[OPEN] That sign isn't for me because I didn't read it

the echoes of the thunderclaps
reverberation of the dead

The silence admittedly lasted longer than Harper had expected. He holds his tongue the entire time - but as one voice finally rises in debate, it’s the only catalyst the others seem to need, and from there distinct lines are drawn. Aurelia, Bartholomew, Ray, and Cameron all standing together in a huddle. Maeve and her family frozen to the side. Stragglers here and there - Deimos’ voice he hears at least, and Ray’s after. And then there’s Harper, watching over it all, staff loose but ready in his hands.

Maeve seems to look between him and Ray, and Harper straightens as his name is called out. Nodding sharply, the man moves gracefully to Gideon’s side, almost unrecognizable with the militaristic set of his shoulders and the severe aura around him. He is here to keep the peace. Nothing more. Whether Gideon intends to use his compass or to walk alongside Harper is out of his hands - he merely stands there, inserting himself bodily between Gideon and the others, hoping the mass of his figure will be a discouragement against anything worse.

Regardless of his own feelings on the matter, Harper will do as his Queen commands, and he will do his best to keep this from turning into bloodshed.

provides the tempo for the song
describing how all things went wrong