Fantasy Vampire Corps of Eldergaard

[jones573]

Freddy scowled at his sire. "What a time to develop protective instincts," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Besides- Not like I'm gonna see her again," he added.

"Huh," he said, as surprised at the outcome of Lanea's conversation as Maskim was. "Well- If we are good on that front.... Maybe we should move up our timeline? I feel like waiting is just more time for things to wrong," he admitted. Things tended to go wrong quite a lot.

 

[Reynarda]

Astrid was pleased to find their hosts were still nervously trying to keep their guests happy and had therefore brought sleeping clothes. As she eyed them, wondering how they knew her size, she caught a glimpse of Leo out of the corner of her eye.

He wasn't okay. Heck, she wasn't okay. And seeing him hurt made her feel sick.

She watched him start to struggle with his hair, and she felt a physical pain shoot through her chest. Hair was a big deal in Eldergaardian culture, and most Eldergaardians wore theirs long and in complicated braids. It could take hours to braid and was best done by someone you trusted. Astrid had several memories of her mother braiding her hair before important state functions. Her mom would tell her stories--some true, some she had made up. In the military, she had done her own hair as it was hard to have friends in the military when your mom was the supreme general. Those bold enough wanted something, and she wasn't about to turn her back to one of them. It took forever, but Astrid wasn't about to let anyone think she couldn't even find someone to help her with her hair. And then... well... Alyx had offered to do it just after Astrid had backed one of her plans. No doubt the commander had known the cultural significance and was extending an olive branch. Astrid had been a little unsure--this was a vampire, after all--but then--

"Want help?" Astrid asked Leo.

Without really waiting for a yes or no, she sat down next to him and held her hand out for the comb. She couldn't do much, but she could look after Leo.



Maskim made a face. “It’s not protective instincts. I don’t want to have you sobbing on my shoulder when she broke up with your sorry ass.”

He almost said something unkind but stopped himself. He didn’t need to be mean just to cover up the fact that Freddy had seen through him.

“I was thinking that as well,” Maksim conceded. “But last I checked, your sister was concussed and Alyx doesn’t have enough blood in her to kill a fly with. We could go find Lanea and see what he thinks.” Maksim shrugged. “He’s in the galley. Probably not good to let him stew too long anyway.”

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo startled, looking up at Astrid in surprise before he immediately relaxed.

"Yeah, thanks," he sighed, the tension drawing out of his shoulders. It was nice to have somebody comb his hair for him, even if it didn't have the same significance to Allarians. "I was just going to leave it, but if I don't braid it before bed it'll be the worst in the morning."

He tried to keep his voice light, but it was just nice having somebody to rely on. He couldn't rely too much, or push too much, but he had practically turned to Jello the moment Astrid had started combing his hair for him, and his eyes were half-lidded by the time she was done.

"Did..." He hesitated for a second, unsure of whether or not he was overstepping boundaries. "Did you want me to do yours?"



Lanea saved them the trouble of hunting him down, knocking on the open door to announce his presence as he poked his head into the room. He had tried VERY hard to make it look like he hadn't been crying, but his eyes were still a little red and puffy. He just hoped nobody would say anything.

"Hey," he said, voice gruff. "Was lookin' for you."

He reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a lukewarm blood bag, tossing it to Maksim.

"For your betrothed," he said with a roll of his shoulders. "She didn't get much earlier, and I doubt you want to head down to the galley now. One of the cook hands's in there doing who knows what. I snuck this out before I left."

Maybe the admiral wanted a midnight snack or something. Lord knew Petra was always pestering him in the middle of the night to cook crepes or something ridiculous like that.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Camellia took a deep breath as she stopped outside of Jorgenson's office, a tray with coffee and a croissant sitting on it in her hands. Everything was finally going to reach a head. Months of preparation, and then she could get off this airship and back on the ground where she belonged, and maybe her family would even come out of this alive.

She took one single second to allow herself to worry, and then stilled her hands as she pushed her way into the admiral's office.

It was six am, and she smiled nervously as she brought the tray towards him.

"Your coffee, sir," she said, striking up a good even space between 'skittish in the presence of superior officers' and 'grateful for the chance to serve'. It fit the character she had been playing, and she was sure to set the tray down carefully on the man's desk before stepping back.

She had no more reason to remain, and quickly scurried out of the office once her task was done. She exhaled, feeling relieved for about five minutes, and figured that her job was done.

Until an explosion sounded from the room behind her and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

What the hell! Who set off the bomb?! The bomb was a last resort! They weren't supposed to set off the bomb unless they absolutely had to!

She clutched one hand to her chest and swore quietly before taking off down the hall.

Stupid. Idiots. Dumbass kids who had NO idea what they were doing, potentially ruining months of work just for NOTHING and--

She caught Arthur just as they were heading down to the brig, grabbing hold of their arm and yanking them back even though they were significantly larger than she was.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" She hissed, slamming them up against the wall. They startled, their eyes going wide as she pressed her forearm against their throat. Their short, pale hair stuck to their face, and they pushed against her as nonthreateningly as possible. After a moment she finally relented, pulling her arm back and holding them by the shoulders instead.

"I didn't set off the bomb," they said, their throat scratchy. "I was going to get the princess to secure her for our rendesvous at sunset."

Camellia glowered at them, because that was still NOT what they had planned. She gave them a surly look that said 'I am the leader here, remember', but didn't have time to think on it anymore than that. The bomb would have blown up a very large portion of the admiral's office. It wasn't enough to take down the whole ship, but it was enough to cause significant problems and sew a great deal of chaos. She was only lucky that most of the soldiers were in their quarters and not on this level.

She breathed in harshly through her nose, then exhaled.

"Ok. Ok, shit."

She had to get her thoughts under control and come up with a new plan. Arthur was staring at her like she had all the answers, so it was her job to get those answers for them.

Moreover, Freddy was still on this ship. If Clorissa was taking her chance to block off the vampire barracks and secure their research subjects, then she just hoped that he had the sense not to return to his bed last night.

"Ok," she said finally, her voice calmer than she felt. "We need to take out superior officers during the confusion. Leave the commander alive. We'll secure the brig after we have hostages secured and threats neutralized. I'll close off this hallway and then isolate the ship from the Gargoyle. You go... Take out any ranked officer who encounters you and neutralize any mages."

Arthur nodded their head, and she let them go to complete what they had been assigned. It was important, but also the equivalent of busy work. Freddy said he already had a plan to get his sister out, so she would entrust that to him. For now she needed to seal off this hallway and make sure reinforcements couldn't come through from the other damned ship.

 

[jones573]

Gigi hadn't slept too well, but she hadn't slept too badly either, all things considered. It was hardly luxury accommodations, but when resting up was the only thing she could feasibly do to give herself an advantage, she was inclined to do it.

Maskim's oversized fledging had spent the night outside their cells on guard, sitting in a chair. She knew Maskim seemed to trust him, and Alyx seemed to trust Maskim, and Gigi was pretty sure she trusted Alyx, but there was something about the man that made her uneasy.

Something about how he carried himself maybe, as though he knew he was dangerous. Freddy had been nearly the same size, but he'd been comfortable in his body and with himself in a way that made him feel safe to be around, instead of intimidating.

Though maybe 'intimidating' wasn't the right word for the fledgling- He was clearly dangerous and clearly knew it, and also seemed... Uncomfortable about it? It was odd. But he'd gotten them fresh water and turned away the few crew that had come that way for a peek at the prisoners, so she supposed she could try to be more charitable in her opinion of him.

Gigi was currently awake, and trying to determine if he was too- It was hard to tell with him turned to the side and wearing the helmet. Maybe he didn't even need to sleep. And then there was a sound like an explosion somewhere, and instead of looking towards the noise, the fledgling's head swiveled towards her.

