cradling a dream

Aurelia

Aurelia traveled to the Hollowed Ground not long after receiving Wessex's letter, and almost immediately after the paper she'd posted on Torchline's notice board. It was unlikely that word had traveled to the Grounds yet, but regardless she had something for one of the leaders here.

It had taken her some time to figure out where she might most likely find Isla Lockwood, but most answers eventually pointed her in the direction of the infirmary. She feels out of place here, and the whole setup reminds her far too much of home. It feels dark, cramped, struggling to breathe in a world that wants to put it under. There's a reason she hadn't visited the region very much (if at all), and it wasn't because of a prejudice against the Ascended.

Swallowing thickly, she decides to stop at the front door and knock. Because that is polite, isn't it? And she isn't here to cause a disturbance. "Isla Lockwood? I have a message for you," she calls out. She pushes back the hood of her cloak and glances around at the windows, stepping back from the door, hoping that someone would answer.

So leave me and tell me what I already know
That I trialled and I failed and it's good to let it go

Isla

No one knocks at the doors of the infirmary, which is precisely why this is so unusual. Nestled in the Temple as it is, the doors are always open for people to seek help. And so as the sound echoes out, the door is opened by a receptionist and Isla is dutifully informed that someone is there to see her. She happens to be in surgery at that moment, so Aurelia will be invited in and to sit in the waiting area. Around thirty minutes later, Isla will finally appear, drying her hands.

"Hello?" She smiles politely to Aurelia, tossing the paper towel into the wastebasket nearby and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear where it has escaped its golden braid. "My name is Isla - I don't believe we have met in person before. I was told you had a message for me...?"

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

Aurelia

(okay mb I wrote it out like the infirmary was stand-alone whoops)

Of course, now she feels rude for knocking. Probably would've been less conspicuous to just walk into an infirmary and wait for someone to come 'round. She has to take a few deep breaths to stave off the buzz of embarrassment and, beneath that, adrenaline. She'd come here quick as she could after Wessex's letter, so her face is already flush and her hair's in a bit of a wild state.

The woman that comes out is prettier and dantier than Aurelia might've expected, though if she's really asking herself she didn't know what she expected. Nate and Adam were probably the only Ascended she's really met, other than Wessex - but W wasn't really the norm. (I really think they're the only ones she's met idk and don't care to factcheck myself)

"Uh-yes!" She blurts out, shooting up onto her feet and conjuring up the concealed note. Quieter, she adds, "Wessex wrote me, and sent this for your eyes only. It's urgent, so I made sure to deliver it myself."

Consequences be damned, though her throat feels like it's squeezing shut all the same.

---

The letter says this:

Isla,

I'm writing this in Stormbreak. Mabel is here, I've talked to her, she's weak and held captive. Can't figure out where she is, exactly, bit I'm working on it. The Voice said other siblings were here too, either offline or nearly offline, which is probably true as I haven't been able to reach them.

Mabel said she'd found the one who murdered Evelyn. The Priest. Aurelia knows who I'm talking about. And then 'they' found her and took her to Stormbreak, I assume. I don't know who 'they' are, but my best guess is the Order. I'm staying with her to see it through. With any luck I'll bring her home.

Our Lady's relic is still out there, actively hidden, she thinks. I don't know what this means but it could be any of the Old Gods... Safrin's Library is in the Grounds, but I don't know where it is or if it's safe for us to access. And even that's only a guess. If I were an Old God, I wouldn't put my enemy's relic where I imprisoned her.

The Eye (someone in the Order) has a book that tells him things that have happened - or are happening. That's how they always seem to be ahead of us with the relics. I've got someone who's working on getting us info on the Order.

So many I don't knows - I'm sorry. If Aurelia brought you this note, I think you can trust her to some extent, but not much. She's for Safrin.

Be safe,
Wessex

So leave me and tell me what I already know
That I trialled and I failed and it's good to let it go

Isla

The stranger shoots up but offers very little other than the message she had mentioned, and Isla finds herself blinking down at the letter and tilting her head before opening it up. She reads it in front of Aurelia, absorbing the information quickly at first, at a skim, but even that is enough to have her brows furrowing. It's... well, it's a lot, and she's glad it's a letter, because this is the sort of thing Isla feels like she'll need to make a mind map about.

