Open Log - Thorne Castle

[nadine_he_loves]

Who: Nadine and OPEN
Where: Thorne Castle
When: June 12th and 13th
What: Meeting roommates, getting acclimated, exploring
Warnings: N/A, will add if needed




Exploring

There's little to do but poke around wherever they're allowed to poke around. And, while at it, slip out a few sweets from the dining hall to share with the less fortunate. Nadine made a promise, after all.

But there's plenty to see, in this area they're kept to. The library and the study hall are of the most interest, the books and practicing mages likely the most promising option for learning anything worthwhile. Their hosts are being very specific with what they say and what they don't, offering just enough information to avoid accusations of keeping everyone entirely in the dark. But still not sharing all they know, it's obvious there's much more going on than any newcomer is privy to.

That's alright. It's not ideal but it's alright. Nadine has her purpose to put herself towards, and she does. She can be found flipping through book after book in the library and muttering under her breath or quietly watching magic lessons in the study hall, eyes narrowed and lips pursed as she follows as best she can.

And of course, she makes sure to linger in the dining hall, idling by the offerings of food and perusing them seemingly casually. When she thinks she isn't being watched, she'll slip a small morsel of dessert or chocolate treat into her tunic sleeve.


Room 2

The idea of shared quarters is not one that Nadine is thrilled about. She'd already met one earlier, and somehow, through some blessed - or cursed - twist of fate, it's a friendly face. Sort of. She'd never met Lloyd before but she knows who he is, and any right hand of her husband's...he's on her side, is the point. Someone she can, to some extent trust. And who'll look out for her.

But there are two beds who's occupants she's yet to meet, and she's too pragmatic to imagine they'll be left empty. Especially now, the day winding down. It's been a hectic and long one, and Nadine's feeling it in her bones. She settles on her own bed, curtains open, and hands folded in her lap to contemplate her next move and wait for whoever she's stuck sharing her personal space with.

Comments

[opioid]

[ » continued ]

That's exactly what Eddie would do if Susannah had shown up down here. Make jokes, brush it off, act like he's not bothered, for her sake. And then, of course, she would give him that look she's mastered so well, call him white boy in the half-chiding, half-fond way he loves her for, and then who could blame him for capitulating, for breaking down and letting her see the ugly truth of it, which is that he feels so completely goddamn hopeless already?

"Well, that's good of him," Eddie says charitably. "For my part, I'd say this place is pretty damn miserable but if you're an optimist it's not so bad. Food's alright and we got these fantastic outfits, too, that's a real fuckin' boon."

A pause, where it's obvious that Eddie's deciding whether or not he should say something, and then he decides to throw caution to the wind. "If she's up there, my wife, if you see her..." he begins haltingly, trailing off for a moment. "Could you tell her I'm down here? She's hard to miss. Beautiful black lady, she'll be in a wheelchair, missing her legs above the knees. Susannah's her name, Susannah Dean."

[nadine_he_loves]

"Yeah, of course, I'll keep an eye out for her." It's the least Nadine can do. Eddie seems nice, and she can imagine how frustrating it must be to be stuck in a cell like this, after being hauled into this strange world. If she happens to run into his wife, she's glad to pass along the message and make sure they find one another.

Besides...it's always a good idea to have people remember you did them a favor. Who knows what's coming?

"If there's anything else I can do...obviously I can't do much, but if you want a cookie or something, I can probably manage that."

[opioid]

"You got cookies up there?" Eddie's tone turns resentful, too resentful to be genuine, verging into a little bit of theatrics. He can't help it – the potential promise of seeing Susannah, even if Nadine really can't find her and this all comes to nothing, is perking him up a little. "Damn. How the other side lives. What kinda cookies?" His eyes narrow. "If it's that bullshit with raisins and oatmeal you can stick your cookies where the sun don't shine. That's just the kind of fucked-up shit that Ambrose prick would love, I bet."

[nadine_he_loves]

"They have all kinds of stuff up there. I probably ought to be more worried about eating it than I am, I know my fairy tales and myths, but..." Nadine shrugs. She needs to eat and she's pretty sure their captors don't need to enchant food to keep them here. Sometimes you just have to take the gamble.

"And hey, don't shame the noble oatmeal cookie. A couple of soft oatmeal cookies and hot tea on a rainy day is balm for the soul. You've clearly just never had a good one. The kind with chocolate chips instead of raisins."

