☼ 001 ⌊video - this is just a dream⌉

[royal_infantile]

All right! You do not have to be pushy! Why you're sticking needles into my perf-

[First it's just the voice, then it's the visual image of video feed being moved around and jagged blurred as Soma is being escorted out of the clinic. First he woke up in a strange bed - without Agni - then he realized he was in a strange room - without Agni - THEN

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Action!

[currygod]

[Never fear Prince, your Agni is close behind. Even through alterations in time and space your devoted servant, butler, and worshiper could only be but a breath behind in order to serve his Lord, his Master, his Prince, his God. Agni has gone through the same treatment as his Lord and is quite upset, but as soon as he hears his Lord's voice outside all is well once again in the universe for him.]

My Lord, [Agni settles his bandage-wrapped hand against his chest and smiles, bowing low after he has come to stand near the upset young Prince] forgive me for being late.

Action!

[royal_infantile]

[While he was having a tantrum with the NOC, he did not notice Agni following suit behind him. Instead the charms of his dress sounded with the shaking of the NOC, the physical abuse as he bends down to smack it against the ratty old pavement.]

This-

[Oh but he heard Agni now! He jumped up to stand and turned to peer over his shoulder. His bottom lip moved into a pout (must be strong, must be strong, must be strong) and he sighed out the pout as he moved over to Agni with a bit of a wobble.]

W..wh.. wh.. Agni! [He can't admit he was afraid that he was here alone, that he was going to find out that his promised friend was not here with him. Did it show with the bit of water to his eyes that shimmered golden irises as he moved closer yet.........]

Agni, they stabbed me in the arm. [He raises his arm to show the patch of skin that is red and agitated with the needle's remnant's.] And told me it was good for me.

[Tattling, tattling, LOOK AT HIS ARM ;; do you see his perfect skin is agitated by this..

Also-] Where are we?

[currygod]

[Such a relief in his very soul at the sight of his Lord and Master here before him, those perfect eyes like pools iridescent and golden like the rays of the sun herself had leaned down to kiss upon the Prince's lid.

Agni can only smile wider, and he bows his head in recognition of such perfect skin marred in such a cruel way. He was also told it was for his own good and had to trust in that, however, mere trust was not good enough for Prince Soma. Agni promised himself and silently his Lord as well that he would investigate just what it was they had been injected with in order to insure that it was, in fact, for his Prince's good.]

Forgive me, I do not know, my Prince. Perhaps we can discover where it is we are and why we've found ourselves here.

[And fond memories had he of similarly wandering the streets in London, looking for that terrible, rotten Mina. Hopefully this venture would be for a worthier cause in the end.]

[royal_infantile]

[He moves the arm back down to his side and he takes in a deep breath and holds it before he looks around the dim looking area. It's grimy, disgusting and dark-

Like London. There's no color here. How incredibly depressing. Soma finally exhales and closes his eyes with a small sniffle. It also smells a bit rusty, moldy and all together gross.]

I remember going to sleep in Ciel's London house.. and then.. I woke up here in this clinic.

[Eyes now open he looks around again before bringing his attention back to Agni. I wanna go home now... He puts on a strong expression but his voice is very light and with a whine.]

I'm hungry.

[currygod]

Food then shall be one of our most primary orders of business, my Lord.

[Agni takes his eyes off the young man to have a look around as well and he must come to the same conclusion if by another way, that this place is not worthy of Soma. Much similar thoughts had been coming to his mind when they had traveled to Britain. An unworthy quest, an unworthy destination. Soma belonged in the Palace surrounded by the opulence that complimented him and not this squalor which seemed so dismal in comparison to the ambrosial Prince.]

...And a place to lodge I would think.

[royal_infantile]

[Oh, well that was promising. Food was a good start to any day - no matter how any day started. Not needles, probes, and pokes. He shivered at the thought and stepped close to Agni so his arm was pressed to his friend's. What was he meant to find here? What was he meant to do here? There was nothing here, save for Agni. A meaningful lean into that arm had him reassured. His friend even kept the promise from London to Paradise.]

They give you one of these? [Hold's up the communicator.] It's 'on' Agni. But it's not doing anything..

[Just what..]

[currygod]

I was given one as well, Prince. [Agni holds up his own and gives it a shake, peering at it, pressing a few buttons randomly. He gives an apologetic shrug and smiles at his Master.

He wants to suggest Prince Soma stay here and relax and play with the NOC while he go and find lodgings and food. It doesn't seem appropriate for his young Master to be walking around this place like a commoner trying to find necessities. But he also doesn't want to leave the Prince alone where he might be in danger. It is also not really his place to make suggestions and so for now he keeps quiet, attentive, ready to do anything his Master bids him.]

I'm more concerned with getting you food, my Lord.

[royal_infantile]

[It's just like his! Since when do people like having the same stuff?]

Here, you can have mine. This on is not working.

[Oh he's wondering the same thing- you bet he is, because .. Agni needs a proper kitchen to.. cook in. Wait.. Soma takes back the NOC and studies it some more (not before shaking it like mad) and finds directions on the screen that lead him to a map.]

The doctor said we needed to find ourselves in a room, that ... look! Our names are here! Let's go here to..

Madison Square. Hmm.. [Now he looks back to Agni, clearly his friend and butler knows the way.]

[currygod]

[Agni looks at the tiny map and turns it this way and that a few times, looking around them. Sure he knows the way- as a butler of his magnificent Prince Soma, he would find the way no matter what.]

