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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[uiscebeatha]

Yeah, I'll probably run into him eventually.

[ He's not too worried... They don't even know how many people are here in total, but Bradley will make himself known. That he's pretty certain of.

The question amuses Cain; he laughs a bit. Probably a little louder than he needs to. ]

Oh, yeah! Sorry about that. [ He sticks out a hand for a handshake. ] I'm Cain. You are?

[whileaway]

[The laugh reverberates around the hall, and Break joins the echo with a chuckle himself at the good cheer. The rustle of clothes following the introduction of the newly-dubbed Cain has Break stepping just close enough to meet the handshake—- he’s more accustomed to bowing, among the nobility, but handshakes aren’t out of the realm in some circles.]

An excitable fellow, aren’t you? [His voice is still laced with laughter, and he gives a polite smile as well] A pleasure to meet you, my name is Xerxes Break.

[uiscebeatha]

[ Cain's eyes snap to Break's, smile still on his face as he studies him briefly. As much as he'd hate to admit it, some particular features make him really wish he was home instead of here. ]

I'm just not that good at staying upset. [ At least he's polite and laughing along? ] Good to meet you, Xerxes. Find your own statue yet?

[whileaway]

[If Cain is looking for two eyes, he might be here a while. Break’s singular red eye is all that greets him, his fringe covering the other side.

There’s the most infinitesimal of pauses while Break tips his head to face more towards the statues than Cain.] …I can’t say I’ve taken the time to find that yet, either.

[No close examination of the statues, no mysterious acquaintance seen. He hasn’t moved to take his hand back yet, either. Too lost in thought, maybe?]

[uiscebeatha]

[ omg inverted twinsies??

Similarly, all Break gets from Cain is one gold eye, the other curtained by his red hair. ]

Oh, okay!

[ Cain is the first to let go, but only to take a step forward and sling an arm around Break's shoulder. He's grinning! And also smells like outside, for some reason. ]

Then we'll go looking for it together. Plus it'll be a good chance for me to get to know a little more about you!

[ They're friends now btw! ]

[whileaway]

[They really are two halves of a whole person omg

… Not that Break has had that revelation. He’s busy being caught up in someone else’s pace at the moment.]

Get to know more about me? A friendly face hiding a desire for interrogation, how forward of you.

[Beyond shifting to get a more steady footing and to bring one long sleeve covered hand up to hover near his mouth, Break doesn’t make any further motions to leave this spot.]

[uiscebeatha]

[ Another laugh! Also, interesting remark. Cain tucks that observation away as he gently steers them both away from his statue and down the promenade. ]

Aw, c'mon! Don't put it like that! [ He pats Break's shoulder, the one tucked under his armpit, with his other hand. ] We could be friends—er, "allies," if you're more into that—and I always wanna know more about my buddies.

[whileaway]

[Break follows the steering easily, counting the statues down until Cain (presumably) will stop them in front of Break’s. Cain leaning on him wasn’t too terrible, all things considered. Toting Gilbert around was much more of a chore, and too much of a regular occurrence.]

Sorry, sorry~ I didn’t mean to be quite so rude. It’s just been quite the day we’ve all had, hm? [ ^u^ ] A friend would always be good to have in uncertain times.

[uiscebeatha]

Exactly! The more heads and pairs of hands we've got on a problem, the better. You get me.

[ Despite his demeanor, Cain's still on high guard on the inside. ]

But you're good. I was pretty jumpy when I first woke up, too. [ Eyeing the statues... There are so many of them. ] Kind of hard to believe, even.

[whileaway]

[Break chuckles softly at that-- it's not the first time he's found himself suddenly somewhere he shouldn't be.

The bigger question is what price he will have to pay to get back to where he should be. His remaining eye, no matter how willing he would be to give it up, is probably not worth quite as much in this instance as his left was those long years ago.]

The world can be quite strange; often moreso than anyone thinks is possible until they experience it for themselves. [He's going to take any cues about the statues from Cain, so hopefully Cain is paying attention on that front.] With any luck we won't have to pay too steep of a cost for our detour here, hm~?

[uiscebeatha]

[ Strangely, for how loud and chatty Cain's been so far, he doesn't reply right away. That, he didn't think about. He was still focusing on getting his bearings—he didn't even think about what it might mean to leave.

He doesn't like that. He can't imagine being barred from returning to Arthur and his duty. But...would he pay that price?

... ]

I sure hope so. Seems a little cruel to kidnap us here then force us to pay to get out.

[whileaway]

[Truly, this conversation has veered way too close to something Break has way too much experience in. How many times has it been...? ]

Only a little? Perhaps your view of the world really is quite rosy. [Does he sound wistful? Surely you imagined it.] With so many people here, I imagine the cost potentially could be shared-- not that that's a guarantee or a comfort, when we haven't been told what it is at all.

[uiscebeatha]

[ Is it rosy? Probably. His eye darts to Break to stare at him for a second, glint sharp. He's not angry.

He's the way he is because he's...well, Central is what most would say. But he's grown up with love and support and in his eyes, the world is beautiful.

The glint is him reassessing Break. Shifting him around on his compass of temperaments. ]

...Even a shared cost could be a burden to those who can't afford it. [ He would rather take the brunt for those people, but— ]

But we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. We don't even know why we're here, or who's even behind any of it.

Or why these statues are here— [ He points to one as they approach. ] Look, that's you, right? Xerxes Break?

[whileaway]

Those who wish someone else harm rarely care about if the person harmed can handle it. [You do your best to deal with the consequences, and maybe work to mitigate the problems for select others.

It’s the story of his life, and it potentially being the same here is just another dollop of icing on the cake.

Sighing softly, Break lets the conversation drop— like Cain said, without some more information they have no use speculating endlessly.]

Xerxes Break is indeed me, though you might have to be the judge of the likeness.

[As far as Break can see (frustratingly, endlessly endlessly frustratingly), each statue is more or less the same. His eye doesn’t do more than a cursory glance over them, if Cain is paying attention while Break speaks.]

[uiscebeatha]

[ That's also true, and Cain's seen that for himself. People who want to harm and have the power to do so, do it anyway.

But maybe Break will come to understand Cain better in the days to come: he says that as a protector, concern of what he can do for those who can't protect themselves. He'd take the burden if he could, whatever that means.

Either way, conversation set aside for now. Cain does glance at Break, notices he's not really looking at the statues. He makes a mental note before letting go and leaning towards the plaque. ]

Let's see... [ There's not much on there. Doesn't take long for Cain's expression to widen in surprise. He whirls around. ] You used to be a knight?!

[whileaway]

[Cain making so many notes, he’s going to end up as the math meme


Break is a bit taken aback at the abrupt volume from right next to him, though this does confirm more on the statues than just a name plaque.

His apprehension on what else is on them the takes a back seat for the moment, and should hopefully be masked by confusion for the moments he spends processing Cain’s exclamation. ]

Yes…? My family were knights. I don’t use the title so much now, but I still act as my lady’s bodyguard if needed.