It's just another slice of modern life. It's not a fairy tale to me.

[undealt]

WHO || Mr. Gold vs. the Castle (aka OPEN)
WHAT || there's a guy in your library who has totally always been there. no really.
WHERE || the library
WHEN || like a week before the squiring ceremony.
HOW || either/or. i am flexible if you want more exp points.

The strange thing you might notice is that there's a crocodile curled up outside the library, not really bothering anyone. Just existing. As crocodiles do. Mostly, she's sleeping. Occasionally someone will walk by fairly loudly and she'll lift her crocish head and give generally displeased looks, but otherwise... Crocodile. Sleeping in the hall. Totally normal.

And a member of the Dragon's Fire presently flipping through atlases in the library will tell you as much. His atlas-hoarding is less normal, but he's not really going to comment on it, because he couldn't properly tell you why in the first place. Following leads on his own time, looking up information for missions- who knows. Maybe he liked maps in another life.

Plus they're more interesting than the pile of half-sorted legal documents he's been searching through, checking for loopholes and the like. He might be one of the few people in the damn castle who actually enjoys paperwork (he sort of insisted on taking that project), even if it's half abandoned right now in a fit of whimsy.

Comments

[unhand]

Something about the crocodile puts Hook on edge. He doesn't know what it is besides the fact that it's a bloody crocodile in the hallway, but it bothers him. Enough that he ventures inside the library to tell off whoever brought the blasted creature inside.

He doesn't know why he's certain the man with the atlases is responsible for the crocodile either. Maybe because the man gives him the same not-quite-explicable gut feeling. On instinct, he dislikes the man. Almost as much as he dislikes that great beast.

"Your pet's blocking up the halls."

[undealt]

Gold gives this oncoming nuisance the same amount of attention he gives just about anyone who decides they're going to get huffy at him about something, which is none at all. He's heard it before. In Storybrooke, it was a lot of but I need x piece of collateral despite the fact that I defaulted on my loan. Here, it's... usually something about the crocodile, who for being a recent addition to the castle has caused a bit of a stir.

Most people pick cats for familiars. Maybe a snake or a toad. Mr. Gold does not particular subscribe to cliche. Plus he can think of significantly more uses for a crocodile in a mission situation than a cat.

Or maybe he's just so used to having something about him being a thorn in the side of whatever society he finds himself in, it was necessary to maintain status quo. Either way, he's heard it before.

"Familiar is the term." He finally looks up from the atlas he's been studying with a sort of half-condescending look. Familiar is the term, indeed. He can't quite deny there's a bit more than the usual disdain for most people twisting about in his gut looking at this man- much like his interest in maps, there's no real explanation. "Don't mind her. Just go around. You'll hardly notice she's there."

[unhand]

"Hardly notice? You do realize how big it is, right?" Pet, familiar, it's all the same to Killian. The thing is still in his way and there's something extremely disturbing in its eyes. "How about instead, you leave it in the ocean where it belongs."

[undealt]

"Don't tell me it's the 'crocodile took my hand' story?" Yeah. He totally noticed. It's the fact that there are weirder things in this castle than one-handed pseudo-Irishman that doesn't give it much cause for alarm.

That and Gold has a very tiny basket for his fucks and he emptied it this morning. "It's a bit unoriginal, isn't it?"

[unhand]

Actually, Hook didn't remember how he lost his hand. It was part of the big, gaping hole in his memory that wouldn't fill in, try as he might to remember. He was pretty sure it had been cut off, though.

"Don't believe everything you read about me. The stories tend to embellish."

[undealt]

He paused, because up until this moment, he just thought some asshole lost his hand and thought it would be really cool to attach a hook onto it and cosplay Captain Hook. Now he was doubting that.

And he was still going to be a bastard about it. "Either way, you'll be happy to know the Knights don't employ free-spirited teenage boys." He came around from behind the table, so he could properly judge Killian's life. "And, incidentally, the crocodile has already earned her keep. Can you the say the same for yourself, Captain?"

[unhand]

It had been a long time since Hook had been a free-spirited teenage boy because shut up I will put my headcanon in here if I want it hasn't been retconned yet so that doesn't bother him or make him particularly happy. It was probably a reference to his tale he didn't get. There did seem to be so many misinterpretations.

"Indeed I can. And it wasn't by reading or having too many teeth, either."

