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the precipice of all we know - Hotaru - 06-21-2021
She stays, but only because she knows the hours are ticking down. If they try to hold her here for too long, things are going to get ugly and she knows it. Deimos’ paranoia, Morgan’s defensiveness, it doesn’t matter. But they want to play this biased game, hotheaded feedback loops and all, so Hotaru will bite her tongue and fall in line.
For now.
The cell isn’t comfortable, especially for a pregnant woman, but at least it has the basic necessities. It’s too similar to true confinement instead of detainment, but that’s a frustration chased away by snippets of sleep on the cot. Anything to pass the time until she is free to leave once more.
Back to the door, she curls around her belly, elbows protectively embracing the round edges as she hums softly to it under her breath.
RE: the precipice of all we know - Nate - 06-21-2021
Nate has had time to put a few things together. To put himself together, in bits and pieces.
Hotaru will hear him long before she sees him, steady footsteps approaching her cell, the sound bouncing off the walls until Nate comes into view, a chair in his hand and a clipboard tucked under his arm.
Not a word leaves his lips as he sets the chair down. Not as he settles himself into it, crossing his legs so he can set the clipboard down on his lap, give it one last look for posterity. All of Jack’s memories are written down, in his own hand, a rough scrawled timeline, complete with notes from other witnesses.
Licking his lips, Nate heaves out a heavy sigh, and looks at Hotaru. Despite everything, there is a thin smile on his face, though his gaze is utterly blank. “[say]Lets start from the beginning, eh? From the second you and Deimos came to Torchline.[/say]” His tone is an affectation, polite words dragged hard by the edges of his accent, just a few too many odd his own experiences on her side of this colouring his words.
RE: the precipice of all we know - Hotaru - 06-21-2021
Her spine tightens at the sound of his approaching steps. Whose she isn’t sure, she won’t turn to look. Not as the door opens, nor as a chair is pulled. Only when an accented voice calls out to her does she unfurl, shoulders still hunched protectively as she slowly turns to sit cross legged on the bed to regard him silently.
His smile is a mockery of the roguish joy she remembers, but she’s sure her own face is drawn and unmoving. [say] “We hunted Hels on the beach first,”[/say] she starts, voice distant. [say]“I met Kamaria alone in the markets.”[/say] A flicker in her eyes, pain perhaps, or something else. It’s there and gone too soon. [say]“Then we went to the bar. Got drunk - or I did at least.”[/say] Deimos always held his liquor better than she did, size and infrequency of indulgence both playing against her. [say] “I told him about the Advocates. We went out onto the beach, and I was upset so we let our magic out on the ocean.”[/say] There’s a stiffness here, a brushing over of emotions lest they dissolve into another screaming match. [say] “He told me to go back to the Inn, but as I was heading there I realized he wouldn’t have left me to walk home alone. So I ran to the Slagveld.”[/say] Sighing, she pulls her hair to rest over one shoulder, and idly fingers the ends.
[say]“There was no fire yet. No sign of it. But I couldn’t be certain, so I ordered everyone out. I knew he wouldn’t reveal himself with others around, but I also knew he wouldn’t want to hurt innocents. It was all I could think to do to try and get him to show himself to me.”[/say] Precisely why she had been so tight lipped about his invisibility, and even than hadn’t clarified if it was magic or an item that allowed it. [say]“As they left, I told Atlas to guard the door. I didn’t want anybody coming back in and getting hurt, and I just had a bad feeling.”[/say] The grief is something she can’t conceal, for all her other emotions are confined below the surface. [say]“When he wasn’t on the ground floor I ran upstairs - and that’s where I found him. And the fire. His magic is so powerful, it doesn’t take more than a moment, and it spread so fast.”[/say] Mere moments, mighty and unstoppable.
[say]“I barely even had a chance to try and talk to him. Then outside, someone cut Atlas’ throat.”[/say] Her voice comes out in a croak, eyelids flickering as she tries to fight back tears. [say]“It…it fucked me up. Deimos had to try and guide me, he didn’t know what was wrong. And by the time I could talk, the stairs were already full of smoke, so he dragged us into the side bedroom.”[/say] Inhaling a ragged breath, Hotaru presses the heels of her palms to her eyes to try and press the tears back in. [say] “And then someone else stabbed him, and he healed himself, and I kept telling him to run, because he was just trying to help and then -”[/say] she breaks apart with a hiccup, nails clawing at her temples as she shakes and tries to grapple herself into some semblance of control. [say]“A woman set fire to him. And killed him.”[/say]
Hands still over her eyes she shudders an exhale. [say]“I jumped out the window. I was…senseless. I attacked the woman with my lightning. I tried to kill her - and justly so, in my eyes. But she got away.”[/say] Rubbing her face, she turns bloodshot eyes to Nate, hollowed out and hurt. [say]“And that’s it. I didn’t see Deimos again until we met at Apopo, for a different excursion we had planned.”[/say] She hadn’t slept at all that night. Wandering Torchline’s beaches, coming to terms with her loss.
