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

[yeahihidmypants]

[He sets the phone down and puts her on speaker.] You're on speaker -- so if it gets a little echo-y, that's why. Uh -- and don't worry, I'm in my secret lair.

[a beat] Not really. I'm in my office. How long have you been in London? I mean, you arrived in Bruges -- and then... then where does the adventures of Thea Queen take her?

[withasouvenir]

Uh, three years almost exactly. Three years this month, but I was in Bruges for a year-ish. I worked at a club there.

[ and went by mia, so even if she was notable enough to be mentioned anywhere on the internet (she wasn't), it wouldn't have been under thea queen anyway. ]

[yeahihidmypants]

Three years? [The identity stuff had been going on longer than that -- which meant her brother, he refuses to actually call him by his name, arrived before her.]

Wait -- you were in Bruges for a year? Did your brother know?

[withasouvenir]

No, not until London. [ she sounds unhappy, but not in the grieving kind of way, just. displeased with the way her life had gone. ]

[yeahihidmypants]

[He frowns, trying not to hear the upset in her voice. It's difficult not to, though, because Oliver has heard that same tone in Lois when they ended things. Or rather, when she realized that she deserved better than him.]

What do you do? I mean, you're not involved in his identity theft slash vigilante methods - are you? Which, I will say he did the vigilante thing pretty good. He wasn't quite as good as me, which makes for an uneven Green Arrow impression on the world - because we have me over here in the states and then him over there in London... in a different outfit. It was like Vacation Arrow. [You know, as if he's a Ken Doll with a different look.]

Anyway... do you work at a club in London too?

[withasouvenir]

I work at a research institute. But we have a bar so if I ever miss my roots I can make myself a drink and not pay for it.

[ and then she feels at home again. ]

[yeahihidmypants]

The uh -- Carther... McCarthy - something like that, right? It's on one of my notes about one Felicity Smoak. Family business or just an easy gig to get?

[withasouvenir]

That's the one. [ notably does not correct it. ] It was surprisingly easy to get but has like a textbook full of nondisclosure agreements.

[yeahihidmypants]

See, NDAs. That's what I should have looked into when I first started to reveal that vigilante stuff. Keep it away from emotions and just make it a legal thing.

[He's joking.]

[withasouvenir]

[ she snorts a weak laugh. ] Sounds totally reasonable.

[yeahihidmypants]

Sure, just you know, bring legal documents. That's normal.

[He chuckles, shaking his head.] Speaking of totally normal things -- this call should probably transition into meeting for coffee - right? I mean, that's not weird, is it?

[withasouvenir]

It's a little weird, yeah. I mean, I know you're not asking me on date, but it's still kind of weird. Mostly because I am in London and you... are not.

[ pretend coffee? skype coffee? she can't deny she feels some urge to meet the guy with her brother's name but without her brother's sister. ]

[yeahihidmypants]

Oh, well -- I mean, that's no problem. I have a jet. So even with all the ... issues going on out there with ... [He gestures, even though she can't see it. It's meant to encompass all the 'stuff' that he doesn't really understand and knows he can't make a difference with right now.]

I can just call my pilot and be to London by the afternoon. [Since it's late, late right now for him and who knows what time it is for her.]

[withasouvenir]

You have a jet.

[ o l i v e r ]

[yeahihidmypants]

Did... [He pauses.] Did you not have a jet?

[withasouvenir]

I mean we did have to buy Oliver out of jail sentences four times in a row so we might have up until then. [ she could have forgotten, but she is pretty sure they weren't that absurdly rich.

malcolm on the other hand, yeah. ]

[yeahihidmypants]

He what?

Alright, that just makes me doubt his abilities all over again. [He sighs.]

Still, I have a jet, and that offer to meet for coffee still stands.

[withasouvenir]

Did you skip the drunk college playboy thing?

[ she's ...hedging on the coffee because she can't leave if she wants to stay and since her entire family just died and sara and barry are still in the castle she doesn't want to lose what is left of home. ]

[yeahihidmypants]

Okay, so for the record, I had an angry prep-school phase and I spiraled into the drunk playboy side of things after my parents died. Post-college. Hence the party yacht, which led to the island.

Now, the whole charming playboy thing I can do easily without alcohol and I'm really good at that. Still am.

[withasouvenir]

Ah, see my prep-school party phase started in middle school.

[ pets thea's hair. ]

[yeahihidmypants]

I was just a mean kid. It wasn't so much a party thing as it was being an asshole thing.

My friends were... not the best to have surrounding me.

[He rubs the bridge of his nose.] I've made slightly better choices in my adulthood.

[withasouvenir]

[ oliver queen being a dick, somehow not a surprise. ]

As long as you've grown out of it. Look this is all... a lot to take in. You're basically my dead brother from a different universe and one where I don't exist. Can we do coffee in a few days?

[ she's still struggling to accept that ollie and felicity are gone. she needs a couple days. and also lockdown to be over. ]

[yeahihidmypants]

Right. Right. Sorry. I -- I'm a little impulsive.

Look, you have my number. I have a jet. So if you ever want to meet up, name the place and I'll meet you there. If it requires travel for you, I'll send the jet for you. Which now that I say it out loud does sound slightly kidnap-y, but I can also buy a plane ticket for you if that's preferred.

[withasouvenir]

I can afford a plane ticket to Paris for coffee at the Louvre.

[ because that is where she wants coffee. if her life is going to be a tragedy, it might as well be surrounded by priceless artwork. ]

[yeahihidmypants]

Okay. So that's the where and whenever you're ready you can give me the when.