there's a dream I had / there was no one there [July OTA]

[not_the_last]

Who: Cassandra de Rolo, OTA
When: July
Where: Around the Serena Eterna
What: Revelations, arguments, exhaustion, exercises in futility
Warnings: Game-typical angst

A. you've got to hold it all together

After the prom and the announcement that happened there, Cassandra has quite a lot of people to talk to. Some, like Helena, Daisy, and Peter Smith, she has made specific plans to meet with; others she will decide to talk to afterwards, particularly once she's looked at the signup sheet for the upcoming excursion.

Friends who have signed up, including Dimitri, Okie, Phil, and Crabb, will receive a text from Cassandra saying only We have to talk. Security, because she doesn't want to put it through that anxiety again so soon after the last time, will instead find Cassandra seeking it out more directly; Shiroe will likewise find himself approached in public, rather than messaged.

Others who have not signed up, including Crichton, Max, Vance, and Tayrey, will receive a somewhat less terse text: Have you heard the announcement about the next excursion? or Have you seen the sign-ups for the next excursion?

(It took some effort not to begin each text with Don't go.)

B. far far away from any eyes

All of this talking is exhausting, the more so because she has no idea if it will do any good. When Cassandra isn't seeking out conversation, she's increasingly hard to find: hiding in her cabin, or in a corner of the library, or underneath the stairs in one or another of the stairwells, or on the highest points of the ship only accessible to those who can fly.

Later in the month, when her need to be alone gets worse, she'll spend up to an hour at a time with her cloak wings out, circling as far from the ship as she can get without risking running out of time to return. You might spot her out there, a distant speck, if it happens to be by daylight; you might see her returning, landing on unsteady legs as her feathered wings fold back down into a cloak, stumbling away looking exhausted.

Unusually, for those who have grown used to her habits, she isn't eating at the buffet anymore. Oh, she can sometimes be spotted taking food there, but never much at once, and she doesn't stay there to eat it ... though she might be talked into staying, if you catch her. Or you could follow her and see where she's taking her scanty pickings.

C. there was no one there

Wildcard!
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Comments

a.

[decrypter]

Arriving at Cassandra's cabin, she's more nervous than anything else. Absent the finery and required courtesy of the dance, she feels more herself, dressed in her own fashions and knocking at the door with caution. The roommate who could come back at any moment made this fraught, but since the roommate is not Grace herself...it'll be fine.

She just has to be delicate with this. Delicate, but brave.

[not_the_last]

Cassandra opens the door, and lets out an audible breath at the sight of Helena; it might sound a little like relief. "Thank you for coming so promptly. Please, come in."

[serialskiller]

Security's working on a painting when Cass shows up on the Promenade. That huge fucking ugly statue does provide an opportunity to practice metallic surfaces and fun reflections, at least. But when it realizes she's nearby, it sets its paintbrush down completely.

[not_the_last]

"Security," she says, trying hard to smile. "Oh -- I don't mean to interrupt your painting."

[guildmastermind]

Shiroe's in the library, lanky form curled up in a chair, nose in a book when Cass finds him, because of course he is. He looks a little underslept, hair mussed, cloak wrinkled. He's not doing so hot, uh, is he?

[not_the_last]

She hasn't known him long enough to have a clear idea whether this look is a shocking lapse or a habit, for him. Either way, she can certainly relate to the underslept part.

"Good afternoon," she offers, from a little ways away so as not to startle him badly.

b

[neverleave]

When Cassandra arrives, the dark space under the stairs is already occupied by a small tent, hand-sewn from the tarps covering the lifeboats. The opening is secured to ensure no light comes in, and there's no movement or sounds coming out of it.

Investigate?

[not_the_last]

Well yes she's going to investigate. Carefully, examining the immediate area as well as the tent itself before touching anything.

If this is a trap ... well, it's not a simple one, that's all. One last thing to check before she tries to open the flap.

"Hello, is someone in there?"

a

[goodweather]

Oh, god, he's being fucking summoned.

Okay. When and where?

[not_the_last]

At your convenience. The formal dining room may suit, though I am open to other suggestions.

a. don't carry it all, don't carry it all

[mistertwister]

A text saying we have to talk is never a worry-free text to get, especially from someone as serious as Cassandra. But worry is a weight he's accustomed to carrying, and not one he likes to pass along. In keeping with that sentiment, his response is kept as even as he can. Not having to say it out loud helps.

sure thing! can do my room or scoops, whichever sounds better

[not_the_last]

This feels less like a conversation that needs to be private, somehow.

Scoops will do well, I think. When would be a good time for you?

[astrogator]

[Ari Tayrey hadn't been at the prom party, deeming it frivolous nonsense. She'd heard the news later, and her judgement had been immediate. Cassandra's text, then, gets an almost immediate response.]

I heard.
You're not considering it, are you?

I say let the people who enjoy being imprisoned here give their lives for it, if that's what they want. The rest of us should stand clear.

[not_the_last]

I am not. I'm glad to hear you aren't either.

There are some I would like to try to talk out of going. I don't anticipate a high rate of success.

a

[hadnoright]

Whether Daisy arrives at Stellar before or after Cassandra, she does the same thing: pull herself up onto the edge of one of the dining tables to sit there, legs dangling off the side and leaning back on her hands.

"So."

