[OPEN] We’ll make a new plan.

[preferscuffs]

Who: Caitlyn & Others
What: Catch-All for arrival, TDM continuations, and probably Horizon things at some point?
Where:  Cadens/The Free Cities & Others to be Added via headers
When: Late November and December
Warnings: N/A, will update if needed but not expecting anything.

Comments

[preferscuffs]

Yes, they absolutely have entirely too much to talk about. But that's a conversation for another day. For now they'll just have to take things one step at a time. Which currently means getting her settled into this strange new world she's been kidnapped to and then... well, they can figure the rest out when they get to it.

At least Caitlyn is likely to understand a bit, the whole factory situation. She knows first hand after all, how easy it is to be persuaded into something by Vi. Far, far too well does she know. Though, luckily enough for her, she doesn't really regret her choice. Whereas his...owch.

Caitlyn sits in silence, listening to what he's saying. She can't quite comprehend it. Because it honestly sounds absurd. Gods that would possess people? Undead? Randomly rotting food? It's a lot. But she's taking it seriously, because she knows Jayce well enough to know when he's being serious and when he is not. And this? He's sincere about every word. It's all real, that's all stuff that's happened.

"I suppose that makes sense then. If things are this chaotic, the more help you can get the better." Though how exactly she'd be able to help in any significant way? She can't really say, but she'll certainly do her best to try and help anyone who's struggling. Because even after everything, Caitlyn still wants to protect and help people. Maybe she doesn't always succeed, but never let it be said that Caitlyn Kiramman didn't try her best through it all!

Then more listening, which is fine. Because clearly there's a lot she needs to hear about.

"A lung transplant?' The concept is, indeed, foreign to her. Sure, she can already grasp the basic idea of it - it means giving him new lungs effectively. She's just not sure how that'd even be possible. Which means more listening. Where do the lungs even come from? Being among the things she's most confused about, but clearly they've got some sort of plan. So she'd just find out later.

When he takes her hand, she squeezes back with gentle encouragement. The hard, teasing squeezes could return another day. "Well, I'm here now." And even if it had been directly Jayce's involvement that she was here? She wouldn't have blamed him for it. He's clearly going through a lot and naturally, Caitlyn's glad to have this chance to be here to support him.

"Jayce, if I was afraid of going places because something could be a lot I never would have gone down into the undercity. I'll be fine and I'm honestly just glad I have this chance to help."

Sorry work was a headache

[hextechhead]

"That happens sometimes. Every few months, something will go wrong with the Singularity, the source of magic here, and all of us who were brought here have it worse. It's not always terrible, just confusing. One time we shared memories with each other, another time there were shared nightmares. It's always unsettling but you can always lean on us or on the other Summoned you meet here, we're sort of our own group."

Especially in Cadens, they're almost like a family, in just having to exist every day in the same space and go through the same things together. It causes a camaraderie for sure. But it bonds them through the other people too, like him with Wanda, far away but close in some real ways. They can't rely on their factions because the reason they're there is shady to start with.

"The war started not that long ago, we had sent three Summoned to meet with Nocwich delegates, and ... they were attacked, we don't know why or by who. We were told we had to do something to protect them, and some of us, well." Jayce sighs, that familiar sense of guilt coming to him. He had to move past that feeling because Jaskier told him to, and because of Libertas, but it still makes him regretful. "We didn't know what it was for, they gave us these little mechanical bugs, so we thought maybe they were worth investigating. But we didn't know at the time if we kept them, it would put our person at risk. Jaskier, you'll meet him later, was hurt badly from it. He's okay now, but." It caused a lot of concern and guilt from everyone, really.

"Viktor and I did do ours, but I told my friend Dean it was probably okay to keep one to look at later." Thus the guilt. He had followed the rules, but he had given bad advice, thinking instead that the Free Cities was just using them for their own reasons. He's learned that lesson and won't make it again.

"After that, the queen of Thorne decided Free Cities was behind it, and that's when they destroyed Libertas. I'll take you to see it tomorrow, it's still really wrecked." It's harsh actually, maybe he should let her relax for another day or so before doing it, but he knows Caitlyn. She wants the lay of the land. That's why he's explaining all of this so she can know where everything stands. "It was a beautiful city full of art and music before." And she'll see it is banged up pretty terribly.

"A lung transplant. I don't know how it works, honestly, but it seems like it's possible. We have a good team of tech and magic people. He has a better shot." Jayce shakes his head. "He was days, maybe weeks, away from dying back home. My healing and the medication here have been a successful stopgap. This is his only shot." She didn't know that, how sick he was, how dangerous the situation was for him. It'd only been a few days apart, but they both know now how fast things moved for the worse back there.

"I missed you, you really have no idea how much." Jayce squeezes her hand back. "But we can do good here too."

