Look at the fire and think of me (OPEN)

Entry tags:

Look at the fire and think of me (OPEN)

Who: Lenore

beloyaltome and OPEN
What: Open prompts for the Horizon, might stick some catch-all threads in here too.
When: Early February, prior to event
Where: The Horizon (also possibly Thorne/Nocwich for catch-all threads)
Warnings: Lenore's canon tends to include a lot of brutality and Lenore's got a lot of trauma, so there might be references to that. Also possible spoilers for Castlevania, especially seasons 3&4.

((This is her first visit to the singularity, so Lenore will be amnesiac in threads unless stated otherwise, lmk if you'd prefer it be a subsequent visit thread so she has her memories intact!))

A Whole New World
[As Lenore enters the Horizon, she finds herself in a familiar gown, though the belt ornament has been transformed into the sigil of The Lovers. Lost and remembering nothing but her own name, Lenore wanders through the eclectic realms, following paths and wandering into one domain and then another. She startles as she encounters someone, having begun to believe that this was a sort of dream, but everything seems more real with another person in front of her.] Hello... I'm sorry, I don't know where I am.

Home Sweet Castle
[The process of creation comes easily to Lenore, more naturally than she would have expected, and a fairy tale castle takes shape, filled with whimsical rooms and dripping with flowers. The gardens surrounding the little castle are artfully laid out, filled with little private bowers and stone gazebos, but they're all a bit overgrown, being swallowed by the greenery to a degree that makes the artful gardens feel lonely and a little tragic.

Lenore sits out front, perched on the retaining wall around the artificial pond and trailing her fingers through the water. She seems consumed by thought, and does not look up as anyone approaches.]

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[Alucard gave it a week before going into the Horizon to see if Lenore had begun working on hers yet. He wasn't sure who might tell her, and he was keen to avoid the memory loss that came with one's first visit. It seemed...polite, all things considered.

He arrives looking more like a Wallachian noble than anything else he wears, black coat still there, shirt not as low cut as it is in Cadens. He's not relaxed precisely, but comfortable enough to be lightly trespassing.

The dhampir doesn't judge how people choose to go about their Horizons. No point, given his was made by a depressed person. He can appreciate the layout of Lenore's, the gently overgrown element that still feels purposefully arranged.]

Have you finished the whole place, or do you intend to add more?

[Once she realized that there was no need to be constrained by reality in this place, Lenore had turned her attention rather quickly to her wardrobe. On this occasion, she's draped herself in gold stars on black cloth, draped with yards of shimmering midnight gauze.

She startles a little at the voice, lifting her head and blinking. Oh, Adrian. No, he doesn't want to be called that. Though she'd noted that Gideon had mentioned that name in reference to him.]

My Lord Tepes, [she says, after only a moment's pause.] Welcome, I suppose? It doesn't feel right to lay claim to this place, even if this particular area of it I couldn't help but shape.

[She looks up at the little castle, trying to determine an answer to his question.] I... I couldn't say. Perhaps not add more so much as ... polish. At the moment I think there are four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a piano room, and three or four sitting rooms, but nothing sensible. I absolutely would not promise you that everything connects to everything else and certainly not in any logical fashion.

I'm ... not used to thinking in architecture.

[Of all of the names that might have come out of Lenore's mouth, Lord is both a surprise and not. He's heard it rarely applied in regards to himself, although it isn't technically incorrect given his father's status in the night world. He doesn't much look the part, dressed far more Wallachian and of his home than he ever does in Abraxas. Heavier materials, warmer materials, and a shirt that's less deep in cut. ~~Not that that's hard.~~

All the same, he offers the gentlest of corrections:] Alucard is fine.

[He doesn't sit, nothing has been offered. What Alucard does do is take a moment to appreciate the depth of color that is in Lenore's choice of garments. It is striking, especially against her pale skin.]

Lenore, you know very well I am the last person to talk to about rooms not connecting to anything in a logical fashion. You've seen where I grew up.

[It is a joke, and he tries to imbue the statement with warmth.] For someone not used to it, you've gotten the exteriors right.

[Lenore refuses to call him Alucard. It's stupid. Which makes it extremely difficult to know how to refer to him, since he's twice asked that she call him Alucard and that means it's all the more difficult to avoid it. Well, she resolves, he'll just have to be called 'hey you' for a while.]

It makes your father's castle look sensible and well thought-out, [Lenore says, though she's amused by his joke.

Smiling softly at the compliment, Lenore looks up at her little castle.] Well, the aesthetics I can do, at least. Every room inside is very pretty.

Oh, I haven't done a library yet. I would have expected to start there. Perhaps I was just feeling weary--everything is beds and chairs and bathtubs.

[Look, you can either call him Al like Gideon does or wait to earn personal name privilege. Or find a third way, eventually.]

Perish the thought. [Alucard understood half the point of the castle's design was just to exhaust humans who wanted to kill his father.]

Well, best not to read too much into that realization. And I'll not offer advice on construction unless explicitly asked.

[What does catch Alucard's attention though is that this is not Styria.]

You're one of the few people I've encountered who hasn't recreated some portion of their home here.

How do you know I haven't? [Lenore lifts her brows a little in questioning challenge. He may know something of the castle of Styria or the local architecture there, but Lenore lived a long life before she went to Styria for Carmilla.

She hasn't, actually. The castle she was born in was a fortress built for strength, with absolutely no attention to comfort or artistry. Nothing that Lenore would choose for herself.]

I don't. It's a guess, especially based on your comment regarding the rooms and connecting them. If this came from memory, would you have the same comment?

[Alucard doesn't mind either way. It is just a curious thing.]

Mine doesn't have any trace of my father's castle.

Oh. Clever. [She hadn't made that connection, though it should have been obvious. She was too focused on the surface veneer of things.

So, all right. She can admit he caught her out on that one.]

Of all the places I've lived, none of them ever held any especial value in my heart. My birthplace was a fortress, and I was still a child when I left it. Carmilla's castle was one she took, rather than created. I decorated my own room, but, well, I have all the more freedom here to decorate as I please, so I have no need of it as inspiration.

Is it really so common that people create a version of their own home? [She's surprised by that, but escapism has always come more naturally to her than nostalgia.]

[Alucard doesn't dwell on being correct. Instead, his gaze wanders, taking in all of the garden around them. It's remarkable. Jaskier might even like it.]

It is, yes. Most miss theirs to some degree or another. Recreating space gives them comfort or a place to relax. But it assumes a lot of attachment to one's home.

[A thin, bitter smile flickers across Alucard's face. He doubt he has to explain why home is a fraught topic and why the castle shouldn't exist in the Horizon.]

I won't trespass when you aren't here.

Oh. [Lenore blinks in surprise, introduced to the idea that people might trespass, Adrian included.] Is that something I should be concerned about? It hadn't occurred to me.

[She looks up at her castle again, and has the feeling that she wants it safe, wants to be guarded tightly within it, but she doesn't actually have anything to hide.]

You're welcome in the gardens whenever. Inside, well--if I create a library, will all the books be rambling memory constructions? I've always favored books but my memorization is mostly old ballads...

Well, my own defenses are to lead people in a maze. And then out, if I don't want them about.

[Alucard's suggestion is gentle, knowing that a few others have done similar things.]

I haven't had that issue with books before. Even if it is a handwritten manuscript, it--

[The dhampir pauses, and extends a hand out. In a moment, there's a book. Thin, bound in vellum, no particular decoration. He opens the page, and a small collection of poetry from the east greets him. Alucard turns the page, and there is nothing to suggest that it is impacted by a memory fragment.]

Usually turns out fine.

[Lenore's intrigued by the defense method he chooses, thinking that it's suited to what she's learned of him already. Paranoid, perhaps a little excessively so. And she wonders, in this place that is so malleable, why it wouldn't simply be easy to part the walls or hedges of his maze and step through them. For her part, she thinks she'll be content with a polite sign here and there reading 'private'. If someone won't respect that, she can't imagine they'll be kept out by more complex defenses, either.

She may not yet know much about this place, but she doesn't think she's going to be storing anything especially private here, since she can't stay for long on her visits.

Taking the book, she leafs through it, expression softening with pleasure at what she finds.] May I keep it?

[Alucard might bristle at being called paranoid these days. He was much, much worse a year and a half ago. It would be an insult to progress as far as he's concerned, although the truth is that Lenore isn't wrong. The dhampir is still guarded and seeks privacy wherever he can, slow to trust and even tell people his actual name is Adrian.

He nods, golden hair shifting slightly with the gesture.]

Of course. It is mostly Rumi.

[Near East poetry. Alucard was always surprised to find books relating to religion in his father's library, especially when the a manuscript was clearly the product of a monastery.]

What is your favorite part of what you've made so far?

[Lenore considers the question for a moment, looking up at the castle and thinking of the rooms within.] This, I think.

[She gestures a hand over the little pond and the castle exterior.] It's the only part I feel certain that I won't change anytime soon.

[Alucard's eyes go from the castle itself to the pond, and he has to peer deeper into it. Are there fish? Something else lurking entirely? His own reflection stares up at him, refusing to answer the question.]

Changing all of it at will is the beauty of the place, no matter whose domain you cross. It's freeing, I've found.

[ At this point Hilda shouldn't be surprised when someone pops into existence in the Horizon. It had taken her more than a handful of tries not to just arrive here, never mind arrive at a location that she actually meant to visit. It only stands to reason that with new arrivals, the likelihood of someone arriving at the steps of her domain would increase. Visitors is one thing, but someone who's never been to the Horizon before? That's another.

Despite having that knowledge in mind, it doesn't stop Hilda from being startled out of her wits when she rounds a corner, definitely not expecting to see someone rounding the junction towards the docks and greenhouses. She recovers quickly despite her wide, blinking eyes at the sight of someone she doesn't know. ]

Garreg Mach, or maybe the Horizon is a better place to call it. [ And then because she can feel her heart still hammering in her chest from the sudden surprise, she can't help but add — ] Goddess, you move really quietly! I didn't even hear you coming from around the corner.

My apologies. [Lenore smiles softly, giving an apologetic curtsy.] Being light-footed has been a part of my nature for quite some time.

Garreg... Mach? [The words don't mean anything to her, not in any language she's encountered, and she's not sure which part of this place that refers to. The shifting lands, the unfamiliar structures she's encountered, the lake behind her or the greenhouse in front of her. At least the immediate environs look like something that could almost feel familiar. Strong buildings of wood and stone: those are things that make sense to her.]

My name is Lenore. [She's ... pretty sure.]

[ If how the pale woman was dressed is any indication of the kind of world she's from, the curtsy definitely solidifies it for Hilda. She returns the curtsy, practiced and easy thanks to years of etiquette lessons before straightening up. ]

I'm Hilda.

[ And then she gestures around her. ] Garreg Mach is a place that I went to school back home. [ There's a bit of a wistfulness to her voice, like she misses it more than she'd like to let on. ] The Horizon lets you make a pretty good recreation of places and things depending on how good your memory is.

It's ... big. [Lenore would normally have managed a more diplomatic adjective, but in this case she's feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all.] That's a school?

[She does not remember, at the moment, having visited the college of la Sorbonne, with its buildings of two (and in some places even three!) stories dedicated to learning, but this place certainly dwarfs her understanding of anything that can be called a 'school'.]

I ... don't seem to be able to remember anything, right now.

Well, a church and an officer's academy if we have to get specific.

