andres ♔ you know you've got everybody fooled

[nosdacariad]

WHO || Failboat
WHAT || Mark has something to share with the team
WHERE || Flight from Andres to England
WHEN || September 30th [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam

[So, as September winds to an end, Wynn demands all those Knights on Andres take a break from toiling away to fix the Isle, and return to London to celebrate the new large batch of incoming squires. After the horrors of losing teammates, it seems fitting to celebrate what they can.

Failboat travels back in a private plane that Mark may have stolen from Dimitris' airfield. Sup. With everyone on board, however, he looks a little grim when they're in the air, and stands in the entranceway from the cockpit, looking out at them for a moment, before clearing his throat. ]

I've uh, got something to talk to you guys about.

Comments

[slay]

Mark.

[ Buffy gets up, wedging herself between Des and Mark. It's been two years, but she still feels compelled to make sure there's someone between him and anyone playing a part in Jade's death. Hell, she'd like someone to be between her and anyone involved. The wound never stops feeling fresh. ]

Are you sure? It was her. Directly. Not some changeling, not someone telling you it was coming from her … [ Because this is a heavy fucking accusation to make and it makes her wonder why Dumage was ever welcome in the castle. ] If it's true, why would Wynn keep her around? [ She has to skip over Spike's question and assume Mark told him. Mark kept Wynn abreast of this stuff. She has to believe that of him. ]

[nosdacariad]

What part of blackmail don't you understand? If I'd told Wynn, she could have sent word straight to Dimitris. She would know it was me. There was no hiding it from her.

[ a year ago, he might have cringed and almost cried under the weight of admitting as much, but that part of him seems gone now at least. whatever he did, he sees as done. ] She called me that night. I suppose someone could have faked the call but it wasn't the first or only time she'd done something like that.

The Talisman. Do you remember who told you that it was on Andres in the first place?

[ he drags his gaze towards jack, and looks truly apologetic now. ] She told me I had to lie about overhearing plans to move it there. Presumably, to get the Dragon's Claws away from what was going on in America.

Thomas is dead because of her.

[doubletake]

[While the talking continues and the revelations pour out of Mark's mouth, Elena proceeds to drink the entirety of what's in her glass, as if it'll quell the anger that's sparking in her chest.

She hated Dumage, found her shady and unpleasant and heartless, but this?

That doesn't even begin to cover this.

She bites down on her bottom lip, and the only thing keeping her from losing her shit completely is the white knuckle grip she has on her glass.

Which promptly shatters in her hand at the mention of Thomas (str 17). At least she barely even fucking flinches, considering she's probably...bleeding everywhere now (ws 24).]

[bigbad]

[Spike turns away abruptly and storms away. Since it's... a plane there's not really anywhere to go, but he shuts himself in the tiny bathroom and pulls out a cigarette, punching the smoke alarm first because he doesn't care about any bloody federal laws that prohibit it and do they even have those on Andres planes.

Anyway he crit failed so there's gonna be sharp obnoxious beeping coming from the bathroom now which does NOT calm his nerves but he's gonna sit in here and smoke his bloody cigarette anyway.]

[nothingsodivine]

[It's a fucking miracle there is an airplane seat between Des and Mark right now, because he's so angry with rage, he might actually lunge him again.]

You fucking slimy, little coward. [To be honest he's still considering it. Buffy you should probably stop him. The beeping isn't helping his rage.]

[slay]

[ At the first sign of lunge, Buffy turns to face Des, grabbing him by the shoulders and digging her heels in. ]

Not here.

[ With her strength back, she doesn't just keep Des from moving forward—she knocks him back (str 29). Raising one hand, she pushes flyaway hairs aside, holding one hand out to stay Des and turning to look back at Mark. Everything in her eyes speaks of agreement with the assessment, but there's something worse buried under that hard stare.

The weary edge of disappointment, of misplaced faith. Every glowing speech, every encouraging word comes to mind, and feels wasted, turns to ashes on her tongue. She may be keeping Des from tearing him apart, but that's not because she disagrees with his reasons. ]

We've got enough enemies. We don't need to make one out of an ally. [ Not friend. Not anymore. They'd unleashed it all already. Tore into him, hated him, shredded him, and he still hid it. Coward doesn't begin to cover it. Years ago, when they'd first set off to Andres, there might have been something Wynn could have done for Thomas. Anything. Instead … They had a fresh grave.

