ajaxthegraves

[ajaxthegraves]

"I thought most of them were ghosts now." Ajax muttered. Though that was unkind, wasn't it? It was unkind and untrue. Ajax had seen Nicholas Mulciber after all, and that man had friends. Sophisticated friends.

Ajax hummed. She had a good point. It did seem an awful lot of work for one night but people had done weirder things. Much weirder things, honestly. "I'm not sure. Suppose we'll all find out tomorrow. Hopefully all of us, anyway. Hopefully they don't leave anyone behind."

Sybill shrugged, her mind whirring away through memories of visions, the ways the war could go. "Some people just want to watch the house burn down, they don't care who gets trapped inside."

Honestly she isn't sure when there will be a chance to get out to the loch, but Sybill really will tell Nessie hello from Ajax if she does make it, and she'll sit a while to see if she talks back.

For her part, Sybill would like to get the hell out of here, but Ajax was a big boy who could make his own coices, she was just glad to have someone to bounce ideas off. "Getting dressed up, the masks... I don't think this is meant to be long term. It's a party, right? You go to a grand event and it only lasts one night. I just wonder if we'll be leaving with more than the typical hangover."

[ajaxthegraves]

Ajax watched her with fascination. Her passion and surety seemed to run deep. “You’re not a knight. I don’t think you need armor like they do.” Behind them, a younger version of her fell and fell and fell. “You’re a very interesting person. Do people tell you that often? I think maybe they should.”

"no." winnie said outright. the first death was not one that she spoke candidly about with any sort of frequency. the people who knew about the fall heard from snarky passing comments or rumors that spread about the unhinged dragon girl. otherwise the only way to know about it was if you had a ticket to the show. "I did not die the first fucking time." she seethed. "and bravery is what peons who gather together in droves desperate to celebrate mediocrity praise as if temporarily overcoming a fear you still have is some sort of feat. without fear, there is no bravery by definition. so do not lump me in with the likes of silly little knights or I'll kill you. then you can see first hand how little bravery it takes to die."

[ajaxthegraves]

Ajax glanced at her, alarmed but maybe not as surprised as he should be. Underneath all his fear was her anger. She had every right, feeling like that. Looking at them all dressed all he could feel was sad and a little lost, all the way to his bones. But he got why she was angry. Sometimes he got angry about it, too.

"An explanation would be nice." He agreed as he looked back at their parents.

the triplets always felt a certain affinity for one another in the sense that if archie broke his leg, tig felt it. when tig's thoughts wandered too sad, ajax knew to bring her happier ponderings. if ajax was silently spiraling, archie snapped him back to reality. none of them needed language to communicate fully, not really. so with locked hands, tig walked with what some might consider errant confidence through the dancing throngs, timing her steps just right between the dancers. she ignored her brother's fear bubbling in her stomach. antigone was not afraid. in fact, as ajax would likely very soon realize, she was angry, livid, and had been for quite some time. she did not stop until the charming couple could look back at them as well. there was a mixture of both excitement and trepidation in their eyes. "don't." she did not want to sit through greeting or platitudes of welcome. this was not a sweet reunion. "they need to explain first."

[ajaxthegraves]

Listen to my voice Close your frightened eyes Hide behind my love for you Fear’s only a choice One that we all must make someday So know you’re not alone in this

@xavecamour

[ajaxthegraves]

“Both red.” Ajax confirmed around the lump in his throat. He gave his sister’s hand a squeeze and wished desperately that they had Archie here to level them all. “Then we will go talk to them.” It didn’t matter if he felt scared. Right now he was Tig’s eyes, and she wanted to see their parents. So he would go. “Careful steps, this place is crowded.”

It felt like forever and no time at all before they were standing in front of them again. Face to eerie face with their parents again. Ajax could feel his chin trembling. “Hi, Mom. Dad.”

"both red." tig remembered. she was grateful for what little glimpses she could make out thanks to her brother's eyes. their mother had always dressed to the nines. elaine was more understated, like ajax, and preferred to express herself through a means that did not require words. their father simply wore whatever his wife suggested. it didn't really matter since people paid more attention to john's smile anyway. he was quite like archie in that way. "I want to talk to them."

[ajaxthegraves]

"All of us though? Even the mean ones?" He'd certainly seen very of the scariest people from school completely off-kilter. Ajax was relatively certain he'd seen a few of them crying. No one was having fun with their ghosts, which did seem a shame. It was hardly the ghosts fault after all.

"Thanks, Sybs." he said earnestly. He really did miss Nessie. Getting to go sese Loch Ness for the first time had been one of the few highlights of the first few years he'd lived here. "She's a good critter, it's not her fault the authorities got all worked up."

Could they leave, if they all put their heads together? Would Ajax even want to? He wasn't entirely sure. "Suppose whether or not they care about the damage we create depends on how long they plan on keeping us all here. We probably shouldn't eat any of the food though. In case it's like Persephone."

Sybill glanced at him, her brows furrowed, "can't you?" She questioned, a bit surprised. True, she couldn't point her finger at one lone culprit, but she could certainly put together a list. Hell, she had one tucked into her sofa cushions just incase.

"I'll tell her." She assured him, shaking her head, "don't go under a lie, that won't help your cause any." It was a habit Sybill was guilty of herself far too often, keeping things so carefully under wraps.

So coreographed in some ways, but not others. "They're confident that none of us would be able to figure out how to leave if we put our heads together." She summised, sighing. "They don't think we can do any damage together, they don't need to supervise or control us beyond.. What, timing and location?"

[ajaxthegraves]

Ajax reached out and held his sister's hand tightly. "They look the same. They're dressed up for a party. Like New Years, or Christmas. Mom's wearing her hair all nice. Dad's got that tie Archie always liked." He hadn't stopped looking at them. He longed to go over there just as badly as he couldn't move.

where; ballroom with; open

antigone could hear it all. the swells of the music, the hushed whispers of the living, and the lively chatter of the ghosts. there were so many voices she recognized that were out of place and time. her mother's faint drawl caused tig to lift her fingers to again trail over the mask that completely covered both eyes. "I-" her voice broke. "I can't see them."

[ajaxthegraves]

where; ballroom whomst; open

Ajax stared across the ballroom, transfixed. "Mom? Dad?"

[ajaxthegraves]

He shrugged. "Who knows. It seems to target everyone equal opportunity, I can't imagine who would want everyone all off kilter." Except for maybe the Muggles, but this had magic written all over it. Maybe they teamed up with someone. This wasn't really the brand of mystery he liked solving though.

"Would you really?" He asked, perking up. "I could probably get some Polyjuice and visit under a disguise, but that just feels so dishonest. I don't want to see her as someone else."

Ajax took a moment to redirect himself, wrapped in thoughts of Nessie. "Dunno, I haven't noticed too many patterns about who's grouping where. Suppose they want us all in the dining room eventually."

Sybill shakes her head, "I don't see why anyone would want us displaced that far out of our environment." London was at the heart of the whole fight. They had to still be there. "Aha, not reassuring, but certainly good to know."

She listened to him discuss Nessie, the loch, how his power rippled out, and wondered how she'd end up leaving a mark. Desperate Cassandra, lock shifting Ajax. "Poor Nessie... If I ever find myself over that way I'll make sure to stop by and tell her you miss her- at a time when the lock isn't too busy, of course." The world seems a little clearer in foggy Scotland, somehow. "Do you think it's seperating folk into particular groups, or are we really wandering freely?"

[ajaxthegraves]

Ajax tilted his head to the side, thinking it over. "I suppose it depends on the dead in question. I'm not great with the afterlife though, that's Bea. I just do Past." He didn't really mind as she spat insults at him and jeered. She reminded him of an angry wet cat. They could hurt, but Ajax wasn't sure she would. "Did you not die in a fall the first time?" He shrugged. "Sorry, I'm normally better at details. But that doesn't make it any less brave to get up and do it all again, even if you don't like to think about it that way."

"what do the dead have to fear?" what did winnie have to fear? nothing. everything was hers for the taking, even life, as long as she wasn't scared of going through any lengths to possess it. that was how this whole thing worked. "the first time? ha. you really think that killed me the first fucking time? imbecile. I fell for a lifetime before that. bravery had nothing to do with it." winnie sneered at the word like it was a toxin.

[ajaxthegraves]

“Maybe we’re outside the country. Though it looks really British outside.” Gloomy and grey. Though lots of places had gloomy and grey. “Tig is having trouble focusing too, so is Bea. So at least you’re not alone.”

He had the decency to go a little pink around the ears. “So, a few years back I started this petition? To relocate Nessie so she’d have more space and privacy. She’s a really shy creature, yknow? It’s not good for her to have all those people crowding around, no wonder it’s hard to get a glimpse of her these days. But uh, when I went to go petition at the Loch, the uh, the Loch kind of agreed? But it wanted to go with her. It gave everyone headaches agreeing too loudly. I was really worked up, because Nessie has rights too, which is part of why everyone got headaches. Anyways, some of the local wix put together I was part of the problem and politely banned me from returning. They wouldn’t even let me stay for the night so I could see Nessie. Which was a bummer.”

She'd been about to interject with her own yet, when Ajax played the pessimist for her. He put out a lot of good theories, but she found it so hard to See past all the fog here, she could feel it furrowing her brow. "If it were just the house, it seems funny that we wouldn't have heard of the place. And even then someone would have to orchestrate us being here..." Sybill frowned, "tell me about Loch Ness. I don't focus well here."

