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ximilialog2021-10-02 08:53 pm
- ! event log,
- ! open,
- altered carbon: takeshi kovacs,
- cotar: rhysand,
- doctor who: clara oswald,
- doctor who: the doctor (11),
- doctor who: the doctor (12),
- grishaverse: alina starkov,
- grishaverse: the darkling,
- gundam seed/destiny: yzak jule,
- mass effect: kaidan alenko,
- mcu: daisy johnson,
- mcu: peter quill,
- pacific rim: newton geiszler,
- star trek aos: james t. kirk,
- yakuza: zhao tianyou
MISSION: BRASS DEVIL, PART 2
● ● ● M I S S I O N 2 . 2
Having spent some time to gather information about each of the families, learn about the history of Braccia, and agree upon the secret location of the Orb in this city, now has come the time for the Orbers to put their strategies into action. Through some fairly impressive in cognito antics while maintaining their respective covers, the Orbers will have split into different factions to help with the ultimate goal: retrieve the orb.
Orbers from Lionetta have decided to organize a distraction and gather as many of their fellow Lionetta members away from the headquarters as possible. Orbers from Featherstone, led by Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes, and River Song, have slowly been pilfering and assembling some of the weaponry and helpful tech. And Orbers from the Ti’shaaz have slowly been adding fuel to the family drama, stoking the flames between the Ti’shaaz and Lionetta families in hopes of invoking a battle on the same night as the planned heist.
Everyone has a good feeling about the work that they’ve done, the collaborative efforts that have brought them to the climax of their time on Braccia. But the night is still young, and there are many things that could go wrong if there is one misstep, one cog out of place in this seemingly well-oiled machine. It is imperative that every Orber pulls their weight in order for the retrieval to go successfully. But that shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Eventually, the time for preparations is over — the team has to make their move. The orb is waiting for them on the highest floor of the Lionetta main headquarters… all they have to do is get in.
1.0 Several different smaller teams decide to head into the old mines that lie beneath the surface of Braccia’s hustle and bustle. Those who decide to utilise the entrances further away from the Lionetta HQ, in the hopes of using paths less traveled and making it there unnoticed, will find that their journey leads them into complete darkness. Be sure to watch your steps — as the tunnels you take along here are ones that have been long since abandoned; there are pitfalls where the rock has crumbled away, leaving nothing but a chasm behind. There are also crumbling walkways and rotten wood that sag and give out from underneath your feet when you least expect it.
Aside from that though, there are no purposeful traps laid out — nothing visible to your eyes to stop you from advancing.
For those who decide to use the lit pathway leading straight from the headquarters to the fountain and the back alley behind Cherry on Top — well, at least you’ll be able to see where you’re going! However, the first thing you’ll notice are the blinking red lights of security cameras deliberately planted along the pathway … and for those who are not Lionetta, it may get uncomfortable, real fast. There are traps set along the way that only activate if the person trying to walk past is not a Lionetta member. Sharp blades might suddenly drop down on you from above. Spikes may burst out of from the ground like killer daisies. And a part of the pathway that you’re on could break into neat square pieces beneath your feet, crumbling away until you’re falling into nothingness.
Irregardless of which perilous road the Orbers choose to take, you will all eventually be led towards the same location: a golden door stands before them, the words For a better future carved into its surface. And if any of you happen to have a key (or a copy of it) like the one that Jim and Finn found, it’s to your benefit that it fits the lock perfectly. There’s nothing left but to go through, right?
2.0 The mines are not the only way in, of course: anyone with an official badge like the one that Kovacs managed to snag on a night out will have access to the elevator and will be able to call it to ground level, as well as take it up to the walkway. Or go straight to the walkway itself, and you’ll be able to boldly enter through the front doors as anyone with a badge has very little reason to be questioned … for now, anyway.
3.0 Meanwhile, An’alya has been mobilising members of the Ti’shaaz family against the Lionetta and are currently hard at work targeting the magical barrier that surrounds the Lionetta HQ. Eventually, those working at the barriers will begin to feel the magic within them weaken and crumble away in a slow but satisfying moment of victory. This weakened security allows Orbers with teleportation abilities to simply zip themselves inside — and perhaps with a few passengers in tow! Rhysand will have one lizard-shaped passenger alongside him already — An’alya herself has taken the first opportunity she could, leading the charge as she scuttles forward immediately upon entry, leaving the others to follow in her wake.
