realmofstories | Be Our Guest

Entry tags:

Be Our Guest

Characters: Jean Kirstein [Beast (Beauty and the Beast)] & Open
Campaign: Break
Format: [ brackets ]
Open
Summary: Party in Beast's Castle because otherwise the furniture won't stop being pain.

Invitation...

[At the beginning of the week, a message arrives on the journals.]

Sender: Beast | Jean Kirstein
Recipient: Everyone

Because the living furniture in my house won't stop bothering me and putting decorations up when I'm not looking, I guess I have no choice but to invite everyone over for a "housewarming" party. Please, do come over. It'll please them and they'll return to normal. I hope. Friday, 5 pm.

[Jean is actually pretty good at drawing, so there's a small sketch of the castle he lives in and a map from the center of the town to where he lives in.]

Be careful though. Wolves live around the castle.

Party itself

Outside

[As warned by Jean, there are wolves stalking the castle around. It's still unclear what their objective there is, but they won't attack groups of people. Just if you happen to come around alone they might, unless they're distracted by something.

On the front yard there is a beautiful rose garden filled with red roses as far as eye can see. It's the best kept part of the whole yard.

At the back of the castle there's also a maze made of rose bushes. It's not as well kept and who knows what you find in the maze. Maybe even more living furniture who've gotten lost? Wolves? A mystery.]

Lobby, dining hall, living room & ballroom

[As you walk inside the lobby is huge. Walking coat racks come take any coats and hats guests may have and the candelabras are excitedly trying to get a peek at everyone. There's a huge staircase with three directions: east wing, west wing and the ballroom in the middle.

To the right of the stairs is the door to the dining hall. A beautiful feast has been made by the various kitchen tools. The living trays with wheels come give everyone drinks and appetizers and the chairs move to coax people into sitting down. Even the food is served automatically - all you need to do for them to stop is raise a hand and say "enough". Same with the beverages. But be careful, some of the utensils are ticklish.

Before the feast starts, however, there's a dance sequence performed by the various "members" of the "kitchen staff". No singing, however, as they've not been upgraded to singing or talking yet.

To the left of the stairs is the living room. There are nice sofas to sit down and when you do, a footstool that's as excited as a dog runs to give you a place to rest your legs. The candelabras from earlier light the fireplace for some nice relaxing time.

The middle room of the stairs leads to a very huge ballroom. There the dancing can happen. There is a grand piano and other smaller instruments at the back that begin playing oddly familiar ~~coughdisneycough~~ tunes. The lights also dim a bit to give a romantic atmosphere.

There's also an open access to the balcony with the view to the rose maze. Maybe you'll see someone or something stuck there...]

East Wing & West Wing

[If curiosity gets you, you are more than welcome to walk to the east wing. There suits of armor line up the hallway, giving a nice medieval vibe to the place. There are a few well-kept bedrooms the guests are allowed to rest in. Of course, the wardrobes eagerly offer anyone pyjamas for use. Watch out for the dust...

There is also a study with a small bookshelf with books in france and on the table there is a hand mirror. If you take it into your hands while thinking about someone, it shows them and what they're doing ... if they're in this world.

To get to the west wing, however, you need to be able to get past furniture keeping watch. It's mostly a small clock that ticks just a bit louder whenever someone approaches and a few brooms that shoo people back. It's not, however, impossible to get past them.

Inside the hallway, broken suits of armor fill up the hallway with torn carpets and paintings giving the place a very haunted feeling. At the very end of the hallway, one bedroom stands. The inside of the room looks even worse than the hallway. Only the bed seems lately slept in and in in somewhat good shape.

