[The last few hours have been chaotic, to say the least. John had not been asleep or in his room when the fighting had broken out, thanks to the warning message from Geralt. For better or worse he had been nowhere near the danger either, not that he supposed he could have done much to prevent it either.
Immediately on alert at the sound of booted feet running down the corridor, he had intercepted the Royal Guard on their way to raise the alarm. The King was dead.
It had not taken long for chaos to ensue after that, as fighting had broken out in the East Wing, and with his orders given to help his fellow summoned to the safe room, and the shock of being sealed in after that and the fighting amongst them that had followedโฆ
The wall shimmers with Claireโs message and John winces slightly. Understanding that he had likely ignored at least one other earlier in the chaos. Sliding down to sit against it, running a tired hand through his hair, he replies:]
[ If anyone happens to be watching when she sees his familiar hand, they'll see Claire visibly sag in relief, needing to reach out and brace her hand against a wall for a moment simply to tell herself he's fine. ]
๐โ๐๐๐ ๐ถโ๐๐๐ ๐ก. [ Her next thought is after she realizes it's all true, there's been murder. ] ๐ผ๐ก'๐ ๐๐๐ค๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐.
[John had been weary, tired after a night of no sleep and barely any rest, but now he is wide awake and concerned for her. There may be fire and murder here in Thorne, but now that they are sealed in the safe room, the worst they have to deal with is crowding and infighting.]
[So long as this fog isnโt poisonous, John supposes he doesnโt have to worry quite as much. Jesus, the fright she just gave him. With him trapped half the world away and absolutely useless, with no ability to do anything about any of it.
He relaxes at her reassurances but only a fraction. This is going to be a very long few days of being trapped in here, he can tell.]
[ Biting back the rest of her thought, she chastises herself momentarily. It won't help to go down that path, the line of thinking only borrowing trouble. ]
[John does not wish for her to worry, and yet at the same time. The Admiral is known for his naval prowess. She is not wrong to be concerned about such things.
But now is not the time for such conversation, when they are trapped as they are, with no way of acting upon such thoughts. Instead, he addresses the last piece of her note, with something of a wince.]
[He has his duty. Unfortunately he cannot promise her more than that, for better or worse.
He is a soldier. He had felt purposeless before enrolling himself in the guard, although he cannot say for certain whether finding himself in such a position now is better or worse. He certainly had not anticipated this, back then at any rate.]
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no subject
Immediately on alert at the sound of booted feet running down the corridor, he had intercepted the Royal Guard on their way to raise the alarm. The King was dead.
It had not taken long for chaos to ensue after that, as fighting had broken out in the East Wing, and with his orders given to help his fellow summoned to the safe room, and the shock of being sealed in after that and the fighting amongst them that had followedโฆ
The wall shimmers with Claireโs message and John winces slightly. Understanding that he had likely ignored at least one other earlier in the chaos. Sliding down to sit against it, running a tired hand through his hair, he replies:]
๐๐ต๐ช๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ. ๐ ๐ช๐ถ ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ผ๐ธ๐ป๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ธ ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฎ๐น๐ฝ ๐๐ธ๐พ ๐๐ช๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ, ๐ถ๐ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ช๐ป. ๐ ๐ช๐ถ ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ต ๐ฎ๐ท๐ธ๐พ๐ฐ๐ฑ, ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ธ๐พ๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ช๐ป ๐๐ฎ ๐ช๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ป๐ช๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ท๐ฎ๐ช๐ฝ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ผ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฝ ๐น๐ป๐ฎ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ท๐ฝ.
๐๐ท ๐ท๐ธ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ช๐ฝ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ช๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ช๐ท๐ญ๐ผ ๐ซ๐พ๐ฝ ๐๐ธ๐พ ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ช๐ป๐ญ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฝ. ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ช๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐พ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ท๐ผ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐๐ญ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ช๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ธ๐ป๐ป๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฝ, ๐ช๐ท๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ธ๐ผ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ช๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ป๐ธ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ธ๐ท๐ช๐ป๐ฌ๐ฑ๐ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ธ๐ป๐ท๐ฎ. ๐ ๐ญ๐ธ ๐ท๐ธ๐ฝ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ธ๐๐ช๐ต๐ผ ๐ผ๐พ๐ป๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ.
no subject
๐โ๐๐๐ ๐ถโ๐๐๐ ๐ก. [ Her next thought is after she realizes it's all true, there's been murder. ] ๐ผ๐ก'๐ ๐๐๐ค๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐.
