one ► show me what i'm looking for

[gentleidealist]

[dictated]

[The journal falls open and picks up the soft sounds of a teenage boy's slumber. After a minute, it's interrupted by an wet snort.] Ugh... go away.

[Shifting. It sounds like someone tossing around on straw.] Noishe, I'm trying to sleep here. [His fingers curl into rough fur. He grumbles and tries to shove the disturbance away, but it's far heavier than he anticipated.

He opens his eyes.]

Wha— ... you're not Noishe. And this isn't my house.

[followed by, louder--]

Where are your eyes?!

[ooc: Lloyd is waking up in the stables with his baby. Hope this is okay! ♥

Also I am going to sleep now. Tags when I wake up.]

Comments

[cloakand_danger]

It's one of the things we've noticed about it, yes. A little subtler than some of the other aspects, but it's definitely larger inside than out.

[Not that Yuan isn't thoroughly used to that, having spent so much time in the TARDIS.]

...It's not just you. [And he shouldn't take it out on Lloyd, regardless. It's not the kid's fault that the castle is a bastard.]

Let's see...you've probably already heard that there's no way to get home from here. The castle takes people at random, and sends them away at random as well. You've lost something in coming here - it could be an ability, an object, even a memory. For example, I'm without any of my angelic abilities. [It's funny, he used to try to hide that when he first got here.] There are ghosts in the castle, they're servants. They don't talk, but they will bring you things if you ask. The castle also grants minor wishes asked aloud, like for food or tools. The journals record both voice and writing, and transmit any liquid spilled on them. Bleeding on them is considered impolite except in an emergency. Death is possible while here, but it only lasts two weeks, and then the person who died returns. Sometimes there are aftereffects, but in the long run they're usually no worse for the wear, physically. [He's recited all of this in an almost bored tone, like it's a checklist he's running down.] ...Any questions?

[gentleidealist]

[Wow, what an infodump. He's quiet for a long moment.]

This is all so crazy. If I wasn't looking for my room, I don't even know where I'd start.

You said... people can lose anything, right?

[He starts checking himself. Exsphere, swords... yep, he's got everything. Then he brushes his hand against his collarbone and stops.]

... I-- I think I know what I lost.

[cloakand_danger]

...If you don't mind my asking, what is it? [One's loss is usually kind of a personal question, but he feels he has a right to know if his ally has discovered a sudden weakness of some kind.]

[gentleidealist]

[He's so angry. How could he lose it? Did someone take it while he was asleep, or... was it the stupid magic castle everyone's telling him about?]

Dad's locket... It's just-- gone.

[cloakand_danger]

[A moment of silence. That's exactly the sort of thing the castle would take.]

...It's always something precious.

[gentleidealist]

How-- why? Why that?

[It's all he has of his dad right now, though his Exsphere... yeah, he still has that.

God, it hurts.]

... I hate this place already.

[cloakand_danger]

Get used to the sentiment, it's one you'll be echoing your entire stay.

[Pause. He's not going to apologize for something the castle did, but...] If there's anything I can do to help you adjust, let me know. The castle residents need to stick together, especially these days.

[gentleidealist]

... Yeah.

[Wow. Yuan is offering an olive branch. Lloyd blinks, then a smile leaks into his voice.]

All right. Thanks, Yuan.