► OPEN

[inthemeadow]

WHO: Mal Oretsev & OPEN
WHAT: Mal's had 24 hours solitary confinement and now a week prison time for a crime he committed in the tunnels (read: not a crime, the Darkling had it coming).
WHERE: the dungeons
WHEN: post-Frostwurm event
NOTES: entirely open to prisoners and visitors! I thought this might be an opportunity for new CR as well as already established. Feel free to hit me up on spied for plotting.



( DAY 1 )

[ Something Mal didn't know until he was thrown into solitary confinement - that the Darkling was a prisoner, like Alina, and he hadn't just followed them somehow to this new world. And rather than accept he deserved the shovel Mal had swung against the side of his head, causing him to blackout, he'd reported the runaway orphans.

He's had twenty-four hours to think about it and he's still furious over being punished for the bare minimum of violence (at least in his opinion) against a man who deserved much worse, even more so when he learns Kirigan has been let out of the dungeons on good behavior.

Released into the courtyard with the rest of the prisoners, he looks out for any familiar faces. And since he hasn't had the opportunity to look in a mirror lately, he hasn't noticed the grip Kirigan had around his throat has left a hand-shaped bruise on his neck. If he didn't already stand out for being new to the dungeons, he does now with that talking point. ]


( NO PAIN, NO GAIN )

[ Mal can't sit still. He's got too much energy to release - some of which is anger, some is nerves. Back home, he would have thrown himself into fighting. Here, he's reluctant to do that when harming another prisoner is half the reason why he's been imprisoned, not wanting to risk sparring with someone. He needs to be on his best behavior so he can be released and find out what the Darkling has been up to.

So by day two of the prisoners' hour of recreation, he's fully immersed in a workout routine. He can be seen running laps of the courtyard because he doesn't want to come out of prison not being able to keep up with Sam. When he's not running, he's doing sit-ups or push-ups (shirtless, of course).

He won't talk about his feelings - he'll just sweat them out instead.

Eventually when he notices he's being watched, he calls out: ] You can join in if you want.


( VISITING )

[ The shared cells are better than solitary confinement, but sleep doesn't come easy, and not because of the lumpy straw mattress. He's got a lot on his mind, so much the Darkling seems to be invading his dreams when he does manage to fall asleep. In fact, he's dreaming about him now during a nap in his cell in the middle of the day, Kirigan's hand clutched tightly around his throat, squeezing the life out of him—

He sits up with a start, gasping for air, reaching for his bruised neck. And when he notices a figure standing on the outside of his cell, he flinches out of shock again. ]

Saints. [ He was not expecting company. ]

Comments

Visiting

[not_caroline]

The figure on the other side of the bars doesn't flinch when Mal startles sharply away; they merely lean back slightly, and the meagre lights of the dungeon cast shadows that cut far too sharply where her long curls have fallen across her face. For a moment, her eyes almost seem to glow in the unusual, isolated gloom.

Then she steps forward and rests her elbows on the bars. The shadows are still too sharp, like they're trying to envelop her, but her face is clear now: a girl, in the heart of her teens with a square jaw and sharp hazel eyes, looking him up and down. Her long-sleeved silken tunic has the symbol for the Tower on her chest, and the look on her face is... not confused, but curious.

"You're not one of the usual prisoners," she says, and her Australian accent almost sounds bored. "The fuck did you do to end up here?"

[inthemeadow]

It's just a girl. Young, like him, though he'd had hazard a guess at younger. He remembers when he was stood where she's standing on the other side of the bars, wearing the same tunic, probably the silkiest thing he's worn in his entire life...

And now he's dressed in clothes as rough as sandpaper, surviving on rations, confined to a dingy cell apart from one hour every day in the courtyard that passes too quickly. He should have regrets about his actions that have led him to this...

And yet, he has none. He can handle being locked up. He's no stranger to this.

"You're observant." Throwing his legs over the side of his bunk bed, he sits facing her. He holds out three fingers and ticks them off one by one. "Tried to escape, got attacked, defended myself." Long story short.

[not_caroline]

Somehow she doesn't look particularly impressed at his tale.

"You're not that bright, are you." She gives zero shits about being rude when he's right there being stupid. "Being upstairs where everyone can see you puts you under way stricter watch than down here." She shifts her weight onto one leg, folding the other foot behind her ankle. "The locals care if their honoured guests--" and she spits the words with venom, despite her own uniform "--start attacking people, even if it's in self defence."

[inthemeadow]

He doesn't blame her for not looking impressed. It's hardly an impressive explanation, but going into too much detail seems dangerous for everyone involved.

He leans back on his elbows at her response, clearly unbothered by her insult. The girl is definitely rude, but it takes a lot to offend him. He's spent years being called an idiot by Alina, after all.

"Never said I was smart," he shrugs at her with a shit-eating grin. "The locals need to get their priorities in order." Starting with imprisoning the people actually who actually deserve it. He can think of one person who's probably strutting the castle like he owns the place, plotting how to take over.

"So do you come down here calling every prisoner stupid or am I just special?" They've only spoken a few sentences to each other and he can already tell what kind of relationship they're going to have.

no pain, no gain

[baltimores]

[ Oh, yeah, he recognizes the kid running laps. Didn't think he did at first — Mal had said he was their supervisor, and Amos hadn't seen him in the dungeons or out in the yard at all — but nope. That's him.

So. Something clearly went wrong at some point. Probably when they were separated, when Mal and Alina had found their group again somewhat worse for the wear (especially if that bruise is anything to go by). Just didn't know things could go that poorly.

He's not going to run laps anytime soon, but using the yard for rec time; yeah, that's been Amos' gig all along. So when he spots Mal doing pushups. When Mal spots him. Sure.

Amos keeps his own tunic on when he drops down beside Mal, falls into his own rhythm. Hasn't really had the chance to actually work out with someone else, so that's nice. The no talking thing suits him plenty fine, too. But at some point, he's gotta bring it up. Upon taking a break, ] So something went sideways, huh?

[ It's not accusatory. More an observation than anything else. Hey, he's not judging; Thorne sucks, why wouldn't they just throw people in jail for no reason. Wouldn't be the first time. ]

[inthemeadow]

[ He's glad to see Amos, though obviously not glad to see him still stuck in the dungeons. He knows some prisoners have been released and he can't help but think maybe he hadn't helped Amos as much as he could have (or at all) by concentrating more on escaping with Alina than actually supervising his group, the job he was meant to do.

He does plan on talking to Amos eventually, though he works out in silence with him until then. He's competitive when it comes to working out with Sam, but with Amos he concentrates on his own pace.

Turning to lie on his back, he catches his breath, sparing Amos a glance. ]

Yeah, my shovel against someone's head. [ Mal snorts and maybe it wasn't funny at the time, but maybe it is now. At least he can say he knocked out the most powerful man in his world with one of the most basic tools you can find. ] Trust me, he deserved it.

[ A pause as he stares up at the sky, then - ] Sorry you're still a prisoner. Having a runaway supervisor probably didn't help.

[baltimores]

[ There's an involuntary soft rumble from Amos' throat, pure amusement. He moves to sit properly on the ground, cross-legged, looking down at Mal. ]

Don't doubt it.

[ Mal doesn't strike him as the type to go after someone who wouldn't deserve it. Amos is aware he's giving him a lot of leeway here; he also doesn't care. He likes Mal. So Mal says someone deserved to be hit in the head with his shovel, sure, probably.

(Doesn't bring up, much as the thought crosses his mind, that maybe it would've been better if Mal had had a pickaxe, like Amos did. How a pickaxe to the head could do considerably more permanent damage. But, you know. Probably not the thing to bring up unprompted. ... Yet.)

He blinks in surprise at Mal's apology. Hadn't been expecting that at all. He doesn't even have anything to apologize for. ]

Eh, probably would've still been locked up anyway. [ He shrugs one shoulder, lazy. Trying not to think about it so much. ] I dunno why they're letting out who they're letting out, but don't think you had anything to do with it. Even if you hadn't gotten yourself thrown in here, too.

[ A beat. ]

If it was between actually supervising and the shovel, the shovel was probably the right call.

No Pain, No Gain

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra had never really had what he'd consider a workout routine, before he got here. Running and jumping just happened, a lot, and he'd go through various acrobatics, katas, and sparring regularly with his master, but that was just...practice.

Here, he's got a lot of pent-up energy and feelings, too. Being cut off from the Force doesn't help in the slightest. Even worse, without being able to channel that energy through his body, the limits of his physical abilities are simply less than they were.

Clearly, he needs to build up his strength and endurance the old-fashioned way. So watching Mal is partly about contemplating things to add to his own developing routine. So he takes the offer to join with a quick smile and thanks and settles into doing push-ups and sit-ups himself. For a slim, kinda gangly kid, he's no slouch, but neither is his ability to keep up where he thinks it should be.

Eventually, in a moment they both seem to be taking a breather, he says, "You're new. Or...were a guest?"

[inthemeadow]

Truth be told, Mal likes having someone work out alongside him, even if he's yet to know the person, or even their name. It reminds him of training for the First Army. It reminds him of the friends he made back then, the laughs they sometimes shared in between the fighting...

Those friends are gone now, so it's a bittersweet feeling. And for a slim, kinda gangly kid, Mal is still impressed with him trying to keep up. He's clearly determined, a quality they both share.

Sitting up with his elbows resting on his knees, he nods at Ezra's guess. "I got into some trouble as a supervisor on that mining trip." Namely, he never supervised, tried to escape with his best friend and then knocked out a man who didn't respond well to Mal trying to walk through him, mistaking him for a hallucination (he was supposed to be dead).

"How was it for you?" The mining trip, that is.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra shrugs.

"Got stuck with a bunch of older looking guys who seemed to be a weird game of one upmanship most of the time, but I couldn't tell you what the rules were," he says, with some clear disguit. "Had to climb our way out of a small cave in and the crystals made us all see stuff. It could have been worse."

"I'm Ezra," he adds.

Visiting

[girl_at_the_window]

No saints. Just me.

[She leans in, looking with some concern at him. She doesn't really know him all that well, sure, but he was kind enough in the tunnels, and he seemed a good fellow. That's why she's down here in the first place this time, having heard he's out of solitary - even as she speaks, she's glancing up and down the corridor, reaching inside her loose cotton shirt to retrieve the things she brought him. There's cake, and sweets, and a jar of something she's been assured will help with sleep, and a pack of cards, all wrapped up in a large silk handkerchief which she pushes through the bars towards him.]

[She looks pretty different to how she did in the tunnels, with her face clean and her hair brushed and braided, dressed in real clothes (though she'd trade the silk leggings for her da's old work jeans any day) and, most important, on the other side of the bars.]

Here. If ye need aught else, tell me. I can't come down but once or twice a day, or they'll question it, but...

[inthemeadow]

[ It's Susan, the girl part of the mining group he'd done a poor job of supervising. She's probably one of the last people he'd expect to visit him. Although he didn't exactly tell her that he and Alina had tried to escape, it probably seemed obvious once they returned looking worse for wear that they had made an attempt and failed (unless she really thought they disappeared for time alone).

He leaves his bunkbed as soon as he recognizes her, joining her by the bars, looking even more surprised when she pushes a small bundle towards him. He has a quick look at the contents before hiding it in a hole in his mattress. ]

You shouldn't have... [ It was risky of her to sneak him things and he's not sure he even deserves any of it, but he does smile at her gratefully. ] But thanks. It's more than enough. [ Between Susan and that mage apprentice who gifted him extra food, he's lucky he's got people looking out for him. ]

You look well. [ He comments on her appearance, happy for her. ]

[girl_at_the_window]

[She smiles back, and huffs a little laugh. It's easier to be open around him, knowing as she does now that his heart's spoken for - makes her less afraid that what she says or does might be taken as flirting. She can laugh, then, and toss her hair a little, and take it as a genuine compliment and not angling for something.]

Thankee-sai. It's a wonder what a hairbrush and washbasin'll do for a girl.

[Her smile fades, though, and she lowers her voice again.]

Are 'ee alright? I wondered, when I heard they'd brought 'ee down here, and then again when I couldn't see 'ee and they said they'd took you to solitary. Did they hurt 'ee? I mean...

[Her hand drifts in a slightly sheepish gesture to her throat, where the marks are on his.]

More than it looks?

visiting.

[falcony]

[ at first, there had been a lot more intense of a look coming from sam. he'd made it down without mal waking, and had kind of been planning on standing there looking all disappointed and confused and i'm not mad that he's picked up on since being around his nephews and seeing sarah's version of it in full force. except that somehow between sam showing up and mal actually waking up, sam watches mal startle up from sleep, and any of that tension or hard edge leaves him in a rush.

he's had enough nightmares to know what it feels like, and has seen enough of them from the outside to know how they look on other people. it's why when mal does finally look over to him and startle, sam looks almost more apologetic than anything. sympathetic, for sure, as he waits for mal to get his bearings and sit up. ]

Should I ask what happened, or will that not help your case?

[ sam, when he'd found out mal had been taken down to the cells, he'd been furious, thinking he'd gotten caught up in something, or it had been thorne starting to make moves that crossed lines and would give him reason to act. when he'd found out why, and the reasons behind it, that protective anger had faded and left behind...something else. it'd been part of the reason sam had been expecting to come down here with the whole 'disappointed parental figure' get-up. and now all he was really left with was...well. something else.

he can't blame mal, doesn't blame him, for trying to make a break for it. their first conversation here had been mal trying to plan an escape, so sam isn't all that surprised, either. he'd wanted to come down and visit that first night, but couldn't due to the nature of mal's confinement, which then meant that sam got to get the story of why from one of the guards who brought mal in. now, he's here to hear mal's side of the story, though no matter what it ends up being, sam's going to feel more upset that he couldn't stop mal from making a scene than anything.

phoenix had asked him to keep an eye on everyone, to try and keep the newcomers from trying to break away, to keep the guards happy, and therefore make it easier to get more of them out from the cells. it had literally been his job to try and keep as many of them from making a run for it, and yet here he was. sam couldn't let the self-disappointment weigh on him too much, but the guilt of a failed mission is still there, and he's here for mal, not himself. ]

[inthemeadow]

[ This was inevitable. After what happened in the tunnels, he knows Sam cares. So of course he was going to come visit Mal at some point. Hell, he probably tried to while Mal was in solitary confinement, counting down the hours until he knew Mal would be out.

Truth be told, Mal's glad to see him. He needs to talk to someone he trusts about the man responsible for the bruise on his neck, as well as the stag antlers poking out from Alina's collarbone. He needs to warn someone he doesn't think would make a stupid move against Kirigan if he told them how dangerous he was. He just wants Sam to keep an eye on him, that's all. Mal will deal with him once he's out. ]

About time you visited. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me. [ He manages a smile as he gets out of bed, closing the distance between them because he doesn't want his cellmates to be a part of their conversation, even if they don't look interested in whatever they have to say to each other. Unfortunately, the closer Mal gets to Sam, the more visible the handprint on his neck is. His hands close around the bars that separate them. ]

In my defense, it was Alina's idea to run. [ He grins a little, the only reason for pinning the blame on her being that she's not in a cell near enough to hear and throw her sandal at him. ]

Then we bumped into someone from home, our world... [ His face turns serious at that. ] Someone I believed to be dead. I thought he was a hallucination, Sam... [ After everything he went through with those visions of Mikhael and Dubrov. ] I didn't think he was real. [ And so he'd suffered a rude awakening. ]

[falcony]

[ if sam knew even a piece of the thought process behind mal wanting to tell him about kirigan, about how mal is planning on dealing with him when he's out, this would turn into a very different conversation. as it stands, sam is falling victim to his worries over mal, and softening more and more by the second.

mal smiles and gets up to close the distance, making a comment about forgetting about him, and pretty much the rest of the anger fades out of sam as he snorts, rolling his eyes. ] Believe me, I would have gotten here faster if I could. I was working on trying to shorten your sentence and get your ass out of here. So don't give me sass.

[ at the mention of alina, sam gets it. though his expression only shifts into something a little more incredulous, one brow arched like he knows, but internally? yeah. okay. if alina was involved and if alina mentioned running, of course mal was going to make dumb decisions. sam hasn't even met the girl yet and he knows this much.

sam's small, knowing sort of grin falls when mal's face turns serious, seeing the effect that bringing up this someone has on him. that, as well as the very obvious handprint on mal's neck has sam immediately on guard, protective, worried. for a moment his eyes don't leave mal's neck, but then sam takes a small step forward, if only to make the conversation a bit more private, because he'd asked around. he'd gotten the bare details of what brought mal down here. he'd heard the word assault. still, the frown that pulls at sam's mouth is more worried and protective than anything else. ]

Who is he, Mal? What happened?

day 1

[solmate]

I thought I told you to stay out of here.

[ Alina's voice wavers at the edges, like she's trying to reach for the familiar teasing tilt, but she can't quite get it to comply. He's in here because of her. Hurt because of her and her foolish idea. She should be thankful they weren't in solitary confinement for longer. ]

I got you something.

[ She reaches into her pocket, retrieving one of the candies Jolene had delivered to her in solitary. She wouldn't want it, she can't appreciate it the way he can. ]

[inthemeadow]

I thought about it, but I couldn't turn down annoying you for a week. [ An attempt at teasing her back but he can't disguise the concerned look in his eyes upon seeing her, worried how she'd look after solitary confinement...

But she manages to distract him by mentioning a gift, earning a raised brow from him. The candy is familiar, of course, and he smiles a little. ]

Did a random visitor give you this? I got some too, but all mine are long gone. [ He pockets the candy for now. ] Thanks... I'll save it for a sugar rush later. [ Probably when he's back in his cell missing her.

He has to ask because it's been a dramatic twenty-four hours and he wouldn't be her best friend if he didn't: ] You okay?

[solmate]

[ "Unimpressed" only begins to describe the stare she fixes him with, but through an uncharacteristic streak of self-control she manages not to push this further. They're stuck in here together, and there is no point in arguing how he could have avoided joining her. She owns this consequence. Talking about it anymore simply gives him the opportunity to try and steal some of that guilt away from her. Unlike her candy, she has no interest in sharing it. She simply nods, confirming that they must have both had the same visitor. She's not sure if it's safe to talk about that out here though. ]

I'm okay. Tired.

[ Which feels backwards after having done nothing but lay on the ground for the past day, but she's pretty much been tired since she got here. Anyway, enough about her. ]

Let me see your head.

visiting;

[sankt]

[The Darkling is alive, and he is real, and he is well. Now dressed in the softer garments afforded to honoured guests, as they call them, clean and tidy and wearing none of his own blood, one can scarcely imagine him hacking at crystals in some miner's rags.

What the tracker receives in return for his language, and for his surprise, and for all the rest of him, is a black stare unbroken by the sudden jolt of movement or the settling that follows. A stare, and one slow blink, as if to punctuate his composure.

