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

[nothingsodivine]

No one's in a good mood right now. [chuckles] C'mon, Fluffster. You two haven't talked in months. Might as well make up for lost time. [he gives him a friendly punch on the arm and... ducks out the door, poking his head back in to say:] I think Elena needs some help getting to her room. She kinda... fell asleep out here.

[AND DUCKING OUT. Someone can take care of Elena bb.]

1/2

[romanticidal]

... Si, you are right. [ he stands there as des vanishes, starts towards the doors, glancing surreptitiously at myri as he goes by, worry creasing his brow. jack meets his gaze as he reaches for the balcony doors, and gives him a small nod, and then he slips out. ]

2/2

[shootfirst]

I can go get Elena. [ kat volunteers herself a little too quickly, looking uncomfortable as myri comes back in, the reality of all this finnick shit crashing in on them slowly. the suffocating atmosphere of traumatic emotion is her fav, we all know :| she starts to push herself up, wincing. ]

[bigbad]

[Spike rolls his eyes and gets up with her.] I'll come with. You look like you're about to fall over.

[littledhampir]

[Rose's eyes widen at Alainn's mention of a Rocket Launcher, letting out a low whistle.]

Not a single one. [Scratch.] The plan worked, they didn't even see us leave. [She falls silent as Myri returns, Rose struggling to keep the worry from her face as she takes her in (WS 13) while the rest of the drama that's silently unfolding around them goes sailing over her head, Rose instead looking to Jack.]

I'll stay up until Nadia is ready to leave. Somebody should be awake... just in case. [Shit gets real basically.]

[witchwoman]

[She nods to Jack's decision that no more healing is needed, despite not really agreeing with him. She won't fight him, though. Her eyes shift to Rose next.]

I'll wait wth you.

[She doubts she will be able to sleep anyway. All it will be is another reminder of Finnick not at her side.]

[attollores]

[Although she can sit more comfortably thanks to Vi and Myri, she's still down 50 hp at this point. And despite nearly dying because of a freaking rocket, she is far too amped up to sleep (Fort Nat 20). She wants to stay up with Rose and Myri, but also doesn't want to intrude if Myri wants to have some time just the two of them.

So she decides to get up and make something to eat since she is suddenly starving. She'll just conveniently make enough for anyone who is interested. Once the food is done (and it's awesome with a 19 Craft Cooking check) she'll gauge the room, and if anything she'll hobble her way up to the roof so she can get some air, and put her staff away in her vault again without breaking the room :/ .]

[witchwoman]

[Even with her empathy dialed back, Myri still has eyes, and seeing Alainn move around the room, it's clear that there's still a lot of damage there. She's not okay with just... letting that happen. So despite Jack's insistence that she doesn't need to do more for the team, Myri will just head over to Alainn while she's cooking and gives her a quick healing (cure critical wounds - 38 HP). Her expression is still entirely blank, barely managing to acknowledge the woman in the process. She's just... here.]

1/-

[dragonsclaw]

[ jack nods to rose and myri when they volunteer, and doesn't even seem to notice myri heal alainn, because he puts a hand on the small of gar's back and nods towards one of the side rooms, before announcing: ] I need to learn everything Nadia told us. We'll relay it back to Wynn. [ gar nods, chewing her lip, and the two of them slip into a room to have that conversation privately ]

2/-

[shootfirst]

Let's go. [ to spike, as she heads for ze door ]

3/3

[nepotism]

[ FRED'S STILL HERE and... just gonna spread his arms across the back of the couch and look alainn's way ] ... So what's cookin'?

[slay]

[ Pop music echoes out of Buffy's purse, and a moment later, Rafael blazes a line through the hotel room on his way out. Buffy follows at a mosey, shutting the balcony door and giving Fred a steady smile. Sniffing lightly, she glances over to Myri and Alainn in the kitchen, expression soft and warm. ]

Smells good.

