As Inga moved towards Viktor, she saw a gun follow her path of movement. She froze, uncertain of what to do. If she kept moving, she could do something that upset them and get shot. If she held still, she was an easy target. She bit her lip as the screaming of the crowd grew loud all around her, shouting things that she had never heard said before, some words that she didn't recognize but immediately felt wrong to her, felt like words used to hurt. She noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Viktor moving to protect her. She heard most of his words to her.<br/><br/>And then the rock hit him.<br/><br/>As it bounced to the ground, Inga stared at it numbly. This day, she had been sure, could not have gotten worse. But the fact that the world could in fact be worse than she had previously thought was beginning to surprise her less. Was this really what people were like? Where was the sense of community her father had told her about? His home, he had said, had been full of people welcoming to outsiders. Of course she understood that the damage that had caused was the source of the anger, but Viktor hadn't done anything wrong. She hadn't done anything wrong, and someone had trained a gun on her. Why would anyone want to come back to this? She bit the inside of her mouth as tears festered in her eyes, staring at the rock on the ground.<br/><br/>Briefly, the rock vibrated on the ground. Inga was almost sure it moved.<br/><br/>But then Viktor yelled out orders and his intent of leaving, and she teared her eyes away. Scrubbing at her eyes, angry that she had almost cried again, she followed him and the group as they moved toward the edge of town. Some shouted angrily after them, some began to follow to make sure they departed, and some just stayed where they were, arms crossed, faces tight. Briefly, Inga hated them all, with the same ugly intensity she hated everything. Then, it sputtered out, and she was just too tired to even be angry.<br/><br/>As some followed, Magpie slid out of the crowd, hoping no one noticed her and decided to make her a target. It hadn't been the first time she had had to run out of town, or be run out, but this was an ugly encounter she wanted over. She rubbed her eyes, matching stride with a man she didn't recognize who had apparently joined the group. Tiny trailed after her quietly, whining softly as he looked around and saw the faces of the group. She supposed even a dumb dog could tell when things were wrong sometimes. "What a disaster," she muttered, almost not aware as had said if out loud.