[CLOSED] This time she TOTALLY has the right culprit!

[myagic]

Who: Rita, Jade, & Clarke (for now, may add more)
When: ~Oct 21, immediately following this
Where: Starting in 110, continuing ???
What: Rita is ready to warn her friends who killed her, and fight back. Too bad she was hypnotized into remembering the wrong person as the culprit!
Warnings: Death, brainwashing, violence?? Will add as needed

[Immediately after "waking", Rita scrambles about her cluttered room for a moment to locate her phone, then sends off some urgent text messages, just in case she can't reach her friends in time. For now, she sends it to Natsuno and Jade--they both need to know, and can pass it on to more people-]

i'm back
it was clarke, possessed
you better be ok

[She needs to know they're okay, that they haven't been hurt--she has no idea how long it was before she revived, and who knows what could've happened since then, and oh is she so furious at how that possessed thing in Clarke's body toyed with her--so she pauses only long enough to actually grab a couple proper weapons this time (for her, that would be a whip and a magic tome) before she rushes for the hallway-

Oh, her door was just...propped up against the frame? Well, whatever, not important! She gives it a good shove, and it falls to the floor with a resounding thud. And Rita dashes out into the corridor, still wearing the bloodstained clothes she died in, when she runs face-first into someone-]

Ow, move i--Jade?!

Comments

[fonomena]

[It's the third day since Rita died.

Which means, ostensibly, that she should be revived by now. If the captain's mood in this delay has at least remained consistent, throughout the month...there have been a few more deaths and returns since Natsuno at the beginning, at least, and so the possibility is now stronger. Still, Natsuno never had been brought back to cabin 109 either--and in the end Jade never had quite confirmed whether that was a previous arrangement he made with Friday, or another new norm in the face of Friday being quite clearly stretched thin trying to manage the ship...

It does bring up the dilemma of whether to check the morgue or Rita's room first, either way. Jade has been occupying cabin 109 decidedly less frequently, of late, and this particular morning follows another more or less sleepless night; in the end Jade decides to check on cabin 110 first, but it means he's coming over from a deck above the cabin hall. In the end, Natsuno beats him to 110, and has left from the opposite end of the hall by the time Jade himself arrives--and so he's none the wiser to the fact that Rita's already had one visitor this morning. But...

Strides wide as he approaches her cabin--it's startling, to say the least, when he reaches the doorway just in time for Rita herself to come bursting out. She collides rather solidly into him, a flurry of movement and bloody clothes and a pained yelp--and Jade, staggering a step back, takes one split second to resist the knee-jerk urge to summon his spear--borne by thoroughly worn nerves, by now--before...recognition registers, and the instinct morphs into grabbing hold of Rita's shoulders instead, steadying her before she falls.]

Rita-- [Sharply, already looking her over for any changes, the strange twisting pang of relief in his chest at seeing her still overlaid by...really, a muddle of other things. But she's clearly quite agitated, and he could take a few guesses why, and that needs address first and foremost--] Hold, where are you going?

[Her text message went out about a minute ago; Jade has yet to check his phone, in that time, on his way to her cabin as he had been...]

[myagic]

[Jade is--seemingly okay, she thinks, or at least alive and in one piece, even if he looks awful tired. Not that she has much time to spare those observations for long, besides the rush of relief that at least he's not dead.]

To make sure you're all alive, obviously! How long has it been? Wait, nevermind that--

[She shakes her head; the duration is relevant but less important than--]

Is Yuuki alright? The one who--it was Clarke, she was possessed, and when I caught her, she-

[Rita hasn't exactly had a lot of time to process all that, and she isn't quite ready to process it all right now; it all comes out in a rush, and her agitation flares, but she keeps her focus to what's important: make sure her friends are okay, and if they haven't caught Clarke, then go after her.]

--Anyway, if she hasn't been caught yet-!

[Rita raises a clenched fist to show exactly what she thinks she's going to do; she won't be caught off guard again by her attacker's face. Unnoticed by Rita, though, are the twin pinpricks on the forearm she raises--like bug bites, the faintest thin smear of blood trailing from them.]

