Hadriel IC Inbox

[claritatis]

"You've reached Ignis Scientia. Leave a message and I will endeavour to get back to you post-haste."

Comments

action. post event.

[dedikated]

( She's still itching with the anger and adrenaline that brings, her body twitching restlessly every time her mind drifts back to the visions that plagued each of them. It's a constant battle to drag herself back to reality, back to a centre that's calm and at least capable of getting through the day without twitching.

She stops by the Speakeasy more, which is saying something, sometimes to drink, sometimes just to do something. Sometimes she doesn't even go in. Just stands outside and changes her mind.

Today, she leaves, but not empty-handed. A bottle of wine - or the closest thing Hadriel has - in her hand, meandering her way through town until she reaches Ignis' apartment.

(We'll just say she knows where he lives. It's a small city, after all.)

Knock, knock. )

Hey.

( It's a thank you, sort of. As well as a desire for company. )

You busy?

eeeeee

[claritatis]

[He doesn't think it too strange that she knows where he is. Ignis had chosen a small, single-roomed affair, keeping to himself for the most part, but he made no secret of its location.

Still, the knock comes as a surprise. At first he thinks it must be Noctis, or perhaps the king, but who he finds on his doorstep is none other than a face which is starting to become very familiar to him.]

Not at all. [Ignis says, gently nudging his spectacles up with one finger.] I was doing a little light reading, though I can't say much for the literature selection in the building attempting to pass for a library.

[Yes, he is as sour about that as he sounds.]

Is something amiss?

text; threadjackable to eddie lbr

[trashmouths]

you know how you said you need to trust your instincts about whos gonna protect you

text;

[claritatis]

I do.
Are you both alright?

text;

[multivitamins]

what are your thoughts on gazebos?

text;

[claritatis]

Excellent at garden parties until the wind picks up. Why do you ask?

text.

[dedikated]

Got to look into making moving targets one day.

( Good morning, Ignis. )

text.

[claritatis]

Good morning to you, too.

audio. just spams ur inbox.

[dedikated]

( She can do nothing when the SOS goes out but watch helplessly. Watch a friend be killed before her eyes by a god she liked, trusted - as clearly misguided as that was. The feeling hangs low and heavy on her shoulders, down her spine as she contacts Curufin and Nick. She knows where Glacius is, knows he'll be keeping tabs on Carlisle's location as swiftly as she's trying to organise this entire clusterfuck into something that keeps the clinic alive and safe and functioning.

But there are others she doesn't know the location of. Friends she wants to know are safe.

So, before she turns to the staff at large and tries to get things sorted, Kate dips further into the building and makes at least one more phone call.

Sure, she could just use the GPS, but-

She'd rather hear it from the Parakeet's mouth, so to speak. )

C'mon...

( Phones always take so long to dial, don't they? Especially when you want them to hurry up most. )

Where are you?

( Yeah. No hello. She's not good at that at the best of times, let alone when her voice is tinged with urgency that can't be held back.

For the love of gods she doesn't believe in, please be alright. )

[claritatis]

[Ignis answers almost immediately, sounding slightly out of breath and certainly running. It's noisy where he is, but it's noisy everywhere right now.

He saw the transmission, too.]

Hope's temple.

[Short, sweet. He almost hangs up right there and then.]

text;

[multivitamins]

are you still alive????

text;

[claritatis]

I am. How are you faring?

WELL THEN. let's say the 16th or something bc yolo.

[dedikated]

( When it rains, it pours. The city, which so often feels entirely lacking of anything to do, is now filled with nothing but. A new planet to adjust to. The strange experience of two suns and barely any night. The clinic and guard HQs being rebuilt while they do without far too many things.

