Cometh the Big Crying Wheel

[initiates]

Date & Time: Sept 15th
Location: A refurbished castle on the outskirts of Exsilium.
Characters: Anyone at the party!
Summary: Vanadi hosts a party that goes very poorly.
Warnings: Violence, probably! Let a mod know if we should update this.


It’s a lovely night for a party!

The venue at the outskirts of town is, unfortunately, a bit drafty — and actually rather sparsely furnished, as well. In fact, party goers are encouraged to mingle, drink, and enjoy themselves in the courtyard, as the castle itself wasn’t able to be renovated in time, and has proven to be a little bit architecturally unsound. Any explorative guests might find a small hail of dust and pebbles on their heads if they venture too far in — and who knows what else, if they continue on.

But the drinks and snacks both are plentiful and delicious, and the large canvas set up from castle wall to castle wall keeps off the sprinkling rain. The weather could even be described as warmish and pleasant, if one were feeling generous. A group of Exiles plays classic instruments in one corner of the courtyard, having been paid enough to even smile at any Transports that wander near.

All in all, it’s shaping up to be a good night. Until about 10 PM, that is. Come 10 PM, the Misery rolls into town, tearing down the canvas, nullifying powers, and crying corrosive blood everywhere. That’s the cue for all hell to break loose, as the final wave of mind-controlled characters snag their victims and make for the hills — or at least for the UE. The mind-controlled characters will also have the backup of a squadron of 20 of the Masked, the UE's special ops force. The Masked's main goal is to grab those on their list and get away, but they're certainly not above shooting to kill at anyone that gets in their way. They're also highly trained in hand-to-hand combat and physically enhanced by their suits, so they're a good bunch to try to avoid.

But do have a wonderful time until then, won’t you?

Comments

2/2

[retraced]

You surprised me back then!

[Next time don't tell him things like 'my incuse moved' while he's handing you a crepe!]

[velveteened]

I wasn't expecting you to overreact in the middle of town!

( because apparently he doesn't know gilbert at all sometimes. )

[retraced]

What else was I supposed to do?!

[Besides handle the situation like an adult.]

[velveteened]

Handle the situation a little calmly for once!

( because death clock countdown is no big deal at all )

[retraced]

How could I be calm when you mentioned it so casually?!

[Really, Oz.]

[velveteened]

Would you have been calm if I'd panicked?

[retraced]

At least then it would have been a genuine reaction!

[He still remembers what Oz said before. 'I'm only pretending to be calm.' Though, the two of them had lied to one another a good deal that day. They were both at fault, and the poor crepe had been the victim.]

[velveteened]

( — oh. he'd forgot how that'd been the real problem. see what happens when i'm not around, alice would probably have to say. )

...I still want a new one.

[retraced]

[My master is being cute again: a memoir.

Despite himself, he smiles and reaches out to pat Oz's head, gently.]

If you want one, then I'll make it for you.

1/2

[velveteened]

( he glances upwards for a moment at that, almost as though looking for confirmation.

then — )

[velveteened]

With rhubarb berries.

( he doesn't even like the mutated raspberries that much, but they've somehow become his go-to for fussiness. )

[retraced]

[He drops his hand to his side and pulls a face.]

There's only one man who sells them...if he's not around, it might take a while to get them again.

[velveteened]

( grudgingly!! )

If he's not, then anything else is okay too.

( sweets > being fussy )

[retraced]

D-don't worry! I'll do my best to get them!

[Though, in the middle of his crepe-worrying, he can't help but think about the topic that spurred it all. Oz's incuse...

They're nearly at the other side of the room at this point. Gilbert reaches up a second time, this time letting his gloved hand brush over the side of Oz's arm, just above his elbow.]

The incuse...it hasn't moved again, has it?

[velveteened]

( that's a slightly difficult question to answer, so when he looks up again it's on a hesitation. but — honesty, right? he lowers his voice while answering, audible only to gilbert over the normal din of a party. )

You remember it was at five turns when w — ( we, and that's not wrong, but it's not quite correct either ) even when you got here, right? It went back that way in Reveil, but fighting with Leo made the hand move another hour. It's still at six here.

[retraced]

[His eyes go wide, but unlike back in Reveil, he doesn't make a scene now. One, there's no crepes to drop, and two, it's not anything close to an explanation that he'd been expecting. So the fight was worse than Oz tried to play it off as being...he shouldn't have been so blind as to not see that.

Gil stops walking. It's no worse, though no better than before, and at least it hadn't added to the damage done here. His hands tighten into loose fists, and he doesn't say a word. He just needs a moment to process all of this in his head.]

[velveteened]

( there is something a little different, something oz hasn't failed to notice — the influence of the chain got stronger, yes, when his incuse progressed here, but now he realizes only by a little bit compared to how it would have (did) under a normal course of events. the connection to the abyss is still here, but the thread is thinner.

he's only halfway into a step before realizing he's got ahead of gil now, pausing without looking back. )

I promise I wasn't too careless. ( for what it's worth. ) With the way things were going, it was unavoidable — but I didn't use any more power than I had to.

( or, at least, he tried. )

[retraced]

[It's worth a lot, though Gilbert is still a bit too anxious to realize how much. In this world, he'd promised to keep B Rabbit in check. Back home, it had been much more difficult to avoid confrontation at the rate Leo and Vincent were going. There really had been no other way.

Gil lets his head slump forward.]

Then all things considered, it could have gone worse.

[At least he'd been brought back here before it could go worse, but that doesn't mean that it never will. Eventually they'll all have to go back to that moment and continue on in the middle of that fight, and Gil feels his heartbeat speed up in anxiety. He steps forward, moving past Oz without waiting for him to keep up.]

I'll get you something to drink.

[velveteened]

Wait — 

( he hurries after, breaking off mid-sentence. it's not like gil can really be stopped once he's intent on fussing somehow, and anyway oz probably owes it to him. it's on that thought that oz chooses to stop and wait for gil to return with the drink — and sort out his thoughts in some peace. )

[retraced]

[The silent treatment only works so long, but it's enough time to give them both a chance to think. Gilbert knows that he can't let this get him upset. Oz had all but laid this out for him; he should have known better than to assume that nothing had happened when he'd returned home. His blinders had been up, but now he has no chance but to face it. The only thing he can do is continue to keep Oz safe from harm, just out of reach of the influence of the Abyss and hope that he can continue on here as normally as possible. Everything he can do to keep him alive.

He returns a minute later with a cup of punch. It's not exactly rhubarb berry flavored, but it tastes good enough.]

Here. [Is all he greets him with.]

[velveteened]

( he's left to wonder how different gil's reaction would've been if he'd admitted to this straight off, or even if he'd been fully honest about the state pandora's in right now. or, even, if he'd admitted everything leo had said when he was last here about things getting even worse, about how perilous oz's immediate future seems to be, apparently so much so that his claim as a future duke was surprising.

how many possibilities are there that could explain something like that?

but he's broken out of these thoughts by gilbert's return, however frosty it may be, and he takes the cup. )

Thank you.

( and takes a sip instead of breaking the silence further. )

[retraced]

[He bows his head and asks (probably not the best question to ask while Oz is trying to swallow):]

Is that all you haven't told me yet?

[velveteened]

( ah. supposing he answered his drink, rather than gil. )

No.

[retraced]

[He swallows against the sudden dryness in his throat.]

Is it important?

[velveteened]

( it's tempting to say "no" again, but he doesn't expect gilbert to believe that.

so, doesn't answer at all. )