Mesdames et Messieurs, Voilà, C'est Vous

[lesmodsalouette]

Bievenue

You're wrapped in a soothing, all-encompassing darkness.

Well, perhaps not perfectly all-encompassing -- you can see some slivers of light here and there, just enough to realize that your current space is literally wrapped in something, and that you are a highly customized burrito at the mercy of an entirely too fluffy bed and set of blankets. Moreover: you are definitely not alone.

Depending upon the contents of your bed (two of you, waking up dressed exactly in what you wore last you remember back where each of you came from, in the exact same state as those last moments no matter how illogical or disjointed), it may not be comfortable or feasible to stay cocooned up for much longer. There's a low, muted GONG, GONGG coming from not far away, your bed creaks like a beleaguered ship in an unannounced storm, and it is joined by even more noises of movement beyond the bed canopy as you try to take stock of where you are.

Eventually, you either fall out of bed or drag yourself into this world: your new and strangely crowded personal rooms, the clock insistently sounding out the hour, and the halls and heraldry of the venerable Château Ambregris -- a lavishly decorated and fully furnished version of a more-or-less authentic French castle (assuming you know what France or a castle are).

Left to your own devices for the moment, you may find it helpful to explore the castle for your own purposes, check out the suspicious statues and personalized plaques in the Promenade of Reflexion, or perhaps to try to get to the bottom of the mysterious and frankly alarming amount of bread piled up in front of the place settings in the Banquet Hall. (Were you thinking of escaping? Any attempts to leave the property will be met with no forward progress at all, treadmill style). There's just about every kind of loaf, roll, boule, baguette, croissant or even animal-shaped bread you can think of stacked in baskets. There's absolutely nothing else save for plain bread, but at least you won't starve.

[OOC: Welcome to Château Ambregris, a perfectly normal castle receiving perfectly normal guests. Feel free to ask any questions in discord! The NPC Meet & Greet will be later today, March 8 at 6 PM EST/3 PM PST.]

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[frostlight]

[Tia tilts her head slightly, watching Jinx. Half of that's lost on her.]

Sure. They make a show out of it, and the noise follows you when you'd prefer it to be quiet. Am I wrong?

[snakeblood]

It's not the appeal of the place, it's the mirrors.

mars

[coldseep]

They're pretty to look at like this. I think it'd be more of a shame to use them.

[frostlight]

Is that what makes it nice?

[That it might be something out of a movie?]

Certain species do it all the time.

[uiscebeatha]

You did?! You're his roommate?

[ For some reason...it didn't occur to him that Bradley would also have roommates, like him. But, obviously. Guess that means everyone's in rooms like that, then. ]

Then we'll probably be seeing a lot more of each other. [ Where he was contemplative a few seconds before, Cain now smiles bright and loud, his hand outstretched for her to shake. ] I'm Cain. And that's Bradley, if he hasn't told you yet.

[coldseep]

Ah, like doorways? That's sensible.

( He brushes a hand through his long hair to get some of it out of his face, the wave of it falling back in a mess. )

They could come out. But have you ever been pulled through one?

[frostlight]

They were probably used at some point. What's so pretty about them?

[uiscebeatha]

[ It's weird, hearing his footsteps and being able to pick them out immediately. The relief he feels knowing he has someone he can trust, to a degree, among the strangers here. At least one set of eyes. ]

No kidding.

[ Wordlessly, he holds out his hand. The weirdest morning high five he'll ever ask for. ]

I don't remember talking about any of this stuff to anyone before waking up here. [ Save Akira. But he wouldn't do this... ] Do you?

[snakeblood]

Nah, I don't like dealing with them. Sora's already had hell of a time with them and his spirit-magnet young master.

[frostlight]

[She stares at the hand, then turns to take it for a stiff shake. He's awfully forward for being evasive of eye contact.]

Ice Dragon, Tiamat. Call me Tia. Are you a magician like him?

[coldseep]

Look at the shapes.

( He heads up to, let's say, a big ol' battleaxe on a beautiful mount - but his hand traces the flow (with generous distance from the handle and blade) of the shape - accenting the curves and the sharp turns along the silhouette. )

And here.

