#y2 thread 19

[toa-masquerade]

So, underwater huh? Impressive, you can’t help but stare in awe at the projections freely swimming around, though a part of you almost feels a sense of unease in how real they seem. Fake world or not, it’s time to have a look and explore what this Viscount Something has to offer. “...” You stare at a sea urchin, or so it fits what you know about sea urchins, which isn’t a lot. But it’s rotund, spiky all over, and stuck to a rock. If you get really close, you can almost see its spikes swiveling, as if it were walking very slowly…yikes. These underwater critters were a different brand of bizarre. “These things can peck the hell out of you, right? Is it poisonous or can I just grab it?”

[toa-masquerade]

She mulled over the stranger's words for a moment. Truth be told, she didn't have the slightest clue who the stranger could be. Someone from far away, someone older, someone who seemed to mourn the loss of the creature they wore as a mask. Their calm demeanor narrowed it down, but not by much. 

She thought for another moment. Did the name matter so much? It couldn't matter as much as their character, a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet after all.

She settles on her answer, folding her hands in her lap.

"A friend."

The appearance of one of the playful rays fills you with a sense of wonder, and you can't help but let out a small chuckle at the way it naturally gravitates towards the person next to you. This time, however, you do not extend your own hand-- completely content with watching the debacle unfold.

"I am not young by any means," You begin, trepidation in your tone. "Yet I still find that I know so little. I suppose one night is not enough time for you to teach me everything." The thought saddens you briefly, but you recall the promise made at the beginning of this evening, and it quickly brings a hint of a smile back to your face.

"I agreed to your conditions initially, in regards to revealing my identity. Truthfully, I was not certain when I acquiesced." 

A small pause follows. "Yet now I am certain. I cannot pass up an opportunity to continue to learn from you- in any capacity." 

"However... I ask of you one thing before I continue. Who do you believe me to be?" 

[toa-masquerade]

"The stars are quite lovely. Perhaps next year..."

As the stranger hands over a charm, their brow knits in confusion and curiosity. "What strange illusion magic, I've never come across anything like it." Taking the charm and feeling for the shape didn't seem to help either. It was like grasping at water...

"Here," they held out their own charm, finding it looked like it was surrounded by a small bubble of murky sea. "I hope it is a pleasant surprise when the night ends."

"The sea." They smile. "I don't get to see it often, so it stuns me every time. Perhaps I take the sky for granted, perhaps I'd change my mind if we were dancing among the stars..." 

"But I am enjoying this dance. I would not want to be anywhere else." 

They take their charm, and hand it over. Its shape is unrecognisable. "I see the masquerade's magic goes this far... I'm afraid to say it isn't an interesting seashell, but I hope you'll appreciate it regardless." 

[toa-masquerade]

"Hum hum. Yes, I see..."

"Do not tell me you are taking notes."

"Nothing so morbid. I am only committing to mind that, should I ever meet them with their mask off, I should stay away from our rodent friend as often as possible!" They laugh, boisterous but light. "I kid. Forgive me, for that was quite rude!"

The pair of faces sigh in unison.

"Wolves... you must have quite a fascination with them to watch them as you do. I commend your patience and your bravery!"

"B-but," the weeping face whimpers, "why is it so wrong for us to talk the way we do? Amongst ourselves. Doesn't everyone?"

“When you say it like that it makes me look like a public menace! I’m not walking around trying to eat people.” You pause, humming as you plan your response. “Well, if something is alive, then they’re definitely resisting. Kicking, biting, you know all of that. If you’re in a group that is coordinated correctly, you can assign different members to hold down the victim while others dig in, then you take turns to ensure everyone has something.”

Spoken like a true weirdo. “I only know that because I’ve watched wolves hunt, mind you.”

You blink under the mask, pursing your lips, before falling on a chuckle that sounded perhaps darker than it should. “Oops, my bad. Got a little too specific there. Anyway, you haven’t explained why you got a two-in-one type of deal!”

