◣ OPEN ◢ HATCHING LOG 001

[raiamods]

WHO: All PCs
WHAT: New characters arrive on Ethyraia, get interrogated, and settle in at the basecamp.
WHEN: May 21 onward
WHERE: Basecamp Leviathan
NOTES/WARNINGS: Potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore, alcohol and drug-use, light aphrodisiac effects (optional), and references to mass death.

HATCHING LOG 001 ❀

CONTENT WARNINGS: potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore, alcohol and drug-use, light aphrodisiac effects (optional), and references to mass death.

Players who participated in our TDM are welcome to keep their CR and the content of those threads. Please make sure to chat this out on the OOC intro & CR meme before making assumptions. Please take your time reading the hatching and basecamp bullets, as some items have been altered or expanded.

❀ HATCHING

Congrats, you've woken up in an egg. I'm sure this is exactly how you wanted to spend your Saturday, right? There's no time to get curious and check out the other egg sacs. By the time you've fought your way out of the membranous sac, spilled electric blue goop everywhere, wiped it out of your eyes and sundry other orifices to get your bearings, you have a spear (or a gun) leveled at your face, throat, or other vital organs. Even if you might be inclined to fight, you can barely lift your arms to protest being grabbed and dragged off. Before you can even get a word in edgewise, you've been thrown into a holding cell.

Characters will not have a chance to retrieve their items at the time of the first hatching, and may not even know there is anything left in the remaining eggs.

The holding cell stinks of something sour and acidic, like rotted citrus, but you are not alone. Several other detainees sit in similar squalid confusion, dressed strangely and equally gooey. Time to make nice, ask questions... figure out what the hell is going on, and maybe do something about all that slime?

Over the next few days, a few things become clear. Despite the alien greeting, your captors speak a language that you understand, and the unpleasant circumstances are revealed to be a matter of necessity, not choice. Supplies are low, but they ensure that the new arrivals' time imprisoned is as painless as can be — they offer hot communal showers of less than three minutes, some strange starchy meal-replacement, and medical treatment to those in need. You might strike up a conversation with your new best friend in the shower over a low soap dispenser or when you realize you might need to share towels.

The cost of these luxuries comes in the form of touch-and-go interrogation by the security officers keeping tabs on the cells and supervising the shower time.

A few notes:

☆ Your character may get pulled away for interrogation at some point. No torture, no drugs; just questioning. If you would like to thread this out, please reply to CAPT CHILDE'S top level comment! A caveat: threads will not go beyond (TEN) NPC replies, and new tag-ins will not be responded to after MAY 24.

☆ Locals will be stopping by outside the freestanding holding cells to ogle or ask questions. Are you really going to be mean to that little kid staring at you with wide eyes?

☆ Characters will be let out for bio breaks. No one has to pee in a bucket, that's just inhumane!

☆ Attempts to escape will probably get you tasered. If your character composes a genius jailbreak, you are welcome to submit it in the MOD QUESTION comment to work out how that might go with the NPCs!

❀ EXPLORE THE BASECAMP

On the heels of a little benign interrogation, a medical inspection, and a stern talking to by Captain Childe, the survivors at Basecamp Leviathan determine one thing: you don't appear to be an active threat.

Released from the detention center after three days, you are given the run-down by the locals — you're on a planet called Ethyraia, and the people around you are survivors of the catastrophic crash of the UCSS Adamant several years prior. You, in fact, showed up on the third anniversary of the crash. Weird coincidence, huh?

The first order of the day is having a proper meal at the mess hall — some of the Adamant's survivors will be friendlier than others. They've been stranded here for years, remember? Some of them will be so desperate to talk to someone who has news of other places, and some will be giving you the cold shoulder.

You'll be fed the same as the rest of them. A plastic plate of crumbled protein of unidentifiable origin and gravy over rice with a single wilted stalk of broccoli and a cup of the worst coffee you've ever had. Maybe somebody bumps into you and spills said coffee, maybe you make it all the way to one of the long tables set out for communal eating.

