video | morning after the audience | unseelie & open non-locket comms

[boutant]

[ It's safe to say that Ariadne has never been this upset about anything in her entire life. She tends to smile, with large, gentle eyes. She does not tend to look murderous.

She does today.

Her trust has been broken, betrayed. Her people have been caught in the storm that Reynard started. Her mind has been violated, her companion dead.

When she speaks, her voice starts out calm. Cold. ]

So. When were we all going to start sharing what we know about the Cult of the Fox?

[ A breath and then she snarls. ]

Because it turns out they're wearing shard masks that let them look like anyone and they can get into your memories and mind control you to the point that you'll hang yourself.

[ It takes a tremendous amount of effort not to throw something. ]

That lying little fuck and those like him know how to use shards even when they're masks. If we don't stop sitting on our information then they're going to tear us apart from the inside. Do not trust anyone without- somehow verifying it's them, though I don't know how when they can do that much.

If you're staying at Diasbaile -- get to work or get out. I don't know how many people might still be under his spell but he's destroyed wards and rooms on the top two floors, read what was in my office if he didn't just steal it.

Everyone- be on your guard. And share your information, because otherwise we're all fighting this blind and then everyone is dead.

[ locked to steve rogers & sam wilson; ]
You need to get out of the Station. Just in case. Bucky's with me, he- we're not okay, he was with me when it happened, neither of us remember anything after a point. But we'll look after each other; he at least knows I'm me.

[ locked to grell, jason todd, loki, & waver velvet; ]
Gaff died in the Battle of Falling Fire. It was a cultist all along. Grell, can you watch Diasbaile? I can only assume that he'll know what I would do, but he didn't get in your head.

Comments

locked (same filter)

[uneulogized]

I have information. [The words are short and crisp. From the looks of it, he's in Caer Scima. He had to make sure that Hiro got back. While he had wanted to return to the Diasbaile right away, he had to check on Hiro, make sure he confiscated his crap, and everything in-between.

And now he's shaking with anger. Yet again ... yet again, stupid crap with Hiro has blinded him, making him be not where he's supposed to be.

(Later, at a more rational time, he'll realize he just took actions to save Hiro's life. But not now.)]

I'm—coming. [Still angry, still tense. His eyes glow brighter and bluer than they did before. His breathing is shaky.]

Where are you?

locked (same filter)

[boutant]

Then start talking.

[ Sorry Jason, she is in the absolute worst mood. ]

Hunting. Not that I know where to fucking start.

[ It's worth noting that she's never sworn this much one right after another since she ended up in the Drabwurld. ]

VIA NECKLACE, AUDIO ONLY

[gordianknots]

Don't leave your spire. They aren't going to be fucking stupid enough to strike the same spot twice.

VIA NECKLACE, AUDIO ONLY

[boutant]

He enchanted my staff and made three of his tie our own nooses, Waver. It's not anymore safe than anywhere else.

[voice] [Locked]

[chaoticwhimsy]

Jeepers.

...Are you okay? You didn't...you know...[Hang yourself.]

[It's clear she isn't, but Lumina doesn't know how else to ask the question and she likes Ariadne.]

[voice] [Locked]

[boutant]

Brennan did.

[ So no. No, she's not okay. ]

locked.

[erythristic]

I can and will. I'll see what I can do to repair damages as well.

[her voice is bitterly icy. she's past raging anger, only chafing that she can't go and find the man to rend him limb from limb.]

If you find him, make him wish he'd never been born.

locked.

[boutant]

Thank you. Be careful; Loki went to Morla for assistance, but I don't know how far the slimy little weasel of a cultist got.

[ As opposed to Loki, the slimy little weasel that they adore. ]

I will.

Video - locked;

[digophelia]

I wish I could be surprised.

[ The anger -- it's enough to create a sharp pain in her chest. She's so angry to hear this, that a small, bloodied tear rolls down her cheek. Alice stops to wipe it off. ]

I will tell you all that I know, so as long as you tell me.

Video - locked;

[boutant]

I'm not exactly sure what else I have to share that I didn't just say.

[ Sorry Alice. She's- pretty pissed off. ]

unseelie; video.

[survivra]

[ "They can get inside your memories and mind control you to the point that you'll hang yourself."

When the message is done Katsa is trembling, and she is cursing herself for it, the locket in her hands shaking as she lifts it to talk. ]

How are we supposed to be on our guards? How are we supposed to protect ourselves if we've no power that makes our mind clear and—can't see whose words take over our minds and keep us from being ourselves?

[ She'd never truly confronted her fear of Leck's Grace even before she'd killed him in a moment of sheer luck; and now, nearly two years later, it has come back to haunt her. And this time Katsa has no promise of another Grace that can help her.

She clenches her fist and swallows. No. She can't let this be the thing that overwhelms her, after all else. ]

Ariadne. What happened?

unseelie; video.

