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 Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 7:50 pm
Scylla had made no bones, when she had been to Celsus before, that she wanted to go again. There had been so many books, and the sight of the walls piled high and glittering (albeit some of the colors making her eyes bleed) and just- Scylla loved books, almost as much as she loved her children, and her cat, and shoes. Maybe more than the shoes, actually. In the choice between knowledge and fashion, it was a closely-guarded secret that she'd choose knowledge. Getting in touch with the knight had been easier than she had thought; while she had a passport, manners dictated that instead of bursting into his wonder and dancing around with the books like Belle in Beast's library, she notify the knight of her intentions. And get him to take her, so she didn't have to walk (though that was a minor benefit.) Her wounds still ached- all of them, internal and external- scratches in her arms and legs still healing from the assault of the youma. It was the physical ache she focused on, not the various emotional and mental aches from the battle. They were... far too much to consider, right now. Feelings she didn't want to pull out and examine in detail. Books, and exploring a Wonder, were ideal distractions from the pressing things on her mind; the battle, and her own responses to it... She sucked in cold air, leaning against the wall, waiting for the transcended knight, the necklace she had made from Caedus' gift linked with Andromache's gems around her throat, both glittering in the darkness.
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Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 10:44 pm
He had only briefly talked to Scylla when she'd been at his Wonder the first time; but there was something to be said about being able to take her back there, now, because it meant that she had enjoyed herself enough once to want to go back twice.
It admittedly was vaguely nervewracking, but one of Celsus's goals over the last few months meant that at least try and make more of an effort to not become a recluse. It was made easier, what with the brigade and Rhys and Hitch's wedding and Cordelia and Wendell and the others who kept up his spirits - but he had to at least make an attempt.
He found the senshi waiting at the prearranged spot, near the edge of the park. Celsus could feel her power signature wafting through the air as he made his way towards her, a little smile on his face as he came to a stop a few feet away - though the smile dipped a little as he neared.
"Are you all right?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Er, that is to say, good evening."
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 10:44 am
The feeling of another Order aura approaching made Scylla push up a little, adjust her arm cuffs and the sheer cloth that covered some of her arms and a small portion of her back. It wouldn't be enough to cover up the last of the scrapes, but it would be easier than trying to explain some of the drama. The redheaded knight who approached got a warm smile and wave from the short senshi, and she shrugged off his worry with a wave of a hand. "A bad run-in with a youma," she said easily, instead of explaining the story behind her scuffs. "Good evening to you, Celsus. Thank you for agreeing to be my escort this evening. I figured it would be more mannerly than just porting to the Surrounds and invading your library without permission." She leaned down and grabbed the small cloth bag that held some pens and papers before she strolled closer, vaguely wishing she had brought a coat. It wouldn't be necessary at Celsus proper though, and it would have just been extra inconvenience. "How have you been? Did you get your little game cleaned up okay? Please tell me some of those colors aren't normal room colors for your wonder." she couldn't stop the wrinkle of her nose.
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Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 2:28 pm
He felt his cheeks flush a little; Celsus clearing his throat.
"Forgive me," he said, offering Scylla a small, tentative smile. "I did not mean to greet you so impolitely. I'm sorry that you had such a negative encounter; hopefully this one will be less of a worrisome thing for you - and of course, I will be glad to escort you."
A little laugh escaped. "Well, I'd probably be somewhat surprised if you simply popped in, but common decency and etiquette dictates that we should be aware of what is and isn't polite. I appreciate your attention to details," he added, with a little more of a grin.
Her question made the smile more gentle, however. "I did indeed, thank you for asking. And I have been well, as a matter of fact - and yes," Celsus added, catching sight of Scylla's wrinkled nose. "Those colors are, in fact, the colors of some of the rooms. Didn't approve of them?" he asked innocently, though there was a twinkle in his eye.
He reached out, very carefully touching her arm.
"Shall we attend, then?" he asked.
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Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 8:37 pm
Peering up (and up) at Celsus, Scylla shook her head easily. "Nothing to forgive. Certainly nothing impolite in expressing concern. I'm the casual sort. Say what you mean, mean what you say, unless you're talking money or politics. Or Disney movies, now that I'm thinking about it. Never can admit when you don't like one." Her mouth quirked at his laugh. "Well, if you find me a good Wonder-guest, I'd love an open invitation to invade. I'm sure I won't be able to read a word, but I can look at the pictures. Dance around. Sing musical songs. Be a ridiculous nuisance." She wrinkled her nose up at the Knight more visibly now, humor lighting her face. "I'm glad you've been well, though I am terribly sorry for the loss of your eyesight." his hand touched her arm and she settled her hand over his lightly. "I supose I can't disapprove of the inevitable color scheme issues, though there are a few rooms I may stare at the door of and try not to cry. Allons-y, my dear sir."
