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peacockstop2024-06-15 12:00 pm
goldmods) wrote in peacockstop2024-06-15 12:00 pm
TDM 04
【 Thank you for choosing the Golden Peacock, 5-star resort and casino. You are currently registered as a WILDCARD in our system.
Due to a high volume of check-ins, temporary accommodations have been made on our brand new beachfront for new guests. We will endeavor to have all guests moved into their reserved rooms as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience. Affected guests may convene with the nearest lifeguard or reception for a complimentary swimsuit, at their earliest convenience.
Please remember that beach-appropriate attire is mandatory. Guests found breaking dress code may be escorted off the beach until they return in proper swimwear. We hope you enjoy your stay, and have a beachy keen experience. 】
BEACHFRONT PROPERTY
A BRAND NEW DEVELOPMENT
As the resort moves into what it claims is summer, the days grow longer. The sun is projected well into the evening, the heat of its warmth dialed up to a level some guests complain is unreasonable. Then there’s the most excessive transformation of all – half the Cloud Dwelling Gardens have been transformed into a sparkling beach of white sands and blue waves, seemingly overnight. Statues nearby have been dressed up with wide hats and stylish sarongs. Upbeat music fills the air without any discernible source.
A section of the beach has been reserved for a collection of bungalows. These cute pastel homes open straight onto the sand, and are comparable in size and amenity to a rank 7 or 8 suite. All screens within these bungalows are fixed to a channel that airs reruns of Boobwatch around the clock, a classic TV series about blue-footed boobys running in slow-motion across the beach. Staff and long-standing guests all agree — there’s no better summer programming than this!
A section of the beach has been reserved for a collection of bungalows. These cute pastel homes open straight onto the sand, and are comparable in size and amenity to a rank 7 or 8 suite. All screens within these bungalows are fixed to a channel that airs reruns of Boobwatch around the clock, a classic TV series about blue-footed boobys running in slow-motion across the beach. Staff and long-standing guests all agree — there’s no better summer programming than this!
FUN IN THE SUN
DON'T FORGET TO OIL UP
What’s a beach without fun and games? Dreadfully boring! That’s why all of the beach classics have been expertly set up by staff, including strip volleyball nets, giant boob-shaped beach balls, and plenty of floaties for use in the shallower areas of the temporary ocean. A row of parasols with paired lounge chairs underneath them are placed in some prime viewing areas for festivities. Any time you get thirsty, there’s always a cooler full of canned drinks conveniently nearby, courtesy of Cock-a-Doodle-Doo’s. Sometimes you can hear the staff whispering to each other, “What if it’s too perfect? We won’t be able to deal with the ratings dip once the beach ends!”
Seashells have been arbitrarily scattered along the shoreline, coming in both natural shapes and ones a little more... erotic. The sexiest ones of all are conch shells that let you hear the moans of another guest when held up to your ear; supposedly, if you hook up with the person on the other end of the shell, you’ll be extra lucky in the casino for the rest of the summer. All in all, it’s a carefully tailored creation that can be called nothing short of paradise.
Seashells have been arbitrarily scattered along the shoreline, coming in both natural shapes and ones a little more... erotic. The sexiest ones of all are conch shells that let you hear the moans of another guest when held up to your ear; supposedly, if you hook up with the person on the other end of the shell, you’ll be extra lucky in the casino for the rest of the summer. All in all, it’s a carefully tailored creation that can be called nothing short of paradise.
NOTES
▶ All new arrivals have been issued four food and four clothing vouchers. These vouchers are as good as money around the resort. The staff will strongly insist on characters picking out "summery" attire with it, though.
▶ Existing characters may be booted into the bungalows or locked out of their room against their will. We leave it up to player discretion if this happens and the degree to which they're removed from their normal suite.
▶ For the Daydream Parasols, wildcards may be afflicted by whichever suit their player prefers for the duration of the dream. This will have no bearing on their suit selection when applying, and suit effects should not manifest once back in the waking world. It's just a dream, after all!
▶ The dreamscape has no explicit time limit, so feel free to make them as long or as short as desired. Dreams should also be sexy first and foremost. While you can include your mom dying in the background if you'd like, you have to be horny about it too.
▶ Existing characters may be booted into the bungalows or locked out of their room against their will. We leave it up to player discretion if this happens and the degree to which they're removed from their normal suite.
