APRIL EVENT: YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME (EPILOGUE)

[sailmods]

[one by one, they are brought out of the dream, finding themselves in a brightly lit world of sand and broken glass, of familiar faces and audible relief.

as they pass through the crew quarters, they may notice that some tubes seem to be unoccupied, merely sand and empty air.

when they finally push open the heavy door, they find themselves on deck zero. the familiar terrain of the Serena Eterna. they never really left at all.

it is still and quiet; none of the usual ghostly presences can be found anywhere on the ship; in fact, it seems as if there’s barely enough of… whatever it is to keep the lights on, and they’ll find that all internal locations are dimly lit, making it difficult to search them. and they will be searching.

because Fio wasn’t in any of the tubes.

and neither was the Captain.

and Sparkles is somewhere to be found.]

Comments

[theotherright]

[ Arthur laughs aloud at the image of an exploding jack-in-the-box of hot dogs. You can tell it's his real laugh, because it's kind of high and dumb instead of low and sarcastic. Amused: ]

God, if it's not one thing it's the other, eh?

[ The smile slips at that last sentiment, and returns a little smaller and less natural. He replies normally, though. It's not as if Max knows how little time 'always' was, in the end, and Arthur prefers it that way. ]

Yes. Nothing's so bad if you can laugh about it later.

I-- do you cook a lot, then? You certainly seemed to handle the friers at the fair like a natural.

[maximumcake]

[What a wonderful sound that is, now more than ever. Laughter in a room full of anguish and fear is like a healing balm for the soul. But Max is observant, more than he lets on. He's noticed that melancholy dip. But it could just be homesickness. They are all still trapped here, after all. Not everyone is happy about it the way Max is.]

Do I cook a lot? Cooking, and especially baking, is what I live for. It's my favorite thing in the world. I was attending culinary school and everything before I had to drop out. It's all I ever wanted to do with my life.

[theotherright]

[ If you asked him, Arthur wouldn't be able to tell you how he laughs in this place, at this time -- only that he's also laughed in worse. At some point, compartmentalisation becomes a survival instinct. ]

Oh- was it you who had that- that stall around valentine's? [ Or just for valentines? Arthur forgets the date, but he did hear it talked about, and the mention of baking brings it suddenly to mind.

Delicately, but he physically can't not ask: ] What made you have to drop out?

[maximumcake]

Yes! [THUMP THUMP, the tail is going even harder.] I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate and spread some love. People seemed to like it.

[Uh oh. The tail stops now.]

Well... that's kind of a long story. I um. I had to move in with my master and uh... change my name and kind of... fake my death.

[theotherright]

But imagine the hair net you must have needed for the baking.

[ It's easier to make a joke than it is to think about celebrating valentines right now.

The wagging is so cute. There, he said it. Arthur can't resist-- he crouches and finds Max's back with one hand, and pets it, grinning lopsidedly. And then his grin slides off and his hand stills as Max reluctantly shares what happened.

And sure, who hasn't changed their name or faked their death or something else along those lines around here, but, uh... ]

Your master?

[ It's not a demanding tone: he makes sure of that. It's surprised, though, and suddenly serious. ]

[maximumcake]

You know I'm not a dog all the time, right?

[They just keep meeting when he is. Not that Max is sorry when Arthur is so willing to give him all the pets. Now, he kind'a wishes he hadn't said anything so they could just keep going on like that.]

Vampire master. Yeah. I was his human servant for seven years.

[theotherright]

You say that, but you have yet to prove it to me. [ He's messing with him.

Sorry, Max, but this revelation has made the petting feel weird all over again. Arthur's hand doesn't leave his flank, though. How's... what? ]

Oh.

[ It's the multi-syllabic 'oh' of a man digesting so much information that he might get stomach ache. Arthur's from a time and place where referring to servants isn't odd, but every other detail makes it seem... less good. Less good in a way that has his stomach lurching uneasily.

And that's without even getting into Max being employed by fucking Dracula apparently. ]

How did you come to enter into that arrangement?

[ Arthur has slipped without thinking about it into a neutral, friendly tone, interested but not pressuring: the one he used to use when interviewing the potential victim of a crime. ]

[maximumcake]

I would, but then I'd be naked in front of everyone so... I'll have to save that for another time.

[Aw... the petting stopped. And, oh no, he knows that tone of voice now. That's how all the paranormal agents used to talk to him during his yearly interviews. Ostensibly, they were supposed to check on him and make sure he doesn't need help, but mostly they just came, asked their questions, and left.]

Like I said, it's a long story. I'd rather not get into it here.

[theotherright]

[ Arthur snorts quietly, but finds himself unsure how to continue the joke without saying something over-familiar (nope), or mentioning his relationship status or possible lack thereof (thanks but he'd rather die). And then the moment to continue it is gone.

When Max backs away from the subject a second time, much more clearly and directly than before, Arthur backs away too. He's right: not the time or place. But christ alive, he has to consciously tell himself to back away. ]

Of course. I apologise for prying. [ He gives Max's side a few more pats, hoping it's reassuring, and wonders what the fuck happened to this poor guy, and exactly how much coercion was involved from his """"master"""". You don't leave your entire, very wanted life behind because something really cool and awesome happened, he knows that much for damn sure. ]

[maximumcake]

It's okay. I can't blame anyone for being curious.

[The extra pats are reassuring. The apology is too, just because it reminds him that he actually is allowed to set his boundaries. That's still a work in progress.]

It looks like things are starting to um... wrap up. I think I should go try to find Valdis now.