[Semi-Closed Post: Aornis Is a Real Headache]

[timebethine]

Somewhere around midnight, a migraine descended on Laertes like a thunderhead, and he still hasn't come out from beneath its anvil. He's spent most of the day hiding in bed with the curtains drawn, feeling as though he's about to be sick--and that feeling's only grown worse as the sun has drifted sluggishly to a low apex in the sky.

It isn't until mid-afternoon that he feels well enough to make progress on all his plans. He needs to speak to SecUnit about its drones, to Dionysus about whether Avernus (that is her name, isn't it?) is a goddess, and to Nightingale about whether he can offer magical support in case their confrontation goes sour. He needs to talk with Claudius about what to say when he does speak to her.

So it is that he starts making his rounds through the mansion and its grounds, seeking out friends old and new, clinging grimly to the thermos of coffee that smells sickeningly strong but also helps drive back the pain. His face is wan, his eyes shadowed. He would rather be doing anything but this.

Comments

[timebethine]

"I have," says Laertes. "And come close to having it again many a time."

[vineleaves]

Dionysus thinks for a moment. To be honest he was fairly occupied that night. "I think I remember someone who would fit that description, though I never quite made it over to introduce myself unfortunately."

[timebethine]

"Could you tell, if she were a goddess?"

[vineleaves]

Normally if someone is asking if a beautiful, well-dressed woman is a goddess or not it's because they're infatuated, and exaggerating. Considering this conversation started off warning of danger though, that's definitely not where this is going.

"Generally, yes. I think so." There's always a chance someone is more skilled at disguises than others, not to mention the whole multiverse situation might throw him off, but he is judging based on the rules from his home right now. That's all he can do. "What happened?"

[timebethine]

"Perhaps nothing," says Laertes hastily. "She claims that she is a kind of constable of stories, tasked with returning characters to the tales from which they came--but she has done nothing of the kind here, nor even tried to enforce the laws of her world, and so I must wonder if she is being truthful. And some friends of mine have been plagued by nightmares that feel as though they were sent by some outside force, and those few here have the power to compel dreams have one by one been discarded as suspects. If she has power over dreams, she may have other powers of the mind--and if she is not truthful about herself and her origins, I would know all I can of the extent of her abilities. If she is a goddess, I fear she is beyond our reach."

[wickedwit]

"Wert thou not ill, I would offer thee a toast in commiseration." Claudius gives his knees a rest, shifts and leans back with his head against the hanging coverlet. "I love him no less, thou know'st. But to not care for my lover's hurts, I would have to be a different man. And I would not call it loving, without care."

[timebethine]

"What wouldst thou have of me?" says Laertes. "If thou hast a better answer for his pains, then I will try it."

[vineleaves]

Dionysus listens, growing more and more worried as Laertes goes on. So it is something serious.

"I know several people who might be able to do what you're describing. The nightmares and mind powers part, anyway. But I trust I would have recognized them, had they been present at the party. I -- I still want you to be careful, Laertes." The last thing he wants is Laertes getting returned to the tale from which he comes. That's not even getting into the implications regarding 'mind powers' that Dionysus is all too familiar with.

[timebethine]

"Have you any insights? Any senses that I lack that might divine her nature and purpose?"

[wickedwit]

"I told thee I spoke not to drive thee to an end. If I spoke to Asmodean, I would have an end. I would tell him to break with Sagramore, then pretend I knew nothing of it, and comfort him through his heartache." It's a rather miserable thing to admit. "If I told thee how to deal with him, it would be no better -- only using thee as a proxy for me, a piece upon the board. I suspect the answer lies closer to thy way than mine. To be direct, rather than make deals in secret."

[timebethine]

"I'll speak to him of it," says Laertes, suddenly firm. (It does very much send a little bolt of pain through the left side of his head.) "He need not break with Asmodean--but he must find another way. He cannot love him, and punish himself for loving him; that can have no other end than poisoning that love."

[vineleaves]

"Not -- not without talking to her, I suppose. I'm sorry, my dear, I know this is probably not the answer you wanted to hear. Has she made implications herself about what her goal might be? Or what all she might be capable of? Or has she only mentioned the fictional character thing?"

[timebethine]

"I've not yet spoken to her myself. That was why my friends thought I would be the best choice to learn more of her--I had not yet made an impression of any kind."

[vineleaves]

"Please be careful, my dear, I -- I really don't like the idea of you getting messed up in something like this. Even if her only power is sending people back to where they came from -- well, we would all miss you terribly." Among other reasons. "But if she can really mess with people's minds, that's another reason to stay away. Madness is... a terrible thing to experience. Trust me."

He reaches for a glass of wine to sip, realizes he's only made bottles and not glasses, and gives up. "I should be the one to talk to her. Even if she is a goddess, which I doubt, not even Hera can harm me in that way anymore." He's a little bitter there towards the end.

[timebethine]

"But you are not at the beginning of a famous story, following a course that will never return you to it." Laertes gives him a wry look. "It must be me, if we are to tempt her."

[rememberettersberg]

"Indeed, I don't feel particularly well-equipped to teach today." Nightingale frowns at his sandwich and pushes the plate away. "But advice may not be beyond me. What do you need?"

[timebethine]

"Have you met a woman here, named Avernus?¹"

¹ Pong!

[rememberettersberg]

"Hmm. No, I can't say that I have. Is she new?"

[timebethine]

"She's been here for some months--not a tall woman, nor one of overwhelming presence, but possessed of great poise and beauty. Fair of both hair and face." A sip of his coffee; the nausea rises and recedes in a rolling wave. "Sagramore and I have reason to believe that she has been influencing dreams."

[vineleaves]

“What?! No. You can’t be bait.”

[timebethine]

"Why not?"

[vineleaves]

“Because!” He lets out an exasperated noise. “What if something bad happens to you?”

[timebethine]

"Then perhaps those I love will be preserved by it."

[rememberettersberg]

"Well, the physical description sounds like Aornis; she'd hardly be the first person here to go by multiple names. As for influencing dreams..." Nightingale trails off for a moment as a memory sparks. "Claudius asked me about something similar - is he part of this situation?"

[wickedwit]

Claudius cannot help but smile at that spark of conviction. Laertes would not, he think, be himself without it. And perhaps Claudius would not be himself if, despite all his protestations that will not steer Laertes, he did not offer his opinion. "Be gentle," he say, touching curled fingers to Laertes's forehead, "when thou speak'st to him, or he will think thou art censuring him. He will think it regardless ... but thou shouldst not cease to offer aid, or he will never learn to take it. Old men such as we, who have only ever relied on ourselves, have stubborn hearts." He laughs, soft. "Thou shouldst hear how Galahad scolds me."