chicago ♔ it’s a tragedy to be left only with memories

[savemyself]

WHO || Failboat and friends [Closed]
WHAT || As the trial drags on, the Knights spend their last few months in Chicago and tensions mount
WHERE || Various locations, Chicago
WHEN || November 21st - The end of the trial?? [Back AND Forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order


Everybody loves a media circus and the trial of Rafael Giovanni is no exception. If he was famous before, in the days following the shooting, now he's all people are talking about, and all the tabloids want to focus on. The complications presented at some of the early hearings by Jaka, regarding the identity of the Black Scourge and Rafael's alleged reaction have only made the story more appealing to the millions watching.

They've also caused the trial to drag out for months as facts are checked, evidence is poured over, and the jury becomes only more split on the issue. In the meantime, the holidays fly by, and one of the most terrible winters in years blankets Chicago in blizzards.

This log covers any work and non-work related shenanigans the Knights have while staying in Chicago, immediately following the last log and continuing for the next couple months. This will be the Knight's last time in Chicago before the trial: after which they plan to return to the castle to fully Knight Violet and Elena and decide where to head next.

Make your own threads, don't fuss about tag order, feel free to threadjack multiple people into one thread for hang-outs, ask me if you want a certain scene with an NPC, etc. forever whatever.

Comments

[witchwoman]

House name? [Drow stuff sort of spooks Myri so she hasn't paid a ton of attention to it. But she'll listen to Francesca so I guess it's time to face her prophecy fears and learn this shit.]

[socialgraces]

Like a surname, I suppose, but they're called "houses", as anyone who resides within that house - be it a noble or a slave - go by the name. They're ruled by their matron mother, and the noble daughters become priestesses of the Spider Queen, while the sons become wizards or fighting specialists. There's other ranks among them, such as the matron's current consort or the family's weapon master, as well.

It's not as familial as it all sounds, though.

[witchwoman]

I don't think you've ever mentioned a surname before. [She muses, almost to herself. Her own has never felt quite right, but there really wasn't any time to sort that out.] What is it?

[socialgraces]

I'd actually rather not say. [ but she doesn't sound offended or uncomfortable ]

It's not you, I just... haven't really ever told anyone, save Wynn. I suppose it's part paranoia and part as a statement, a way of distancing myself from all that.

[witchwoman]

No, that's... That's fine. I shouldn't have asked. [She looks a little embarrassed.] Strange as it sounds, I sometimes wonder just where my surname came from at all. When I arrived, it came so easily to mind, but I have not recollection of anyone in my life with a name to match it. Nor was I called by it in my life that I can remember.

Some things are mysteries and some are better kept as secrets. It's better to know you for who you are than what name you may or may not carry.

[socialgraces]

[ she slows a bit, smiling fondly in myri's direction ] I couldn't agree more.

[ after a moment of considering the other woman fondly, she turns her attention back to the sidewalk and picks up the pace ] I haven't gone by anything other than Francesca since I arrived in this world. It means "free".

[witchwoman]

That's beautiful. My name was all I remembered when I was found by the witchwoman who took me in. I'm not sure if it means anything or not. [She doesn't seem too bothered by it. The name has suited her well, even if it might be too unique. She's found that it draws attention, even here.]

[socialgraces]

This witchwoman was in your other life, right? So you've dealt with memory loss twice in your life.

[witchwoman]

That I can recall. [It's almost a joke. Ha ha... so funny. Who knows how many more times she's forgotten part of herself???] I was small enough to not have many memories to start with, but it's still strange for a child to show up at your door with no inkling of where they came from or who they belonged to. Perhaps the Stargods sent me to her, to learn to use my gift.

[socialgraces]

I'd certainly believe that a possibility. [ she finds the concept of fate comforting ] Your spells rely heavily on your beliefs, don't they? What is it exactly you... worship?

[witchwoman]

I'm not quite like the healers here, not like Solace with his faith. But where I'm from, we believe that the Stargods came to Kardia Hoodos in the belly of a large silver dragon. Three brothers, gods all of them, and they set down the laws for how the people should live and work in peace. They ended the war between clans and helped to shape the world that I knew.

[socialgraces]

It doesn't sound unfamiliar to some of the lore of the gods in the other world, and the part about the silver dragon seems quite coincidental, I'd say. [ she's smiling fondly, more to herself than to myri, b/c she likes the concept of achievable peace ] So where precisely do you believe your power comes from?

[witchwoman]

It's... hard to explain. The very first thing I learned was how to breath to calm my mind and enter what we call the Void. It's the space between this life and the next, where the threads of all life run and interweave with one another. When I'm healing someone, I'm actually touching their thread, mending it and restoring it. Each one is unique, colored differently or with a certain pattern int he way the colors mingle. It's... I'm sure it sounds silly.

[socialgraces]

I think it sounds beautiful, to have such a vivid spiritual connection to those around you. To be able to see and feel that bond as something palpable, something real. It's like you're healing their soul.

[witchwoman]

It's all I've known. The magicians in my world access the Void in much the same way, but only to access their own essence. They can see the others, yes, but they can't really... do much with it.

[socialgraces]

Do you know others-- or did you know others with your same gift, back in your world? That witchwoman you spoke of, did she hold this same ability?

[witchwoman]

Magretha used less magic and more of her knowledge of the world around her. She knew what roots to use, what herbs would help a particular illness. She knew by what phase of the moon to take a tincture. But the magic... That came more naturally. She taught me how to control it, how to try to keep myself alive while healing others.

[She shakes her head.] But I never met someone with quite the same gifts.

[socialgraces]

And why is it that your life is endangered whenever you heal someone else?

[witchwoman]

Remaining in the Void can be exhausting, and it seems so easy to stay, to let go of this life and prepare for the next. I've never longed for my life to end, but there are times when I'm simply tired. I give myself with my healing. Perhaps there would be a way to control that, eventually, but I'm not certain... and I don't know if I ever can be, since no one in this place seems to heal in the same way that I do.

[socialgraces]

If there are ways for a vampire, such as Spike, to control his... better nature, than I have to believe there's hope for you, as well.

[witchwoman]

The problem with that? Is that I don't want to stop. When my friends are hurt, all I want to do is heal them. And I hardly have the time to train properly to learn my limits while we're constantly flinging ourselves head first into danger.

[socialgraces]

It won't always be like this, you know. Trust me, I've been at this a long time, and there is time for rest once and a while.

You said yourself you're not suicidal, so I can't see you not willing to at least try to control your powers. It's actually a very common problem for many back home.

[witchwoman]

Right now, it's hard to not think it's an impossible task. [But right now, everything feels impossible.]

[socialgraces]

That's understandable. [ she gives myri a sympathetic smile. hey, weren't they gonna grab some chinese food? this place they're approaching looks chinese and like a restaurant. ] Is this the place?

[witchwoman]

[Oh yeah they were totally going to get food. Myri glances up, recognizing the sign and nods.]

It is. The walk seems shorter when you have someone to talk to.

[AKA thanks for not letting me sulk on my own all day.]