Sleep, Spies, and Sorrow

Alexa looks around at the room, Clyde and Alcina peacefully curled up together napping, and a Gabriel in the corner taking a cat nap. Everyone seems so peaceful. Alexa leans against the wall and slowly slides down until she is sitting on the ground. Her eyes wide, her eyes glazed over as she processes. A feeling starts to take over, dark, foggy. Information she once had in her mind seem to twist and change. Alexa struggles to understand what she's feeling, and then she realizes what it is. Doubt. She's never doubted herself before, she always knew her information was right, and information doesn't lie. She closes her eyes, trying to push the feeling away, but it keeps coming back, like a gnawing in the back of her mind. 'Rest your mind, you need to sleep' she repeats in her head over and over until finally her mind allows her to sleep. While asleep her dreams are twisted, every dream is tainted by a raven flying around with Gig's glowing red eyes, whispering information into her mind, twisting her logic. She twitches and squirms in her sleep, her body trying to get her out of this nightmare, but her mind trapping her in, not letting her escape. There isn't a frame of reference to time when there is a jostle awake time. Alexa would have a blanket over her of fine red threads. Gabriel would have been earlier alerted, given the light sleeping, as Clyde and Alcina are hard at work making lunch. Ah, there is the reference of time. The sun is singing through a nearby window as motes of dust fly like the ash of the plaza. Some of that 'snow' has rolled into the air. The smell of eggs cooking, a staple food, along with breakfast meats seasoned with fresh cut apples to give it a sweet, savory scent. Mealed grains are cooked with, you guessed it, apples. True to his word, Clyde is a surprisingly good cook and Alcina provides plenty of fire to do the cooking with. There is enough for all four of them in no time. "This meal could wake the dead," Clyde says, not going to actually wake anyone up, but the clatter of a plate on a table generally does the job. The clash of the plates on the table alert Alexa out of her sleep, her eyes open, but her body seems paralyzed, the raven in the back of her mind. It feels like hours until she can move her body again, but in reality is only 30 seconds. She stands up and walks over to the table, sitting at one of the plates. "The food smells great" She states, trying to sound sincere, but it comes out more monotoned than expected. "Did you guys sleep well?" Distraction. She needs distraction... get out of her own mind. "Alcina is fully rested because, y'know, ELVES," Clyde says as he waves his hands around in the air to make a show of 'elf privilege' . Alcina shoots a response to that with just her eyes. Then she boops him on the nose. The couple take their seats and start into the meal slowly by cutting up the meats, "I'm going to reset myself closer to the evening. Im used to sleepless nights. We are not in Hell anymore, but some of the survival habits die hard. You, however, still look exhausted. Your fight with the she-devil still bothering you?" Alexa's mind flashes to her 'conversation' with Syn. "Honestly that took a back seat since he..." Gig's glowing red eyes spark in her mind. "... Gig found me... alone." A deep inhale through Clyde's teeth as his face turns to that of someone that grabbed a hot coal. A hiss of air in. "Damn," he exhales, "that is not how you want to find a Gig. Alone. Well, he didn't turn you into a chair or fling you into the clouds, so thats good." The dark haired man shovels some food into his mouth and quietly, neatly eats it. Swallowing he asks, "You want to talk about it?" Looking down at her plate, slowly cutting the meat, shuffling her food around, not actually eating anything. "You follow Kelemvor.... was there ever a cost for that? Is making a pact, or following a God any different than a deal with Gig?" There is a tilt of Clyde's head as a few stray bangs sweep across his face. "Well," the man swallows, "yes. I was thrown through a portal and called the Avatar of death." He forcibly stabs a part of his breakfast, pointing the cut meat bit to Alexa, "Which is rude on two accounts, fi you ask me. Three if you ask Alcina as it was my turn to take the kids hiking. Though I never made any pacts with Kelemvor. I worked with the clergy as an agent. The only thing I can think of that they provided out of it was vials of Kelemvor's rest and giving me a sense of fulfillment. I was, and still am, very good at my job." He takes a moment to chew on his meal before washing it down with, yep, apple juice. "I think pacts with higher