|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 6:04 am
Crocus had not wanted to spend their whole time in this strange castle holed up in his room. Altea didn't really seem all that dangerous, thought maybe a bit too happy and eager to have some guests for a change. With the options to explore the castle on the table though, he wasn't going to miss his chance to learn what he could. The thought of wandering around alone though was unappealing, so he recruited Avior for his cause.
He was mostly curious about what sort of plant life might be on Solamnia, was everything made of crystal? Some of their people were and some of them weren't, so it definitely begged the questions of what their world was like outside the castle walls. He had hoped to maybe find a greenhouse or indoor garden of some kind, but there didn't seem to be anything like that, but he did come across the library.
"We should be able to find something interesting here." Though, the first book he picked up was completely unreadable. Maybe this wouldn't be helpful after all.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:31 am
Avior was surprisingly tired given all and nothing that had happened. Constant stress probably wasn't the best for his already struggling mind, but in a situation like this, it seemed like stressing was the only real choice he had. At least he didn't have to add figuring out what to do to the list of things to stress about, as it seemed Crocus had that covered already.
Not too long after departing from the dinner they shared with Queen Altea, He found himself pulled along beside his friend in order to explore the castle.Avior honestly didn't mind at all, given the fact that he was more nervous about leaving the young man out there to go on his own. In fact, he was more than happy to tag along, if only to watch Crocus' eyes glow in wonder at all the magnificent crystals around them. The library was no exception with the it's purple and gold colors all around. It seemed cozy enough, even if the paleness of it all left it feeling a little cold.
It was a shame, however, that they could not find a greenhouse or a garden of sorts while they were here... But that was just fine, Crocus didn't seem all that disappointed and neither would Avior.
"You think so? Given the fact that we are on an entirely different planet than earth, I don't think we'll find anything to read... But what about pictures? Surely one of these books would have pictures of some sort... Perhaps we should have asked the Queen to Translate a few words for us in writing in order to make our search easier... or atleast give us the Dewey decimal system of her library. That seems a bit trivial to bring before a queen though."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 11:21 am
Crocus really hadn't thought about not being able to read any of the books in the library. They had been able to converse with the Queen just fine after all. However, when he plucked a book from a shelf and flipped it open, Avior was right. There was no way to know what was written in these pages and there wasn't a hint toward what the book was about either, so he place it back where he had found it.
"She seemed more exhausted than us though, and that's saying something." Surely there could still be something useful here. It would be a bother to drag the Queen here now, not after she had left dinner looking so ready for a good night's rest. "Maybe we could ask her for her company later?" Or maybe one of her servants could translate for them somehow, though they didn't seem to be able to speak. Could her servants understand them? He hadn't tried talking to one personally yet, so there wasn't a way for him to know.
He started to walk down the aisles in the library, it was admittedly probably the biggest, most elegant one he had ever stepped foot in. The whole castle was probably the most elaborate place he'd ever been. He turned toward Avior, "I'm worried we'll be stuck here if we can't figure out a way home ourselves." Could the really afford to count on the chance that the Queen could get a mirror to work to send them home? None of the mirrors answered them either, it was all very concerning. Maybe they shouldn't have been looking to the mirrors for their answers and that was why he was here now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 1:53 pm
"Well, think about it. You'd be pretty exhausted too if you suddenly had to lasso a bunch of people and drag them all around at once. It's like if you were to tie more than a dozen adults and dragged them around for a couple of miles. Even powered, it'd be a pain in the butt. And she pulled us out from what was basically another dimension... I'd be alot more terrified if she wasn't exhausted." Avior's own fingers flipped past a few pages of a rather large tome, but it made no sense.. Symbol after symbol appeared in front of him and none made sense... It was quickly turning out to be a futile effort, but if Crocus didn't want to give up, neither would he. "Perhaps we can, but let's save that for tomorrow. It's already getting late and like you said, she's exhausted. And I know that she'll be swarmed by the rest of our court come the morning, so maybe we can wait til the after noon. No one is dying among us, no one is hurt... While there is a sense of urgency, I think it's alright to take our time."
