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

[commentboxtroll]

[ before 10pm ]

[ At the behest of an incredibly pushy girl, Caesar exists at the party. Exists in the sense that he's just there, but not particularly participating or enjoying it. Even though the food has always proven to be the upside to these things, the forced social interaction in such a lackluster castle leaves a lot to be desired.

Worse, he's been bullied into borrowing some nicer clothing (the shirt and jacket, anyway) from Oz of all people. While their general build isn't that different, the few inches Oz has on him height-wise just adds to the insult! Don't even mention the hair gel...

ALL THAT IN MIND, he's making himself scarce save for his rare appearances at the food table. The rest of the time is spent sulking along the edges of the courtyard or, more likely, inside the castle itself. One might even know he's around by tonight's trademark complaint of: ]

And here I thought I'd seen the worst of castles already. This one is just depressing.

[ And since he doesn't care that he gets dust and dirt all over Oz's nice clothes, when in the castle, he can be found having scaled one of the more dangerous stairwells to perch in a window overlooking the party... uh, the canvas, anyway, but that doesn't bother him. He's still visible from the inside of that same stairwell, though, regardless of floor. ]

[ after 10pm, outside the castle ]

[ Caesar's last memories are having found his way to Collette just before the attack began. Why doesn't matter so much now, because what else he does recall is the man who attacked. Oz showing up, the sad attempt to fight the man off, then blacking out...

The battle at the party is already nearly over by the time he woke again. How he got out is hazy, though something about someone else dragging him out with some other people escaping, then him managing to get out the rest of the way on his own. Now he's a safe distance away from the walls, seated on the ground and staring back at the castle with some small amount of shock.

That had all happened so fast... ]

after 10 pm

[maddeninghatter]

[ The fighting has died down. The UE, the kidnappers, the kidnapped, and those pursuing them are all gone. Filling the air is the acrid smell of smoke, the muffled sounds of weeping, and a high voice calling, over and over: ]

Collette! Oz! Oz! Collette!

[commentboxtroll]

[ When nothing else going on around him can pull his attention away from his own thoughts, that, that certainly does the trick. Caesar turns to look around, trying to pinpoint the direction of the voice.

Does he have to answer in their stead? Really? That seems unfair, but he drags himself back up to his feet regardless and takes off walking towards whoever is calling the names.

That guy, he thinks, the weird one, isn't it?

(Admittedly, all of Oz's allies were weirdos, but whatever.) ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ That guy seems unaware of anybody approaching him until--

Schlick!

Break whirls, standing before Caesar wide-eyed and grinning, his sword blade pointed directly at the boy's chest. ]

Why, good evening~!

[commentboxtroll]

[ And Caesar was so hoping not to end up stabbed tonight...

Which is why he holds very still once the blade is raised, slowly holding his hands up to show he's unarmed. ]

I'm not sure I would agree. [ Good evening? Not even close. ] Could you put that away? I'm not an enemy.

[maddeninghatter]

[ It takes him a moment to place the voice. He's somewhat beyond trying to hide the fact that he can't see (it's been that kind of night), so he doesn't bother to pretend to look at Caesar's face. ]

Caesar.

[ The tip of his sword traces a little circle in the air and then snick! he sheathes it. His voice is a mixture of relief - and deep irritation. ]

Collette's with you, right?

[commentboxtroll]

[ It doesn't pass unnoticed, either, causing Caesar for frown briefly, while wondering at it. He couldn't tell it was him before he said anything...?

Since when was Break blind?

But that isn't important the second he asks about Collette. There's a hesitant pause from him while he lowers his hands again, but he does answer. ]

No. She isn't.

[maddeninghatter]

[ Collette is resourceful, this is the idea that had been sustaining him, this is what had been maintaining his hope. Even without her ability to morph, even in a wheelchair, this extraordinary girl who stole a spaceship could surely fend off attack. Not only that, but she's popular. She has dozens of friends, it seems, and a boyfriend, so how could she possibly--

But there is something about Caesar's tone that makes the bottom drop out of his hope. ]

Then - where is she?

[commentboxtroll]

Gone.

[ And he doesn't like the pang of remorse admitting that brings him, but he isn't about to let that show. Not in his voice, anyway, and that's all that should matter in this case. Though, since he's already delivering one set of bad news, he may as well hand Break the next set right after. ]

Along with Oz.

1/2

[maddeninghatter]

2/2

[maddeninghatter]

[ He is horrified.

But after half a moment's consideration, he realizes he shouldn't be. He'd warned Oz, but that boy's ability to attract disaster is something unstoppable.... ]

That... moron.

