knightsoflegend | briefing ♔ i will never know myself until i do this on my own

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briefing ♔ i will never know myself until i do this on my own

This is War- 30 Seconds to Mars

WHO || Wynn, Jack, Hasmed, Lis'sa, Dovan, Solace, Koraith, Christos, Tia, Nessa, Grant, Buffy, Myri, Finnick, Spike, Gar, Archer, Des, Fred Jr., Dumage, Mark, Alainn, Zero, Colin, Lan, Eric, Val'drin, Risa, Anastacia, Faith O., Max R., Belle, Kadir, Edain, Sydney, Zatanna, Aurelius, Jaina, Erky, Davin, Riddick, Jordan, Henry, Leia, Willow, Kate, Allison, Francesca, Bo, Han, Aedan, Rocket, Drax, Nathan, Maxwell, Sam, Faith L., Cora, Dimitri, Alanna, Jaime, Klaus, Gus, Andrew, Stiles, Lydia, Gold, Jackson, Adam, Miles, Penelope, David, Derek, Andie, Kali, Cara, Nels, Taradiddle, Abigail, Astrid, Bambi, Frankie, Rose, Helen, Alaric, Alice, Lissa, Alex, Emma F., Cordelia, Zoe, Sebastian, Malina, Alcide, Phineas, Fiona, Arthur, Faye, Mars, Kate, Lila, Jameson, Felicity, Thoster, Adi, Brantley, Hook, Emma, Eleven, Alisha, Will, Dean, Grimrot [Closed]
WHAT || Andres War Briefing
WHERE || Knights HQ, Round Table Room
WHEN || September 19th [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, please call dibs in the dibs plurk!

On the eve of battle, an impressive array of Knights gathers in the Round Table room of the castle. The usually cavernous room seems tightly packed with this many bodies, and places at the Table are reserved for Wynn, the Section Heads, all those who have had any hand in the Talisman mission, including New York, and Christos, but who's going to argue with him, really. The air buzzes with a mixture of impending dread and on some fronts, excitement. It's hard to deny that there are those in the room who have wanted to make a move on Andres for years.

Wynn waits for the appointed hour, before nodding for the doors to be sealed and calling the meeting to order.

"Before we begin, I'd like to thank each and every one of you, many who have traveled an extensive distance at a moment's notice to join us here today. I understand that many of you have little idea what you have agreed to, but I hope that before the end of this meeting, you will come to understand what we are doing, and why it must be done.

Andres' Isle has been held under the sway of the man who calls himself their "Prime Minister" for nearly a decade. In these ten years, he has turned what was once an idyllic country steeped in tradition into a tightly controlled fascist nation disguised as representative of its people.

Andres is far from the only country to fall to such a fate over the course of history, and it has never been the prerogative of this Knighthood to enforce our own personal vision of some sort of world order onto any nation. We are protectors of justice, and our enemy has always been both that which comes from the darkest depths of Shadow, and intolerance and prejudice that stems from this world.

But Dimitris Sarandis has proven to be an exception, an embodiment of all the ideals we stand against, who has aspired to systematize the kind of violence and hatred that threatens the welfare of countless innocents under his rule. He has used his position to exploit Shadowkind on the island to the point of conducting torturous experiments on them, designed to help him accomplish his goal of forcibly enslaving non-humans, so that they may serve what he sees as the superior race of homo sapiens.

As if this were not enough, Dimitris knows of our existence, and wishes to tear down our organization, understanding that we pose a threat to all he seeks to accomplish. To this end, he has conspired against us, kidnapped members of our organization and subjected them to brutal and vile torture, and attempted to blackmail us through detaining Sir Thomas Bancroft and now Sir Samcelot, into complying with his whims - to leave his regime alone entirely, to turn over our most ancient, powerful artifact, and for me to submit to death at his hand.

Killing Dimitris alone will not stop the system he has created, and will not help free the people of Andres. Most citizens of the country remain innocent, terrified into compliance, or completely ignorant of what Sarandis does behind closed doors. These people deserve our help, and the only way to do so is to show them the evil that lurks at the heart of their government, gain their support in uprooting that evil, and assist them in stabilizing their country thereafter.

To do this, we will need to go beyond the usual parameters of our missions, with a militant, strategic push into the island designed to seize the castle, and take down Sarandis' rule." He pauses there, letting that sink in. "What I will not stand for is a callous attitude towards the innocents who we seek to protect on the Island, during this insurgency. Their safety will be paramount to our operation, and as such, speed is important to what we will be accomplishing. Dimitris expects retaliation, but he also underestimates our tactics. As such, rather than attacking the castle with an army, you will be deployed about the Island in a number of small teams, each with an objective that will help us cut off Dimitris from contact with his supporters, secure Sir Bancroft and Sir Samcelot's safety, free those who are imprisoned, and confront Sarandis, taking the castle in the process.

