Tray in hand she was at his door about an hour later, knocking softly. "El?"
Lily chewed on her bottom lip, trying to keep her face level and not betray the concern she was feeling. Eleven hadn't been forthcoming with details about what it was that was troubling him, and lacking any information her imagination began to drift towards the worst possible outcomes.
When the door finally opened she straightened, giving him a cautious smile. "I didn't know when you'd last eaten, so," she shrugged, holding out the tray.
Not knowing if she'd be deterred by his poor company, he wasn't entirely prepared for her to actually arrive. Eleven dragged his hands over his eyes, hoping it had been long enough since he'd cried that she wouldn't be able to tell.
It was awful, seeing her and unable to muster the adoration she deserved. Everything had been so wonderful only two days before.
"Thank you," he said, accepting the tray and stepping aside to allow her in. "I'm sorry for the trouble."
There weren't a great amount of personal touches to his room. A desk shoved in front of the large window was littered with papers and a short stack of books, the floor largely clear but for shards of a broken something or other from the display case catching the light. The bed that looked almost as though someone had started to make it then given up partway. Twin blades leaned up against the bedside stand in easy reach of the pillows.
The broken object caught her eye but before she had a chance to ask after it, Eleven spoke apologizing for the trouble and drawing her focus back to him. The concern she had tried so hard to keep from seeping into her expression was obvious in the gentle frown on her face.
"El, it's no trouble." Not sure how best to help him she stepped close enough to reach out and rest a hand on his arm.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She could see how upset he was, and judging from the state of his quarters, and of him, it was something serious enough that it had unnerved him in a big way. This wasn't the time to demand he tell her everything, no matter how badly her first impulse was to ask for all the details and find a way to solve all his troubles. If he wasn't ready to talk about it, then she would be happy to simply keep him company and try to cheer him up without the questions.
Staring at her hand on his arm for a moment, he followed the length of her arm up to her face, then gave a noncommittal shrug with a soft sigh to match. It was terrible knowledge a part of him wished he'd never heard himself.
Eleven turned, newly aware that he lacked much in way of furniture to accommodate guests. Given that no one really visited him, it hadn't been a problem before now.
"Um, you can take the desk chair," he offered, then moved to set the tray down on his bedside stand. He sat on the edge of his bed and prodded through the tray's offerings.
"The meeting with Bonaccorso was stressful," he started after a moment, "He's suspicious of us, and I don't know that I handled it well. I was worried- I'm still worried- that he might start watching me more closely. I was just.. hiding in my room after, last night. Not terribly mature of me, but I'm not made for this sort of thing."
Pulling away when he turned she crossed her arms over her chest and headed towards the chair he offered. It was difficult not to try and hug him, but it was obvious he was still upset by his meeting, so she kept her distance.
"What did he say that made you think he'll watch you?" That the man in charge of Taravast had his suspicions about their group was unsettling, and it made a sense of wariness flare in her chest. She settled into the seat and produced her wand, conjuring a pot of tea and a pair of cups with a broad swoop of her wand. All her practice on the road to Taravast seemed to be paying off - it at least looked like a proper tea service.
When Eleven called himself immature for needing to hide out after his encounter Lily again wished she was close enough to wrap an arm around him, funneling the want to care for him into fixing him a cup of tea instead, which she floated across the room to settle on the tray he poked at.
"I don't think you're wrong for hiding out, he's a powerful man and he's seen so much," she shook her head, trying to imagine how daunting the task must have been for Eleven. "If it were me I think I'd be feeling just as rattled as you are, a person like that must be able to make you feel no more than half a foot tall by looking at you."
Eleven blinked at the floating cup, then glanced to Lily with a fleeting attempt at a grateful smile. He took the tea first, deciding the heat and fragrance might do well to soothe the misery and residual anger pitting his stomach. At least she didn't seem to think too poorly of him, despite his general state.
"He just-" he hesitated, then took a sip of tea to calm himself. "He seemed to think I had enemies- or should."
He shook his head. "Anyway, I spoke with.." He cast a nervous glance to the window, voice dropping a little in volume. "With Archeval, after. He's always been pretty straightforward with me, and good at rationally explaining things, so that helped.."