[fonomena]

["Awful tired" surely is, perhaps...somewhat of an understatement, all things considered. Attempts at keeping himself fairly put-together are still being made, but there's not much to be done for the current drawn paleness of Jade's features or the heaviness under his eyes. --Which just brings the concern that immediately settles upon his expression to the forefront, in the face of the answer that tumbles from Rita all at once. An unpleasant surprise, to say the least. It'd been expected that she'd name the culprit as soon as she woke, but--

(Tear had tried implicating Clarke as well--)]

It has been three days. Yuuki is...

[And there, the selfsame sinking sort of feeling that's been plaguing him ever since the scene of her death...the answer fades briefly in his throat. (At the same time, too, the wary thing at the back of his head that's been plaguing him for days by now can't help but note--where is Natsuno, right now? He'd have thought the boy would be staking out by Rita's door today, surely, waiting for the moment she'd revive...)]

He's alive. But--hold on. [Rita's beside herself, understandably so, but all the same Jade's tightening his grip on her shoulders, trying to ensure she stays put at least a little longer. ...She's solid and warm and here, again, and...too upset to even change her clothes again....she cannot keep dying like this. --But these are thoughts that don't help, and Jade tries to set them aside, focus on the matter at hand. She really...thinks it's Clarke? But--] You're certain it was Clarke--you saw your attacker?

[Quite likely she had, of course, considering the injury that had killed her...but it jars against the conclusions Jade has formed himself since that time, considering...

--Her forearm does catch his eye, around this same moment. The pinpricks there...and the bit of blood that seems. Fresh. Wait--]

[myagic]

[Underneath the urgency, she feels bad for Jade, she really does. He's...obviously been in a state this whole time, and it's not like she's forgotten at all what it was like, waiting for Natsuno to revive.

That pause, though--Yuuki is what, she wants to yell as alarm seizes in her chest and her worry spikes--no, not again, is he hurt or dead again--and then Jade finally continues, and a fraction of the tension in Rita's shoulders eases. Okay, good. They're both alive. That's a start.

But...he doesn't know it was Clarke? Then she hasn't been caught... Vehemently, Rita shakes her head.]

Of course I saw her! She--I had to watch her after she stabbed me, because I couldn't--

[Ugh, she doesn't want to go over that... Nevermind, nevermind.]

Forget it! Where is she now? Is she with Yuuki? She was acting strange--she has to be one of those possessed they were talking about!

[fonomena]

[Rita cuts her explanation short, and it does bring about a pang on Jade's own part; much the same way Rita might be cognizant of the painful wait those three days had certainly been, Jade's well aware of how unpleasant that particular memory of dying must have been for Rita as well. Inevitably it'd have to be dredged up, being asked a question like that...

But the question had been asked for a reason, and the answer--continues to sit poorly. Jade still remembers quite clearly, after all, how Clarke had been several decks away when he'd contacted her directly after processing the scene of Rita's death. To say nothing of the look on her face, when she'd seen Rita for herself--the way she'd knelt beside the body, and the words she'd said. Everything about that grief...had seemed genuine.

Unlike--]

--I'm not trying to say that I doubt your certainty, but I cannot yet see how she might have done it. Yuuki and I found you very shortly after the attack...and when Clarke was contacted, she was multiple decks away. Her actions in that time, as well--they did not strike me as possessed. [But it's difficult to put into words in any small amount of time, isn't it? The little tells that would explain why this all rubs in such a distinctly wrong way. It doesn't help, either, that Rita seems entirely convinced. If her memory is sound, then...? --Not enough information. There needs to be more time--] She's--I don't know where she is right now. Regardless, however, now is not the time for reckless measures. You've just reawakened, and even if you're fully healed...

[Or should be. Ought to be. After the battle royale, there hadn't been so much as a trace of the fatal stab wound Jade himself had received when he woke the next day...and Rita's state then was much the same way, restored at least on a physical level. But here...his attention once again refocuses on her forearm, and something twinges in thought.]

...That mark on your arm, what happened?

[It looks like an insect bite. But there are no insects of any kind, on this ship...]