Two victims of Dumage's lie, and Mark's cowardice. She shakes her head at him, sorrowful and disenchanted. After all that she'd thought he'd changed, learned, grown into someone brave and honest. ] You made the wrong call. [ Which speaks to who else she holds partially accountable for Thomas' death, even if she never says it specifically. ]

[isisagent]

[A slight look of disappointment, as the potential fist-slinging is stifled.]

For the record - I knew this was a cause for alcohol. [He says, as he preps more drinks, because everyone needs a round.] Speaking of gigantic fucking problems; I need to figure out where that shambling corpse of a manservant got off to, so I can stop mixing all the fucking drinks with my delicate and combat-calibrated hands - by the way.

[He passes drinks around - this time Mark gets the last one of the round.] Congrats, though. You've officially been promoted from Class-A fuckup, to Weapons-Grade Fuckup.

[witchwoman]

[Myri closes her eyes as the insults continue to be slung around. She's been angry with Dumage for... years so that's easy for her to bear. But hearing that so many of them would still blame Mark for the deaths they've encountered, knowing everything they know now?

She doesn't understand it. She could never understand it.

And while she won't speak up and argue against her friends again, she can't just sit here either. So she gets up and moves to his side. It's perhaps a bit ridiculous to do so on a plane, but she doesn't want him to feel like he's alone in this. So she silently moves to stand beside him, a gentle hand placed to his back.]

[nosdacariad]

[ and mark does give her an appreciative look, but doesn't seem battered down by the accusations or insults coming his way. ] Call me whatever you want, but at the time, I thought the point was to send them away from us - where the danger was - and into a situation Wynn already had them investigating. [ he nods at jack ] Jack'd been doing intel on Andres for months at the time. And Wynn had been talking to me for years about what was going on there, preparing for trying to take the Isle some day.

It seemed like they were underestimating the rest of us, placing all their cards on the Dragon's Claws, and figuring they could handle a bunch of squires and nobodies.

I figured the best thing I could do was help our team succeed at what we were doing over there, and that the Dragon's Claws would do what they did best, like they would have been anyway.

[isisagent]

You know, "I thought" "it seemed" "I figured" yadda yada - In HUM INT we call those weasel words.

Just, you know, for the record. [Archer folds his arms, and sips his drink.]

[dragonsclaw]

[ oh hey one of those dragon's claws is sitting right here. he looks very tired watching y'all argue, but focuses on mark anyway. ] I can't commend your choice, Mark, but I won't accept that Thomas' blood is on your hands.

Sarandis captured us, yes, but only because we made the choice to rescue Spike and Myrilandel.

If we hadn't been present, it's possible they would have died as well, with none the wiser as to where they'd wound up.

[shootfirst]

Can we get back to the part where we bust into the castle and murder Dumage as a team building exercise?

[slay]

No one is murdering anybody.

[ Jesus christ when did everyone become so bloodthirsty. Buffy sounds exasperated by the suggestion. ]

The first thing we need to do is tell Wynn.

[nosdacariad]

I know. It's the first thing I'm doing when we get off this plane. He deserves to hear it in person from me.

But I figured you all did too. And that it would give you a little time up here to cool your heads about it. Buffy's right. You can't just walk in and kill her.

[isisagent]

...Wait. You mean figuratively, right? Because, I'm pretty sure we literally are capable of it.

[doubletake]

You don't honestly think she's going to be there, do you?

[She raises her brows at everyone as she gets up from her seat. She is pointedly ignoring her bleeding hand beyond putting pressure on it, but she's gonna go find something to wrap it up in.]

When you all left to come here and liberate the place, she knew she'd probably be losing the only thing she had over him. The second that she knew we'd won, she'd know that her secret was compromised. I'll be shocked if she's anywhere near the Castle anymore.

[Wis nat 20. And with that she's gonna move toward the back of the plane to find a...towel or something.]

[rationalizes]

[ gar's over here having a crisis about being the worst team leader again probably. jack puts a hand on her shoulder as she says: ] We can't know anything until we arrive. We'll... we'll sort this out then.

[nepotism]

"Sort it out", right. Elena's probably right. She's flown the coop, and we'll be lucky to get our hands on her.

I really miss the days of, y'know, catching the bad guys.

[slay]

You know, I can't recall a time when that happened.

[ Ahahahahah three years on the same mission. ]