eswareinmal | Action: Come one, come all!

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Action: Come one, come all!

Characters: ALL THE PEOPLE
Open? Yes.
Where: The Palace
When: The night of the 3RD
What: A masquerade ball and a very deep sleep.
Warnings: Part of a comm-wide plot!

The Prince Sif has felled an unknown beast, and presented its stuffed head to the King. This would be reason enough for a ball, but there are victories to celebrate. More heroes arrive every day. The kingdom was aptly defended when the forest wall fell. No one has tried to assassinate the king in several days.

All told, a good night for a party. The theme of the ball is a masquerade, and shops in town have been surprisingly (almost suspiciously) able to provide gowns and masks in ready supply.

The palace has been opened to heroes and townspeople alike, provided they can present themselves appropriately. The heroes have been strongly encouraged to attend, and those who do not come voluntarily may well be greeted with royal retainers at their doorstep, outfit and dance card in hand. Expect a very full dance card, heroes.

The banquet table is stacked full of food – roasts and cheeses, summer fruits and vegetables, rivers of wine and more ornate desserts than should be permitted in a time or war. This evening is about success – best to enjoy it.

In the center of the ball sits the beast’s head. A scaly, purple thing. Its eyes have been taken out and replaced with rubies, its mouth twisted in the same sort of anguished look on its face as when Sif killed it. There has never been a beast like this in Schwanheim before – if you like, come closer and take a look. The king is very generous with his gifts.

[ooc: The party is a LIE. Well. No, it isn’t! Enjoy the party. Your characters will be expected to wear full masquerade gear, or they will be shunted aside and dressed properly.

After the attendees go home, they will be plagued with dreams more tangible than they have ever felt. More information here]

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[The silk pools at his feet, and Giles follows its path of slow descent up, towards the ceiling. He feels a bit of a fool, yes, but curiosity is a powerful force that's ruled most of his life. Death didn't change that.]

[[The masked girl is standing on the ceiling, upside down, but unaffected by gravity as she looks down at the ghost in silent challenge.]]

[And the ghost looks up at her, quietly impressed but unsurprised. He'll let the staring contest linger on for a few seconds more, before breaking the silence and calling up to her.]

I'm, um, I'm afraid I'm not quite that...adept, at being a ghost. So, um, I-I wouldn't be able to join you.

[[There was again the soft laugh before a light and airy voice speaks, seeming from inside of the ghost's mind itself]]

'Would you come a walking, a walking with me,
Down the paths of my garden, a walking with me,
So many things, so many things to see,
If you could come a walking, in my garden with me...'

[[a gloved hand reaches down in offering as the girl laughs again]]

[...okay, then. Telepaths, on the whole, tend to get a fairly immediate black mark, in Giles' book. He has fairly iron control over his own mind and thoughts, but only because there are so many things he doesn't want anyone to see.

All the same...there was one part to the old saying that most people seemed to forget.

"Curiosity killed the cat.
But satisfaction brought it back."

Besides, if she can affect him, he can probably affect her, at least long enough to get away if things go very bad. It takes a bit of reaching, and standing on his tiptoes, but Giles is just tall enough to take her hand.]

[[Her fingers gripped his tightly before she seemed to erupt into flames, burning swiftly into ash that rained down, clinging to his ghostly form and almost searing it with heat that brought a strange heaviness as it spread across his body.

One of the other dancers bumped into him with a grumbled apology, moving away from the now suddenly solid ghost.]]

[[OoC: Solid form will last about 2 minutes, for as long as the ash clings to him. Have fun!]]

((ooc: Oh, he will. Beanu, your timing is perfect.))

[Sensation is already becoming an unfamiliar thing for Giles, even after a few days in this state. Even after possessing someone to share whatever they feel, the memories are all too quick to fade, and numbness is all too quick to return when he's back to being a ghost.

So the heat she sears him with is all the sharper for it. Even Giles, stoic as he normally is in the face of pain, might have screamed, but his body seems locked in place, unwieldy, too heavy...

And then Giles' eyes fly open, as the heat fades, as the ashes settle over him, as someone bumps into him. He looks at himself, soot stained and ashen. He looks back up at Beanu. he looks towards the party guest that is walking away as though nothing had happened.

When he has to, Rupert Giles can think very, very quickly.]

...thank you.

[Beanu has his gratitude, that much is plain.

But, then, Giles is off and away through the crowds. He takes some small pleasure in shoving people aside. The sight of the ashes trickling away from him as he moves, like sand pouring through an hourglass, is enough to confirm his suspicions of the situation.

Well. Best be quick, then.]

