wizardmanor | Floor 5, Room 2

[This is just a placeholder because I keep forgetting to set things up help--]

[ it's still the evening even if it is very late in the evening, by this point in time; maya has seen to his ribs and he's had tea with bruno alongside greeting an ever revolving door of visitors. khun had not intended to sleep tonight and he still doesn't, but he's still very tired all the same.

it's this logic, or some yakety sax configuration of it, that finds khun lifting up the window of cid's room so he can step cleanly inside. he's on his broom of course, which he dismisses as soon as he's dismounted. assuming cid is doing anything but being naked on his bed (just being on his bed is fine), khun issues a declaration without ceremony or explanation. ]

I'm using your bed. [ and there he goes, throwing himself on it. ]

[Bold of you to assume Cid sleeps.

In fact, the more unusual happening may be him actually being in his room for a change when night falls -- generally he's out and about much more in the night than during the day, but after all the commotion of earlier he's decided that perhaps it's time for just chilling and waiting for the storm to pass. Time heals all ills and semi-severed heads, etc. etc. That's his philosophy and he's sticking to it.

Therefore, his room is all lit up, making it pretty easy to find and invade; he barely even looks up when his window opens, too. His room is more sparse than one would expect and kind of out of tune with the rest of the manor to some extent: there's a decent four-poster bed with a canopy, but it's not really anything special. Bookcase, bed, table, wardrobe. Nothing really personalized or that stands out save for the sword in a rack on the wall, some mostly useless-looking doodads and doohickeys, and one (1) full-length mirror.

After a moment he looks up again. Slow-blinks when he registers who suddenly showed up. Better have changed your clothes, Mr. Stealing-Candy-From-A-Vampire.]

Uh. Make yourself at home, I guess?

[He is not using the bed; he's actually standing at the table over some sort of contraption and a couple of mana stones, just sort of poking around with it -- or was until current events.

Note to self: Maybe still way too used to having people show up through the window without notice. It might have a nice nostalgic tinge in another week or two.]

Did you, like, break yours or something?

Edited 2024-04-29 19:38 (UTC)

[ wow who do you think he is? yes, he is absolutely changed and showered, hair pulled back into a low ponytail, no signs of the candy vampire from earlier. he's in a simple oversized t-shirt and cotton shorts because it really is Comfy hour or something like it. ]

Too busy. [ mumbled into the comforter, so there might have been another word or so of explanation but they're lost to the bedding. speaking of bedding, what kind do we have here, is it cotton, silk, wool, some evil shadow fabric? ]

No one will think to find me here.

[A vampire slayer-- to be fair, though, vampire slayers all tend to be well-dressed for some reason, so maybe it's not a surprise that Khun has abruptly decided to try adding that to his resume.

Cid glances over at all the mumbling and raises an eyebrow at the pajama party. Okay, so maybe this guy really just likes a change of scenery after getting too much good exercise?? Maybe he has the same philosophy as Cid?? That still doesn't explain anything about why he's here but it seems like too much of a pain in the ass to argue about a bed he's not really using anyway.

The fabric is not evil though??? It's just regular cotton and soft enough. Smells like a weird blend of persimmons, bricks and something or other so good luck with that.]

Yeah, bet you were busy. [a disapproving shake of the head, perhaps a thematic continuation of the old man routine from his brief stint at the scene of the.... party?? problem??? -- but that's the extent of the complaining, apparently] Aren't there empty rooms in a place this big...?

[He is pretty sure there should be empty rooms. Or closets. Stares at Khun, never mind this guy is too spoiled to sleep in a closet isn't he.]

[ he definitely takes a moment or two to sniff at the sheets--persimmons ain't bad, bricks are really odd but not entirely unpleasant? what is this other smell? eh whatever, it's not offensive so he'll worry about it another time. pushing himself up from the sheets rather than roll over, khun finally regards cid with some type of manners. ]

That's the first place anyone would think to look. [ it's plausible, even if it isn't the reason he's here. ] You're not offended by my company, are you?

[Cid glances up when Khun sits up -- but since he doesn't really care a speck about decorum and his bed is so far intact he looks down again immediately. It may also have something to do with the sparks emitting from between his hands, where he's messing around with a mana stone. It's not anything all that spectacular, just a little light show.

There's a brief ow, and then he shakes out his hand, but other than a bit of smoke and something on the table turning on, not much else happens. Without Cid's hand in the way Khun can probably see an old-timey camcorder just sitting on its side with a mana stone sort of just. Jammed into it.]

