open | my name was captain kidd and god's laws i did forbid

[unmanned]

Who: James Kidd and YOU
What: Checking out the castle.
When: This evening.
Where: Inside and outside! Choose A or B ;)
Rating: PG13



a.

[Magical castle. Books that listen. A life in her that she'd never thought she'd feel again. It's enough to stun her into silence, force her to sit on the edge of the nearby bed. She's dressed in her mismatched clothes, taken from here and there and layered however she's liked, and nothing makes sense. The room she's in is finer than any she'd ever seen left unoccupied, and it's upon staring at the walls that it occurs to her that she should probably look out the window.

Christ, Read. Keep yourself together.

Not long after seeing that outside is a winter wonderland that certainly wouldn't occur in the part of the world she was in last (last), she steels herself at the door before opening it to find a way outside.

No need for anyone to see James Kidd scaling down the walls of this place so soon.]


b.

[Finally outside, James steps off the obvious paths into the snow into the deeper piles, the cold piling up to his boots. There's a lot he's seen and a lot he thinks he understands, but there's an almost childlike wonder at this place.]

Hang me...

[It's under an exhale as he looks up at the castle. There was no going back to Kingston from here.]

Comments

[assassino]

[Ezio has a long day.

Well, sort of. Perhaps it's been less of a long day and more of a non-stop one: waking up next to one woman, joining her for breakfast, heading back to his place to bathe and change, running into another lady friend, spending some time in her good company, then back upstairs to train, another bath and change of clothes, an hour-long nap, a late lunch, and so on, and so on. He's been on-the-go all day and the fun just never stops with Ezio Auditore. He hasn't even met Stephanie for desserts yet...

And then he sees someone peculiar up ahead, off the path. Not recognizable, of course, but Ezio has an eye for clothing and there's a marked difference between "modern" clothing and the clothing he is used to. This boy falls notably towards his side of the spectrum, but the boy also dresses in such a mismatched way that Ezio cannot tell if he's trying to pose as nobility without good taste or if other parts of Europe are plagued by foul ideas about fashion. Compared to Ezio, who is dressed in his fine linen shirt and embroidered doublet and fitted leather pants with a deep green wool cloak, the boy looks like an absolute disaster.

So Ezio whistles to get the boy's attention, his voice suggesting laughter but not quite there yet.]

You're going to ruin your boots, doing that.

[unmanned]

[It hasn't escaped James that his dress was a little different when it came to the souls he passed in the halls. He's not sure he's supposed to be thinking time rather than place, but this man at least carries some familiarity, more than the others. Much too lavish and clean for his taste, but there will be time later to comment on that. Is there such a thing as rich men in a castle like this?

James is feeling like he's yet to find his legs. Looking levelly at this stranger--Italian, by the accent--is just as dizzying at looking up at the castle. Everything is off. Even his own voice sounds far away as he replies.]

Replacements hard to come by here, are they?

[He flipped through the journal enough to gather that no, they aren't.]

[assassino]

[Ezio chuckles.]

No... but that does not mean you want to be sloshing around for the rest of the day, and it does seem rather careless to punish good boots so unnecessarily. You will figure it out, novellino.

[He's flippant, almost dismissive, and then he makes as if to keep walking on his way.]

[unmanned]

Right hospitable place this is. [He's matching his outfit.] Any other advice to spare? Or do folk in this castle live such grand, busy lives that they don't have the time?

[James doesn't take a step to follow, arms crossing over his chest. Really, he doesn't care for the man's attitude, but nor does he really care about getting any assistance. There are others to get information out of. This one is just conveniently near.]

[assassino]

[Ezio glances back just once, and it's to gloat.]

I do not know about others, but mine is certainly grand and busy enough. I'm off to see my third lady-friend of the day! Get your bearings and you'll be doing the same in no time.

[Have a knowing grin at that, too, the kind shared between guys. Congratulate him, little bro, he's getting ~mad pussy action.~]

[unmanned]

[It's immensely aggravating to hear him talk so easily, not so much about the subject but because the cold, damp floors of that Jamaican prison aren't far from mind. Fun stopped a long time ago.

His tone makes James press his teeth together for a hard moment, but he sounds casual as ever when he continues to talk.]

I'm afraid I might lack your charms, mate.

["You're a dick," is what the returned smile says.]

[assassino]

[Ezio shrugs, though he's still smirking.]

More for me, then!

[And then he's off.]

[unmanned]

Is that all you do in your time here? [Oh, going to the castle? The city? James has decided to head that way, too. He's in no hurry to catch up, but remains within earshot.]

Content to leave Rome or wherever it is you're from behind?

[assassino]

[That does get Ezio too look again, though it's with a snort.]

