(no subject)

[royal_venant]

Who: Regulus Black and YOU
What: Catch all, we’ll see where this goes
When: Early June
Where: Wherever Regulus goes
Warnings: None at the moment, but individual threads will include warnings if necessary

[OOC: Individual thread starts for various other threading ideas will be in the comments, if you have an idea for a thread other than the options presented, hmu on plurk or PM to plot.]

Exploring the farmhouse
On one hand, Regulus was grateful to have been rescued from those forest people who’d restricted his movements quite a bit. On the other, they had fed him and given him shelter, and the freedom and what was on the other outside their dwellings wasn’t impressing him much.

A decrepit farmhouse full of rat droppings wouldn’t impress anyone, in Regulus’ opinion.

He found the garden and the study the most interesting parts of the farmhouse, the places he liked the most.

The garden, for the enchantment placed around it to grow the plants. The plants themselves were uninteresting, but the magic around them was interesting. He could read some of them – earth, (wo)man, sun/time, growth, but he had absolutely no intention of touching them, he was smarter about magic than that. But this was a place where magic existed and that was comforting.

The study was interesting for the books, more specifically, the astronomy books. One look at the stars at night and he knew he was not on earth anymore. Where was he specifically? He had no idea. But though he couldn’t read the language used in the books, he recognized the star charts and could now easily pick out the different constellations. It was a puzzle for him to mull over in his copious amounts of spare time.

Visiting the lake
There was nothing unusual about the lake, and this disappointed Regulus. For a week, he’d watched the forest people shout angrily at it and spit at it, and when he’d tried to sate his curiosity as to why, they would just get fluster and shuffle him away from any direct line of sight of the lake.

Clearly that meant that something was hokey about this particular body of half-frozen water.

But it was just a lake.

However, now that Regulus had moved to the farmhouse and his movements were no longer restricted by the forest people, Regulus found himself coming here, standing on the shore or walking along the edge, again and again, like there was a mystery to unravel. He knew the forest people wouldn’t be forthcoming about their secrets, but maybe if he studied the lake, he’d figure something out.

Comments

For Five and Regulus to meet

[royal_venant]

It was another visit to the lake to find the pieces of the puzzle Regulus was missing.

It was cold as ever, and even with a charm to keep him personally warm, the cold cut deep. He wrapped the furs the forest people had given him around him just a bit tighter, but he insisted on staying out here.

Footsteps behind and to his left made him turn around, and he was relieved to see it was not one of the forest people. Now that he had more of his wits about him, now that he'd recovered a bit mentally from his death and arrival, he had no intention of going back to the forest people.

And yet, he regarded the teen with skepticism because he didn't trust anyone, not even the others Karsa had told him had been taken from other worlds. That was just even more reason not to trust them outright.

It was mid-morning still. "Morning," he said. "Enjoying the lake view?"

[somebadnews]

It was an inevitability that Five would return here eventually. Recent events have proven that there's still something left to this spot that warrants a closer look, though honestly... that's mostly an excuse. A part of him just needed a breather away from everyone. There's hardly a room in that old farmhouse that isn't crawling with people, and as much as he's tried keeping an eye on his sister, there's other complications with being around her. He can't focus like he should. There's only so much he can keep from her, and he doesn't really want to, but it's a delicate balance that gets harder to maintain when there's so many people around trying to throw him off.

So of course there's another man in the exact spot he was hoping would be empty at this time of day. Five doesn't immediately recognize him, but the way he's dressed immediately draws his attention. He frowns when he addresses him. Has he heard that voice before? There's been more than one newcomer in the past handful of days, and it seems even more suspicious to find one by the lake.

He doesn't answer right away. Almost turns around or teleports back before he can get another word in, but instead he steps forward with his hands in his pockets.

"Is that what you're doing?"

[royal_venant]

The teen's mistrust was comforting in its familiarity. Regulus understood it, as he was eyeing the young man warily and granting him the same wide berth. Regulus didn’t try to get closer.

A contradictory, how this wariness could set some part of Regulus at ease, he decided to answer honestly.

“No,” he said. “Not at all. I hate lakes.”

[somebadnews]

His expression twists as he tries to puzzle that out. Not that he's one to judge strange behavior, but his reply is odd enough that he can't completely ignore it. Just recently he was told of a member of the undead who was drawn to this lake, so he has his reasons.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Genuinely asking. Now that he's looking at him more closely, he can see how young he is, so he might just be mocking him. He also speaks too clearly to seem like one of the people who live out here, despite how he's dressed.

