[ota, threadhopping and intermingling welcome] No, the party don't start until I walk innnn.

[tenoroftheskies]

Should the castle's residents be wandering as evening falls through the windows, they might hear the soft strains of music coming from down a hall, around a corner, behind a closed door. Regardless of where they are, or how far they are from the source of the sound, it will lead them all to the same place: a veranda high up on the castle's southern

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[toseethesunrise]

Quorra, wandering about the castle with Sam, had heard the music and instantly followed after it. She'd never heard anything like it before, but somehow, it suited the atmosphere. Reaching the veranda, she peers inside, not quite stepping onto it.

There are plates and drinks on the table, but they don't entice her; she has no use for them. But it's very bright out, and she can't help but walk forward, taking care not to be potentially caught off guard. The things along the wall are sentient, even if she has no idea what exactly they are--but she doesn't trust them very much.

Ignoring the table, she slowly meanders around the veranda, absorbing every detail.

[enzused]

Castor had heard the music earlier and has been standing at the railing for he's not sure how long. He's lost track of the nanocycles as he's just entirely, silently engrossed in the sunset in front of him. Seeing colors he's never seen before is a horribly overdone cliche, but... It's true.

Of course, he still has his facade up, so to most anyone looking on, he simply looks mildly bemused with the entire situation - unless one notices how tightly he's gripping the handle of his cane.

It takes a moment for him to sigh and turn to see who's coming up beside him, and then it's nothing to simply quirk up a corner of his mouth in a smirk. "Fancy meeting you here," he says dryly, not nearly as barbed or chipper as it usually is - much more like how he used to be before... Well. All of their particular troubles.

[toseethesunrise]

Recognizing the voice instantly, Quorra turns her head towards him. She almost calls him Zuse, but instead it's just, "Castor."

She still can't quite shake her suspicions, but he has been on seemingly good behavior, enough that she doesn't feel the need to guard herself and Sam to the maximum. And it's nice to share a slight confusion about some of the User things they'd encountered while being here, even if she does know a bit more simply from spending time with Flynn.

"It was the music," she adds conversationally.

[enzused]

He nods his head at the correct designation this time, hexagon eyes flickering with - something. He's spent the majority of time since their arrival tagging along after the ISO and User like some stray bit, and the rest exploring various nooks and crannies and filing away observations for later review. Certain things (most, even) have gone directly over his head, but he's not quite at the point to be comfortable asking the son of Flynn for clarification. But he can wait. If there's one thing he's always been, it's patient. A very marketable skill

[gammapulsed]

Bruce really hasn't left his room since showing up - just mostly sleeping off the after-effects. At least at first. Then it's been days of just pacing around and contemplating the offer he's been given and trying to figure out how it's different from what Stark and Fury tried to hand him.

Then one night he just... It starts as a small thing he can barely hear, then it just builds up like a gnat in his ear, only. Nicer and less annoying. Poking his head out the door, he just. Looks around cautiously before trying to find the source.

A part of him starts chiding about the last time he let curiosity direct him like this.

When he finds the table, he hangs back in the door, one hand gripping the wall. Half because he's still not feeling a hundred percent and half because... Well, this obviously isn't for him, right?

[whatoncewashers]

Well, after being drugged up and deluded into believing he was halfway to Happy Land in that creepy bird lady's nest, Flynn's return to the barracks was met with no fanfare- no Blondie, no Cordelia. Nothing familiar at all. It was that point that he decided he needed to just deal with the craziness of the situation and... Find the castle that Rapunzel and Alec had been going on about. He remembered the way from when he stalked them there- not that he would call it stalking. Blondie did pay him to be her guide, after all. It seemed unfair that she'd hire another one under his nose.

And now she was gone... And he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

So. Castle. Distract himself. That was the key here. He peered in, staring at the mechanical servants for a moment and then starting at the sight of... The guy clinging to the door like it was a lifeline.

"...You don't look so good. Anything I should avoid eating?"

[gammapulsed]

Bruce jumps in startlement, swallowing a strangled yelp. Serves him right for not paying attention though, right? Yep. Okay, he schools himself back into control, stubbornly telling his heart to slow down already before turning to the new face.

"Oh, no, I didn't." Shaking his head, he tries not to be more of a failure than he's already proven he is. "Haven't really had anything yet, so. I wouldn't know. I mean, it all looks relatively good, whoever it's for, but. I haven't. So. Sorry about the confusion there."

[whatoncewashers]

Flynn blinks. Wow. It's like he found Blondie's male twin. It's almost tempting to throw a rabbit at him and see if he jumps ten feet in the air. But, well... No lapin-ish creatures are lurking about, so he'll settle for giving Bruce the look... Most people end up giving Bruce. "Are you... always this jumpy?"

[votetemple]

Adrian was in no more danger of falling into complacency here. Since their brief meeting with the teenage werewolf the other day, there was no more procrastinating, no more enjoying the comforts of the Castle, he just wanted to leave and not come back. He'd more or less gotten over Tempest knowing because there had been Lia, and if nothing else their host had retrieved them both from the stomach of that thing even knowing what they were, but this? A whole group of total strangers finding out that he was a monster? People who would stay here, and who he'd run into, and who would talk amongst themselves and tell other people?

