[ somehow this is the least surprising development of anything, the carrying. aquila's passing by one of the portraits, not really paying attention to them, and when she points out one in particular, he pauses and backtracks.
... ] Hm. [ you know. that's actually probably kind of concerning. ] You know, that's the first time I've seen it. It might just be decoration from a guest - it is just a painting.
[ but aquila has the mouth of a crow, so, naturally, as soon as he says that, there's a sort of familiar swirl of shadows, the world goes black, and they're both sucked into a painting.
specifically this painting! wow. lup gets to find out two immediate things. the bad news - she is no longer being carried. her feet are on... some approximation of the ground? the surface is solid, but it looks as though she's standing on the very stars themselves, her footsteps rippling the reflection of dark blue melting into a setting sun and tiny, twinkling white lights. in fact, that's almost all she can see - stars, for thousands and thousands of miles, twinkling bright and beautiful, and the moon hanging in the distance, though nearly close enough that perhaps with enough running, you could reach out and jump to touch it.
the second piece of good news is that aquila, despite no longer carrying his cargo, is not too far away. on the other side of the large brushstroke of the milky way like a river is another figure. he's a little further away, just visible against the backdrop of all the stars, and he's still clearly in his uniform, though with something like this layered over the top of it. ]
-- Lup, are you alright? [ like, immediately, concerned, and holding a position a bit like a startled cat - he immediately jogs over towards the edge of that galaxy river. this is the first time this has happened to aquila this week, ]
well, first, this is the prettiest place she's ever been in, and she gets stuck staring at the stars, expression a little overwhelmed. she looks up, and then down, disoriented by standing right in the middle of something so picturesque... until she notices her clothes.
that gets her to grin a little, and she swooshes her skirts, lifting the sleeves and looking over them with a happy little sound. neat. this is the first time this has happened to her, too, but she doesn't seem too pressed... it's not dangerous. yet?]
Oh - what? Yeah. I'm fine. [but aquila gets her attention, so she moves to the river as well. a pause. and then she sort of does a twirl? like, look at this shit.]
okay, good. he has to talk kind of loudly to be heard considering the distance between them, but, aquila is like visibly relieved when he can tell that lup is fine and things are. probably not abhorrently dangerous, currently. he's not off of his guard, but watching lup just twirl around like that does get him to laugh, a little. there she goes. ]
All the stars here couldn't dream to be half as lovely as you. [ this is flirty and warm, rough tone for now abandoned for the sake of something more familiar. aquila seems perfectly at home in the outfit he's wearing over his usual uniform, absently tucking his gloved hands in the sleeves and watching her twirl.
it seems perfectly safe for now. just. they are not getting anywhere near each other any time soon. the river of the milky way's stars swirl and rush like rapids. ] Looks like we've been pulled into the painting.
[gross, that's the worst, don't compliment her!! her ears go a little pink, and she valiantly ignores that fact.]
Apparently. I'd be more surprised, but uh, I'm kind of out of surprise. Like things happen now and I'm just like sure! Why not. [she peers at the river, and crouches down to look at it. she wants to put her hand in it. so she does? she puts her hand in the star river.] Are you okay?
... The robes look sort of silly over the uniform, but I like them.
That's not a bad outlook - be ready for the surprise to come so you can handle it when it does. [ this hotel tends to be very surprising.
as lup puts her hand in the river, she'll find that it swirling around her hand, responsive, and then tugging, gently. it's more playful than it is anything else, more coaxing, like trying to get her to leap in. the star river is deep by sight, though, and the wide and choppy surface is likely dangerous. like if you leapt in, you'd be swallowed up by the galaxy whole.
aquila watches her from the opposite shoreline, and then huffs a laugh, reaching for the bottom and doing a turn so she can see the full thing. they match! his has bird motifs up the back of it. ]
Not what I'd usually wear. [ tongue in cheek, there. aquila, please, ] But, I think I do too. I'm alright.
