( OPEN ) the devil takes care of his own

[poppycock]

Who: klaus, you! + a few closed starters
Where: mansion + grounds
When: july fifth
Rating: will warn if necessary!
Summary: klaus is in wonderhell and he's not super happy about it
The Story:

mansion + grounds.

[ klaus has settled, inasmuch as he intends to here. if nothing else, wonderland has been surprisingly accommodating. he has a room quite fitted to his taste, one of those handy and interesting closets for anything else he might need (save a few particular objects, as he's been told and proved for himself), and all the booze one could possibly hope for.

he believes it's time to find out more about his new prison. klaus stops only shortly in front of the mirrors in the hallways, wondering about their dangers. the library holds some significant attention of his, since it is the wonderland's supposed trove of information. it's certainly a curious place and one that astonishes even him in its breadth. though he does not linger to read, he does pull a few of his favorites (the art of war, hamlet...) and a few oddities off the shelf to browse. hamlet in particular seems to strike a chord in him; he tempers the grief on his face before putting it back.

later, he'll stop in one of those quaint tea rooms for lunch. a perfect opportunity to sit back, watch the residents come and go, and learn something about them from afar. of course, he's brought the hefty tome history of the peloponnesian war for a cover for his creeping some light reading.

the vendors also hold a particular interest to him. while he browses, he does not dare buy. not even when his eyes catch sight of a wooden horse, a small trinket about the size of his palm. it sits quite harmlessly at one of the tables and klaus stares at it with rounded eyes, still and stricken for a long moment.

eventually, he ends up at the bar because he could certainly use a drink after his day of exploration. he'll sit on a stool and order a whisky - only the best. ]

feel free to begin a starter literally anywhere in the mansion or on the grounds if none of these work for you and you still wanna tag! klaus will see it all. he will literally be in the boiler room to check it out. i cannot stress his paranoia-induced thoroughness enough. feel free to pm this journal or send me a plurk @ provenance if you have a question or are unsure about anything!

Comments

[hypoxic]

{{ OOC: Oh, good! I mostly just the TVD/TO casts mourning the fact that I don't have the time to play the littlest Gilbert. And then I was like "WELL Klaus probably needs people to threaten / be afraid of him that's almost as good." And now we're here. I should stop talking. }}

[ This is exactly the opposite of what he'd hoped today would be like. Who even talks in libraries, anyway? Uncivilized people, that's who. ...Except uncivilized people aren't usually the kind to indulge themselves in that kind of literature. He stammers a reply once addressed, though it's more of a mumble than anything else.]

It's -- just. Nothing. I was only... There's much to be learned from the resources available here.

[poppycock]

[OOC: talk away!! aw the littlest gilbert :3 but yes klaus does enjoy intimidation and threats......]



[ it's been klaus' experience (and nature, actually) that civilized and uncivilized behavior are rarely mutually exclusive. he'd just as soon spend an afternoon reading as he would tearing an unfortunate someone or two apart. but if they're addressing uncivilized behavior, klaus would argue staring perhaps counts. (not that he's ever creepy himself. and knows it. :|)

mumble or not, klaus hears it and he's patient enough through the stammering. he looks at fitz assessingly, taking his measure. he gestures to the quiet, open tables around them. ] You would think more people would be here, in that case. And what are you hoping to learn?

[hypoxic]

{{ Here for Klaus' ego-stroking needs. }}

[An assessment like that could reveal a lot about a person. Fitz is a small-framed man, with a chin full of several days' worth of patchy scruff. His eyes are ringed with dark circles, suggesting that he isn't one to indulge in sleep much.]

Alternate dimensions operate on variant rules. If we're to -- [He stalls midsentence, automatically switching gears away from something he assumes won't be understood.]

If we can come to understand the way in which we were brought here, we might be able to gain control over the process.

[poppycock]

[ fitz and klaus have that in common: though he's built a little wider and he doesn't need as much sleep. the young man's stressed appearance is something klaus does note: the man is clearly feeling the pressures of this place and perhaps a few of his own. he's dogged, clearly. seemingly intelligent. klaus is interested the moment fitz starts to elaborate and he does appreciate the switching of gears. for as long as klaus has been alive, science hasn't necessarily been his strong suit, but he knows enough to get by. enough to understand the theory.

what he does know is people. fitz isn't used to speaking to others that do not know his language. perhaps he isn't used to speaking to anyone but himself. all the better perhaps, because klaus likes what he hears: that someone has the tools and drive to figure a way out. ] And do you think it's probable?

[hypoxic]

I think it's going to have to be. I'm not in the habit of letting rubbish magic dictate what happens.

[If the word "magic" sounds especially bitter, it's because nearly every scientist here throws up their hands at the idea of a magic barrier, instead of continuing along the path of the scientific method. It's lazy scholarship and he judges them thoroughly.]

[poppycock]

[ klaus can't help but smile at that, dimpling with his own private amusement. he's not in the habit of that either, though it remains to be seen if fitz has klaus' length and depth of experience with meddlesome witches. klaus takes the chair across from fitz and sits. it doesn't occur to him to be invited; he'll invite himself. ] Neither am I. And is it possible, [ he pauses, pointedly; he wants to see how the young man will react to reasonable doubt, and pressure ] for you? One man figuring out the secrets of an alternate dimension seems so unrealistic one might liken it to impetuous fantasy.