▶ For the Daydream Parasols, wildcards may be afflicted by whichever suit their player prefers for the duration of the dream. This will have no bearing on their suit selection when applying, and suit effects should not manifest once back in the waking world. It's just a dream, after all!
▶ The dreamscape has no explicit time limit, so feel free to make them as long or as short as desired. Dreams should also be sexy first and foremost. While you can include your mom dying in the background if you'd like, you have to be horny about it too.
TWINKLING CURRENTS
THE PARTY NEVER STOPS
As the sun sets in a cascade of colors over the water, lamps are lit and floating lights surface from the depths. Stars twinkle in the sky, and Steve is finally released from his smoky shackles. Though the daytime amenities have gone to sleep, the night promises its own set of beachy wonders sure to please even the most distinguished of vacationers.
Flyers posted in the lobby and in the hallways promise of a bar ran by the most enchanting mermaids you could ever want to fuck, as well as a fireworks show in every color, including ones you’ve never heard of. With the seagulls gone to bed, peace settles across the sands, tinted blue, yellow, and pink from the myriad of lights. For those seeking a more subdued, romantic air — this is the beach for you.
Flyers posted in the lobby and in the hallways promise of a bar ran by the most enchanting mermaids you could ever want to fuck, as well as a fireworks show in every color, including ones you’ve never heard of. With the seagulls gone to bed, peace settles across the sands, tinted blue, yellow, and pink from the myriad of lights. For those seeking a more subdued, romantic air — this is the beach for you.
SANDY SCAVENGING
A GAME OF BEACHES
It wouldn't be the Golden Peacock without a game for guests to play! All guests that wander into the beach area may find themselves receiving one of two Watch messages. Some very special guests may even receive both challenges — or continuously receive a new challenge when the last 24 hours is up. The resort just wants you to have the most fun possible!
NOTES
▶ All effects from the swim-up bar last around 2-3 hours, but may be extended by having another drink.
INTO THE DEPTHS
IT'S HIGH TIDE WE GET OUT OF HERE
Though the beach experience is perfect on the surface, things are less elegant behind the scenes. Wave-making machines pulse and rattle down below, shaking the ceiling of the basement suites. Water leaks from pipes, streaking across walls and pooling on the uneven floors. The maintenance levels are abuzz with staff setting out buckets and pans, shooing lost guests away with a heightened level of urgency. Someone got a little too enthusiastic with mopping, they claim. Nothing to worry about at all!
Even the ocean itself isn’t without its issues. Despite appearing as a boundless expanse from the shore, the walls of the Golden Peacock are a very real factor. To avoid any undue damage to the screens that comprise the sky, the sea stops abruptly before it reaches them, cascading into a waterfall all the way down to the depths of the resort. Gentle currents become swirling vortexes and choppy waves, sure to pull down any guests that aren’t careful about where they swim. A few gull-guards patrol the line of buoys that mark the end of the safe swimming area, but the primary line of defense the resort relies on is the utter disinterest most of its guests have.
Even the ocean itself isn’t without its issues. Despite appearing as a boundless expanse from the shore, the walls of the Golden Peacock are a very real factor. To avoid any undue damage to the screens that comprise the sky, the sea stops abruptly before it reaches them, cascading into a waterfall all the way down to the depths of the resort. Gentle currents become swirling vortexes and choppy waves, sure to pull down any guests that aren’t careful about where they swim. A few gull-guards patrol the line of buoys that mark the end of the safe swimming area, but the primary line of defense the resort relies on is the utter disinterest most of its guests have.
NOTES
▶ Any amount of standing water is a valid target for a character’s resurfacing, even something as minor as a glass of water. For situations where a character would not actively fit into the source of their arrival, they will be violently flung out of it, knocking over or spilling it in the process if that’s possible.
▶ As always, players are free to control the level to which their individual characters are affected, and being flooded out of their space is not mandatory.
▶ As always, players are free to control the level to which their individual characters are affected, and being flooded out of their space is not mandatory.
OOC NOTES
▶ BLANKET CW: alcohol; altered states; aphrodisiacs; breeding urge; delusions; forced clotheswearing; hallucinations; harassment and bullying; jealousy; thalassophobia; transformation; unreality
▶ All characters on the TDM are WILDCARDS, which means they have not yet been assigned a card value. The house is still observing and deciding. As rank and suits are assigned upon acceptance your character's suit will not manifest until they are accepted into the game.
