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

[crocodilesmiles]

Think about my waaaaah--

( Well, Caesar's done it. He strikes her dumb as he lobs her watch out over the party's canvas room. Collette blinks, comprehension crashing down on the heels of a completely different emotion.

She doesn't follow what he says immediately, shifting to press a kiss to his cheek. She laughs, and it's softer now, genuinely amused, actually making it to her eyes. )

Hold on to me, think about the watch in your hand, those are kind of conflicting things, you know? I can't believe you just did that!

( Only she does, and she seems pleased, untangling her fingers from his shirt to hold her hand, palm up, next to his side. She does take his suggestion now, though the watch has long since hit the canvas, bounced and slid off to the side, partly resting in a puddle.

Concentrates on the watch. Holds on to him with her other hand, watching his face, and not the watch, not the outside. She keeps her eyes open. His fault for not specifying what she's supposed to be looking at. )

Just concentrate on the watch, huh?

( Her hand grows heavy with a sudden weight, cold and dripping water. She doesn't look to her hand, fingers slowly curling around the watch she's so certain now is there.

Goodness, but this still scares her. It didn't do that before. But watching Caesar and studying his face under the moonlight keeps her calm, and keeps the quickening beat of her heart in a nicer place than it would be otherwise. )

[commentboxtroll]

[ No, no, he said watch the watch, not kiss him! Geez, Collette, what even-- oh. He supposes those really were conflicting orders, a realization that brings some color to his face (much more obvious on his than it ever is on hers, how unfair). ]

W-well! No, it still would have worked, it just would've just... I don't know... Made space between the coat and hand.

[ He's sure! Maybe? Okay, he has no way of knowing. It's just as possible it would've ignored her until she moved her hand.

Anyway, at first he tries to look away, to keep an eye on the watch, but the way she keeps her own eyes on him is distracting, distracting to the point of flustering. This leaves him going between looking down at the canvas roof and looking at her. It goes on for a short while, back and forth, two, maybe three times, but inevitably he settles on watching her right back.

Did it always feel this warm out? He's sure it was chillier up here just a moment before, but now...

When he does finally look away again, it's to glance down and away, sheepishly biting his lip as he does, then immediately turning his attention back to her hand. There! ]

Uh. Yeah. See? [ Yes. Let's all look at the watch. ] There it is.

[ He reaches out to take her hand now that she's holding it again. ]

Just a tool you have to learn to control. That's nothing to be frightened of.

[crocodilesmiles]

( She agrees. It didn't feel half as cold now as it had when she'd first started to shed the shock caused by the unexpected stopwatch. It also appears to be somewhat difficult to breathe, if the hitch in hers is any indication when he bites his lip and looks down to her hand. )

Promise?

( She asks, aiming for light and teasing. It comes off as something huskier, which for once makes her blush. It's a little more telling than she strictly likes.

His hand with hers, holding the stopwatch, sends a not all that unpleasant shiver along her spine. She feels the hairs of her arms stand on end: gooseflesh responding to the temperature and everything else.

Her eyes drop down to his lips. Her mouth opens, just a little, and she leans in, slower and more hesitant than before. She stops with her head canted just so, close, but not yet touching. There's no less spontaneous a desire to kiss him now than it has been. She doesn't want it to be one sided, that's all. )

Caesar, ( she asks, eyes flicking back up to his as she still talks in that huskier tone, convinced in some part of her brain that she has to sound so stupid right now: )

Will you kiss me, please?

[commentboxtroll]

Promise? I can't really...

[ He can't exactly promise anything towards what the weapons may or may not do, even if he is convinced hers, at least, won't harm her. All of which he would have said if he hadn't turned back to looking at her instead of the stopwatch, but that is a mistake he makes, head turning at the new edge to her voice.

Was it really new, though? No. The situation, that's it. This is different. Exciting. That's a word he could use for it, as they're perched up on an uncertain castle window sill, just out of view of who knows how many people, discovering something new and frightening and strange. He doesn't give an answer right away, frozen on trying to decide what to do, but then he sighs and some part of him, the one that's always held him back, always saying how inappropriate this all is, gives up for the time being. It's pointless, isn't it? Didn't he already admit defeat to her months ago?

He sighs and then, her answer doesn't come in words, but an action. He keeps hold of her hand, only sliding his grip down to her wrist instead, and he lets go of the wall with his other, moving it to replace where the previous one had left off around her waist. Pulling her close (as if there was any space between them in the first place!) and leaning in to kiss her, all in a rushed way, like he's in a hurry to get somewhere, just not actually as in a place, so to speak, but...

Whatever it is, it's a far cry from the lazy way he's always acted towards her advances before. Unfortunately, it also sets them off balance, as he's no longer hanging onto an edge around the window.