Fortunately for the both of them, they didn't truly have anyone waiting at home for them either, did they? They both lived on their own, away from the eyes of family and friends. Avior thanked the stars for that small mercy, and thanked them again that the person he found himself worrying the most over as of late was here by his side.
"We'll find a way home, I'm sure of it... Though I do worry about your mother and the store... You can always blame me for your absence. Say I conned you into taking a sailing trip to some destination on the fly and we were partying down in the islands for a while, if we're gone that long... And as an apology, I can work in the shop for free for a while, volunteering to keep order. That sounds good, right?" Putting down the book he held in his hands, he made his way over to his companion, a hand reaching up to gently pat his shoulder.
"Things... They could be alot worse, I think... But I'm glad you're here... Um.. N-not that I'm glad you're stuck here, I'd much rather you be safe and sound at home! I just mean... With everything going on, I'm glad I don't have to face this alone." In his nervousness, Avior's hand dropped back down to this side, and he withdrew a little. It always seemed like he tipped toed the line of what was exactly friendly and what was more, and he knew this just wasn't the time for those feelings to bother him. They were friends, and that was that, and that's all that they could be here. Anything else... Well, then he'd simply be doing the same thing he scolded the other's for.
After clearing his throat and adjusting the glasses on his nose, he turned back to the book shelves, looking up to the staircase that lead to... Nowhere, apparently.
"I wonder what's going on there... It's just a wall... Do you think I'd be able to do something about it?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:47 pm
Avior had a point, it would be more cause for concern if the Queen had effortlessly saved all of them from Mirrorspace in the fashion that she had. There was no telling what would have happened to them all if she hadn't appeared when she did. But, had she really been the one to save them? Well, in a literal sense the answer was yes, but was it Mirrorspace that had led her to them? He wanted to know how she was connected to it all, was she simply born with the ability? Did that make her a sort of Cousin to their Court? If she had access to Mirrorspace, did that mean others did as well?
"Ah, that shouldn't be a problem actually. I always take time off from working around this time of the year. I need a break before school starts up again. Of course, I don't know how much of a break all of this will be." He gestured all around them as if to make his point. Trips to the mall, sailing, karaoke, music, drinking, all of his plans were out the window. "It's much more likely that Kailey will be pissed off at me for bailing on her." He definitely had friends to hang out with his bestie and that was definitely not going to happen now. He was more concerned about how she'd make him pay for that later.
He reached up to pay the hand that was on his shoulder and smiled up at his friend. "You're right, I refuse to live here for the rest of my life. As lovely as the castle is, I'd grow bored of the food too quickly!" It was a joke, he was trying to joke! Normally oking was something he could do with little effort, but it was growing harder the longer he felt trapped on this strange world. He had never really had his nerves stretched so thin before, but as happi as Avior was to have Crocus around, the same could be said for himself. Sure, he had other members of the Court he could rely on, but Avior was something different.
Crocus followed Avior's gaze and was definitely quite puzzled by what he saw. "Why build a staircase to nowhere? There must be something there. I don't know much about Senshi powers myself yet, but maybe you could? It is a Wall?" It was definitely an off place to have a wall, or a staircase, however you wanted to look at it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:22 am
"Mhm...." Words were escaping Avior at the moment while Crocus talked about Kailey, and he nodded slightly at the thought. He knew little of her, only so much that she existed and was his best friend, but he understood the feeling of not wanting to let someone down, even if it was out of your own control. And with how easily distracted Jason could be at times, it must certainly hurt to actually have plans and it wasn't his own fault that they were ruined. "She's your best friend, so I'm sure she'll understand. And you could always blame me, I don't mind."
After his own hand was pat he grinned again, comforted plenty by the other's words, headed up the staircase, curious, but weary of it.
