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

dimitri ; ota

[likeagod]

[When they start recalling knights to London from all over the world, Dimitri is one of the first people on a plane, and he arrives at the castle the next day.

This place was his first home on this side of the Veil. He wants to protect it and the people that live here. It's as simple as that.

He's training most of the day, prepping for what he knows is going to be an intense fight at one point or another. He can also be out wandering the halls sometimes, getting reacquainted with the place.]

[pilgrimages]

[ another recent arrival, responding to the all-call, zara knows that look when she sees it. she had heard about the invasion of the castle, but not early enough to get there and do anything about it. as these things often do, it happened fast. now they can all admire the handiwork of those who put it back together. ]

Things have changed, since the last time I was here.

[ she nods to him. ]

You too?

[likeagod]

[He glances over at the woman who seems to have him entirely pegged, and he nods back, but doesn't smile.]

Yes. [His light Russian accent is slightly heavier now, having been away for so long.] It's been quite awhile since I've been here and I had to leave before clean-up was finished.

The circumstances this time around are grimmer than I would have liked.

[pilgrimages]

It takes grim to get us all under the same roof.

[ she scrutinizes him some, trying to place the sound of his accent. the far corners of this world are still mostly unfamiliar for her. ]

And even here, we have enemies.

[likeagod]

If only that weren't the case.

[Maybe they wouldn't be in this situation at all. It's hard to know, but not very likely. They're needed everywhere for a reason.]

It isn't the first time we've had to deal with this kind of thing. They didn't take it this far, though it was just the one girl and an escapee.

[pilgrimages]

Perhaps if they had taken it this far then, we wouldn't be where we are now.

[ and perhaps not. but she has never failed to empathize with the plight of those interested in order and certainty above all else. merely disagreed with their methods. ]

[likeagod]

I guess we'll never know. We just need to figure out where to go from here.

[He leans against a nearby wall.]

How do you feel about all this? Do you know much about this Hellsing?

[It almost feels as if the place is about to be invaded, whether it's to help or no.]

[pilgrimages]

Only by reputation. I haven't worked with them. Their mission statement differs considerably from ours — Wynn has always been in the business of resolving Shadowkind affairs peacefully. Hellsing is more interested in eliminating threats.

To my understanding, they never work with anyone. This cooperation is quite uncharacteristic for them.

[ she lets the implication that perhaps it's not cooperation lie there. ]

[likeagod]

It's a pretty unusual situation. Perhaps they realize how potentially dire it might be.

[It's pretty clear that, even though he says it, he's trying to convince himself as much as anyone else.]

We'll just have to trust that the section heads are doing this correctly.

[littledhampir]

[ It might have been easier if she'd simply left without saying a word to him, but despite everything that had happened? Dimitri was one of the few people left in this world, that Rose still trusted.

She was, however, laying low, so rather than actively seeking him out, Rose sends him a text.]

Are you able to meet me?

[likeagod]

[He doesn't hear from her particularly often, but every time he does, it's something of a relief.]

Of course. Where?

[Short and to the point. Text conversations were never his forte.]

[littledhampir]

[ She's not stupid enough to have him meet her here - Dean's room, at least. (Wis 18 lmao) ]

My room in 5?

[likeagod]

[Good job, Rose.]

That's fine. I'll knock.

[Which he does, precisely five minutes later on the dot. He's still very punctual, clearly.]

[littledhampir]

[She, however, is not punctual. Nothing has changed there either, but LBR she probably had to spend those five minutes telling Dean what she was doing and insisting that he didn't need to come with her. We just don't know.

Turning the corner into the Hide Wing, Rose stops at the end of the hall, watching as Dimitri knocks on the door to her room. In light of all that's happened since she saw him last, in light of what they were about to do? It was hard not to look at him now without trying to remember how life had been when it was simpler.

With a soft huff of air, she shakes her head, dismissing that idea. Life, as she knew it, had never been simple.]

Sorry...

[Calling out to him as she pushed herself down the hall, Rose trying for something close to cheerful but the strain of doing so was a little too much. She looked weary and older, so much older than she had the last time he'd seen her. Like she'd been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders for far too long.]

I got ah... caught up.

[likeagod]

[At least he doesn't particularly look surprised by this turn of events. If anything, he expected it.

Not everything has changed.

He looks a little different, slightly older by comparison. His hair is a bit longer too, half of it pulled back away from his face. His looks pleased to see her, but not jubilant. Now is not the time for mirth.]

It's not a problem. I have nowhere else to be, not today.

[Though that will likely change once Hellsing arrives.]

[littledhampir]

[Not to her he didn't. To her he looked very much like the Dimitri that she had always known, only now his hair didn't fall free from his ponytail, no matter how many times he pulled it back.]

Yeah... seems to be a lot of people with nothing to do today.

[She sounded, off. Distracted, but in light of what was happening, that was hardly unexpected.

Gesturing to the door, Rose opens it and allows him to enter, throwing a quick look over her shoulder as if to be sure nobody was around before closing it behind them.

She pulls in a deep breath, shoulders shuddering with the sigh that follows, silence hanging in the air as she struggles to figure out where to even begin.]

This uh, recall. Is it permanent? I mean, are you sticking around for a while?

[She suspected yes but really, she wasn't asking because she didn't know. She was asking because she was buying time to work out what to even tell him.]

[likeagod]

[He seems oblivious to some of her tics (wisdom crit fail), simply attributing everything to typical Guardian precautions.]

For the time being, yes. Until the situation has been resolved.

[One way or another.]

[perambulate]

[ bea isn't the best fighter, she prefers to stay very far away from danger but desperate times and all that. she wanders into the training room like she doesn't belong there, like she's lost, but her expression brightens when she sees dimitri. ]

I never thought I'd see you outside a fur coat, [ she comments, smile fleeting and teasing, voice light. she's never seen him outside russia. ] Look at you, Jon Snow.

[likeagod]

[His expression lightens a bit at the sight of her, pausing in his exercise to greet her.]

Hello, Beatrice. It's been some time.

[perambulate]

You're lucky your accent makes my full name sound reasonable.

[ there is a reason she prefers bea and it's not because she has an affinity for bumble bees. ]

[likeagod]

It's a perfectly reasonable name, in my opinion.

[It's not the first time he's heard a comment on his accent, though, so he just smiles gently.]

When did you arrive?

[perambulate]

[ his opinion is faulty but bea smiles anyway because sometimes a compliment can be just a compliment and maybe she needed it. ]

This morning. Might go back out later if anyone from distant lands needs a ride. [ perks of the power. ]

Let me guess, you took a red eye.

[likeagod]

I did.

[This is the least shocking.]

This used to be where I was based.

[As if that explains everything.]

[perambulate]

It was all of us, wasn't it? At least once. [ she shrugs. ] I didn't stay very long, myself.

[ but that doesn't seem abnormal, she is a wanderer, she doesn't stay anywhere very long. she barely stays in joburg, it just happens to be the hq where she gets her assignments. ]

How long were you here?

[likeagod]

I suppose I wouldn't know. Perhaps.

[Dimitri likes setting roots, a place to come back to.]

This was my home for several years after I came through the Veil.