chapter five ♔ it'll be a day like this one when the sky falls down

[eldritchweaver]

the blues - switchfoot

WHO || The Knights
WHAT || Failboat returns from the disaster in LA as the Knighthood goes on lockdown
WHERE || The castle, London
WHEN || Directly after this, Fall 2017
HOW || Actionspam

Hasmed's announcement does not brook any rebuttal: all Knights are recalled to the Castle, where they must remain until the Section Heads and Jack Chessing have spoken about the events in Los Angeles that have left the Knighthood without their usual leader.  

The entire Los Angeles area is now covered with a dark miasma that has interfered with any signals that might be sent out from phones, etc., leaving the whole world wondering what exactly is happening down there.  Final images showed horrendous monsters, a panic of citizens, looting and violence from humans and Shadowkind alike.  

Hasmed has warned of extra magical wards on the castle, and anyone arriving will immediately take notice of one very prominent one: above the entire roof of the excessively large building hovers a black and red sigil in the air, a pentagram in a circle surrounded by runes or words in an unknown language, stretching for miles.  

[ This is the social log for post-LA lockdown.  Failboat must complete the top log before being allowed to tag outside of it. ]

Comments

[65]

[at some point maybe, someone in the light wing convinces finnick to go outside and take a walk because he's crying being super depressing and it's not good for cleric morale. so he does. he walks on the grounds, towards the forest —

and pauses when he hears the faintest rustling from above him. something flashes through his mind, and he feels like he's back in the arena, but he's not, he's not, so he looks up to confirm that it's just a bird or squirrel or the wind.

but it's not.

it's ... katniss??? but it couldn't be katniss. katniss had been here, but then ... she couldn't handle it. she relocated, something like that, didn't she? or was he slipping again? was she real?

his mouth remembers how to make words.]

Katniss?

[anthophobia]

[People don't usually come out here. It's the reason she does, so when she hears her name, her first instinct is panic.

Panic that she quickly squashes. She's learned how in the time she's been gone; how to deal with the constant feeling of dread that came with not entirely understanding the origins of her issues.

He looks down and she recognizes him, though it doesn't prevent the mild shock at seeing his face.]

Finnick?

[She'd left, and by the time she'd come back, he was gone. Seemed like neither of them could deal with their shit.

She makes her way down the tree, landing on her feet as she lets herself fall the last couple of meters. She brushes off her pants, turning to face him.]

You're back.

[65]

[asking her if she's real isn't going to solve anything, so he decides to just go with it for now. she's real. she's here.]

So are you. [yes. duh.] It's been so long, I hadn't — I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again.

[anthophobia]

Yeah. I've been back for awhile.

[She'd been on a couple missions, she'd only freaked out like once since she'd gotten back.

She will forever be a work in progress.]

I talked to Haymitch when I got back. He said you started thinking everything here was fake after a mission.

[65]

[he nods, a bit sheepish but also relieved he doesn't have to explain everything himself. but also ... haymitch??? wtf. glad he could take time from his regularly scheduled alcoholism to be around again.]

Sometimes it's like I'm back in the arena again. [it's nice to be able to say that without tacking on additional explanations.] And when I am, it's so real, there's no room for any of this. Or anything else. Like this was all some dream I made up to make myself feel better.

[anthophobia]

My dreams were like that.

[The ones she got sent away because of, the ones that kept her waking up screaming in the middle of the night, the ones she'd tried to ignore and had shut away only to break them open again.]

Well, you might not believe me, but this is real. Besides, if this makes you feel better, this is a pretty crappy improvement sometimes. [She kicks at a rock on the ground.] Still better though. Most of the time.

[65]

It's less like a dream and more like a nightmare now. [he shrugs, and in a dry tone:] Maybe that makes it easier to believe. But I still have — I have a wife, Katniss. And a daughter.

[anthophobia]

[That catches her by surprise, her eyes widening a bit as she lets that sink in.]

You have a kid?

[Welcome to one of the things she said she'd never do. That hasn't really changed since coming here; she can barely handle her own shit, let alone a tiny like person's. She'd ruin them.]

Why would you do that?

[65]

I know, I know. [the thought of having children back home and knowing they could end up in the games was horrifying, and what he thinks she's referring to.] But we hadn't planned on having kids. It just happened. I haven't even met her. She was born while I was gone. But I've seen pictures. She's beautiful.

