st_oriedqueen: (the light I chase)
Regina Mills ([personal profile] st_oriedqueen) wrote in [community profile] strangetrip2019-03-15 04:39 pm

Check-In Day: Around the Inn

Finished with self-imposed paperwork and emergency planning for the week, Regina permitted herself a leisurely ride on this absolutely gorgeous spring day. After a good gallop, Grace was content to walk, cropping at dried scrub and new shoots when Regina gave her rein. Regina steered the mare gently toward the west; she could teleport, of course, but she appreciated the quiet of riding toward the beach. She found, in the wake of Henry's Christmas visit, she more often craved the scent of the salt air and ocean breezes. Of course, the Pacific never quite smelled like the Atlantic, always warmer and less bracing somehow, but it soothed the wildness in her just the same.

Back at the Inn, Kitty busied herself with stocking the pool bar and generally setting up for the warmer seasons. The pool had been skimmed of winter detritus and chlorinated by the staff-spectre she rarely if ever saw, and there were fresh towels set out like a proper resort. Since the choice of music was hers, the air around the bar filled with dance beats, Afro-Caribbean today, and Kitty moved right into it. She didn't usually dance at work, but she felt bright today and maybe Lara would come down and work with her and they could goof around Cocktail style.

Sam passed through the Copper Cafe in search of a cup of coffee and a salad, or one of the two gorgeous women he'd somehow wound up involved with. His brow scrunched like a caterpillar hurrying away from a predator while he semi-consciously outpaced thoughts about babies and brothers, and possibly babies and girlfriends. His mild scowl wasn't helped by the pack of spirits trailing him and chatting at him about the lives of his family members. He'd asked them not to gossip about people he wasn't close with, but as a consequence, they talked rapidly and often about River's most recent oddness or his mother and Hathaway acting like...well, like him and Molly and Bo, and no thanks. Ditto on Dean and Jane. For all that he looked a little bothered, there wasn't anything menacing or aggressive about it. If anything, the slight tilt of his head as he strolled through the Inn looked thoughtful, as though he listened to something somewhat distant.

Lillith had come to a bit of a routine for arrival days, and around noon, she sat for tea with River Song. They spoke little, and it was difficult to tell whether the women even liked each other. But for all that, Lillith was content with the ritual. If Curnen sang, she would go out to the lawn next and listen. In fact, on such a sunny day, she would undoubtedly flop on the lawn with a sketchbook and a practice notebook, letting her mind float between image and spellcraft as it would. Out here, she would quickly veil herself at the approach of anyone new, but she often was distracted enough that they might catch her in her true form with her all unaware.

Around them, the Inn hummed and buzzed with the happy energy of winter giving way to spring. The most patient and subtle would undoubtedly note the undercurrents of tension, fear, frustration, and boredom that built up over time. But for day, at least so far as this four were aware, the worst of it had been suspended, in favor of enjoying warm sun and the company of friends.

[OOC: GP. It's a gorgeous day. Come and play! All four of mine can be available. Ping me if you're inspired to tag. <3 Welcome, Carol, Toby, and Number Five!]
st_ormbreaker: (Hella charming.)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_ormbreaker 2019-04-13 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Thor nods sagely at Toby's description of events. This doesn't sound very much unlike his own adventures with the Warriors Three when he was considerably younger.

"Like this?" Thor asks, mirroring Toby's dance as best as he can manage. It's a clumsy attempt, as he's more concerned about getting the movement right than making them look fluid.
st_ockandbarrel: art by shalizeh (Ribbons // Vex)

Re: OTA

[personal profile] st_ockandbarrel 2019-04-14 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
Percy shrugged, indicating that it was anyone's guess. "I think it's going well? They don't come with instruction manuals and the ones that do exist contradict each other rather severely. She sleeps a great deal, cries when she's not sleeping and eats when she's not crying."
st_eampunk: (Default)

Re: Mildmay & Molly

[personal profile] st_eampunk 2019-04-14 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Molly tried to think of a way to explain how the shield worked. She knew that Mildmay, like Corbie, wasn't from a world that would understand bullet proof vests.