"It wasn't me," she said automatically. "I swear," she promised, aware she didn't have a great track record when it came to not being responsible for explosions on Elderaardian ships.

"I know," he said gruffly, before turning to Alyx. "Commander Draya?," he asked, waiting for her orders in lieu of Maskim's.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx was jolted out of a blood-induced sleep by an explosion and then klaxon wards shrieking. In her confusion, she thought the Dragon must have come upon an Allarian scouting ship and had been fired upon. But she was not in her tiny bed, and this was not the Dragon.

As everything came rushing back, she whipped her head around to glare at the only other possible source of the explosion: Georgiana. But the princess looked just as startled as she did and loudly proclaimed it wasn't her. Which, considering she was also locked up, made sense. But explosions weren't Maksim's style, and she didn't peg Lanea as being a pyromaniac, either. Unless--blast. Hopefully it wasn't Petra Mothgrove.

Alyx rested her hands on the deck, searching out the wards. One of the breach wards had be activated and it was trying to keep the admiral's office shielded. Stars, that wasn't good.

When Maksim's fledgling turned to her as if she were the authority in the room, Alyx's years of being a commander pulled everything int focus. Whatever it was, they didn't have time to wait around and see what would happen. They didn't have time for Lanea or Maksim to come get them. With the ward magi focused on the admiral's quarters, she didn't need to worry about the prison wards being repaired. She snapped the wards keeping the doors from opening, and the cell doors groaned open. She rocked to her feet and stepped quickly out. "We need to go. Now. We'll get the boys on the way out. Help the princess if she needs help."




For his part, Maksim started so violently he fell out of his tiny bed and got wedged between it and the wall. Cursing, he wriggled out and clapped his hands over his ears. If this was that stupid princess blowing up his ship again, he was leaving her here to die. This wasn't the plan.

In the tiny space--that was really not much bigger than a closet--he tugged on his uniform and then stumbled out into the hall. He was nearly bowled over by someone running past but he flattened himself against the wall just in time. Yeesh, who was in such a hurry to get to the vampire barracks? Whatever, not his problem. Right now he had to go get Lanea and Georgiana and Freddy and Alyx.

Maksim froze.

No, no, no, he didn't have time for this. He had to go get the other four and get off the ship because this might be their last chance. He had to save himself, and what could he do anyway?

But all he felt was intense disapproval that was decidedly Alyx-tinted.

With a groan, he turned and jogged back down the hall. This was all Freddy's fault. Freddy and his stupid noblesse oblige. Frowning at the person trying to do who-knew-what to the door, he said, "And what, exactly, do you think you're doing?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Camellia hesitated as she stood in the hallway, debating whether she should sneak a quick peak down the hall to the brig. Ultimately she decided against it. Sealing off the path for reinforcements was first and foremost, so she headed to the bridge connecting the Griffin and the Gargoyle. The panic helped things, and it didn't take too long to incapacitate the soldiers nearby. Not killing. The vampires were going to need food, and they sure as hell were not feeding them with their own people. It was nasty work, but the lower ranked soldiers would make good blood fodder as long as they were knocked out and incapable of using magic.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, then looked outside through the window on the ship's main door.

It was brightening up outside, but it was still just past sunrise. The others had twelve hours to get off before the commandeered ship was in Allarian airspace and rendezvoused with their guideship. It wasn't a lot of time.

She rolled back the sleeve of her uniform, to reveal the tiny communication device sewn into the seam.

"Clorissa, what's our status?"



Arthur was worried. They weren't really good at improvising, and this whole thing was one big improvisation. They were supposed to keep the admiral's death contained as long as possible, but now it was all a big mess.

They had killed three people so far, and knocked out a few more. Some of the crew - the ones they knew were weak with magic from their months long fraternization - they had just tied up and left in obscure locations.

The fate of the princess was obviously a big concern. Arthur had never met her, but she was a princess. That was a big deal, and her safety was important.

But they were also worried about the rest of their team.

Camellia was in charge, and she had done this sort of thing over and over again. They trusted her judgement, and the judgement of the crew in charge of hacking the ship's engines. But half this team was new, and for most of them it was their first job of this scale.

Clorissa, in particular, was even younger than Arthur was. They looked over the unconscious body of the officer they had just knocked out, then quickly tied them up and set them aside. Camellia had given them instructions, but surely she wouldn't object to Clorissa having a bit of help.



The woman in front of the door froze when Maksim addressed her, and she spun around to face him. Her face was obscured by a welding visor, but she quickly flipped it up and turned her blow torch on him. It was a fair bit bigger than the one that Cyn had used before.

She was small - a petit frame with short dark hair and pale skin, and looked maybe 120 pounds soaking wet. She was also quite young; definitely in 'new recruit' territory at around eighteen. She did her makeup to make her look older during her three weeks working on the Griffin, but today she was bare-faced. Her uniform was a bit askew, and she pressed herself back against the door that she had been welding shut to put distance between herself and her opponent.

She didn't answer him, and she did her best to look tough, but she was also clearly nervous. The commander wasn't supposed to be awake yet, and the two who were supposed to be subduing him clearly hadn't. Clorissa wasn't a fighter, she was a thinker. When things had gone to hell she had decided to make a decision to isolate the vampires first, because somebody needed to do that and she didn't know if the others would think to. But she definitely could not handle a commander by herself, and she knew it.

Arthur skidded around the corner then, their eyes narrowed as they blocked off the exit.

The hair-pin that Clorissa wore next to her ear started to ping, and Camellia's tinny voice rang through.

'Clorissa, what's our status?'

She couldn't exactly answer her in this situation, but if she didn't...

Her upper lip curled as she glared at Maksim, brandishing the blow torch like it was a sword.

"Don't move," she hissed, and Arthur brandished their knife in warning. They were professionals and they could totally handle this.

 

[jones573]

Freddy yanked the cells door open further once Alyx's snapped the wards, not satisfied with their slow rate.

"Commander Grivven went back to his room," he told Alyx, though he supposed Maskim could certainly have left since they'd last spoken- Especially considering current events. He pulled Gigi to her feet and was about to pick her up, when she swatted at him.

"I can walk!" She had recently been violently attacked by Captain Mothgrove and was currently a prisoner of war, so that seemed debatable, but he let her leave the cell under her own power.

"Not sure where Lanea is," he admitted, pushing in front of Alyx as they left the brig. The ship was probably chaos and they'd be taking their chances with nearly anyone they ran into, but if someone was going to lead the way, it should probably be the one of them that actually had permission to roam the decks and wouldn't set off more alarms if recognized

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx pursed her lips. Not that she faulted Maksim for taking the chance to get some rest in his own bed, but it was very inconvenient. “He’ll catch up.”

Lanea, however, was another problem. He was probably lying low somewhere. Finding him could be a problem.

“Let’s make our way to the lifeboats,” Alyx decided. It seemed the most logical thing to do. “If they don’t join us, I’ll go get them.”

She glanced at Georgiana. The princess didn’t look great. Honestly, she didn’t even look good. But she seemed determined to walk herself. Alyx decided to not make a fuss over it as it was exactly what Alyx would do in her shoes. But if the princess started lagging behind, she was ordering Maksim’s big fledgling to scoop her up.

She made a slight face—more at her momentary forgetfulness that anything—as the fledgling brushed past her. Right. She wasn’t technically a commander anymore. She dropped back, taking up the rear.



Maksim wrinkled his nose. Of course the assassin would have an accomplice. She looked young, even for a human, and she was brandishing one of those blasted fire-maker-things at him. Did all Allarians carry them? He was beginning to thing they did. Maybe if he got out alive he’d ask Freddy.

Then his least-favorite kitchen hand came running around the corner and waved a knife at him. It was probably silver. But now his exit was cut off if he decided he was tired of this and wanted to ditch. Stupid Fredrick.

