[PQ] seat of power

just you and me, dancing in a daydream; just you and me, lost in the clouds

The Tower was one of the few places in Stormbreak that Soh had yet to visit. She'd never had a need to go there, until today. But she'd called on each of her friends to see who might be interested in cleaning up the seat of power in Stormbreak, and to make a plan to find leadership for their region. As she understood it, it had been far too long since anyone had ruled here, and things were becoming dire.

Soh arrived at the Tower early, exploring the halls until she found what appeared to be a leader's office. It was dusty and decrepit, the walls covered with old maps and the desk a mess of papers. She wrinkled her nose and sneezed; the room desperately needed a deep clean. Well, at least she knew what their first task would be.

Leaving the door open, Soh continued to look around the room while she waited for her friends to arrive.

------

This is a PQ to establish the leadership of Stormbreak. Please post your characters arriving. No post order. <3

1. Sohalia
2. Anju
3. Everest
4. Lena

Sohalia

Everest

Though Everest had never been on this particular floor of the Tower, both of his parents had, in their tenure on Cian's council. Though Finn was most familiar with the boardroom that once housed a long and intimidating oaken table and the walls lined with bookshelves which no doubt hid secret rooms, it was his mother who had explained what he should expect and what he perhaps needed to bring with him. So it was that the aviator arrived with a bag of medical-grade disinfectant and loads of bags to remove trash in. Mateo had also given him some white sage to clean away the lurking darkness that Cian's presence had smeared into this place just as wholly as peanut butter in shag carpeting.

'Hello Sohalia.' Ever said, knocking on the door despite the fact that it was open. Glancing around the big room that he'd only ever heard about, the aviator blinked a few times as if to cement the actual parameters of the room in his mind before returning his blue gaze to Soh. "Just let me know what you need."

---

Ever has some disinfectant, trash bags, and white sage with him!

If I told you that you'd do nothing with it
I'd still be that cigarette that you couldn't finish

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

Lena hadn’t been a frequent visitor of the Tower, having never been a part of any subterfuge within Stormbreak, but it had its own connotations. Her feelings aside, the floating kingdom needed a ruler, and while they’d managed to survive with Anju making her way as best she could, time pressed down upon their spines. They couldn’t keep drifting, meandering, and teetering back and forth.

Determined and assured, the Caretaker made her way towards the structure, taking in the stale scent with barely a wrinkled nose. Keeping her basket close to her elbow, she ventured over to where others had already begun to gather. Notching a smile upon her features, she nodded towards Everest’s insinuations, rallying behind them in a agreement and accord. “How can we be of help?”

--

Lena has everything listed on her profile! Except for Mittens. Mittens is staying home.

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm

Anju

The Tower has always felt stuffy and suffocating to Anju given her desire to stay as far away from armchair politics as possible, but Sohalia's request was not one she could turn down. She arrives last given she had needed to debrief with her squad before dismissing them, and as such she is still in her patrol garb with her sword on her hips as she strides down the halls to join the others. Giving a tiny smile to Lena and a nod to Mateo, she rests on hand comfortably on her hilt and the other on her belt as she gives Sohalia her full attention.

Somewhere behind her, the skittering of talons is heard on hardwood. Anju staunchly ignores it, aware Riya will join them when she is so inclined and no sooner. "What are our goals today?" Preferring this sentiment - concrete, organized, digestible - to emotional offers and airs.

- - -

Anju has everything on her profile and Riya is somewhere in the hallway being an idiot.

I am a kamikaze
Lonelier than a patriarch labeled liar

just you and me, dancing in a daydream; just you and me, lost in the clouds

Soh greeted each of her friends as they arrived with a smile and a word of hello, and when they had all assembled, she clasped her hands before her and began to speak. "Hi everyone!" she said, cheerful as ever. "So, we need to reclaim the Tower - and Stormbreak. It's been leaderless for far too long, and I think that between all of us, we can do something about that, right?" She looked around at each of those assembled: Everest, with his cleverness; Lena, with her kindness; Anju, with her fierceness. Her heart filled with warmth. Surely the four of them could come up with a solution to Stormbreak's current problems.

She clapped her hands together. "I think we should start by cleaning out this room. Then we can talk more about what we need to do." She waved a hand to indicate the dust and debris around the office. The windows were covered with drapes that were dark, dingy, and moth-eaten. The walls were covered with old maps and pictures. The desk has a mess of old paperwork, and the rest of the room in general had a fine layer of dust over it. If each of them took a task, they could make quick work of the cleaning.

------

Welcome, everyone! Let's get this room clean. We need to complete the following tasks. No post order! Soh will take whatever is left.

