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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It's cruel making him answer more questions and she knows it's distressing him, but she has to know. She needs confirmation as much for that it's really him, but also for what they had. Or was it have? Could they continue on as they had been, proceed as normally? How she wished they could, but she knew it wasn't that easy. Time was a great chasm to crawl over and maybe there had been some small changes. They needed to talk, to get figure out where they stood, see if they could go on.

Besides, in a world of fairy tales, didn't the brave hero have to pass a test? Answer questions three and so you shall proceed? Maybe it was fitting, though Ginia had all the confirmation she needed. It really was Giles, her Giles, the man she was so deeply in love with. She smiles too as he recalls the memory, finding all the moments of happiness to comfort herself with. Even if their first kiss together had been during an event, it was everything that came after, all the realness there. It'd been real, it'd all mattered.

/I remember that poem. All the poems. After you left, I'd read them every night before I went to bed. I even tried writing music as a result. For you./ She blushes at that last admission. It was a simple melody, something she was slowly working on and would have been for his ears only.

/I never stopped loving you, Rupert./ No, that wasn't entirely true. In Luceti, she loved him deeply and continuously, waiting and hoping for him to return, but all it'd taken was being sent home to forget about everything and everyone. Returning here triggered it all back, but god, did that terrify her. Her memories were fragile enough, she couldn't bear to lose anymore, especially not things so important. He gave her confirmation through his words, a much needed jog of her memory.

Edited 2012-05-23 05:20 (UTC)

"For..."

For him. Once upon a time, no one even knew he played music. And here she had written something for him. Would he ever get to hear it, in this place?

Giles is touched, and sad, and overjoyed, and terrified all at the same time.

"...n-neither did I, Ginia." But it means less coming from him. Much less. Only a few days. Not months. Not years. He almost wishes she had. It would have been...fair, somehow, some fair recompense for her having to mourn him for as long as she had. He could have stayed out of the way. He could have stayed invisible.

Or so he tells himself.

But he'd always had a good memory. He would have had that much, at least. He just doesn't know that she'd been sent home while he'd been away, and that all their plans really had been for nothing. He just doesn't know that now Helios is alone.

"I'm...it's, i-it's wonderful to see you again." Giles gives her a smile of such utter happiness and love, as though she's just returned from a long mission, and all that's left to do now is make tea and talk and let her know that she's welcome home. "I'd, um...it's, it's only been a few days, for me, but...even so, I, I missed you."

Days against her months and years. It's almost unfair for her to go through so much and him so little, but she knows she can't hold it against him. Time works differently, that was one thing everyone knew in Luceti. He'd gone here instead of home, she could be somewhat happy for that. Somewhat if only because he was still so far from everyone he knew in Luceti, but at least he was living again, or so she thought. But there was nothing lost between them. This was a good thing. Ginia could be selfish enough to focus on them and forget everything else for the time being. Giles was a familiar face, already it made things all the more bearable.

The urge to hold him, kiss him, feel his body tight against her own grew overwhelming. They'd been intimate and she would be lying if she didn't admit to nights of sexual frustration after he was sent away. She missed every aspect of him, his mind, his kindness, his strength, but her physical want for him was strong. Fingers compared little to his hot kisses and sexual prowess, to being held by him and cuddling as they caught their breath. Waking up next to him was bliss in itself. Her mind began to wander, a familiar mischievous smile on her face. They left one party early during a beautiful December evening. Perhaps they could leave this one too.

Ginia moves forward to hold him, hug him tight and comfort him, kiss and love him as she always did, but his form proves to be deceptive. Where she expected a warm, tangible body, she found only air. Between her fancy dress, shoes, and pure surprise, Ginia felt only the floor against her hands and lips.

Edited 2012-05-23 12:31 (UTC)

Giles gasps as she passes through him, briefly breaking apart like the mist he is. He's gotten used to people moving through him on the streets, but the last time anyone was this direct about it, they'd been a horse, and he feels a stab of phantom pain and dizziness as he reforms himself.

when consciousness fully returns, Giles finds himself on his knees, breathing heavily just to steady himself. He can feel Ginia behind him, and Giles' heart twists agonizingly in his chest as he realizes what just happened.

"I wish you hadn't done that."

It was his fault, though. He should have warned her, from the start. He shouldn't have led her on, let her think that there was any possibility. It wasn't like with Helios, where he would never be the one to initiate any physical contact, where Giles had had the chance to gather up his nerves and show him. But it was just like possessing someone, really - if he didn't fool himself a bit, he'd go bad, and become one of those sad things that didn't even qualify as people anymore.

"S-Sorry."