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Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:21 am
Her reassurances made him feel a little better, Celsus giving a small nod of assent. The hesitant smile he'd offered her now stretched a little wider into something more amused as he said, sounding pleased, "The last time I spoke of Disney movies, my brother's fiance almost threw me out of my own flat."
Scylla was charming, in a way, and polite. Celsus felt himself relaxing a little more as he stood there, feeling the ease of the Order aura shifting over him, a little niggling feeling at the back of his mind that reminded him that they were both comfortably on the same side.
"I should like to see you sing any of the words in some of the lesser known books," said Celsus with a laugh. He tried not to immediately tug his hand away as she touched his own, the old, familiar feeling creeping up his spine. Celsus took a small, subtle breath and said, with a touch of innocence in his voice, "Yes, well, I'm sure I could find you an even brighter room if the ones you saw of were not to your liking."
His grin was still there as they arrived in the main hallway of Celsus. It was a bright, open space, the floor tiled in cream and gold, the drapery all cream. Everything was spacious, the hall lined with a series of doors that led off into adjoining rooms that led off into even more adjoining rooms. Celsus still hadn't explored all of them yet.
He turned to look at Scylla, smiling.
"Where should you like to start?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 2:11 pm
"Clearly you were doing too much talking about the movies, and not enough singing the songs." Scylla laughed at his grin and gentle humor. "Everything is better when you can look at someone and tell them to Let it Go." She sidled closer comfortably; not invading his space bodily, but certainly comfortable with contact, her bare shoulders open and relaxed. "i'll sing anything," she told him cheerfully, :so long as you aren't offended by a yodel. Now if you get me a nice piano, or a harp? Then it's on." she gave him a bright smile as he laughed, and then stuck out her tongue. "Don't you dare find me something brighter, I need both eyes." She inhaled, and in the breath between, they were elsewhere, and she squeezed his hand and peered around with bright-eyed interest, assessing. "Show me someplace that wasn't open during your little event," she decided, intrigued. "So many books. What was celsus used for it's so- big." her voice was mildly dreamy. "Just a huge, huge library."
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Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 9:37 am
Celsus made a stifled sound that was possibly a snort. "I am not a singer, that would be my brother's fiance, and it would be entirely off key and warbled terribly and then I'd throw myself out of my flat before either of them could get farther."
He laughed, glancing over at Scylla. "I'm only offended when it's him singing, not for anyone else, I'm sure your yodeling is lovely. I've never heard a harp player in person, I do believe there's a harp somewhere on my Wonder, along with a piano, possibly, if you'd care to take advantage of either."
He thought he could recall finding a music room, but there were many rooms on Celsus, and he'd lost track of trying to find them. Celsus stepped away from Scylla to peer around the hall, his eyes roaming around the doors set along the walls, then gestured for her to follow as he started down to his left.
"It actually was a library, I do believe, at one point," he said lightly. "I looked it up, once upon a time. Or rather my brother did, I'm not good with computers, but Celsus in ancient times was a grand library. It's taken a bit of effort to restore it to its former glory, and many of the rooms are still in disrepair, but it's a lovely place."
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Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:52 pm
She clucked her tongue, peeking up at him through dark lashes. "Celsus, don't tell me you're one of those people, with unrealistic high expectations for themselves to hold up to?" Scylla was partly teasing, but also mildly curious. She'd gone through a phase of that- trying to make her mother happy, trying to make everyone happy, trying to be a perfect daughter, sister student, friend... and losing who she was. Who she might have been. Even now, she hadn't found it. A kindred soul, found in humor, wouldn't be a bad thing to find. With a laugh, she gestured him to lead her on. "I'll be happy to assault your ears as a thank you for being such a gracious host. Now, the hard part will be getting me to leave. I suppose you could starve me out, or you may come back one day to find a husk with a death-grip on some shiny manuscript." He stepped away, then further still, and she hurried to catch up, black curls bouncing behind her. "I didn't know about a library," she mused; "I always identified Celsus as the philosopher. He kept picking a fight with early Christianity. Clearly lost. It sounds fascinating, actually. We don't have anything like this on Scylla, much to my dismay. All I have is a big temple and a lot of water." She let her fingers trail over the walls, peering around with interest as they walked. "Have you thought about hosting another little event as a sort of Spring Cleaning?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 9:04 am
He laughed, and it felt nice. It was hard to keep things above board these days; it was...relaxing, like this, to be with a friend who kept his spirits up. Celsus had a lot of friends, he knew this, but the pressure of having to be strong all the time for himself was exhausting, even if it was necessary.
