[she flinches down a little at the snap, but. she doesn't scold him or anything, just... tucks a little closer to him and rests a hand on his chest. over his heart.]
No, I'm - I'm sorry. I promised I wasn't going to do that. [she mumbles.] I'm all fucked up, I - I'm a little nervous.
[she's got brain soup so she's just saying whatever comes to mind.]
[He can hate hearing it all he wants, but she didn't deserve him snapping at her. Like a dog that got smacked with a rolled up newspaper, he won't meet Cloud's eyes when he carries her out the door and leads the way to the surveillance room.]
she leans up to press a kiss to jason's cheek, and reaches for cloud's hand, even as they're walking. she wants them close.
when they get there, she hands over the tape - one of them can put it in. and then it plays the following:
There’s a small burst of static on the screen as the tape kicks on. Standing on the edge of a hole in the cemetery is a tall figure, hands folded behind their back. They glance to their left, at a smaller figure, seemingly ready to support the smaller one if necessary, but allowing them their space in front of the hole.
"…Careful, Aquarius." The tall figure’s voice is recognizable immediately as Orion’s. It’s a gentle concern, but there’s something a little softer to it, too, as their head stays turned down at the hole. "…thank you, like always."
Aquarius takes a step back from the hole, hands falling to their side as their head hangs. They don’t quite stagger, but they do move to sit on a gravestone for a moment.
"It’s not something to thank me for. It’s the least I can do, isn’t it?"
Orion comes to move beside them; they reach for something in their sleeve, and hand Aquarius a small bottle of water.
"It’s always worth thanking." And their gaze stays on the hole, not really moving otherwise; there’s a weight in their shoulders that seems to slump. "You’ve worked hard for them, and…though it is difficult, it’s been necessary. Your abilities are impressive."
Aquarius gratefully takes the water, missing the first time in unscrewing the cap before getting a grip and taking a drink from it. There’s a moment where they seem like their eyes are closed, glancing into the hole briefly.
"I’ve had practice." Their tone is a little dry, but they don’t seem bothered to hear Orion say that. "I wish I could keep them here longer but it’s probably better this way. Less of a chance of flagging something’s different." There’s another pause though, and this time they look at Orion. "Less than two weeks now."
"…mn." Orion makes a quiet noise of agreement, and for a moment, are just silent. Contemplative, maybe, still gazing at the ground. like this they just seem weighed down. "To find some kind of a solution that’s more permanent than this. For all of them.
We’re lucky to have even the short moments we do, for now."
"You read the contract as many times as I have. If they're not in the lobby in the same condition, then…that's it." There’s a soft sigh from Aquarius. "When the dead are gone, they're meant to pass on. They aren't meant to be brought back. They have to be judged, and then they live out their eternity where they end up."
Orion makes a quiet noise, agreeing. Time stretches into a pause.
"…I suppose that’s the natural way of things. The eternity of being in between is the place I’m familiar with, after all, one way or another, and, outside of these situations…" They lift a hand, resting it absently on their own chest. "… well. Perhaps we should speak of it, another time."
"You and I definitely have different experiences." There's a faint hint of amusement from Aquarius then. "We can speak of it another time. I'm just left wondering…what do you think they're going to do now? I've been hearing some of the living theorizing when I can't sleep. They figured out there's a cemetery on the other side along with the one here. Thinking they might be connected."
The first part gets a slightly amused noise back, but… Orion tilts their head, thoughtful. "I think…from knowing this group. I think they’re going to try everything in their power to make it work for them."
There's a long and ponderous moment. Aquarius shifts on the gravestone, leg pulled to their chest as they think. "…there aren't many stories about bringing people back from the dead. But there's a few. Have you looked at the library? The story of Orpheus and Eurydice."
Orion makes a thoughtful noise. "I haven’t. Would you tell it to me?"
"It’s…a little famous in terms of mythology. I bet if you asked some of the guests, they’d probably know about it, too." Aquarius pauses to fiddle with the water bottle cap, gathering their words to begin telling the story. "In mythology, many of the stories involve mortals and the divine. You know. Gods. Orpheus was a mortal who was a musician. He was said to have been trained by the god of music, Apollo, and his music became so enchanting that it became famous for charming all kinds of creatures and even creating a door to the Underworld. But like just about every other story in mythology, he fell in love. A woman named Eurydice. Apollo’s daughter.
