[RE] Sanctuary

For the third time in so many days, there is a-knocking at the Rathskeller door. This time there is no plea for entry, no insistent banging followed by screams. Just a soft tapping, barely audible at first, before growing loud enough to be heard over the clink of glasses. It stops for a few seconds when there is no reply, then starts up again. Knock, knock, knock... Someone in trouble? A trap? Perhaps a mix of the two... The decision, either way - to condemn, or to save - is in the Rathskeller's hands. LONGNIGHT

Sam reached for Remi's elbow right away as he heard someone at the door and shook his head. He knew it would be too tempting, would be difficult for Remi to ignore it again, but he had to look after him. "Don't." Samuel I'm starting to wake from silent sleep I'm starting to break and I can grieve

remi Took a fall from a windy height, I only knew how to hold on tight & pray for love enough to last all night Remi had already begun to move when Sam's hand reached out to stop him. He could overpower the bookmarker (could he? Remi hadn't actually seen Sam's ascended strength in action), but even so, he allowed himself to be restrained. "Sam—" He protested, pale eyes wide with indecision and fear. Glancing towards the door, he shook his curled head, arms trembling slightly. "You heard what happened last time. It was not a monster. It was Zekle, and we let him die out there." Pleading, imploring, Remi looked around. Did no one agree?

Sam leaned forward, placing his other hand on Remi's upper arm. "No, R-Remi. You don't know it was Zekle. It's horrible, but they tr-trick you." He tried to stroke Remi's arm softly but the hand on his elbow was gripping hard, keeping him still with all the strength Sam had. "Sit d-down. It'll stop." If this was going to go on all week, it would be rather exhausting. Samuel I'm starting to wake from silent sleep I'm starting to break and I can grieve

Vervain had paused where she had just been lifting a glass to pour wine into it for a patron, the huntress's eyes flicking to the door and its soft, imploring tapping. Already Remi had moved - already, Sam had moved to stop him. She felt relieved for both of their actions, strangely enough, but... she was unable to reconcile either course. "It's just tapping," she murmured. "That could be anything, or nothing. I... I don't know, Remi. What happened to Cel happened so quickly. If it isn't someone looking for help, then..." She shuddered. There was no right answer, it felt like. And regardless, Vai did not feel like she should be the one to decide. vervain I am always on your side

remi Took a fall from a windy height, I only knew how to hold on tight & pray for love enough to last all night Muscles bulged without necessarily meaning to beneath Sam's grip. Remi was strong, and though Sam didn't look it, the alchemist was held in place with far more solidity than he would have thought. Flinching, Remi moved just enough to test just how far his...his Sam was willing to go to keep him in place. "I heard him. It was Zekle. I'd know that voice anywhere." Remi's voice had dropped to a whisper, something like affection and heartache curling around the words. Glancing towards Vai, Remi paused thoughtfully, searching her face, his own a mask of worry and indecision. "You are right." He said, glancing over his shoulder at Sam, feeling suddenly caged and altogether too helpless. "WHO ARE YOU—" Remi called loudly, towards the door.

Sam shook his head sadly as Remi insisted again the voice had been Zekle, but didn't say anything this time. He tried to smile encouragingly at Vervain, fine with her point of view on the situation...but Remi was still trying to get up. As Remi moved Sam leaned forward with him, placing a flat hand over his shoulder now, desperately trying to keep him back. He opened his mouth to object to the shout, but...shouting wasn't running at the door, after all. Instead he just pressed his forehead to Remi's shoulder, hoping he'd stay. Samuel I'm starting to wake from silent sleep I'm starting to break and I can grieve

Knock, knock, knock... The tapping grows more insistent, though somehow fainter, as if the something is losing interest... or perhaps losing strength. Remi's voice sounds, loud and clear as a bell through the night, and all around the Rathskeller's cellar exit, the world keens and screams and cackles with the knowledge that there are living, tasty creatures within. Through the ruckus, a voice tries to reply in kind to Remi, but the word, the name... it's indecipherable. It is punctuated, though, by the unmistakeable cry of a newborn. LONGNIGHT