Time to strike up a chat with your neighbor — maybe ask them to pass the salt?

(What do you mean, there's no salt!?)

During this time, characters will be able to return to the Central Chrysalis where they hatched. While there are no clues as to how they got there, they might find items — their own, or someone else's. Everyone is strapped for supplies, but try not to snatch up anything that isn't yours. The security officers don't look kindly on people chasing one other down the hall, trying to get back their dirty magazines.

A few notes:

☆ Feel free to help out anywhere. Every little bit of assistance you offer to the locals will raise their estimation of you. You could easily help clean dishes after the meal, help fix leaky piping or repair hammocks. You could stop by the aid station and assist with the wounded. You'll be watched closely and some of the survivors will be warier than others, but most will appreciate the opportunity to have a 'break'.

☆ If your character leaves the basecamp and wanders outside the Leviathan, they may begin to notice that what they perhaps took as a giant cave is actually an enormous dragon. Everything that seems human-made will look varying levels of worn down, patched, repaired and patched again. This is not a place of prosperity and happiness. Many people are recently injured, or have new scars or missing limbs.

☆ PCs will be warned about the acid rain and inhospitable wildlife that they'll face if they venture beyond the shade of the dragon's wings.

❀ RECRUITMENT FAIR

You've been here for a week, had a chance to show your mettle. Maybe you've demonstrated a propensity for fixing gadgets (or plumbing!) or you have the command of a natural leader and the ability to wield a gun (or a tire iron!) to great effect. Either way, the Adamant's survivors are eager to put you to work so they can have their first real 'days off' in three years! Survivors have set up their various areas in the hopes of catching your attention and (possibly!) bolster their numbers! Feel free to wander around, talk to other PCs, and get the lay of the land.

ENGINEERING CORPS

Thorkil has welded a sign to a post out front, cheerfully painted by a gaggle of children to say "WELCOME!" The children are crowded around the area, and Thorkil is telling them stories about one of his many tattoos as you approach — he has a magnificent eagle tattooed on his arm, and in a hush he is explaining how it landed on him and tried to bite him like a mosquito, and how he slapped it and it just splattered right there on his arm and he's never been able to wash it off!

The children seem mesmerized by the story (maybe you are too?) and will scatter at the story's conclusion, tugging you over to the various areas, pointing things out excitedly. What is an Ehlers-Chau sublight engine? You're about to find out whether you like it or not! Or maybe you can teach them a thing or two. Those who seem to know their stuff will be eagerly invited on board by Thorkil.

The Engineering division has salvaged its tools and scrap from the Adamant’s wreckage, so it has all of the essentials from metal mills to CNC routers to circuitry tools. A holo projector throws schematics on the wall — a drill, a few potential shelter ideas for long-term settlement, and a new communications tower.

SECURITY DIVISION

Rémi has barely deigned to participate — and seems to have done so only at the request of some of his companions. He's sitting at an unadorned table and he is cleaning a variety of weapons. He will scowl if approached, and seems openly mistrustful of your intentions should you speak to him. Questions about how a conversation with Rémi might go may be posted to the MOD QUESTIONS thread. (Note: We will not be threading Rémi, so these questions will be handwaved!)

Characters who make a positive impression on him will open up the avenue to work for the Security Division later, but he will not be extending any offers now — please allow for a realistic period of development here!

Feel free to lean into another PC's space and comment on how frosty that dude seems! You can also survey the various weapons stored in racks, help out with building spears, the usual suspects.

THEATRE

The theatre doubles as a childcare center, and many of the NPCs bustling about seem very excited and eager for the chance to talk to anyone who ventures in to visit. The theatre is bright and cheerful, paintings have been done on the walls of scenes from children's stories featuring colorful characters.

The thespians will not only try to recruit you (for acting in a play, for teaching, for script writing, for drawing on the walls or caring for children) but they will actively put you to work if they see you standing idle longer than a moment! Your character may find themselves with a paintbrush in hand, or taking part in a recital for a play (you're free to invent one, or put a new spin on an old classic! Romeo and Julio, anyone?) or building a set piece for one of the many local productions.

The Theatre doubles as the protective hub in times of need, so beyond arts education and babysitting, your character may also be tasked with shoring up those defenses, helping to fortify the walls, or other such tasks. And who knows, they may be paired off with someone else rather unexpectedly!

AID STATION

Sunya Hyacinth is the local medical doctor, fueled by coffee and spite. She doesn't have the time to recruit personally — she's flitting about the aid station seeing to the injured.

If you follow her, she will put you to work. Hold this stent, articulate this dislocation, take this blood pressure reading. If anyone appears to have a proficiency for this sort of work, she may inquire after credentials — and anyone who seems to have medical experience is going to immediately be handed the medic's armband, a white band with a blue cross emblazoned on it. This armband will grant any PC an extra amount of respect and trust from the Adamant's survivors — but you'd better be able to live up to it!

Feel free to treat any injured PCs, converse with other 'recruits', help pin that white and blue arm-band on... you know, anything under the sun. Some of the patients in the medical bay seem to be suffering from the adverse effects of some of the local flora — itching hives or burning pustules. One unfortunate soul seems only able to speak in limericks, which the medical staff will admit is one of the odder things they’ve seen.

SANITATION

CONTENT WARNING: DRUG REFERENCES

It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it! There are always latrines to be dug, pipes to be repaired, general maintenance to be done on the various sanitation systems.

A nervous-looking janitor will approach your character almost shyly, and ask if you wouldn't mind giving her a hand. If you are willing to help her (fix a pipe, dig a hole, etc), she will gradually warm up to you and seem more animated and lively and very, very grateful. Won't you please consider working with the Sanitation crew? Sure, it's not as glamorous as some of the other duties, but they're the backbone of the Basecamp and they could really use the help!

She'll even let you in on a little secret if you really butter her up or show an interest — the Sanitation Crew? Totally has a little underground greenhouse where they're growing marijuana. They're totally willing to share...

Feel free to dig latrines alongside your fellow PCs, or maybe even share a joint. It's a way to pass the time, right? PCs serving in sanitation will also have an easier time overhearing the gossip that spreads around the base, since no one looks twice at them.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO MASS DEATH

During their first two weeks in the basecamp, any character who stops by one of the various houses of worship (in addition to a church, a synagogue, and a mosque, there is a temple with small statues to fifteen different unfamiliar deities, many of whom seem to be from different faiths), the gymnasium, or the mess hall will come across a stand that hosts a dozen or so packages.

Wrapped in the black emergency blankets that many bring with them to and from the bunks, these packages are about one cubic foot and contain folded clothes in roughly the same sizes. The styles are all different and highly individualized. Some are luxe, some are basic, and some are clearly the undershirt (but not the proper outerwear) for uniforms of the Adamant’s crew. Warm-faced folks eagerly give out a single package to each new hatchling. Along with the clothing and blanket, hatchlings will receive basic packages containing basic toiletries — bar soap, a toothbrush, a straight razor, etc.

Come by at the wrong time, and you might see a fight break out. A young person, red-faced, shouts at the volunteers working these stands, “Those were our people! Our families! We should be the one to decide what’s done with what they left behind.”

In hushed tones, clearly trying to keep this from becoming a conflict, the lead volunteer insists, “Take it up with Captain Childe.”


A few notes:

☆ Feel free to have your character sign on to help out with any of the listed divisions, with the exception of security.

☆ Characters may collect one (1) care package from the community outreach program. If your character intends to come back for more, please let us know in the Mod Questions thread.

☆ Feel free to ask for light NPC interactions in the MOD QUESTIONS header; we can give you a general idea of how a conversation might go! Like with the Captain Childe threads, none of these threads will be lengthy, and new tag-ins will not be responded to after MAY 24.

❀ THE DREAMING

You are standing at the edge of an immense, underground lake. Water laps at the shore, echoing in the cavern. There is a sense of peace and warmth and — welcome.

