No Hand on the Reins

Adam Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels Adam was not someone who commonly gave in to melancholy. In fact, he commonly tried to purposefully hit it away, get rid of it. Melancholy was dangerous, led to thinking and nostalgia, bad memories threatening to rush in at the edge of his mind every moment he entertained it. No, he had carefully constructed his persona to be entirely free of misery of any kind. With all that said, he was stuck in a big fucking pit. The first couple of days it had been relatively easy to keep up his spirits. Coffee was good enough company and he had appreciated the chance to rest. The bed in the cave had been a good place to lay and take pills that took him to other places and there had been enough food to make do. But then the others had joined. Amalia, from the bakery, and someone else he didn't know. They certainly knew each other though, and Adam immediately felt like a third wheel in what was by all fairness his pit. He'd been there first. Shortly after Amalia and Kiada dropped in he began to spend a lot of the day laid in the bed, staring up at the ceiling of the cave and dangling one foot over the edge, wondering when they were going to kill him (that had to be what this was, right?) or how they'd do it. He'd escaped many nooses and one guillotine before, but one day his luck would run out...his fingers reached up to touch the thick, ropey scars across his neck and face. With a sigh, he turned and stared at the mouth of the cave, wondering where the others were. But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean

KIADA i wish that i could say, i am a light that never goes out. Amalia is missing from the tunnels, having managed to escape for something in the sky. For a moment, the Harpy imagines Delah will put her back down here once she’s caught again, but she doesn’t dwell on it. If Amalia gets out, that’s easier for her. Then it’s only her and Adam that need to find a way to leave. She notices the storm approaching and slips further into the tunnel toward the bed, eyes scanning the darkened room to spot Adam laying across the bunk, uncertain what his plans are. Kiada has none, doesn’t know where to start. Certainly, she could shift into a bird and try to leave too, but what good does that do? None. Huffing to herself, her eyes scan over Adam again before she grudges toward the side of the wall and slips her leathers off, remaining in a tank top that reveals the scar along her neck and many smaller scratches along her shoulders creeping up from her spine. Then, she sinks to the floor beside the bed, toward Adam’s feet for a brief moment, contemplating what to say. After a few long moments, a pale hand raises and taps the underside of his boot to get attention. “Amalia got out, not sure how, if, or when she’ll be back. But I can’t find her anywhere out there.” She acknowledges, eyes staring hard at the barren floor and wishing her Luxere was here. “What do you propose we do? There is a storm approaching.” but i flicker from time to time.

Adam Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels At the tap on his boot Adam jumped and looked up, raising his head from the pillow. There was Kiada, the woman he didn't know. Only knew her name because he'd heard Amalia address her. He supposed if they were going to be imprisoned here indefinitely he'd get to know them both much better eventually, so he figured he may as well begin to introduce himself. He sat up, and only then fully processed what Kiada was telling him. "She got out?! And she...didn't take you? Shit, that's cold." Adam had thought Amalia and Kiada had had something close to a mother-daughter relationship, not one where one would just run off without the other. Then he was asked what to do, which he found..bizarre. No one ever asked Adam for advice so this was rather new territory for him. "Uh...well I was gonna lay here and wait it out, maybe nap a bit...what else have we got to do?" He struggled with the effort of not saying an innuendo here but managed it, instead just shifted back and patted the bed. "...I..guess you can join me here if you want." But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean

KIADA i wish that i could say, i am a light that never goes out. A part of her relishes when Adam jumps after tapping his boot, it quirks a small smirk along the corner of her lip before it fades with the news she has brought. Her arms cross over her chest and she looks back to the entrance of the tunnel as Adam sits up fully and replies. Yes, Amalia is our and nowhere to be seen. But the Harpy isn’t upset — she knows deep down that Amalia won’t abandon her. The leopardess that had comforted her when Ru’in died, who had been a steady part of all the fun and rebuilding of her life since then. No, Amalia would be back, likely with help. “She will be back.” She acknowledges simply with a small snort before her icy gaze slips back toward the dark haired man with a similar interest in style to her, listening while he speaks of his plans for the time being. She agrees, however, that a nap sounds great and at nothing else it will at least make some more time pass. But she scrutinizes him slightly as he offers to share the bed with her, uncertain where he thinks it may go. Especially because Kiada hasn’t had any kind of touch in months. She doesn’t know what to make of it. Her eyes narrow slightly, but she stands, moving over to sit on the edge of the bed should Adam slide over slightly before looking back at him over her shoulder, the scars radiating out of the spine in pale jabs and spears, a stark contrast to the black of the X on her neck as it shifts and twists with the movement of her neck. “Try anything and I’ll gut you.” She says simply, flashing him a sickly sweet smile that appears far more wolffish than it should, but with her warning out of the way she lays beside him on the bed, finding it far more comfortable than the hard earthy floor. “Have you been in the pit long?” She questions after a few moments pass. He’s thin, but she doesn’t know if it’s because of time and little food or if it’s just him. but i flicker from time to time.

