westwhere | hale and whole

hale and whole

HALE AND WHOLE

BEHIND YOU | MAGICAL SERIES OF EVENTS | THE SCENIC SCIENCE ROUTE | SPREAD YOUR JOY

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Talismans burned, Serthica’s undeath reveals itself:

■ The dragon eye allows indefinite access to the undeath-sight pendant feature. Use it 15 minutes at a time, with a 45-minute cooldown.

■ Those who delivered talismans or the eye have residual immunity: they cannot be sensed by mannequins or by undead linked to the curse-sickness. This is transferrable once.

The Merchant presents the Serthica findings, recommending evacuation. Outvoted, he agrees to sponsor the group until the beacon’s annual start-up. To heal Serthica, the party must destroy the magical anchors of the curse-sickness, develop its science/herbal cure, then distribute it across the overground citadels.

BEHIND YOU

Courtesy of Five Hargreeves, the Child of the Unwinding you slayed his father, the undead lord Beastmaster. The burlap mannequins released from Remembrance actively hunt you.

■ They are constantly watching, stalking, hunting. You always hear the deep asynchrony of their footsteps. Some mannequins bear an uncanny human likeness: staring extensively chills you.

■ Most mannequins cover up in excess clothing and swarm you in crowded spaces to stab. They borrow your appearance, if they touch you. Some devolve into eldritch forms, mimicking voices or puppeteering husked corpses to lure you.

■ Each mannequin has a one-word code on its nape or right calf — once spoken, the creature glitches, letting you run.

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A MAGICAL SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

The corrosive magic that spreads throughout Serthica is anchored in two areas: a port dock and a former Mouse House shelter. Cleanse it through exorcism, purification, healing spells, or by planting wards borrowed from Karsa.

This magic feels hot, asphyxiating, aggressively proliferating, intrusive. Uncontained, it gradually feeds off your power. It might drive you to anger, bitterness, doubt or violence.

To Arc III survivors, it feels like the overwhelming power native to the Ke-Sanwon volcano (not dark water).

■ Once you’ve destroyed both magical anchors, inhuman-looking mannequins deactivate. Human-presenting ones seem sluggish and inattentive.

■ Finn’s mannequin remains alive when supplied life or magical force (think 5% of someone’s reserves) — either through weekly transfers or a rewiring of the magic that sustains her (by a party magic user, or Finn can learn the skills in later travel.)

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✘ WET OF THE DOCK'S WET

At first, locals don’t remember the putrid inactive dock exists as a distant extension of Serthica’s port, located past a familiar deserted marketplace. Here, rotten wood, a stench of perpetual moulding, torn ropes and rusted chains.

■ Thinking extensively about the dock before finding it incurs nausea, vertigo and the animal instinct to flee.

■ Persist, and you learn this dock was once used to smuggle in illegal arrivals from Ke-Waihu. Later, it loaded the bodies of the plagued that were burned at sea.

■ Rotten wood planks can break, dropping you into paralysing waters. The dead might reach out from the depths to drag you in.

■ You hear alluring, wind-born whispers of, How chilly it is, while the cold abruptly intensifies, and, It’s warm in the waters.. Won’t you… jump in?

■ Ships no longer call here — yet a small boat stops for you. You might feel compelled or curious to join the lone passenger — a man in white, whose features you forget after. As the boat drifts, attracting the swimming undead that seek to climb in, the man offers safe return, if you answer: What do you most want? Where would you stop to obtain it? Lie, and the boat capsizes, leaving you to swim back amid undead. Answer honestly to return unharmed.

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✘ (UN)SHELTERED

Visit the impoverished, underground Mouse House and avoid breathing in the thick, memory clouding sedative infusions. The grandiose shelter is familiar, its recalling the ruined mansion of the Unwinding. Locals say the house — which preceded Ma’am Mariol’s shelter as an orphanage — is haunted. The coal sickness spread overground after a child was adopted from here.

■ Spirits jump to throttle you or trip you down stairs, throw knives or lock you in claustrophobic rooms. Stair steps, window sills and roof beams readily collapse.

■ The last entries of house logs, found open on a library desk, mention seven freshly arrived children — six native to the Mouse House, including Gavroche, and one heavily burned boy from Ke-Waihu.