[toa-masquerade]

“When you say it like that it makes me look like a public menace! I’m not walking around trying to eat people.” You pause, humming as you plan your response. “Well, if something is alive, then they’re definitely resisting. Kicking, biting, you know all of that. If you’re in a group that is coordinated correctly, you can assign different members to hold down the victim while others dig in, then you take turns to ensure everyone has something.”

Spoken like a true weirdo. “I only know that because I’ve watched wolves hunt, mind you.”

You blink under the mask, pursing your lips, before falling on a chuckle that sounded perhaps darker than it should. “Oops, my bad. Got a little too specific there. Anyway, you haven’t explained why you got a two-in-one type of deal!”

"Hmm, that's fair."

"No, that's not! Grabbing a poisonous animal and asking about your problems are not the same!"

"Hush. Anyways, now that we can meet on even ground, might I note that you seem to have put a lot of thought into the logistics of cannibalism. Bravo! It is not often I hear such detailed planning for it. I'm curious why you say that eating something alive while in a group is more practical than if they were alone?"

"CAN YOU PLEASE NOT ENGAGE IN THIS KIND OF DISCUSSION WHILE I'M HERE?"

"You are always here."

"EXACTLY. SO STOP."

The grinning face sighs. "My apologies. My other half is rather... skittish. Might we table this conversation for another time?"

[toa-masquerade]

"Hmm, that's fair."

"No, that's not! Grabbing a poisonous animal and asking about your problems are not the same!"

"Hush. Anyways, now that we can meet on even ground, might I note that you seem to have put a lot of thought into the logistics of cannibalism. Bravo! It is not often I hear such detailed planning for it. I'm curious why you say that eating something alive while in a group is more practical than if they were alone?"

"CAN YOU PLEASE NOT ENGAGE IN THIS KIND OF DISCUSSION WHILE I'M HERE?"

"You are always here."

"EXACTLY. SO STOP."

The grinning face sighs. "My apologies. My other half is rather... skittish. Might we table this conversation for another time?"

Wow, that person sure was eccentric. Shrugging off the bizarrely graphic possibilities on how they could be consumed, you decided to just be direct about it. “If I had to eat you for whatever reason I’d just kill you first, to be honest. Eating something while they’re still alive is unnecessarily cruel, and also pretty impractical. Unless you’re in a group, on that case it becomes highly practical. But then you need a lot of coordination to make it work.”

You realize that it really doesn’t look good for you to talk about the logistics of possible cannibalism, but you don’t really mind at this point. They’re all wearing these masks, nobody would know.

You gesture at them. “It’s natural, no? You talk about me in my rat-ness grabbing this little urchin guy off this rock and that I look like some kind of freak doing it, and I call you out on your internal issues. A fair trade if I do say so myself!”

[toa-masquerade]

Wow, that person sure was eccentric. Shrugging off the bizarrely graphic possibilities on how they could be consumed, you decided to just be direct about it. “If I had to eat you for whatever reason I’d just kill you first, to be honest. Eating something while they’re still alive is unnecessarily cruel, and also pretty impractical. Unless you’re in a group, on that case it becomes highly practical. But then you need a lot of coordination to make it work.”

You realize that it really doesn’t look good for you to talk about the logistics of possible cannibalism, but you don’t really mind at this point. They’re all wearing these masks, nobody would know.

You gesture at them. “It’s natural, no? You talk about me in my rat-ness grabbing this little urchin guy off this rock and that I look like some kind of freak doing it, and I call you out on your internal issues. A fair trade if I do say so myself!”

The grinning face hums. "Touché."

The weeping face screams. "WHAT?!"

"Edible how? Because certainly, it is possible to eat a human. But if you were, perchance, flesh-hungry, how would you do it? Where would you bite first? My leg, so that I do not run? Or my arm, if you are wanting for muscle? Not that I would have much for you, I'm afraid."

