Open RP - The Master returns

[theregothedrums]

((with the approval of the other Who muns))

He was...

He was in a slick heap on the floor, the smell of butter the first thing he consciously aware of. The smell. It was impossibly silent, an undreamed-of silence

Comments

[thefuturemrpond]

...okay, in Rory's professional opinion, hysterical laughter like that was a bad sign. On the other hand, it couldn't be easy to make a psychological adjustment from being a piece of popcorn.

He paused what he hoped was a safe distance away, and, because there weren't that many good questions at a time like this, asked, "Er - are you all right, mate?"

[theregothedrums]

That was a good question. The Master felt far better than he had in his most recent memories. But his head was ringing from the haunting quiet.

"I'm a bit greasy," he said with the self-deprecating smile that had served him so well.

[thefuturemrpond]

Rory nodded. "You are a bit. I think there are bathrooms near here." Unless they've moved... "First things first, though, do you remember where you are?"

[theregothedrums]

"I'm afraid not," he said, looking mournful.

Odd question to ask someone you'd just met. The reason behind it must be fascinating, and hopefully wouldn't be too hard to turn to his advantage.

[thefuturemrpond]

"...okay." Rory took a deep breath. "This is probably going to sound weird. Really, incredibly weird. You're at a magic school called Hogwarts, in -" He paused, catching himself. Just because someone looks human... "The country we're in is called Scotland and the planet it's on is called Earth, and the reason I don't know if that means anything to you is that this is - it's sort of a link between worlds. People come here from different planets, or times, or completely different universes. And if you've come through the Popcorn Room it means you've been here once before, but you might not remember. I've heard lots of people don't."

[theregothedrums]

Oh, now, this was delightful. What a useful person he'd found.

"Different times? How confusing. I suppose I might even be from one, at that. What year is it here, then?"

[thefuturemrpond]

"2010. What year do you - remember it being?" Rory asked, frowning slightly - now that he'd had time to look past the butter and the unnerving laugh, something about this man was familiar. There were two thousand years worth of faces in his memory, though. He couldn't quite place it yet.

[theregothedrums]

"2010... that sounds about right." The confusion in his voice was largely feigned. He knew where he was and when he was. He knew he was in a nexus of some sort, a place with intriguing possibilities.

[thefuturemrpond]

"Right, and - I'm sorry, I haven't asked your name. I'm Rory." And he was still drawing a blank, but he should know... could he be trying to remember something that hadn't happened, any more?

[theregothedrums]

"Carl Norman." Not a particularly elegant alias, but it would do for now.

[thefuturemrpond]

It didn't ring a bell. "Carl, okay..." He was about to automatically say 'nice to meet you', but ...stopped himself.

"When you say 'sounds about right', does that mean - d'you know where you were before?"

[theregothedrums]

"I..." he flinched, stepping back and raising his hands to his head as if that could ward off the staticy silence within. "It's not important."

[thefuturemrpond]

Okay, bad question to ask. He should've guessed, with the laughter and everything. Rory stepped away, holding his hands up in apology. "Sorry, sorry, none of my business, right? It's okay, anyway, you're here, so let's get you cleaned up, okay?"

[theregothedrums]

"Thank you, that's very helpful." He drew on his hypnotic expertise, laying down the subliminal suggestion that Rory wanted to be helpful, that it would be incredibly personally rewarding to make him as happy as possible.

[thefuturemrpond]

Rory being Rory, this wasn't a hard suggestion to plant. His brow furrowed a little - something felt odd - but that was just the memory thing, right? He'd worry about that later, right now he had more important things to do. "The bathroom's this way. There is a cleaning spell but I'm not sure I've got the hang of it yet, so you might not want me pointing my wand at you. Speaking of which, you'll need to get your own wand - I can show you where after - and work out what house you're in..."

[theregothedrums]

Now that was a gratifying reaction. Not as spectacular as remaking an entire world in his image, but it was always good to savor the little pleasures.

"Oh, do tell me more about wands," he said, with only a trace of mesmeric reinforcement. It didn't seem like Rory would need much encouragement to talk.