ℬ𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓁𝓊𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒 ℳ𝑜𝒹𝓈 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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bellelurette2025-03-07 11:17 pm
lesmodsalouette) wrote in bellelurette2025-03-07 11:17 pm
Mesdames et Messieurs, Voilà, C'est Vous
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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( Hwy hasn't the slightest clue whether this guy is just chill like that or if he's totally forgotten Hwy... the latter would be a bit offensive! He was just trying to half-heartedly shred you, you know!
But he's also not in a rush to make his final judgment. Like a game of chicken, he wants to see who'll give away what they think first. They'll wind their way to the point eventually - and not a moment sooner, so long Hwy has control of the pace. )
Have you tried it? Do you want to come with me?
( promise he won't drown you (not a wizard promise) )
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(His guard isn't down, not until he figures out who this guy is.)
The invitation earns the dragon a laugh. ]
I'm surprised you've got enough composure to think about swimming, despite all of this.
[ He's almost impressed? ]
Before I decide to go anywhere with you, can I ask you a question?
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He can't bring himself to dislike Akira, to resent Mithra, despite that. He doesn't want to think of them like Snow and White, now that he has time to dwell. It hurt a lot the first time around, to think of Snow and White as his enemy - traitors. Killers of the one he named his heart. And here his friends came around again, doing the same thousands of years later.
But he has to keep himself steady.
His voice is friendly, neither warm nor cold; lost in thought, too, maybe. )
Uh-huh.
( He runs his fingers through his long, long hair, dragging out the pond scum and viscous water like a sieve. In its wake, a fist squeezes out the rest of the water, and the pondwater hits the ground harsh, sudden, and heavy. )
What is it?
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Water? Cain blinks, the threads of his memory just barely connecting, but they don't quite reach. He definitely feels like he should know this guy, and the feeling vexes him. Without the luxury of being able to sense auras, to the degree he usually can, he feels lost.
Regardless, he puts on a big, friendly smile. ]
Sorry if this sounds kinda weird, considering we've all woken up here out of the blue. But... [ He tilts his head, bangs falling away, red and gold gleaming as they rest on the empty space in front of him. ] Do I know you?
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But he is not. He's not much of a Northern dragon (but still, he is); and he's not much of a Western one, either (and still, he is); he's just something that fell through the cracks, like Balthazar, like this wizard's recollection of him.
He does not answer Cain immediately. He simply smiles (totally wasted on Cain!!), and Cain can hear him step forward - a long stride, and faint laugh coming right up against Cain's personal space: )
Akira's friend. Did all my whirlpools make you forget? I guess I did hit you pretty hard.
( Not as hard as he should've, though. His sentimentality that Balthazar paid for - or, perhaps, Balthazar would've died, regardless.
In any case - he stopped suddenly short of Cain, the purpose of his rapid approach revealed: a harmless spray of pondwater coming at Cain quickly off Hwylryn's still-wet hair, as much a scolding as it is a tease. Take that! )
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Akira, whirlpools, the water, the voice—it all hits him at once and it comes back like a wave from the depths, the coral and seaweed from Adams Island swelling and dragging him back to that moment of tension, of desperation.
It hasn't even been that long. A few weeks, at best? It's been a busy few weeks, training and missions and drills and diplomatic tasks leaving the finer details (really, could an entire dragon be brushed aside as a finer detail?) darker as they sink to the depths, his memory now sun-baked, dusted with coconut, warm with the knowledge that he'd "done well..."
It's reflexive: Hwylryn playfully splashes Cain but memories of Borda Island have him on full alert. The water hits his face and he lunges forward, shoulder colliding with Hwylryn's torso to shove him out of Cain's personal circle. The dragon pops into existence. He still doesn't recognize him.
That's who Owen was fighting, huh? ]
What— How did you get here?!
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Still, not unlike most wizards Cain's met, Hwy is used to his supernatural qualities compensating for lack of physical training - so he stumbles back, only just barely managing to keep from tripping, given how much that surprised him. Not having his dragon senses really is inconvenient... )
Now you've been rude twice. Shouldn't you at least say sorry?
( No answers for you, young man. Not that he knows the answer, himself. )
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He didn't have the luxury of hanging out with him all that much. So no, he doesn't really know his circumstances. But he remembers the desperation and hurt on Rutile's face. Rutile is...kind, to put it lightly, but his opinion still matters.
