crushed_pearls | Come Sail Away IC Inbox

Erin's voice mail message is in a weary voice: "Erin Peters. If you called in the middle of the night and I didn't answer, I'm dying. If I pick up and someone on your end isn't dying, they will be shortly. Text otherwise."

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From:

crushed_pearls

Erin nods. "No individual game is required, you've just got to play at least one. No one can force you to duel. My main worry was you getting into tug of war and being seen as a dick for using magic in it."

She pauses.

"...Possibly avoid dodgeball too."

Erin stands and offers her hand to help Dimitri up.

From:

prince_of_beasts

"It would be --I shouldn't -- I'd prefer not to be near it at all, if that's at all possible. I -- have never heard of dodgeball, but it does sound like something I ought to avoid." Dimitri collects his cleaning supplies, then accepts the hand to his feet, rising stiffly with a clamped-down hiss. "When would you like to ... ? I'll have to put my kit away, but I, ah, am not likely to sleep tonight." He pauses. "And will it be a problem if I wear my sword?"

From:

crushed_pearls

"I'll do what I can. Worst case we can dip before past me duels our crush." Erin smiles, wanly. "Sword is fine, my cabin in thirty? I've gotta plan a disguise."

From:

prince_of_beasts

" ... that is incredibly Faerghan of you." Said with no indication whether that's compliment, insult, or neither. "Thirty minutes suits me just as well. I'll -- "

He pauses again, shutting his eyes with an aggrieved look.

" -- not that I expect it," he asks, strained, "because I do believe you would warn me, but -- is there any sort of, of expectation of dress that I should be aware of?"

From:

crushed_pearls

"Not as such but dress for running and jumping and try to not have like, patchy clothes. This memory is a big public event so we're trying not to look shabby." Erin flashes a sympathetic look. "All that said, it's a festival. No one's gonna get on you if you get muddy or your clothes rip or you spill food. Hell, food fights are only not traditional because too many of us have starved to tolerate them. It's a rowdy party, all about fellowship."

From:

prince_of_beasts

"Understood ... yes. I ... yes. That sounds ... good, I -- I think I would like that. Thank you."

However the hell long in the Master's House did nothing for the boy's social anxiety.

"Your cabin in thirty, then?"

From:

crushed_pearls

"My cabin in thirty," Erin agrees.

Thirty minutes later the sight that greets Dimitri by opening Erin's cabin door is much-changed. Among other things Erin is now a five-foot redheaded Welsh girl whose skin is dusted with tiny emeralds, wearing an outfit borrowed from Helena, though she's chosen to forgo the hat and shoes entirely. She gives Dimitri a playful bow, entirely more mischief than her usual semi-ironic but ultimately sincere gesture, and then rests easy with the outfit's cane holding up her weight.

Her accent is a perfect match for Dimitri's own. "Y'can call me Little Molly for this visit, since I'd rather not run into my past self and have an awkward moment. I'll introduce us to King Arthur as visiting Lost from Wales, here to check in on his cursed sword that, well, belongs to Wales. Easy guest-right, few awkward questions, downside is I'm gonna have to say you've got amnesia from a knights-and-castles Durance 'cause they will not buy that you're from a knights-and-castles kinda society. You dig?"

Edited Date: 2023-04-14 02:32 am (UTC)

From:

prince_of_beasts

"Eeerin," Dimitri says slowly, confirming what he's pretty sure but not confident he's seeing. " ... Little Molly. Yes, I can manage that." Open mouth; tick -- "I've spoken with Darcy about legendary swords of Earth but I was not aware Excalibur is cursed. Unless I'm mistaken and you're referring to a different sword."

Breathe.

"It's a lovely look," he says, meaning it despite the wince that immediately follows. "I-impressively complete, I mean. At the, at the 'drag show', I saw ... that is, I wasn't aware you could alter your voice as well as your appearance."