▶ All TDMs are game canon. This TDM acts as the game's June event. The beach will ICly be present from June 15th - June 30th.
▶ Current characters may top level on the TDM. Any current characters posting to the TDM should note they are current in their subject header.
▶ The top level directory is for new characters only. We want to make sure new characters are prioritized and receive attention!
▶ If you aren't satisfied with these prompts, please feel free to check out our LOCATIONS to explore more of the resort! There are recent additions to the locations page as well, for those who have yet to see them!
▶ Smut threads that take place on this TDM can be used for rewards. If both parties in the smut thread join the game, you may retroactively apply the character's initial card values to your 52 bank. If one character does not join the game the thread will not be applicable toward rewards (as that character would not have a card value). The character that does join would still receive a small payout for the encounter. Hopefully it was a fun thread regardless!
▶ We ask you to kindly add content warnings to your threads as appropriate.
▶ If you do not currently have permissions and kinks listed in your character’s journal we suggest leaving a note in your top level of any limits or boundaries for other players to reference.
▶ Don't forget your sunscreen! We'd hate for any chicken wings to come out burnt.
▶ All characters on the TDM are WILDCARDS, which means they have not yet been assigned a card value. The house is still observing and deciding. As rank and suits are assigned upon acceptance your character's suit will not manifest until they are accepted into the game.
▶ All TDMs are game canon. This TDM acts as the game's June event. The beach will ICly be present from June 15th - June 30th.
▶ Current characters may top level on the TDM. Any current characters posting to the TDM should note they are current in their subject header.
▶ The top level directory is for new characters only. We want to make sure new characters are prioritized and receive attention!
▶ If you aren't satisfied with these prompts, please feel free to check out our LOCATIONS to explore more of the resort! There are recent additions to the locations page as well, for those who have yet to see them!
▶ Smut threads that take place on this TDM can be used for rewards. If both parties in the smut thread join the game, you may retroactively apply the character's initial card values to your 52 bank. If one character does not join the game the thread will not be applicable toward rewards (as that character would not have a card value). The character that does join would still receive a small payout for the encounter. Hopefully it was a fun thread regardless!
▶ We ask you to kindly add content warnings to your threads as appropriate.
▶ If you do not currently have permissions and kinks listed in your character’s journal we suggest leaving a note in your top level of any limits or boundaries for other players to reference.
▶ Don't forget your sunscreen! We'd hate for any chicken wings to come out burnt.
getian | reverse: 1999 | current player, new character
it's free real estate
anyway.
the bed isn't particularly comfortable but it's better for him than falling asleep at a desk. on the other hand, snoozing while being surrounded by books is a sacrifice he's willing to make but alas. side sleeping with one hand beneath a pillow, curled up under blankets with his tail flicking as he sleeps a dreamless sleep. that is--- until the sound of something sizable bumping and thumping around causes him to open one eye. then, the other.
he should be safe in this bottom bunk. hopefully. ]
Stop your commotion.
[ the ribika doesn't bother to kick his sheets off. not yet. five more minutes in warmth and darkness, please. ]
no subject
stop your commotion.
he does stop. the miemeng bird goes fully rigid, even the breath halting in his lungs—his eyes are the only things that move, tracking over to the other bed, where a shape still rests beneath layers of bedding. he wants answers, but any demands of whether or not this individual is the culprit behind bringing him here die in his throat as he considers it further. it wouldn’t really make sense for a kidnapper to sleep in the same manner as his quarry, would it? does it even really make sense that he is kidnapped, if he’s not bound? there’s nothing to stop him from flying away—if he can just get a door or a window open.
perhaps the getian of many years ago wouldn’t have bothered waiting for any answers from the stranger; he would have simply escaped without a second thought. the circumstances of others had not been his concern. but concern is a worm that has burrowed itself into the core of his heart, so he steps forward, moving closer to the occupied bed. many birds have long legs meant for strutting—a miemeng is not one. the action is somewhat uncomfortable, and far less so than flying, but there’s not enough room in these close quarters. )
I assume you are not the one behind this. ( his tone is placid, though any number of implications could rest beneath its surface. when he is close enough, he reaches out with a taloned claw to grasp at the sheets before tossing them off of the figure—there is considerable strength in those legs, it seems.)
