hold my hand in yours

[valeas]

WHO: Emilia & some closed starters.
WHEN: One is backdated to dragon shenanigans. Others throughout October.
WHERE: The Bessis Tower. Doxe's palace. Places!
WHAT: Cold misery. New allies. Wrath.
WARNINGS: Food that might make you hungry. Some KotC spoilers. I'll add the rest as we go.

( if you'd like anything with emilia, please feel free to send a PM or hit me up at moonstones. i love writing starters. ♥ )

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[soloritur]

It's not bad advice, and no different than he was planning on doing, so he manages to relax slightly. Never mind that he hates having to spend any time apart from Lorna, but they've done this before. At least this time they weren't separated by choice and he isn't plagued by the thought that his love for her wasn't enough to stay with him.

"If they haven't thought we were suspicious yet, I don't think they're looking that hard." He says it like it's supposed to be a joke, but this whole thing has been getting to him. So far he hasn't been able to tell who kidnapped them to start with, but the witches are the prime suspects. If it was just to play these kinds of games with their lives, he's not horribly appreciative.

"Do they still burn people alive, or is that all in the past?" Days of seeing visions of witches being burned left an impression. He's not convinced they aren't as ruthless as they used to be.

cw: zealotry and death and as always my tl;dr

[valeas]

When Emilia was much younger, a fratello named Carmine would search for anyone with evil in their souls that need be taken away. Sometimes there would be a knock at the door to at least give warning. Sometimes there would not be. And evil was applied loosely and abstractly. Men had a tendency to do that in her world — blame the devil for the things they did not like.

At five years old, she'd clutch her twin's hand as they hid under the covers, fearing Carmine would sense the magic in their blood and take them away. For most of her life, she did fear this: a pyre. She thought it would be her greatest nightmare.

Until, of course, that night at the monastery when she stumbled on Vittoria's body.

She remembers that fear now, perhaps not quick enough to hide away her initial reaction. Quick, though, to compose herself. That's the thing about Emilia, ravenously hungry for answers but holding herself in constant check. Thinking through her choices at length, except, of course, when she doesn't. Then she really doesn't. Like two sides of her are at constant war.

"The Bessis and the Attaryl reached a reluctant agreement years ago, though what happened at the tower where you arrived will not go unanswered, I'm sure. There've been no witch hunts that I know of, but fear makes people act in all sorts of ways."

And things in Taravast are worsening. She loosens a breath. "I don't mean to be alarming."

[soloritur]

After he said it, Marcos realizes that he should have phrased that more tactfully. Even if Emilia wasn't there to witness people being burned alive, just the idea that it happened here is enough to rattle anyone. That's all he reads into her reaction and how she tries to keep her composure. He wonders briefly at her formal way of speaking, if she has some higher status here that he should be aware of, but he keeps that curiosity to himself for now.

He rubs on his neck, because he knows the way this goes. Things only seem to change after they reach a boiling point, and not always for the better. But he's quick to shake his head when she nearly apologizes for answering his questions. Emilia doesn't have to tell him that tensions are on the rise for him to notice, but he still can use any bit of information he can gather.

"I asked. It seems like I've got my work cut out for me." He puts it way too lightly, in part to make up for before. She's being generous with her time, he doesn't need to waste it going into his sob story. "I thought people might be more accepting of powers here, but they might just... not have a choice, considering the ones in charge. What they're asking us to do won't help anyone."

He'd rather cut their ties now, if he weren't worried about leaving innocent people who helped them escape to the wolves. It's going to be tough to use whatever authority he's been given to calm things down. And Lorna. He knows her, and she's not going to react well to any of this, and they've been down that road before.

[valeas]

"No, it won't. Only themselves. But I assure you that if you look, you'll find others who do want to help."

Emilia can tell that he cares, and the truth is, so does she. Her heart may be battered and bruised, full of grief and vengeance and darker pursuits as of late, but she's always cared. She wouldn't have it any other way.

She gathers a generous helping of the blueberry lemon loaf she just baked, carefully wraps a towel around it. She hands it over to Marcos with the first real smile their interaction brings, subdued in light of recent events, but sincere.

"Here. For you and ... whomever you'd like to share it with."

His friend, perhaps.

[soloritur]

He tries tell her that he's sure he will, but he doesn't quite make it that far after her encouraging assessment. The more he hears about it, the more of a mess he realizes he's in. Asking around is all he can do, and hope that he's not giving away something that puts him or Lorna in danger.

Emilia's people saved them, but he's no less of an outsider than he was before. He's in unique and extremely precarious position. Just thinking about manipulating some complicated political plot to help lower the pulse around here is daunting. He couldn't call how he dealt with it back home a roaring success, and there he at least understood all the sides.

When she wraps up the bread he finally warms up again. He catches her meaning with a grateful smile and nods; he's sure he's already taken up too much of her time.

"Thank you. I'm, ah...," he trails off, stumbling over his own thoughts until he meets her gaze and he lifts the bread. It does still smell remarkably good, even through the cloth. "We'll enjoy this. And if there's anything I can do to repay you, just let me know."

It's a blanket offer. They don't have their friends here, so every relationship matters. He's still unsure of a hell of a lot, but he'll do what he can to work with them.