sweethymns | Mι∂ηιgнт Ɠяιη∂

[ Gus has a few words to say to Oren about Iona's choice of attire (most of them being let her wear whatever she wants, fun police), but he's far more elated about the fact that she's here in the first place to complain overmuch; her enthusiasm, as always, is infectious to him. He feeds off of it with no little amount of earnesty, and his kinetic energy seems to radiate from where he's sitting, rapt and at attention. ]

Mmhmm, the crew is huge! You see how all the parts of the stage move? That's because every component has someone working behind it— there's even a machine that controls the breeze inside the theater, I'll show it to you later...!

[ Because Gus played a part in building some of the mechanisms, avid tinkerer that he is. ]

I'd love to see what it's like behind the scenes later! I never was able to get a good look at how the tech would work in this world.

[Oren, standing ever so silently in the back catches her eye and it's as if they can see each others thought process crystal clear. She's trying, TRYING so hard not to ask other questions that would seem suspicious, but the set up is too good, too intriguing not to poke at. But it seems this time, in order for them to enjoy their time in Paris, her golem had warned her ahead of time to not step out of line like the last time.

Of course, Iona hides these frustrations, or rather overrides them with her genuine enjoyment of the performance and of the opera overall. She beams at Gus and then lets out a small, "Oh!" as she turns her attention back to the singer.]

I think she's about to hit the last note...?

[how does she know that--

But there's no time to really question that because Christine Daae's angelic voice begins to steadily climb higher and higher--

And it's nothing less than a grand finale. The audience stands up, roaring with applause, with Iona following their suit.

Even Oren claps in the background. Brava.]

[ Man, Iona is really... prescient, huh. Maybe it's a witch thing? Gus doesn't question it much, given that he knows that Iona is from the future and bound to know some things ahead of time; sometimes he wonders if she doesn't already know about him and what happens in his future, and she's just choosing to lie to him out of her kindness.

He wouldn't hold it against her, really.

But he sets that aside to appreciate the swell of music and the lingering crescendo of Christine Daae's last note, finding that he's also unconsciously gotten up out of his seat in rousing applause.

He turns to Iona, all smiles (the expression given so freely) as he leans in to speak directly into her ear above the crowd. ] You can come with me backstage during intermission!

[Iona blinks when Gus speaks into her ear, but nods eagerly at the offer. Oren hasn't reacted to what he said, so Iona takes it that they can make the trip unimpeded. When the applause dies down at the lights turn back on, Iona readjusts her cloak before looking at Gus expectantly.]

I'll let you lead then! Be careful when talking to me though because, invisibility and all that.

[She shrugs because she and Oren are truly invisible. Only the brothers can see them. They could go through the trouble of disguising themselves since they stand out way too much (Iona being African American and being the notorious skirt ripper, Oren being... well, Oren), but it would still be a burden upon Gus and Claude to explain who their two new acquaintances were.]

Let's not spook the stagehands unnecessarily, okay?

Edited 2016-06-03 07:14 (UTC)

Spook...?

[ Right, he's forgotten that Iona and Oren are completely invisible right now; no wonder Claude hasn't been looking directly at their guests for this entire time. It wasn't just because his half-brother is rude...

A beat, to digest this, before he tips his head to the side. ]

Ohhh. Don't worry about it, though.

I talk to myself all the time.

[ GUS................................ ]

...

[She reaches up to ruffle his hair.]

?! Did I do a dog-thing again?!

[ IONA WHY?! ]

Don't worry about it, hon. Let's just go backstage okay?

[How can anyone not hear that and not feel pity... Iona's too nice to really say something like that aloud even when she's upfront to begin with. She waves to Oren and Claude.]

We'll be back soon okay? Try not to bore each other!

[ Claude barely reacts to her statement, which is mostly bred from his own sense of discretion; he's not one to talk to himself the way Gus does, so he's content to sit with Oren in relative silence, if need be... so much for not being boring.

