Foundations Rattled | Liam and Rowan
It was, for all intents and purposes, as normal a day as any. The slaves were more or less behaving, save the usual rebels and bullshitters, who were routinely put in their place, and of course Liam held his suspicions that they rather liked it, with the blatant and dumb ways they went about it. The other guards were crotchety or a bit too excited about it, professors were either whining about slaves, or whining about guards' handling of slaves, both assessments of being too rough and being too kind accused.
Then the first salvo hit. Liam didn't quite know what it was, magic had never been his strong suit, but he could smell it in the air. It was an attack. Every fiber of the man's body knew what was going on. The suddenness, the abruptness, the clear intent of it. It was the second strike that confirmed it, hitting as Liam was already standing up and throwing his leather jacket over his large frame. The whole building shook, swaying on foundations, causing a stir amongst a few other staff lingering about. Some asking if it was an earthquake, to no one in particular, but really only to themselves.
Liam was already making his way towards the door, "No. It's an attack. Get away from the windows, stay low, think fast, but think, don't react."
It was the only advice he gave as he moved swiftly through the door, swifter than any man of his size had any right to, and he was already making his way to Rowan's cell. The only destination that hit his mind in that moment.
Liam had always suspected a day like this may come, enslaving people with incredible powers and deep emotional issues and abusing them, subjecting them to insane torture and torment was only going to create enemies, and magic was hardly fool proof. He didn't care if they reassured him that 'everyone who left forgot'.
Once at the cell door Liam was opening the lock and looking over to Rowan, as another strike shook the dorm, that one was closer, "We're leaving. Get only what you need."
@rowanxaubri
Disbelief, was the predominant feeling running through her veins. Chaos was a constant on the island, but not this sort. Magic was a given, wayward spells nearly expected when it came to the Institute that seemed to throw everything out of balance before things leveled out again. It could be said that imbalance was the norm and that normalcy was the odd. But this was like nothing she'd ever experienced since she'd come to the university all those years ago.
Explosions rocked the air and rattled the building and she froze. Self-preservation from being in the basement should have sent her feet fleeing, but she'd never been great at those instincts. A knot formed and started to grow in her stomach as the bars to her cell rattled and it took her a moment to realize - she was trapped. With the guards responding to the seemingly constant attacks, there was no one to let her out. Would she die down here? Was this her destiny? Only recently had she finally confronted her emotions and confessed them to the men she loved. Was she still going to die alone?
Not without a damn fight.
Rowan doubted bobby pins would unlock the door to her cell but she had to try something, tongue sticking out as she tried to manipulate the thing despite not knowing what she was doing. She was so focused on what she was doing that it took the sound of the key on the lock to grab her attention, gaze shifting upwards to see Liam. "You came." Disbelief was low in her tone as she moved back from the bars. She might have confronted her emotions but there were still doubts she was fighting. It was difficult enough when she wasn't in near-panic mode, which made her next question near-stupid. "What do I need, Liam?"
