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Location: Canis Dorms, P.R.C.U. Campus - Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Take On Me #3.053: Strife
Interaction(s): Amma @Rockette, Rory @webboysurf, Harper @Qia
Previously: aqua regia.
Katja closely followed Amma as they strode towards the Canis dorms. Any group of students that were in their way quickly dispersed at the intimidating sight of the determined pair. Katja rolled her wrist a couple times, the one Amma had touched a few moments ago. Katja had felt a cold shiver crawl up her spine at the first moment of contact. It had been the first time since that night in the tent that she had been truly exposed to the awesome powers of the Raven haired girl. But the sensation had felt off this time. Katja still felt the anger and hate in the energy, but it was different. There was no malice this time around. And so the damage had been negligible, with only a few hairs singed but not enough to leave a permanent mark. The sensation of grazing Amma’s powers like that felt weird but paradoxically also reassuring to Katja. It made her feel more at ease with her friend’s powers, almost back to the level it had been back on the beach.
She didn’t reflect too much on that though. She didn’t have the time.
They reached the Canis dorms as fast as they could without breaking out in a run. As they approached the building they could see Harper and Rory step out. It seemed that fortuitous timing for once was on their side. It was the first time she saw the two of them since the Trials, so it took Katja a moment to adjust as she was greeted by the scars and the new hairstyle that her two teammates now bore.
With Rory leading the pair, Katja immediately thought about how distraught he must be. He was probably most affected by Haven’s disappearance. Katja wanted to walk up to him and give him a reassuring embrace. Tell him that everything was going to be fine. That they’d find Valkie in no time. But as she tried to walk up to him and meet his gaze, she saw his eyes flick away from her the instant they met.
Seeing him like that, Katja’s step faltered before she aborted the movement all together. She had no idea why, but Rory’s refusal to even look at her harmed her much deeper than she thought it should have. A feeling that was only exacerbated when his only recognition of her presence was when he walked up to Amma, purposefully keeping her in between himself and Katja as he started whispering something to her.
Katja cast her gaze downward, away from the pair next to her. That feeling of loneliness she had felt for days before talking with Amma slowly came back to her. Crawling back from the recesses of her mind that she had thought she’d banished it to. Loneliness that she had felt for years before finally coming to PRCU. A loneliness that she was sure to experience for the rest of her existence when the truth came out and be thrown in a deep, dark prison cell while she would be rejected by all of Blackjack for aligning herself with the Children of Hyperion splinter group.
She attempted to rid her mind of these depressive thoughts, not wanting to inexplicably break down in front of everyone. But it was hard as she could feel the tears starting to sting in her eyes, fighting with all the strength she had to keep them from spilling out. She had to focus on something else, think about something different. So she rolled back to the start, to what Amma had said earlier, to where Haven could be. It helped little, instead different thoughts intermingled. One moment she thought about Haven, the next about her own future, then to the words spoken by Amma before suddenly thinking back to her past.
Deep and dark…
Lowest rooms imaginable…
Children of Hyperion…
Where no light would reach…
Katja’s eyes widened while a shuddered breath escaped her lips as all her thoughts suddenly aligned and led her to a revelation. There was a place she had heard about while at Orcinus. One that had been used as a hideout by one of the more infamous members of the Children of Hyperion back when Hyperion still walked this Earth. The area had been off limits for years, before she had even joined PRCU. So it’s likely none of the current student body would even know it existed. Though she had never been there herself, she knew of its existence through the reminiscing of older members. And through them she also knew how to get there.
Katja closed her eyes for a brief moment, taking slow, measured breaths as she quickly reflected on what she was about to do. Speaking up would put her at risk. But, burying her nails into her palms, it didn’t take her long to at least utter a single phrase. One she knew might very well doom her.
“I might know of a place.” Katja said, her voice a strained whisper only barely audible to those around her. She swallowed once before looking up, meeting those eyes she knew would be judging her if she told the truth. But now was not the time to dread about what they might think of her past allegiances, even if she had been betrayed by Orcinus. Haven’s life was on the line and her knowledge might lead them to uncover her location and save her. So she took a deep breath, cleared her throat, straightened her back and spoke up once more.
“I don’t know if it’s where Haven’s currently held but, I’ve heard of a place that fits Amma’s description. It’s been long abandoned, but deep under the Quadrangle there’s a place large enough to base some sort of operation from.” She paused for a moment, feeling the eyes of her fellows upon her, and with them came a last shudder of doubt. She risked exposing herself, exposing her secret. Risked burning it all down. This was her final chance to step away, to cover her tracks. But that would mean abandoning Haven to her fate and to betray the one group of people she cared about the most for the sake of her own safety.