Fortunately for Dimitri's nerves, Faerghus has its own tradition of rowdier festivals, and the package of clothing he'd received back in December had included a lighter summer outfit in blue and white, with wide borders of silver embroidery. Along with the sword and his armored boots and gloves, he looks like he walked out of a high-budget ren faire. He's also, finally, shed a layer of the tight-wound neurosis that's haunted him all night. (All month.)

He did spent maybe ten of those thirty minutes hugging the folded clothes to his face and trying not to cry.

He gives Erin a tight smile. "That's a lie even I could maintain. I wonder if it might as well not be true. ... as long as I don't have to talk about it. I doubt sounding homesick will be taken kindly."

Edited Date: 2023-04-14 07:41 am (UTC)

From:

crushed_pearls

"Yeah, it won't be," Erin agrees softly. "And to catch you up, while Excalibur being cursed or not depends on the story, my Earth currently has like...nine...blades said to be Excalibur and Wales wants them back. Not a high stakes matter but enough for an adventurous lass and her fighty apprentice to drop by."

Dimitri is ushered into Erin's room, and then the rift in her closet, which lets out into...

A meal.

A big meal.

A meal to end all other meals.

A solid half of this baseball stadium has been converted for the feast, which is nearly ready. There's food on grills, on charcoal trenches, in fryers, being pulled from fridges and coolers, food of all kinds - noodles, pastries, kebabs, burgers, soups, grilled and fried vegetables, cheese, it's like someone pulled out the stops to get food from every culture this port city can boast. The stands are packed with mortals and press; even more press teams circulate among the guests.

And the guests! A dizzying array of Lost, more than two hundred strong, plus mortal guests - their friends and family, political guests, athletes and bodybuilders, even the odd food critic or twelve. No one is eating just yet, though if the tables get many more dishes they might just buckle.

Erin flashes Dimitri a smile and lets him soak it in.

From:

prince_of_beasts

Unfortunately, the timeline looks something like this:

- Dimitri escapes the Master's House
- Dimitri scrubs off every trace of the place he can possibly remove, and handles the subsequent first aid
- dissociative panic and desperate attempts to apologize to Ossie
- attempts to work off his terror and stress through training
- retrieving his lantern and retreating to the garden
- texting Erin

All told he has been out of the Master's House for under six hours. Struck again so soon by crowds, by chatter, by tables loaded with unimaginable foods, Dimitri's mind freezes solid to keep him safe. For a dizzying, disoriented moment a cruel, cheerful voice drifts from behind his shoulder: Liz Malloy, old thing. She told you what she was.

She had said there would be a feast.

"Erin," he says softly, distantly, puppeteering his own teeth and tongue; his eyes are glazed, not quite seeing what's there, a smile nailed to his face, "please tell me where I am."

From:

crushed_pearls

Oh. Oh shit, something about this is hitting Dimitri hard. Erin's playful expression softens immediately, and she slips back alongside Dimitri to gesture at various things as she names them.

"This specific building is Chase Stadium, an arena for baseball - a non-violent sport from my Earth. Exits there and there go to the locker rooms and showers, and thence to outside the arena entirely. The city is New Avalon, a port city in my home nation, just over two hundred years old -" barely any time at all by Fodlan standards, "and known for its medical schools where doctors are educated, as well as its thick mists, beautiful architecture, and extreme homelessness. Before you are most of the free Lost of New Avalon, saving those who have jobs that need doing even on a high holiday. This is just over a year after the Unmasking, when the Lost became visible to the world."

Facts. Ground the boy's mind with facts.

From:

prince_of_beasts

The facts help. Pointing out the exits most of all. The doors in the House were cosmetic only; the dinner never ended, so there was no need of them. The sunlight is soaking in as well; beneath the smells of food, cut grass and mud churned up by countless feet, the acrid throat-stinging tang Dimitri's come to recognize as car exhaust. His nose wrinkles reflexively at the mention of homelessness.

He shuts his eyes. " ... laughter. I hear laughter."