■ The ghosts of orphanage caretakers are enjoying a tea party. They ask if you are a servant or a guest. Answer ‘servant,’ and you must pour tea, as attendants stab you with cutlery when you’re within reach. You are dismissed once you finish pouring. Answer ‘guest’, and you must join them at the table and perform whatever they ask: slap yourself, dress up as a doll, answer inconvenient questions, etc. You can leave once someone else has poured tea.

■ Find the dark magic source in the house greenhouse that has been overrun by ruinous mould. While physically unharmed, you feel overcome by crippling fear, loneliness, abandonment or futility. Talking about it helps soothe it.

THE SCENIC SCIENCE ROUTE

The science-based cure requires retrieving resources and researching an answer. Godspeed.

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✘ THE SEED & THE STORM

The Unwinding revealed strands of juniper and rosemary that cure the sickness. Cain d’Ubiq confirms quantities of each plant remain cryogenically intact aboard the Serthica Aerial Healing Unit ships that were caught in the crossfire of the Sibilant Sands, when Eidris and Minaras fought their last battle. Find the vessels to retrieve the goods.

■ Take your transport flier or one of Cain d’Ubiq’s martial, fire-breathing dragons to traverse the Sibilant Sands, roughly one day’s flight each way of Serthica. Expect a hard ride, amid the growing howl of winds whipping your face and the accelerating pulse of a breaking storm.

■ Martial dragons challenge inexperienced riders, but fly sturdily through intermittent sandstorms and whirlwinds.

■ The ships can be found near dragon bones and human skeletons, in stages of burial or disrepair, stranded between rocks, or threatening to collapse once rattled.

■ Beware serpentine barbed wire animated by dark water, which jumps up from the sands. Just as vile are buried vermin-like creatures that send their razor-blade-ended tentacles to strike out from below ground.

■ Members of protest group Remembrance are also unearthing ships. They plan to board mannequins on the vessels, pass them as Minaraian and attack Eidris once more.

■ Their volatile leader Chrichter is personally fixing a ship.

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✘ THINK, TANK

Time to liberate a lab. Minaras’ foremost medical unit is the Conclave Healing Academy, comprising research labs, libraries, equipment rooms and sample collections, including some of the coal sickness.

■ The Academy connects to the centre that treatsZenobius and brims with healing apprentices. Bring juniper and rosemary samples, pose as a bright-eyed novice healer or a concerned relative of Zenobius, or barge in.

■ The Academy is cold, sterile, clean and swarmed by practising medics and academicians. Some even debate resurrection and immortality. Access is barred below, where you can hear occasional, sharp… growls.

■ Several basement laboratories are marked to study the coal sickness. Steal the entry codes from guards or tease them from a lowly medical intern — but don’t linger on the corridors long. Large clockwork hounds patrol and are attracted to sweat, a heightened or rapid pulse, shortness of breath or other biological signs of fear.

■ Take over a lab to concoct a cure elixir from the herbal strands. Test it against the coal sickness samples. Work safely, or the start of a blood cough might announce you’ve taken sick.

■ Hold the fort until your cure’s done, while guards and hounds try to enter your lab through air vents, windows or ram the door. Fight back, distract them or persuade the Academy protective droids they’re the enemy.

■ Anyone affected with the sickness can drink the cure without waiting to destroy the magical anchors. Symptoms fully disappear within 24-72h. Characters remain sensitive to the un/dead.

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SPREAD YOUR JOY

Mass-production time: take over the former underground Remembrance headquarters, one of Cain d’Ubiq’s factories, or make potions in your back yard. The cure can be drunk or absorbed through skin and must be spread overground.

You can pursue your own ideas, but some suggestions on the house:

■ Take your dragon or hijack a Minaras airship and a diffuser to spray down an incense mix that contains the cure. Minaras airships sleep in secured bays you’ll have to infiltrate. Careful taking a dragon into Minaras or an airship to Eidris — local authorities may perceive this as a security breach.

■ Reprogram or con hapless droids to feed the cure as ‘novel vitamins’ to their owners.

■ Commandeer the Mouse House train that ferries supplies from the Serthica ports and spray the cure on produce and grains.

■ Minaras High Councillor Arabella has been previously targeted by Remembrance and could be subtly persuaded to help by her rescuers.