But while those teleporting in may have it easy, it’s hard to know where to teleport — you’d better hope that it isn’t in the middle of a guard shift change, or the guards’ break room, or a room locked from the outside ...
A couple of days before the party, a word-of-mouth invitation begins to travel through the members of the Lionetta family about a speakeasy party with food, drink, and most of all: music. The evening is meant to boost morale and bring the family together, pulling both HQs (lower and main) into an event that has little to do with their daily lives and their grueling jobs. Here they can regale each other with their loyalty and bond to their family; to remember the good times as it were. The party venue occupies the entire ground floor of a building nestled among other bars and clubs of what has fondly been referred to as the ‘entertainment district’. No other signage on the exterior of the building indicates that anything special is happening as the event is very much exclusive.
4.0 When you enter the hall, it’s to the sound of brass and percussion and a male’s singing voice to the tune of something you might have heard before. The makeshift stage is set with speakers and lights and a place for a band to really show the room what they’re made of. There are drinks and bits of food and a small crowd of people have already gathered to enjoy the festivities with a greater crowd expected to fill the room for a good time. It might not be anything to the level of Cheri’s birthday gala, particularly when the theme of the party is to celebrate Lionetta, but it’s an impressive feat all the same and the people here have been promised a good time.
Newly recruited member, Newt, is on stage behind a piano with a couple of other locals not associated with any family in particular who have all had to quickly (but enthusiastically) learn a new set of songs for the evening, music from ‘far away cities’. Joined on stage by another new recruit is The Doctor (11) who has a microphone in one hand and appears to be crooning a rather unrecognizable (by this world’s standards) tune. If you spent any time on Earth during the 1980s, you might recognize it though. It’s very catchy.
5.0 The evening seems to go without a hitch, attracting a large part of the Lionetta family to join the festivities through word of mouth. Everyone is just here to have a good time! As the crowd grows, Majima can be found on the floor keeping the party going by refilling the glasses of family members, while making sure no one gets just a little too out of hand. The music continues, the chatter grows louder, and the laughs and sloppy dancing increases with the hours. Sometime after midnight, when the hours feel a little late, you might find some of the Lionetta members trying to tap into their communications devices with the slow and sloppy realization that they haven’t been operating for … how long has it even been? A while now, right? Some of the members can be found shuffling out of the party in confusion, while others shrug a shoulder and go back to the festivities. Suddenly, someone comes back into the room and yells:
There is a flurry of panicked confusion and Lionetta members pausing in their drinking and dancing to check whether what’s been shouted is true. It looks like the ruse might be up. Will you pretend to be like the rest of the family and act accordingly? Confused and unaware of the plot you’ve cooked up? Or will you come clean and try to find an escape route — perhaps helped by those who, on the outside, have been hard at work making sure the cars aren't in driveable condition.
6.0 As if things hadn’t been chaotic enough, all members of the Lionetta family, including any Lionetta Orbers, will hear a sharp, piercing static crackle through your communications devices as Lionetta members seem to have finally found a way to hack their way through the comms-blocking tech that had been keeping them out. Olexa’s voice cuts in and out and it’s clear she’s been trying to reach her family for a few minutes now. Harsh and commanding, there’s a moment of steady audio that comes through every device in the room as Olexa speaks:
If you haven’t made a decision to stay or leave just yet, you’ll find yourself trapped with the other Lionetta as the doors crash open and colourful blasts of magic are aimed at the partygoers and ricochet off of the venue space. Robed members of the Ti’shaaz family crowd the entrance and start to filter in, officially crashing the party and ending the festivities with violence. The Lionetta, however, won’t be cowed to submission and they quickly gather their wits about them to fight back, throwing punches and swinging kicks to try and disarm the other family, dodging their magical strikes.
Here you have a few options: whether you’re Lionetta or Ti’shaaz, you can stay and fight and keep members of both families occupied, or you can find a way out to join your fellow Orbers at Lionetta’s main HQ for the heist.
7.0 The smaller team that make it inside first will be the one to hit the control room, revealed in the blueprints to be located on the 20th floor — and whether by teleportation or entry by badge, they are let in through the door… but the room is far from empty. There’s an awkward split second as you exchange glances with the guards inside, and then they come charging for you. When the guards have been incapacitated in whatever manner the team deems fit (depending on their level of thirst for blood), they’ll quickly have the opportunity to get the rest of the team in position for the remainder of the heist. Those with a talent for hacking will be able to access the security system without too much difficulty, shutting the cameras off, or programming them on a loop that should hopefully fool anyone looking at the footage elsewhere.
