[PQ] [se] to challenge you

DEIMOS

ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood

Decisions had been made – and despite the grimmest hope that he and Evie might be wearing their anointed crowns of avoidance – Wardenship lay along their shoulders again. Putting it off had only done bought some semblance of time, until the test of strength, of mettle, of determination, reared its head once more. Striving amidst pretenses of not feeling the insurmountable weight beginning to tangle and knot its way down the breadth of his spine, along the roll of muscle upon his shoulders, or intertwine amongst the many maneuvers and plots manifesting in his mind, once stones were cast, he settled immediately for the Council Hall.

Cordelia and Noah certainly hadn’t left it in shambles, but there was always something to do. Nodding towards those milling about, he figured he’d wait in the lobby for Evie and any others willing to assist, beginning to jot down notions and necessities, piercing eyes flickering back and forth along baseboards and wooden proportions, long strides sweeping in and out of various offices (pretending his wasn’t laden with dust…pondering if he could still mingle along the barracks as a personal threshold).

By the time the Sword returned to the entrance, the paper was relatively full, depending on how things went. And with a haphazard breath, he let the sentiments settle, cast off and away.

--

This is a PQ to establish the new Wardens in the Council Hall! Make your opening post and then we’ll carry on!

1. Deimos
2. Evie
3.

watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same

Evie

And it's my whole heart
While tried and tested, it's mine

In many ways they had both hoped that this would not be the ending they had to face. Though they would both do anything for Halo and her people, Evie can only put her optimism to the test by hoping that the fact neither of them had wanted these titles would somehow prove them better able to uphold them. Neither of them power hungry, nor untested in these roles.

Nerves are not so much a nuisance as the weight of responsibility that hangs about her shoulders. They’d had time enough to sleep on the matter, but as time was in horribly short supply already, no more of it could be wasted on letting the new Wardens adjust. So it is that she finds herself in the Council Hall, grateful anew for the fact that those who came before her had chosen to leave the Palace empty in favor of more modest headquarters.

Deimos is there not long before her, so Evie sets about opening and propping the inner set of the front doors - best not to let the cold in by opening both sets - and dragging the coat stands out into the entryway in preparation of any who come to assist needing to shed their outer layers. Only then does she find no further use for her restlessness, and she returns to Deimos’ side to glance at his list. “Luckily it’s more housekeeping than overhauling,” she comments, grateful for any small breaks they are given. She lets their shoulders touch companionably, but they hadn’t talked yet about what each of them was comfortable with in terms of their relationship within their new roles, so she takes what she can from the subtle gesture for now.

Burned but not buried this time