It's a good thing, in a way, that the pools are tainted with pieces of the gods. Drinking from the right (read: positive) water sources is all that keeps Kate from bristling at everything. Delight's betrayal. The attack on the city. Her total lack of powers. Today - about an hour after she gives up trying to move bits of debris from the new clinic building, when there's only the light of the smaller sun in the sky - there's a flood of warmth running through her that has little to do with the constant heat and more to do with the water she drank yesterday. An uncomfortably pleasant fuzziness which serves to remind her why they're taking the time and energy in this climate, with so much of their resources depleted, to continue rebuilding. Because the people of this city deserve it.

Although, that's really besides the point of why she's making her way up to a flat she now spends too much time visiting. For once, this visit doesn't involve Kate holding a bottle of wine. Rather, there's a familiar jacket tossed over one of her shoulders - one that's far too many inches long for her - that she's been intending to return, but, well...

Hadriel will do as Hadriel does, and make it all too difficult to return things promptly.

Knock knock, parakeet. )

You in?

YOLO

[claritatis]

[Once they were finally deemed safe from the Null - as safe as Hadriel ever gets - Ignis had found his way back to his apartment and immediately, stubbornly slept for well over twelve hours. After that, he had cleaned himself off, changed his clothes, and put his living space back to rights. After checking up on the boys (and the extra children they seemed to have picked up along the way), everything had begun to feel just that little bit more normal...

Until he takes a look out of the window, at least.

The sky is jarring, and not because it's entirely alien, but because it's there at all. After so many months of seeing nothing but rock when he looked up, it's a novel thing to see a real sun and a real sky.

He's at the window when he hears the knock, and the voice, and he moves across the room far, far more swiftly than he intends to. Much like Kate, he's been trying to keep to the more positively charged waters of the place (no one needs to see him angry), but the side-effects have been... interesting, to say the least.]

I am. [Comes the reply as he unlocks the door, a small smile on his lips as he opens it.] It's good to see you.

text;

[multivitamins]

do you have an umbrella?

text;

[claritatis]

I don't. Why do you ask?

text. Yolo.

[dedikated]

your kids are protective.

You know there's photos of us?

( Us. That's still weird to think. )

text;

[claritatis]

I am aware of a photograph.

text

[stantheman]

I think Eddie probably said weird things to kate about you.

But Richie was probably weird and inappropriate.

I try to keep them on a leash but...

Should I bribe someone to prank them?

text

[claritatis]

I think we might be able to come up with something between ourselves, don't you, Mr Uris?

text.

[jocoeur]

Ignis—

I thought you might be interested to know that I managed to find some coffee beans while I was scavenging after the move. They're not in the best of shape but... I thought if anyone would be willing to try them with me, it would be you.

text.

[claritatis]

I'm most certainly interested, though I'm not going to hold my breath in regards to the quality.

Voice; after Kate's network post

[knifecollecting]

Hey, so, you good to your girlfriends?

[claritatis]

[Oh. This again.

His response is cool - not quite chilly, but almost.]

I don't believe that's anyone's business to ask, save one.

text / 15th, evening.

[dedikated]

You alright?

( She's reasonably sure he's been sensible enough to, you know, not go out in this. But still. )

[claritatis]

I'm fine. I managed to save my glasses from being sandblasted, but I'm afraid things have been a little unfocused since.

I'm sure it will pass.

Are you?

action. it wasn't really a question tho was it.

[dedikated]

( Good morning, world. Murderdesert. Whatever this planet is actually called. It's soon after sunrise, sunlight flooding the bedroom with warmth and Kate stretching out, arms raising over her head as she yawns and looks out the window.

For months, she'd hoped to see a real sun again, and now that she does, the night is too short even for her to catch the sunrise.

But it could be worse. Her hand finds the chest of the man lying next to her and Kate feels a smile tug the corners of her mouth as she sits up, pushing loose hair away from her face as she looks over. )

You up?

nnnnope

[claritatis]

[The room grows warm long before they wake up, and Ignis is unfairly comfortable but stirs immediately under the touch of her hand. He opens one eye to look at her, followed by the other, punctuated finally with a sigh.

There are certainly worse ways to wake up.]

Morning.

