[Pulling out one of the board games on the observation deck! Which feels rather trite in the face of, you know. Space.
But this one is called "Clue." And she is in desperate need of clues, so perhaps there is some hidden message within the contents, or a spell that will be revealed upon completion. Or something. Anything. Or what about this one, "Guess Who?"
[Her smile falters in the silence. Don't leave her hanging bro.]
Who knows! Maybe we'll learn something! [Perhaps she's laying it on a bit thick. Rosamund pops the second game open and frowns at the contents within. Flips up the little faces on the strange...abacus.] There must be a hidden meaning to this.
[ he will sit down in the seat across from her and start fiddling around with his game board, leaning in to inspect the little faces. ]
Lots of people ascribe hidden meanings to all sorts of ridiculous things. Amulets, altars, cards. So, aye, most certainly the secrets of the universe are hidden in this game for ... Ages 6 and up.
[ he is, however, setting up his board. so he's definitely going to play. ]
[Damn, she must have missed the fine print. Rosamund flips the cover herself to check.]
...Well. Children are made to learn things adults would hate to learn all the time. There may be a point to it yet.
I think we are to, uh-hum, let's see here. [She pries the instructions loose, reads them aloud, etc. The gist is quite easy. She looks dismayed all the same.]
Okay, this may turn out to be a complete waste of time, but you can never be certain until you've checked. I'm hoping some clue was left behind in here, or the workings of a spell maybe?
[ imagine if there really was a secret spell trapped into this game of guess who. he's leaning down to inspect the faces. this game would be easier if he could read minds again right now :/ ]
Only one tomb, lass. [ he fiddles with the game board for a minute, like he's debating if he's actually going to tell this story or not. ] We all came out of the Claret Orders, but there were too many rules, not enough contracts. It was self-limiting. So we struck out on our own. Went back to the town a few of us came up in. Br-- One of us, her mother lived there, hadn't spoken to her in a few years. A nasty hatchet of a woman, but she had a soft spot for her daughter and when I was a kid she'd let me sleep in her basement if I begged and wheedled enough and it was raining out. We figured, her house was big enough and we could hole up for a while, get our business sorted. Turns out in the time we'd been gone, her mother had managed to get caught playing stupid games with one of the gangs that run the town. The Jagentoth's don't take kindly to games, had her executed and put into their "tomb." Kept the bodies around as a warning.
We hated Reese Jagentoth and we figured the old wretch deserved a proper grave. Besides, she had a habit of hiding her best secrets close. So we robbed it. [ waving a hand. ] The Tombtakers.
[Though the pensive fiddling had her worried, she's pleased that he feels at ease enough to carry on. Though her posture remains perfect there is a subtle lean forward. All the better to take in the tale.]
Oh my goodness. How terrible. [About the loss of the mother, not the revenge taken. Which sounds rather lean in light of the circumstances.] I'm so sorry for your loss. And I think you did the right thing.
But, did they see any kind of justice for what they'd done?
Hooooooo. [She winces, paddling her hands on her lap.] That's a tricky question. In some sense, yes? But also, I don't think punishment should always be so severe. If someone does hurt you, or the ones you love, there is a right to fight back. And in some cases, you have no choice but to make sure they don't do it again.
[ he's really just flipping faces up and down on his gameboard now for no reason as much as fiddling with something. ]
Personally, I've never seen it. Justice is a fancy, trussed-up word for revenge. Eye-for-an-eye. A bit of a fairy story sometimes people tell themselves to live with it.
[ clicking down a face on the board. clicking another one up. ]
Not that there's anything wrong with a bit of good revenge.
[ he makes a soft noise at the stiffening, listening carefully to her every word - though there's something guarded, even cold, in the expression. the kind of expression you make when it's not the first time you've heard a similar speech and it still sets your teeth on edge. ]
Rosamund frowns, flicking down the portraits. It's not as if she would take it back. She meant what she said, and she wasn't trying to insult anyone. And what had soured him anyway? What's wrong with a little kindness?]
Well. I don't think I've ever gone purposefully to a grave to take things, but we have taken whatever might be needed when we win a fight. There was a bunch of treasure and magic artefacts in the spider cave, and we took the Baron of the Brick's mechanical carriage...
Oh. Do you suppose hot dogs count? [A beat.] We didn't know what the meat was made of at the time.
[ sometimes it's simply easy to put your foot through ice that's already ready to crack at the slightest pressure.
both eyebrows raise. ]
I say take whatever you need to make it to the next day. Hot dogs ... [ this is said with a bit of a question because he has no idea what a hot dog is. ] notwithstanding. That one sounds like just plain theft.
Oh come on. [She laughs and rolls her eyes a little. Okay, phew, we're good. That's wonderful.] I didn't even eat any!
Actually, it was lucky none of us did. [Save for the one bite Tim took, RIP. She leans in, hand to her mouth as she whispers.] We found out they used to be little boys.
[ rosamund you never had to tell anyone about that and yet, you did. lucien is making the ????? face so strongly he's forgotten about the game again. ]
... No, actually, no follow-up questions from me on that.