At the thought that someone like Eleven should have enemies Lily looked utterly incredulous. Of all the people in their company, Eleven was nothing but kind and incredibly down to earth. Not at all the sort of person who incurred ire everywhere he went.
"Perhaps that's all he knows. If his life has been holding court in this city, and dealing with people equally as powerful outside of it, he might always expect a knife in the back." It wasn't very consoling but it seemed very sensible.
Some of the tension in Eleven's shoulders settled. He hadn't decided how- or if- he should tell her about what Wei Wuxian said, though he knew it was obvious that something had upset him enough that he stayed in his room rather than venture out through the day.
And Lily's ideas about Bonaccorso's sentiment made sense, too. It helped.
"He said it made sense that Bonaccorso was suspicious of us, since no one goes into politics without motivations. Implied I may have been chosen because I was an easy target, of sorts. But that our intentions aren't easy to see, and that Bonaccorso likely won't make any moves if he doesn't have proof of his suspicions.."
He breathed, shrugging. "I wasn't arrested, so that's something."
Nodding along with the points Eleven said Archeval had made about the situation she took another drink of tea before setting the cup down.
"He's right. That you likely appeared to completely lack a motive was what, if anything made Bonaccorso a little suspicious of you." Lily looks down at her lap, mulling it over.
"If you're really worried I could keep a look out, follow you to see if anyone else is." She shrugged at him, offering a tentative smile. "If anyone asks I can always say I'm absolutely besotted by you." It wasn't the ideal cover but she supposed socialites had all kinds of odd affairs.
Real humor touched his eyes as he stared into the reflective surface of his tea.
"Lying with the truth," he mused for a moment, then hastily corrected himself with a quick glance to her. They hadn't really.. talked about that, yet. "I mean- sort of, anyway."
He drank some more tea, hoping he wasn't assuming too much while he mulled the idea over. "If you want to, that is- even if it was only for a few days- it would be good to know."
Relieved that she had found a way to help, Lily straightened in her seat when he seemed to go along with her idea. "I'm happy to. It'll either put your mind at ease, or if your suspicions are true, we'll handle them."
After another moment of hesitation she finally stood, pushing aside her worries as she crossed the room to sit on the edge of his bed beside him. "I want to help Eleven," smiling a little more assuredly at him she rest her hand on his.
Under most other circumstances, Eleven would have been incredibly nervous about having her in his room, sitting on his bed, even. But right now, Eleven simply curled his fingers around hers and found himself grateful for it.
"Thank you." It would help some, particularly if in the end, his fears were unfounded. He hoped they were.
Eleven stared at their joined hands, then raised his eyes to meet hers.
"I'll get away," she said, gently countering his concerns as best she could. "You've seen it, I can escape quickly if I need to. I won't let anything bad happen."
Turning her hand enough to lace their fingers together, shifting do that she was sitting facing him. "If something's really wrong I have a safe place in the city nobody knows about. It's not the best, but in an emergency it'll do."
"You're important to me," her hand tightened in his for a moment. "If I can help you, even if it's to get to tell you no thing's wrong I'm glad to do it."
Her expression softened as she watched him, happy that her visit had been helpful in some small way. "Is that all that was said? I mean, to make you worry. Did something else happen when you saw him?"
His eyes lowered. "No, nothing else happened with him.."
Eleven hesitated. He knew it must be obvious that more than that had happened. Talking to Archeval had helped after all, even if he wound up more concerned for his friend by the end of it than before.
"It was- after speaking with Archeval, I thought I would keep Wei Wuxian informed about what happened during the meeting. He's good at keeping track of information and always seems to be able to figure things out. But.. I ended up learning more than I'd wanted to."
He glanced to the broken.. decorative plate still staining his floor. "I didn't take it well."
"He knows why it is that Taravast is the only city in the region yet to be overrun by the undead. It isn't- it isn't because they've been able to fend off attacks like I'd thought."
Eleven's eyes moved to his swords. They hadn't been right at his bedside until last night.
"To think I'd thought so well of Bonaccorso until yesterday. If I'd heard about it before my meeting.."
He'd almost certainly have wound up imprisoned, unable to maintain a farce of politics in the wake of such deep injustice.