[skaikru]

( i don't know where she is right now — — well, arguably a little too close to comfort.

right around the side of jade curtiss' torso, rita mordio can probably catch a glimpse of the elevator at the end of the hallway ding to announce arrival, and both doors slide open with ease. out steps a a singular blonde finger, dressed in the most unassuming and least awful clothes tommy bahama could offer them as of last month, everyday grounder gun holster, and a medium canvas novelty backpack slung across both shoulders. she's got her thumbs in the straps when deboarding the lift, but immediately disentangles her hands in shock when registering the figures a good five doorways down the hallway.

it has been three days, hasn't it? clarke belatedly tallies. three days since jade had called her to the busted doorway of 110, and she'd knelt trying to avoid the pool of blood around the small body, peeling the bandage from the side of rita's neck to grimace at the ghastly stab wound, dragging her eyelids closed with the pads of her fingers, and neatly arranging her hands over her stomach before rigor set in. quiet, small funeral rites that no one had stopped her from doing, even if they'd ultimately been useless when the only procession carried out for rita's corpse would be friday eventually carrying her to the morgue. smoothed out her hair too, then stared bleary eyed over palamedes's shoulder, at the scrap of a collage-style stalker note that'd been found nearby. the two of them, clarke and rita, they'd never been close. butted heads enough that if they circled outside of the same friend group, they'd probably be more like enemies. but they had both been here since the beginning. rita was one of the first people clarke had met, they screamed at each other, they rushed through the desert together, they'd hunted through the ship for a murderer together. and recently clarke had offered to kill for her, so. however one wanted to describe that relationship in the end, go for it, it's complicated.

her feet are already quickly carrying her towards jade and rita. and while it's not a full and proper smile, there's a tight twinge of utter relief washing across her face. corners of the mouth upticked, eyes alight, eyebrows draw; what passes for open-faced delight on clarke.

rita's awake, they can get some sort of answer about what went down in her cabin on the 18th, they can aim formerly directionless anger towards some sort of justice, and hopefully ease whatever hand's wrapped itself around natsuno's chest; he's seemed so distant lately. her pace picks up to an idle jog, and about twenty feet away from jade's back, she's calling out: )

Oh, Rita. I'm so glad that you're oka —

[myagic]

[There's anger and confusion furrowing Rita's brows as Jade...sure does seem to be doubting her certainty?! Trying to refute that Clarke supposedly wasn't anywhere nearby, as if that thing in her couldn't have been lying-]

I know what I saw! And if we don't do something, Yuuki's gonna be in danger!

[And he won't be the only one, but Natsuno and Clarke are such good friends--he's in danger of being hurt not just physically, but emotionally, and the idea twists something in her chest again-

She's primed to ignore his words of caution until he asks about her arm. Confused, she looks at it--is that all he's focusing on right now?! A stupid bug bite?! (Nevermind that she's way too worked up to think about the lack of insects here right now)

Instead of snapping at him or dismissing the injury, though, Rita looks blankly past him: at a familiar shape approaching down the hallway, manifesting into a familiar face, even if--wearing a strange expression to be directed towards Rita, and--there were signs rings in her mind. This is wrong; it's a thing putting on an act, because she distinctly remembers that face angrily spitting that it was going to take everything from her-]

Y...You!

[And Rita's quickly overcome with fury, a magic circle glowing to life at her feet. She thought--they had a weird but okay moment earlier this month, and now she's going to wonder if it was even all true, or just another act. How dare that ghost try to act friendly and relieved and happy to see her as if it wasn't the one that slit her damn throat open-]

Fireball!

[Her anger manifests in half a dozen flaming spheres, launched in a line towards Clarke--she'd better dodge quickly if Jade doesn't use his magic to shield her-]

1/2

[skaikru]

( this is such a relieving development, they can finally iron out who left the note and the bloody, horrible scene for jade to find, and — )

cw: burn wound

[skaikru]

( oh damn, oh shit, oh fuck.

not expecting a super warm welcome had also extended to the very real literal balls of fire that are suddenly being pelted her way. at relatively close range. clarke's jog comes to a (metaphorically) screeching halt, feet scrabbling against carpet to keep her upright but also provide enough traction and leverage to all but hurl herself at the wall to avoid this fiery assault.

can't dodge that quickly, though. and one catches her along the forearm clarke throws up in front of her face at the last second, leaving a gruesome stretch of melting, peeling flesh from the bone of her wrist all the way down to her elbow. and that shit hurts in a way she can't quite describe. the urge to slap her hand across the wound and cradle her arm to her chest is high, but stumbling to the side (almost into the wall) and staring down at the way her top layers of skin slough off and the lower layer of fat bubbles and blisters... that would very obviously be a bad idea. the pain is muted for the moment, as every cell in her body dumps adrenaline into her veins and her pupils shrink to pinpricks. but this is going to suck the second she comes down.

shock and surprise quickly becomes indignant anger. and in the space between this volley and any subsequent, clarke's spitting — )

The hell was that for?!?