[boutant]

[ She doesn't have any answers. She doesn't have anything, she doesn't even have Brennan's fur to dig her fingers into the way she has for the past year and a half. ]

We thought he was another Unseelie. He wasn't. He stole my face, he got in my head, he made us tie our own nooses and- and I don't know what else, he killed Brennan-

video; locked only to Ariadne

[zerotohiro]

[...well fuck. Fuckfuckfuck.]

I'm on my way out there. [That's not up for debate. And…after the events of the night before, he's starting to piece together things.] I only have a few suspicions of stuff I just found out that I can give you. That's it, but I can maybe dig up other information. What else do you need?

[He's already wracking his brain for maybe building security systems, shard verifiers, something.]

video; locked only to Ariadne

[boutant]

The heads of the Cult on a platter.

[ Because that's a helpful response. ]

It's not just me who needs to know this information, Hiro. Everyone is a target to them. You remember the hangings in July?

video

[enthraller]

You're telling us not to trust anyone with one breath, and to share information freely with the next. I hope you realize how questionable that is in itself.

[How exactly do you verify the identity of someone copying both a face and memories? For once there's no show of charm and uncertainty from Recgate's young lord -- he looks intensely serious and already deep in thought.]

It's shard magic being used, then? How powerful?

[He might have an idea. Maybe.]

video

[boutant]

I hope you realize how much it sounds like your head is in your ass, Saralegui.

[ Pause.

Okay, so he's kind of. Right. She just doesn't like the reminder of the fact that someone could be out there pretending to be her, now. ]

... Sorry. That was uncalled for. And it's- powerful, I don't know, more powerful than simply activating it.

voice » private

[steadfasts]

( her voice is rushed and it's clear she's moving; changing clothes and gathering weapons. preparing, mostly. )

Bellamy and I are going to the spire to help. I'm- I'll contact the Red Hand.

( she's tired of this, of the Cult, and her voice is venomous. )

Tell me if you need anything, anything. I'm tired of them thinking they can hurt people that I care about.

voice » private

[boutant]

Are we going to have to pay them? If they show up, make sure they're not wearing their colors. I'm still plenty pissed about Mair.

[ Right now that's what she needs. That and to hit something. ]

Video

[edgar_of_etheria]

[Her fellow Baron blanches at the idea of mind control.]

I... Is there anything I can do to help, my lady?

Video

[boutant]

Start using your resources. We need to stamp them out.

Video

[sculptor_of_aman]

[The Elf looks troubled and weary.]

I have no information to offer. Will you need help in rebuilding?

Video

[boutant]

The spire hasn't fallen. But if you're willing to offer help, I won't turn it down.

video.

[andallbite]

[ He's thinking what everyone else is: oh, fuck. ]

... I don't have any information I could give– [ Only what's been floating around by word of mouth. Not incredibly helpful in this instance. ] –but I'm still in the city. What do you need us to do?

video.

[boutant]

Loki sent word to Morla; I'm hoping she can send people to make sure no one else is caught under his spell.

Other than that... protect it.

video;

[desperate_times]

Woa woa... what in the hell are you talking about?

video;

[boutant]

Exactly which part was unclear?

unmarked compass;

[knightscode]

I know their masks are spelled, that you cannot look upon them with your own eyes lest you forget all you spoke of with them. Perhaps looking upon them in another surface might reveal something.

Shardbearers were hung in Daonna. It grieves me to think they may have likewise been made to do so to themselves.

[boutant]

Well. That explains me not remembering his face. Thank you.

I'm almost certain they were. Whatever they're after, it's a bigger threat to both courts than I think anyone has truly realized.

[ obsidian || capfam lock ]

[falconkick]

[ sam has approximately eighty thousand questions he wants to ask, but there's an urgency to this that he knows better than to fuck around with. ]

Roger that. We can stay at the Nest, lay low for awhile.

[ it's not - really any more safe than the station, but way this looks, nowhere is really safe. sam can't keep the worry out of his brows. ]

Are you or B hurt?

[ not 'are you okay?' because of course she's not, this is nine kinds of fucked up. he might not understand everything about magic but he's still gonna approach this carefully. ]

[ obsidian || capfam lock ]

[boutant]

Not physically.

[ There's a glance off-screen. ]

He's quiet.

[ Too quiet, but she figures that goes without saying. ]

On top of this, we were at the audience before -- Reul is going to severely punish anyone found speaking with members of the other court. So we were... already having a bad day.

[capfam lock]

[starspangled]

[There was a time when he swore he wouldn't stop until all of Hydra were captured or dead. The Cult of the Fox sort've just took their place. He's lost a lot of people who he thought of as family lately, and this is final straw material.

But he knows how to keep those feelings locked down, his anger and other churning emotions. He knows how to be calm and steady in the face of chaos, of terror. People need that from him. She needs that from him.]

Are you sure he's gone?

[capfam lock]

[boutant]

[ Unfortunately, that question sends another spark of terror through her. She's gripping Bucky with one hand and the sword from Loki in the other, but her fists tighten on both, eyes widening. ]

No.