[attollores]

[it actually startles her when Myri gives her another bout of healing and she shivers at the sensation, glancing behind her at the other woman. She wasn't going to ask for anymore healing, knowing that in a few days she would be right as rain again, but she is incredibly grateful to her anyway. She recognizes the look in Myri's eyes, that vacant acknowledgement that she's there but no one is really home. Concern twists her features and she makes to reach out for her, but then Jack is talking and there are still quite a few people in the room and she thinks better of it, willing to wait until there isn't such a crowd. Instead she whispers a soft "thank you" as she brushes her hand along Myris shoulder before turning to answer Fred.]

Turkey Tetrazzini, mixed veggies, a salad and some dinner rolls. I've made enough for everyone, if yer interested? [she smiles at Buffy's remark, still grateful for the help and concern she had given earlier in the evening.]

Rose, do ye wanna lead the parade? [she knows you and your stomach, girl.]

[witchwoman]

[As Buffy approaches and Alainn finishes with cooking, Myri just turns and finds a spot to sit, preferably somewhere with a line of sight on the bathroom door. She's not hungry. She's not anything. She just wants her husband back.]

[slay]

Got anything to pack it to go? I'm kinda on my way out.

[ Which brings her around to the point. Smoothly, she slides onto the couch beside Myri, raising one hand to settle on her shoulder, all gentle concern. ]

How is he? [ Because she knows Myri well enough to know that 'how are you' will be entirely dependent on how someone else is, particularly when that someone else is her husband. ]

[witchwoman]

He-- [There's a brief moment where the reality of how much she's hurting is plain as day in her expression. Nothing short of anguish twists her features, but as quick as it comes, she takes a breath and pushes down the pain to hide behind that mask again (will 35).]

He thinks that all of this is a dream. That he'll wake up any moment into the world he left behind. [She shakes her head and looks at the closed door.]

He told me once what it was like there. The horrors he was forced into as a child and all the pain that came after. And now he thinks that I'm-- that we're all just something he created as an escape from that, that we've never been real. And I think he's afraid to say or do anything, for fear that it will wake him up and tear him away.

[slay]

[ Jesus christ. Myri might be stone-faced, but sorrow and loss grip Buffy tightly as she explains, and her expression falls into something overwhelmed with sympathetic heartache. Without hesitation, she sits forward to pull Myri into a hug, smoothing one hand over her hair. ]

We'll find a way to fix this. [ She sounds so certain (bluff 26), but over Myri's shoulder, her eyes search the wall in lingering doubt. ] We have to. [ She doesn't let up on the hug right away, figuring she'll wait for Myri to be the one to draw out of it when she's done. For as long as Myri needs her, Buffy's here. ]

[witchwoman]

[Even if she won't let herself cry, she clings to Buffy for several long moments, letting her eyes fall closed as she whispers another prayer to the Stargods to bring him back to her. Slowly, reluctantly, she draws from the hug and takes a steadying breath.]

Where are you going? [She had mentioned food to go. It's taking her a bit longer to process that, but she's catching up now.]

[slay]

[ The weight of apology is heavy in her eyes as Myri draws back; she can't reconcile that there's nothing for her to do personally in this. Nothing that she can fight and punch and subdue to protect Myri from what she's being forced to face.

(The Mind Master, she thinks, will do.)

But even that wouldn't bring Finnick back. Not now. She can't be certain that such a way exists, but she knows that she needs to do everything she can to help Myri find it. After all, Myri won't give up, so Buffy can't either. She cups one hand against her cheek, her strained smile sad and tired and reassuring all at once. ]

I just need to get out for a bit. [ She doesn't want to lie, but she does anyway. And it's not entirely untrue: she certainly doesn't mind escaping from the crowd, given how she's feeling, how she's still trying to process what she's done (bluff 25). Either way, she has to take the onus for leaving entirely onto herself because she refuses to put herself in a position where someone might intuit Rafael's discomfort or demand she share his suffering. ]

Don't worry: I'll be back by morning. [ Her hand drops and she pats Myri's thigh, leaning in to impress, ] You should rest. Let Vi watch over Finnick for a while. You've been through enough for one night.

[witchwoman]

[Her brow creases, eyes searching Buffy's face, because something's not right with what she's saying-- or rather what she's not saying (sense motive nat 20). She knows her friend too well. They've been through so much together and she knows...she knows Buffy, knows what the very short list of things entail that would give her reason to leave tonight.

The confusion leaves her expression slowly as she realizes exactly where Buffy will be going and who might keep her company (wisdom 20 total). There's no judgment in her expression, though. Now of all times? She understands wanting to be close to someone. She doesn't know exactly what Buffy and Rafael have talked about, but she's just glad that the aftermath has left them in a place where they can still take comfort in one another.

Carefully, she lifts her hand to place it over Buffy's where it rests on her thigh. She nods in the smallest way.]

It's alright. [She doesn't want Buffy to leave her with any lingering guilt. Honestly, she doesn't know how much she'll talk or rest or eat tonight. She may just sit here. She may just watch that door as if it holds the key to her happiness. But she doesn't need anyone at her side to do that. And she would never ask Buffy to stay, when she could be with the man she so obviously cared for.]

[slay]

It's not yet.

[ That much, Buffy will stand firm on. Nothing about this is alright. None of them, for their resilience, are alright. They've lost people, killed people, learned new horrors about one another and about the enormity of what they now face, and none of it is (by any stretch of the word) alright. ]

But it will be.

[ The certainty settles back in, and she holds Myri's gaze, a warm appreciation for the understanding that she finds there. For all Rafael's fear that the others would assume the worst of them, she can see that even if Myri does (she hopes she doesn't), she passes no judgment for it. It's a profound thing, to be so fully understood. ]

And we don't have to face this alone. [ She turns her hand over to squeeze Myri's. Even if it may feel like that to her now, losing the person she'd come to depend on most, she must know that she's never alone. Her eyes glance past Myri then, finally, as she realizes that the assurance loses some of its weight when it looks as though almost everyone has tapered off. Her brow furrows as she takes stock. ] Did everyone else go to sleep already?

[attollores]

[Alainn isn't trying to butt in on their conversation, but she does catch Buffy's question because she just so happens to be bringing her a few containers full of the food she just finished.] Aye, most everyone else did, except for Fred, Rose and meself. I doubt any of us will be goin' to bed anytime soon.

[i.e. Myri won't be left alone anytime soon. She gestures with the food before setting it on a side table for Buffy to take when she's ready. She goes back and grabs a plate for herself, coming back around to sit in one of the chairs next to the couch.]

[nepotism]

Someone's gotta keep watch anyway. [ fred takes the food gratefully and flops back on the couch, digging in ]

[slay]

[ Buffy sits forward to take the containers, stacking them on her lap and holding them steady with both hands. She seems to collect herself before looking over to Alainn, a weary but grateful smile on her lips. ]

Thank you.

[ And she seems to be saying that for more than just the food. The heaviness of her moment with Myri is broken, and she uses that as the onus to push to her feet. She steps away from the couch and turns back towards them. ] Try to at least get a little sleep? [ Flicking her eyes between each, she directs the comment to all of them in turn, then slips out the door of the hotel room and into the hall. ]

[littledhampir]

[Rose doesn't need to be asked twice, not when food is involved and Buffy's appearance helps her to feel guilt free about leaving Myri long enough to load up a plate or two.]

You know I do... [Prepare to be out-eaten by a twenty - never mind. Fred is dating Kat. Kat could probably give Rose a run for her money.

While Buffy and Myri talk, Rose loads up not one but two plates, Myri getting one whether hungry or not that gets laid on the coffee table as Rose returns and pulls both feet up, sitting cross legged on the couch, still in formal-wear with her plate in her lap. As you do.]

And if you're not going to sleep - [Because she understands that at least. If it were Dean in that bathroom, Rose wouldn't be able to.] You should at least try and eat something.