(OOC: Enter from here)
Departing the embattled dining room, Tanaquil and Finley found themselves confronted with...the footman. He was moving in the opposite direction, moving towards the dining room, a sallow-cheeked young man with hawkish, predatory eyes and a sharp, well-groomed set of liveries. He offered only a very respectful bow to both as he passed, but it was clear that he was in something of a hurry to reach the dining room...no doubt rushing to check on the well-being of the guests...so he did not stop to exchange any words. "Signor, Signorina," he murmured, moving on to disappear into the dining room behind them.
Left alone in the Reception room, they found it just as it had been earlier with abandoned claret flutes scattered around every surface available. The doors ahead...those that lead to the foyer...were still propped open such that they could see the marble tiles ahead as well as hear the stern, demanding tock! sound that filtered in to them at an almost soothing, predictable pace. Tock...tock...tock...
Somewhere to their right...through the large windows that dominated the north wall of the Reception room...the pair could hear the sound of a team of four horses pull a carriage into action and drive away, no doubt carrying their host for the eveningtide. The sound of the laboring team was soon lost in the growing sound of the arriving storm, as rain drops grew in volume and size and a distant peel of thunder could be heard. Booooom!
~~Secrets~~ Finn and Tanaquil
Moderator: Mods
~~Secrets~~ Finn and Tanaquil
Last edited by Grant on Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Maeve: It starts with ambition
Meridiuz: It ends with Grant
Meridiuz: It ends with Grant
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Finley Ward
- Retired staff
- Posts: 1389
- Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2005 10:13 pm
- Location: USA
- Contact:
It was with some small relief on Finley's part that Tanaquil agreed to a quick exit, and as soon as she had his arm he took to leading her out of the room immediately. She seemed to lean on him somewhat heavily, but had Finley noticed this at all he probably would have put it down to her fright at the explosion - truthfully, though, he did not, since the very touch on her on his arm was enough to confirm that she was in fact real. And she was touching him. This minor physical contact commanded the whole of his attention with ease, evoking memories of earlier times, when she had lived, and when she had died - of those treasured memories he and she alone had witnessed. That perfect moment between the two of them, when he had taken her life. It was enough to cause his breathe to shallow slightly, and his pulse to quicken - the very thing he remembered so fondly and so often here, on his arm...
"WAIT!"
Finn frowned at the shout, but did not turn, allowing Tanaquil to shoot her disapproving look neatly over his shoulder as he escorted her out. He made sure to have her safely behind the door of the reception room and out of sight before he made his own response, as eloquently as he usually might. A twisted, pleasant grin on his face, he showed the room the finger, voicing everything he needed in that one getsure.
Think I'm gonna wait wiv a bunch'a fuckin' liabilities like you? Yeah, you must be smokin' something, mate - I value my skin a little higher than that. Fuck you all very much, an' goodnight...
Though it would not do to say it out loud, of course - Tanaquil would probably overhear, and though she might possibly agree with the sentiment, she would not approve of the coarse language if her earlier expression of distaste were anything to go by. Therefore, he held his tongue, and let his expression do the talking, pausing for just long enough to let the pleasant grin and obscene hand gesture sink in before he turned on his heel and left them all to whatever pointless oneupmanship and rash decisions they chose to become involved in. Not being the most social of people at the best of times, Finley had quickly come to the conclusion that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of them.
Once the door was closed, and the other people neatly removed from the picture, he turned back to Tanaquil, and immediately the sight of her took his breath away. She spoke of practical things such as carriages and shoes, initially, and even displayed one perfectly tiny satin-shod foot for his appreciation - and leaving was certainly a very sensible thing to be thinking on at this moment. No doubt guards would be along directly. Finley preferred not to have run-ins with such types at the best of times. But then, his mind was not really on guards, or carriages, or even fashionable satin shoes - more, it was on the expression she'd had on her face when she'd drawn that last breath. How magical it had seemed.
...y'were the best thing that ever happened ta me, Tana...
He coughed slightly, running a hand over the two days' worth of stubble on his chin absently and forcing himself to think on the present, and on this ridiculous dinner party. "...m'fraid I think my carriage is also... gone." He murmured, as if he were barely thinking about it at all. "An' I think yer suggestion of keepin' away fr'm those idiots is a good one, darlin'... They're trouble, an'... we should both stay away fr'm... Ah."
And she touched him again, causing him to hesitate in his sentence as a schoolboy might when confronted with his one true love. His obsession with her was perhaps that pronounced already, though he might not recognise it for what it truly was. Finley swallowed, roughly. "I'll take care of ya, Tanaquil. Y'don't need ta worry about that... I ain't gonna let anyone else so much as lay a finger on ya..."
He hadn't quite meant to say 'anyone else'... but there it stood. Anyone else, meaning, except him. He coughed again, clearly uncomfortable, but in his dark eyes there seemed something close to nervous worship when he looked on her. Desire, completely undisguised - or perhaps, since he already subconsciously thought of her as his property, simply tentative fondness. You do not desire after something you already own, after all. Pacing towards the wetbar in the corner, he liberated a bottle of something alcoholic and probably far too expensive for one such as him, examined the label very briefly and more for show than anything else, and then pulled the cork and sniffed at it. "C'mon... we should get away fr'm the idiots b'fore they come after us, eh?" He jerked a thumb back towards the dining room and his expression expressed everything he might have otherwise said. "Find somewhere we can relax til this whole thing blows over an' we can leave..."
With that, he took a large swallow from the bottle - a design intended to calm his shattered nerves and the action of any man given to drinking heavily and regularly, and then replaced the cork and made to exit the reception room in to the building beyond, taking the bottle with him. As he did so, he took to looking back to shepherd Tanaquil gently as if afraid that if he let her out of his sight she might disappear like a puff of smoke. And, because his mind was not on such things as exploding laboraties of death at all, towards the west wing, where they both (vainly) hoped to find a quiet place to wait.
"WAIT!"
Finn frowned at the shout, but did not turn, allowing Tanaquil to shoot her disapproving look neatly over his shoulder as he escorted her out. He made sure to have her safely behind the door of the reception room and out of sight before he made his own response, as eloquently as he usually might. A twisted, pleasant grin on his face, he showed the room the finger, voicing everything he needed in that one getsure.
Think I'm gonna wait wiv a bunch'a fuckin' liabilities like you? Yeah, you must be smokin' something, mate - I value my skin a little higher than that. Fuck you all very much, an' goodnight...
Though it would not do to say it out loud, of course - Tanaquil would probably overhear, and though she might possibly agree with the sentiment, she would not approve of the coarse language if her earlier expression of distaste were anything to go by. Therefore, he held his tongue, and let his expression do the talking, pausing for just long enough to let the pleasant grin and obscene hand gesture sink in before he turned on his heel and left them all to whatever pointless oneupmanship and rash decisions they chose to become involved in. Not being the most social of people at the best of times, Finley had quickly come to the conclusion that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of them.
Once the door was closed, and the other people neatly removed from the picture, he turned back to Tanaquil, and immediately the sight of her took his breath away. She spoke of practical things such as carriages and shoes, initially, and even displayed one perfectly tiny satin-shod foot for his appreciation - and leaving was certainly a very sensible thing to be thinking on at this moment. No doubt guards would be along directly. Finley preferred not to have run-ins with such types at the best of times. But then, his mind was not really on guards, or carriages, or even fashionable satin shoes - more, it was on the expression she'd had on her face when she'd drawn that last breath. How magical it had seemed.
...y'were the best thing that ever happened ta me, Tana...
He coughed slightly, running a hand over the two days' worth of stubble on his chin absently and forcing himself to think on the present, and on this ridiculous dinner party. "...m'fraid I think my carriage is also... gone." He murmured, as if he were barely thinking about it at all. "An' I think yer suggestion of keepin' away fr'm those idiots is a good one, darlin'... They're trouble, an'... we should both stay away fr'm... Ah."
And she touched him again, causing him to hesitate in his sentence as a schoolboy might when confronted with his one true love. His obsession with her was perhaps that pronounced already, though he might not recognise it for what it truly was. Finley swallowed, roughly. "I'll take care of ya, Tanaquil. Y'don't need ta worry about that... I ain't gonna let anyone else so much as lay a finger on ya..."