[fonomena]

[Every mention of Yuuki is an odd and bitter thing, at the moment. It's clear how concerned Rita is for him, how readily he springs to mind for her. ...At some point later, a breather in this new chaos, Jade will look back at this moment and note further--how Clarke arrives, and yet Natsuno still does not. Absent for the revival of one friend, and not even accompanying the other in an attempted visit...

'Attempted' being the key word about now, as it turns out. Alright, so maybe if he hadn't actually answered that question at all, the rules of dramatic irony wouldn't have kicked in quite this brutally...!!

With his own back to the elevator down the hall, of course, Jade is none the wiser to Clarke's approach at all. Not until the unhappy confusion on Rita's features...blackens all at once, to an absolute fury directed at some point over his shoulder, and--

She careens immediately into casting a spell, too quickly for Jade to do much more than draw a breath of surprise, hands automatically releasing her shoulders to raise half-defensively as that magic circle flares to life at her feet. Except it's just as instantly clear that she's not actually aiming at him, but instead--the fireballs are already sailing over his head by the time he can turn. Which means that in the second it takes to finally register Clarke's presence, she's already taking at least one fireball directly to the arm, surprise and anger warring on her features as she reels against the hallway wall.

Oh, no--]

Rita! [It's an unusual sharpness that catches in Jade's tone, here, even as her fury is objectively well understood. But even if her memory is right--even if Clarke is the culprit (but it just doesn't add up)--the fact remains--] Stop--not here! We won't get answers if you set her aflame--and there may very well be something else going on, beyond her! We need to--

[Doubtless she's already winding back for another spell--in their simplicity fireballs surely are swift to cast, and to Rita they seem as natural as breathing. No time to raise any sort of deflection of his own, but Jade's trying to grab her arm before she can fling out another round, or break into a run. (Still, perhaps, too little too late...)]

[myagic]

[Not so deep down, there is a part of Rita that hurts at doing this--at seeing the clear pain on Clarke's face, even if it isn't really Clarke, and that sympathizes with how much that burn must hurt.

Again, though...it's not Clarke.]

Don't you dare act innocent after everything you've done-!

[The stupid pranks, the blood messages on Jade's door and others, the mocking laughter at the meeting--it was all Clarke, all along; the signs were there the entire time and still nobody else has realized it?! Does that ghost think Rita's an idiot, thinking she can put on this innocent act right after killing her-

She sure is prepared to give chase or cast another volley of fireballs, except--what the hell, Jade! Rita fights him, tries to wrench her arm from his grasp, even as she keeps her anger locked on the thing wearing Clarke's face.]

Don't stop me! We need to incapacitate her before she hurts--kills someone else! Why are you holding me back?!

[She does finally turn her head to throw him a furious glance, even as she just about tries to pull her arm out of its socket to get out of his grip.]

The signs were all there--she was laughing at the meeting; don't you remember?!

[skaikru]

( the true brunt of the pain still hasn't hit, but her face is already pinching around the edges, contorting into a wince. mostly governed by shock and the fury of those wrongly accused and unjustly punished because — )

What have I done?

( this feels like the record amount of time it's taken for the two of them to start yelling at each other, maybe tied with the only other instance where rita'd greeted her with an ill-placed fireball. but there's no sand castles here, and instead of a near miss that'd been a direct hit. which clarke still can't suss out the reason behind.

she's sure the other girl's about to tell her though, probably in a volume unbefitting the hour of 6:45am on a friday. and rita sure delivers...

answers.

innocent.

incapacitate.

kill someone else? when one has done horrible things in the course of their admittedly short life, to be accused, tried, found guilty, and lined up over the executioners block like this? for something she hadn't done, but that another felt, with the utmost conviction, that she had? it cuts pretty deep. now the missing puzzle pieces of the conversation slide into place, and clarke's over here looking like she's been slapped across the face to top it all off. she'd just offered to kill for you, rita — how did that turn into this? )

I haven't killed anyone. ( offended, equally beseeching, and a bit hurt past the first degree burn. she's already holding that arm curled towards her chest and shaking, but presses the palm of her hand on her sternum, like she's ready to swear to this on her own heart. )

I didn't kill you, Rita, I — ( the only time she drags her gaze from the youngers face, instead glancing at the eldest of them briefly. then back to the rabid, raging accusor with an air of incredulity. ) He was laughing at you too! The stupidest thing I've ever heard is it took you eight months to believe in ghosts!

