Players:
Summary: Two of the kidnapped cope with boredom, being human, and all that that entails.
Date: March 3, 2012
Log Title: Captive Talk
Rating: PG
Romania - Tower - Jill's Suite
A plush velvety carpet with a intricate leafy pattern in red and white lines the entire floor of the room. Dark blue fabric with a similar style patterns line the walls of the of the room where it meets a white curved white ceiling. Golden decor trims the curves of the ceiling in intricate swirls, circles and lines and the ceiling forms a sort of arches across the room. A large chandelier hangs from the high ceiling and lights the room with a bright glow. Two marble pillars come down from the arches to the floor to form a sort of chamber for a large four poster bed.
The bed is sideways against the wall and is surrounded on three sides by dark blue bed curtains that match the walls. Plush pillows lie against the bed's velvet and silk linens and tall decorative headboard. The top frame of the bed is gilded with much detail and design. Across the bed on the other wall sits an elegant dresser in front of a large ornate mirror with perfumes, exquisite hairbrushes, combs and other beauty products necessary for a woman.
In the middle of the room sits a golden table with a black top decorated with reds and with two velvet plush arm chairs on either side. In the middle of the table is a porcelain tea set that seems to always be filled with a rich hot chocolate and a tray with an assortment of pastries that always seems to replenish itself.
The room always seems to be the perfect temperate of comfort from a white details fire place against one of the walls. A large mirror rests behind the mantle which is decorated with two golden candelabras and a golden clock. The candles in the candelabras are always lit, flickering gently, and never seem to neither melt nor get lower. A large white and gold dresser sits along the opposite wall filled with gowns made of silk and the most decadent linens.
Igor is either remiss in his cleaning duties or has been rebuffed in his attempts to do so. Jill's elegant suite is a mess. The gold and black tea table, as well as the dressing table turned writing desk, are completely overrun with debris. The tea set and pastries have been moved onto the bed to make more room for a sewing basket full of spools of thread in different colors, small piles of coins from around the world, and more than a dozen decks of seemingly antique playing cards. More than two dozen, in fact, if one were to count carefully. Jill can be found at the dressing table, candelabra nearby and a large, sharp pair of dressmaker's shears making careful cuts to one unfortunate deck of cards. She stops frequently to make notes on a sheet of fine writing paper with an actual crow's feather quill and inkwell.
In what may prove the most elegant urgent dash of her life Evelyn hammers on Jill's door, slips it open and springs inside. Somehow managing not to mess up her elaborately done hair or, more of a concern, tripping over the ballgown she's wearing. "Jill! There are letters from our kidnapper. Did you get one? It's saying he wants to meet us for a meal… Wait a second… Are… Are you marking those cards?"
*snip* A tiny sliver from the edge of the card curls away under the shears, thin as a needle, and falls into her lap. Jill brushes it off her skirt and onto the floor to join a growing pile of others like it. "Ahh, well, sort of?" the girl hedges, laying down the card and scissors carefully. "Marking kind of implies I'd be able to tell which card is which by looking at the backs, so in that case, no. Altering them, though? … Pretty much, yeah." The chair slides back and she stands, smoothing out wrinkles in the pale green silk. "I did get a letter, actually. But there's no time or date on it," she adds with a slight frown.
Evelyn raises an eyebrow. "Altering them?" she enquires. "Given the surroundings I would hope we'll get proper warning before a meal! It took me two hours to do my hair this morning and if I wasn't for all those years at boarding school I'm not sure I'd have ever managed to get myself into this dress without help. Plus I'm starting to miss my unstable molecule outfit, it was so much more comfortable than this stuff." She sighs, then glances around for the least expensive looking bit of furniture to perch on. "How're you handling being fleshy again? Is it weird?"
"Altering them," Jill confirms with self-satisfied nod, but doesn't explain further. Magicians are very careful about their secrets, whether mystical or mundane. She fishes around on the dressing table before finding her own invitation and reviewing it briefly. "I guess we'll just get another letter when it's time. I know I can't get dressed in some of these things without help. Rashmi had to pull my corset strings." The blonde girl briefly gets an expression of some remembered pain or discomfort, then moves to the bed to fetch the serving tray and bring it back to the center of the room, offering Evelyn a cup of hot chocolate like a good hostess. "It's… weird, yeah. But, I mean, there are a lot of good things. Like I missed brushing my hair, or being able to sleep in a proper bed. I still… I don't feel quite used to it. I was a liquid for so long, I guess I forgot how a lot of it really feels."