I wouldn't call it the first place.

[Guess this is banter over some weird wizard tinkering and a really bad excuse now. He shrugs, glances at his window.]

Long as half the manor isn't going to come crashing into my room I don't really care. There's not really room for you to hide except under the bed, though.

[Maybe he's contradicting himself a little but also: Cid is not entirely opposed to being an accomplice if there's a manhunt going on! That's something that he can totally do as Cid, even if he has no idea what the issue really is at this point. It's not like anyone died this time either.]

Edited 2024-04-29 23:17 (UTC)

I'm not going under there. [ there's an air of "he'd rather be caught dead than crawl under a bed" which is only minorly ironic given the situation. ]

If someone knocks on the door asking about me, all you need to do is send them away. [ he doubts it'll happen though. there's a few other rooms people might think to check with to find him, but he doubts that cid's is one of them.

khun can't see too well from his position, but even if he could, he wouldn't recognize an old-timey camcorder. the filming equipment his world is futuristic and full of drones ]

I was wondering which one of us got sorted into West because they like tinkering with devices.

I'll have you know I definitely dust under there.

[Why are you so spoiled, and this is coming from Cid, who can't talk in some respects but can very much judge in others. Why is he even bothering with suggestions. It's not like he's thought about exactly how to have a stealth and/or ambush battle and/or all-out brawl in his room before.

(Only maybe once or twice or ten times since he bothered to get furniture properly installed. It's important to have some footholds, but not too many! The most important thing, however, is the aesthetic.)]

But if somebody else tries the window, you're on your own. [he really would not put it past some of their fellow wizards to also be window whiskers, but to be fair that would be more fun for him -- there's a few reasons he keeps his window unlocked, okay?] I wouldn't say I'm really a devices guy, our good cult leader just really wanted somebody to mess with his camera and I wanted to figure out how it works with mana stones. Doesn't seem like he'd be too mad if it didn't work, anyway.

[Cid hums and raises the camcorder, squinting at its tiny screen.]

Weren't you the one saying you're good with technology or something?

[ good point. he mumbles an impero to slide the window shut, and a nice layer of ice to keep it that way. problem solved! ]

Tatara? He wouldn't. [ he is suddenly much more interested in whatever artifact cid has on his desk, doing what he can to get a better view while also staying put on the bed. ]

I am, but that doesn't mean much if the tech here is from the Old World. And even if it wasn't, I'm a user, not an engineer. If there's a system I can draw from I can figure it out, but we're not even close to that stage yet.

Hey! My window......

[Why are you icing his window?? His window!!!! What'll happen if it melts and then messes with the floor.......

Well, that's probably not a problem for wizards, all told. He keeps forgetting that magic is more versatile now than just stabbing things and other such more straightforward pursuits, even if he's literally holding that shit in his hand this very minute. (There's a small tilt of the head: impero, huh? Even without a full working knowledge of Latin he can take a wild guess, especially with the user here. Haha.)]

Just how new is your New World? [he doesn't even recognize camcorders??? damn...... but they still have computers being sold in department stores] ... Like I said, it's a sort of camera, and he said that if you power this battery somehow, it'll make things work out -- probably?

[The battery that is definitely sitting on the desk because he is just outright using a mana stone as a battery. The camera is on, anyway. He is not recording because he's busy fiddling with it instead.]

[ listen. finding his magic word was ultimately easy once he settled on what language to do it in (mumbles in having no reference for what ToG language looks like and the pain of trying to conjugate latin). ]

Make things work out. [ unsure if this is tatara being tatara or cid being cid here. what's he supposed to do with a general statement like that. ]

You're using the mana stone instead of the battery why?

[Same hat with the incantation........ he's always thinking about how to make Cool Move Names™ but when it comes to "Cid Kagenou" what he really needs most of all is something befitting his status as the most unremarkable magician ever. He has the confidence that he is both cooler and better than everyone else but, like, in a normal way. Anyway:]

Just, whatever a camera like this is supposed to do. He said there's no clues about the past wizards here, but I'm still kinda wondering what's on this thing. Cameras can be pretty interesting when you get down to it.

[He says this with the ridiculously affected air of somebody who ostensibly learned the word camera five minutes ago. Cid glances at the battery and grins with the same aplomb.]

You can only use a battery for a camera, but you can use a mana stone for anything, right? So if I can figure out a mana stone, I can power anything.