RE: the precipice of all we know - Nate - 06-22-2021
It should hurt to see Hotaru again so soon, but without Sunjata there, all Nate feels is a twinge in the jagged place where something was ripped out of him, where trust once lay. His thumbnail worries at the corner of his clipboard, creating a soundtrack of soft scratching, even before his pencil moves, capturing details of Hotaru’s words.
All the way through her words, Nate’s stare doesn’t waver. His mouth moves, shifting and tightening in response to specific things mentioned by Hotaru, though he holds his tongue the whole was through. His grin slips away entirely as she speaks of Atlas, returning as she moves on, albeit a touch sharper than it was before.
For a long moment, all there is is the soft scratching of pencil on paper, Nate’s gaze still not leaving Hotaru, not until he finishes and glances down, double checking that he has everything down. “[say]So...[/say]” He breathes softly, gathering himself. “[say]Thats it then, huh? That’s everything?[/say]” A blue eye moves over her face, searching for something that would make this make sense to him. “[say]Theres nothing else you want to add to your statement?[/say]”
RE: the precipice of all we know - Hotaru - 06-22-2021
She can feel his gaze on her, but she can't bring herself to look. He may not be able to read her emotions like Sunjata can when she's shifted, but it's not as if he doesn't know her. Well, perhaps. If both were so willing to overlook how they had destroyed her, perhaps they didn't care at all. But she still does, and because of it she won't subject herself to the agony that will choke her if she looks into his eyes.
[say]"Once Atlas was hurt, everything gets muddled,"[/say] she says softly, tracing the bloodstains from the first interrogation that stain her white dress. [say]"It's...unlike anything I can describe, losing them. It doesn't help I wasn't entirely sober when I followed after him."[/say] Shrugging listlessly, her long hair veils the sides of her face as her head tilts towards her lap, idly plucking at a raw seam. [say]"That's all I have."[/say] Do with it what you will, she seems to leave unspoken. Defeated and tired. Hours ticking slowly down. Three days.
RE: the precipice of all we know - Nate - 06-23-2021
Nate’s been careful so far, not wanting to let himself be overwhelmed, wanting to listen to her words with some subjectivity, but as she finishes, and he has the room to breathe for a moment, he lets his mind open, tapping into something borrowed. “[say]I can’t imagine.[/say]” He offers of Atlas, voice softer than before. Grief is not a stranger, but it’s not the same. The closest thing Nate could liken it to is the loss of his eye, a piece of himself suddenly gone, blackness filling a place where once light had lived.
“[say]So... you don’t know anything about where Deimos would have gone after the fire? Or where you spent the night?[/say]” Nate huffs, chewing at his lip. There’s still loose ends, unanswered questions, and he doesn’t know how to start unravelling them.
A taptaptaptap begins, Nate trying to wear a hole in the ground with only his boot heel, his gaze dropping to his paper, then back up to Hotaru. “[say]Do you know where Deimos is now?[/say]”
RE: the precipice of all we know - Hotaru - 06-23-2021
A soft noise of hurt escapes her before she can bite it back, eyes closing and turning slightly away from Nate. She can’t hide her reactions from him in this small barren room, and the grief of Atlas’ loss is still so new. He may not be apologizing or offering empathy, but it’s the first kindness they’ve offered since her arrival, and it’s an arrow straight to her already burned heart. [say]“I hope you don’t have to feel it,”[/say] is the hoarse response, brittle and frail. It’s not a pain she would wish on her worst enemy - certainly not them, who she still loves against all reason and harm.
Roughly rubbing her palms against her face Hotaru searches for composure that doesn’t want to come. Everything is so much harder with Nate, and she wishes he hadn’t been the first to question her alone. He hadn’t been the one to betray her, aside from the general pain of choosing Sunjata, and Deimos’ claims that he had moved one quickly. Perhaps it’s intentional then that they sent Nate in first, and the idea makes her clam up, hurt and distrustful.