[opioid]

"There's no such thing as a good oatmeal cookie," Eddie says, sourly and with conviction. "And if you think there is, you're lying to yourself, Nadine."

[photophobic]

Kylo stalks into the room like he owns it— certainly sparing no real thought for the possibility someone else might have claimed their bed in his absence— and with his connection to the Force muted as it is, it remains a genuine surprise when he finds himself very much not alone. His overlarge bulk draws to a smooth halt, eyes dark and expression vaguely sullen as he turns his head to face this latest curiosity: another of his roommates.

He is not, it appears, a huge fan of these shared living arrangements.

"The World," he comments, because regular greetings are for other people. His eyes narrow slightly. "You are the first I've seen."

[nadine_he_loves]

Oh. Well.

This doesn't look promising. Nadine maintains a neutral expression as the strange man comes into the room. He's big, he's unfamiliar, and he doesn't look thrilled. Not that she imagines anyone who's been kidnapped to this place is, but it still stands out to her. This is the sort of person that, should she see him on the sidewalk late at night, she'd start faking a phone call and have her keys in her free hand. Except they're not on an empty street late at night, they're in her bedroom. Their bedroom, she supposes. Whoever came up with rooming arrangements apparently hadn't been paying much attention to the fine details.

"I'm the only one I've seen so far," she responds, after giving the newcomer a once over. She stays where she's seated, hands tightly gripped together in her lap. "I'm Nadine. Are you...staying here, too?"

Maybe he's just looking for someone.

[photophobic]

"Kylo Ren," he replies.

For all his aura of vague, directionless menace, Kylo does at least seem to know better than to stalk any closer. He watches her size him up, then gestures to the bed she's perched on.

"And I thought that was my bed."

Not that it really matters. There are three others, and Kylo can just as easily take any one of them. Mostly, he's just curious. Will she surrender it or hold her ground?

[nadine_he_loves]

As she suspected, his name means nothing to her.

Nadine glances at the bed she's sitting on and back to the man who's name was Kylo Ren. Unless one of those is a title, she knows better to assume. There are people from all different worlds here, not just Earth.

The specifications of the sleeping arrangements raise an eyebrow. She doesn't care one way or another which bed is 'hers', they're exactly alike as far as she can see. But the fact he brought it up is something to take note of.

"Kind of hard to tell, when we don't have any things to mark what's ours. If it matters, I can take another one. I think they're all the same. I just took this one because it's next to my friend's."

And she wants to stick close to Lloyd. With Flagg locked up downstairs, he's...pretty much all she has here.

room 2

[nightwash]

Ronan stalks into the room at an odd hour, when just about everyone else is on their way out of the sleeping quarters and headed off to do something productive. His bed was empty all night, which means he either found company elsewhere or he's only just now returning to get some rest.

He looks like he could use it, too. He seems unwell, an unhealthy shade of pallid with deep circles under his eyes. He's technically very tall but something about him suggests that he's wilting, shoulders sagged, like an unwatered plant. Given the shaved head and the days-old stubble and the sharp claws of a black tattoo snaking up the back of his neck, maybe he's just a drug addict jonesing for a fix. His new tunic — The Moon — is already torn in a few places, like he's been in a fight.

When he notices her, he freezes. No one was supposed to be in here. Certainly not a woman.

"Shit," he hisses, in a gravelly voice that suggests he was recently strangled. "Is this the wrong room? I can't tell the fucking difference between them."

[nadine_he_loves]

The phrase 'look at what the cat dragged in' is one Nadine heard often growing up. And this guy? Is pretty much exactly what that phrase was coined to describe. He looks rough. Like a street fighter just in from a night of illegal back alley boxing. She's not going to ask.

He also seems vaguely mortified at finding her here. That's...slightly promising, at least.

"I...don't know. But I've met the other two people who are sleeping here, so you might be in the right place after all. Apparently the land of Thorne is very pro-coed arrangements. Or someone made a mistake and didn't know 'Nadine' is a woman's name."

Because if this man - another intimidating, imposing looking stranger - is rooming her, Nadine is officially the only woman in this room.

"This is Room Two."

[nightwash]

Ronan, fully aware that he is an intimidating stranger alone with a woman in a bedroom, glances over his shoulder while he considers moonwalking right out the door. But he mutters, "Yeah, Room Two is where I'm supposed to be."

