Is awkwardly too pressed for time to proofread properly


Out

Kia yawned, mouth gaping so wide that Hatter almost believed she was going to unhinge her jaw just like the snakes they had finally gotten around to seeing earlier that day. Understandably, the girl was exhausted from what could only be referred to as frolicking with the reptiles; once, Hatter had left her alone for a few minutes and returned to see Kia lying prone on the floor amidst a swathe of colubrids, having fallen asleep in the middle of admiring them all. The root of her tiredness, however, was the excessive assistance she had provided over the past few days as the inhabitants of the destroyed scraper were directed to their assigned temporary quarters. Though not technically being involved in the relocation, both Hatter and Kia found it best to keep busy, blending in with the crowds and helping to carry boxes, or even children sometimes. Several mods overseeing the move had noticed their presence, but had thankfully agreed not to notify Hollow, else they would've been denied the right to leave the Common on the grounds of Hatter's 'mental duress'.

"I'm tired," Kia whined, stretching out on the bench she had claimed outside their room.

"You don't say."

"I think I'll go to bed early tonight." She yawned again, sitting up. "Can you let me in?"

"Sure." Hatter memorised the page number then closed her book, setting it down gently. Standing, she made her way to their door and waited for Kia to catch up.

Welcome back, Hatter. Who is behind you?

"A Hollower," she replied monotonously. Completing this exchange every time Kia wanted to go somewhere was bordering on annoying, now that it wasn't a given that the pair would go together. Already Kia had managed to get locked in the kitchen after Sky had let her in and promptly forgot to tell Hatter that the girl was in there. Kia, of course, hadn't minded at all, happily munching her way through the supplies.

I'll open the door then.

Kia graced her with thanks in the form of a loose bow as the entry opened, then swiftly disappeared from sight. "I'm not going through, Juke," Hatter informed, and she could almost feel the CI frowning at her.

I can't say I approve of this, he stated, shutting the door.

"You don't have to. It works, doesn't it? Helps to keep tabs on Kia when I'm not around."

It's highly inefficient though. It seemed as if his attention was distracted for a second before he spoke again. Peace is here. He would like to talk to you.

"Right." Turning, the mod could see that Peace had indeed been creeping up on her, obviously with some important matter to be discussed.

"Hatter," he greeted, finally reaching where she stood. "Is Kia not with you?"

"She went to sleep," Hatter informed, indicating toward the closed door.

"I see." Peace's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. So he knew, about what they'd been doing and why Kia was so tired. "Well it's good she's resting. You'll be taking a trip tomorrow."

"We will be?"

"The Outer Wall check is actually overdue," he admitted sheepishly. "I forgot to send someone, what with all that's happened. And since you're currently the only one free," he said this in a pointed manner, "I figure you can handle it."

"Sounds reasonable," she agreed. The Outer Wall was practically an autonomous structure that was integral to the lives of every inhabitant of the city, even if they didn't think about it often. There were always operatives working there but a report on situations was only compiled upon a biannual visit from a couple of mods; Hatter had been before, of course, but ordinarily Someguy was in charge of checking it.

"Make sure you're thorough," Peace said, the implied command in his voice not going unnoticed. He was sending them there to keep them both out of the way, and Hatter did appreciate the chance he was giving them to cool their heads. "If you head out first thing tomorrow you should make it there by the evening."

"Got it," Hatter nodded, already making a mental list of what they would need to bring. "Since that's the case, I think I'll head off to sleep now too."

Being closer, Peace snatched her book off of the bench and handed it to her before bidding goodnight and returning to his own very important work.


It was cold. Extremely cold. Even with the extra coats they'd brought, both Hatter and Kia were shivering as they walked atop the District boundary, wind howling around them. It was inconvenient, but the only way to reach the Outer Wall was on foot, and though walking at Ground Level would have provided better protection from the gusting air, Hatter thought it unwise to bring Kia back to the heart of her kidnappers' land; traversing the sea walls that separated the Districts was uncomfortable but they ran little risk of encountering bounty hunters since no one in their right mind would be there during the start of a storm cycle.

"Are we nearly there yet?" Kia shouted over the wind.

"Almost!"

The Outer Wall was a far grander version of the one they were standing on, circling the entire city of London and shielding it from the rage of the endless ocean around them. It was a monstrosity, towering over the pair for a good hour now and yet never seeming to get any closer no matter how far they walked.

"This is ridiculous!" Kia yelled, obviously trying to distract them both from the biting gale by making conversation. They would probably end up wearing their voices out, but it was an odd form of respite that Hatter sorely needed at that point.

"You have no idea! Last time I did this, Dom thought it would be hilarious to time our walk right when the rain started!" Though the last part of the journey was always a trek, the majority of the distance could be covered using the trains, hopping from one scraper to the next until either you were as close to the city edge as possible or a storm started and the pseuvi was shut down. From there it was a short trip across Ground and then you were up on the barrier network. "Did you know that the Outer Wall is actually the second largest sea wall in Britain? The Kent Wall exceeds it in height, width and length!"

"I know!" She laughed as though deeply amused despite the situation they were in.

"Really?" Well, she supposed it might've been mentioned during Kia's time in school. "Then did you know there's an entire city inside it? They say the inhabitants are savages!" The Kent Wall had isolated itself from civilisation centuries back, opting to live in an entirely different manner than those in the cities. In fact, it was the only settlement in the world that didn't base itself around scrapers in an area clear of water, the wall standing by itself amidst the waves. The concept of it fascinated Hatter, and though she had never seen it she knew it was a structure that actually existed, not one of those mythical places like Atlantis. Kia said something in reply to Hatter, but she was too quiet and the wind was too loud. "Say again?" the mod shouted, stepping closer to her.

"I said they're not savages!"

"You what?"

"They're perfectly ordinary people! Half my family lives there!"

"You're kidding me!"

"I'm not! We still go out to visit them once a year! Well, since we take a boat it's usually only my father and myself but still…"

"What's it like then?" Hatter's curiosity had been piqued. Not to mention, getting Kia to talk about her family couldn't hurt in finding out why she had the HbM mutation. Whether the people living in the Kent Wall were savages or not, it couldn't be denied that it was a notorious hub for smuggling operations, being the favoured rest stop of almost all cross-sea journeys.

"Kind of crowded, I guess? Not really all that different from here! Though, the common sensibilities aren't the same! You'd probably get done in for wearing a skirt!" Kia chuckled, and Hatter shot her a confused look, wondering how that didn't seem unnecessarily violent to the girl. Clearly, some of the alternate sensibilities had worn off on her. "Hey, we're here!"

It was true. All of a sudden the Outer Wall had leapt up to them, the door to its innards sat neatly before the pair – and just in time too. The rumblings of thunder had just begun above them, signalling the start of the rain. Kia waited impatiently by the door, obviously expecting Hatter to open it the way she usually did. The mod couldn't help but smirk at that, grabbing the handle and heaving the heavy block open just far enough for them both to slip in, then closed it behind them. The scrape of metal rang through the entry room they found themselves in, and after straightening up a bit they examined their surroundings.

"What is it?" Kia asked as Hatter stalked over to a plastic booth with a frown on her face.

"There should be someone on guard here." She paused, listening intently. "It's too quiet."