patrolling [★] READY SET LET'S GO

[Tena M.]

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Tena Moonspinner —
Sitting in wait fared about as well as one could expect with the sand cat.  She understood the safety of the mountain... In concept.  Orders were orders, too.  Well…  The Demdji never fell into the category of rule-followers.  No.  She moved as her paws felt called to.  Even in the dead of night.

The moon had long since settled over the mountain.  The cold, winter air sank deep into her sandy fur.  Built for extremes, it hardly bothered her enough to send her back into the shelter of the mountain camp.  In the darkness, bright blue hues glinted.

Her large ears perked and flicked, tail tip twitching behind her.  Patrolling in the dead of night might be dangerous to some, especially on the final night of the month, but Tena hardly cared.  She needed to move and do something.  So she did, perched on a lower hill below the mountain, tasting the air quietly as she decided on her route.
[align=right]— I tell you this story, save your life, set you free

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]/maybe tw: slight implication of suicidal ideation in paragraph 6

  The first night of the semi-lockdown at the mountain camp, Rin had decided to stay at the mountain camp as well. The entire point of her plan was to keep the Captain's main target away from the docks, and ideally as far away as possible. Besides, if she kept up with the "do as I say, not as I do" mentality, asking the Elysites to do things she wouldn't do herself, they might eventually get tired of her and depose her even before the curse was broken. As such, she had taken her herb stores up to the mountains, and had settled down in one of the connected caves for the night- big enough to fit Nemhain, but not so large that she couldn't see the ceiling.

  And immediately, she was reminded of why she never liked sleeping in the mountain camp.

  As shallow as the caves near the camp were, if they started to collapse, she could probably save everyone- the open-air area wasn't far from any given cave- but only if she was awake. Going to sleep in them, to her, was emotionally like going to sleep in an open bear trap. Logically, she knew the likelihood of a cave-in was a tiny fraction of a percent, but all she could think of was-

  No, don't think about that. If she thought about it, she ran the risk of waking up Nemhain. Nemhain had already sacrificed more than enough sleep for her.

  With a heavy sigh, she stood up and exited the cave, then went out onto the mountainside. Breathing in the frigid air, she could feel the cold numbing the edges of her mind where her fears ran most rampant. There was nothing that could collapse on her and kill her out here. Really, the Captain couldn't make the caves collapse either- he was a god of the sea, not a god of the mountain. Everything was fine.

  Standing out in the snow for a few moments, Rin let the wind ruffle her fur, sting against her face. Any reminder that she was still alive was welcome. Some other days that wouldn't be much comfort, but today she needed something to ground her.

  Just a little longer, and she would go back in-

  -then her eyes fell upon Tena, out patrolling, in the middle of the night.

  Any calmness her mind had found was gone, burned away by her inner thoughts turning on themselves. If Tena was out here on such a potentially-dangerous night, Rin had to follow her. Yet Tena probably wouldn't want her to follow, and really after the events of the past month and a half, she should probably leave Tena alone. But if she did, Tena might be attacked- unless she stayed away from the dock, in which case she would probably be fine- but Rin should probably follow anyway, in case this ended up like the last time- but last time was six months ago-

  -she would want a choice.

  Actually having some agency in what happened to her... Rin had understood the craving for it, not so long ago. Had she forgotten, now that she had that power, now that she could control the direction of her life on some level? It was addicting, the feeling that she could actually stop the ones around her from dying.

  But that feeling was false. If it had any truth, it was because she had tried to deny them their own agency.

  Feeling herself sink down, she shook her head. Tena was going to patrol whether Rin liked it or not. She might as well accept her defeat with grace. But she could die if you do. Then she would just have to live with that discomfort and paranoia and guilt. That was a mercifully-light punishment for what she'd failed to prevent so many years ago.

  "...May I come with you?" Rin asked finally, walking down the mountainside until she was roughly level with the hill Tena stood on. "If you want me to stay here, I will." She was giving Tena the choice directly, much as it hurt to do so.

[nemhain.]