By the window there's a table that seems in very good shape with a rose in a glass dome. There's a magical aura about it and there is single petal that has fallen out of it, still fresh and reminding that it's there. The dome is easy to lift, but doing so might not be a good idea as it might just bring around an angry Beast.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Okay, good. He spotted him. Dojima remained hidden behind the wall, one hand reaching down to the first set of 'hand cuffs' he had on his belt... ]

[ Well, they were more just cuffs with a matching gem stone one side instead of a chain, but he was promised they'd be able to handle what he needed. ]

[ Gawain, for his part, vanished upon hitting the ground... no need for him to be a distraction right now. ]

Tch, this is pathetic. And you really think a wall will protect you, coward?! [He charges at the wall Dojima has chosen to hide behind, punching through it.]

[ Dojima made an educated guess as to where Hyde was going to strike, shifting to the side-- only just missing the initial blast of rock and debris. ]

[ Well, not quite. It caught his cheek and forehead, blood dripping down his face, but Dojima barely noticed as he leap forward, slapping the open cuffs onto Hyde's wrists. ]

[ One fist, two fist--

Bound fist, subdue fist. ]

[ A arch of magic light lept from one gem to the other and back again, forming the 'chain' to keep Hyde's arms together. And he'd find that no matter how he pulled them...

They'd pull his wrists together with the same strength, like they were reflecting his own power back at him. ]

[ Dojima pulled back into the brush for a second, noting he'd might need to use the other set of cuffs soon... after all, Hyde's entire body was a weapon. He'd need to see how the other man would take the... entrapment.]

[Dammit he missed. But he clearly cause some damage from the debris. As he tries to swing his arm around though, he felt something constraining him.] What-? [He lifts his arms, now seeing he had been handcuffed by some magic binding spell?]

What the hell is this?! [He tries to break free of the handcuffs, but they were as tough as he was. He swings his arms into the nearby wall, trying to break them that way. He screams in frustration when it didn't work. No. No no no! No one locks him away like this!!] I'll kill you!

[He starts smashing into everything, making his way toward Dojima's hiding place.]

[ Oh, good. They did work against Hyde. That was a relief. ]

[But still, the man was mobile and angry. His hands being caught helped, but the second pair of cuffs could fit around ankles--]

[A harp played again, and Hyde would have to do some dodging to avoid the magic streams of sound coming at him from the window he'd lept from. One of Dojima's knights was still up there, and was aiming at Hyde's feet... looking to trip him up. ]

Gah! [He hobbles backwards when a new attack comes in from another angle. Oh right, that singing jerk was still up. It gets harder to avoid the attacks as the pavement becomes more and more uneven. But he still refuses to go down, and seeing this stupid bard as a bigger threat, he turns, preparing to jump.]

[ And right on cue, Dojima dashed out from the bushes-- sliding in like a baseball player trying to hit home plate, slapped his second pair of cuffs onto Hyde's ankles. ]

[ Again they pulsed from magic, an arc of light flitting from gem to gem, and pulling Hyde's feet together before he could make the jump. ]

[ Dojima rolled to the side, his dress shirt torn with scratches and friction burns obvious on his chest and thighs, letting out a deep, held in breath. ]

Geez, kid. You don't make this shit easy.

[ Where were his cigarettes... ]

-!! [He had another pair of those magic cuffs!? And just like that, he's sent falling onto the ground with a thud. He's not caught, he's not caught. Even as his arms and legs have been constrained, he was still trying to break them off on the ground.]

Get these damn things off me!

Nope. No way in hell.

[ Dojima got up, wincing from the pain on in his knees and legs now, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and the lighter he bought from the other. Flick, flick--

Foom. His cigarrette lighted, he took a long, looong drag, before letting out the smoke from his lips with a sigh. ]

Not till we talk, kid.

[ Glancing around the garden... woof. It was wrecked, he'd really need to apologize to the host; Dojima noticed an undamaged chair, and walked over to it, pulling it back near where Hyde was.

But not too near. The man still had fangs, after all. ]

Like hell you want to talk, you damn coward! [He curses at Dojima, saying some very unsavory words at him. He rolls onto his back, still trying to wiggle his way out of these handcuffs while Dojima is off looking for a chair to sit on. Were he not in the situation he was in, he'd have a smug grin on his face, seeing damage he did manage on the detective.]