[ She had had private tutors and much smaller classes growing up so Hilda supposes she hadn't had school in the traditional sense like they did here in Abraxas. It never crossed her mind up until this point to learn more about what others had experienced because she had never really been all that invested in any idea of school. Lenore's statement about not remembering anything helps her realize what's happening here. Understanding fills her expression. ]

Oh. Well that explains a lot. It's your first time in the Horizon, isn't it? Do you still remember anything about Abraxas and how you were pulled here?

[Lenore just stares at her, eyes a little wider and brow a little more furrowed as she continues to not understand any of what is being said to her. She's glad that it explains a lot for Hilda, though. At least one of them has any idea what's going on.]

I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't ... I don't know ... [Which is a very upsetting situation to be in, and she's worried about somehow doing something wrong out of ignorance.]

[ Lenore's confusion -- even if it's temporary -- is enough to make Hilda worry. She wasn't an expert when it came to the Horizon and its trappings, but surely the memory loss wouldn't last that long.

With as much brightness as she can muster, Hilda grins, extending an arm for Lenore if she felt comfortable enough to take it. ]

There are so many things I don't know. Did you want to come for a walk with me? If you get peckish we can sit for some tea in the gardens and I can try and answer some questions for you if you have any.

[Lenore nods at the invitation, reaching to take Hilda's arm. She's glad to have a new acquaintance, and Hilda seems kind, so that's reassuring.] A walk sounds very nice. And tea. Perhaps somewhere shady? The sunlight ... bothers me. [She's not sure why, but something about it is deeply disturbing to her.]

I suppose I don't know enough to know what to ask. I know my name, and that my arcana is The Lovers, which ... seems like a strange thing to know, in some way.

Why did you say that it explained a lot? What does it explain?

Of course. There's some gazebos in the gardens that have plenty of shade.

[ With that in mind, she opts to steer them towards the inside path through the dining halls so that they can avoid the sunlight as much as possible. She's long since gotten used to the stand-in students that populate the space, their idle chatter acting as background noise as they make their way through the space. ]

This is going to sound a little strange but you've arrived in a world called Abraxas. The Horizon [ And at that she motions to the space around them. ] is just a facet of our minds that we have access to because of this thing called the Singularity.

[ She doesn't want to head down a path about trying to explain it because she's worried she'll give Lenore the wrong information not understanding it fully herself. ] The first time you come to the Horizon you lose your memory which is what happened to you. It's a pretty disorienting experience, but every trip after that you'll remember everything.

[Lenore is indeed disoriented by this information, but it's reassuring to know that her memory will return and that there's probably no reason to worry about any of that. That helps calm her, knowing that there's nothing wrong with her that has caused her current predicament.]

I don't understand, but at least I can have hope that it's temporary.

Will I still remember you and this conversation, once my memory of other things returns?

If it makes you feel any better, I don’t understand it either and I’ve been here for four months.

[ The smile and tone she takes is a self deprecating one in the hopes that it’ll soothe Lenore at least just a little bit. There’s a bit of a hum to it and a slight furrow of her brow as they step through the dining hall, taking the short cut into the gardens. True to her word, a gazebo stands before them, with curling vines that wrap themselves around the frame of it casting shade over the resplendent tea set on the table underneath it. ]

You might not. But I’ll remember you, so hopefully you won’t mind me approaching you in Nocwich or wherever it is you landed. I’d love to have a new shopping friend — your style is so lovely!

[Lenore brightens at the talk of fashion, thrilled to have compliments on her gown. Even if she doesn't remember anything about it, she knows that she loves it. The gown is perfectly her style, and she's proud of that.]

That would be wonderful. I'm reasonably certain I love fashion. [She smooths a hand down her skirt, enjoying the feel of the fabric.] Your outfit is fascinating, as well. Will you spin, so I can see it?

I'd say that's a pretty good guess to have. People that don't care about fashion don't put nearly as much thought into it.