8.0 However, as the other Orbers slowly begin to infiltrate the headquarters, now unseen by any cameras, an alarm blares out, loud and insistent. It seems that the use of the stolen badge has finally been registered and the family have been alerted. Evgen, the officer who the badge belonged to, had immediately reported the missing identification … and unfortunately its use has instantly triggered the alarm system. Oops.
Lionetta officers begin to swarm the hallways and the elevator will immediately shut down (hopefully you’re not inside it as it stops between Level 13 and 14!), so the only way to move forward now is by foot.
Those on the lower floors will find that while there are no traps set in the hallways, the space is now filled with Lionetta guards and officers, all armed with a myriad of weapons: standard issue guns, certainly, but also stun guns, revolvers with bullets that have been enchanted to follow their target, and staves and knives with energy blades that crackle and glow with white light. A number of the officers here are also highly competent in hand-to-hand combat — and though some, like Petra and Mikaela, might be dressed in attire more suited for a party than a battle, they shouldn’t be underestimated. Without effort, they can (and will) make a hair pin, a brooch, or a stiletto heel a deadly weapon. Officers who have familiarity with any of the Lionetta Orbers will advance with an especially personal viciousness — traitors, after all, are not kindly looked upon and deserve the worst punishments.
9.0 In contrast to the lower levels, Orbers on the 20th floor and upwards seem to be herded into a narrow hallway with only one direction: forward. At the end of the path is a set of stairs leading to the next level up and onward, each ascension designed to be slow and deliberate with the flight of steps on alternating sides of the building. The only way to get there is to cross the length of the floor’s footprint.
From Level 20-23, guards and officers meet you in a battle round.
On Level 24 the floor is suspiciously devoid of anyone. Before you can think to turn back, every entrance is sealed with heavy, reinforced steel walls, and a roar that reminds you of the ocean sends a prickle up the length of your spine as the entire floor begins to flood with water. Slowly but surely, it rushes in from all sides to fill the space and unless you have the ability to grow gills … how will you escape? Maybe the how doesn’t matter — only that you do.
On the 25th floor, it becomes apparent to you that the air has a slightly luminous, greenish tint to it … but by the time you open your mouth to warn the others, it’s already in your lungs. It won’t take long before you begin to imagine enemies all around you: sudden attacks are coming out of nowhere, guards aiming their guns at you, alien creatures from the fighting ring snapping their jaws and throwing kicks and punches, clawed fingers trying to grasp at your face. You lash out at them in desperation — and, unfortunately, whoever is in their place in reality.
If you happen to make it past Level 25 unscathed, perhaps breathing in the gaseous substance on Level 26 will be what affects you: pouring out from pin-pricked holes in the walls like pores and colouring the air purple, its potency is much greater than the green mist from the previous floor. Instead of enemies, you are surrounded by the people you miss from home, those who might have been passed in your timeline. They ask you to stay with them, plead with you that they’re worried what might happen if you keep going — they murmur, please, just stay with me here and I’ve missed you so much. From an outside perspective, the sight won’t be so heartwarming: anyone observing you with a clear mind will notice a light purplish frost has started to cover your skin as though slowly encasing you in its substance …
With the aid of magic, air bubbles, or the antidote carefully nicked from the Featherstones, you somehow manage past the deadly, magical traps … only the dangers are hardly over. On Levels 27 and 28 sharp, red laser lines that criss-cross the hallways fill the remainder of the room — only those truly confident in their skill and agility can make it across unassisted. For the less coordinated, however, there is still hope: maybe you are one of the Featherstones and were equipped with the reflection tech made specifically for a situation like this one … or, if you can quickly gain contact (use that network!) with the others in the control room, they can do something about these lasers — if they aren’t still occupied with the Lionetta officers currently trying to take their control room back, anyway.
Finally, making it to the second-to-highest level, you will come face to face with two giant dog-like creatures… with glittering collars around their necks, each with a small tag to identify them. They are Ursa and Altair, respectively. Surely you were prepared for this, right? If you’re a Lionetta, you may be familiar with the alien-dogs and have a better chance of getting past them. If you dare to approach, however, you’ll notice that the ground surrounding them is a crimson mess of fresh blood. They’ve clearly had their dinner already… and the eager looks in their eyes can only be read as such: are you going to be their dessert?
Past the dogs and their matted fur and sharp teeth, there lies the entrance to the top floor — an entrance that only opens through facial recognition … strange, however is the scaly frost that has spread all over the scanner, leaving it non-functional — and the door… wide open.
As the two Orbers who have managed to make it before the others sneak towards the door and the stairs that lead up, they will hear two voices: female, both of them, one strained and quiet, like speaking is a struggle; the other, lilting and sugar-sweet.
The two Orbers continue to creep towards the open door, careful not to be heard or detected. It’ll be a strange scene that opens towards them: a dark office, wooden floors looking far older than the building itself must be — expensive furniture, and all of it is lit with a red glow.
In the middle of it all —
An’alya lies on the floor, eyes blood-shot, a trickle of blood staining the side of her mouth. She’s trembling, breathing heavily, like behind every breath is unimaginable pain.
Next to An’alya, her red eyes glowing just as bright as the round object that orbits her head in a slow circle, is Cheri...
… or perhaps that should be rephrased. Next to the fallen gang leader stands not the sweet, cheerful club owner, but Ruvia Alonetti: the owner of the Braccia orb, and the founder of the Lionetta family.
Whatever you do next… it's best to be careful. It will crucial to have a plan — because somehow that orb needs to leave this room with you.
F Y I
• The ultimate conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on October 16.
• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.
• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪
no subject
zoya storms into her mind, an unwelcome gust of a memory. ivan. david. every grisha that had willfully obeyed kirigan's orders to chase her throughout ravka's wilderness like she was an injured stag, leaving a blood trail for them to follow. every soldier that had witnessed her pay the price for fleeing from the sharp claws of influence kirigan had embedded in her, and had done nothing to protect her from it.
how many of the second army's grisha had known of his plans to imprison her, had pitied and mocked her behind closed doors? how many of lionetta's followers are aware of the weapon their leader has locked away, desperate to trade innocent lives for power? those uneasy questions brim in her mind as she tears her gaze away from the fallen man to yelena. maybe the guards aren't misled, after all. or maybe they've simply been fed a lie, just as she had once had believed kirigan's hollow promises of peace. ]
Well, I'm gaining an unhealthy knack for avoiding assassination attempts.
[ she sounds sour and dry, a bitterness directed at her own predicaments rather than yelena. a quip that tries to evasively make light of that fact, anyway, while fumbling with her response to yelena's praise. alina isn't so certain she wants to do well in these situations, but when the alternative is laying down and baring her throat in surrender —
well. she's always been too scrappy to give up, rather than defend herself. she won't feel guilty for trying to survive through the cruelties thrown at her. so she slips a gilded knife out of a holster at her thigh as a precaution, a gift that might come in handy now. pointedly, she tries not to think of how familiar it feels, like the heft of a golden letter opener, snatched to ward off mal's bullies. ]
You seem seasoned, [ she hedges, casting yelena a questioning look. it's not entirely shocking, given what yelena had said of battles, but ... it's a finesse that alina hadn't exactly imagined or expected. fluid, graceful. all of the marks that speak to her being trained. ] Do you knock men unconscious very often?
clutches ur shoulder, it's ok
I would say avoiding them is very healthy. Much better than the alternative.
[The alternative being getting assassinated, which means being dead, which is generally considered very bad for one's health.]
I do, yes. And more, if I have to.
[Alina's right that she's seasoned. She's been doing this a long time. She's trying not to be any more lethal than necessary here, but she also wouldn't hesitate to kill one of the goons if she felt it was the most efficient course of action. So far, though, they haven't been that difficult to deal with, especially not with other orbers doing their share of the fighting.]
it's gonna happen at least 10 more times, i can sense it
for as welcome as the sun often is, there are always those who want to see it snuffed out. good-humored, she amends, ] Attracting them isn't.
[ some things never change, though; alina starkov has always been a beacon for trouble. she has to question if the same is true of yelena, if she's learned to defend herself so casually, so efficiently — as though it's an ingrained instinct, by now. still, she doesn't ask aloud, though she seems to consider doing so for a moment; if yelena had wanted to offer those details openly, she would have.
instead, she casts a thoughtful look to the crumpled body decorating the floor, still gripped by unconsciousness. ]
We don't know how involved they are in Lionetta's scheming. They could have been left in the dark as much as we were.
