Nina Zenik

Nina had told Lan Wangji that she was searching for more purpose in her life – and then they found her sword together. The timing was perfect. Her sword is perfect. The blade is straight and double-edged, narrower at the base, similar to some of the Fjerdan weaponry she has seen before. That association doesn't bother her as much as she thought it would. She could use some Fjerdan ruthlessness; sometimes she does wonder if she would be able to kill Jarl Brum if he ever came as a visitor, as she and Luo Binghe had discussed. The hilt and the scabbard, though, is where the sword truly shines. Both are made of a creamy white-colored bone - though of what animal (human included) is uncertain - and carved in a darker color with intricate designs of waves, wind, electricity, and other elemental ornamentation. She notes that it seems to be everything Grisha can control through the Small Sciences. The sword is currently sheathed in its scabbard and it thrills her that she can sense it near her, an almost comforting presence.

She's carrying it as she searches for a certain someone. There are many skilled swordspeople at the mansion but there is only one person she wants to learn from.

[cw: discussion of death!]

Nina knows that word of Shen Yuan's death has been slowly spreading. She tried to put out a general warning of danger right after it happened... but she's not sure how many people were warned by it. She wasn't in the right mind at the time, after all. This time, she's more careful and collected. With SecUnit's help, she's alerted and gathered everyone who's interested for an important announcement in the lobby of the mansion. Despite all appearances of bossiness and stubbornness - all quite true - Nina has never been in charge of anything so serious. Kaz, Zoya, and the King himself; she followed their lead. As people slowly begin to gather and she attempts to compose herself, she wonders why she decided to put herself up to this.

Deep breath, Zenik. Pretend that - well, that this is pretend. She's back in the orphanage as the official greeter, making an important announcement to all the other children. She's the governor of a small town, making sure that all the citizens are aware and prepared. It does have to be her, after all. She's playing a crucial role in everything. She also doesn't want anyone else to carry the emotional load.

"Hi," she tells everyone gathered, trying to paste on a somber but not-too-morose expression. "Thanks for coming. I'm sure some of you have heard part of this announcement already and I'm sorry that it took so long to pass this information onto everyone else... but there was an incident not too long ago. We're not sure what caused it, whether it was the house or whether it was an individual, but... Shen Yuan is dead." There's most likely a reaction at this point and Nina forges onwards as confidently as she can, pitching her voice above the hubbub.

"But there is a way that he can return. We're sure of it. We're just trying to figure out the details, which might take a while. If you want to know more about that, you can ask Magnus, but I'm not sure how much he can tell you. Also, if you encounter any signs of Shen Yuan's spirit, you can talk to--" Here she meets Aleksander's eyes almost instinctively; this line of conversation is something she's purposefully kept from him. "You can talk to myself. Or... to Lan Wangji. ...That's all. Thank you."

A confident start but slightly deflated by her last few sentences, Nina steps back and allows for conversation to happen. If anyone would like to speak to her, she's looking much less strained and grim than she has in a while.

[[Feel free to post a single comment reaction and/or start a thread with Nina in the comments!]]

There's something about Dark that reminds Nina of Fjerda – maybe it's the cold and the scarcity. She remembers working long shifts at the cannery in Elling when she was trying to maintain her cover. Everything in that town was worn down and washed out. Even the crystal whiteness of the Ice Court is a bit bland in her memory. While she loves the country of Fjerda itself, somehow (maybe it's Djerholm syndrome; that's a linguistics joke), it all makes her slightly glum. And that's when the brightly colored magazines in the library grabbed her attention. What better time to hold a "slumber party" than now, when the end to Dark is around the corner, but the prospect of winter is still lingering?

Her room has been set up for the party ever since the early afternoon. She pushed her furniture against the walls and moved all of her "stuff" out of the way. With the help of Dionysus and the aftermath of their pinball bet, she set up a spread of juice boxes, grapes, and some really strange but quite tasty Japanese grape gummies. He also provided the jelly for some almond butter and jelly squares that Luo Binghe helped to make – after she promised him that she would spend some quality time with him after the slumber party, of course.

