[CLOSED]

[markedbyfate]

Who: Alex Lannon and William Whele
Where: 10th Floor, William's room
When: Morning of 2/16
Rating: PG13?
Summary: After this text conversation, Alex goes to confront William face to face.
The Story:

Alex drops his phone on the bunk and leaves his room, crossing the hall to knock on William's door. It feels stupid just to text each other when their rooms are so close.

"William, open up."

He wants to see just how much of a drunk mess the Principate is.

Comments

[whele]

It wasn't an invitation when William had pointed out their proximity, but more a warning. Sound can carry easy in the hallways sometime and William knows if he can hear Alex and Claire at any point he may just die.

Either way what was done was done, and the knock on the door has William grimacing. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who it is, let alone a sober one. The principate does briefly ask himself if he really wants to answer that door.

If Alex is listening closely he'll hear a put-upon sounding sigh and footsteps, along with the small mewls of the lion cub which also seem to get louder as the cub approaches the door with curiosity. Being small means he can't quite roar, and in his hungover state William is thankful that Zadkiel doesn't roar every time the door goes. When he opens it, it's only a few inches as a ruffled looking Whele peers out. For all of his efforts, the lion cub merely tries to squeeze his face through the small opening, growling when he can't manage it.

"Why? Can you not just text?"

[markedbyfate]

Alex rolls his eyes as he waits for William to open the door. He's officially run out of patience.

When the door finally does open, Alex glances down at the growling cub, then back up at William. "It's ridiculous. I'm right here. If you have something you want to tell me, you can say it to my face."

[whele]

There's a sigh as William bends down to scoop the lion cub up, soothing the creature with a few strokes to the back of his neck. Zadkiel was a strange lion, more cat than hunter, but at the end of the day William wasn't going to abandon him because he was a little odd. At least the snarling stops, Zadkiel peering at Alex with open interest.

"Texting is easier. I wasn't intending on much today. And what do you want from me? For me to tell you that you need to figure things out? Well you do. You need to figure those markings out and stop treating them like some hardship."

With that William just turns his back, leaving his door open as he wanders back into his room. If Alex wants to step inside, he's welcome to. "Poor Alex, chosen to save humanity, what a terrible existence."

[markedbyfate]

He does step inside, William's words stirring up anger inside him. "You have no idea what I've been through because of these tattoos. I never-- I didn't ask for this! I was perfectly happy being just a V2 soldier." He wasn't, really. But happy and complacent are two different things, the distinction between which Alex doesn't feel like getting into now.

"If you have any ideas on exactly how to figure out the markings, feel free to share."

[whele]

"You haven't been through any more than other people left in the world, Alex." Maybe picking a fight with a soldier wasn't the best of ideas, yet William can't help it. His sense of good idea and bad idea went out the window when he sent that first text, and he continues to stroke at the lion's fur as he turns around to watch Alex stepping inside.

"I mean you don't see it for what it is. An end to the whole mess. I don't know how to work those markings out, that's your job. Otherwise you're just a glorified mark carrier."

[markedbyfate]

Alex's mouth goes into a hard line. "As if the heir to House Whele knows what the lower v's go through. Even here, you have your damn lion." Which is really just a joke. A sick joke. "What do you feed it, porterhouse stakes? The corps used to take bets."

Which is beside the point and just makes him miss Ethan.

"Reading the markings might bring an end to our problems back home, but nothing on here," he gestures to his torso, "is going to get us out of Wonderland."

[whele]

William was somewhat okay right up until Alex starting to actually take verbal swipes at his lion, and even in his drunken state the young man knows just how low that really is.

"That's very classy of you, Alex. You have lowered your standards to mocking an innocent lion cub. And for the record, I didn't ask for one, he was found lost and wandering in the hallway so I took him in."

He's not even sure why he needs to explain himself on that matter, frowning as the principate moves swiftly on. "Of course. Being a V6 means nothing terrible can ever happen right? I guess I forgot that part. And we're both forgetting that God knows everything, he could have seen this happen for all we know. This place? Could even be a test."

[markedbyfate]

"God is gone," Alex interjects. "He abandoned the angels and He abandoned us. And if you think He has any say in what happens here, well..." Alex puts his hands up in frustration. "Good luck with that. The rest of us? Are just trying to survive and protect the people we care about."

That's right, he'll bring up Claire. He'll go there.