IC Contact - Exsilium

[maddeninghatter]

[ Thirty seconds of tuneless humming--beeeeeeeeep! ]

Comments

audio;

[velveteened]

( are you ready for dramatic narration, break. are you? )

The night was dark like the deepest of ebonies: no moon, no lights to show the way, and stars blotted out by clouds. An evil mist rose from the ground, making it impossible for a man to see more than two paces in front of him. Villagers' windows were tightly shuttered this fell night, and the audible locking of doors permeated the chill air before everyone settled in to wait.

Everyone but Edwin.

Though his horse was skittish, rearing away from the mist's touch, he continued onwards through the hazy gloom. Edgar would never have let something like a Witching Night impede his journey, and his master was no different. The people in this town, he thought, are very superstitious. On a sunny day, it might have been cause for a jest, but on a night like this he was almost inclined to sympathize. Almost, because Phelia's safety depended on his ability to brave this night, and he could not be so much of a coward to let fear stop him from protecting a lady! His honor would never allow it.

And so, Edwin persisted.

( THE MOST QUALITY WRITING y/y/you're wrong )

audio;

[maddeninghatter]

[ ... ]

If this is intended for one of your multitude of literary lady friends, I'm afraid you've misdialed.

voice; an hour or so after the crash

[motioned]

I don't know if you saw him or not yet, but - Gilbert is here and I just wanted to ask you to please not tell him about me.

voice

[maddeninghatter]

[ NNNNGH!

He cannot cope.

He cannot cope with kids when they cry.

And this is a crying situation if ever he heard one. ]

Why, Miss Ahiru ♥

You're all right - I mean, you were safely away from the blast, I trust?

[ HE'S GOING TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT because that always works. Yes. ]

voice;

[velveteened]

( he talks to ahiru often enough that it doesn't take him long to notice her absence even amidst all the shuffling and reshuffling of transports lately, to realize the significance of the now increasingly familiar notice on his tablet that a message failed to send because the recipient couldn't be found. the timing is a little - suspect, but she's no collette, not subtle or enough, frankly, of a liar to slip off quietly like that without a word for fear of worrying people. and, anyway, it's easy enough to confirm via a glance at the network.

rather than suspect, in the end the timing's ironic. )

Ahiru's gone.

( this isn't the informing of a substitute "left eye," really, especially now that gil's here to take on the role properly. but it'd feel wrong not to say something, especially since break knows just as well as he does the connection they have to her. )

voice;

[maddeninghatter]

[ Despite Oz's report, he takes a moment to ascertain for himself that Ahiru's tablet won't connect. There are several possible explanations, but he'll ask the one that seems most relevant, considering present circumstances: ]

Did something happen?

[ He hadn't heard of any casualties in the sky vessel crash, but he imagines the Initiative would tightly control such information. ]

text.

[flecks]

[ He'd tried his best to just stay away from it all, really. It hadn't been too hard with the orphanage and the recent chaos, but now that that was over with and he can no longer go the orphanage, he finds himself worrying.

With Oswald there, Jack might be less inclined to pull anything, but it's Jack. At the very least a warning wouldn't hurt, right?

It's taken a few days of deliberation, but . . . ]

Don't trust Jack.

text.

[maddeninghatter]

Why not? He's the hero of Sablier, right?

[velveteened]

(★^O^★)

audio

[maddeninghatter]

ZZZZZZZZT! ZZZZZZZZZZZZT!

voicemail; 7/27 early am

[crocodilesmiles]

Hey, Break! Gilbert should be coming by to let you know where I'm at. When he gets there, have him help you decode this!

Catch you later, old man!

[ IMG FILE ATTACHMENT ]

audio

[psychopath]

Ah...milord? This is Jack Vessalius, I just wanted to check up on you.

audio

[maddeninghatter]

[ ... ]

Why, how kind.

[ He actually... is not all that good at concealing his temper, so his voice quavers. ]

I'm... I'm very well, thank you.

voice;

[velveteened]

( okay gil's just giving him the runaround ENOUGH OF THIS MADNESS )

Since when are you two going to the Outlands?

action;

[retraced]

[Meanwhile Gilbert is standing next to Break looking completely depressed and downtrodden. Break, please don't say anything stupid or embarrassing or piss him off any worse than his servant already has...]

voice;

[crocodilesmiles]

( On tablet and rather loudly at the apartment, from the front room, not long after coming home; )

Break! Are you around? I've got a message from Ackjay!

voice;

[maddeninghatter]

{ SCREEEEEEEEEE! Feedback squeal. Which suggests that it's coming from inside the house Break is somewhere in the room.

........somewhere. ]

voice, on the 20th

[velveteened]

( it's around afternoon, one of the moments he's actually awake (for a late lunch, this time); he's still not bothered looking at the network, not seen any need to, but there's something he wants to address anyway.

much as it would've likely been wise to wait until staying awake for multiple hours at a time were an easier thing to do. it's probably audible how sleep-rumped he is, but also exasperated. )

Break.

[maddeninghatter]

[ With extreme false cheer: ]

Why good morning, merry sunshine~! Had a nice rest?

action;

[retraced]

[This evening, Break will find a box of assorted Swiss chocolates on his pillow.