powers are a bit different, but mostly there is a give-and-take relationship. Like having an employer? Being part of an organization, like the Candles. Theres a cost to being a Candle, right? Seems like you did your down payment momentarily in the trust department earlier." She slowly nods her head, listening, absorbing. "All I do is gather information and take notes on everyone. It seems my destiny is just to be a tool or toy for higher beings to play with. It seems closer connections only open you up to pain... a pressure point the higher beings can lean on." She takes a bite of food, trying to force her appetite back. "Alone is what I have. Alone protects me." "You know," Clyde says, familiar with that mentality, "being alone isnt so bad." This, of course, causes Alcina to look to Clyde in a 'what did you just say' sort of way. Clyde raises up a hand, "There is something to be said about traveling around at your own pace. No need to figure out what right words to say or do. You and yourself." The assassin sips on his apple juice, "But, its kinda disillusioned. Its REALLY hard to be truly alone. Like, demiplane of emptiness with just yourself alone." He begins to connect some facts as he takes a moment to digest this delicious nommins, "We sit in a house someone else built, yeah? So, someone was here before us. There will be people after us. Im not thinking TOO hard that I am using some guys house, but I guess I am. Its a matter of perspective." The man shifts his eyes to the red fox lady, "And you get to decide what that is. Supporting someone. Use and being used. Nature isnt so different. The plants are tools for the herbavore that are tools for the carnivore that are tools for the plants. The tint we put to it is telling about who we are." He eats a little more, "Except undead seems to just refuse to die so it really mucks up the order of things." She raises her gaze, looking up at Clyde, "But how do you know that your actions are your own? Or that a connection is genuine." She's organizing the thoughts in her mind, trying to make sense. Of course what Clyde says makes sense, but there's a clawing feeling that won't go away. "I understand that everything has a purpose, and we're all part of a larger design. I left Syn alone." Her eyes glance down, shame taking over. "Not for long... only 5 hours or so. And now... Gig has his grips in her. I try to logic away my attachment to her... but because Gig has his grips in her, he has his grips in me." A silence fills the room, Alexa feels her heart beating against her chest. "I wasn't enough to stop her... to save her from herself. And now... " silence. "... If I had kept my distance, not got attached, I could be more objective. But that seems impossible now." Hrmmm. Clyde emits a thoughtful growl as he places a his head in his hand. He cradles that noggin in his palm as he thinks about that. "You know, I don't know," the man admits, "there are too many moving parts to know if your decision isn't influenced. Like, hey, maybe there is a fruit out there I NEVER tasted, and its my favorite fruit. Id pick this fruit, if I only know it existed, but it doesnt grow here. Like, there is that stuff." He takes an apple slice and points it to Alcina, "I didn't know what I was missing until I met Alcina, right? Is she manipulating me." A pause, a serious look at his wife, "Are you manipulating me?" A knowing smile and no words. Chilling behavior from a fox. Clyde turns his head away from Alcina to look back to Alexa, "I think you are forgetting that we all have our limits. You can't know everything or control everything. You can't stand in a rainstorm and command the rain to stop. It not stopping doesnt mean you are so powerless that the rain is using you to carry its wetness on your person. BUT. You can take shelter or get a better jacket. Its only over when you decide it is over. Is it over with you and Syn? Or your pursuit about slash against Gig?" The silence after Clyde talks goes on longer than it should. The sound of silverware on plates fills up the room. Alexa finally speaks "I let my guard down. I never do that. I don't think my friendship with Syn is over... it just can't be the same. When my guard is down people find me... offputting. I notice too much... people don't like that. I keep notes on everyone, connect strings that normal people can't. Gig is planning something, he's amused by Syn. He's going to keep puppeting her to his will without her knowing. Meanwhile throwing distractions at me so I can't see what he's doing." She starts prattling off, her mind following logic strings that she's put together. "He's altered the gate here, made a deal with