[This is a bit optimistic. But he's also serious about it!]

[ Thinking emoji... ]

We might be able to ask our country about it. They seem to have experience in this sort of thing and there's a lot we can trade them.

Our country?

[ Cid what are you even thinking. ]

Western Country.

[Bold of you to think he's having a thought.]

Western Country....

What?

[ ?????????????? ]

[Points the camera at him.]

So you're basically adopted by the Western spirits. Sprites?

[Now he looks like he's having a thought. But:]

And I'm.... And the country is.....

Is that how it works??

...did you just realize this now? [ like there's more steps to it than that but close enough here really. ]

Why do you say it like it's common knowledge? There wasn't an instruction manual or a brochure or anything. And the teacher (or something) hissed at you if you asked.

[He's not quite pouting but it's a near thing?? The camcorder lets out a stray spark but seems none the worse for the wear... for now.

He puts it down, though. This is so much stimulation for his singular awake braincell. Also he definitely just slandered Wanderer but y'know. Close enough.]

But it would be pretty helpful if West was like a real patron... Funding... Funding......

You have to know who to talk to, that's all.

[ he still hasn't really spoken to wanderer partly bc of his grouchy reputation. he'll get there eventually but there's been a lot of other things to concern himself with in the interim. ]

I'll contact General Barnett tomorrow. He invited me personally to see what Western Country had to offer firsthand, and I'm sure he wouldn't say no to bringing a fellow Western wizard along.

[ a beat. ]

Do you drink?

I feel like that's more down to luck than anything, unless you're tellin' me you have some way to screen all the countries.

[He's exaggerating because he's still slightly sulky; they really only needed West for this endeavor, it's just that he's genuinely much more used to hammering things out on his own than turning to the establishment or conventional wisdom or running theory or literal experts for, well. Just about anything.

Lone wolf syndrome, awooo......

Cid tilts his head, he is absorbing a lot at once right now. You can probably see the gears turning, or rather they're click-click-clicking like a lighter trying to light or an engine trying to turn.]

A general..... so we'd get to see what their military is using... I guess that's not too bad. [they probably won't get to see anything super-classified, sadly, but it's a start and he is indeed a curious cat; the question gets a blink-blink] Drink? Are we doing another party?

Exactly. I doubt they'll let us see any of the truly dangerous projects, but there's still a lot we can glean regardless.

[ khun nods. ]

Not a party, but with the General and likely a few of his officers. Liquor loosens lips, but it's also just a part of the high society dance.

House call! Room call? Close enough. [ hi cid it's your bestie in the west, knocking on your door this time at some time in the evening. open up! ]

Oh, you're using the door this time?

[Really, who even uses doors anymore. That's probably why it takes a minute or two and some suspicious screeching noises for Cid to get to the door and greet his visitor. Or he's just also not used to using the door himself.

Is it really besties if you're just traveling a lot and talking to shady people while potentially drinking their entire stock of more-or-less expensive liquor? (Okay maybe not the entire stock but it feels like it sometimes.) At least it's more exciting than what he used to do hanging out back home.

He waves Khun in.]

What's the occasion?

[ compared to what he does with everyone else in the west? yeah. ]

I wanted to get your opinion on what the good general had to say this time. [ he's taking a seat somewhere that is not the bed which might be a desk, chair, or whatever else cid has in his room. ]

Well that in light of what Jing Yuan detailed at the West meeting.

[Fair shakes. Besties in alcoholism and espionage(??), the argument is sound.]

Oh, the general guy from the West again? He wasn't that friendly this time, was he?

[Or rather, it's kind of rude to just yeet when you're in the middle of a thing with guests, but it's less of a scheduled tour thing this time... so maybe? Or the general just doesn't like hearing about his people exploding. Either or.

He sort of wiggles his hand as he thinks about it. There's a decent amount of seating in his room, whether it's chairs or sofas or if Khun wants to hop on a table I guess.]

Uhhh. [Jing Yuan was the big guy with white hair... see... he can remember people because they're memorable] You mean the stuff with East that kept coming up. I mean... East really hates magic and West really wants to harness magic in their own way, right? It's not that unusual.

[Two seemingly opposite countries coming together for their own agendas... a classic trope of political intrigue in the shadows! He is confident of his reading. (His reading is very vague--)]

[ it does make sense, though khun was initially thrown off by how high and mighty the West was framed compared to the rest of the countries. the enemy of my enemy is my friend though, and that seems to be what's happening here.

he's set up on a chair this time because this is a proper talk. ]

One more question and then I'll pay you back. What do you think of the West's powerplay? In regards to us as wizards and mana stones.