[ How do they track someone who can change their face? Who knows the spire as well as Ariadne does? ]

Though- pretty sure we weren't meant to live through that.

video;

[invisibletouch]

Brennan?

video;

[boutant]

Dead. He killed him.

[ Or as good as. ]

obsidian | voice;

[arla]

Creators--

[ It's said as a curse, spat almost in anger, that Ariadne has been wrapped up in so much grief and now... This will not stand. ]

Tell me what I can do. I know very little of the Cult but I will do whatever's necessary to keep us safe.

obsidian | voice;

[boutant]

We need to know more about shards. How to use them, how to fight against them.

( locket, audio. )

[manipulative]

[ she's heard whispers of the cult of the fox. not quite immersing herself within another gang history will forget years down the line, she doesn't know too much about them. but if katherine knows one thing, though, it's mind control. ]

I can try and help you find out how many people are still under his spell.

[ out of the goodness of her heart does she offer. being a traveller witch in a past life, and knowing how the witches of now summon their own magic, she's had a few bouts of practicing with what she had been given in the drabwurld. besides, sometimes being nice ends with karma not being such a great, big bitch. ]

[ she shrugs, it evident in her voice, ] Maybe even break it.

( locket, audio. )

[boutant]

I'd appreciate it. I don't know if what he did to the natives involved his shard or not, I don't know if it went away when it went away for us...

[ She doesn't know enough of anything, and that terrifies her. ]

video.

[seidhe]

[ The elf wears a scowl, single eye narrowed. His feelings towards her species aside─ ] You have my bow, sgàil.

video.

[boutant]

[ Oh.

Well, this is unexpected. Enough that she calms for a moment, looks at him, and nods. ]

Thank you. [ Beat. ] Will you tell me what that means?

compass locked

[psalmed]

This sorcery...it is unusual?

[Of course it is but she's slowly absorbing because this is the first she's heard of this cult. Of this magic that lets people wear another's face. She has been traveling this past year and feels suddenly fortunate. But others are not so.]

What might we do against them? To protect ourselves or to stop them?

compass locked

[boutant]

I don't know yet, other than be cautious. They're smart. They have resources, clearly.

[ She sighs. ]

video; private

[huntedby]

Ariadne, I will come if you need me.

[She looks utterly shaken to her core; Vanessa knows the feeling, intimately, often.]

Please, let me help.

video; private

[boutant]

Thank you. I- it might be best to stick to your spire, to make sure they haven't gotten there, too.

[ Though he targeted her. He targeted her and it makes her sick, knowing that it worked. ]

[thebreakingwave]

Oh, Ariadne. I'm so sorry, and I've no information to add.

[ Harry is clearly distressed, but he quickly shelves that and opts for something more professional. ]

Right, what can I do? I can rebuild wards and, if you want, teach you how to throw others out of your mind. Or, at the very least, when they've breached your defences.

[boutant]

If you can help with the wards, that would be great. The other... I should have been able to do something myself. I couldn't, though; he was too strong.

[ She shudders. ]

But. I wouldn't mind learning more. Maybe it won't work against him, but maybe it'll work against someone else.

video;

[fliesbynight]

[Well this is more than unexpected. It terrifies her and she can't admit it when Ariadne must be even more of a mess. She has to be strong right now for her no matter what.]

What the--! No, all right, look. I'm going to make some rounds and see what enchantments are weak and what can be improved on. I don't have any information but I'm going to find some somehow. Is there anything else I can do for you? You've made this home for me, I...

[She hesitates. What else can she say?]

You've taken care of all of us. We're going to stop them together.

video;

[boutant]

Thank you.

[ God, it means so much to her that people care. That people are rallying, that people want to help. ]

I might send a few other shardbearers with you to look at the wards. Other than that... Be careful. Stay safe.

[ We're going to stop them together. Together means they have to make it that far, move as a force instead of alone. ]

video | private

[notavirtue]

[He'd had a conversation with Maglor about this, warning the elf to tread carefully when singing those mocking songs. When Reynard had died, they'd both thought perhaps that was the end of it, that it was a fading cult of personality. They'd been quiet, but now it was painfully obvious that had been the plan all along.

If the Reapers could sit and wait for fifty thousand years, then cultists could take a year to reveal their intentions.]

I can offer no information, but perhaps I can still find something. If your assailant left traces of his presence, I can track him.

[Maybe. He didn't even want to get into how deeply unsettling it was to hear about mind control, so he was focused on what he could do. Javik had used his sensory ability on her once, and she knew what he was capable of.]

video | private

[boutant]

[ She knows. She knows and the thought simultaneously makes her flinch and makes her kick herself for not thinking of it before. ]

If you want to try, I won't say no. But it was powerful magic. I couldn't do anything to stop him, and you know that I have- training in that area.

[ She doesn't want something to happen to Javik, too. ]

... The varren, they're resistant to magic, aren't they? Do you know if that extends to shards?

[ That's a separate thought. ]