ᴏᴏ1 ( ᴛᴇxᴛ ) | ᴡʜɪsᴘᴇʀs ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ.

[wraithes]

[ inej has never posted on the network, before. indeed, she prefers to just linger in the back, and meet people in person. and when she does use the network, she does so sparingly. to reach out, collect information, and then leave.

but this feels different. and, truly, she is only doing this because kaz won't. and nina and matthias may have made friends here. they deserve to know.

so: ]

Nina Zenik and Matthias Helvar are gone.
Back home. If what the Witch says is the truth.

[ saints, this is hard. ]

To those who went outside the city, what have you found so far?
Are you safe?

[ anything to avoid talking about their absence. especially nina. ]

Comments

text - private.

[ketterdamned]

[ it hits him a bit like a stone walkway under unsuspecting legs, or a dead end at the end of a chase. a direct, unquestioning stop.

they went home. just like jesper had.

and kaz hadn't known. because it doesn't really matter if they've been gone for days or mere minutes. he hadn't known. he fucked up. and it's not quite (only) loss that seizes his chest for a moment - but rather...what? disappointment? anger? (and also loss?)

they were gone. they were back in ketterdam. things were not good, but they were alive, even if kaz found very little relief in that. they are gone, and that is all he really knows for sure, and he hates it. ]

I'm surprised you haven't scaled down the walls to check for yourself.

[ because there's no point in commenting on nina and matthias' disappearance. ]

text - private.

[wraithes]

[ there's a certain relief, in knowing that kaz is still here. but out of any of them, kaz would be the one that would still be here. and that's right, in the end.

she nearly ignores his stupid comment, because the reason why she stayed behind is because she didn't want to leave him by himself here, relatively undefended, but doing that will only poke the bear.

and inej isn't in the mood for a fight. ]

I would not go without the rest of you.

[ and that is the end of that. ]

Are you in the room?

text - private.

[ketterdamned]

[ he knows the answer before she gives it - knowing inej well enough and knowing the state this world has left him in, she wouldn't be as willing as some of the others.

he is not - exactly - happy about this fact.

and when inej asks that question, there is a sudden swell of anger. where else would i be? the cold of the air has rendered his leg all but useless, the pain making it near-impossible to travel anywhere at length. after the first couple of days, when he transferred their room to the first floor, he has barely so much as gone into the main room of their lodge.

where else would i be?

but inej does ask, just in case, and kaz...does appreciate it. (stupid stupid kid, inej has to protect your pride for you, then?) ]

Yes.

offline.

[wraithes]

[ she is already on her way, slipping through the halls of the lodge that they're in. cognizant of the fact that kaz issued a one word answer, likely furious, as he has been since arriving here. but inej pushes it out of her mind, instead moving toward their room.

she doesn't knock, when she arrives, simply enters the room as silently as always. and while on most occasions, inej would linger by the window, or create some amount of distance, she instead sits next to him on the bed, quiet.

idly wondering what to say.

and, in the end, inej says nothing, and instead just rests her shoulder against his, in a silent ask for support.

losing nina and matthias hurt far more than inej thought it would, even though she has always known it was possible. ]

voice, because he can barely read inej much less type

[mollymocked]

Sorry about your friends. It's always rough.

[and that's all he has to say about that.]

We found a fucking hole in the ground.

[That is an understatement, Molly.]

voice ONLY FOR YOU MOLLY

[wraithes]

Thank you, Molly.

[ and, indeed, that is all she has to say about that, because... ]

A what?

[ a hole in the ground?? ]

What do you mean, a hole in the ground?

[mollymocked]

It's more of a crevasse, I suppose. Lots of heat coming from it for some reason, like it's got some sort of hot spring or volcano underneath it.

[He huffs] Except I'm betting it's not a hot spring. I'd almost like that too much.

[wraithes]

[ . . . well. curiosity killed the spider, and all that. while inej had initially avoided the idea of people, her curiosity is piqued. ]

May I see a picture of it? Can you turn on the video function?

[ if molly is close enough to it, anyway, and if it's safe. ]

[mollymocked]

Fuck me. Let's see...

[There's some fumbling around and then finally he gets the camera to turn on and awkwardly pointed at said crevasse. He is the worst cameraman. If they die out here, Molly better not be the one documenting it.] Anything you've ever seen before?

[wraithes]

[ the video does seem to work, after some amount of difficulty... and inej's brow furrows, at the crevasse. fascinating... ]

... not particularly, but a crack appeared in Akvos. The water world... but it looked a bit different. Is it hot?

[mollymocked]

That's really not very reassuring given what I know about that.

[Yikes.] Very hot. And it's probably not an underground hot springs.

[wraithes]

I am not often a carrier of good news, Molly.

[ almost apologetically, but when you're a deadly invisible spider assassin, you tend to bring bad news more than good. but at any rate: ]

No small wonder, then, that this world is changing... I wonder why the native people here are so enamored with something so deadly.

[mollymocked]

Have you seen the way normal people look at fire? The more deadly something is, the more people are fascinated by it. And the less they understand it, the more likely they are to be stupid about it.

That's the one thing here that makes sense.

[wraithes]

[ there's a soft noise of agreement, at that; fair enough, and she purses her lips together. ]

It does not bode well, then.

[ their curiosity, this world. ]

But I doubt they created it on their own. How could they? There is nothing here to burn.

[mollymocked]

My guess is it's some sort of... Being from under the ice. Something that's waking up or came here like we did and just ended up below the surface.

[wraithes]

A being?

[ that sounds like the opposite of a good time. ]

A monster, or a god?

[mollymocked]

One or the other. I'm hoping for monster, but when do we ever have that kind of luck?