He glanced between them, his expression annoyed. Their intentions were pretty clear, and he didn’t have time for this.

“Or what?” he asked the woman who had spoken, his tone dripping condescension as he looked down his nose at her. “What are you going to do with that? Set me on fire? You would have to get close enough, are you willing to risk the possibility that I’m faster than you? I could probably break your neck between my forefinger and thumb. Can you even fight?”

Maksim turned his head, remaining sideways so he could keep the woman in his peripheral vision. He scowled at the other person. “And you? Going to come at me with your little knife? You might be well versed at telling me when I can and can’t get extra blood, but have you ever fought a vampire before? And I don’t mean them,” he added, jerking his head at the barracks as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I mean like me. A commander. I didn’t get assigned to an admiral because of my good looks and sparkling personality, you know.”

Maksim was fairly confident he could deal with the pair of them on a good day, but it was not a good day. It hadn’t been a good day since the princess broke out the first time. He was tired and everything was sore and he was probably missing his ride out of hell.

“Now, I’m going to tell you both how this is going to go. You,” he pointed at Arthur and added a little bit of magic into his words, “are going to put your knife away and go back to your leader. You know, the one with brown hair and glasses who acts super nervous.” Maksim had no idea if the assassin was the leader or not, but she had seemed a little more competent than these two. He made a dismissive gesture at Arthur before turning his head back to Clarissa. “And you are going to undo whatever you just did to that door. Do that and I might not eat you.”

 

[Mikotsuhime]

This was bad. Clorissa shivered as she held the blow torch in front of her protectively, and Arthur bit their lip as they held their knife up.

Reporting to Camellia would be the best thing to do. She would be able to handle this. Their knife lowered slightly, but then they quickly shook their head.

If they reported to Camellia then Clorissa would be left alone. Arthur was older than her, they had to protect her. They couldn't just leave her here with somebody who was going to kill her.

They knew going into this that the chances of living through it were very slim, but that didn't mean they didn't want everybody to live.

Well, the hijacking crew they didn't really care about that much. They were legitimate mercenaries who were hired for this job, so if they died, well, they got paid and they decided it was worth the risk.

But Clorissa was a kid and they weren't going to abandon her.

"I'm not leaving," they said firmly, partly to convince themself and partly to reassure Clorissa. "I may not have experience fighting vampires, but there's a first time for everything."

Clorissa gave them a wide-eyed look, and they realized that maybe admitting inexperience was kind of stupid. Oh well. They would just have to roll with it.

Unfortunately Clorissa wasn't quite as strong willed as her partner, and her eyes glazed a bit as Maksim ordered her to undo the door welding.

"I can't," she admitted, because you couldn't just. Unweld steel. "You have to break it."

She snapped out of it then, looking horrified with herself for admitting that, and Arthur wondered if maybe they might actually die right now.

No, no considering that. It was fine. Nobody cared if they made mistakes, as long as they did the job right in the end. All they had to do was stab the commander, right? Sure he looked kind of fast, but nobody was immune to being stabbed, aside from maybe Rose Barlowe.

Camellia repeated her request for status, and Clorissa bit her lip.

Grivvin had used some kind of magic on her to get her to admit she couldn't unseal the door. Their intel wasn't too clear about this sort of thing, but mental manipulation was dangerous. Lying to him would be no good, because he could just order her to tell him the truth. Half of her options flew out the door, and she swallowed thickly.

"Arthur isn't moving," she said, hoping Arthur didn't decide to get stabby too soon, because if this was a fight then the two of them were sorely unmatched. If Grivvin was able to communicate with his squad, then they were screwed. For now she needed to stall and come up with a better idea that didn't result in both of them dying. "And I can't just. I can't just unweld the door. You're tired and you don't want to fight us, or you would have just done that already. The neck snapping thing. Or the eating thing."

God she was not Camellia, she was not cut out for this. She was trying her best to sound confident and not terrified, at least. Arthur nodded, because that made sense. If he was tired, then it would be easier to subdue him, but Clorissa was giving them that look that said 'please do not improvise I am begging you'.

"We-- We're going to negotiate. If I don't answer my commander, she's going to bring the entire team with her, and you will definitely die. Or something worse will happen," she warned. "So you need to-- to shut up and cooperate, and if you do, we'll let you go."

He couldn't get off the ship, so as long as they herded him in the direction of the bridge, Camellia could deal with him. This was not a very good plan, but it was a plan, and she was sticking to it.

Arthur frowned, but they trusted Clorissa to have a better idea of what to do than they did. Still.

"And if you don't cooperate I'll just kill you," they threatened.



Lanea had been resting in the cargo hold when all hell had broken loose.

His first instinct had been to secure the prisoners, but trying to leave the cargo hold had proved easier said than done. Scared soldiers had found it easier to blame the vampire commanders than admit that Allarian forces had infiltrated them.

It was hard to tell who was actually friendly or not, and since every person he'd run into at this point had tried to kill him, he was a little irritable when he finally made his way to the lifeboats. There was a dark stain around his side where his stab wound from earlier had opened up, as well as a streak of red on his face and a slice along the edge of his jaw that had been too close for comfort.

At least most of the blood was his. He hadn't wanted to kill 'friendly' soldiers if he didn't have to.

The lifeboat itself would be easy to commandeer. It just revolved around everybody getting there safely, and considering his run ins so far and his own condition, he didn't really want to risk fetching them unless he had to.

 

[jones573]

Their trek to the lifeboats was relatively undisturbed- There was general chaos that they saw snatches of in passing, but the fledgling's authoritative gait seemed to clear their way. Everyone was concerned about their own duties, and the few people that actually acknowledged him seemed relieved by his curt nod- Whatever his duties were, he had them under control and they didn't have to worry about it.

They came across a body, face down and bloodied, and Gigi stooped to check. "Alive," she reported, though she was more interested in the contents of his pockets and holsters than his lungs. When they reached the closest bay for the lifeboats, they had their first stroke of luck all day.

"Well at least that worked out," Gigi said, weirdly relieved to see her 'torturer' had made it as well. Though he was looking a little worse for wear.

"Grigori can walk me through getting one of these prepared," Gigi determined, eyeing the vessels. "If you need to get Grivvin."

The fledgling hesisitated. "I shouldn't leave you undefended," he said gruffly.

"You aren't," she replied, showing off what she'd taken from the body in the hall- An Allarian pistol. "Four bullets already loaded," she reported. The man must have been one of Cam's crew, then.

He hesitated a moment more until Gigi snapped, "I'm a very good shot, and time is of the essence here," and he nodded once before taking off the way they'd come.

"How soon do you reckon the ship starts losing height? We've only got as long as the crew keeps trying to save it," she reasoned. If it became a lost cause, they wouldn't be the only ones down with the life boats for long. She glanced at the blood seeping through his shirt.

"Any needle and thread on these things?," she asked, because what was standard emergency supplies for Allaria probably wasn't the same for Eldergaard. "I can sew you up again, once we're ready to launch." She looked over the craft suspiciously- She was definitely going to need his input on how to get the thing ready to go, because most of the systems were unrecognizable to her.




Freddy started out towards the vampire barracks to retrieve Maskim, and tried to locate him with his mind in case the commander had gone somewhere else on the ship. Which was a weird thing to even consider doing, much less do. And was also not every successful.

He wasn't even aware of Maskim's presence until they were practically at the barracks, so apparently 'tracking' was not a useful application of 'telepathic skills he didn't know how to conceptualize, much less practice', which was disappointing if not really surprising. But Maskim seemed.... Unexpectedly wary, and Freddy held a hand out to slow Alyx and indicate they needed to be cautious as they hide behind the corner and listened.

Maskim mentioned two distinct 'you's... And a leader with 'brown hair and glasses who acts super nervous'. Shit. It was Cam's crew.