Because, for all his memories, for how much he still lives her and always will...what does that matter, when he's no realer than air?

Giles words hurt more than falling onto the marble floor. She doesn't look at him as she scratches Odin behind the ears when he pads over and licks her face. Shouldn't have done that. What should she have done? Not want to hold her boyfriend, not want to love and feel him again, not want? Her hands ball up into fists and maybe it's good she can't touch him because she's tempted to slug him. It wouldn't be fair to do so though; he didn't do anything wrong and she has a feeling he would never wish to be a ghost.

It reminds her of another time, another mask, another moment where they were both intangible. They had the knowledge it was only temporary and this situation is nothing like that one, but she thinks of it anyway. Mostly she thinks of what she told an angry, scornful man. She loved him regardless of everything, even if he was dead. So she loved a dead man. It was no different than the rest of her life.

With composed dignity and grace, Ginia picks herself off the ground. She dusts off her dress and smooths down the skirt. She crosses around to stand in front of Giles and smiles sadly at him, snapping her fingers to get his attention.

/Get up off the ground. It doesn't suit you./

You're in love with a dead man.

Ginia had actually managed to get under his skin, that night, even with the Phanto Mask in place making him lash out and hurt anyone who got within arm's reach. If she hadn't been a ghost herself, at the time...well, Giles still feels a chill down his spine, thinking of what he might have done. She'd gotten under his skin, with her unspoken promises of love, and he'd hated her for it. He'd thought he could shove her away, with that revelation, but it hadn't worked.

...he was glad it hadn't.

Giles looks up, startled out of his dark thoughts, as Ginia snaps her fingers. Then he realizes why, and smiles apologetically as she signs.

"S-Sorry," he says, getting back to his feet. He dusts himself off, just for something to do with his hands. "I-I'm, um, going to have to get used to you, um, being without the necklace. Helios, um, might be able to make you a new one. Magic is, i-is different here, of course, but he has his own back."

Ginia's smile tightens. She doesn't deny how much easier it was being able to talk and she made very little mention of being mute after Helios gave her the necklace. Not out of any shame, but it seemed unnecessary to mention. It didn't change the fact sometimes she still wondered how people would react if they knew she was mute. It didn't change the fact sometimes she wonders if Giles likes her more when she can talk. When he has to hey used to being with a mute woman again.

But Ginia keeps it all to herself. There are more important things to focus on, namely, Helios.

/He's here? Helios? Is he well?/ That Helios also left Luceti is a saddening thought, but at least he and hooked are together.

He has to get used to it. But, when all is said and done, Ginia was probably just a bit better for him, when she couldn't talk. He had to pay attention. He had to look at her, no matter how embarrassed or anxious he was. Without her, well...needless to say, he's fallen into some of his bad conversational habits again.

But, to his possible credit, Giles notices the change in her expression, even if he doesn't quite get the cause of it, and he looks a bit shamefaced at having upset her somehow. He assumes that she's missing the necklace as well, and probably doesn't entirely appreciate him pointing out the obvious.

So he jumps on the subject change. "Y-Yes, um, he is. And he's, um, here at the party, as well. The, th-the last I saw of him, he was around the feasting table. Not much sweets, here in Schwanheim, but the, th-the food is, um, good enough.

He's well. Unhurt. I, um, I think he even likes it here, a bit." It's been touch and go, once or twice, but so far Helios has gotten through his days here unharmed. And, well, Giles knows that the other man shares his excitement, living among fairy tales.

/I'll have to talk to him./ An utterly obvious statement. Of course she would talk to him. Helios was her best friend, her brother. She needed to see how he was, apologize for leaving if needed though she would never reveal it if he didn't know. The three of them in some strange world, she was comforted by the fact they were all together. They weren't together in Luceti, true, but at least they had each other here. That had to count for something.

/You two will have to get me up to speed. I heard what the old man had to say and what I could get out id the townsfolk, but I confess I'm still lost. A pity there's no guide or anything to rely on./

"Ah, um, yes. M-My apologies...I'm afraid with, um, w-with my thoughts as...scattered, as they are, I haven't been a terribly good guide thus far."

Giles gives her a bow, a proper bow with maybe just an undertone of humor and self mockery. "Welcome to Schwanheim. If, um, if there are any questions I can answer that the madman who woke you up didn't, then, um, of course you only have to say."

It can be like before. Maybe this can be a tradition with them. Maybe he can still be there for her. So he's still a bit shaky, but he's trying to act himself.

"Of course, I'm, I'm afraid you've come at just the worst time, as far as answering questions are concerned. Absolutely no one seems to know just what the head on the table used to belong to."