Like Eleven Lily had assumed that Taravast hadn't fell, because it was well defended. The suggestion that the actual reason was something more dark and dire made her heart sink.
"What is it? Why is Taravast still free?" She didn't mean for her voice to sound as weak as it did, but her mind reeled with possibilities, and none of them were especially good. Taravast was full of secrets, she knew, but it began to seem like El had stumbled across a particularly nasty one.
"I still struggle to understand it," he hedged, misery overtaking his expression once more.
He found the words hard to say. It had been difficult enough to read them, to understand. The knowledge still sat ill with him. Eleven's eyes closed over a wretched grimace and halting words. His hands closed more tightly over Lily's.
"He said that Taravast.. bought its freedom by betraying the others."
Whatever pleasant note her expression might have held drained away as quickly as the color on her face.
"Betraying the other cities?" Lily breathed out the question, obviously thunderstruck. "They sold them out to Unhalad, that's," she shook her head, obviously disgusted.
Eleven nodded, swallowing hard. The more he thought about it, the more it upset him over again.
"People they should have been allies with, fighting together.." He shook his head and let go of Lily's hand to curl his fists into his pant legs as the embers of his earlier fury flared up again. He's had a lot of time to think about it, to grieve for the lives lost and ultimately settle on harsh judgment for the decision made.
"A coward's choice. Now this city is the last one left- what did he expect would happen? I want him to live long enough to see the battle start and understand that all he did was weaken Taravast by enforcing its isolation."
It was completely chilling to hear the grisly terms of this city's survival laid out so plainly and she remained silent even as he pulled away.
Shaking her head in disbelief Lily frowned at El. "Do you think that's why Haltham was traveling with the caravan that met our group on the trail?"
It was a chilling thing to broach, but she had heard from some of those passengers that he had traveled with them, though had not heard anymore about him since their arrival in Taravast.
His jaw clenched, the warning about that pressing, too.
"Wei Wuxian believes he's here somewhere. The way he described it sounded like a slow invasion of undead into the city, between the hunting grounds and necromantic district.. I always have my swords on me, but we'll have to be more watchful, I think."
The thought of a slow invasion made her stomach turn and she stood stiffly, antsy from nervous energy, and made her way towards the window of his room to peer out into the darkness.
"I'll put wards up in here for you, every night. They won't stop anything from coming but they'll provide a little resistance." She had already been doing the same for her room every night. It made sense to do the same for El, he was, to her, incredibly important.
"If it's like the last time, where they swarmed us, at least this time we have somewhere almost nobody knows about to hide." Of course the place to hide was right in the necromantic part of town, but it had been left vacant for so long she still thought it stood a decent chance of being safe.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2021-09-21 12:58 am (UTC)Lily chewed on her bottom lip, trying to keep her face level and not betray the concern she was feeling. Eleven hadn't been forthcoming with details about what it was that was troubling him, and lacking any information her imagination began to drift towards the worst possible outcomes.
When the door finally opened she straightened, giving him a cautious smile. "I didn't know when you'd last eaten, so," she shrugged, holding out the tray.
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Date: 2021-09-21 01:14 am (UTC)It was awful, seeing her and unable to muster the adoration she deserved. Everything had been so wonderful only two days before.
"Thank you," he said, accepting the tray and stepping aside to allow her in. "I'm sorry for the trouble."
There weren't a great amount of personal touches to his room. A desk shoved in front of the large window was littered with papers and a short stack of books, the floor largely clear but for shards of a broken something or other from the display case catching the light. The bed that looked almost as though someone had started to make it then given up partway. Twin blades leaned up against the bedside stand in easy reach of the pillows.
"I, er, probably should have straightened up.."
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Date: 2021-09-21 01:29 am (UTC)"El, it's no trouble." Not sure how best to help him she stepped close enough to reach out and rest a hand on his arm.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She could see how upset he was, and judging from the state of his quarters, and of him, it was something serious enough that it had unnerved him in a big way. This wasn't the time to demand he tell her everything, no matter how badly her first impulse was to ask for all the details and find a way to solve all his troubles. If he wasn't ready to talk about it, then she would be happy to simply keep him company and try to cheer him up without the questions.