A creature emerges from the lake and approaches you. Its gills flutter, its eyes are a faint bioluminescent glow in the darkness. It reaches out to touch you — one long, elegant finger presses against your chest. It feels as if it might crack your sternum open and ferret beneath your bones as if looking, looking for something. Yet, there is no malice from it, and you feel no fear.

But the creature relents. It backs up. Bows to you once, and then turns and walks back into the water.

You stay for some time at the edge of the lake. Eventually, it seems as if another person is here with you, or perhaps they simply came into focus after being here just as long as you. Should you speak with them?

A few notes:

☆ PCs may interact with one another in the dreams. They will be in a semi-conscious state, not wholly aware they are dreaming and not wholly under the impression of its normalcy.

☆ Your character will wake up naturally from the Dreaming, they will feel peaceful and refreshed.
The lake, if they choose to swim in it while dreaming, would be perceived as the perfect ambient temperature for them — some characters may prefer it to be warmer or colder!

☆ If they duck below the water, they will see far-off glittering city lights, but no matter how they try to swim towards them they will never get any closer!

☆ If your character tries to drink the water, they might notice that for a few minutes after they wake they can hear little snippets of NPC thoughts. Weird!

☆ Every character will have a small, pale lilac mark where they were touched on the chest. It will fade over the next few days.

❀ FETCH QUEST

CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO LIGHT APHRODISIAC EFFECTS

A small, perky woman corrals you somewhere near the latrines. "Hey!" she says insistently, pushing her hat back and sending a spill of inky curls askew from her forehead. "We need a hand. There's this plant we get for Sunya — the Doc? You met her yet? — it's a painkiller. Go through a shitload of that, which I'm sure is quite surprising," she says all this in a single breath, and her expression is sour despite her cheery tone.

"You any good at botany? We need another round of Starspire root. Can't harvest the ones we've got in camp, they've been a little cranky lately. You'll have to go about four kilometers due west, towards the old Adamant wreck. Just watch them — if they start to sweat, you'll need to get under cover, means the acid rain is coming. I'll upload the specs to your Comm."

Seems like you're being partnered with somebody else for the run — another person looking perhaps about as equally haggard as you, and at least as equally voluntold. Hopefully you won't run into any difficulties — how hard can retrieving one plant be?

A few notes:

☆ Feel free to have random monster encounters along the way! Don’t forget to wait for approvals on bestiary submissions before incorporating them into threads.

☆ The plants are at a high elevation, so they will exist on rocky outcroppings along a cliff-face. The landscape here is mostly high desert, which means it is full of thin, calf-high grasses, scrub plants, and non arable land polluted by dense, alkaline soil and rocks. Be creative in how you get there!

☆ Somebody gets hurt? Here, chew this root! They said it was a painkiller, right? What's the worst that could happen? (People can get a little ... flirtatious, shall we say.)

☆ Or you could go one step further and try exploring portions of the Adamant! Remember, the ship itself was built to house seventy thousand people — it's the size of a city, and it cannot be adequately explored in an afternoon! If you'd like anything specific to come of this, or if you’d like to know specifics about the Adamant’s layout, please consider submitting a plot request!.

NAVIGATION ❀

Comments

[neversmall]

[ ...well. Nina supposes that finding a way back would be more of a priority for Alina. And it's not a large leap to realize that she should help Alina do that, wants to help Alina do that, even. The sun summoner and the general should not be here.

Sending them back, but particularly Alina back, is important. It rises reluctantly in her priorities to make it to the top... oh... five. ]

We do have to. I'm interested in learning more about the Chrysalis they said was responsible for it, even if they weren't sure how exactly it happened. [ Her hand comes up to rub over the lilac mark on her chest and Nina shakes her head before fastening a large, silver locket around her neck. ] But that dream makes me wonder if it was quite as simple as they seemed to believe.

[sunmon]

Do you think it did something to us?

