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.
Eleven watched her, guilt threading through his stomach to know he'd been the one to share this awful knowledge with her.
"You don't have to do that," he said, the protest ultimately half-hearted. It would help, but it didn't feel right to just accept. The place she had to hide in however, had been mentioned enough now that he couldn't help but be curious.
"I'm going to fight to protect this city if we're attacked, but maybe we could evacuate some people to that place you know of- the injured, maybe."
Though that made him think of that last time they'd found somewhere to hole up the injured and he'd looked after them rather than join the fight. Eleven's hands twisted together.
"Though I suppose if we don't have any other healers on hand.."
Wrinkling her nose, Lily looked at El incredulously. "Well I'm not a-bloody-bout to let a passel of shambling undead hurt the person I care about the most am I?" She knew his attempt to politely refuse was just him being himself, but, really. Whatever their relationship was at this point, she had no intention of letting him fend for himself.
"We've got Wen Qing, she's a doctor. I believe she'll help with the injured if it comes to that." Lily couldn't speak for her friend, but she felt sure that Wen Qing would be willing to assist their group.
"If Wei Wuxian knows they're drifting into the city, maybe we can find out to where, and strike first if it comes to it."
Eleven stared, heart stuttering in his chest. Of course, he knew she cared about him, but to hear it said like that, in those words, with such conviction let him forget for just a few moments about everything terrible that had plagued him since the previous night.
Levering himself to his feet, Eleven moved for her, reaching out to loop Lily into a loose embrace. He breathed an unsteady sigh.
"I want to hope it won't come to anything, but his warnings about the growing threat to the city seem dire.."
Though her thoughts had turned to the seriousness of their situation and how much they needed a plan if something terrible was on the horizon, El rising to wrap his arms around her provided a sense of grounding that she didn't know she needed.
Rocking forward on the balls of her feet to lean into him she let her arms settle around his shoulders, hugging him gently.
"If there's a threat then we'll meet it when it comes." What other choice did they have?
"We'll be as ready as we can be for it," Lily added with a firm nod before she kissed his cheek, her arms going a bit tighter around him. "Hug me properly you git, I've been picturing you in the castle dungeons for the better part of the day. I missed you."
Eleven smiled and did so, folding his arms around her with more certainty now that he knew his touch was welcome. The anxious edge in his chest softened to gratitude and warmth to feel her against him.
"I didn't mean to worry you," he said again, brushing his lips to her temple. The growing ease and normalcy of these simple, but precious gestures tugged at his heart. He shifted and breathed into her hair.
"But I suppose I've only managed more of that, now."
Closing her eyes she grinned and ducked her head down to hide it against his shoulder as he held her tighter, pushing the rest of everything out for as long as she could while she enjoyed the moment.
"You haven't," she began, voice muffled before she raised it and leaned back to look at him again. "We've always been in danger, I realized that within a minute of getting pulled into this world. It would be foolish to think that stopped the moment we reached a place like this."
Lily brushed a hand over his cheek, tilting her head to the city as she watched his face. "If anything you make everything feel a little less insurmountable."
Eleven looked at her, felt the tears gathering in his eyes. He'd finally stopped the intermittent bursts of emotional upheaval hours ago, but still the words touched deeper than he expected them to.
A flicker of light in the dark; hope and faith- however fragile- to hold against despair.
He took in a steadying breath and nodded, then leaned in for a short kiss.
"I'm glad. ..Thank you for being here. You've come to mean a lot to me."
She flushed hearing that she meant a good deal to him. It wasn't that she didn't know it, but listening to him tell her so made her heart flutter a bit. His presence was something of a tether in this otherwise mad existence they had both been forced to endure.
Opening her eyes again after he kissed her she shook her head lightly, touching his cheek, leaning in as he withdrew. "Wait," she murmured, quietly imploring, "come back."
Lily's thumb continued to brush over his cheek as she kissed him a second time. The first had been too quick for her liking.
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branchandroot
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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.
no subject
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."
no subject
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.
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 07:53 pm (UTC)"You don't have to do that," he said, the protest ultimately half-hearted. It would help, but it didn't feel right to just accept. The place she had to hide in however, had been mentioned enough now that he couldn't help but be curious.
"I'm going to fight to protect this city if we're attacked, but maybe we could evacuate some people to that place you know of- the injured, maybe."
Though that made him think of that last time they'd found somewhere to hole up the injured and he'd looked after them rather than join the fight. Eleven's hands twisted together.
"Though I suppose if we don't have any other healers on hand.."
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 08:05 pm (UTC)"We've got Wen Qing, she's a doctor. I believe she'll help with the injured if it comes to that." Lily couldn't speak for her friend, but she felt sure that Wen Qing would be willing to assist their group.
"If Wei Wuxian knows they're drifting into the city, maybe we can find out to where, and strike first if it comes to it."
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 08:33 pm (UTC)Levering himself to his feet, Eleven moved for her, reaching out to loop Lily into a loose embrace. He breathed an unsteady sigh.
"I want to hope it won't come to anything, but his warnings about the growing threat to the city seem dire.."
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 10:09 pm (UTC)Rocking forward on the balls of her feet to lean into him she let her arms settle around his shoulders, hugging him gently.
"If there's a threat then we'll meet it when it comes." What other choice did they have?
"We'll be as ready as we can be for it," Lily added with a firm nod before she kissed his cheek, her arms going a bit tighter around him. "Hug me properly you git, I've been picturing you in the castle dungeons for the better part of the day. I missed you."
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 10:30 pm (UTC)"I didn't mean to worry you," he said again, brushing his lips to her temple. The growing ease and normalcy of these simple, but precious gestures tugged at his heart. He shifted and breathed into her hair.
"But I suppose I've only managed more of that, now."
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 10:45 pm (UTC)"You haven't," she began, voice muffled before she raised it and leaned back to look at him again. "We've always been in danger, I realized that within a minute of getting pulled into this world. It would be foolish to think that stopped the moment we reached a place like this."
Lily brushed a hand over his cheek, tilting her head to the city as she watched his face. "If anything you make everything feel a little less insurmountable."
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 11:16 pm (UTC)A flicker of light in the dark; hope and faith- however fragile- to hold against despair.
He took in a steadying breath and nodded, then leaned in for a short kiss.
"I'm glad. ..Thank you for being here. You've come to mean a lot to me."
no subject
Date: 2021-09-21 11:31 pm (UTC)Opening her eyes again after he kissed her she shook her head lightly, touching his cheek, leaning in as he withdrew. "Wait," she murmured, quietly imploring, "come back."
Lily's thumb continued to brush over his cheek as she kissed him a second time. The first had been too quick for her liking.
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