1. Pull the old drapes down, throw them out, and clean the windows.
2. Pull the old maps and artwork down and throw them out.
3. Clean up the old desk - just don't throw away anything important!
4. Dust and sweep the other areas of the room.

Sohalia

Anju

I see red
My blood is boiling and it shows

Anju has her doubts about leadership unless someone in this room wants to step up (and oh, if only she knew) but that does not mean she will not support Sohalia in her efforts. At least one of them could be optimistic - Anju will merely supply her muscle and analytical brain in the meantime.

Happy to remain quiet, Anju steps into the room in Sohalia's wake and critically looks over all that is to be done. As the most physically fit among them she decides to tackle the thick, heavy drapes. Dismantling the rods and pulling the hooks off, stuffing the dusty fabric into bags, and cinching them tight when they've met capacity. It takes a few trips to haul the heavy bags out to the dumpster but it's a sufficient warmup for the workout that cleaning the windows turns out to be with how large and grandiose they are. She has to stand on the window sill each time just to be able to reach even with her height, using glass cleaner and a microfiber towel to make them shine clear.

- - -

Anju disposes of the drapes and begins washing the windows.

When all you are is a weapon
You shoot them all down until you end up alone

Everest

Lowering his eye line toward the floor in an effort to be able to better focus his attention, Everest immediately gravitates towards tidying and organizing the desk. That there might be files about his father there was probably just a coincidence. "I can take the desk." The aviator offers with a polite smile, before making his way over toward Cian's intimidating and obnoxiously large desk.

Reaching out a hand to touch the wood as if expecting memories to jump out and bite at him, Everest takes a deep breath before making his way around and sitting in the Eye's chair. It feels a bit blasphemous, but he supposes with Cian long dead it's probably alright.

Filtering through various papers and files, Everest begins to organize what he finds into various piles: Stormbreak-things, Personelle-things, Political-things and Other. Normally he wouldn't like an other category, but given how long Cian had been Eye for, the man had acquired and kept quite the random assortment of documents.

---

Ever takes the desk!

If I told you that you'd do nothing with it
I'd still be that cigarette that you couldn't finish

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

Reclaiming the tower from its own listlessness and complacency might’ve been a difficult task – but they seemed to be a determined bunch. Cleaning out the room seemed a good place to start, and Lena nodded towards Sohalia, before glancing about the room. With Anju taking hold of the drapes and windows, and Everest to the desk, she opted for dusting and sweeping; figuring Sohalia would like to handle the maps herself.

Snagging at a cloth, broom, and dustpan, the Caretaker immediately kept herself busy, tending to areas where dust, dirt, debris, and any amount of refuse had begun to clutter pieces of furniture, the walls, or the floor. There was quite a bit to be done, given the state the Tower had been left in, but she was steadfast stock too.

--

Lena dusts and sweeps!

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm

just you and me, dancing in a daydream; just you and me, lost in the clouds

Once her friends had decided on their tasks, Soh took a closer look at the maps on the walls. They were woefully outdated, but she decided that she'd keep them for her own records, if only to glean some small bit of information on the former layout of the city or to gain some knowledge of a different style of mapmaking. She pulled down the maps carefully and rolled them up, setting them aside for her to take home with her later. Then she began to pull down other things from the walls - mostly old artwork, which she felt was rather dark and gothic, and placed them in a pile of things to throw out.

It seemed like it took no time at all for the room to be clean, and Soh dusted off her hands as she beamed at her companions. "Much better!" she said. The disappearance of the drapes had let more light into the room, and it was altogether more cheerful and welcoming than what they'd started with. "Now that that's done... we need a leader." She looked around the room, meeting each of her friend's eyes and settling on Anju, who seemed the most likely of the four of them to lead. "So... how do we actually achieve that? Are any of you interested in the position?"

------

The room is clean - yay!

We need to decide on a leader (ICly). Feel free to have your character accept or decline responsibility. This should be the round where the leader(s) is/are elected - next round will deal with council positions. No post order! <3

Sohalia

Anju

I see red
My blood is boiling and it shows

Anju is expecting more manual labor to be in their futures, so she returns with her sleeves rolled up and bits of dust carelessly smeared onto her clothes and skin. It seems things have progressed well in between her trips to dispose of bags for the others which is uplifting. Turning with hands on her hips towards Sohalia for more instructions, she is absolutely bowled over by the sudden turn towards political notions.

And then Sohalia looks at her.

Anju stares back, absolutely thrown. She is too sure of herself to do something like look around the room to gauge their expressions, because she immediately assumes they do not feel the way Sohalia does. Maybe Sohalia is merely looking to her to explain how it works considering it was the first question she asked, so Anju clears her throat and tries to focus on that.

"Since we have no council or current leadership it would be on a volunteer basis I suppose. Though the citizens will want to see someone who has put forth effort into establishing change and a permanent presence." Here she gestures slightly to the room around them, clearly meaning efforts such as these. As for herself, well -

"I have never assumed the citizens would desire me as a leader," she admits frankly, though her jaw is stiff given the rather open, vulnerable nature of it. "Though I am...open to alternative ideas...I think I am best suited as an instrument of war." It's a clear struggle for her to get out, hands flexing and fisting at her hips. How does she say that she would be willing to be Captain and on the council but is wary of leadership because she does not believe herself to have the disposition without making them pity her or have to agree? Jaw flexing she looks to Lena and Everest. "Yourselves?"

When all you are is a weapon
You shoot them all down until you end up alone

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

Lena had also been anticipating a more thorough cleaning, and to hear the questions directed gave her pause. While she certainly had no ambition to lead, others within their circle might, and that was the sort of determination Stormbreak needed. Taking a deep breath, she listened to Anju’s additions and statements, nodding along, before giving her own - in that same kind, affected air. “We need someone willing to dedicate their time, especially in removing the stigma surrounding us.” It’d been years after the war, and they still didn’t allow Abandoned, still carried portions of the past. “I’m not interested in leading either,” for she had enough going on with the Celestine alone. “But surely one of us has what it takes?”

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm

Everest

Quiet, as was his preference, Everest listened to what each of the women had to say all while staring intently down at the carpet. He found it easier to think when his gaze could grow slack and his mind wasn't distracted by subtle movements or gestures that he often found hard to interpret.

"From what I have seen..." Everest begins carefully, his gaze still intense upon the carpet. "...I don't think leadership right now will be very difficult." Flashing his blue eyes up toward Anju, then Sohalia, then to Lena, he blinked almost apologetically before frowning back down toward his shoes. "By that I mean...without Cian here, I think most of Stormbreak is in agreement about how things should go. The handmines should be removed and we should be more welcoming."

Hesitantly the aviator glances toward Anju, as if to preemptively apologize for what he's about to say. "I do think that there might be resistance to having a military figure in power. Really, it's all Stormbreak has known for the past several decades." Cian, for years and years, and then Ronin. He shrugs softly, swallowing.

"A gentler touch might be more welcome."

If I told you that you'd do nothing with it
I'd still be that cigarette that you couldn't finish

just you and me, dancing in a daydream; just you and me, lost in the clouds

Soh listened carefully to her companions, taking their knowledge and expertise into consideration as, one by one, they declined the leadership role. For a moment, the weight of their decisions was lost on Soh, who, although fully prepared to help whoever was to become Stormbreak's leader, had never considered leadership for herself; but then, after a moment's thought, she realized one very important thing. If none of them were interested in leading, well, that only left one person.

It left her.

"Okay," she said softly, almost to herself, as her mind raced and her heart stuttered in sudden fear. She'd never wanted to rule anything, never sought to have a position higher than that of a humble cartographer. But she adored Stormbreak, and changes needed to be made that required someone to take the helm. "What if... what if I did it? What if I led?

"But I couldn't do it alone," she hastened to add. "I love Stormbreak, and I want to see it become even better. And I have ideas of how to do that. But I'm just - I'm just one person, and I never really... well, I never imagined leading anything, really." She looked around the room, meeting her friends' eyes. "Will you help me?"

------

Soh accepts leadership if everyone else is on board; now would be a good time to volunteer assistance as council members, if you are so inclined! No post order! <3

Sohalia

Anju

I see red
My blood is boiling and it shows

Everest's hesitation in giving his opinion is waved away with a barely-there flick of her fingers, far from offended. In fact she is entirely in agreement with him - though it means there is really only one person left to consider a viable candidate, and she comes to that realization in tandem with Sohalia.

Gods but she's so young, she thinks immediately, and then chastizes herself for it. If she has such an issue with that, why did she not volunteer herself in Sohalia's place? Feeling rather hypocritical - and rather concerned seeing Sohalia's pale face - Anju lowers her chin slightly and focuses entirely on the young woman.

"Your dedication to Stormbreak is admirable. With a council behind you, your age and inexperience would be less of a factor." Glancing at both Lena and Everest in hopes one or both of them will be willing to join her in what she is about to do, Anju takes in a steadying breath. "I will stand with you. Guide you if you need. As Captain, or in any other station you need from me." No take-backs. Whatever Sohalia decides, Anju will submit herself to, because the girl's bravery is honorable and inspiring. The least Anju can do is put herself on the line in turn.

When all you are is a weapon
You shoot them all down until you end up alone