WHO: Ciel no_souls_here, Chloé executionerrose, and OPEN LOCATION: Disney Castle World TIME: Sep. 10th - 13th WHAT: Grand Opening : White Rose RATING: G- PG, it’s a flower shop!
Escape would have been difficult anyway as there were more girls filling in the pathway to the door behind Barnaby. Hopefully being as skilled with the public as he was he wouldn’t mind fielding the questions leveled his way by a few of the girls once they noticed he was there. “Do you work here?” “You are cute too!” “Do you know what flower goes best with fall?”
The commotion of a new arrival was enough to gain Chloé’s attention as he looked over from the group of girls he was assisting with their flower choices. That guy? He was looking much better off than he had been the last time Chloé saw him. The man was actually standing and not being consume by the darkness. Some one had been able to save him after all? He couldn’t help but smile about that, the darkness had actually lost this once. Looking back to the girls Chloé said a few words to them as a way to excuse himself from the little group before he made his way over to the gentleman standing near the entrance. “Guten tag,” Then softer so even the ladies standing nearby would have trouble hearing it, “you look like you might be feeling better?”
Barnaby totally did not expect to have girls surrounding him at all, like the old hero days back in Sternbild. Judged by the girls' reaction, he could reasonably conclude that the blond man and young boy both worked for this flower shop, possibly the owners originated from other universes. Staying in this strange universe felt like forever, and his skill dealing with fans was getting rusty. Nevertheless, he would pick it back up, or even get better easily once he began practising with these... enthusiastic fangirls.
"Unfortunately I do not work here, but it would be my pleasure to serve you ladies in this beautiful shop..." He felt like being a host more than a hero now.
"Thank you. I appreciate it." With a charming smile.
"In my opinion, purple flowers matches the orange falling leaves in the autumn perfectly. I would recommend orchid and...." Of course he made it all up.
He was too busy dealing with the fangirls that he could not sense the blond man coming over and greeting him. Blinking at the German phrase followed by a whisper in fluent English, he is not quite sure what to respond to. German or English? He took some German class during high school so he had no problem handling some basic conversation, but that was about it.
Besides, who in the world would ask "“you look like you might be feeling better" in their first meeting? That was unreasonable, only if this man watched the network video of him engulfed by darkness.
"Guten Tag...Kennen wir uns?" He asked back in courtesy and also in caution.
Chloé flips through languages with annoying ease. It used to irritate his teammates to no end as he often gave vital details in German to those who could not speak the language. It was a refreshing change to hear some one else who could understand the language.
"Wie schön! Sie sprechen Deutsch," With an easy smile he switches back to English again, "But, English is your first language?"
This man did seem more comfortable with English than he did with German. Hadn't he been using English with the girls anyway?
"We have not yet been formally introduced, but I was privy to witnessing your arrival. My name is Chlo&eactue;.”
A pause, fully expecting this man to introduce himself as well.
"I apologise deeply for the trouble or disturbance caused by my appalling arrival, if any..." Slightly embarrassed, Barnaby nodded lightly to hide his blush. So he was right guessing - Chloe did witness his terrible arrival at the second district.
But he returned to his usual smile very quickly as he finished apologising. "I speak only enough German to survive. My family - well, Brooks - is British so we don't have a strong tradition learning a foreign language." To be exact, he didn't even have enough time to know more about his parents... But he hid his emotions quite well.
"This is Barnaby, Barnaby Brooks Junior. My pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand to the blond.
“It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance as well,” The offered hand is given a friendly shake before Chloé adds, “But there is no need to apologize. I was more concerned you would give in to the darkness than I was disturbed by how it appeared.”
The sight of some one being eaten alive by the darkness in their heart had been a brutal one but he had seen much worse on Earth. Darkness that revealed itself through the actions of others rather than the mindless attack of shadows… He was curious though. What could possibly be so dark in this friendly looking man’s heart that would make him such an appealing target for the heartless? It did put Chloé a touch on guard.
“There has been some talk about changing that to make a foreign language compulsory.” Though now that nether one of them were in the UK maybe that no longer really mattered. “Are you originally from the United Kingdom then?”
"Well- my grandparents." Barnaby corrected the other, finding it surprising that Chloe might be from a very similiar world of his. "Both of them were from the British Isles, immigrating to the United States... but I am not sure which part of the kingdom were they belong to. I am from Sternbild, the top financial centre of the country."
