manhattan ♔ there is no knot so steadfast | it won't go broke in the middle of monsoons

[silvermaid]

♬ two years before the mast - astronautalis

WHO || Violet Reedhym, Luthir Reedhym, Myrilandel de Tanos, Finnick Odair, Anastacia O'Keefe, Faith O'Keefe, Nicholas Starkweather
WHAT || The Knights attempt to free Vi from the influence of the Nightmare God Malaak'a
WHERE || Manhattan, New York
WHEN || June 7th, 2014
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Some choices are almost impossible to make. For a year, the Knights have watched Violet fading, the way she always does with the winter thanks to her connection to her mother Persephone. Except in this case, there was no getting better with the arrival of spring. If anything, she's only spiraled further into depression, and it's clear that if this continues, it will spell the end of her sooner than later.

Keijen Blade appeared to several of the Knights in their dreams, to caution them of Vi's impending fate, and to tell them that their plan to save her will end in blood. Of course, he had his own alternative to offer: that she take a deal from Malaak'a that would allow the god to see through her eyes into this world. Realizing that the plan offered by Sehanine to use Faith O'Keefe's dreamwalking ability to sever the connection might simply result in someone giving their life to save hers, Vi agreed to take the offer in one month. However, on the evening of their wedding, Luthir talked her into going through with the goddess' plan, promising not to go into her dream with them.

Their car pulls up in front of Des' horrible rundown apartment building, where they're meant to track down Nicholas Starkweather - a friend of Des', who is apparently also a unicorn. Look, he knows people.

Comments

[graveflowers]

[ just as abruptly as she stood, she sits, this time on the couch. everything hurts, breathing hurts. it's not the same as the crippling depression she slogged through for so many months. it's not standing on the edge of a chasm, too much effort to move in either direction but not giving a shit which way the wind blows. it hurts. she can feel herself falling apart like she's a doll and the thread holding her together is fraying.

she can feel everything. and not just emotionally, she can feel the tears that keep rolling down her cheeks, sticking to her eyelashes and making her lips taste like salt. she can hear her nails scratching against the couch. and all she can see, no matter where she looks, is luthir slumped against the ground fading into shadow. ] Can I use your phone? I need to call Wynn.

[desperatewarning]

Yes. Of course. [He goes to fetch a cordless phone off the desk and hands it off to her.]

[graveflowers]

[ this is gonna be hella awkward. she takes the phone without looking at nick. she can't muster the ability to feel bad about shouting at all of them even though she knows she should. there's too much grief and sorrow to allow any other emotion to see the light of day. she doesn't look at anyone, she can't.

but she dials the number, somehow remembering the +44 for international calls to england... it's the little things and she's singularly focuses on this one little thing. (wis 20 total) ring ring, bananaphone for the karthur institute. ]

[witchwoman]

[Myri knows that Vi wasn't really directing her shouting at her. And even if she was, it comes from a place of grief and pain. She knows that. But it still stings. This is twice now where someone that mattered a great deal to the people she wanted to keep safe had died right in front of her. How could she ever hope to protect any of them? She can't bring herself to get up from her spot on the floor in front of Luthir's remains. She doesn't want Vi to think she gave up. But there's nothing she can do. The thread of life that tethered him to this existence has crumbled away with his body.]

[wynn]

[ i'm assuming she's calling wynn directly at least. so he will pick up. ]

Hello.

[graveflowers]

Hi. It's Violet. [ she sounds like an actual child calling her dad to tell him she was in a car accident in his car with people riding inside even though that is against the rules and possibly the law. like she is genuinely concerned he is going to be mad and blame her. because she sure does. ] Um... [ she takes a few shaky breaths, eyes drifting back to the floor, the shadow dust caught in the carpet. ] Luthir... died. He died and I don't know what to do. I'm sorry.

[wynn]

[ there's a silence for a few beats on the other end. but wynn has taken many of these calls before, unfortunately, so he recovers. he asks with an urgent surge of concern: ] ... Are the rest of you safe, at the moment? [ for all he knows, vi was so broken up that she called in the middle of a firefight or something ok ]

[graveflowers]

Yeah. We won. [ what a hollow sounding victory. ] It's over.

[wynn]

And the... condition of Sir Reedhym's remains? [ is he rezzable ]

[graveflowers]

Ash and dust. [ her face crumples into tears again, but she managed the answer so a million points for her for fixating on this one thing she can still do. ]

[wynn]

[ silence again for a moment. ] Understood. I... can't express how much this news pains me as well. For now, the details can wait.

Remain with your team. We'll... make arrangements.

[graveflowers]

Okay. I'm sorry. [ she hangs up without saying goodbye, dropping the phone in her lap because holding it is a difficulty she doesn't want to bother with. she's quiet for a while before she realizes that she should... relay his half on the conversation. ] Wynn says he'll make arrangements for... [ for her dead oreo crumb husband. she licks her lips and quietly adds, ] Please don't tell anyone about... it.

[ that would be the baby. ]

[moonheart]

[ faith nods slightly. ] That's not really for us to share.

[graveflowers]

[ that done, the one thing she knew how to do completed to the best of her ability. vi curls up on her side and continues her crying, the only difference is that she's laying down now. she doesn't care that there's people here watching her grieve. like she said at jade's funeral: she's sad and upset and she's going to cry and everyone can just deal with it. what else can she even do? her lifeline is dead. there's nothing left. so she buries her face against the cushions and cries, fingers knotted together so she can fiddle with her wedding ring...

which reminds her, eyes opening. she can't see much through the tears though. (spot crit fail.) ] His ring... is it gone, too?

[silvermaid]

[ anastacia leans down next to myri, looking through the ash... and notices a glint amid it. she carefully plucks it out, and turns around to hold it out to vi on her palm silently. ]

[graveflowers]

Thank you. [ she very delicately plucks it out of anastacia's hand and curls her fingers around it. and then she just curls up again. odds on anything getting her to move besides wynn himself telling her to get her ass up are not good. enjoy. ]