(no subject)

[the_lioness]

Whatever calm had descended upon the castle with the darkness starts to evaporate at the first signs of pink and yellow on the horizon. The outcome of the battle for Pirate's Swoop will be decided today. Few doubt that. The thought wakes warriors and villagers from their scarce stolen moments of sleep, and keeps the trainees watchful and tense. The healers rest when they can, sort herbs and mix medicines when they can't. The injured who expect to return to battle sleep fitfully; the very badly injured sleep like they are already dead.

Dawn is not far off, now. There is still no sign of Daine.

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[tortallan_npc]

By the time they got Daine down the rock chimney there hadn't been very many hours of darkness left, yet Abigail feels as if she's been sitting against and on stone for far longer. Occasionally she leans against Raph, but never for long. He's in charge of watching for Daine's sign: three long tugs on the rope and three short.

Several times she stands and stretches, unable to resist a peek down at the rocks and crashing waves. Somewhere down there, Daine was doing her best to help.

"Goddess, let it be enough," Abigail prays, eyes drifting to the lightening sky.

[mnt_raph]

Raph was quiet, eyes fixated on the rope end tied around his waist with the slack wound around his arm. In his mind he was playing out scenario after scenario. What to do when...if things go wrong. What words to use to convince Abigail to retreat...things like that.

[tortallan_npc]

"No tug yet?" asks Abigail.

Again.

"Time's gettin' on."

[mnt_raph]

"Gettin' on, but not out."

Not yet, anyway.
Raph can't help the gruff reply, she kind of caught him off guard.

[tortallan_npc]

"That's a no, then."

Eyebrows raised, she folds her arms over her chest and turns away once more. It's a beautiful morning. Were this the holiday they'd planned on, she'd be pleased as anything to see it, to hear the crash of the waves.

More time passes. Still no Daine.

"Thomas'll have fits," Abigail says absently.

[mnt_raph]

He'll feel the tug long before he'll see a tug, and so Raph turns his attention from watching the rope to watching Abigail.

"'Bout?"

[tortallan_npc]

She waves a hand as if to say all of this.

"I told him we were visitin' the sea, not fightin' a war." A pause. "With the queen."

Abigail grins at him.

[mnt_raph]

"Prob'ly shoulda told you that this is kinda how all my vacations tend to pan out then, huh? My bad."

[tortallan_npc]

Abigail returns to his side and leans up to whisper in his ear, "Sir Excitement, aren't you?"

Oh, she's definitely smiling now.

[the_lioness]

The journey from the woods outside the castle to Milliways to George's study passes in a blur for Alanna. She steps through the bar's front door and to the side, allowing the others to enter, and feels her chest tighten at the changes the room has undergone since she first brought X here.

Furniture has been pushed against the walls to make room for cots. Each one is occupied. For the overflow patients, blankets line the floor before the fire. Healers, the few they have on hand, tend the wounded and stand ready for more. Maude catches her eye from across the room; she's standing above Sarge. The older woman nods, but her eyes are shot red with exhaustion.

Alanna should say 'Welcome to Tortall' or 'thank you' to the friends who have come here to offer their help. It will have to wait. Instead she gives her head a swift shake and looks around for a warrior conscious enough to answer pressing questions.

[furiousmaximus.livejournal.com]

Max's usually grinning face contains absolutely no hint of humor as he walks a few steps behind and to the right of Alanna. The sounds. The smells. He's seen it all before, and he's not a big fan.

He doesn't say anything. Doesn't feel he needs to. At least for the moment. His eyes are hard and his fist clenches around the hilt of his sword for just a moment.

[cutting_edgex23]

X is already slipping across the room, focusing on an area where the smell of blood and fever is least overwhelming. It's a tiny difference, but observable.

Her gaze flicks toward Alanna when she notices a man that's awake and half-propped up on one elbow, looking as if he's pondering the wisdom of standing up.

X would be, in his shoes.

But whether or not he's coherent -- that's another question.

[pirate_jack]

It's not the first time he's seen the aftermath of battle, and likely it won't be the last.

Doesn't mean Jack Sparrow's grown any more fond of it over the years.

"Bloody disaster," he mutters under his breath. Beads rattle as he turns his head back and forth, looking around the room.

[the_lioness]

Yes, it is. Judging by her face, Alanna intends to find and punish the cause of it.

It's funny how quickly finding X with her eyes and taking note of her position has become habit. Alanna knows X will get to the heart of the matter, identify the largest threat or find the clue they need before most. Spotting her by one of the cots, Alanna looks down and sees the man struggling to stand.

"Max," she calls out, pointing across the room as she moves that way.