The ongoing talk about heritage compelled him to bring back the unbearably short memories he had with his parents, who both died in front of him in Christmas Eve, when he was barely four years of age. It was really hard to surpress his feelings now - he regretted mentioning his heritage to a man he just met.
"It is required to take a foreign language in Sternbild, but I am pretty sure UK has the same requirement too, with French being the most popular choice." He voice was getting bitter. "Maybe my mother can speak some, but I don't even get to know her maiden name..."
Chloé nods at the correction, easily taking the faux pas in stride. All of that sounded very normal, until of course Sternbild was mentioned, that is when the history of their worlds suddenly seemed very different. “I do not recall a city called Sternbild. If we are speaking of the United States shouldn’t it be New York as the financial center?” He had been to New York before on business. A cold, dark city… or at least it had been during his winter visit. Maybe it was brighter in spring or when he wasn’t there to murder some one. “Two different versions of Earth?” It was a guess. “I have met people from two different time periods of England, three including myself, so I suppose it could be the case that there is also a different version of the world entirely.” As for family matters, Chloé didn’t bother to offer any insight into his own. Barnaby could, but his own personal history, that past, was something better left unsaid. There was no need to mention any of it. Being mysterious was much safer for him. “Surely something as simple as a maiden name could be looked up in the records? A birth certificate or a wedding license?”
"...I don't think so. Sternbild is the current financial centre of the United States. I am not certain about other worlds, but in my world London is still the capital of the United Kingdom. Is that so in your world?" Since his parents' death he had never left the city, so he didn't have much clue about the outside world besides what was taught and presented at schools and in magazines.
"I think the possibility is very likely to happen. I have not met enough people to validate the fact, but I am fairly certain that people with cat ears and tails are certainly not from the worlds that we are from."
Another inquiry from Chloe began to sound like an interrogation from the blond man to discover his tragic past. Barnaby was about to outpour his emotions, but calmity prevented him from doing so... yet.
"...I didn't have it with me. We don't use birth certificate anymore since we have ID cards, so I think my birth certicate is lost somewhere." The truth was, all documents pertaining to his family was burnt into ashes during the tragic Christmas Eve.
“London is the capital of the United Kingdom on my world. At least that remains the same.” It was strange to find something that was the same when everything else seemed so different, but it was somehow fitting that it would be London. The city must have changed a lot through the years but it still remained the main hub of that country.
The people with cat ears were unusual, “I did not find them as strange as I did Mickey Mouse… or the Unicorn… But things like this do not exist on the Earth I know. People do not have special magical powers,” Unless they are altered by a powerful drug giving them more skills than the average person but driving them insane at the same time… well, no need to mention that either.
An interrogation? Yes, maybe it was. Chloe was well aware just how easy it would be to slip up and find himself surrounded by darkness, just as Barnaby had been. He wanted to know what could cause that to happen to a person. What kind of individual would give into the darkness? Some one ‘black’, one of the guilty he was so accustomed to disposing of? Or maybe Barnaby was innocent? A victim of the sudden shift from one world to the next? He certainly seemed like a sympathetic person when he spoke about his mother. That really appeared to cause him a good deal of pain if the bitterness in his voice was to be believed. “It was lost? That really doesn’t leave you much to go on.”
"Special magical powers? There are no such power in your world?" Barnaby raised an eyebrow before examining the blond man thoroughly. He did look like a fine English gentleman, but Barnaby's intution told him this man was not just a lover of flowers; he might have been trained either physically or militarily for some sort of quests or missions. If that was true, this man with a girly name "Chloe" would be more mysterious than he thought to be.
"In our world there is a power called 'NEXT'. The origin of this power is uncertain, but it seems to be resulted by mutation. And the power varies within individuals..." Barnaby readjusted his glasses before continuing his explanation so he could see Chloe better. "Although some NEXTs chose to practise their power in harmful ways, others choose to become HEROs to save the city. So the power itself is not as 'evil' as some people perceive as." As much as he wanted Chloe to know more about his world, he didn't feel like to give out more personal information until he released some of his.
"Well, I would certainly love to return to my world and confirm my identity, but it doesn't seem like I have a choice to make. How about you? Which era of England are you from?"
