tushanshu | [Console | Video/Action?] did I disappoint you (possible spoilers)

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[Console | Video/Action?] did I disappoint you (possible spoilers)

[The man in the video is gorgeous. True, there are dark circles under his eyes as if he hasn't slept well in weeks, but it kind of gives him that "I just stepped off a movie set and wow am I tired from being beautiful all day" look. If you've been around the Midnight Hotel at all over the past couple of weeks you've probably seen him there, shadowing after Anton Shudder like a lost puppy--which is pretty nearly the expression on his face most times as well. He looks lost.

He looks like he's forgotten what he came on here to say, as a matter of fact.

After a few more seconds he perks up, looking up at the camera instead of off to the side as he had been. When he speaks it's with an Irish accent.]

Right, hello. Ah, sorry about that. I seem to have misplaced my... brain, today. Anyway, I've met a few of you already, but for those I haven't, my name is Erskine Ravel. I also answer to "Grand Mage" or possibly "hey you."

[He gives a little two-fingered salute and a slight smile.]

I was hoping...

[He goes quiet, frowning.]

What was I hoping, again? I.... Mm, nope, it's gone. Ah well, if it was important it'll come 'round again. At any rate, I hope everyone's having a lovely day. Pay someone a compliment and don't forget to tip your waitress.

[The video abruptly stops.]

((ooc: possible spoilers, please mark comments as needed!))

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Are you...well...ser? (He sounds scattered and that worries her.) Have you hit your head recently?

I... [Yeah not even going to attempt to answer that first question.] Not recently, no. Unless you know something I don't?

[He looks at her through the console for a moment before shaking his head with a smile. No, he doesn't actually expect a real answer to that.]

I'm fine. I've just... had better days, I suppose.

I do not. (For what comfort that brings.) Would you like to discuss it?

(She can offer a listening ear, though she is afraid what she might hear. Bad days are really bad in Westeros.)

[The smile fades. He's a little surprised she's actually serious about this. Confused/surprised, more like.]

I appreciate the offer, but I'll be fine. It's just an off day.

I... have I seen you around the Hotel?

I believe most days feel like that in our current situation. (She will gladly accept off days as replacements for what awaits her in the Eyrie.) Perhaps? I have resided there for some months now. My name is Alayne.

[He purses his lips for a moment.]

Meet you in the kitchen?

Previously or currently? (Perhaps is the answer for the first and "that's awfully presumptuous" for the second.)

Currently, sorry. [He pauses, affecting a more polite, coherent demeanor:] Would you care to meet in the kitchen for a cup of tea?

(Something tells her to be cautious, but she has met many friendly souls. Perhaps this is a risk she can take to satisfy her curiosity? Either way, there will be two daggers strapped to her thighs.)

Very well, Ser Ravel. I prefer my tea with lemon.

(And she turns off the console, rising from her seat and preparing herself quickly. It's not polite to keep anyone waiting. Even so, she is a lady to her core. She will never feel her best if she is unkempt.

Once she steps into the kitchen, she is attired in one of the dresses she stitched by hand since arriving on the Turtle. Her hair is no longer brown and the rich hues only seem to highlight the auburn and copper tresses. But who does she have to hide from here?)

[He's already in the kitchen, just finishing up preparing the tea--a mug for himself, a more elegant china cup for her--and yes, he remembers the lemon. He turns his head at the sound of approaching footsteps just enough to catch sight of her, and his eyebrows shoot up at the dress. A lady. God, it's been many a long year since he's seen someone dressed that way (without being headed for a renaissance faire, at least).

And of course she's beautiful. And of course she's a child.

Ah well.]

Lady Alayne. Please have a seat, I'll be right with you.

[Or at least that's the plan, except his hands are shaking badly enough today that he can't manage to carry both the mug and the china cup without risking spilling half the contents by the time he reaches her. Most of this occurs while his back is turned toward her, thankfully, though there's the telltale rattle of porcelain before he gives up.

With a frustrated curse in Irish under his breath, Erskine gestures to both the objects and they levitate into the air. He turns, still pointing to both, and the cup and the mug begin hovering across the room toward Alayne.]

