eachdraidh | Text | Locked to Unseelie plus Lancelot, Kaldur, and Flora

[ those plans a, b, and c are definitely going to come in handy here. though katherine had wished to take the station for granted, it appears she shouldn't. being here for only a few months, she still has a lot to learn. ]

True. Though, I must ask: How long have you been here?

9 months. Make of that time period what you will, given what everyone's combined actions have given birth to.

Chaos, I assume.

[ by putting all the shardbearers in one basket … she's seen this happen before. everything falls apart; everything that had been thought to be stable and secure is revealed to be anything but. it's discomforting, to say the least. ]

So, if I need any advice, I'll definitely take yours. Don't take the Station's neutrality for granted. It's sad; I was going to suggest you take The Barrel there. To say the least, you'd have a lot of customers.

In short: yes.

Redgate is pretty much the best place to duck right now if you're Unseelie and need to steer clear of what's going on. The lord of Redgate's opened up doors for all that need it, so long as you're okay with the fact that Redgate's blood granite renders magic null and void.

I honestly do love being able to go to the Station and pretend I'm not in faerieland. But alas, it is what it is.

And if we're being honest? I wouldn't get any work done if the Barrel was there, I'd be wandering off to play video games all the time.

There's always a catch. I'm not sure if seeking refuge at Redgate is worth it if this blood granite can't be turned off.

[ would it mean she would be rendered human if she crossed the threshold of redgate? katherine's none too keen to find out. so much of who she is is found within her vampirism — her strength, her tenacity, her survival. ]

I'm currently at Mair. Fingers crossed it remains a safe haven, for however long it can withstand the "clusterfuck" you speak of.

You're one of those. I shouldn't judge; I get lost in the shopping. I can never resist a good pair of shoes.

It's part and parcel with the place. Honestly, it isn't too bad, but, ah, Mair. It will be fiercely defended if the Seelie decide that it's worth taking.

[But it doesn't seem to be in the interest of the Seelie strategy, from all that Waver's heard. Besides, Waver's pretty sure Ganondorf would actually risk becoming shardless if sword and shield turned toward the city.]

I'd definitely say fair's fair then. Besides, it's hard to not love something that feels modern in this place.

I never thought I'd ever find myself thrown back into the 1800s. But, here I am. I did not miss it at all. I miss electricity. I miss the fashion houses. I even miss New York City — and you must know what a horrible place that is to navigate.

[ she truly does miss the sounds of the city. she could be no one and someone at the same time — but here? she's a fish within a fish tank, and she's always been against buying fish. ]

Do you know Lord Dragmire?

I can't even imagine how bad the step back must be, if you've seen 200 years of progress before getting pulled back into a place like this. Fashion houses I imagine that, with a little work, you could actually re-create, but it wouldn't be the same. You're certainly not getting a New York or a London here any time soon Or their undergrounds.

[It's always odd being able to talk to people about home on the network and not have to explain anything. Certainly those from home, Waver doesn't have to explain things to, but the variety of worlds often make it so much more of a struggle than he's proud of.

Yes, Ganondorf and I are aware of each other.

You really know how to make a girl sad.

You'd think for living for several centuries would see you more at ease to adapt to change. But, truthfully, I prefer the 2000s. The music, the fashion, the cities — the world is actually more enjoyable and less restrictive than it had been 200 years ago.

[ she was no longer held to the conventions of propriety, for one. it became easier to hide the moment more cities sprouted up, more people began to fill them, and her scent became intermingled with the likes of coco chanel. ]

Not friends?

It's not done on purpose, I promise you. Although now I just feel bad.

But it makes sense. You get used to things always moving forward, always being better in some small way. Every year moves you forward in some positive manner, even if it's just incremental. Here, fuck. You've got a new year, and everything's about to get thrown to the wind.

[Funny, how the Unseelie champion change, and send progress back.]

Is there a way I can say "it's complicated" and not have the implications of a romantic relationship?

Perhaps you can brighten my day with a cup of English tea sometime.

[ or a pair of $500 shoes. katherine's seriously not going to be picky. but if she earns herself a friend who she can speak to so candidly about what life was like five hundred years ago? it's not something she had ever realised she actually wanted. ]

Some like to start the new year with a bang. Literally. Sometimes I think it's sad the world has evolved very little over the last hundreds of years. It's still the same, still so self-destructive — and this one appears to be no different.

[ the question does give her pause; for her, everyone is either an ally or an enemy. love is too complicated and too wild. she had simply believed there was very little of it between the two of them with how detached the tone of his own message was. this world was just as competitive as the one she has hailed from. ]

Yes. Believe it or not. Not everything is about romantic love between people.