Get up. This is no time to sleep.
no subject
which is why... he doesn't really want to go anywhere. perhaps if he lies here long enough, he will be left alone. he can fall back into a blissful sleep and perhaps wake somewhere more comfortable and quiet. maybe he can find his way back to his tree, to his worn furniture, to a time before everything went up in flames.
and then leaks' blankets are gone and he huffs. ]
Anytime is a good time to rest. We do not know what the future holds, so it is best to take that time whenever it is offered and take advantage of it.
[ it's sound logic to him. something that he would suggest to anyone. the past leaks would dispute this for sure. ]
Do you need a chaperone of sorts? Or are you unable to leave for yourself? Either way, I am not your captor. I would not waste an effort to keep anyone caged at this point.
[ easier to just kill them outright, but that kind of lethal instinct... it has rusted. waned. the time of the magician has passed. ]
no subject
what’s going on? are they under the effect of some other arcane skill?
his mismatched eyes narrow. ) Typically, I would agree with you. But there is no safety in this unknown.
( and how could the stranger feel confident about sleeping anywhere that doesn’t feel safe? getian peers at him closer, taking note of the dark, animal ears and tail. curious. he has seen plenty of individuals with such features over his long life, though typically from a distance—there are many families of arcanists and arcane creatures, as well as those with mixed heritages of both humans and arcanists, who carry them. to getian, they mean little. what else is he supposed to glean from the man? if he’s not his captor, does that mean he is another captive here? a local? would that explain why he’s so insistent on being relaxed at a time like this?
all of these questions tangle into a confusing mess in his mind. he struggles to find a loose end to pull, providing him words to reply with.
as per getian’s usual, he does not helpfully answer any questions, instead asking his own. ) You do not wish to figure out what has happened to us. ( well, this isn’t a question. it’s a fragile, cool observation. the, ) Why? ( that follows it has an odd color to it as well: rather than being sharp or derisive, it is instead softly said—almost gentle. almost concerned.
perhaps that’s because he’s started to recognize some of the shapes pressed into the ribika’s bones. they are odd—so strange compared to those he has seen on humans and arcanists. but from what little understanding he can glean from them… they are dire indeed. )
no subject
I have no reason to fear the unknown.
[ or step into it with trepidation. or be apprehensive towards what may not be in his view. he's seen enough. felt enough. every world that's eventually rejected him did accept him at one point. so why should he face this one any differently? that he's been given a relatively safe place to start is a blessing. it could've been much worse for the both of them. even the strange program on the television doesn't faze him.
what an unusual looking creature getian is, but that doesn't mean leaks has any reason to fear him. wicked talons and uniquely shaped body, feathered wings too. he would like to appreciate this bird in a brighter light if he could. natural curiosity still prevails over self-preservation, time after time after time... ]
There is no point. If we are here, then we are supposed to be here. Denying or fighting against is laughable.
[ fate is fate. ]
no subject
so: he must be telling the truth.
how strange. it is natural for all living things, perhaps one of the few things that bind them down to their mortal essences, to fear the unknown. getian knows that he, even living as long as he has, had allowed his wariness and timidity to keep him from following his fellow miemeng birds into the unknown. and now he is the only one which remains.
as he continues, though… no, it’s not that getian is suddenly convinced he has decided to lie. rather, what he says—how he feels, if he is telling the truth—directly contradicts what he can read in his bones. it is an innate arcane ability of all miemeng birds to be able to peer with ease through flesh and blood to read the bones of others beneath. the pasts of all creatures write themselves upon their bones, and the shapes that those bones take carry them toward certain futures. getian would not identify himself as a seer, but he can read the signs. he has centuries of experience in foretelling where they might lead. )
But you did not always feel this way.
( he doesn’t say this challengingly, nor in a way that might goad leaks. he almost says it as if he’s uncertain of it himself, his eyes tracking across the ribika’s body as he takes note of the bones of particular interest to his point: strong striations scraped across the scapulae, indicating tension in the shoulders bearing the weight of an unfitting world. notches in the mandible where teeth might have been gritted against an unfair fate.
bitterness. it’s an interesting emotion to read there. it’s not one getian has much familiarity with. his expression tempers with wary sorrow. )
You once fought. To any length. ( his brows draw together. ) What changed?
no subject
gathering his thoughts for a moment, leaks shakes his head and glares back at getian. who does he think he is prying into what he's gone through? even if it's only glimpses, guesses, some kind of cursory glance. his life has always been private and never to be told to another living creature. only one deserves to carry on his memories and that one will also suffer having to know. to have the entire story cripple him until his last day.
a parting gift to the child of his beloved. ]
My fate. That there was a step past oblivion that I did not anticipate encountering. My world rejected me despite my best efforts.
