video; open to both courts

[foraneye]

[Though she cannot tell who may be listening, Élise remains calm and composed she she speaks. She will not let any fear or anger show; she's been taught better than that.]

My name is Élise de la Serre and I don't believe in magic. But I don't believe in being lured away from everything I know by creatures either, and here I am. And so, I've been told, here are you.

[She shakes her head.]

For now, I think it's best to stop clinging to what I do and don't believe in. Either all of this is real, or I've gone swiftly mad.

[And she doesn't feel mad. But if she were, would she?

Some questions are best saved for quiet times when she's alone with her thoughts.]

I'd be grateful for information any of you know to be important. I've heard what our hosts have said and I'm making my own inquiries elsewhere, of course, but there is always more, things we must learn that others overlook. I'm sure that all of you who have been here for some time can think of things you wish you had known.

[She pauses a moment, then just nods.]

In return, you'd have my gratitude and an owed favor. And I'm not without enough skill to pay it back.

Comments

1/? ENJOY THE SPAM

[cockade]

[Is that--]

[cockade]

[IT IS. Arno stares at the locket, half convinced this is a trick of the imps, something to make him more frustrated as it is. But the more he watches, the more he's convinced it can't be an illusion. It really must be her.]

[cockade]

[So ah. How to do this. He still hasn't really gotten used to using the locket completely. There's a bit of fumbling on his end (and luckily it's not recorded), but he manages to get it going after a few minutes.

And just stares. Like a dork.]

DONE. this is now video btw.

[cockade]

[Then he remembers that he has to talk. ARNO PLEASE.]

Élise?

[.............he is the worst boyfriend in the history of boyfriends.]

[foraneye]

[Élise is still learning the way of it herself, but it's much different to speak to strange faces that might not even be real than it is to see someone she knows well.

So this once, he's forgiven for gawping like a fool, for she's only doing a little better.]

Arno!

...where are you? How long have you been here?

[cockade]

I only just arrived in Caer Scima. Where are you?

[He's traveled the halls quite a bit since his arrival, and hasn't once come across her. Then again, he hasn't exactly been looking for her since he didn't even know she arrived.]

[foraneye]

[At that, her expression fades from surprise into dismay, which quickly becomes resignation. It's not all that surprising, really.]

Caer Glaem.

[cockade]

No.

[It's small, instantaneous and almost whispered, his face once full of hope and the joy at finding the woman he loves, now filling with a frown and something far more pained.

From one war on opposite sides, now to another, and enemies yet again.]

There must be some mistake, Élise. They can't force us to fight each other.

[foraneye]

I've no intention of doing so.

[She might sound calmer, but in this, they completely agree. Élise doesn't know what's to become of them in Paris, whether there's any chance of their Orders finding common ground with Mirabeau dead. But Assassin or not, he is Arno, and he is hers, and she won't lift a blade against him.

It's not as simple as that, though.]

But it seems they can force us to do a number of things—including being here at all.

[cockade]

[Simple? No. But it's only a problem in a collection of issues they've had since their lives fell apart. They both hurt, and they both love, and while Arno focuses on his own redemption, Élise chose revenge.

No matter the circumstances, no matter the place or time, he will never raise arms against her. He would rather die than to do so.]

Then we'll work as we always have. [Around it, against what everyone demands be separated by Templar and Assassin, and focusing on a common goal together.]

[foraneye]

[Even after donning the concealing hood of an Assassin, Arno wears his heart on his sleeve. Élise can't read his mind, but she can read his face, the internal conflict he feels. As it happens, she agrees with the conclusion he comes to.]

I don't suppose it will be as easy to send letters here.

[Hopefully he'll catch on to the unspoken message. Openly plotting to work together across the courts is probably not quite something their hosts will approve of.]

[cockade]

[For all that he hides and fights for in secret, he has always been one who acts impulsively, easy to read and always easy to get a reaction out of. Mirabeau had been one to believe in his ways, rambunctious as they were, and the other mentors had ruled his joining as a personal agenda. But Arno still believes what he's doing is right- he'll do everything he can to wipe the stain that has come to his soul and his person.

Élise's words are heard and he pauses slightly, something easy to miss of one does not carefully look. He does understand, and it's a nod as a response, eyes that flit sideways and indicate that he knows what she speaks of. Both courts would have their necks if they were to discover their intentions to work together, just as the Assassins and Templars would kill them if they learned of their so-called treachery. He breathes out, but doesn't argue.]

That's unfortunate. Should we have to resort to using smoke signals if we get creative enough?

[Now he's just joking, hiding his message of him saying he'll find a way to get letters to her no matter the cost.]

[foraneye]

Oh, I think you're capable of being more creative than that.

[Actually, she knows he is. She may have been the ringleader the first time they met and during many of their later adventures, but Arno had more than held his own, and more than a few times been the one egging her on.

"You were always a bad influence.
"Oh, you were a worse one."

He had been. It was one of the things she loved about him.]

I believe in you.

[cockade]

You think so?

[It's said teasingly, as if they'd never had anything happen between them, never had everything in their lives be so much of a mess in the first place. His brow arches at that, and an old, familiar smile comes across his face.]

Careful. I should warn you with how I am, when left to my own devices.

[foraneye]

Oh, I know. Do you think I don't remember quite well?

[It's so easy to fall into old habits, despite all that's happened—Bellec's betrayal and death, being whisked away to a whole other world. And of course there's the matter of her father's death, which is still a raw wound they both feel.

But it's comforting to know he's here—not Arno the Assassin ally, but Arno, the boy who's been her best friend and hers for so long. For him, she is glad.]

So you'd better be careful in that castle they've dropped you in. I'll be very put out otherwise.

[cockade]

I'd like to imagine it's rather hard to forget.

[He's never been one to look at her standings- Élise has always been a close friend and something far more, below the surface. Despite all their challenges he still holds her to his heart dearly and loves her more than anything else in the world. He would do anything to keep her safe.]

You honestly expect me to get into trouble? [There's a quirk of his brow at that, but he already knows the answer. If anything, he's going to be so much worse than just trouble.]

[foraneye]

Do you honestly expect an answer to the contrary?

[Separated by courts, separated by however much physical distance now lies between them—he knows better, she is certain.]

I expect you not to get caught.

[cockade]

[He's always known better. If anything, she taught him well.]

Well, I'll have to keep that in mind, then. I wouldn't want you to have to travel all this way to simply wring my neck.

[He's joking, he's joking!

Mostly, at least.]

[foraneye]

See that I don't. I suspect we'll have more important matters to look after in the days to come.

[And this time her smile is a touch grim. Out of one battle, into another.]

[cockade]

Isn't that always the case. [The smile she gets is one that he wears when on a mission, serious yet present all the same.] Stay out of trouble.

[foraneye]

[Her expression shifts into something stern, but that's a twinkle in her eye that one who knows her well might detect.]

Don't get caught.