"Uhm… No thank you," Evelyn says, frowning slightly at the offered beverage. "It'll make me unwell. Whatever they're doing to change us isn't fixing my stomach very well. It's why I'm so nervous about having to eat a meal with whoever took us! I mean it's pretty unpleasant the stuff I can safely eat and what if he sees that and decides he wants rid of me." She waits a few moments, then adds "You do know those cards are likely antiques worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars depending on the period? If the rest of our cells are anything to go by that is."
Jill frowns, putting the teapot and shortbread cookies back down gently. "Oh, right. Your stomach. Sorry. I keep forgetting. It just seems like, if they could make me all human again, they could fix that pretty easy too." She sits gently in one of the velvet-covered armchairs and pours herself a cup, glancing at the stack of playing card boxes on the other end of the table. "See, I was worried about that too. But then I thought, if they're just magicked out of thin air, they aren't really worth anything to start with." Her lips purse and her eyes narrow a bit. "Plus, I'm *bored* and I wanna *do* something. And if everybody else is as bored as I am, maybe I could do something that's fun for you guys, too."
Evelyn winces. "I really don't want to think that this entire place is made from magic," she admits. "What if we defeat our kidnapper and it all vanishes? That's a long way to fall even for you in goo form." She waves her hand. "It's probably because he doesn't understand how the digestive system works. I'm properly human again, but the bacteria and stuff living in me is now all wrong."
Surreptitiously, Jill lowers a hand beneath the table's surface and feels at her own stomach. No, nothing amiss, at least as far as she can tell. "I'm sorry it's not, ah, working out for you," the blonde girl offers apologetically. "I haven't really noticed anything wrong with me, but… everything still sorta feels a little wrong, to be honest. My hair gets all dirty if I don't clean it, I get hungry like two or three times a… day, night, whatever…"
"You mean you're normal again," Evelyn points out with a giggle. "You'd just got used to not needing to wash your hair. Odd question, but did you ever actually shower while you were a mutant? I mean I'd have been worried sick about going down the drain…"
"Of course I showered," Jill replies, sounding a little offended. "It'd be kind of gross not to. And… umm…" She fidgets, occupying herself briefly with her teacup. "I was kind of worried about drains and stuff. But more the big ones in streets and sidewalks, but when I have to- *had* to sleep in a bathtub, I was always afraid the drain plug would slip off and…" Jill trails off.
Evelyn tilts her head. "I didn't mean it like that! It's just I didn't think you could actually sweat or anything like that which would mean the only dirt is stuff which gets on you from elsewhere. Something does worry me about all this, you're not thinking about staying here so you can be normal are you? I mean you can't think that just because our 'host' made us like this that they're not so bad….. Just…. Promise you won't do anything crazy like agree to stay here, okay?"
"Well, I still had dead skin, or whatever, to shed. And if I didn't do it in the shower, it'd get all over the inside of my tank." The blonde girl doesn't immediately address Evelyn's worried question, staring into her teacup of hot chocolate. "Well… No, I guess not," she says breathily after a pause. "I don't like it here, and I hate the fact that we're basically prisoners. But if I could leave and still keep… this?" Jill's head lifts and she looks into Evelyn's eyes seriously for a moment. "I… I don't know. That'd be pretty big, y'know? I'm not like most of the other kids at the school who get some cool power and still look like everybody else."
"I think your power is cool," Evelyn declares, leaning forward on the edge of her chair. "Far cooler than mine at least. Having a tail and being able to terrify anything so long as it's smaller than a pigeon are hardly to die for powers."
The teacup comes to rest gently on its saucer with a gentle *clink* sound. Jill fidgets more, straightening her long silk skirt. "So you wouldn't take it if you could be human again?" she asks as casually as she can. "Like, tummy issues aside, or fixed, or whatever. Bein' able to go out without a disguise, not having to worry about anti-mutant bigots or the government passing some anti-mutant law?"
Evelyn glances down at her feet. "Jill from what they told me when I first came to Xavier’s if I don't change back I'll die," she murmurs. "Or maybe if I'm lucky I'll need to stay on a drip feed for the rest of my life. Besides your government passing laws isn't much of a problem for me. I can always move somewhere else, help my dad out on location in places where it's rare to even see people let alone mutants."
Jill goes quiet, eyes focused down at her hands in her lap. Her soft, pink, entirely human hands. "Sorry…" she mumbles softly. "I didn't know." Her head hangs lower and her shoulders slacken, not looking up at Evelyn anymore.
