[continued from The Nexus Christmas Special III!]
"I see... I think. Gonna fill Angelita in on things before I try it. She prolly don't care for being left in the dark... and I can't say I blame 'er." The possibility of the experiment not working at best, or totally losing her at worst, is forcefully thrust to the back of [Jack's] mind. \\Try being an optimist for once,\\ he berates himself.
Even her mystical dress seems subdued, curling plaintively around the edges as she floats to the love seat; there to curl against an arm and gaze out once more at the merrymakers, in a somber air of patience.
Ignorant of the musings of Angelita in his absence, Jack steps through the door, closing it behind him. He heads over to her, and hugs her close. "Well, Angelita, I talked with Rinaldo, and I'm gonna try somethin', but first I wanted to fill you in on what's up. There's another door leadin' to another part of Kuranes' place, and Rinaldo thinks that there might be a way into Kuranes' castle from there, where I might be able to find him an' git this whole mess straightened out. Think ya can wait a few more minutes while I try?"
The solemn cast to her face melts away as she catches sight of the mammoth of a man, moving his way through the crowd towards her. An achingly hopeful look in her eyes, she stands from the love seat, opening her arms to him as he curls his arms around her. She leans into his embrace, rubbing her face against his chest like a cat, marking him with her scent, marking him as hers.
As he speaks, she lets out a little sigh of resignation at the thought of parting so quickly. // So quickly found, so quickly lost. // She winces a little at the unwelcome thought and pushes the burgeoning sense of pessimism down and away from her heart. Pessimism had no place in a fantasy world, not in _her_ fantasy world.
The vaguest hints of a wry grin briefly cross his lips at the resigned sigh.
Throwing back her head, short hair swirling with the sudden movement, she smiles bravely up into the eyes of her love, "I will wait for you Jack." //Always. // She forces her hands to loosen their grip off his space suit. Her reluctance to part even seen in the magical fabric which surrounds her; slowly flowing away from where it had been caressing his form.
"I'll try not to be too long," Jack says earnestly as he meets her gaze, his own embrace as reluctant to end as hers. He turns towards the door, and opens it, suddenly stopping in the doorway.
"I think I might've misplaced the restaurant..."
She starts to turn away, the ethereal white material flowing and curling about her as if comforting her with its embrace. At his words and the lack of joyous noise coming through the open doorway, Angie's face brightens with her curiosity and she turns back towards Jack, floating across to him. Her hands touching his back, curling around to his sides as she peeks around his massive form, looking out the doorway.
Absently, he drifts towards one side of the door, although with his bulk it still doesn't leave too much of a margin for visibility around the gray wall.
A few blinks as Angie takes the change of scenery in and her lips slowly draw upward into an impish and delighted smile. She recognizes the decor from another time and the fact that it echoed the decor in the room they already were in. Plaster scored walls, resembling blocks of cut stone. The dark wainscotting rising from floor to almost hip height, running the course of what hallway she could see. The leaf embossed cornice seperating wall from ceiling. Yes, she definitely remembered this.
"Jack." She holds him tight for a quick moment, cheek against his back, "This is it! This is the mansion." The slender woman tries to sneak around her love, as water will flow easily around an inert object placed within its path. Eyes sparkling with excitement and happiness, an infectious smile blooming on her delicate face.
The pachyderm's own face lights up with a smile of its own, and not just from the angelic woman slipping around his massive form. Though Jack is large, the doorway isn't tiny, either, giving just enough space for a slender woman, like Angelita, to slip around him.
He wraps an arm about Angie, hugging her tightly to his side. "Gee, this looks familiar," he says with a wry grin. He takes a careful step out into the hallway, and almost bumps into the butler Jack met at the previous Christmas party. "Hey, I remember you. Mind doin' us a favor... or rathah two favors? One, how about pointin' us to some food? I'm starvin'. An' two, let your boss know he's got guests."
The butler blinks at the elephantine apparition lumbering out of a room that should be empty, but he quickly regains his butlerly composure. "I'm sorry... was His Majesty expecting you? Well, no matter. I'll inform him straightaway, of course.
"As to food: Fortunately, His Majesty -was- expecting certain other guests, and there is plenty of food to be had. If you will follow me, I shall fetch you some."
Angie stares in fascination at the caterpillar-like eyebrows which crawl up and down the slope of the man's forehead in surprise when Jack trundles into view. She remembered this man and she gives him a delighted grin with the recognition. "Thank you for your kindness."
"Yeah, what she said," Donelds adds with a grin.