Freddy closed his eyes briefly, trying to decide. Alyx wasn't doing her best, and Maskim probably wasn't doing so great either. Between the three of them, they could probably take two Allarians... Assuming it was only two. But a fight would take time- Time they might not have. And it would be messy. Freddy wanted to be shedding less of his citizens' blood, not more. Shit shit shit.

There was Alyx to consider as well- She may not be as inclined to keep his secrets as Maskim was. But... Maskim had kept his secrets. And had kept him alive. The commander had had any number of opportunities to turn his fledgling over to the Jorgenson, and he hadn't. For selfish reasons maybe, but Freddy could not repay that by letting his sire get stabbed in a dim hallway.

He winced as he pulled his helmet off. He turned to Alyx and held his finger to his lips, and then pointed at her twice- There wasn't really a hand sign for 'I'm going to try something stupid so stay here and be my back up for if/when it doesn't work out' but he hoped she got the gist.

Fuck. He stepped around the corner and cleared his throat. "I am Prince Fredrick of the Crown of Allaria, Lord of the Savoy Isles" he announced, using the lilting formal language of archaic Allarian. Most people weren't fluent in it these days- he certainly wasn't- but it was used in public ceremony quite regularly and was on the money, so he thought they would understanding his meaning. His name was at least the same either way, and the word for 'prince' had become a defacto title for the heir.

He thought he might recognize the one with the knife, but he wasn't sure. But his face -even as it had been- was hardly as known as his parent's or Theo's or even Millie's so he pressed on in the common tongue. "As my kin, I ask you to stand down- This man is under my protection, and that of the Princess Georgiana, Lady of Leomor. And Third Researcher of the Morland Laboratories," he added. Gigi never liked it when people left off her academic titles.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx was relived when they made it to the life boats and found Lanea was there. Her relief turned to ice in her stomach as she looked around and found no Maksim.

"What's going on?" she asked Lanea over the still screeching klaxon wards. "Are you ok?"

When Georgiana mentioned Maksim, Alyx glanced at her, chewing on her lip. She flicked her eyes to the lifeboats, then Georgiana, then back at Lanea. Going back to get Maksim would cost them, and she figured neither of them were particularly invested in him and might even think her wasting time was stupidity. Logically, tactically, this was stupidity. And everytime she went back for one of her people, she worried she was sacrificing another of her people. But she couldn't leave without him. He was a pain in the ass, but he was her pain in the ass. She gave Lanea a firm nod. "I have to go get him. If you have to go without us, go. Get Georgiana to safety. We'll meet up with you at the rendezvous."

Giving Lanea and Georgiana another nod, she turned and hurried after Maksim's fledgling.



Maksim shot Arthur an annoyed look. They were really starting to get on his nerves. Everyone had to play the hero.

He flicked his eyes back to the young woman and frowned. The hell had she done to the door that he would have to break it? And where was Freddy when he needed him? He couldn't help notice that his useless fledgling was conveniently not around. Had the assassin warned him after all? No, even if she had, Freddy would be looking out for his sister. If he got out of this and didn't find Freddy taking care of Alyx and Georgiana, there would be words.

He arched an eyebrow, annoyed that she had figured out why he hadn't just taken her down. "Oh? Or perhaps it's just that I just had my uniform washed and don't want blood on it," he said mildly.

Regardless, he was running out of time. Reinforcements would arrive for them soon. Maksim thought about whistling--not the normal whistle to call his squadron to him, but the light and cheery whistle children would use to taunt the seeker when playing hide and seek. Like most things in his life, he had used innocuous things to alert Alyx that things were not all right. But a whistle like that would bring Alyx running, and she was not any better off than he was.



Alyx stopped when Maksim's fledgling did, breathing a little heavier than she would like. Then he pulled his helmet off, which honestly confused her a good bit. It was nice to finally see the man's face, but she wasn't really sure what he was about to do--and being pointed at certainly didn't help.

Flicking his eyes back to Clorissa, Maksim cocked his head. He was about to try to suggest they negotiate by her telling him what on earth was going on, but then Freddy can parading around the corner with his helmet off and Maksim could only stare at him.

"What the hell?" he said, breaking the shocked silence in the hall. "When the blazes have I ever been 'under your protection' you ungrateful, idealistic--"

"We don't have the time, Grivvin," Alyx said, coming around the corner, her tone annoyed. She would demand what the blazes Maksim was thinking, changing a prince, later. "The Admiral's quarters were hit. This ship is going down."

"Thank you, Draya," Maksim said, rolling his eyes. "I hadn't heard the klaxon wards."

Despite their apparent hostility, Maksim flicked his eyes to the welded door and Alyx turned her attention to it. She glanced over Clorissa--categorizing her as an engineer since she had a torch like Cyn--and then to the door. Pain slid across her face for a brief second before it disappeared and Maksim closed his eyes. There was no way to get all of his fledglings off the ship and also escape. If there were, Alyx would be doing it right now. But he could get Alyx and Freddy out alive.

"You heard the princeling, knife kiddo," Maksim told Arthur with a cocky smile. "Stand down."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lanea exhaled as he gave Alyx a nod back.

He did not want to leave without her or Maksim. He didn't want to leave people behind again, but he trusted that if anyone would be able to survive this on their own, it would be them.

So for now he was stuck with Georgiana, and getting the ship prepped.

"So, you know anything about all this?" He asked as he hopped into the ship and checked to make sure the wards were all in order. There wasn't much to do with the systems, so mostly it was a waiting game.

The first aid kit... He frowned as he considered it, then nodded as he pointed to where it was sitting against the wall. They were pretty standard, but only had the basics.

"No needle and thread in that," he said as he dug into his pocket. "But if you can grab me some bandages and something to clean off the blood, I'd appreciate it.

He could easily do it himself, but he figured she would probably want something to do. He hated sitting back twiddling his thumbs while things were happening all around him, so menial tasks were better than nothing.

He pulled the small satchel that he'd been looking for out of his pocket and emptied half of it into his hand.

It was something he'd started carrying on him after he and Rose had started their arrangement. He had found that being in close proximity to the other man led to him getting stabbed far more often than he did normally, so he took what little time he had off to scour the mountain outside Ludenberg for herbs to refill his supplies.

The grass from the bag was thick and rubbery, and he grimaced as he shoved it into his mouth and chewed. This was normally done with a mortar and pestal, but he didn't have one of those right now, and while it tasted terrible it at least wasn't dangerous. He peeled off his jacket and undid his shirt underneath, pulling the fabric away from his stab wound before he spat the paste into his hand.

Once the blood was peeled away he smeared it on the wound, groaning.

"This'll do for now. It'll help slow down the bleeding, but we can deal with the rest later. How're your burns? I don't have my kit with me, but there might be a cream in here or something. All we can do for now is wait for the others to come back."



Arthur glared at Maksim, entirely unimpressed.

"As if you have an issue with blood," they said dryly, and Clorissa looked like she wanted to strangle them.

But then a fledgeling was turning the corner, and Arthur spun around to face him with wide eyes.

"What--" they began, squinting as they tried to make out his face. He looked-- Somewhat familiar maybe? The fledglings were... former Allarians, weren't they? But-- They weren't the same people anymore. They were basically strangers now. But this one was speaking the old dialect, and while it went straight over Arthur's head, Clorissa was staring at him before she squeaked and bowed, dropping her blowtorch.

"Your highness!" She exclaimed, doing her best to replicate his speech, but her accent was terrible. Arthur's eyebrows furrowed together, and they kept their knife trained on Maksim as they turned to their partner.

"What? What did he say?" they asked. Clorissa glared at them, then eyed Maksim warily. If Frederick was going out of his way to use an uncommon dialect, then maybe she should follow his suit.