Syn, presented the fractured soul to Kravor. Everything is his design. It's a mystery and plot tying everyone together so that Gig can get the show that he wants. I can't just let that go." "Why does everyone assume to know what other people are thinking, feeling, and plotting," Clyde says as he finishes up with his meal. "Ahh. Right now I feel full and I'm thinking about napping. Theres something to be said about planning, preparation, and deduction, but its a road to a LOT of frustration too." Then Clyde shoots out the craziest theory possible, "What if Gig is just as powerless as you are and just got really good at riding the current of chaos to the point where everyone thinks he is a mastermind?" He leans back in his chair, "What if Syn is just as bothered by this as you are but responds to everything with extremes and anger? What if people don't find YOU offputting. They find the truth offputting, and you provide the truth. Or a version of it."He closes his eyes, "Mmm, don't beat yourself up, Alexa. The world is going to do that for you. Its a right dick like that." Alexa listens to the wisdom of Clyde... he makes very solid points. She lets out a bit of information she's held from the Candles... something she did to protect Syn, but she needs a wise perception. "In Avernus... he was bored... turned everyone against each other... so many people died. It was just fun for him. He sparked an ability in Syn to help her win... she killed.... everybody. We were on the same team, but it didn't matter, she chased me down, it was as if her soul left her body and all she could see was blood. Death." Red eyes of Gig... change to the black soulless eyes of Syn. "He may not be a mastermind, but now, with her new deal, everytime I look at her I see that look in her eyes." Clyde grins and says, "Lets play a game. You throw me a theory, I'll throw out one of mine. Lets take Avernus. Ok, so you think Gig was bored. I think he was putting together a show for another devil to buy something he needed back here in Arhor'ha. Gig seems particularly powerful here, so going to Avernus? Hmm, why risk it?" The man shakes his head side to side, "Now, nothing wrong with enjoying what you do. He probably DID enjoy it. Its Gig." Then there is that new deal, "Doesn't she need your help more than ever? I mean I can always kill her. That'd piss Gig off right much." It sounds silly until there is that 'aha' that they all did just effectively kill Kravor. "I know she needs my help, and even if you did end up killing her, there's nothing stopping him bringing her back. He's done it before to a man name Safina. I'm not effective around him. I can't read him. He wanted Syn to go to Freeport... but why? We got the crystal for Kravor, but more importantly, we brought back companions. Ones that seemed only willing to come with us because she was there. I can't shake the feeling that that is what he wanted... to get them here. To manipulate them? Give Syn a focus, or reminder of Jacob Whyte... a place to put her rage?" "Alright," Clyde has to struggle for this one. Flex that creative muscle, Clyde, "How about, Syn is a tiefling, yeah? And Gig, if intel is right, ruled over that place. Maybe he wanted her to see what her heritage was like from his eyes. To get a better idea of who she is?" Clyde coughs into his hand, "That one is pretty hard. Maybe Gig wanted her to be aware of the choice. And she chose you all over Gig. She could have stayed and partied with him all night. She didnt." "Ok, that is a different spin, but if history is to be believed, wouldn't she learn of the hand he played in creating her, how he helped Tieflings, make her more subservient to him?" A pause, going through her many theories. "The gate was created around the same time the seal of Gigareth was, and Gig has altered it, causing the elves to experiment with it. Myself and Syn came, and the gate just so happens to hold the friend of Syn who she thought dead, a form of leverage. A reminder of Jacob Whyte. Now, Ford is here, who is actively being hunted for by the Whyte family.. looking for their property. Drawing him here. And a soul... the soul of someone that noone really remembers. A feat, really for you and I whose job it is to know people. A Targarius, dangled in front of a fallen Targarius who fought for Gigareth, tarnished his scales, and craving power." She has to stop... she could keep going, but typically around this point people stop paying attention as it seems she's just rambling observations at them. Oh its on. Theory crafting time with two Candles. Alcina sees that look in Clyde's eyes and she excuses herself to check with the white haired gnome boy. The firefox