Ginia returns his bow with a curtsy befitting a lady and a smile that has always been for him. He wasn't her prince charming whisking her away on a great white stallion, though once when she was a princess, she wished he was. Rather, Giles was her equal, her partner, her confidant, her lover, all things better than a common prince.

/I wondered about that head. Fearsome thing. Will you accompany me? I want to take a closer look./ She offers her hand, aware he can't take it, but more for the symbolism of the gesture. Even if he was a ghost, she still loved and wanted him. They would have to adjust, but she still wanted to be with him. It would take much more for her to give up everything they had together.

/And my love, do not think for a moment I love you any less because I cannot touch you. I confess I would have you now if I could touch you, but I've always loved you for reasons beyond sex./

He can't take her hand, no. But you don't always have to touch someone to be close to them. Ginia showed him that as well, that night when their roles were quite reversed.

Giles appears solid enough, as long as no one's walking through him. Solid enough to blush very faintly at her words. "...I know you do," he says softly, and he does. But, despite the surface signs of embarrassment, decorum, and propriety, a very faint smile touches his lips. "And I know you would."

So would he. Expectations placed upon them be damned, he'd spirit her away just like he had at the last ball they'd attended together. But, instead, Giles guides her towards the monster's head, at its place of honor on the table, its sapphire eyes glittering malevolently in the light.

"It, um, it came from the, the Two Faced Forest. That's, um, what they call the local woods. And, if I may say, they, um, certainly live up to their name."

Ginia follows him to the monster, edging her through the people already gathered around the head until she can see it herself. Odin approaches the outer ring of people before giving a low growl, earning a few startled gasps from the party-goers, then lurks off to wait elsewhere, wanting nothing to do with the head.
Beast is a good description of what it is, monster too. It's grotesque and fascinating and Ginia decides she doesn't like it. It unsettles her and serves as her first introduction to the things that exist in this world. It's not Luceti, with its fairly safe forests and the most dangerous things being the other villages or the Third Party. She listens to Giles' explanation with a small frown on her face, committing the information to memory.

/I don't like it. It feels... I don't know. I don't like it. Are there other things like that in the Two Faced Forest?/

"I, um, I-I can confirm the presence of rocs, chimeras, and an irate witch in a, um...candy house."

From personal experience, although Giles trusts Ginia to know him well enough not to make him add that much.

"Only at night, of course. Um, during the day, it's the sort of place you'd expect to find people having a picnic. Of course, um, at night, it's, it's surrounded by a wall of thorns. Or...well, so I've been told. I've, um, only ever been on the night when the thorns failed to put in their scheduled appearance."

For Giles, this entire situation is resoundingly familiar. A beast to be identified before its kin can come down from the wilds and start eating people. If only he had halfway decent drawing skills, or the ability to actually read anything.

Still. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a bit thrilled at the problem being posed by the mysterious woods.

An irate witch in a candy house. Ginia slowly looks over and fixes him with a disbelieving look even as she tries not to smile. What a strange, fantastic world. She can see why Helios would like it, and knowing Giles as he does, why he would too. Even she can admit to a bit of giddiness about it all, having grown up on fairy tales and mythology.

/Two faced indeed,/ she comments, musing over things and making a note to explore the forest herself. After making proper preparations, of course, but the idea is too much to resist. There's a great big world out there and she wants to see as much as is reasonably possible. She'll need a backpack, food, camping gear, a map... the gears turning in her head are probably visible enough to Giles as her expression becomes thoughtful.

An irate witch in a candy house. That stuck Giles in a bottle and saw him passed around the village like a demented game of hot potato. The things you miss, Ginia.

The silence stretches on, and Giles is looking at her properly to be certain that he isn't missing anything she might be signing. He isn't, she's obviously quite lost in thought instead. What she's thinking about is easy enough to guess...but Giles clears his throat a touch noisily anyway.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

The things she miss. Though truth be told, given that Ginia can be just as self-sacrificing as Helios, do you really want her making a wish?

/Know a good store I can get camping gear and supplies for a few days? Though I suppose that'll require a job first because I have a feeling not everyone is so generous on giving out finery for everything,/ Ginia casually signs back to him, looking at him with a smile. Of yes, she'll set out for her own little journey as soon as she can, but there's also an unspoken offer for him and Helios to come along. She may be headstrong, self-sufficient, and an adventurer herself, but she knows she's very much out of her element.

/I'll also need a place to stay tonight, unless the castle is kind about providing a room for their "Champion."/

It had been admittedly touch and go, with Helios. Still, Giles had finally managed to talk him around into a slightly less insane witch, and it had been a pleasant few hours as a result.