(A child who has had to grow up far too quickly, unfortunately. Alayne holds herself with as much confidence as she can muster, though that facade weakens at his words. Dipping her head forward, she arranges herself primly on a chair, her hands smoothing over her skirt restlessly.

Her nerves are hardly eased at his cursing. Though she doesn't know Irish, that doesn't stop her from jerking and frowning.)

Are you alright? (The rattling of the porcelain makes her fear he will drop it - and oh what a mess that would make. But then a cup is hovering in midair before her. Blue eyes wide, she shakily cradles the cup in her hands.

Magic, surely?)

How did you do that?

[It takes focus to keep the cups levitating, but not that much focus. He's been doing this for a few hundred years by now, after all. So he watches Alayne's reactions, the anxiety, the disquiet. Funny, she's as jittery as he is. He'd had a feeling about that.]

Magic.

[The smile he gives her doesn't have quite the wattage he could have mustered maybe a month ago, doesn't quite reach his eyes, but it's still charming enough. He takes a seat across from her and the mug glides smoothly down to his hands--he wraps both firmly around the mug to keep it steady.]

Manipulating the air around the cup. Elemental magic. Is there magic where you come from?

(Magic. Of course. But that hardly explains anything and she clutches her cup between her hands. She has been forced to come to conclusions she never imagined herself making thanks to her time spent on the turtle.

Magic is one of said conclusions, though it raised more questions than it answered.)

Are you a...practitioner of magic...then? (It's easier if she thinks of it like a Maester's craft.) There are...stories. I have never encountered magic myself, but there is talk of dragons in the East.

A sorcerer, yes, like Anton and Skulduggery--if you've met him. Although Anton's magic is quite a bit different than ours. Skulduggery and I are both Elementals.

[He takes a small sip from his mug and chuckles softly]

Now that is unusual. We may have sorcerers and whatnot but we haven't got dragons. That would be something to see.

[And then he falls silent, because he can tell she's still horribly tense. God only knows he's the last person she should worry about.]

I'm sorry if I've frightened you, Alayne. It wasn't my intention.

I have not...asked. (Probing at that seems dangerous.) Meaning you can work with...fire? Water?

(Hey she's trying. Alayne takes a sip and glances away a mite awkwardly.)

I would rather not. It was said that brave Knights (ha) slew them. I'm not certain where the...Targaryen...found them.

(She worries about everyone unless she has known them for a good while.)

You surprised me. (Her fear serves no purpose here.) It is difficult to know what you are capable of, I admit.

Fire and water, earth and air. Some are easier than others.

[With small, slow movements, he sets his mug of tea down and pushes it out of the way to give himself a space to work directly between them. With a glance up at Alayne to make sure she's not going to get spooked, he snaps the fingers of his right hand. A spark erupts from the friction of the gesture, and a little ball of flame perhaps three inches across blossoms in between his hands. He holds them slightly apart, cupping the flame, turning his hands slowly around as the flame continues to flicker steadily.]

I'm sorry for surprising you, then. You don't need to worry about me, I won't do anything. Wouldn't do anything. I just thought you might like some tea. You did offer to talk, if I recall correctly.

(She can't disguise her wonder, Tully blue eyes wide for a few moments. But then a mask snaps into place, hiding her emotions as surely as a wall of stone.)

Wouldn't means you could hurt someone. (The subtle difference isn't lost on her, however she lets it go.) I do want tea and I am curious about you. Magic is new to me. I thought it was meant for stories.

(Like her brave, pure knights.)

I wish I could use it.

[There's a pause before he answers.]

It does mean that, indeed. I could, and I have. But I won't.

[He presses his hands together, the ball of flame between them, and the fire snuffs out. Time to retrieve his mug.]

The mortals in our world--the non-magical people--don't know we exist. We've kept magic hidden from them for a very long time. It's nice to be able to use it without worrying about all of that.

[He sips his tea]

I don't know whether you'd have an aptitude for it or not, if your world doesn't have as much magic as ours. I suppose there's no harm in trying, though... except possible disappointment.

[aka Alayne do you want to ~~build a snowman~~ try some magic someday]

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[Console | Video/Action?] did I disappoint you (possible spoilers)

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