Which begs the question -- "Are you high?"

[royal_venant]

"Fuck, I wish," Regulus said. It would really make all of this bearable. And he fleetingly thought to ask if Five had anything with which to get high.

"I'm trying to figure out why the forest people hate this lake so much. Probably," he said, with a half defeated shrug, "Because that... Anurr bloke pissed in it once, or something, so now they hate it by default."

Farmhouse- garden

[bearshermark]

The garden was well-tended. Eleven checked in on it every morning to work with whatever needed doing: harvest, replanting, fertilizing, watering, or otherwise offering a touch of his energy to the runes with a few encouraging words for the plants themselves.

He was used to seeing the others around, but this was a new face he didn't recognize.

"Ah, hello," Eleven ventured, glancing up from his place in the dirt. He'd noted the man's interest in the thralling runes and offered a smile. "Interesting magic, isn't it?"

Re: Farmhouse- garden

[royal_venant]

Regulus was taken a bit by surprise. He hadn’t seen Eleven in the rows of vegetables, working away.

He certainly paused before answering, a part of him thinking he’d just turn on his heels and leave without answering.

“It seems necessary for this garden, given the season,” he finally said.

Regulus squinted at the particular patch Eleven was working on. “What vegetables are growing here?” Regulus had the general knowledge that any number of vegetables grew in the ground but he’d never learned which ones. The greenhouses at school had never grown something so mundane as mere food.

[bearshermark]

He nodded and turned his attention back to the soil, gently prying a red bulb out of the ground in a brief rain of dirt.

"Beets," he supplied helpfully, the nodded over to another patch he had yet to get to. "Turnips, radishes- things that grow underground, mostly."

Eleven massaged the wilted tops of the beet he'd pulled up with a soft frown- more a testament to the cold than his skill, but the vegetable itself would be fine. "I wish we had onions, but they're more likely to rot, so we're doing what we can."

He set the beet aside and started work on unearthing the next. "How are you faring so far?"

[royal_venant]

"I'm fine." He wasn't, but that had more to do with him not having processed the events leading up to, and including, his death. But Regulus was a master at ignoring his emotional wellbeing. So that was really neither here nor there.

"How long have the lot of you been here?"

Garden!

[sergeant_slick]

The Grand Army of the Republic was one of the worst things in the galaxy. Army training was a different matter. First thing to do when you found yourself in unknown territory? Get the lay of the land. Figure out what resources and logistics you had on your side, your defensible positions and where to go when you had to leave. Then, build your plans from there.

Certainly helped keep you focused when you had a splitting headache. Stupid concussion.

Resources at their most basic meant food. He'd checked the farmhouse and the buildings around it, running a mental tally on what was available, how many people he saw, how rations could get divvied up.

That meant checking out the crops as well. He had no idea how fast this stuff grew, though. Unfamiliar planet, unfamiliar plants, all that. At least they seemed to have some sort of tech to keep the plot warm enough to--

Wait. Since when did these locals have tech? What were those symbols that other guy was--

"Great. Magic again," he muttered to himself, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Sure. That's a thing now."

Well, whatever. This was happening, whether he liked it or not. That was familiar, at least. He raised his voice to call out to the other person in the garden. "Hey, do you know how that stuff works?"

Re: Garden!

[royal_venant]

Regulus definitely wanted to just turn around and leave when the soldier strode into the room. Slick at the look and air about him like he knew how to fight, when to fight, and who would win – a physical fight, that is. And Regulus hand none of those skills – physical fighting that is.

Oh, and he clearly didn’t know what magic was. So, a muggle.

A loud muggle who knew how to throw a punch.

But, they were stuck here, and Regulus didn’t want to make any enemies yet.

“I learned how to read runes in school and what arranging them like this would do- the kind of magic it would do.”

He glanced over the runes. “I suppose somewhere in this world, people learn the meaning of runes and how to arrange them. But it’s certainly not the forest people.” During his time among them, he hadn’t seen them write in any form. “Whoever used to own this house knew.”

[sergeant_slick]

He raised an eyebrow. "That answered everything except my question." Magical sleehshit or not, this stuff had a practical purpose, one that was vital to everyone stuck here. He didn't need to know the history, just the present.