This way, my Lord.

[With a reassuring smile to Prince Soma, Agni headed off to the left. This place really was unbefitting his Lord and God. The streets were filled with clutter and rubble, the buildings in disuse. There wasn't nearly enough green or sunlight or anything worthwhile for his Prince to look at. Agni tsk'ed quietly to himself. Hopefully their temporary home would be somewhat more suitable. If it was not, Agni would make it so. That's just how it was. He would not have his Prince living in anything not worthy of him.]

[royal_infantile]

[How exciting! They had destination, they had a journey unto the unknown, in the unknown and with the a bunch of people they didn't know! Soma was feeling really excited about this, especially with having Agni to his side, yes. Oh yes. With Agni with him he didn't need to worry about a thing, except to keep on smiling-

which was easy with having Agni here. (How many times he's gone through his head about what a relief it was that his friend was here was uncountable).

Soma kept a close step next to Agni, his eyes moving from his friend's side to his own side then toward the front, exploring silently with such a disapproving expression.]

This is going to take some getting use to.

[What if this was one of those - experiments - which collected Indians for culture shocks? What if this was a social movement? What if Raja Ram Mohan Roy was behind this in spirit and this is his city for - oh wait, this definitely isn't any part of Britain.. So they're not under British rule here.. Well, thus far what he's seen, there's nothing

[currygod]

[Agni was keeping a watchful eye for anything that looked dangerous or, Kali forbid, unbecoming to come too near to the Prince. This place, what kind of creature comforts could it offer, for Agni to find for his Lord? Not much. He would have to be resourceful, he would have to be cunning, he would have to be a perfect butler - as if Prince Soma deserved any less! This would be a challenge indeed.

At the Prince's loud noise, Agni smiled softly and looked to his side. When he saw the unhappy look to Soma's face he reached up with his uncovered hand and placed it on the shorter man's shoulder and squeezed. He looked at the NOC in his bandage-wrapped hand and up ahead, then squeezed again.]

I believe we've arrived. Shall we go inside, my Lord?

[royal_infantile]

[One long look up and then back down again. He has..

That's a very tall building. His hand moved up to hold over Agni's and he nodded, swallowing as he brought his eyes back down to the front doors. What kind of plain, not very inspirational building this was? Eeep! Someone should travel more before they design such plain looking buildings. What was.. was that some sort of .. patio up there?

Well, okay, fine. They'll go inside. His hand slipped off Agni's and fell to his hip- just where was the welcoming committee?]

Hmm- [Not very inviting, is it?] You can go first.

[currygod]

Jo Ajna. [As you command. Agni turned to the Prince, hand over his heart, and gave a bow. His expression turned serious as he turned toward the building and made his way to the door. A knock presented no forthcoming welcome, and so Agni opened the door himself and made a quick glance around the lobby of the apartment building. All seemed clear and safe, if colorless, dull, and hardly worth the Prince staying here. Agni sighed. He had a lot of work ahead of him. His Prince coming and going through such a dull lobby was not suitable.

Agni turned back to the Prince, holding the door open for him. He bowed again, keeping his head bent so that the Master could precede inside without dirtying his royal hand on the entryway.]

[royal_infantile]

[Oh here we go! Soma picked up on his cue and quickly stepped in through the opening space between Agni and the door. Oh, it did not smell pleasant in here, in fact it smelled a little musty. A bit like water-worn and-

worse than outside. He brought his hand up to his face and gave a displeased shake. The other hand held to his hip and he shifted his weight with a displeased grunt.]

Oh.. Hello? Hello?

[What a terrible.. this was, what was this smell? Why was it allowed to smell this way! Where was something to burn? Soma looked over his shoulder back to Agni. An obvious ploy for further direction as he held his breath a moment.... okay, too long, he huffed and gasped.]

[currygod]

[The smell was a bother to his Master. Agni quickly moved forward, unwrapping the long cloth that he always kept covering his head, that he used to hide the hair that had grown out. That sinful hair, cut away and liberated by his Master that steadily grew back. Always was it kept carefully up inside the headwrap, only the two long tails allowed out along his shoulder.

The cloth was carefully draped around Soma's shoulders and Agni smiled.]

Keep this over your nose and mouth, my Lord. It will keep the smell from bothering you near as much.

[Agni helped settle the cloth before turning and looking around the lobby. At the end of the hall he spotted some stairs and motioned in silent question if his Master would wish to precede him this time or not.]

[royal_infantile]

[Soma smiled as his friend gave up his cover for his personal comfort. Agni was always terribly thoughtful and quick with resolutions! Absolutely no doubt in his mind that his butler was beyond the best ever - ever - ever. Stupid Sebastian. Ahem.

Oh, Soma stole a look to that hair, a warm smile to his lips and he followed the direction lead by his friend. Agni had a terribly attractive hint of color to that pale hair. It reminded him of purity - almost - no human, man, woman or even child could truly be pure. But they can be with washed away, reborn, reinvented and cleansed! Which was what attracted Soma so much to Agni's hair, it was pure as snow, but kissed with the very light hue of something warm - like the dawn's sun kissing on that sheet of white snow.]

Thank you.

[For this, he would definitely say his thanks as he moved Agni's clothe to the front of his face, filtering oxygen through the smell of the product used to wash Agni's hair (no doubt the same the nurses used on him).]