audio | unseelie locked | february 7th, post-destruction of caer scima.

[boutant]

[ She would use the video function but there's blood everywhere -- on her hands, her mouth, her chin. There will be more, if she has her way. Her voice is tight with barely concealed emotion -- rage, worry. Next to her comes the low sounds of a wolf who seems to be in pain; poor Brennan had felt it when Caer Scima was attacked, his howl having split across the battlefield like a clap of thunder. ]

If you can be spared or have the capacity, go put out the fires in La Llorona. Caer Scima's destroyed, if you haven't already heard the news. Any refugees can head for the third spire, if they need a place to go. I'd offer my manor as well, but you'll have to get through the burning forest to get there. Still, if you can, it's open to you.

[ A hissed breath. ]

Let me know if you're out of there. And- if anyone knows if a vampire named Aindrea got out of Caer Scima, please tell me.

Oh, and if you still think this war doesn't involve you, is something you can avoid? You're an idiot.

Comments

video.

[boutant]

[ Oh, hi Eren. There's a faint smile of relief when she sees him, which- probably mostly looks terrible, considering how much blood is on her face and still in her mouth. ]

Behind Unseelie lines right now. I'll be back out in the fray soon. Where are you?

video.

[andallbite]

[ It's definitely terrible compared to how he's used to seeing her, but copious amounts of blood is better than what it could be. He'd grown used to seeing soldiers end up bloodied and battered, but that's only when they didn't lose entire parts of their own bodies—or worse, wind up thoroughly dead. She's lucky, he might think. It's ended up being the same on this battleground, too, only their enemies weren't fifty feet tall. (Somehow, that makes this all the more worse.) ]

Trying to make sure none of these assholes fuck anything else up. [ Bitter as hell, this one. Actually, that's putting it lightly; the wave of relief he felt upon seeing Ariadne be (mostly) intact might quickly be overshadowed by his underlying rage threatening to surface again. (Because they really did it—they destroyed Caer Scima.) ] I'll be okay, I just—I don't know how many have made it out of this.

video.

[boutant]

Not enough. [ That's for sure. ]

Did you recognize any of them?

video.

[andallbite]

I—no, I haven't.

[ Yet. Only time will tell whether a familiar face will turn up as a cold, rigid, mutilated corpse or not. Or maybe he has, and they've been mangled beyond recognition too much to say. He doesn't know, and the chaos hasn't settled enough to stop and get a good look at any of the many, many bodies that lie on Dorchada's grounds, serving only to bloody the snowy fields and trees instead of fight. Though, he doesn't want to; seeing so many dead as he winds through trees makes his stomach churn.

It makes him wonder if he fought hard enough—or if there was more that he could have done instead.

Eren's expression falls, mouth pressed into a thin, flat line. ]

I've only seen a few others since the battles started.

video.

[boutant]

[ She nods, all but mute. It's- good, right? That he didn't recognize them?

She's not sure. ]

Sticking around there?

video.

[andallbite]

[ That makes two of them. Perhaps, later down the line, he'll have more time to dwell on the matter—but for now, they can't stop, much as he would like to. Eren feels so defeated—something he isn't unused to, but it never hurts any less—but there's still so much ahead of them.

His composure isn't any better than hers, quite frankly. And yet: ]

If you need me anywhere, I can be there in an instant.

video.

[boutant]

La Llorona's on fire. We need to get that out before it spreads, and then there's the battle here.

[ But it's up to him. He's seen so much... she definitely understands if Eren doesn't want to go to the front lines after Caer Scima. She also definitely understands if he does. ]

video.

[andallbite]

[ He's seen a lot, but he always has, and always will for a long time to come. For all that he hates how it must be this way, as much as it all drains him, there's no stopping. There's only going and going and going ahead until you see everything to the end—and nothing has ended yet.

His answer is obvious. ] I'll keep fighting. [ A fire is bad, but the enemy still being present is worse. Eren's words are low and coarse, tired yet still fueled by resentment and fury. The next group of Seelie he comes across aren't going to be so fortunate. ] I've already been taking care of any of their soldiers who're still around.

video.

[boutant]

[ Normally she might grimace, but this? This is past war, this is survival. You finish them before they finish you, or the people that you care about. ]

Well. I'll see you on the battlefield, then.

video.

[andallbite]

Yeah. I'm getting back to work.

[ He leaves it at that, shutting his locket closed. Seeya later, Ariadne. ]