■ Vanessa’s contact, crime boss Artemius Bale, might also have his people sneak the cure into waterways — if you cut a deal.

■ …lemonade stand?

NOTES:

■ We need one finished thread of breaking the anchors and supplying, making and distributing the cure to get the Very Best Ending, but there are multiple other finale options too — link your threads by 29 November!

■ Thanks to Finn and the Doctor’s efforts to help Ma’am Mariol’s orphanage, enjoy tips, information and help with legwork from her street-smart urchins.

■ You can ask for Artemius Bale & others here or at the NPC inbox!

■ BACK TO THE TOP.

QUESTIONS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( Red winces when she arrives in time to hear Clara confessing to a bunch of ghosts around the table. She hears it: Clara's regret and grief and pain at losing the woman who raised her, at losing out on that time with her- grief is something Red still hasn't learned even if Fei disappearing is still raw and painful. Fei isn't dead, and Red knew her for only a few months. It feels wrong to overhear this when she's certain this place ripped it from her. She hasn't seen her since before that Tower when they met, and Clara told her a lot of things. She hadn't even planned on leaving her house again, but the sooner they heal this place, the sooner the beacon goes up and- Then what? So she has one of Karsa's wards in her pack to use on this place. Maybe she can intimidate some of the spirits away too.

She steps into the room, intending to help Clara get out of whatever this is. )

Hey. You okay? ( She's not anticipating getting stuck too. They ask her which she is guest or servant, and: ) Servant. ( The answer leaves her with such ease, without hesitation, and a second later, she realizes and she wants to scream at herself for it. Always so willing and happy to obey, Cerberus. She tries to move away from the table, but her movements are halted - body tense, the feeling of claws at her ribcage (these spirits should not have the power to trap the likes of her, it), and she curses: ) Zeus' dick. You can't leave either?

[ Before Clara can tell her not to say anything and run, Red says she's a servant; when she follows that up with the most amazing curse Clara's ever heard, one tumbles from her own lips. ]

Oh, fuck.

[ Shaking her head worriedly, she glances at the mannequins, wondering what they'll do now. She knows Red is more capable of handling herself than she appears (though she's no idea how capable), but that knowledge doesn't make Clara worry any less. She'd be afraid for anyone she considers a friend, and they could both be well and truly screwed, here. Even after their one interaction, she's come to see Red as someone she can trust, especially knowing the Doctor is so fond of her. ] No, and I've no clue how to get up. It's like I can only move when they tell me to.

[ Yes, and it's quite rude of you to speak out of turn, dear. Stuff this teacake in your mouth and shut it. Be sure and get all of it in, poppet.

Clara looks up at Red even as she reaches out to grab the small cake and, like the Cookie Monster, pushes the whole thing into her mouth until crumbs are falling from her lips. She looks like a chipmunk and tries to chew slowly in order to choke down what is, quite frankly, the worst teacake she's ever had in her life. She wonders where it came from, how old it might have been.

She looks at Red helplessly with her mouth full as if to say See? Fucked. ]

( Red's shoulders tense as she comes nearer to the table, understanding a servant's job is to serve, to do what they'd like her to. They want her to feed them food, pour them tea. Her jaw locks tight, and she glances over at Clara with another wince when she's forced to follow that ghost's orders without hesitation, without being able to fight it. Red's far too familiar with what that feels like even if- it's not the same because some part of her likes that. Fuck.

She starts to hand out more small cakes to the spirits nearer to her. )

Most spirits get stuck into a certain mindset. We might have to just fucking play along until their mindset's fulfilled, or-

( One of them tries to stab at her, and she dodges it narrowly, turning on that ghost with a darkness in her gaze, a growl within her head shot out at the spirit in response who immediately turns around and straightens out of fear in response. Red glances at Clara. )

That's what you meant by stabby.

Guessing the food's shit.

[ It's the driest scone she's ever had in her life, which isn't the most important thing, she knows. It's still noted. Swallowing the chalk dust, she nods at Red and reaches for her teacup, draining it solely so she can moisten the paste on the roof of her mouth and talk again. ]

Apparently, all sense of taste goes to the grave, even if you're back in spirit.

[ When the knife happy ghost seems to shrink away from Red, Clara can't help looking at her with curiousity—but she's also impressed. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk about much more than the Doctor, but they had talked, and she doesn't remember 'scaring the scary things' coming up in the conversation. ]

How the hell'd you do that?

