audio;

[hotspurred]

[Henry's voice may be recognisable from the Guard's announcement a few days ago. Yet on this occasion, unlike then, he speaks quickly and sharply with a forceful urgency. There's no time for him to lock this to the Guard.]

Pay heed! Hope's temple may soon come under assault by a monster far more terrible than its kin. Through savage harm it plans to lure out Hope. If you be within, do not leave the temple's protection unless you are prepared for death.

[The reason for his warning quickly makes itself known, faster than Henry would have liked. This voice, too, might be recognised by some.]

I will do far worse than kill.

[Every attempt at emotion is still off kilter, still too dampened by clarity and ice to sound right. It sounds like Kate but all the same it is not, not even a little. It lilts in all the right ways but it sounds like it hasn't ever felt emotion before this.

Which makes sense, because it was only brought into the world a few short hours ago.]

Preparing for death isn't very useful when I don't want you dead, Not yet. Not until your skin is peeling from the burns and every bone in your body is snapped in two. Or more. It doesn't matter that much.

[That is where he switches off his phone, so that it cannot prove a distraction in the fight ahead. Consider yourselves warned about the Torturedemon, Hadriel. There will be no replies from Henry, but feel free to talk among yourselves.]

Comments

[voice]

[mismanagement]

There's not much time. [Maketh's voice is oddly flat.] Is it going to attack the civilians, or just us?

[voice; locked]

[dedikated]

[ she can barely keep her eyes open for more than a few minutes at a time but this fucking plan has gone to hell in a fucking handbasket and Kate still hasn't shaken the disbelief or horror that set in when she heard the initial broadcast, so Maketh's question does nothing but set off a flurry of other possbilities that has her steadying herself against a wall rather than immediately answering.

Come on, Galloway. Think.

she may not have intended for this thing to exist, but she knows it. can feel it as deep as she can feel all the things that have been building inside of her since day one, culminating in an explosion of reckless behaviour and lack of thought.

she's always been kind of impulsive, not prone to hesitation because hesitation gets you or someone else fucking killed, but this is- this was beyond impulsive. ]

I-

It wants the gods. [ she can feel that in her bones, it hurts like a bruise, because she wants that too. she wants them dead and everyone free. ] .... That's all I know.

[voice; locked]

[mismanagement]

[It went after Henry. He had the mark. The blessing. Maketh exhales slowly.] I have Hope's blessing on my hand.

[She won't let it go through anyone else trying to kill her.]

You are going to put Nick Valentine in charge. Do you understand me?

[voice; locked]

[dedikated]

...Shit. [ fuck, panic hasn't clutched at her chest like this since she woke up after shooting Marc in her dreams last month. but then it was just a dream, and she was perfectly healthy; perfectly capable of doing something. she doesn't want that thing out any more than anyone else, probably more, knowing what - who - it is and what that means for her, for everyone in this place.

to her, this is all some perfectly fucking timed message reminding her that it's just one more wrong fucking step before she is that thing. before everything it says is words from her own lips rather than its. oh fuck- ]

W-whatever needs to be done. [ there's bile rising in her throat and the exhaustion makes it so much fucking harder to keep herself logical and unfazed. so maybe her answers don't make sense. she doesn't know. she just wants it gone.

but who could possibly remain unfazed if this thing came from them? ]

[voice; locked]

[mismanagement]

Good.

[There's absolutely nothing in Maketh's voice now. She's already made her decision.]

You are going to protect these people now. That's all.