[not_the_last]

"So," agrees Cassandra, and seats herself in a chair nearby.

"Would you be willing to talk a little about your previous voyage?"

[Text]

[maximumcake]

Yes. I saw. Do you want to talk?

[Text]

[not_the_last]

Yes, please. Are you free anytime today?

[be_seeing_you]

Number 6 is exactly where he said he'd be that next day, taking tea alone (he kindly requested that Ava not join him today) at 3:30 p.m. on the dot. It's his usual brew, Early Grey, with a slice of lemon and a couple of confections on the side as a snack. The scent of bergamot and citrus is pleasantly soothing, and yet his fingers drum anxiously against the side of his cup as he waits to see if Lady de Rolo will keep their appointment. He's made up his mind to tell her the truth if she wants it. The Village will not have his silence any longer.

[not_the_last]

At precisely half past three Cassandra steps into Sand Dollars, eyes scanning the room and settling on him.

"Master Smith," she says, and moves up to take the seat opposite him. "Thank you for meeting with me. I hope you're well?"

[Text]

[ss_buttcrack]

There was supposed to be some kind of announcement. Bad news, I'm sure. Want to give me the highlights?

[Text]

[not_the_last]

Bad news, yes. The Captain announced that everyone who goes on the next excursion will die, and that no further information will be forthcoming about this or any future excursion.

a

[pinballer]

yeah

i'm not going

[not_the_last]

Good.

I'm concerned about how many are going. I wanted to check with you.

a. hold it all together

[prince_of_beasts]

Dimitri's waiting in the sports deck's small 'garden' when Cass gets there. He's leaned against one of the larger plant-pots in his blue dress, skirt flapping in the salt wind: arms folded, heels braced and ankles crossed so his weight doesn't tip the thing over.

"Cass," he says, with a nod of greeting. "You wanted to speak to me?"

Re: a. hold it all together

[not_the_last]

The dress takes her by surprise for a moment, but she keeps the reaction off her face as she approaches. (It's a nice look on him, once the surprise ebbs.)

"I did, yes." She doesn't let herself hesitate. "Did I see correctly that you've signed up for the next excursion?"

a

[pointofhonoria]

Fun parts of being introduced to texting aboard the ship: experiencing the unique 'uh oh' of someone just texting you something like 'we need to talk'.

Alright. Where do you wanna talk?

[not_the_last]

I have no strong preference. Is your cabin free? Is there any other place you'd prefer?

Text & Action, Wildcard

[moonlesstides]

🐟

About a solid minute later, here in the evening, the sound of an entire Grace smooshing up against the door of Cassandra's cabin. Not thrown, no, but the perhaps-familiar sound of someone who was moving at say a brisk walk and was not expecting this door to not open.

Silence.

And then: ~The metal is strangely comfortable and soothing.~

[not_the_last]

At first sight of the little fish icon, Cassandra has to sit down and take a deep breath. All right, then; all right. She's been planning to find an opportunity to talk to Grace and this may as well be it.

She texts back: I am in my cabin. Please do come by.

And then comes the noise at her door and the words that aren't quite in her ears, and she has to struggle not to laugh.

"Try again," she advises, and touches the button on her phone that unlocks the door.

B

[businessorlibation]

Johnny sees Cassandra about to leave the buffet with her plate, and there's a bit of a thoughtful frown. No, she's not on his hit list to grab a breakfast order from. She's staying. But...something about the look on her face, the shadows in her eyes catches him.

"Miss de Rolo?" His voice is low, low enough that she could ignore him if she really wanted to abscond.

[not_the_last]

She looks up, a bit over-quickly, and then takes about half a beat longer to respond than one might expect.

"Master Summer. Good afternoon."

B (Buffet)

[saltwaterlungs]

Darcy hasn't deliberately sought out Cass since their brief and pleasant encounter in the kitchens. All things being equal, in some other place, they would probably get along. Unified in homesickness if nothing else. But the lines in the sand have been re-drawn, the chess board reset, and everyone filters back to their oppositions. Knowing from Security that she's tried to talk it out of going means that when they nearly bump into each other at the buffet, Darcy's first reaction is a look of disdain they don't care enough to mask.

"Watch where you're going."

[not_the_last]

Cassandra takes a step back, looking into Darcy's face with brief blank startlement.

"I beg your pardon," she says after a moment, and steps away from the buffet to let Darcy pass.

B: Library

[redlightgreenlight]

Cass isn't the only one haunting the library. Valdis browses the shelves diving into any book that might prove helpful on the idea of possession or souls. But of course, everything is still fiction here. There's not even a cookbook. She sighs and shoves the book back onto the shelf hard enough that several books fall off the other side. A frustrated, inhuman growl fills her throat and she walks around the shelf to clean up the mess she's made only to see Cassandra sitting around the corner.

"Lady de Rolo." She inclines her head intending to pick up and leave, but Cassandra feels off, uncentered, moreso than normal. "Is everything alright?"

[not_the_last]

She's sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, looking braced as though for a confrontation when Valdis rounds the corner, the knocked-over books scattered on the floor in front of her.

"I'm sorry," she says, a little blankly, "you startled me."

(The primary emotion coming from her is decidedly not anything so relatively benign as startlement; it's much closer to reflexive fear, almost a fight-or-flight response, though not directed at Valdis.)