[Sure, Cid will flop on the sofa but be more-or-less attentive for this!

Let's be real he still doesn't have a great sense of the relation between countries other than what's fallen into his lap or whatever people like to gossip about. If only the researchers were more prone to loose lips....... the curse of introverts in a laboratory.]

Powerplay?

[There was powerplay involved that involved wizards?? He's probably talking about all the crazy machines they're putting together... and also the. Stink.]

Well, it stinks. [literally, he wrinkles his nose a little remembering! but it's like riding a horse, you probably get used to the smell after a while, since the manor also stinks magically in its own way] But I guess that sort of thing happens a lot when technology and magic clash... people really like the convenience, so they want to get their hands all over it...

[Honestly he can understand it. No, he can almost applaud it. Being able to grasp new ideas in magic whatever the means -- how nostalgic. But well... There's a lot of buts, alas.]

It sure did. [ a light chuckle. ]

Ahh, but sorry, I lied. Forgive me. [ in the tone of he's not sorry in the slightest. ]

You do care about your own self preservation, right? [ usually this isn't a question he'd ask unless he's fishing for something else in relation, but for someone like cid who's so outside the norm of any box he could hope to put him in, it's an actual question. ]

I don't know about that.

[Wow, this guy is just full of questions today. They feel kind of like leading questions, like when an unscrupulous journalist really wants you to give some answer or other. Luckily, Cid has dodged almost all of those people, ever, just by virtue of existing. It's nice.

It's not an especially weird question, though, so he'll let it go.]

'Course, what do you take me for? Obviously West doesn't really have the best interests of wizards in mind.

[More's the pity. If they weren't interfering with him existing as "Cid" or as "Shadow" then he'd be much more inclined to overlook their mining activities. Probably.]

I take you for who you are.

[ a cryptid, but that doesn't really bother him. one of the most straightforward relationships khun has is with laure and that guy is literally asleep for 95% of the time. if cid's entire thing is being, well, indubitably cid, that's fine too (and shadow which he may or may not know because time is fake).

his voice is low, smooth like ice, and he regards cid's head on as he speaks. ]

A few things.

One: don't go off chattering about what I'm about to tell you. Until we need to make a move I think the less people that know the better, but I know word has begun to get around at least partially.

Two: Central is holding Oz in Granvelle Castle, though by holding it's more aptly put as protecting him. He's currently unconscious, but even in that state his magical signature is massive. The barriers they asked us to erect are an attempt to mask his existence, in addition to safeguarding him.

Given our meetings with the Western Magitech Army, you can imagine that them getting their hands on Oz's manastone would be disastrous. I don't think that the West knows he's being held there, but they likely have some sort of suspicion. Marching on the seat of Central would be the same as declaring all out war, so they'd likely want to avoid that route if they can.

The General mentioned Central fairly often our last meeting, which leads me to believe they're trying to take the diplomatic angle and get the faction of Central that is anti-wizard to give them Oz's location. Obviously this isn't in our best interest—I could care less that they're building weapons which could level their country, but I do care that they would be using us in a literal sense to do so.

All this being said, there are two key points. The first, prevent any of our number from messing with the barrier to try to free Oz from captivity or whatever idealistic idea they have in their head. He's safest where he is right now, and moving him would be too much of a risk. The second, find a way to sabotage the West's current gambit in regards to Central. Obviously that requires more intel in the first place, though both of us are on good terms with the General unlike our other Western counterparts.

[ Suddenly, there comes a rapid knocking on Cid's door. It must be urgent, judging by knocks per second. Open up!! Quickly!! ]

[ Cid will wake up on Monday to a very peculiar scene. They will see who they saw when they stepped into the mysterious circle a week ago...but the visage of who it was before scatters to the wind, and reforms as someone new. The thread of fate severs, and who you were one fated to be with matters no longer, as a new person takes their place with blue petals.

Who Cid sees is a meek figure -- one who he has undoubtedly seen before -- but there is no one beside this figure, this time. It's just them, posture slouched over as if they are ashamed of who they are or something they've done. ... Maybe both.

The vision fades as fast as it came, however, and before they know it, Cid is grounded back in reality once more. ]

Floor 5, Room 2

ROOM LAYOUT

after the Everything he caused

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1/2

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post officers club pt 2

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early week 7

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