"He said he's the goddamned prince you idiot!" She snapped, switching to the pidgin commonly used in the poor district by the docks of Allaria's coastal trade city. It was a mix of Farsian and Drasiac with the common Allarian slum dialect. It definitely wasn't high brow, but it was unlikely that nobles or foreigners would understand it. She had never been more thankful that she and Arthur had grown up in the same city and both knew the basics.

Arthur stared at her, then turned to Frederick like he had three heads.

"You're out of your mind. He's lying. What would the prince be diong here?" they asked, also switching languages to match her, and she made a very angry hand gesture at them.

"You don't-- Have you never seen a painting?! That's the prince! And he said that the vampire is under his protection-- Oh my god we're going to be executred. Not even lord Arnold has that much sway over the crown."

She was growing a bit hysterical, and Arthur growled.

Maksim was also being insufferable and called them kiddo. They grunted and stepped forward threateningly thrusting their knife towards him, but they couldn't actually go against a prince. If he was a prince.

The ship lurched sharply in the air, and Clorissa squaked as she held onto the wall. Arthur stumbled into Maksim, knocking him into the wall, but at least their knife wasn't pointed at him anymore. Camellia's voice came out of the hairpin again, sounding far angrier than before.

"What the fuck are you idiots doing? Get to the rendesvous point now!"

Arthur tried to struggle to their feet, but the ship was seriously unsteady. They were also still kind of on top of Maksim, and he was a bit squirmy. Like a weasel. Huh, that was a good one. They'd have to remember that.

"We'll stand down!" Clorissa squeaked as she managed to get to her feet, only to fall when the ship lurched again. There was the sound of many footsteps coming closer, and they only had a short time before the hallway was surrounded.

 

[jones573]

"I know it runs on magic," Gigi said blandly. "Which I can't use."

If this was an Allarian, she wouldn't feel so useless- She could get the drop doors open, start the engines, disable the tracker that allowed ships to locate auxiliary boats... Here, she just opened the first aid kit and located the bandages. Those at least were familiar.

There were barrels of water stored up along the far wall, and Gigi left Lanea briefly. There were sealed flasks of water on the lifeboat among the emergency supplies, but there was no sense in breaking those open when there was another water source available. She wetted one of the bandages - she sniffed the liquid first, just in case- and brought it back to the Commander. She watched in interest as he cleaned the blood off and smeared his spit-and-grass concoction on his wound.

"It hurts," she admitted, because she'd mostly been ignoring the stinging pain of the burns and being reminded of them brought it into clarity. "But it's mostly superficial. I'll be fine," she reassured him. "I've been tortured before," she told him off-handedly. "I'm not really part of our espionage division, but I had to go through a number of their 'training' programs."

She would have appreciated knowing that it was only training at the time, but she supposed knowing that it wasn't real might have changed her reactions.





Freddy had long since lost any trinkets he had to tie him to Allaria, and he lacked the tattoos that identified the heir. He'd hoped that using the ceremonial language would lend credence to his claim, but he was regretting it now.

He could identify words here and there, but languages had never been his strong suit and most of what they were saying went over his head. The younger one seemed panicked though, and he held up a placating hand. "You aren't in trouble," he said. "You couldn't have known."

"Uh," he said, hearing a tinny version of Cam's voice. "She knows I'm here," he offered. "And now, you. But no one else is to know." He tried to emulate his sister Isadora in that last sentence- A tone of camaraderie and conspiratorial trust. She had a way of asking people to keep secrets in a way that made it seem it had been their idea the whole time.

He decided to take advantage of the duo's hesitation and the literally-shifting nature of the situation to make his move- He couldn't afford the time for them to decide if they would let him leave with Maskim or not, so he was taking the decision of their hands. He crouched down, and scooped Maskim up like an errant kitten.

"Remind your boss," he told them, with a nod at the door to the fledgling quarters. "That they were Allarian citizens. If Princess Georgiana gets her way, they will be again."

Using the spectre of his sister to enforce ethics was objectively hilarious, but as much leeway as Allarian culture gave when it came to the means of advancement- Experimentation on unwilling citizens was still taboo, and prosecuted harshly.

[Insert aspects of Reyn & Miko's posts as needed]

As they grew closer to the lifeboats, Freddy paused to pull his helmet back on, and turned to Alyx.

"You can't tell her," he said seriously. "Doing so will endanger Grivven- And whatever tentative trust she has decided to place in Eldergaardian vampires."

 

[Reynarda]

This was fine. Everything was fine.

Until the whole bloody ship lurched and sent the knife child stumbling into Maksim. Maksim grunted in pain as he was knocked backwards and then flattened. He hissed angrily and attempted to extricate himself from the indignity of Arthur being on top of him.

Alyx stumbled but caught herself, cursing quietly. They needed to go. She was about to announce just that when Freddy scooped up Maksim. The look on the sire’s face was completely comical—like an indignant cat—and she spared a second to snort at him.

“Break that door so they can escape, you heartless monsters,” Maksim called over Freddy’s shoulder. He struggled a little bit, but his fledgling for once seemed to be determined to keep him from getting hurt.

When they paused, Alyx arched an eyebrow. Somehow she felt that Georgiana would rather know he was alive, and she didn’t appreciate his attempt to threaten Maksim in order to keep her quiet. Normally she’d tell him off for attempting to manipulate her, but there was no time. Still, she found his airs annoying—significantly less annoying than Georgiana but annoying nonetheless.

“I am not under your command, your highness,” she retorted. “If I find it suits my purposes, I will tell her. Now come on.”

Alyx spun on her heal and marched off towards the waiting lifeboat.

“She won’t say anything,” Maksim said quietly as Freddy adjusted his helmet. “Even of it ‘suits her purposes’, she’ll keep your secret. Not for me, but because it’s your story, not hers.” He glanced up at his fledgling before quickly looking away. “Thanks. For coming back for me.”

Clearing his throat, he hurried after Alyx. “Keep up, fledgling!”

Alyx reached out through the ship and snapped some of the wards on the lifeboat Georgiana and Lanea were occupying. It wouldn’t do to have a rescue party after them, so they didn’t need any of the tracking wards.

“We’ve got them,” she said, running a hand over a separate set of wards to activate them. She was secretly relieved Lanea and Georgina hadn’t left without them.

Maksim climbed in and waved Fredrick in after him. “Just activate the emergency wards.”

“And alert the whole ship? Don’t be an idiot.”

“This is taking time,” Maksim shot back as the Griffin swayed with another round of ward failure. Still, he reached over and activated the canopy. It swept over them, making breathing easier.

“Lanea, can you navigate?” Alyx asked as she gestured towards the tiller. She wasn’t exactly sure if their location or how to get to Lundenburg from there. But a lot of time spent with Astrid had taught her all she needed to know about making sure a ship stayed airborne. “I’ve got the flight wards.”

Too bad none of them were wind magi, Maksim thought privately. He would never muse that out loud as he didn’t want to upset Alyx. “My fledgling and I will keep an eye on the proximity wards. Right now we’re really close to a large warship.”

Alyx shot him a look, but this caused her to glare over Georgiana, whom she hadn’t given a job. “Princess, can you keep an eye on the gauges?” She waved at a row of dials that showed altitude, air pressure, wind direction, and heading.

“Are we going?” Maksim asked. People were starting to gather around the lifeboats even as the ship’s flight ward magi continued to try to keep it in the air.

With a touch of the wards, Alyx unfurled the tiny ship’s sails. She turned and nodded at Lanea. “Let’s go.”

Taking a deep breath, she activated the launch wards, and the lifeboat shot out into the sky.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lanea did not look reassured by Gigi's insistence that she had been tortured before. Instead he just looked frustrated.

"That's not a good thing," he said, frowning down at the wards in front of him. "People shouldn't have to be prepared to go through something like that. And even if it's superficial, it's still important. Here."

