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Shipwreck Light ([personal profile] shipwreck_light) wrote in [community profile] rainbowlounge2012-06-27 09:20 am
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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.
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-01 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Setsuko nodded. The air was rather moist out here, which meant rain was probably going to come sooner or later. "That's very interesting," she said. "I've learned that decaying things often provide fertile soil. Perhaps where you came from was moist enough that any additional water was too much. In that case, the sunshine would definitely be welcome."

"Aloai? Are those similar to miele?"
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-02 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
It was hard to follow Roa in her kosode, but Setsuko managed well enough, and the reward was great: a grove of the largest flowers she'd ever seen, wide as one's hand, with colors from crimson red to snowy white, and most surprising, a pink so bright she couldn't look at it head-on.

"I-I've never seen such things before," she told Roa. "May--may I see one?"
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-02 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Setsuko's face lit up with sheer delight when Roa gave her the hibiscus. What a beautiful, unique gift!

"Thank you so much," she said, genuinely touched. She held it in her cupped hands, marveling at the large petals that easily covered her fingers.
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-02 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"You can?" Setsuko blurted, before covering her mouth post-haste. "Do tell me more. Does this tea have any health benefits?"

Oh, she was learning so much today! She almost didn't want to leave this place with this wondrous garden and lovely company.
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-03 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
Setsuko had no idea what "blood pressure" was, but it sounded good for one's health, anyway. And tangy...she'd never had tea that was tangy (perhaps refreshingly bitter), but it sounded intriguing, nonetheless.

"I would be happy to," she replied. The heat, if she had to be honest, was beginning to be too much for her--Dalriada was currently in mid-autumn, and here was definitely summer.

(OOC: hee! thank you! I do try.)
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-04 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
The inside of the manor was so large it could have been a palace, Setsuko thought. The room Roa led her into was strange and lavish all at once, with groups of sparkling crystals suspended in mid-air, ceilings so high and wide that they seemed to touch the sky, and people sitting in couches so soft they seemed to sink immediately into them.

And then there was the girl serving their drinks--ordinary enough but for the silver lines running up and down her bare arms.

She bowed her head in greeting. "The pleasure is mine."
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-04 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
After seeing Pip's curtsy and the quick way she responded to Roa's request, Setsuko decided that although the silver lines were unusual, she was quite well-behaved--if boisterous--for a young girl.

"What did she mean by 'cold kind'?" she asked Roa. "I was under the impression that all tea was hot."
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-04 07:43 pm (UTC)(link)
"I've never heard it explained like that before," Setsuko replied. "Why, my friend told me that drinking hot tea made you sweat, and made you cooler that way."

Certainly, the idea of cold tea was...new, and strange, especially since in Huaxia and Yashima tea was hot by definition. In Dalriada ale was traditionally cool or lukewarm, and wine could be any temperature.

"Oh, I'd be happy to try some," she told Roa. "The concept's just very new to me, that's all. Everything here is, come to think of it."
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-04 08:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"You're right," Setsuko said. "It's just like when I left to get married: overwhelming, but after some time I grew to like my new home." Dalriada? She supposed she liked it, well enough, although she wished it had been in better circumstances.

Maybe it would be the same here too, with someone as welcoming as Roa.

"I believe it would be autumn, actually," she replied. "There's no ajisai, but there would be chrysanthemums blooming everywhere, and possibly a great full moon."
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-05 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
"It is," Setsuko replied. "We have a holiday dedicated to the moon, actually. People gather into pavilions or gardens at night to watch it over wine or tea, although the best one I had was when we were on a boat, watching it as we sailed down a river. Do...do you have such holidays here?"

Just then, Pip returned with a tray that threatened to topple over in her hands, it was so full of drinks. There was a dish of what looked like dried flowers, two glasses of liquid the same brilliant red as the hibiscus flower itself.

But the cocktails were what Setsuko found mesmerizing, perhaps more than the tea: presented in those impossibly delicate-looking goblets, a hibiscus bloomed from the bottom of each, sunk in a most curious golden bubbling concoction.

She reached out, finding the glass sturdier than she'd originally thought, inspecting one for a closer look. It smelled delightfully of roses, lime, and something else she couldn't quite place.

"It's--it's beautiful," she said.
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-06 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
"I've never seen anything like it before," Setsuko said, and gently put the glass to her mouth, wetting her lips with the bubbly draught. It was sweet, but not sickeningly so--rather, it hung delicately in the background, letting the tart hibiscus and fragrant rose come to the forefront.

"It's wonderful!" she exclaimed. Unusual, because of its coldness, but somehow the taste was sharper and brighter on the tongue because of it. "Thank you both for introducing it to me."
isana: by <lj user=whitekick> (setsuko)

Re: Roa

[personal profile] isana 2012-07-06 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
The little gesture from Roa reminded Setsuko of a quieter and more intimate of the "kanpai!" that was often uttered at palace parties over wine. "Cheers," she repeated, and took a longer drink. The wine was even more refreshing the second time.

"Well," she replied. "Back in Yashima--my country--we drink tea, as I've said, but there's also wine, made from rice, usually. There's a kind we make in the summer from unripe plums, although I find that somewhat sweet for my liking. And in Huaxia, there's much of the same, although there was a dark spicy cinnamon tea that was supposed to be good for colds."

"Where I am now, in Dalriada, they mainly drink weak ale, although there are, of course, a large variety of wines made from all sorts of fruit."