CATCHING IN MY THROAT.

katrina had stopped near one of the vendor stalls, half-listening to a conversation about candied nuts, when the voice caught her attention. not a loud one. just… determined? she turned as the flyer was offered, hesitating only a second before taking it. "oh- thank you" she said, eyes dropping to read it. a pop-up concert. holiday classics. She huffed a soft, faint laugh, surprised.

"that’s very ambitious," she said, glancing back up with a small yet honest smile still across her lips. "this place gets… overwhelming..but i guess people do listen more this time of year.."

"thank you!" she decided that she would take it as a compliment. "it's been a really tough time here, hasn't it? i mean, i know i'm new here and probably don't even know the half of it, but..." she waved her hand, leaving the sentence unfinished. "people could use some cheer, a distraction if nothing else."

luz almost had to do a double take when she say the rumi kang of huntrix standing before her. she took a moment to secretly pinch herself to make sure that this wasn't a dream. when the sting of pain hit, a soft ow left luz's lips and the realization dawned on her.

never in her life has luz ever been cool about anything. she was someone who let her excitement explode. she cared too much, loved too much and was easily overflowed with joy. huntrix had become one of her favorite groups in the last year. she was standing in front of pop royalty and doing her best to remain .. cool. "oh my god a free huntrix concert! this is the best day of my entire life." she squealed with joy as she looked at the flyer, gripping it with so much excitement. it took a split second for luz to realize her reaction may have been a little over the top. clearing her throat she did her best to be nonchalant. her arms crossed over her chest and she even leaned back for add emphasis. "i mean, yeah that's cool. i love the classics. you guys are gonna rock it."

"i'm rumi, by the way - don't want to assume that you know that," she introduced herself and offered her hand.

"you should cover soda pop, it's not in your key, but i think you could pull it off," he slid next to her. it wasn't a holiday classic at all, but he didn't care. the thought of being anywhere near rumi when she sang was a bad idea. he'd been a random face in the crowd during a huntrix concert exactly once in his life. while he might love to watch rumi sing, he hated listening to it. "are you on santa's naughty list this year?"

"if i am, i'm not as high as you on it." ugh, was she? rumi hated that her kneejerk reaction was not to deny it. but she felt nervous about lingering on that particular line of conversation for very long. "shouldn't you be running along to scheme some kind of counter?" a particularly bitter wind blew, and she shivered, adjusting her coat. "but if you try to interrupt, we will totally kick your ass in front of everyone."

Aurora’s eyes lit up the moment she saw Rumi passing out flyers, her energy so bright it could’ve rivaled the tree they stood beneath. She stepped closer with a gentle smile, fingers brushing against one of the offered flyers. “Huntrix at the tree lighting?” she echoed with quiet excitement. “That sounds like just the kind of magic this place needs.”

With a soft nod, she added warmly, “I'll make sure to get a spot near the front, I want to hear every note.”

"well, feel free to listen and singalong - this season is all about caroling, right?" she grinned. "plus, if you stick around some after, we'll be doing some autographing too! we want it to be a huge, celebratory night."

he kept his easy going attitude, trying to pretend he wasn't entirely interested in anything to do with her. he was interested in what she had to say, but he couldn't act like he was. she'd picked the creepiest place to meet and he was still confused by all of that. of course, he'd never admit that whenever he went into a graveyard, he was entirely off his game. he could only play aloof for so long. jinu watched her closely, this clearly wasn't a trap or he'd already have sprung it—he knew she wouldn't have even given him the chance to speak.

"well, you picked the perfect place for it," he looked around, trying to look at ease even if he wasn't. jinu smirked at her response. he couldn't imagine rumi ever hiding a body that wasn't well someone who deserved it. "i think i'd be the best person for the job. do you want my resume?" he'd never hidden a body before. he'd never actually hurt anyone. only his actions resulted in the harm of others. it was a bad joke, yet he liked the frown on her face.

he made a jester signalling after her and fell into step behind her. "they're fragile because people are angry. and i suppose you could say we're enjoying this." he was enjoying feeling close enough to his goals. there wasn't a timeline on getting his memories erased, all he was doing was playing soldier until he was freed. then he'd find something new to do. "it's not..." he started, but didn't know how to phrase what he wanted to say. he was only privy to the information that hades wanted him to know and that was... so little. "it's complicated," he started to say. "if you're looking for someone versed in all the politics, then that's not me. i can only observe so much. people in the underland... they're different, they're hungry, they want something and most of them will stop at nothing to get it. whatever you want, there's a price for it sure—but someone in the underland can make it happen. " a pause.