He tossed her a pill from the first aid kit as they waited for the others.

"Painkiller. Won't do too much, but it'll help a bit."


Clorissa calmed just a little bit when Frederic reassured her that they weren't in trouble. That was good. She really didn't want to get thrown in prison or something. Arthur looked less than convinced, but Clorissa did her best to tug them back away from Maksim when Freddy mentioned that nobody else was to know that he was there. If Camellia knew about it, she could ask her once they managed to get out of this and back home.

"W-we'll keep quiet!" she reassured Frederick as he scooped Maksim up like a hissing cat and carried him off. Arthur, however, glared at the commander and flipped him the bird as they left.

Allarian citizens. Maybe. They weren't the same people anymore, though. It shouldn't matter what happened from here on out. They were out there killing folks and eating them, so Arthur had no problem if the lot of the fledglings died.

Not that they were going to anyways. They'd be useless if they were dead.


Lanea looked up as Alyx, Maksim and Freddy returned, and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

Everybody made it back. The ship was still losing altitude and rocking, although it was beginning to slow down. He had to wonder what the entire purpose of this was, but he didn't have time to think about it. Alyx asking him to steer had him grabbing the wheel, and he held his breath as they took off.

He wasn't a navigational master or anything, but he knew the basics. He recognized the landmarks of this area, and though it wasn't quite as close as he would have liked, they could make it there in one piece. Hopefully.

"The city's about half a day away," he warned, looking back to Alyx and Maksim. "If you need a break, let me know, and I'll handle the flight wards for a bit."

He glanced back over his shoulder at the Griffon, and noticed another shape appearing from the nearby cloudcover ominously. It wasn't nearly as big as the Griffon, and its shape wasn't QUITE the standard used by the Allarian military, but it was similar enough. He bit down hard on his lip and focused on getting them out of sight.

It didn't really seem to matter, though. Other lifeboats left the Griffon, and the warbird didn't take notice of them. Instead it seemed to be working to stabilize the other ship for a slow descent. That... wasn't really good, but he didn't really know what they could do about it.

It wasn't his ship to begin with, he told himself. The people there didn't care about him, or Maksim, or Alyx or any of the other commanders. There was no point in worrying about them now.

"I guess that assassination happened sooner than I thought," he mumbled to himself.

 

[jones573]

The flight had been relatively uneventful, at least from Gigi's perspective- None of the needles on the gauges she was assigned to watch went above or below the range approved in green paint on their dials at least.

They'd landed a ways outside the city, having decided that a military vessel's lifeboat would raise too many questions. They'd discussed what to do next, eaten some of the supplies and taken turns attempting to nap, and now they were headed into the city. Or into the outskirts of the city at least.

Going directly to the rendezvous point was risky- The chaos on the Griffin meant they had left even earlier than they had been planning, so the others wouldn't be there yet. Plus, it seemed like a lot of information networks these days were leaking, and Gigi didn't like the idea that it might be compromised.

But the chaos on the Griffin also meant they hadn't really been able to prepare for their departure, and while the supplies on the lifeboat were certainly helpful, they weren't infinite. They also seemed to be a bit more designed towards humans instead of vampires, Gigi had observed. Definitely not enough blood for four vampires, who were in various states of injured and exhausted. She'd tentatively offered herself as a potential source, but the fledgling- Henrick, he'd finally admitted to his name- had pointed out she wasn't exactly in the best health herself.

Gigi had been confident with her suggestion of who they go to- She knew Lara's home residence, and she knew the woman wasn't compromised. She would have had to be working for someone in the first place for that to happen.

But as they turned down the narrow neighborhood streets with the sun setting in the distance, her doubt began to eat at her. Lara's opinion of Gigi was.... Not high. And would only fall further once Gigi had to break the news to her.

You will be the death of him, Lara had told her once. And I will not wait to watch it happen.

Like most cities, Lundenburg wasn't uniform in its neighborhoods. It's reputation for seediness was well deserved, but some areas were nicer... Or at least further removed from the commercial hub of bars, brothels, and black markets. Lara's home was one of many rowhouses in a fairly safe but modest area on the western edge of the city, and Gigi was able to find her way to it once they'd first located the hat store a few blocks away.

She'd only been here a few times, and certainly not in a few years, but the woman's door was still painted green, if a bit duller and more peeling, and the matching flowerboxes hanging from the windows were still devoid of life.

Knowing the others were waiting on her- and that even if this wasn't the shadiest part of town, it probably wasn't wise to linger- Gigi screwed up her courage and pulled the bell cord. A minute later, the door opened.

The woman who answered it was tall, with warm brown skin and thick black curls that hung down around her face. She was in her fifties, maybe, thought it was difficult to be sure, and wearing a stained half apron around her waist.

Her eyes fell on Gigi, and her expression hardened.

"Wait," Gigi protested as the door began to shut, but the woman pointed a finger at her in warning and the door only closed halfway.

"It's work," the woman said to someone inside the house. "Go out the back. And make sure it locks behind you." There was movement from within the house, and a minute later the door opened fully.

"Well, come in then," the woman snapped, and Gigi nodded gratefully. There were two plates set on the table, both with only a few bites missing. Henrick seemed... Surprised by who had answered, but followed the others in. Gigi had said her contact was a smuggler who had lived in both countries and was loyal to neither, but she hadn't mentioned any names.

Once they were all inside, their host clicked the locks into place and turned to glare at Gigi, seemingly unbothered and unintimidated by her royal blood.

"You intrude on my home," she said irritably. "You should have found me elsewhere- I assume by your jacket you are not here for a personal visit," she added snidely.

The lifeboat had come with some standard issue military coats, meant to keep soldiers warm in extreme weather, and Gigi had donned one. It was hardly tailored to her, but it make her somewhat less noticeable in a city that entertained countless soldiers on leave.

"I have no idea where you conduct your business," Gigi pointed out, but the older woman seemed unconcerned with such logistics.

"Well? Do you intend to bring strangers- and your danger," she spat, "To my doorstep, and not introduce us, girl?"

"This is Lara Crane," Gigi told the others. "Lara, these are... Some recent allies I have made," she said, deciding they could determine how much they wanted to reveal of themselves. "We are hoping you can assist us with supplies and accommodations for our short time in Lundenburg. You will in turn, of course, be compensated by the crown."

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx was not excited about arriving in Lundenburg. They had been favored with good winds and smooth sailing, and she was glad to be off the boat. But this place was the opposite of the sort of place she wanted to be. There were so many people, for one thing. Many of them were military for another.

And they were going to a contact of Georgiana's which Alyx was even less excited about. There were too many variables, too many things that could go wrong. If this person held no allegiance to anyone, what was to stop them for turning all of them in for money? Or if they harbored some love of Georgiana, what was to stop them from having the four vampires accompanying her arrested?

But they didn't have much of a choice, so she followed along behind Georgiana as she lead the way. She was sad to let her vampire-style dress coat go, but she agreed with the others that wearing it would attract unwanted attention. Even Maksim had switched out his commander's coat for a human military coat.

Maksim had "chivalrously" thrown his arm across Alyx's shoulders to "discourage ogling". Alyx had a feeling he just wanted moral support in the form of physical contact and had decided to let him have it--even though she was still annoyed at him for turning Georgiana's brother.

But when the princess stepped up to the door, Maksim dropped his arm and squared his shoulders. Alyx realized she had also straightened and clasped her hands behind her back. Anyone who had lived in Eldergaard long enough could recognize a vampire when they saw one, and they still weren't on the best of terms with most human groups. She had only one small knife inside her left sleeve. Her scarf was back around her hips, but she wasn't sure how much magic she could generate even with it. If this went sour, they could be in trouble.