[Despite her thoughts at the beginning of the party, Ginia is actually beginning to enjoy herself. It helps Giles and Helios are both around, and there's good food and music too. While she's not so enthused about dancing with random strangers, especially when she can't dance with her boyfriend, the dances haven't been all that bad either. Overall, it's not so bad.

She's off observing the party, a glass of wine in hand, when she notices something quite interesting; Giles slugging a lord. Pretty certain ghosts can't punch people, and also certain there was a good reason for slugging the man and curious as to what it is, Ginia passes off her glass to the nearest server and hurries over.]

[Ghosts cannot punch people. Much as they would like to. And Giles has spent most of the night wanting to punch this particular lord, if the rather pleased grin on his face is any indication.

He catches sight of Ginia just as he's seeking out the best path to the door before people stop being shocked at him. Giles is well known by now to be a ghost, and most of the attendant guests are as surprised as she is, although blessedly less mobile about it.

Giles jerks his head subtly towards a deserted, darker corner, and then turns away and moves off sharply. Where we was standing is left a smattering of ashes. Fortunately, the corner where he waits for her isn't too far away. He should still have enough time.

Please, please let him have enough time.]

[Ginia fixes him with a strange look, but she's a quick one and her mind is already going into the same direction as him. If he's tangible for whatever reason, she's not wasting the opportunity. The little smudges of ash on the floor and the light trail behind him is given a glance before she casually heads over to join him in the corner. Odin gives a light whine as he watches his mistress and decides to pad off to make himself comfortable under a table.

Joining him at the corner, she tentatively out to touch him, her hand settling on his arm. His tangible, warm arm. It's all the confirmation she needs before she throws her arms around him and pulls him into a passionate kiss. If anyone is watching, let them watch and gossip about it. Right now all that matters is him and showing him exactly how much she loves him and how much she's missed him.]

[She read his mind. From the way Giles wraps his arms tightly around her, pulling her fiercely against him and kissing her befitting their long overdue reunion, she's obviously read his mind.

Let them look. Let them gossip. Let them see that he's not just a troublesome ghost, that he feels and cares and hasn't forgotten what it is to love passionately, even when it's denied him. Their's really is a fairy story, when you stop and think about it. A love that transcends life and death.

It's cruel, perhaps, what he's doing, when he only has a few seconds left. At the least, it's selfish. And Giles knows that, had he just quietly let himself fade away again, nothing would have changed. She would still have loved him. She would still have wanted him. But this kiss, this moment, is for him as much as for her. A memory of what life is, something to keep him steady and sane when the sleepless nights grow long and letting himself fade away becomes too much of a temptation.

But Giles retains just enough sense to pull away as the last of the ashes start to fall, to leave her with the last of his warmth and presence and none of the chill that marks him as a dead thing.]

[On some level Ginia knows this is only a temporary thing. If it were possible for him to be tangible, he would have done so when they first met, not let her fall through him. She knows in time, whether it's hours, minutes, or seconds, he'll be intangible again so she kisses him for all its worth. Her fingers rake over his back and tangle into his hair, her lips and tongue work against his. For however long it'll last, they'll both have something to remember and think on from here on out.

When he draws away, she lets him. There's fine smudges of ash against her dress and on her skin, but she thinks nothing of it as she watches the remaining ash fall away.

One way or another, she'll find a way to bring him back to life. A selfish, dangerous wish and promise to make, but Ginia silently swears it. She lets none of it show as she smiles fondly at him.]

/Still as wonderful a kisser as I remember./

[He ducks his head slightly, smiling in the way he does when he's flattered and pleased and happy and too overwhelmed by the moment to know how to deal with it properly.]

S-So are you.

[But only for a second. Then he sees the ashes scattered on the floor, on her face and her borrowed dress, and then he looks back up at her, still smiling happily. Giles remembers, and he learns. Sometimes it just takes a bit.]

...th-thank you, Ginia. Just...y-you, um, y-you might not believe me, if I told you, but...well, I knew I didn't have, um, very much time.

"Carpe diem", i-isn't that right?

[That said, if she wants to be told...well, Ginia warrants a "might" instead of a "wouldn't". That says a lot about their relationship as it is.]

[It's a good thing there was no deposit to put down on the dress, because those tailors are going to be unhappy when she brings it back. Not that she cares too much what they think at this matter.]

/Seize the day. Punch a lord, make out with your girlfriend, good use of your time I'd say./ [It's all quite amusing to think on, so there's no bitterness at all in her signs. She reaches a hand toward his face, stopping her hand short in imitation of actually touching him, as she'd done once when they were both ghosts and when she was a ghost and him still whole.]

