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 Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 2:58 pm
Lai corrected his head when Hyo opened his eyes. He did not want to seem like he was staring at the girl odd. Hyo had a look to him that seemed to have no idea what to do as well. Lai decided that they couldn't just stay here all night and he had to take some charge of what to do. It was just getting too awkward.
"Uh...Hyo...?" The Russian pointed to Hyo's sleeve, the one where the bilingual fabric was. There might be something there for asking questions. He gave an apologetic glance before turning to the sound of feet on the floor. Not the metal clanking from the p***k in the white mask thankfully, but feet nonetheless.
"Oh! Hello comrade." Lai greeted Thasios as the man spoke, lighting he face with a bemused grin, despite the fact that being covered in wine was not funny. "Do not worry, I have been found out ages ago. Care to sit with us? We were about to decide what to do since we have no idea."
He waved his hand as though beckoning Thasios to come over. Despite the appearance of the man's uncovered face, Lai was not fazed in the slightest by his looks. Waiting for the man to speak and/or approach he noticed the garments.
"You are the man I was talking to inside the ballroom earlier, are you not?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 3:04 pm
She followed his move- so it was just stepping forward and backwards? Hey! This was easier than she thought...
"Ah- oh yes-" Close call. She should have memorized Gavroche's lines closer. "Well, ah, people call it different things and I always get confused- the Revolution, it what... What are you saying? Oh! Did we succeed?"
This was dangerously easy! All she had to do was put enough emotion in and it was believable! Hehehe!! Eponine felt giddy with a rush of relief.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 3:15 pm
 And now another person appeared. At first he seemed perfectly normal, so Hyo didn't get scared. But when he looked at his face... Gods, were he beautiful! Hyo couldn't help, but blush. He never saw such an incredibly pretty person... And then his nose caught up. He reeked of alcohol. He knew people like that. Some of the guests in the House drinked so much, that you could smell them all across the corridor. Most of them didn't come back after one time. How could such a beautiful person drink so much, that they're covered in alcohol? Hopefully he doesn't do that often? The boy just bowed down as a greeting. It was weird... Just a little bit of something similar to his past life, and he's completely back in the role of an obedient girl. Was he really like this..?
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 4:19 pm
Thasios smiled at Lai's comment. "I am glad I was not the first, then." He made his way over to the two of them, and unfastened the first few buttons of the coat around his neck, loosening it and freeing him from the dampness against his skin. "I am afraid I do not smell very pleasant. Eknephias was tiring of the ball and decided to have his fun."
He looked closer at Lai, inspecting his clothing, and recognition dawned on his face. "Yes! We had talked earlier."
"Oh! Excuse my abruptness. I have not offered my name. I am Thasios."
He had just noticed that the girl was bowing; he turned towards her, amused. "There is no need for formalities such as this."
He tugged at the coat near his throat again. He hadn't realized how much he disliked constraining clothes until now. "I think that perhaps I should change into some other clothing, for these, I am afraid, are ruined. I do not believe wine stains are an easy thing to remove."
Sebastien lit up as the girl seemed to relax a bit. "Oui! You see, it is not that difficult! You are doing wonderfully!" He steered her so that they turned and took a slightly wider step than he had before.
His expression clouded slightly as she began to speak of the revolution. He hoped she hadn't pegged her hopes upon it. "I am afraid... no. Although it is difficult to tell exactly what has happened, with the problem of time such as it is. However, France is again mired in l'ancien regime. Have you heard of The Sun King?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 4:34 pm
"No comrade, you came in second." He grinned a bit wider, finding the statement funny. Once Thasios had approached he could better smell the wine on him. "Fun? By dousing you in wine? Does not seem very fun, or polite, to me."
At the recognition he nodded and held out his hand. "Lai Gorgonroff. And this girl here is Miss Hyo. She has not told me her surname." He turned partly and gave Hyo a pat on the head and a nod of knowing how bad Thasios smelled because of the alcohol. Lai was mostly used to the scent, that and vodka, due to living in and around bars in St. Petersburg for a period in his life and the fact his cousin regularly switched between the two as well.
Noticing Thasios' discomfort at the drenched clothing the Russian turned back. He gave a knowing frown as he looked at the stains; they would be extremely hard to remove. "That would probably be best. I forget how to get wine stains out, but the sooner you treat them, the better you will be. Though depending on that material, silk I presume, they are more than likely beyond saving.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 4:48 pm
Wee- that meant yes, right? Hah! He said she was doing wonderfully- he wouldn't say that unless if she were, would he? She stumbled around during the wider step but thankfully regained her balance before she could topple. The days of walking around in the back gardens with the suit had paid off!