[ Language! Two slaps, one on behalf of the servant. Without hesitation, one hand slaps the left side of her face and then the other hand strikes the opposite. It takes everything in Clara not to say more choice words in a row than she has since leaving Blackpool, but now she knows better. ]

Right, no indelicate words during tea time. [ She glances over at Red. ] I can move any which way I want, just not out of my seat. I guess you could try and intimidate them back to death, because other than forcing me to eat rubbish food and drink tea-flavored water, no clue what they want. Are we literally supposed to sit through an entire tea?

Shiiiii- ( Red just manages to cut herself off from the curse word before it leaves her when she sees them slapping Clara over saying 'hell' - she's their fucking guest so she really doesn't want to let out a curse word and see what they do to their servants over it. Damn, sensitive souls. Her jaw locks as she swallows up her anger. This is going to be hard for her, because cursing is kind of secondary for her like breathing. ) -iiiiindig. That's what this is. A fine shindig with tea.

( She grimaces at the spirits who had been watching her when she nearly said shit, and then looks over at Clara. )

I don't know. Tthey wanted a guest and a servant. Maybe they needed both to play out a part of this shi- ( she barely stops herself from adding the -t this time ) shindig.

I'll try to just do the thing, and maybe that'll be enough. Can't say I know how to scare them back to death unfortunately. ( That wasn't really her deal before after all. She met all her spirits after they were in the afterlife, watched over them, guarded them, intimidated them, kept them in line.

All of the above. She passes out the remaining cakes and then another spirit stabs toward her: "We want our tea, servant. Stop dilly, dallying. Cake's no use without tea, and she can't stop the curse that follows and another stab from the ghost beside them. This one catches her lightly on the arm- the smallest trickle of blood and sharp pain, but at least they didn't get her straight on. Her shoulders tense. )

Gods, they're hard to please. ( She picks up the tea pot next and starts to pour one cup at a time. )

[ Clara winces when Red is cut not once, but twice. What she'd like to do is toss tea in one of the ghosts' faces, even knowing it'd be an exercise in futility. She doesn't, because she doesn't know what the consequence of it would be. ]

How long can one tea last, right? Even my prim and proper nan can't sit through one for long. Maybe once we're all topped off we can excuse ourselves. Why does everything here have to be a puzzle or a riddle? Nothing is straightforward except the pain. [ Whether physical or mental or both at the same time.

She watches as for seemingly arbitrary reasons, knives are stabbed in Red's direction even as she moves around the table. Clara tries to be encouraging, eyes tracking Red as she moves. ]

You're so close to being done, Red. Then maybe we can get on with it. I'm trying to go for casual indifference right now, by the way, how'm I doing? Am I sticking my nose high enough in the air to fit in?

[ Maybe she's risking some ire, but she's also trying to be confident, pretending it will be fine. She did learn from the best, after all. ]

And even the pain can come in layers. Like an onion. ( Red wrinkles her nose, but she keeps her shoulders straight, tense. She moves from one individual to the next, ending beside Clara.

She'll be the last one. She laughs a little bit at what she says even as she eyes the spirits cautiously though they do not appear to take any offense to what she's saying thankfully. Maybe they are all about being as snooty as they possibly can be. )

Y'know, you're not doing half bad. Your nose could probably be higher up in the air, but guess everyone else around the table has you covered.

( Red sucks in a breath, leaning over beside Clara, and pouring out the last of the tea into her cup. As soon as she does, Red can sense a change - the spirits all start to get up and leave, wishing one another well, stating what a lovely party it's been, but lets not invite that guest over, or that servant may need to be replaced later. )

Looks like that was the ticket, but we should get the fuck out of here before they all restart or something. ( She sets the teapot aside, glancing down at Clara. )

[ Clara shoots up as soon as she feels whatever magic locking her into place dissipate. Reaching for Red's hand, she prepares to make a run for it with her, but not before one last goodbye to the tea party ghosts. ]

With all due respect, please, sod the fuck off.