[undealt]

Gold laughed in that sort of haughty, wow-I'm-so-much-smarter-than-you-peasant way. "I wouldn't say reading's my only talent, and Milah's not the only one with a bit of bite between us."

Magic: Apparently still power in alternate worlds. Just like his sass never went away with the lion's share of his memories.

[unhand]

Hook was about to whip out his dick to get it over with and compare length, but that stopped him up short. "Your crocodile's named Milah?" It couldn't be that common a name...

oh fine, you all win.

[untethered]

[ ♬ wild hope - mandy moore

hundreds of knights reside here in the castle, with its endless wings and constant revolving door of members out on mission and those in residence. so it's never surprising to see a new face.

or in this case, even an old face, that lingers at the borders of recognition like a fragment of a forgotten dream.

the beautiful girl sits in the upper balcony of the library, legs crossed between two rungs of the railing, completely oblivious to the rest of the world as she turns the pages of a yellowing book. there's a smile on the edge of her lips, as if there's a secret kept between her and the pages she's so delicately handling.

it's only when she turns a page and a fragment of paper that was pressed there flutters out and goes drifting down below, to land on top of one of the maps gold is so diligently studying, that she'd even be noticed. ]

I THINK I LOVE YOU. SO WHAT AM I SO AFRAID OF.

[undealt]

[That catches him unawares a bit, which is odd for a man accustomed to being aware of all the little details in a general area, usually the exits for the sake of being the first on a mission to know where the likely escape route is (there's a compelling need to run in an unwinnable situation- or hobble quickly, anyway- that he's never quite been able to shake and every counselor has said it's likely something he can't quite remember before the Veil, much like the gut instinct to keep looking for something he isn't sure of). In more ideal situations, it's just that details matter.

But this is one that he missed. Gingerly he picks up the fragment and studies it for a second before abandoning his maps to see where it came from.

And then he stares, as if transfixed.

Speaking of things that called from beyond the Veil. Not that he could place exactly why her face made his stomach drop into hos shoes, but it did. He brushes it aside- impulses he could trust from his half-destroyed memory. He was in control of those, because if he refused to give into the whimsy, if he grit his teeth and stood his ground when he deeply wished to flee, then all was well. A face in a crowd triggering a strong reaction- well that was something entirely different. It felt like a kind of manipulation.

And yet, he can't stop staring until he finally tears his eyes away and clears his throat loudly enough to get her attention.] "Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world."

[Nailed it.]

a love there is no cure for ♥

[untethered]

[ her eyes lift to seek out the source of the voice, and her secretive smile grows a bit at his remark. she regards him with mild surprise, and a certain degree of interest. a lot of these knights don't even know how to pick up a book, after all. *cough*dragon's hide*cough* ]

Well said. [ she doesn't seem to realize she's dropped a paper, as she gingerly closes the volume, keeping her finger inside to mark her place. ] And yet I think the ballroom sees more use in this place, of the two.

[undealt]

Well, I've unfortunately worn out my welcome on the dance floor. [He shifts his weight to his uninjured leg to indicate his bad one.] So the library, it is.

[He holds up her paper.] I believe this is yours.

[untethered]

[ upon noting the paper (upon which this is drawn), she looks down at her book, startled, and opens it slightly as if in disbelief that the piece had been transported down there ] However did that happen? [ she smiles sheepishly ] I suppose it's a good thing you're here then. Some of these books are certainly priceless. I'd hate to be responsible for disbanding one. [ she pulls herself up to her feet ]

[undealt]

[Some people wouldn't care about hurting a few books. He knows one type of person in this castle who would consider it a criminal offense.] That would make you one of the Dragon's Hoard then. [He turns the page around to examine it.] I was almost one, myself, once. [Well, if he hadn't had such an affinity for magic, it's where he would have aspired to end up, and he would have been quite content with it, but he does so love his magic, even more than he loves the power of good-old fashioned knowledge.]

[untethered]

[ she gets a guilty little smile as she heads down the windy steps slowly, trailing a hand on the banister ] What gave it away? [ his announcement causes real curiosity to spark in her eyes as she comes down below to join him ] But you decided not to?

[undealt]

Lucky guess. [Obviously, not entirely true, so he goes on.] A certain reverence for antiquities like the books is hard to miss. I always thought 'Dragon's Hoard' was the most appropriate name of all of them for that reason.

[He nods, sagely.] Turns out, I was best suited elsewhere. I have a bit of a natural affinity for spellwork, you see. Unusual for a simple pawnbroker, but who am I to argue with my own talents, however unexpected they might be.

[uncurse]

"Jesus Christ!"

Emma's shout came through a few bookshelves and she jumped back, startled by the crocodile. She'd come looking for where it had been suggested she'd find the knight she'd been squired to - a member of the Dragon's Fire, apparently. She hadn't especially been expecting a moat-ready crocodile to be running security for the library of all places.

[undealt]

While that expletive is hardly surprising, the voice is familiar enough and he'd be surprised if he hadn't been anticipating this meeting. If he didn't know full well that there was no way Wynn could have known he and Emma Swan shared a world, he might have believed this was fixed.

Grabbing his cane, he limped towards the front of the library, coming to a stop near the entrance. Milah, of course, hadn't moved much other than to give Emma a slightly perturbed look as if the damn crocodile is scolding her for shouting in a library.

"... is not one to frequent libraries, I'm afraid." Of course Gold would use that expletive as a good opener for some old-fashioned sass. "And, may I say that it's been quite a long time, Miss Swan."

[uncurse]

"You-" Emma straightened up, expression darkening. The crocodile lost her attention and she clomped gracelessly over to him, close enough to make it clear she was making an effort to intimidate an honest answer out of him (it was a nat 20 …). "What did you do? When I left this world, Storybrooke was fine. I just spent two weeks trying to find it, and it's been wiped off the map, and magic's spread a lot further than the town line."

[undealt]

Gold, to his credit, had a remarkable poker face, but he hadn't been anticipating a crazy woman getting into his space, especially one he'd (to the best of his knowledge) parted on reasonable terms with. Possibly not good terms- they were hardly good terms sort of people and she still owed him a favor, which didn't usually make for good alliances.

But really it was less her presence that threw him off and more her words. He faltered, something he rarely did, and fumbled to get a hold on any part of anything she just said that made sense. "What exactly are you going on about? I've been here for six months. And to the best of my knowledge, Storybrooke is perfectly safe back where we came from."

And as far as magic was concerned, he wasn't touching that. He'd only learned of the existence of magic since coming here and it was rather unnerving how easily he took to it.

[uncurse]

Six months?

She hadn't been in the Enchanted Forest that long. One, maybe one and a half, but certainly not six months. She scrutinized him, squinting her eyes as she studied him, pressing her tongue between her teeth and pursing her lips in consideration. She was trying to see something in his eyes, test him, get some idea of the lie he was crafting and why.

Except it wasn't a lie (sense motive 22).

Gold was telling the truth. He'd been here six months, and he had no idea what had happened to Storybrooke.

"Just what the hell happened after I got sucked into that portal?" (Diplomacy 30.)

[undealt]

That would have been a great roll if Gold wasn't giving her a look like maybe when she crossed the Veil, she hit her head or something. He shifted his weight to his cane, leaning forward, a very measured, nearly-patronizing gesture. "You mean when you and Ms. Blanchard left town..." he drawled the words out slowly. Certainly, it had been a bit of a mess there for awhile and the details of why they left and why David had been torn up about it were hazy (like most things), but it most assuredly had nothing to do with portals.

He straightened again. "Nothing of note happened- nothing I can recall anyway. The details of events back home escape me now and again, but I can tell you with utmost certainly that there's nothing particularly magical about Storybrooke."

[uncurse]

Sure they'd left town, but he didn't seem to be using it as a euphemism for being sucked into Jefferson's hat. More than that, he'd called Storybrooke anything but magical. Confusing didn't even begin to cover what was going on in her head right now.

Emma studied him, taking a long moment to process all of this and consider it before she finally settled on one question that would answer it all, "What's your name?"

[undealt]

His expression of half amused surprise vanished, indicating he was running short on patience with these games. Not remembering much was a frustrating price of being in this universe- one he didn't ask to have to pay, but was paying, nonetheless. He had enough unanswered questions without Ms. Swan adding to them with her nonsense.

"It's Mr. Gold, same as it's been since you met me." Given Rumplestiltskin's habit of avoiding lies with half truths, it's not quite as honest as it could be. Old habits and all that, regardless of whether or not he realized they were old habits.