[ He doesn't say anything Dojima hasn't heard before. But... as for the coward comment. ]

... Hrm.

[ Well, if he's always complaining about Dojima's 'toys'... ]

[ Arthur inside him protests as Dojima pulls Excalibur, sheath and all from his body, placing it carefully against a nearby tree. And then his dagger, and shield, all of them placed carefully down. He didn't bring his spear with him today, so no need to worry about that. Dusting his hands off, Dojima returns to the chair, watching Hyde struggle. He was too far away to grab his weapons in time if Hyde did break free, leaving him completely at the other man's mercy. ]

... There. No Toys. And I'm too tired now to summon anymore of the Knights of the Round Table, so it's just you and me here.

[The cuffs stop jingling as Hyde watches Dojima remove his weapons. He was intentionally putting space between him and his toys. He scoffs at the act.]

Oh yes, like this is so much fairer. [Gesturing to the lovely handcuffs.] Once a lying coward, always a lying coward.

[ Dojima sat for a moment on the chair, taking slow drags of his cigarette as he listened to Hyde's ranting. It was only fair, after all. ]

... I know I jumped the gun on you when we last talked. When you turned away from me, I thought you were ending the conversation, and I couldn't let you just steal people's things.

[ He sighed, letting out another plume of smoke. ]

...I'm sorry about that.

[ Rolling his shoulders, Dojima reached up to wipe away some of the blood that had been dripping down his face. Oof. Naomi was going to be pissed at him... ]

...To be completely honest, Hyde, you're hard to talk to.

[Hyde continues to fumble around with the cuffs as he talked. He made no clear indication that he was listening to the detective, focusing on freeing himself. And failing.

An apology and everything's all better? What a load of bull. Regardless of whether Hyde answers him or not, he's still stuck here. Dojima can keep on talking his ear off.]

[ Dojima's not so dumb to expect a simple apology is enough to ease Hyde's anger, but at least it's out there, he's heard it. Maybe he's not heard something like that before from someone. ]

More like... you're terrifying, to talk to.

[ Hyde's like Kazuma's Id, right? Given a voice and freedom and a personality, but no memories to guide him, no morality thanks to being 'Hyde'. But he keeps talking about honesty. Maybe that's what he needs... ]

The only people here who can keep up with you in terms of physical strength seems to be Shizuo or Rokurou, maybe. The rest of us aren't anywhere near as durable. Only reason I can damage you is Excalibur... otherwise, I'm a normal human.

[ A normal human who's sitting here, bleeding, still trying to talk to the super human 2 year old in an adults body. ]

If I say the wrong thing, if I piss you off... what's going to stop you from killing me? Or one of the other people here, Aspects or no? That kinda strength is terrifying, especially with someone who's got a temper you can't predict.

[Oh, that gets a bit of a laugh from him.] It's simple. Let me do what I want, and there won't be any trouble. But all you do-gooders have to be a pain in the ass.

[He gives a another good hard tug at the handcuffs before he finally, had to stop and take a breather from all his struggling.] I could care less what any of you think. Folks like you should know your place and maybe you wouldn't get hurt.

'Won't be any trouble'. Is that what you call breaking into places and stealing things, terrifying everyone in your path? Or dropping in on Kotori-chan in the middle of the night with something dripping blood from a bag, intimidating her to cook for you? Or busting into Na-- Kimishima's shop and wrecking her hard work?

[ Now, was he saying things like this to piss Dojima off, or did he truly mean it? It was hard to tell. But Dojima still had a serious expression on his face, mulling over Hyde's words. 'Wouldn't be any trouble'. Wouldn't be any trouble... ]

Wouldn't it just be easier for you to ask for help...?

