One of Our Own
Posted on Mon Mar 3rd, 2025 @ 13:59 by Liana Zhao
Edited on on Mon Mar 3rd, 2025 @ 14:06
Chapter:
Besieged
Location: Empty Classroom
Timeline: Sunday, 7th Feb - 11:30pm
1152 words - 2.3 OF Standard Post Measure
"Something's happened, why are the lights out?"
"I'll go first, stay here."
"At least one of them should still be awake. This feels wrong."
"I don't remember it being quite this cold."
"We have a breach!"
"Over here!"
"Oh my..."
"She's alive."
"Find the others."
"They aren't...here."
It was raining, of course.
As much as drawing significance from life's coincidences ran the danger of over-simplifying matters, or at the very least entirely ignoring some of them, there was something to be said about the cluster of difficult conversations spread across a lifetime that shared, as a backdrop, the relentless pitter-patter of raindrops overhead. It seemed an unfair pairing in a way, since the dreary sogginess of a seasonal deluge was quite comforting for someone forced to exert a decent amount of self-control over the spontaneous desire to set the world around her alight. Liana understood the implied melancholy of grey skies but she quite liked the rain, as long as she wasn't outside in it. It was certainly more palatable than snow, which hadn't so much performed its last hurrah as it was just biding its time. It was not tent-weather, that was certain. Any other time, that might have been something to celebrate.
Now, as she stood waiting in the spare classroom they'd set aside for larger staff meetings this past week, there was very little joy to be found amidst the drizzled rivulets chasing each other down the window pane. The scrape of chairs against the floor was a louder disruption than the occasional murmured greeting, as the slowly assembling group drew inference enough from the posture of the two women waiting at the front of the room to afford the silence due reverence. As the footsteps continued and the cumulative presence of people doing their best not to stare reached a point where the hair on the back of her neck prickled, Liana exhaled the breath she had been carefully controlling and watched as the resulting vapor clouded the view for a moment. A slight glance sideways caught the eye of her fellow harbinger and the counsellor nodded, once, before turning to face the wary crowd.
Simple facts, gently phrased. There was time enough for emotion later.
"Thank you all for coming so quickly. I know it's late and many of you were already asleep but, I'm afraid, what I have to say can't wait."
Once again, Liana drew in a breath and paused before slowly releasing it.
"Tonight, at approximately 10:00pm, an area of the castle was breached by a single hostile intruder. Ms. Hunter will elaborate further but first indications are that it was our previous assailant." Her eyes flitted towards Hallows briefly before moving on. "We don't know yet how she was able to get in, or how she disabled defenses, but she was armed and once again exerted extreme force."
Simple facts, simple. Gentle. Breathe.
"There will be time to consider the broader implications of this second attempt and, indeed, those considerations are likely to demand our attention far sooner than will feel comfortable. You are here, all of you, however, because we must first deal with the potential loss of one of our own."
There were no rules for how to deliver this kind of message. Arguably, she was supposed to be trained for conversations like this, but how did you really go about it, particularly when trying to limit certain specifics from the general staff? The Knights would require a more in-depth explanation but, for now, the only option was to fashion a version of events that conveyed the loss without sparking too many questions.
"Cameron is gone. With him, young Ji-an, who unfortunately became involved in the altercation. At this point, we have no idea where they might be, or even how to explain their disappearance, but we are aware that there is a very strong possibility that Cameron..." Breathe. "...has not survived."
Liana stopped then and allowed space for the news to sink in. Those who rose immediately to their feet in vocal protest were given time to launch their interrogation, though it was hardly surprising that most opted to sit in stunned silence. Glancing to her side, Liana reached out to gently squeeze Phoebe's elbow and waited for a lull in questioning to quietly continue.
"For many of us, Cam is a dear friend and the urge to determine what's happened to him is perfectly reasonable. Right now, however, our priority is to secure this Institute against further attack. Phoebe is injured and has suffered the unimaginable, so I will request a few of you to sit with her while she works through documenting what she can." Here, the brunette's eyes darted between the faces of several of the Knights, trusting her meaning wasn't so ambiguous that they misunderstood the call to a secondary meeting in the very near future. "With whatever resources we can draw on, we will do our best to locate our missing people, but we have beds full of sleeping children who need us right now. Moving forward, we will need to post night guards near the dormitories and consider our contingency for converting the gymnasium if it becomes too difficult to guarantee the castle's integrity."
Liana allowed her hand to slip down into Phoebe's, giving it a squeeze as her features finally struggled to maintain composure.
"There aren't words enough to convey what this attack has cost us. You didn't need to know Cam well to believe that he showed no hesitation in placing himself between a threat and the people he loved. Finding him, and Ji-an, will be top of a very long list, I just need your focus tonight to ensure there are no further incidents."
This time, Liana made no attempt to hide the huff of shaky remorse she expelled.
"It's time to divide and conquer." To the best of her ability, the counsellor cast her gaze casually around the room and reeled off several key names. "If I can get you to help Phoebe unpack what she remembers and reinforce our perimeter, I will leave her in your capable hands. Do not let her over-extend herself."
With a final squeeze, Liana let go of the injured redhead's hand and moved forward. "The rest of you, I need some to take first watch over the dormitories, someone to double-check the stores we set aside for converting the gymnasium if needed... We may need provisions prepared for bunkering down," she continued, addressing Valjean directly, "and let's look at tomorrow's class schedule to minimise student traffic in and out of the main building." Walking past Alastair, she touched his arm before moving quickly to repeat the action to Rebecca. "Can I speak to you both for a minute," she asked quietly, already in the throes of leading the way from the room.
