Melanie King | The Magnus Archives

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{Never see you anymore » @buffeted

[ghosthuntuk]

[A continuance.] Melanie waits out front, like Martin said. She worries about him sometimes. All the business with Lukas. The Lonely. Whatever It wanted to call Itself. She doesn't like it, and she hates not knowing the full scope of it even more. She supposes if anyone knows anything deeper, it'd be Jon, and as far as she knows the pair of them haven't exactly been so chummy lately, either. Something that is entirely disconcerting all on its own. She huffs a soft sigh and settles on the front steps of the institute, leaning forward against her knees until her forehead reached the tops of them and she shifts her fingers through her hair.

[buffeted]

There's no warning. One moment she's alone, and the next Martin is standing in front of her on one of the lower steps, his hands pushed into the pockets of his jeans and his eyes a little nervous and distant. It's.. been a while since he's really been around any of them; Melanie's offer had surprised him so much that he'd agreed nearly on reflex.

He offers a small, tired smile after a moment, but he can't hold it for long. He's.. definitely not the man he was when Melanie first began at the Institute. But then, are any of them the same?

"Hi," he says softly, brows knitting slightly. "Still feeling up to this?"

[ghosthuntuk]

There's a creeping, crawling sensation when another person is near, a sort of sixth sense, something predatory or maybe gifted to prey-- or both. This is like that, but multiplied and it makes her jolt when Martin is suddenly there, out of nothing. Nowhere. Just...there. "Jesus, Martin." She mutters, annoyed, though whether it was at him or her own momentary jump-scare is debatable. Despite it, she pushes through it, dusts it aside as she presses her hands against her knees before she drags herself to her feet. Only then does she truly take him in, exhaustion creeping across every inch of him in ways that are so far beyond physical and mental capacities. Skips right down into his bones. "Wow--" both brows arch dubiously at the sight of him. "You look-- well, honestly, you look awful." Part of Melanie's charm has always been her blunted directness, right? "'Course I am. Come on." she tugs once on his sleeve, leading the way down the steps and away from the Institute. They were getting drinks, and that was all there was to it.

@thehunt

[ghosthuntuk]

[I think we have some hyper-understanding of each other when drunk, because looking back at our text convo from last night, they were literally just jumbled letters.]

Yeah...
maybe not.

[She hates to admit it, but it's true. She's sure everyone knows that since Jon brought it up, quitting has been on Melanie's mind. She's hated it here for so long, it was impossible for it not to be the obvious leap for her.

But... it's a lot. She has to decide how. Not if. That part is already made up, but... she hasn't done it yet.]

I've been thinking about it,
you know.
Quitting.
I don't think I'll be here much longer,
Daisy.

[She wishes that didn't sound as dire as it does.]

[thehunt]

[ When Jon relayed the news, Daisy was pretty certain one person would take it. Melanie. It didn't make sense for her not to, not after everything. Jon wouldn't. Martin wouldn't. Daisy wouldn't. Basira wouldn't. They're all stuck here and the level of disconnection it would take to quit is not something the four of them could justify.

But Melanie could. She deserved better than this. ]

You shouldn't have to be.

[ghosthuntuk]

I don't know what I'm going to do, after. I haven't gotten that far in the thought of it. But maybe... I can get my life back. Whatever's left of it, anyway.

@the_archivist

[ghosthuntuk]

[4. Help I accidentally unlocked this guy's tragic backstory and I need a rewind button!]

You'll be the same as the rest one day. Michael. Helen. They started as people, same as you. Look where it got them.

Re: @the_archivist

[the_archivist]

You seem rather friendly with Helen either way.

[ghosthuntuk]

Friendly is stretching it, Jon.

@the_archivist

[ghosthuntuk]

[2. I just washed down my antidepressant with some pineapple wine. I'm the picture of mental health this holiday season.] Yeah... too bad that doesn't actually mean anything like good. No one else is going to leave, are they? Even though they know how, now... [How was she the only one of the whole lot of them that actually wanted to get out of there that badly? What was keeping them from doing anything it took to escape? Jon, well-- she can sort of understand. He's... not as human as he was once. But the others... Well. Is Martin as human as he was? How far did everything with Lukas go? What had she missed-- God, this was why she had cut contact with them when she left. She had contact information for them, in case they absolutely needed her, but...] How are Daisy and Martin?

Re: @the_archivist

[the_archivist]

I don't think so.

[He had told them, he'd told them all. Martin had... well, had laughed him out of the office. He deserved it really. He'd always been a coward. This was no different.]

Daisy is... she's not great. She's getting weaker and- and Martin is... I don't know. Last time I spoke to him we- it wasn't good.

[ghosthuntuk]

You're all nuts. [A pause and she adds: ] Well... I suppose you're probably more stuck than everyone else, but. The rest of them... [She truly can't fathom it. Staying.] So par for the course for a day in the Institute, then. [Facetious as the words are, it isn't a joke.]

god i hope its ok to just throw a random cold call at you???

[lonewatcher]

[It's been a little over a week since Martin and Jon had fled the Institute. Since... everything happened. They've settled (mostly) into the safe house in Scotland, the one Basira pointed them to.

No bars in the house, of course. Martin always has to make the trek out to the nearby village to call anyone or even use his phone at all. It's annoying, but necessary, as Jon keeps reminding him. Not that an inconvenient living space is anywhere near the top of Martin's list of real worries.

But something... more than the oppressive memories of that final day and everything that led up to it has been weighing on Martin's mind. Something that he doesn't mention to Basira when he ends the call with her, as they promise to keep each other updated on both ends.

Melanie's name isn't far under Basira's in his contacts. Still there, sorted with the other names he had from the Archives in the same little folder on his phone. Even Sasha's and Tim's numbers are still there. He could never bring himself to delete any of them.

Martin lets out a deep breath through his nose, frowning at the little screen. He and Jon escaped the Institute. They escaped, and... so did Melanie. But they didn't have to sacrifice what she did. The guilt of that fact has been creeping into Martin's thoughts so often, when he has time to himself now. He wasn't even there for it. Martin hadn't even spoken to her once, not since they'd worked together to arrest Elias. He'd gone right to the Lonely after that.

Martin taps on her name in his contacts before he can talk himself out of it. He just wants to... check on her. Make sure she's doing alright. He might not even mention it. Surely Melanie won't even want to hear anything about the recent events at the Archives, she hated the place so much.

Maybe she won't even answer, he reasons with himself as his phone connects and starts to ring.]

omg yesss. 👀

[ghosthuntuk]

[Melanie is curled on her couch, listening idly to whatever Georgie decided to watch but not quite paying attention to it. She's not paying attention to much, just letting her mind go blank and wander through the waves of nothing. It isn't easy, so many worries press in from every side, threatening that calm; this sort of mindfulness is a hard, but necessary skill she's been working on recently, since going back to therapy. That had been a brutal decision in itself. She steadily considers leaving it again every week, and Georgie regularly reminds her it's helping more than it isn't.

"Call from...Martin. Blackwood."

The sudden jolt of a mechanical voice in the comfortable silence that had fallen between them makes Melanie jump. She's hardly recovered from the start when the voice repeats the caller name and it registers this time-- Martin.

The Institute is part of her past now. Behind her. Not so far that the weight of it doesn't still rest on her shoulders or that her nights are dreamless. Not far enough that she's actually done anything like escape the traumas of the place. But it is. Behind her. In the past.

Melanie is frozen as the phone rings again, that cold, empty mechanical voice chirping his name for a third time. She considers not answering. After all, she left. It isn't unreasonable for her to cut all ties to the place.

But...
She left contact information for them to be able to get should of her. If they really needed to...

A hand slides softly against her shoulder, words whispered like silk right next to her ear. "You don't have to answer." Georgie reminds her.

"I know."

But it doesn't stop her from doing it anyway.
Probably against her better judgment.

The last ring before it would have sent the caller to voicemail barely has a chance to start before she picks up the phone beside her.

Her voice is tighter than she'd like when she simply answers-- ]

Hello?

👁️

[lonewatcher]

[After hearing it ring for quite a bit, Martin was about ready to plan a last minute message for his impulsive call, wondering if just not leaving one would seem weird, when—]

Oh! H-Hello? Melanie? It's— It's Martin. From—

[She knows where you're from, come on now.]

Er, I mean, how are... things? I'm really just... calling to— I'm calling to check up.

[For someone who's pretty good at lying, he's not nearly as believable just telling the truth.

He really does just want to make sure she's okay. It's Martin's fault that the context is so... muddied. It's not like they'd spoken at all before or after she'd left. He'd never got on badly with Melanie, but after the Unknowing...

Well, he wouldn't be surprised if that soured her on Martin completely. Even when the Institute was attacked, he'd left it all up to the others. Melanie with her knife, Martin staying hidden, as he was meant to. He'd felt very little then, but looking back now...

Well.]

@thecompulsion

[ghosthuntuk]

[2) i'm high and 74% sure there's a monster in my closet] ---- A life, sure. But an interesting one, before the Institute? I mean.... debatable. Er... thanks.

Re: @thecompulsion

[thecompulsion]

I think all of our lives are a lot more interesting since joining the institute.

...unfortunately. I do worry about all of you.

@the_archivist

[ghosthuntuk]

[1. I'm a freaking penguin. one mate for life, and really awkward at parties]

----

Shame, that. You can't even have fun after you hit that point.

Re: @the_archivist

[the_archivist]

Like so much of my life generally

@efinita

[ghosthuntuk]

[2. Is this a Beer, Vodka or Whiskey kind of problem solving night? It's imperative I stock accordingly.]

---

Fair, it's a good film.
We should watch it.

You mean aside from wanting to murder the boss?

[Look. She has one (1) objective at this point.]

Re: @efinita

[efinita]

YES. Literally always yes.

Full disclosure, pretty sure the whiskey's going to make you MORE murder horny.

@11calls

[ghosthuntuk]

[3. He has a syndrome called asshole. And it flares up every damn day. ]

----

Well, don't take that too personally, Jon's avoiding everyone right now.

[11calls]

How long has he been? I mean I know he went off grid when he was supposed to come here.

@ceaselesstyper

[ghosthuntuk]

[a. Sorry if you felt me holding your hand last night. I was actually just checking to see if you had a pulse.]
—

Perhaps.
But you lot refuse to let me do it the way I truly want.
And no one’s sure of how ELSE to leave the bloody contract, are they?
I’ll take what I can get.

[traumatroph]

Killing Elias can't be the only way to leave the Institute.

And who knows what it might do to the rest of us?