chicago ♔ but close my eyes for a while | and force from the world a patient smile

[shootfirst]

♬ Evil - Interpol

WHO || Spike, Francesca, Archer, Myri, Finnick, Elena, Buffy, Des, Gar, Mark, Kat, Rafael, Isabella, Jaka, Burt, Violet, Luthir, Val'drin, ??[Closed]
WHAT || The Knights prepare for the trial of Rafael Giovanni and face a few revelations along the way
WHERE || Various locations, Chicago
WHEN || July 17th - November 21st  [Back AND Forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order!!


The trial of Rafael Giovanni looms on the horizon, as summer gives way to fall, the chill in the air creating a definite atmosphere of foreboding as the date grows closer. It's not merely Rafael's freedom on the line after all - but also Des', thanks to the deal he struck with Iscariot. While Francesca and Val'drin work to uncover the secret of the mysterious hourglass artifact, lawyer Jaka Teken'Duis uses his ... unique legal powers to work towards a "Temporary Insanity" case for Rafael. The Knights, unhappy about the potential ramifications of such a plea, continue to seek any evidence they can to show Rafael was actually innocent, and place conspiracy charges back on Chad Becksworth and his ilk for what transpired. Not everything they learn, however, is what they were hoping to find...

Others wage more personal battles, as the coming autumn signals the encroaching winter, and Luthir and Violet's time draws shorter to find a way to stop her nightmares, lest they kill her. Elena plays a dangerous game, working to uncover more of her nature by training her doppelganger powers - with the enemy.

This log covers any work and non-work related shenanigans the Knights have while staying in Chicago, immediately following the three mission logs and continuing for four months. This will be the Knight's last time in Chicago before the trial: after which they plan to return to the castle to fully Knight Violet and Dawn and decide where to head next.

Make your own threads, don't fuss about tag order, feel free to threadjack multiple people into one thread for hang-outs, ask me if you want a certain scene with an NPC, etc. forever whatever. There will be a few group scenes, which I'll alert everyone to on Plurk. They may not all be posted immediately, so keep an eye on this post for new threads as time goes by. Please wait to post social threads here until we reach a certain point in the top group thread. I will alert you all when you are free to post.

Comments

[witchwoman]

[Finnick, maybe you shouldn't drink so much when you go to bed. Maybe then you wouldn't sleep so heavy that you didn't notice the large creature that has made a home, laying on your torso, paws resting on your chest. Amaranth stares at the man with large, unblinking eyes. At least his wings are pulled under the folds in his fur, so for the most part, he just looks like a big cat.... with bird talons...

GOOD MORNING.]

[65]

[he slowly wakes up to make my plurk cat face, but is only ... somewhat rattled. (will save 15)] Myri! [COME GET YOUR CAT DEMON is what he wants to yell but doesn't ...] Where's Myri?

[witchwoman]

[There's a swish of the flywacket's tail and a slight push in his front paws, a clear message not to move. Myri's not in the room and doesn't seem to be close enough to hear his call.]

Stop. [It's a clear, simple command. But it comes from nowhere, just an echo in his mind. Finnick is alone in the room... except for his girlfriend's familiar who just keep staring at him.] You need to stop.

[65]

Stop what? ... Are you talking to me? [this is way too much to take in at this stage of being awake.]

[witchwoman]

[He ignores that second part. It's not important and he doesn't have enough time to explain anyway.]

You're hurting yourself. And her. [Or rather, he will. Amaranth is extremely protective of Myrilandel, and he doesn't like what he sees right now. There were plenty of villages before with taverns and men who did not know when the stop.]

[65]

I'm not doing anything to her. [he's just going to try to ... roll over and pull the blanket farther over him.] Go, shoo.

[witchwoman]

[This time, the push from Amaranth's feet come with more pressure from the talons, not piercing the skin but making a point.]

You're running. [The thought isn't quite as formed as he wishes it was.] Sometimes you stand still. But you always have a glass nearby.

[65]

[u g h this is not happening. he will not be interventioned by his girlfriend's cat.] If Myri wants to talk with me, she can talk with me.

[witchwoman]

[Amaranth makes a low rumbling noise, not his usual soothing purr.]

She loves you too much. She doesn't want to upset you.

[Get yo shit together, son.]

[65]

[he doesn't know what to say to that that isn't like "no u" so he tries to roll over again. (str 17)]

[witchwoman]

[Well I don't have a sheet for a flywacket, so...

Amaranth howls much louder than he really needs to as Finnick moves, causing him to stumble off and jump to the ground. It's not long before the door starts to open and a concerned Myri pokes her head in.]

...Amaranth? Everything alright in here?