[she has just enough self preservation to not jump into the river. just barely. she does play a bit with the waves of it, though, swirling her fingers through the stardust, head tilting to the side as she considers.]
Always the birds. [she says, absently, and then:] Uh, how do... I get to you? The river is going to kick my butt to next Sunday if I get in.
[there's a flicker of a thought - of this being old news. she can never reach.]
aquila tilts their head, thinking. how do i get to you...
... something occurs to them, and they make a soft noise of realization. ]
.... Birds. [ what. ] That's exactly how. There should be... [
as they say this, a bird flies across the beautiful starlit painting, arcing in a path. there are three or four of them, two on each side of the river; they dive and move around, not paying attention to the two people and seemingly just enjoying their joyride. aquila laughs, a little, actually, because, wow, yeah, she really got it, it's always the birds. ] They're magpies. We'd need to get them over here, and probably more than that.
[ in the distance near the moon, another small flock seems to be milling around between the starlight. ]
You are very good at chasing birds. [ this makes them laugh, tone a little indulgent and playful. (sheila voice) please get therapy
aquila looks around, for a moment, assessing - and then points. there's a spot where the starry land is even on both sides, potentially a place for an anchor. ] There. Let's chase as many over as we can.
[ you know who is like terminally bad with animals
aquila
who is now going to also start harassing a magpie? he's going to annoy these birds into behaving, taking off at a run to start chasing after one. this is incredibly stupid actually ]
[she laughs at that first part, making a face at them.
and then just. watches him be annoying at birds? this is such a way to do this. not that lup is really any better - animals don't hate her, but she's a pro at being annoying. so she just copies aquila, chasing a bird across the riverbank and hissing at them like a cat. hello, why are you a dumbass.]
[ this is incredibly dumb. aquila hears her hissing and just - laughs, throws his head back and laughs when she hisses. this treatment is effective of these birds - they squawk and flutter all over the place, and some tug at her cute princessy dress as they go by, occasionally attempting to steal jewels off of it, but they are moving towards that thinner point on the riverbank.
aquila's caught a magpie by its tail feathers, meanwhile, and says something to it, and then just tosses it to join its bretheren. slowly, slowly, the birds are starting to form up, creating a shape that looks something like the beginnings of a bridge. ]
There - there, it's working. Shouldn't be too many more! [ they juke at a bird so it squawks, startled, and flies to join the others. terrible. ]
[she tries to make sure her jewels don't get stolen, batting at the birds that get up in her business. but otherwise - she doesn't have that hard of a time getting the birds where she wants them to be.]
Don't - don't grab them, they're not toys. [she scolds lightly, laughing, as she sees him just grab a magpie by the feathers?? bro]
they're laughing, tossing another magpie in that direction. and, with that done - another large group swirls around lup in a flutter of white feathers, all very disney princess, and then they land. as the magpies all join together, they form the shape of a bridge - now large enough on lup's side that she could climb most of the way across. there's still a little gap.
aquila stops goofing off and comes to stand on the other bank. ]
[she gently sets a magpie down by the bridge, as they all settle around her. she feels like a disney princess, and it has her smiling hard enough to make her face hurt. she directs them to the bridge, and then:]
I think so. [she says, thoughtfully.] My dex score is pretty high.
... You gonna catch me if I don't make it? [she asks, leaning forward a little over the gap, grinning at him.]
[ it is all very disney - fluttering silk and flying hair, all lit up by starlight as lup makes her running descent to the soft chirping and cooing of these well corralled magpies, and aquila's ready.
he catches her easily, as light as air, not even stumbling a step for the graceful clothes or the weight of another body, and with the bright lights of the stars, you could see his smile, gaze turned upwards, warm and easy.
he goes ahead and gives her a twirl when he does to stave off some of the momentum so they don't go crashing to the ground, and doesn't set her down, either. ]
[her heart is thudding in her ears, when he catches her.
she's bright pink, all the way to the tips of her ears, by the time he twirls, and she just - holds onto him, expression a whole lot of things at once. she has to take a second to figure out how to remember to speak.
and what she wants to say nearly escapes her, but she can't. she has to talk around it, and it kills her. there's so much going on in her head that she can't even hope to unravel it.
a beat.]