"We need to make sure there's enough food here, and this is the only supply we've got control over. Do you know how it works?"

[royal_venant]

Regulus shot him an unamused look. Superior physical prowess or not, Regulus wasn't here to be insulted. "You asked if I knew how this works- not how it works. Choose your words more carefully in the future."

Regulus pointed at the runes. "These are magic incantations written in a language that imbues the magic into the parameters set by the incantations. These runes keep this garden warm enough for growing crops. The magic also helps the crops grow. But the magic needs to be activated regularly, daily-" Regulus now pointed to a specific rune, "by touching that rune. Otherwise, they cease to work."

Lake

[paperbutterflies]

"It seems so peaceful at daylight, does it not?"

The young man has long black hair, half of it in a neat topknot and the rest spilling down his back, white robes with pale blue cloud motifs, and a white forehead ribbon, and he's holding a sheathed sword in his left hand. He doesn't seem frightened or tense, but he is alert, and his mouth is slightly pursed as he looks at the lake.

Re: Lake

[royal_venant]

Regulus, himself dressed in black and looking vaguely as if he'd stepped out of a time machine from the rich half of the late Victorian era, turned, startled.

And then he started again because Godric's tits, the man was holding a sword! A sheathed sword, sure. But where Regulus was from, no one walked around carrying swords.

Merlin save him, where had he ended up?

He hadn't even realized he'd dropped his wand, hidden up in his sleeve, into the palm of his hand. It was habit by now, really. But he did not raise his wand, just clenched it tightly pointing down, in case it was necessary.

After a handful of heartbeats, he'd collected himself enough to ask, "Does it get hostile at night?"

[paperbutterflies]

... of course he is carrying a sword. Where he comes from, it's considered impolite and disrespectful to be among peers without it; here, he is already risking Hanguang-jun's displeasure by being outside in the woods on his own. Considering at the very least the wolves, it would be very unwise to go around unarmed.

Sizhui considers the question for a moment.

"In a way. There are watches now, so those at the farmhouse are safe, but at night, it calls to people. To wander all the way here, and inside it. To the body beneath the waters.

"It is fortunate that nobody drowned or froze for it."

Then he brightens, slightly, eyes crinkling a little. "Although at one point, the entire water of the lake got lifted up so we could examine the body, even if it only stayed up briefly and everyone got wet."

[royal_venant]

It was good information to have- do not listen to the voices that call to them at night. Regulus did not intend to take another dive into a lake with the undead.

"Someone lifted the whole lake?" Regulus asked, a bit incredulous. Also good information to know. Some kind of magic must have been used in order to achieve something like that.

Regulus relaxed a little. This man did not seem intent on unsheathing that sword and using it against him. But he still kept his wand in hand.

"What else do you know of this place," he asked after a hesitant pause, wondering if he should so quickly give away his ignorance and newness. But he needed to know more about where he was and what he was dealing with.

The Farm House

[conjurechaos]

"Is... this a joke?" Whoever or whatever powers sought to pull multiple individuals from other spheres truly had a dark and evil humor. They were here without rhyme or reason to stay in close to squalor. The farm house was not the worst Yennefer had ever seen. It was large, yes. Four walls, a roof that stood on for the most part. Vermin? Well, it was a farm. Being here and the smell of hay made her skin want to crawl from the visceral feeling of being in such a place.

She will get over it. She always prevails. But expressing disgust keeps some manner of energy flowing through her, bottling it up could be disastrous.

"We come here and these are our accommodations." Yes, her nose was wrinkled in disgust as she steps further into the property.

Re: The Farm House

[royal_venant]

Regulus, hands in his pocket, casually walked into the entryway and the unexpected vitriol. But really it wasn't as if he disagreed with the woman who looked ready to curse the whole farmhouse down.

"New, I take it," he said, a half-smile on his face. He hated the rats, but a ward kept him safe at night. The food was bland and lacking in variety, but it was enough, and he could make his own wine - he was working on the whiskey and tea. Sleeping... well, his nightmares didn't pertain to this hovel or world, so that was neither here nor there.

"It's awful," he said. "But better than the snow, or the weird things that happen to you out there at night."

[conjurechaos]

"Do you mean to say that if I wasn't I would not have a sense of taste?" Yennefer hasn't crossed her arms about her chest though she is well on her way to doing so. It's a defensive gesture. At least the lad acknowledged that this was not a regal estate or even a two crown inn.