Just thinking about it made him feel nauseous. The problem wasn't the question of whether them knowing put him and Lia in danger, but rather the more basic, mindless anxiety that came from having spent so long trying to keep this secret from so many people, and suddenly finding that it was becoming public knowledge against his will. It was frightening, and painful, and disgusting, and there was a reason he

[toseethesunrise]

Quorra spots him when he walks in--the man who was apparently like Kat. He'd run off with the woman so suddenly, she hadn't even gotten his name. She wants to approach him, but she's afraid of scaring him off again.

She takes a tentative step towards him, holding herself in a manner that she hopes will tell she means no harm. "Excuse me?" she says, politely and inquisitively, holding back despite a bursting desire to talk with him.

[votetemple]

Adrian turns quickly, to see who's addressing him, upon recognizing the woman they'd encountered a few days ago, his initial reaction is to do a quick mental scan of possible excuses for politely leaving again. His good manners get the better of him this time though, so instead he offers her a cautious smile.

"Hello! I'm sorry, we met the other day, didn't we? Ah..." What was her name? She'd told him her name... crap, he'd forgotten her name. Or rather, he hadn't really been listening very closely when she gave it, "Forgive me, I know you introduced yourself then, but your name seems to have escaped me..."

[toseethesunrise]

"It's all right! My name is Quorra," she says, pausing for a moment before she holds out her hand on instinct. She is very determined to make this go over better this time around.

"I'm sorry if I did something wrong last time. It wasn't my intention to chase anyone away." She says it calmly, trying to feel less anxious.

[ruinszen]

Following after Quorra, Sam nearly has to do a double take as soon as he steps out on to the veranda. Whatever he was expecting from this place, it certainly wasn't a feast. The way his stomach suddenly growls at the sight overrules any caution about the food, however, and he quickly makes his way towards the table after spotting Quorra in the crowd. She's perfectly able to handle herself should trouble arise though no one here looks like they're suddenly going to start a fight.

At least until he gets a look at the clockwork... well whatever they are. Even the sentries had the decency to have heads. Still, he keeps a wary eye on them as he grabs one or two buffalo wings and some carrots for the plate he's snagged.

[tenoroftheskies]

A pretty, dark-skinned woman of middling height, dressed in a high-collared, sleeveless robe, drifts over to pick at the stuffed mushrooms to Sam's left. "It always fascinated me when I was young. The different dishes my father's guests chose to create. What are those? The ones you're eating?"

[ruinszen]

"Buffalo wings, though they're really chicken." He doesn't even think twice about explaining it to her as he's already used to doing so for Quorra even in the short time they've been here. "Not quite sure why but hey, they're good."

And this is when he looks up to get a good look at her, who is definitely not Quorra and not wearing anything Grid like. "You want some?," he says, holding out his plate towards her.

[tenoroftheskies]

"I have never seen a buffalo." She selects one, eying it for a moment before cupping one hand under her mouth and sinking her teeth into the meat. A few quiet moments of reflective chewing, and she retrieves her own plate to set the bone down on before claiming several buffalo wings of her own. "I am Tempest, and you are one of the new arrivals."

[thumbcocked]

Lia's going to go and get herself perfectly comfortable here. Tempest wants to throw a bash and put out a spread, more power to her - she's more than willing to roll with it.

With her hair nearly out of the way and tuck under a red bandanna, there's nothing stopping her from plowing into the three heaping plates of food she's gone and gotten for herself. And if she happens to look something less than a graduate of charm school the way she's chomping on everything, well. Too bad. She is hungry.

Pausing to chew, she grabs the closest closed platter to find - a beautifully chilled six-pack of... "Rud Lubb?" She barks a laugh at that before popping the top and giving it an experimental sniff and swig. Tastes normal enough for her.

[ledfromthepath]

Kat doesn't see Lia right away. She's hovering next to the table looking deeply suspicious, nostrils flared as she tries to pick out the natural scents from the unnatural ones.

The problem is, all of them are unnatural. If they don't reek of magic, they smell like the forest - wild and untouchable and dangerous. She doesn't want to put any of that anywhere near her mouth, but fuck if she's not starving at this point.

She bites her lips together, ordering herself not to touch anything- and then the smell of werewolf undercut by familiar bodily scents hits her and she yelps. And then freezes.

Ohai there Lia.

[thumbcocked]

She ends up with a nose full of energy drink when she hears that, snorting and hacking and tearing up at the sudden surge of fizz and tang that is just way too enthusiastic to meet her brain. When she's done not quite dying of knockoff Red Bull, she turns around to see what the hell is going on-

And sees Kat. ...The smelling is currently out of the question, given Lia's not entirely sure there isn't Red Bull filling the bottom half of her eyes. Shut up, that's entirely how snorting liquids works, what the hell do you know.

Staring at her with a most definitive lineface, Lia just glares for a minute before turning back in her seat to wipe her nose on the back of her hand. "Ain't fucking poison," she says curtly, not even bothering to toss it over her shoulder. "Might as well."

[ledfromthepath]

Kat waits for something else. That can't just be. It. That can't be all this girl is going to do after being outed. Kat hugs her elbows, leaning away from Lia. Slowly, she says, "It's got magic in it. That's worse. Fuck you up more than poison. And don't you know any of the stories about not eating fairy food?"