open post

[solmate]

Comments

[solmate]

(ooc: continued from here)

[ Alina's exasperation petulance is only a touch exaggerated as she pulls a face at him. Of course she's immeasurably thankful to have found a friendly face, so much so that she chooses to take his arm without argument to stroll back through the market. ]

Do you ever worry that the king's crown might not fit if you let your head get too large?

[ Well. Mostly without argument. Although the quip had come faster than she could really think, and the reality of three years difference causes her face to pale with the thought of what might have changed. She had left just on the cusp of something, and for all she knows the Darkling rules rather than a Lantsov. ]

I was worried about what might have happened to you. [ Her words are soft and genuine. She pauses, looking at him sidelong, searching for any indication of a change in a reaction in him even if she knows he wears his mask well. He isn't totally free from an interrogation, but the banter is a comforting balm for her as much as him, even if she won't admit it. ] I suppose I am glad to see you came out unscathed, ego included.

[reznikolai]

[A wry grin, which soon fades into an inscrutable look.]

I don't know about unscathed...

[So much of his body is threaded with scars, a parting gift from the Darkling. A monster burrows inside him, eluding his attempts to tame it.]

However, I'm pleased to report that the crown sits rather nicely on my head.

[He watches for Alina's reaction. From her perspective, he was still a prince. The future of Ravka was blotted with uncertainty — well, that remains true at present. Then, he had to fight for the throne he knew was his; now, he fights to stay on that throne long enough to ensure his country won't drown in all its problems.

She won't remember that he tried to make her his queen. That may be for the best, as far as his bruised ego is concerned.]

[solmate]

[ Alina's primed to probe more about that unscathed comment, but surprise and relief washes across her face when she learns he's taken the throne. Her shoulders dip as she releases a long held breath. Of course with his brother gone, he would be the next in line under normal circumstances, but lines of succession aren't really the threat she's concerned with. ]

And the fate of the Darkling?

[ He must be gone for Nikolai to rule. Mal must have found the firebird, and she must have been successful in vanquishing him. It seems unbelievable. She tries not to let her face betray or voice betray her, that she's surprised and maybe even afraid of the depth of power she had to wield . ]

night garden

[morozova]

The afterlife is louder than I'd imagined.

( there's a rare tint of amusement to the words, despite the way he holds himself back from her. as though uncertain of what to make of this display.

and, rightly so. the last time they'd seen each other she had been trying to kill him — had come close enough to succeed that he had spent those first, frantic days journey believing he was truly dead. )

I'm almost disappointed.

[solmate]

[ alina's pulled from her musings, and the sudden realization of the darkling's presence feels like she's been doused in cold water. Disbelief, denial, and amusingly enough annoyance cross her features. ]

That would mean you've been defeated, although last time I checked I wasn't dead.

sunsoldier i cry every time

[solmate]

[ cont. ]

if it wasn't you it'd be someone else.
people love to talk about the sun summoner. there's no beating it.
they've been doing it since i showed up.
and nothing i do is going to change that.

same feel

[sunsoldier]

the least i can do is stop giving people a reason to talk specifically about me in relation to you.
i know nikolai doesn't like the rumors, anyway.
it doesn't help the rumors he was already dealing with before.
i just don't want people talking badly about you. i hate hearing it.

[solmate]

[ cont. ]

among other things.
you sound very confident that i do.

[ she does but she can't TELL him that. ]

can i have a hint.

[rebravka]

i've taken the lack of punching since that fateful day as a sign in my favor.

[ nikolai also knows she wouldn't have hung around if she didn't have at least a moderate amount of faith in him and what they're trying to accomplish. ]

only if you agree to come with me first.

tfln cont

[solmate]

[ from here ]

knowing that everyone's watching me? knowing that you're watching me?
it's somewhere between performing in the sankt nikolaus pageant and what i imagine it would feel like posing nude for the queen's life drawing class in the palace gardens.

[shadowfolds]

If you’re curious about what posing for the queen’s drawing class is like, you should ask Ivan.

tfln cont.

[solmate]

[ from here ]

without vegetables, agreed. i don't think you need them.

[ She writes as if she's an expert sext-er and not awkwardly fumbling through this, unused to being seen in such a way. maybe it's time to forge her own path instead of the one charted out for her though. ]

that's a good start. my mind always wanders when i'm on the cusp of sleep. it's harder to remember why you shouldn't want certain things.

[cruelyethuman]

Well, to be honest, the Palace stew would be terrible with them. But not for this.

I don't know if I should envy you, or feel relived that I've never managed to forget why certain things are out of my reach.

And what might that be, you might ask. It's fair skin; pale against my dark sheets. It's soft hair on my pillow. I reach out in the middle of the night, and there's someone there to reach back. The crackling heat of a first kiss, and the breathless anticipation of a second one.

@ my personal thirst

[solmate]

[ cont. ]

[ Alina has the distinct feeling that she is in danger. But that's never stopped her before and she isn't about to let it now. ]

Unfortunately I've left all my blessings in my chambers.
Somewhere along the way I got soft.
Warming stones and silk sheets aren't necessities but that doesn't mean I'd say no to them.

Is that a promise?
I should have figured you'd like the hunt.

do u mean zoya "thirst trap" nazyalensky

[commandership]

I see you still haven't learned your worth.
Warming stones and silk sheets are always necessities. Do not settle for less.