[ ...as will be the United Earth, if they figure out how to take control of his world-breaking weapon. Poor Collette! She had probably simply been pulled in as a bystander, collateral damage to Oz's astounding capacity for self-destruction.

With difficulty, he manages to keep his voice under some semblance of control: ]

Tell me what happened.

[commentboxtroll]

There was a man. I'm almost certain he was a transport like us, only why he did what he did...

[ Why one transport would kidnap another is beyond Caesar. Could there be a faction that's turned against the main group? Or something else? ]

He kept going after Collette. Oz and I tried to stop him, but without any of their powers, none of us really stood a chance. He took all of us out, but only left me behind.

1/2

[maddeninghatter]

The United Earth controls their own soldiers with.... with a drug of some sort. [ At least that's how he understands it. ] Sooner or later they'd sort out how to control Transports, too. Brilliant plan, haha! Minimizes their own losses, and makes us suspect one another, making us turn upon.......

[ Well, it was obvious, wasn't it? How could he not have seen it? Now the guilt and recrimination come crashing down around his ears. He is useless, powerless, a failure now as ever. He foresaw this, but he couldn't do anything about it... ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Snap!

He grabs Caesar by the shirt and raises his cane. ]

You useless, useless idiot! I told her you weren't good enough, I told her! You just stood by while they were captured, you weak, spineless...

[crocodilesmiles]

( It's not in her nature to worry overmuch about consequence when it doesn't feel like she's living under a guillotine of possible backlash. Which was one way of saying Collette took time, earlier in the evening, to explore something she'd been considering before. Finding a quiet corner to beg off to, near the place set aside for restrooms, isn't hard, necessarily, and that it takes her time is something unsurprising to any who know her.

That she donned feathers and took off for the upper levels of the world above might have been more surprising, since she'd been so good and reliably single-formed of late. Such a thing was never meant to last.

The freedom of night air under her wings is intoxicating, pulling her up and up until she's seeing the castle as something small beneath her, Exsilium sprawled out beneath her. The buildings, collapsed or bombed or even whole, looked different under the guise of moonlight. It was bright tonight: soon, the moon would be full.

She blinks, wondering for the first time in a while what that'll mean for Isaac and Scott. She reminds herself to ask as she spirals downward, slow, lazy arcs moving her silently across the skies. The canvas of the party's central location spread beneath her, slowly growing larger. A swatch of cloth that gained substance the lower she flew.

Caesar she caught from afar, a flutter of movement from his clothing drawing her predatorial attention. She didn't recognize him at first, wide, saucer eyes focusing on the new target, different from the people milling about below, past the edges of the canvas. When she did, she altered course. Flying in close, the small owl hoots softly and comes to a backwinging landing close to Caesar himself. )

< Clandestine trysts from higher vantage points... I've missed this! >

( She quips, wings still in their motion as her balance is restored. She's a tiny thing in this form. Balder had larger owls, she knows, but this had been the one around at the time. It serviced.

She missed Balder. )

[commentboxtroll]

[ It'd be a reach to say sitting up in an old castle's open window is comfortable, even if the rain isn't a problem unless it decides to fall at an angle. Yet there he is. It's more about enjoying the distance and the dull rumble of a party he doesn't need to really attend. Up here, no one can comment on his appearance, which he has always found awkward on all occasions...

He hadn't expected the owl.

The voice in his head draws a start out of him and he has to grab onto the side of the window's stony sill to keep from tumbling over back inside. Safety assured, he twists about to eye the little ball of feathers.

That's-- ]

Should you be doing that?

[ The morphing. The flying. The... trysting? Any of it, really. ]

[crocodilesmiles]

( She laughs, her laughter a warm sensation when shared over Thought Speak. None of this had tone that wsan't somehow based on how she felt, the way she communicated intent; laughter was stranger still. She fluffs her feathers out, turning her ehad to regard Caesar, then turning her body a moment after. Taloned claws seek out support as she toddles closer, evaluating how easy it'd be to pull herself up on him with beak and talons. )

< Should I be flying? Morphing? Stopping by to say hello? Checking in on my boyfriend? I don't know. >

( She feels playful: it communicates along with her words. )

< This isn't a strain, if that's what you're worried about! But endurance is partly about trying, and I needed to get away from being stuck all on one level with everyone else. Kind of like you do! >

[commentboxtroll]

[ He'll offer her a hand to bridge the gap between ledge and, well, him, should she choose to clamber up onto him. How strange it must be to see, whenever he lets whatever random animal form she's in hop up on him. Not that anyone is around to wonder at it right now, but the thought pulls an amused sound out of him.