And there he waits for Mal to be the first to speak.]

[inthemeadow]

[ Well, he definitely looks better than he did in the tunnels, and that's really annoying. You're not supposed to look better after a blow to the head.

It only takes a moment for Mal's expression to harden, for the panic to leave his eyes and be replaced with scorn.

They could keep this staring contest going all day, but if Mal doesn't speak to him and he decides to leave, he goes back to the castle. Back to plotting. Maybe even back to tormenting Alina since the idea of him actually leaving her alone seems beyond his capabilities.

Mal has to keep him here as long as possible, and so he gets up from the straw mattress and comes towards him in slow steps, head tilted to one side. ]

How's your head?

[ He definitely doesn't care. He just wants to remind him of what happened, that in that moment in the tunnels, he made the Darkling fall like a helpless otkazat'sya. ]

[sankt]

[There he is.

In return, the Darkling's inscrutable mask suddenly splits to admit a fleeting smile.]

It's fine. Thank you.

[Look how cordial. They're as good as friends. And since friendship is so deeply rooted in sharing:]

And how was your day in isolation—did they leave a light for you, or were you sitting in the dark?

(alina) post-horizon

[inthemeadow]

[ The fact that he doesn't go to see her in the dungeons as soon as they're out of the Horizon isn't a good sign.

It takes him at least a day for him to come to terms with what happened once their memories return, a day of Sam raising eyebrows at him after he spends most of the day in his room because up until this point, he's visited her in the dungeons every day.

He's not mad at her for what happened in the meadow, he thinks maybe he was even partly to blame for Alina lashing out at him. But he was under the impression that in any universe, no matter how they'd meet, they'd be friends and never hurt each other. Maybe it was naive of him to think that, but it's been a shock to his system having to come to terms with the idea that had they met under different circumstances, maybe he and Alina wouldn't care less about each other.

So he needs a day of space - but once that day ends, he's visiting the dungeons again, even sneaking in the closest thing to a sweet roll in this world as a peace offering, wrapped up in a napkin.

Thankfully she's awake this time so he doesn't need to throw a sandal at her, clearing his throat to catch her attention. ]

Hey.

[solmate]

[ Mal doesn't come to her after they leave the Horizon.

Her stomach twists in knots, replaying the violent and destructive encounter between them. It wasn't real, she tries to soothe herself by saying, but it was real enough her mind objects. While others had peered at themselves stripped of their memories and found something calm and kind, she found herself feeling trapped and monstrous.

It is no wonder Mal wouldn't want to see her. If that is who she is, he is right to be afraid of her. Maybe his initial judgement of the Grisha wasn't so unearned after all. She tries to write him a note, but all the words she can summon feel hollow and empty. She can't ask him to look past this.

The blank parchment is lain out on her bunk, next to her feet. She's drawn her legs up to her chest, head tipped forward to rest on her knees. He'll find her like that, her eyes lifting as he speaks. Her voice croaks a little as if she has been crying (a fact that she will adamantly deny). ]

Hey.

[inthemeadow]

[ As soon as he sees her, he regrets not seeing her sooner. What had she been thinking the last twenty-four hours? Probably nothing good. She probably thought he'd abandoned her for good.

He can't help but think there wouldn't be as much distance as there is between them (figuratively and literally) if she wasn't imprisoned. Were she free upstairs, they probably would have had this conversation sooner, Mal pulling her to one side before she'd have a chance to cry.

He hates the fact that he can't just open her cell and sit by her, offer her his shoulder to lay her head on or hold her hand. He hates the fact that he knows she's been crying because he can tell by her voice, the same way she can tell by his when he says he's okay when he's not. Most of all, he hates the fact that Alina probably won't come any closer to the bars that separate them, fearing he might fear her, or that she might even hurt him again.

He takes a deep breath. ]

What happened in the Horizon doesn't change the way I feel about you, Alina.