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.]

Locations Villa Main Nav

Comments

[diel]

Ah! [ that definitely gets his attention. yoru won't interrupt while they're talking, but later, before everyone leaves, he awkwardly approaches this stranger. ]

Um, hey, can I have a moment? You're... Hwylryn, right?

[ from what he remembers of the plaques. ]

[coldseep]

( :O person! Hwy smiles brightly. )

That's right. And you're Yoru, right? You can have as many of my hours and days as you'd like.

( He's got so many, so why not? )

[diel]

Uh, no… no thanks.

[ he really doesn’t want that much time. that feels like a recipe for closeness? his eyebags are antisocial.

unless hwy means to become a very specific thing to him, he’s not interested in being close. though he still finds kindness and softness nice. ]

But. Thank you for the offer. I think. And yeah, that’s me.

[ anyway, ]

Earlier - you said to Witch that your senses have been dampened?

[coldseep]

( He doesn't seem to pay a moment of mind to Yoru's refusal - something offered casually can be refused with that same ease. )

Uh-huh. Have you felt the same thing?

[diel]

[ he relaxes a little - or rather, his tension drops from 100 to 99(.9) - once he sees that hwy isn’t offended. he nods, just once. ]

I don’t know if dampen is the word for it. I feel… cut off.

[coldseep]

Putting it like that makes it feel that much more empty.

( He relates to it - this sentiment he's introduced without Yoru's approval just yet. He just didn't want to scare himself by phrasing it so firmly.

He's trying to hold a lot of things together right now. )

Does it distress you? Or is it just strange?

[diel]

… Is there… an emptiness that isn’t distressing?

[ the only thing keeping him together is the firm belief that mister yomi will find him sooner or later. he is, in a way, also not lacking in time. but he misses familiarity like severed limb, and it feels like his heart is beating exposed. ]

[coldseep]

( He laughs, lightly. Touché. )

None that I know of. But I've learned to live with losing these little pieces, bit by bit.

( c'est la vie, as their french overlords would probably say )

Are you human? Or something else?

[diel]

But if -

[ hesitation at hwy’s laugh stops him for a moment. the question is heard, but not answered just yet. ]

If you’re constantly losing pieces, what fills you up?

[ his own simple question, as though hwy’s loss were a black and white concept. a hole to be filled. ]

[coldseep]

( He thinks back on his years. In all the time he's had, what has filled the empty left by - ah; he won't think their names; he'll cry (but for a moment he seems briefly misty) - what has filled their absence? )

Nothing, really. But we live in a beautiful world, I think. I let it flow through me, and though it may pass through like a sieve, that doesn't mean I'm always unhappy. So long as you're living, you learn to live with your emptiness, or be swallowed by it.

( And he... )

[diel]

[ it sounds beautiful, the way he says it. it sounds like peace.

but yoru hears the emptiness and remembers the words on hwy’s plaque. somewhere in the thousands. ]

Thousands of years of emptiness… Living, right. [ he worries his bottom lip, an anxious gnawing in his stomach. ] Is your emptiness the same as loneliness?

[ they’re veering away from what he’d wanted to originally discuss, but this… this is something he wants to hear, too. ]

[coldseep]

( ...

He smiles a little helplessly - like someone who has seen the tsunami coming down on them, and knows there is nothing left for them but this. )

I think so.

( A beat. )

Are you lonely, too?

( He hopes not. Lonely is a terrible thing to be. )

[diel]

No. But I was… when I was… [ the word he wants is something he can’t say. he settles on: ] …younger.

[ and scared. very scared. things were bleak back then, his only source of light was - his eyes darken and he blinks the warped visage away.

not anymore. ]

I have my family now. Why don’t you find a family, too?

[coldseep]

( He notes the curious hesitation to pick a word, the flicker of a strange demeanor - secrets, he supposes. Faucets he'd like to see more of, if privileged.

For no reason besides the fact that he's curious. For he's a whimsical thing. For there isn't a lot of reason for very many things right now.

The word "family" earns Yoru that slightly watery look in his eyes again. Sorry, the grief is recent, but he won't spill it all here. You're fine. You're safe.

Instead, he just opens his palms a little helplessly, like someone hoping for the grace of god. )

... They keep taking my family away from me.

( And there's nothing he can do to bring them back, as much as he tries.

He lets his hands fall, like he's dismissing it - the feeling, the fresh recollection. )

I'm really happy you've found your place, Yoru. Please take good care of your family, okay? Don't end up like me.

[diel]

[ oh. oh. yoru breathes in sharply.

‘they keep taking my family away from me.’

sharper still is the pain that comes, cutting across his heart. both hands go to it, clutching. holding tight. don’t bleed out (again).

(they’re gone.)

… ]

I know that feeling. I’m sorry.

[ genuinely. his empathy comes from a much younger soul. he’s only 21 after all. 21 or 21 centuries, their scars are still fresh and raw in the same way. ]

My new family found me. A new family can find you, too. Maybe - [ his voice rises hopefully before he stops himself. he doesn’t get to decide who joins their family. but he could ask mister yomi. he could - ] You’re not at your end yet.

