Closed

[keenly]

WHO: Wysteria, Sonia, John, Colin.
WHAT: Damsels take a road trip
WHEN: Bloomingtide 1-3ish
WHERE: The Crossroads
NOTES: This post.

Dramatis Personae:

Cato
(non-mage)
The ranking infantry officer. Most seem to follow his orders.

Octavia
(mage)
The chief Venatori overseer. She has the power to override Cato's commands, and lets him know it.

Claudia
(mage)
Venatori. Specializes in glyphs, spirit magic, and entropy.

Flavius
(mage)
Tevinter infantry healer

Aurelia
Venatori mage

Marcus
(non-mage)
Tevinter infantry

Rufus
(non-mage)
Tevinter infantry

Philo
(non-mage)
Tevinter infantry, very young and patriotic, didn't expect he'd have to commit atrocities.

 

Comments

[vorbratta]

Sonia is exhausted, inside and out. Other members of Riftwatch are far more prepared to weather situations like this, she knows, and she knows, too, that she should have been prepared -- that something like this could have happened. She feels like a child, scared and cowed into submission by the very real threat of violence, cutting deep into her dignity under all the fear. By the time they finally stop, her feet are impossibly sore -- these boots were not made for walking these distances -- and she's grateful to collapse in a heap on the ground, burying her face in her arms. She doesn't even realize that one long leg is extended just far enough for someone to trip on until she feels that foot connect with hers, but she hardly has any time to react before Rufus hauls her up by the collar, so fast and so furious it steals the breath from her throat. 

"I -- " Her hands scrabble uselessly under her as he hauls her up, trying to find purchase on the ground. She grimaces in pain as the collar pulls against her neck, jaw clenched, breath short. Her hands close over his in desperation, to keep herself upright. "No, I didn't mean to -- "

He's so close, so close it makes her mouth go dry, and she's tried not to show any tears to their captors, but oh, she's always cried so easily. She can feel the sting of fresh tears at the corners of her eyes, and after it, a sudden surge of wild indignation and anger. She pulls at his hands, trying to break from his grasp. If you lay your hands on me -- "Let go!"

[keenly]

It would be a lie to say Colin is not tempted to cower and let this play out. Sonia and Wysteria are unlikely to be badly harmed; he and John, however, are the ones most often threatened with death to keep everyone in line. They are valuable, unless they cause too much trouble to get the other two home.

"Shut your mouth," growls Rufus before immediately contradicting himself. "Did you think you could put me on the floor and jump me?" He raises his hand to strike her. It's too much.

"If she did do that, you'd have set her straight in no time," Colin hears himself saying, though he can't bring himself to look at Rufus. "Wouldn't you? You're much stronger than she is, that's evident to all."

There's some length of silence. Colin knows Rufus' type--he's embarrassed that he tripped, and wants to take back his dignity by marring her face. Simply giving him his dignity without a fight has, perhaps, a fifty percent chance of avoiding further violence and an equal chance of getting him even angrier. Folded in is a gentle reminder that such dignity would only be compromised by striking a helpless woman. The rest of the group is, by now, watching quietly, and Octavia has a displeased look.

At last, Rufus' grip loosens. He drops Sonia back to the floor.

"That's right," he says. "Watch yourself." His pride collected once more, he storms off.

Colin releases a long breath before looking at Sonia and mouthing, Are you all right?

[vorbratta]

Sonia flinches back immediately when Rufus raises his hand, squeezing her eyes shut in expectation of the blow that doesn't come, and then she hears Colin's voice. She opens her eyes and follows Rufus's gaze towards him, suddenly terrified that their captor will take out his anger on Colin instead. They haven't exactly been shy about threatening Colin and John. But then Rufus abruptly lets go of her collar, and she barely catches herself with one hand, stopping her face from hitting the ground. She sits back, covering her face with a long, shuddering breath as she tries to suppress any further tears. God, this is terrifying.

She lifts her head enough to catch Colin's look and she bites her lip, nodding slightly. As alright as she's going to get, anyway. She waits until their captors have turned their attention away from them for the most part, then shifts closer to Colin, careful to draw her legs in closer this time.

"Thank you," she breathes, just enough for him to hear.