what a 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞

"There's a spot," he dropped his hand, his voice almost casual. "Third floor. East wing. There's a balcony that overlooks the whole valley. The stars are wrong, but the view's..." Rivian shrugged, aiming for nonchalance and not quite landing it. The truth was he'd found that balcony a couple of hours ago. He'd stood there for an hour, counting the unfamiliar constellations, trying to convince himself that any of this was real. "It's something. Better than a cold corridor, anyway. Better than hiding in the dark like I taught you."

“what sort of wrong?” she asks, looking up at him. “you know, the cold from the stone is grounding for me. i don’t hate the hiding in the dark. but the balcony sounds nice.” so long as no one else found it and took the spot. she doesn’t want everyone else to see her panic. she recognised the look, the way he studies her. it’s the same as when the former spymaster assigned her to him, but she can see the difference. the softness hidden underneath that a stranger wouldn’t catch. she’d worked hard to become one of the best. he’d pushed her, she’d known in the beginning, he hadn’t wanted her, and she had needed to prove she deserved a second chance at life.  “sure, yeah, breathing sounds good,” she turns to follow him, glancing around as she does. “d’you think they think our stars are strange?” she asks, curiosity distracting her from her discomfort for a moment.

ASTORIA WAS RIGHT. If they did finish them all off, then what was the point of this... deadly game these ruffians wished to play with them? Having an enemy was understandable - some would say even necessary ( whoever exists in this world without at least a minor annoyance, if not a true enemy, at their side? ) - but, having an unknown one?

an unknown enemy means they don’t know what their advantage could be. so far, they don’t seem to be. unless the goal was to remove the inner circles and rulers, and take over the courts’ peoples… but then… why play games? astoria never understood riddles well. she wishes everyone would just say what they mean. she and shattering their wards, transporting them around, bringing the whole of prythian’s courts to their home… astoria doesn’t understand why. it doesn’t make sense. and once they started making friends... they should have been able to tell the other courts on their terms. “what do you mean by that?” astoria furrows her brow, lifting her cup to take a long sip. “i suppose it’s good to be home… but not in this circumstance, with all of the other courts.” she sighs.

☆ﾟ*·ﾟNOT MANY FAE could get Luc to calm down and so easily take a drink from their hands. But knowing Seren for years was thankful. He knew her, and wouldn't expect any nefarious intentions from her. He let his guard down, his usual scowl a little softer. Comfortably sat in the chair across from her, he took the drink, chortling slightly. "Have you ever known me to say no to a drink, Seren?" As he took his first sip, he hummed, allowing the warm liquid to slide down his throat, comforting him. "How did we end up in this situation without any answers? How are we all okay with this? I have nothing and the frustration isn't helping."

she knows he trusts her after all this time. even though some of her friends would say she’d be the most likely to poison them. not that she’d actually do it. they only think that because they know she likes to study dead things. she hums, “multiple times. when it was not me.” she shrugs, grinning though. “i have no idea.” she sighs, sipping from her own drink. “i don’t know if everyone is really okay with this. more just… tolerating it while they figure it out? maybe?” she shrugs again. “did they… bring the fae who were killed? maybe studying them would lead to… something.” as disrespectful as it sounds.

Régulo had been wandering through the stalls of Starlight, both giddy to be resolved of his guilt and nervous that the murderer would come for him next. He could imagine it, taking a hit on the Autumn Court's youngest and then forcing everyone to Autumn.

she just wants to look after everyone. both her own and the others. because everyone is vulnerable, everyone is waiting for the next thing, for whether they will be the next on the list of the dead the courts have no time to mourn. she can’t allow it to continue. she offers a small smile, bowing her own head in response. “just zaina is fine,” she says. she doesn’t know the seasonal courts as well, even with having known saylee a long time, as well as hers and catalina’s mutual respect for one another as leaders. but it’s not the same as the longer alliances the solar courts have held. although everything is a bit up in the air now. “i am trying to balance working towards fixing things and keeping myself entertained. although i suppose the one benefit is getting to know the other courts better.” she says. “and yourself?”

he heaves out a sigh almost instantly as she explains the miscommunication and he's silently nodding, running a hand through his hair in silent relief that there wasn't any actual offense taken by his phrasing, but he's still as embarrassed as before, rubbing at the back of his neck, clearing his throat and glancing sideways before speaking up again. "good, good, I um...I should've phrased it differently anyway, I see how that can be...confusing." hearing her next words omar's brows furrow as he processes this, head tilting lightly in thought. "dusk...and then your court has been in hiding ever since? scared of another attack...? then what about hybern? why are they the only court to remember you all? did they ever come here?

she frowns when he sighs and rubs the back of his neck, embarrassment washing over her more at her own forgetting to pay better attention. “no, you shouldn’t have had to phrase it differently. it was my fault. i misunderstood. i know i misunderstand things, i should be more self aware.” she shakes her head when he says he should’ve phrased it different. she shrugs, “i don’t think anyone from hybern was really able to visit. they just… knew. i don’t know why. maybe they helped protect our court originally, so they were able to remember…” she shrugs. she never really knew that. just that they knew, that she had one friend from hybern who she had never brought home with her. she’d never ventured past hybern, though, scared of what might happen. “i visited them. i have a friend from hybern. but i never went past hybern. i was scared something would happen if i did.” she knows enough to understand that not every court’s high ruler and commanders had the same relationships as she had with tia. that not every inner circle is tight-knit, although in her observations of other courts, she’d seen how some seemed rather close to each other. it’s so strange, and yet, can she really say it is, when she is the same? “exactly. they do not make sense. i understand the fae who are not trusting us but are giving us a chance, but not anyone who just blindly trusts. they must be hiding something. or want something. maybe both.” she sighs. she nods, as he offers her the information on his role. “it’s an honour to be chosen. i was not given my role because of my friendship. i served her parents first. that was how i met her.” she nods. “i always thought it an honour to be chosen, to be trusted so much with a role that brings us close to the most powerful, and yet most vulnerable, fae in our courts. i don’t know if i would have chosen me, if roles were reversed.”