"It's sort of like the magical bubble that the inn is in. Not that big of course, it is just around a person. But if a weapon was directed at me, like a bullet, it would bounce off harmlessly. The same with an arrow or a spear. The down side is that if you're doing other magic at the same time, your concentration might not be focused on that all the time."
st_warhammer: (excited toby)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_warhammer 2019-04-14 06:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Toby clapped in delight. "Yep, just like that!" He then put his fingers to his cheeks and made a pop, pop, pop sound that was the same rhythm as the song. "Boom, boom ,shake the room, say what!"
st_ormbreaker: (Laughing.)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_ormbreaker 2019-04-15 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
Thor follows suit with the same sounds and words; if he has an ounce of self-consciousness inside of them, it's not showing now. Troll dances and their songs are not beneath him.

He lets out a bark of laughter when he's done. "Your trolls sound a lot more fun than mine do," he says.
st_andingtall: (hands)

Re: OTA

[personal profile] st_andingtall 2019-04-17 05:10 am (UTC)(link)
"That's...yeah, pretty normal for a baby." At least as far as Sam knew. "But how are you doing? Do you...worry about screwing her up?" Sam would. His mom said she had. It was probably universal, but he and Percy had more reasons than most people to worry about that kind of thing. They weren't exactly paragons of good judgment.
st_ockandbarrel: by Vladimir Nocturne (Sharpshooter)

Re: OTA

[personal profile] st_ockandbarrel 2019-04-17 05:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Only every minute since we realized Vex was pregnant," Percy said wryly. "And when I'm not worried about screwing her up myself, I'm trying to figure out how to avoid her uncle teaching her terrible habits. Between Vex's broom and Vax's wings, I'm wondering how soon I should start building crash pads. Experiments in flight seem both inevitable and the least worrisome of options."
st_onecoldfox: (watchful)

Re: Mildmay & Molly

[personal profile] st_onecoldfox 2019-04-17 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
That kinda made sense, Mildmay thought as he continued to work deeper and deeper into the knots of tension. At least the part about focusing. Except most the hocuses he knew were more likely to focus so hard on their spell they didn't notice anything else going on, even right in front of their face.

"Could Corbie learn it?" he asked, quiet like.
st_allionofdoom: (you see this guy?)

Re: Mildmay/Valkyrie - Lessons in Relaxation

[personal profile] st_allionofdoom 2019-04-18 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
"In my experience peace has 'best'--" Even more emphasis was placed on the word as another kink was methodically worked out, "--achieved when all had a figure to tread in fear of." The sarcasm oozed like honey, but it was hard to summon any heat with the hands still working down her back.

"I'd almost find it suspicious but I've yet to find a face that'd do best with a fist."
st_warhammer: (excited toby)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_warhammer 2019-04-19 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
Toby nodded enthusiastically. "They are! Well I don't know your trolls but the ones at Troll Market are awesome. What are your trolls like?"
st_ormbreaker: (Pleased.)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_ormbreaker 2019-04-19 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
"Like anyone else, I suppose," he says. "There are good trolls and bad trolls, but they're easily stronger than humans and stronger than even some Vanir and Aesir, so they have been known to make trouble. Usually only when and where they have an obvious advantage."
st_eampunk: (Default)

Re: Mildmay & Molly

[personal profile] st_eampunk 2019-04-19 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Molly winced slightly as Mildmay hit an area that had been particularly tight, but it was a good pain.

"Oh sure." She nodded her head in answer. "It's a spell that any of the wizards in my world can do. Harry, my mentor, his magic is fire and mine is mind magic but both of us can do a shield."
st_warhammer: (Default)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_warhammer 2019-04-21 10:04 am (UTC)(link)
"My other best friend AARRGGHH is like that! Well, he is huge like you so he kind of always has an advantage, but he's way stronger than most trolls." Toby thought about the trolls in his world, both good and bad, and then asked Thor, "do they have a special place they live? Like for my friend AARRGGHHH and Blinky, it's the Troll Market under the bridge in town, but for the Quagawumps that I pretended to be their king, it was the swamps of Florida."
st_ormbreaker: (Confused.)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_ormbreaker 2019-04-23 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
Thor can't even answer Toby's question because there's only one thing on his mind right now:

"Is that your friend's name?"
st_warhammer: (wingman)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_warhammer 2019-04-24 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
"What?" Toby was a little confused at the question. Blinky wasn't a weird name. Then the light bulb went on, "Oh! You mean AARRGGHH? Yep that's his name. He's great!"
st_ormbreaker: (Because that's what heroes do.)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_ormbreaker 2019-04-24 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Thor grins at that. He likes the name.