[say]“I don’t know where he went. I don’t even know where he was while I was attacking the woman.”[/say] Both utterly truthful. She’d been too lost in her grief and rage to even notice him flying away. Though she admittedly hadn’t thought to add the hours after the fire to her statement, evident by the quick blink of surprise. [say]“I spent the night on the beach. I didn’t sleep.”[/say] Staring out at the waves, crying helplessly, curled up in the sand beneath the stars. [say]“We had a standing plan to go to Apopo the next day. I went as normal, because I didn’t know where else he would be, and he was there.”[/say] Whether he had returned to the Inn or slept somewhere outside in one of his shifts she doesn’t know. They hadn’t talked about it. They’d talked about very little.
The next question takes her by surprise, brows crinkling as she turns to look at Nate - from the corner of her eye, to make it easier. [say]“I saw him last night before I came here. He’s in Halo. I don’t see why he’d have reason to leave.”[/say] Puzzlement is an undertone to her words, and then trepidation. They had already made their decision to ban Deimos, would they try and change their minds?
RE: the precipice of all we know - Nate - 06-23-2021
“[say]So you have no way of knowing whether or not he was involved in the attempted arson of the Wren Society?[/say]” There’s something so refreshing about stepping back like this, something about simply dropping his words without fanfare. Clipped, professional, impersonal. It’s not something that comes naturally to Nate, the strain of it evident in his voice, in the constant, constant fidgeting.
Hotaru’s words earn her a nod, as if Nate is agreeing with all the things she isn’t saying.“[say]Sooo... he’s going to be remaining at home for the foreseeable future?[/say]” Nate hums under his breath and makes a note, his tongue wetting his lips before he speaks again. “[say]Good.[/say]”
“[say]I’m going to have to talk to Sunjata, and our new arbiter, but,[/say]” Nate sighs, knowing she’s not going to like his words. “[say]I think we’ll be keeping you for at least a little while longer. Until we can tie up some loose ends.[/say]” Still his gaze sits on her, somehow expectant now. “[say]Maybe a week?[/say]”
RE: the precipice of all we know - Hotaru - 06-23-2021
Shock flits sincerely over her face for a brief moment. They thought he’d burned the Society? [say]“No, I don’t have a way of knowing. I know my opinion doesn’t much matter but I don’t think he’d do it with injured people in there. And if he was willing to confess about the Advocates, I don’t see why he’d exclude confessing to that as well.”[/say] Deimos was not the type to avoid owning up to his actions, for all it exasperates Hotaru.
She doesn’t necessarily have anything to say but she hums softly in agreement. Deimos never had a real need to come to Torchline in the first place, she doubts he’ll want to leave Halo at all for some time.
Her shoulders tense at his last words, finally breaking and looking his way, astounded. [say]“A week? Absolutely not. Nate, that’s ridiculous. I came here willingly, I submitted to your questions thricefold, I even agreed to stay extra days. I am not going to remain here like a prisoner when you haven’t even made a decision!”[/say] Her upset only grows, betrayal stinging in her heart even when she should have never let hope or feelings fester. [say]“And even if you do somehow find me to be an accomplice, why should my punishment be any worse than Deimos’ when he confessed outright? In that case I’d rather you exile me as well than deal with this farce, even if that means being called guilty when I’m not!”[/say] She has done everything they’ve asked of her, and it’s clear this has become entirely personal, because Deimos was banned and left alone entirely. But no, because of her connection to them, all fairness is clearly off the table.
RE: the precipice of all we know - Nate - 06-24-2021
“[say]Well even you would have to admit, it’s a big coincidence that both buildings were targeted the same night.[/say]” Nate somehow even manages a humourless chuckle to go along with his words. Of course Deimos had done it. The alternative was there was more than one person out there aiming for their backs, that they had no idea who or why.
Well, look who found his newest late night obsession.
When he speaks again, there is more of a tremble in Nate’s voice, his teeth snapping closed too quick on the heels of the words. “[say]You came here willingly and confessed to an attempted murder Hotaru, I could hold you for a lot longer than a week.[/say]” There is a heavy finality in Nate’s tone, something that begs for no more arguments. He can’t hold himself on so calm a platform if he has to devote energy to arguing. “[say]It’s just enough time to get our timeline right, make sure we have the full picture.[/say]” Like this, Nate sounds almost placating, his hands out as if he’s trying to calm some feral beast.
