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

[witchwoman]

You did, and I thank you for that. [She's genuine, but it isn't the overwhelming gratitude that Myri tends to show anyone who helps her with anything. She's a little more reserved with Topher and Risa.]

If you need to see to the others, I understand. There's no need to worry over me. I feel fine. Really.

[layonhands]

[ she hovers there a bit at a loss, then nods, almost awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable with this result but realizing that at least she lived, and for now... felicity is the priority. ] I'll be close, if you need me. [ she gives finnick a small nod to make it clear that's as much for him as for her, and then moves over towards gus and felicity. ]

Alright. Time to begin.

[druidisms]

[ gus has collected all the cleric junk, all the best of it, and he's waiting by felicity's side, idly smoothing her hair back. ] Let's do it, then.

[bluffcheck]

[Thoster isn't going anywhere, but he steps back to give them space to work at least. He's never been much for the gods, but he's praying to anyone that can hear that they bring her back.]

[layonhands]

[ risa nods, and moves to begin quietly praying over her, anointing her with the holy water and diamond dust. it's a long, solemn process, and she seems extra tense after how things fell out with myri.

finally, she intones the closing words: ]

Shine forth thy light
Drive back the darkness

Bring life where there was death
Bring growth where all was barren
Bring peace where there was strife
Bring warmth where clawed the fingers of ice
Bring mercy where there was none
Bring knowledge where there was ignorance
Bring comfort where there was fear

Let the sun rise!
Let the shadows flee!

Both in the world...
and in the minds of men

[ her hands still above felicity's head, as they hold bated breaths waiting for a response.

but there is none, and her eyes remain shut tight. ] ... I... I'm so sorry.

[druidisms]

[ gus leaves felicity's side to touch risa on the shoulder. ]

This isn't your failure.

[ that's all the comfort he manages to offer before scooping up his own bowl of supplies.

the anointing happens in much the same manner except instead of holy water and diamond dust, he touches her with sweet smelling oils mixed with a strange, viscous substance. the marks he leaves on her are druidic in nature, resembling runes, and as he circles around her -- avoiding thoster and risa, but always touching some part of her -- his own prayer begins in a language completely foreign to all of them. the majority of gus' spells are cast in a spanglish version of druidic and korean, but now it's wholly druidic and although the druids of history are described as irish, there's very little gaelic about the long consonants and short vowels of the secret language.

the casting itself takes ten minutes of the incantation, gus summoning the power of nature itself to heal the woman that became his surrogate sister so long ago. no matter how it happens. if felicity's soul wants to come back, gus is going to try to give her that chance.

and if she doesn't. she doesn't. ]

[layonhands]

[ as gus completes his ritual, a visible green light ripples across felicity's body and risa's eyes widen a bit as she watches, holding her breath in anticipation of the reaction.

gus, connected to that magic, feels something - some kind of force that feels like felicity - strengthen with that tide, and then...

it doesn't vanish. but it leaves. it seems to shoot away like a slingshot. ]

Did... did it work?

[druidisms]

...I don't know, [ gus admits, looking at the body of his fallen sister. truth be told he's never performed a reincarnation before. naturally he left it to crunch time. ]

Her spirit isn't gone, not really, it's just not.. here. Right now.

[ her frowns. ] I think it worked. We just have to wait for her to find her way back.

[layonhands]

Way back? You mean, she...

[65]

[after everyone turns their attention towards felicity and topher skidaddles away, finnick is still there holding myri's hand. for approximately the next forever. but it's sooner than forever before he tried to talk to her again, quietly.]

Myri, I'm — I'm sorry. For everything. [he should have been better. stronger. but he wasn't.]

[witchwoman]

[How many times had she dreamed of this moment since he left? Having him so close, hearing him say those words. She wants so badly to tell him that it's alright, that she forgives him, that it can go back to how it once was. And if it were only the two of them, maybe it would be that simple. She's confused and overwhelmed by everything that's happened in the last 24 hours.]

I know you are. And I am too. None of us should have let her do that to you. Is it... is it still hard to know what's real?

[65]

[ he shakes his head because 1) he hates talking about the mind master; it is literally his least favorite thing. but also 2) he doesn't feel like anyone is at fault for what happened to him. or that any of them could have done anything to stop her regardless. she is the worst honey badger demon on earth.]

It is. Sometimes I go back, and I'm there. It's so real. Or I'll be here, but suddenly everything will just ... feel wrong. Fake. I don't know how to describe it. But I've been better. I've been trying to be better, because everyone needed me. Because of you. I don't think I could ever leave you alone again. Losing you ... it would be worse than anything.

[witchwoman]

[She grips his hand a little tighter.]

I know every day won't be easy. I'm sure some of them will feel impossibly hard. But I'll be here to help, as best I can.

[65]

[he squeezes her hand back.]

Thank you. I know things might be safer for me if I went back to where I was, but ... I think being near you helps me. And Shayla. [a brief pause while he struggles with the wording] I met her, while you were out.

[witchwoman]

[There's an instinctive twist when he mentions meeting Shayla. She's both thrilled and worried. Finnick is Shayla's father, but he can also be unpredictable- sometimes in dangerous ways. And while she knows that he would never purposefully hurt either of them, it's difficult to push the thought completely from her mind.]

How did that go? [She gives a small smile, honestly eager to hear about it.]

[65]

Er -- well, she was sleeping. [he's sheepish about it, like maybe he should have done more, or there should be a better story. but he felt so out of his depth, and he was so consumed with worry ... ] So maybe it wasn't much of a meeting. But I saw her, in person. She's ... she's so beautiful.

[witchwoman]

She is. She looks so much like you. [You're a very pretty man, Finnick.]

There will be plenty of chances for you to get to know her. Even when she's awake.

Vi's visit

[witchwoman]

[It doesn't take much for Myri to fall asleep. Her body and mind are exhausted. And it helps that Finnick stays close by. They fall asleep with him in a nearby chair, fingers intertwined. There's a comfort in the closeness that's helping her, even if there's a lot that still doesn't make sense right now. So in the wee hours of the night, they don't immediately notice a visitor joining them.]

[graveflowers]

[ vi has started to come in earlier, but felicity's resurrection was taking place and she knows how delicate those are so she didn't want to interrupt, deciding to come back once she'd showered and changed and eaten like half a veggie pizza. the pizza was still uneaten on her bed by the time she passed out.

shay's unhappy fussing is what wakes her up, hearing 'auntie' in a plaintive toddler voice. when she asks to see her mommy, well. vi is never going to say no to that. she wakes up lucia, who slumps back to sleep the moment vi picks her up, and reminds shay that mommy might be sleeping because they all had a very long day but of course they can all nap with her. no one is going to kick myri's daughter out of the light wing.

which is what finds vi carrying both girls to myri's bed, setting shayla down to scramble to lay next to her mother, burying her face against myri's belly and clutching at her clothes. ]

Remember to be quiet, tadpole, you don't want to startle Mommy, [ vi whispers.

because myri is settled on one side of the bed, fingers twined with finnick's, which brings its own miasma of emotion, vi decides the rest of the space is for her and she carefully climbs in next to her best friend, snuggling lucia against her own chest between them and leaning over to kiss myri's temple. ] Shayla is here and she is safe.

[witchwoman]

[The weight of her daughter on her stomach doesn't wake her, exactly. But it starts to pull her out of her dreams- dreams where she's flying, chasing the rising sun. East. If she could just go a bit further, she'd surely find--

The kiss to her temple and softly murmured words pull her to consciousness. Myri blinks and turns towards the source. She notices Vi first, then her sleeping niece, but it's only a split second before she reaches down instinctively to gather up Shayla and hold her tight with her free arm. Tears spring to her eyes immediately, feeling like things can make sense for at least this moment, if nothing else.]

I'd say I'm sorry if she woke you, but... I think I needed all of you here more than I realized.

[graveflowers]

I was going to come earlier... but I fell asleep.

[ which is reasonable, considering myri was also sleeping, but vi still offers a weak, sheepish smile, reaching up to push myri's hair back from her face. she'll braid it later to keep it out of her face. ]

It was a bad day.

[ well. that's putting it mildly. ]

[65]

I'll say.

[his voice comes out of nowhere, quiet but rough from waking up. he had to assess the situation -- as he does every time he wakes up now -- figure out what's real and what isn't. myri and violet and lucia and shayla are real. and he's not anyone of import to shayla, but that's okay. he doesn't deserve to be.]

I'm glad you're all right. [to vi, clearly.]

[graveflowers]

I'm glad you're here, [ maybe that's for both of them, but it's definitely directed at finnick this time. lucia stirs from all the talking but she stays asleep for now. ]

Morning, Fish.

[ she doesn't say welcome back because she doesn't... know. morning will do. ]

[witchwoman]

[That moment when you realize Myri has no idea Vi was missing. Oops? But being glad she's safe isn't such a strange concept.

It's odd to have them both in one place, but the strange combination of familiar and unfamiliar mixes in a way that feels... nice. Comforting. It feels like home.]

I don't know if it counts as morning if the sun isn't even up yet. [Shayla burrows her face into Myri's chest while Amaranth shifts where he's curled down by her feet. All the babies getting comfy.]

[65]

I'd say it's good to be back, but ... [well. look at their lives. they put out the fire in the kitchen (myri) but there's even more fire in the living room, master bedroom, and special flammable things storage room (literally everything else).

anyway. myri cuts him off from finishing his thought.]

I think it depends on if we plan on going back to sleep or not.