[[open post and announcement: no mourners, no funerals]]

[ravkanwitch]

[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!]]

Comments

[ravkanwitch]

At this point, Khitka skitters (wriggles?) around the corner, having heard Nina's call. She slides to a stop in front of Gideon, masked face staring at her. She makes a curious squeak.

"This," Nina tells Gideon, "is Khitka. She's an obnoxious, hungry little thief." She doesn't add that she, herself, is also an obnoxious, hungry little thief.

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon slides to one knee, waffle monstrosity balanced on one hand only wobbling a little. "Hey," she says, examining the little thing curiously, and then looks up at Nina. "Can it talk? Like Mothwing?"

[ravkanwitch]

"No, maybe because Mothwing arrived from somewhere else and I found Khitka here. But I think she understands half of what I say, especially when I talk about food." Khitka stands up on her hind legs when she hears the word food, as her nose sniffs towards Gideon, smelling marshmallow fluff and pork. She looks at Nina. Nina looks back at her, a warning already on her lips. Without a second's pause, Khitka scrambles up Gideon and perches on her shoulder, attempting to gnaw at the bottom of the so-called waffle. "Khit-- ...I was afraid that was going to happen."

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon laughs at the weird little scrambly feeling of Khitka's claws. "I mean, do we think it's bad for her? 'Cause if not, might be a great way to dispose of our crimes."

[ravkanwitch]

Khitka has found a pork crackling that hasn't absorbed that much liquid (or it's been burnt) and is now making a cronch crunch noise, as well as the awkward face animals make when they chew on something hard.

Nina sighs. "I don't think it's good for her but I haven't seen her get sick off of food yet. I also think you're her new perch."

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon does what she can to break the waffle-thing in half, separating the crunchy burnt part from the horrible goo. The goo she keeps in one hand (horribly); the crunchy bit she offers to Khitka. "There you go. You can hang out on me whenever you want."

[ravkanwitch]

Khitka loves this new person so much. Crunchy food!! She dooks happily and curls up on Gideon's shoulder, eating the crunchy bit. Nina gives her errant child a fond look but then turns her attention back to Gideon. And the goo. The goo is beginning to slowly drip through Gideon's fingers.

"Um," she says, instinctively reaching out her hand to catch some of the goo. Maybe not the brightest idea. Just let it hit the floor, Zenik.

[ninth_cavalier]

Gideon laughs. "Quick, before it liquifies!" She lets Khitka hold the crunchy bit with her little mouth, uses that hand to cup her so she stays on her shoulder, and sprints the rest of the way to the nearest door, shouldering it open with her non-ferret-bearing shoulder and throwing the goo as far as she can.

[ravkanwitch]

"Great job," Nina tells her solemnly, as if they'd just defeated a horde of enemies in battle rather than one single waffle monstrosity. Khitka is still crunching away, unperturbed by all the action.

[ninth_cavalier]

"Thanks, boss," says Gideon, and wipes her goopy palms on her jeans.

[ravkanwitch]

"Gideon..." Nina's voice turns gentler, "thank you."

It's a thank you for comforting her. A thank you for making sure that her only memory of today isn't standing in front of a bunch of people and talking about death.

[ninth_cavalier]

"Yeah," says Gideon, in the same quiet tone. "You know. Any time."