and the elementalist would have plenty to discuss. "Or," Clyde starts, "its a reminder that a lot of people died there. Kelemvor is pissed off. I imagine the Raven Queen is too. You wouldn't BELIEVE how many omens I get about that. But not my deal. Agent. That whole place needs a high grade... something. Or maybe both apply? And its what you decide to see in it. Like a mirror. The whole Whyte situation and Ford? Yeah, thats hard to pass up. Think he knew they were there?" Clyde sips on his apple juice. Having another viewpoint somehow grounds the theories. Every Sherlock needs a Watson to keep them steady. "Mixed feelings about the Targarius situation. The raven back to the royal family is due any day. Im curious what the high and mighty 'Targarius' house feels about all this." He isn't TRYING to hold a grudge, but he isn't completely over it. "This Gate thing. Its a curious artifact. You can add in us to your theories, by the way. Agent of Kelemvor. Pactee of the Raven Queen. Very Death-and-Souls oriented. Also Alcina, Phoenix, Rebirth. I dont want to say we are looking for correlation where none exists, but it is fascinating." "Well the world is rarely so lazy as to make so many coincidences. Someone is manipulating the situation, and if not Gig, then who? I can't shake the feeling that so many things are being thrown at me to distract me from the big problem. Only thing is, I don't know what that is. What do you focus on? Do you know anything about Paulo? I went into the gate, everyone stood on this sheet of water, and and their reflection was a different person. He was mine... But he actually could come into our world. And now I can't see him anymore... All because a Targarius couldn't say no to power." "Come on, when has a dragon or dragon blooded anything say no to power?" Clyde says with a roguish grin on his face, "Its practically a requirement. You know the saying, can't expect a dragon to change its scales." Zebra. Stripes. "And I know Paulo. He is good people. A bit /too/ good of people, if you know what I mean. The Prince was glad to have him back in service to the royal family, though to be fair it seems he is more involved in the affairs of the continent instead of the Alliance. You should see the things he makes. I have never seen a more talented artificer. He modified my daggers to allow me to bring people with me so that Alcina and I blink together." A sidelong glance to the misses, "Neither of us are too keen on slipping to alternative planes. The blink and the Shadow Market are as far as we go." A smirk comes across Alexa's face, "I don't blame you after what you've been through." A moment of silence... Thinking. "A breaker. A girl with a large chip on her shoulder being courted by a devil named Gig. They've talked in Avernus... Before he gave her a taste of the power she could have with just a hint of his assistance. He guarantees her escape from Avernus... And then he waits. Waits until she is powerless, dangles her biggest guilt in front of her face. And now she's a reminder, a way of reminding her why she made the deal... Something to taunt her with. And then that sword... That sword that eats... Souls? Did it look familiar to you? Last sword I heard of like that was supposed to be at the seal of Gigareth... The seal that was made at the same time as this gate." Her speech quickens, each thing she's noticed coming off as a list, she stops to catch her breath and looks to see Clyde's reaction. "And in comes Paulo, who bickers with Gig like they are school children. If he is so good, what is he doing around Gig? And why is he here? He seems an amazing help, and I see myself alot in him... But he's gone as soon as he came, and all I can think is why." Clyde is a 'come as it may' sort of assassin. If it wasn't for his ability, one might think he doesnt take his job seriously. He isn't as fast as Alexa is during the analysis, but thats what Evelynn was always good at. Now Clyde is good at listening and providing a canvas for the thoughts. "The sword did look familiar. However last I checked that sword was at the Seal of Gigareth. Its not the ONLY sword like that. Betrayer is traditionally the sword his Knight would have. I haven't seen it since the Skyport side didn't fare so. Lots of things went missing that day." Like Dante. Clyde focuses on the other questions. "Paulo and Gig have a history. That much a know. From what Paulo has told me, they were pretty much what you said. Childhood friends in as much as could be considered for Gig. But Paulo carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. You can tell the type. Just like Evelynn. Just like you. And trust, once lost, is hard