( ...okay, so that probably wasn't a nice or helpful thing to say. but pain lancing through her body like thousands of tiny knives originating from her arm isn't nice or helpful here either. clarke can read the tension and ferocity in rita's whole body as she strains and pulls and wrenches her arm in jade's grasp. and being well versed in being unable to just stop when spiraling down a warpath too, she starts taking a few careful steps backwards. )

[fonomena]

[The "signs"? ...Laughing during a meeting--?

The look Jade's leveling Rita's way about now is incredulous in turn, at that particular bit; it assuredly sticks out like a sore thumb, as reasoning happens to go. Yet Rita shouts it with nearly the same venom as she does her accusations of murder...and expectations of future murder, too. Clarke takes in the words with a visibly aghast hurt, across the way, and Jade's struggling to lock Rita's arm in both of his own now.]

It has been three days, and no other deaths have transpired since! That besides, why would she be showing herself here, right in front of you, if she killed you? We need to interrogate--you're certainly not acting as if you'll just be incapacitating--

[Jade staggers, under a particularly strong tug. It's surprising at a base level, the sheer strength of the anger that seems to be coursing through her every limb here. This is a fury well beyond even the temper Rita had directed at the captain, in that dinner after the battle royale...and at least at that time, Yuri Lowell had been able to settle her down in the end. (Would that he were here. Or Flynn. Perhaps either of them would be able to better tell, whether there's something truly off with Rita and her single-minded rage in this instance. ...Is he doing the wrong thing, here? --No, everything about this, there's something off--)

The leading end of Clarke's argument sinks in belatedly, and it's time for an extremely harried second incredulous look in her direction. Really, is this really what we're all going to get stuck on here, you two--??]

Clarke!

[Equal parts critical and warning, the message is surely well-implied. Jade isn't sure how much longer he'll be able to restrain Rita without having to actually start applying genuine force--and does not wish to--but if Clarke continues to stand there...if she isn't going to follow up swiftly, on those careful steps backwards...]

[myagic]

[No other deaths--that registers in Rita's mind as a mild relief, even as nothing else right now is making a whole lot of sense. Of course it'd be stupid for the thing in Clarke to just show up right after killing her, must have known Rita would remember every moment of that brief disastrous fight--and yet, Clarke's expression when she brought that blade down, as if it was just an inconvenience, remains seared in Rita's mind, and it keeps feeling like Clarke's mocking her, trying to deflect-]

Shut up! You can't tell me it's wrong when I remember you-!

[The downside of the energy that comes with Rita's explosive anger: it burns itself out quickly, especially with the vice-grip Jade keeps on her arm, and she's already breathing heavily, unable to tug quite as strongly as she started out.]

Of course--I'm not going to kill her; I'll stop her with a spell...! Just--why aren't you--

[Why is he holding her and letting the thing in Clarke just stand there--no, she's even backing away, like she's going to start running--]

Don't you dare run off-! She's possessed; don't you get it?!

[So why is Jade fighting Rita and not the person who killed her?]

[skaikru]

( there's always the urge to stay and plead her case. proclaim her innocence, somehow convince rita to see reason. i couldn't have done that to you, i wasn't even on this floor when it happened or else i would have tried to help you or why would i kill you? i have no reason to, you're not that big a pain in my side, that'd make natsuno sad i know the two of you are close or — in light of that last line out of her mouth, i'm not possessed! i can prove it! my room's warded against vengeful spirits and there's a ghost burning talisman in my shirt!

but same time? it seriously feels like she's in serious danger of losing more skin if she stays here. clarke takes a few wider steps backwards, looking at jade again when he yells at her, and utterly baffled because that sounded like permission to run and not an equal condemnation. he at least believes her that much? enough to hold rita back and let clarke go? that feels... strange. and she's grateful for it.

and doesn't need to be told twice. one last beat of perplexed, gut-punched, arm burnt silence, and she's turning on her heel to sprint towards the elevator. )

[myagic]

[How dare that thing twist Clarke's face in hurt and betrayal and everything else like this--it's not Clarke, stop pretending-

It makes a run for it, and Jade's just letting it go. No...no way in hell, not when it could be going off to mess with them even more...