It's obviously not an ideal situation for him, either. Dorms have never been the best place for him, and now they're co-ed, too? Shit. Fuck. Maybe he should volunteer for a cell in the dungeons.

He's so fucking hungry.

Dragging his gaze back to Nadine, he sighs in defeat, "I'm Ronan. Sorry about this bullshit."

[nadine_he_loves]

"It's not like it's your fault."

As discomforting as both Nadine's unknown roommates are, she can't blame either of them for the situation. They didn't ask to be here, they didn't pick this room. They were all in the same metaphorical boat, at the whims and wants of their power-holding kidnappers.

"You had about as much say in it as I did. Trust me, my husband's down in the dungeon, I'd really prefer different arrangements altogether. But..."

She shrugs and spreads her hands. What can they do?

His haggard state is not lost on her. She purses her lips, looking him over again. The phrase 'dead on his feet' jumps into her mind, and she finds it just as fitting as the first.

"Can I...get you anything?"

[jealousbitch]

It's not that he feels responsible for her, exactly, but he does think it's his duty to keep an eye on Nadine. He doesn't know what she's fully capable of, only because he doesn't know her all that well. Not outside of being Flagg's wife, and she hadn't really been in Vegas all that long before shit went down. Lloyd does have to admit that he feels at least a little bit protective of her. Though she wouldn't have gotten this far in life without being at least a bit resilient. It's a tough old world and the weak don't survive for long.

Lloyd isn't really looking for her exactly, but he's not going to ignore her if he sees her. She's hunched over a book, deep in concentration when he sidles up behind her, hand resting on the back of her chair.

"You stare any harder and you're gonna get laser vision." He points to his eyes and down to her book, making a small explosion noise.

[nadine_he_loves]

Nadine jumps with a start when Lloyd speaks, so very close to her. She had been absorbed in the book and hadn't noticed his approach. Probably not the best idea, around here. She laughs - a little nervously, the surprise still fresh - shaking her head and looking up at him.

"I'm just trying to learn everything I can. Not that these are particularly helpful, but...I figure there has to be something." Even little things. Enough little things made a bigger picture eventually.

But for now she closes this particular volume and sets it aside. Her eyes are starting to ache anyways, and she's pretty sure she's not retaining much at this point. There's a lot of books and she doesn't have any other pressing engagements.

"What have you been up to?"

[jealousbitch]

Lloyd moves to lean against a part of the table she's not using, fingers wrapped around its edge. She's a better person than him, he took one look at the heavy tomes and it made him itch. He's not booky, but she was a teacher, so it's better suited for someone like her. Lots of patience and a willingness to learn.

"Oh, you know, this and that." He gestures vaguely to the rest of the castle that they're allowed to roam. "Feeling the place out, seein' who's worth talking to. You been here this whole time?"

[nadine_he_loves]

"Not the whole time, I was in the training hall for a while. Or...whatever it's called where the fledgling mages are learning." Which is proving at least a little more fruitful than the library.

"I'm trying to learn as much magic as I can. Have you met anybody interesting yet?"

Nadine isn't terribly outgoing, she hasn't met that many people herself yet. Their other roommates, some of the other prisoners in the cells... But Lloyd's right. They should be feeling people out, trying to determine who might be both sympathetic and useful.

Exploring

[moremilkplz]

Homelander is finding his feet here, the shared room a blessing in disguise as this means there's almost always someone around that he can practice his speeches on. So many interesting humans.

Sure, he thinks, flicking to another page in the book in front of him. A book he isn't reading, but the library is a nice and quiet place. Somewhere where mages are easily found when he thinks up more questions to ask them. But for now, he's flicking through a book, willing the time to go faster and for his powers to come back.

It's unnerving, being powerless.

He can barely lift the solid wooden table in front of him, and how's that for crazy? The Homelander, reduced. The PR team would have been working overtime to find a spin on this that wasn't a disaster. Once he finishes with the book, Homelander wanders through the library, pulling down books and looking at people.

The blonde woman, sitting all primly at a table by herself, the books piled high next to her seat is hard to overlook, so he makes his way over.

"Are you really going to read all of those?"

[nadine_he_loves]

"I'm going to try."

Nadine's eyes flick upwards, briefly taking in the large blond man who's spoken. She doesn't recognize him - how many people did they bring here? At least it's easy to identify their own, with the embroidered tunics they've all been given. It's not surprising they were gifted nothing but a uniform to wear. Another way to chip away at someone's sense of autonomy and self, another little indication that they're here to be used for something.