regained. For you I think its tangential to your company. He has a very odd 'gift'." "His gift seems to knowing almost everything... Far more than I've ever known. He said I'm being noticed by the summer, onyx, and Raven Queen. I thought that might be a good thing... But now I'm not so sure. We're sitting here in a tanners old house, eating this delicious food, and all I can do is cycle through everything I know, but not being able to find a singular focus, and the whole time I can't help but feel that Gig is over my shoulder." "Sort the rest of the facts away up here," Clyde taps his head, "Ok.Got it memorized? Good. Now, quick, what's the one thing you want to solve?" There is a quick clap of his hands to get that jolt of life into the conversation. Sometimes your impulses need a good wake up call. At the clap Alexa's brain snaps, "Gig." She states. This throws her off of what she thought she would answer. If anyone asked and she had time to think, she would say Syn... But with this quick method, he is the only thing that snaps in her mind. Clyde smiles as he leans that lithe gymnastic frame back into the wooden chair. "An honest answer. Then you can release some of that burden. Everything you've said is bringing you closer to figuring him out and his goals out. Plus, I dont think you'll be short of seeing him if he took a personal interest with you. Bring muscles. A mission of that sort of danger requires brain and brawns. You have brains covered, but an large blunt object doesn't care much about the brain its about to squish." Her shoulders relax, an answer, or at least a focus. "Am I a bad person for not wanting answers for the greater good... But just for the purpose of understanding and solving?" She's struggled with this.. where does curiosity meet morality? "Does it matter," Clyde asks, head tilting back to hit the top of his chair, "its who you are. The fact that some of the time you can control who you are to help other people? Thats pretty good to me." A boot hits the table, weathered by plenty of travel. The man kicks his chair back, rocking on it with two of the four legs. "Look at me. I kill things. And I direct that to killing undead things. Death is a part of Life. I don't know if I'm good or the 'good guy'. I wake up in the morning and I like who I am. I like who I spend my time with and what I do with it. I know if I go too far out I have people that can pull me back and keep me honest with myself." He rocks, "Didn't even know I needed that until a few years ago. Thought I was content to go alone and take out one mark at a time. It felt safer that way. But it wasn't. I wouldn't be back here without help. Being a 'good' person, whats that even mean? That other people accept you? I've got all the acceptance I need right here." "How... How did you switch out of that mode? To trust people? We use people all the time, making connections for our work, but each connection is shallow... Safe... Useful. How do you know when to drop that?" Clyde continues to rock in his self made rocking chair, "You don't. Its humbling. Then you realize, you never knew to begin with. Thinking you did was an illusion to make you feel secure when you weren't. So you learn to live with it. Manage it. Some days are better than others. Sometimes I still wake up with a dagger in my hands and ready to strike." A pause for the obvious question, "We have a 'nanny' of sorts for the kids. Thankfully looking after them now." Alexa's mind wanders to an image of kids running around with an exhausted nanny. A soft chuckle comes out. "I can't even imagine having a family in this job. With the appearance of rising stakes, it has to be difficult." "Ah, you stop thinking about it that way after a while. Life out here is dangerous no matter what you do. At least Alcina and I are formidable on our good days and 'come back to life' on our bad days," Clyde humors. "Kelemvor still has things he needs done here and the Phoenix has its needs too. Friends in strange places." "Hmmm" she thinks of the needs of higher ups. "You said you were here to see a friend... Mind me asking who that is?" Clyde rocks in his chair, "A guy named Dante Leone. We grew up together. Had a bit of a falling out. Every now and then I keep tabs. Seeing my own kids sort of reminded me of my childhood and I wanted to see what he was up to. The trail went cold after the last Great Game. Heard he was an airship pirate. An AIRSHIP pirate. Man, he took to that book hard," the assassin laughs. "Oh right, the leader of the lazy mice. He has been gone for a while, I didn't know you guys knew each other that long." Finishing her breakfast, she thinks on the loss of a good