The first sign that something wasn't quite right in their neck of the woods, is the way the Cloud's Flames flare for an instant before spiraling inwards, folding and dimming until he is not even the barest of whispers against the Arcobaleno's Flame Sense, even though he is perfectly visible to their eyes.
It pulls all of their attention away from their current activities, no matter their location, to figure out what had caused the reaction if nothing else. Reborn, Colonello and Lal are the first out of the house, responding the quickest, while Viper materialized out of thin air a good distance away from the Cloud. Mists.
It takes barely a scan of their immediate area, when they see Skull standing eerily still, back to the surrounding trees, and facing the field with a look like he has never seen the world outside. They've barely know him, but so far his position is the weakest of them. So they are curious, but not worried.
But then the Cloud's breath stutters, stalls and his eyes glaze over, vacantly staring at the blue sky. He begins to fold over his arms that have wrapped around his waist, and he is struggling to breathe, while subtle tremors shudder through his body.
Colonello recognized the signs instantly, having been part of the army long enough to know the indications of one in an instant. Lal is right behind him in recognizing the signs as they wonder:
A panic attack? What triggered it?
Lal reaches for Skull first, expecting the man to recognize her Flame, her presence, as she flares her Flame in warning of her approach. Except... Skull doesn't. His reaction is lightning quick, barely a second passes when her fingers make contact before he flips the woman over his shoulder, throwing her body out an away, into the trees with Propagated strength. Colonello doesn't think after that, only reacting to the sight of Lal flying, and he lunges forward to intervene.
Skull intercepts him and tries to crush his windpipe when he gets close, and the only thing to save him, is that Colonello is a Rain and he uses his Flames to slow the man's hands by the barest of instances. That second more of room allows him to jerk himself to the side, enough that Skull's fingernails just barely brush his skin. Colonello's combat skills aren't anything to sneeze at, but Lal's are better than his, and considering the ease in which Skull overpowered her, he thinks it's a wise idea to put out as much Rain Flames as he can.
For a second, it works and Skull staggers under the Tranquility, his movements slowing down substantially. And then Cloud Flames are flaring to heights none of the Arcobaleno had expected from Skull, even as the World's Strongest Cloud, and the Flames are infuriated and dagger-sharp.
The Rain Flames that had slowed him by the smallest amount shatter into nothing under the flare of Skull's Flames, and Viper intervenes, sliding an illusion of Colonello being much closer while the real one fades from view. When Skull goes after the Construct, everyone pauses a moment when he freezes, his fingers digging into the illusion's throat, and an instant later, Skull wrenches himself away, jumping back from them, lacking any manner of grace, to slam his back against a tree. The speed in which he hurtles himself from the middle of the clearing to the outer edges is astonishing, especially consider the amount of force that he hit the tree with.
The shallow and shuddering breaths sound harsh in the sudden silence that's fallen over the area and the Cloud has his arms up, defensive mostly, shaking and flaring with fire.
Colonello and Lal have both risen and are staring at Skull, taking in the glazed, but darting eyes. They're assessing the defensive but aggressive stance he had fallen into, and swiftly come to the same conclusion: Flashbacks.
There's a swirl of Mist Flames by Reborn's side and Viper appears, their focus on Skull just as the hitman's is. Reborn has lifted a gun, hesitant even as Skull shifts threateningly as he moves back, moving further into the trees around them, and both Rains turn to him sharp and commanding but it's Colonello who speaks, rather commands, "No! Reborn don't shoot him! You'll make it worse!"
Thankfully, that's all the incentive the hitman needs, honestly, and he quickly holsters his gun, exchanging a warning look with Viper that has the Mist standing down as well. When he turns to level a look at both Rains, this one demanding information, it's Lal that answers him as Colonello changes his posture and tone and attempts to approach Skull, speaking quietly and firmly, with his hands open and in the line of the Cloud's sight, his every movement telegraphed.
"Flashback, traumatic shit happens to you, and when you bottle it up and ignore it, things like this happen. People use fancy words, Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, or what the old timers just call shell-shock. Either way, he's neither aware of his location nor us at the moment."