[ajaxthegraves]

Ajax watched the Past play out above them. The one who spoke clearly felt something about this all. It must be Past them, up on that railing. “It depends, I guess, on what you mean by that. It’s all Past here, I reckon. And the Past holds the emotions of whoever lived it. Is that you? That’s very brave, what you did. Even if it kills you the first time.”

where; the floor beneath the grand staircase banister with; open

the girl had very good balance as she walked precariously on top of the hand rail as if it were a tightrope. there was no hesitation as she stepped out further, but winnie could still see it just in the corner of her sharp eyes; fear. "she is going to fall." winnie said outright, because it had happened before. "no one will catch her and then she will fucking die." then she would come back wrong. different. "but she won't be scared anymore. does fear belong exclusively to living things?"

[ajaxthegraves]

“If they don’t see like we do, then they don’t know it the way we do. Hopefully they took precautions.” Even Ajax made sure to be careful when he went far into the Past. Time was beautiful and fickle and one could easily get lost without knowing.

“I want to tell them loads of things. I want them to meet Izzy, and Mason. I want to sing for them again. I want to hear them speak and listen to their laughter and not have it just be a memory. But I’m afraid. I’m afraid if I see them again, I won’t want to leave.”

"time magic is complicated, but inherently occurring despite our misunderstanding of it. it is not necessarily serious." tig mused. her grandmother had worked tirelessly hard to impart a certain philosophy and ethics in regard to time magic. "not if they see like we do." it felt ironic to talk about sight given her current state. "I think it would be nice to see them. I would like to tell them things. do you not feel that way?"

[ajaxthegraves]

"At least this time nothing's caught fire." He said optimistically before adding, "Yet." Things seemed to catch fire a lot more often these days, it was disconcerting. The Ministry really ought to invest in a fire-fighting department or something. "Whoever it was probably either had a Legilimens, or an army of boggarts. Though it seems to be all people, so many the first one. That, or maybe it's just the house. Some places are much more attuned to our minds than others. It's one of the reasons I'm not allowed at Loch Ness any more."

Right. Ajax lived with one foot in the past all the time anyway, this must feel like finally taking a whole breath. Sybill was all future, so she just felt... Well, a little worse than she normally did in the present. "It's... Certainly a spectacle." She hummed, "I wonder who concocted the whole thing. That's what's unnerving."

[ajaxthegraves]

“Sorry, I’m normally better at explaining myself.” Or at least normally not this bad. “Did you take Divination in school? I’m psychic, the real kind. And I see into the past. Usually when the Past is this active, it’s because something happened that left one hell of an imprint on the place. Like the Salem Witch Trials, or anywhere in London Boudicca razed. Big things. Bigs things for the place or the people who lived there. But if your mom’s not dead, but some of the other ghosts are, then maybe it’s something different. Some other kind of psychic energy at play. Maybe Beatrice will know more. She’s my friend. She’s good with this kinda stuff. Archie probably would too, but I’m not sure where he is…” he trailed off. She had asked for more explanation but now he felt as though he’d said too many words. “I know just what you mean. My mom had friends just like that.”

"I still don't know what any of that means." Mina felt it was important to point it out, as it didn't seem that the cheese and crackers man had any inclination to actually explain it to her. "And my mother isn't a manifestation, she's just a haughty woman in an evening gown. Old money, you know?"

[ajaxthegraves]

"Alright. It would okay if you weren't though." He said but he didn't push it any farther. Beatrice was even more stubborn than Archie. It wasn't Ajax's job to be the one to convince her of anything. "They're probably just as unused to seeing them. We can let people know that they're not crazy, that what they're seeing is real. Sometimes that's all people need."

"I'll be alright." It was pathetic to show weakness, a sign of lacking control, and Bea wasn't going to lose control in what very well should have been called her own domain. This was death, something she had been comfortable wrapped up in for so long. But unnatural death, a thing stark and disquieting. It wasn't quite her domain, nor was it quite his, from what she could gather, but a bastardized mix of the two. "I doubt I can be of much help in a place where everyone can do what I do every day. I'm not used to other people seeing them."

[ajaxthegraves]

"That's some serious magic, if that's what it is." Ajax said, trying to think back to work the other day, and if anything had gone missing in the Department. "Though it feels a little bit like walking through someone's memories. Everything has more tone than a place's memory, or an object."

He stilled a little at the mention of their parents. "I dunno, haven't found them yet if they are. Do you want them to be?"

"maybe they aren't ghosts then. I mean, we know what ghosts are. they are the incorporeal spirits of the deceased, and they can be affected by magic which means there is a definite nature and rule set to them. what you are seeing may just be... a pocket in time of some sort." it was very curious. as ajax took her hand, the area near them came into better focus. tig still could not see, but feel through her brother the auras of shapes and patterns in the room. it was one of those triplet things, probably. "do you think mom and dad are here?"