just a couple of strings attached

WESSEX

the wraith

Nothing like bluffing your way through a deal and then saddling someone else with your debt, amiright?

After wandering around the beaches of Torchline for most of the night (oceans are officially fascinating), Wessex pops back through the portal to the Ground. She waits until it’s an appropriate time of day before finding the Guildhall again, very much reminiscent of her last visit there. This time, there’s just the cloak in her bag - tusks tucked away somewhere safe in her shack, same with the cuffs. The Wraith is optimistic that this gift will be received with positivity, so she knocks on the door and steps back. It’s the first time she’s been out and about during the day without her own covering. Just a quick experiment, to see how she feels.

she's pullin' the trigger

cause it's me and the moon, she says

and i have no trouble with that

is it better to be a monster with a heart, or a human without a soul?

my hands are shaking

She absolutely doesn’t expect someone to be knocking at the door at this point – having spent a day away from the Bakery since Amalia had come back. And with it, she’d spent it here – part of her wondering if perhaps it would be Harper on the other side, though the boy has had a habit of simply walking in rather than knocking. Which makes it almost more awkward, that the face behind the door might be a stranger, a person she’ll have to try and figure out how to help with one thing or another.

Longheat has been warm, and with it, she keeps her hair tied back, a tank top of sorts that reveals all her scars, something Wessex likely could appreciate. The door opens and she spies Wessex, icy gaze softening a small amount at the sight of the Ascended, even in the bright light. “Oh, hi Wessex.” She says, opening the door fully to let her in, offering a smile to the woman. “What brings you by?”

my knuckles are bruised

but i survived

KIADA

WESSEX

the wraith

Never underestimate the power of a warm welcome. Wessex immediately reacts with a smile and a lifts her bag up to illustrate that there’s a thing in there. “I’ve got something for you,” is all she says by way of explanation before stepping through the open door. There’s a little bit of relief that wells up at being inside, causing the Wraith to relax, releasing any tension she might have unconsciously been holding on to. “I hope you don’t mind that I did it in the Guild’s name. So if Remi comes asking for a favor, this is why.”

Like any of them would deny the alchemist a favor; they owe the man too much already. But as she hadn’t been given an explicit task, Wessex doesn’t want to seem like she’s taking too many liberties. Maybe just one or two acceptable ones.

she's pullin' the trigger

cause it's me and the moon, she says

and i have no trouble with that

is it better to be a monster with a heart, or a human without a soul?

my hands are shaking

The smile and the bag are met with a bright inquisitive icy gaze, the smile widening slightly as her brows raise. “For me?” She asks with a quiet laugh, moving aside to let the Wraith in and close the door behind her to keep the sunlight from creeping within the darker interior. And she faces the woman as she takes in what she’s saying – something in the guilds name, something for Remi, and well isn’t that certainly something.

Her smile grows a bit more feline in interest and intrigue, though she nods. “Sure, don’t mind at all.” She offers, stepping a bit closer to try and steal a peek. “What is it though?” Her gaze flits up toward Wessex with intrigue, head tilting slightly avianlike as she focuses on what it possibly could be. Something from Torchline, perhaps?

my knuckles are bruised

but i survived

KIADA

WESSEX

the wraith

Ok, so perhaps guild members don’t come often come to her with gifts, let alone a former Queen and Demi-god. But when Wessex likes you, she likes you. And this thing isn’t just for Kiada. “Well, for the Guild, ultimately. But thought it might be most useful come LongNight.” So saying, she reaches into the bag and pulls out a cloak. Holding it up, it appears to be an ordinary cloak, but as she swings it over her shoulders and steps to the side of the room and into not deep shadows, but certainly some kind of shadow, she seems to disappear.

“Fancy, huh?” her voice comes near the walls, the floor bearing the sound of her walking to a corner. Within a moment she appears - piece by piece - as she slinks into the light again. Mostly for comedic effect.

she's pullin' the trigger

cause it's me and the moon, she says

and i have no trouble with that

is it better to be a monster with a heart, or a human without a soul?

my hands are shaking

Her attention perks up at the mention of LongNight, gaze flickering between the bag and the Wraith, a dark brow raised in full intrigue. The Ascended has her full attention, and she watches with the briefest hint of a smile along her face as Wessex pulls out a cloak and puts it on, steps into the shadows and becomes impossible to detect from the place she’s in. Both brows lift now in surprise, listening as Wessex’s voice comes from the shadows.

A bright laugh of surprise leaves her as she finds herself somewhat speechless, head tilting very avianlike as she focuses on Wessex when she appears again. “Wow, that’s incredible.” She says thoughtfully, stepping toward the woman in the attempts to touch the cloak and see what it’s like. “I’m assuming so… But does it work for anyone?” She asks thoughtfully, head lifting to focus on Wessex with an almost childish grin. An inadvertent way of asking to try it out.

my knuckles are bruised

but i survived

KIADA

WESSEX

the wraith

Reappearing to Kiada’s question, Wessex gives the girl a look as she takes the cloak off and hands it over. “I doubt Remi would have made something just for the Ascended to use. That’s more up the Voices alley. She’s unsure if the Guildmistress is aware of the portal politics, but anything that could be used against the portal guardians is probably not the best idea. The demi-god waits for Kiada to try it out, even though she isn’t sure she can answer any questions about the cloak itself. “I don’t know if it will effectively hide someone from the Monsters, but I figured it couldn’t hurt, you know?” And after last LongNight’s debacles, it couldn’t hurt to be extra prepared.

she's pullin' the trigger

cause it's me and the moon, she says

and i have no trouble with that

is it better to be a monster with a heart, or a human without a soul?

my hands are shaking

“Ah, right.” Kiada says with a quiet huff of laughter – having completely forgotten that part of the conversation in sheer surprise at what the object did. But the Ascended hands her the cloak, and she inspects it with excitement and possibilities, running through the lot of them in her mind before she slips it on to try and fit it around her as Wessex had done – far more practiced than the girl was – and she finds that it fits wonderfully, melds her into the shadows as well… How fascinating!