[ everywhere she turns, things seem to be out of alina's control. the only time she'd ever felt powerful and in control was the night of the winter fete, right before her feet had been swept out from under her. she'd like, for once, to be in charge of herself. ]

[neversmall]

It's possible, I suppose. [ She begins to gather up the rest of her things, to hang the towel up to dry. Her movements are efficient, but her brows are furrowed. ] Though... in the dream, it didn't feel like it. And that wasn't what I meant, I just meant... there may be more than one factor than an ensign having an accident.

[ She suddenly glances at Alina. ]

I wonder if any of the Adament crew have ever have that dream.

[sunmon]

I haven't asked. [ she shakes her head. ] I thought it must be a Grisha thing because —

[ the stag. baghra's harpy voice fills her ears, the snarling accusation that alina had nearly enabled her own enslavement with those dreams. ]

You know. [ her heart flutters. ] It's so weird.

1/2

[neversmall]

[ ...Alina, wtf.

Look, Nina tries not to key in to the ambient 'noise' of heartbeats all around her, but she can't miss that.

Why? ]

[neversmall]

...have you been having weird dreams like this before coming here? [ Nina very deliberately does not say Alina's name. She's not going to trap her any more than a yes or no question already traps her.

Why does she seem so scared? ]

[sunmon]

[ caught.

the fact that nina calls her out on this but not the earlier thing confirms that she cannot, as it turns out, fool a heartrender. not well, anyway. but she had managed to get the comment about the kefta and the general over on her, it seemed. the fact that there was a line, and that her previous comment had slid under it, suggests to alina that she might be able to pull this off.

(narrator voice: she was incorrect. she would not be able to pull this off.)

the same could not be said, apparently, for the matter of the stag. ]

Oh. It's stupid. It's probably nothing. [ a beat. ] You know the legends of Morozova's stag? I keep seeing it. Only ... the Apparat gave me a copy of Istorii Sankt'ya. It must be that. [ on the brain, obviously. ]

[neversmall]

...huh. [ That, at least, felt like the truth - or part of the truth, anyway. Nina supposes it would be a lot easier to believe that it was stupid than it if it was important. But. Well. Alina was the sun summoner. ]

Well. Only one way to find out if these dreams are truly different than the ones you've been having. I'll ask Matthias about the creature-dream. He's about as far from Grisha as you can get.

[ That last bit offered with a wry, and somewhat pained twist of her mouth. Her locket feels cold around her neck. ]

[sunmon]

Good idea.

[ alina nods, if a little slowly. it's bizarre, still. how close nina and matthias seem to be. they might not be enemies anymore (for now? or forever?), but nina speaks with such comfortable cooperation.

well. it's none of her business, as long as it means matthias isn't trying to murder her. but it continues to put her in a weird position on how much to trust nina relative to her relationship to kirigan, as well. ]

[neversmall]

Occasionally it's been known to happen, [ Nina says with a grin and a half shrug. ] Come on, let's get out of here.

[sunmon]

Did you mean what you said about food from home?

[ alina's eyes light up as she tosses her towel in with the laundry and falls into step beside nina, striding towards the door. she's as eager as anyone to leave serious subjects behind for the time being, and real food is an attractive prospect that she hasn't forgotten. ]

[neversmall]

If we're going to be friends, Alina, you should realize one thing about me -- [ Dramatic Pause, stopping and turning to regard her seriously. ]

I never lie about food. Come on, [ with a grin, moving forward to her small locker where they can retrieve her contraband. ]

[sunmon]

[ though she smiles instantly, eager to be liked, 'friends' makes her think of genya. she can't help the brief hesitation. were she and genya even still friends? she had fled the palace. could she be friends with any of the second army, when they served the black heretic? did they know?

did nina?

there's no use in wondering about it. for now, until she figures out a way to oppose kirigan more directly, they will be, and alina is grateful for that. she could desperately use a friend. she loops her arm through nina's, a delighted laugh spilling out. ]

I think that might make you my favorite friend.