[ The train attached to the gown looks feather light and something like the night sky. It really is such a lovely accompaniment to the gown itself. Hilda does an obliging turn to show off her outfit; she could hypnotically wear what she likes in the Horizon with the sky being the limit, but wearing her favourite outfit from home settles her. ]

This is something from home. I don't have anything like it in Cadens but I like playing with the fashions there. There are some aspects that are similar to Fodlan, but nothing exactly like it.

Edited (big html fail you saw nothing) 2023-02-22 21:37 (UTC)

There are so many layers to it, [Lenore says admiringly, eyes tracking to see where the lines lead and how it all connects together. She wants to understand it as best she can so that she can make use of the techniques for her own designs. If she even remembers this, which she earnestly hopes that she does.

The additional place names that Hilda mentions send a little frisson of worry through her again, the anxiety of not knowing herself or her surroundings. She tries her best to push it away, taking a seat at the gazebo.]

Tell me more about where we'll go shopping and what kind of styles they have there.

[ Hilda can't help but laugh a little bit as she flares out the skirt, preening slightly under Lenore's appreciative gaze. ]

The saying less is more didn't really feel right with this. [ She throws a cheeky look over her shoulder at Lenore's own outfit. ] I feel like you might have felt the same about yours.

[ She busies herself with the awaiting tea pot and the various blends of tea, passing Lenore a teacup before obliging her request. ]

Well that depends on where you've ended up. If you ended up in Thorne, I think the fashions are really similar to what you're wearing. Solvunn is a little less opulent, and then the Free Cities where I'm located is a bit of a mix of the two with some industrial aspects to it. Nocwich is another area where we'll be able to meet up and their styles tend towards Thorne and Solvunn.

[Lenore wonders what an 'industrious' fashion style looks like. She would think it would imply something very utilitarian, but that doesn't quite seem to match the context.]

I don't think I understand at all. Without visual aids, I might just have to wait and see for myself. Though I suppose I will hope that I've ended up in 'Thorn'? If their styles are the most like my own.

[Feeling overwhelmed again, she accepts her teacup and sips gratefully.]

No I guess that wouldn't make much sense. [ She can't help laugh at herself because she remembers one of the shop keepers trying to explain to her the various differences in fashion between the different factions. It hadn't made sense until Luna when she had seen everyone in one place and then it was like everything had clicked into place. ] It definitely didn't to me. But I think I could show you in here if you'd like.

[ Hypothetically, it shouldn't be that difficult to change her clothing here in the Horizon considering it was a spiritual plane. Her outfit from home had always been something she had gravitated towards without a thought but that didn't mean she couldn't transform it into something else. ]

I think there's something fun in being able to explore new styles though. Who knows, there might be something you didn't realize you'd like until now.

[Lenore nods, not fully understanding but certainly interested.] I'd like to see.

[She's started to understand that all this was dreamed up, out of Hilda's memory, and she feels her own itch to dream things beyond her own gown, but she's not sure how to begin and isn't yet ready to indulge that desire. But she does want to see what Hilda will do.] Please show me. I'm excited to see these styles.

[ Hilda is more than happy to oblige but she does have to run through her current wardrobe before moving onto dresses that she was lusting after but simply didn't have the skill to make herself or money to buy. She draws in a breath and as she rises from her chair, the dress she had previously donned materializing into something else. She spins slowly for Lenore, smoothing the fabric of her skirt down as she does.]

This is something I own. Corsets are fairly common in a lot of the fraction fashions I think. A lot of people in the Free Cities seem to enjoy accessories like hats too.

Oh! [Lenore looks with awe, sitting forward in her chair to better admire the new gown.] I love it, how wondrous. I've never seen anything like it before. That's a fashion here, wearing corsets on the outside? How delightfully scandalous.

[She looks it over, wanting to take in every detail of the gown so she can remember it for later, considering how she might modify it for her own usage.]

Isn’t it??

[ Pink orbs light up in glee at Lenore’s exclamation because it had been exactly what she had thought too when she had first arrived. After the initial scandalization (if it could even be called that; she had been pleasantly scandalized), Hilda couldn’t help but have an a-ha moment because why couldn’t corsets be worn on the outside of the garment? ] Nobody here bats an eye twice at it though. It’s lovely — freeing, really.

And as much as I love a corset, there are some looser styles like this. [ And with a brief moment of thought, the garment changes into something akin to this, but where the navy blue fabric is, it’s replaced by a dark pink. ] Sometimes you just don’t feel like being as constricted.

Edited 2023-03-07 02:04 (UTC)

Oh! How interesting. [Lenore rises again to take a look at the garment, interested.] How funny it is, that this shirt also seems like ... well, something that I'd think of as an undergarment. Either this world is very different or at some point things took a turn for the scandalous, which is fun.

Is it just ... how do you change like that? [She looks down at her own gown, focusing her intention, and easy as that her gown transforms into another of her favorite outfits from home, something familiar that she knows in detail.] Oh! Easy as that.

I think it's a bit of both to be honest.

[ But then again, her outfit from home showed a fair bit more skin than some of the other styles around Fodlan alluding to the fact that she was already fairly comfortable in her day-to-day showing a little more skin. Part of it was simply due to the environment. The milder climates of Goneril meant that she could afford to get away with it but if she hailed from the north of the country she wouldn't be so quick to dress the same. ]

That's the part that excited me the most about coming here though. Just think about the possibilities!

[ Hilda's eyes light up as she claps her hands together at Lenore's wardrobe change. And then just for the hell of it, she changes once more as well. ]

You got the hang of that in no time! [ And as much as she'd like to ask about what home is like for Lenore and how that determines her fashion choices, she realizes she can't. So she goes from something that she hopes she'll be able to answer instead. ] Do you think you prefer darker colour palettes to lighter ones?

[Lenore laughs delightedly at Hilda's costume change again, taking a moment to admire it and then starting to think about her own. If she can do anything, with all the freedom of a dream.] I don't think so, not necessarily.

[She can't be sure, but she can certainly test the hypothesis easily enough. Her gown melts into another one, glittering with diamonds in a quantity that would pauper any court in Europe. She gives a spin, thrilled with her creation, which whirls artfully around her.] I do think maybe we can conclude that blue is my favorite color.

[ The dress that Lenore dons is nothing short of stunning and Hilda can't help let out a sigh that just teeters on a swoon. Sparkles and jewels tended to have that effect on her, but it was part of the reason she was so enchanted with making jewelry. Maybe she had been a magpie in a past life. ]

It's such a good colour on you. It really suits your complexion and your hair!

I know it's a little early to be talking about it when you might not remember it, but maybe there's a way you could start designing some of your dresses while you're here. I'm sure Thorne needs a little bit of a fresh take on their style.

I think I'd like that. [Lenore smiles, hopeful but also sad. It's difficult to know so little about herself and her circumstances, and while she wants very much to be able to play with clothes, she's not sure whether she has them or is deprived. And she finds that she needs to know. As much as she's enjoying this, she can't bear the lack of knowledge any longer.]

I ... I think I should go. But it's been lovely to meet you, Hilda. I'll look for you, if I remember this.

[ Hilda gives Lenore what she hopes is an encouraging smile, but nods, before going to clasp the woman's hands gently in hers. ]

The pleasure was really all mine, Lenore! And if you don't remember, I will. I'll try and find you in Nocwich next month. Or send you a little mind note. Those are always fun.

[ And then teasingly — ] But if you don't remember my impeccable fashion sense I'm going to be disappointed.

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Look at the fire and think of me (OPEN)

Following Lenore's first time in the Horizon ; Castle

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a whole new world

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spends 15 minutes researching 12th century universities then remembers lenore's amnesiac rn...

sdasdaljksd you'll be prepared for next time!

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omf i just realized the link didn't work orz

it's fine i was able to excavate a useful link out of what WAS there

orz

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