[65]

[he replies to her without moving from his bed nest:] Fine. He was just trying to wake me up. [bluff 28. to be fair it's also ... kind of true ... ]

[witchwoman]

[She slips into the room carefully, so much more on edge lately, ever since the fight with the others. Nothing has felt quite as safe, not even this. She moves around the room and shoos her familiar towards the door. Amaranth makes a disgruntled noise but complies, tail swishing as he moves out of the room through the crack left in the door.

She believes him (sense motive 16). She has no reason not to, as far as she knows, but things have felt... different. And it's hard not to notice that. But Amaranth was correct in what he said. The last thing Myri wants to do is upset him, so she just steps up beside the bed and reaches out to smooth her hand over his hair, fingertips applying a gentle pressure against his scalp.]

I'm sorry about him. I'm not sure what's gotten into him lately.

[65]

Me either. [bluff 24. FINNICK YOU NEED TO STOP. but he won't. 8( he leans into her touch like a cat. ] Do you want to come back to bed for awhile?

[witchwoman]

[Being near him makes her more in tune with him. It always has. There's something in the way he says it that makes her think he might not be as unaware of what was bothering the flywacket (sense motive 25). She hesitates, fingers pausing in their trail through his hair. But she doesn't say anything, just nods.]

Scoot over. [She climbs in and fits herself neatly against him. This part is natural, easy. So why does everything else feel so tense?]

[65]

[he makes space for her, and also offers her some of the covers because he's not the worst boyfriend ever. hear that, amaranth? NOT THE WORST BOYFRIEND EVER. he will now hammer in that he's not the worst boyfriend ever while resting his head against the curve of her neck.] You know I love you, don't you?

[witchwoman]

[It's warm here, and dark. It's easy to forget about everything else. Maybe that's why he likes it here. She wraps the covers over herself and pulls his arm with it, folding in tighter to be close to him. She sighs, content with simply being with him, but the moment is broken as she twists to look at him over her shoulder. Confusion creases in her brow.]

Of course I do. [The answer is automatic, genuine, unwavering.] Why would you think otherwise?

[65]

[yeah, basically.] I don't know. I was just worrying and I wanted to make sure that you knew. Because I always do. No matter what.

[witchwoman]

[She shifts in his arms, turns herself around to face him. She reaches up to rest her hand against the side of his face. While the sentiment is nice, it's timing has her slightly concerned.]

Is something wrong? [Beyond the obvious.] You know you can tell me anything.

[65]

I know. [and yet, he can't. because as much as she's afraid to bring anything up because it might upset him, he's afraid to talk to her about any of the heavy shit going on in his head because it might upset her. it wasn't anything he hadn't already talked to her about — he still felt badly about the night of the concert, still had nightmares about his past, so on and so forth. why bring it all up again?

and he knew he was bad off — or at least sliding down a slippery slope. some of his fragmented memories included the gatherings of victors every year at the games. so many of them turned to drugs or drinking after winning to cope with the hell they had to live through. he never wanted to be like that … but it was becoming easy to see the appeal. there was just too much and if he could make it go away, even for a little while …]

I think I might miss being famous, once this is all over.

[witchwoman]

Really? [Her hand pulled back slightly in her confusion.] I thought you wanted nothing to do with it? Isn't that why Francesca came? To help you find a way out?

[Either he changed his mind or he had lied before. Neither option sat well with her, but obviously a change of heart would be the better option. Still, it worried her. What if he chose to stay? What if fighting with the Knights was too much and he chose this life instead?]

[65]

Yes, but — [it was still a big change on top of like 50 other ~big changes~ in his life, and although he didn't really want the fame itself anymore, that didn't stop him from not wanting the sense of familiarity it gave him.

but he hasn't been awake long enough to find good words to articulate that, and even if he had been myri's response was exactly what he needed to fall into an ice cold river of guilt, withdraw, and never bring up feeling that way again.]

It's all right, I was joking. I didn't mean it. [bluff 33. he's trying to ride on looking tired enough for her to be like "oh finnick just failed at delivering a shitty joke" or something instead of ... you know ... the truth. ]

[witchwoman]

[Even with all her worries and her concerns, the moment he gives her a beautiful lie to hold onto, she believes it (sense motive 6). She wants things to feel normal, like they were before. She wants to believe that the fact that they love each other matters more than anything else. ]

Oh. [Even if she does think he was joking, she doesn't think it was very funny. She shifts slightly to push herself up enough to press a soft kiss to his forehead before turning back around to lay next to him, facing away.] I love you. [She says quietly, even if they just talked about that a few moments before. She does what she can to keep her tone even.]

[65]

I love you, too. [it all feels so wrong. the fact that there's this large of a disconnect between them feels wrong. finnick wants to fix it, but what can he do? they can't have a come to jesus talk, that isn't an option. it's all just too much. it's too much all over again. so ... ] I think I might go back to sleep for a little longer, okay?

[witchwoman]

[She nods, just a slight shift while she remains close to him.]

Do you want me to..? [Stay? Go? She's not certain right now.]