video - un: starkov / dated 11/12

[sankta]

( the video opens on Alina looking winded. the focus is on her face, sweat trickling down her brow, strands of hair plastered to her cheeks. she's looking past the camera at something else. behind her is a dimly lit hallway, only the wall and light on the wall barely peeking out past her face. )

Be careful if you're invited to any parties these days. ( her eyes flick to the camera, then she lowers the camera to reveal her upper chest. just below her throat, across her collar bone, is a deep, angry slash that still drips past the neckline of her dress.

she raises the camera to her face again, her eyes darting around herself rather than watching the screen. ) That was meant to be my throat. Others weren't so lucky.

The Brotherhood left a message after the slaughter for the families seeking alliance with Macaluso and Taravast. ( her eyes flick back to the camera. ) Basically, don't do it; this is the only warning. ( she searches her memories a bit for the wording- ) "Never seek alliances that could imperil the Brotherhood's interests again."

( she sighs, closes her eyes and shakes her head before reaching up to wipe the strands of hair from her brow. ) I could use some help. I caught one. ( she flips the camera around to show the hallway behind her lined with the carnage of four undead envoys in pieces on the floor. ) But I still need help to clean up.

Comments

un: ut malum pluvia | audio

[somebadnews]

[ Five tries to be surprised, but tensions are just going to keep escalating. He listens for a while and could swear he hears his brother's name. Who the hell are the Brotherhood? ]

Are you planning on tracking them down?

[ And more importantly, is Diego? When were you going to tell him... ]

voice ;

[sankta]

I have one. ( she answers, knowing that Five would be able to do more with this news than she will. )

Diego was at the party. He wasn't attacked, though.

[somebadnews]

[ He thought that might have been what she meant. Hopefully this will go better than the last one.

He appreciates that she lets him know how his brother is without him having to ask. Diego is a capable fighter, but he has a tendency to get in over his head. Having him involved complicates how to handle this. ]

Are they able to talk?

[ The man she captured, not Diego. Assuming no one else has stepped in to volunteer yet. ]

[sankta]

( straight to business, as expected. it's a comforting normal for Alina in the chaos. )

They can. They did to threaten us. They will again.

Care to help?

[somebadnews]

[ Yeah, well. He doesn’t appreciate threats against his family when he has a hard enough time keeping them alive as it is.

He has more questions, but he can ask when he gets there. ]

I’ll be there. I’m assuming it’s a big enough mess that it’s easy to find you.

[sankta]

Just follow the trail of dead bodies. I'm hard to miss.

[somebadnews]

[ Leave it to Diego to get in the middle of this. These are real thoughts he has, because he is in no way a hypocrite. As usual, he doesn’t bother with any more pleasantries. He’s been listening long enough to know where to find them.

Unfortunately, he teleports closer to the scene than he means to when he lands in a pool of blood. Fantastic.

Sighing heavily, he surveys the area, trying to spot Alina and whoever she captured. Hopefully while his brother is busy cleaning up. ]

[sankta]

( Alina's already had Hermione stop by. others are on their way to help, but they don't need her to tend to the injured or burn the bodies.

instead she waits for Five. despite all the warnings that she should curtail her anger and wait until she's more settled. fuck that. she wants to deal with this now.

so when she hears someone approaching, she steps out of a hallway to find Five. ) Over here. ( she gestures, directing him down the hallway. ) I found an empty room to drag him into. ( she didn't want any of the others to show up and find the envoy she'd caught. )

[somebadnews]

[ Five is of the same mind, so she made the right call as far as he’s concerned. Maybe she won’t be as eager for him to spare someone who actively tried to murder her. Considering she asked for him, he’s got a feeling she’s coming around.

He looks across the room one more time to try and catch a glimpse of his brother and confirm that he’s not doing something stupid, but as soon as Alina calls to him he nods and follows.

Before they enter, he asks the obvious. They have less time if they saw her take him. ]

Do his friends know he’s here?