"what do you want rumi kang of huntrix?" he was curious what her answer would be. jinu kept his steady eyes on hers, daring her answer. he didn't expect her to answer. his own request was simple and yet now that he was aware of what he was asking from hades, he was hyper aware that the memories weren't in the fore front of his mind. they were still there, still accessible, but they weren't haunting him, they weren't a problem. interesting, considering when she sung, they were present. he'd file that information away to figure out at a later time.

"ugh, no," she scoffed, nose scrunching up a bit, maybe taking it a bit too literally. "i already know what's on it, anyway. demon stuff, demon stuff, boy band." rumi counted it off on three fingers she recited the options. it was more aggressive than she wanted or intended to be, but she was having a hard time figuring out how to handle this. the insecurities had her on her last straw and jinu had figured out pretty quickly how to press her buttons. but in this particular moment, her irritation was only partially about him - a relatively small piece, actually. the issues of the honmoon were far bigger than him, even if he was a representation of what happened when she failed. her failure was the biggest concern. the markings were taking up more of her skin, becoming more visible than they ever had, impacting her voice... she was running out of time and she knew it. she rubbed at the back of her neck subconsciously.

still, rumi can put her irritation aside enough to listen, trying to absorb every piece of knowledge that she could from him. maybe it was naive to assume that he was being truthful, but... she needed him to be. she needed something, anything. it's that desperation that makes her latch onto the most minor word choice. "are you enjoying this?" rumi pestered him correctly. it's hard to imagine him saying anything other than yes, if nothing else annoying her seemed to delight him, but she wanted there to be something more. or maybe she didn't. being around him was confusing. as much as he said he didn't know more about it, she struggled to believe him - how could be okay with that? "well, you can observe a lot more than me," she pointed out. "don't you want to know more about all of it? i mean, otherwise, you're just - what, a pawn for them? are you really happy with that?" she wasn't. sometimes, she felt like a pawn in all of this. this was the role that she'd been given, but she needed this part of herself gone, locked away, so no one would ever know about it.

the wind blew a sharp, cold breeze, loosening the scarf around her neck. the growing marks just peaked out above the edge of her turtleneck. rumi pulled down her beanie a bit tighter, unaware, and groaned at his question, but maintained his eye contact. "you know exactly what i want. to seal the honmoon, and be done with all of this." she gestured widely at nothing with her arm. she wanted to be free, and that was the only way that she saw that to be possible. if they sealed it, her marks would be gone, and she could just... be a person again. be something, someone more than all of this.

he hadn't expected the note from rumi. honestly, he was pretty sure she hated him and everything he stood for. there was no way he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to see what she wanted from him. whatever questions she had were probably important if she was going to him for it instead of the rest of huntrix members. and honestly? he was curious. outside of what he was supposed to do, jinu knew that getting close to someone would be the best way to break them. was this his opening? or was she trying to break him? either way, he wasn't going to sit back and not figure it out.

walking up to the cemetery, he watched her closely, trying to be as quiet as possible. her stance wasn't battle ready, so he started making a loud enough noise that he was there. he'd wanted to make sure that it wasn't a trap and he's taken the time to scout ahead. he trusted his own eyes more than anything else though.

"sorry, i got lost," a lie, a beat, "i'm here now." he held his hands up to show he wasn't armed—he was, his weapons were just away. "this is a dreary place for a meeting? did you call me because you need help hiding a body?" he joked.

rumi was grateful for the break in her thoughts when she heard some footsteps behind her, tensing up for a moment as she turned around and recognized jinu, coming in with an apology. she scanned over him habitually, but his posture was disarming. ugh, it was probably because he was stupidly handsome - all the more reason to be annoyed with him.