There's no time to waste, so the jolt of healing energy she gives the wounded man with her Gift is punishing in its sudden efficacy. He stiffens, eyes rolling back in his head and going a bit wild, and lets out a prolonged growl. Then:

"Fleet. There's a fleet in the cove. Carthaki war barges, Stormwings, dragon," he gasps.

An older woman clad in a loose patterned dress and carrying a pot stops in front of Jack and looks him up and down. The wrinkles around her eyes deepen as she smiles, thrusts the pot at him and walks off. There's a ladle inside. He's probably meant to do something with it.

[furiousmaximus.livejournal.com]

Max shifts in silence, following her. His face is grim and he barely spares a glance when she heals the man. His attention is turned to the room around them, as if he half-expects a threat to materialize right then and there.

"A fleet," he repeats with a curious sort of half-attention. "Best to catch them in their boats if we can."

[cutting_edgex23]

X tilts her head slightly, flicking a glance between the room at large and the newly-healed man.

"And airborne enemies are difficult. Your forces are split?"

X's delivery is flat and abrupt.

"Or being harried?"

If the Stormwings are providing cover for landing parties --

The Tortallan forces will be in trouble.

[pirate_jack]

Jack's caught up in examining the pot and its ladle, which looks to contain some sort of watery gruel. He sniffs it, makes a face, and promptly hands it to the newly-healed man.

"Here you are, mate. Probably good for you, savvy?"

A beat.

"Did you say 'dragon'?"

[peerless_thayet]

Up on the observation deck and all along the wall, dawn seems to take a long time to arrive. The prolonged half light before the sun rises makes the castle's defenders tense and strain their eyes, trying to see if and how the enemy has shifted in the darkness.

Thayet stands with the baron, near Numair, and looks out to sea. She's of the opinion that the picture will become clear all too soon.

They wait.

A trainee brings Thayet a water bucket. Resting her bow against the wall, the queen drinks from the ladle, then splashes some on her hand and wipes her face.

It's then that someone yells, "Dragon!"

Thayet drops the bucket and lifts her bow, already reaching for an arrow. Standing ready, she and the rest of the warriors on deck watch the magnificent creature spiral up and up in the air, scaring a Stormwing out of the sky and terrifying the mages on the ships below. A yellow cloud of magic swirls toward the dragon, but she pays it no more mind than she would a troublesome fly. As she turns back to the Swoop, Thayet and George squint at her silver claws. Numair makes a throaty noise. Onua points and exclaims: "It has Daine!"

"Lower your bows," Thayet calls.

The dragon alights on the observation deck, somehow managing to take up less space than she had yesterday. Releasing Daine, she looks around and effortlessly flies off again, leaving the girl to answer questions.

[tortallan_npc]

Daine's first thought is for Numair. He's easy to locate; even seated, he's taller than some of the people around him.

It's to him that she says, "The whales said no." She has to look away. "There- there might be something, but- I don't know. I don't think it can be here in time. I'm sorry."

Miserable, she shivers slightly at the memory of the ship killer, lurking in the icy black water at the bottom of the sea.

[peerless_thayet]

Thayet comes up beside Daine and rests a hand on her shoulder.

"You tried. You've done so much already. We've seen in what state your friends have left the men outside these walls, thanks to you."

[tortallan_npc]

Daine swallows and follows several speculative glances over the wall, toward the soaring dragon.

"I don't know," she says. "She's not very strong. I could try and call her back-"

"Well, well. All the little pigs tidy in one pen."

A shrill voice interrupts Daine, a voice the girl would recognize anywhere. It's Zhaneh Bitterclaws, the Stormwing queen, just out of bow-shot. The creature's eye still oozes, making Daine want her bow at hand.

[tortallan_npc]

Thom notices Daine looking around and tears his eyes away from the terrible Stormwing. When Daine spots her weapon across Numair's lap, Thom sees it, too. Quietly, he backs away from George and holds out his hand for it.

He's not supposed to be here. Someone is going to have to throw him down the stairs to get him to leave.

"What's the answer, mortals? Will you surrender the three we want?" asks the beast.

[peerless_thayet]

Thayet's temper flares ice-cold.

"We surrender nothing to you and your handlers," she snaps. "Tell them they've just bought my husband's eternal enmity -- and mine."

Her tone suggests that of the two, hers might be the more dangerous.

[tortallan_npc]

The Stormwing laughs. "You won't live long enough to care about enmity!"

Suddenly, there's something being pressed into Daine's stiff fingers. A glance back reveals Thom. The bow is already strung, but try as she might, she can't get it up and ready to fire before Zhaneh Bitterclaws laughs again and starts to climb.

[peerless_thayet]

While Daine struggles to make weary muscles obey her, Thayet glares down at the barges -- and freezes.

The catapults are ready, each armed with a large and destructive looking stone ball.

"Children, get below!" Beat. "Now!"