[neversmall]

[ Nina doesn't miss that hesitation; friend can be a loaded word. She doesn't ask, she doesn't push, and she doesn't retract her offer. She lets Alina loop her arm through hers, pushes that further awareness of Alina's heartbeat to the back of her mind. ]

That's a high standard to live up to, [ Nina responds lightly. ] I hope you realize I am only intending to share these biscuits once.

[sunmon]

Well, I didn't even know they were biscuits until you just said, so now I'm doubly sure.

[ she grins ear to ear. she had found her own stash of sweets — hard honey candy that she will be doling out just as cautiously to return the favor, which she keeps hidden in her locker. better spent on nina than anyone else. but they're a warm sort of comfort, not a snack. ]

[neversmall]

Oh, didn't I say? [ Nina grins innocently, retrieves the tin that's carefully stuffed in with her kefta, and moves to carry it all out. ]

Let's find someplace private-ish. Maybe a roof.

[ She will share with Alina, but she is not interested in sharing with anyone else, thank you. ]

[sunmon]

Luckily, I happen to have found the roof access for the theater.

[ which speaks to the troublemaker that she is, but also to the fact that she'd had to wrangle a six year old who had been determined to clamber up there after disappearing for just a little too long with the blue paint yesterday.

alina leads the way, winding them through the crowd arm-in-arm. ] So if you haven't been at the Little Palace, where were you stationed?

[neversmall]

[ Nina doesn't pull away from Alina, although the contact makes it so she can't help but hear her heartbeat more than anyone else's, and it leaves them both more vulnerable than she would normally like. The camp, however, is safer for Grisha than most places in their world, which is a genuinely pathetic statement. Nina understands the kind of power simple contact can have, the way it builds a bridge. She's in the bridge-building business.

She nods and waves to a few people she recognizes as they walk. She feels a bit of a weight as she talks about this, keeping her voice for Alina's ears, but her tone is light enough. It's simple history. ]

I've been on the field since I was fifteen, a full soldier at sixteen. [ Heartrenders don't really get to wile away their time in the Little Palace, doing research. She'd been needed on the front, and that was where she went. ] About two years ago, I started running more specialized missions. My last one was in Kerch.

[sunmon]

Just you? No back-up?

[ 'specialized' and 'my' clue alina in. she's used to first army talk — 'we're heading south.' 'we're crossing the fold.' nina doesn't frame it that way. even if alina had never been one of them, the illusion of camaraderie was a thin blanket. mutual suffering, she'd tell herself, could run deeper than even the worst prejudices. it had never proved true, of course. not for most of the first army. not for anyone with any power. ]

[neversmall]

[ Nina shakes her head. ] Not for this one, no. I've worked within units before, but this wasn't that kind of job.

[ Nina's not interested in hiding who she is and what she's done, but she's also very aware that what she does... what Heartrenders do... it's not always easy to swallow.

There were many reasons why Heartrenders tended to stay with their own kind. ]

How long were you working with the cartographers?

[sunmon]

A few years. [ her little nod suggests much the same as nina. ] I think a few of them were coming around to liking me, despite ... [ she shrugs. her smile is a weak flutter of acknowledgment. ] You know.

[ it was always the first thing anyone pointed out about her. even those who knew. even the king and queen themselves. she exhales. ]

Or at least they were before ... [ she thinks of alexei going over the edge of the skiff that she'd put him on. she ducks her head. ] But the Little Palace has been nice. Let's see, I've made friends with Nadia and — [ marie. poor, dead marie. all around her are the corpses of friends. alina clears her throat and surges on. ] Genya. Fedyor. [ she crinkles her nose. ] Ivan and I need a little more time, I think.

[ time that they won't get because alina won't be staying. it's hard to even imagine leaving them behind. ]

i really, really hope this works for headcanon with genya

[neversmall]

[ ...ah. Yes. She knows. The Shu thing. It's not easy to resemble the enemy in a land that's at war, she supposes. Grisha have more reason to fear the Shu than most, but they also don't have the luxury of turning anyone away who wants to help them -- let alone the sun summoner. Nina imagines Alina must have, very abruptly, been thrust into a very different life.

