SEOUL ♔ NOW THE SUN IS UP AND I'M GOING BLIND

[hacker]

delilah - florence + the machine

WHO || Anastasia, Jeanne, Doyle, Skye, Ward, Abbie
WHAT || The Knights are assigned to protect South Korea's President-Elect from assassination attempts.
WHERE || Seoul, South Korea
WHEN || End of April, 2016
HOW || Actionspam

Four days after the briefing, President Kim sends a plane for the team of Knights dispatched by Wynn, and their flight to Seoul—what could have been a grueling 12-hour affair—is spent in the most comfort that can be afforded by a highly regarded politician. The seats are roomy, the staff is attentive, and no one shouts at them to return to their seats.

They're put up in a hotel near the Blue House, the seat of the executive powers of South Korea, where the President-Elect has asked to meet them to go over the security plans for the inauguration.

Comments

[leftenants]

[And Abbie thought she moved at a glacial pace.]

Mind if I ask what the hold-up was?

[arretez]

Me, for the most part. I've watched many of my loved ones age and die over the years, I did not wish to open my heart in such a way only to have it hurt once more, and worse. [ the soft smile on her features twitches into a smirk. ] Francis is, mmm, what you might call bullheaded.

[leftenants]

Think I can relate.

[Deeply, in fact.]

Might not be immortal myself, but sometimes-- it does seem easier, just to focus on the job and move forward.

[Relationships were distracting, and in her experience, tended not to go well. It went all the way back to her father walking out on them when she was still just a kid, then being shuffled between foster homes along with her sister in the years that followed their mother's being committed. Relationships never lasted for her, no matter what kind. Even as an adult, she'd had trouble managing them until meeting Crane and reconnecting with her sister.]

[arretez]

Yes. I convinced myself for a long time that it would be easier to live without that loss, even as I watched my friends combat it at every turn. Francis waited long enough to convince me otherwise. I am lucky that I have Nicholas and Perenelle because I have not been alone all this time, the success of their marriage may have helped Francis, but please do not tell him that. He likes to think he did it all on his own.

[leftenants]

He sounds pretty persistent.

[She smiles a little, one side of her mouth hitching up a bit higher than the other.]

That sounds familiar, too.

[arretez]

Then perhaps we're destined to be friends. There's a comfort in familiarity. [ literally the reason she goes to catholic services still even though she doesn't consider herself catholic, as it were, but she deeply appreciates the familiarity and community. ]

[leftenants]

That there is. Used to not be a big believer in destiny, but I've started to come around.

[And here, she'll definitely take all the friends she can get. The last few years have pulled her out of her habit of ensuring that most of what she does, she does alone.]

I have a friend who joined the Knights shortly after I did. Comes from my world. He's the same kind of 'bullheaded' as Francis.

[arretez]

Stubborn to a fault, then? [ she smiles, amused. ] Though I believe Francis calls himself "resilient".

[leftenants]

Afraid so. Don't think Hawley is interested in dressing it up beyond 'persistent,' though.

[arretez]

There's something to be said for simplicity.

[leftenants]

True enough. Tend to be a little on the blunt side, myself.

[Simple and effective, generally.]

[arretez]

As do I. As much as I try for subtlety and intrigue, I often fall flat. Honesty, however veiled, is often the best way for me. [ she is not the subterfuge part of the dragon's tongue, she's the peacekeeper. ]

[leftenants]

Certainly something to be said for that. There are some things that take a more delicate touch, but by and large, I prefer to be a straight-shooter.

[It makes things less complicated.]

[arretez]

I believe that will be very helpful on this mission in particular. There is already so much deceit in politics.

[leftenants]

Seems to be what most politics are built on.

[She's not a fan.]

Do the knights get sent on many political missions?

[arretez]

Not with incredible frequency. Wynn tries his best to remain neutral to the actual politics, I believe, but when it comes to the oppression of Shadowkind I believe he feels it's his duty to intercede where others can't.

[leftenants]

Makes sense. There's a vested interest there, after all.

[arretez]

There is. So many knights come from beyond the veil.

[leftenants]

Seems to be more from beyond than natives, sometimes.

[arretez]

The knights are appealing to people that have no place else to go. The fact that we live in a castle might help, as well.

[leftenants]

Wynn does have some pretty nice digs. Miss my house and my garden, but I'm not gonna complain about a castle. Just hope someone back home noticed and started watering my plants.

[It's a joke. Mostly.]