Oi, did you forget the part that she attacked me first?! Called her little fishy boyfriend when I just wanted a meal?! Or did they conveniently left that detail out, huh? And that witch friend of yours, she isn't all what she seems. [He is not going to bring up that dreamscape venture. As for everything else, he just shrugs.]

I can't help people who don't know how to stay out of my way. Just grabbing what I need is much easier anyway.

...Because you terrified her, and she knew you broke Roxas arm before. Remember how I said 'people don't know what will set you off, so they're scared of you'? That's what I meant. That was a fight or flight response, and Kotori chose fight. Just like I pulled Excalibur when you turned away. We can't read your mind, Hyde.

[ Dojima... let out a rueful chuckle at his comment about Naomi, shaking his head. ]

I can hazard a guess why you'd say that, but let's just not get into it. It's neither of our business.

[ AKA yeah he saw it too, buddy. Just thinking on it makes his lungs hurt...

... And makes him pull the cigarette from his lips, frowning at it, before dropping the butt to the ground and squishing it under his boot to stamp out the ember. ]

... Do you actually know your own strength, Hyde?

I broke his arm...? Oh right, that was when he picked a fight with me, when I wasn't even doing anything to him. [It was a sleepwalking period, so the memory is a little fuzzy now. Totally didn't mention he was trying to bring down the barrier.]

Once again, for a so-called detective, you can't seem to put together that they jumped me first, I simply responded in kind. [He fiddles at the handcuffs again. Not tugging at it this time, just checking for a keyhole or something indicating a way to "unlock" it.]

What kind of question is that supposed to be? You'd be dead by now, that's for sure.

But you were trying to bring down the barrier, which would've been dangerous to all of us, including yourself. That's sort of important, and worth stopping you over.

[ Sorry, Hyde, but Roxas had lectured Dojima about what happened to him. He knew all about it. ]

Yeah, I know I would be. Though... you seem to get along well with your employees, huh?

How would you know that? Because the Storyteller told you so? Whose to say the Story Eaters aren't their creation too? [Maybe it's just Hyde's lack of trust, but he's not convinced with the Storyteller's motives.

He tilts his head, confused by his claim.]

Where did you hear about that? Oh it was Scales, wasn't it? I didn't know just paying your employees for their work was consider "getting along".

I don't know for certain, but after that Dreamscape nightmare we dealt with during Christmas, I don't doubt the Story Eater's desire for destruction. If that was how he was after worming his way into our heads and trying to break in here...

[ Dojima... looked visibly tense, remembering his own nightmare. ]

...But you could be right, and the Story Eater could've been created by the Story Teller for all we know. It's a risk of trust we're all taking, and we could get burned for it.

[ Hey, at least Dojima's taking his suspicions seriously? ]

If 'Scales' is your nickname for Eizen, yeah. And considering your... usual habit of taking what you want, regardless of who it affects, paying people for what they do for you seems a bit... contradictory. Why not just force them to do things for you?

Then you can't blame me for not following the rules from someone we haven't even seen. [And yet he owes his own existence to the Storyteller. He knows that, just refuses to openly acknowledge it. He hums thoughtfully, stopping his fiddling with the handcuffs.]

Well I did personally hire them. They're technically my property and I take good care of what's mine. I like my little tavern to survive afterall.

...Ah. I see.

[ Yeah, doing this had been the right idea. Without the threat of being murdered, Dojima could actually listen to Hyde and work through what he was saying, and how he was thinking. ]

[ Namely, Hyde was like a 5 year old kid lashing out and angry, and took things far more literally than most adults. ... Well, no. That wasn't entirely accurate. ]

[ He had the intelligence (to a point) of Kazuma, the strength of a superhuman, but the emotional intelligence of a 5 year old. Some young kids lashed out when upset, having temper tantrums. Add in the fact he was made up of things Kazuma had buried inside, negative thoughts and feelings, but Kazuma had no context for those things... ]

...You've been given a pretty shit situation in a lot of ways, huh, Hyde.

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