From:

crushed_pearls

"I should hope so, people are having a good time. In about three minutes Arthur will give his speech to start the Feast." Erin cocks her head, and then sighs. "Listen even closer, towards the outside there, and you can probably hear people outside protesting the festival. Scumbags who write us off as demons and want my people dead or driven into the Hedge, which is functionally the same. They won't come inside."

From:

prince_of_beasts

There was no laughter in the House, either.

"I can't discern it from the other voices, but I believe you. This period of Earth is still ... overwhelming to me." Dimitri hisses through his teeth. "Hatred of anyone other, on the other hand, is all too familiar."

He opens his eyes. He still feels shaky, but he can breathe again.

(He hasn't noticed yet, but he didn't need to fear being judged human. The memory has fit him into its context: he's lost all the color he had left apart from his eyes, the precise shade of a fresh bloodstain. His skin has the texture of bleached parchment; his hair, unspun linen fiber.)

"I'm... alright. I'll be alright. I mean that, I'm not just saying it. I do still want to do this." Breathe. " ... it would be best if I could sit down for a minute."

From:

crushed_pearls

"By all means. C'mon."

Erin's avoiding the Heathens this time around, instead walking towards a clique of Spring courtiers who are chatting animatedly with one another, seemingly led by a fox woman. She has one more warning for Dimitri though.

"Hey uh, if you hear loud noises from the sky? Those are normal, they're our flying machines. Regular chopping beats are the helicopters, those are more news people, they make a career out of Doctor Watson's camera hobby. Big booms are the airplanes, sorta iodized versions of the shuttles you might have seen flying in December."

From:

prince_of_beasts

"'Iodized'? I'm afraid I don't know the term ... I encountered airplanes in Darcy's Lyon, but helicopters are new to me. Thank you for the warning."

If Dimitri had a tail it would still be between his legs, but he does a solid job of hiding it as he follows Erin.

From:

crushed_pearls

"Why the fuck did I say iodized. I meant giant sized, to iodize something is to add the chemical iodine to it, usually either to purify drinking water or in trace amounts for nutrition."

The fox notices the two of them and gestures to her friends. Space is made on the benches for Erin and Dimitri.

From:

prince_of_beasts

A twinge of nerves, a flinch away from Erin as she curses; a reflexive glance skyward, as though he's reacting less to her and more bracing to dive out of a blast radius. Nothing but sun and open sky overhead, and then Erin catches his attention enough for him to forget his moment of panic.

"Iodine," he echoes. "For nutrition? But only in trace amounts? What sort of chemical is -- "

Space is made on the benches. A ratchet sticks again -- a moment of terror, gaze darting to find none of his scripted responses mirrored anywhere else, but, but --

Click.

"Thank you," easy, light, never mind the black-ice sheen behind his eyes. A shallow bow to suit the casual atmosphere. "Call me Alexander; my companion is Little Molly. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss."

Edited Date: 2023-04-14 11:26 pm (UTC)

From:

crushed_pearls

The fox titters a light laugh. "Miss, he says - I do think I like you." Reading The Vibe rather well, she offers her hand to Dimitri in a ladylike fashion. "Cherry Kinkaid, Sage Escort to Queen Rabbit's Spring, the pleasure is mine."

'Little Molly' leans in to give Dimitri a clear stage whisper. "Unless they do things different here in America, that means she helps new folks catch up on modern romantic ideas, safe sex, and is the person you can go to like all formal-like if you have brain thoughts like 'maybe I'm gay' or 'I'd like to be a girl' or possibly 'what in God's name is a butt plug'."

Cherry's brows go up, but she's smiling. "From out of town then -"

There is a mercifully brief sound of microphone feedback and the amplified clearing of a throat; standing between the feast part of the Feast and the finishing touches being put on various games and athletic activities (pride of place is given to a strange wooden platform; Dimitri can see hooks and hinges underneath that would let the staff drop panels from it to create falling hazards for whoever's on it) is a large, broad man seemingly carved from stone, dressed in a sharp black suit with a sky-blue tie. On his brow is a burning crown made of speartips.

