[ Tim is tidying up the place when Koby arrives. They have four men here who are stressed out, not eating well, and getting paranoid enough to start suspecting themselves and each other – but the cleaning isn’t for Koby’s benefit. Hawk’s things are being collected neatly by the door, without any comment but the hug Tim wraps him up in, smiling despite his weariness. ]
Thanks. You got anything new?
[ He’s not expecting much, in the comparatively quiet space between rounds. But his brain needs something to chew on other than lieslieslies and three year absences and false idols and Danny fucking Johnson. ]
[koby notes the pile of things, setting down his (comically large) bag of sandwiches and notes beside it before standing on his toes to hug tim ferociously, tightly, breathing in the feel and smell of him -- here and alive and well. the memory of tim's throat, ringed with bruises from the belt, has never been far from koby's mind, but it feels especially acute right now.]
I do. There's a young woman recovering at our house right now -- Ren O'Neill. She was poisoned in retaliation for sharing information.
[just -- matter-of-fact, first thing through the door.] We need to be cautious about who we tell, but the information needs to be shared with trusted people.
Last year I trusted people easier. [koby says it quietly, expression darkening for a moment, thinking of who they'd been a year ago -- more impulsive, more ferocious, more righteous in their anger. by this point last year, koby had been in multiple public arguments, after all. but this year...
he settles in the chair, cross-legged, hands in his lap.]
Foxglove, I think. The person I suspect asked me about it weeks ago. [another pause, fiddling with a loose thread in his sleeve cuff, then --] I wrote down all my thoughts, my evidence. It's hidden under a floorboard on my side of the bed, back in our cabin.
[he doesn't say look there, if something happens, but -- it's implied.]
[ And last year Hawk wasn't acting like such an insane person - argument with Koby and Quentin aside. Alicent was around to talk sense into people. He didn't know the victims but he did know the killers. It was hell, and it revealed all the ugliest parts of him, but he was able to navigate it in a way that made sense to him. He was helpful.
This time...he's not so sure about anything. ]
I'll get it if something happens.
[ He doesn't bother arguing. Tim had left the burden of his letter on Koby when he died. It's only fair. ]
But nobody is more beloved around here than you. They'd be stupid to go for you.
[koby pauses, reaches out, waves tim close enough that he can hold onto one of his hands, fingers still bandaged from the oracle nonsense. he squeezes, tight, looking upwards.]
There's a lot of anger and -- hate and things around here. But there's more love, I think? I hope? [another little squeeze.] Anyway, I belove a lot of people. I belove you.
[ Holding Koby's hand in one hand, and a peanut butter sandwich in another: ]
Because he's fucking Danny.
[ Not just a betrayal of his trust, not just the broken promise to tell each other who they're seeing, but dangerous. He's painting a target in blood on their door, and it doesn't just invite trouble onto him, but Hawk and Jace as well. As far as Tim's concerned, that's the only explanation necessary. So rather than offer one, he bites into the sandwich. ]
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2025-10-09 04:13 pm (UTC)Thanks. You got anything new?
[ He’s not expecting much, in the comparatively quiet space between rounds. But his brain needs something to chew on other than lieslieslies and three year absences and false idols and Danny fucking Johnson. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-10-09 07:54 pm (UTC)I do. There's a young woman recovering at our house right now -- Ren O'Neill. She was poisoned in retaliation for sharing information.
[just -- matter-of-fact, first thing through the door.] We need to be cautious about who we tell, but the information needs to be shared with trusted people.
no subject
Date: 2025-10-11 10:28 pm (UTC)[ From Hawk, who carried her out of the woods and towards safety. But we're not saying his name right now. ]
Easier said than done. Last year, I felt a lot more confident about who I could trust. But I'll...talk to Harry. Do you know with what?
[ Taking a sandwich, motioning to a chair. His home is Koby's, manor or tent or commune hut. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-10-12 12:22 am (UTC)he settles in the chair, cross-legged, hands in his lap.]
Foxglove, I think. The person I suspect asked me about it weeks ago. [another pause, fiddling with a loose thread in his sleeve cuff, then --] I wrote down all my thoughts, my evidence. It's hidden under a floorboard on my side of the bed, back in our cabin.
[he doesn't say look there, if something happens, but -- it's implied.]
no subject
Date: 2025-10-12 01:52 am (UTC)This time...he's not so sure about anything. ]
I'll get it if something happens.
[ He doesn't bother arguing. Tim had left the burden of his letter on Koby when he died. It's only fair. ]
But nobody is more beloved around here than you. They'd be stupid to go for you.
no subject
Date: 2025-10-12 05:04 am (UTC)There's a lot of anger and -- hate and things around here. But there's more love, I think? I hope? [another little squeeze.] Anyway, I belove a lot of people. I belove you.
Sit down and eat and tell me why I'm mad at Hawk.
no subject
Date: 2025-10-12 05:20 am (UTC)Because he's fucking Danny.
[ Not just a betrayal of his trust, not just the broken promise to tell each other who they're seeing, but dangerous. He's painting a target in blood on their door, and it doesn't just invite trouble onto him, but Hawk and Jace as well. As far as Tim's concerned, that's the only explanation necessary. So rather than offer one, he bites into the sandwich. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-10-12 06:36 am (UTC)[he doesn't mean for his voice to pitch as high as it does, but. it does. sorry to any dogs nearby who've just been deafened.]