snakes in the garden

[merckori]

𝕤𝕜𝕒𝕚 𝕜𝕣𝕚𝕡𝕒 ;​

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 : half way between polis and arkadia 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐃 : present 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆 : @merckori​

𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐄𝐓 regarding self-preservation might have changed,   jasper’s instinct when he wakes up in the middle of the woods with a grounder staring over him is still to scream…    which is exactly what he does.   jasper surely alerts half the forest to his presence as he notices the other,   and as he scrambles backwards,   his head hammers with pain in response to the drugs he took last night.   how did he get outside of arkadia?    how does he even get home?    if only he knew just how far he’d wandered…    “ shit, ”   jasper hisses,   his hand flying up to cover his eyes with a groan.    oh,    it’s bright.    “ crap,   okay,   just…    just give me a moment.    god,   what’s wrong with the S U N! ”   he exclaims,   hand flying away from his face in irritation.

slowly,    jasper sits back against the tree he found his back pressed against.   sighing,   he says,   “ if you’re gonna kill me,   man,   just get it over with... ”

the new year celebration was the first chance korsika had to personally meet any of the sky people and she would openly admit they were a strange breed indeed. and the young man sprawled out on the forest floor seemed to be a testament to that. she’d been watching him for sometime and come to the conclusion early on that he wasn’t dead, just asleep. the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest was proof of this. korsika crouched beside him, observing all she could—what he wore, the way he was built, the weapon he carried, or perhaps lack there of. but she couldn’t be sure of such a thing without a proper search.

when his eyes finally opened, the fearful reaction was more or less expected, but the severity of it raised questions even for her. it was clear that he’d screamed, but the sound was lost on her. as was every other sound that surrounded them. she studied him carefully, watching the way his mouth moved over the words carefully, picking out every one she could. kori leaned backwards on her heels and sat unmoving for a moment. it seemed she’d stumbled upon a sky person who enjoyed the drink a bit too much. or maybe it was something else as she couldn’t smell the alcohol on him, often an obvious tell.

korsika finally rose to her feet and made a fast motion with her left hand, as though it was talking before bringing it to her ear and shaking her head slowly. her dark gaze shifted to the surrounding area for a brief moment, already aware that he was alone out here, the real question was why? she lifted a finger and pointed to the forest around them and then finally directly at him, her lips forming one soundless word.  ❝ why? ❞ 

[merckori]

ＷＨＥＮ: present ＷＨＥＲＥ: triot, azgeda — outside the aztrap gates ＷＨＯ: open to all — @kongedastarters​

the new year celebration in polis was more or less exactly what korsika expected it to be like; busy and bustling with drunken fools. much to her own pleasure, there was plenty of information for the mercenary to find, she simply had to know where to look. know who to look to. and she had. old contacts from various clans came through as they so often did, and it helped kori decide on her next move. decide where to go to next. azgeda.

it had been years since she’d last set foot in the frostbitten landscape and if she were honest, there was little she’d left behind that she genuinely missed. perhaps it was more people than the place itself she’d longed to see once more. the snow might have been beautiful, but life couldn’t thrive in the freezing temperatures that lingered nearly all year round. not the life she’d have chosen to surround herself with, at least. 

there were few warriors who seemed to have forgotten her, which was exactly how she’d have preferred it, the less she had to explain herself and what she was doing there, the less chance there would be for a miscommunication; and the less chance she’d have to kill someone for threatening her. kori had managed to curry favor with the queen since helping her win the battle against ouskejon kru, however, she couldn’t help but feel killing one of her guards may dampen that same favor. 

as she approached the closed gate, the trained killer began to sign, simply enough so even these meatheads might understand her, but they didn’t. and the gates remained closed. she tried again, slower, using more commonly known movements so that perhaps even these warriors might recognize them.