"hi." it was then she realized she had not actually prepared what she was going to say to him, but at least the joke is enough to disarm her, too. "ugh, no, please. you wish. i have like, a thousand people i'd call before you for covering up a body." okay, that was a lie, but still! mira would kick ass at that, she bet.

what rumi wanted to talk about, though, was hard to find the words for. "walk and talk?" she suggested, trying to buy herself a little bit more time, but also self-aware enough to recognize that her anxiety was often more manageable when she stayed in motion. it was like she was almost able to dodge it, for a brief window. "this place - elias and the underland..." she paused, biting at the inside of her cheek. she goes on the offense. "you and your band must be having a field day. things here are more fragile than anywhere we've ever toured." but there had to be a bigger reason for that. "do you know why?"

penny felt the starstruck jolt. like someone had plugged her straight into a glittery pop-music power outlet. but she shoved it down so hard her spine practically straightened from the effort. she kept her face neutral, maybe a little too neutral, like she was trying not to blink too fast or breathe too loud.

“yeah... yeah, totally,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t crack. it didn’t. thank god. “you can’t miss it. the whole place feels… off. like it’s trying really hard to pretend everything’s normal but, uh, plot twist-- it’s not.”

she explained it calmly, maybe a little too casually, like she wasn’t talking to someone whose songs she definitely listened to while getting ready in the mornings.

her eyes flicked to rumi’s face for half a second, then away just as quickly, pretending she was studying the street instead. “but you’re right. this isn’t the kind of place you expect stuff like this to go down.” she let out a small, awkward laugh. “like futuristic town, cute shops, seasonal festivals? it’s supposed to be better since the war, not… whatever this is.”

"i thought this place was going to be all kinds of cutesy and fun. i mean, it's still cutesy, i can't lie. there's a lot of really cool things. but fun?" she made a scrunched up face, not quite having the words to label it.

rumi shifted her weight uneasily between her feet, wondering for a moment how much to talk about it. was the other woman uncomfortable with it? maybe. she didn't want to pry, but she didn't want to act oblivious, either. "do you... know someone who's missing?" a beat. no, that was definitely the wrong question. "i'm sure you'll be okay. i mean, karate goes far! maybe just don't walk alone much, either."

"powerful like... like they have magic and powers, and all of those things that people like myself do not have." she hoped that the bitterness didn't come through. don't get her wrong; agnes liked herself enough, but moments like this just reminds her of her powerlessness.

the things agnes could do with powers. how easy would it be to just march into the council room and force answers out of the council. or even better—having the power to investigate immediately, catch the culprit, and bring them to justice.

"some of them are rich too, though." she added, almost like she was consoling herself that there were normal people on the council. even if they're not exactly normal with their wealth.

agnes took a while to process the other's words. "'you think' like 'you're assuming' something sinister is happening. or are you taking from experience?" the gears in her brain started turning. "you did conveniently move here and then this happened."

but agnes shook her head to dispel the thoughts. why was she jumping to conclusions like this?

she changed the subject, nonetheless. "break in interrogate. i'm not tech-savvy enough to do any hacking. are you up for that?"

"well, money gets you a lot of things, but i don't think it undisappears people." that was at least something that rumi could speak to both sides to - power and money - but she didn't think that she could fully untangle all of that. owning up to her power meant owning up to this being her fault. she couldn't bare that with anyone, and she did not expect agnes to be forgiving of it, not with her appropriately righteous anger.

"oh, um," rumi shook her head quickly to jump in on the... was it an accusation? crap! she tried to gather her words quickly, but was visibly flustered. "no, no. sorry, english isn't my first language." she speaks excellent english, but she needed an excuse. "i'm assuming. but if you're saying magic and powers are here, well, that makes me assume more." it's close to the truth. "who says just good people have those things?"

okay, hopefully that sounded more put together.

she bit at the inside of her cheek, and shook her head. "no, not unless they've got all their secrets in the tiktok drafts. great with phones, terrible with computers."

violet can't help but smile. her own positive memories of beakfeed's fun quizzes were buried under two months of editorial nightmares, but that didn't mean others found genuine joy in them. "yeah, they started over in duckburg where Waddle is, but most of the team is based here now," she explained with a shrug. the smile becomes a bit of a grimace. "they're…okay." violet put up a hand next to her mouth, adding in a stage-whisper: "let's just say i've never worked with such a demanding boss before."

