TLV Inbox

[greatoldjohn]

[in a rather deep voice] "This is John Doe. Please leave your message. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. I may respond in text if I'm currently with Arthur. Apologies."

Now Moved To: Inbox: Act II - please tag in there!

Comments

text; mid-morning on feb 10

[pitofguilt]

Hey, so, i woke up to find your file in my room. And i have a bathroom now. I'm guessing this is a flood

Are you guys okay?

[1/2]

[greatoldjohn]

No, we most certainly are not. Arthur's cabin has been reduced to his office. His gun is gone. And I am... without the ability to hold with my mask.

Are you okay?

[2/2]

[greatoldjohn]

Wait, what the fuck do you mean 'my file'?

[pitofguilt]

I mean it looks like I'm your warden. That would explain... well, everything

Come down to my room. I'll show you. I haven't read the file. And Arthur can use the bathroom.

[ Fair is fair. She's been using John's until now. Arthur may as well get to use hers, since John doesn't need to. ]

[greatoldjohn]

What the fuck.

We're going to try and get down there.

[pitofguilt]

[ She may as well admit this. They're going to find out anyway. ]

My rifle showed up. I can go get you.

[greatoldjohn]

[ Shit. ]

...let me talk to Arthur.

[pitofguilt]

Okay. I'm ready to go, just say the word.

[greatoldjohn]

We're heading down. If you could keep an eye out and let us know if you see trouble on your floor, that would be helpful.

[greatoldjohn]

And down they go.

Such that she'll see them hit the hallway within a few minutes. Unsurprisingly, John is riding with Arthur.

[lestercraft]

Arthur comes out of the stairwell, in fact, and when he hits the bottom he only takes a moment to pause and catch his breath - he's wearing a suit jacket over dark navy pyjamas and his Oxfords, with his satchel and cane in a tight grip, looking as uncomfortable as Natalie's ever seen him.

[pitofguilt]

Well. Arthur looks like shit. Not unkempt or dirty, but just not okay.

Natalie is standing in her door with one foot in the hall, rifle at the ready.

"You're clear." She knows he doesn't need her to say that, since John is with him, but at least he can hear for himself that she's here and waiting for them.

[greatoldjohn]

[ To the left, Arthur. Follow her voice. The door is open. ]

[lestercraft]

It's a relief to hear Natalie's voice still calm, and he barely needs John's directions to follow her voice, finding the wall with John's hand and ducking into her room as soon as he can.

"You're alright, Natalie?" he still asks immediately. "John mentioned you're his warden, now. So we've already worked out most of this flood so far, I think."

[pitofguilt]

As soon as they're inside, she shuts and locks the door.

"I'm fine. This entire flood's an upgrade for me. Got a shower now."

Making sure the safety is on her rifle, she sets it on the table and sighs.

"You guys can stay here til it's over. Communal bathrooms suck."

John's file is also on the table. She glances at it but doesn't mention it. It comes with warden privileges. No need to flaunt it around when it's both John and Arthur here. Maybe later, when it's just John, she'll bring it up.

"This flood is a bad idea. The guy who murdered me gets warden clearance now. How's that even worth doing?"

[greatoldjohn]

He pulls out his communicator to speak directly to both of them, putting on the reader to speak it out loud.

It's bullshit!

Arthur will feel him huff.

The rooms have protective filters, but the doors aren't any stronger than a normal door.

...we should probably stay in most of the time. And travel early in the morning.

[lestercraft]

"Thank you."

Arthur hasn't actually been to Natalie's room before, so he's feeling more than a little awkward being here when he has literally no idea where anything is - and still in his fucking pyjamas, no less - but knowing they're safe makes the information less immediately pertinent.

"If you can make requests from the Admiral, Nat, you should ask for a refrigerator for now. That ought to minimise the number of times we'll be forced to leave for food. I'll still need to go by the Wardrobe, I don't have any fucking clothes, but since there's no warden keys there's nothing particularly damaging to worry about there. I'll- shit, I need to check in with Mandrake too," he adds with a belated, guilty note of realisation, but it makes his tone less harried than his survival recitation.

[pitofguilt]

Oh my god, she can request stuff from the Admiral. That sure does open doors-- but no. She's got a small stash and two healthy plants. She's fine.

"I'll do that while you get settled."

Which she promptly does, and only then does she realize--

"Shit. You've never been in here before. If you come towards me, there's a table and chairs where you can sit down."

[greatoldjohn]

[ Wait, you've never-

Shit, you've never been here before. ]

John hadn't even realized because he's been here plenty of times. He should have known, given his laughably inaccurate guess at the floor, but he'd waved it off since they hadn't been down for a while.

[ Sorry, sorry- Arthur, tell me if you haven't been somewhere before, for Christ's sake! I don't always know!

We've come in through the main door, which shows a bed a few feet directly in front of us, as well as a table and chairs off towards the left. To the right is a shelf wide enough to function as a table or desk and beyond a number of windows let in the starlight. There's a door there which leads to a bathroom which now appears to hold a shower and a bathtub. ]

And a kettle, please.

Arthur likes his tea and coffee. Might as well make that easier too.

[lestercraft]

Arthur gets the two realisations in almost perfect sync, and snorts quietly.

"As if I've had any reason to before now," he comments dryly, but between the two directions he makes his way to the table, putting his cane and bag down (right on top of the file, coincidentally) before he finds a seat in his right hand and sits a bit heavily.

It's only when John's done speaking that he continues. "I'm aware I'm being overly cautious, but with the number of inmates who are fresh enough to still go completely fucking feral if they receive any power - or even older ones who may simply have been biding their time - the safest option is to stay clear until the flood blows over. You-" he turns his face to where he's pretty sure Natalie is. "-ought to be fine, Nat. Unless someone has personal issue you're in the safest position here."

[pitofguilt]

"You sure about that? Some guy murdered me for literally no reason a few months ago. Nobody's really safe. --kettle should be showing up soon."

Look at her, able to provide sanctuary to her warden and his partner. (She hasn't forgotten what John said that day, about love being inextricably tied to Arthur. She just, you know, doesn't think about it, because love means love lost, and she's not willing to look grief in the face yet.)

"You gonna be weird if I say you can share my bed? You can take the couch otherwise. Looks really plush."

[greatoldjohn]

That's Arthur's decision, not mine. It's his back, after all.

And I agree with you, Natalie. It's best to stay inside until we get some idea of how people are behaving.

[ Mandrake has your file, Arthur. We should... consider how to handle that. ]

[lestercraft]

Arthur's lips press, but the moment of pale stiffness that comes with it is from John's comment, not Natalie's, and he makes an effort to sound polite when he replies out loud, "I think I'll sleep on the couch, if it's all the same. It hardly feels proper, for any number of reasons."

But John gets the unpleasant lurch of realisation that comes with thinking about his file, and his right hand curls into a tight fist.

[pitofguilt]

Arthur and his 1930s sensibilities are both charming and such an easy target.

"Should be safe here. Might not even need to go out for a few days."

She certainly won't be going out. Inviting people over, sure, but that's that.

"You two any good with a rifle? You can take mine if you decide to go out."

[greatoldjohn]

We've... never had one to try.