When he speaks, his voice is rich and deep, but to Dimitri's trained ear its regality is a bit unpracticed. A new king?

"Welcome, Freeholders and guests, to the Feast of Strength," the king begins. "Strength is the virtue most prized by the Summer Court. Strength of arms. Strength of will. Strength of character. There are many kinds of strength, and they reveal themselves in competition and crisis. Not everyone can be strong in every way, but everyone can be strong in their own way, and the Feast of Strength is the opportunity to exemplify your strengths, to learn your weaknesses, to bond through honorable competition and," he pauses for a heavy sigh, "do it for the Vine."

"Update your damn memes!" a man yells, from closer to the rift where they entered, earning quite a few chuckles.

"I know our guests are eager to witness and perhaps even participate in this festival. The decision to make the Feast a public event was not without objections, many of them eminently reasonable." Another pause, but not a dramatic one - maybe he's shifting his attention to someone specific in the crowd? "What you witness today, for all that it will be fun, and maybe concerning, is sacred ritual. It is part of the pacts we maintain with the Seasons, upheld in joy and for the protection of the innocent against abduction, assault, and invasion. We are all still getting used to one another in a way we could not before the Unmasking. It is my hope to foster understanding between the Lost and the communities we can once again be upright and honorable citizens of. And now, without further ado, the Feast begins!"

The almighty scrape of the Lost being unleashed on free food is heard instantly.

From:

prince_of_beasts

(What in God's name is a 'butt plug'?)

From:

prince_of_beasts

Arthur's speech begins, and Dimitri is rapt -- not just starstruck, though you could be excused for thinking so, but thoughtful, intent, in the manner of one professional to another. That hint of uncertainty could be taken as weakness by a predatory rival, but for the same reason it projects honest sincerity to Arthur's audience. He means every word of what he says; his charisma and nobility are genuine, personal, not trained and polished. Dimitri had already had a high secondhand opinion of the man, and now his admiration is solidified.

-- it aches that he has no idea how to approach Arthur in a way that would allow an honest conversation. As a stranger, with the conceit that his own home and childhood were a fiction, a faerie's torture -- he sighs, and thinks about rubbing his face, and doesn't.

Taking the cue from the rest of the table, Dimitri retrieves and begins to load a plate with vegetables and starch. He's. He's going to be avoiding meat for a while.

"Out of town, yes," he answers Cherry's question once the table has mostly settled into their meals. A nervous glance back at 'Molly'. Last time he introduced himself to a feast as out-of-place ... well. "If I may, what 'vines' did King refer to?"

From:

crushed_pearls

Cherry's eyes are all sympathy and understanding. She looks at 'Molly' and asks, "Old timer?"

"And some besides, but he's catching up."

Cherry beams. "Well, Alexander, Vine - proper noun there - is sort of a community space where people put up very short films they make. To 'do it for the vine' is to do something reckless in hopes of fame, comedy, or glory. Might be bigger here than it is in your home."

"Definitely," Molly agrees. "I hate to impose but at some point we need to formally tell your king we're here, so..."

"On it," Cherry agrees. "Kiki?"

A slender girl whose eyes just will not stop bleeding, her hair woven with budding flowers, gets up with her food and jogs off.

From:

prince_of_beasts

"Oh!" Dimitri has drawn a connection. He's very proud of himself. "Is this at all related to 'yeet'?"

From:

crushed_pearls

"Yes!" Cherry sounds delighted, and gives Dimitri a stunning smile. "That entered popularity because of Vine, and now even though Vine is gone it's still said. Now, I must ask, are you two -"

"I'm gay," Molly cuts in.

Cherry nods. "Solves one concern."

From:

prince_of_beasts

Dimitri perks up at the praise -- muted, but not even Arcadia could break him of "golden retriever who got 'pleasure to have in class' on his report card".

"I have a partner," he adds following Erin, "though he isn't present." Did Erin know they got together? She does now. Woops.