( CLOSED )

[obstinance]

Who: clary fray (obstinance ) & various
What: october event and accompanying shenanigans
When: october
Where: various
Warning(s): stupidity

[ closed catch-all for shenanigans. starters in comments; feel free to pm me or pp romanoff if you'd like to do something. ]

Comments

[obstinance]

I was never very good at following directions.

[ surprising, truly. clary knows she's had enough run-ins with bellamy that he's probably gauged as much for himself without her input. she gestures to the couch a moment afterward, gaze pointed. ]

I'm halfway there.

[ it counts. ]

[jettisons]

[He scoffs, pushing the pillow back at her.]

Go to sleep, Clary.

[She's not going to.]

[obstinance]

On the couch?

[ she'd have to be extremely fatigued for that to be an option, given how incredulous she sounds. the couch is a haven for sketching and reading, or even entertaining herself with whatever weird shows they air on their outdated televisions. more than that, she might just be looking for an excuse to do the opposite of sleep. ]

What do you plan to do if I actually sleep?

[jettisons]

What, too good to sleep on a couch?

[He shakes his head. Shameful!]

You said you wanted me to stay, so I'll stay.

[obstinance]

It's better than the floor.

[ so the answer, then, is maybe. she'll leave it as a mystery. ]

I think watching me sleep is going to get pretty boring. [ dryness aside, she is sincere when she adds, ] But thanks.

[jettisons]

Trust me, I've had guard shifts more boring than this.

[She's not saying no, so hey, there's a chance, right?]

[obstinance]

[ dryly, ] What a compliment.

[ that's another piece to the puzzle that is bellamy blake, even though she recognizes it as a throwaway comment. guard. he isn't among the ranks here, so it's a natural assumption that he means it in reference to home — the ark, clarke had called it — instead.

she stretches, quick to get up (an obvious mistake, as she pauses for a second), if only to shed the jacket she's wearing. first: a blanket, second: a change of clothes if she intends to sleep out here. ]

If that's true, maybe you should be working for the guard here.

[ patrolling the nobles district is the epitome of boring to her, after all; bellamy would fit right in, should he be assigned a similar duty to listening to the rich prattle on and on about nothing. ]

[jettisons]

[Bellamy shrugs, watching carefully as she stands. It isn't like he hasn't considered it, but...]

Not sure I want to play soldier when I don't know who I'm guarding or who's going to be giving me orders.

[obstinance]

[ her only initial reply is a cursory shrug. it's a fair point, and one she doesn't forget to address when she wanders into the next room and reemerges a handful of minutes later, changed into clothes moderately more comfortable for relaxing than leather jackets and boots. the comforter she's carting gets thrown carelessly onto the couch — including onto bellamy's lap — but that's just as well, considering she intends to take over most of the couch. ]

You would be guarding the people here, mostly. I can't say anything about the people in charge. [ she settles back down, maneuvering beneath the blanket but making no immediate move to genuinely sleep just yet. ] Hearing everyone blame the leaders in this place puts things into perspective. I don't know if any of us really know who we're working for like we should.

[jettisons]

Probably not.

[Because, in his experience, that's how things usually go.]

Who's in charge of the guard? You know anything about them?

[obstinance]

Is this another interrogation?

[ unsurprisingly, her legs are sprawling back out in his lap. that's the consequence of telling her to sleep, even if bellamy's usual pattern of grilling (as she almost points out more directly) is a distraction from that. ]

Her name is Ashti. I only spoke to her once when she was recruiting.

[jettisons]

Not everything is an interrogation, Clary.

[It just sounds like one coming out of his mouth.]

I'm out of my element here. I need to catch up.

[obstinance]

Everything out of your mouth sounds like an interrogation.

[ sorry, bellamy. teasing aside, it's still the truth, and the shrug she offers is entirely unapologetic. ]

I haven't been here that much longer than you have. We're all out of our element here.

[jettisons]

When we're this out of the loop, people usually start dying.

[Cheerful, Bellamy!]

[obstinance]

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

[ still, he has her attention, perching up on her elbow to glance over at him.]

People are already sick. What do you think is going to happen? You don't use chemical warfare to release the flu.

[jettisons]

Last time something like this happened back home, it was because an army was weakening us so they could wipe us out.

[Continuously cheerful.]

I haven't seen any soldiers hiding outside the city, but they didn't do this for fun.

[obstinance]

Let them try.

[ (ง'̀-'́)ง ]

You can say "I told you so" when I start coughing up blood.

[ because that isn't dark at all. ]

[jettisons]

[He shoots her a look. Coughing up blood isn't super fun.]

I'm not kidding. Whoever did this, they're not going to stop here.

[obstinance]

Neither am I.

[ surprisingly. as dramatic as it is, she doesn't feel like it's the wrong presumption to make, either. clearly she's very skilled at keeping anyone from worrying, just like bellamy and his (lacking) optimism. ]

You and I both know it's going to get worse, and I doubt it involves an army. They've done enough with just the infection.

[jettisons]

You think they're trying to wipe out the entire city?

[He's thought about it himself, but yikes.]

[obstinance]

I think someone is trying to make a point.

[ essentially, that's a yes, though she's able to admit her perception might be biased. she's run into too many that share the same beliefs and motivations as valentine to assume there isn't something similar at work here. ]

And you don't make a point by giving someone a sore throat and a fever. This has to be the beginning of whatever they've unleashed.

[jettisons]

[He nods, reaching over to rub her shoulder gently. As strong as Clary is, there's no way she isn't worried about herself.]

We'll figure it out. They'll find a cure for this.

[obstinance]

[ worried is right, try as she might to suppress it. the safety of others is a larger concern, but she isn't so selfless that she's forgotten herself. she aims for a smile, small as it is, as a returned kindness for his attempts to be comforting. ]

And if they don't?

[ her optimism can only extend so far. she's been in impossible situation after impossible situation, but this feels entirely different. ]

[jettisons]

They will, Clary. There are enough people at the Sanctuary working on this. You'll be okay.

[obstinance]

People that know about as much as you and I do, which is almost nothing.

[ she shrugs, but it isn't argumentative, only matter-of-fact. ]

But I guess that has to be enough for now.

[ to keep them all sane, first and foremost, instead of lacking in hope. ]