No worries, life's been a headache for me too

[preferscuffs]

Caitlyn listens to his explanation. It's a lot to take in again. This entire world is, apparently, A Lot. But she can handle it. She'd handle it on her own if she had to, but she doesn't. Because she's got Jayce and even Viktor. So even if she were the sort to worry endlessly about things she can't change - she's not, not really. She'd be fine.

"Is it really something going wrong?" She questions finally, after processing things for a bit. "If they happen regularly they don't sound like some sort of aberration. Just some part of the Singularity that people maybe don't quite understand yet."

Though sharing nightmares did sound rather unpleasant. Given the things she's seen in her life recently the last thing Caitlyn wants is anyone sharing her dreams with her - Even Jayce.

"I look forward to meeting more of the Summoned." Because keeping to just to the two she knows isn't going to help. Not her or any of the people here who need help. So while she's not really used to the idea of making friends, apparently it's time she learned how. Better late than never, apparently?

"I see." Though she's still a little fuzzy on exactly what Nocwich is exactly, but that's a conversation for another time. "So be mindful of anything given to me that's not from another Summoned?" Suddenly she's very, very grateful she'd been extra cautious around the pushy merchants before Jayce had found her.

"You didn't know, Jayce. I'm sure no one blames you." Good intentions weren't always quite enough, that's all. But as long as it worked out in the end. They'd all, apparently, learned quite an important lesson from the entire situation. As she's learned, the price for knowledge can be quite dear and panful on occasion.

"Was no one from the Free Cities injured in the incident?" Because if that answer was no, then well, in a way she could see why Thorne might jump to that conclusion. "Seems misunderstandings aren't just a Piltover tradition after all." A small, crooked smile. Out of one frying pan and into another. It's fine. She's gotten used to the heat. "I'd appreciate seeing it for myself, thank you Jayce. So I can see what it's like now, before we repair it and make it something new."

Sure, it won't be quite the same, but that didn't mean it couldn't be beautiful again.

"Replace the damaged tissue with new. Hm" That's definitely a foreign sounding concept. But clearly he didn't quite understand just what was going on with it fully either. Which meant she didn't need to worry about the details too much if even Jayce was a little fuzzy on some of the details. Though finding out just how severe Viktor's situation was, is a surprise. He'd seemed fine the last time she'd seen him, but that goes to show you can never really know how things really are for someone else.

"You're right." She agreed quietly, keeping his hand with a gentle smile. "But I'm here now and that's what matters. We're together and we can fix this." Maybe not all of it, but they could certainly fix most of it.

Gonna message you, maybe we can wind down on this first one!

[hextechhead]

"It's only happened regularly since we got here. It seems like we might be the catalyst. Which makes some sense, they're using advanced magic to take people out of other worlds. Of course it's going to make this place unbalanced, and the magic to react to that."

The answer to send them back though doesn't seem to be something the people in control want to do, or maybe they can't do it. They just keep bringing more and more, and things get unstable. There is nothing they can do to stop it though, Jayce has argued many times, and they don't have the authority. Even if Free Cities considered stopping, since Solvunn and Thorne continues, they can't take the risk of losing whatever advantage they think it brings. It's all a mess.

"I'd love to introduce you to a few of the Summoned. Viktor and I have made some really good friends. Wanda from Solvunn is close to both of us, she's very unique. A little introverted, so she might seem shy at first, but she is so kind. There's Kell from Thorne, he's very serious and intense, actually ... quiet too." Jayce pauses and then smiles. "Um, I guess I have a friend type." The boisterous extroverted Jayce apparently is quick to befriend people who aren't as outgoing, go figure. Something she would know well herself.

"Pretty much everyone here in Cadens you can trust. We're close-knit and on the same page we're in this together." That unity is actually very important considering they have the highest amount of Summoned and they have far more freedom than anyone else. "And ... yeah, Jaskier himself reassured me he didn't blame me." But typical Jayce still blamed himself, a little. Only a twinge of it.

"Our person was attacked just as theirs was, so no, they weren't singled out. The war has been brewing for awhile. Apparently the queen's lover was killed in Nocwich and she reacted from that place when she attacked." It is a grim reality that perhaps the war wouldn't have started if the Queen wasn't in a furious state after her loss. And perhaps her rage would have kept her from caring about the details. It's all the more unnerving someone with that amount of power can do whatever they like though.

Jayce is somewhat fuzzy on the details, and he's been studying medicine and technology for quite some time, trying to understand it. That is why having people from the future like Tony and Strange helps, they have already seen something like this happen and work before. So Jayce is simply there to help where he can. Whatever it takes. It's their only shot.

"When I envisioned us working together, I always did think we could do anything." He only had a few days to really think of that. He offered her a spot on his detail, which she knows and turned down, but Jayce also thought even as an enforcer, eventually they could work together. Partner together. He didn't want to chain her down. "Okay, let's head to the apartment so you can get settled in."