"They lived a very happy life for a while. But one day, she died. Orpheus couldn’t bear to live without her, so he devised a plan to make his way into the Underworld using his music. He sang so sweetly that every challenge he faced was no match for him. He was able to charm Charon into letting him cross the Styx. He bested the Furies, and probably lulled Cerberus right to sleep. He wandered as far into the Underworld as possible until he met the lord of the dead and his wife themselves. Moved with temporary compassion, or so he would probably say, the lord of the Underworld allowed Orpheus to bring Eurydice with him and leave forever. But, like I said, the dead aren’t meant to leave. A deal was struck that the lovers could exit the Underworld together but there was one condition. Orpheus had to walk ahead of her, and he wasn’t allowed to look back until they reached the surface.
"They walked. Eurydice followed after him, close behind him the whole way. But just as he reached the boundary line between the living world and the world of the dead, fear got the better of him and he looked back. It didn’t matter that he was already on the surface. Eurydice still was in the Underworld, and it meant the deal was broken. He lost her forever."
Aquarius pauses to take another sip of water, a low hum following. "Supposedly after he died, they found each other again and they got a happy ending but I really doubt the rest of the guests want to die and potentially lose themselves forever." They pick at their gloves, and a skeletal bird soon lands on their shoulder. They do nothing to remove it. "Personally, I wouldn’t go around making deals with the lord of the Underworld to begin with. And they’re already in a contract with the Nightman, so the terms are very clear. But…if it was possible in that story, maybe they really will find another way to bring them all back by check out."
Orion doesn’t react to the skeletal bird beyond lifting their hand briefly to offer it near its beak for a sniff, unbothered by the creature. Instead, they just seem to be listening thoughtfully to Aquarius’s story, and finally turn away from the grave to look properly at their companion.
"…Our guests seem the type." There’s a little bit of warmth to that statement, that covers up Orion’s generally melancholy air. "I’ve rarely been an optimist, but there’s a part of me that longs for it. I would like to think they can do so, without looking back. At least…"
There’s another pause, as they glance back at the grave, and reach into their sleeve, producing a small sprig of some kind of flower. "…at least so many are so dearly missed, so… perhaps that can be motivation enough, if they’re afraid."
They drop the flower, letting it fall into the hole, and the tape cuts there.]
[ no!!! look at him, todd!!! but he lets the hand grab from lup happen as they walk. then had to let go to put the tape in once they got to security, because jason's hands are full of elf.
he watches it in silence, a pensive frown on his face. he doesn't know this myth it sounds depressing. greeks suck. ]
... Least it sounds like they kind of believe in us.
[Yeah, his hands are full, so he stands there so Lup and him can see, waiting for Cloud to do all of the work when he does not get paid enough for anything. Sorry, Cloud.
The moment he sees Aquarius and Orion in the graveyard, he gets a very strange and peculiar look in his eyes. His lips thin in the way of him purposefully squaring his face into something unreadable. His brows furrow.
He knows the myth unfortunately.]
...Maybe we can make a deal with Nightman for them. He likes deals, right? But there's going to be a catch.
[Wish he could say it's not their only lawyer if they could get Miles back, but he doesn't KNOW Miles so. He does know Matthew, though! Wish they had Matthew...]
I'm willing to do what it takes to put an end to this entire hotel and the man running it.
I'm not leaving here without you, so if you try to do something crazy, you're taking me down with you.
[she says, angrily, shifting in jason's arms. she winces, actually, as she does this, but she ignores it.]
No deals. No nothing. We figure out how to do that without making another deal. [she's working herself up, here.] Do what it takes - don't you fucking give me that sacrificial horseshit. All of us are willing to do what it takes. It's not a win if even one person gets fucked over.
[He doesn’t want to tighten his hold to keep her from squirming because it’ll hurt her, so he is left shifting to accommodate her movement.]
That’s why it’d probably take just one person to make the deal. A “you get everyone including me if I can’t do this” deal. [STOP, he knows this will make Lup mad. He’s just saying.] It doesn’t have to be a deal. If we can find another way. The cemetery, a portal, the doors, whatever. Overloading.
I meant if there’s no option left. We’re going to have to get them out, but we can’t make the wrong move until it’s locked in. And we have to have people on this side. I got another letter from Dimitri. About using the doors during a meeting.
And he emphasized there aren’t many of us left. To be careful.
[ he doesn't like the idea of the deal anymore than lup does, but at least they've both seemed to settle down enough to talk about... doors, or whatever. ]
... So, what, we'd be sending people into the doors while we discuss this tape publicly?
she loses steam anyway, mostly because the splitting headache is coming back. she makes a hgh sound and turns her face to press it against jason's chest.]
You don't have to go. We can send someone else. Someone - you don't have to put yourself on the line.
[she mutters. the fact that she doesn't argue probably is an indicator of how terrible she feels. she'll let jason carry her back to her room - she wants to hold cloud's hand again, so she reaches for it. daisy chain.]
