eachdraidh | voice; unseelie.

Entry tags:

voice; unseelie.

Each day that goes by that we're waiting for something to happen is each day the Void gets closer to all of us. We lost all last month to fight against it due to the Black Shuck's orders, and now we're left scrambling to make up that lost time. Isn't that a bit too convenient for those who would have us die against our will, to squander the little time we've left?

I can't shake the feeling there's something more that's happening than we're being told, and more we ought to be doing than simply preparing. The least we could do for now is try to figure out what that is. If you've no experience with self-defense, then I can help with that; and if you have that, or at least some experience in finding your way through the woods without getting lost and setting off warning signs wherever you walk, then I suppose I'm your lieutenant, if you wish to scout our borders.

Either way we know something is stirring, and we'd better be prepared for it.

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[ She snorts. ]

No. Of course not. It would be too simple to win a war, to ensure our own survival, if we had all the information we needed. To ask us to fight and not withhold everything else.

[ Which is to say: of course this is how this works. Because Katsa expects very little of people with actual power. ]

It's not only spies of which I'm speaking. [ Katsa sits up a little straighter, though, because this sounds worth listening to. ] You've seen or caught them? And not been detected yourself?

[ That... sounds like what they need more of ]

[ if katherine had known of klaus' intentions centuries ago, she would've run sooner. she supposes that's why those who hold most of the cards choose to omit information. the people they see as pawns are truly more powerful than they when they possess all the information, plus the cards they don't have in their hands. ]

[ there's a smile in her voice, but it isn't out of kindness. perhaps it's a little smug, her tone, but she sounds more like a cat that has caught the canary than anything else. once she speaks it, it sounds like a riddle. ]

You can't see nor catch what you don't know is there.

[ for a vampire with super speed who knows how to run, where to place her footfalls, and how to distribute her weight, is a vampire that is often never thought of once more when she's merely a blur to those dimwitted enough to not notice a disturbance in the air around them. ]

[ of course, katherine also makes people forget. ]

Well. You're not wrong.

[ Katsa ignores any smugness, overlooks any hint of anything more underlying that statement than what Katherine has to say. Instead it makes her think of possibilities, and she's thinking now. ]

So if a troop of Seelies' mounts were to go missing or their supplies ruined, you'd have nothing to do with it. Or if I had information where they were planning to cross a border or how they were moving to prepare for another invasion or attack, it wouldn't have come from you.

[ By which she means: so Katherine could definitely do all of those things, if she's willing, and nobody would suspect a thing. ]

Depends.

[ on whether or not she wants those necks snapped. on whether or not she wants the carcasses of the horses. on whether or not she wants them dead or alive. but it's not a denial. it all depends on one very important thing, the very motivation that would spark her into acting on such hypotheticals. ]

[ of course, all those things matter, but they're all so low on her list of priorities when it comes to negotiation. ]

What's there to gain other than upsetting another highly powered individual? You're assuming in your hypothetical that I'm selfless and kind and am a supporter of the Unseelie cause without question.

[ katherine belongs to the court of katherine pierce and no other, even if she's finding herself helping others out. it's better if she doesn't acknowledge it, and even best when others refuse to highlight this fact to her, too. ]

[ Answers to all of those things: no.

Perhaps it's best Katherine doesn't mention those things. ]

I'm assuming you're a supporter of your own life. Keeping those troops from attacking and killing keeps their power and the Void from growing, too; stopping their power stops the death they'd make you suffer without your consent, the death that grows closer every day.

[ Fierce as Katsa is to the Unseelie cause, it's because it aligns with what she thinks is best. And Katsa doesn't want to die. ]

Troops don't scare me. What they supposedly can do to me doesn't scare me. You can't kill what you can't overpower.

[ katherine can't die, not unless it's wood to the heart, a werewolf bite, or she's left to starve with little blood to stave away her cravings. she's prepared, too prepared for soldiers like the ones she thinks she should be afraid of. she's consumed vervain, felt it burn its way down her throat, for decades. ]

[ katherine may sound confident, not exactly cocky, but her tone shifts as she begins to negotiate, hushed, and not quite as condescending as she'd like. ]

If I do this for you, is that what you will promise me? My life? Protection? Support?

[ truthfully, katherine doesn't know what she wants. she used to. she wanted someone to protect her from klaus. she wanted a werewolf and a vampire to sacrifice to him. she wants her freedom. but she knows this woman can't give it to her. she's beginning to think no one can. ]

Well, then if you can overpower the Void, I'm sure we'd all appreciate it if you do it soon.

[ Katsa says it like it's a dry joke, her tone mostly offhand, but she means it. Troops don't worry her specifically; but they do worry her for the other people caught up at the end of their blades. ]

I don't know what I can promise you. But I can promise you that it will help extend the time we have to fight for our survival a little longer, and that I will be grateful, and I will protect you with all the strength I have.

[ katherine sighs. it's always i'll repay you in gratitude, and she finds she's falling for it more and more the longer she stays in the drabwurld. if she could stop the void, she would, and she'd do it for more than just the gratitude of both of the courts. ]

Fine. [ she breathes it out. ] Give me a direction and I'll do your … [ she waves her hand, despite the fact katsa can't see it. ] little errand. I'm bored, anyway.

[ i'm bored is her go-to explanation for her acts of kindness. does it sound believable? to her, she wants to believe it does. ]

[ Katsa would promise more if she could make more of a promise. But she isn't good with promises. Not when she can never know the circumstances of her future and her ability—or lack thereof—to keep them.

But she does mean what she says about ensuring Katherine's protection as well as she can. ]

South. [ ...That, an unspecified and fairly cheeky response, she gives on purpose. ] I'll send you more information of where I think we most ought to focus our attention in a manner where there's less chance of someone listening in. Or surprise me, in the manner you most see fit.

[ ....She may later regret that comment. ]

[ there is a 70% chance katsa will regret tossing the gauntlet to the floor when it comes to katherine. she thinks to surprise her now, but, katherine isn't that committed. ]

[ she doesn't challenge katsa's words, which should show her acceptance of a task katherine thinks will be almost too easy for her to complete. ]

Who am I speaking to? I don't keep up with the political newsletter.

[ why subscribe when armel knows everything? she doesn't know about the promotions in her own court, but her special friend does. while she can look at her locket, there's always something about someone giving their name. it isn't a vulnerability, but a tether of trust that can be used and abused to her liking. ]

[ well, u know. we'll get there when we get there. ]

Katsa. Does that suffice?

[ no need to elaborate. there's point in giving titles or mentioning the middluns here any more, honestly. ]

[ katherine literally glazes when people give her titles. or she snaps their necks. she appreciates the simplicity. katsa's low on her to somehow murder list because of it. ]

I'm Katherine. [ katerina on the locket. ] And it does.

[ even though katherine doesn't really feel like south truly is, it's something for her to do. it's something to preoccupy her with. it's something. ]

I'll look forward to hearing how south you'd like me to go.

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voice; unseelie.

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