"King Louis!" she exclaimed. "Who hasn't! Ah... My... My father was a Bonapartist," she said quickly. "We- actually, he, was hoping to restore the Bonaparte family to rule... Well, I wanted to be more like America," she said, making her voice hopeful and shy. But what are you saying? What is going on with France right now?"
Eponine wondered what time period this young man had come from. Perhaps he was talking about a different revolution? Or maybe he was from the future? If so, perhaps he'd know if any advances in robotics had been made...
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 5:08 pm
...maybe learning engrish wouldn't be such a bad idea... Hyo felt a bit forgotten when his spirit and the newcomer started talking. But who was he, to occupy the kind spirit's whole attention? The boy felt ashamed for having such feeling. Seems I really do have too much pride... But then he felt even worse, when the second man said something to him. How am I supposed to answer? Well, his engrish vocabulary wasn't big enough to offer him any choice. He didn't know how to apologize or say that he doesn't understand. So he just smiled, and said his thanks... At least what he thought was most probable to be thanks. "Saank yuu." He smiled again and nodded... And felt really special, when just after that the kind spirit patted his head. The smile became even happier. For such praises, he could bear any amount of alcohol-loving guests!
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 5:43 pm
Hands on shoulders. Oh Gott, I can't even form complete thoughts in my head now!, Johannes thought.
Still, this stranger in black seemed worried about him for now. He knew he heard this voice somewhere before, but his memory --or rather, his brain-- isn't functioning very well now. He was appreciative, even if he didn't look like it.
"No, not really." *hic* "That drink I had must have been too strong, despite my insistence to the bartender..." Johannes looked up to the stranger and tried to look like at elast he was still conscious, unlike his brother who would have been stone cold and staggering by now. Then again, his brother always had the strong stuff. Johannes preffered to be 'safe.' "Thank you for asking, though." "Not many people would help the drunk..." *hic*
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:11 pm
"Eknephias... generally does not consider consequences. But I am at peace with it; he is like a brother to me."
Thasios gripped the offered hand and gave it a firm shake. "I am pleased to formally make your aquaintance, as well as that of Miss Hyo."
He looked down at his clothing. It did appear to be entirely composed of silk; expensive silk. That would not be a problem. They would need to make some time in order to take a trip to India to replace Wraith's coat, however. He did not like being in debt to others.
His ruminations on silk were cut short by Hyo's words. Thasios looked curiously at her. "She does not... speak the English language, does she?" This he directed at Lai. He had seen enough to recognize the features of one who didn't know the language being spoken around them.
He gave the girl a smile at her 'thank you', and replied, softly, "You are most welcome." He felt it would not be a smart idea to be overly loud, for some reason.
As he felt the hamburger tilt dangerously, Sebastien tightened his grip on her hands slightly. "Bonapartist? Ah, yes. But-- I thought you were from the times of the French Revolution? I do not purport to know much of France beyond my time, but I believe that Napoleon took control after the French Revolution... ah. You're father must have been a young man to have lived through all those different regimes." It wasn't that bad, dancing with a hamburger and talking about France. "France is currently under the rule of Louis XIV, the Sun King. It is an absolute monarchy - the Divine Right of Kings, if you have heard of the Godly mandate. However, he generally lets the duchies do what they will; not that they do much. Nobles tend to be a lazy breed. I should know-- I am one."
He gave her a half-smile before twirling her as much as her costume would allow.
Wraith shook his head. "If you want to drink at LOTUS, you had best build up some sort of tolerance." As the man's words tapered off, Wraith sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Consider it my... civic duty."
He steered the man, by the shoulders, towards the edge of the room, where it was darker and the noise was deadened to a dull roar. Locating a chair, Wraith forcefully pushed him down onto it. "Stay here while I get you a glass of water."
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:35 pm
"Likewise comrade, likewise." He was going to talk about the wine stains, maybe that would help jog is memory about how to get them out when Thasios pointed out Hyo's speech. Lai looked down at his temporary charge before looking back at the man.
"Well, not fluently. The words I have heard her say in something like English sound like 'thank you', 'interesting', and 'please'. Not a bad start eh? Plus if you press your hand to your chest like so," He used his left hand to demonstrate. "And tell her your name, she picks it up quite fast. Her accent is heavy when saying it, but it still sounds fine for someone just starting to learn."
He looked back at Hyo as Thasios said his 'you're welcome' and removed his hand from the girl's head, giving the Korean a light smile while doing so. He had not forgotten she was there, just in case the girl was feeling left out. Instead, he waved his hand at the available seats, offering Thasios his choice of seating before reminding himself the man probably wanted to make a mad dash to room to get clean clothes and wash up.
"Ah, I was about to offer you a seat to stay and chat, but you probably want to run to your room and change into something clean. My mistake, I apologize." Lai really could be a bit empty headed when trying to be a gracious host. Yes, he had just declared himself the unofficial hall host for the evening. "But afterward you can feel free to sit with us. I do not know if Miss Hyo is ready to go back into the ballroom yet. I assume not, as there are a few people in there that would send her over the edge again, and that would not be good."