… Right?

[coldseep]

( Ah, that must have struck too close to home ... he didn't mean to do that. Sorry, Yoru.

But he appreciates the empathy. He really does. )

... You're really sweet. Thank you. And I'm sorry that you know it, too, but... I'm happy you've found a place again. You deserve that much.

( And he means it. He extends the empathy in kind.

"... Right?"

... )

Well, I'm here right now.

( He doesn't answer Yoru's final curiosity fully. Not to shut him out, but because he thinks the truth of it might make him sad. He'd already made Akira cry - wasn't that enough harm? Yoru has been kind to him, and he likes that, so he doesn't want to trouble him much. )

You know, you didn't tell me if you were human or not. Or is that a secret? It's okay if it is.

( he says, as if to tell Yoru not to dwell too much on the time that comes after now, in this place, in this time. )

[diel]

[ unfortunately he’s not a sieve, he’s a sponge… soaking up feelings and dripping with them. his hands aren’t clean so he tries not to touch too much of anything, but he doesn’t realize his feet smears the footprints of his fragile heart for all to see.

it’s kind that hwy thinks he deserves a place to belong. he does belong with his family, doesn’t he? the certainty of it makes his tummy feel warm and fuzzy. he manages a smile that’s only a tad wobbly, and a lot shy. ]

You can have it here.

[ just… quietly insisting that. because! it’s important. family is the most important thing. ]

Since we’re here… it’s not a secret, but it’s hard to explain. I was born human, and now I’m half… something else. Maybe… we can talk about it later?

[coldseep]

( He nods! Half... how interesting. )

Whenever you'd like. You can ask me whatever you'd like, too.

( Fair's fair.

He does not refuse Yoru's insistence - he doesn't want to! He wants to have what he hasn't been able to keep! He wants so very badly to hold on, and succeed, instead of having it all slip through his fingers like water.

But he looks a little sad, the way he smiles in response. Yearning, marred by fear - What if I lose it again? Or - perhaps even worse - it won't be that something is taken from him, but that... no - he'll halt that thought here. Yoru's sentiment is kind, so he won't... muddle it with his own, swampy feelings. )

[diel]

[ a smile like that strengthens his resolve. he’ll definitely think about asking mister yomi.

but speaking of questions! that’s right, the original topic. um. ]

Do your special senses come from powers that you gained, or are they more related to what you are? [ not that he knows what hwy really is. ] Sorry, I hope that made sense…

[coldseep]

( That's the Eastie spirit (kin-assigned by Hwy). It's the thought that counts.

He hums thoughtfully, the tune brief but melodic. )

Hmm... From what I am, I'd say. I was born this way, and I became more of what I am over time. More saturated.

( Abstract, but hopefully that means something to Yoru. He figures Yoru might be asking because he's a sort of in-between thing himself... maybe? )

Were you wondering if there's a pattern to our loss in senses?

[diel]

[ adds another eastie to my list ]

Yeah, kinda. I… was wondering… how much of me remains. What I am and what I can do. And I was hoping someone else would be in the same position - oh, sorry that sounds… bad - but it makes me feel better. Even though it sounds terrible.

[ sorry he’s a little selfish like that :( ]

At least I’m not alone… [ in feeling horrible, oops. ]

[coldseep]

( wraps them and their tender hearts up in bubblewrap

He laughs gently. )

Me, too. I'm happy to be together in this with you.

( dw... his dislike is listed as "being alone"... No matter how selfish a sentiment may or may not be, Hwylryn is hardly inclined to reject anything that connects him to another person. He's too lonely not to. )

I can't say I don't have questions, myself. But I think I'm okay with letting myself find out. And I think I'm okay right now saying that I'm Hwylryn, and I'm talking to Yoru, and I've found that I'm a little less alone through talking to him than I was before, and I'm happy our hearts align, even if only a little bit. Maybe that makes me simple, though.

[diel]

Oh. [ his wafer-thin smile, sweet and true. it’ll easily dissolve in a moment or two, but it’s here now. ] Okay.

[ simple. he likes that, too. ]

Hwylryn and Yoru. [ he’ll ask. he’ll ask. ] Then… we’ll talk more later?

[coldseep]

( yayyyyy a ssr smile (feels ssr regardless of actual rarity)... he will treasure this )

Hwylryn and Yoru.

( He repeats, in affirmation. Not alone...! )

Mmhm, find me any time you'd like. You can find me in the pool or in the Primrose suite... and these little crystal things seem interesting, too. I'll look forward to it.

( He smiles bright. )

[diel]

[ all of hwy’s smiles feel like ssr tho! frequent so he’s probably at maxed copies from this conversation alone, but… no less impactful.

yoru appreciates… kindness. yes. ]

I will. And… me too. See you around.

[ he waves shyly and wanders off.

even though they seem to be stuck here for now, he finds that he looks forward to another talk. a rare feeling for him… ]