But Gus— he's more than happy to bounce out of his chair and out of their box seats, flurry through the other guests milling around the lobby for drinks (the bar tended by a man and an intricate system of pulleys and wheels, drinks carted in tracks winding around the walls).

When he gets backstage, it's to a configuration that looks like they've stepped into the machinized version of a human body: one person manning each brass and copper tool like cells in an intricate nervous system, props laid out in sequential order to be carted off and placed on-stage later. Gus almost trips over something that looks like a wheel embedded into the floor, and grins mischievously as he pulls Iona into a semi-quieter portion of the theater. ]

This way, this way!

[Oren's cool with it man, it's why he doesn't snip at Claude like he does Gus.

As she follows Gus, Iona's head is moving back and forth, eyes darting in every possible human direction as she tries to make sense of the machinery behind the theater. The hard metal gleam was beautiful in all of it's precise and electrical glory. She steps gingerly on the floor, but still keeps a quick pace, helped along by Gus pulling her in.]

There's so much to look at...! I can't believe how efficiently everyone works because the show was so beautiful, but the effects were complicated too...

[She pauses glancing upwards every so often as if trying to catch a glimpse of something hidden. There's nothing... Oh well...]

So what exactly are you showing me Gus?

Edited (ugh words) 2016-06-06 07:54 (UTC)

Wait for it... wait for it...!

[ Hopping over a box holding more props (a wind-up monkey, how quaint), Gus whisks Iona over to a rather ornate door to the side of the stage. He doesn't knock, nor bother asking for permission before flinging the entrance open and gesturing theatrically into the space. ]

—Ta-da!

[ It's... a dressing room, though it seems to have been abandoned for a while: there's a thin layer of dust over the mirrors lining the wall, a feeling of antiquity and silence that comes into stark contrast with the business of the rest of the place. The costumes still hanging from their racks have also collected a film of dirt, easily restored to their previous splendor with a bit of sunny air. ]

—The old dressing room! I forgot why they made a new one... something to do with this one being too hard to go in and out from? Kind of weird that they just left it the way it was instead of clearing it out, but— hey, it's interesting, right?

Huh. I... I like it.

[Iona looks around genuinely, if quietly in awe.]

For a second, I almost thought we were going to walk in on someone changing. I don't think our Miss Christine Daae would have appreciated that.

[Her fingers graze the mirrors creating streaks in the glass. She lifts her fingers to gaze at the dust she collected.]

Why do you suppose they haven't cleaned out this room yet?

Hey...! Even I'm not that bad. I knock! Usually.

[ Pouting for a second in mock-indignance, Gus meanders through the room with a practiced ease, as if he's shut himself in here when he wanted a bit of time alone. (He has.) ]

Why, though... maybe because it's not the safest place to be if there's a mechanical failure or a fire? No one really seems to know the full story. Mysterious, huh.

Edited 2016-06-07 05:39 (UTC)

[Okay, she can't help herself. She has to ask. The room feels chilly to her and she pulls the cloak a little more closely to her shoulders.]

Do weird things happen in the theater here? There always seems to be something up with the dramatic types, especially behind the scenes. I mean, I would know, I talk to some of them back at school.

Weird... like, technical failures weird, or...

[ He makes a vague hand gesture here, supposedly to indicate 'supernatural'. ]

...weird weird? The staff here call me over a few times a month because the equipment acts up in certain performances, but that's all they'll tell me about it. There's a rumor that this place is bigger than it looks, too, but the building specifications should have been approved by our family, so...

[ For a second, Gus looks a bit sharper than he usually does: evaluating, considering. ]

...Do you feel something off about this room?

I feel that your staff is withholding information...

[Both hands are on the mirror now and she taps the surface with her palms.]

But yeah. Something's off. And maybe we should look into that rumor if my hunch is right...

Claude might know something more about the situation, actually. People gossip a lot around their family doctor around here.

[ 'A false sense of security', Claude would say. It doesn't hurt that he's moderately good-looking enough.

Gus takes to investigating, tapping the line of mirrors along the wall to see if the wall sounds hollow on the other end. ]

He takes care of a lot of people doesn't he? Hopefully more than I think anyways.