[ Then, she tugs at Red to get a move on, not knowing how the remaining spirits will take it. Because she is, to be honest, sick and fucking tired of ghosts. When it seems like they've left the ghosts (at least those) behind, Clara slows down to look at Red, letting go of her hand, then lets out a breath. ]

Fancy running into you here. Exploring alone? [ Like Clara wasn't. ]

I like that you told them off, but 'with all due respect'. That was a nice touch. ( Red says this genuinely with a tiny smirk as she follows her out of the room away from the spirits and then releases the breath caged in her lungs once they're free from the area. It's funny how she's done most things alone her entire existence so she didn't really consider to... do any of this any other way, which is why she kind of blinks at the question about exploring alone. Like she hadn't thought about going with anyone.

She pats the bag she has on her. )

I brought a couple of the wards Karsa gave us to plant here and break the magic. Not sure where to place them, but a spirit talked about something really dark in the green house so probably one there.

Maybe one right here in front of the tea room for good measure. ( She pulls it out then to hand to Clara. ) Want to do the honors? Cause these shitbags can seriously fuck off.

Learned that from my nan. She could make a person wither with one well-placed with all due respect. I can't remember how old I was when I realized most of the time when people say that, it's code for look here, arsehole.

[ Clara feels a bit like she does after running with the Doctor, and she looks at the ward eagerly, accepting it in her hands. ]

Sounds as good a place as any, and we can skip right past the part we talk about the weird personal question part of the tea. Nan had a habit of that too.

[ Looking at the ward in her hands, she wonders if all of these little things will be enough to keep everyone from hurting. She hopes, but she doesn't yet understand how all of these things will come together. Still, she sets the ward down, for some reason needing to make sure it's centered in the doorway. ]

( Red snorts in quiet amusement at that, folding her arms loosely across her chest after Clara has taken the ward in her own and then stepped forward with it to place it in its spot. It seems to be good then. She glances around her to see how the spirits are doing.

Maybe that was enough? Or maybe the Green House is required for warding too. She frowns but looks to Clara. )

...uh, so that question you were asked when I first arrived that's like... normal tea time conversation? Because that.. does not sound like relaxing time with tea to me. ( Her expression shifts to one that's a bit apologetic. )

I'm sorry I overheard something you were forced to say.

( It's really terrible this place drew it from her without her permission, made her talk about something so painful. ) ...oh, shit, sorry, you said to skip past that part.

[ The spirits seem angry, and she gets the sense if they linger, they'll be pulled back in. The displeasure can be felt in the air like an undercurrent of electricity, but the feeling of magic, the darkness of it hasn't gone away. To the greenhouse, they'll likely have to go.

When Red apologizes, Clara waves a hand in front of her — not needed. ]

It's alright. Honestly, the questions can get weirdly personal but never like that. More along the lines of when will you finally settle down, Clara? Thank you, though. Haven't really let myself think about feeling that way in a while. But if anyone had to overhear it, I'm glad it was you.

[ Someone she already knows and feels like she can trust.

Before she can express as much, there comes a wail so haunting that she can only think of pain. She feels a rush of air move between her and Red, then the doors to the greenhouse fly open hard enough to hit the wall behind them. They bang shut again and Clara turns to look at Red. ]

It was too much to hope we wouldn't have to go in there.

( Red offers her a soft smile at that, grateful that she at least is a better option than others even if she doesn't know if she deserves that. The Tower has kind of messed her up though so maybe that's just her brain being angry and twisted up about everything.

She keeps close to Clara, turning, moving to the greenhouse. She grimaces, pulling the ward out, clutching hold of it as her jaw locks tightly, understanding Clara is like the Doctor in the sense that she won't leave her here.

Even if Red says she can do this herself so they don't have to be fucked up by whatever's in this place, Clara won't, and she feels relief at the knowing. )

It's going to... be worse than the tea party. ( It's her turn to reach for Clara's hand then. ) But we get the fuck in there, find the worst of it, and run out again, okay?

[ Once they're outside the doors, Clara looks at Red and takes a deep breath, letting it out. She can feel the heavy oppressiveness of the darkness and nods in determined agreement. ]

A lot of this seems like it's been mental. Mostly. Whatever happens in your head just keep my voice there too. It's not fucking real. You're perfect and you're my friend, don't let this place mess with you.