"Are you insane? Can you stop giving them ideas?! They just said that we're EDIBLE! No person without ulterior motive just says that!"

And now both pause, tilting their head to address the rat's new question. "Hmm? Problems?" the grinning face asks.

"Why would you ask that? That's weirdly invasive, not to mention uncalled for," the weeping face mutters.

[toa-masquerade]

The grinning face hums. "Touché."

The weeping face screams. "WHAT?!"

"Edible how? Because certainly, it is possible to eat a human. But if you were, perchance, flesh-hungry, how would you do it? Where would you bite first? My leg, so that I do not run? Or my arm, if you are wanting for muscle? Not that I would have much for you, I'm afraid."

"Are you insane? Can you stop giving them ideas?! They just said that we're EDIBLE! No person without ulterior motive just says that!"

And now both pause, tilting their head to address the rat's new question. "Hmm? Problems?" the grinning face asks.

"Why would you ask that? That's weirdly invasive, not to mention uncalled for," the weeping face mutters.

“Mind your business! A rat can look at cool stuff in the ocean too, huh!” What a rude person, laughing at you like that out of the blue when all you want is to know if the spiky fellow here is edible! “Everything is edible out there, so what’s wrong about asking? You’re edible too.”

You can’t help but raise a brow at the one-person conflict. A bit of a pickle, isn’t it? To fight with yourself like that. At the same time, for all the laughing directed at you for looking weird, they’re acting weird too.

“Uuuuuuh no not really. Confused, maybe. Do you like, have any problems you’d like to talk about or something? You know, talking to yourself like that, etc etc?”

[toa-masquerade]

“Mind your business! A rat can look at cool stuff in the ocean too, huh!” What a rude person, laughing at you like that out of the blue when all you want is to know if the spiky fellow here is edible! “Everything is edible out there, so what’s wrong about asking? You’re edible too.”

You can’t help but raise a brow at the one-person conflict. A bit of a pickle, isn’t it? To fight with yourself like that. At the same time, for all the laughing directed at you for looking weird, they’re acting weird too.

“Uuuuuuh no not really. Confused, maybe. Do you like, have any problems you’d like to talk about or something? You know, talking to yourself like that, etc etc?”

"Why the laughter, they ask! HA HA HHHHA!!"The grinning face has to take a moment of pause; that last wheeze took all of their remaining breath. "My friend, you ask that while grabbing a poisonous sea-creature from its home. With a large rat mask!"

The weeping face swats at their companion. "Enough out of you! You are being horrific. Now they're going to hate you, and me by extension, because I have the misfortune of being attached to you!"

"A bit of a jump, wouldn't you say?"

"Excuse me?"

The grinning face shrugs. "All I mean to say is that your concerns are unfounded. Friendly rat-fish, bearer of urchins divine—you are not upset, are you?"

[toa-masquerade]

"Why the laughter, they ask! HA HA HHHHA!!"The grinning face has to take a moment of pause; that last wheeze took all of their remaining breath. "My friend, you ask that while grabbing a poisonous sea-creature from its home. With a large rat mask!"

The weeping face swats at their companion. "Enough out of you! You are being horrific. Now they're going to hate you, and me by extension, because I have the misfortune of being attached to you!"

"A bit of a jump, wouldn't you say?"

"Excuse me?"

The grinning face shrugs. "All I mean to say is that your concerns are unfounded. Friendly rat-fish, bearer of urchins divine—you are not upset, are you?"

You hear a double confirmation, and then a split reaction. “Woah there, you got two faces? One laughing at me even? Rude.” But you still turn around to face your newest acquaintance…if you can call them that. “What does it do? That thing’s poison? Like it can’t be that bad.” 

  As if to prove your point, you grab it regardless but lightly enough so that none of the spikes actually penetrates the skin. It’s like grabbing a balloon, with the same level of care, or at least that's what it reminds you of. “Can you even eat one of those…”

  “By the way, why the laughter?”