[ his tail curls behind him. at least a part of him continues to feel like it needs to do something. ]
Now it seems I will continue to wake up in a different bed, in a different place.
III - (Not) Tumbling Down
These strange circumstances leaves Baptiste to lean on his more foundational lessons: Don't Be Obvious(as supernatural beings tend to hate whenever humans try to blatantly pull back the veil of trickery and influence) and Absorb Everything. The recall of even the smallest detail could save a man's life - and so Baptiste explores, participates, and intermingles in hopes of flying under the radar while he finds his footing.
And thus, the spirit of inquiry is what pushes him past the line of safety in this vast 'ocean.' A quick dip under the surface to avoid the prying eyes of power-tripping gullguards before he would crest the surface once more an continue his observations of just what might be worth hiding in this place that had so clearlty spirited him away. Or rather, that was the intention. Yet as Baptiste's head breaks the surface of the water, there is a rush of power around him that begins to pull him in the direction of the depths. Sea water forces its way into his sinuses as the man quickly turns to try and swim against the increasing rush of a riptide towards... The water continues its pull as if Baptiste wasn't attempting to tear his way out of it. Limbs attempt to swim in a way to cut the current, and yet with each intention to change direction - the rushing tide tosses him like a rag doll.
Overexertion begins to settle in the man's muscles as he chokes against another wave of water that overtakes his head. His own thrashing and fighting keeps him from registering the roaring sound of tumbling water or the drop until it is far too late. The sea water overtakes him, sending his body plunging over the edge. Darkness quickly begins to overtake from the corners of his eyes and Baptiste grits his teeth as he prepares for impact.
He won't die. He can't die. Not just y-
The downward trajectory of his body is suddenly stopped not by a violent collision in the dark - but instead something incredibly inhuman grasping him at the waist. Just as Baptiste's body begins to wrench, ready to fight against whatever monster came out of the dark to grasp him - he hears a gentle voice that dampens his fight response. Aching muscles comply with the request before he speaks.]
That. That makes two of us I think! [His words are tinged manic, his smile not yet one of relief. Instead his smile is interrupted by a violent sputtering as his body rejects the very notion of talking just quite yet.
It is clear by the look in his eyes that he's fighting for consciousness - having been so gently plucked a black-out. He squints to get a better idea of just what had saved him (and if he were truly saved) - yet his swimming vision makes it an impossible task for the moment.]
no subject
he does know one thing, though. even if it slowly, he will continue the change that he began when he left his mountain to enter the human world—he will no longer be a silent observer to the misfortunes of others. it’s hard to break an old habit, and especially one reinforced by hundreds of years, but it’s made slightly easier when he recalls the headstrong bravery of his newly-made friends, strangers to his land, and a young half-lushu who had risked herself to deliver the wishes of a whole town. in comparison to their strives, it’s not so hard to pluck a stranger out of the air, shaping the dead wind beneath his broad wings to take them once more over the pelagic shelf and back toward dry land. getian breathes a sigh of relief that the human heeds his instructions. he does not struggle and fight, and so the miemeng does not drop him back into the abyss. )
Do your best to relax. ( even if he’s saved him from toppling into the unknown, he’s still concerned about his wellbeing. he once again feels the absence of his bone wand. he is not skilled with healing arcane skills, but at least with his wand he might feel he could do something. the next best option is, ) I will put you down shortly.
( it does take some time to get back to shore, but certainly not as much by air as it had taken by sea. getian overshoots the beach, wary of the crowds and noise; he lowers in altitude in the gardens a short distance away, where there are fewer prying eyes and agape mouths. his wings pound the air as he hovers for a moment, doing his best to deposit baptiste as gently and carefully on the ground as he can. there’s a further beating of wings before he settles down a short distance away on a low stone wall, wings folding as his talons grasp into the masonry. getian wears the same thin robe all of the newcomers had woken up in, though he has also apparently stolen a very brightly-colored beach towel to wear over his head, spilling down onto his shoulders.
he stands up a little from his perch to lean over, mismatched eyes inspecting the stranger, assessing his health. worry and uncertainty creases his brow. ) Should I find a healer? ( you know, assuming he’s conscious enough to make a reply… )
no subject
Hilarious. Especially when said by something with talons big enough to pluck Baptiste out of the abyss, which could only serve to assume that there was a beak of proportional size that could make an easy meal of him.