"well, i'm glad to help in whatever way i can!" she meant it, too. she had to think quickly about what she wanted to do here - try to play it off like the other was mistaken, or offer the truth and see where that went. she was so tired of lying, no matter how necessary it was. maybe this was fine. hopefully this was fine. "no, no, you're not rude at all," she quickly reassured before launching into it. "i don't think we have. i'm rumi kang, of huntrix. we've been staying here for some stuff, but uh, it would be super cool of you not to mention that in your article! you seem super cool, too, so i'd be happy to maybe do some other kind of interview, for later, if you don't mind being quiet about it right now."

open starter , location council building.

minnie wasn’t entirely sure how being head councilor of elias had unraveled into… this. she’d known the job would be difficult, yes, but she hadn’t expected the weight of it to feel like a vice tightening around the city and her piece by piece. she should’ve seen it coming. the signs had been there, buried under optimism and the hope that people would rise to the occasion instead of tearing each other apart.

now, with citizens missing and fear running like a fever through elias, everything felt more fractured than it had since the war. she’d always known who not to trust in the underland, but she’d also believed. naively, perhaps. that the rest of the city could stand united when it mattered. that people could care about elias because it was their home, not because they wanted to treat it like their personal playground.

the past few days had proven her painfully wrong.

she sat on the council steps with her lunch, letting the cold air bite at her skin because it was the only thing that made her feel grounded. she’d insisted to the guards there was no need to hover, no need to cage her in even more than her office already did. but they lingered anyway... too close, too alert. another reminder that the head councilor was less a leader these days and more a symbol people wanted to break or protect.

she exhaled, soft and weary, before glancing at the person sitting nearest to her.

“care to join me?” she asked, offering a small, tired smile. “i can answer whatever questions you have… or we can just talk.” her voice gentled, warm despite the storm behind her eyes. “your choice, dear.”

what else could she do? what was she supposed to do? there was only one solution to the problem of the missing people: she, mira, and zoey needed to seal the honmoon. but she could feel her voice slipping away from her, the high notes getting harder and harder to reach with each rehearsal, the tension getting higher and higher with each rehearsal. she felt trapped, like a wild animal inside of a cage.

rumi had found herself closer than usual on this particular day, enjoying at least briefly the sunlight that tried to counter her poor mood. she hadn't thought much about the woman who nearest her until she spoke and looked over. there was something familiar about her face, like she'd seen her in a newspaper or something, but she couldn't immediately place it.

"i wouldn't mind the company," rumi admittedly, surprising herself with her own honesty. there was something warm and grounding about the other. she looked at for a moment longer, then the recognition clicked. "oh, you're one of the councilors, aren't you?" duh, no wonder she was familiar. and here. and offering to answer questions. "i don't really have any questions, to be honest with you. i don't expect that there's a lot you all can do about what's happening." maybe she was being too honest.

open starter, location mun's choice. (0/5)

penny stood with her arms crossed, leather boots tapping a restless rhythm against the floor as she sank deeper into thought. she couldn’t believe what was happening. people actually going missing. and someone as wonderfully talented and beautiful as her? well, obviously she could be a target.

“thankfully, i know karate,” she muttered to herself. “i’m a purple belt… those criminals won’t know what hit them.” her gaze stayed fixed on the wall, jaw set with dramatic determination. “imagine trying to capture me. pfft.” she scoffed, finally turning her head toward the other person. “have you heard this craziness? people going missing? insane!"

rumi swallowed her rage and insecurity, catching onto the last of the other woman's words. "oh, yeah, i mean, how can you miss it?" she hoped that she sounded like a normal person, and not someone who was quietly losing her mind about it. but she wasn't sure if she did or not, smile feeling like a grimace. "it is insane. i mean, i don't know, i didn't think this was the kind of place where this type of thing happened."

———  the  guy  was  taller  than  leo  and  clearly  very  annoyed  that  his  advances  had  been  halted.  the  one  thing  leo  had  that  the  other  guy  didn't  was  speed.  his  agility  had  saved  him  time  and  time  again.  for  someone  who  was  supposed  to  stay  in  the  shadows,  leo  did  a  terrible  job  of  staying  incognito.  if  anyone  was  in  trouble,  no  matter  how  small,  he  would  do  what  he  could  to  step  in  and  help.  this  was  no  different.  he  tried  to  size  leo  up  but  he  stayed  firm.  ❛ seriously,  go. ❜  the  smile  on  his  face  never  faltered,  his  charm  still  oozing  but  something  threatening  lying  underneath.  the  calm  before  the  storm  if  the  guy  wanted  to  keep  pushing  his  luck.

it  look  like  he  didn't.