"Perhaps," he said, with some amusement. "I was always given unreasonable expectations, but I suppose some of that - or rather, a lot of that - was my own fault."
He gave Scylla a slightly apologetic look. "I tend to set too high goals for myself, let alone or those in my acquaintance. It's been a bit of a fun road, trying to figure that all out myself. I'm not...shall, we say, the best of judgement of character, especially in some circumstances."
Another laugh escaped. Celsus tucked his hands behind his back as they walked, the doors on either side of the hall gleaming and golden. It was so warm here, so...much less fearful than it had been for several months now. It was still taking time to adjust to that.
"I couldn't starve you," he said in mock outrage. "I would, at the very least, provide you with a blanket and pillows and perhaps some candy bars."
There was a door up ahead that was a glossy mahogany color. Celsus led Scylla towards it, glancing sideways at her. "That is actually fascinating. I wonder if he had anything to do with....well, everything. My ancestor, Aurelius, he might have known, but..."
Talking about Aurelius still hurt sometimes, the ache of loss settling inside of Celsus along with the gentle reassurance of letting go.
They'd reached the door. Celsus paused with his hand on the knob, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Do you know, I never had consider that, but that sounds like it could possibly work."
He pushed open the door with a flourish, though he had no idea what was behind it. The curved walls of the room were wide and dark, papered in the colors of blues and golds.Towering bookshelves stood on either side, and in the middle, there was a clear meeting space with a small table and some chairs.
"Oh," said Celsus, blinking. "Well, this is nice. Shall we take a look around, then?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:50 pm
His laughter was warm, and her bare shoulders relaxed still further, into the comfort of an Order aura, no Chaos around, and a little (adult, non-employee) human contact- even if not physical. "Unreasonable expectations were my mother's bread and butter, so let me be the first one to congratulate you on the fact you can recognize the expectations were unreasonable and that you're trying to figure it out at all." she tossed him a jaunty half-salute, perkier and more playful than the soft smile that curved her lips. Celsus' hands were behind his back, and Scylla let hers fall comfortable at her side, not hesitating to let herself slide out into the space around her, open and unconstrained. "Sounds like you want a new house-guest," she tossed to him with a laugh. "Chocolate, the makings of a pillowfort, and a huge library? You've just purchased one live-in Scylla." As they approached the mahogany door, she tilted her head to meet his glance, then away. "So are all knights descendants?" she asked curiously; "All the ones I have spoken to about the past refer more to their ancestor." his hand was on the knob, turning it, and she said, "But don't have them clean my to-be-bedroom, okay?" her voice was ripe with teasing. The door opened, and she inhaled at what lay beyond. "Oh, darling," she told the Wonder with adoration thick in her tone, patting the wall gently with a manicured hand, "You're beautiful. Good room choice, honestly. I adore your decor, too. Can this be my room? You can just drop the blankets and pillows at the door." Blues and golds matched her oh-so-lovely, and the bookshelves, and- "Yes," she told the human Celsus, already wandering into her adopted domain, spinning to take it all in, "This is beautiful." kuropeco She might be flirting with your wonder, sorry not sorry. It's just given her the best gift.
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Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 2:07 pm
Celsus gave a small bow of his head in Scylla's direction. "Thank you, I do try," he said airily, but his expression was gentle. "I suppose we all have to figure out our own little unreasonable....whatever they could be called, and learn how to unmake them."
Easier said than done, he knew this, but he was at least doing better. Celsus laughed, feeling surprisingly relaxed. "Yes, well, I suppose you could just make yourself at home here, I don't mind, and I'm sure it's not like you have anything better to do than Wonder hop, right?"
He tossed a teasing smile in her direction, but then shook his head. "No, not all; some are reincarted, though it's been quite a while since I've found one that I've actually spoken to. I was fortunate enough to be a descendant of my own, Aurelius; he was quite helpful."
Her comment about her own bedroom made him laugh again as they stepped into the room. Celsus didn't go far in, but simply took his time in looking first, even as Scylla moved past him, her eyes wide, her voice tinged with awe and pleasure. It was....refreshing. Celsus had been like that upon his first attendance of his Wonder, but that feeling of childlike incredulity and amazement felt like a long time ago.
It was nice to see it still exist. Celsus gently folded his arms across his chest as a smile tugged at his lips once more.
"Yes, of course, this shall be the Scylla Room," said Celsus grandly. "I'll be sure to hang your portrait from the wall and add a few pictures of tentacles somewhere."
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Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2017 7:51 pm
She wrinkled her nose behind her as she took in the lovely room he had so accommodatingly agreed to name after her. "I suppose I'll have to pose for you to have someone paint my likeness properly, unless you want to preserve me in photo for future generations." she tossed him a sly grin. "I'll have to make sure they get my good side, not my mischievous one." She was, after all, a model, and she was hardly in a position to toss him a photo to blow up if he decided to chuck something up there to tease her. or maybe that was only something she would do to prank a companion? "I'll have to pass on your kind offer of tentacle decor. Even I have my limits." She just hadn't found them all yet. It was easy to step away from high expectations; repairing yourself took a little bit at a time, and a lot of work. She wasn't ashamed of her quiet termination of the subject, and hoped he didn't mind too much. She'd find out, she supposed. "I don't really have that much to do," she said after a moment, trailing her fingers over the table and considering if she could fit a twin mattress on that bookshelf over yonder; "And besides, Wonder-hopping, as you put it, could be as educational as it sounds fun. A little bit of history, maybe find some connections to Scylla that I haven't remembered." There was a lot she hadn't remembered yet. "Not all ancestors were so helpful," she mused. "I have heard some just grew bitter, after all those years imprisoned in their Wonders waiting for a new Knight to teach." Ice... Blaine had tried to kill him. "It's good you had a good experience with your own ancestor. Did he look anything like you? Ancestry can be a tricky thing." then she tilted her head up, glanced back at the Knight through her lashes. "That means you're part alien."
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:58 am
He smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. The thought of painting still made Celsus's heart ache, though Scylla would have no way of knowing that even the mention of it made something in his stomach drop unpleasantly. He pushed the thoughts aside and gave a small laugh instead, shaking his head.
"All of your sides are your mischievous ones, I'd assume," said Celsus. "But I suppose I can refrain myself from adding tentacle decor if it suits the lady of the room."
He gave a mock, dramatic bow, sweeping his arm out to the side while keeping the other pressed to his stomach before straightening again. "That is right, I suppose. I still am getting memories back from here, it's...a bit of a long process, though it's been significantly quickened by recent events."
Scylla was given a faintly amused look.
"I suppose not. I was fortunate in that my ancestor was quite helpful and very kind. As for whether he looked like me...well, a little. More around the eyes than anything else, and I suppose a bit of the ace as well, but he doesn't have my outstanding hair."
Another laugh as Celsus walked over to the nearest bookshelf and idly ran his fingers across the spines. "Yes, yes, but aren't we all aliens?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:51 pm
Scylla gasped in mock affront, a hand going to her chest. "I am shocked and appalled by your accusations, sir. You impugn my honor, such as it is." clucking her tongue, Scylla shook her head. "I'm sugar and spice and everything nice." pausing, pursing her lips thoughtfully, she added, "Except when I'm not." a smile played about her lips. "I appreciate the lack of tentacle decor. I would much rather keep the focus on the books and the chocolate you'll be bringing me so I don't die, not the sudden influx of Lovecraftian decor to your lovely Wonder." It was tempting to respond to his bow with a curtsy- the instinct was there and strong, but she was still a bit sore, and not feeling as much secure in her ability to get up after. She was getting on in years, after all. She'd be 25 this year- practically a grandma by the standards of most her social circle lately. Instead, she tilted her head curiously. "If you're a descendant, how are you getting memories?" He wandered to a bookshelf, commenting on his ancestor and fantastic hair and 'a bit of face' and she moved towards the center of the room, running her fingers over the table on her way to another bookshelf, fingers reverent and careful as she reached out to tug a tome from its place. "As far as I know, I'm only reincarnated. Human until proven otherwise." Curiously, she asked, "Any pictures around here? I'm nosy."
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