Shoulders roll back as Nate sits up, a brow cocking in his ex-wife’s direction. “[say]I never said we were done with him. We didn’t have enough evidence to bother Morgan, but now,[/say]” the clipboard lifts, one of his knuckles rapping against it, “[say]We have everything we need to decide on a more suitable punishment.[/say]” Nodding, Nate draws in a sigh that he doesn’t release and casts his eye around the cell, the first time his gaze has lifted from her since he arrived. “[say]Honestly, I’m less concerned he’s going to vanish from where he is. He doesn’t have the track record you do.[/say]”
RE: the precipice of all we know - Hotaru - 06-24-2021
Hotaru shrugs slightly, truly uncertainty for once. [say]“That’s all I know.”[/say] Though she can’t help but still be invested in whoever had set the Society fire. Still, not her problem at the end of the day.
Her hurt raises its ugly head at his words, and she spins to face him finally, the fires of her anger and emotion rising in her eyes even as she grits her teeth to keep from losing control. [say]“Attempted murder? Attempted murder? She KILLED my SOULMATE!”[/say] Her voice is a resounding boom, electricity crackling where she fists her dress until it scorches the fabric, eyes immediately thick with tears. Emotion is far too close to the surface these days with her pregnancy. [say]“Where the fuck is the justice there? Why is everyone fucking overlooking that she DESERVED it? He doesn’t deserve to be forgotten! He was just saving people!”[/say] She throws herself backwards onto the bed, curling back into her ball and turning towards the corner, shoulders shaking.
[say]“Just go away. I answered your questions. Please leave me alone.”[/say] Her voice is wet with grief and tears, and Hotaru knows she can’t fight it back if he stays. Hotaru doesn’t care about his parting shots, his threats and insinuations. There is only loss. So, so much loss. And he is among the ranks.
RE: the precipice of all we know - Nate - 06-24-2021
Nate, to his credit, doesn’t actually move when Hotaru explodes. His eyes widen a fraction, and his jaw sets into a hard stubborn line, but he doesn’t move. “[say]Deserved it or not, you tried to kill a person Hotaru. You’re not fucking innocent.[/say]” He sucks his teeth, trying to pull back the scraps of emotion she had loosed, trying to smooth himself back into the little featureless mask he’d donned. “[say]He’s not being forgotten.[/say]”
Leaning back in his seat, Nate readjusts himself, feet planting on the ground so he can settle in for the long haul. The grin that had clung so stubbornly to his face is absent, replaced with such a severe frown it seems like his face will never forget the expression.
It takes a long, long stretch of stubborn silence, but finally Nate cracks, clears his throat. “[say]Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?[/say]” If it wasn’t so quiet, his voice would be lost, as it is they’re nearly swallowed up by the soft sounds of her distress.
RE: the precipice of all we know - Hotaru - 06-24-2021
Curled against the wall, her bare shoulder is the only answer he’ll get. Innocence is not something she has claimed to have, to be. [say]“So because she’s your Arbiter, she gets to remain free and unchained?”[/say] It’s a dark whisper, words shaking. Hotaru doesn’t know the woman’s name but she knows her title. Knows she still lives. [say]“There is no fairness here. Don’t pretend there is. I can’t take you lying to me.”[/say] Her voice breaks, and the tears spill over her cheeks, and she curls further away so that he won’t see them fall. He is not privy to her emotions anymore.
The trembling of her shaken breaths as she cries is all the fills the room as she struggles to silence herself, the noise a sign of weakness. It only makes her ears all the more sensitive to his tone when he speaks. Shaking her head mutely, she curls around her belly and tries to ignore him. [say]“Nothing I wanted to do,”[/say] she whispers, voice half-swallowed by the lump in her throat. It’s the last thing she wants to say, but whether it will be, well…Nate had always been her weakness.
RE: the precipice of all we know - Nate - 06-24-2021
Nate let’s put a long breath, nodding while he does. “[say]Yes.[/say]” He agrees. “[say]Thats exactly how it works. It’s not fair.[/say]” These are things Nate says as simply as if he were describing the weather. The sun is shining, there’s a cool breeze coming in off the sea, and you have lost all of my trust.
“[say]But you still did it.[/say]” Nate drops the words sullenly, then clenches his jaw against the tremble of emotion. It’s better to get this out, better to cauterize the wound without any poison inside it. “[say]I let you come back to me again and again, and you didn’t even say anything to me before you left. I came and found you! And you,[/say]” Nate growls, all of him shifting restlessly, “[say]you stole my fucking coat![/say]”