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 Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 3:48 pm
Thorne (Masked) | | 25/25 | | Wandering
Thorne was pleased with himself. His checklist was quickly filling in. Little of this night wasn't pleasing, and so what if there was murder at the end? That was Melany's business, not his. The atmosphere was heavy and thick. It smelled of fear and anxiety and panic, determination. Lust, hunger. Everyone was running around like chickens, and Thorne cut through them with ease. He felt electrified, fed by everyone else responding to the information they clawed at. But someone had told him once that he was insatiable, always wanting more than they could give. Was that his sin then, gluttony?
Well.
Thorne stepped out of the Ivory Hall, breathing out as he turned his head left and right, the mask jangling softly as he considered his options. He'd already played with Alois, Chris, and that insufferable giant locked in his tower. Now what, now what? It was a question he would answer when he found someone new to entertain for awhile.
In long, lupine strides, Thorne cut across the hall into one of the narrow passages that led nowhere, nowhere. Would he find any mice lurking? Maybe, maybe. That was always the game though, wasn't it? Finding fresh meat. And find it he did, in the form of another man, this one unfamiliar from Before, and After.
"Are you alone?" He asked Nathaniel. His voice was a soft purr of sound. Inviting. Honeyed. Warm. He had gotten good at that, after all. In his life pretending with all of the memories of before. "That's dangerous, here in this court."
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 4:05 pm
Nathaniel Parrish - 25 / 25 - also wandering
Nathaniel's forest green mask consisted of gold filigree that curled leaf-like around the edges, reminding him somewhat of something out of A Midsummer Night's Dream, or some other Shakespearean play that involved prancing about in the woods. The rest of his apparel wasn't that much different, but at least it wasn't worn or obviously secondhand, like most of Nathaniel's things these days.
He felt strangely...perhaps not at ease, but more comfortable than he'd thought he'd be at such a place. Not quite as out of place as he'd initially believed, maybe because he didn't have to worry about trying to convince anyone that he belonged here. It was such an outrageous, fantastical "shindig" (to coin the Eldritch Gentleman's term) that Nathaniel sort of slid under the radar as far as ridiculous went.
It was strange.
There was also a voice in his ear.
Nathaniel was standing in a hall, trying to figure out where he was going. He had not expected there to be anyone else, and hadn't heard the footsteps creeping up towards him, not until the saccharine voice was lilting somewhere to his left and making him jump.
The masked man was eyed somewhat warily, though instinct, thankfully, kept Nathaniel calm and collected.
Mostly. He gave a simple shrug.
"There are plenty of dangerous things in this court," he said agreeably. "Like that man on fire, what if there were a stack of hot dogs nearby? We'd have ourselves a barbecue madhouse."
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 5:16 pm
Thorne (Masked) | | 25/25 | | Testing the waters
Thorne leaned against the solid wall of the dark corridor and watched. There was a callous, elegant ease in every movement he made, lupine and slow. He was still tasting the violence of the Ivory Hall in the back of his throat. It made him restless somehow. But he could bide his time.
"He's gone this long without setting something on fire unintentionally," Thorne drawled, "apart from himself, that is." His eyes lit with amusement. "And the Madam would have an absolute fit at such an unruly display. No, Ezra is not the one you should be worried about."
His smile was slow and hungry.
"But what are you looking for all the way out here?" His eyes dipped beneath the mask, raking over Nathaniel's form. "There are better places to lurk."
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 5:28 pm
Nathaniel Parrish - 25 / 25 - slightly concerned
"True," said Nathaniel amicably, wondering if he should be attempting to flee for his life right now. Something about the lazy grace with which the man lounged was off putting, almost disconcerting in a way that he couldn't quite define off the top of his head.
Or maybe he was just being paranoid. At least he now knew the man on fire had a name and it wasn't something like Ember or Ash.
"The Madam?" Nathaniel repeated. "Oh. You mean - yes, the lady that was with you. Madam Melany, I presume?"
He had not had the best experiences with said lady, though she had in the end given him a useful tidbit. Still, Nathaniel found the way this man's eyes shifted behind his mask almost eerie; it gave him the sensation of being x-rayed in a way he wa relatively sure he didn't particularly like.
He gave a casual shrug, fingers tapping against the leg of his trousers.
"I was looking for the next room," said Nathaniel quietly. Or my sanity, I'm relatively sure that was lost somewhere at the door to the party. "What about you? Looking for something?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 10:41 pm
Thorne (Masked) | | 25/25 | | Entertained
Thorne tilted his head and hummed. This man was unfamiliar territory. He was slightly disappointed in the lack of material he had on the other, but oh - what was life without a challenge anyways?
"Madam Melany," he echoed, with an air of fondness, obedience, servitude. "She has exquisite taste and will not tolerate anything but perfect obedience."
His eyes flicked to Nathaniel and he shifted gently, readjusting his position against the wall. Nathaniel seemed - less than the others. Less everything. Worried, anxious, freaked out. But then again, he also seemed fresher. Of the many people Thorne had encountered in his time Before and After, he had never encountered this one.
The question made him look up, eyes wild-bright. He seemed to consider the question for a long moment before pushing away from the wall and spreading his hands to either side. The mask sang softly. The smile stayed in place.
"The next room? Which one?" He tilted his head and the smile turned wicked. Hungry. "I was looking for some fun."