But the displeased woman ushered them in after telling someone else to leave. And turned ire on Georgiana, which Alyx found mildly amusing. At least there was something she and this woman agreed on.

Surprise twitched through her mind at the woman's name but did not appear on her face. She guessed that this woman was not of the same blood as Crane which would mean they were related by marriage. She briefly wondered if this woman had married Crane or if one of her siblings had. More concerning was the fact that this woman's husband/brother-in-law was dead due to Georgiana's actions. A day or two ago, Alyx would have sat back and watched the show with glee, but now she felt a little sorry for Georgiana.

Maksim inclined his head in a way that would be polite for humans when the woman asked for introductions. Her name was meaningless to him, but he could tell Alyx and Fredrick had recognized something about her. He waffled between trying to be charming and going for his cocky attitude and finally settled on charming. Alyx had turned into the stoic commander so one of them had to be approachable.

"Ms. Crane, we apologize for encroaching on your hospitality," he said with his best smile. He could practically hear Alyx rolling her eyes. "We hope to not trouble you for long."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Not going to the rendesvous point right away was smart. If Petra had found out about it, then there was no way to be sure that nobody else in the Eldergaardian military knew. Lanea trusted his landlord was discreet, but if so many people showed up, it would be very obvious and could put everyone in danger.

He couldn't shake the desire to go anyways. It wasn't the nicest place and it certainly wasn't home, but it was familiar and there were at least fond memories there that would help ease his worries. Having it off limits put him on edge, and he was fairly stiff as he walked beside the others through the streets.

He had never been in this neighbourhood before. It was far from posh, but it was nice in a way that he wasn't particularly used to. Outside of the time he spent training in the capital, his view of cities had grown to encompass mostly slums and bars. Seeing a cute neighbourhood where some of the houses had gardens and cute little welcome signs next to doors had him uncomfortable in a way that going into a brothel could never accomplish.

He felt out of place here, big and brutish as he was.

He straightened himself along with Alyx and Maksim when Lara came to the door, and found himself reverting to his 'intimidating torturemaster' persona out of habit. Although once he realized it, he tried to scowl less, and make himself look only mildly threatening.

This woman was opening her doors to them. She wasn't going to hurt anyone. Probably.

He was just as in the dark as Maksim about the woman's name and identity. She was human, and on the older side, as far as humans went. If she did try something, he could likely take her in a fight. Maybe. His eyes scanned the room beyond the entranceway, looking for exits and points of possible ambush.

Maksim introduced them, and he grunted in agreement before realizing that he was trying to make a good first impression here, not a bad one.

"Yeah," he said, clearing his throat so he sounded less growly. "We'll uh. Be out of your hair soon. Promise."

 

[jones573]

Lara did not look impressed by the introductions.

"Henrick," the fledgling offered, after her gaze had lingered on him.

"Ah, so at least one of you has a name, then," she chided. "I assume they are not human?"

Gigi nodded hesitantly. The distinction between vampire and a human Eldergaardian wasn't one that she seemed able to find with consistency, but it didn't seem worthwhile to lie.

"That one was meant for fodder," Lara said of 'Henrick' assessing his build. "But she's a commander," she said of Alyx- Apparently, she didn't think it likely that someone would have made an effort to turn Alyx. "You aware the company you keep, girl?"

"Yes," Gigi said cooly, but Lara was still inspecting the others, and swore. "You are injured," she said, and Gigi's hands flew to her neck, where the collar of the jacket hid most of her burns. But it wasn't Gigi she'd been assessing.

"Sit," she ordered Lanea, pointing definitively at one of the chairs and turning her back to her visitors to open one of her cupboards. She retrieved a large wooden box and set it on the table, lifting the lid to reveal an impressive assortment of bottles and jars. Freddy recognized the symbols on many of them from the medical supplies of the Griffin, though he still wasn't sure what most of them did.

"How long are you in town for," she asked them, trying to decide what to do with her 'guests'. She had a currently-vacant storefront they could stay in for a few days, but it needed to be empty and ready for operations by the end of the week, and she wanted to limit how much contact her own people had with these visitors.

"And who is coming after you? Don't lie to me," she warned quickly. "You've defected and joined up with an Allarian princess," she pointed out. "And I'm not stupid enough to believe he tripped and fell," she said, pointing at Lanea's torso.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx frowned, not sure that coming here was the best idea. This woman wasn't exactly pleased to have them.

She couldn't help but snort quietly when Fredrick introduced himself as "Henrick". It sounded an awful lot like his actual name and meant "house ruler," which wasn't really as funny as she currently thought it was. But she wasn't exactly up to par on sleep.

She did, however, bristle when Lara said Fredrick was "fodder". She almost said something until the woman turned and named her a commander. She frowned, wondering if it was that obvious or if Lara was attempting a subtle insult.

Maksim chuckled just quietly enough for Alyx to hear. He wondered if this woman thought they were all Alyx's--which was both not quite true but also very true. But if Lara Crane was as good as the princess claimed, she would have noticed whose eye-color matched whose.

"Just until the end of the week," Maksim said, still attempting to be the friendly and smiling vampire since the rest were being all stiff and uncomfortable.

Alyx elbowed him in ribs and he shot her a glare. They'd already involved this woman, there was no going back now. Might as well get what help they could.

"It's impossible to defect in a war you never agreed to be in in the first place," Alyx retorted, folding her arms across her chest. Honestly. This woman was just like an older version of Georgiana.

"What she means to say," Maksim cut in, shooting her a warning look, "is that Admiral Jorgenson will most likely be missing us here in a day or so."

"No," Alyx hissed in the northern dialect of the language favored by the vampire clans. "There's no way he survived. I felt it. His entire cabin was blown up."

"Oh, my bad," Maksim retorted in the same language. "Did you want to tell her that it could be anyone and we don't even know who to be watching out for?" When Alyx didn't answer, he sniffed in triumph. "Didn't think so. This is why I'm the negotiator."

Alyx rolled her eyes but didn't argue the point.

Maksim turned a smile back on Lara. There was really no reason to conceal their names since the woman knew who the princess was. If she wanted to sell them out, it wouldn't be hard to figure out who they were based on that fact alone. Besides, he had checked her intentions. "I'm Maksim, by the way. The grumpy one is Alyx and the gruff one is Lanea."

"How bad is it?" Alyx asked, taking a worried step closer to Lanea. She had asked earlier, but of course he had insisted it was fine. She might not much care for Lara Crane, but she didn't think the woman would lie to her.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lanea was stiff as he wondered if he should introduce himself after Freddy did, but soon the choice was taken out of his hands as he was ushered inside and set down. He couldn't help it if he slumped a little once he no longer had to focus on standing.

Right. Adrenaline had helped keep him up and functional so far, but it wasn't something that lasted forever. Pain tolerance was something he'd honed over years of practice, so he had managed to seem mostly alright to the outside.

He considered whether the woman would believe him if he told her that it wasn't a big deal, but he somehow doubted it. He didn't have anymore energy to fight her, either, so he just slipped his military coat off and unbuttoned his shirt one-handed.

"It's not that bad," he said sternly, even though it most certainly looked bad. The numbing agent he'd applied earlier before leaving the Griffin had formed a hard paste around the wound, though walking around and moving all day had left it cracked and messy. The stitches he'd done himself the night before were torn and the edges of the wound were jagged, and there was a hint of fluid that was too thin to just be blood leaking around the cracked edges of his makeshift herbal bandage. God, the last thing he needed was for this to get infected. If he died of gangrene or something from a wound Rose inflicted on him, he'd haunt him for the rest of his life.

"I have an apartment in the city, but we're not entirely sure it hasn't been compromised," he added. "Jorgenson and his people are the main players, but they'll be distracted. Bicksley company seemed to have taken over their ship. Uh. I'm assuming."

