he pushes on the digits, attempting to bend it back in a way it isn't meant to until there is a loud crack. "Fuck you."
Now that might not have been the expected response, and perhaps the guy who is having his finger gripped right now was just showing some bravado, at least at first, but when that crunch happens and that finger bends the wrong way the man tries to pull himself back and says, "He fucking assaulted me! Did you see that?" His voice cracks some, as if having actual pain is a problem and he is usually talking a bunch of shit in situations that don't actually escalated, but now there is even more attention on Caelum. There are people rising from there seats, some are approaching and others are shouting, "Call the police! Look what he did!" The mob mentality is starting to form even more than it was before, and that creepy level of staring now turns into angry faces, all around, everywhere. A new person enters the establishment and seems almost immediately drawn into it as well.
Caelum doesn't pursue as the man tries and pull himself away. It isn't until he starts screaming about his assault. He bites his lip again, having nothing to say at what he did. Rightfully so, now everyone had a legitimate reason to accuse him of things. Yet, all the shouting, the mob mentality, the growing number of people rising up to join the fray - it is as if that all culminates in a sense of liberation in the young man. He takes a step forward, and his hand shoots again, this time to hit with an open palm on the poor man's shoulder so he can shove him aside in his path to the door. "Fuck all of you, leave me alone, call the cops if you want to." Is that wise? No, no he's been spending time with entirely the wrong crowds.
The man stumbles some from the push, still pissed off and wanting to do something, but perhaps the bravery to do it after actually being hurt is just not there. As Caelum walks towards the doorway now the newest arrival looks towards him and says, "Asshole!" It seems like everyone is against him and nobody is on his side right now, but the doorway is available to exit with, nobody is stopping him from leaving, just shouting on his way out, "You'll hear from the cops soon I bet! They'll come get you!" The employee, whether it was a lie or not says, "He didn't even tip!" There are jeers and some people are following him towards the exit, but maintaining a distance, like confronting a wild cat that might lash out, one only gets so close for now.
That is quite the crowd, isn't it? It's enough to be intimidating. At least Caelum isn't obstructed further while he approaches the glass double doors so common in Starbucks establishments. His hand holds the handle for a moment, uncaring of the goading at his back. Or seems that way. He should just leave, get the fuck out, but again he bites his lower lip in agitation. The others collected behind, maintaining their distance, might see him shake his head in the kept silence he breaks only to curse. Then he reaches up to the deadbolt lock above the door, to pull the lever down and pull it shut. "Fuck it." The most dangerous two word combination preceding the stupidest actions takes place while he kicks the lower deadbolt, effectively locking the place down. He's not locked here with them, though, they're locked here with him. Because he turns around right after to grab that newcomer calling him an asshole without even seeing what happened or how, and yank him from the cuff of his coat straight onto his knee to drive it into his stomach and knock the wind out of him. Go go wildcats!
The deadbolt gets locked and now the doors are closed, at least that entrance as Caelum locks himself in here with them, but the them might be the ones in trouble. The knee takes the man by surprise and he doubles over with a loud groan and collapsing against the floor, curls himself up into a ball. The others see this violence and then it seems like it might be on! Something about those angry faces, the rising tension, and now overt violence against some random person? There are a couple people approaching, even the old lady wants a piece! She acts like she is the leader of this gang of approaching people and says, "Get him! Call the cops! Hold him down for them to show up!"
Isn't having *any* of it today, as the mob starts to approach together. The tension surrounding them all is palpable, something suffocating the festively decorated, absolutely adorable Starbucks. And in in honest Christmas spirit, he escalates like it's a family gathering. The man doubled over by his feet is given not even a second look as he starts to walk straight at them, host to an expression glazed entirely in pissed-off rage. In passing, a tray left on one table is picked up with his off-hand, and right in the midst of the old lady barking her order, he smacks her across the face with the back of the tray! Jesus fucking christ, Caelum
The insanity truly begins as Caelum smacks the old lady across the face with the tray! She crumbles, falling over and hopefully not breaking a hip. There are stunned people now, watching someone bash an old lady like it was nothing at all makes for a sobering moment, but soon someone is lunging at Caelum, hands are reaching out, like a horde of zombies, he might be overwhelmed should he not be able to keep up! But today, it might be Caelum's day to shine, letting that violence go, and not caring for the consequences.
It's a wild, wild world out there. There are three things one should fear; the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle soul. Well, he's not so gentle after all. There isn't even a blink while Caelum exercises his every right to defend himself - even if he first escalated things out of proportion. The lunging horde experiences exactly why some fighters are incarcerated for using their fists, because the young man before them, by miraculous happenstance, just so is one. Trays fly, hot coffee is poured, someone screams in pain while another hacks blood. It isn't until someone is shoved into the glass doors and thee whole place looks like its ransacked with toppled tables, a broken chair, and cracked glass displays with someone's imprint of their face on it that things come to an end. An end with Caelum standing stock middle in a bunch of people, old ladies, gentlemen, one or two fratboys and even the rude waitress all crumpled up and groaning while he supports a split lip, bleeding brow, and a host of bruises smattered across his neck and face coupled with an eye that's probably going to grow black come the next morn. He spits on the floor, a red-tinged smattering across the floor. "Fucking Haven." Is all he mumbles hoarsely, before he storms on his heels and spears his way through the broken doors, and into the cold winter air outside with a slight limp. Likely because of the chair someone had hit him with on his side. Merry Christmas!