✘ Round 4 | [Audio]

[glacius]

[It's time for someone who rarely accesses the network to rear his head again, driven to desperation as the days have ticked by and he's failed to find even a trace of one of his closest friends. That being said when Glacius speaks there's an uncharacteristic urgency tinting his voice, worry bubbling just underneath the surface.] Kate Galloway. Has--has anyone seen or heard from her recently?

[Realizing that in his haste to get to the point he's left out some details, he dials it back a bit:] She's, ah, a human woman. Brightly-colored hair. Worked at the clinic, primarily. I... haven't seen a trace of her ever since the masquerade and...

... Please. [His voice finally wavers noticeably, resignation clashing up against his innate tendency to hope again hope. This can't be how it goes.] I need someone to tell me she's still here.

Comments

text

[leashed]

I can attempt to locate her for you. I am skilled in tracking- though I would require one of her possessions and information on where she was last seen.

audio

[unknowable]

I've been at the clinic quite a bit, and I haven't seen her.

I'm sorry.

text

[glacius]

I have come into a number of her possessions. [Which he told himself he was just holding onto for her until she returned, but...

Glacius doesn't want to finish that thought, but the gnawing knowledge that this might be all he has left of Kate makes him extremely protective and wary.] How do I know I can trust you with one of them? I cannot allow anyone to steal or damage them.

audio

[glacius]

[A harsh string of clicks can be heard from the other side of the feed. Electronic interference or a curse in the being's native tongue? It might be hard to tell normally, but the context should make it fairly clear.] She wouldn't just leave her duties. Not unless something has happened.

[Whether she's injured and stranded somewhere or something even worse, the alien knows one thing:] I must try to find her.

text

[leashed]

I am a member of the city guard. I can offer you my credentials, and if I disrespect her property in any way, you may report it to my superiors.

audio;

[iustitiae]

She's been really good for this place.

[with the clinic and everything. but he's pretty sure if no one has seen her around she's probably gone.]

text

[glacius]

[There's a pause, then:] That will not be necessary, as I am a member of the Guard as well. Please excuse my lapse... [He doesn't use the communications devices all that much so he doesn't have many people's numbers memorized, and it's impossible to recognize who he's conversing with via tone or appearance when they're using text.] ...and my suspicions. This topic is... very sensitive.

audio

[unknowable]

Did you try the GPS already? Usually that's the quickest way, and I think it's working again.

[He hadn't really thought about it much, but -]

I can't find her on it, though.

text

[leashed]

Of course. You cared very much for her.

I will help you, if you let me.

audio;

[hotspurred]

[Henry speaks with a tone of finality.]

She has not turned up for her archery lessons. 'Tis unlike her. Nor can her phone be reached.

audio;

[glacius]

[Glacius responds with another burst of harsh, upset clicking. You people are telling him the exact opposite of what he asked!!] I... I do not want this to be so. And yet...

audio;

[glacius]

She was. [Glacius replies, fighting to keep himself together and... having only marginal success. That not just traces of sadness are showing through his normal reserved front, but that he's actually openly readable right now... really is saying something about how good she'd been not just for Hadriel, but for the alien himself.]

private audio

[unfollowing]

[She does a little investigating before answering Glacius, setting the message to private so they can both be as vulnerable as they need.

Emily's voice is gentle when she speaks.] I'm sorry, Glacius. She's not here anymore. I checked the network-- she's gone from there too. That's-- that means she's home again.

private audio

[glacius]

[There's a very long pause. When Glacius finally does speak, his voice is hushed from its utter despondence.] ... I know.

private audio

[unfollowing]

[Those words are like a lance through her heart.]

I'm really sorry. She's really cool. [A pause. This always sucks, goddamn.] I'm here for you if there's anything I can do.

private audio

[glacius]

She is. She was... the first person to leap to my aid in the middle of conflict in this place. She would stand against the very forces of my past when they sought to torment me. She was the closest thing I had to a fellow warrior here... and she was... one of my closest friends.

And now I... I don't know. [He's never had to deal with the loss of someone he's so close to. It is really fucking him up--he doesn't feel like he wants to be around anyone right now, but he also doesn't want to be alone.] I don't know what to do, Emily. I just... wish I could see her again.

[voice]

[synthedick]

[Given his tendency to skim the contact list on the network to see who is and isn't still with them, Nick had a feeling Kate was sent home. What he didn't realize was just how close Miss Galloway was with the city's iciest alien.]

I'm sorry, Glacius. I'll keep an eye on the network and let you know if she pops up again, all right?

[voice]

[glacius]

I appreciate that. I mean... it's better that she isn't here. She's free of the gods torments now. And yet...[Glacius trails off, sounding more than a bit lost.]

private audio

[unfollowing]

[Kate's a better person than Emily got a chance to find out about, isn't she. Which means she's left without much to say to help Glacius out right now.]

I couldn't have made your sash without her. [It's quiet and small, but it's a memory and a gesture Emily still values.]

I know. It's the worst. [She felt the same way after Matt disappeared.] We're so helpless when tha thappens. Like, we can scream and cry all we want, but that's not going to make them come back.

[Voice]

[drabsolutelynot]

I'm afraid it looks as though she is gone.

[He's taken aback by the news, Kate will now be the first of the people he had really spoken to to go]

I am...I am very sorry.

text

[glacius]

[Normally, Glacius might become demure, or at least respond with a dry remark about how obvious he's being... but right now it holds no appeal. He just wants to honor the friendship he had.] I did.

... I suppose, though I... do not know... I do not want you to waste your time on a futile hunt. And yet, my hearts would not allow me to shy away from doing everything in my power to find her.

[This has to be the most long-winded "yes, please help me" in the city's history!]

audio

[glacius]

I have. I am exhausting all options to available to me, and yet...

... well. They all point to the same end.

private audio

[glacius]

[The reminder makes Glacius smile, but it's one that is laced with pain, the gift bittersweet now that it is a reminder of her disappearance.] Yes. I will... always cherish something made for me by two of my closest friends. And now it means even more. [It might hurt to carry it with him, but if it will help him to remember and honor her, then he will do it gladly.]

I, ah. I know what you mean. My people, we are... a very reserved species, taught to be in control of our emotions. It is rare that I face anything that threatens that. And yet... now... I feel as though I could roar with the unfairness of it all. And yet all I ever wanted was for her to be free from this place--so why am I... what is wrong with me?

[Voice]

[glacius]

As am I. She will be missed by many.

Audio

[knifecollecting]

[Jo hesitates to reply because the alien is obviously affected and she doesn't know how to calm him down, but...]

Like the others say, I think she's gone. I haven't seen her.