Well, it's-- [ was? he's waffling. he trusts him implicitly, but he hasn't seen the fix that jon has promised yet. ] A lot of the fears - their avatars, I guess - they've got domains. That's what we've been traveling through on our way to London. Surviving, mostly.
[ martin safe because he's an avatar himself, because he was shielded by jon. ]
[Martin is, after all, marked by the Eye. She'd be surprised if any Assistant failed to be bound closely enough to count as a minor avatar in their own right.]
[She'd be shocked if distance matters in a nightmare world -- at least, in any way other than as a participant in fears of being too far, too late, too high, too deep. Objectively, long walks would be... as long as they subjectively needed to be.]
[She's mildly impressed. He must have gotten hold of a powerful artifact to allow something like that; she certainly hadn't heard of it, but then, he hadn't been the sort to show all of his cards any more than she had. Not even when they were working together.]
God, I honestly don't even remember who you knew about anymore. Jared Hopworth? Simon Fairchild? I mean, Peter Lukas is dead, too, but that's mostly just a -- good riddance.
[ martin withdraws for a moment, and then speaks in a voice that's colder than anything. ]
The thing that took Sasha is gone, too. Jon killed it.
Hm, yes. Although even describing them as colleagues is a stretch.
[A brief pause.]
Familiar enemies, perhaps. I'm pleased to hear about Peter Lukas. And the thing that took Sasha.
[Her voice is cool, too, on that. She had liked Sasha, in the distantly approving way she'd allowed herself with most of the staff. The woman would have made a good Archivist.
She'd certainly deserved better than being unmade a year into her tenure as an assistant.]
[Gertrude is more likely to be professionally impressed than judgmental-- but she's perfectly willing to be professionally judgmental about all of the implications of Martin's comment.]
I see. Well, I suppose there are some benefits to letting the Eye in quite that far.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[voice]
[ martin, you are being about as clear as mud. he takes a bracing breath. ]
Elias's apocalypse. What do you know about that?
[voice]
[The raised eyebrow is downright audible.]
[voice]
[ martin safe because he's an avatar himself, because he was shielded by jon. ]
Re: [voice]
[Martin is, after all, marked by the Eye. She'd be surprised if any Assistant failed to be bound closely enough to count as a minor avatar in their own right.]
[voice]
Passed through. Didn't really see them. Bit antithetical to the Lonely. [ pointedly, as if he's not affected here. ]
[voice]
[A pause: but, well, she has a certain sympathy for those afflicted by the Lonely, and so she will unbend enough to add one brief comment.]
My apologies. So: the world was remade as a series of nightmares, each under the sway of a different mind. And?
[voice]
[ he doesn't know what he's trying to tell her anymore, but it aches in a relieving sort of way to spill this out to someone who understands. ]
Re: [voice]
[She'd be shocked if distance matters in a nightmare world -- at least, in any way other than as a participant in fears of being too far, too late, too high, too deep. Objectively, long walks would be... as long as they subjectively needed to be.]
[voice]
[voice]
[voice]
We took the train up there.
[ how is he so painfully awkward. ]
Re: [voice]
What, National Rail didn't survive the apocalypse?
[voice]
[voice]
[She's mildly impressed. He must have gotten hold of a powerful artifact to allow something like that; she certainly hadn't heard of it, but then, he hadn't been the sort to show all of his cards any more than she had. Not even when they were working together.]
Any others I might know?
[voice]
[ martin withdraws for a moment, and then speaks in a voice that's colder than anything. ]
The thing that took Sasha is gone, too. Jon killed it.
[voice]
[A brief pause.]
Familiar enemies, perhaps. I'm pleased to hear about Peter Lukas. And the thing that took Sasha.
[Her voice is cool, too, on that. She had liked Sasha, in the distantly approving way she'd allowed herself with most of the staff. The woman would have made a good Archivist.
She'd certainly deserved better than being unmade a year into her tenure as an assistant.]
[voice]
[ martin doesn't seem to know what to say, before, sort of bashfully, he offers- ]
I heard how you stopped Peter's ritual. Pretty bloody brilliant, honestly.
Re: [voice]
... Thank you. I have to say, that was one of my favorites.
[No dismemberment, no betrayal, absolute minimum effort to wonderful effect.]
Do tell me that you heard because he was still complaining about it.
[voice]
[ martin doesn't exactly want to advertise that jon murdered the man, but- ]
It was, um. Compelled.
Re: [voice]
I see. Well, I suppose there are some benefits to letting the Eye in quite that far.
[voice]
Re: [voice]
no subject
Jon - died, trying to stop the Unknowing. When he came back, he was-
[ was different. changed. ]
Stronger.
no subject
But it strengthens the shackles.
no subject
[ quietly. ]
We're working on those.
(no subject)