She wasn't exactly sure how to decorate... Festive? Girly? Spooky? A little bit of everything? She hung up a few brightly colored streamers as well as some black streamers and then found all of the spare cushions and blankets in the empty rooms on her level of the mansion. The cushions are laid out on the ground for everyone to sit or lay on along with plenty of blankets on top. She did read that spooky stories are typical at a slumber party, so she's scattered a few decorative bones around the room for a spooky vibe... And then the final touch: she found three strings of fairy lights hidden away in a dusty closet and strung them around the ceiling of the room where they're sparkling away right now. Thankfully, there's been no restriction on that whole "electricity" thing. And then... the wait for the guests to arrive.

[[Let's try this slumber party post this way... For each stage of the evening, I'll post a top level Nina comment. Feel free to respond to whatever strikes your fancy and then interact with everyone else as needed! Hopefully we'll end up with multiple short threads!]]

*Be welcome and wait out the storm, in Fjerdan

As promised, there’s a new stack of paper on the welcome table in the main lobby; each sheet has many questions on it along with a cup of pens on the side and a brightly colored box with a large slot cut into the top of it. Nina’s ready for her new project. For most characters, if they don’t see this, a very charming and friendly Nina Zenik will be tracking them down with the sheet of questions and a pen eventually…

“MANSION SURVEY: Help us take stock and plan fun and activities!*

*answers are private to Nina and Susan only”

[[Please check out the Fun Mansion Questions tab in the Mansion Demographics spreadsheet and have your characters fill it out! Check the discord if you don’t have a link.]]

At first, it was disconcerting to not be able to control the undead with her Corpsewitch abilities -- but then it was freeing. The fight, her Grisha abilities flowing, the unity of everyone assisting each other; it felt like Nina was back with the Crows again. The sight of Janet relentlessly cutting down the undead and Qi Yan on Fenyes reminded her of Inej, the way her dearest friend carefully balanced ferocity and grace, anger and peace. Her own banter with Nightingale reminded her of the way she and Jesper never shut up when they were in each other's presence (using banter as a way to ground themselves during crisis). Sagramore's generous, warm compliments were reminiscent of Jesper as well. She saw Wylan's ingenuity and excitement in Tress and Magnus -- and the way that Lancelot took on the undead with single-minded strength reminded her very sharply of Matthias. In a strange twist, Galahad makes her think of Kuwei, caught up in a destiny that isn't his own. Of course, nobody can come close to resembling Kaz Brekker, and she isn't sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

She's left the Crows behind twice now. Once, willingly, following the Ice Court heist, when she traveled back to the Little Palace in Os Alta to receive her commands from King Nikolai. Again, unwillingly, when she deliberately disobeyed those commands and then found herself in the mansion. She misses them desperately -- but there isn't time to think about that when she has new friends to talk to, a cafe to help decorate, and a talent show to plan. She's not allowing herself enough time to think about it.

There's a new sheet of paper that's temporarily on the welcome table, the title written in Nina's cursive. Anyone is welcome to sign up!

Nina's been wearing more modern clothing recently - especially after she figured out the solution to her bone knife dilemma, a holstered rigging that she can wear either on her upper arms or her legs. And after her encounter with The Darkling, she's been wearing them more blatantly and currently has them strapped to her upper arms, on top of her shirt.

She's found a couple of revolvers similar to what she was used to shooting with Jesper* and set up some empty bottles in a makeshift shooting range as far away from the mansion as she can. Yesterday, she sent both Janet and Laertes a note with the location and time, hoping they can easily find her.

Nina is frowning. She just fired a test bullet and it zipped right between two bottles.

*Instead of a Zemeni revolve with inlaid pearl, it's probably closest to a Colt Single Action revolver with six bullets, where you reload it with a cartridge rather than single bullets in the cylinder.