No explanation, just chocolate.]

1/3

[maddeninghatter]

[ He doesn't notice the box until he tries to put his head on it, later that "night." He's puzzled at first, until the sweet aroma of chocolate reaches his nose. Who--

Collette? No, she can't reach up there. Oz? Possible, though it occurs to him he ought to check for mousetraps. He opens the box and then pokes at its insides experimentally with the tip of his cane. It seems to be safe?

It could be from that idiot Kevin, the man's mad crush is simply cloying. But he'd be too shy to try something like this. Break eats one of the chocolates thoughtfully, pausing to take in the rich flavor. He hasn't eaten anything this good since... ]

→ october 20

[velveteened]

I think I know what they were trying to do.

( HE IS A MASTER OF SPECIFICITY. he'd feel guilty about the text, perhaps, but he remembers the reading aloud function break's tablet has. )

voice

[maddeninghatter]

[ INSTANTLY: ]

Goodness, no emotes?

[ HE'S STILL SORE ABOUT THAT ]

[Action; the 27th, morning, right on time]

[tergiversant]

[Barma actually wasn't sure how the Hatter was going to react. Whether he was going to draw his Chain into his sword and strike through the illusion, likely at the furthest point from Reim... Or simply command the farce to end.

But it was a valuable piece of information, as trivial as it may seem, in the Hatter's character.

As such, just like every morning, the illusion was firmly in place, two cups of tea set out, only one of them real, in front of an empty chair. The illusion stood, as usual, when the Mad Hatter arrived.]

Good morning.

[maddeninghatter]

[ Break turns up as well, half a minute late, as per usual: early enough not to be actually late, but late enough to annoy a person as pathologically punctual as Reim.

He slides into his usual chair and..... hesitates.......... just barely, before peevishly protesting: ]

Don't you "good morning" me!

[ Another slight, so very slight hesitation.... ]

You knew. You knew. You knew all along!

text, early on the 9th

[commentboxtroll]

going back in time to elope with collette. bye.

[ Okay, so now Caesar's just being an asshole with these messages. ]

text 12/9; set to play as audio on opening

[crocodilesmiles]

( Once upon a time this would have been a long description of what she's going to be doing.

Then she realized she had to send this to a whole bunch of people, so she got lazy, and: )

Hey, I'm going to take up a missionary position in France! See you again in about a month. Hopefully the snow's not all gone by then! Take care of all your important people while I'm gone, like I know you will, and get someone to knit you and Emily a scarf!

( That was a thing. )

audio, Jan 2nd

[devotedtothecore]

Break.

[ The pause is a few moments longer than it should be. ]

May we speak? With regards to-- [ a number of things, really, but they're all related, and the most recent of them being ] --the Richard Lawson incident.

audio, Jan 2nd - private

[maddeninghatter]

[ He responds immediately. Everything about that incident was suspicious. ]

Yes , certainly. What do you know?

text; 7th of January

[onehundredswords]

[The name attached to the tablet sending this simple reads "Three".

He's sure there's some text-to-speech function on this so screw it.]

Have a moment?

[maddeninghatter]

[ He's figured out how to download new voices into his tablet interface (thank you AI!) and so Gin's text message is read back to him in in a throaty, husky drawl.

He dictates back: ]

What can I do for you?

[ He doesn't bother too much over the name "Three." There's a fellow named "Blue," after all.... ]

[Action, a few days after soul shenanigans]

[soul_sister]

[She had, for the first day, taken upon the childish idea of seeing how long she could actually avoid this conversation... Surely the hotel was big and the occupants busy... She, herself, had taken up another section to start cleaning under Gilbert's fussy direction.

It took a certain amount of bluster to overcome it. Which is why the knock on Break's door is particularly loud.]

1/2

[maddeninghatter]

[ It's the habit of old men to snooze after lunch, which is what Break had been indulging in when she knocked. Sleep is, and always has been, an uncertain proposition for him: the promise of sweet, restful oblivion, balanced against the possibility of nightmares. This afternoon, he is dreaming of Paris, the sound of explosions and tens of millions of people screaming —

Thank you, Exsilium, for giving him more things to have bad dreams about, as if he didn't have enough.

Thus it is he awakens with a start, thus she might hear him cry "Hah!"

...

A little while later, he appears at the door, flinging it open. He is wide-eyed and haggard. ]

What is it —

[senseandcecilbility]

[Tea was promised. And tea is being delivered with scones and strawberry jelly. Kevin knocks at the door gently, more out of butlering habit than any expectation that Mister Break would deny him entrance. He is still worried sick about Rosette, still trying to find better arguments to persuade her to ditch the demon aside from You will die and your soul will be doomed., since apparently that is not convincing enough.

Overall, he is exhausted. It has been a long time since he last interacted with so many humans in such a graceless manner.]

[maddeninghatter]

It's open, come in.

[ Break's room is spacious, with a view that he is now enjoying, watching the low winter sun disappearing beneath the horizon. Hues of pink and vermillion in the sky reflect on the white snow.

He is sitting at a little table on a spindly chair; when the door opens, he waves Kevin over to join him. ]