remi Took a fall from a windy height, I only knew how to hold on tight & pray for love enough to last all night Remi could feel his rib-cage expand, his shoulders broaden and his head raise. A masculine posture was not the sort of thing he ever really affected, but now as he stood taller with his eyes locked upon the door, he appeared very little like the bumbling alchemist he once was. Even so, the feeling of Sam's head against his shoulder made Remi's frame tremble slightly; with indecision or emotion it was impossible to say. At the sound of the baby crying though, Remi's eyes immediately flashed to Vervain, his nostrils flaring like a horse being spurred on nervously into battle for which it could not refuse its rider. "Vai—" He said shakily. 'A child. A—" Pausing, cold horror washed over Remi's face, pulling all colour from it. "Vai..when was Vanya due..." He asked, voice deadpan, eyes wide, heart stammering.

The soft tinkle of shattering glass echoed in the wake of the baby's cry, Vai having dropped whatever she was holding as it cut through the chaos, pure and hungry and full of need. Her hand flew to her own fledgling bump and the life budding within, the huntress having to take a few shaking breaths of her own to stop herself from instantly going for the door herself. "I... I don't know," she confessed in a tight voice as Remi asked his questions, Vai moving as if on autopilot. She grabbed her bow and quiver from where they had been left within reach against the bar. "She didn't have long, I remember that much." Drawing an arrow and knocking it, Vai pressed her eyes closed as the baby's cries continued. "Open the door, Remi," she mumbled, readying the arrow in case what awaited them was unpleasant. vervain I am always on your side

Vervain suddenly went from making perfect sense to making none at all. As soon as Sam heard 'Open the door' he was on his feet, moving in front of Remi and pressing down hard on his shoulders. His voice sounding louder and more sure than it ever had, he shook his head. "Absolutely not. Y-you're being tricked. It knows you'll go for a baby. Remi. Don't let it fool you. Please." Samuel I'm starting to wake from silent sleep I'm starting to break and I can grieve

remi Took a fall from a windy height, I only knew how to hold on tight & pray for love enough to last all night Remi watched Vai grab her equipment, his heart rallying in his chest as adrenaline pumped through him. Flight had turned to fight and his muscles trembled with anticipation. Taking a breath, Remi meant to move, just as Sam stepped in front of him. The alchemist tried not to look skeptical as a hand was placed firmly on his shoulder, and Sam's tone became the most confident and stern that he'd ever heard it. Still, Remi tilted his head slightly, the resignation writ cleanly across his boyish features. This was happening, whether Sam wanted it to or not. "I have to Sam." Remi whispered, not needing much volume in his voice given how close they were. Still, the words wavered. He was sorry, but he would not yield. Not with potentially two lives on the line. Quickly, Remi's eyes flitted to Vai and he nodded his head in affirmation. Glancing back to Sam, Remi winced, his eyes apologetic. "I am so sorry." He whispered again, as one of his hands raised and his fingers began to move. Magic flowed between him and the door, the locks unlocking all at the same time. And then it swung open.

RONIN if there's one thing i'm good at, it's surviving He had held on for as long as he could. For as long as she could. But she was hungry, and it was cold, and he couldn't feed his daughter and she would die in his arms too if he didn't make a decision. So, leaving his companions to care for the guildhall and the tragedy that lay within (he didn't want Vanya to be alone, and it was absurd and he knew it), Ronin bundled up and set out into the long, long night. And he had made it, too. With a dreamfish hovering at his shoulder and madness biting at his heels within and without, he had reached the Rathskeller doors. But they wouldn't open, and Ronin had tried, and she had begun to wail in his arms, but they weren't going to let him in. Until they did. Gaunt, with eyes tired and red and haunted, Ronin staggered into the Rathskeller with his daughter bundled in a blanket against his chest.

Edrei Launceleyn
You know I talk too much. Come put your lips on mine and shut me up

"Probably just another bobcat kitten." Edy announced with a crooked grin to hide her nervousness. But with Bobi sat on the bar, giving her a stern look, the teenager was told in no uncertain terms that it was not a bobcat crying outside.

With fire tingling from her fingertips as Vai notched an arrow, Edy watched, eyes wide with wonder as Ronin of all people fell in.

With a baby?

"Shit cap', you gave us all a—" Edy fell silent, her lip trembling.

"Captain..." She moaned in a low and worried voice, her question dying in the back of her throat. Where is Vanya?

Image by Lamreii!