[toa-masquerade]

You hear a double confirmation, and then a split reaction. “Woah there, you got two faces? One laughing at me even? Rude.” But you still turn around to face your newest acquaintance…if you can call them that. “What does it do? That thing’s poison? Like it can’t be that bad.” 

  As if to prove your point, you grab it regardless but lightly enough so that none of the spikes actually penetrates the skin. It’s like grabbing a balloon, with the same level of care, or at least that's what it reminds you of. “Can you even eat one of those…”

  “By the way, why the laughter?”

"It's poisonous."

"That is poisonous."

Both sides are finally in agreement with something, but it does not last for long. The grinning face suddenly doubles over in laughter, hand over eyes, while the weeping face howls in a garbled tonic of fear and blaspheme. "OH! Good lord. What?! What the...?!"

"HA HA! HA HA HA HA!"

[toa-masquerade]

"It's poisonous."

"That is poisonous."

Both sides are finally in agreement with something, but it does not last for long. The grinning face suddenly doubles over in laughter, hand over eyes, while the weeping face howls in a garbled tonic of fear and blaspheme. "OH! Good lord. What?! What the...?!"

"HA HA! HA HA HA HA!"

So, underwater huh? Impressive, you can’t help but stare in awe at the projections freely swimming around, though a part of you almost feels a sense of unease in how real they seem. Fake world or not, it’s time to have a look and explore what this Viscount Something has to offer. “...” You stare at a sea urchin, or so it fits what you know about sea urchins, which isn’t a lot. But it’s rotund, spiky all over, and stuck to a rock. If you get really close, you can almost see its spikes swiveling, as if it were walking very slowly…yikes. These underwater critters were a different brand of bizarre. “These things can peck the hell out of you, right? Is it poisonous or can I just grab it?”

[toa-masquerade]

She watches as the starfish is returned to its home, her body begins to relax. Hearing the stranger's words, she kneels down besides them.

"I'm not as familiar with creatures of the sea." She admits. "But most creatures don't like to be picked up suddenly, it frightens them and they may hurt themselves or you to get away."

"But if you sit still and just watch them for a bit, meet them where they're at..." She was cut off by a large ray playfully splashing water at them. She couldn't help but giggle as the ray made another pass. Cautiously she stuck her hand in the water, holding it out for the ray to brush against. "They may surprise you with how friendly they are."

The ray passed by her hand several times, acting more like a cat demanding attention than one would expect a fish to react.

You seem slightly taken aback by the sudden shift, but not in a completely negative sense. It’s something you didn’t think about, considering the feelings of the creature in your hands, and you don’t give yourself time to contemplate the action before you’re already pressing your fingers against the barrier once again.

You’re gentler this time. Cautious, apologetic in the way you return the sea creature to where it came from. Your hand lingers for a moment to ensure its safety, a frown stretching across your face.

The person next to you is kind. Far more considerate than you’ve been, and it gives you pause. Perhaps it is due to your lack of experience with all manners of wildlife, but you let out a hum of thought.

“I apologize, I have brought you— and this creature— distress.” You remain crouched as your eyes stay glued to it, finally pulling your hand back to your side.

“You are kind. These things did not cross my mind in the slightest; I have not had many chances to interact with living creatures aside from our kind.” Your throat feels constricted with a bit of guilt directed at your companion.

“Do you have extensive experience…? Perhaps you can teach me of what you know. I do not wish to harm simply because I do not understand.” If anything, you wished you could have spent your life avoiding harming anything. Or anyone. Yet fate is not so kind.

[toa-masquerade]

The coral reef is beautiful, fish shyly peaking out from anemone and behind coral. With how the creatures tuck themselves away, it almost reminds her of animals hiding from a coming storm. A brave eel wiggles by before retreating to its home as the stranger forces their hand through the barrier.

