Actions

Work Header

With my father's power for peace I sue (And in the sun there's room for you)

Summary:

She's busy ignoring the rattling of the angry celestial while she attempts to figure out how Dr. Jizzabel Fingers could magically, untraceably, and convincingly have swapped places with Tyranny, when she hears the footsteps.

A guard pokes her head in, something tight in the set of her jaw, the lines of her eyes, as she walks towards Tyranny.
She's never been tortured before! She hopes it's as fun as Cruelty says it is.

The beast chained across the room from her screeches, something uncomfortably radiant about the sound.
If Tyranny hisses at the way the sound curls under her skin and sizzles there, she takes comfort in the way her reaction is entirely outclassed by the guards - who falters; almost crumples to the floor before staggering to her feet at the last moment; presses a hand to her eyes as though that will help; whose form flickers for just long enough for Tyranny to catch the pain on Bolaire's painted face.

Notes:

Title is from Skin and Bone by the Mechanisms!
don't even worry about the plot of HNOC. it's probably nothing!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

They pull her aside, the next day. The first time she's been on her own in her physical existence.

Explain to her, quietly, and mostly for the purposes of a rescue heist, should the mask in question get kidnapped and the rest of them disappeared to Faerie. In case she should be the only one left.
They tell her Thimble knows. They don't seem impressed.

It isn't relevant, except in the knowledge that she will not have to be alone, once Wick is gone.
Until it is.


Somehow, the Halovar's realise she's back in town. She fights, quite literally tooth and nail, but in the end they drag her to the basement with Wick's grandfather in it.
He isn't very pleased with her presence.

Hal is busy with the Hallowed Round, quietly drumming up support for the legally not coup they're technically not planning; Azune's hands are tied by the Einfasen, who are keeping the Arcane Marshals on a tight leash; Murray fistfights her inclination to get herself fired while Bolaire quietly smuggles her the artifacts that will be the least missed out of his museum.
In this way, too, she is alone.

She's busy ignoring the rattling of the angry celestial while she attempts to figure out how Dr. Jizzabel Fingers could magically, untraceably, and convincingly have swapped places with Tyranny, when she hears the footsteps.

A guard pokes her head in, something tight in the set of her jaw, the lines of her eyes, as she walks towards Tyranny.
She's never been tortured before! She hopes it's as fun as Cruelty says it is.

The beast chained across the room from her screeches, something uncomfortably radiant about the sound.
If Tyranny hisses at the way the sound curls under her skin and sizzles there, she takes comfort in the way her reaction is entirely outclassed by the guards - who falters; almost crumples to the floor before staggering to her feet at the last moment; presses a hand to her eyes as though that will help; whose form flickers for just long enough for Tyranny to catch the pain on Bolaire's painted face.

She blinks slowly, before redoubling her efforts to pick at the lock to her shackles. Bolaire's clearly not going to be much help. He's apparently busy fending off a migraine brought about by his very nature.
She winces slightly in this sympathy thing Katt introduced her to.
"Did you really come here alone?" She asks, before ruining it by adding, "Because a pair of idiots overly vulnerable to the 'light' these assholes wield staggering their way out of here is probably going to be noticed."

"Just me," he mutters, borrowed hand pressed against his face to ease pressure that she's pretty sure shouldn't exist.

"Ksha'aravi, Ksha'aravi, hear my plea," she chants under her breath. Somewhere outside of the plane of Aramán, her father turns his attention to her.
"Me and my friend are sort of slightly attempting to sneak our way out of a divine stronghold, oh honoured Ksha'aravi," she murmurs. "But we're definitely going to be noticed if we stagger our way out of here as is. I was hoping you might have some power to share with me, that we might sneak our way out, honoured Ksha'aravi."

There is a warm chuckle by her ear, if her ear was in another plane of existence. Oh, my delightful daughter. As resourceful as you are a liar.
You need nothing new from me, my child. Call the book of shadow and bone to you; it has what you seek.

Her eyes light up. The book of shadow and bone! Of course!
Tyranny snatches the book from Agony's outraged hands; metaphysically shoving the blades at her in exchange. Their father is generous in his gifts, but not so generous that he does not expect them to share.

She flicks through the book, taking quick stock of what her father gave them this week, and grins.
She pats Bolaire on the cheek, shielding him slightly from the overwhelming presence of the celestial across the room, even for her, and she was not literally built to sense this kind of thing. It isn't much, but it should help, for a little while.

Agony and Cruelty walk directly out of the seat of power of the House of Halovar. Nobody thinks to stop them until they've already gone, whereupon everyone remembers that neither Agony nor Cruelty should be anywhere near Dol-Makjar right now.

Notes:

The cantrip Tyranny got from the pact of the tome is resistance, which effectively acts as a bane against a specific damage type towards the person it's cast on. -1d4 damage, basically.

Our fave theatre mask can definitely see divinity (like a divine version of eyes of the grave (specifically looking for undead)) - he was built to kill a god, after all. He also can't turn it off. Because I think it's neat.

Series this work belongs to: