milliways_bar | (no subject)

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[OOM: The Threat and the Arrival.]

Those out on the grounds can hear the hoofbeats of a horse. The creature in question, a chestnut mare, slows a bit at the unfamiliar area. Her masked rider looks around, unsure of what might have changed. As far as he knows, they're still in Heinrich's kingdom.

Aren't they?

In any case, the sudden summer heat is making wearing his mask and cloak a chore. He takes the mask off (a familiar mask) and wipes a few dots of perspiration from his face (a familiar face). He tugs his hood down and, his peripheral vision now completely unhindered, spies the stables and the bar. Having spent the better part of the afternoon on his ride exploring his new home, now seems an excellent time to eat.

With that thought in mind, the Knight guides the mare to the stables and heads for the back door on foot.

[OOC: See profile for more information.]

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[ooc: *griiiiiiin* Would you be interested in moving our previous thread over here and continuing from there?]

[ooc: I would! Though depending on when the encounter happens, it might be more blatantly obvious who Lohengrin is this time around.]

[Very little has happened to Fakir since the previous post -- his place on the timeline basically hasn't moved. If Lohengrin responds differently or looks different, Fakir's reactions will change accordingly, I figure.

REINCARNATION PARTY!]

[I mean within the context of the post, as Lohengrin actually has his mask this time around.]

On the grass between the stables and the lake door, a teenage boy practices his sword extensions. His form isn't bad, actually, although there's something not quite natural about it--

Fakir looks up. His eyebrows come down. He stares.

He spots the boy as he's undoing the latch on his cloak, pausing mid-act as his steps slow.

Lohengrin is good at containing his shock. (That will likely change later when the three-headed dog tromps out.) Doppelgangers aren't a good sign.

But that isn't necessarily the case. Surely this youth is some relative of his, perhaps one of his aunt's sons that he has yet to meet?

So the knight raises one hand in greeting, part of his cloak dropping from his shoulder.

Fakir wonders. You're not dressed like a student, or a smith, or a bookseller. You look like -- you look like a picture.

You look like me.

Who are you?

Fakir meets the knight's eyes and raises his sword in the fencer's salute. It's a plain sword with a simple handle, meant for battle. Fakir inherited it from a long-ago knight. In a way.

~~Unless Fakir's name is suddenly Gottfried, no. No he did not.~~

Lohengrin puts his cloak over his arm and nods at the salute. Something about the sword prickles at his brain but he's not sure why.

"You are some kin of my aunt?" he guesses, giving in to curiosity. "A cousin come to see me in Heinrich's kingdom?"

Fakir sheaths the sword in the scabbard belted at his hip.

"I don't know of King Heinrich," Fakir answers. The kings rarely have names, in the stories Fakir reads. He's heard of the King, the Prince, the king of the next kingdom, the Knight and the Green Knight, but not of King Heinrich. "You're not in his kingdom now. This land is called Milliways."

As for the question of kin...

"My name is Fakir, son of" -- Fakir names his parents -- "of Gold Crown Town. Who are you?"

"I'm not?"

That would explain why the weather is suddenly warmer than where he was.

The question is met with a start and a sudden glance upward. He just got here and he might have to leave? Thank goodness he had the sense to warn Elsa before she could ask.

But there is no sign of the swan's return.

"It looks like you are right, Fakir," he says, confused, before looking back at the boy.

And then, with a bit of reluctance, "I am Lohengrin."

Another skyward check but there are still no swans.

Lohengrin, like the opera? Fakir has only heard snatches of it, here and there in music halls, and in the everpresent background music of Gold Crown Town. What he does know, he won't speak of.

"Welcome, Lohengrin," he says. "I don't know how we get here or why. I don't think anyone does. I'm told it's the end of the universe, a meeting place where many lands meet."

Only half of Fakir's attention is on the conversation. Who is this man, and why does he look like me?

That would be good for everyone involved.

"A meeting place where many lands meet at the end of the universe? Truly?"

It looks so terrestrial.

"And apparently I needn't worry about my identity here."

Or perhaps the swan can't reach the end of the universe? Though the horse certainly could.

"So I'm told. If you go inside," Fakir gestures towards the building, "there's a window that shows burning stars."

At Lohengrin's mention of identity, Fakir raises his heavy eyebrows. "Do you worry about it somewhere else?"

Burning stars? This boy can just switch gears to talking about his identity after casually bringing up burning stars?

And then there's the problem of how much to say. The rules don't seem to apply here the way they do in the kingdom. But he doesn't know this boy. What if this is a plot? A trap laid by the monstrous Raven?

But if it were, wouldn't the swan be here?

"Ah, yes," he does answer. "Something is foul in Heinrich's kingdom. Being too known would compromise my work."

"Mm." Fakir bends his head in a quick understanding nod.

Whatever Lohengrin is doing in Heinrich's kingdom is a private quest, and a secret. Fakir won't ask any more questions about it.

Since he's not very good at changing the subject, Fakir says nothing at all.

Edited 2012-07-26 01:37 (UTC)

This is fine for Lohengrin, who can get back to what he really wants to discuss.

"Burning stars?"

"I'll show you." Fakir points to the building door, with a thoughtless, graceful arm extension that points to his ballet training rather than to his swordsmanship. "Follow me."

It seems like everybody knows ballet except for Lohengrin.

But he nods and follows Fakir inside.

Fakir opens the lake door for Lohengrin. Inside the bar, he nods his chin towards the Observation Window, where the stars are busily exploding. "There."

Knights do not gape.

But Lohengrin comes really close.

They also do not run. On the contrary, he seems rooted to the spot.

He's going to need a moment or five.

"It never stops," Fakir says quietly.

He waits, still and serious, while Lohengrin watches the Window.

"Never?"

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