[ however, at the end of the day, everything is always about love itself. ]

The minute we re-open, I'll nudge you.

[Tea is much, much easier than $500 shoes. But Waver's an old hat at talking to people that are out of time and space. It is a side effect of magically summoning Alexander the Great for a magic battle royale when you're 19.]

Worse when you find out this war's been going on for thousands of years. Literally nothing changes, and they're trying the same old methods, expecting different results.

[That response has Waver more than a little surprised, but even more relieved. Ganondorf's been a benchmark of what to level up to in order to survive, and on more than one occasion, a determining factor in the outcome of events. Reliable, even if his methods and hunger for power set Waver ill at ease.]

Sometimes people forget that fact, and so I always make sure to ask for clarification. Either way though, there's your answer.

[ neverending war, same methods — it sounds too familiar to katherine, given how klaus and his family hunt for the doppelgänger in a bid to either undo a curse their mother had placed upon them or to see blood spilled over a silly rock to grant a man more power than he knows what to do with. she may not be a thousand years old, but she knows the torment rebekah goes through — neverending war within herself, but her methods never change. unlike the original vampire, katherine adapts. ]

Perhaps they're hoping for a different set of soldiers. Different fighters. Different skillsets. But the same old methods will inevitably see the same results — as you've said. Change one tactic, one approach, and the bubble this war is in may finally burst.

Unfortunately, real life hardly reflects the storylines of soaps. I loathe men I've never felt a romantic itch for. It's unfortunate; I'd invite you to Mair, but I'm sure you would find very little comfort if that's the case.

They might live in hope, but I'm honestly pessimistic about the whole thing. No matter who you have, there's going to be a counter on the other side. This war's been at a stalemate for as long as it has for a reason, after all.

I do appreciate the invitation, and if you remain in the area after, I'd honestly like to take you up on it. For now, my own safety's sending me elsewhere.

Same old methods being that reason? I've never been a fan of chess.

[ except she played it exceptionally well when she had returned to mystic falls, even if the white knight had almost knocked her off the board. ]

I doubt I'll be leaving anytime soon. I know where it's safe for me. I feel secure when a man who is as tall as a mountain is at the head of this particular castle. Something tells me he's an immovable boulder for the moment.

Even when you finish chess, all the promoted pawns that move up in rank go back to being pawns. It's a terrible game.

[And the worst metaphor. Give Waver checkers any day. Greater opportunity for all involved.]

It's one of the constants I would actually bank on right now.

[ but katherine doesn't wish to become a pawn once again, wanting to remain the queen on a chessboard that is as volatile as the personalities she runs from and attempts to see slaughtered by another's hand. it's only inevitable, though — despite elijah giving her hope for the future where she is off the board completely, even katherine knows she is never free from such a horrible game. ]

I hate being a pawn. But what of the knights? The bishops? The king? The game of chess must be different here.

Las Vegas was good for shopping — I've never liked gambling. But I did enjoy the shows.

[ and she doesn't doubt she'll enjoy the drabwurld's one, as long as she remains as a spectator and not a participant. ]

I doubt it. Maybe there's more pieces, probably, but it's all the same.

[Waver's found that the best way to win is to make up a game with your own rules that makes it only look like you're in on the other game being played. It worked back home and got him far, and it's worked in the Drabwurld too.]

If you're detached enough, this whole world's a show. Just a depressing one.

Pity. I was hoping chess here would be more fun.

[ she prefers games with no rules. it's the ones she had excelled at — "no rules" had meant her rules, and it had been an attempt by a lonely girl trying to clutch at her freedom that she purposefully shackled the salvatore boys to her with very loose chains. ]

I like my shows with a little more flair — more humor and romance and less grief and despair.

But war is war. Not even a good cup of tea or an incredible glass of wine could ever change how they predictably fall.

I hate to reveal the fact I'm a bit of a kill joy, but here we are.

And god, I bet there's something funny to all of this, but the punchline is too dark. Not worth everything that's come before it.

Those things only make watching it play out bearable.

[ she noticed, waver. ]

One day, we'll simply have to change that. Life's too short to never experience joy, even if it's only for a second.

[ given that katherine doesn't know how to have fun herself, unless it's destroying elena's life, playing with the salvatores, and seeing her own pawns fall ... it'll be a great lesson. ]

If only it would make playing in it bearable. I'll have to make do with my shoes.

If you ever come up with any ideas on how to make it so, tell me. I'd probably be more than willing to help.

[Waver knows how much it sucks to play the game, if only because he's canonballed himself into it.]

May you and your shoes continue to be untouched by it then.

Text | Locked to Unseelie plus Lancelot, Kaldur, and Flora

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