combat the wyrm wherever it dwells

[unwiseheart]

WHO: Nicolas + you.
WHERE: Jail, other various places.
WHEN: Late May, after his arrest for this mess.
WHAT: Arrested and sentenced and now publicly outed as a murderous werewolf, it's time to deal with the outcome of what he's done. This is a catch-all for the rest of May. Jail prompt is wide open to all, add your own or hit me up for additional set-ups.
WARNINGS: Yelling, probably.

Comments

in jail in heropa, open.

[unwiseheart]

[ It's only a few days that they'll keep him here, in a cell set up specifically to dampen the powers of the imPorts that may come through here, both for a few nights inside the cell as well as those visiting. It's still local, at least, so Nicolas will take that as heartening that no one's wanted to transport him somewhere more secure. For now, he just hopes his Registered status will net him the eerily light sentencing that tends to get thrown at people around here. Not that he would agree he deserved a light sentencing, but it isn't as though he'll disagree with it, either.

But until then, he waits, not entirely uninjured (thanks for the fire, Sabriel), but at least patched up. He looks like he could use a several days of sleep and a good meal under his belt, as well, neither of which he's getting in a jail cell.

If anyone asks the officer on duty (as visitors certainly won't be unaccompanied), he's been awfully quiet the entire time he's been in here. ]

[bonely]

[ All his (limited circle of) friends sure are getting themselves into trouble these past few weeks. (He hasn't even worked up the courage to talk to Sasaki yet, not when he's denying so vehemently he's Kaneki. He's afraid of what it might come to.)

He clunks into the visitor's area, a little more clumsily than usual, but since he's wearing his cloak as usual it's hard to tell what's wrong. ]

...You look bad. [ Thanks, Skullman. But it's born out of concern. ] Aren't they feeding you?

[unwiseheart]

[ Now here's an unexpected visitor. He was anticipating those who might feel the need to yell at him for this, but instead, it's Skullman who turns up first. There's something of a relief to that, that the robot even feels like he should pay Nicolas a visit.

He sits up a little straighter from his as comfortable as can be spot against the cell wall, though only to offer a shrug. ]

I think you almost look as bad as I do. [ Something seems off about his friend, since he can at least spot the clumsiness. ] But they are. Most of how I look, that's my own fault.

[bonely]

[ Skullman won't judge. He doesn't know much about all of this. ]

Maybe. [ He feels groggy, but that's just something he's gotten used to. He tried to fix himself up as best he can, at least. ]

What happened? [ There's no judgement in his voice, only curiosity. ]

[unwiseheart]

I was trying to clean up someone else's mess. The someone took offense.

[ Technically murder, although when you get down to it, they'd already been dead, so to speak. ]

Your turn. Are you alright?

[ So he's stuck in jail for the moment. That doesn't stop him from wondering about his friends, especially one he does not see all that often. ]

[rathercommon]

[ Kitty's not so stupid as to blame herself. No, the blame's on Nicolas for this one, firmly. But at the same time...Could she have done something? She'd said to Gregor, rather idly, even thinking to herself that she was being overdramatic in service of arguing her point, that Nic's rhetoric could conceivably lead to violence. But she'd never thought that...it would. It's true that Nic isn't a nonviolent person. Obviously. But he's someone she trusted. He helped her during that fight against the Cain Cabal, when she'd been wounded near fatally. She'd taken another knife in the chest, only a few months later, this time without any borrowed powers, and she'd died hoping that he'd be safe. She'd thought he was a friend. She had.

But...Apparently, she'd hardly known anything about him, hadn't she?

She comes into the cell and sits down opposite him, crossing her legs at the ankles, folding her hands on her knees. She doesn't know what she's going to say to him. She doesn't know what to say to him. She can't demand to know why he did it, because she does know, after a fashion. She can't act like a wronged party, because she wasn't wronged in any way; it wasn't about her. And she doesn't know if she's equal to extending sympathy, because she is furious and miserable; she wants to cry and reach into that jail cell and tear him apart and just curl up miserably in a corner and never move again.

When she speaks, it's quiet. ]

I suppose you'll just go on probation for this.

[unwiseheart]

[ Quiet is worse than loud. At least being yelled at, that was something Nicolas would have been fine with. He's sat by through the triads of far more dangerous people, without even the safety of bars between him and them, but it's when they're quiet, quiet at him, that's when it's the worst. At least with loud, you know someone's angry. It's easier to guess what they might do.

With this, all he can do is look his typical level of uncomfortable, then try dissemble into something more neutral, something that doesn't really give away what's on his mind. Withdrawing seems the best option in the face of Kitty Jones.

He won't bother to move much from where he sits in the cell, a spot on the bed against the wall. He'd rather not aggravate anything, treated or not. ]

I suppose so. That seems what they do no matter how heinous the crime, isn't it?

[rathercommon]

And what'll you do after?

[ She pushes her thumbs together in her lap, then flexes her fingers, watching as the tendons stand out against the thin skin of her hands and wrists. She can't meet his eyes. Shame, she supposes, just as much as disapproval. Both of them twisting together in discomfort and misery. ]

After the probation's through. Will you go back to it? Kill again?

[unwiseheart]

[ Will he? There were still two more out there, somewhere. Moved, if his network stalking is telling the truth. Overall, given enough time and effort, he could track them down. He could finish it. He might even do that. What he won't do is say as much, right here, right now, where cops are lingering nearby. ]

And do what they'll be expecting me to? [ He won't answer directly, but unwilling to commit to a yes or a no, and while she may not be able to look at him, he's certainly watching her. ] Why did you come here, Kitty? Expecting some kind of apology?

[ringen]

[ The tall, quiet Russian turns out to have a rampaging, violent streak.

Where has Gaby heard that story before?

Having only been back for barely a week, Gaby finds herself at a bit of a loss, quite frankly. When she'd left, she had just barely returned from being kidnapped by the Soviets. It still feels like yesterday, to her. Being held captive by the Vinciguerra still feels like yesterday to her, too. And then an innocuous dinner with a friend turned out to be--what, a break between killing sprees?

Gaby Teller has had quite enough.

And yet here she is, coming to visit him in prison. Heels clack against the cold, hard floors, as usual, hands stuffed into the pockets of her coat, balled into fists. Her sunglasses stay on if only because she doesn't want the guards or Nicolas to see how upset she might get. Maybe she's looking to understand why he did what he did--maybe she's just always angry. Maybe it's a bit of both. When she and her escort reach the cell, she lingers on the outside for a moment, just looking through and at him. He doesn't look good. Her shoulders rise and fall with a sigh, and she speaks out, ]

I didn't realize you were such a troublemaker.

[unwiseheart]

[ He's sure she'll slowly take the sunglasses off at some point where it's dramatic enough to do so, if he runs by Bond movie logic. Of course, this isn't actually a Bond movie and, being Russian, if it were, he was liable to be the villain. Was he the villain? He supposes it would vary, depending on who's asked, but he also knew he wouldn't care one way or the other.

Nicolas only looks up when she speaks, having held off on it even when the click of the heels betrayed who was paying him a visit this time. He'll try his best to summon up a rueful smirk for her, but it's a half-hearted effort at best. ]

It's a problem I'm very good at keeping to myself, usually.

[ringen]

[ What if she just never took them off, huh? What then?

In any case, it doesn't make Gaby happy to see him so worse for the wear, even though she's upset with him. Eyes still hidden behind lenses, her lips draw into a thin line, into a frown, before she finally steps into the cell as the door opens for her. She feels an odd sensation of something, like she's grown a little weaker, but she pays it no mind for now. ]

And what changed? You decided you couldn't keep it to yourself anymore?

[infomodder]

[Will comes bearing food. A protein-packed salad in a Tupperware dish larger than most goldfish bowls, baby spinach and tomatoes, four boiled eggs sliced up and scattered throughout, grilled chicken, chunks of cheese, nuts, the works. Only it gets taken before he's led to Nicolas because of course it does, they have to make sure there's no SURPRISES hidden inside all that yum. So it's just Will, plaid-clad like usual, carrying a shitty metal fold out chair he spreads open and takes a seat on.]

Brought you something to eat. Guards gotta toss it first [haha!! tossed salad, classic] but you'll get it after. Nothing's in there but what's supposed to be.

[Because just saying "hi" isn't in the cards. Will spent enough time in prison to know that. No one ever came by just to say "hi" back in Baltimore. There was always an agenda, kind or vicious.]

[unwiseheart]

You actually brought something...

[ Nicolas says it in a way that sounds like he's finding it hard to believe. That someone would bring food into a place like this, that the police would actually search it and allow it after. Was that normal? Was it another aspect of how strangely lenient they were with the imPorts? ]

[infomodder]

I know how bad food can be when you're locked up. Makes frostbitten microwave dinners look like delicacies by comparison.