Details of these individual operations not withstanding, I imagine there are some questions. I open the floor to you to speak."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He - [Stabbing a finger in Dean's direction.] Is not just some man. He's the one who's had my back for the last three months! Who dropped everything to travel halfway around the world and live out of crappy motel rooms and a car because I asked him to. [Hands that shake now curling into fists.] You can't even refrain from giving Russian lessons to the psychotic little bitch who's gone out of her way to make my life here a living hell so don't you dare talk to me about respect!

[Spitting the words at him as whatever control she might have had slips through her fingers.]

Yeah that's it! Walk away. People around here seem to be really good at that!

[ dean can't entirely disguise the surprise that touches his expression at some of what rose has to say about him, but he still doesn't say anything, folding his arms instead and letting her handle this, all while staring at dimitri like yep. what she said. ]

[He reels back on her, furious.]

I would have had your back too. I've always had your back.

[He would have dropped everything in a moment to help her, and she'd pushed him away. This wasn't his fault. He refused to believe that.]

You can be mad at Lila all you want, Rose, but I was trying to help you. [Being Lila's friend would also have hopefully prevented further antagonizing. He just wanted to help everyone.] And teaching an emotionally difficult teenager about her heritage is different then what happened here and you know it.

[He turns away again.]

I don't know if you've forgotten, but there's a war to be fought. Tonight. I'll decide when this is over if there's more to discuss.

[And then he sure does...walk away. Before he kills something. :|]

Whatever you need to tell yourself to make you the good guy, right?

[Rose's face went red with fury, seeing Dimitri's retreating back and she reached to take it out on the closest thing to her; which in this case happened to be her poor and very abused door, slamming it back against the wall (Strength.... 28.)]

NOTHING HAPPENED HERE!

[ well. this is awkward. dean watches him go until the noise of the door slamming draws his attention back to rose. he hovers there uncomfortably in the hallway, looking entirely uncertain of what to say. ]

Maybe I should, uh. [ he gestures in the opposite direction, raising his eyebrows at her. there's a question in it, more than looking for an escape route. if she wants to be left alone right now, he sure as hell isn't gonna blame her. ]

[For a long moment Rose can barely focus on her breathing, her whole body shaking with rage as she draws in ragged breaths and at Dean's words, her head snaps up, her face twisted into an expression that looks unnaturally angry, as if the situation doesn't merit this level of fury.]

NO - [The word coming out as a bitter bark and even Rose knows she has to get herself under control, holding up one hand as if to ask for a moment, the act of pulling herself together looking like it takes a physical strain on her.]

No - [Calmer now, albeit still shaky.] You don't have to go anywhere. You're not the one in the wrong.

Wasn't what I meant. But trust me, I got that part. Usually, when a guy wants to take a swing at me for making a move on his girl, he's got a little more leg to stand on. [ it's said with an attempt at humor, and he shoves his hands in his pockets as he takes a step forward. ] He always like that?

No - [Shaking her head.] I'm fine. [You'd have to crit fail a sense motive check to think she was telling the truth okay.

That question probably wasn't supposed to be a stumper and yet Rose gapes a moment, unsure how to respond as she looks back at the hallway Dimitri just walked down, slowly shaking her head.]

I don't know... He's never spoken to me like that before. [Still staring at the hall.] And I'm not his girl.

[Dragging her gaze back to Dean again, Rose zeros in on his bloody lip.] He shouldn't have hit you.

[ yeah he got a ... 22 sense motive, ok. he knows much better than to fall for that.

when she draws attention to it, he lifts a hand to his lip and draws it away, noticing the blood. he shrugs, obviously unconcerned. ] No shit. But I'll live.

[ instead, he flicks his gaze to her again, frowning. ] You gonna be alright?

[It looks like she thinks about that question, distant until she can shake her head, dismissing those thoughts.]

I have to be. [Straightening and running her hands down her face, Rose nods towards her door.] There's a - first aid kit in my room. [A beat.] I get hit a lot.

[ he got a boss sense motive check to also not misinterpret that as some kind of... domestic abuse implication or sth idek. but fine, he'll come along. ] Just as long as you're doin' half the hitting.

[Yeah good time for a sense motive or else Dimitri would probably be ending this night in a bodybag.