Someone - someone I knew used to call me that. [she says, full of emotion.] ... Used to call them baobei in return.
he shouldn't react, not really - and it's hard not to feel swept up in that rush of emotion, with the way lup is looking back at him, with the sound of her voice, and... with that little term of endearment, too. it always -
...
he has to swallow a little, around familiar butterflies, and aquila doesn't break eye contact, can't, really, can't look away, and when he talks, it's affected and soft, in a way he couldn't even begin to hide. ]
[the connection between them feels - vibrant. and she just smiles, a little, when he answers. she smiles, and she thinks, I miss you, fiercely, she misses his smile and the way he looks at her, and maybe that's even stronger than any words. stronger than any love - a bond deep feeling of it being right, to be around someone.
she wants desperately to yank that veil off his face, but she doesn't.
instead, she just holds onto him, tightly, and doesn't say anything at all, because if she does, she's going to end up saying something stupid.]
[ aquila would also love to rip this veil off of his face!!!
it's bittersweet - it fits the story they found themselves walking in to, in some retrospects. there's a barrier, there, something preventing reunion, a responsibility and a duty. aquila's no stranger to either, but the old stories about being able to watch someone from afar that you love, unable to reach them almost all of the time... they resonate more than they ever really have before. that distant kind of love is beautiful on paper. in reality, it's hard not to be greedy.
he sets her down slowly, hands still at her waist. an exit to the portrait opens behind them, but for the moment, he lets it be, and holds on just as tight, leaning over a little and eventually just pressing their foreheads together, settling like that among all the stars. another little snatched moment. another little peach blossom spring.
he's the first to speak, maybe unsurprisingly. quietly, though. ] I like the sound of that word. Baobei. [ i love it when you say it, even if he can't say that, has to play like he's never heard it in his life, like it doesn't touch in all the right places of love and patriotism and all the things that make aquila - well. that make him who he is. ]
It's a word that... has meant a lot to me, in the past.
[she says finally, keeping their foreheads together. there's a long pause, as she tries to sort out what she feels, what she wants to say. none of it, it seems, not like this. but. the feelings, she'll take. it's just another little piece of resolve. she wants out of here, and she'll get them out.
she finally pulls away just a little. not far.]
You were supposed to get me coffee. [she teases, soft.] We should leave, before the birds attack us or something.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
guestservices) wrote2022-06-09 12:18 pm
no subject
she is fascinated by the portraits on the wall, actually? she peers at them...]
Oh, pretty. Were those always there?
no subject
... ] Hm. [ you know. that's actually probably kind of concerning. ] You know, that's the first time I've seen it. It might just be decoration from a guest - it is just a painting.
[ but aquila has the mouth of a crow, so, naturally, as soon as he says that, there's a sort of familiar swirl of shadows, the world goes black, and they're both sucked into a painting.
specifically this painting! wow. lup gets to find out two immediate things. the bad news - she is no longer being carried. her feet are on... some approximation of the ground? the surface is solid, but it looks as though she's standing on the very stars themselves, her footsteps rippling the reflection of dark blue melting into a setting sun and tiny, twinkling white lights. in fact, that's almost all she can see - stars, for thousands and thousands of miles, twinkling bright and beautiful, and the moon hanging in the distance, though nearly close enough that perhaps with enough running, you could reach out and jump to touch it.
the good news is she's in princess clothes? wow. swooshy!!
the second piece of good news is that aquila, despite no longer carrying his cargo, is not too far away. on the other side of the large brushstroke of the milky way like a river is another figure. he's a little further away, just visible against the backdrop of all the stars, and he's still clearly in his uniform, though with something like this layered over the top of it. ]
-- Lup, are you alright? [ like, immediately, concerned, and holding a position a bit like a startled cat - he immediately jogs over towards the edge of that galaxy river. this is the first time this has happened to aquila this week, ]
no subject
well, first, this is the prettiest place she's ever been in, and she gets stuck staring at the stars, expression a little overwhelmed. she looks up, and then down, disoriented by standing right in the middle of something so picturesque... until she notices her clothes.
that gets her to grin a little, and she swooshes her skirts, lifting the sleeves and looking over them with a happy little sound. neat. this is the first time this has happened to her, too, but she doesn't seem too pressed... it's not dangerous. yet?]
