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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[allrounder]

[ This isn't the rudest awakening he's ever had, but it's up there for one of the strangest that's for certain. Waking up in a luxurious suite like the Tulip suite is very, very new.

What's even more new is waking up right next to someone. G'raha dislodges himself from the blanket burrito and then the little mountain of pillows he's inevitably sunken down into, and practically bounces up out of bed. He's flustered and it's obvious in the way his ears lay flat on his head. ]

Are you all right? I realize now that was quite the rude awakening.

[ You know, all his flailing around and all.

The rest of his time in the Tulip suite is spent looking around for any clues or signs of why they might be here or how they got here. Too bad he comes up with nothing. He'll offer his fellow roommates a little smile as he tries to decipher some of that writing on the writing desk in the sitting room with no real success.

He doesn't spend forever in the suite, however. Getting his bearings is important and so he'll be out and about in an attempt to do just that. One of his stops is the Banquet Hall, where he stops and ponders over the bread for a long, long moment.

G'raha even takes one of the portions—a roll—but he puts it back and decides against eating any of it at all, a frown settled on his face.

His next destination is the plaques, where he spends time poring over each and every one of the statues and their accompanying plaque, eyes lighting up in recognition at one other than his own, even if he says nothing of it. ]

'Tis a surprising amount of particulars on each of us.

[ And a surprising amount of them here in general.

Finally, G'raha stations himself at the library like any good little nerd would. And just like a nerd of his caliber, he's making use of the bookwheel, with books ranging from geology to cooking to fashion arranged on each little shelf. He's got to learn as much as he possibly can, after all. ]

plaques

[frostlight]

[She hums in the affirmative, though it's a tight sound.]

You don't happen to know who's responsible, do you?

[allrounder]

[ A shake of his head. ]

I do not, though not for a lack of effort on my end.

[ He simply hasn't found anything. ]

[frostlight]

[Great. But her ire isn't for him to bear, so she lets it go with a wordless sigh.]

That seems to be the case for all of us.

[Frankly, it's absurd. She doesn't know any of these people. And this many? Just what's going on?]

plaques

[diel]

Mm. But...

[ yeah, that's weird. from a polite distance away, yoru glances at this new beast person. ]

"24, physically"...? Is that true?

[allrounder]

[ His tail flicks behind him as he gives his answer some thought. ]

'Tis a complicated matter, but yes. My listed age is indeed correct.

[diel]

I guess... I'm 21 physically.

[ somehow. growing up sure is mysterious. ]

... and mentally. So that's true, too. But some things are missing.

g'raha tia's archon loaf trauma

[distain]

I also can't muster much of an appetite.

[Andrew is looking more at the assorted loaves than at the stranger, if only to prevent the obvious, blunt question from slipping out. Then she does turn, eyebrows raised.]

Oh, or maybe...? [The corner of her mouth twitches.] Is this a faux pas?

[Is there a cat-shaped loaf here? That would be rather offensive, wouldn't it?]

he'll never recover from it

[allrounder]

A faux pas—

[ Ah. His eyes land on the cute, animal shaped loaves of bread, several of them with pert little ears and adorable whiskers.

G'raha's eyes widen and he fervently shakes his head. ]

No. [ Ahem. ] No, it is not. Loaves like that are not unheard of where I hail from.

[ Well. Outside of Sharlayan, but that's a detail he doesn't really need to delve into right this moment. ]

[distain]

[Does it really not bother him? They're basically a caricature. That they're able to hold this conversation, though, and that her dizziness from waking is beginning to wane -

Andrew presses a hand to her forehead.]

I worried I was drugged, but I really wasn't, was I?

[He is...a cat...person.]

bread

[uiscebeatha]

[ Cain sidles up to the bread basket, but doesn't pounce quite yet. He hears the rustle of fabric, the faint sound of breathing, that telltale disturbance in the air of someone there. He's clearly not alone in coming here to get food...

But the most obvious sign he's not alone is the way a piece of bread floats by itself into the air, vanishes...and in an unexpected twist, comes back down.

Cain tilts his head, sharp glint of read peeking briefly through the curtain of his bangs. ]

You don't want that one?

[allrounder]

[ G'raha tilts his head in consideration, but shakes it. ]

I'm simply wondering why there is so much of it here... and what the purpose of this bread is in particular.

[ It's an odd choice to have so much of it as opposed to an assortment of food, after all. ]

Strange, isn't it, that they have yet to set anything out other than bread?

[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. ]

bread

[smdr]

[ through a mouth full of bread: ]

Snot poishoned, catsh shuy.

[ you know, useful stuff, full of manners and good taste. she's assuming that's what he's worried about, anyway. ]

[allrounder]

[ Extremely polite and extremely reminiscent of someone he knows back home— ]

Ah, you read my mind.

[ He was, in fact, worried about that. ]

You aren't concerned?

waking up;

[baebladie]

[ Blade sits up in the bed, looking at G'raha, half-awake, blinking blearily.

He doesn't seem as bothered as the red head. Not yet. ]

...Who are you?

[ Actually, he is kind of not convinced if he is completely awake just yet. And it's not because the man has cat ears. He's seen stranger.

Though the way he questions doesn't sound friendly. ]

[allrounder]

[ His ears twitch slightly, out of concern and embarrassment, mostly.

But at least this man doesn't seem particularly bothered. ]

G'raha Tia. I fear this is our first meeting.

[ What a way to meet indeed. ]

mmm bread

[coldseep]

( Biting the head off a bread lizard, chewing quite happily! )

I've never seen someone who doesn't like bread.

( this may or may not be true he doesn't bother recall the preferences of half the people he's met )

[allrounder]

I do enjoy bread, but does the amount of it not give you pause?

[ Clearly not, given the way this guy is chomping at it like he's got nothing to worry about. ]

tulip

[the_obedient_servant]

[Their face doesn't betray their feeling - if there was the hint of emotion there, it's been quashed, like every other weakness. Still, they aren't quite as good at that as they would like to believe, so it's obvious that the fallen child is in a state of confusion. Confusion over what to feel, what to prioritize.

There's a stranger next to them. A stranger that seems to be neither human nor monster.

And yet they are entirely alone. Their eyes scan the stranger, cool suspicion fading into idle curiosity as their eyes drift to the stranger's cat ears.

* The confirmation of anime's impact on reality fills you with DETERMINATION.

They open their mouth, and their voice comes out dry and cracked.]

I didn't notice you were there. It's fine.

[allrounder]

[ His ears twitch at being addressed, and while he would express gratefulness at not being noticed, he can't help but hear the dryness of their voice. ]

Shall we go find you something to drink? You sound quite parched.

Tulip

[oncefallen]

[As he wanders around the suite exploring, G'raha may notice one of his suitemates staring at him with particular interest, seemingly examining him-- or more specifically, staring at those ears. The tail, on the other hand, doesn't seem to get any attention at all... odd.

... it probably seems a bit hypocritical given the halo hovering above this man's own head, but. Details.]

[allrounder]

[ Having his ears, well, noticed is honestly a really novel experience and so he can't help but realize that his suitemate is staring at him a little too intensely.

He tilts his head, figuring he won't directly address it right away. ]

Is there something on my face?

plaques

[divineth]

'Tis a visage most familiar, wouldst thou not say?

[Hi, G'raha. Here's the Elezen in the flesh.]

[allrounder]

[ If he could sparkle, he would be doing exactly that right now, with the way his eyes light up as he looks towards the (much) taller man. ]

Urianger! Full glad am I to see you here.

[ If he were to be stuck in a strange place, he's glad it's with Urianger. ]

I presume that you too awoke in an all too comfortable bed?