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Tweak says, "Who cheesed my move?"

Der Tod (touto_kaka) wrote in labyrinth_rpg,
@ 2009-05-10 19:37:00

Entry tags:

armand, arrival, complete, day nine, der tod

Day 9 Arrival
WHO: Der Tod & Armand
WHEN: Day 9 Predawn
WHAT: Der Tod does not approve of this strange place
WHERE: On the empty streets of the City
RATING: PG-13 to be safe
STATUS: Complete

It made no sense. Finally, finally she wanted to die. Asked him to take her even. And he'd refused. Why, how could she keep resisting him? Everything he'd done had been to show her how much better off she'd be with him, and it still hadn't worked! Foolish, blind, stubborn, infuriating woman.

He loved her all the more for it.

So he couldn't take her, not until she returned his love. Instead he pushed her away, and stalked off, leaving the Empress to sob on the floor of her son's tomb. He couldn't help smirking a bit at the irony of that. Rudolf had been such a useful tool, so earnest and trusting.

Der Tod closed his eyes briefly to make the mental twist that would transfer him back to the lands of the dead. When he opened them again, instead of his mist and shadow cloaked realm, he was in a strange alleyway that looked out on a strange fair-type place. He held perfectly still for a long moment, taking the measure of his surroundings. This was not the lands of the dead, and more worrisome, he couldn't sense his realm. He made the mental twist again, but found himself still standing in the same place. A low hiss of annoyance escaped unbidden from his lips. Something was very, very wrong here.

Four long strides took him out of the alley and onto a wider street. It was still dark wherever he was, but predawn dark, not night dark. Not exactly a time when many humans were out, but he could sense them nearby, mostly sleeping. There were several odd presences that piqued his interest, however there were significantly fewer people than he would have expected from the apparent size of this place. His lip curled back in a snarl as he looked around. This place was almost sickeningly alive.

He could feel someone approaching, so he schooled his expression into one of more innocent confusion, and started heading towards the person. 'Accidentally' running into someone would be the easiest way to figure out what was going on after all.

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vagabond_child
2009-05-13 11:51 am UTC (link)

The vampire gasped softly as he felt the waves of anger coming off this strange being. He sort of dimly thought that maybe he was getting better at reading them, but mostly, he was trying to deal with the feelings that weren't even his. Once his mental shields were about halfway up, blocking the brunt of it, he felt better. He missed the thought about himself being arrogant, however, which either would have made him very angry, or laugh. Or both.

Anyway, Armand might have had something to say about arrogance. Of course, perhaps Der Tod was entitled. And wouldn't he, Armand, feel a little annoyed if he was Death, and all-powerful, and then met someone that couldn't be killed, ever? So his smile as he looked at the man was compassionate, almost, showing just how changeable the vampire could be.

"Elisabeth? That is a pretty name." He caught the thought out of nowhere, and almost didn't even realize that Der Tod hadn't said it out loud. "And basic information is help, my dear one. Yes, you could find someone else, but I'm here, and I can tell that everyone else that is in this area is still sleeping. You can't go into their rooms here, you know. It's impossible. There are rules."

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touto_kaka
2009-05-13 02:38 pm UTC (link)

Der Tod stopped suddenly and turned to face Armand. "You will stop that right now" he said, eyes narrowed. He'd caught that the other man was picking up on his emotions, and thoughts even, but had let it slide. However this strange man was doing it was of little concern to the lord of the dead. A minor bit of human trickery or some such. But to pick up on Elisabeth? And to have the gall to mention it?

"It is a beautiful name" he said "And not one you need to be commenting on."

He debated moving on, ignoring Armand completely. There was nothing he needed to know that couldn't wait until someone less... persistent was awake. But there was something still something vaguely amusing about this one's arrogance, and that was something that could be used. Der Tod might not be able to fulfill his function here, but there was no need to refuse potential tools if offered. So he smiled, very slightly, and bowed his head, also very slightly.
"As you say. Minor... help then. You say this place has rules?"

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vagabond_child
2009-05-13 08:11 pm UTC (link)

When his companion stopped, Armand did as well, and faced him boldly. The demand caught him completely off guard. He'd been spending a lot of time around telepaths, people who knew he could read minds, and it almost seemed normal to be able to do it at will, unconcerned. Nor did he particularly care to stop doing it, and his laughter showed his inclinations.

"I will not stop. Unless, of course, you wish to stop being rude to me. Then, we may discuss that." In truth, he could only get vague senses, the occasional surface thought, but that was certainly enough to annoy someone, obviously.