Oh - what? Yeah. I'm fine. [but aquila gets her attention, so she moves to the river as well. a pause. and then she sort of does a twirl? like, look at this shit.]
Look! Look how pretty I am.
no subject
okay, good. he has to talk kind of loudly to be heard considering the distance between them, but, aquila is like visibly relieved when he can tell that lup is fine and things are. probably not abhorrently dangerous, currently. he's not off of his guard, but watching lup just twirl around like that does get him to laugh, a little. there she goes. ]
All the stars here couldn't dream to be half as lovely as you. [ this is flirty and warm, rough tone for now abandoned for the sake of something more familiar. aquila seems perfectly at home in the outfit he's wearing over his usual uniform, absently tucking his gloved hands in the sleeves and watching her twirl.
it seems perfectly safe for now. just. they are not getting anywhere near each other any time soon. the river of the milky way's stars swirl and rush like rapids. ] Looks like we've been pulled into the painting.
no subject
Apparently. I'd be more surprised, but uh, I'm kind of out of surprise. Like things happen now and I'm just like sure! Why not. [she peers at the river, and crouches down to look at it. she wants to put her hand in it. so she does? she puts her hand in the star river.] Are you okay?
... The robes look sort of silly over the uniform, but I like them.
no subject
That's not a bad outlook - be ready for the surprise to come so you can handle it when it does. [ this hotel tends to be very surprising.
as lup puts her hand in the river, she'll find that it swirling around her hand, responsive, and then tugging, gently. it's more playful than it is anything else, more coaxing, like trying to get her to leap in. the star river is deep by sight, though, and the wide and choppy surface is likely dangerous. like if you leapt in, you'd be swallowed up by the galaxy whole.
aquila watches her from the opposite shoreline, and then huffs a laugh, reaching for the bottom and doing a turn so she can see the full thing. they match! his has bird motifs up the back of it. ]
Not what I'd usually wear. [ tongue in cheek, there. aquila, please, ] But, I think I do too. I'm alright.
no subject
Always the birds. [she says, absently, and then:] Uh, how do... I get to you? The river is going to kick my butt to next Sunday if I get in.
[there's a flicker of a thought - of this being old news. she can never reach.]
no subject
aquila tilts their head, thinking. how do i get to you...
... something occurs to them, and they make a soft noise of realization. ]
.... Birds. [ what. ] That's exactly how. There should be... [
as they say this, a bird flies across the beautiful starlit painting, arcing in a path. there are three or four of them, two on each side of the river; they dive and move around, not paying attention to the two people and seemingly just enjoying their joyride. aquila laughs, a little, actually, because, wow, yeah, she really got it, it's always the birds. ] They're magpies. We'd need to get them over here, and probably more than that.
[ in the distance near the moon, another small flock seems to be milling around between the starlight. ]
no subject
but, oh! birds! she peers up at them as they dive.] Get them over where? I'm good at bird chasing. Just direct me wherever.
no subject
aquila looks around, for a moment, assessing - and then points. there's a spot where the starry land is even on both sides, potentially a place for an anchor. ] There. Let's chase as many over as we can.
