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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[antline]

...

I'm not sure. I already looked for ants. What would you...like to do? I saw there were statues...

[antline]

...

[Hm.]

Are you talking about...the Head Researcher?

[snakeblood]

[ ???? ]

What year is it that you think means nobility? [ Because damn, that'd make shit easier if they were more respected, instead of trying to hustle doing all sorts of side businesses. Ialsodon'thaveayeartogivebackthough ] I also don't care about disrespect, it was just funny to me personally.

[ If anything, he's the disrespectful one, but he's not thinking about that either. ]

[uiscebeatha]

Man...

[ Cain makes a similar face, puzzled and frustrated by all this. At this point, it isn't so much why, but how. ]

Your powers sealed, and someone as powerful as Bradley has been cut off from the spirits, not to mention everyone else... Whoever did this is bad news.

[antline]

Snow and ice....I believe they hibernate under the snow. They sleep until the warmer weather.

[He looks up at the other man.]

Do you not like the land?

[uiscebeatha]

[ The good thing about this is that bumping into someone means Cain gets a free pass on touching them and seeing them. Lucky for him. ]

Whoa, sorry about that!

[ Instinctively, he still reaches out to steady the other guy (though it looks like he doesn't really need it), before clapping him all friendly-like on the arm. ]

Didn't hurt you or anything, did I?

[baebladie]

[ There is a plus side to this interaction, yes.

Blade gives a glare at being clapped all friendly-like because apparently he isn't exactly...very friendly. It's fine. He'll even comment on the act, saying: ]

Unnecessary.

[ ... ]

It will take more than that to injure me. Your concern is pointless.

[littlegentleman]

Not really.

[There's never really been anything that made him feel particularly excited, before. In his exploration, Hickey wouldn't have noticed any strongly expressed emotions from the boy--everything was always taken in with quiet consideration and an unaffected expression.]

What would you count as exciting?

[allrounder]

G'raha, please.

[ Please!! But he has a feeling that it'll be a coin toss whether or not she'll actually call him by his name, but at least he would be able to pat himself on the back for an attempt well made.

Jinx tosses bread at him and he reflexively catches it with no real issue. ]

Does it qualify if the bread is meant for us?

[ He's pretty sure it is—he hadn't even considered the possibility of someone having their own bread stash that they had the misfortune of leaving out like this. ]

[allrounder]

[ Hm, is that cat-shaped bread picked only because he's here? He wonders, but his gaze sticks to that piece of bread for no longer than a few seconds. ]

We've our own host of problems, but jealousy and fear over magic is not one of them.

[ Namely, the conflict lies with the more bestial races, a conflict that arises from cruelty and carelessness. That it wasn't present on the First was both a relief and eye-opening. ]

What causes your envy?

[cleansheets]

[ Alright, that answer was a lot more chill than he expected for someone of her general appearance. It suits him just fine though, he's certainly not in the habit of calming people down. ]

Having ornamental weaponry isn't terribly unusual for a place like this.

[ He's lived in a castle before. ]

So I'd wager none of this has been fired in decades, if ever.

[ And that sucks. ]

[allrounder]

[ Blade. An interesting name, one that sounds more akin to a codename than anything, and he raises his eyebrows at it briefly. ]

I've reason to believe that this is very much real. Dreams have a certain quality to them, do they not?

[ And besides— ]

I doubt my mind could come up with decor such as this.

[allrounder]

[ A wine glass is... a choice, and if Cain could see him, he would be able to see the surprised look on G'raha's face. ]

A napkin may be more suitable.

[ Which he'll take from one of the place settings and hold out to Cain. ]

[cleansheets]

[ Oh, alright. Angelo instantly decides that he cannot stand this one.

He's turning properly to face Hwyl now, and takes a step towards him. It's intended to physically intimidate, and the daggers he's glaring certainly complete the look. ]

Wonder in silence, if you're really such a busybody that you can't help it.

[allrounder]

[ He's got his priorities right!!

Maybe. ]

Given the decor that surrounds us, I have my doubts that they're even in possession of firearms. Or rather, any particularly powerful ones.

[ While G'raha has no real clue what a .38 Special is, he's making a guess that it's gun related... he's come across firearms in passing and seen them for himself through Machinists, but how advanced they are has its limits. ]

[allrounder]

[ If it weren't for his experiences, he wouldn't have even considered it, but all these different names and different skills and the decor itself... it screams another world to him. ]

I am. I've spent my fair share of time on other stars. Mayhap I'm jumping to conclusions here, but... the way that this mansion feels is akin to that of no longer being on my star.

garden;

[baebladie]

[ Red that blooms like spiderlillies - though roses are nowhere near as damning, at times. And the latter of which that are absent in such places.

Seeing the grip the other man holds over them, Blade can only ask: ]

Does it bring any satisfaction?

Or...is it not enough?

[baebladie]

[ It is certainly not a normal name, but it is one nonetheless. ]

It depends.

[ Blade turns over the possibility a bit more. Anything is possible, honestly. But has he come to terms with it? ]

My mind could. But, this detail...maybe not. It is a bit too—foreign.

[allrounder]

That it is.

[ He reaches out to run his fingers along the fabric of the canopy that's draped over the bed, most of his fluster gone. It's a fine fabric, and he can feel the little details stitched into it against his fingertips. ]

I do believe this is my first time seeing a canopy bed in the flesh.

[stygiomedusa]

There are certainly those who are wealthy and influential, but... It's not quite the same as nobility.

[Since people will dream of getting rich, becoming a noble lord is a bit less of a fantasy. She thinks.]

[coldseep]

Because humans form connections easily. I don't really get why, but magic things don't.

( He shrugs. He has no clue why it is the way it is - he'd think magical beings would find their own communities among nature, the way animals do. And yet humans and animals retain greater similarity - in finding among themselves community, where magic fails to heed their call.

He seems lost in thought for a second, lightly pinching his cat bread until it deflates, then again when it reinflates, before he returns to himself. )

What problems do you all have, then?

( He then momfs a bready cat ear then bites it off... )

[stygiomedusa]

[She thinks, for a moment, of all the places she's been, lips pressed together.]

Some theaters have been similar to this, but nothing else has been quite the same.

[Granted, that might also be because of Time Period Discrepancies. Expensive decor has changed a lot and become way more minimalist...]

[stygiomedusa]

The horizon...

[Hums... yes, she can see that there's something beautiful about the horizon, even if she's not thinking about sunsets.]

No. Well, in a way Mania and madness go hand in hand, but Mania is... a force of its own. An energy, if you will.

[Maybe now he'll be able to hear the capitalized "M",]

[coldseep]

( Angelo comes at him, but Hwy stays in place - not in any attempt to prove bravado, but because - hm - by Hwy's demeanor, it seems like he's having fun. Unfortunately, he loves people who are angry and rude... )

You don't have to answer my questions, but you should probably consider your situation.

( He smiles bright. )

You're not going back right now, right? Are you just going to sulk instead? Where does that get you?

[coldseep]

( Hibernating... forever, is that how it works? Or do they die first? Both seem a little sad.

He seems lost in thought for a moment before he realizes he's been asked a question. )

Oh! Ummm... I like it, myself. Some fun things exist on land - but I feel more kinship with the sea. I know all the sharks and mermaids there, all the great beasts and little minnows. And it's really beautiful down there. Have you ever seen a coral reef or a sea floor?