Rita goes slack in Jade's grasp for a moment, yet another magic circle glitters on the floor, before-]

Ivy Rush!

[Vines snare at his legs again, and she tries taking advantage of any distraction to wrench against his hold once more.]

[fonomena]

[Well, Jade was about to at least attempt an argument here, especially now that terrible tension in Rita's frame is just about to slacken. Something about how she's clearly beside herself and not thinking entirely rationally, right now--something about how there are only so many hiding places on the ship, anyhow, perhaps he'd track down Clarke if need be--but in the meantime Rita needs to take a step back, and calm herself down, and actually be receptive to devising a plan of attack that might actually garner them answers. It's difficult, granted, to argue against the inherent outrage of being murdered...and she seems utterly convinced that it was Clarke who attacked her, despite all the strange small inconsistencies surrounding this fact.

But if the choice right now is between simply letting Rita set Clarke Griffin on fire with wild abandon, or at least try to mitigate such recklessness at the pass--then yes, Jade will keep hold of her as long as it takes for this rage to wane, and--

Well, that's not what actually happens in the end anyway.

No, what actually happens is that Rita begins to slacken in his grasp...and Jade loosens it in turn, just a bit, in that extremely brief window where it looks like perhaps Rita's finally having some second thoughts of her own.] We need to talk to her, if we ever wish to get to the bottom of this. And you may not intend to kill her, but if you try to proceed like this you'll only--

[--There's another magic circle on the floor.

There are also now vines, on the floor--magically sprouting up, more specifically, to wind about his legs in a simultaneously utterly surprising but also very familiar turn of events.]

What-- [It's the window she needs; Rita manages to break free of his hold with that renewed wrench of her arm, with this distraction at play, and then she's taking right off down the hall after Clarke before Jade can even try to grab for her again. Automatically, of course, he tries to move after her--only for the failings of snared balance to leave him dropping to his knees, instead, as the hold of the vines persist.] No, Rita--!

[But they're already off.....


Well. Need to tear out of these vines, but that's going to take time--]

[skaikru]

( no, rita — !

if that's jade curtiss' last kindness towards her for the day, clarke appreciates it. that's the yell that has her glancing over her shoulder in time to catch sight of a mess of vines erupted from the floor and entangling his knees, and rita — suddenly free from the constraints of his arms. and where clarke had been running for safety first, now she's running for what very much feels like her life.

shit.

there goes the dream of speeding as far away from rita mordio and her confused perspective of her murder via the elevator. like hell she's pushing that button and waiting for the doors to ding and chime open. last second, feeling the intention of another fireball aimed at her back if not the actual heat, clarke zigs to the side of the glass tube; dances to the right and barely avoids clipping her shoulder on the corner of the elevator before ducking around it to the staircase nestled at the front most portion of deck two.

ripping open the door to the stairs with her right hand, clarke's only thought is to keep moving and somehow outpace the magic. she barely anchors herself on the railing, just starts taking the steps two or three at a time — running with no real destination in mind. )

[myagic]

[Maybe she'll feel sorry for Jade later, if she can understand why the hell he's letting the freak go. Right now, though? Clarke's instincts are right on the money, as another fireball does just miss her and smashes into the elevator instead.]

Stop-! Don't think you can get away when I know-!

[Because Rita can't actually be quiet in her anger, especially not at a time like this, as she tears off after Clarke. The ghost is taking the stairs and outpacing her, so she leaps into the air--and levitates up the stairs, allowing herself to catch some breath after fighting against Jade.

Oh, she can still use magic while levitating, too, and she calls out a longer chant this time as a blue glow lights up the corridor...]

Aqua Laser!

[A series of geysers forms in a line right on the stairs before they rapidly erupt. Rita hopes it'll send the ghost flying off its feet so she can catch up.]

