The Villa Is Open

[shipwreck_light]

Zephyr had a plan. "We are gonna make you the best electric milkshake that ever was!"

"Or will be!" Pip joined in, clapping her hands over her head as she danced along before him and Roa and generally got in the way of where they were trying to walk.

This gave Zephyr plenty of excuse to pause at the end of the hall and make himself a sweeping gesture. "In the historya... ah..." one that should have ended with him banging his hand on the wall.

Except for the part where the applicable wall had disappeared and not in the usual behold the busted drywall kind of way. It was just gone. Likewise, the hallway and the entirety of Sky Plaza.

Zephyr stood on some low, sweeping stone steps. That happened to be outside, while just a moment before been /inside/ and headed to the kitchen. "OK, what the hell?"

Roa took in the sudden sky all golden up the flanks of the villa before them and held her finger to her lips in curiosity. "I don't know, actually." Then, she attempted to walk down the way they had come. This got her over the steps and almost to the spray from the fountain in the drive before it became quite apparent merely turning around wasn't going to accomplish much besides dampening her shoes. Back up she went. "This *looks* like where they held the last Court of the Manor."

"You dunno?" his next sound was an odd one, not a moan and not a laugh, and awfully feline besides. "Yeah, that's not freakin me out or nothin. Dun you know everythin?"

"Zephyyyr. Same to you."

"You guys," interjected Pip, her bare toes rapping on the stone. "Think this's kinda the same thing happened to Seb."

"Hm?" Zephyr craned himself her way, and their hands tangled together, wires all a-flash.

"Mm!"

"Mnhn."

"Nnn~."

"Well, I like your theory so far," Roa nodded. Mostly, she wasn't being silly right back at their latest ridiculous display. Mostly. "Happened to Siebenkas...?"

"Yeah, he had this dream," the elder of the two evokers almost began to explain, digits working.

Whatever he meant to coax out of the recollections between them, Pip took over, swaying as she did. "He thinks was a dream, but is totally notta dream. I know. I touched him thinkin about it an it was all wrong fora dream. Still didn't make any sense, but not the same kinda way dreams do."

"Also, Seb never dreams he's nekkid. Fun fact."

("So useful, too," Roa remarked, quite to herself.)

"But, he walked outta his bathroom an alla a sudden, he was in this bar in Old New York an there were all these other people an he was almost kinda sorta mebbe flirtin with this mob boss lady over gin an tonic and then there was this real cute muddy guy. Seb didn't think he was so cute, but I did. He got way more distracted by the other lady evoked with her eyes and the booze was good an there were pretty blond polyamourous peeps bonkin in the restroom an... an... an..."

Her not so little description might have gone on another few hours, except that Zephyr reached around with his unoccupied hand and tickled her. The way they'd tangled up together, she must have known it was coming.

Which left Roa to conclude Pip wanted tickled more than she wanted to discuss any washroom adventures. "On one hand, that sounds very much like a dream to me. On the other, if there's some sort of precedent for people in our manor suddenly disobeying all known laws of physics. And you're not playing some sort of elaborate prank."

"Hey! I had my heart set on givin you your first electric milkshake an that's not somethin I'd go back on for any money." Next thing she did know with any certainty, Zephyr had play staggered over, clutching at his shirt, "'m so disappointed it /huuurts/."

"Well, you can make it up to me when the universe goes back to normal."

Grin for the time being, too.

"It is going to go back to normal?"

"Did last time. 's why we still gotta Seb an notta portal to someplace called Dan's," said Pip.

"Alright, so why don't we...?"

"Make the besta it?"

"Yes!" Roa swung from Zephyr's grasp. He only then reached for her, trying to find that place in her moments where the best meant [concrete] he could play after and with her. As it was, he missed her as she skipped the villa steps instead, swirling her skirt in her hands and calling back after: "We're going to get company, right?"

"Woul, that'd be nice, but if not," he shrugged. "We get blitzed an watch the stars come out." A quick little sigh and a pop of his shoulder after, he followed.

Pip watched the space in the sky where the clouds should have been. The end of her nose twitched. "We're so gettin company. Can smell it, almost. Somethin's zactly not right out there." Laughing then, she blew past them both and straight through the doors.



Stuff you actually need to know available in this direction:
http://rainbowlounge.dreamwidth.org/18653.html

Have fun!

ETA: This post has not been up thirty-six hours and we officially have more than 500 comments. SO I SUPPOSE THIS ISN'T FUN AT ALL AMMIRITE? XD

ETA II: I am really, really touched that everyone wants to take care of the deceased fellow in the pool. I'm sure he appreciates it (he didn't even have a name in the story where he first appeared ;_;). But, alas, there was only one of him and he's currently being handled. He may be installed in a bedroom shortly, and should that happen, I will give him his own thread for poking purposes.

Comments

[bookblather]

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Gina said, and looked around the ballroom. "So this is... what, some sort of magical gathering? Party?" It looked like a party. "And they're just kidnapping people off the street?"

[zach_meyers]

Zach shrugged. "As far as I can tell, no one knows exactly what's going on. I talked to Gabriel," and here he gestured, "and he said something about doorways doing it. You walked through a door?"

[bookblather]

Gina looked over at the scruffy man frowning at nothing in particular, and shrugged. "Yeah, I did. Some kind of restaurant, I think, but... I'm not really sure. It was kind of urgent."

[zach_meyers]

"I was just trying to get home." Zach shrugged as well. "I'd just gone grocery-shopping. My daughter's respite care is almost over, and if I don't get home soon, she'll get pretty upset."

[bookblather]

"Ah," Gina said, and rubbed a hand over her belly. "Yeah, I... getting home would be good. For both of you. At least my wife isn't expecting me for another half hour."

[zach_meyers]

"Do you want to have a seat?" Zach asked. "There are the couches." He gestured to one of the few free ones. "I have no idea how anyone is going to get home," he added. Making the best of it seemed like the way to go. "Or exactly how anyone got here."

[bookblather]

"Yeah, thanks," Gina said, and sat down. She'd have liked to put up her feet, but there weren't any tables nearby, so she settled for crossing them at the ankle and leaning back. "I wish I knew myself. I wish I knew why we were here."

[zach_meyers]

"I cannot tell you how much I agree," Zach said. He joined her on the couch. "And I doubt you're particularly comfortable in this heat. Want a drink? The bar probably has water."

[bookblather]

Gina gave... him? Her? Pretty androgynous... a smile, and said, "Please, if you don't mind. I'm Gina, by the way."

[zach_meyers]

"I don't mind at all. I'm Zach." He smiled back and got up from the couch. "I'll be right back."

And he was, two glasses of water in hand, condensation already beading up on them. "Here." He handed one over to her before sitting back down. "I have a half-sister-in-law named Gina. Gina Sophia, actually."

[bookblather]

Gina accepted the water and had a sip. God, that was much better. She swiped some condensation off the glass and ran it over her forehead, then said, "Really? I'm actually technically Regina, for my grandmother, but no one's called me that. Um. Ever."

[zach_meyers]

Zach laughed. "Yeah, really. She doesn't let anyone call her Gina. She's always Gina Sophia. Her mom was apparently really into the fact that her dad was Italian."

[bookblather]

Gina giggled. "We're Italian too, way back on my father's side. My great-grandmother was from Ferrara, but she's the closest we get. Rest of us are just plain American."

[zach_meyers]

Zach grinned. "So am I. My stepdad was born in England, but he came here when he was two, and my mom and biological father," a word he said with a bit of disdain, "are both just American. My husband's biological father was from Sicily, though, and he's Gina Sophia's father too."

[bookblather]

"Ah," Gina said. "So you've got a biohazard. My wife's got one too, to her great sorrow, though he's dead now." She shook her head, then added, "Does your stepdad have an accent, then? Or did he lose it living in America?"

[zach_meyers]

Zach laughed. "That's a perfect term for him. Very accurate. Dad doesn't have an accent anymore, but Grandma Sharon does. I think hers is partly stubbornness. Dad does use some English swearing--he and Grandma Sharon went to England every summer until he was fourteen or so, so a lot of learning to swear was around his English cousins."

[bookblather]

"My wife's term," Gina said, very dryly. "She's not very fond of him, as I'm sure you could tell. That makes sense about the accent-- I was just curious. I did a bit of linguistics work in college and I was always interested in dialects and accents."

[zach_meyers]

"Grandma Sharon says he used to revert to a slight accent on vacations, but he's always denied that." Zach shrugged. "It's all word choice now, though."

[bookblather]

"It tends to be," Gina said, thoughtfully, leaning back against the couch a little. "At least, as far as I remember. You can learn a language well enough that you no longer have an accent, but the word choice will always give you away."

[zach_meyers]

Zach nodded, considering that. "That makes sense. So what do you do, Gina Besides randomly show up in ballrooms."

[bookblather]

"Oh, I'm an editor," she said, resting her water glass atop her belly. "With Lilac Press. Small publishing house in New York, you've probably never heard of it. What about you?"

[zach_meyers]

"I have a fantastic career as a stay-at-home mom and blogger." Zach grinned. "The blogging is mostly at night, when my husband's home and can watch the kids. It used to be more, but our kids are way more fun."

[bookblather]

Mom. Okay. That answered that question. Gina grinned. "Yeah? What do you blog about? And how many kids do you have?" She patted her belly. "This'll be our second."

[zach_meyers]

"We have six, but only two starting from birth." Zach smiled. "One biological for me, one for my husband, and our other four are adopted. When are you due?"

[bookblather]

Hmm. Maybe not a woman, then, or at least not biologically. Not that it mattered; she was just curious. "In a month," she said, beaming. "And let me tell you, I am so sick of being pregnant. It'll be worth it-- we're having a little girl, and she's going to be so beautiful. But I am sick of it." She ran a hand over her belly. "Andy-- that's our son-- he's shaky on it, but Ivy says he's going to be okay, and I trust her."