"Elisabeth...a common name in Elizabethan England." He should know. He was there. But he changed directions when called back to his task. He was supposed to be the welcome wagon, apparently. "Rules. You can't go into anyone's room, our King does not allow that." A twist of his lips showed how he thought about Jareth in general, and that rule in specific. "You can't leave. And you can't kill." The last one got a bit of a smug look.

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touto_kaka
2009-05-14 06:05 am UTC (link)

England. A common name. Of course. This man knew nothing of the Empress, knew nothing of the agony that infuriating, wonderful woman put him through. That thought was enough for Der Tod to let Armand's obvious mockery slide. It grated though, and everything in his bearing reflected a cold, cold disapproval. Not that he really expected Armand to get the hint, but it was the principle of the thing.

Still, he would play along. Be a polite and gracious lord. His mouth quirked up into a sarcastic smile at the rather inane rules of this place, even though he still seethed a bit internally. Who - what - was this King Jareth that he could enforce such rules?
"We've established I can't kill" he said with mild sarcasm in response to Armand's smug look. There was no reason the man had to keep rubbing it in. "That's it? I would have thought this 'King' would have had... more interesting rules"

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vagabond_child
2009-05-14 12:35 pm UTC (link)

Empress... one word coming out of the oddly impenetrable mass of Der Tod's mind. Armand's eyes widened, but he, perhaps wisely, chose to say nothing. After all, it was just one word. And the accompanying emotion that went along with it was strong, complex, and sort of made his head feel like it wanted to hurt. So he left that alone. He didn't have nearly the level of curiousity that some of the vampires in his world had, after all.

The change in attitude was appreciated, and Armand, always stupidly easy to please, smiled brightly. It really took remarkably little to placate him. "No. We can't leave, we can't go into anyone's room without being invited, we can't kill." He stood on his tiptoes, then shrugged and rose up into the air a couple of feet. He was short. He needed to do that to be able to see much.

"The labyrinth, over there..." Still floating about five feet off the air, he pointed to ea large stone wall. "Complete it, and Jareth has implied we may leave, if we wish. Though, he never actually said as much... just said perhaps."

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touto_kaka
2009-05-14 12:56 pm UTC (link)

Der Tod didn't miss how much a shred of politeness, even tinged with mockery, made the other man almost giddy. It was an interesting reaction, and a useful one. So he favored Armand with another smile, this one less sarcastic appearing.

"Simple rules then. Good" Granted, they were probably the most infuriating rules he'd ever encountered, but that didn't matter. He followed Armand's gaze, though his feet remained firmly rooted to the ground. He had not need for such petty tricks after all. It was enough to know there was a labyrinth. He'd find it for himself later.

"This... Jaerth. Is it possible to arrange an audience?"

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vagabond_child
2009-05-14 02:38 pm UTC (link)

Oh, this was going much better! Armand was practically beaming as he set down on the ground again, and was obviously much more pleased. Maybe it was because he'd only been 17 when he was turned, and he'd never had much in the way of people showing respect for him, but it worked on him like a drug would.

"Yes. Other than that, my new friend, the sky is the limit. It is a cage, but it's pretty, isn't it?" He looked around at the snow-covered landscape. "Merry Christmas, by the way. I doubt it's really the time of Christ's birth, but who cares?" He turned back to Der Tod.

"Oh, you must find your room!"

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touto_kaka
2009-05-14 03:07 pm UTC (link)

Oh yes, this was working quite nicely. Armand seemed almost as desperate for positive attention as Rudolf had been. If nothing else he would provide an interesting diversion. Der Tod cared little for the appearance of his surrounds but he nodded appreciatively at Armand's comment.

"A beautifully gilded cage indeed. And Christmas?" A mortal holiday that managed to interest him less than most, but he would feign interest. "Certainly the perfect weather for it." He didn't feel the cold, at least not as something that affected him personally, but it did seem rather appropriate.

"My... room?" he asked. It hadn't really occurred to him that he'd need a place to stay here. Then again, he planned to stay as little time as possible.

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vagabond_child
2009-05-14 03:50 pm UTC (link)

"Christmas, can you imagine?" His eyes turned dreamy as he looked up at the sky. "And the presents I got are just unbelievable. How did Jareth know about the egg, the ikon? It was almost infuriating.

"Oh, well. Our King is whimsical, at best." He shook his head clear of his thoughts. "Yes. You must find your room. There's a desk in the main building, come with me."

With that, he turned on his heel and started walking through the snow. The cold didn't bother him in the slightest, though, being a vampire, he prefered warmth. But he was quite comfortable, really.

"Oh, yes. I forgot before. You can see Jareth, if you want... you just have to run his foolish Labyrinth." He sneered in its direction, but honestly, was fully intending to do it himself, once the snow cleared up.

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