[ A breath. ] ๐ผ ๐๐๐'๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐คโ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐กโ๐๐ข๐โ๐ก๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ก ๐คโ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐ค๐๐๐๐'๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ค๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐—
[ She sounds like a proper scared wife and reels it in to give him details about Solvunn. ]
๐๐'๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐, ๐กโ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐...๐๐ ๐๐๐ , ๐ผ ๐กโ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ค ๐ค๐'๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ก๐.
no subject
[John had been weary, tired after a night of no sleep and barely any rest, but now he is wide awake and concerned for her. There may be fire and murder here in Thorne, but now that they are sealed in the safe room, the worst they have to deal with is crowding and infighting.]
๐๐ต๐ช๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ, ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ต๐ต ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ธ๐พ ๐ช๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ต.
[He is stuck in this room for god knows how long, please โ should he be worried for you too?]
no subject
[ She clarifies at least that, perhaps one less worry that they'll all choke to death on a cloud of poison. ]
๐ผ'๐ ๐๐ฅโ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐๐, ๐ผ'๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐กโ๐๐ก. ๐ผ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐, ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐ค๐๐๐, ๐ผ'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ก.
[ She only invokes her title to enhance her oath, he's someone she's bound to, and she won't lie to him about her own circumstances. ]
๐โ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ โ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ ...๐๐ก'๐ ๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐ค๐'๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐โ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐ ๐๐๐๐กโ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
no subject
He relaxes at her reassurances but only a fraction. This is going to be a very long few days of being trapped in here, he can tell.]
๐ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐๐ช๐ผ ๐ช ๐น๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ท๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ท. ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ท๐ท๐ธ๐ฝ ๐ซ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ท๐ฝ๐ช๐ต. ๐ ๐ช๐ถ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ญ ๐ฝ๐ธ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ช๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฝ ๐๐ธ๐พ ๐ช๐ป๐ฎ ๐ผ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฎ, ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ธ๐พ๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐ ๐ญ๐ธ ๐ฑ๐ธ๐น๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ต๐ต ๐ท๐ธ๐ฝ ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ธ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ธ๐ป ๐ท๐ฎ๐ช๐ป๐ต๐ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฝ ๐ต๐ธ๐ท๐ฐ.
[Least of all because here in Thorne they do not have the supplies to last that longโฆ]
no subject
๐๐'๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐, ๐ค๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐โ๐๐๐๐. ๐โ๐๐ก ๐๐-
[ Biting back the rest of her thought, she chastises herself momentarily. It won't help to go down that path, the line of thinking only borrowing trouble. ]
๐ผ โ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐.
[ She pauses, then sends another thought, knowing she needs to get back to it soon. ]
๐ผ ๐๐๐'๐ก ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข โ๐๐ค ๐ก๐๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข, ๐ฝ๐โ๐.
no subject
But now is not the time for such conversation, when they are trapped as they are, with no way of acting upon such thoughts. Instead, he addresses the last piece of her note, with something of a wince.]
๐๐ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ช๐น๐ธ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ธ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฐ ๐๐ธ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ธ๐พ ๐ผ๐ธ, ๐ถ๐ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ช๐ป. ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐พ๐ช๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ท ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ฒ๐ท ๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ธ๐ป๐ท๐ฎ ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ท๐ผ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ท๐ญ ๐พ๐ท๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฝ๐ช๐ฒ๐ท, ๐ซ๐พ๐ฝ ๐ ๐ช๐ถ ๐ผ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฎ.
[For now, at any rate.]
no subject
[ There's a pause, and then she can't help but somewhat ruefully send: ]
๐ผ๐ก ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐'๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐โ๐ก ๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐'๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐๐ .
no subject
[He has his duty. Unfortunately he cannot promise her more than that, for better or worse.
He is a soldier. He had felt purposeless before enrolling himself in the guard, although he cannot say for certain whether finding himself in such a position now is better or worse. He certainly had not anticipated this, back then at any rate.]
๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ต๐ต, ๐๐ต๐ช๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ, ๐ช๐ท๐ญ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ช๐ ๐ผ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฎ. ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ท ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ช๐ต๐ต ๐ธ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป, ๐๐ฎ ๐ช๐ป๐ฎ ๐ธ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ช ๐ญ๐ป๐ฒ๐ท๐ด ๐ฝ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป, ๐๐ธ๐พ ๐ช๐ท๐ญ ๐. ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ช๐ต, ๐ฒ๐ท ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฝ.