A Lian and a Kyn in Fallen London
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"Got it. I'll get this to started running?"

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"Yes. And thank you for your hospitality." She bows to Sophie. 

To Senna: "You said something about the marsh-lands?"

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"Mrr. They're not entirely empty, but there's hideouts in them, some abandoned. Not many people go down there, but they're not entirely safe, either."

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“Fewer people is better. They’ll be looking for me too, now.”

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"Alright. It's past Watchmaker's Hill, I know some paths through the flit but we'll be on the ground for some of it."

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Kim thinks for a moment, and then takes off her rifle and bag, slipping her coat off. “Here,” she says, and hands it to the children. “They’ll recognise me if I wear it. You guys do with it what you want.”

She slings her bag and rifle back on, then unties the scarf from her neck to wrap her hair in, tying a knot on the top of her head. “All right. You ready to go Lillian?”

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"Yeah, I'm ready," she says, then says her goodbyes to the children, thanking them for their help.

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Kim does the same, and there’s a weird longing in her heart to take them with her. But it’s dangerous enough with just her going with Lillian, she won’t put children in harm’s way too. 

“Show us the way, Senna?”

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The cat nods sharply and leads the way, again across the rooftops of London, largely avoiding sightlines to the street, and then into the streets of Watchmaker's Hill. They avoid the more trafficked areas around the Medusa's Head, slipping into the Marshes soon enough.

The marshes are practically pitch-black outside the lamplight of London, and strange sounds echo around them. Lillian slips into the mud a few times before figuring out how to walk on top of the marsh.

The beasts of the marsh seem to be avoiding them, for now.

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Kim has no torch to guide her way, and she is remarkably flat footed, but she steers Lillian each time she sinks, eventually just keeping one hand on her elbow to keep her steady. 

Only for that. Nothing else. She’s not thinking of any other reason but that. She hopes. 

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Eventually they do find their way to a more solid bit of ground, a dilapidated shack jutting out of the marshes. Senna wriggles in to confirm it's empty, then gives them the all clear.

The shack has cobwebs and other old signs of sorrow-spider infestation, but no evidence of any current such inhabitants. There's a half-rotted table, and a single bed somehow still standing.

Senna cleans his whiskers, then says, "Not much, mrr. But the next place is a day's walk at your pace, and we'd be crossing Blemmigan territory."

"...What's a Blemmigan?" Lillian asks.

Senna sends her a wry look. "Carnivorous mushrooms. Rather nasty. Though I don't know how they'll react to you."

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"It's fine for now. Plan is to eventually circle back to the docks, get Lillian to the ship. Get her out of London quietly enough the Protectorate doesn't know she left," Kim says, giving the shack a thorough inspection for sorrow-spiders and evidence of other people who might come back. 

Though, she does look back at Lillian after a moment, brow furrowed. "Unless you don't want that, of course."

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"I can't change things if I'm at zee. I'm willing to lay low for a short while to keep other people safe, but - I don't fear for my own life."

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Kim pauses for a moment, thinking. The Protectorate won’t stop looking for her, but getting them off the scent means Lillian will be able to start changing things- but she would have even more freedom if the Protectorate were gone. 

“Then I’ll fear it for you,” she says fiercely. 

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"Thanks. So, what now? Do we wait for them to follow us out here?"

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"We wait to see if they will. Better that they don't, that means we get away cleanly. We'll have to head back into London for supplies, that'll be a good time to scope out whether they've found us out or not."

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"I want to help people at some point, not just stay hidden out here."

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"I'm not going to stop you from doing that, cross my heart. But just for right now, we need to lie low. It's not forever."

Kim pauses, then a slight laugh comes to her lips. "Though, if you were to insist we start tomorrow, I wouldn't stop you."

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"What good will lying low do? Won't they still be looking for us even later?"

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“You hoping to start your revolution from the tomb-colonies?” Kim says, but she sounds more impressed than anything else. “They will, but they won’t know where to start looking. Means we can move about the streets, rather than the shadows.”

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"So we stay here until we know they lost the trail?"

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"Yes." 

Kim wasn't sure how long that would be, however, so omitted that from her reply.

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"What do we do in the meantime, then? Humans need food, right?"

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"Occasionally, yes." Kim dives into her shoulder bag, looking at her supplies. "I have enough for a few days. And if it ends up being longer, I can venture into the Bazaar."

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"There's rats, too, out here," the cats says. "And plenty of mushrooms. If you're not picky."

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