The mountain camp was far from ideal, at least for Nemhain. The fenghuang was used to stretching out her wings and letting herself unfurl. She was used to being massive and impressive and able to take off high into the sky above her without a worry in the world. Now, however, she was stuck in a cave with Rin. It wasn't the company that annoyed her, but just the strange claustrophobic feeling the place gave the massive bird. She wanted to drag her talons over the walls, and dig her way outward to freedom. She knew it was a ridiculous desire, but she still found herself deciding to rest near the entrance to the cave when she finally settled. Her position wasn't the most comfortable, crouched down with her head resting on her chest and her wings folded close, but it was enough to at least lull her to sleep. Even as anxiety dug and scratched at her flesh beneath her feathers, she found herself beginning to drift off anyways, gripped by a very foreign feeling: exhaustion. Sure, personas did not technically need sleep, but Nem had been draining herself lately, constantly on edge thanks to the looming threat of the Captain on the way. It had made it difficult for her to actually get any proper rest, and she could tell Rin was beginning to get worried, if only from the nauseous worried voice inside her head that wasn't entirely her own.

The persona had finally been allowing herself these rare moments of rest when she heard movement within the cave, and her entire body tensed. She was ripped away from her dreamless sleep, her entire body perked and ready in case of an attack. She could hear the soft pawsteps of Rin passing by her, and for a brief moment, Nemhain considered just... going back to sleep. However, the thought was short lived, immediately quashed and hissed at angrily. She was Rin's persona, she was supposed to keep her safe. She couldn't be sleeping on the job. With this in mind, the fenghuang wrenched her eyes open, taking in a shuddering breath of chilled air. Shaking off the grogginess that was still attempting to grip her, the female followed a few minutes after Rin, choosing to just walk on her talons instead of fly. When she eventually found herself near Rin and Tena, she blinked before moving over to Rin's side, clearing her throat to let the other know of her presence. She didn't say anything yet, curious to see what Tena would say in response to Rin's request. If Tena said yes, then Nemhain would be sure to follow. If Tena said no? Well, perhaps she could actually finally catch up on her rest.

[Tena M.]

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Tena Moonspinner —
Tena heard Rin before she saw her, body tensing on reflex.  Moons on the run, clinging to the freedom she barely snatched up with her paws, had taught her to be paranoid.  Ready for a fight at every corner.  Instead of a fight, her blue eyes locked on her successor.  Of course.  A fire sparked in her gaze.  Wild.  Bitter.  Rebellious.

"Do what you want," she answered in a void tone, cold.  A choice.  "It's your life Rin, I don't care.  But last I checked you were the target."  The 'curses' and 'gods' had yet to intimidate the Demdji and the memory of them made her frown.  "But if the reason you want to patrol with me is because you think I'm gonna die if you don't come along and 'protect' me, then I think you should just go, Rin."

Nothing bad was gonna happen to her, just because of Rin and her past.  Tena had her own past to watch out for.  The sand cat huffed softly, gaze shifting towards the borders and lashed her tail once behind her.  "You should just rest."
[align=right]— I tell you this story, save your life, set you free

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Despite her best efforts, she'd woken Nemhain up anyway. Probably for nothing, too, considering that Tena wasn't likely to want her coming along. Rin considered offering Nem an apology upon hearing her approach, but decided it could wait, opting instead to nod to her in acknowledgement.

  Watching Tena's eyes, not flinching away from the bitterness within, Rin listened to her explanation. She was the target at least as far as the gods were concerned, that was true. That alone was probably reason enough to stay- anything less than a god was unlikely to accomplish much against Tena. It was possible someone could hurt her, yes, but not likely.

  As Tena continued, though, derisively suggesting that she might die if left alone, Rin felt her claws slide out and grip the snow. She was taking all of Tena's own struggles and ideals into consideration, she really was, but that was a low blow. It was tempting to snap at her, to tell her that she knew from experience how these situations tended to go, that it'd be stupid of her not to be paranoid, that she didn't ask to be deathly afraid of losing another friend. She hadn't asked to have nightmares, or to hear them screaming in her ears, or to-

  ...Nemhain was still here, wasn't she? Silencing her thoughts, Rin set her jaw. "All you had to say was no," she said as evenly as she could. Shaking her head, she turned and walked away, back up the slope. Ears flattening back, she messaged Nemhain, Sorry for waking you up.