Sadly, this kiss is about to be a very short one, but look on the bright side! At least they've ended up leaning into the hall rather than out into the empty space! ]

[crocodilesmiles]

( Her heart doesn't skip a beat or anything like that. It certainly beats faster when Caesar moves like he does, the word he's alighted on -- exciting -- echoing through her as a physical sensation. This is exciting, environment, situation, and company included; it sweeps away the last of the fear for the moment, and Collette doesn't miss it leaving at all.

She'd be greedy with this if she could; greedy that the concern she'd mentioned to Lenalee when Lenalee had thought boy talk meant talking about boy's feelings is being laid to rest.

He does want her. He might be the more passive force, but it's not a lack of interest. It's complications or whatever else runs through his head, and right now, it doesn't matter. They kiss and she feels lightheaded and giddy and a mess of complicated, warm things in her belly, and then, almost as easily, as if a sense of vertigo is impending.

Oh, no, wait -- that's just the moment she realizes they're falling. Her eyes widen and adrenaline kicks in where desire and all the other messy things have been coursing through her. There's barely much time to reach, her fingers about to spasm around the stopwatch even as she registers they're falling in, not out. In they'd survive. Out she'd have to hope she lived through and morphed through fast enough to catch him before he crashes down.

Maybe it's vestigial from that protective, almost amusing concern, but as they tumble inside, her legs offering only an awkward drag and direction to their fall, Collette does what she can to protect him from the impact. Only his arm's still around her waist, and so when they hit ground, she'll be trapping it there. And if she succeeds in bringing him down on top of her, the whuff of air from landing so securely and totally on her back, his weight on top of hers, will leave her breathless and stunned for a few seconds. When she does speak, it'll be with breathy laughter (she can't produce anything deeper yet, and even this sounds strained, fighting for air); )

Points for enthusiasm! 2 out of 10 on the landing.

[commentboxtroll]

[ And it's a kiss that makes him wonder why he's so avoidant the rest of the time, up until the point he realizes they're falling and then the lightheaded warmth turns into a vertigo-driven shock of fear as they twist around and right off the sill. Right. This, this is probably why. The fear is short-lived, thankfully, once the impact with the floor proves that they fell in, not out.

Not that he should be all that thankful for his arm being mildly crushed between a body and stone. There will be a few bruises tomorrow and he won't even be able to complain about them!

He lays prone on her for only as long as it takes to recover enough sense to struggle and try and push himself up. With only one arm free, though, he doesn't get far and he's left to sag back down against her, where he seems to give up and let his head rest against her shoulder for now. ]

Well, you can't say I didn't try. [ Oh well. ] I think this may be a sign that we should go back down to the party.

[crocodilesmiles]

( She grunts when he levers up at first, exhales in a soft snort when he comes back down. Recovering air enough to speak without sounding breathy on accident feels nice. The contrast of him, warm, and the stone, cold, is also nice, in a strange way.

The adrenaline and everything else in her system is... intriguing. But she laughs, back to breathy, and runs her braceleted hand over his hair. Over for once, and not through. )

Yeah, you're probably right. ( She allows with a smile. ) Although... think I can get one more for the road?

( Or the flight, since how she leaves will be very different, and somewhat ahead of Caesar. She has a skirt to get back into downstairs! Such as it is, she hopes he'll say yes. In her very esteemed and very not so experienced opinion, that short kiss had been far too short to be completely satisfying.

Had she mentioned that greedy earlier, in the privacy of her own mind? )

[commentboxtroll]

Seriously? After that mess up?

[ Really, really greedy, but first he works on wiggling his arm free. She'll have to wait for him to finish with that and then to push himself up again, properly this time. ]

Fine. [ And she does get a kiss! A peck of one on her cheek, a sad follow-up to the other one. ] There. That one should break anything further.

[ He'll roll over and off of her now, to free her up to make her own departure, planning on waiting for her to go on ahead before he makes his own slow, lazy way back down. So much for hiding away up here for the whole ordeal... ]

[crocodilesmiles]

( She pulls her lips down into a pout, but it's short lived, since she's more pleased by tonight's discoveries than off-put by the loss of whatever moment they had before they fell for each other.

Or fell on each other.

Or simply fell at all.

She doesn't bother pushing herself up, rolling just enough to the side that she's facing him with the watch in her hand. By the time she's pressed down on the dial, and time stops, then catches up, he's simply being faced by the same small owl from earlier. )

< Bring that down for me, will you? I've got a skirt to pull back on! >

( And as much as he's chased away her fears for the moment, it's still not a thing she can accept without a feeling of unease. Around him, at least.

Around others, she thinks the lie will be smooth enough. Given time, it won't even be a lie. It'll just be exciting.

With that, Owellette takes off, the silent flapping of her wings taking her out the window and into the cool night air and misting rain. She's a flash of paleness in the moonlight, then lost as she dives down around the curve, headed back toward the sanctuary of her wheelchair.

What a night indeed. Nothing -- nothing! -- can spoil this! )