This Barnaby wasn’t surprised at all by the magical powers so many people were able to use here? Listening quietly for a moment longer proved why. He was from a world where that kind of ability was common. NEXTs… It really did sound a bit too much like ‘Human Interleukin’. Only that was a drug that caused people to mutate, it didn’t sound like a drug was necessary where Barnaby came from? “And you have this power?” It was a fishing question, to find out just how he would answer. Even when people said nothing their actions could often be very telling. Can you feel the scrutiny? A very girly name, not even really his but a name he had adopted when he took up this new life of his in honor of the girl who had been so important to him. Unfortunately getting Chloe to speak about his past was very difficult. He was not quick to open up to others, even his own team members didn’t know very much about him. Though he saw no harm in mentioning what year it was when he was pulled here. “It was 1997 when I was brought here. It is rather strange since Ciel is from the 1800’s. Time must not mean very much to the heartless.”
The fishing question further consolidated Barnaby's ideas that Chloe was not just fine gentleman. "Yes." He replied succinctly, not intending to further elaborate his power or his previous career as one of the popular heroes. Let the man do his thinking; he should be capable to judge whether he is a person of sincere intention or not.
"1997? It sounds quite close to what the girl in the crowd just told me. She said I look like a person from the 21st century, or even beyond that. But my world runs on NC calender so the correct year should be 1978." At least for now he could confirm from all conversations he held with others that many worlds run in the same calender. If he talked to more people from the similar world, he might be able to discover more back information about this mysterous man.
He really wanted to ask what brought this man to this world, but given the fact that he would ask the same question in return, maybe it would be his best interest to be on a passive side this time.
Sadly that could also happen. Finding out more about another instantly gave them a chance to fid out more about you. That Barnaby actually replied was interesting. A more secretive kind of person would have tried to dodge the question. He appeared normal though, so what kind of power…? It was only natural to wonder about that next. “I haven’t heard of the NC calendar.” Was it the same world then, just further into the future? Now he knew how Ciel must have felt when meeting him. How many new inventions and things must they have come up with? There must have been more than just the calendar. If he had, Chloe would likely have said ‘the heartless’. His entry, while some what dramatic, was not nearly as horrible as Barnaby’s had been. “It is said that the heartless feed on the darkness of a person’s heart. Do you believe that to be true?”
Facing this tricky question, Barnaby couldn't help but ponder: What was this man up to? He seemed to have a iron-will, a strong and unchallenable principle in his haert that he had been lived up to in his entire life. If Barnaby replied yes or no, would this man kill him on spot, regardless of the reason behind his motive? Or was he just a curious man that wanted to know what exactly happened during his entrance?
"...Who knows?" Barnaby closed his eyes slowly and took a deep sigh, placing his left hand on his chest. He didn't want to fake an answer - it wouldn't work with Chloe, perhaps. "It can be true, or it can be false. Regardless of the truth really is, each individual, even the so-called Saints, owns a past that inevitably contains some darkness. You and I are no exceptions. Now, no one here is being chased after a chain of heartless, so it might be logical to assume that we are all here to continue our lives in this universe, with an optimisstic and hopeful heart."
Barnaby could not really control how people think, so if Chloe thought he was making up answers, let it be.
Not for his entire life. There was a time right after his family died where he would have considered himself lost. But now he did have a purpose in life, and striking out blindly at someone wasn’t something he was prepared to do. That was what the dark beats he fought against would do. “Very diplomatically stated,” There was a touch of snark in this but it was delivered with a good natured smile. With an optimistic and hopeful heart, was it? It did sound promising. “You are someone used to giving speeches.” That too was a piece of newly gained information. The way he had handled himself with the ladies earlier, had also been a clue to this. Clearly he was someone in the public eye.
Barnaby was a bit surprised that Chloe did not give any rebuttals to his speech. He thought the man would continue to interrogate him until he was satisfied with the answers, but he didn't. Maybe he finally understood that it was time to back of...
Not really. He was still fishing Barnaby through the compliment tag. "How about you? It doesn't seem like you own a flower shop in your previous world. You look more capable than staying in the shop all day long to take care of the ladies." He also replied with a natural smile. Now it was his time to ask.
“Do you work here?”
“You are cute too!”