Adam Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels She will be back. Adam didn't know Kiada well enough to get into an argument over this statement and while that did not always stop him, he was too tired for starting too much shit right now. Still, he thought it unlikely. No matter who was left behind, if he got out of this shithole he'd stay out. You didn't run back into burning buildings for anyone; that had always been his rule. To his surprise Kiada actually appeared to take him up on his offer of a joint nap, something he had meant purely as a joke because it had seemed so silly. But there she was, sat on the bed. With her thinly veiled threat he lifted his hands up and smiled, trying to be the picture of affronted innocence. In the moments of silence that followed, he began to relax again, staring at Kiada's back as he began to drift off to sleep. Something of the scene reminded him of a similar pose years ago, with him in a bed and a woman sat on the side...but then it had carried much more meaning, of course. Had been notable in the absence of the warmth expected of them. This wasn't anything like that, so he tried to put the thought from his mind. The question caused him to sleepily raise his head. "Uh..no...about....two and a half days 'fore you and Amalia got here. I've done longer and worse jail stints, to be honest. I got a bit of food, fresh air, company...and I'm sure we'll find a way out. Usually you're in some stone hole that stinks of piss and you have to start chipping at the walls." Wanting to keep some conversation going (he had found himself a little lonely next to Amalia and Kiada's companionship), Adam lifted up a hand to push through his hair then spoke again: "...She like...your mum? Amalia? Big sister, maybe?" But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean

KIADA i wish that i could say, i am a light that never goes out. Her back is to him momentarily, as the silence and growing growl of the storm begins to pick up. She listens to it, quiet at first, until Adam’s voice cuts through it and answers her question. When he does, she rolls over onto her back to look upon him when he speaks, offering a wry smile at his mention of “jail stints”, wondering what kind of ones those had been – but as she looks she notices quite a few scars on him too and decides to trust on that instinct. She’s surprised when his words make her smile, a small huff of a laugh slipping from her lips. “I’ve never gotten caught before.” She says with a small shrug, raising her arms to place them behind her head. Her icy gaze slips from him to stare at the stony ceiling of the tunnel they were in when his question slips toward her. “I wish she was my mom.” She says simply, and she means it. Uncertain of where Rexanna is at this point in time – and especially with the idea that this Rexanna wasn’t the same. It was a fact she’d have to face soon but she hopes she can go quite a bit longer before having to face it and the awkwardness. Would her own mother, this reality or another, even remember her? Would it hurt as much as Ru’in’s death did? She frowns slightly as she contemplates it. “I lost someone very close to me on Longnight, she… Comforted me in my darkest time.” She said softly and simply, as though she didn’t want to think of it – his dark stony skin, dual toned gaze, malformed words and speech – what a force they were together. Stone and fire, a melting pot of many wonderous things. But they never got that far – it was an impossible thing, and Kiada had grown quite used to being alone now. It seemed better than the alternative. “I haven’t known her very long, though.” She offers, as if it means much to him. Her head turns again toward the mouth of the cave, her long scar moving with it as well as the ones on her shoulders. She’s a battle hardened woman, and still perhaps a bit sour that she had gotten caught in the first place. but i flicker from time to time.

