westwhere | (no subject)

[Caitlyn hasn't slept a wink. How could she? After being kidnapped in the middle of the night, forced to stand in a frigid lake while wondering whether she was about to be eaten by a sea serpent, interrogating the guards... of course she stayed up all night, staring at the maps Kahl had drawn her, rearranging all of her notes and then rearranging them again, turning each clue over and over in hear head until it ceased to have any meaning.

She needs to speak with Emilia again. There's more to find in that cave, there's more that they haven't thought of yet.

Gathering her rifle, torch, and notebook, she runs off in search of Emilia.]

( A fatigue sickness overcame Emilia, left her vulnerable to a kidnapping that otherwise might not have been. She feels much more like herself the next day, but the events of last night — the disjointed clues they've since collected — turn over in her own head.

If she's surprised that Caitlyn has come to find her, she tries not to show it. But Emilia is aware her reaction to the guards was far more ... severe. And still not as bad as it could've been, had she been at her full power. They gave them no answers as is.

She takes one look at Caitlyn, the things she's brought with. )

You want to go back, too.

Edited 2023-02-21 03:58 (UTC)

Yes. [Caitlyn agrees eagerly. She's got her notebook clutched to her chest with both hands, torch strapped to the rifle case on her back, and is practically rocking forward on the balls of her feet with how keen she is to further explore the cave.]

Things last night became heated so quickly, and we weren't in the best mindset to investigate. I'm sure that there'll be more to find if we return.

And we've no time to waste.

( Emilia nods both her agreement and willingness. Though she'd been sick last night, she still remembers the corridor through which they were taken to the glacier lake, and falls into step beside Caitlyn to head in this direction. ) Are you all right?

Yes, of course.

[Why shouldn't she be alright? She's laser-focused on the mystery and her own well-being is at most a secondary concern. The only reason she wouldn't be alright if she were too sick or injured to be able to walk or talk or think.

She hurries alongside Emilia.]

And you? You seemed unwell last night.

[She's much more concerned about Emilia than about herself.]

Edited 2023-02-23 02:23 (UTC)

( Emilia grits her teeth at the reminder, anger aimed toward the source and not Caitlyn. She despises being made weak, especially in times where her strength is needed most. They are so vulnerable to this world, and she never forgets it. )

Alem is full of hauntings. I don't know if you've heard the footfalls at night, or seen the mountain bleed. A fatigue came over me suddenly, not long before we were taken. The soldiers have spoken of it.

( That it comes and goes, inexplicably. )

I feel perfectly fine now, as though nothing happened.

Yes, I've heard chains rattling and felt as though I were being watched when I was completely alone. [She says it softly, frowning, not wanting to let on how unnerved she's found these hauntings. Best to focus on the goal ahead rather than worrying about something like that.

So instead of dwelling on it, she quickens her pace and changes the subject.]

I wonder whether what happened to us is related to the murders. One of the primary theories regarding the white string on the victims' wrists relates to a siren, and that those guards seemed to think that forcing us to stand in water would produce some effect. Sirens are water creatures, after all. [It may be a bit of a tenuous connection, but it does seem worth considering.]

The prince is excessively preoccupied with feet, to that end.

( Perhaps because the woman has a tail half the time? )

Those guards had us step into the lake expecting something to happen. A transformation.

( It's difficult not to be swayed by the siren explanation, but Emilia does want to look into every possibility. There are still clues to chase, and with that in mind, she quickens her step alongside Caitlyn. She only brings herself to a stop when they reach the lake.

When she sees the creature and its seemingly lifeless state. ) Caitlyn...

Yes, that's what I--

[She's so preoccupied thinking about sirens and this mysterious woman that she doesn't notice the dead creature until she hears her name and looks up.

Immediately, she pulls out her rifle, just in case there's some threat here - either from the creature or from whatever did this to it. But just as quickly she runs towards the creature, circling around until she can see its face. Its eyes are filmed over, staring emptily at nothing, and its tongue is lolling out of its mouth.]

It's dead.

( Her jaw clenches.

Not for the first time, it feels they're a step too late, but Emilia catches up to Caitlyn.

The corpse reeks, but she's withstood worse. She forces herself to inch closer, her hand outstretched toward it. Though she does not make contact with it, a rose-gold hue rises around the side of the corpse like a tangle of thorny vines. )

It feels the same as the body of the first victim I was able to look over. Vataz, as well.

( Whoever, whatever, killed this creature, was involved with all the rest. )

[Caitlyn scowls down at the ground, frustrated with herself for not having come back here sooner and frustrated with the feeling of being no closer to catching this killer even after weeks of work and sleepless nights.]

What purpose would anyone have for killing it? Did it know something? Was it guarding something? Did it possess something of import?

[And how is its death connected to the murder of those men and the mysterious vanished woman?

She frowns and steps away from the creature, both to escape the scent and to look for clues, footprints, anything that might indicate that someone else came down here since last night.]

( Did it possess something of import?

Emilia turns that over in her head. It was difficult enough to find a pattern with the previous victims, but now a royal and a creature are dead. What do they all have in common? If she was pressed to answer... ) A life force?

It truly feels as though this body was drained of everything. Whoever is killing them, does it need to?

( To survive?

As Caitlyn steps away, Emilia turns back to the creature, mourning the answers it took with it. )

[The lakeside is discouragingly bare, but Caitlyn investigates regardless, retracing the faint remnants of the guards' footsteps, the place she and Emilia waded into and out of the lake, looking for even the slightest hint and finding nothing.]

Or those scales. It seemed protective of them.

Of them, or whomever they belonged to.

( The missing woman is her guess, even as she can't help considering if they are truly scales or mirror shards or something else they've yet to identify in this godsforsaken world. ) It seemed young, didn't it? The creature.

It's hard to say. [She can recognize the difference between a young deer and an older one, but a lake monster? Emilia's right though, it doesn't have the signs of aging she'd expect from an older animal.

She circles back around to its front, frowning at the smell.

The teeth don't look very worn or discolored, no missing scales that she can see. If she had to guess, it does look fairly young.]

I wonder how it came here in the first place.

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for Emilia (forward dated to Feb. 26th)

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