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[formidable]

Private AU/PSL RP. A tale of two brothers from alternate 1879 France, and the witch, her golem, and other colorful characters, who get entangled in their lives. Urban fantasy, steampunk, magic, guns, and coffee collide. ➤ PART I ➢ "La Caravane".

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[pragnanz]

[ Oh my god... HE LEAVES YOU TWO ALONE FOR 30 MINUTES AND THIS HAPPENS

Claude leans on his armrest, looks back and forth between Iona and Gus.

And sighs. ]

I'd like to take a hard pass.

[ CLAUDE????? ]

[crafting]

[ He tips his head to the side when Monts mentions being calm, as if this is something he didn't anticipate. ]

What. Stressed?

[ Like a dog, he pulls inwards and examines his companion carefully, his eyes narrowed in scrutiny. ]

Bottling again?

[infusion]

[HUFFING IN INDIGNATION HERE?! ]

What's that supposed to mean?! Besides the problem here is that we got a creepy crawly underneath the building!

[nerine]

Hm... It's sad to admit, but I bottle up all the time.

[it's not hard to see why]

But that said, I'm usually calm. I dunno... It's hard to explain.

[pragnanz]

Nothing the police can't handle, I'm sure.

[ He says, full well knowing that the 'police' are a bunch of corrupt, inefficient fools.

Meaning: 'why do we have to get involved???' ]

[crafting]

[ He hums lightly, catching fireflies on his finger as he thinks about what he's been told. ]

Hard for you. [ He states, simply, before reaching out to put one of the insects on Monts' head. ]

's fine. I don't mind it.

[nerine]

Is it weird?

[She tilts her head as he brushes the insect out of her hair.]

That I find you calming?

[crafting]

[ Without thinking: Yeah. Weird. Nue are supposed to be headaches.

[ And he's fine with that, that's just the way it is—

—but somehow he has a feeling that that isn't what she's saying, so he appends. ] Is it weird? That I think you are, too. Calming.

Kinda.

[infusion]

I'm positive that we might actually be dealing with something that's in my neck of the woods, Claude.

That is unless you're used to phantoms.

1/2

[pragnanz]

Ah, of course.

We can't go a single outing without conjuring some demon from the underworld, it seems.

[ Meaning: OK FINE INVOLVE ME IN YOUR BUSINESS WHY WON'T YOU!! ]

[effet]

[ Gus, on the other hand, seems to have recovered from his previous spat of despondency, and beams with the power of roughly 3 suns. ]

We're gonna be Phantom Hunters.

[ Does he get a badge??? Tell him he gets a badge. ]

[nerine]

[Her smile brightens up when he asks the same of her.]

Kinda? Does that mean I'm making your heart race every other moment??

[crafting]

[ He's knelt down to look at a nice flower by the side of the walkway when she asks him this question.

Petulantly, he throws some grass at her feet. ]

Making me want to race the other way. With my legs. As fast as I can.

[ Hmph. ]

[infusion]

Okay, I know this is coming from me, but let's not get hasty here.

[She IS trying to be low key!]

Whoever or whatever's down there is gonna be nasty if we press on too quickly. And it might be a better idea to do some investigating. Who knows what's been going on behind the scenes now that we have an idea that there's more to the opera building, right?

[nerine]

That's okay. I'd wait for you.

[she needs a way back en !]

[pragnanz]

[ There's a long pause on Claude's end, before he slumps into his seat and winds his fingers on his lap. ]

I'm inclined to agree. There's no moving forward if we're lacking in information.

[ Green eyes closed, he speaks with measured pauses. Considering his options carefully. ]

I have some contacts I can refer to. Some of the architects that worked on renovations of the opera house are clients of mine. Gossip is cheap.

[crafting]

[ Cue unintelligible noises of annoyance!!!! ]

Wouldn't leave you stranded!!

[ He's not that heartless!! He sounds so bitter about having to admit this, though. Even puffs up a little. ]

Do you want to go on an adventure or not!!

[ wow he's 3 years old ]

[nerine]

An adventure? You had something else in mind besides walking?

1/2

[oren]

Ask if blackmailed.

[Oren interjects with an interesting suggestion.]

By someone else. Not family.

[OREN!?]

[infusion]

[Iona elbows Oren for that remark, but she seems heartened by Claude's contemplation.]

That's good! I think I can also add that you should make sure the questions are asked outside of the building.

[The witch looks back and forth and then up at the ceiling. Taking a step to the balcony railing she looks up into the rafters and the grand chandelier.]

Can't say he isn't listening right now even...

[crafting]

—Yeah! Heard from... the grapevine? [ testing out that idiom... ] That there's a big mansion. Abandoned. Full of cool stuff to steal!

[ OKAY EN THAT LAST BIT THO ]

1/2

[pragnanz]

[ This certainly seems to be something of an incident, if such discretion is required. Claude may have to twist a few arms (literally) to find out what he has to, or, ugh, he may even have to... play nice. The things he does for dubious friendship.

But if someone may be listening in, Claude knows that it's best to act 'natural'. His lips curl up into his usual, practiced smile, and he segues the conversation smoothly into something else, as if they haven't been talking about anything ominous at all. ]

Of course. Confidentiality is key. [ Light, breezy. ] Now, will you be staying for the rest of the show, or will you be—

[effet]

[ —leaving, is what the rest of that sentence would have been, if Gus doesn't notice the slight swaying coming from above them, the creak of gears turning in a direction they're not meant to. Gus is in-tune with all the sounds and machinations that make this place run smoothly, and he can tell when something's gone awry...

...which is why he yells: ] Everyone, move! [ And points to one of the large rafters in the ceiling that's been partially dislodged, swaying dangerously over their heads.

A warning? He's sure it is, from whoever they heard singing in the basement. ]

[nerine]

... Where you do even keep the stuff you take?

[That's what she's concerned about!?]

[oren]

[Surprisingly, it's Oren who springs into action first.

Iona was about to leap down from the balcony, but Oren beats her to the punch. He's still unseen and invisible as he speeds towards the direction of the dangling rafter. His charge in the meanwhile tries to keep her composure, instead trying to look in the direction which Gus pointed.

Is there someone there? The shadows and distance between them and the ceiling is considerable and the seconds tick by as the rafter is agitated by someone. There are people below, in the middle of walking out or returning to their seats, some letting out screams as the rafter suddenly drops down.

And onto Oren. The object is heavy, but his Herculean strength is in full display even if he himself is invisible, giving the impression that the rafter is floating a few feet up in the air, giving people enough time to clear the area before he drops it down across a row of emptied seats.

(And his visage flickers slightly, like an aurora of lights, but only briefly, faintly.)

No fatal damage to anyone, but those seats are definitely scraped and the ceiling could use some work now.]