/Go on, tell me what I might not believe./

[Eat a few strawberries and some buttered bread he'd managed to snatch off a plate. Don't forget that.

Giles casts a glance around the assembled partygoers, searching for a girl in red. He doesn't see her, and frowns in mingled concern and confusion, before looking at Ginia.] There, um, th-there was this girl. Wearing a dragon mask, a-and a red dress. Honestly, um, I think she might have been a ghost, like me. She, um, she moved like one, a-and I could touch her.

When I caught up with her, I took her hand, and... [and she set him on fire] ...suddenly, um, I was physical. For a couple of minutes, at least. It, i-it took a proper wish to get me tangible before this.

[A girl in red wearing a dragon mask. What is it about females in red? Ginia glances around herself, curious if she can catch a glimpse of the girl in question, but she also sees no one. But strange as the story sounds, Ginia rolls with it. There are stranger things in question.]

/Someone wished you into a tangible state?/ [A start. Now could it be possible to wish him into a tangible state again?]

[Giles nods, thinking back on the points in question with fondness. They'd only lasted a couple of hours, but they'd been a good couple of hours, and needless to say he was looking for ways to repay Helios and Faolan that didn't involve forcing them to make a rigged wish.]

Twice, actually. They, um, th-they were entitled to a wish, and...well, they used it on me. Faolan, um, didn't know what he was doing. Helios was just, um, incredibly careful with his phrasing. The results, surprisingly enough, were the same.

[Helios, of course. She smiles, not at all surprised. It'll be two of them trying to find ways to repay him. Faolan too, even if it'd been more accidental.]

/And dare I ask how they came upon entitled wishes?/

Oh, the, the usual way. I believe it was due to coming across a spirit in a bottle. [Giles refuses to call himself a "genie".] In exchange for, um, letting it out, it granted them a wish. If they didn't make a wish, it proceeded to tear up their surroundings. Sad sort of thing, really. I was, um, decidedly relieved when they got it out of their hair.

[Minus the dissociation, none of that is actually a lie, which is probably the really sad part.]

[Unfortunately for Giles, having been around his company long enough, Ginia has learned how to read between the lines and know when to suspect he's omitting information. Spirit in a bottle. Right. Ginia offers am innocent smile, believing his words, but not that he didn't have something to do with it.]

/I hope someone managed to free the poor spirit. It'd be a pity if it were still stuck somewhere. Pray tell, were you able to make a wish?/

Edited 2012-05-25 16:25 (UTC)

Of course I did. [He wished to be let out of the bottle, and his wish was granted. Repeatedly, albeit temporarily.] Several of the heroes did, as did a few of the towns people. It was, um, a very egalitarian sort of spirit.

[Then, with a rather dismissive air:] But, um, th-that was yesterday. No one's seen any sign of the bottle since, or if they have, I haven't heard of it.

/Maybe the spirit was released from its servitude and allowed to go free. A pity. I think I would have liked to meet it./

[It's pretty obvious what she would have wished; a way for him to be tangible and/or free of the bottle. Her expression softens back into something loving as she looks at him, so close and untouchable.]

/I'll have to thank the girl if I see her./

I'm sure it would have liked to meet you.

[And it's happy that it got the chance to.

He laughs softly at the words that follow. Unconsciously, almost unnoticeably, his hands twitch slightly at his side, wanting to hold hers', memory unwilling to realize that the time has passed.]

Please do. I, um, I did, before I dashed off. Just...don't shake hands.

/No shaking hands, got it./

[On the topic of hands, she glances at his, also wanting to hold them again. Her mind clings onto the memory of his body pressed against his, his hands strong and comforting on her back, his lips hot and wet against his. It's maddening not being able to touch and hold him, but she knows it's probably just as bad for him.]

/Maybe there will be an opportunity for more than a few seconds later./

Perhaps there will.

[Perhaps some other unfortunate will ignore his warnings, go poking around the witch's house, and get stuck in a bottle. Perhaps all three of them will make the same wish, and perhaps it will stick.

And perhaps this time Helios will actually find a way to take them to his world and he won't have to die a fourth time. Giles can still muster up just a bit of hope, for that.]

...um, Helios is, is staying at a room in the local inn. I, I'm sure he won't mind you staying as well, for the night. If I can arrange a distraction, then, by any chance, would you like to go and settle in?

[Or, in less genteel language...want to blow this pop stand and take in the town?]

Action: Come one, come all!

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Permission for her to utterly toy with him? :)

Granted~.

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