She slips it off and reveals herself from the shadows at the thought and idea that Wessex presents, her icy gaze softening as she focuses on the implications of that. “I think it’s certainly worth a shot at the very least.” She agrees quietly, a softer smile crossing her face to the ex-queen. “And if nothing else, at least we’ll find out if it works before we get to the part where it matters, hm?” A crooked almost girlish smile is given toward Wessex with that.

my knuckles are bruised

but i survived

KIADA

WESSEX

the wraith

She chuckles. “That’s true. We only have to step out into the darkness to see if it works. The only problem may be footprints and sound… but that might be something to work out during Leafchange.” Remembering that Kiada is Attuned, Wessex’s head tilts a bit in consideration. “Unless you could… fly with it on?” And if Jigano is going with them (they may need to all sit down and plan things out, or call a truce, or something beforehand if this is going to be successful), he could use it too. Wessex is counting on something else to keep her safe, and even that is a big gamble.

After waiting for the Guildmistress to respond with the flying bit, the Wraith puts forth a question quietly. “I’m collecting questions to ask the Voice about the Monsters. Can you tell me what happened to you last LongNight? Focusing on your interaction with the Monster and what seemed to be effective or not against them?”

If there’s nothing else nice to say about Wessex, one can say that she is doggedly, relentlessly pursuing the elimination of the Monsters. She may have failed at being a Queen and a leader, but she is hell bent on finding some way to keep her people safe during that terrible, terrible week.

she's pullin' the trigger

cause it's me and the moon, she says

and i have no trouble with that

is it better to be a monster with a heart, or a human without a soul?

my hands are shaking

It’s an interesting thought. To fly with the cloak on, wondering if it would shift with her – but it wasn’t quite made like the chest plate she has that Deimos had made her. The one that she could wear both human and in her forms. This one seemed only the one size. Perhaps to try might make her appear somewhat like Ludo and the thought causes a small quiet snort to leave her. “I can try.” She offers, draping the cloak over herself to shift into the vulture shift of hers, talons clinking against the ground as she finds herself suddenly swallowed by cloth.

She spreads her wings and finds that it inhibits any sort of ability to move her wings, and she frowns with this realization, shifting back into herself, sitting along the floor with the cloak before she stands. “It’s a bit too heavy for my wings to hold both me and the fabric.” She inspects it, but it’s a possible thought nonetheless.

The mention of questions about the monsters draws her attention again, and Kiada looks up thoughtfully about the monster. “We weren’t very strong compared to them, but I know they hated the light from the lantern.” She offers at first, looking away from the Wraith to the fabric between her hands, feathers peeking out from her neck. “The one that held Ru’in’s soul was flying. It seemed pretty far up in the air, I tried to shoot at it with a crossbow and only a couple of them hit. I heard somewhere that they don’t fare well against magical fire… But I wouldn’t know for sure.” She looks back up to Wessex with a small shrug. “It dropped this sort of tar kind of liquid on us, sticking Jigano’s feathers together.”

my knuckles are bruised

but i survived

KIADA

WESSEX

the wraith

Well, it was worth a shot. She watches with interest as the girl shifts into her vulture form and is unable to do much. She’s never had wings, so she couldn’t have known - but the information is useful, nonetheless. Keeps them from making a mistake later. “Better to know now,” she says with a nod, making no move to take the cloak back. It’s Kiada’s now. Or the Guild’s. Whatever.

Wessex listens to the account, thoughtful and trying to dissect what the information can tell them. “Well we’re all stronger now - so there’s that.” Jigano is. She is. Whether or not Kiada is might also make a difference, unless the Mistress intends to let her companions do the heavy lifting. Given the bard and her own predeliction towards heroics, she actually wouldn’t blame the girl for it. “Physical attacks have proven iffy at best… and yet they can be caught with magical nets, so fuck if I know anything. Fire though - fire may be our best bet.” The question would be - where can they get them some of that fire?

“But I’m sure there will be time for planning later. I wanted to give you this now, though, while I had the time” Offering a small smile, Wessex waits for a response and then turns to the door, errand complete.

{last post is yours!}

she's pullin' the trigger

cause it's me and the moon, she says

and i have no trouble with that

is it better to be a monster with a heart, or a human without a soul?

my hands are shaking

“That’s true.” Kiada agrees easily, though while she attempts to hand the cloak back the Wraith makes no move to take it back. So she folds it up, keeping it within her grasp while she explains what it was like last LongNight, what she’d experienced, what had occurred and what they wanted. With it, she nods to Wessex – though deep within knowing that she hasn’t grown stronger and that’s truly the problem at the end of it all, isn’t it?

She mulls over the option of fire with a tilt of her head in some sort of thought. “Perhaps some Abandoneds might be willing to help?” She muses, though frowns slightly regardless. “I’ll think on it.” A quiet awkward chuckle after that as she shakes her head and sets the cloak on the table beside her.

“Thank you again, I really appreciate it.” She offers to the woman, receiving the small smile and offering a quiet wave back before moving back to work about the logs she’s been keeping.

FIN <3

my knuckles are bruised

but i survived

KIADA