END GAME: THE COUNTDOWN STARTS

[sailmods]

[the prisoners wake up on cold, hard floors.

the lights are bright, glaring, a sterile cell with sterile bars facing a sterile hall. the prisoners with you, across from you, and no one else. no rocking of a ship in waves, nothing. just the prisoner and their prison.

time passes, one assumes. the rhythmic click of Friday’s heels down the hall. it’s almost like the ticking of a clock.]

Comments

[kingoftheanthill]

[ Victor's attention, which is flighty at the best of times and only more so when he's sending brain cells marching off in opposite directions, is captured instantly. ]

Hey!!!

[ Okay he doesn't remember Gwen's name but he's pleased as punch to see her. ]

How are you! How have your hormones been doing?

[saltwaterlungs]

"NYEH-"

EW EW EW EW COUGAR SPIT COUGAR SPIT AND A TONGUE LIKE FUCKING SANDPAPER-

"HE ASKED YOU TO LICK ME??"

[redlightgreenlight]

A gun. That could be useful. Valdis knows how to use more than just a sword when it comes to weapons. After all, Revelations isn't very useful in a city.

"Good. That gives us somewhere to start arming ourselves when we get out." She falls silent, wishing she could see Max. He's probably worried about all of them, but she can't put energy into that now. If only Siffleur had thumbs.

"If I heard that Friday is the one who controls our powers, not the Captain. If we can free Friday, or convince her to unlock at least a few powers, we might have a chance. Skulduggery or Ava might have a better idea of if I remember correctly. There's also Jenny. She loves Friday and she might help us free her."

[teethoftherisk]

"He asked me to give you a kiss on the forehead, or 'whatever cats do'." Siffleur's cheeks form a perfect :3 in this moment. "This is what cats do."

[yournewsidekick]

She sniffles, casting another look around just to make sure she's got everybody.

"Um -- Maxwell the fancy guy with fangs, the serial killer guy I don't know, Gwen, and Darcy. Plus I think Fever's next to me? And I can't see Maxwell's boyfriend but he's okay too. So's Dimitri. What about you?"

[thismaskismybadge]

[ Whatever remains of Gwen's composure takes another heavy hit, to the point she actually has to lie down to be able to breathe through the second wave of laughter.

She rolls onto her side to address Victor, though, ] Hiii, Victor, um— yeah, no, they're good! My hormones are doing great.

[yourexoduslaughing]

oh my god she would have biffed it even harder than Crichton, but like, it was hers to biff, y'know? she did the work, she should have gotten to see the consequences. she probably would have started fighting with whatsherface about how like, she was breaking tradeliner promises and how could she do this... y'know, it just would have been so Tayrey.

[saltwaterlungs]

[ Just incoherent with laughter at this trans-affirming ant. ]

[kingoftheanthill]

If ants can visibly glow with pride, then that's what Victor does.

"Man is good! I like man!"

[saltwaterlungs]

Darcy has just gone red from both the message from Helena and also the knowledge now that Phil was trying to be fatherly and comforting and oh God can the floor just open up for a minute so he can be Not Witnessed.

"Tell him-" clears his throat and lowers his voice substantially as to avoid being teased about this whole fucking thing, "tell him he can do it himself later when we're out."

...

"Not the forehead licking. Be clear about that."

[yournewsidekick]

"Siffleur -- "

Nimona's voice cracks into a sob before she can stop it. She shoves herself right against the bars in kind. He's alive, he's okay enough to be moving around, he's not even in a cell; that's something, at least. More than something.

"Are you stuck too? How'd you get out?"

[teethoftherisk]

"I spoke to Friday - she's why I'm out. I told her to save herself, no matter how long it takes. It made her upset and she left and didn't come back. But the bars could bend... We have to free Friday, no matter what. She deserves to make a choice." She deserves to choose what she wants to be, where she wants to be.

There's a pause from Siffleur and his tail swishes a few times. "... does she love Friday? She left the ship knowing Friday couldn't follow. She took her brothers, but her brothers might be here under Malin's control. Does Jenny love anyone who isn't herself? We need all the help we can get but..."