[Not quite. Will's Registered. For a time, he served as a liaison between imPorts and local police after going through an awful lot of low level testing to prove he might have been out of the business but he wasn't rusty. He spoke about Crane at his RISE tribunal. Would Will uses every means of sway he had to see to it the guy who busted up his shop got something other than stale toast, burned oatmeal, questionable eggs, and tinny canned fruits? Goddamnit right.]

Who'd you murder?

[Asked with the same steady calm when used asking about, oh, say...the weather.]

[dendarii]

[ At some point, a familiar, tiny figure makes his way in to see Nicolas. He attempts to wave off any guards - and did not come with a bodyguard, in fact, although surely someone in his link network has already sent Tex if she isn't on her way already. But for a few minutes, at least, it's just the two of them.

He regards Nicolas silently, somewhere between disapproving and sympathetic. ]

Is this why you suddenly dropped off the radar, Nicolas?

[unwiseheart]

[ And Nicolas will watch him in silence in return, up until he asks that. He'd been wondering if anyone from the Dendarii might make an appearance, or if Kitty had been the one who drew the short straw. ]

Yeah... It is. [ What else can he say? Apologize for the abruptness? For dropping his case's findings in his lap and going missing? No, how about-- ] Your idea to ask Kitty about the case was a terrible suggestion, by the way.

[ There we go. That one's been in the back of his mind the whole time this mess was playing out. ]

[dendarii]

[ Technically, Miles is the first member of the Dendarii to show up. Given that Kitty isn't technically a member.

Miles' eyebrows go up rather firmly at that. ]

Oh? How so?

[vorbarra]

[ This actually is far from the first time Gregor's visited someone in prison. Occasionally there's a high up enough official that commits a serious enough crime that he expects a personal explanation from them, and anyone not an outright dog by Barrayaran standards explains themselves precipitously to the Emperor, however intractable they are in front of a court, of peers or of the military.

So he doesn't look all that ruffled as he politely and inscrutably asks the personnel attending to escort him to Nicolas's cell, back straight, decidedly reserving judgement until he has a chance to get the story from Nicolas himself. It isn't his first time at this part either.

He glances over Nicolas when he sees him, taking in how haggard and bandaged he is, but ultimately only offers in greeting a mild, ] I appreciate you leaving the Lucky Cat untouched in the property damage.

[unwiseheart]

[ Nicolas supposes this tops off the parade of friends who've decided to drop by the cell, one by one, during those handful of days they meant to keep him there. In the presence of an emperor, he should probably sit up straighter, maybe even stand, but he makes a point to remind himself that Gregor isn't his lord.

Still, the look he returns is a guarded one, wary. He's not actually sure how this one will go. ]

Was that on the same street? [ He hadn't noticed. He hadn't noticed a lot during that little episode. ] At least that turned out alright, then...

[ Will Graham's bait shop might disagree, but oh well. ]

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor isn't expecting deference, in any case. But where normally he's fairly relaxed and casual around Nicolas by now, at this moment he's absolutely inscrutable, much more the Emperor than Nicolas normally sees him. ]

It was nearby. I admit when you said you had a temper problem, I wasn't expecting it to be on the scale of whole street blocks.

[instars]

[She arrives a bit before visiting hours are up; her heels are a dead giveaway. She doesn't like it in here. The power dampeners make it so she has to think, very carefully, about every step she takes. Her heels are almost never a liability.

She doesn't wobble, though. She keeps her hands at her side. Her spider returned to her after the fight, and she's still not sure about the wisdom of this.

And yet.]

Nicolas.

[unwiseheart]

[ Actually, he suddenly has to wonder if Gaby is coming back again, for whatever odd reason. Nicolas didn't think Saya would risk visiting him somewhere that it can be noted down and watched, so when it turns out to be her, he gives her a mildly puzzled look. ]

Saya?

[instars]

[She looks at him blankly, and then she says something.

In Oshiwambo.

She hasn't spoken it since childhood, really, but it's not exactly a common language anywhere, so it's probably safe enough.

She switches to English quickly enough though.]

Do you want me to check in on your apartment?

[What she really wants to know: how is he doing here, in this prison.]

[unwiseheart]

[ His apartment?

He returns the blank look for a second or two, puzzling over her question. Does he want her in his apartment? She knows he doesn't, so why ask? That's-- ah. ]

I would not mind if you took in the mail, at least.

[ He's fine. Mostly. ]