He winced, part from the pain of his wound pulling and part from the lameness of his excuse.

"Things will probably be chaotic out there for a while. We won't overstay our welcome and we won't do anything to jeopardize your business while we're here."

 

[jones573]

"A true enough statement," Lara acknowledged Alyx's retort, with a glint in her eye that hinted at personal agreement. "But I don't think it'll mean much to your superiors."

Gigi could tell that the commanders were uncomfortable with Lara, but as far as she could tell, Lara liked them- Or at least, didn't /dislike/ them, which was pretty much the same thing at this point.

"It could be worse," Lara agreed with Lanea's assessment of his wound. "Could be a rusty nail in it," she suggested. "Or a rabid dog attached to it." She crouched and put her hands on his face, tilting his head a little and peering at his eyes to gauge their focus.

"I don't think it's infected, but if it is- We'll know in a few hours when the fever sets in and you start babbling," she said, patting his cheek in what was maybe supposed to be a reassuring, maternal gesture.

She took the dirty bandages to the sink and muttered something that sounded like, "Fuckin' Bicksely,", and waved a hand dismissively over her shoulder. "It's her that jeopardizes my business, not you," she told Lanea. "I presume you are here on some wildly impossible plan to win the war, Your Highness?"

"I'd settle for just ending it, though I'm sure your profit margins will suffer regardless," Gigi corrected. "My father has tried to surrender. More than once."

This gave the older woman pause, and she let out a long, weary sigh.

"I've got a storefront on the northside you can operate out of for the next few days," she said. "Used to be a bookseller- or masquerade as one- until they went under." It was an area that could have plausibly supported a bookstore a decade ago, but certainly not anymore. "There's a double bed in the back office that I let some.... Independent girls use if I haven't got anything scheduled for the space for two or more weeks, but no one's used that this month. Sheets should be clean. Should be a few cots too, for when I set up guards."

She was pretty sure she'd started with four, but at least one had broken and maybe one had been moved when she'd 'borrowed' that condemned warehouse last week.

"I'll see if I can't rustle up some more bed rolls at least- Six of you? Or are there more with Nate," she asked.

Gigi swallowed. "Just five of us."

Lara looked a bit taken aback. "You actually asked him to sit this one out?" She seemed surprised- Impressed, but also a touch disappointed. "Pity- Charming here doesn't seem worth the effort of flirting with," she said with her usual dead pan and a glance at Maskim.

"He's- Crane's dead," Gigi said softly, and Henrick's head jerked back slightly. "He fell. I couldn't save him," she continued. "I'm sorry."

Lara stared at the princess, and then at the others in turn, as if waiting for them to admit this was some strange prank.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx lifted a shoulder as if the thoughts of her superiors were of no concern to her, but internally she was panicking. She knew what she had done the first time was close to unforgivable, but she figured Astrid might be able to smooth things over with her report to her mother--since the Supreme General read her daughter's reports and all. But there was no way Astrid would be able to smooth over the fact she had gone rogue, defected with the princess, and possibly helped sabotage an admiral's flagship after assassinating said flagship. They couldn't get at her clan, but Cyril was still in the capitol. She was banking on the fact that keeping him alive for now was wiser tactically, but that didn't mean they'd treat him well.

The fact that her actions could be directly resulting in his pain ate at her insides.

Fortunately that dark path was diverted when Lara dryly agreed that having a rabid animal attached to Lanea would make his wound worse. Alyx hoovered anxiously a little over a meter away, her hands clasped at her chest like she might be able to help. "I could--"

"No," Maksim interrupted. "No. Nope. You're being an idiot. Lanea, back me up. Lanea is a big boy and he'll be fine. You have about enough energy to speed up the healing on a housefly in good health. If you try, then we'll have two people we have to watch over. If we just let him heal, we'll be able to watch his back."

Alyx made several sounds of protest but Maksim was a master at dealing with her need to fix everything by personally risking her own health and happiness. He was, after all, largely to blame for this innate urge.

"Anyway, the princess needs healing more. Humans don't heal as fast last I checked, and she was burned fairly badly."

Alyx turned a little guiltily to Georgiana and looked her up and down. So many things had happened in the past forty-eight hours that she had forgotten the princess had twice been injured in that time. "And a possible concussion," she added.

Maksim nodded at the mention of sleeping quarters. This would normally be where he would make an innuendo to reinforce the idea that he was incorrigible, but that died on his lips when Georgiana suddenly looked... well, upset.

He blinked at Lara when she turned to him but then smiled and batted his eyelashes. "What's putting you off? Alyx? Don't worry, she's not the jealous type."

Alyx elbowed him lightly to tell him now was not the time to try to ease the mood with stupid jokes.

Maksim glanced at Lanea to confirm he was not the only one who had no idea who "Nate" was, but then some things started to fall into place. Nate Crane shared a name with this woman. Alyx had obviously met him, and Freddy knew who he was. He tried to remember who was on the ship with the princess--ah. The man pretending to be the rent-a-captain. Considering Crane's intentions, he had been surprised not to bump into the man when they went to fetch Georgiana.

Alyx swallowed when Lara's eyes fell on her. Two days ago, she would have gloated as Georgiana dealt with the consequences of her actions, but she no longer felt so inclined. In fact, she wished she could negate it. She wanted to say something--anything. Normally she would talk about how Crane gave his life for someone he loved, but considering how Lara obviously regarded the "someone" of that statement, Alyx thought that unwise.

"It is a great loss," she said quietly, feeling stupid and knowing the words were meaningless. "Loss" didn't encompass the empty chair or the words unsaid or the laugh you would never hear again. It didn't explain why the person you were supposed to protect was never coming back.

For all the moral high ground Alyx pretended to have, she knew exactly what Georgiana was going through. Which was exactly why she had been able to weaponize it earlier. But now all she could do was think of how the princess was feeling. Without realizing it, she had lifted her hand and rested it lightly on Georgiana's upper arm. She kept her eyes adverted as was polite during moments of grief, but the princess had no one else here. Alyx wanted her to at least know she understood.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lanea found his face flushing at Lara's casual demeanor. She... was right, he supposed. It could definitely be worse. But she was also very touchy, and even though it was clearly professional, it wasn't something he was particularly used to. He was not particularly good with overbearing and pushy women.

Besides Petra. But she was kind of her own category.

"I, uh," he began, then cleared his throat. "I don't babble."

He kind of wanted to put his shirt back on, though.

He did agree with Maksim to give Alyx a warning look.

"He's right. The last thing you need to do is worry about me. I have a lot of experience keeping people alive, I can handle myself," he said, though he realized a second later that came out a little bit more morbid than he had intended. "I mean. Not like in a torture way. I guess I do that too, but--"

He snapped his mouth shut. He was tired and thrown off his game and was very much not making good on his statement of 'I don't babble'.

"Anyways, this'll be fine. I have some things up in my place I can swing by and grab later, just to check it out."

Rose had a tendency of showing up with injuries that were 'no big deal' but were actually a very big deal, if Lanea had anything to say about it.

"He is right. You need to wash those and get them bandaged before we do anything else. We don't need your wounds getting infected either," he said to Gigi, because he had also almost forgotten about her burns.

He hesitated to actually offer his assistance, because humans were usually more comfortable with other humans taking care of them. Lara seemed to have some kind of relationship with Georgiana, and she also had the first aid kit. There was some kind of bad blood going on there, but he figured it was best to stay out for now.

Especially when he found out that they had lost someone.

He frowned, staring quietly down at his hands. This wasn't a situation he ever liked to be in, but it seemed to be happening more often lately.

"We'll go do reconnaissance by the bar later," he said with a quiet grunt as he pulled his shirt back on.

"For now, you," he pointed to Georgiana as he began to button up his shirt. "Need medical treatment. Any hard discussions can wait until after."