rainbowlounge | The Villa Is Open

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.

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Nicoletta laughed. "See, no one is ever going to believe me that a fed used nicknames for them. Ever." She shook her head. "Anyway, magic. Yes. Is showed me some stuff--she was from there--but I still can't really wrap my head around magic being real anywhere."

Alex shuddered. "God, Corlionis with magic. There's a world I don't want to live in."

Nicoletta might have cackled. "We would be a nightmare for you, wouldn't we? I'm sure we don't mess with you if you leave us alone. Is said something about our family being extra powerful, if that's going to help you sleep any better when you do crash."

"Oh, good, thanks, yeah, that'll help," Alex said, shaking his head. "Magic. Damn. That's...I don't think I can even comprehend that."

Nicoletta patted his upper arm sympathetically and then realized what she'd done. She'd voluntarily touched a fed in a sympathetic manner.

What the hell.

"I saw it, and I still can't comprehend it. It was...mindfuck-y."

Getting sympathetically patted on the arm by Nicoletta Corlioni of all people wasn't even the weirdest thing to happen to Alex today.

He still glanced at his arm like he expected it to spontaneously combust, though. At least for a second.

"This is officially the weirdest fucking day of my life," he said, conversationally.

"Yeah, it's officially beating last time." Nicoletta glanced at her hand. Maybe it was possessed.

"I don't know what the fuck I'll do if this keeps happening to me," he said, and then a thought occurred to him. "How long were you gone, last time? When you got back, I mean? How much time had passed?"

"Three, maybe five minutes." Nicoletta shrugged. "Had to cancel the meeting anyway. I probably would have been okay, but I'd had a little more to drink than I was comfortable with, given the money involved, and stop looking like that, it was for sharing space in a shipping container to save a little money on shipping wine and other food products."

"For the sake of argument, I'll pretend I believe that," Alex said dryly. "So, huh. Time moves differently. That's..." He actually didn't have a word for what that was. "I may need something stronger than coffee." He took a gulp from his mug.

"It was," Nicoletta repeated. "The meeting was with Schuchard International. They rescheduled, thank God. We could have lost a lot of money there." She smiled a bit. "Drinks are on me, this time," and then she tossed back her espresso.

Good lord, but he actually believed her. What the fuck, day? Seriously, what the fuck?

"That works," he said, and belatedly added, "Thanks."

"What's your poison? Something extremely alcoholic, or something gentler?"

Why was she asking a fed what he wanted to drink, when she had no plans to alter it in any way?

Why was he trusting Nicoletta Corlioni not to alter his drink?

"This day is too fucked up for gentle," he said. "I think it calls for tequila, frankly."

"May this never get back to my siblings, but I think I like you," Nicoletta said. "Do you need lime and salt?"

She would judge him based on how he answered that question.

Alex gave her a look. "Please. I have done this before."

Seriously, what even was today.

"My respect for you just rose, Agent Harlow."

Nicoletta ditched him to ask for a bottle of tequila and a pair of shot glasses. Judging by the ballroom, whoever stocked the bar should have some top-quality booze, so there should be no need for lime or salt anyway.

"Tequila," she said, holding up the bottle when she returned, "and shot glasses." She held those up in turn. "Probably going to be easier to do this if we sit."

There was something much weirder about sitting down to talk and drink with a fed than their was about standing and talking.

He really ought to be more weirded out by the idea of sitting and drinking with her, and yet...

"Over there?" Alex suggested, pointing over toward one of the windows. There was a rug on the floor, along with a couple of tables and a set of matching chairs. Some kind of statue was stationed nearby.

"Perfect." Nicoletta led the way, setting down the bottles and glasses on one of the tables before she pulled out the chair. "Think you can match my shots?"

"You're on," Alex said, pulling out his own chair.

She poured for each of them and held up her shot glass. "To one hell of a weird fucking day."

"Oh god, cheers," he said, and then downed the shot. Damn, that was good stuff. "Not bad."

Nicoletta grinned once she tosssed back her own. "It's a little more than 'not bad'." She poured again and said, "Your turn for a toast."

The Villa Is Open

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