[skaikru]

( right. so, magic sucks. or at least, being on the receiving end of battle magic without any recourse to respond really sucks, and in the future she'd have to do something about the possibility of ending up in this situation again. this is so much worse than clashing with pratt when he was out for blood; clarke has a gun on one hip and a knife on the other, and can't use either of them because it's rita. and also because that would lend exactly -10% legitimacy to her claim that she hadn't killed the other girl. the adrenaline keeps dumping, arguably clarke's making really good time on these stairs and manages to get up two whole flights before the floor beneath her feet illuminates faint blue and water absolutely erupts out of nowhere.

one rockets up and hits clarke squarely in the face, half a punch to the jaw and half a waterboarding attempt. it's more than enough to throw her off balance, and for a moment she's completely blinded and can't breathe. almost slips backwards down the steps, but last second manages to latch securely onto the railing with an absolute death grip that saves her an express trip backwards into rita. and after a second clarke leverages her weight and makes it to the landing marked DECK FIVE.

survival instincts, prey instincts... they're the same thing, and both are screaming at her to get out of an enclosed space with limited exits. it's a different urge that has clarke calling at her pursuer, begging — )

Rita, please just stop for a second and —

( oh, nope, airway not clear enough for this. remnants a la aqua laser are dripping down her nose, and clarke dissolves into a hacking cough before she can push open the service door. )

[myagic]

[On some level, there's a satisfaction in this: in her spell successfully connecting with her target, slowing it down, enacting some retribution. Still...Rita isn't pleased. It's not just the anger at being deceived and murdered; it's wondering whether or not the real Clarke is in there somewhere, unable to fight back, like Estelle...

But--if she really wants to protect her friends...she has to stop the ghost. She sets back down on the stairs just feet from the ghost--levitation drains the hell out of her magic--and scowls, already preparing to cast another spell.]

Why, so you can keep pretending, like you've been doing all month?! I don't think so!

[She starts casting another Ivy Rush, intent on trying to hold Clarke in place before she can get away again.]

[skaikru]

( all clarke needs to see is the faint outline of light spanning out beneath rita's feet, and it's like a starter cap pistol signalling the race is back on. she won't stick around to see exactly which arte this'll end up being, she's slamming herself against the door so hard it jars a few pain sensors back into place and her arm throbs nauseatingly. breaking back into a sprint, she dashes out the stairwell, down the corridor that lines playback, and out into —

good morning residents of the serena eterna!

the date is october 21st, XXXX

the time is approximately 7:03am

and if you happen to be out and about on the promenade you can look to your left or right and see two teenage girls engaging in their most natural behavior: attempted immolation! please don't get too close, this is a particularly dangerous subspecies of teen we here like to call "the angry and annoying ones". do not approach or feed the animals, please keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, and enjoy the show!

oh, look! a fireball!

if there are indeed people milling about, clarke realizes very quickly she's made a mistake. but it's too late to change course and eliminate the possibility of bystander injuries, she'll just have to trust that rita's righteous (if misplaced) fury goes hand in hand with some sharpshooter level aim. it sure feels like it does, as the roaring rushes of white-hot flame balls whiz around her and one strikes an overflowing trashcan just to her keft. this is bad bad, she doesn't know where she's going and can't see an immediate out unless rita gets weary and her magic or anger fizzles.

which doesn't feel like it's happening any time soon.

a zig-zag here, an exploded patio table there. months of idle fitness training doesn't mean clarke's capable of keeping this up forever. she'd like to stop and seek out help. text pal, find natsuno, ask either of them what the fuck she's supposed to do and maybe entreat backup. find tear or jade again, cry for sanctuary. but can't very well stop long enough to text now, can she? oh that sure is a fake potted tree going up in flames to her right, where's friday?

bystanders maybe get a warning gesture, a frantic hand flap and the bidding to — ) Get down! ( or a much more clipped and desperate — ) MOVE! ( if they're in her way.

then everyone within earshot gets to hear when one of the fireballs strikes mid-stride, scorches the side of her right calf, and she screams. stumbles, somehow manages to stay on her feet but clarke finally half-turns while running to yell: )

I didn't kill you! And I'm not possessed! If you'd please just listen for a second instead of trying to roast me like a goddamn marshmallow, I could —

( this is fruitless, it isn't going to work. then, some thirty feet in front of her, the glass elevator dings, and the doors slide open. isn't that good timing... )

[myagic]

[Ah yes, two feral creatures doing what they do best: having a complete breakdown in communication.

The "ghost" gets out the door and Rita's vines grasp only at empty air, and she immediately takes off to resume the chase. She's already casting her fireballs again by the time she even registers the presence of other people, and--ugh, collateral damage to the ship is whatever, but hurting innocent bystanders wouldn't sit all that well with her--she's as careful as she can be with her aim.

And yet, annoyingly, the ghost is pretty good at dodging, until finally-

Rita can't help but grimace at the scream that echoes in Clarke Griffin's voice; she knows that terrible, awful pain, yet also--how dare that thing keep using her voice, her face like this--

The signs were there all along continues to blare in her thoughts like a horn, and even getting tired and breathless, Rita snaps back.]

You're not...fooling me anymore! Like hell I'm listening!

[She is trying not to kill her, though; the ghost should be grateful for the restraint Rita's only allowing for the possibility Clarke Griffin could actually still be in there, somewhere. And so, she casts again, a few seconds to prepare another spell...]

O demon who crawls the depths of the earth, gore my enemies and crush them to dust...

Riot Horn!

[The ground of the promenade quakes, before spikes of rock erupt in a line, chasing after Clarke's form. Trying something to stop her from getting away, before Rita is too tired to keep chasing...which she kind of already is, actually, no matter how much her anger keeps trying to spur her on.]

1/2

[skaikru]

( oh, i'm not trying to kill you —

then literal great balls of fire was the wrong approach with which to communicate that, rita? "gore my enemies and crush them to dust" — hello???

now with two significant burn marks, adrenaline can only do so much to dull the pain, and even less to keep her upright and mobile. but this feels like a do-or-die moment, and no matter how tight her calf muscle feels; how difficult it is not to sacrifice speed for the visceral shaking convulsion her entire body wants to melt into; and how badly her stomach screams they stop so she can retch from the hurt and scent of burning skin... that just isn't an option. one last solid ten steps and she'll maybe be fine, and only half of those have to be on the wounded leg. clarke grits her teeth, sets to stumbling towards those gloriously open doors.

and then the ground starts to shake.

shit. shit shit shit fuck shit —

jagged stone spike after jagged stone spike erupts from the ground behind her with a quake. she doesn't need to look back, it's not the first time earth's crumbled and split and morphed beneath her feet and — oh, it catches up to her anyway. right at the edge of the promenade tile meeting the grated edging of the elevator, two rock faces spring up, her foot slips between them, ankle twists, and she's going down hard. right onto the carpeted flooring of the elevator though, so. small mercy's, miniature religious experience right here. nevermind, religious moment done, she landed unceremoniously on her burnt elbow and screams behind tightly closed lips.

scrambling onto hands and knees in an attempt to slam a button, any button on the panel, clarke does get a few seconds opportunity to stare back out the elevator door. at the sharp rock pathway that marked the last 30 feet of her escape, at the smoldering and freely burning spots along the walkway of the promenade. at faces of bystanders, sorry for disrupting your morning coffee guys. and most importantly, at rita mordio. the chase has stopped, the younger girl looks tired, haggard, out of breath and still so, so angry. and maybe a little hurt, coupled with betrayal, and clarke can't fix it because she doesn't know what happened.

they lock eyes, and clarke's are wet. could be it's just from pain, but...

then the elevator dings again. doors slide shut, and the machinery cranks to life to descend back into the belly of the ship. )

2/2

[skaikru]

( ding!

the glass lift pulls to a relatively smooth stop, and clarke drags herself back onto her feet proper in order to disembark onto DECK ONE.

she isn't running anymore, can't honestly. just sort of hobble-drags herself into the middle of the lounge, occasionally using chair backs and couch arms as supports. it'd be a good moment to assess damage or reach out to other friends, and clarke is this close to capitulating to her body's base need for rest when it finally strikes where she's going to go. the deck, of course. into one of the lifeboats, they're stocked with basic medical supplies in a go bag, right? and who knows, maybe she'd luck out and stumble into one that also housed natsuno yuuki — he'd been a scarcity in her life since rita had died.

so, plan set, she's making her way towards one of the doors that lead outside into the warm, seafaring air, shoving it open, and that's when she comes face to face with — )