( A finger hovers where the head meets handle - tracing up a decorative, gossamer carving along the axe's edge, which wind their way in. He intentionally skipped out on a weapon inlaid with gemstones or other obvious decorative elements - he thinks even these more "regular" weapons are quite nice. )

Isn't it all pretty?

( He lets his hand fall. )

And maybe the one who made it intended for blood to flow through the carved depressions like water through a canal, but, if someone uses it in battle, the edge wears down and chips away, too - the whole thing might even shatter and snap. That seems so sad.

[coldseep]

Are those friends of yours? Being a favorite of spirits must be tough.

( But interesting! And isn't that what counts, really. )

What do you do when they're dealing with those?

[fourtuity]

[ Sure, Clover will leave the heavier ones for him. She doesn't want to risk dropping something by accident. But she'll try her best to shuffle things around so they don't have to spend a million years doing all the rearrangement at once. ]

Okay, this is totally doable. It feels like it's getting easier to tell apart the size when they're in front of us like this.

[uiscebeatha]

[ Cain pauses mid-step when he sees the splash over the stone. Someone's there...in the pond???

(Ignore how his right arm reflexively bends across his middle, fingers grasping for something that isn't there.)

The voice causes his brows to twitch, his senses hone in on the other person. Hmm. He isn't sure if he's supposed to get this sense of familiarity, and yet... ]

Were you playing in the pond?

[ Don't they have a pool??? ]

[frostlight]

[When he said, "Pretty," she wasn't expecting him to reach for the more mundane weapon of the lot. It turns out that he has something interesting to teach, and her gaze follows the trajectory of his hand the while. He has an unusual personality for the knowledge he bears, but maybe it's just her nature speaking when she finds herself fundamentally opposed on some level.]

That's what happens when vain mortals put form over function. There's nothing pretty about false strength.

[snakeblood]

More like... a younger colleague in the field? His young master was possessed by a rather nasty spirit few years ago. [ He meddled, but whatever details. ]

We have different... disciplines. Sora's is exorcism. I specialize in curses.

[coldseep]

( hehe )

I hardly go in ponds.

( Not that this answers why pond and not pool (to Hwy, it does). )

There's all sorts of things that live in here that can't persist in any broader body of water. I thought about how I hadn't thought about these little lives in a long while . . . and I began to miss them.

[uiscebeatha]

Maybe.

[ Cain eyes the basket. Admittedly, he didn't think much of it... But then again, there are a lot of things he doesn't think too hard about.

He leans on the counter. ]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I dunno what it's like where you're from, but the castle I used to work at would only set out little snacks and drinks when guests arrived for functions, so their appetite wasn't ruined for dinner. They might be throwing us a feast later.

[ Anyway. He's gonna snag the piece that G'raha didn't take and bite into it. ]

[coldseep]

( ooo )

Are you a wizard?

[uiscebeatha]

—Whoa! Sorry!

[ Cain whirls around, reflexively steps back and holds up both hands, shoulder height, palms facing Yoonhee. The surprise on his face is pretty obvious.

But also, he's looking him in the eye now. ]

Sorry, I didn't realize!

primrose

[coldseep]

( Hwy is flopped out across one of the beds, having been recently abandoned by Dan Heng but not feeling much like moving at present. )

What's so interesting?

[snakeblood]

[ ??? ]

No?

[coldseep]

( what else does curses... )

A human? An animal? A magical beast? A spirit of nature?

( he just wants to guess, )

[coldseep]

( He doesn't seem unhappy with her answer - it's simply another perspective, like shifting a kaleidoscope. )

Then, what's true strength, to you?

( He pushes himself up to sit on one of the edges of a display like teens do - hwy about to be the first death when everything comes down on him and skewers him, )

Plain and unadorned; function over form?

[uiscebeatha]

[ Richard speaks again and Cain's gaze adjusts accordingly, closer to him, though still not quite meeting his eyes. He also realizes he might be a little too close, so he stops, takes a half step back. ]

A blonde woman with glasses... [ He pauses to think... Even though he doesn't need to. ] Can't say I have. But I'll keep an eye out.

[ lol ]

What's her name? Oh—what's your name, while we're at it?