[Well. If it's Claude...

Iona feels troubled asking him about anything at the present moment, a concern she hasn't voiced nor does she want to yet. His last visit to the Grind had left her wondering. More aware of how the situation around them is so perilous at times and the peace they found with each other, was only in the Midnight Grind, and yet there was this tension she wasn't sure how to approach yet.

The witch puffs up her cheeks and pats down the mirror again, this time a little more strongly with her right arm. The mirror vibrates.]

Okay, so it feels solid at first-- That's the wall, but maybe if we pull it...??

Edited 2016-06-07 06:46 (UTC)

[ If Gus's noticed that his half-brother seems somewhat high-strung, he hasn't said anything about it yet. Claude operates on a plane that's entirely different to his own, and Gus knows that he can push as much as he wants and his brother will yield without question. It's because that's what Claude believes is his role. Gus doesn't like that— he'd rather his brother be forthcoming on his own terms, not because he nagged.

It's complicated.

She sidesteps the issue of recruiting Claude, and Gus defers to it with a self-awareness that people might not expect of him. But it's built into his bloodline, and he treats the situation with a curious grace.

He goes back to investigating. ]

Mm— maybe? Keep on trying, I wanna take a look at something.

[ Shuffling over to the closet, Gus pulls it open and crouches down, as if he's looking for something in particular. ]

[Iona takes a step back, putting one part of her cloak over her shoulder and stretching out her right arm and moving it around in circles to prep herself.]

Alright! This shouldn't take that much effort so lemme just pull...

[She's only using her fingertips and already the mirror is beginning to give a little by opening forward like a door. Iona glances into the mirror and is startled— a slender face, narrow eyes, a white mask, solid yet not, staring right at her—]

WHOA!

[She says that out loud and takes a step back. She blinks twice. The dust may be obscuring her view and yet...]

Gus?

I don't think this is a just a mirror...!

Edited 2016-06-07 07:08 (UTC)

[ Gus'd been checking the closet for a trapdoor, but apparently Iona's on to something. So he picks himself up from a pile of dusty clothes, shakes out some dirt from his hair to make his way on over to whatever she's found, which seems to be— ]

—Whoa, alright, that's. Creepy.

[ Some guy has a weird fetish........ ]

You think someone's been using this place for... [ he squints. ] ...reasons?

[ Gus what the hell is that supposed to mean ]

[Don't be lewd Gus, Iona lets out a huff of breath again. The masked figure has disappeared, but it should be clear to them now...]

It's a mirror on this side... But for the other side...

[Iona's pulling the mirror open with both hands now and the mirror swings forward revealing another hallway with stone walls and unlit, but used and half-melted candles. When viewing the opposite side of the mirror that was opened, it can be observed that one can look out into the dressing room.]

Huh. One rumor down Gus.

[Iona looks at him seriously with an affirmative nod.]

The theater's even bigger than we imagined.

Edited 2016-06-09 05:52 (UTC)

...So you think there's foul play going on?

[ He's not quite sure what to think of that, given that nothing explicitly bad has been called to his attention as of yet— maybe Claude knows, he's more politically inclined. ]

You know, you're pretty good at getting yourself into trouble, Iona.

Haa... Well, that's being a witch for you! Trouble is a friend.

[She takes a step inside the hallway and offers a hand to Gus.]

C'mon! You're not gonna let me disappear into the Creep Hallway by myself are you?

Well...

[ There's a flicker of hesitation as he looks back and forth between the rest of the room and Iona, as if he's not certain whether or not to get his hands down and dirty in this affair if there's nothing really threatening about it. After all, he knows his father and what he's done to make tonight a success.

He's not afraid of his kin, but he absolutely hates having to deal with the aftermath of things.

But he finally concedes, not just because he's thirsty (he is), but because he's curious.

Curiosity killed the cat, etc. ]

...Alright. Don't make too much of a mess, okay?

[ A light grin, and he takes her hand to go into the deeper recesses of the theater. ]

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