More question marks in his mind. ]
I will. But only until I know you won't hurt the people in this mansion.
[ His bangs fall back in place, red vanishing from view. ]
Why are you here? I thought you'd been taken care of.
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Hwylryn presumes Cain assumes - Cain had been dismissed, so he hadn't witnessed Hwylryn's final fate. His death is probably what would come next, yes. Because he can't bring himself to strike down a friend.
He could barely bring himself to bring down the guillotine on Snow and White. )
I didn't want to fight you guys.
( A little less light and breezy, but not yet frank and stern. He doesn't like getting serious.
He slips past offering to make any kind of oath - his words are hardly as binding. Why bother promising a wizard anything when his actions will be as they are? )
You should think about things from my perspective. I was just trying to protect my friend.
( His eyes get - a little misty. But he does not dwell here. He continues: )
... I was just trying to protect him, without hurting anyone Akira liked. I kept trying to make you guys leave, unharmed, but you didn't. You're the ones who attacked me. Why do I have to be the bad guy here?
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But he has learned his lesson. He listens. Actually listens.
It's true, Cain never had the full picture. He didn't get up close and personal with the dragon like Akira and Rutile and Mithra did. He just knew this was an enemy he couldn't take on his
There's a pause. A friend to Akira's can't be bad a bad person. If Hwylryn went so far as to try and avoid harming any of the sage's wizards, then he feels like that's worth something.
After a breath, he exhales. The tension is not totally gone, but at least the hostility dissipates. Cain stands back, at ease, a more sympathetic glimmer in the gold of his eye. ]
...You're right. I didn't know the particulars of your circumstances.
[ He holds out his hand. ]
I'm sorry. I was quick to judge.
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Now, that seems to surprise Hwylryn more than the bump earlier, and while he welcomes the change of pace relative to the hostility, he seems quite visibly confused. )
... Really?
( He regards Cain, then his hand, with intrigue.
:thinking: )
Where were you from, again?
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I'm a Central wizard.
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Hwylryn smiles, taking up Cain's hand (Cain can guide the shake, he's chillin). Central has its cads and scoundrels, sure, but they're also very much like this, too. )
And I'm of the West, though I didn't always live there.
( Doesn't elaborate on that last bit, )
Anyway, I'm happy to get along with a friend of Akira. Maybe we can even be friends, ourselves.
( He's fine whether or not Cain is amenable to the idea - but consider this an olive branch in return. )
I normally just wile away my time swimming and relaxing, so you're always welcome to join me, like I said.
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Sure. I think I'd rather get to know you a little better and trust you first before we can be friends. [ Hwylryn's advantage is that he didn't ruin Cain's life, and Cain didn't know him very well to begin with. He's still wary, but he's not hateful.
And it's not a no. ]
Right. Do you know where the pool is?
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I passed by it a little earlier. Want to walk with me?
( It might not be the most direct path there, but they'll get there. )
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[ He'll start walking in the direction back to the mansion, slow at first, waiting for Hwylryn to catch up. ]
A swim doesn't sound too bad right now, actually.
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Oh? Do you swim often? ( mashing the roll button to get ssr river cain ) You're pretty tough, you know! Or maybe I'm just fragile? You felt pretty firm when you got me earlier.
( it was actually cains dense massive titties that smacked him back earlier so really hwy should count himself blessed )
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[ River SSR Cain appears just for Hwylryn!
He glances at him, taking stock of his twink ass (not literal, he's not looking at his butt). ]
I like keeping in shape. I've gotta be strong to wield a sword, right? I could help beefen you up, if you wanted.
[ Come run laps! ]
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Beefen... he laughs lightly, like the gentle rushing of a stream. )
I don't know if I have the commitment. ( He's willful and he knows it... ) Do you intend to keep up with it here? I could watch, if only to cheer you on.
( owen eat your heart out-- )
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Cain grins, too. Still too guarded to laugh, but he'll get there. ]
I appreciate the honesty.
[ He pushes the door to the mansion open for both of them. ]
And yeah. A surprise free vacation doesn't mean I can slack. [ Especially without his sword! ] But you're welcome to watch. I'd never say no to encouragement!