Back Home?-No Event-BYOA

[grimholdkeeper]

After a quiet night in his room, Balthazar wakes in a labyrinth of clutter and dust, sprawled across a threadbare red velvet divan. The smell of the place, and the feel, is so utterly familiar he sits bolt upright. Home? Home! Delight and relief are immediately replaced by a vague sense of regret. He can't quite remember where he thought he

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[purewhitepaws]

So this was the place. The tour-guide of another group had mentioned it in passing, and as if bewitched, he'd found himself pulled inside. Or rather, even if he'd considered not going in, he wouldn't have been able to.

The door swings shut behind him, but Roi thinks nothing of it. Hands slipped deep into the pockets of his hoodie, he begins to venture further inside to look around, not caring to call out for the person that owns the place. Roi was only going to look for now.

But it doesn't take long for him to feel that something isn't quite right.

...Something was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and when Roi turned around, he notices that the doorway no longer shows the outside, but utter darkness. Stubbornly, Roi turns away from the door and tightens the hood on his head by pulling on its cords, further hiding his inhuman features. His tail was carefully tucked within one of his pants' legs, and he had long-since mastered the ability to walk as if he had no such appendage.

He musters up the courage a heartbeat later, and calls out, trying to hide his trepidation, "Er... h-hello...?"

{Roi temporarily doesn't remember him, and since he thinks that he's at home as well (just on a week-long vacation by himself,) he'll probably be more closed-off than usual. At least at first. He'll think that Balthazar's crazy if he starts spouting out about the hotel - so I'm thinking that a peculiar phrase or gesture that Balthazar does would help it all come back. If you decide to bring in any enemies or monsters or whatnot, I don't mind if Roi gets battered about in the process. Er, just note that unless he can do any damage with his cat form, he'll be pretty much dead-weight unless he finds ways to be creative. *_* But up to you. :3c I'm good for any of that.}}

[grimholdkeeper]

They're just out of view of one another, blocked by the counter and a suit of armor. He hasn't seen the strange boy, and he wasn't expecting a voice, so there's a jump and a brief flurry of motion as he flails to keep a sensitive porcelain figurine from tumbling off a shelf. A couple swear words later, he emerges, looking for the owner of the voice. It doesn't make any sense, because he has wards around this place. Heavy wards, and they should have told him there was another living presence here. "Hello. I didn't realize there was anyone else here. Did you..."

His gaze strays to the door and back. It's not inconceivable that this should be some sort of trick, or trap, but it seems unlikely that Roi's to blame. "Is there some sort of blackout?"

((I guess I'll play it by ear. I'll PM you if I'm about to throw out a plot twist.))

[purewhitepaws]

With how tight the hood is on his head, it's rather difficult to see his face from such an angle, even when he looks up to see him.

"N-no, it was just fine outside, but once I came in, I couldn't see outside.... But, if it was a blackout, wouldn't the people in their cars outside be turning on their headlights?"

His lips tilted into a repentant frown, and he wrung his hands together. "I'm sorry if I startled you. I can be really quiet on my feet. It's a bad habit." He's concerned and frightened, in all honesty. Even as he watches Balthazar, his body language easily speaks of the uncertainty that he refuses to let enter his voice.

{Works for me! :3c}}

[grimholdkeeper]

"That's assuming it's even night. It doesn't look right. Just blank." He places a hand on the glass pane, scowling into the darkness. After a moment of thinking and feeling things out, he turns a piercing gaze on the strange youth. Piercing, because he's not looking at the physical form so much as the surrounding aura. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell him much, either. Like his wards, his senses are dampened or nonexistent.

After a moment he asks evenly, "What brought you in here? Shopping?"

He's not trying to be intimidating, but there's a certain severity to his expression, like a teacher who's about to deal out a very long detention.

[puresilverpaws]

As a defense mechanism, Roi's expression hardens in response to the severity in Balthazar's. "Curiosity." His words sound slightly clipped. "And no, it shouldn't be night time, unless four-thirty in the afternoon is suddenly night."

While Roi's body has no magical aura, there's likely something about it that indicates that he's not quite human.

"Why are you looking at me like that, anyway?" There is something about Balthazar's continued unintentional intimidation that, well, intimidates him. He squashes the urge to hide and lightly tugs on his hood, pulling it back. With the lessened shadow over his features, his blue-violet eyes stand out among his silver-white hair.

"There, is that better?" he sighs, misinterpreting Balthazar's stare as one that was having a hard time seeing his face.

[grimholdkeeper]

"There's something unpleasant at work, then. If you're not behind it--and you really don't seem to be--you had better stay close to me." It's not unheard of for Morganians to play tricks on him, even at home, but this is new, and cutting off his entire shop would take immense power.

He takes a second look at Roi, because the hint of not-human is interesting. Half-fae, maybe? Or polymorphic? The energy field looks malleable.

And, oh...big blue eyes with a look of mixed insecurity and defiance. Even if he didn't suddenly feel a hint of familiarity, that expression's enough to soften him up. "Er...my apologies. I'm still trying to get a handle on this situation. Balthazar Blake." He offers a handshake.

[puresilverpaws]

At the offer, Roi relaxes marginally and returns the handshake. "Roi Davis."

Still, the idea that there's something weird going on keeps him on edge. "It's alright. I'd probably react the same way if I were you." He starts to look around again, wishing that he was in an area where humanoids were a regular occurrence. The hood on his head muffles his hearing when it comes to finer, quieter noises.