He really did not want to go in there and get into another quarrel with someone, regardless if they were the masked Einar or anyone else.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:27 pm
"Go slow on this one? Does it burn more when it's slower?"
Einar took the second drink and took a sip, savoring the sweet burn before hr simply tossed it down. It landed in his empty stomach right on top of the first one that he'd laid to waste, and for a moment his gag reflex let him now that while he may feel no pain his body sure as hell didn't like being messed with.
At least not on an empty stomach. Never on an empty stomach, that only made it go into your system faster.
"Yup, still burns. I wonder why alcohol is so bitter anyway, even if you add sweet things to it like milk or sugar or crushed up candy. Someone once told me that the bitter taste is only because there are no scars on the drinker's heart and therefore they can't taste it's real sweetness but I...think he's full of lark and hogwind."
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:45 pm
"Hmmm. That means she does not know English, Mr. Gorgonroff." However, he did as Lai demonstrated, putting his hand to his chest and saying his name.
He smiled apologetically to the Russian man; he did want to change. "Please do not apologize. I would like to make a trip up to my chambers and change my clothing, and I hope you do not take that as an affront. I fear the smell is upsetting the young lady." He frowned at the mention of detaching themselves from the party; so soon? "I am sorry to hear that you will wait outside in this hallway, with the masquerade proceeding in the ballroom. I hope that Miss Hyo can find the spirit to rejoin it, eventually. But," he turned in the direction leading to the residences, "I am assured that you can wait to resume our conversation until I have changed into something not soaked in wine."
And Thasios's voice faded slowly as he made his way down the hall and out of sight.
Eknephias made a sound of displeasure as Einar spoke. "It's not always about the end effect, my dear friend. Did you not notice the lovely aroma of anise coming from your drink before you drank it down all at once? I venture to say that you did not." He did have to agree with the fact that alcohol had a bitterness that burned through anything it may have been paired with.
"Why it's so bitter?" He hadn't given the problem much thought before. He set his own, half-empty glass down on the counter, and rested his chin on his hand. "Your friend said that? I'm afraid I don't quite follow. It is only bitter to those that are not broken inside?" What deep thoughts for such a frivolous evening. "But everyone's broken inside. Everyone here, at least."
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:50 pm
Eponine bobbled nervously. "No, my father fought in Waterloo, Napoleon's last stand. And then, just last year they started building the barricades, and then- well, and here we are," she offered. "Just... Twenty? Or so years after Napoleon- say, do you know what happened to him? Last I heard he was on that.. That one island..." Oh thank anything and everything for the edition of Les Miserables programmed in her circuits! "But there are many-" she stopped when Sebastien told her the current state of France. "Then we're just back where we started!" she exclaimed, putting disappointment and hopelessness in her voice. "I mean, not that it's a bad thing, errr, I'm sure it has its perks, and I'm glad you're of- ah... A... Bourgeois?" She summoned up the reserves of her acting and giggled like Estrelas. "I'm dancing with a duke!"
Eponine twirled, barely stumbling on her feet. "But.. I have to say, what's it like, being a bourgeois?"
Meanwhile, Estrelas piled up the cups she had emptied and looked around for a bowling ball.
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:19 am
"Waterloo?" Sebastien was confused. Waterloo was definitely after the French Revolution. Just how old was this girl? He shook his head slightly; he was probably just getting the order of events confused in his mind.
"The last that I had heard, Napoleon had been banished to Saint Helena, which is an island as you had said." He sighed as he heard disappointment in her voice. He felt badly for her' she probably hated him, being a sympathizer of the revolution. He had learned of it all when he had reached LOTUS; first disbelief that such a thing could happen, and then a certain amount of self-loathing as he realized what sort of idle life he imagined he had led.
"Technically, mademoiselle, I am Capetian." He smiled, his voice teasing.
"But... it was a good life, I suppose. I don't recall doing much of anything. Lots of sword practice, lots of hunting and lots of days whiled away at court." That was the gist of what he remembered anyway. And what he cared to divulge. "What about yourself? What were you doing in the slums of Saint-Michel?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:13 am
"Broken? And here I thought all of us were supposed to be what fixes the broken things, or does it take something already broken to restore a problem?"
His words were slurred slightly, not enough to hamper his speech to make his lips feel heavy enough that they curled slightly upwards into a grin. He probably would have been frowning if he hadn't been feeling so giddy, but that's what taking shots to an empty stomach would do to a man.
MAKE HIM GIDDY.
"I'm also not much of one to stop and smell things. Where I'm from there's nothing pleasant to smell, it all smells like ash anyway, so . .."
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