She sighed out of her nose and continued her look around,the youth hung close. His smile could have been an attempt at being welcoming. Yennefer doesn't offer him more than a glance over from the top of his head to toe. "I take it this is not your property." He's too young for one thing, and another he shows no offense to her assessment. There is a low, waning feel of magic here. It's indistinct inside, it felt more potent in the yard. But here they stood.

[royal_venant]

Could anyone, even the owner of a rubbish heap like this farmhouse, take offense to someone calling it what it was? No one was that delusional. Or they shouldn't be.

"It is not," Regulus confirmed. "I'm just the individual lucky enough to hear your glowing praise of it."

He smirked again, just amused. One more dissatisfied inhabitant, that seemed to be the only thing that united everyone under this roof.

"I take it you don't want a grand tour? The kitchen is this way if you want to try out what passes for tea on this world."

For Lily Evans

[royal_venant]

After the Merchant’s announcement and the explosion of opinions that had followed, Regulus knew one thing – no matter what skill set everyone brought to this table, there was no consensus and no collective identity to this disparate group.

Regulus was feeling more alone than he had when he’d been taken in by the forest people.

He’d been avoiding Lily since their one meeting because it seemed like the less exhausting option for the both of them. If she stayed out of his way, he’d stay out of hers.

But he sought her out now.

His new morality was an unmoored boat, sail up, but a confused and broken soul at the helm, not knowing where he was going. He honestly didn’t know how he felt about her, but as his preconceived notions from his previous life had been unraveling since the moment he’d decided to turn on Lord Voldemort, it was time to follow the winds of change in this new direction.

He found her in the kitchen. It was now nightfall and the voices tormenting them were at their game. They only made him feel more sure of his choice to seek out Lily.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

[lancifolium]

Her forehead was creased and her eyes shut tight, as though she were trying to ride out a bad headache when he entered. This place was dreadful, but those voices at night made it all the more so, and often Lily didn't lay down to sleep until she had wandered the farm for hours, tiring herself out.

Cradling a squat earthy green mug of steaming tea she opened her eyes as he entered, the tension in her expression quickly replaced by something cooler. Not disdainful, simply cautious.

"We can. What did you want to talk about?" It had made sense to not deal with Regulus yet. In a mad world of bizarre circumstances that she was still forming a picture of, it was better to focus on the unknown. She didn't know where his loyalties lay, though she had her suspicions based on the company she could recall him keeping at school. The idea of the dark cloud of asinine Purist rhetoric hanging over her while she tried to orientate herself in Sa-Hareth sounded as wretched as pulling herself from the lake had been days ago. She would find her footing here, and then she would overturn that particular rock.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" Lily held up her own cup before setting it aside to pick up her wand, tugging a small pile of leaves from one of the wild plants outside. "It's a bit weak, sort of the kind you might make your gran so she doesn't stay up too late, but it's passable in a pinch."

[royal_venant]

Regulus approached.

Was it because he'd endured these voices before, when he'd taken the potion, but this time, because they came without the pain from the potion that they didn't bother him as much?

Of course, he was usually drunk at night. So that might be the part that helped him.

He stopped at the table. He eyed the tea and wondered if it was poison or if it tasted better than the stuff the other had come up with. But he bit that question back and stuck to his purpose.

"Truce," he said. "I want a truce." He didn't say why at first, he thought to save that for after an initial rejection so he had something convincing to counter with.

[lancifolium]

Watching Regulus as he crossed the room and stopped at the table Lily's eyebrows raised when he spoke. "A truce?" There was no way of masking the surprise in her voice, not at all put off to the idea, but she certainly would not have anticipated it.

"Well then," Lily changed the leaves in front of her into a mug of tea, using her wand to send it sliding to the other side of the table, where Regulus stood.

Already her mind was whirring away, sizing the situation up as she tried to determine the best course of action. She considered what one of her mentors back at school, Slughorn, might do in a situation such as this one - it was a line of thinking Lily had returned to in increasing amounts in the days since her arrival. Horace was cunning, he knew how to get by and do it well, but he was never cruel in his machinations (perhaps tone-deaf and vain at times, but never cruel). By her approximation he would look to ingratiate himself with those he decided were good, helpful company to keep while seeking to make himself as useful as he could. And he would hear out another wizard in a strange place.

Even one with undetermined personal alliances.

"What are your terms for our truce?"