[grimholdkeeper]

"Pleased to meet you." It's a formality; he hasn't decided yet whether he's pleased. He might be, though. Something about the eyes and expression is endearing. "Are you a student?"

Of course that's the first thing that comes to mind. He gets a number of NYU students in the shop, mostly the ones taking comparative religion or medieval literature classes.

[puresilverpaws]

"Not in this State. I'm from Laramie, Wyoming." He reaches to scratch behind his head - through the hood. "My trip here was for a well-deserved vacation before the next semester." His hands then slip down behind himself, absently. He's a bit more relaxed now that Balthazar isn't giving him a stern look. He steps a bit closer, remembering his advice to stay close. In this way, he can easily catch the man's scent, and he hides his shock when it rushes straight through him as pleasure. His heart pounds in his ears, and he takes a second to compose himself.

"A bit of a change in scenery - I only arrived this morning, so..." He then blushes slightly, for having prattled on a little. The oddity around them - the dark windows - is a serious matter. Because if the owner didn't do it, and it's normal outside, and he didn't see anyone spray paint the windows, and he doesn't smell paint....

"A-anyway, about the weird going-on with the windows... er, I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but if I can assist at all, I will."

[grimholdkeeper]

He doesn't miss the shift of expression as the younger man gets closer, and something instinctive responds, an urge to reach out to touch and comfort. Balthazar frowns slightly, but it's a look of confusion, not irritation, not this time. "Wyoming?" He says absently. "I haven't been there since...well, a long time."

Mid-1800s, actually. "Given that I'm not sure what do to yet, myself, I'm not expecting much help, but I appreciate it. Do you--"

Whatever he was going to ask is cut off as something falls to the floor with a clatter in the middle of the shop. Balthazar turns quickly and defensively, a hand on Roi's shoulder. Things don't just fall over in here. The atmosphere of the interior seems to have darkened just a shade. "I hope you're not afraid of magic," he says quietly to Roi.

[puresilverpaws]

Roi sucks in a breath at the sharp sound, his fur puffing up, and with a sigh, he tries to calm himself down so that the sudden bulge in the back of his pants from his tail won't give him away. Even so, Balthazar's touch alone makes him have to work harder to calm himself. He stifles a bodily shudder from the pleasure.

"M-magic?" Great, he'd better not pull an Edgar with that. No time for it. Really, would a pair of MagiTech armor really sit still for several minutes for that? "I've only seen it in video games." (Please don't tell me that you're a stage magician that pulls rabbits out of a hat,) he silently adds in afterthought.

Back, but worn the hell out. XD

[grimholdkeeper]

Fortunately, Balthazar's not checking out either the front or the back of Roi's pants yet. He does note the tension, and chalks it up to the strangeness of the situation, but he's feeling something, as well. It's more of an emotional pull than sexual just now; a desire to protect. His magic ring glitters as he gathers power, but it's difficult to pull together as much as he normally would be able to.

He has no way of knowing that's just the hotel playing games. He's inclined to suspect an imminent large scale attack, and it makes him extremely edgy. His voice is deceptively casual as he asks, "Video games, hmm? What kind of video games do you like to play? Fighting games?" Hand still on Roi's shoulder, he guides him gently but firmly toward a shelf where he keeps some basic enchanted weaponry. Seems unlikely the youth can use a sword, but if they're about to be ambushed, arming him might be prudent.

<3

[puresilverpaws]

"I play a bit of everything." Roi notices the shelf of weaponry, and Balthazatr's words click in his head. "Unfortunately, I'm not much of a fighter. But my body can be used as a close-range weapon, at the cost of being unable to speak human tongue so long as it in in effect."

Sighing in resignation, he tugs his hood off of his head, freeing his ears and swiveling them to try and pick up sounds that are not their own.

[grimholdkeeper]

"I'll protect you," it's a firmly declarative statement, but he turns to look as Roi describes himself as a close-range weapon. His eyebrows go up at the ears. That's unusual, and despite the danger, he's immediately tempted to touch them.

"You're a cat." It's not a question, and it's not a visual realization, either. The sense of familiarity redoubles. "You were in my dream...weren't you?"

Off in the distant middle of the shop, Roi may pick up the soft scrape of rough scales on wood and metal. Whatever's out there, it's big, and reptillian, and quite possibly unfriendly.

[purewhitepaws]

"I have no idea what you're talking about. But yes, I'm a cat. A species of humanoid that balances being human and being animal."

His breath hitches slightly as he hears the faint scrape of scales.

"...It's a reptile. Large. Hard scales." Slowly, he starts to change, hands soon shifting into paws, fur starting to sprout and overtake his clothing. Within moments, a rather large white cat stands by him, his head easily reaching Balthazar's thigh. He lets out a low, predatory growl, ears pointed towards where he still hears the scrape of scales.

[grimholdkeeper]

He feels foolish. Of course the boy couldn't be expected to know whether he was in his dream. He sighs, an apology rising to his lips, then breaks off at the second statement. Slowly, he reaches for the shelf, picking up a sturdy broadsword. He places a hand on the cat's shoulder, evidently undisturbed by the transformation.

"Stay close." The scales are coming closer. A shelf wobbles, its contents rattling and spilling onto the floor.