[ She pushes open the door and looks around, picking up the closest thing she could use as a weapon if needed, a long shovel with a broken edge. ]

( Red meets her gaze, breathes in, and then releases that breath too in tandem with Clara's. Perfect? That's hard to wrap her head around, but it does remind her of the Doctor in how complimentary they both can be. )

You're brave as hell, and this place isn't prepared for the likes of you.

( And they've got this. Her arm tightens over the ward again, and inside she steps. Then the dark magic does its work, and seconds later loneliness and abandonment slams into her in equal measure. This place won't last. It can't last. Everyone she knows here - her first friends ever will be gone like Fei. It's the truth, but the green house is making it so much worse. Her eyes burn. )

...Fuck. ( She looks worriedly to Clara. )

[ This place got the better of her in the tower, but she ignores that and manages a small smile before they go inside. That smile fades as quickly as it came. It's almost as if there's a physical presence here, with them. She knows that if the magic can wrap around the Doctor's mind, none of them stand a chance. She can talk him down sometimes, but could she always?

He's already gone, she's lost him once. She could lose him for good in this place and then she'd have no one. And what about the other friends she's made? What good is she to them, normal, human Clara with no abilities, no magic? Always needing to be saved. As much as she knows she should trust her own words from before, it's difficult to do. It's only when Red speaks that she's pulled out of the deepest part of her fear and loneliness. When she speaks, it's one word, and it cracks a bit. ]

Magic.

[ It's easier to infiltrate their minds than she thought, but they can do this together. Reaching out for her free hand again, Clara will grip it tightly if Red lets her. ]

I've got you. We've got each other. Red, we can do this, I promise.

[ The words leave her mouth and a shrill, angry shriek pierces the air before Clara feels herself torn away from Red's side, hitting a table behind her with such force that she topples it over, going down with it. ]

( Red tightens her grip on Clara's hand when she takes it, gripping hold of her. These emotions are so strong, but unfortunately, they play right into the worries the Tower created inside of her. Her eyes are still burning, but she is focused until the angry shriek pierces the air, and Clara is ripped away from her into a table. )

Clara!

( She drops the ward right there in the middle of the greenhouse without a second thought. They're far enough into the Green House now it should do its job, and she's not concerned with it anyway, running around the table on the other side. The overwhelming loneliness still crushing her chest. Her hackles have risen again, protectively, but there's nothing physical to tear apart. She reaches for her again, searching for any injury or- )

Are you okay?

Edited 2022-11-26 17:55 (UTC)

[ She's more dazed than anything else, the wind knocked out of her. For a few seconds she doesn't move. Again, useless. ]

I'm okay, I think. [ Her hands reach out again, but this time for help standing. ] If it's trying to pull us apart, then we're doing something right. Right?

[ She's so unsure. Maybe if they set the ward together, but Clara doubts herself. She doesn't even voice her new thought aloud because she's not had any ideas to help anyone since she arrived. To top it off, she voted for this mental manipulation they're all being forced to endure. They're here because she voted to say. ]

It didn't work. Can you feel that? It's still—shite!

( Red takes hold of her hand to help her up, but then keeps hold of it, tugging her back to where she'd dropped the ward. Her throat locks with emotion. Her eyes still burn. The touch centers her, but it's- it's also a reminder of what she never really had for so long that she forgot to yearn for it, to ache for it. It wasn't meant for her.

None of this is. )

Yeah, yeah, I feel it, but maybe you're right? It was trying to pull us apart.

Maybe we have to find some place to put it too. Toward the back? Fuck if it would be this easy. ( She reaches for the ward, eyeing the back of the greenhouse where the dark magic is the strongest. ) What's it feel like to you?

[ Clara's eyes dart around the greenhouse; there's a perfect little clearing, where dead roots have formed a small circle, curling in on themselves. What's it feel like to you? Swallowing heavily, she blinks away her blurry vision, pushing it all back. ]

I'm gonna get people killed. I'm not uself, not to anyone here. I keep having to be saved me—the Doctor's saved me more than once. [ Wangji too, but she doesn't know if Red knows him. ] I'm gonna get him killed because he can't stop trying to protect me. I can't protect him, you, or anyone else in this place. No magic, no fighting abilities. There's just...nothing.

[ Her chest finally heaves with the effort not to cry and she can't stop the few tears that drop. ]

What about you? God I hope it's better than me.