Adam Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels Kiada rolled over to see him a little better and Adam smiled, leaning up on one elbow so he was looking down at her. "No shame in getting caught. Just means you know how to avoid it next time. And how to escape. I've broken out of so many jails by now I could write a book on it." If I could write, he added in his mind, but didn't say that, the shame of his illiteracy still something he felt keenly. So Amalia wasn't her mum, was in fact someone she had gotten close to only at Longnight; an event Adam only really knew of as 'that one night with the weird firey bird', but he had heard of violence and death from a few people in those two weeks. "Oh, uh...right. I see. Sorry...about that." He awkwardly attempted comfort, never having been good at genuine emotions beyond sarcastic lust and boisterous confidence. A quiet fell as she turned to look at the mouth of the cave, Adam's eyes falling on her scar. He didn't ask about it, he knew better than that; he never wanted to talk about his own scars and knew the conversation could easily turn that way. "So...you think they're gonna kill us? I think they're gonna, but then I dunno why they didn't just do it up top. Maybe they're cooking up some weird fucking way to do it. Or maybe they're watching us to see what we're gonna do first..." He glanced up and around the cave as if looking for eyes in the darkness. "Maybe they're just starving us out." But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean

KIADA i wish that i could say, i am a light that never goes out. She snorts in response to his suggestion of being able to learn from the experiences and how to break out – and she quirks an eyebrow at him with a smirk dangling from her lips as she speaks sweetly. “So why haven’t you broken out yet?” She teases with a small shrug, knowing that if he was like her that he wasn’t from around here – and this was unlike anything she’d ever dealt with before. She couldn’t blame him for not being able to figure out how to get out of this one either. But then he’s stumbling over an apology and she shrugs as if it doesn’t matter (but it does matter, her heart shattered over and over again and now her heart has become stone – alive for very few people. Amalia, one of them.) But before she can speak on anything else that might be more antagonizing to him, he questions her if she wonders if they’re going to kill them. A small laugh slips past her lips as she looks back over to the mouth of the cave. “I don’t know why they’re waiting so long. They probably have any number of creatures that could do the job.” She says before turning her attention back to him. “What if they eat us? They should be feeding us more.” She joked, another snort in response to her own joke. but i flicker from time to time.

Adam Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels "Cos it's so lovely, isn't it? Sun, nature, pretty girls..." Adam's voice dripped with sarcasm. Really, he knew just as well as Kiada he had little chance of escaping the Pit without substanstial help since he couldn't fly, teleport, shift...do anything that didn't involve guns or smiles. Kiada admitted she didn't know why they weren't dead yet either. He didn't like the waiting, the chance for his mind to create hideous fantasies of what could happen. Still, he snorted out a laugh at the idea of being eaten. "I'd be a crap meal. Mostly bone." "Either way though, if we don't get out we're probably gonna die." He concluded, with hardly enough gravity. "Is there anything you wanted to do you didn't get to?" But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean

KIADA i wish that i could say, i am a light that never goes out. Adam’s voice was sarcastic, yet Kiada snorts in response to it. She never thought herself to be pretty – too brutal, too many scars, more terrifying rather than beautiful. So it doesn’t bother her that he mentions it with sarcasm, instead she embraces it as if this were the start of an intriguing friendship of an unlikely pair of people. Yet Adam laughs to her suggestion, and she quirks a half smile toward him with a raised brow. “Oh, and you think I would be a good meal?” She questions with a small chime of a laugh as well. “They’d probably make me shift into my bird form and roast me over a campfire.” She teases. But the conversation grows heavy soon as he mentions death and terrible things of lives not lived, and she shrugs her shoulders perhaps a bit indifferently. “I’m not ready for death yet. I’ve done many things in my life, and I have a great many more to go.” There’s confidence that rides in her voice at it – though she’s truly uncertain if any of them will make it out. She continues to think positive at the very least, hoping that it all works out in the end with the three of them free and not roasting over a campfire to fill the bellies of hungry, tiny, winged fae. “What about you?” She questions, tilting her head toward him as her iceberg gaze slides across his face. but i flicker from time to time.

Adam Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels "Maybe together we could just about be an appetiser." Adam laughed. Though actually the jokes did give him a strange sort of comfort - it was true neither of them had much meat on their bones, and the Fae were hardly trying to fatten them up. That likely meant they weren't intended to be food, right? He hoped so. The way she so firmly said she wasn't ready yet made him smile. He liked that kind of attitude, determined and stubborn bravery in the face of likelihoods and bad odds. "Yeah." He agreed quietly, though really he had no actual plans. So when she asked, he wasn't sure what to say. "Well, uh...there's always more to go at, right? Drinks to drink, parties to go to...beds to sneak into...bit of everything. And it's not exactly the best ending, starving cos you got kidnapped by a bunch of Fae who are only four foot tall." He sat up a little and looked Kiada over. "Do you wanna....um..." Adam puffed air out of his mouth and blew up his fringe, trying to work out how to ask. "Just...lay here, with me? No uh..funny stuff. Unless you want there to be." But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean

KIADA i wish that i could say, i am a light that never goes out. “Exotic.” Her voice drips with sarcasm at Adam’s comment of being an appetizer. But the ghost of a smile gleams on her lips. She believes him, in that joking way, that the two of them certainly wouldn’t be enough for the tiny winged creatures that inhabited the forest – but the idea of it is entertaining enough. But as she speaks of not being ready for death yet, the conversation almost grows solemn in a way that the Harpy has expected, yet her eyes flicker over toward the dark haired man with a slightly raised brow. She nods in response, yet she doesn’t really think of herself doing any of those things. She’s not really a drinker, definitely not a partier, and well… Beds to sleep in, she hasn’t even had the idea of it since Ru’in’s passing. But she doesn’t let it affect her as she hums a quiet chuckle toward Adam in agreement. “Yeah that’s a real shit way to go out, huh?” She begins, turning toward him slightly. “I always thought I’d at least be fighting something three times the size of me, bloodied up and gory, screaming the world away.” She offers with a wide, toothy grin – a bit more predatory than she’s originally expecting. But her lips quiver back toward a small line as Adam sits up and looks her over and begins to stutter. Then, he blows his breath out, his fringe dancing with the movement before he asks, and she contemplates it. Originally, she had suggested something similar. Not particularly cuddling, but just sharing a bed. Perhaps… Perhaps some kind of humanly touch, cuddling or simply just being there would be… Nice after everything that’s happened. Her eyes narrow slightly on him as she contemplates the question and nods, settling back down into the almost barren bed. “Sure.” It’s a simple answer, but she doesn’t know how else to respond. She hopes it’s good enough. but i flicker from time to time.

Adam Some things you do just to see how bad they'll make you feel Sometimes you try to freeze time 'til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels If Adam had just seen Kiada in the street, he didn't know if he'd have pegged her to be the sort of person who'd want to die 'bloody and screaming', but all it did was make him admire her. Personally, he wanted to die on a bed of money surrounded by his many fans kissing his body and wailing, but he could see the attraction in her way too. "Well hey, you can punch a Fae before they eat you, maybe. I'll try find some blood to spill about, and we can both scream." He was surprised when she agreed to lay down but immediately shuffled back to give her room, laying on on his side and watching her get comfortable. "...Hm..I haven't really shared a bed with someone in a long time." He mused, not really expecting the words from his own mouth but letting them come (what did it matter, if they were gonna die?) "I guess the last time I really did it a lot was when I was with my ex-wife." But I am just a broken machine And I do things that I don't really mean

KIADA i wish that i could say, i am a light that never goes out. There’s a small half laugh that slips from Kiada’s lips at Adam’s suggestion before her shoulders roll in a brief shrug. “If I could hit them.” She pauses, her brows furrowing slightly. “I was flying and they caught me in a net and threw me to the ground.” She wants to make it out to be a joke, but she can’t and instead grows weary and frustrated at the loss of her own fiery magic – the tornadoes that could burn away any and everything, the fire that licked up her spine, and certainly the armor she possessed. Yet the scars from it still remain along her shoulder blades and down the rest of her spine. But the conversation has long since passed as she settles down and Adam settles in beside her, laying on his side. She watches him curiously as he muses, a brow lifting as though he were about to profess whatever last thoughts and wishes were. Her shoulders shrug again and she nods, a half crooked toothy smile cascading along her face as she eyes him wolfishly. “Me too.” She admits, in fact, she can’t even remember the last time she had shared a bed with anyone. There’s a secluded, deep sensitive part of her that misses it, but she doesn’t acknowledge it. Instead she shoves it away with everything else. Her hearing kicks in again when he mentions his ex-wife and her head tilts briefly, lifting an arm up to put behind her head as if opening up the side of her to him if he wanted to snuggle up. “You were married before?” She asks, her other hand aimlessly wishing to reach for the ring in her pocket. She wants to add in her own bit of information, but she keeps that quiet too. It’s hard enough to explain the changing worlds, harder still to explain her boyfriend (almost fiancé, almost husband) died twice. So she lets the words die on her lips and instead eyes him questioningly. but i flicker from time to time.