[ i should have figured you'd like the hunt. it's a truth that welds itself to her bones, thrumming and heavy. she has been vicious in her hunt for recognition — the right to earned power and prestige. if the world would not acknowledge her worth, she would seize it herself — bleed for it, battle for it, snap it up into her jaws until none could thieve it from her again. she wills the thought away, but the thrill of clawing into alina —

it remains, a rush of heady adrenaline storming in her veins. ]

No. A warning.
Why hunt willing prey? I prefer to toy with mine.
You sound like you want to be played with, Starkov.

@whisperedshadow tfln

[solmate]

[ cont. ]

I didn't know you concerned yourself with the petty affairs of who's exiting whose chambers, but I'll be sure to find something extra scandalous for you to carry with you.

[whisperedshadow]

Entertainment has to be found somewhere other than the Fetes, you know. Besides, I do enjoy the expression Fedyor makes when he doesn't expect me to know what goes on within these walls.

I appreciate it and I'm sure some ghostly ancestor would love to hear what drama occurs in our small corner of the world.

1/2

[usilivat]

2/2

[usilivat]

The boat to Novyi Zem is overcrowded. Cramped and damp, with the miserable murmur of voices from every corner as a dull susurration accompanying them night and day. The tenor changes along with the sea; panicked scatterings of prayer when the waters are rough, pattering, easy conversations when waters are calm.

Their trio of companions make themselves at home one way or another. There are days when Mal joins Jesper to gamble on the deck, or observes Kaz making a circuit of the deck, or climbs up into the rigging alongside the sailors. The restless prickle of anxiety he'd carried out of the darkness with him has settled, grown muted in the course of their crossing; there is only so much planning to be done aboard this ship.

It still circles at the edges of their conversation. A snippet of when we disembark— or we must be sure to—

But there is not yet conversation tonight.

There is the two of them, tucked close on deck. The sea is choppy, and their cloaks are damp, and Mal stands very close to her, arms bracketing her to keep Alina steady as the boat plows forward towards the uncertain future they've chosen for themselves.

"Are you tired?" is an idle question, perhaps not worth breaking the quiet over. "It should be safe to go down. Madame Apolena should be asleep by now, so we won't hear of her bad knees and neglectful sons."

[solmate]

"I don't want to go down yet," which is not a yes or a no to his initial question, but the soft loll of her head to the side, the slow blink of heavy lids speaks for her.

Dull and cloudy skies make her hands look even paler against the deep brown taffrail of the ship, but the skies and temperamental are not the only thing that steal the color from her cheeks, not the sole source uneasy nights that leave her tired into the day. She strums her fingers, imagining the light twirling around them like she might fidget with a pencil. Sankta Alina is a title she is not ready to reconcile with, but in tucking it away she hides another part of herself, bright and bold but not at all suited to subtlety.

Invisibility is their safety here, but no mastery of light or shadow is needed to accomplish that. There is some nostalgic comfort that sits in being anonymous and ordinary. Ghosts that can slip away unnoticed.

His bicep makes for a comfortable place to rest her head, his body the protective shield and comfort of a home she never had, a warmth echoing a comfort she could never concretely place. There is so much uncertainty ahead of them that she has grown less cautious with Mal. Hesitation is for those who have the luxury of time, although there are still questions she cannot put words to, instead asked and answered in held breaths and gentle touches, steadier than the rocky seas below their feet.

"And she's just lonely," not to be too defensive of Madame Apolena, but that's a feeling Alina understands well.

"Her snoring is worse than her stories though," Alina muses ideally, having given up on trying to keep her eyes open, and settling for just pillowing her head against Mal's arm. "Worse than your impression of a bear in hibernation you do each night."

tfln cont.

[solmate]

@safine

[solmate]

[ cont. ]

Spending time with me and my sparkling personality isn't enough?

@forecast

[solmate]

[ cont. ]

Is the incomparable Zoya Nazyalensky really woo-able? I think that might be a miracle outside of what any Saint could do. I doubt you're won over just by sweets and a perfumed bath.

@valevolcra

[solmate]

[ cont. ]

I didn't know my acceptance was so valuable to you.

bath time tantrums

[kirigan]

( continued from. )

Alina looks somewhere between a drowned cat and a furious rusalka, dark hair plastered against her skin, and he feels a vicious satisfaction at having reduced her to his level of embarrassment. One must relish the little things.

That smugness is banished quickly, however, as she lunges forward and locks her fingers around his throat — and yet there’s an unexpected flicker of pleasure at it, her thumb pressed against his larynx and pinching his airways, and he finds that he likes it. The sting, that crystalline little burst of pain, her hands on him no matter the context. But then, too quick, Alina’s moved away.

What is wrong with you, she demands, and he retreats back into his own corner of the communal bath. (A sullen sea serpent, slithering away.) His gaze lingers and trawls down what he can see of her body above the water, because he’s an asshole.

“How are your Grisha abilities here?” Aleksander asks, instead of answering directly. “What are your capabilities? I’ve tested mine. They’re not what they once were.”

He can’t tap into that ink-deep reservoir anymore, those centuries of strength. He hasn’t been certain if his amplification still worked — he hasn’t let anyone close enough to try, no experiments done with a local mage — but it doesn’t seem to be there.