[ As she speaks, she points to the small area, the dark roots now void of any life-giving essence. ]

You helped me with the ghosts. You are helping me here in the Greenhouse. Not everything's about how fucking magical or powerful you are. Sometimes you need someone to have the right words, the right ideas. You're helpful. I wouldn't want anyone else here with me now, okay?

( Then she pauses at the question, turning to look at where Clara has pointed and then nodding. Tears well in her own eyes, but she's been honest, and so Red will be too even if it's hard. Articulating things is so fucking hard. )

...Loneliness. I've always been alone since I was created until I ended up here. I didn't even know I- ( a tear slips down her own face, and she tugs Clara with her toward that small area. ) didn't even know I wanted connection until I ended up here.

( And here is not going to last.

She shoves it into the spot, and the greenhouse shifts in turn. The dark magic recedes, and the air itself feels clearer. )

[ Red is right, her words thawing out the icy dread that was attempting to settle over her heart. Walking right beside her, she squeezes her hand tightly, listening. ]

You don't know what you don't know.

[ She says it softly as she walks, squeezing Red's hand again, a firmer squeeze. Once the ward is settled, her breath leaves her, and Clara closes her eyes, feeling an anvil lift from her chest. ]

Fuck, I think we did it. Jesus Christ. [ Wetting her lips, she gives herself a second before a soft gaze finds Red's again. She gives a quiet c'mon, tugging her out of the greenhouse and away from the house in general. ]

For the record, as long as we're all here, you aren't alone. I know after we get to the beacon— [ Reaching out tentatively, she pulls Red into a hug, giving her enough room to pull away if she wants to. ]

If there's a way, we'll find you. [ Her and the Doctor. ]

( Red's eyes burn when she's brought into that hug, and they're far away from the greenhouse and the house too. It takes her a moment or two, but then she lifts her arms up to wrap them around her in turn. She's started to learn of the strength and power of- of hugging someone else. She didn't know how much she could yearn for that either, because she had her first during the Unwinding, and ever since, she really appreciates how a hug feels like being all wrapped up in warmth, in not-aloneness.

But it feels really good. It does. Her face buries in Clara's shoulder before she mumbles there and realizes she's mumbling. )

You forget. I know people who've gone through the beacon, and when they go to their world, they forget all about this place.

( She appreciates the thought though. the Doctor has essentially told her the same, but she knows it's all-

It's impossible. )

...but thank you for saying so. The Doctor's said the same - the TARDIS would show up, and yeah. It's not possible. I get that. I- ( She pulls back to look at Clara with tears in her eyes. )

[ She'd been able to push away the thoughts brought on by the magic in the house, she'd dealt with the feelings of uselessness and loneliness like a champ — with Red's help. But it's this, two words and then a string of them all in a row that make Clara finally stumble. When Red pulls back, she isn't the only one with tears in her eyes. ]

We forget?

[ Her voice catches and she stares at Red unblinking, until a tear finally slips down the apple of her cheek. ]

I'm—I'll forget all the extra time I've had with the Doctor?

[ That was the only thing that made any of this worth it. She hated being in Serthica until she realized it was time with him. Extra time to make memories to take back with her, fortification to help that new face through the regeneration process. Time to say all of the things she should've and never did because she'd been too afraid before. Again, she'd had a little bit of happiness after an ocean of grief, and once more, the tide has come back in. ]

So I'll lose him all over again.

[ Clara's voice is flat, already trying to put this information in a box with all the rest of her sadness. ]

( Red swallows as she sees the realization hit Clara - maybe she shouldn't have said, but she would have learned at some point. There aren't a lot of people in the group who have been through the beacon and then spat back here, but there are a handful of them. Still her heart aches, knowing how much loss Clara expressed to her that first time they talked - all she struggled and wrestled with, how hard she fought to find the Doctor again.

Her head ducks, red hair drifting in front of her face. )

...I'm sorry.

It might not be that way for everyone - just what happened to someone I know before they ended up back here again, and the Doctor thinks the TARDIS will find him here then I bet it- it wouldn't be like that.

( It would be like whatever a trip with that blue box is actually like. No mention of memory loss any time the Doctor or Clara has talked about their adventures at least not where the TARDIS is concerned. )

hale and whole

ii.

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ghosts, mannequins, what's the difference in serthica anyway tbh

exactly!! all spooky, all bad

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