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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I REALLY LIKED OUR OTHER THREAD, SO HOPE YOU DON'T MIND ME >->;;

[bent_priorities]

Merlin her head hurt. The constant ringing in her ear didn't help at all either. Why is it that she always found herself in some sort of weird situation? Oh. Right. Years of being best mates with Harry and Ron should have already answered that. Hermione finally ends up righting herself to a sitting position, blinking to adjust to the dim lighting. Where in Merlin's name was she

Are you kidding? Welcome, welcome! XD

[grimholdkeeper]

There are so many books. And not just, if she were to look around a bit. Some higher shelves and locked cases have parchment and scrolls and older forms of the written word stored neatly all over the place. She might also notice that while the floor and corners and more mundane items are dusty, the books themselves are very neatly and respectfully kept.

Well, some of them get cranky, you know?

Balthazar is at first oblivious to the other presence, missing even the soft steps down the staircase. It's her voice saying his name that makes him jump and turn, power leaping to his hand in a blue-white crackle, ready to shield or create a bolt of plasma. Except she doesn't look like she's about to attack, and she does look familiar. In fact, he has a distinct feeling she's someone he should recognize, someone he has met and thought well of

If ever I fall off the grid again, please feel free to PM me. My notifs have been whack..

[bent_priorities]

The brunette lowered her arm, cocking her head to the side. An almost amused look creeps up on her features, walking down the few steps to get onto the floor. "Really, it hasn't been that long since we've seen each other." She offered a slight smile as she pocketed her wand. She took this time to look around the ground floor, noticing the rather.. unkempt look it had about it. Not that it really was unkempt, but considering the dust.. Her nose wrinkles lightly as she stepped over to a pile of books.

"Might you know where we are, by the by?" Not that she particularly minded, considering that the hotel didn't give her books and, well, this place had more than just many. Hermione turned to look over to Balthazar, wondering why he was so quiet. She raised an eyebrow- did he really not remember her? Brows furrowed together as she crossed her arms. "Hermione?" Saying her name as if maybe that would trigger some recognition. "You actually helped me find my wand at the hotel..?"

[grimholdkeeper]

Balthazar looks genuinely bewildered, saying nothing as she speaks and approaches. Hermione. Right. The name fits the face, and when she says something about her wand, that clicks, too, along with a vague idea of red and gold and...ah, yes. He swears softly, in Welsh, and then again in English.

"Damn this place. I apologize; I was disoriented. Of course, the hotel." He sighs, standing down completely. "This is a very close replica of my home. For a minute I thought I was there. But my wards would have noticed you, and usually the outside isn't like that." He nods at the pitch-black windows.

[golden_blazes]

The darker the night, the brighter the flame.

Pitch black windows or not, Arabelle honestly had no goddamn clue how the fuck she got here, or how the effing hell to get out. It didn't entirely seem to make logical sense in its spaciousness.

God, she hated magic, sometimes.

The first thing most people tended to notice about Ms. Kintotech wasn't her height, nor was it her green eyes and blonde hair, but the massive wings on her back tended to be an obvious identifier.

And at the moment, she was lost in his library. Trying to find a way out. Arabelle also showed up as a mystical ping.

Hi! :D

[grimholdkeeper]

He's slow to feel the distant twinge of magical energy, spending several minutes tapping and inspecting the door. When he does sense the strange presence, though, his immediate feeling is that this can't be a coincidence, and, perhaps rashly, he pulls a slender rapier off a wall display before going to investigate.

By sheer chance, he steps into the aisle behind her, sword ready but not held at an aggressive angle. Even that drops to slack-armed (and slack-jawed) surprise at the sight of the stranger. For one thing, she's more or less his height. For another, there's the wings. He makes a faint, rasping sound of confusion, then clears his throat, trying to recover his dignity. "Evening. Are you here for me?"

He's too worldly and cynical to assume an angel would visit him, but she's definitely not human.

Doing this from email, it's easier atm.

[golden_blazes]

To her credit, the twinge is distant. Like a pilot light awaiting the gas valve to fully open and unleash the full breadth and strength of the fire. To say nothing of the fact that it wasn't complete. A tiny shard of something much, much more immense.

That said, she didn't ping very high on the holy scale. Between the cargo pants, the sandals, and the backless shirt, and the utility belt she was wearing. Arabelle blinked, wings flicking uncomfortably in the semi-cramped space between a couple of shelves, and glanced over her shoulder.

"Uh. Hi. Guess I am? I dunno, Y'know a gal named Mary Mystica or anything? It was her spell that sent me here, onna those whole 'where you needed ta be' type things." Arabelle shrugged slightly as she turned to face him a bit better, tense, but only largely due to the cramped quarters she was keeping at the moment, not in any sort of way directed at Balthazar.

However you like. :)

[grimholdkeeper]

Yeah, it might be hard for her to turn around in the narrow aisle. The setup is meant to cram as much stuff as possible in the space he has, while simultaneously allowing for lots of places to play dodgy games of hide and seek should he be attacked. It's a miniature labyrinth, but it's still quite a maze.

"Mary Mystica? Not unless that's a professional name this person has recently adopted. Did she, er, happen to say why you need to be here?" That'd probably be too much to ask. "I ask because there's some strangeness outside the place, as well."

((Since the quarters are so cramped, you mind if I do some gradual strange shifting of the scenery such that the space expands around them?))

Better late than never?

[sunnotshadows]

It was to be a short jaunt, just over to the Fortunate Isles and back with some much-needed supplies; blue lotus, lemon gildflower, some other herbs and supplies that one simply could not find in the mundane planes. Just a quick walk on the trod-path through the overland. Nothing unusual, nothing strange. Amarante had made the journey enough times as to do it in her sleep

Likewise, I hope! Halloween ate me.

[grimholdkeeper]

He's startled when the strange woman steps through the door, especially since she quite literally steps through the door, without bothering with the niceties of unlocking or pushing it open. His first thought is self-defense, but his second is to step around her, reach past, and press his palm against the glass again.

He's not an idiot, and his experience in magic tells him there are ways to get through doors that do not involve opening them. He was just hoping whatever portal she used was still open and accessible to him, as well.

Maybe it's better it isn't.

He turns back to her and answers belatedly, "No, nor I. Unless you're here to cause me trouble specifically, I wonder if you'd be good enough to tell me what's outside? Normally it's a street in Manhattan, but that wouldn't explain the darkness or the fact that I can't get out."

Re: Likewise, I hope! Halloween ate me.

[sunnotshadows]

"Trouble? Why would I, But - you brought me here and, oh

[grimholdkeeper]

He shakes his head at once, denying that he has anything to do with her presence here, but he doesn't speak until she's said her piece. He speaks French fluently, so what she says doesn't strike him as odd at all until she gets to paths in darkness. "Your travels between worlds, you mean? I promise you, I didn't summon anyone. I find that sort of magic to be dicey, ethically speaking, and anyway there's a lot of potential for backlash. I woke here, on the red divan over there, after some odd dreams I don't quite recall. Now...I have no idea what's outside or how to find out without risking my neck."

Backing away from the door, he leans against a glass counter containing multiple pieces of jewelry and small sculpture. "That's assuming there's some sentience behind it rather than chance. Time will tell, I suppose. Are you expected anywhere?" No one's likely to come looking for him. Maybe she'll be missed and sought.