He hadn't quite meant to say 'anyone else'... but there it stood. Anyone else, meaning, except him. He coughed again, clearly uncomfortable, but in his dark eyes there seemed something close to nervous worship when he looked on her. Desire, completely undisguised - or perhaps, since he already subconsciously thought of her as his property, simply tentative fondness. You do not desire after something you already own, after all. Pacing towards the wetbar in the corner, he liberated a bottle of something alcoholic and probably far too expensive for one such as him, examined the label very briefly and more for show than anything else, and then pulled the cork and sniffed at it. "C'mon... we should get away fr'm the idiots b'fore they come after us, eh?" He jerked a thumb back towards the dining room and his expression expressed everything he might have otherwise said. "Find somewhere we can relax til this whole thing blows over an' we can leave..."
With that, he took a large swallow from the bottle - a design intended to calm his shattered nerves and the action of any man given to drinking heavily and regularly, and then replaced the cork and made to exit the reception room in to the building beyond, taking the bottle with him. As he did so, he took to looking back to shepherd Tanaquil gently as if afraid that if he let her out of his sight she might disappear like a puff of smoke. And, because his mind was not on such things as exploding laboraties of death at all, towards the west wing, where they both (vainly) hoped to find a quiet place to wait.
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Tanaquil di Veria
If Tanaquil noticed anything at all unusual in Finn's behavior -- the way he looked at her, say, or the odd way he said things and the odder things he said -- she wrote it off to the shyness she had noticed before, compounded by the growing suspicion that he might be rather smitten with her, the poor dear.
It was to be expected, of course; like many beautiful, thoughtless women she took a sort of collector's absent-minded pride in amassing another devoted tongue-tied admirer. Tongue-tied admirers with height and, well, wealth, were obviously preferable, but one more pelt on her wall was nothing to scoff at.
She followed Finn to the wetbar, although the purpose of her investigation was less to find herself a drink -- ladies didn't drink hard liquor! -- but rather to gauge the wealth of the estate by the worth of the alcohol they had laid out. "Nice enough," said Tanaquil in slight understatement as Finn took a swig worth several weeks' labor for a common man from one of the bottles.
"Relax!" said Tana, pouting slightly. Her interest had been piqued by the value of the liquor and by a native curiosity that led her to love nosing around in other people's homes at dinner-parties or balls or... whatever sort of event this was.
"Wouldn't you rather... oh, look around a little bit?" said Tana with a wheedling tone. "Such a lovely house! It must be filled with all manner of interesting things, don't you think?" It was important she know what was in this house, so she could compare it to what was in hers and those of people she knew. You had to know what the pecking order was!
"Is someone knocking?" she said, furrowing her brow prettily at the steady tocking noise coming from the hall. "Oh, come on, let's go see what's here!" she said, tugging on Finn's arm, then lifting her hems to run lightly into the hall with the speed of innocent curiosity, her slippers skidding slightly on the marble tiles of the entrance hall and she went in search of the mysterious noise.
It was to be expected, of course; like many beautiful, thoughtless women she took a sort of collector's absent-minded pride in amassing another devoted tongue-tied admirer. Tongue-tied admirers with height and, well, wealth, were obviously preferable, but one more pelt on her wall was nothing to scoff at.
She followed Finn to the wetbar, although the purpose of her investigation was less to find herself a drink -- ladies didn't drink hard liquor! -- but rather to gauge the wealth of the estate by the worth of the alcohol they had laid out. "Nice enough," said Tanaquil in slight understatement as Finn took a swig worth several weeks' labor for a common man from one of the bottles.
"Relax!" said Tana, pouting slightly. Her interest had been piqued by the value of the liquor and by a native curiosity that led her to love nosing around in other people's homes at dinner-parties or balls or... whatever sort of event this was.
"Wouldn't you rather... oh, look around a little bit?" said Tana with a wheedling tone. "Such a lovely house! It must be filled with all manner of interesting things, don't you think?" It was important she know what was in this house, so she could compare it to what was in hers and those of people she knew. You had to know what the pecking order was!
"Is someone knocking?" she said, furrowing her brow prettily at the steady tocking noise coming from the hall. "Oh, come on, let's go see what's here!" she said, tugging on Finn's arm, then lifting her hems to run lightly into the hall with the speed of innocent curiosity, her slippers skidding slightly on the marble tiles of the entrance hall and she went in search of the mysterious noise.
Out of the Reception Room...and back into the foyer, where they could indeed see precisely what made the rhythmic, ticking noise.
The Foyer was, like any foyer, designed to leave a very grand effect upon the new arrival. It did precisely this, though in all fairness, Tanaquil had seen far greater examples in her day, at least in size alone. This foyer, measuring some fifty feet long (North to South) and twenty feet wide, was perhaps modest in size, though to the trained eye it presented the house shockingly well indeed. Marble floor tiles, of course...and long, red carpets that cushioned two straight stairways that rose up against the East and West walls to join at a small overhang towards the back. The ceiling vaulted up easily fifty feet in the air...no great feat in World's Mouth, but always a lovely, breath-taking design...and seven doorways exited the chamber on the ground floor, where they stood: the main entrance to the North, a lovely pair of stained glass double doors to the South, a pair of modest, opaque doors to the West, and three doorways to the East, one of which (the Northern most) exited back to the Reception Room from which they came.
But what truly drew interest was the room's central decoration. Oh, the room had a few decorations...paintings of aged people who no doubt occupied aged places in the family, and a pair of potted deciduous trees flanking the main entrance...but between the stairwells and standing just before the Southern double doors was a great column that stretched from floor to ceiling, a column that no one had noticed upon arrival. The column was made entirely of carved oak, like some massive cabinet, with joins and hinges of polished brass...and a glass front. Just behind the glass could be seen gears, chains, pulleys, levers...all the typical trademarks of any long case clock.
But this was not an ordinary long-case clock. The face of the clock was at the center of the column...some twenty five feet above the floor...and it held upon it hands for the mark and tide as well as the burn of the mark. Hanging below the clock was a pair of long, carefully-adjusted pendulums, each one featuring celestial images at their tips. And hanging up from the face were the clock's weights, suspended upward in complete neglect for the common laws of physics...and clearly shifting as the clock ran, expending their stored energy with the clock's rhythmic movements. Were they to watch long enough, they would even see the release shift the curious "weights" upward a bit as the clock would strike the half-mark...but they were too late for that.
The time was now three marks, forty-two burns into the Eveningtide.
Tock...tock...tock...
The Foyer was, like any foyer, designed to leave a very grand effect upon the new arrival. It did precisely this, though in all fairness, Tanaquil had seen far greater examples in her day, at least in size alone. This foyer, measuring some fifty feet long (North to South) and twenty feet wide, was perhaps modest in size, though to the trained eye it presented the house shockingly well indeed. Marble floor tiles, of course...and long, red carpets that cushioned two straight stairways that rose up against the East and West walls to join at a small overhang towards the back. The ceiling vaulted up easily fifty feet in the air...no great feat in World's Mouth, but always a lovely, breath-taking design...and seven doorways exited the chamber on the ground floor, where they stood: the main entrance to the North, a lovely pair of stained glass double doors to the South, a pair of modest, opaque doors to the West, and three doorways to the East, one of which (the Northern most) exited back to the Reception Room from which they came.
But what truly drew interest was the room's central decoration. Oh, the room had a few decorations...paintings of aged people who no doubt occupied aged places in the family, and a pair of potted deciduous trees flanking the main entrance...but between the stairwells and standing just before the Southern double doors was a great column that stretched from floor to ceiling, a column that no one had noticed upon arrival. The column was made entirely of carved oak, like some massive cabinet, with joins and hinges of polished brass...and a glass front. Just behind the glass could be seen gears, chains, pulleys, levers...all the typical trademarks of any long case clock.
But this was not an ordinary long-case clock. The face of the clock was at the center of the column...some twenty five feet above the floor...and it held upon it hands for the mark and tide as well as the burn of the mark. Hanging below the clock was a pair of long, carefully-adjusted pendulums, each one featuring celestial images at their tips. And hanging up from the face were the clock's weights, suspended upward in complete neglect for the common laws of physics...and clearly shifting as the clock ran, expending their stored energy with the clock's rhythmic movements. Were they to watch long enough, they would even see the release shift the curious "weights" upward a bit as the clock would strike the half-mark...but they were too late for that.
The time was now three marks, forty-two burns into the Eveningtide.
Tock...tock...tock...
Maeve: It starts with ambition
Meridiuz: It ends with Grant
Meridiuz: It ends with Grant
-
Tanaquil di Veria
It was a marvel of engineering, that clock -- if it could even be described as "engineering" to not only make all of the numerous pieces work in unison but also to let the weights defy all the laws of physics.
"Huh," said Tanaquil, looking at the clock for a moment with her head cocked, then moving on to look at the doors. Laws of physics, flouted or otherwise, were unlikely to hold her interest for long.
She moved towards the ornate stained glass windows, which were far more her style. "What's past here, do you think?" she asked Finley, running her fingers along the elaborate patterns.
"Huh," said Tanaquil, looking at the clock for a moment with her head cocked, then moving on to look at the doors. Laws of physics, flouted or otherwise, were unlikely to hold her interest for long.
She moved towards the ornate stained glass windows, which were far more her style. "What's past here, do you think?" she asked Finley, running her fingers along the elaborate patterns.
-
Finley Ward
- Retired staff
- Posts: 1389
- Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2005 10:13 pm
- Location: USA
- Contact:
It took very little effort for Tanaquil to command Finley into following her and for him to obey, unthinkingly, as a puppy might. At this point, he might have followed her directly into the very jaws of death without a second thought, so spellbound was he by her very presence. Indeed, it was possible that that was precisely where she was leading him in this house of horrors, though he did not currently have the presence of mind to consider that immediately.
Beyond the reception room, in the foyer, there were a great many remarkable and beautiful things to look at - not least the clock, with its gravity-defying weights hanging straight up in complete disregard for common sense. It was a shame Finley completed overlooked it then. His entire attention was fixed on Tanaquil, as she fluttered across the marble floor so casually, things taking her interest rapidly and then falling in favour of something new, and all very quickly. She ran her white fingers over the stained glass, and his eyes followed her fingers, his bottom lip between his teeth and a slightly absent look upon his face.
D'ya even remember, Tana...? Or d'ya jus' feel the same way... mmh... Finn shook his head and looked away, uneasy with himself for even beginning that thought. He wasn't sure what any of this meant, or why it should be happening, or what he was to do now that it was.
"I... dunno... Tanaquil..." He replied, distracted, after a long pause. "Uhh. D'ya wanna look, or..." Something almost helpless and confused in his tone now, and his dark eyes studied her as if somehow she might read his mind and reveal all the answers for him with a smile, before demanding immediately they go explore whatever it was had taken her fancy this time. "Look... uhh. D'ya..." He paused, hesitated, studied his own shoes for a moment, and then took a deep breath and spat it out, "Tana, d'ya remember last time y'saw me...? Uhm... I jus'... wondered if y'did an' if y'do then..." He trailed off, unsure of what exactly he wanted to know.
...if ya do then... d'ya feel the same way...? A muscle in his jaw clenched, and he tried to force himself to actually ask, but nothing happened at all. Simply him, standing there, looking deeply confused and upset by something he couldn't bring himself to say out loud.
Beyond the reception room, in the foyer, there were a great many remarkable and beautiful things to look at - not least the clock, with its gravity-defying weights hanging straight up in complete disregard for common sense. It was a shame Finley completed overlooked it then. His entire attention was fixed on Tanaquil, as she fluttered across the marble floor so casually, things taking her interest rapidly and then falling in favour of something new, and all very quickly. She ran her white fingers over the stained glass, and his eyes followed her fingers, his bottom lip between his teeth and a slightly absent look upon his face.
D'ya even remember, Tana...? Or d'ya jus' feel the same way... mmh... Finn shook his head and looked away, uneasy with himself for even beginning that thought. He wasn't sure what any of this meant, or why it should be happening, or what he was to do now that it was.
"I... dunno... Tanaquil..." He replied, distracted, after a long pause. "Uhh. D'ya wanna look, or..." Something almost helpless and confused in his tone now, and his dark eyes studied her as if somehow she might read his mind and reveal all the answers for him with a smile, before demanding immediately they go explore whatever it was had taken her fancy this time. "Look... uhh. D'ya..." He paused, hesitated, studied his own shoes for a moment, and then took a deep breath and spat it out, "Tana, d'ya remember last time y'saw me...? Uhm... I jus'... wondered if y'did an' if y'do then..." He trailed off, unsure of what exactly he wanted to know.
...if ya do then... d'ya feel the same way...? A muscle in his jaw clenched, and he tried to force himself to actually ask, but nothing happened at all. Simply him, standing there, looking deeply confused and upset by something he couldn't bring himself to say out loud.