“Do you know what flower goes best with fall?”
The commotion of a new arrival was enough to gain Chloé’s attention as he looked over from the group of girls he was assisting with their flower choices.
That guy? He was looking much better off than he had been the last time Chloé saw him. The man was actually standing and not being consume by the darkness. Some one had been able to save him after all? He couldn’t help but smile about that, the darkness had actually lost this once.
Looking back to the girls Chloé said a few words to them as a way to excuse himself from the little group before he made his way over to the gentleman standing near the entrance.
“Guten tag,” Then softer so even the ladies standing nearby would have trouble hearing it, “you look like you might be feeling better?”
Reply
"Unfortunately I do not work here, but it would be my pleasure to serve you ladies in this beautiful shop..." He felt like being a host more than a hero now.
"Thank you. I appreciate it." With a charming smile.
"In my opinion, purple flowers matches the orange falling leaves in the autumn perfectly. I would recommend orchid and...." Of course he made it all up.
He was too busy dealing with the fangirls that he could not sense the blond man coming over and greeting him. Blinking at the German phrase followed by a whisper in fluent English, he is not quite sure what to respond to. German or English? He took some German class during high school so he had no problem handling some basic conversation, but that was about it.
Besides, who in the world would ask "“you look like you might be feeling better" in their first meeting? That was unreasonable, only if this man watched the network video of him engulfed by darkness.
"Guten Tag...Kennen wir uns?" He asked back in courtesy and also in caution.
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"Wie schön! Sie sprechen Deutsch," With an easy smile he switches back to English again, "But, English is your first language?"
This man did seem more comfortable with English than he did with German. Hadn't he been using English with the girls anyway?
"We have not yet been formally introduced, but I was privy to witnessing your arrival. My name is Chlo&eactue;.”
A pause, fully expecting this man to introduce himself as well.
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But he returned to his usual smile very quickly as he finished apologising. "I speak only enough German to survive. My family - well, Brooks - is British so we don't have a strong tradition learning a foreign language." To be exact, he didn't even have enough time to know more about his parents... But he hid his emotions quite well.
"This is Barnaby, Barnaby Brooks Junior. My pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand to the blond.
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The sight of some one being eaten alive by the darkness in their heart had been a brutal one but he had seen much worse on Earth. Darkness that revealed itself through the actions of others rather than the mindless attack of shadows…
He was curious though. What could possibly be so dark in this friendly looking man’s heart that would make him such an appealing target for the heartless? It did put Chloé a touch on guard.
“There has been some talk about changing that to make a foreign language compulsory.” Though now that nether one of them were in the UK maybe that no longer really mattered. “Are you originally from the United Kingdom then?”
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The ongoing talk about heritage compelled him to bring back the unbearably short memories he had with his parents, who both died in front of him in Christmas Eve, when he was barely four years of age. It was really hard to surpress his feelings now - he regretted mentioning his heritage to a man he just met.
"It is required to take a foreign language in Sternbild, but I am pretty sure UK has the same requirement too, with French being the most popular choice." He voice was getting bitter. "Maybe my mother can speak some, but I don't even get to know her maiden name..."
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“I do not recall a city called Sternbild. If we are speaking of the United States shouldn’t it be New York as the financial center?”
He had been to New York before on business. A cold, dark city… or at least it had been during his winter visit. Maybe it was brighter in spring or when he wasn’t there to murder some one.
“Two different versions of Earth?” It was a guess. “I have met people from two different time periods of England, three including myself, so I suppose it could be the case that there is also a different version of the world entirely.”
As for family matters, Chloé didn’t bother to offer any insight into his own. Barnaby could, but his own personal history, that past, was something better left unsaid. There was no need to mention any of it. Being mysterious was much safer for him.
“Surely something as simple as a maiden name could be looked up in the records? A birth certificate or a wedding license?”
Reply
"I think the possibility is very likely to happen. I have not met enough people to validate the fact, but I am fairly certain that people with cat ears and tails are certainly not from the worlds that we are from."
Another inquiry from Chloe began to sound like an interrogation from the blond man to discover his tragic past. Barnaby was about to outpour his emotions, but calmity prevented him from doing so... yet.