Rome? No, no, I am from Firenze. Do you English people think we Italians are all the same? I am a Florentine, we sound nothing like Romans.

a;

[lucre]

[ Strangely dressed people are a dime a dozen here, but even here the man's outfit stands out. It's the red sash on his head that catches her attention first. A turban, like Djem's, and dark skin similar to his. This man's eyes are less kind however, sharper in many ways.

She slows to a stop, standing still in the middle of the hallway and hopefully blocking enough of his path. Her skirts are long and flowing. If nothing else, she does offer him a friendly smile. ]

You would need a thicker coat.

[unmanned]

[It's not often James sees women dressed so finely. Then again, it's not often James finds himself in a magical castle such as this. He's all mismatched and dirty cheeks and a barely contained confusion, but he comes to a stop a respectable distance away.]

Can't say I've ever had need for one.

[Meaning he doesn't have one. He's gathered he can ask the castle for one, though the idea is still just a little too absurd for him to try himself.]

[lucre]

[ In that case, she'll have to be the one to slowly step closer, respectable or not. He seems unfamiliar to her and she is presumptuous enough to believe she knows about everyone in the castle. ]

Now you do.

[unmanned]

[The respectable part was mostly for her sake. He's sure this is a proper lady, and proper ladies don't often mix with pirates. Or Assassins.]

Perhaps it'd be wisest for me to stay in.

[Not forever, but he'll get outside eventually. James is in no rush to feel the cold.]

[lucre]

Perhaps.

[ There are many kinds of so-called proper ladies and this one's more intrigued than frightened by pirates. James might find Lucrezia only means to circle around him to survey his strange outfit. ]

But the wise are often dull.

[unmanned]

[He only turns his head to watch her circle like a shark, arms relaxed at his sides despite the urge to cross them over his chest. If any were to find out his secret so fast, it would be a woman. So he forces himself to do the opposite as he would around a man.]

What would you say there's most of in this place, love?

[lucre]

[ La Bella Farnese might find out his secret more quickly, but Lucrezia is easier still to beguile. She is too amused by the patchwork of mismatched fabric that makes his outfit, even taking a beat to reply because she's so distracted. She chuckles. ]

Snow. Comings and goings. Everything. [ When all can be wished for. But then-- ] Am I your love?

[unmanned]

Lovely, certainly. But I'll mind my words, lest there be any nimble fathers lurking in these halls.

[A slow end, a mystical land, and a pretty girl. If there's a laugh in James' voice, it's because all of this is ridiculous.]

b!!

[hellofist]

[New people always have the same kind of look to them, their body language always reads pretty much the same way: where the fuck am I and who brought me here? Sometimes it's tempered by sorrow or helplessness, but this is new. Childlike wonder, maybe, but it's just nice to see someone actually impressed right off the bat instead of angry at being kidnapped.

Maybe that's just her being protective of this place, though. Paradisa has been good to her, so when Cass sees people who appreciate it it kind of makes for an instant fondness for them. Plus he's wandering off the path on purpose, that has to make for an interesting person.]

Finding anything interesting, over there?

[unmanned]

Only snow around a majestic castle.

[A humorous reply because this all still makes him want to laugh. He's pretty sure this isn't an afterlife of any sort, because his Heaven nor his Hell would have a castle.]

[hellofist]

Can see that... from the path, though. Do you see more, over there?

[She doubts a different angle actually makes a difference, but she likes this person for trying. This person with the increasingly interesting body language, who looks like he's hiding something without putting much thought to it. It's intriguing, so Cass takes a few steps off the path as well, coming closer to see things from his point of view.

And to see his body language up close, of course.]

[unmanned]

[She speaks strangely, this girl, but as long as James can understand her he doesn't care to ask about it. His posture is relaxed as she comes closer. The cold is a bother but there's enough blood pumping through his veins to keep it tolerable.]

Aye, I do. Less that's been trodden on.

[The best snow is the untouched snow.]

[hellofist]

Until now.

[She nods to the tracks he's left on his trek through the snow, stopping once she's reached his side. He's handsome, but there's more to it than that and it only makes her more curious. It's been awhile since she's had a challenge quite like this.]

Think you see more, though. When looking at castle. Most people... don't like it much.

[unmanned]

[Generally, he would see more, but for some reason his Sense is dulled--or not there at all. Shock, he supposes. It feels like looking at the world through a fogged glass.]

Are you most people, lass? What's it you see when you look at this castle?

[hellofist]

Lass?

[That's a new one, and it makes Cass grin a bit to herself. It's muted though, watching his realization that he's lacking something. It must be his loss, she thinks, but of course there's no point in asking. It would just be rude, after all.]

I see home. I like it here.

[unmanned]

Girl. That's what it means.

[He doesn't talk to many women, though not out of avoidance. Anne comes to mind--screaming and rattling the bars of their cells, swearing at those cowardly soldiers--and he forces himself to not dwell on her for long. God only knows what happened to her. And Kenway.]

Been pleasant enough so far, for the short time I've been here. I take it you're no native of the place.