[come_sailaway inbox]

[prince_of_beasts]

A synthesized woman's voice picks up the call.

"Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. Two - Zero - Two - Nine - One - Eight - Two - One - Three - Two -- is not available now. At the tone, please record your message. When you've finished recording, you may hang up or press the # key for more options."

Dimitri hasn't figured out how to customize the thing yet.

Comments

[prince_of_beasts]

"You were a passenger?"

Dimitri's blood freezes.

"Where is Rich?"

And every nerve catches fire --

"ANSWER ME!"

He lunges.

[firewalled]

"S-Stay away from me!"

Immediately, the knife comes out of 'Rich's' pocket. He holds it up, but tilted so the sharp end isn't towards either of them. He isn't about to make this mistake again.

"I told you what I know! That's all you need to know!"

[prince_of_beasts]

The hell it is.

But that's fine. Dimitri's never been good at interrogations. Maybe Watson or Darcy will be able to get some more information out of this thing.

One last try. "Then step inside," he growls, circling away from the door, "while I call the others. Rich's family can decide what to do with you."

Sorry, Dimitri, it's a bit late to avoid escalating.

[firewalled]

Dimitri... clearly has said something wrong, from the way Rich's body recoils as if it's been slapped. His grip on the knife tightens.

"They're my family too. I won't let you get between me and them."

He can't do this now. If he tries to fight, he might get Rich's body hurt, or he may cause another murder. He glares at the older boy, but turns on his heel and bolts into the darkness.

[prince_of_beasts]

Oh no the fuck you don't.

Dimitri takes off in pursuit. He's taller, his legs are longer, and (no offense, Rich) he's in better shape, and it doesn't take him long to close the gap. "Stop!" he barks, once again lunging to tackle his enemy, slit pupils flaring but eyes not yet adjusted to the dark.

[firewalled]

Rich lets out a growl of anger as his legs are grabbed, causing him to collapse on the ground. The knife clatters in front of him, and he tries to get his arm to move quickly enough to grab it again and turn it back towards his attacker.

"Leave me alone!" He screams, sounding more like a child having a tantrum than one in any kind of danger.

[prince_of_beasts]

They hit the ground together. Dimitri growls and kicks forward, scrambling to pin the shorter boy. The knife flashes in his peripheral vision. Dimitri jerks his head away; the blade catches him across the upper arm, instead, biting a deep slash through his flimsy shirt. He screams, more furious than frightened, and rolls away as his arm buckles, flinging up the other to defend himself as he scrambles to his feet.

[firewalled]

That scream is enough to scare 'Rich' away, though, and before Dimitri can even bring his arm up, Rich is taking the opportunity his freed limbs give him to get up into a standing position. He barely manages a look back at the damage as he rushes away from Dimitri, around a corner to hide.

[prince_of_beasts]

On his feet and running again, but his enemy darts around a corner. This time, by the time Dimitri catches up, his enemy's vanished.

He staggers to a halt with his back to the wall, one hand clamped reflexively over his cut. As he catches his breath and the adrenaline fades -- fuck. That hurts. It's superficial, but it's not shallow. Best not to give chase when he doesn't know where his enemy is; that's a quick route to getting ambushed and killed, especially when he's losing blood.

Cautious and on edge, Dimitri slinks back to his room, where he locks the door, turns on every light, and retrieves his phone.

To Darcy and Watson, he sends,

Rich not himsflf
Confirmed killde cesar
Atacked me
Ecaped
Be on guard

[lightconductor]

Are you safe? Do you need medical attention? -JW

[prince_of_beasts]

Typing coherently is even harder than usual with blood smearing his hands and phone screen. It's getting into the cracks. Goddess only hopes this doesn't break it permanently. He'll have to find somewhere else to sleep, since he's not asking Fio to leave the door jammed open with at least one killer roaming the ship.

Im s adfe
He ran
I m fn e
Nt hr ut baddl y

[lightconductor]

Meet me in the infirmary. -JW

[prince_of_beasts]

Dimitri attempts to compose a protest, but his phone and hands are really not cooperating.

B crafel of n
Car flu
Cre alful

Fuck it. He tears a few strips of fabric off the sheets of the fold-out for a makeshift bandage -- which hurts a little, remembering Rich doing this for him in the rover -- and sets off for the infirmary. Sword unsheathed, this time. He's not taking any chances.

Whether by luck, or because whatever's taken Rich isn't looking for a second confrontation either, he makes it to the infirmary without incident, and slides through the door -- wary and bristling, in case this is an ambush, or Watson's been replaced too.

[lightconductor]

Watson looks up from where he's at one of the cupboards, faintly wary. He looks tired, more than anything else, but perhaps he can be forgiven for sleeping poorly just at the moment. Still, he's done more in worse conditions, unfortunately. He looks Dimitri up and down, trying to work out just how serious it is.

"Your arm," he says. "Come, sit down, let me take a look at it. He attacked you?"

[prince_of_beasts]

"Not exactly." It had seemed the natural way to explain it with his heart still pounding, his blood still hot. Now that he's got a clearer view of the situation ... "I was the one to escalate. I tried to question him, but he wouldn't tell me what had happened to Rich, just that he was 'sleeping' somewhere and wouldn't wake up. I can only pray that doesn't mean 'dead'."

He pulls away the handful of bedsheet he's pressed over his injury. The cut itself is maybe four inches long, diagonal across his bicep, and deep enough to bleed freely, but it hasn't bled through the makeshift bandage.

"I tried to restrain him. I was cut in the struggle, and he ran." Dimitri grimaces. "In hindsight, that wasn't the wisest way to handle the situation."

[lightconductor]

"That's actually somewhat reassuring. There is a difference between an attack and a panicked response."

Watson frowns at the cut for a moment, then reaches for some antiseptic and a bit of gauze. "And this is certainly not as serious as it could have been, considering what we know he's capable of. Perhaps we can take this as a sign that he's not actively seeking to do harm to anyone. Though, of course, we still must try to apprehend him."

[prince_of_beasts]

"I expected him to be more ready for violence. He told me that César wasn't 'supposed to die', but honestly, I didn't believe him. But he only lashed out when I tried to stop him from fleeing. He acted like a child ... I don't know how much of that was façade, but he did seem genuinely panicked."

Dimitri takes a seat on one of the infirmary cots, offering his arm. The antiseptic sting draws out a sharp breath, but he doesn't move. He's got experience.

"It wasn't entirely unproductive. He claimed to be a former passenger. And he told me there are others -- I'd suspected, but the confirmation is helpful. He didn't say how many, or who they might be." Dimitri releases his breath. "And ... when I said that Rich's family should deal with him, he said ... 'They're my family too, and I won't let you come between us.'" He gives Watson a worried look. "Be careful. I don't know what he wants with you, but it sounded like you and Mr Summers may be targeted next."

[lightconductor]

"A former passenger?"

Well, the ghosts are acting odd. This is a level of odd he hasn't been prepared for, to be sure. Watson dabs gently at Dimitri's wound, frowning thoughtfully. "If he thinks of us as his family, well. I can hardly claim to find that flattering, under the circumstances. Honestly, panic is something we can work with. Panic is a very long way away from genuine menace."

He's silent in his work for a moment, turning this over in his head. "That there are others, though. That's very worrying, indeed."