ACTION;

[fissions]

[ The taste of seawater is not far from her even within the confines of this castle. Mako is lost, and there is a name on a door where there shouldn't be, as if her arrival was long since arranged and expected. She's lost something important, something precious to her — and the loss rings hollow, a blunted sort of pain she equates with grief.

Mako celebrates and grieves with equal measure, lately.

She is guest and not captive (an assumption that will be corrected later), and it doesn't take long before she's investigating her surroundings, wary, curious, and disoriented because a heartbeat ago she had been with Raleigh in the middle of the ocean, with nothing but the white noise of waves, Tendo's voice in her ear, and the sound of Raleigh's breathing that she marks with care, the warmth of his fingers when they are slotted with hers, filling the spaces between them.

He's alive, but now he's lost. The awareness of Raleigh's presence is in the back of her mind; a unique constancy felt in the turn of a thought, accompanied by the gentle ache of distance.

— Where?

She's still locked in her drivesuit, and while the material is not uncomfortable, it would suit her better to be out of it. (Unfortunately, jaeger pilot technicians are in very, very short supply right now.)

Mako steps out into the corridor, shutting the door to her strange new room behind her before she accidentally bumps into someone. ]

Excuse me.

Comments

[hellofist]

[And that drivesuit is quite the thing to smack into you, too. Luckily for Cass, she's able to get a hand up to catch Mako's shoulder, twisting out of the way before any real damage can be done. Instead of looking annoyed at the whole thing, Cass just smiles at Mako.]

You okay?

[It's a question that covers more than just the almost-collision, because it's not hard for someone who can read body language to tell when she's met a newcomer to the castle.]

[fissions]

[ She moves like a fighter, is what Mako first notices about this stranger. Dark-haired and pretty, Mako supposes that they're largely the same age, give or take a couple of years. Her grip is steady, her tone pleasant, and Mako finds herself nodding. ]

My apologies; I was not looking.

[ Whether she's fine or not is debatable -- but in the grand scheme of things: surviving. Carefully, Mako regards her. ] Are you the owner of this place?

[hellofist]

Me?

[That's just silly and Cass can't help the surprised little laugh it gets from her, equal parts shocked anyone could think something like that and just amused that Mako did.]

No, just live here. Well, in city. But no, I'm just... resident, like you. You're new?

[fissions]

[ Oh. Mako is briefly startled at that reaction - had it truly been that preposterous? Evidently so, she decides a heartbeat later, and inclines her head briefly at what she says next, embarrassment rapidly being replaced by curiosity. ]

Resident? [ She has to live here? ] ...Yes. Yes, I am. I don't remember agreeing to be here.

[hellofist]

That happens. It's not bad, though. Being here.

[But Cass feels bad, because embarrassment certainly wasn't something she was going for. Being friendly is a general default here, but now she feels the need to try a little harder, with this girl.]

I'm Cassandra. Happy to meet you.

[She probably means that it's nice to meet Mako, but she tends to mix sayings like that up.]

[defyingfrigidity]

[Luckily, Mako won't be walking straight into this young woman. With someone familiar here with her now, Elsa's been feeling a lot less distracted and lost in her thoughts. So when Mako walks out of her room, the queen takes a step back, brows rising in surprise. That has to be the oddest armor she's ever seen...]

Please, don't worry. No harm done.

[fissions]

[ Mako nods, and the young woman is not the only one startled. Mako takes in the sight of the stranger's clothes, unique and different, and she's sure she's only seen that in medieval stories. Then again, this entire setup is unnervingly medieval, so perhaps she's the one who's strange here? ]

You are...?

[defyingfrigidity]

Elsa. [She bows low respectfully as she introduces herself. It's the first time she's said something other than "Queen Elsa of Arendelle", but she's quickly realizing that her title means nothing in this place. And considering the setting, perhaps it would be wise to avoid any misunderstandings at the moment.]

Might I know your name?

[fissions]

Mako. [ She clarifies, after a beat, because courtesy begets courtesy, and Mako has never forgotten her manners. She returns the bow with a polite one of her own, surprised that a foreigner like her would take the trouble to do that.

Usually, she's learned, they are not much for Japanese customs. She clarifies. ] Mori Mako. I am given to understand that this castle's owner is not amongst us, Ms. Elsa.

[defyingfrigidity]

[A look of surprise crosses Elsa's face at the introduction. She may not know this young woman, but that name is definitely familiar to her, and - yes, there! She eyes the streaks of blue in Mako's hair, and a small smile crosses her face.]

No, they aren't. [She still refuses to believe that the castle itself is its owner. Even though she knows what magic is, it's hard to wrap her head around that concept.] And forgive me for suddenly changing the subject, but I met a man looking for you not too long ago. Raleigh, his name was.

[fissions]

[ Mako pauses, catching the recognition and that quick glance, curious before she softens perceptibly when Raleigh's name is mentioned -- she knows he's around, could sense him the moment she realised she'd been deposited here; just that he's not close.