The Little Palace was many things, but nice was not the first word that came to Nina's mind. It had been, however, good to suddenly be in a place where she fit, where she had a purpose, and where there were people who wouldn't turn her away.

She imagines that it might have been similar for Alina, if... impossibly more, to have gone from who she'd been to who she was. The politics could be brutal, and, well... at least Nina knows the names of some of the people Alina befriended. Poor Genya; she was glad she'd found a friend there. And Fedyor and Ivan... Nina feels a pang of sorrow, thinking of how they would view her now. She doesn't regret it; it hurts all the same. ]

Nadia, I don't know well. Fedyor is a sweetheart. Ivan... [ she trails up, her hand brushing against the silver locket she now wears ] ...has had to do many difficult things. He has a true heart. They're both very good. [ At what they do, at being Heartrenders. They'd been a few years ahead of her, but she'd still competed with their class - Ivan could beat her out at times, still. ]

[ She doesn't mention Genya, because Genya is not mentioned. The white kefta speaks loudly enough for her. When they had been younger... even then, it hadn't truly been that different. But Nina did not like being cruel, and sometimes that was close to kindness, and when Nina had become a spy Genya had shared a few things with Nina that, perhaps, she should not have as in the past Nina had done a few things for Genya that, perhaps, she should not have. ]

[sunmon]

[ Alina's silent for a moment, as if waiting for Nina to continue. She doesn't. The absence of commentary on Genya somehow surprises her. She knows she shouldn't. Genya may boss around a gaggle of the Queen's and other otkazat'sya servants, but among Grisha, she is different.

Alina's mouth sets in a line. ]

They all are.

[ Good. Even Ivan. Alina can recognize that, despite her personal conflicts with him. All Grisha are people who have no place but in the Little Palace. They are myriad neuroses packed into keftas, stepping on each other's toes. She and Ivan step on each other's toes more often.

But he is not the Black Heretic.

She fidgets at the hem of her kefta sleeve, feeling the need to justify herself, the subject change, now that she doesn't have more to say on the matter. She wrestles with it a moment. ] The only real friend I had in the First Army hasn't answered my letters since I left. He never liked Grisha, so I suppose it's not that surprising.

[ It stings to admit, but it gives her protection in the long term. Nina will ask no more injurious questions about her time prior to coming to the Little Palace if it's clear that there's nothing but pain there. Alina stares at the bare, smooth center of her palm, where the scar had been. She closes her hand into a fist and lifts her chin. ]

It's for the best.

[neversmall]

[ There is no excuse, really, for what happened with Genya. It had already been done before Nina had joined the Little Palace as a child, it was simply in her framework for The Way Things Were. But Nina had, even as a child, a terrible time with looking at other people and not asking why, and now that she is older... her loyalty to the general is still strong, but she is deeply uncomfortable with many things. It had not been so hard to pretend to be a radical who hated the forced conscription of Grisha. For some things, silence was the best protection.

And the best prompt, if you wanted someone to say more on the subject. Honestly, Alina. This is how you get a Heartrender to not be interested in things?

But Nina's not interested in splitting open Alina's secrets and pains like a hammer and chisel. It strikes her, suddenly, how very alone Alina sounds. The only real friend.

And for most of her life, Alina hadn't known who she was.

She only makes a soft listening noise and then completely redirects. ]

So we're at the theater! Which way up?

[ ...look, she might not be interested in using silence as a weapon at this time, but she's only human, she can't just not. ]

[sunmon]

Oh!

[ saints, she'd needed that out. she was just digging herself deeper, wasn't she? having an even dubiously friendly ear was making her too eager to talk about what she hadn't been able to talk about for too long.

she leads nina around to the back, behind the stage. a metal frame there supports the curtains, and above it, the lighting catwalks. from there, it's barely possible to see amongst the cobwebs of steel bars that some of them make up a black ladder towards the roof.

alina points to it. ]

Hope you like climbing. [ she leads the way, at least, finding the edge of the scaffold. the good news is that it looks like it's intended for climbing. ]