CHAPTER FOUR ♔ does it run in your blood to betray the ones you love

[coldheritage]

♬ The Truth - Nonpoint

WHO || Failboat, Rafael, Isabella, Nadia  [Closed]
WHAT || After an exciting Grammy night, the Knights meet up with Nadia to hear what she has to say
WHERE || Staples Center, LA -->  Warehouse
WHEN || Feb 8th, 2015  [back dated]
HOW || Actionspam

[  The Knights' mission to stop the signal and prevent Draken's cult from spreading whatever subliminal message  was lurking beneath Keijen Blade's performance was a success.  It didn't come without its bumps in the road, however:  Alexander Anderson showed up, and the Knights ran afoul of the Mind Master.    Buffy nearly died fighting Anderson, but in the end, he was defeated, beheaded, and hopefully put to death forever.   Finnick, though, found himself thrust into a mental illusion that convinced him he might still be in the Hunger Games, and left him uncertain about whether any of his life here was real.  

Another surprise came in the form of an announcement by Nadia Reichenov, an artist working with Crombe and company, that she was changing her band name and taking things in a 'new direction'.   This direction was perhaps revealed when after her performance, she approached the Knights in Rafael's dressing room - and handed them the necklace that connects her to the Nightmare God Malaak'a, saying she was willing to tell them everything.  ]

Comments

[graveflowers]

I'm asking you to say please. Do you want anything to eat? [ a beat. ] Nevermind.

[ and then she uses her cellphone to call the front desk to request a coffee the way finnick likes it and an entire bowl of sugar cubes. ]

Don't ask questions, it's for Finnick Odair. And bring a pot of English Afternoon tea, please. With cream.

[ another pause. ]

It's on it's way.

[65]

... Thanks. [gonna go lay on the bathroom floor and cry now while waiting.]

[graveflowers]

[ she just makes a noise of acknowledgment, somehow resisting the urge to call the team for an update. (will save 30) she'll be fine. she can deal with her broken best friend all by herself. this is fine. this is easy. yep, she's doing great. a+

a few minutes later, the hospitality guy knocks on the door and vi hollers "come in" without moving an inch from where she's sitting and so he does, bringing a tray with a tea pot and cup, a cup of coffee, and a small bowl of sugar cubes alongside a small creamer.

vi has him set it down next to her and says thank you before he leaves, at which point she kicks her foot out to nudge the door. ]

It's here.

[65]

Okay. [finnick doesn't get up to unlock the bathroom door. he feels too dead inside to move. he obviously expects vi to pick the lock or manhandle it open, i guess. or maybe he'll just get his coffee someday 50 years from now.]

[graveflowers]

[ she pours her own tea and waits for it to cool before she kicks the door again. ]

I heard you lock it. You're gonna have to unlock it if you want the coffee. I'm not gonna kick it down.

[65]

I can't move.

[graveflowers]

Don't be melodramatic, it's not funny. I'm not a real cleric, if you're paralyzed I'll have to call Jack to send Myri back or take you to a hospital.

[65]

No! No. No. No.

[graveflowers]

Then open the door. I'm just-- I'm just a figment of your imagination, but I'm the one least likely to give you any shit.

[65]

[after the longest pause ever on earth, he gets up, unlocks the door, and barely cracks it open. and then goes back to sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the bathtub.]

[graveflowers]

[ once the door is open, she lumbers to her knees and pushes it open a bit more so she can a. see him and b. slide the sugar cubes to him. also the coffee. but that comes second. ]

Okay?

[65]

[he looks pathetically tearstained and broken, but otherwise ... ok i guess. he doesn't move towards her or the sugar cubes though.]

Thanks.

[graveflowers]

[ it's like looking into a mirror because she knows she's looked like that before. he looks how she feels. she doesn't try to coax him into conversation again, it feels cruel to her. like forcing him to acknowledge her is playing into whatever the mind master did to him. instead she aimlessly stirs her tea, wishing it was that tea luthir used to make for her. ]