She chuckles, though it sounds forced.] More than half, usually... we have a, training room. I pretty much live there when I'm staying here.

[As Rose moves inside the room, she pulls her hair back into a messy bun, exposing the cluster of tattoos along the back of her neck.

The room itself doesn't look particularly lived in, no personal touches aside from a certain napkin that has been placed in a frame that's too big for it. Without that, it could have been just another a room at a fancy English B&B. Nicely furnished but without the sense of homeliness that usually came when somebody made a space their own.

Rose rifles through a drawer, pulling out the kit in question and dumping it on the bed, something about being in constant motion helping her to keep it together.]

Sit - [Yep that sure sounded like she wasn't giving him a choice.]

[ he glances around the room with passing curiosity, but doesn't seem all that surprised to find it not particularly settled. he hasn't had a room of his own since he was four, and considering he knows rose was raised to hunt from age five, it seems natural to him.

he perches on the bed with amused obedience, glancing from the kit up to her, still dismissive about his wound, even as he lets her play doctor. ] It ain't a big deal.

[Pausing in the middle of pouring antiseptic onto a cotton ball, Rose's eyes flicker to Dean's, lips pressing into a thin line.]

Way I see it, one of two things is going to happen right now. Either you, let me do this, or I'm going to walk out of this room and start hitting things until I feel better and usually with me, things tend to be... people.

[Putting the lid back on the bottle, she tosses it aside, moving in to tilt Dean's chin up.]

I'd rather save that for Kyp. [Gently dabbing the cut on his lip.]

[ with a 33 fort save, he doesn't flinch for even half a second at the sting of the antiseptic, which is kind of sad, and a testament to how often he probably does this to himself, too. he holds his chin aloft, staring down the bridge of his nose at her as she works. ] If he and Elena are gonna tip their hand, this is the time for it.

[Probably for the best cause she might have told him not to be such a sook otherwise and by might have I mean definitely.

His words give her pause, the cotton ball hovering near his lip as lines crease her brow.]

I have no idea what to expect. [Giving an infinitesimal shake of her head as she dabs again.] Three months is a long time to be with somebody.

[ his eyes trace up her hand, studying the tiny shift in her expression. ] Yeah.

Guess it is. [ it doesn't really sound like he's talking about ... elena and kyp anymore, tbh. ]

[Rose's eyes catch Dean's, breathing changing as her hand lingers on his lip and it's clear from the way her expression changes that she knows exactly what he's talking about. (WS 8. SM 20 total.)

Her mouth opens, as if she's going to speak but closes it again, forcing her focus back on the cut on his lip before trying again.]

Hey, at least I don't snore...

[ that gets a warm chuckle, though he's the worst patient ever at holding still because talking while someone's trying to nurse your lip doesn't work great, dean. ] If you did, I would've packed it up months ago.

[ the humor in his eyes fades into something a little more thoughtful, a bit guarded even, as he considers her. ] That stuff you said back there. Guess I never would have expected to hear that outta you three months ago.

[In an unexpected show of patience, she stops cleaning the cut as he speaks, head tilting to one side as her hand hovers, snorting her amusement.]

Gee - thanks. [The sarcasm more playful then cutting as she dabs again.

Meeting his gaze once more, Rose's expression seems to mirror Dean's, one shoulder lifting in a light shrug.] I didn't really know you three months ago.

[Running her teeth over her lower lip, the cut seems to become the most fascinating thing in the world to her.] You could have left at any time. Wynn wouldn't have expected you to keep looking this long but... you stayed. Everyone else left or was called back but you - stayed.

[ he considers that for a moment, too, before saying quietly: ] Maybe I get what it means to you, to see this through.

To see an end to it.

[Her expression shifts, running through multiple emotions til finally settling on something best described as deep gratitude.]

Did you, ever get that?

'Fraid not. [ his eyes drop askance finally, brow furrowing ] Maybe that's why I'm so set on helping you find yours. I know just how much it sucks living with the alternative.

[Her lips twist into a small frown, lines creasing her brow as silence hangs for a moment before Rose tilts his chin up, not to get to his lip but so he would look at her again.]

You know if you decide against the alternative? You won't have to do it alone.

[ his lip quirks up halfway in a pained shadow of a smile, but there's a softness in his gaze that's legitimate enough. his eyes drift, however, across her face, tracing a wandering path down to her own mouth, letting her words hang there without a reply as he seems to get caught up in studying her face, lingering there at her lips. he finally meets her eyes again as he says with that hint of wry gratitude: ] Gettin' the message.

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