"I, um, I know a few that might be able to provide." He's had no cause to visit them, but when you have little else to do and no need to sleep, you tend to get around, and Giles has over the last few days. "As for jobs, well...Helios has been managing well enough, with his magic. Perhaps you could, um, sign on as his assistant, or...something."

Giles is easy to provide for, now, as far as journeys go. Now that he's free of his curse, he's not bound to anything, and he makes a good distraction for hungry beasts. Ginia doesn't even have to ask.

Then a thought seems to strike Giles, and he gives her a curious look before abruptly switching to signs.

/Speaking of, um, gainful employment...as I'm, um, sure you notice, or were told, we...well, we all have our roles here. Just out of curiosity, what did you get saddled with?/

/A non-magically versed person being the assistant to a magician?/ Ginia teases lightly, but there's validity behind it. She could manage his appointments or fetch things for him, maybe take on a few jobs that required less magic and more of her own skills. There were always options to be had. Ironic how she left behind one past only to pick it up again. Maybe the old saying was true; there's no such thing as a retired hunter, just a dead one.

She gives the head of the beast one last careful look before she moves away to seek out a quieter place to converse in. She settles over by one of the windows, pausing to admire the view outside it as she waits for Giles to catch up. Odin dutifully catches up and lays down at her feet. Giving a glance to make sure no one is watching, Ginia tilts herself a little to the wall and reaches through a slight slit in her skirt to draw out one of the knives given to her on her arrival.

/I've got another one on my left leg and was advised to practice staying out of sight./

"A non-magically appointed person with sense, a reasonable attention span, and, um, a good understanding of when to duck." All of which he knows Ginia possesses in equal or better measure than Helios does. He knows "personal assistant" is certainly a step down for her, but, well, it could pay for a room. Helios' isn't terribly large even for one man and a ghost.

Giles follows her towards the windows, blinking out of sight when her back is to him so the entire thing looks a bit less odd and appearing again beside her, just in time to see her draw out the knife.

For just a second, Giles shows no reaction. Finally, sounding as though he's choosing his words very carefully:

"I'm going to go ahead and assume you're some sort of thief."

That, or an assassin. Giles is truly hoping she's not an assassin.

Thank you, Giles, your tact is appreciated. Ginia glances down at the knife her hand. It's nothing fancy; sharp, durable, good grip, equally good for cutting up a steak and slashing open someone's throat. The weapon is returned to its sheath and she brushes her skirt back out, hiding the slid in the fabric.

/Guess I am. I suppose it's fitting enough given my past profession. I suppose some things have a way of following you./ Her expression is far from happy, but she shrugs it off. /I'm going to guess Helios is some kind of magician or wizard or something along those lines./

She stops signing to look over him. He's a ghost, yes, but she has a feeling there's something more than that. They have roles, purposes, so what did they give you?

/What about you? Anything else I should know?/

He is the lingering spirit, the ghost who can't know rest until he's passed on his knowledge to worthy heroes. But that sounds hopelessly melodramatic to say, and so Giles focuses on the practical. At her question, he falls into thought, recalling the last two days and what he's managed to draw from them, about himself.

"I'm, um, I'm afraid I'm still puzzling it out, myself. And it's been a maddening endeavor, let me tell you. But...well, here's what I've gathered so far. First..."

Giles blinks out of sight as quickly as a television changing channel. A few seconds pass, and he reappears on her other side. "Handy enough. Um, besides the witch, I haven't found anyone who can see me when I'm like that."

When he blinks out of sight, Ginia dumbly looks around for him, before tensing up as he appears right behind her, hand dropping down toward her knife. Not that a knife would do any good against a ghost, but training is hard to break. She relaxes slightly, forcing a smile back on her face.

/Very handy,/ she agrees, forcing her hands back up to sign. /Now what's this about a witch?/

Giles' hands immediately go up as Ginia pulls out her knife, open and empty, and an apologetic smile appears on his face. Another bad habit he's sunk into, but Giles has yet to find a way to make himself visible without alarming people. "S-Sorry."

He's working on it, though.

"The, um, the witch I mentioned earlier. The one who lives in the candy house in the forest. Suppose I should have expected it, honestly but, um, so far she's been the only one."

/Right, that witch./ Intriguing as the idea is, Ginia knows well enough to know to stay away from the people dwelling in candy houses inside deceptive forests. Maybe later on, once she's a little more prepared or has good reason to, but for now she'll play it safe.

She moves to sit down on the cushioned window seat and smiles at him, tucking a few unruly strands of hair behind her ears.

/I take it your time here has been exciting so far./

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