The slender woman stays within the curl of Jack's arm, luxuriating in the warmth of his body heat and the sensation of being held without the thought of pain marring the action. This dream realm was a wish come true and she was determined to savor every moment of it. // Speaking of savoring ... //
"Food." The words drips from her lips like leftover honey from a purloined honey jar, "Do you suppose ... maybe ... there would be strawberries and chocolate sauce?" Her voice is plaintive without being whiney and she gazes upon the butler with a wishful, wistful look.
"Hon, I'm guessin' that if they ain't here, they can be. Like the great sage Brooks said, 'it's good to be da king'," Jack says with a grin, giving the angel under his arm a gentle squeeze.
"I'm sure your friend is right," the butler assures Angie.
The two follow the butler down the hall, until they reach the door to the library. "We'll wait out here while ya go an' announce us," he says to the butler.
"Very good, sir."
[continued from The Nexus Christmas Special III!]
Kuranes blinks in surprise as he wanders back into the library from the great hall to find that someone's been sitting in -his- chair.
"Hello," he says affably to Vincent. "Wander in from the party, did you?"
Vincent jerks slightly, having not heard Kuranes' entrance,--which indicates the level to which he had relaxed--and stands swifly. "Yes, I did." He bows slightly, glances around, then asks politely, "Might I ask why there is a door connecting the Dreamlands to Rinaldo's Restaurant?"
"Certainly, you may ask, and I should be happy to to tell you as much as I can. In short, it is there as a favor to a mutual friend of Rinaldo and myself who is in particular need of communication with the Waking World from the Lands of Dream. More than that, I would not say without said friend's leave.
"But! As you have found the door, you are more than welcome to stay as long as you like. Any friend of Rinaldo's is always welcome in fair Celephais. And, unless I am quite mistaken, this is not your first trip hither."
"Sir?" comes the butler's voice from the library door.
"Yes?"
"Begging your pardon, sir, but it seems two other guests have arrived upstairs -- a rather elephant-like gentleman, and a lovely floating lady in a rather ethereal costume. I believe they were both your guests at last year's Christmas celebration.
"Ah, that would be Angie and Jack!" says Kuranes in fond surprise. "I wasn't expecting to see them. How nice! I wonder how -they- arrived... Well, no matter. Please, send them down!"
The butler bows and returns to fetch Angie and Jack. "His Majesty will see you now," he tells them.
"Thanks," the gray giant replies, turning sideways to step through the door, Angie still under his arm. "Hey, Kuranes, hope ya don't mind me droppin' by. Seems one of tha the portals from Rinaldos' place went screwy, an' left me here." With a warm smile to Angie, he adds, "Not that I exactly _mind_ bein' here, anyhow..."
Even with his huge size, Jack would have no trouble pulling Angie along. She was as light as a feather, as substantial as whisper; the only discernable clue to her mass was the fact that she _felt_ solid to the touch. Her smile echoes the behemoth's and she squeezes his arm in response.
"Why, of -course- I don't mind!" Kuranes replies warmly. "All my friends are -always- welcome."
"Well, that sure as he...ck beats the usual greetin' when I show up uninvited," Donelds jokes, catching himself before voicing the mild vulgarity.
Almost as an afterthought, he nods to Vincent. "Hiya," he greets in his deep, rumbling voice. \\Pleasant looking fellow...\\ is the first thought that comes to Jack, the tone dry enough to make the Sahara appear to be an ocean.
Vincent gives a polite nod in return, but says nothing. He has no discernable reaction to Jack's physique, but internally he wonders where -this- being came from.
Angie's face echoes the delight she feels at being recognized by the king. And he considered her a friend?! Suddenly she felt very warm, the feeling of goodwill and joy suffusing through her, filling her almost to the point of bursting.
"I am so happy to see you, to be here once again." Her lips tremble with the smile she gives Kuranes and she quickly looks away, not wanting to tear up at just a greeting. // No need to act like a complete ninny. //
Her gaze lands on the other person in the room and her smile fades, dimming in its wattage as she takes in the other person in the room. There were some people you just took to, naturally gravitating towards as if they had some magnetic force. In this man, she felt the force, but it repulsed more than attracted and she simply stares at him uncertainly for a moment, the glow of wonderment fading from her face.
Eventually realizing she has been staring rather rudely at the man, she nods in greeting, saying a soft, "Hello."
Jack casually follows Angie's gaze as he notices the subtle shift in her demeanor, and subconsciously holds her a little tighter as he realizes the source of that shift, his embrace of the woman now also with a bit of protectiveness.
Vincent nods slightly in return, but says nothing. Despite his unwillingness to talk to these people just yet, Vincent is oddly curious about what they're doing here (and together).
"Well!" says Kuranes, stepping deftly into the growing gap in the conversation. "Now that you are all here, how may I make your stay in my land more pleasant? (Aside from preparing a repast for you, which is being done as we speak.)"
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