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No, I'm - I'm sorry. I promised I wasn't going to do that. [she mumbles.] I'm all fucked up, I - I'm a little nervous.
[she's got brain soup so she's just saying whatever comes to mind.]
S'okay.
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:(
he's got the door open to let them out, looking worried at Both now, but also being supremely useless at getting in between this ]
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[He can hate hearing it all he wants, but she didn't deserve him snapping at her. Like a dog that got smacked with a rolled up newspaper, he won't meet Cloud's eyes when he carries her out the door and leads the way to the surveillance room.]
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she leans up to press a kiss to jason's cheek, and reaches for cloud's hand, even as they're walking. she wants them close.
when they get there, she hands over the tape - one of them can put it in. and then it plays the following:
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he watches it in silence, a pensive frown on his face. he doesn't know this myth it sounds depressing. greeks suck. ]
... Least it sounds like they kind of believe in us.
[ he's pensive. don't look back, huh. ]
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The moment he sees Aquarius and Orion in the graveyard, he gets a very strange and peculiar look in his eyes. His lips thin in the way of him purposefully squaring his face into something unreadable. His brows furrow.
He knows the myth unfortunately.]
...Maybe we can make a deal with Nightman for them. He likes deals, right? But there's going to be a catch.
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[first of all. before she does anything else or say anything else.] No deals. Jason Todd, look at me right now. No deals with the Nightman.
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[ :T ]
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It might be the only chance we have if we can't find another way.
[He doesn't say it like he thinks that'll be 100% true, just... something to think about.]
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Only way that'd work out in our favor is if we somehow manage to write a contract that tricks him. And our only lawyer is Sebastian.
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I'm willing to do what it takes to put an end to this entire hotel and the man running it.
[Jason is now an Avalanche member.]
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[she says, angrily, shifting in jason's arms. she winces, actually, as she does this, but she ignores it.]
No deals. No nothing. We figure out how to do that without making another deal. [she's working herself up, here.] Do what it takes - don't you fucking give me that sacrificial horseshit. All of us are willing to do what it takes. It's not a win if even one person gets fucked over.
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I doubt he'd take any deal that didn't include all of us anyway. He's already got us where he wants, there's no solo exchange he'd find worth it.
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[He doesn’t want to tighten his hold to keep her from squirming because it’ll hurt her, so he is left shifting to accommodate her movement.]
That’s why it’d probably take just one person to make the deal. A “you get everyone including me if I can’t do this” deal. [STOP, he knows this will make Lup mad. He’s just saying.] It doesn’t have to be a deal. If we can find another way. The cemetery, a portal, the doors, whatever. Overloading.
I meant if there’s no option left. We’re going to have to get them out, but we can’t make the wrong move until it’s locked in. And we have to have people on this side. I got another letter from Dimitri. About using the doors during a meeting.
And he emphasized there aren’t many of us left. To be careful.
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[she hisses. god. her ears are pressed down against her skull and it hurts because she's missing part of one. ): stop
she listens to the rest, though.]
... I got that too. From Dimitri. [she says, finally.] So maybe we should. We have to deal with trial first, but after, yeah.
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... So, what, we'd be sending people into the doors while we discuss this tape publicly?
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smooches her once to get her to shut up and stop moving.]
More than likely. Two or three might work, but I don’t know. Someone can go with me. I have all my shit in my notebook anyway.
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she loses steam anyway, mostly because the splitting headache is coming back. she makes a hgh sound and turns her face to press it against jason's chest.]
You don't have to go. We can send someone else. Someone - you don't have to put yourself on the line.
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[ lup is concerned but cloud is just being a dick. he's collected the tape by now and wandered back over ]
Let's wait for Sunday to decide shit like this. We don't know who else might be injured or what.
[ Dead. ]
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[But Cloud tells them all to table it, so he sighs in resignation and agreement. Gently, he curls Lup up a bit closer, glancing at Cloud.
Worried.]
…Do you want to talk about it?
[The adventure…]
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Not in here. [she doesn't want to at all, but it might be useful. she can't just let all that be for nothing. maybe they can get something out of it.]
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[ he shares that worried look ]
... Let's go back to the room, then. You can tell us as much as you want.
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[He keeps recognizing that she acts like her head hurts, and he knows the lights don’t help. She can pull it over her if she wants.
He’ll wait before leading the way back to the room again.]
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[she mutters. the fact that she doesn't argue probably is an indicator of how terrible she feels. she'll let jason carry her back to her room - she wants to hold cloud's hand again, so she reaches for it. daisy chain.]
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