She recoils in horror as they pull out a starfish, offering it to her. "I-I think you should put it back right away!" Her chest tightens. "Please! It cannot survive long out of the water, and it must be so afraid being out of it." She begs. She does want to touch the creatures, to feel the bumps and smooth scales as they wander by and explore, but the thought of doing so at the cost of the creatures lives makes her feel ill. "Please!"

You’ve always been a perceptive sort, and it’s not lost on you that the proposition may seem strange or unnerving. It simply means that you have to make up for your blunder in another way, and you weave a path through the underwater utopia until you come to stand in front of a small reef bed teeming with various sea life.

“I apologize for the quick turn of events,” you begin, gently relieving the pressure on your partner’s hand in order to give her the option to pull away if she chooses. “But I have seen many things here, all of which are new to me. I believe these moments are best shared in the company of another.”

You crouch, staring intently at some of the fish that dart in and out of the coral formations, but something else catches your eye. With a glance at your partner and a chuckle, you carefully force your hand through the magical barrier in order to snag what’s piqued your interest with lightning speed.

And you pull it back to you, through the barrier, before offering it to your companion.

“A starfish,” You muse, the feeling of its skin strange upon your hand. “Tonight is the first time I have ever held one. They are not fish despite their name… which I find to be quite odd.”

“Would you like to hold it? I assure you, it will be quite fine. I intend to return it to its humble abode before we leave.”

[toa-masquerade]

"Um!" She lets out a small squeak as she feels a gentle tug on her hand. She's enjoying herself, and the stranger seems to be too. But whatever courage the mask had given her is fading quickly as she recalls how the night began.

Her friends would scold her that going to an isolated location with a stranger who opened by talking about death was the start of a horror story. But with how crowded the event was, was there anywhere that was truly isolated here?

"O-okay." She makes the decision to trust just a little further. If this stranger betrayed her trust, well... She did already say she didn't fear death.

She allows the stranger to lead her away.

She cannot see the fond smile that breaks out across your face, but the deep chuckle that follows is enough of an indication. 

"Very well. I have no qualms with this."  You aren't here for the anonymity anyways. There are plenty of secrets that you keep, but this mask saves you from none of them. "If that is truly what you wish, then I shall gladly grant it once this eve is over."

As you lead her for a few more steps, the music has already begun to draw to a close. You let out a hum that sounds vaguely disappointed. "Already? Perhaps time does go faster when you are enjoying yourself."

She speaks as if she has few opportunities to enjoy herself in this manner... so you wrack your brain for novel entertainment. An idea comes to you rather quickly, and you keep her hand nestled in your palm. You give her the option of pulling away if she desires, though.

"Come with me. Perhaps it is bold of me to request your trust, but I will make this worth your while." 

[toa-masquerade]

She thinks for a moment as they continue to move across the dance floor.

What kind of request could she make? She didn't much care for asking things of others...

Then an idea strikes her.

"At the end of the night, tell me your name." She says simply. "I understand the point of this anonymity, and I wouldn't want to ruin your fun any more than I may have already. But... You seem like a kind person, and... And if you wouldn't mind it, perhaps we could meet again? In a less overwhelming space..."

"For what it is worth, I pray for your success. And I believe that you will find peace with yourself." 

Their story reminds you of others you know, and you can't help but resonate with their plight. The two of you sway in time with distant music in the same way that the waters beyond this bubble ripple, your hand never once loosening or leaving theirs as if it is in a show of silent solidarity. And reassurance that you will not drop them so easily. 

"I am glad to hear you are enjoying yourself. I suppose that I can say the same- you have brought me some enjoyment I did not expect to have." 

You are not here with anyone specific, and you are okay with this. These events are not what you would normally attend, but it's okay to venture out and experience something new every once in a while. 

"You and I are alike in that manner. I am not one for crowds, nor am I used to this much socialization. It is nice to shed pretenses and simply be myself. Not judged on status, appearance, or history." 

"I have made a request of you; you may make a request of me in return. I will grant your wish to the best of my ability."