"...I didn't have it with me. We don't use birth certificate anymore since we have ID cards, so I think my birth certicate is lost somewhere." The truth was, all documents pertaining to his family was burnt into ashes during the tragic Christmas Eve.
Reply
The people with cat ears were unusual, “I did not find them as strange as I did Mickey Mouse… or the Unicorn… But things like this do not exist on the Earth I know. People do not have special magical powers,” Unless they are altered by a powerful drug giving them more skills than the average person but driving them insane at the same time… well, no need to mention that either.
An interrogation? Yes, maybe it was. Chloe was well aware just how easy it would be to slip up and find himself surrounded by darkness, just as Barnaby had been. He wanted to know what could cause that to happen to a person. What kind of individual would give into the darkness? Some one ‘black’, one of the guilty he was so accustomed to disposing of? Or maybe Barnaby was innocent? A victim of the sudden shift from one world to the next?
He certainly seemed like a sympathetic person when he spoke about his mother. That really appeared to cause him a good deal of pain if the bitterness in his voice was to be believed.
“It was lost? That really doesn’t leave you much to go on.”
Reply
"In our world there is a power called 'NEXT'. The origin of this power is uncertain, but it seems to be resulted by mutation. And the power varies within individuals..." Barnaby readjusted his glasses before continuing his explanation so he could see Chloe better. "Although some NEXTs chose to practise their power in harmful ways, others choose to become HEROs to save the city. So the power itself is not as 'evil' as some people perceive as." As much as he wanted Chloe to know more about his world, he didn't feel like to give out more personal information until he released some of his.
"Well, I would certainly love to return to my world and confirm my identity, but it doesn't seem like I have a choice to make. How about you? Which era of England are you from?"
Reply
“And you have this power?” It was a fishing question, to find out just how he would answer. Even when people said nothing their actions could often be very telling. Can you feel the scrutiny?
A very girly name, not even really his but a name he had adopted when he took up this new life of his in honor of the girl who had been so important to him. Unfortunately getting Chloe to speak about his past was very difficult. He was not quick to open up to others, even his own team members didn’t know very much about him. Though he saw no harm in mentioning what year it was when he was pulled here.
“It was 1997 when I was brought here. It is rather strange since Ciel is from the 1800’s. Time must not mean very much to the heartless.”
Reply
"1997? It sounds quite close to what the girl in the crowd just told me. She said I look like a person from the 21st century, or even beyond that. But my world runs on NC calender so the correct year should be 1978." At least for now he could confirm from all conversations he held with others that many worlds run in the same calender. If he talked to more people from the similar world, he might be able to discover more back information about this mysterous man.
He really wanted to ask what brought this man to this world, but given the fact that he would ask the same question in return, maybe it would be his best interest to be on a passive side this time.
Reply
“I haven’t heard of the NC calendar.” Was it the same world then, just further into the future? Now he knew how Ciel must have felt when meeting him. How many new inventions and things must they have come up with? There must have been more than just the calendar.
If he had, Chloe would likely have said ‘the heartless’. His entry, while some what dramatic, was not nearly as horrible as Barnaby’s had been.
“It is said that the heartless feed on the darkness of a person’s heart. Do you believe that to be true?”
Reply
"...Who knows?" Barnaby closed his eyes slowly and took a deep sigh, placing his left hand on his chest. He didn't want to fake an answer - it wouldn't work with Chloe, perhaps. "It can be true, or it can be false. Regardless of the truth really is, each individual, even the so-called Saints, owns a past that inevitably contains some darkness. You and I are no exceptions. Now, no one here is being chased after a chain of heartless, so it might be logical to assume that we are all here to continue our lives in this universe, with an optimisstic and hopeful heart."
Barnaby could not really control how people think, so if Chloe thought he was making up answers, let it be.
Reply
“Very diplomatically stated,” There was a touch of snark in this but it was delivered with a good natured smile. With an optimistic and hopeful heart, was it? It did sound promising. “You are someone used to giving speeches.”
That too was a piece of newly gained information. The way he had handled himself with the ladies earlier, had also been a clue to this. Clearly he was someone in the public eye.
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Not really. He was still fishing Barnaby through the compliment tag. "How about you? It doesn't seem like you own a flower shop in your previous world. You look more capable than staying in the shop all day long to take care of the ladies." He also replied with a natural smile. Now it was his time to ask.
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