Ellis paused when he entered, standing stock still in the magenta hallway as he took the measure of his psychedelic surroundings. He was briefly glad he'd brought a pair of sunglasses in the suitcase he was carrying-- never knew when you might have to brave a little sun after all-- and only sad he hadn't thought to put them on before entering.
All that crossed his face, however-- after a few seconds of expressionlessness-- was his usual mild, affable smile at Metody. "'s good to have projects," he offered. "Workin' with your hands an' all, thass fulfillin'. An' you can make your own mark on things."
He shifted his grip slightly on his and Val's luggage. "Which way you want us goin', mister Met? So I can set these down somewhere they be outta y'all's way?"
"There's leaves on the walls!" Val exclaimed, as if this wasn't terribly (and colorfully) obvious. He took in all colors of their surroundings with wide eyes and a bright smile.
He stared at the pattern on the living room wall, wondering if it was like an optical illusion where if you looked at it long enough, things would start to appear. Val glanced up, and smiled even brighter when he saw the ceiling. "Look, sugar-- there's clouds up there! This place is neat, uncle Met."
Ellis stopped again in the middle of the room, looking around him at the faux buildings and the decoration. Slowly he smiled.
"This musta taken you a bit, mister Met," he said quietly. "It is just splendid. You gone to a lotta trouble make us feel at home."
Never mind that the viole(n)t hues of the staves, or the rhinestone stars, weren't exactly "home" in any particular sense. Ellis could tell Metody had put in some effort.
He set the luggage down in the center of the room, and turned in place, looking at the staves, lips twitching a bit. "Where's th' chalk?"
"Hummmmm," Ellis said, a drawn out noise as he drummed his fingers thoughtfully on his chin, considering Mysteries of Plumbing.
Only when Metody and Ellis took the conversation elsewhere did he blink up at the ceiling. "Oh. Huh. Shiny. Well, guess we better see th' rest of th' house? Bathroom may well be th' most important room of the house for some people but I ain't invested in that regard."
"Well, you do bathe," he said to Ellis's comment about the bathroom. "So maybe you're half-invested."
Val stepped back out into the hall so the tour of the house could continue. "Can we see the yard too, after the house? Is there a backyard? Do you have a garden?"
He could only imagine what sort of strange and wondrous plants there were in uncle Met's world.
"True," Ellis said thoughtfully to Val's words. He did not say that since he didn't sweat or otherwise get dirty in a passive sense, he could easily hold off on a bath until back home with his own large, luxurious, claw-footed tub. That was white. And wouldn't make him think he was in the guts of a pumpkin.
He followed along to the other room, and gazed up with interest at the cocoons. Head cocked to one side at Metody's words, and he asked curiously, "Why cain't you disturb them now? What happens if you do?"
Still looking around, he took in the little bits of mold, the warped plastic. "Y'all got yourselves sort of a fixer-upper, I take it?" If anything there was a sort of pleasure in Ellis's tone at that. In another life he might have been a handyman.
Val and Metody moved on-- Val back towards the basement and Metody apparently for the kitchen-- leaving Ellis with Hans. Ah joy.
He smiled politely. Small talk. That was fine. "Well, you enjoy cleanin' don't you? I mean... not enjoy precisely... but you know, it's kinda soothin'. Lets you feel you bein' productive I guess," Ellis said vaguely.
"So you got a lotta things to be productive on. Thass nice." Fixed smile at Hans. Hmm, one of the curses of undeath was that he couldn't go beg a glass of tea himself. Maybe blood but that was a just a wee bit presumptuous.
"Just fine, thank you," Ellis said smoothly. He was better at faking small talk than Hans-- one had to be if one chatted people up to lure them to be food-- and took a perverse pleasure in that fact now.
"Val's daddy an' them all visited an' that was real nice, showed them th' sights an' such, I figger he had a good time. An' we done fishin' an' gardenin' an' such an' so forth."
"Ah, that is good," Hans said, genuinely pleased. "It is nice that Valentine is spending more time with his father and siblings. Family should be close. I am pleased to see Ernst is taking a more active role in Valentine's life, if a bit late."
He struggled for more small talk. Gardening. Fishing. "So.... you have caught many fish? What do they have down there-- catfish, I know-- but other varieties as well, yes?"
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All that crossed his face, however-- after a few seconds of expressionlessness-- was his usual mild, affable smile at Metody. "'s good to have projects," he offered. "Workin' with your hands an' all, thass fulfillin'. An' you can make your own mark on things."
He shifted his grip slightly on his and Val's luggage. "Which way you want us goin', mister Met? So I can set these down somewhere they be outta y'all's way?"
Reply
He stared at the pattern on the living room wall, wondering if it was like an optical illusion where if you looked at it long enough, things would start to appear. Val glanced up, and smiled even brighter when he saw the ceiling. "Look, sugar-- there's clouds up there! This place is neat, uncle Met."
Reply
Reply
"This musta taken you a bit, mister Met," he said quietly. "It is just splendid. You gone to a lotta trouble make us feel at home."
Never mind that the viole(n)t hues of the staves, or the rhinestone stars, weren't exactly "home" in any particular sense. Ellis could tell Metody had put in some effort.
He set the luggage down in the center of the room, and turned in place, looking at the staves, lips twitching a bit. "Where's th' chalk?"
Reply
Only when Metody and Ellis took the conversation elsewhere did he blink up at the ceiling. "Oh. Huh. Shiny. Well, guess we better see th' rest of th' house? Bathroom may well be th' most important room of the house for some people but I ain't invested in that regard."
Reply
Val stepped back out into the hall so the tour of the house could continue. "Can we see the yard too, after the house? Is there a backyard? Do you have a garden?"
He could only imagine what sort of strange and wondrous plants there were in uncle Met's world.
Reply
Reply
He followed along to the other room, and gazed up with interest at the cocoons. Head cocked to one side at Metody's words, and he asked curiously, "Why cain't you disturb them now? What happens if you do?"
Still looking around, he took in the little bits of mold, the warped plastic. "Y'all got yourselves sort of a fixer-upper, I take it?" If anything there was a sort of pleasure in Ellis's tone at that. In another life he might have been a handyman.
Reply
He smiled politely. Small talk. That was fine. "Well, you enjoy cleanin' don't you? I mean... not enjoy precisely... but you know, it's kinda soothin'. Lets you feel you bein' productive I guess," Ellis said vaguely.
"So you got a lotta things to be productive on. Thass nice." Fixed smile at Hans. Hmm, one of the curses of undeath was that he couldn't go beg a glass of tea himself. Maybe blood but that was a just a wee bit presumptuous.
Reply
Getting the mold off of things, for one.
He searched for some other topic with which to make small talk with Ellis, rather at a loss to begin with in such situations. "So."
A long pause.
"How have you and Valentine been enjoying your summer?"
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"Val's daddy an' them all visited an' that was real nice, showed them th' sights an' such, I figger he had a good time. An' we done fishin' an' gardenin' an' such an' so forth."
Reply
He struggled for more small talk. Gardening. Fishing. "So.... you have caught many fish? What do they have down there-- catfish, I know-- but other varieties as well, yes?"
Reply
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