❛  just  so  you  know  she  would  have  kicked  your  ass  too!  actually  i  hope  she  does  kick  your  ass  !  ❜  leo  yelled  then  turned  to  the  woman.  he  wanted  to  add  as  much  insult  to  injury  as  he  could.  ❛ don't  mention  it.  ❜

leo  looked  at  her  for  a  moment.  it  took  every  ounce  of  his  being  not  to  start  laughing.  not  at  her,  of  course,  but  the  idea  of  swooping  in  to  get  her  number.  he  could  see  where  she  had  gotten  the  idea.  it  was  such  a  stereotypical  man  thing  to  do.  leo  cringed  at  the  thought  of  being  one.  he  hadn't  stepped  in  to  fluff  his  ego  or  own  sense  of  self.  the  slider  truly  just  cared  for  people.  ❛  you  don't  have  to  worry  about  me  doing  some  creep-o  guy  moves  on  you.  with  so  much  respect,  you're  not  my  type.  ❜  the  uneasiness  that  followed  was  warranted.  leo  did  his  best  to  come  off  as  non  threatening  as  possible.  ❛  yeah,  you  can  say  that  again.  that's  the  underland  for  you.  the  vibes  here  are  not  good  at  all.  ❜  inferno  didn't  even  try  to  hide  it's  ill  intent.  it  was  evident  with  every  pass  of  the  glowing  vials  of  nektar.

❛  i  know  you  could've  taken  that  guy.  i'm  sorry  if  i  came  in  too  hot  but  are  you  okay  ?  ❜  his  voice  was  low,  soft.  he  was  doing  his  best  to  shake  off  any  douchey  vibes  he  may  have  just  gained  after  his  whole  stint.  that,  and  leo  genuinely  wanted  to  know  if  she  was  okay.

well, and maybe the points were lost again when he said she wasn't his type. he wasn't really hers either, to be fair, but she didn't love hearing it directly.

"so you know a lot about this place? the underland?" it's easy to turn the tide of conversation to that - that was what rumi really wanted to know about with being here, and if she could get something directly from the source of someone who had been here and experienced it longer, than she imagined that would be very helpful in filling in the gaps of her own personal observation. the more that she could figure out, the faster, the better. "i figured it was an outsider kind of thing. are you from here? or elias... or wherever?" she needed to figure out what kind of source of information he could be, after all. maybe it wouldn't help with actually kicking demon ass, but she did need to figure out why this place seemed to be such a huge vulnerability for the honmoon. surely it couldn't all be related to what was going on with her... she had to hope it was more than that.

"me?" rumi blinked, surprised by his asking, and straightened up suddenly, wondering if she didn't look okay. "oh, yeah, i'm fine. trust me - i am so used to getting approached by all kinds of people all the time. it's kind of a thing." she offered no explanation, smoothing out a strand of purple hair back behind her ear. "you were fine. i could've handled it myself, definitely, but you were probably faster."

the words spoken were not to criticise agnes, thankfully. if anything, they also reflected the same frustration agnes had. at least there was another person worrying about this. agnes was beginning to worry nobody cared as much as she did.

"bullshit." it came out harsher than intended. she had to pause and take a deep breath to level her emotions. "sorry—but the council is made up of some really powerful people. if they're not doing anything, it's because they don't want to." she took a seat on the stairs. "i don't know shit. that's why i'm trying to find answers. answers that the council clearly do not want to give."

she let out a dark chuckle. "maybe i should break in and demand answers."

"no, no need to be sorry," she insisted with a quick shake of her head as the other apologized and explained where she was coming from. the passion was important. maybe rumi needed to here this, needed more fire underneath her in order to fight this problem. she felt so horribly alone with it all, as though mira and zoey were not also right there to help.

"what kind of powerful?" the question comes out earnestly before she can stop herself, running on her own assumptions. "i mean, money can only solve so many problems, you know?" rumi didn't hesitate to join her, sitting down about a foot away from her on the stairs. "i think..." she hesitated. "i think there's something more sinister going on." she's said too much. she stopped herself there, trying to shift the focus away. "break in like interrogate? or like hack their computers like in the spy movies? well, i guess both happen in spy movies."