open ♔ september castle socialization

[wynn]

WHO || Everyone! [ota]
WHAT || Shenanigans.
WHERE || Anywhere in the castle, surrounding environs, London, etc!
WHEN || First half of September, any time between the September squiring ceremony and the War announcement on September 18th
HOW || Actionspam

[ The castle can be a happening place, even on more mundane days. This log is for random interactions over the course of the first half of the month.    Because not everyone is into parties, ok.

You are encouraged to start your own threads and tag around, and feel free to threadjack into any on-going threads that aren't specified as 'closed' in the subject lines since people can enter into rooms even in the middle of what's going on. WE ARE BIG ON THREAD-JACKING HERE. You can also specify 'single thread', meaning you want only one response for all participants, rather than multi-thread, where a number of different scenes/threads can be done as replies to the top prompt.]

On this log:
Drax @ the desk
Kate Bishop @ the desk
Sam @ the desk
Henry @ the desk
Kate Bishop @  roof/dining hall/library/grounds/bathrooms/desk/Dragon's Hoard/etc
Abigail @ Movie theater / library /firing range / training room
Francesca & Val'drin | closed
Penelope & Sam @ the woods
Emma Frost @ the library
Spike @ rec room
Lydia, Stiles, Astrid, Adam | closed

Comments

[untethered]

[ at some point in emma's library search, she'd pass by belle, who is sitting at her accustomed head librarian table, the familiar sight of books open all around her. there's also, however, an impressive spread of maps layered one over the other, and she seems to be poring over them with a look of great consternation that vanishes into surprise when she looks up and notices emma. for a moment, she looks almost embarrassed, but then it seems to register to her who she's looking at, and her eyes widen a bit ] Emma!

[uncurse]

Belle!

[ She makes no effort to mask her uncertainty at how startled Belle apparently is. ]

Hey.

[ Right. Three months. She swallows that information and accepts that, well, even if it was two days for her, that might not be true of the rest of the castle. Emma heads up to the desk, leaning over it. ]

How's it going?

[untethered]

[ belle pointedly avoids looking down at the stuff on the desk, giving emma a bit of a relieved smile ] Much better, now that you're all returned and-- [ wait 'in one piece' is probably a bad choice of words huh ] -- and safe.

[uncurse]

And human? You can say it.

[ Emma's not the one with the trauma about it. She doesn't remember a minute of that. Or, at least, she will deny any trauma: truth be told, she feels a little sick at the thought of confronting more of her magic afterwards, knowing it backfired and nearly killed her. But that's a personal problem.

Hella sense motive or spot w/e it is, so she's leaning over the desk. ]

What are you working on?

[untethered]

[ her visible discomfort increases as emma looks at the maps, and she twists her hands together as she says: ] Oh, it's er-- Well.

I have some questions about-- About where I'm from.

[uncurse]

Where you're ... [ She blinks, startled. If Belle's looking, might Gold start digging too? That could end badly. ] Oh. [ Awkward beat. ] Have you found anything?

[untethered]

Er, well. I'm beginning to think I might have been... wrong all these years that I thought I'd come here from the Shadow World. The land I grew up in simply doesn't exist in any of the maps we have of Faerun. [ she frowns to herself, and it's unclear exactly why this bothers her so much, but it clearly does in some way. ] I may have merely been one of the first to come here from-- from elsewhere.

[uncurse]

Yeah?

[ Slowly, Emma eases her way into the chair on the other side of the desk, looking over the maps with Belle, trying to keep her voice objective and casual. ]

Weird … [ Her gaze skirts back up towards Belle, studying carefully. ] Any luck figuring out what other world you might have come from?

[untethered]

[ she seems to pause for an awkward beat, before she finally says: ] Does the "Enchanted Forest" mean anything to you?

[uncurse]

Uh ... No. [ She blinks, putting up a hasty veneer of calm (nat 20 bluff wtf emma). ] No, but ... I'm not from Faerun, either. My world's more like this one. [ Her tongue presses briefly between her lips and she side-eyes Belle, hedging. ] Sounds like something out of a kid's book.

[untethered]

Oh, it's real alright. I haven't been able to find any maps of it, but--

But there are people in this world who claim to be from there. Who remember it.

[uncurse]

Really.

[ Maybe lying wasn't the best plan here. Her eyebrows raise. ]

Anyone I know?

[untethered]

[ belle blinks a bit in surprise, before saying dismissively: ] Oh no. I don't know how you would.

[uncurse]

Try me.

[ Her shoulders shrug and she works to walk a fine line between disengaged in helpful. ]

I just got back from several months of statue-dom, I could use the distraction.

[untethered]

[ her eyes sweep down again, and it's not difficult for emma to pick up on the way she clearly wants to change the subject. ] It's... just something I read about.

[uncurse]

I just—I mean, if there's some way I could help ... [ She tries to nudge gently, offering a meek smile (diplomacy 25). ]

[untethered]

[ belle fidgets for a moment, but there's a sort of yearning on her face that makes it clear she wants to talk about something, but whatever it is has her very conflicted. ] It's--

[ something almost like guilt flashes in her eyes as she says hesitantly: ] Have you ever kept a secret, Emma, from someone you care about very much? One you don't really mean to be a secret, but you just... can't find a way to bring it up, or a time that isn't dreadful to try?

[uncurse]

Think we've all got our share. [ She tilts her head, searching Belle's eyes. Looking now, her conflict is apparent, and Emma feels ... well. Sharply guilty, herself. She should be offering more help, but now that the lie is made, she doesn't know how to take it back. That doesn't mean she doesn't want to help. ] But you can tell me. Whatever it is, I'll help. I'll find a way.

[untethered]

It's very kind of you, to offer. [ there's a sort of apology in her tone, in the little smile she manages, that speaks of real gratitude. ] But the secret itself isn't anything I can't ... help, on my own. It's probably better that I do. I suppose you could say I feel responsible.

I just... I know that it shouldn't change anything. That there's no reason it would. But it's one thing to say that and another to take that leap, I suppose.

[uncurse]

And "it" is ... ? I'm not really sure what leap we're talking about here, Belle.

[untethered]

[ her eyes trace across the maps on the table sadly as she admits: ] Telling Auric.

[uncurse]

You mean Gold?

[ wis 17. ]

About ... the Enchanted Forest. [ She wants to leap in with nO DON'T but ... ] What's holding you back?

[untethered]

No, not about that. I don't think that would make any difference to him whatsoever. About-- [ she looks around, as if she's afraid someone's going to overhear in the usually busy library ] Something else. It's nothing bad, at least-- it doesn't have to be. I'm handling it.

[uncurse]

[ Emma follows her gaze, assessing the traffic, and then straightens away from the desk. ]

What do you say we take a walk?