[ you know who is like terminally bad with animals
aquila
who is now going to also start harassing a magpie? he's going to annoy these birds into behaving, taking off at a run to start chasing after one. this is incredibly stupid actually ]
no subject
and then just. watches him be annoying at birds? this is such a way to do this. not that lup is really any better - animals don't hate her, but she's a pro at being annoying. so she just copies aquila, chasing a bird across the riverbank and hissing at them like a cat. hello, why are you a dumbass.]
no subject
aquila's caught a magpie by its tail feathers, meanwhile, and says something to it, and then just tosses it to join its bretheren. slowly, slowly, the birds are starting to form up, creating a shape that looks something like the beginnings of a bridge. ]
There - there, it's working. Shouldn't be too many more! [ they juke at a bird so it squawks, startled, and flies to join the others. terrible. ]
no subject
Don't - don't grab them, they're not toys. [she scolds lightly, laughing, as she sees him just grab a magpie by the feathers?? bro]
no subject
[ stop
they're laughing, tossing another magpie in that direction. and, with that done - another large group swirls around lup in a flutter of white feathers, all very disney princess, and then they land. as the magpies all join together, they form the shape of a bridge - now large enough on lup's side that she could climb most of the way across. there's still a little gap.
aquila stops goofing off and comes to stand on the other bank. ]
What do you think? Can you jump?
no subject
I think so. [she says, thoughtfully.] My dex score is pretty high.
... You gonna catch me if I don't make it? [she asks, leaning forward a little over the gap, grinning at him.]
no subject
Always.
no subject
she doesn't hesitate, then. she backs up - and then runs and jumps. they can have her trust.]
no subject
he catches her easily, as light as air, not even stumbling a step for the graceful clothes or the weight of another body, and with the bright lights of the stars, you could see his smile, gaze turned upwards, warm and easy.
he goes ahead and gives her a twirl when he does to stave off some of the momentum so they don't go crashing to the ground, and doesn't set her down, either. ]
Hello, darling. [ c: ]
no subject
she's bright pink, all the way to the tips of her ears, by the time he twirls, and she just - holds onto him, expression a whole lot of things at once. she has to take a second to figure out how to remember to speak.
and what she wants to say nearly escapes her, but she can't. she has to talk around it, and it kills her. there's so much going on in her head that she can't even hope to unravel it.
a beat.]
Someone - someone I knew used to call me that. [she says, full of emotion.] ... Used to call them baobei in return.
no subject
he shouldn't react, not really - and it's hard not to feel swept up in that rush of emotion, with the way lup is looking back at him, with the sound of her voice, and... with that little term of endearment, too. it always -
...
he has to swallow a little, around familiar butterflies, and aquila doesn't break eye contact, can't, really, can't look away, and when he talks, it's affected and soft, in a way he couldn't even begin to hide. ]
What a lucky man he must have been.
no subject
she wants desperately to yank that veil off his face, but she doesn't.
instead, she just holds onto him, tightly, and doesn't say anything at all, because if she does, she's going to end up saying something stupid.]
no subject
it's bittersweet - it fits the story they found themselves walking in to, in some retrospects. there's a barrier, there, something preventing reunion, a responsibility and a duty. aquila's no stranger to either, but the old stories about being able to watch someone from afar that you love, unable to reach them almost all of the time... they resonate more than they ever really have before. that distant kind of love is beautiful on paper. in reality, it's hard not to be greedy.
he sets her down slowly, hands still at her waist. an exit to the portrait opens behind them, but for the moment, he lets it be, and holds on just as tight, leaning over a little and eventually just pressing their foreheads together, settling like that among all the stars. another little snatched moment. another little peach blossom spring.
he's the first to speak, maybe unsurprisingly. quietly, though. ] I like the sound of that word. Baobei. [ i love it when you say it, even if he can't say that, has to play like he's never heard it in his life, like it doesn't touch in all the right places of love and patriotism and all the things that make aquila - well. that make him who he is. ]
no subject
[she says finally, keeping their foreheads together. there's a long pause, as she tries to sort out what she feels, what she wants to say. none of it, it seems, not like this. but. the feelings, she'll take. it's just another little piece of resolve. she wants out of here, and she'll get them out.
she finally pulls away just a little. not far.]
You were supposed to get me coffee. [she teases, soft.] We should leave, before the birds attack us or something.