The laughter, that playful edge to her thoughts, it's a little contagious. ]

As long as you aren't going to pass out over it. [ Then he won't bother worrying. ] Though I also thought you'd be content with showing your dress off all night long.

[crocodilesmiles]

< Steph called me gorgeous. >

( She says, accepting his hand as a bridge, careful not to pinch his skin with her talons. She's ever careful with handling herself, no matter the form. Unless she's supposed to be causing damage.

Which, admittedly, has its own attached thrill.

Her statement comes across almost smug, though it's more for show than anything else. )

< It is nice to get to wear something like it again, though. >

( She toddles carefully across him to nestle down where-ever looks most comfortable on him at the moment. Her feathers fluff out, and habitually, without thinking, she falls into grooming a few on her chest as she thinks. )

< I didn't think people would still know Indian styles hundreds of years after India stopped being India! >

[commentboxtroll]

Culture dies with the people, not the name.

[ Though considering the gap in time! Actually, it doesn't surprise him that much, seeing how fashion in Exsilium doesn't seem to have evolved all that much over time, not when compared to the United Earth.

Anyway, he shrugs and watches the owl for a bit before his gaze wanders back out the window and down to the canvas blocking the party from sight. ]

It's a nice dress. [ He won't go on to use a word like 'gorgeous', as Stephanie's already covered that, so... Although, thinking about Stephanie, he ends up recalling his little conversation with Ellie. ] Did you know she and Ellie are together?

[ Okay, he's not one for gossip, but seriously, did everyone else know and not him?! ]

[crocodilesmiles]

( From what she understood, much of the people as an identity had died out not long after the name. Exsilium was the disparate parts of the world all attempting to gather an identity together. It's an interesting sort of place.

She moves her head 'round, looking up at him with eyes that catch the moonlight, otherwise deep and dark as they tended to be in this form. )

< You like it? > ( she asks, curious; more teasingly, she continues... ) < Or do you like me in it? >

( Her feathers, which have settled back against her body as she relaxed, puff up all at once again as she bursts out laughing. )

< Wait! Yes! Hahaha, sorry, when did they get together officially? Ellie's been in love with Steph for months, since before April, and I knew it was kind of unofficial... I mean, I kept telling her she needed to talk with Steph. I guess they did! >

( Not the last, Caesar. Not at all. Collette just never bothered her head with specifics about proper labeling or anything of the sort! )

[commentboxtroll]

I said it's nice. [ He isn't committing to anything here! ] I suppose that annoying lawyer could pull it off alright, but it suits you best.

[ And no, he does not mean Saul. Don't even.

The sensation he's since connected to laughter from her draws his attention back from the hidden party below and he raises an eyebrow at her. Well, at least he wasn't the last after all. There's that. ]

When? How should I know? I didn't ask. You made me bring them along know about it, though? What a mess that could have been! I don't need unrequited love stories out on a mission with me.

[ Even though that's long since passed and nothing too bad came of it. ]

[crocodilesmiles]

( Only not having met Sofia means her first thought is -- )

< Saul? >

( If that's not enough to make her laugh, his next statement is. Collette finds it a helpless enough laughter that she even opens her beak, as if that will relieve the sudden pressure of amusement from her chest and mind. )

< Like you didn't have one of those already? >

( the helpless laughter continues, enough to have her closing her eyes, though it was hardly like she could cry laughing as a bird. She can tuck her head into her wing and attempt to regain control of herself, but it's so blasted funny! )

[commentboxtroll]

[ Is this owl going to keel over and die or...?

Caesar can't help but huff, a little ruffled by all this laughing! ]

No! The other one! There's two now! Why would I ever think Saul would look good in that dress?!

[ NO HE IS IMAGINING IT NOW, IT IS HORRIBLE and he grimaces. ]

And that was different. Unlike other people, I don't get stupid over that sort of thing!

[crocodilesmiles]

( That sense of amusement and laughter continues to radiate from Collette's Thought Speak, even if she manages to calm her feathers back down into order. )

< Oh, I see! So there's a pretty lady lawyer around now. And you noticed! Caesar, I didn't know you were into older women! >

( It's a teasing statement as she pulls her head back out from under her wing, one black eye open and looking up at his face. It's almost coy, if coy or flirtatious could be applied to a diminuitive owl. )

< Sure, sure, but aren't those two way risks? >

( She points out mildly, more enjoying that he's emphaticly denying anything at the moment than concerned he knew how to handle her that well. )

< Were you just that confident you could handle me? >