therookery | I'll crawl home (open)

FORM: Sending crystal
SENDER: Julius
RECIPIENT: All of Riftwatch
NOTES: It's not going great, y'all. CW for grief and discussion of death, as well as potential discussion of specific violence depending on how things go.

[The (remaining) division heads have already been alerted privately, he knows. Julius didn't ask Yseult what, specifically, she said, but he assumes he's not going to say anything she hadn't included.

His voice is quiet and grave, and if he had to practice this a few times before actively sending it, only four people in Riftwatch will ever know for sure.]

This is Julius. I regret to inform you all that Granitefell was hit with a secondary attack, which has all the earmarks of a planned ambush. We were badly outnumbered, and we took. [A pause, though when he resumes, his voice is still even.] We took incredibly heavy causalities. The few of us who survived will require assistance as quickly as you can manage, as will the few local survivors.

I know you will have questions, and I will try to answer what I can. The others can answer too if they are up to it, of course, but I ask your understanding if they don't as we've all had. [Pause.] A very long night.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Peter swallows, nods on his end of the crystal. He takes another shuddering breath. Right now, he needs to keep himself together. He needs to be able to help while they wait for supplies and reinforcements to arrive.

He lets out a huff of bitter laughter as a thought occurs to him.]

I wish I could say it could have been worse but uh. This is worse.

[Peter needs comfort. Someone to say something kind. He just got here, coming from what Ellie assumes is a safe and normal sort of life into the worst thing he's ever seen.

Sometimes that's all we can do.

Ellie's lips move but nothing comes out but a shaky breath and the sound of her messing with supplies, the croak of griffons. Clarisse hasn't responded. Abby is silent. So many are silent. She can't ask. She can't. She doesn't want to know the answer.]

Are you hurt?

[He really ought to be used to death and loss by now, Peter thinks. Or at least, grown used enough to them by now that he shouldn't be as beholden to the weight of his own emotions regarding them.

Yet he can't stop seeing the carnage in the wake of that attack. The blood soaking into the ground; the bodies strewn across the landscape like so many broken dolls, carelessly tossed aside.

He suspects he won't be sleeping well for a long while, what with the way those screams echo in the hollows of his thoughts.

Ellie asks if he's hurt and Peter actually has to take a moment to remember that, yes, actually, he took a few scratches, some of which are deeper than others. But then he also remembers that Ellie helping with archery also likely helped save his life, and he wants to tell her that.] I've got some nasty looking scratches and I'll probably bruise later. But I'm not...I'm okay.

[He swallows, takes a deep breath, and continues.] I think part of why I'm alive is because you helped teach me how to use a bow. So, thank you, Ellie.

[The pause is so familiar, the kind that comes in the wake of bad shock. Are you hurt? Whose blood is that? She can practically see him in her mind's eye, and it sucks. It always sucks.

She breathes out in relief as he answers, before her throat goes tight. It takes her a few seconds to respond.]

Good.

[There's a lot packed into that one word. A kind of quiet, fragile thankfulness. Peter might be telling her the truth, but he's given her a gift, too. She wasn't there. She couldn't do anything. But she managed to help save one person.]

[Peter lets out another shaky exhale and sniffles. He doesn't really have the energy for tears, having already drained himself just by witnessing the bloodshed and the aftermath. He's just grateful to have Ellie to talk to right now; that's enough.]

It will be really good to see you, Ellie.

[He closes his eyes as he leans against the crystal. It will be nice to see Ellie in person, to have a physical reminder that not everyone is dead.]

Yeah. You too.

[Fuck. The sound of Peter almost breaking down is what gets to her. She has to take several seconds before she can be reasonably sure her voice will be steady when she responds.]

When I get there I'll come find you. It might-

It might take a minute, but I will.

[Peter nods, sniffing again. He'll find the energy for tears later, he's sure. For right now, he's taking the chance to catch his breath.]

Yeah, of course. No problem. I'll be glad to see you whenever.

[And he means that. He doesn't mind waiting; just getting to see Ellie in person will mean the world to him.]

I'll crawl home (open)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject