open / you can get used to anything over time

[brushoff]

Who: Dorian Gray & OPEN!
What: investigation, poking a fissure, putting together some clues
When: the month of August
Where: Milton

Content Warnings: will edit if needed

milton house / ota
Dorian has poked around Milton House before. He poked around it before the recent nonsense, when he and Chloe were trapped in there, trapped in Enola's grief with all those damn corpses in the basement. But he hadn't spent time exploring the house afterwards. He doubts he'll find anything. But Dorian Gray is absolutely the sort of man to go poking around a haunted house, even if it's not possibly haunted.

He first spends his time tramping around the grounds, exploring to see if he'll spot anything of use. The house itself is remarkably dilapidated—he'll have to go into it eventually, but he's not particularly fond of the idea of doing it by himself. Dorian is well aware of just how limited this place has made his immortality. He'll have to proceed with caution, a wild rarity for him. Fortunately, there's someone else approaching.

Dorian is bundled up, covered practically head to toe, with only a little bit of skin showing—it's twilight, but it isn't properly dark. He takes comfort in the fact that it'll only be a month or so until he feels like himself again...but God, can't it be September already? Where there's actual night? And it doesn't hurt to exist? He moves his ski goggles to the top of his head, so that the person approaching can see who exactly it is standing in front of the house.

"Care to join in on a little investigation?"

community center / ota
Dorian is lounging at a table in the community center, notebook in front of him. The page is covered in his neat, precise handwriting. He won't stop anybody if they're nosy or want to look over his shoulder. The text on the notebook is all speculation, a list of facts he has and theories about them. And all the facts, theories, notes, are about Enola.

(Side note, it truly is aggravating how Dorian manages to lounge in a way that looks great. This is the sort of man who's perfected the art of looking like he doesn't care and looking like he's just relaxing, but he's relaxing in a way where he hits the light perfectly and there's just enough of his chest exposed from his not-buttoned-all-the-way shirt, his legs look great, etc. This is a man who has perfected the best way to sit to make himself look attractive, the goddamn peacock.)

Anybody approaching gets a little nod and a, "Here, come on over. Are you one of the people who had an odd dream that then led to gaining a supernatural gift?"

fissure / ota
"I don't see what the problem is," Dorian says, as he looks over the fissure, looking at the green gas slowly emerging from the depths. It is a damn lie, he knows exactly what the problem is. There's a low-grade sense of fear in the back of his brain. He needs to get away from this, he doesn't want to be here, this thing is wrong.

But the low-grade sense of fear is just that: low-grade. And for the moment, Dorian can overpower it.

"How deep do you think these things go? I'm halfway tempted to find a pinecone and just chuck it down that fissure, simply to see what happens."

Comments

milton house

[bigbaddy]

The second Dorian lifts those ski goggles, Bigby looks thoroughly unimpressed. Not even necessarily because of any reputation Dorian may have, but more because--

"You look like a damn snowman."

Ah, apparently it's just the other's clothing he's judging in this moment. Only briefly, though, because there is what the other is saying to consider.

And that consideration makes him raise a half-curious, half-sceptical eyebrow instead.

"Besides, what kind of investigation are you talking about?"

[brushoff]

"Terribly sorry that the mere act of the sun touching my skin makes it feel like it's on fire," Dorian sarcastically responds.

Fuck you, dude! The ski goggles are a medical necessity! An ugly medical necessity, but a medical necessity nonetheless. Dorian will grumpily suffer through a lack of fashion if it means that he can get a break from his Darkwalker powers.

And anyway, there are more important things to talk about than the fact that the sun makes his skin hurt. Dorian casts a look to Milton House as he muses,

"I want to explore inside the house. I doubt it's changed since the last time it appeared in our dreams, but who knows. Maybe something's different now."

[bigbaddy]

"Well, if you're going to go in there, you're likely going to let your skin feel like it's on fire again," Bigby points out.

Granted, hopefully the house is done with its nonsense again. Especially now they're just standing outside nearby it, rather than waking up in some sort of nightmare there.

But he still doesn't fully trust that place to not start pretending like it's on fire all over again out of the blue. Bigby's seen way too many magical places to trust it.

"At least a 20% chance of it, anyway."

[brushoff]

"I might feel like my skin's on fire," Dorian retorts. "The last time that happened, it was a dream. I have no idea if this time would be any different as I'm awake and well."

There are enough variables that Dorian feels it might be a good idea to go investigate. He's not sleeping! He's awake! This is totally different.

And yet...he is hesitating before entering.

[bigbaddy]

...

Yeah, don't mind Bigby as he just.. stands there for a moment. Looking at the other. Then at the house.

There doesn't seem to be any real hesitation on his part, despite his words just now. If anything, there's something more cynical in his expression, especially once he starts raising an eyebrow at the other.

"So why aren't you just wandering right in, huh? Mister explorer?"

community center;

[powersuited]

Snow isn't the kind of person who will read over someone else's shoulder, but she does observe Dorian in his currently assumed element, especially as a frequent fixture at the community center herself. Right now, she's busy with her own responsibilities, mostly duties she's taken upon herself to fulfill — ensuring the center is well-stocked with things like blankets, coats, and important layers, especially as the weather starts to definitively turn autumnal.

At some point, it does feel important to check in on him at least — and not just because they haven't formally met, and Snow feels uniquely compelled to introduce herself to anyone presently a stranger. Call it the mayor in her, still lingering despite her no longer holding the position here.

What she isn't expecting is for her to address him first, and her somewhat startled expression betrays her initial surprise.

"What?" No sense in not being honest, she thinks, dissolving into a shrug of one shoulder. "Well, yes. Didn't... didn't most people here?"

[brushoff]

"Yes, but mine was hijacked halfway through via the Darkwalker," Dorian dryly responds, "so mine didn't go exactly like how she had planned. Humor me. What was your dream like?"

It's obvious to Dorian that whatever these gifts were, they were given by Enola. It's also obvious that what happened to him and Chloe wasn't expected. The more he learns about how things should have gone, the more he can learn about Enola...and the more he can learn about why his fun little gift turned as sideways as it did.

[powersuited]

"It was... about a year ago, now," Snow admits, though even to say so out loud feels strange, a more damning admission than she was initially prepared to make in casual conversation. In some respects, a year isn't really that much time for a Fable, especially not those whose story has carried them for centuries. It is a reminder of how long she's been stuck here, with no signs of getting home soon.

"Well, it was after a storm had been building for three days, here," she adds. "I was running through the woods. Fast. Faster than I ever thought I'd be capable of. Every sense, every aspect was heightened. I could feel everything so much more intensely, and when I woke up... it had all lingered, from the dream."

In the months following, she'd learned to control her instincts, tamper down her senses — mostly with Bigby's help — so she's less overwhelmed now than she used to be, but it'd still been a learning curve, in more ways than one.

[brushoff]

Dorian listens. It's when Snow is finished that he raises an eyebrow to lightly point out, "And let me guess. She didn't say what had happened. She didn't say 'oh, by the way, you can turn into a wolf now' or whatever the hell you can do. Enola showed up in the dream and then left you on your own."

It's obvious from Dorian's tone of voice that he's not the biggest fan of Enola. He shakes his head, letting out an irritated little huff before continuing.

"Things like that are how people get hurt."

[powersuited]

"She does have a tendency to be very... vague," Snow admits, although she says so on a quiet sigh, as though she's almost resigned herself to that sort of outcome more often than not. But as someone who once inhabited a world ruled by prophecy and a foretelling that came from a magic mirror, she might have a different perspective on it than most.

"Has anyone gotten hurt?" That's the more concerning detail in all of this, at least, and Snow's inner mayor perks up, worry furrowing her brow.

Community centre

[desperate_times_right]

Chloe hasn't had as many years as Dorian to practice her attractive sitting poses, but to her it's an employment skill so she comes damn close as she slips into one of the chairs opposite him.

“Hey there, love. I can't believe you hang out here. And studying, to boot! I don't think that's going to endear you to anyone enough to make a difference.”

That must be why he's doing this, right?

Re: Community centre

[brushoff]

"I am a university dropout, thank you very much," Dorian lightly teases, as he looks over at Chloe with a grin.

"But no, this isn't studying. It's...collating information, so to speak. I want to make sure that the next time Enola draws us into some bullshit, I know enough about her to call her out on it."

Re: Community centre

[desperate_times_right]

“That's more than I've got,” says the high school dropout. “You're still the nerd, here.”

What he's actually doing does make more sense. “She doesn't usually give us a chance to say no, but it's not a bad idea. I have three powers, if there's stuff you want to know.”

[brushoff]

"I suppose the first thing to ask is about your dreams. Obviously I know how the last one went," as they're both weird Darkwalker vampires now, "but did you get any notice for the first two? And was she there for all of them?"

[desperate_times_right]

“The first one I remember hearing her voice in the static from electronics on the nights leading up to it. That first one came during a seventy-two-hour aurora! She wasn't in the dream, though, that I remember.”

She’d only made the connection because the voice had promised her power.

“The second one I don't recall hearing from her at all, but I was already pretty cross with her by then so maybe I ignored it.”

Milton house hello I brought Starbucks

[nicehobbit]

There are a whole host of reasons that house is bad news. But Frodo would certainly be lying if he tried to claim that he's not curious. Especially since he's gathered that it's clearly connected to Enola, and she seems about the best lead for potentially getting out of this place that they could find.

Seeing someone else there, he decides to come over. Not quite as bundled up as Dorian, but he can pull his scarf up over his face if needed.

"Sure. What exactly are you investigating?"

[brushoff]

"Anything and everything," Dorian muses, as he looks over at the decrepit wreck of a house. It doesn't look like he'll find much of anything. And frankly, Dorian suspects he won't find anything. But leads are few and far between here so he'll take what he can get.

"This place has something to do with Enola. And as far as I can tell, she's the reason we're in this mess in the first place. Any hint of information, any scrap that I can find to tell me more about her? I want that."

[nicehobbit]

"So do I."

The way he understands the situation, there are still far more questions than answers surrounding Enola. If there were anything to be found in this house, surely someone would have by now. But he's not about to forget the vision or dream he had of that burning house and Enola in the middle of the inferno, and perhaps that means it isn't a lost cause.

Or perhaps it only means she's been thinking about it and made it bleed into their dreams. After all, that's what she does.

He cautiously steps onto the stairs leading up to the front door.

"Did you also have the vision with the house burning down?"

[brushoff]

"I did," Dorian nods, as he steps inside. "A friend and I were trapped in that vision. We tried to escape and made our way to the basement where Enola was, surrounded by corpses."

The house is falling apart and the wooden floor creaks under Dorian's feet as he walks inside. Wincing slightly, he looks around at the charred remains.

"Frankly, I'd prefer to keep our exploration on the ground floor. I don't trust the basement like this."

[nicehobbit]

It's unfortunate. Considering the basement is where the vision ended up, it seems to Frodo like that would be the best place to look. But Dorian is right, of course. It would be most perilous, and it would serve no one if they were to get trapped there, or worse.

That makes him wonder, though ...

"Perhaps there might be a way to restore it without removing all the traces of the past. I am no carpenter, however."

community centre

[readytosee]

(It really is unfair and unfortunate, to arrive on such a scene. He'd planned on going over his own notes and trying to connect a few dots, but that sort of thing might be more difficult with Dorian lounging like he currently is. Casper is, afterall, of the homosexual persuasion, and it would be almost impossible not to notice someone as attractive as Dorian arranged so artistically.)

The good doctor clears his throat a little when Dorian calls out, unwrapping his scarf and settling nearby. "Dorian, hello. Good to see you again. It looks like we had similar ideas, I think.

But -- no, I don't think we've discussed it, but I have had a dream like that, in fact. Have you?"

Re: community centre

[brushoff]

"Of a sort," Dorian shrugs. "My dream was different. But I want to collect as much information about this place, our dreams, that Enola woman as I can. There's a pattern in here. I can find it."

That's what he does, after all. He solves mysteries. He finds the interesting supernatural thing and pokes it with a stick until it gives up it's secrets. And this? This is certainly interesting.

"Mind telling me about yours?"

[readytosee]

"Honestly, that's probably a better way of going about it than what I'm doing. My focus is too wide, right now.

But! To your question, it was a little over a year ago, now. There were these awful lightning storms going on. I dreamt I was in a forest, maybe it had been hit by the lightning storms? All the trees around me had burned to the ground. And I was holding -- " He pauses, taking a shaky breath. It's hard to think about, harder still to talk about.

"A friend. A man, from back home. Someone that I hadn't been able to save, despite having tried everything. Or maybe I didn't try as hard as I thought, I'm not sure.

Anyway.

She was there. Enola. And she kissed my forehead and told me This time it will be different. After that, all I remember was the worst, more blinding pain imaginable.

And then I woke up."

[brushoff]

Dorian frowns, listening to what Darling says. That dream sounds...well, a hell of a lot better than his own. Frankly, he's annoyed that everybody else's have been better. But there are a few things that catch his attention.

"It's odd, isn't it. She claims she cares for us. She claims things will be better. But all I've seen Enola do is show up in someone's dreams, give us an odd power without even a 'here's how it works,' and then leave. Either she has far too much face in us to manage our gifts or she's reckless as hell."

[readytosee]

"It could well be a mix of both, honestly. Or something somewhere in between. I didn't fully understand what my gift meant until I was tending to a friend who had been shot, and suddenly I was the one with a bleeding leg."

Casper sighs, shrugging helplessly. "I feel as though the more I try and press, the more I try and understand this place, the further the answers slip from me."