"Stay down there for now, okay?" It was not that he didn't trust Crocus to stay out of trouble, moreso the fact that if anything went wrong Avior could potentially hold his own, and Crocus could go get more help. Not that he would say that out loud and risk the chance of hurting Crocus' pride.
At the top of the staircase, was the wall... Weirdly shaped and almost out of place, but... Touching proved nothing strange... And there wasn't any sort of energy leaking past it... But being higher up here proved to be useful, atleast, since he spotted the door that was there.. And strange it was, for when the handle was taken and pulled, it did not budge. It seemed so firmly in place that there wasn't even a change in the air near his feet, so far as he could tell.
"Hrm... Seems like it's a bust up here." He called out, going back to the railing and looking down at his flower crowned friend. "There's a door, but it's locked tight. I think it's either... Just storage of old, delicate tomes and such, or more like the restricted area of fantasy book libraries. You know, where you have to have special permission to go in? Or better yet, military history, or known weaknesses of the queen... Whatever it is, it is certain we should not mess with it, or else we might find ourselves in trouble with the servants around here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 2:07 pm
Oh no, Crocus would not go telling Kailey that it was Avior's (or rather Nischal) fault that he had bailed on her. Of course he had talked to kailey about him before and she knew that it wasn't just simple friendship that had them hanging out together. If he told her that he went mia for a few days because of him, she'd...well. She'd want details first of all and he didn't want to be making anything up about that. Nope, he'd find some other reason.
For what is was worth, Crocus did want to follow Avior up those steps, but he knew his own limits. Instead, he waited at the foot of them, just in case there was a chance he could do something and if not he could go find someone that probably could. It was definitely suspicious, who needed a secret room in a library? Wasn't the whole point of having one sharing information with others? He only shrugged when it seemed like nothing panned out, Avior was probably right and there was information in that would be bad in the wrong hands.
"Maybe if we asked nicely someone would let us in? I can be real charming, you know?" Crocus sent a wink and blew a kiss in his friend's direction before wandering down another random aisle in the library. A book caught his attention though, it was a lovely dark green and the image on the spine looked like that of a rose. He pulled it down from it's spot on the shelf and flipped through it quickly at first, that was when what was inside slipped out a bit. There was a single flower pressed into the book in one of the last pages.
"Hey, check this out." He was delicate with it when he held it up, careful not to damage it. It looked like a lily and upon closer inspection it even had a pleasant scent to it still. "Do you think it's from this world? It could have been a gift from somewhere else." He held it up for his friend to inspect at all, it was really quite pretty. The book seemed to talk about different types of flora, presumably from Solamnia, maybe they could find it in the book somewhere.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2017 6:41 pm
After another moment of surveying things from up high, Avior made his way down the staircase, giving a rather audible pfft! at his friend's charming comment, finding it amusing but his cheeks betrayed the fact that it was a little embarrassing.
"Ah, yes! The most charming of them all. Are you sure you're not a prince, for you surely sweep EVERYONE off their feet with your dashing good looks and sweet honeyed words!" Thankfully Crocus disappeared from sight before he made it to the bottom. It wasn't so much that Avior thought that the other would tease him about his rosy cheeks, but because he was grateful he would have a moment to calm and cool down before the other saw him again. The blonde boy always knew how to rile him up and for as amusing as it was, it didn't feel like quite the time for such things.
Following behind him, Avior stopped short just a few feet, peering over the other's shoulder to the flower between his fingers and the book in his hand.
"A gift...? I'm not sure... Most certainly a memory of sorts... Can you tell what kind of book it is? Any other pictures of it? I'm almost curious to go and ask the queen herself, but I wonder if it would be better to go to one of the servants and ask them. They can't speak though... Crap, maybe they could atleast point us in the right direction?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2017 1:29 pm
Even as Avior was asking, Crocus was already flipping through some of the pages in the book. It was filled with many color pictures, depicting what he could only assume was different flora found on Solamnia. Of course, it could be talking about other plants as well. There were plenty of flowers that had a crystallin look to them, but just as many that looked like they could have been found on Earth as well. The ranged from small to very large, but he didn't see anything that looked like what was pressed in the pages.