Behind them, the door to the house opens and slams shut as Fon comes running out, the martial artist coming to a quick stop as gray eyes dart around, assessing the situation. He's bare footed and the top two buttons of his wushu uniform are undone, but his gaze is alert. It's when he sees Skull that he resumes his movement, leaping from the porch to the lawn and quickly making his way to Reborn's other side.
Verde and Luce are the next ones to emerge from house, but Reborn, Viper, and Fon's attention is focused on the Rains and Skull, in case their intervention is required.
When Luce stops an arm's length from the Sun and the Mist, Reborn gives her a short look, dividing his attention between his Sky to the Cloud. The woman only looks a Skull for a couple seconds before realization washes over her face.
"Are you aware of what set Skull off?" Luce quietly asks, worry furrowing her brow and concern twisting her lips.
The Sun only offers a curt, grim shake in the negative, and Viper's visible facial expression is only a vaguely upset twist of their mouth. Everyone's attention is focused on the distressed Cloud and the Rain that is attempting to calm him down. But everyone's thoughts are on the complete switch Skull's personality has just made, from the arrogant and easily persuaded almost-child that had come to them six months prior. There was nothing of him in this man.
The wind chooses that moment to pick up and carry the words that Colonello is repeating, drifting to their ears.
"Your name is Skull. You are in north Italia. You are a stuntman. You are at the Arcobaleno Mansion. You are not in danger. It is May 10, 1969. You are safe."
By Colonello's fourth repetition, Skull twitches from his place, back still pressed firmly against a tree, his hands wreathed in Flame and eyes wildly shifting from point to point. The Rain doesn't pause, but he speaks slower, his voice smooth and firm. It's when Skull allows a small noise to escape his mouth and his legs give out, his body sliding down the rough bark that everyone knows that the man is finally aware of his surroundings.
The tension eases out of everyone present, save for Colonello who barely moves a muscle. Skull's hands are visibly shaking and he's talking, jumbled words in a mesh of German and- is that Arabic? Hebrew?- just under his breath.
As Reborn walks closer, keeping in step just behind Lal, he catches a few Hail Marys in lightly accented Italian and that alone is interesting because when anyone mentions any kind of religion, Skull gets this disdainful look in his eyes and his body language all but shuts down. Verde is of the opinion the only interesting things about the man is his complete disregard and apathy towards religion and his Flames.
Skull breaking down into a complete panic attack and coming very close to both severely injuring and killing two experienced soldiers is worrying. Despite the fact that Skull is a civilian, he is also a Cloud and contrary to his personality, has all the talents of a particularly strong one.
This is a serious matter, especially considering there is nothing that any of them have noticed, no signs of lingering trauma that could trigger this. For all that Skull talks he doesn't say anything. The only three things Reborn actually knows about him is that he's a civilian, a stuntman and that he hates religions.
So this...this is concerning.
And when Reborn trails his gaze over everyone present, he can see that same realization in them. There's not enough information, no hints or clues in anything Skull has said or done previously. Beyond the fact that his default language was assumed to be Russian, the sudden flood of German and either Arabic or Hebrew does bring a new perspective into Skull's early years.
His features are obscured by the suit he wore, the makeup, and he wears his helmet 80% of the time, so it was a challenge to pick out any distinguishing facial features to identify his ancestry.
Now, though, now as Reborn lingers on the curves and edges of Skull's face, he can see features he's only seen in those of Middle Eastern descent. Not that there isn't any Russian in there, because there is. But, if Skull wasn't born with purple eyes, with purple hair, Reborn can seen them being dark. With pale skin and barely exotic features, the hitman was willing to bet one of Skull's parents or grandparents was from the Middle East.
The other was probably Russian, as that was the language Skull seemed to stick with most.
But...German and... perhaps Hebrew? That was, unfortunately, a very common combination from the survivors of World War II. Considering that Skull was barely into his 20s, if that, it was possible his other parent…
Well, merde.