"The Rock Trolls live all over the Nine Realms," he says. "Except on Earth. They don't live on Earth." For obvious reasons. "They tried attacking Nidavellir a few years ago, but I helped stop them, so."

Thor wave a hand vaguely.
st_onecoldfox: (the fox)

Re: Mildmay & Molly

[personal profile] st_onecoldfox 2019-04-24 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Mildmay felt the flinch, but she relaxed into it right after, so that was okay. More of the good kinda hurt.

"And it can stop bullets?" They didn't have guns in Mélusine, but Mildmay'd learned about 'em here. And he knew enough about ways to kill a body to know what kinda damage they could do. Anything that could stop one... that was something.

Felix'd say whether Corbie could learn it hung on what kinda metaphors she used. But Mildmay woulda bet she could learn it, if somebody taught her.
st_onecoldfox: (happy)

Re: Mildmay/Valkyrie - Lessons in Relaxation

[personal profile] st_onecoldfox 2019-04-24 07:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ain't enough ho- wizards here," Mildmay suggested, his always slurred voice as flat as ever. But someone who knew him, or knew how to listen well enough, they might here the humor behind the words.

"Not that punching one of 'em usually ends up all that good for the one with the fist."
st_andingtall: (Default)

Re: OTA

[personal profile] st_andingtall 2019-04-25 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
The corners of Sam's mouth quirked, not quite a full smile. "You probably have at least until she can say the magic word for the broom. But you might be screwed as far as Vax goes. Apparently aunts and uncles are known the world over for undermining parental discipline."
Edited 2019-04-25 04:22 (UTC)
st_warhammer: (excited toby)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_warhammer 2019-04-26 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
Toby had to wonder if his friends on Earth were one of the reasons why Thor's trolls weren't there. His eyes grew wide at the thought of Thor stopping them, "what'd you do?"
st_eampunk: (Default)

Re: Mildmay & Molly

[personal profile] st_eampunk 2019-04-26 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
"Yep, it can." Molly nodded, "I'm not sure how it would do with machine gun fire, some bullets might get through but regular guns, the shield will definitely stop those."
st_ormbreaker: (Well actually.)

Re: Thor & Toby

[personal profile] st_ormbreaker 2019-04-26 06:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"I helped drive them out," Thor answers, intentionally avoiding the specifics. "Being Protector of the Nine Realms means I have to keep the peace."

And sometimes, keeping the peace wasn't always a clean job.
st_allionofdoom: (hands on hips but sassily)

Re: Mildmay/Valkyrie - Lessons in Relaxation

[personal profile] st_allionofdoom 2019-04-26 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
As Mildmay finished his work, Valkyrie rose to sit, letting the warm and scented towel rest on her shoulders. She rolled her head from side to side and indulged in the sensation. She could feel all the ways her blood pumped and her muscles knit neatly together, her skin taught.

"How long have you been here?" She asked, legs finding their way over the side of the table.
st_onecoldfox: (the fox)

Re: Mildmay & Molly

[personal profile] st_onecoldfox 2019-04-27 06:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Huh."

He couldn't help it. Mildmay was who Keeper'd made him. The questions were coming quick as he knew how to move, but he stuck to just one.

"C'n people see it? Or is it one of those magic things that's there but invisible?" 'Til it came around and bit somebody on the ass.
st_onecoldfox: (diffident)

Re: Mildmay/Valkyrie - Lessons in Relaxation

[personal profile] st_onecoldfox 2019-04-27 06:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Watching the way she moved, Mildmay didn't know how anybody could miss she knew how to fight, when it seemed so obvious to him. But there were flats plenty, and wizards too, who didn't know to look for that kinda thing. Not as many here, but...

But she was asking him a question.

"Almost a indiction," he answered automatically, before reminding himself to use the flashie calendar. "Be a year in..." a decad and five, and he stopped to think "a couple weeks." Way the fuck too long, and not long enough for him to stop looking for Felix over his shoulder or thinking he needed to go find him before he got into too much trouble only to remember, again, that Felix wasn't here.

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