"It's a book about flora, I would assume. So maybe it was just someone's favorite flower and they stuck it in here because of that." He sighed a bit and closed up the book with a little snap. It was late and he was incredibly tired. He had hoped the library might hold some answer, but without a translator it was a dead end. Tomorrow he might try finding Altea for her help, but tonight they were all exhausted and better off finding some way to rest.
"Well, seems like it was sort of pointless to come here. Are you tired? I'm thinking that as...unreal as all of this is, I need to try to rest. What about you?" He put the book back where he found it for now, maybe he'd come back to it later in his own time and flip through it again, it was certainly pretty at least.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:19 am
"I wouldn't be surprised... In the end, it seems like whatever it was, it may be the last of their kind... I'll choose to pretend it has some sweet romantic back story to it. Just because I feel like it would lighten the mood." Gods knew they could use it. Avior blinked curiously at the sudden snap close of the book, but nodded at the other's suggestion, and reached down to briefly take his hand into his own.
"Now don't say that, Crocus. Nothing is ever truly pointless. We saw that stairway, right? And you got to know not everything in this place used to be crystal." The hand was given the briefest of squeezes, before Avior moved to place both of his hands on the back of Crocus' shoulders, slowly pushing him towards the door.
"I'm not sure how well I'll sleep, but I am tired... You should definitely eat more of that crystal stuff. It's bland, but rejuvenating. Nothings ever going to replace sleep, so lets rest as best as we can. How about this? I'll even push our beds together so you can cuddle up with me all night long if you're feelings scared." Of course, again, he teased the other, trying to smile, but he truly hoped Crocus would say yes... Sure, for now, they were just friends, but having the other so close would do wonders for his frayed nerves.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:53 am
Seeing the flower definitely made Crocus a little suspicious, even more so when Avior casually mentioned that not everything used to be crystal formed. It seemed strange to him, that there would be two radically different types of flora and inhabitants on this world. Of course, it was a completely foreign place, it was probably natural here. It just made him more wary of the crystals in the castle. He had to eat the food they provided though, he had no idea how long they would be here and he'd be useless if he was passing out from hunger.
"I've been eating, I just don't have much of an appetite right now. I'll be fine though." He was trying to reassure his friend, though he was much more skeptical of the food than Avior seemed to be. Their visit hadn't been completely pointless either, as his taller friend had pointed out there was a very mysterious door in this library. Were they being kept out for some malicious reason, or was it just for the Queen's own security? Maybe they could try to figure it out later.
He started to walk back out into the hallway as Avior was talking about pushing their beds together in their room. It wasn't something Crocus was against at all, he loved nothing more than cuddling up to someone for a good night's sleep, which was something he could really use right now. "I would feel better with those strong arms wrapped around me." Crocus used his classic wink as they walked back toward the hall where the DMC had been placed for the night.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2017 10:25 am
"Good. Atleast I know you won't pass out on me. If you hadn't, maybe I would have had to feed you myself." In his mind he thought of images of pressing crystals like grapes against Crocus lips, smiling as Crocus took he time to kiss his fingertips afterwards, and before he realized it, he was smiling now as well, and a light blush came across his cheeks. Maybe not with crystals, maybe with grapes once they go home and actually could talk about things, about them.
For now, it just wasn't the time. He would have to do well with just the thought of being in bed with Crocus, and that was plenty. He had a feeling that this was just what they needed after this insanity, and he couldn't think of anyone else he wanted to spend that time with.
"After all we've been through so far, I think you've earned it. We've earned it. Don't worry, I'll hold you all night if you'd like. But tomorrow, if we're still here, I'm the little spoon." He laughed softly, following Crocus with flushed cheeks and felt lighter than he had in the entire time he had been here in this palace.
Leopleuradon And... That's a fin for me~
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