[teethoftherisk]

Siffleur chuckles softly, keeping his own voice low. "I'll tell him."

Then, teasing just slightly- "Would you like me to give him a kiss from you too?"

[teethoftherisk]

He presses the wet nose against her forehead, giving the top of her head a few licks.

"Yes, I'm in one shape too. I spoke to Friday, she listened even though she hated to, and she ran off after I told her to save herself. But the bars were weaker when she left, so I know she did that for me."

He gives Nimona's a tug but they're the same as Siffleur's were before - stiff and unbending.

[saltwaterlungs]

"Only in revenge."

...

"Oh right- can you keep an eye out for Bahamuel and Yamaha and the rest?"

[yournewsidekick]

"BUT I CALLED DIBS THOUGH!" she hollers, and futilely tries to cram her hand through the bars to snatch the feather. "FLAN CAN BORROW IT LATER!! I PROMISE I'LL STAB A TON OF PEOPLE WITH IT!!!"

Flan would totally approve, Victor, c'mon!

[goodweather]

[ Phil blinks, looks around for someone that he might have missed was there at all, then up, then down, and spots the ants. The gears in his head slowly manage to switch onto to functional thinking instead of keeping the proverbial record on "Relieve Stress In The Worst Way Possible RIGHT FUCKING NOW," and while he's already sitting, Phil crouches down so very close to the floor even though he's so farsighted he can't see jack shit starting about two feet from his own face.

There's only two people who might have named themselves like that and have a message for him specifically, and the other wouldn't have used the word "pirate" for herself. ]

Wh... d... did they... [ Phil wipes at his face, oops he's just gonna ignore the blood ] Did... what did they say?

[teethoftherisk]

He chuckles. Phil's about to get a very wet kiss from a cougar.

"Yes, I can. So far, it is just the passengers in the cells, and it appears that Flan and April's artifact storage is here. I haven't gone further than the corridor." He sits, tail wrapped around himself. "... if there's any puzzles, I'm going to do very badly on them."

[kingoftheanthill]

[ This collection of cells is a prime destination for a bunch of ants with messages to send and Flans to check on. ]

Oh! Skeleton!

[ Victor was supposed to find a skeleton... why was he supposed to find a skeleton... RIGHT! ]

You know, uhh, um, Captain Solid Pirate Shark Eater, yeah? They sent a message! I'm helping people by sending messages.

[saltwaterlungs]

"That's why you have the rest of us. I'm not good at them either, but we can work with the people who are good at them to work them out."

Tries carefully to stick some finger out through the bars for him to scritch against, "artifact storage is a good start. Finding Sparkles should also be a priority, but helping us get all on the same page is really important too. Thanks for this."

[kingoftheanthill]

That's great! [ They're laughing? Victor starts laughing too, but in that 'I don't know what we're laughing at I just want to be included' sort of way. ]

[hadnoright]

Across the way, Daisy perks up visibly at the mention of artefact storage and raps her knuckles against her own bars. "Hey. Did you just say artefact storage is still there? Did it look intact?"

[not here]

[prince_of_beasts]

Maybe he finally is a decent Spring after all.

Several cells down, Dimitri feels suddenly vindicated, and doesn't know why.

cw: references to self harm likely to continue

[hadnoright]

Daisy jerks like a startled dog, sharply enough that another jolt of pain makes her hiss through her teeth before her claws withdraw. The scent of iron hangs in the air around her and the dull, throbbing pain beneath it doesn't fade like it used to. In some ways that's better. In most ways it's probably worse.

"M— Max?" comes out half relieved to see him, half surprised and confused by that tone coming from Max.

[teethoftherisk]

Siffleur rubs up against Darcy's fingers, glad for the scratches. It's helping keep himself calm, and he has to be very calm here. "It's what I can do."

He gives Daisy a friendly chuff. "Yes, it looked intact. There are shelves and boxes, and there's a pitchfork against one of the walls. I asked Flan, and she said there should be other items in the boxes like a gun and poison and some magic potions."