undergrounds | walking with strangers (March & April Catch-All)

Abby leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, thinking. Then, she gave another sigh as she opened them.

"I just don't like this expansion by the fae. Territory at all was... strange..." But the fae were capricious. But then they kept it. And went further. "Crossing the Thames? That makes me nervous. I'll admit that. Especially with the timing."

It's just too convenient, all of it.

"We can't cross them, not as a Circle or a coven. I know that."

And acting individually... Was she even an individual anymore?

She raises an eyebrow. "The courts and who controls what," she said sagely, to make sure she was picking up exactly what Abby was putting down.

"But it's both courts. Eames was working on behalf of Seelie and Unseelie." She didn't know of Finnick's role in any of this, just that he was there and existed.

Nancy sighs and takes a sip of tea, because she's English. "I don't know, Abby. I don't know at all."

"Both courts makes me more nervous," Abigail murmurs as she takes a sip of her tea. Her eyes close briefly.

"Usually there's some quarreling between them. But they seem to have come together. Why? What are they going to do? What can we do?"

Because if the two courts were in alliance and had decided to set their sights on the mortal world, even on London...

"It scares me, Nancy. It really, really does."

Nancy looks at her nails. "I don't know- I'm sorry. I'm not- I'm not you. I can't look at all the angles and make the right decision." she admired that about Abby. Nancy, meanwhile, made all the wrong decisions regularly. she followed her heart, no matter how often it got hurt.

"and I'm sorry I'm not any help at all." she didn't have the breeding for politics, either. She was, in many ways, Abby's exact opposite.

"One things for sure though- Norrell can't win this election." whatever the fae were up to, they couldn't do anything with that man on the council.

"Definitely not," Abby agrees when Nancy mentions Norrell. "This 'purge' of his... It's only going to get more dangerous. Hopefully enough people in Daybreak see that."

Because Midnight... They had no voice. No vote. No way to try and sway anything that was going on. They were at the mercy of Daybreak, as they always were. Nothing she'd done had really changed that. If anything, she'd created a target.

God, how many had been hurt by the purging of dark magic who might not have been if she'd left them hidden?

There was still the issue of Waltham Forest... but that was a non-starter. So, she'd let the topic go for now.

"You see it. We see it. And you can bring our voice to the Council. They can't ignore us anymore- and we can't sit by while they take our freedoms away. Christ." She rubs at her temples.

"I just wish there was another way."

"We have to be careful-- I have to be careful. Any seeming infraction, and they will try to tear me into pieces." She has to be, to some degree, beyond reproach. Quietly, she sighs, taking another sip of her tea.

"We'll manage."

"I know. I have every faith in you. You'll make the right decision, when it comes down to it." She trusted her in that regard.

"The right decision," she mutters under her breath, shaking her head a little. "I wish I could just make a decision for myself."

"You can't." She reaches a hand out to touch Abby's knee. "Unfortunately you gave that up a long time ago."

Abby sighs a little and nods. "And there's not enough time to get any consensus. I just... have to decide on something. Some middle ground."

"I know. And I wish I could have given you the answer you wanted." if Abby made the move, she couldn't support it. but she knew the position she was in and would not hold it against her.

"There's no way to win," Abigail admits. She can't blame Nancy at all for her answer. If their positions were reversed, she'd make the same decision. But her own loyalty to the fae -- as it is -- comes in a different form.

"But we'll figure it out. I'll figure something out."

"There isn't." And Nancy can't help herself, she leans her head down against Abby's shoulder.

"And I know you will. And I'm going to support you no matter what. Maybe not your decisions, but you're my sister. And that's what we're supposed to do."

"If I do give James my support, I'll do it with the clear backing of only part of the Circle. I have time enough to arrange that, I think."

Make it clear that members of Circle Midnight could disagree on political agendas but still be one united circle. That there was room for dissent and debate.

"Thank you." Nancy lets out a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding. "I know it's not fair of me to advise you based just on me. But... I really, really appreciate that."

Fagin had no power over her anymore. At least, not immediate power. He could still make her life hell, and she didn't doubt that. But he stayed out of politics as much as he could. It was Eames she was wary about. But he'd understand.

She leans back on the couch, leaning her head against Abby's shoulder.

"If there is one, there are at least ten," Abigail replies. Then, she adds with a smile, "And, even if it is just one, it's you."

As Nancy puts her head on her shoulder, Abby wraps an arm around her friend's shoulder.

"We'll be careful. I'll be careful. Promise."

"Please." That's all she can really ask.

Nancy's silent for a moment, enjoying the comfort of her friend's arm around her.

"I never thanked you. For paying my hospital bills. That's- it was too much. You shouldn't have." She didn't have much money, or insurance, but she would have made it work.

"No one was supposed to tell you where the money came from," Abigail says with a bit of a laugh. "But it's what friends do."

Especially when she could go on any kind of shopping spree and never make a dent in her family's legacy funds. She could at least help people.

"I know it wasn't Kenzi or Eames. A friend of mine provided me with a new place," she wasn't going to mention exactly whom it was. That was private information.

"And I don't know many wealthy people. I figured you were the only one that made sense. So, thank you."

"You're welcome."

She gives Nancy's shoulder a squeeze as she says it. After all, they have to look out for one another. They have to. They're sisters in this.

walking with strangers (March & April Catch-All)

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