[His smile mirrors hers, and he looks at her for a moment before he props himself up on his elbows.]

Did you sleep well?

7/2 text;

[nascere]

Uh, Iggy?

You know how you're not supposed to put water on an oil fire?

[claritatis]

[Oh, Gods, what did you do.]

Schoolboy knowledge, Noctis, why do you ask?

action. you know what this is.

[dedikated]

( She may have - may have, though Kate would object to the idea - drank a smidgen too much when out with Henry.

Pride was at stake. Surely Ignis can understand that. And therefore forgive the late night knock on his door that follows a few moments of attempted and failed use of her own key, as though she was sure this was just her own place for a moment. )

Hey- Lemme in.

[claritatis]

[Naturally, Ignis understands pride. He also saw Henry's announcement, which is why it isn't entirely unsurprising when he opens the door to find her standing there utterly inebriated.]

And I'd taken Henry for a gentleman. [He says, clearly amused by the state of her.]

Which of you slipped under the table first?

audio; backdated to the 1st

[hotspurred]

[The background bustle of the Speakeasy can be heard for a brief moment before, somewhat suspiciously slurred and with a broken cadence, Henry speaks up.]

You ought... to pick up Kate.

[claritatis]

[It takes him a moment, disturbed from being half asleep, and he has to shift to check that said woman is actually where he left her before he answers.]

... Henry? She's already here.

[audio]

[tongueamok]

Where is she?

[He's seen the news today, oh boy.]

[audio]

[claritatis]

I'm not Kate's keeper, Carlisle. I assume she's at the clinic, but you'd be better off asking her yourself.

text.

[dedikated]

Got plans for lunch?

text.

[claritatis]

I'd planned to be eating, at the very least.

i'm not sure we have *enough* threads... but you know what this is.

[dedikated]

( Blankets end up halfway to her ankles when the sun starts to rise and heat soaks through the small studio house, the freezing night easily forgotten as morning begins to peek into the city. Something like morning, anyway. Hard to really consider any of it morning when the darkest hours are gone in the blink of an eye.

She doesn't feel the gut-twist of guilt right away, not while pressing fingers into the corners of her eyes to pull away sleep, too busy stirring to realise that something is off. Kate pushes hair that's fallen loose from her forehead and opens her eyes-

And that's when the ache comes. It knots her insides up with the same intensity those words said last month did, her head echoing with a song and dance it's used many a time, though never before in this context. How she hasn't said anything, that she should for once, rather than holding everything in and hoping that it's obvious. How after ten years she still hasn't made up for never saying it to her brother when she should have.

Should have seems to come up a lot in her life. Should have said more, sooner, done more. All these things she can't change which prick back at her stomach in a way she'd suppress by staying busy. It comes framed with the knowledge that there are these things here and now where she can avoid the should haves and the regret, with just a few little things.

But Ignis is still asleep and his breathing is still and even, so, for now, Kate shifts a little closer and curls her arm around his waist, saying nothing. )

[claritatis]

[He sleeps easily beside her, and in the doing so he too misses the initial twinges of guilt that wash over the city. The touch to his waist stirs him slightly, the softest sigh passing his lips as he reaches for her in return without fully waking.

Despite the warmth in the room he draws her close to him, the contact of her skin drawing him further into wakefulness.

It's then that it hits him, stirring like the last dregs of a nightmare that follow when you open your eyes to twist your stomach and the middle of your chest. It impacts sharply enough for him to not so much still as stiffen, and his barely conscious mind is only just prepared for the way that his thoughts suddenly race.

What cuts the deepest is only to be expected of him.

Naturally, it's Noctis.

His awareness of the future while he's been here has always been more of a burden than a blessing, but it has never hurt more than in these moments. There's so much that the young king will have to suffer, so much that Ignis will not be able to save him from despite how he will try. Knowing it's destined does not help matters when the world means nothing to him if Noctis isn't in it.

But here, with the woman he loves so much that it's almost an ache, there's something else. Things he has wondered if he should tell her, but hasn't only to save her from worrying about things that she may never have to deal with.

Ignis presses a kiss into Kate's hair, barely moving save for the motion taken to slide his arm around her.]

text;

[nascere]

ig,;

text;

[claritatis]

Yes?

[Text] /backdated to after Kate's post

[lifetothefullest]

Hello Ignis; I don't think we've met, but I'm Lance. Kate asked me to contact you regarding coordinating the use of the guard headquarters as a temporary clinic location for anyone on the north island.

[claritatis]

You are correct, we haven't met.

[Not that he isn't aware of the man. Ignis' lack of posting to the network in any great volume speaks nothing of how often he glances at it.]

That is a prudent suggestion. Would you prefer to discuss this in person? I assume you're located on the same island.

text; 4am

[dedikated]

You up?

[claritatis]

I am now.

action, you know what this is.

[dedikated]

( In all honesty, Kate doesn't really need the key. The locks in Hadriel aren't exactly high class security, a hairpin would probably suffice to pick them. But it prevents her squatting down for minutes, fiddling with the lock. So she isn't going to complain; it makes this easier. And right now? The easier things are, the better. Lord only knows they've had enough challenges in this city - isn't it time to have some fun?

It is for Kate, at least. And with the flat blissfully empty, she tosses her coat over a chair and struts her way to Ignis' bedroom. It doesn't matter if he's in there or not; it might even be better that he isn't, giving her time to unwrap the fabric from around her hands, to perch herself on the bed and admire the fact that even Hadriel occasionally manages to get it right and provide lingerie that's more attractive than it is practical. Practical is nice and all, but it doesn't hug the lines and curves of her body in quite the same way.

It feels good, one of the many forgotten indulgences of back home, and her fingers slip under the band of her bra as she lies back on the bed, hair fanning out in a curtain beneath her, the makeshift restraints in a careless pile by her hip.

He better not take too long. She didn't come here to be bored and wait, after all. )

[claritatis]

[She is lucky that she found the place empty, and that it isn't the wrong occupant walking in when someone does return. While unintentionally, Ignis doesn't keep her waiting too long and the sound of a key in the door can be heard not more than ten minutes after Kate lets herself in.

There's the distant sound of him calling for Noctis, first, checking if he's there or not, getting silence for an answer. It doesn't settle him, though - the sensation of knowing that someone is there itches at him - and he finds his way to the bedroom in short order.]

... Ah. [It isn't a displeased sound, but certainly a surprised one, given along with a small smile as he very deliberately shuts the door behind him and leans against it.]

It appears that someone left me a gift. How thoughtful.

action; u rang?

[dedikated]

( There are more mornings than not where Kate wakes up first, even if she no longer uses that time to sit and watch the sun rise from the rooftops. It's a lifelong habit, but this world is almost perpetually overcast (says the chick who grew up in north west England but okay) and it becomes more and more pointless when there are other things to hold her attention.

Other things that make the day start better, which relax her and make mornings pleasant without having to climb onto the roof. And said person happens to be in bed with her right now.

Brown eyes linger on the back of his head for a moment, drift down to the languid rise and fall of his chest under the blankets, and the hand gently wrapped around his wrist shifts until her arm curls around his waist. It's early, but not so early that he should still be sleeping, in Kate's opinion, so she presses a kiss to his shoulder, a quick peck of lips as her fingers drift idly against his stomach. )

weh

[claritatis]

[If he doesn't wake up before her, it will often be not long after, but the touch of her lips to his shoulder finds him fully asleep and draws him slowly towards wakefulness, a soft sigh escaping him.

It's a good way to wake up.

Morning spent waking up alone, making a coffee and breakfast and leaving the apartment within an hour are a thing firmly in the past, because why would he ever want to rush when he has someone like her in bed beside him?]

--Hm. [Ignis murmurs, shifting slightly under the skimming touch of her fingers and turning towards her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.]

Were you getting lonely?