Penélope wasn't aware of what happened to the other courts the night before, just hers so she took a mental note of Malvina's words to tell Talia later. Other than spending time with her friend, her mind was also on everything that has been going on because she just wants this all to be over and go home.

she knows some, mostly from snooping around the other courts with her shadows. but she also understands that things are difficult and she may make things worse if someone does realise that night’s commander of armies knows more than she should. but she had overheard dawn’s lady talking about working with others, the same way she and yiren had discussed it, and perhaps that will work out after all. at least she knows that penélope can take care of herself, and has day to look out for her. maybe she can talk to their commander about things. strategies for keeping their courts safe. “i don’t trust them, but i don’t trust anyone i am not close to. i think we need their side of the story before we decide.” she says. as much as she tends to go straight into a fight, she knows better than to skip getting all the information available first. “i think it’s not smart to not have every perspective, even if i would like to try to punch our way out.”

Virgil doesn't move from the doorway. The offer of tea hangs in the air between them, warm and mundane and utterly foreign, and for a moment he just stares at her. She's worried about all of them, him included. Something flickers in his chest. It might be amusement, or something else entirely.

she watches him for a moment, head tilting a little as she waits for a response. she hasn’t learned what he prefers yet, but she wants to, so that she can have things he likes available. She’s been trying to for their whole court who are here, so that they can at least have small comforts. because they deserve something good in the midst of this all. “your health is important. you need sleep too.” she replies, shaking her head as he speaks. she hears the way he says it simply, no weight behind the words. but it still makes her frown. “you are not just my sword. you are virgil. you are a member of my court, just as important as anyone else. i am nothing without my court. i am nothing without you, or anyone else in our court. if everyone puts all their energy into saving me, and i’m the only one who survives, what would i even have?” because that’s the thought that’s haunted her, if they lose anyone, if they lose multiple of their court… she feels the shadow curl around her ankle, glances down at the way the tendril snakes towards her from where the shadowsinger stands. it’s a comfort, in a way, silently reminding her she’s not alone. she watches him step inside, watching as his wings fold tighter against himself, as his gaze moves across the room. she watches as he freezes when he sees the chair. “yes. you should be able to be comfortable when you are here. i want you to be.” she says, turning to the kettle to pour herself a cup. “do you want anything else? i have coffee, not as good as from home, but i’ve considered asking the kitchen if i can put together a setup… or water or something?” she offers. “thank you, for staying with me. for looking out for me.” she says. “do you have any ideas on how we might get out of this?” she asks.

Remy watched her take a big gulp from her drink and smiles, then listens and nods, making a mental note about where he could find her if need be. Luxencia wasn't far from Starcove, he even walked here. "The scary angel lady?" He asked a bit lost, not knowing who was she talking about but he perked up at hearing she had been feeling anxious. The Illyrian offered a hand for her to take. Over the centuries and with the help of his daughter, he had learnt that physical touch can bring comfort to others.

florencia reaches to take his hand when he offers, squeezing it softly. “the faerie from starlight with the big white wings. she’s pretty. she's just intimidating. i think she must not be horrible to be going out of her way to bring tea?” she sighs, “i think this place isn’t horrible, if they are doing what they can to try to make us not feel horrible, even if they don’t want us here.” she shrugs. but it doesn’t make the anxiety go away. at least the winnowing is done for now, she hopes. “it’s crowded, for sure. maybe there’s somewhere you can spend more time that has more space?” she muses. “i don’t think i’ve seen her. i’ll keep an eye out. maybe we can ask around? one of the starlight fae might know, if they are able to know who is not from their court so would narrow things more maybe?” she suggests.

Jamie nodded, relieved to have such a good friend and ally in Zaina. Every day they are more certain that their time in Dawn was not a mistake, that it was what they needed to better themselves, to get the life they wanted for themselves. "I know I can count on you and everyone in Dawn's inner circle. You've made me who I am today and helped in making me the person I always wanted to be. You gave me a blank canvas to make myself from scratch." This was as good a chance as any to tell Zaina this, after all, none of them knew what was going to happen to them here, why they were all cast into the hidden court. "Have you been able to find anything out? I've been dealing with in court problems as of now, you are the first High Liege I talk to other than my sister. I'm hoping you've had better luck than me."

she is glad that jamie came to her court and trusted them, that they are friends now. she wants jamie to be happy, and she will do what she can to ensure that they are able to find happiness. “i am honoured that we have been able to be a part of your journey. it is you who have made yourself who you are, though. we just had the honour of getting to be a part of that journey,” she smiles softly. “you are going to do great things.” she says. she shakes her head, “i’m hoping to speak to the starlight court’s high lady, and perhaps one of their commanders… but in the meantime, we’ve been looking for any information we can to learn more about the court and explore what we can. but… their people seem happy. that is a good sign, i believe.”