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Date: 2021-09-21 01:48 am (UTC)Eleven turned, newly aware that he lacked much in way of furniture to accommodate guests. Given that no one really visited him, it hadn't been a problem before now.
"Um, you can take the desk chair," he offered, then moved to set the tray down on his bedside stand. He sat on the edge of his bed and prodded through the tray's offerings.
"The meeting with Bonaccorso was stressful," he started after a moment, "He's suspicious of us, and I don't know that I handled it well. I was worried- I'm still worried- that he might start watching me more closely. I was just.. hiding in my room after, last night. Not terribly mature of me, but I'm not made for this sort of thing."
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Date: 2021-09-21 02:08 am (UTC)"What did he say that made you think he'll watch you?" That the man in charge of Taravast had his suspicions about their group was unsettling, and it made a sense of wariness flare in her chest. She settled into the seat and produced her wand, conjuring a pot of tea and a pair of cups with a broad swoop of her wand. All her practice on the road to Taravast seemed to be paying off - it at least looked like a proper tea service.
When Eleven called himself immature for needing to hide out after his encounter Lily again wished she was close enough to wrap an arm around him, funneling the want to care for him into fixing him a cup of tea instead, which she floated across the room to settle on the tray he poked at.
"I don't think you're wrong for hiding out, he's a powerful man and he's seen so much," she shook her head, trying to imagine how daunting the task must have been for Eleven. "If it were me I think I'd be feeling just as rattled as you are, a person like that must be able to make you feel no more than half a foot tall by looking at you."
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Date: 2021-09-21 02:21 am (UTC)"He just-" he hesitated, then took a sip of tea to calm himself. "He seemed to think I had enemies- or should."
He shook his head. "Anyway, I spoke with.." He cast a nervous glance to the window, voice dropping a little in volume. "With Archeval, after. He's always been pretty straightforward with me, and good at rationally explaining things, so that helped.."
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Date: 2021-09-21 02:30 am (UTC)"Perhaps that's all he knows. If his life has been holding court in this city, and dealing with people equally as powerful outside of it, he might always expect a knife in the back." It wasn't very consoling but it seemed very sensible.
"Archeval? What did he think?"
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Date: 2021-09-21 02:40 am (UTC)And Lily's ideas about Bonaccorso's sentiment made sense, too. It helped.
"He said it made sense that Bonaccorso was suspicious of us, since no one goes into politics without motivations. Implied I may have been chosen because I was an easy target, of sorts. But that our intentions aren't easy to see, and that Bonaccorso likely won't make any moves if he doesn't have proof of his suspicions.."
He breathed, shrugging. "I wasn't arrested, so that's something."
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Date: 2021-09-21 03:23 am (UTC)"He's right. That you likely appeared to completely lack a motive was what, if anything made Bonaccorso a little suspicious of you." Lily looks down at her lap, mulling it over.
"If you're really worried I could keep a look out, follow you to see if anyone else is." She shrugged at him, offering a tentative smile. "If anyone asks I can always say I'm absolutely besotted by you." It wasn't the ideal cover but she supposed socialites had all kinds of odd affairs.
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Date: 2021-09-21 03:31 am (UTC)"Lying with the truth," he mused for a moment, then hastily corrected himself with a quick glance to her. They hadn't really.. talked about that, yet. "I mean- sort of, anyway."
He drank some more tea, hoping he wasn't assuming too much while he mulled the idea over. "If you want to, that is- even if it was only for a few days- it would be good to know."
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Date: 2021-09-21 03:50 am (UTC)After another moment of hesitation she finally stood, pushing aside her worries as she crossed the room to sit on the edge of his bed beside him. "I want to help Eleven," smiling a little more assuredly at him she rest her hand on his.
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Date: 2021-09-21 04:09 am (UTC)"Thank you." It would help some, particularly if in the end, his fears were unfounded. He hoped they were.
Eleven stared at their joined hands, then raised his eyes to meet hers.
"If something happens- if you need help.."
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Date: 2021-09-21 04:49 am (UTC)Turning her hand enough to lace their fingers together, shifting do that she was sitting facing him. "If something's really wrong I have a safe place in the city nobody knows about. It's not the best, but in an emergency it'll do."