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WEEK 0: First Saturday
But this one is called "Clue." And she is in desperate need of clues, so perhaps there is some hidden message within the contents, or a spell that will be revealed upon completion. Or something. Anything. Or what about this one, "Guess Who?"
Guess Who indeed.]
Care to play a round?
[Please say yes.]
no subject
Sure. Alright. Not as if there's anything better to be doing.
no subject
Who knows! Maybe we'll learn something! [Perhaps she's laying it on a bit thick. Rosamund pops the second game open and frowns at the contents within. Flips up the little faces on the strange...abacus.] There must be a hidden meaning to this.
no subject
Lots of people ascribe hidden meanings to all sorts of ridiculous things. Amulets, altars, cards. So, aye, most certainly the secrets of the universe are hidden in this game for ... Ages 6 and up.
[ he is, however, setting up his board. so he's definitely going to play. ]
no subject
...Well. Children are made to learn things adults would hate to learn all the time. There may be a point to it yet.
I think we are to, uh-hum, let's see here. [She pries the instructions loose, reads them aloud, etc. The gist is quite easy. She looks dismayed all the same.]
Okay, this may turn out to be a complete waste of time, but you can never be certain until you've checked. I'm hoping some clue was left behind in here, or the workings of a spell maybe?
I don't know. Let's just play.
no subject
[ imagine if there really was a secret spell trapped into this game of guess who. he's leaning down to inspect the faces. this game would be easier if he could read minds again right now :/ ]
Does the individual wear glasses?
no subject
No. [Selects one for authenticity.] Does yours have red hair?
[Anyway.]
So you've done a little adventuring, I take it?
no subject
No.
[ humming when he's asked about adventuring. ]
Aye, some. I suppose I'm in charge of a little operation we call the Tombtakers.
no subject
[Sounds like a good place to get cursed a billion times. The dead should probably be respected.]
Or sorry, maybe that's a silly assumption.
no subject
Only one tomb, lass. [ he fiddles with the game board for a minute, like he's debating if he's actually going to tell this story or not. ] We all came out of the Claret Orders, but there were too many rules, not enough contracts. It was self-limiting. So we struck out on our own. Went back to the town a few of us came up in. Br-- One of us, her mother lived there, hadn't spoken to her in a few years. A nasty hatchet of a woman, but she had a soft spot for her daughter and when I was a kid she'd let me sleep in her basement if I begged and wheedled enough and it was raining out. We figured, her house was big enough and we could hole up for a while, get our business sorted. Turns out in the time we'd been gone, her mother had managed to get caught playing stupid games with one of the gangs that run the town. The Jagentoth's don't take kindly to games, had her executed and put into their "tomb." Kept the bodies around as a warning.
We hated Reese Jagentoth and we figured the old wretch deserved a proper grave. Besides, she had a habit of hiding her best secrets close. So we robbed it. [ waving a hand. ] The Tombtakers.
no subject
Oh my goodness. How terrible. [About the loss of the mother, not the revenge taken. Which sounds rather lean in light of the circumstances.] I'm so sorry for your loss. And I think you did the right thing.
But, did they see any kind of justice for what they'd done?
no subject
Justice ... ? You believe in that sort of thing?
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But then some people go so far.
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Personally, I've never seen it. Justice is a fancy, trussed-up word for revenge. Eye-for-an-eye. A bit of a fairy story sometimes people tell themselves to live with it.
[ clicking down a face on the board. clicking another one up. ]
Not that there's anything wrong with a bit of good revenge.
no subject
Maybe it's like a fairy story. And maybe life is always going to be a bit more complicated than that.
That doesn't mean that things like hope, or mercy, or even justice aren't real.
[She sets to scanning the array of faces again, softening some.]
Personally, I've found the little acts of kindess matter most when the world is at its darkest.
Is your person wearing a hat?
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Aye.
no subject
Rosamund frowns, flicking down the portraits. It's not as if she would take it back. She meant what she said, and she wasn't trying to insult anyone. And what had soured him anyway? What's wrong with a little kindness?]
Well. I don't think I've ever gone purposefully to a grave to take things, but we have taken whatever might be needed when we win a fight. There was a bunch of treasure and magic artefacts in the spider cave, and we took the Baron of the Brick's mechanical carriage...
Oh. Do you suppose hot dogs count? [A beat.] We didn't know what the meat was made of at the time.
["We" being exclusively Pinocchio.]
no subject
both eyebrows raise. ]
I say take whatever you need to make it to the next day. Hot dogs ... [ this is said with a bit of a question because he has no idea what a hot dog is. ] notwithstanding. That one sounds like just plain theft.
[ a clear joke. ]
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Actually, it was lucky none of us did. [Save for the one bite Tim took, RIP. She leans in, hand to her mouth as she whispers.] We found out they used to be little boys.
no subject
... No, actually, no follow-up questions from me on that.
no subject
[hahaha okay yeah she should shut up and play the game maybe.]
Your turn?
[And so they carried on playing Guess Who but found no Guess Clues within. Tragic.]