connection that losing Dante is. A stray thought appears, "Freeport... All the souls trapped there. They seem so afraid. What exactly could have caused that? I know the angels smited the area, but that doesn't sound like a normal effect of such a situation. Has Kelemvor noted anything about that?" "Oh yeah, Kelemvor is right pissed about it," Clyde affirms, "It has to do with stuff over my head. The short version is that they are a 'kind' of undead in that they can't move on. But they are not really 'here' in this plane. Similar to ghosts, but stuck in an environmental scar?" He shakes his head, "Some of them are stubborn and don't want to go, too. Like thats home for them. What waits next? Avernus? So whats worse, exactly?" Gabriel, after taking his plate and scurrying to another room to eat alone with Yorkie but before Alexa and Clyde's conversation gets too deep, tucks his blanket into his bag while swallowing a gnome sized handful of eggs. Eating rations for the past few days makes the eggs taste like they were baked by a celestial, and with his plate clean the young man walks back into the dining area to sit his plate, and the two gold pieces he has on it, back on the table when he bumps into Alcina dropping both the plate and the coin. "Sorry Ms. Mason. I wasn't paying attention," he punctuates his apology with a sigh of regret at his unawareness when it comes to his surroundings. At the sound of the dropping plate, Alexa's attention is drawn to Gabriel. The person who calls Gig Dad. She has one final subject that she needs the answer for... One more thing to tie everything together. " What do you know about the cult of Gigareth? Or do you know someone who would have valuable information on them?" She asks Clyde. "A lot," Clyde responds back to Alexa, "they were my initial leads during the incident with the royal family years ago. They have movement in Avernus and were most active here, in Nexus." A head tilts back to Gabriel as he looks at the waking gnome before he leaves with a plate to another room entirely. The man returns his gaze back to Alexa as he says, "I can fill you in later. The highlights are that they are loyal to an idea of reclamation." With that there is a pause as he drinks his juice, the gnome returning once more and the gold. "Funny little kid," Clyde offers to Gabriel. Alcina is a lot more skittish when it comes to be collided into. The plate falls and punctuates the event with a 'crash' that causes her to slip back. Fire wraps around her hands like a camp fire as her eyes burn like the Phoenix. Clyde already has his hand on his dagger. All instinctual movements. The fire fades when Alcina realizes it was a mistake. Clyde is more slick about it, keeping his hand on his belt and tapping there. "There are small things that a person does that you can take notice of. Where you sleep. Where you eat. Where you relieve yourself. How people handle vulnerability," the rogue says to Alexa as he rocks in his chair, "Want to help Alcina clean up? Trust seems to be in short supply today, and unlike my better half, I still need more sleep." "Sure" she states, still curious about the cult, but understanding that people have limits. Alexa goes over to Alcina and starts picking up the shards of the broken plate, grabbing Clyde and her plate at the same time. "I do really appreciate all the help you gave with Kravor. It helped save alot of people in this town." She says to Alcina, putting the in tact plates in the sink and getting rid of the shards. Gabriel jumps back in surprise at Alcina's skittish behavior and looks around nervously as the instinctual movements of everyone makes him balance on his toes, ready to flee again. Though he calms with everyone else, and as Alexa walks over he reaches for the shards but stops when she does so first.
"Sorry...," he waddles to a seat at the table and pulls himself up before looking over at Alexa," Alexa, did you still want me to tell you what I know about Gig?" As to not want anyone left out, Gabriel turns to Clyde and Alcina before asking," A-Also, how much do I owe you guys for breakfast?" Alexa turns to Gabe, as soon as she looks at his face she sees a flash of red eyes. Startled and unsettled, she quickly let's out, "no." Quickly she gets the dishes clean, cleans up the hearth, and looks to Alcina, "I need to get some rest, thank you for breakfast." Briskly she leaves the building, not saying goodbye to Gabe. She walks out to go to her home. To be alone once more and sleep.
"Oh...," he mutters surprised at her quick response. He looks at Clyde and Alcina, searching for some answer as to why she was so quick in her exit. "Did I do something else wrong?"