[anthophobia]

[She pauses; It just happened.

More reasons to never get involved with anyone ever, honestly.

Still, she can't entirely help her curiosity.]

Do you have any of them with you?

[65]

[i rolled for the likelihood that finnick asked myri to text him some of the pictures she showed him on the plane and rolled high, so that happened ok. it's fine.]

Yeah, um, a couple. Hold on. [he pulls out his phone and navigates over to a pic of shayla. there's a resemblance; she has the same bronzish blonde hair as him, and green eyes, but hers are brighter. she's a cutie.] Her name's Shayla.

[anthophobia]

[She moves in a little closer, peering down at his phone, taking in the sight of this small child.

Her reaction is likely a little unexpected, considering she seems almost afraid and in awe at the same time.]

She looks like you. [There's a long stretch of silence before she adds, quietly.] ...She's beautiful.

[65]

[i mean that's kind of where finnick is too. katniss is really lucky he rolled a high will save and isn't crying right now. (he's been doing a lot of crying so it's probably just because he's dehydrated.)]

I know. I'm almost — I'm afraid to meet her. She's been fine without me. What if I do something wrong?

[anthophobia]

[His concerns perfectly echo hers when it comes to having kids someday. She doesn't consider herself qualified for that kind of thing, not to mention she'd be bringing a kid into this potentially. The Games had been even worse, but this wasn't exactly great.

In Finnick's case, it was a little late for that.]

She's your responsibility, though. [Even if he's worried, abandoning the problem he created isn't really an option.] The world's going to hell, Finnick. You're going to regret it if you don't get to know her and suddenly it's too late.

[65]

You're right. [he nods, but it's more to himself.] Who knows how much time any of us have left, with the way things are.

[anthophobia]

What about your wife? What's she like?

[And why hasn't she introduced you to your kid, Finnick?]

[65]

[it's only by the grace of god (aka dehydration) that finnick doesn't instantly start crying again at the mention of myri.] She's amazing. Her name is Myri, she's a healer. She's kind, and gentle, and patient. She only wants to see the best in everything and everyone. [trying s-so hard to keep it together] The mission I just went on was the first time I'd seen her since ... since I couldn't take things around here anymore. She showed me the pictures, told me about Shayla. Wanted me to meet her. But while we were on the mission, things went ... wrong. And now she's in some kind of magical coma that the clerics haven't been able to figure out. If she doesn't wake up, I don't -- I can't --

[anthophobia]

[His answer starts out okay, but then quickly starts to devolve as they so often do. She knows what that's like, the downward spiral.

She reaches out, placing her palms on his arms, trying to catch his gaze.]

Hey. You still with me?

[Maybe trying to get him to focus on her will snap him out of it before it gets too bad.]

[65]

[at least he was still ... in this reality mentally ... even though he was panicking. he takes a deep breath when katniss snaps him out of it.]

I'm here. I'm okay. [questionably. he shakes his head.] I just don't know what to do.

[anthophobia]

You don't have to. It's not like the Games anymore. You've got an entire castle of people who can help.

[She releases his arms then, letting her own fall to her sides.]

We don't have to deal with all our crap all alone anymore.

[Katniss still chose to, most of the time, but the fact that she didn't have to still helped.]

[65]

I know that. I know. [boy does he ever.] I just wish I were more ... together. Better. [he knows he was never that well off mentally, even before the mind master wrecked him.] Not that any of it matters much anymore.

[anthophobia]

You and me both.

[She's never met the Mind Master, her baggage is all just her, so she get it.]

But we're never gonna be normal. That doesn't mean nothing matters.

[65]

When I first arrived here, I thought maybe I could be normal. It was a game I played, a facade I put on. It didn't last incredibly long. Some things went wrong. But for awhile I thought maybe ... maybe I could get back to that point. Back to when it was easy. But even if I could, somehow ... the world is ending, Katniss. And I honestly don't know how much we can do to stop it.

[anthophobia]

You seemed pretty good at it. Better than me.

[Maybe it had caught up with him while she was dealing with hers.]

It's not ending. We're still here. If there's one thing we are good at, it's surviving.

[65]

I was good for a little while, but ... [he shakes his head. the facade was exhausting.] Nothing last forever. Including our lucky streak with survival. You didn't see it. This is bigger than us.