"Uh... so you are Aurelia?" she assumes, lifting her gaze at last and moving to fold the letter and tuck it away in her medical coat. "I think it is better if we speak in my office." Gesturing for the other woman to follow her, Isla leads them quickly through the infirmary and in through a door towards the back of the space. It's still a stark, empty space compared to what it was, containing little more than a desk, a couple of chairs, and a cabinet of files, but she gestures for Aurelia to sit if she likes nonetheless.

"You were sent this letter from Stormbreak...?" she guesses. "How do you know Wessex?"

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

Aurelia

In truth, Aurelia wants desperately to know what's inside of the note. But she has to force herself to look down, away, at the bloody napkin in the waste bin. Giving Isla time to read it, she only looks back up when the Ascended finally speaks to her again. She gives a nod of confirmation, glancing at the note as it's pocketed.

Isla leads the way to her office and Aurelia trails after her. "Wish we could have met under different circumstances," she murmurs, a heavy breath funneling through her nostrils as her boots scrape against the floor beneath. But she won't say much else on the matter until they're in the privacy of Isla's office.

Though Aurelia is tired and spent, perhaps more mentally than physically, she doesn't take a seat. She sort of just hovers behind the back of the chair, resting her hands on it for some support to lean on - but otherwise not able to relax too much. "Uh, long story short, she helped me when I needed it, and we talked about... well, about stopping the war. And what we wanted to do to protect our people, if we couldn't. This was... gods, almost two years ago? Maybe less," long before war had been a sealed fate, "we made a deal with each other. I told her I wouldn't use my fire against the Ascended, and in return she told me she would do her best not to hurt someone I care about." Strangely, Isla is the only person she's actually told the details of their promise. She probably should have told Sunjata, at least, considering he was the one she'd tried to protect.

With a sigh, she lifts one hand up to push back her hair from her face. "As for where the letter was sent from, I don't know, probably," she says, eyes lifting wider to look at Isla, "there was no return address. I know that it's from Wessex, and all she asked me was to spread word about Gideon- the-the priest - for kidnapping and murdering. And to get you that note. I've done as she asked." As in, both. Her fingers thrum against the back of the chair anxiously.

So leave me and tell me what I already know
That I trialled and I failed and it's good to let it go

Isla

"As do I. It feels as though unpleasant circumstances are the only thing that exist these days, doesn't it?" Isla smiles sadly to Aurelia. She does sit, sinking down into the chair behind the desk and poring over the letter again. This time, however, she underlines certain parts with a bit of charcoal, that she might be able to look back later and see the main points right away.

Her smile is still sad when she glances up again, and it's a diffcult thing to admit, but she has to face the truth now. "There is no stopping this war," she says quietly, offering a shrug to Aurelia and slipping the letter away into a drawer beside her.

"Thank you, for bringing this to me. For spreading word about Gideon - you have no idea how much I appreciate it. I wish I could speak more about the letter, but it..." A long sigh. "I need to talk to Wessex about it first," she finishes. If she ever sees her again.

"How long will you be in the Hollowed Grounds? The least I could do is offer you a place to rest until you head back home." Wherever home may be.

sooner or later, we all have to wake
and try forgetting everything

Aurelia

Aurelia can only express her agreement in depressed silence, her grip on the back of the chair relaxing in some form of defeat. She sighs heavily, partially because she's winded, but mostly for the chaos that barrages her. Her hands fall loosely around the knobs of the chair until they fall back, beneath her cloak, and she straightens her stance a bit more.

"I have bit of an idea what it means," she remarks quietly, about how much Isla appreciates it - but her tone also insinuates that there is more that she means by what she says. "That's okay-" she lifts her palm in a gesture of 'stop', "I'm not here for information, I just came to do what was.. right."

A place to rest makes her pause and think for a few moments but, eventually, reluctantly, she gives in. "I'd be grateful for that, thank you. It'll just be for a few days, nothing more. Then I'll be heading back to Torchline, but..." and she hesitates quite a bit over this next statement, "if the Ascended run into anymore trouble with Gideon or anyone like him, or if there's any need for outside help... you can send for me. But only if you absolutely need to. I can't..." her mouth shuts, trembling a bit at the edges, "I don't know, just-- if you could, tell Wessex that I'd like to speak with her when she returns."

With that and once she knows where it is she can stay for a night or two, she pulls her hood back up and makes her leave from the infirmary.

---

fin~

So leave me and tell me what I already know
That I trialled and I failed and it's good to let it go