She shakes herself out of her thoughts, remembering she's not alone.

"Knowledge is power. Not that there's much useful I've found so far, but..." She pats the stack of books she has yet to get to.

[moremilkplz]

She sounds like she's new to this. As if being kept in the dark until mission control pulls the pin isn't something she's used to and Homelander smiles down at her.

"You could always ask the mages, you know. They did bring me- and you too, of course, here and when you need to know about the mission, they will let you know."

He doesn't sit, just leans his hip against the edge of the table, arms crossed over his chest. "The best thing to do during downtime, is eat. Get it out of your system and be ready for the next big thing."

[nadine_he_loves]

"Well, I never agreed to any 'missions' and the mages aren't answering the questions I really want answered. If they're going to steal me out of my life and take me away from everything I earned, they're going to have to offer a lot more than empty explanations and fancy food."

There's no respect. Nadine may not have some illustrious history or litany of notable deeds, but she's a queen of sorts and entitled to respect and consideration. The way Thorne has treated her husband and herself...she doesn't like it.

Someone here doesn't seem very bothered, though. She looks up at him, expression difficult to read but mildly curious.

"You seem pretty relaxed about this whole thing."

For Susan

[nadine_he_loves]

[So, smuggling a piece of chocolate cobbler under her tunic isn't the most comfortable or possibly smart thing Nadine has ever done, but she made a promise. And it was practically a cake, so unlikely to smudge and ooze everywhere and could withstand the awkward trip.

She also has her hair braided in a sectioned braid, the easiest way to get hair ties down to the cells. She's not sure if anyone's going to stop her from bringing things, but she doesn't want to risk it.

Having a purpose to this trip, Nadine immediately goes to Susan's cell.]

[girl_at_the_window]

[Susan is so, so tired of this place. Or, maybe more specifically, of her cellmates. Cersei is all right, if a bit arrogant, but the men?]

[If she doesn't kill Jaime or Eddie before they get out of this, she can't help but feel she deserves a medal.]

[As a result, she's incredibly grateful to see Nadine, and almost immediately up and on her feet, smiling as she strides over to the bars.]

Ye came back! I wasn't sure of it.

How are things above?

[nadine_he_loves]

Of course I came back. I said I would.

[Simply stated as a fact, no offense taken at Susan's assumption. She doesn't blame her, Nadine's had plenty of promises broken in her own life. But she smiles and slips the piece of chocolate cobbler out, passing it through the bars to Susan.]

This is chocolate. And I'll have hair bands for you in just a minute.

[A gesture to her own sectioned braid, which she begins undoing once Susan takes the offered dessert.]

Things up there are...pretty much the same. They're slowly telling us a little more, but not much.

[girl_at_the_window]

[Susan's smile only widens, and she takes the cake with great care, surprised at its softness. It doesn't look like any cake she's had before, and she examines it closely, fascinated. It doesn't smell like any cake she's had before - though in the earthiness of its smell, she can at least start to see why Nadine compared it to coffee before.]

[She breaks off a small piece - just a few crumbs, really - and rolls it experimentally between her fingers for a moment, looking up at Nadine.]

Ye're too kind, Nadine, truly. I'll pay 'ee back for it someday.

[She may, perhaps, have cause to regret so open an offer - but she has to offer something, else it's just charity, and Pat Delgado's daughter is no charity case. In any case, if she has to pay more than she bargained for, perhaps it's worth it, for genuine kindness in this place.]

[She smiles again, and pops the small, soft piece of cake into her mouth. Then - her eyes widening a little at the sheer richness and sweetness of the taste, even from so small a mouthful - she quickly raises the rest of the cobbler to her mouth and takes a much bigger bite. As it breaks, some of the softer batter oozes out, like splitting honeycomb, and just as sweet. Sweet, fragrant, and earthy, and with a strange bitterness that seems to only heighten the sweetness...]

[She should save some of it, and at least offer some to Cersei, but before she's really noticed, she's eaten the whole thing. It sits deliciously heavy in the stomach, but seems almost to melt on the tongue, and the sweetness lingers, the thick richness of it, like honey and coffee and spice-cake all combined. More sugar, she's sure, than she's ever eaten in one go before, and the wastefulness of it should horrify her, but instead, she laughs, only a little sheepish.]

...Aye, you were right. I do like chucklit.