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Date: 2021-09-21 04:54 am (UTC)"Okay," he said, mollified. "I just know it's a lot to ask and I'd feel awful if something happened to you because of it."
Eleven set his tea down to cover her hand with it. "But I'm grateful I have people like you that I can rely on."
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Date: 2021-09-21 05:05 am (UTC)Her expression softened as she watched him, happy that her visit had been helpful in some small way. "Is that all that was said? I mean, to make you worry. Did something else happen when you saw him?"
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Date: 2021-09-21 05:15 am (UTC)Eleven hesitated. He knew it must be obvious that more than that had happened. Talking to Archeval had helped after all, even if he wound up more concerned for his friend by the end of it than before.
"It was- after speaking with Archeval, I thought I would keep Wei Wuxian informed about what happened during the meeting. He's good at keeping track of information and always seems to be able to figure things out. But.. I ended up learning more than I'd wanted to."
He glanced to the broken.. decorative plate still staining his floor. "I didn't take it well."
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Date: 2021-09-21 05:22 am (UTC)"Wei Wuxian? What does he know about the Doxe?"
It was sort of a silly question. Lily had yet to encounter a topic Wei Wuxian didn't know something about.
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Date: 2021-09-21 05:28 am (UTC)"He knows why it is that Taravast is the only city in the region yet to be overrun by the undead. It isn't- it isn't because they've been able to fend off attacks like I'd thought."
Eleven's eyes moved to his swords. They hadn't been right at his bedside until last night.
"To think I'd thought so well of Bonaccorso until yesterday. If I'd heard about it before my meeting.."
He'd almost certainly have wound up imprisoned, unable to maintain a farce of politics in the wake of such deep injustice.
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Date: 2021-09-21 05:34 am (UTC)"What is it? Why is Taravast still free?" She didn't mean for her voice to sound as weak as it did, but her mind reeled with possibilities, and none of them were especially good. Taravast was full of secrets, she knew, but it began to seem like El had stumbled across a particularly nasty one.
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Date: 2021-09-21 06:57 am (UTC)He found the words hard to say. It had been difficult enough to read them, to understand. The knowledge still sat ill with him. Eleven's eyes closed over a wretched grimace and halting words. His hands closed more tightly over Lily's.
"He said that Taravast.. bought its freedom by betraying the others."
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Date: 2021-09-21 05:36 pm (UTC)"Betraying the other cities?" Lily breathed out the question, obviously thunderstruck. "They sold them out to Unhalad, that's," she shook her head, obviously disgusted.
"I almost prefer the farm, knowing that."
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Date: 2021-09-21 06:45 pm (UTC)"People they should have been allies with, fighting together.." He shook his head and let go of Lily's hand to curl his fists into his pant legs as the embers of his earlier fury flared up again. He's had a lot of time to think about it, to grieve for the lives lost and ultimately settle on harsh judgment for the decision made.
"A coward's choice. Now this city is the last one left- what did he expect would happen? I want him to live long enough to see the battle start and understand that all he did was weaken Taravast by enforcing its isolation."
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Date: 2021-09-21 07:12 pm (UTC)Shaking her head in disbelief Lily frowned at El. "Do you think that's why Haltham was traveling with the caravan that met our group on the trail?"
It was a chilling thing to broach, but she had heard from some of those passengers that he had traveled with them, though had not heard anymore about him since their arrival in Taravast.
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 07:28 pm (UTC)"Wei Wuxian believes he's here somewhere. The way he described it sounded like a slow invasion of undead into the city, between the hunting grounds and necromantic district.. I always have my swords on me, but we'll have to be more watchful, I think."
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Date: 2021-09-21 07:41 pm (UTC)"I'll put wards up in here for you, every night. They won't stop anything from coming but they'll provide a little resistance." She had already been doing the same for her room every night. It made sense to do the same for El, he was, to her, incredibly important.
"If it's like the last time, where they swarmed us, at least this time we have somewhere almost nobody knows about to hide." Of course the place to hide was right in the necromantic part of town, but it had been left vacant for so long she still thought it stood a decent chance of being safe.
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