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2016 4:16 pm
Nathaniel Parrish - 25 / 25 - slightly more concerned
He did not like the way this man was looking at him. Or the way he was talking about a woman that, twice now, Nathaniel had been warned about in separate occasions, in different ways. The air of utmost care and respect for the syllables of her name alone were dredged in an obedience that he found concerning all on its own.
Or maybe he was just being paranoid.
"I'm sure she does," he said carefully. "You seem awfully loyal to her."
The mask was making a funny noise and the smile was as disconcerting as the rest of him. Nathaniel eyed him, fingers itching for something to do, sliding absently along the hem of his forest green vest because he didn't have anywhere else to put them.
"Any room, really," said Nathaniel. "One that, preferably, doesn't get me killed."
Then he asked, with a mixture of casual and curious, "What sort of fun, exactly?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 6:54 pm
Thorne (Masked) | | 25/25 | | Only slightly curious
Thorne hummed and pushed away from the wall, hooking his hands at the small of his back and prowling forward, a smile flashing white, white teeth.
"And why not be? She is a rather exquisite thing, is she not?" Thorne hummed loosely, a soft and dangerous sound. "Everyone needs a purpose in life, after all."
Thorne spread his hands to either side, the smile frozen on his face. It looked sinister somehow, turned at the wrong angle. There was something lurking beneath the surface of him. Nathaniel was knocking on its door.
"You shouldn't be in this Court if you're afraid of death, darling," Thorne purred, his drawl slow and luxurious. It was like a cat rubbing up against a boys feet, pleased even as its claws dug in. "Haven't you ever played Russian Roulette?"
His eyes flickered, he dropped his hands to his side and came closer. Close enough that he could touch Nathaniel if he wanted.
"The kind that involves two."
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 7:39 pm
Nathaniel Parrish - 25 / 25 - slightly morer concerned
Nathaniel thought about this for what felt like a long moment, but in reality couldn't have been more than a second or two.
"She's...quite the presence," he said carefully, and if he was going to get through the night, wasn't it important to play the game correctly? The ones that were loyal to Madam Melany certainly thought highly of her; insulting or demeaning her would do Nathaniel no good - and he was also relatively certain that it would almost certainly lead to disaster.
"She's beautiful," he said, which wasn't a lie, even if it was a slight stretch of the truth. "She certainly can command the attention of a room, I've never had that sort of ability before."
A purpose in life. Nathaniel wondered, fleetingly, of his own purpose - or rather, purposes. His head tilted curiously towards the masked man, Nathaniel resisting the urge to back away and run off in the opposite direction from him.
"Is that your purpose? To follow her?" he asked, the question casual in tone. The too-wide smile made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, frissons of discomfort sweeping through Nathaniel, though he forced himself, once more, to remain still. "And I'm not really afraid of death." Another partial truth. "But I'd really prefer not to, especially not on a school night; I have a paper due tomorrow," he added, airily, lightly, a teasing note to his voice that he didn't truly feel.
He was starting to feel less and less steady. Nathaniel idly tapped fingers along his leg again.
"That game where there's one bullet in a gun and you pull the trigger on people?" he asked, and now the man was too close, wicked, and lazy all at the same time. Nathaniel kept still, his eyes tracing the lines of the mask.
"Russian Roulette can't be played only with two people."
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:30 pm
[ 20/25 | THORNE (masked) | +3 to attack ] : hm
Thorne blinked at Nathaniel owlishly, a wolfish expression tearing across his face. So this one knew how to bow and grovel. It was a poor attempt, and his chilled slightly with every word. Nathaniel was handling a time bomb, pulling all the wrong wires.
Ten, nine, eight...
"Nor will you ever." There was a mild sort of butchery in his words, a casual acknowledgement of the distance between Melany and the boy in front of him. "But feel free to try."
His expression became dangerous at the next question, lighting with a smile that was nothing happy. It was dangerous and bladed and screamed, run run run.
"Is that what you think it is?" He shot back, a soft slow rumble of sound that seemed out of place for the expression he wore. His eyes flicked over Nathaniel with lazy intent. "The struggles of a college student are dire indeed. Well, I'm sure a professor would accept supernatural murder sacrifices as a viable one-day extension excuse."
He hooked his arms against the small of his back once more, bobbing up and down on his feet with ease. A laugh trailed after Nathaniel's words. Cute kid. Too bad.
"Only if you're not creative," Thorne drawled in return. "What would you suggest instead?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:51 pm
Nathaniel Parrish - 25 / 25 - a bad idea
Things Nathaniel was: a gardener.
Things Nathaniel was not: an actor.
Things Nathaniel most certainly never would be: an affluent liar.
He knew, somehow, that this man had not believed him in his attempts at trying to compliment Madam Melany. Nathaniel felt the weight of the stare bearing down at him, felt the knife cut of the words against his skin, his gaze flickering behind the mask. It stung more than it should have, coming from a man like this; Nathaniel knew his own inabilities, but to hear them spoken aloud so callously...
He felt like he was treading dangerous waters here.
Still - stupidly - he remained in place, because what good would it do to run when there were still things to learn? Nathaniel did not want to press his luck, but maybe he could at least figure something out so he was slightly more than completely useless.
"Maybe if I explained about the whole murder thing, I'd get off easier," said Nathaniel casually, though his gaze was laser focused on the man. Both the laugh and the twisted smile sent unpleasant shivers down his spine; he felt like he was standing on a blade's edge, about to be severed at any moment with any wrong step.
"How about a name first?" Nathaniel suggested. "I've never met you before - I don't think. Politeness and good manners dictate we should at least get to know each other first before you try to play games like Russian Roulette with anyone."
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