Evelyn forces a smile. "No-one else does. Look it's probably not all that bad and it'll take weeks before any serious problems start," she assures with a confidence which doesn't quite reach her eyes. "And once I'm back if I /am/ still normal I bet the school medical facility could do some kind of swap. Clear all the weird stuff out and replace it with regular boring bacteria and so on…. Anyway uhm oh! Have you seen any of the musical instruments they have in this place?"
"Or maybe if Sophie still had her powers…" Jill thinks aloud in a near-whisper but doesn't pursue the thought further. She shakes her head sadly and reaches for a cookie from the tray. "The what?" The blonde girl stops suddenly, arm still outstretched but treat unclaimed. "What musical instruments?"
"You sound like you play?" Evelyn asks with a genuine giggle. "I asked for a violin and Igor brought out a freaking perfect condition, golden period Stradivarius. I literally could not bring myself to touch it for fear I would damage it somehow. I don't care if we're held by all the worlds worst dictators merged into one jerk I won't risk ruining a violin like that."
Jill's mouth hangs open for a silent moment. "A Stradivarius." Her head dips to regard Evelyn curiously with raised eyebrows. "You're kidding, right? Like, THE most expensive musical instruments in the *entire world*?" The girl's fingers move slightly, automatically in a kind of want-it need-it grabby motion. "W-where is it?" she asks quickly.
Evelyn shrugs. "I dunno, Igor took it away with him after I refused to even touch it," she admits. "I wouldn't lie about something like that. It looked genuine too, I've seen the markings inside a real one before at this /ultra boring/ diplomatic function my mom took me along too. The guy hosting it heard I played and insisted I come look at his prize possession."
Jill's little grabby-hands wilt. "You gave it *back*?" She sounds incredulous. "B-but, they're so rare, almost nobody ever gets to play one! They're so rare, every single one has a *name*! I've never even seen one!" The girl actually looks hurt by the loss of it, upset to the point of rising halfway out of her chair. "They're worth-… they sound-…"
"Whoa Jill calm down! It's not like they've taken it away forever," Evelyn says, hands held up. "You can always ask if you could play it. I'm sure if they let /me/ look then they'll let you too. Especially if you promise to be careful…. I guess you play the violin too then? Have you been playing long?"
On being commanded, Jill calms down, sinking back into the plush velvet armchair and looking more than a bit ashamed of herself. "Sorry, it's just… y'know," she excuses vaguely. "Y-yeah, for about ten years or so? I don't, like, do any competitions or anything, 'cause I don't think I'm good enough. I just sorta play for fun and 'cause I like it." Her face screws up with annoyance. "I'm stupid. I didn't even think to ask for a violin or anything, just stuff for magic tricks to try and entertain everybody. Music would probably be better, huh?"
Evelyn tilts her head, then drops her hands into her lap. "No worse than me asking for one and then refusing to play it because it's too nice," she notes wryly. "I've been playing almost as long, but I didn't actually choose to start. It was something my mom wanted me to do and it helped me fit in with people at boarding school so I kinda kept at it. I just don't have the knack for playing really well, I feel way too clumsy."
"I have a feeling Nana got me to start playing because she wanted it, too. It was right after I went to live with her and… stuff was really messed up," Jill explains, glossing over a lot. "She wanted me to have a hobby, something to focus on instead of my parents, y'know?" The girl gives a soft laugh. "I hated it, at first, but she spent so much money on lessons and buying me a violin, I felt kinda obligated not to disappoint her. Turns out it did kinda help." She leans forward and reaches across the table, completely unladylike, and squeezes Evelyn's shoulder. "Maybe we should play together, huh? For everyone else?"
Evelyn bites her lip. "You think maybe they have another violin I could try? I mean he can't have two freakin' Stradivarius violins. No matter who it is. Then we'd know for sure this is all fake! Actually that's a pretty great idea, we can relax and gain some more information about this place all at the same time. Just promise you won't pick anything difficult to play?"
Jill gives the shoulder another reassuring squeeze. "If he can wrangle up a Stradivarius just 'cause you asked for a violin, finding two less expensive ones shouldn't be a problem, I think. Still… getting two of them?" Her blue eyes positively twinkle at the thought and she can't suppress a gleeful smile. It takes a moment for her to come back to Earth, or wherever it is they are. "No, no, nothing too complicated. Though I dunno how much the others'd enjoy listening to classical music anyway. We could just play around, play whatever we wanted. Can you play by ear or do you need sheet music?"