[ as much as any weapon is, though — in this case, she supposes they're less valuable than ammunition in olexa's eyes. just fodder like the first army, dismissed as acceptable losses and forgotten in the grand scheme of ambitious wars. ]
If they're unaware of what Olexa is protecting ... [ she trails off into an uncomfortable pause. ] Let's just hope you won't have to do more damage than that.
no subject
With a power like that, I'm guessing people either want to control you or destroy you, right?
[That seems to be how things go, especially with powerful women. Yelena herself doesn't have any super powers, but there was something in her DNA that was special enough to inspire Dreykov to buy her as a baby. Someone like Alina would be even more valuable.
She glances down at the unconscious guard and sighs at the point Alina makes. Yelena knows how these kinds of organizations work, plus she listened in on the guard's conversations after planting the bug. Alina's not wrong.]
Most of them probably don’t know much. They aren't ranked high enough to have earned any trust, that's why they're stuck here fighting us. They're just following orders.
no subject
A little of both. [ absently, her fingers settle over her mangled sternum — that grotesque collar of antlered bone hidden beneath her clothing, designed to leash her power when kirigan's could no longer puppet her strings with false kindness. yelena doesn't know just how right she is. ] Grisha are only tolerated when they can fulfill a purpose, but even offering our service doesn't guarantee our protection.
[ offering is too soft a word for it. the lantsov dynasty sees them in the same light: a weapon to be controlled, or destroyed once it can no longer be tamed and bridled. ravka has only ever tolerated their existence, but — however superior he believes himself to be, aleksander is just as guilty of using them like pawns on his war table. ]
We should get moving before Lionetta's recruits run into someone less forgiving, then. [ her hands fall away, wiping her clammy palms down the smooth cloth of her kefta. with harried conviction, she amends: ] The other orbers won't treat them as mercifully.
[ — one in particular, but kirigan is a testament to the ruthless greed of mankind. ]
no subject
When Alina says the word "Grisha," though, Yelena's eyebrows raise. She knows that word. She's heard it before. From a strange man in an alley.]
Grisha? Like the overly sensitive man with the shadows?
[Many men were sensitive from Yelena's perspective. But that one in particular was very dramatic about it. He also told her a whole lot about Grisha and their plight. He was very talkative.]
You are right, though. We should clear out while we can.
[Before another wave of goons come in, who might force Yelena to be less merciful than she has been so far.]
no subject
alina's hand hovers where it had been reaching for one of the room's countless doors, eager for an escape route from this room, as her head snaps over her shoulder. gaze narrowly focused on yelena, rather than the cool metal of the doorknob beneath her closed fingers.
too late, alina tries to rearrange her expression into something more placid on the surface, less staggered by that little slip of information, less obvious about the cautious glance she casts yelena. ]
He told you about that?
[ to what end? her mind whirls with the possibilities. to gain sympathy, maybe; she had fallen for that same trick so easily, and so shamefully, after all. but what else had he revealed in the process of humanizing himself to others? kirigan's deception is a dangerous game for any and all of the pawns he involves, made more precarious if he's sown seeds of distrust against her, nurturing them with his twisted lies until he's swayed others into believing those fabrications.
if that's the case, then ... yelena has shown herself to be capable, and therefore an alarming enemy for alina to have. ]
no subject
She feels again from Alina’s startled reaction that she once again said the wrong thing or touched a nerve.]
Yes. I spoke Russian in front of him and he got very upset and grabbed me by the neck, so I punched him in the throat.
[She's not sure if this will be comforting information or not. But it’s true, which is the important part.]
Then he questioned me about my language while also giving me a history lesson about the Grisha. I’m pretty sure he gave me more information than I gave him, though, because he couldn’t stop talking about himself. Either he decided I wasn’t a threat or he’s an idiot, I guess. I don’t know.
[Not that she’s actually interested in being a threat to him. She doesn’t care. But considering he treated her as a threat at first, he ended up being pretty loose lipped about all his issues. But then again letting arrogant men blab was a solid Red Room espionage technique. Natasha had excelled at it.]
no subject
Be sure to keep it that way. [ the less yelena shares with kirigan, the better the other woman will fare. ] Kirigan never acts without cause.
