tushanshu | 006 video;

It's open.

[She's in her room, still at her terminal, a robot panda sitting on the desk beside her. Jax lifts a paw to wave at Hawke when he appears. Nilin however is caught up in whatever it is she's reading.]

[Hawke strides inside alone this time. He grins at the small bear and pats Jax on the head before a seat near Nilin. Sometimes he forgets it's a construct and not a living being.]

Looking at anything interesting?

Just checking to see if anything useful has cropped up.

[What she's looking for isn't there. Nilin turns on her chair to face him.]

But, I'll tell you about that later. What is it you wanted to talk about?

[Hawke won't beat around the bush with her. If he trusts anyone in this city then it's Nilin.]

I think I know where our big bad friend came from. If we're lucky, maybe even how to get rid of him.

[Now that gets her attention. It shows as much on her face.]

What do you mean? What happened?

[He thought that might.]

Akito found something at the library. People named the Vilii made him with the sole purpose to kill life. So of course it's no big surprise that he killed them.

[Hawke will never understand how anyone could think that's a good idea.]

But there's a stone tied to the ritual that made him. If we can find where the Vilii were killed then maybe we can find that stone.

[It takes all sorts to keep the world spinning. Yin and Yang and all that jazz.]

Amazing.

[Terrifying and bewildering too, but amazing in it's own right.]

Do we have any information about the Vilii more than this? Like where are they now?

[This time Hawke shrugs.]

Now that I've got no idea, but I intend to find out.

[He pauses for a moment as he tries to put together what he wants to say next]

But if I suddenly vanish, I want you to know everything.

[Nilin immediately tenses. What he says hits her like a tonne of bricks. While she's been aware that one or the other might disappear at any given moment without warning, the thought of it actually happening is a little on the scary side.

She's fond of him and has been for some time. There are few people Nilin calls a friend, both here and at home, but Hawke is definitely one of them.]

Do me a favour. Don't disappear.

[Nilin lets her gaze wander, fixing on a spot on the far wall.]

I'll tell you what I know as well, once you're done. Information will do us no good if we keep it silent.

[It might not be cheerful but it's something that's been on his mind lately. He doesn't want to lose her as much as he doesn't want to leave her. Nilin is as close to him as his dearest friends.

He smiles, trying to bring some levity back to the conversation.]

Trust me, I've got no intention to do so. And I'm counting on you to rescue me if something happens.

[His eyes stay on her and he nods his head, though his smile lessens by a fraction. He can tell that she's shaken.]

Right. Be careful who you talk to in this place. It seems our spooky friend has been in the city a lot longer than we have, and been making friends the entire time.

Also, I'm not sure what this means, but it seems that Evandau is ignoring Asti.

[That's probably important for some reason but for now he can't make out why.]

[As he speaks, Nilin holds to his every word, but it's only with the last of what he says that she looks back to him, frown on her face.]

No, he's not ignoring Asti. Hold on. I should of shown you this forever ago.

[She moves to her feet and starts across the room to her her dresser, shoving clothes and items aside within the third drawer before popping out a loose board. From beneath the board she pulls a small logbook. Nilin opens it to a certain page and passes it to Hawke.]

Here.

[The book itself belong to Evandau and the notes inside date back for years. The page she shows him is fairly recent and handwritten, just the same as the rest of the notes.

It says: 'Still unable to communicate with Asti. Four months since Eshai’s death. Concerning. Wonder if Eshai and Asti connected somehow. Must discover how to resolve situation... ']

Edited 2014-08-16 03:11 (UTC)

[Hawke watches her from where he sits. When she pulls out the loose bird he finds himself smirking fondly.]

Aren't you a sneaky one.

[It's reasons like this that makes him trust her so.

Hawke takes the offered book and reads the page with interest. This definitely puts a different light on what Asti told him during the festival.]

So that's what he was trying to tell me.

[Hawke looks from the book to Nilin.]

Where did you get this?

A few months ago. Do you remember when I asked you not to look for me?

[Nilin sets the panel back in place and moves to sit beside him.]

I and a few others went to the palace. We got in, under disguise, and this is one of the things I found.

[Which brings to mind another question.]

What exactly did you hear and who from?

So that's what you were doing.

[He figured that it was important but he had no idea just how important. Just the thought of her that deeply inside the enemy's lines worries him.]

And I couldn't even stage a daring rescue if anything happened.

[Hawke says it like a joke but it's a real worry to him. While he knows she can take care of herself he doesn't like the being unable to help his friends.]

Oh that? It was from Asti himself. I might have embellished what he told me just a tad.

[Nilin understands his concern. It's how she feels when he does things of a dangerous nature when she isn't around. They might be loners in a sense, but they're a team in their own way.]

I knew the danger when I took the job.

[She shoots him a small smile, an attempt at reassuring him that she's alright.]

Asti himself? How?

We all know the danger.

[He smiles back at her and for a moment sets his hand over hers.]

But that doesn't mean we can't rely on each other now and again.

[Hawke squeezes her hand before letting it go. Right, they were talking about important things. Not the time to get sentimental.]

During the festival, he spoke to me when I was asleep. He just wanted to thank me for watching the baby turtles but he let it slip that he was worried about the lack of communication between himself and Evandau.

[Were it anyone else, she might of reacted differently. His hand on hers is surprisingly welcome. Nilin squeezes it in return before letting him go.]

So he doesn't know the reason... That's worrying. Is there any way to speak to him again?

I don't even know how it happened the first time.

[Hawke smirks at her.]

We could always try standing in the street and just shouting his name.

[That gets a chuckle.]

You never know, it might work.

[There's another thing he should probably see. Nilin gets to her feet and, crouching at the side of her bed to remove yet another panel and pull out another book. She passes the book to Hawke.]

You should probably see this as well. I don't speak Kedanese well enough to understand it, but it looks to be a ledger of some form.

[She shrugs lightly and moves to sit by him again.]

Who knows? It could be important. Given where I found it, I'd bet my allowance to say as much.

[The chuckle makes his smirk grow wider. When she rises again Hawke perks up a little more.]

More goodies? You're just full of surprises.

[Hawke takes the book and begins to flip through it. The words mean nothing to him. There's not even pictures for him to look at. After examining it a bit longer he turns his gaze back to Nilin.]

Looks like we've found ourselves another project to work on. At least we'll be busy for a while.

[Already he's willing to help her the best that he can.]

At best guess I'd say they're names. Why they're listed though? I have no idea.

[Nilin sighs and reaches to take the book back.]

We have too many questions and not enough answers.

Maybe we track them down and find out?

[Hawke hands over the book as he wonders what they're next move should be.]

You know there are days I really wish it was the other way around.

[Most of them actually.]

There's an idea. But where to start? Asking about these names might draw more fire than we need.

[That and they're not even sure they're names. Nilin sighs and rubs her temple lightly.]

Is there anything else you've found out?

Maybe we start by asking our own? Could be one of the foreigners here heard the names at some point.

[Honestly Hawke is just grasping at straws right now.]

Right, I think that Mally has a lot more influence here than we first thought. As long as there have been people in the city it's been here and its position here has only grown since the last emperor died.

I think it's got its claws in some very important people in this city.

Anyone in particular?

[Because shit. That does not sound good at all.]

Seems like there's corruption no matter where I go.

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