Yet the swimming darkness in his head wins out over any sort of doubt in his heart, forcing the uppity man to comply. His head lulls as the ring around his vision slowly dissipates. Sea shifts to sand below before it gives way to landscape he was utterly unfamiliar with.
He chokes. Coughs. Shakes his head as his lungs force water back up. With it, he holds up a hand at the creature that had saved him.]
No, no.... No need for a doctor. I'll just need a sec- [A sputter ends that sentence prematurely. Baptiste wipes at his face, fingers lingering at the burn scars that kiss the tip of his nose and chin before his chest seizes once more. Every step of the way, it's clear that he fights his own body - an attempt to force it into compliance instead of patiently waiting for its recovery.
As his shoulders shake, Baptiste's eyes dart to catch a better glimpse of his savior - just in case he would have to jump into the throes of an escape plan any second.
His sharp eyes catch Getian's and there is a visible pause in Baptiste's demeanor.
This creature was the polar opposite of the gull-guards that had given him trouble before. Wings and talons - yet there was no beak ready to make him prey. Instead, the man embodied soft, inviting humanoid features. Like a harpy or siren of old lore, and yet Baptiste had yet to meet one that wasn't the product of some twisted force.
His mind reminds him that this could still be the product of some twisted force, yet Baptiste smiles despite himself. His intense blues meet those mismatched eyes with awe.]
You're... actually not a part of this place either, are you my friend?
[Baptiste no longer wears his robe, having set it aside before beginning his investigation of the waters. Never the less, he slowly gestures at his own bare shoulder - referring to Getian's own attire.]
no subject
to getian’s eyes, the man is still for what feels like an eternally long moment after he’s placed him on the ground. worry makes its transformation into tension, causing his expression to fold and his plumage to ruffle. he’s very nearly about to lift back off to conquer his wariness of crowds in search of someone who might have a better hand at human first aid when movement shakes him. coughing, spluttering—it seems he inhaled or swallowed some water. wings half-outstretched, getian freezes, watching, only beginning to ease back down onto his perch once a hand is held up in his direction.
the concern on getian’s face is painted plainly enough that he doesn’t seem quite convinced by baptiste’s words, but he remains where he is. he is immediately tempted in this moment to peer closer at the man, to try to detect the unique shapes the events of his life left behind on his bones. this is one of the inherent arcane skills of the miemeng, and something he has grown accustomed to doing out of curiosity alone. but—he catches himself and ceases his prying. he has started to piece together that such things are considered “rude” in human society.
the question seems to puzzle the miemeng bird at first; in his mind, he is as different from the gull-headed lifeguard as oil was to water, so he doesn’t immediately make the connection. but once the gesture is made toward the gossamer robe he still wears, he understands. ) No. I have no relation to those… ( his mismatched eyes, one pale and one dark, track slowly toward the beach, ) creatures.
( the word is low and dull, implying derision. it’s not that he finds them particularly strange—there are some arcanists, arcane creatures, and those of mixed blood whose appearances intermingle between human and beast, much like getian himself. he also doesn’t look down on them based on any feeling of superiority. no, he’s mostly just still upset that they had chased him around earlier, adding to the many reasons he had removed himself from the beach.
his eyes return to baptiste. ) I have been brought to this place. The same as you, I presume.
no subject
The brief peek that Getian could have read from Baptiste's bones would share in some of that insight: a human body that had been patched together time and time again.
Yet any prying the miemeng bird manages flies under Baptiste's recognition - as the man is far too curious in piecing together what Getian is in the first place to notice.
And it is quite the relief to find that this bird bore not relation to the gull-headed men that were running amuck on the beach. A smile plays at Baptiste's lips. One leg rests on the ground while the other comes up so that he could wrap his arms around the leg and hold it. His head tilts before he slowly begins to nod.]