[ and never fails to exploit or manipulate others, at his leisure. solemn, she gives that ominous little warning, like a foreboding and frustratingly vague prophecy. her own expression has gone grim, a hint at the tumultuous history she and kirigan share, but — alina reveals nothing, beyond that. kirigan is the one with the silver tongue, between them; there's no guarantee he won't cast her as the villain in their story, if yelena confronts him, but more than that —
it isn't worth the risk to yelena's safety, no matter how skilled she is. (even if alina does have the guilty thought that yelena would be a useful spy, willing as she is to share this with alina; she swats that idea away almost immediately. she won't turn the people around her into tools as kirigan has.) ]
He's used to being the greatest threat in any room. [ so, not stupidity: just the brimming arrogance of a man who believes himself superior and in control. her throat bobs, trying and failing to sound casual when she warily asks, ] What did you say to him in your language?
no subject
Then she answers Alina’s question.]
I called him Deda Mrak.
["Grandpa Darkness" more or less. She assumes that if Kirigan could understand the language then Alina can, too, since they’re from the same place.]
He got very upset. He was acting so confident, I didn’t realize he’d be so sensitive to a little teasing.
[Though to be perfectly fair, she also didn’t realize he’d understand her. But either way his reaction had been over the top.]
no subject
Oh.
[ it slips out of her like she's made a revelation — and one she doesn't seem keen to share, in her failure to explain kirigan's touchiness. grandfather shadows, spoken in a language as ancient as aleksander's existence itself. yelena seems oblivious to the secret she had stumbled across by chance, and equally unaware of the lengths kirigan would travel to keep his past shrouded in darkness. unsettled, alina blanches, the color draining from her complexion for a brief moment.
he hadn't deemed yelena an immediate threat if she's still standing, alive and well. unmarked, as far as alina's eye can see, her gaze briskly scanning down the other woman. the thought brings alina no comfort, even so; knowing kirigan, yelena is still locked in his sights as a potential danger to watch closely. ]
He has a good reason for that confidence. Our country knows him as the Black General. [ as darkling, those who despise grisha spitting it out with venomous hatred. another stain kirigan has left on ravka, forcing grishakind to live in the shadow of his sins. from the way alina opens her mouth only to hesitate, abruptly halting, it's clear it isn't the entire story behind his reputation. grim, she shakes her head. ] I would warn you to be more careful around him, but ... I doubt you'll listen.
[ yelena hardly looks like the type to retreat from danger, after all. a trait alina would find admirable, if she wasn't so apprehensive. ]
no subject
So, he has a superhero name?
[Or maybe a supervillain name. Either way she doesn’t seem super impressed.]
Alexei…the man I thought was my father…our country called him the Red Guardian. He is an idiot, too.
[She presses her lips together at Alina’s warning. She can tell that she is genuinely worried and it’s a little strange to realize some of it is for her. Yelena isn’t used to people worrying about her. She doesn’t want to blow it off entirely, but she’s also not sure how to respond.]
There is nothing he can do to me that is worse than what’s already been done.
[She supposes that might not be terribly comforting. But she means it as more of an explanation about why she’s not inclined to worry about Kirigan. Her relationships with fear and danger are a little broken. She knows he’s potentially dangerous. She’s seen his shadows. He might be able to kill her, but he’s not Dreykov. He can’t put her in the Red Room again.]
no subject
It's only a military title. Your father got the better deal.
[ some amusement bubbles up, at the boldness yelena has to call kirigan an idiot. it's a fresh breath of air, compared to ravkans who would cower at the imposing shadow his reputation, but ... something sobering strangles her lungs. if kirigan is truly an idiot, then — she's the greater one, for having placed her faith in his promises, never sensing the darkness at the core of those vows and visions for their future.
certainly yelena would agree with that assessment, if she knew how easily she had been a lamb led to the slaughter. her gaze darts away, suddenly shamefaced. ]
He won't just do it to you. [ but — maybe that's what yelena is referencing, the pains in her past that alina doesn't know. doesn't have the heart to dig up, for fear of reopening old wounds. her expression twists with dawning realization, a shine of sympathy in her eyes, but she knows better than to offer pity. yelena doesn't seem like the type who has any use for it, but it hardly changes the twinging ache in alina's chest. ] I'm sorry. I know you can handle yourself.