She's not surprised, but Elsa is kind to inform her of it all the same, especially when she cannot quite pinpoint his location. The effects of the Drift, she realises, can vary from person to person, from one bond to another. He's obviously been through here looking for her, and she smiles at her new acquaintance, brief but grateful. ]

Thank you. Was he well, when you saw him?

[defyingfrigidity]

Physically, yes, I couldn't see anything wrong with him. And he was certainly friendly enough when we spoke. But he also seemed... distracted. [A small smile crosses her face.] He must have missed you greatly.

[lucre]

[ Between the two of them, it might as well be Halloween again.

Lucrezia would seem right at home in the castle, her flowing dress made of finest embroidered silk, bold red, and hair done up most meticulously. She might not live here anymore but something about the castle makes her wish to return if only to wander through the hallways --and to collect caisos to spend. So it's with a clatter of coins on the floor that she bumps into the girl in armor, too stunned at first to do anything but stand still and wide eyed. ]

Scusate.

[ She wasn't watching where she was going either, holding the leather pouch in one hand as she kneels to start collecting the multicolored coins with her other. ]

[fissions]

[ It's a language she's not familiar with, and Mako can't help but stare, for a moment, at the woman in the flowing, luxuriously red dress. She's stunningly beautiful, as if she'd only just stepped out of a portrait -- and it takes Mako a heartbeat to crouch down, too, helping her with the multi-coloured coins as well, tipping them into her pouch. ]

I am sorry. [ She says quietly, wondering if this is all some sort of elaborate setup. Still, the woman seems genuinely taken aback, which deepens the mystery. Where is she? ]

Do you know what this place is?

[lucre]

[ Lucrezia dresses herself as a painter would meticulously craft his masterpiece. It's a fair comparison in that sense. She grants the girl a grateful smile when she moves to help her too. ]

A castle. [ But that's easy to see. ] A magical one that will grant your every wish for a price.

[ She has been here long enough to make note of the less familiar faces, now gesturing to herself by way of introduction. ] Lucrezia.

[fissions]

[ Mako had never seen anyone the likes of her before, effortlessly elegant and graceful, even in her manner of speech. The content of what she says, however, makes her frown. ]

That is impossible. [ She blurts before she remembers her manners and bows her head, briefly. There must be a mistake somewhere, or this must be an elaborate, tasteless joke -- a magical castle that grants wishes? ]

...Mako. [ She pauses only for a moment, seeks to clarify. ] A castle that grants wishes?

[lucre]

[ Sprezzatura, as they say. The act of concealing the art of something to make it seem without effort. By now though, pretty words come easily. Honest ones are more difficult. ]

Yes. [ Lucrezia tries a friendly smile. ]

You may wish for everything but a person. In return-- [ She lets her gaze wander, eyeing the girl up and down. ] You must have lost something.

next day ;

[raleighs]

[Raleigh's aware of the moment she arrives at the castle, even if he is pretty far away from the quarters at the time, far enough into the town nearby that the pressure in his head lessons, like a sinus pressure vanishing when you aren't sick anymore. He thinks, maybe he's just getting used to it until he makes his way back to the castle and it's even better.

Not just better, his headache at the distance is gone and replaced with something else. Something more like Mako's right around the corner. She's not literally, but he does check and he kind of feels like a creep in that he then more or less follows the feeling in his head around the castle until he finds her.

Well. Her door. Since her name is on it. Oh shit, is she really-- Raleigh reaches up and knocks like ten times in quick succession.]

[fissions]

[ The reason why Mako hadn't set out to find him immediately lay in the impractical nature of the drivesuit, and the desire to have it seen to and removed as soon as possible -- she'd found someone who had been willing to help. After, she had found herself suitable attire, choosing a simple shirt and trousers, paying little attention her clothes when she had been busy gaining the measure of the place, seeking to understand its morbid tricks and impossible bends in logic.

Raleigh is here, she knows -- she could practically sense him around, a comforting presence in the back of her mind, a yearning she can't quite quench until she jumps at the insistent knocking on the door. Of course he would be entirely eager for this, she thinks, because she's pulling open the door right after he's done.

She underestimates the weight of her relief, her joy at seeing him again; as if a part of her had been cut off before and only now is wholly intact -- as if he completed something in her that she never knew was gone. ]

Raleigh.

[raleighs]

[She's really here.

It's different from where he's standing, he's been here more than a week without her, drifting all over the castle and the neighboring town and just kind of making do with the feeling of loss and the headache and trying to find his footing around the new hole in his head. Not quite as deep at the one that Yancy left because Mako's not dead, she's not but she wasn't there either. It's like being separated by an ocean (or another dimension, whatever) and there's no plane back.

But that's okay because one brought her here.

Raleigh smiles at her, twitching like he wants to hug her or kiss her and he just settles for a slight kind of bounce. Like an excited puppy.]

Took you long enough.