Right... right. Sorry about the confusion. Where I'm from we don't really get bird men as a norm. And if we do get some kind of bird hybrid it's rarely a good thing. [A pause.] But seeing as you'd pluck a guy - that you don't know, mind you - out a dangerous situation without a second thought... I can see that it was definitely a good thing today. So, thank you. It would've been a shame to die before even making it 24 hours-
[Does he know he would have survived such a fall? Absolutely not.]
I've met a few people in the same boat: Waking up in a beautiful beachside home, bullied by bird-faced guards, all of our personal effects mysteriously unaccounted for... and we're just supposed to uh. roll with it, I've heard. [Another pause of consideration before he leans forward, the tip of his tongue moving to wet his bottom lip.] So is that how you're choosing to roll with it? By saving menaces like me from a tumble? And... by avoiding the beach?
ii.
It's already become clear that the answers she can get now will be unsatisfactory. Well, Rahu's used to chipping at brick walls for answers. That...had never fully gotten her where she wanted it to, had it? But, says a gentle and soothing thought in her head, it had eventually brought her to where she needed to be. Was she not on the right path? Cooly, firmly, she reminds herself that she can only do the same here.
Having gotten all she can for the time being from the "nightlife" on the beach, from the alluring waters and the bar with its suggestive drinks, Rahu herself has retreated to the bungalow area, purposefully alone. The fireworks don't disturb her, but each explosion thrums in her temples and her blood. When her sharp gaze moves from the light, it catches another figure in her company, and the illumination makes it easy to both catch his gaze and see the impulse in it.]
You aren't like the rest. [For all intents, it's a neutral observation. Getian's silhouette, illuminated by the spraying light of fireworks crossing the sky, is undeniably avian in nature, but he looks nothing like the other birds that have been plaguing the sands. The lack of a gull head, for one - but he's also making no effort to bully or torment any of the other guests.] I hope that's kept you from being mistaken for one.
no subject
to have them chase him around, screeching and flailing their man-like arms, however… that was new, and highly non-preferable. their strange fixation on causing trouble to the newcomers and some of the more lowly-ranked guests was one of the many reasons he’s been keeping scarce.
his skittishness around strangers is another. and yet, as he peers at this stranger—a woman he feels might be better understood to be forged from iron rather than whittled from wood or cut from stone—he feels a stirring in his heart that keeps him rooted to the spot. a wordless, unspoken longing, only further awoken and exacerbated by his time in pei city. he wonders what he might be able to read from her bones, how they have been shaped from her past and where they would lead her future. is it rude to look? for so long he did it without thinking, using his bystander’s observation as a form of brief, intermittent entertainment.
his mismatched eyes—one pale and one dark—track toward the beach, understanding her meaning. he shakes his head; the formality of the gesture is a little undercut considering he’s taken to wearing a purloined brightly-colored beach towel over his head in lieu of his typical cloth. ) They are not Miemeng birds. But… that has not stopped others from noting certain, “similarities.”
( he frowns, but he doesn’t speak of it further, he carefully moves to the edge of the roof. crouching down as he is, he isn’t that far above her, though he’s aware it’s not the best vantage to have a conversation from. he wishes there were more places to perch around here… )
From what I understand, I am a “guest.” The same as you.
i keep thinking about his little beach towel veil... i see it in my dreams...
It could also be the beach towel draped over his head as if he was in mourning. The unorthodox accessory gives him a meek, drowned-animal sort of look, a fragile real bird who managed to stray too close to the coastline. Despite her often violent retribution against the lifeguard gulls, she feels the tug of a thread insisting she keep him from falling under any more suspicion or scrutiny. Her indifference is a gentle one.]
I won't mistake you for them if you're worried about that. I won't let anyone else make that mistake, either. Come down if you want. Then again, you have the best seat in the house, don't you?
[And it is "in the house," as much as the environment wants to convince them that it's something else. Rahu tilts her chin back, looking even higher than Getian to the art plastering itself against the "sky" overhead. It's a mockery for her, too, this fakery, but in the opposite direction. Nightfall plunged her world into chaos almost a century before she was born; places like this exist largely only for those who can afford to build them. The biggest body of water she'd ever come near was the ground zero for her rage.]
Are there any others like you here? Any Miemeng? [It seems cruel if there aren't - is he supposed to be some exotic fixture of the resort instead of his own self with his own people?]