And that was a sacrifice Katja was not willing to make.
“And I know how to get there.”
A sense of relief washed over Katja as she uttered those words. As if a colossal weight was finally lifted off her shoulders. And it was at that moment that Katja realized something.
It was that, perhaps on an unconscious level, she wanted them to find out.
She didn’t reflect too much on that though. She didn’t have the time.
They reached the Canis dorms as fast as they could without breaking out in a run. As they approached the building they could see Harper and Rory step out. It seemed that fortuitous timing for once was on their side. It was the first time she saw the two of them since the Trials, so it took Katja a moment to adjust as she was greeted by the scars and the new hairstyle that her two teammates now bore.
With Rory leading the pair, Katja immediately thought about how distraught he must be. He was probably most affected by Haven’s disappearance. Katja wanted to walk up to him and give him a reassuring embrace. Tell him that everything was going to be fine. That they’d find Valkie in no time. But as she tried to walk up to him and meet his gaze, she saw his eyes flick away from her the instant they met.
Seeing him like that, Katja’s step faltered before she aborted the movement all together. She had no idea why, but Rory’s refusal to even look at her harmed her much deeper than she thought it should have. A feeling that was only exacerbated when his only recognition of her presence was when he walked up to Amma, purposefully keeping her in between himself and Katja as he started whispering something to her.
Katja cast her gaze downward, away from the pair next to her. That feeling of loneliness she had felt for days before talking with Amma slowly came back to her. Crawling back from the recesses of her mind that she had thought she’d banished it to. Loneliness that she had felt for years before finally coming to PRCU. A loneliness that she was sure to experience for the rest of her existence when the truth came out and be thrown in a deep, dark prison cell while she would be rejected by all of Blackjack for aligning herself with the Children of Hyperion splinter group.
She attempted to rid her mind of these depressive thoughts, not wanting to inexplicably break down in front of everyone. But it was hard as she could feel the tears starting to sting in her eyes, fighting with all the strength she had to keep them from spilling out. She had to focus on something else, think about something different. So she rolled back to the start, to what Amma had said earlier, to where Haven could be. It helped little, instead different thoughts intermingled. One moment she thought about Haven, the next about her own future, then to the words spoken by Amma before suddenly thinking back to her past.
Deep and dark…
Lowest rooms imaginable…
Children of Hyperion…
Where no light would reach…
Katja’s eyes widened while a shuddered breath escaped her lips as all her thoughts suddenly aligned and led her to a revelation. There was a place she had heard about while at Orcinus. One that had been used as a hideout by one of the more infamous members of the Children of Hyperion back when Hyperion still walked this Earth. The area had been off limits for years, before she had even joined PRCU. So it’s likely none of the current student body would even know it existed. Though she had never been there herself, she knew of its existence through the reminiscing of older members. And through them she also knew how to get there.
Katja closed her eyes for a brief moment, taking slow, measured breaths as she quickly reflected on what she was about to do. Speaking up would put her at risk. But, burying her nails into her palms, it didn’t take her long to at least utter a single phrase. One she knew might very well doom her.
“I might know of a place.” Katja said, her voice a strained whisper only barely audible to those around her. She swallowed once before looking up, meeting those eyes she knew would be judging her if she told the truth. But now was not the time to dread about what they might think of her past allegiances, even if she had been betrayed by Orcinus. Haven’s life was on the line and her knowledge might lead them to uncover her location and save her. So she took a deep breath, cleared her throat, straightened her back and spoke up once more.
“I don’t know if it’s where Haven’s currently held but, I’ve heard of a place that fits Amma’s description. It’s been long abandoned, but deep under the Quadrangle there’s a place large enough to base some sort of operation from.” She paused for a moment, feeling the eyes of her fellows upon her, and with them came a last shudder of doubt. She risked exposing herself, exposing her secret. Risked burning it all down. This was her final chance to step away, to cover her tracks. But that would mean abandoning Haven to her fate and to betray the one group of people she cared about the most for the sake of her own safety.
And that was a sacrifice Katja was not willing to make.
“And I know how to get there.”
A sense of relief washed over Katja as she uttered those words. As if a colossal weight was finally lifted off her shoulders. And it was at that moment that Katja realized something.
It was that, perhaps on an unconscious level, she wanted them to find out.