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."

[nadine_he_loves]

"All I'm hearing is that you've been deprived the experience of quality oatmeal cookies. My first family...I don't remember much, I was really little, but I remember the house smelled like oatmeal cookies when they brought me home. My 'mom' would make them a lot, I think. Maybe that's why I like them."

And associate them with comfort. Her first family - that she remembers, anyway, she has no memories of whatever biological family she may have had - hadn't worked out, probably wouldn't have even if they'd lived, but the first couple of weeks had been good.

"Things stick with us, like that."

[opioid]

"...Yeah."

Eddie figures that he's had precisely the opposite experience to Nadine, and for a moment he considers keeping that to himself, but there's nothing stopping him from sharing. In any case, she just gave over a part of herself, however small; it's only fair, he reasons, to share and share alike.

"My brother always got first picks when we got candy or whatever. Y'know, like, we'd get a bag of Skittles or something, and he'd get all the reds and purples, and I got stuck with the yellows. I mean, I guess I liked all the flavours fine, but if you gave me a pack of Skittles now I'd eat all of 'em except the yellows. That's the kinda thing stuck with me."

[nadine_he_loves]

"Older brother, I'm guessing?"

Nadine can relate. She was only seven when her first family was killed, but she still remembers the way her parents had favored her older brother in similar ways. Of course there was the added layer of her being an adopted child and him being the biological son, but that didn't really make a difference.

[opioid]

"Yep," Eddie says, and then, with a reflex that's still buried deep enough inside him that he doesn't know if he'll ever shake it, he says a little defensively, "He isn't all that bad."

That's proof it's a reflex – wrong tense. He grins, sheepish. "Wasn't, I mean."