"I can play by ear for most things," Evelyn tentatively replies, smiling. "And I think they'll enjoy just about anything more than spending half the day getting into these dresses and the rest trying to get back out again."
"No kidding," Jill agrees, pulling at the collar of her house dress. Even though it's by far one of the plainer things available to her, it still took an inordinate amount of time to don properly. "Now I understand why people used to have maids and butlers and stuff. It wasn't just to do the cleaning, it was so they could get dressed in under an hour. Seriously, one word that could speed the whole thing up?" She pauses for dramatic effect, spreading her hands like she's planning an advertising billboard. "Zippers."
Evelyn giggles. "I never thought I'd say this but god do I miss walking about in my unstable molecule underwear. Took a little while to get used to it clinging, but I swear to god it's the most comfortable thing you can imagine wearing. I think some of these outfits are fitted with barbed wire from the way they chafe. Although I guess I do suit the corsets."
Jill's cheeks flush pink and she lowers her head, voice dropping to a secretive volume. "I know, right? Sometimes… I'd just wear my squad uniform under the rest of my clothes. Y'know, in case I have to go all gooey so I wouldn't wind up naked. I mean, I still think cotton's more comfortable, but it doesn't stay with me." A pause. "Didn't."
"No big secret but I rarely even bothered with clothes on top," Evelyn admits without a trace of embarrassment. "Why bother when I'd shift into a cat, shred them while getting free and then come back to find them missing or ruined? Guess the school is lucky I didn't get your ability, I wouldn't have felt clothing was required if I could just slime shape myself to not have anything people could look at."
The blonde girl squeezes her hands between her knees and the blush grows deeper. "Well, I, uh… I did that anyways." Her eyes flick sideways, as if making doubly sure there's nobody else around to hear her. "It's like, most of the time it's not really necessary anyway. So why bother having… all that… if it doesn't serve any purpose, y'know?"
Evelyn frowns. "It's scary just how much you could just ignore isn't it? You didn't need lungs, organs, blood or anything. All because every cell was so badass it could do everything by itself. Anyway what piece should we play for everyone? Something upbeat I think, maybe Chopin's Waltz of the puppy done on violin? I know it's usually a piano piece but…."
Jill reaches up to scratch bashfully behind her ear. "But now I'm having to deal with it all again. All of it. It's kind… inconvenient." Grateful for a shift in topic away from her very personal anatomy, she steeples her fingers in thought. "I don't think I know that one, but we could fake it. Or do whatever we wanted to. Theme songs from TV shows or cartoons, dueling banjos… or violins, I guess. Just… y'know? Something happy, I guess. Maybe remind them of home a bit." Jill grins, eyes dropping down to her lap. "Even if it's Spongebob Squarepants or something."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Reminding people of Spongebob is only going to convince them to stay here," Evelyn jokes, clapping with amusement. "I'll see if I remember it well enough to maybe teach you… We should try make it varied because I think we've got a pretty diverse group. Sophie won't be reminded of home by the same things as Rashmi or Star."
"We'll figure something out. Between us, we probably know enough songs to entertain for one evening, at the very least," assures Jill thoughtfully, picking up her teacup once more. It is still fresh and steaming hot, despite how long she's let it sit, so she blows on it gently before lifting it to her lips. "I've just… kinda… got a bad feeling. Like once we do get to meet the master of this house, just staying entertained isn't gonna be at the top of anybody's priorities anymore." In a careful guarded silence, she drinks.
Evelyn nods. "No, because that's when we find out just how vital escaping really is…. And I have this horrible feeling that it'll turn out to be pretty damn urgent. Anyway I think I might head back to my room and do some 'air violin' to make sure I don't totally suck."
Replacing the cup on its saucer, Jill rises to give Evelyn a tentative hug before she can leave. "If… if you wanna talk about anything, I'll probably be in here workin' on stuff. I'm just trying to stay busy, y'know?" Letting her hands drop slowly to her sides, Jill manages a smile warmer and brighter than she feels. "Not really anywhere else to go, yeah?"
"It's just like being back at one of the all girls boarding schools I was at. Except fewer nuns," Evelyn agrees ruefully, returning the hug and then carefully standing so she doesn't trip over her dress. "Likewise, if you need to talk at any point just drop in. Or if you need your hair and outfit sorting. Just uhm… Don't come round expecting snacks. Mine aren't nearly as enjoyable."