[hypoxic]

[He watches this man slide into the seat across from him, tensing in tiny, subtle movements. His fingers tighten, and his back straightens. It could be that he's responding to some perceived aggression, or just that he's swallowing back annoyance at the promise of prolonged interruption.]

It's possible. [The answer comes firmly, and a bit snidely, during the brief pause, even as Klaus speaks over him. When the questions continue, he pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to gather enough words in queue to keep from stumbling over them as they spill out.]

Magic is nothing more than science that we don't understand yet. If any of us were to go back in time a thousand years, the things we take for granted would be considered magical to those people. As a scientist, it is my responsibility to make impetuous fantasies real.

So. Yes, it's possible. I just need to figure out how to make it probable.

[poppycock]

[ perhaps both, considering there is usually something predatory and threatening to perceive about klaus, and fitz has his undivided attention at the moment. why he is agitated is only another piece of the puzzle. he's amused at the interruption and not a little vindicated. (anther person at another time might have paid for the insubordination dearly, but klaus wants to see how he'll react.) it's true; a little pressure on someone as stressed and stretched thin as fitz is usually gets results, but this man's ego, persistence, and fear is clearly no small thing.

he backs down now, tempers his voice to simple curiosity. ] Any such luck?

[hypoxic]

[The curiosity might be simple, but the answers aren't. A muscle near Fitz's right eye twitches.]

Some, but detailing it would involve discussing perturbative elemental theory focused in developing non-perturbative quantum practices and to be entirely frank I'm not sure that's a discussion you'd want to engage.

[That's a polite way to not have to explain things, right? Usually questions evaporate when he elevates the discourse.]

[poppycock]

[ it's all categorically observed by klaus: that twitch of his eye, that tone. klaus leans back in his seat with a serene smile, seemingly at his leisure, and lifts his hands in a showy gesture. ] Sounds like a discussion you don't believe I would be capable of engaging. [ he's got that number, but he doesn't say to lord it over the man (well not much) only to be frank. ] You would be right. [ he pauses, takes a breath. ] In anything but layman's terms anyhow. But I am curious. [ his expression turns serious and so does his tone. ] Not to mention motivated. [ in his own ways. maiming, killing, manipulating, the like. ] I don't particularly care about the how; I care about the results, and you seem quite dogged in getting them. More than anyone I've met here yet.

[ klaus has to wonder why. everyone has motive and his is the most passionate klaus has seen thus far. ]

[hypoxic]

[His jaw tightens at the purposefully casual gesturing. It reminds him of someone from home he'd fallen for once. It's almost as if the friendliest people are the least trustworthy, sometimes.]

Most people here don't have a choice in the matter. They focus too much on what can't be done. I... have pressing concerns that I need to return to.

[Because nowhere in his summary did he mention getting people home, though that's probably the macro end of things once he's settled his immediate business.]

[poppycock]

[ it doesn't escape klaus' notice that fitz has not expressed the desire to bring everyone else home. he wouldn't have expected him to. this kind of desperate drive is rarely for the greater good; it's personal. klaus isn't trustworthy. he's far from it, but he is not without empathy. he also happens to not be above wielding it when it benefits.

most people don't have a choice. they lack the intelligence or the power or the single-mindedness of a survivor and a warrior to persevere. they are content or otherwise ignorant in their uselessness and surrender.

klaus' expression softens at the hint of that confession. he allows a genuine flicker of humanity to steal his features, shows it. ] So do I. I have a family... [ he looks away, troubled, thinking of his siblings in boxes, hayley alone, and his daughter. ] I need to get back to them.

[hypoxic]

[The tension drains out of Fitz's face when Klaus softens. Sociopaths don't have families they care about. It's an interesting thing to lead with. Fitz has heard surprisingly little about the families left behind. Everyone else seems so resigned that it won't matter, that the passage of time is standing still so that it doesn't matter when they return because they won't have ever left. They don't accept the idea of timeline variants.

This man hasn't given up. He's either new or he knows what real loss is like.]

.... Then. My work is in your best interests as well, it seems.

[poppycock]

[ it does matter. it matters to klaus whether time stands still or not. he has been taken from his home, from his family, and from his daughter. no matter the dire straits he is in there or the release from torment he knows here, he has a promise to keep. he has a sacrifice to uphold. he has to save those he loves and he needs the freedom to do so.

who is to say this place, so powerful and unknowable, is the lesser evil? it has its own designs and anyone who refuses to acknowledge there are wolves around their hen house is only fooling themselves.

klaus needs someone, other than freya. he needs someone who hasn't given up either, who has the aptitude and motivation to approach this in ways his family and he cannot. ]

Yes, it is. [ he speaks without guile now, without pretense. ] I'm not a scientist nor am I capable of magic. But I am interested in your work. I want to know what you know. [ he pauses. ] I know there are labs here. Is there more than just you?

[hypoxic]

[His eyes drop then, shoulders hunching up. His labmates disapprove of his work. They're wonderful people, but they don't understand.]

I share lab space with others, but we all have different projects. There's no shortage of activities that need our attention, just in terms of everyday survival.

Sometimes I almost think that some of them are fabricating tasks to keep me away from the work that needs to be done.

[He wouldn't normally be so open. Maybe he's just desperate for someone to listen. This stranger is the most sympathetic ear he's found in a long time.]

[poppycock]

[ usefully sympathetic. it's disappointing to hear that not everyone shares this man's dedication, but he's not surprised. perhaps it could be better this way. after all, it is easier to gain one man's trust than the confidence of a group. and clearly the man has doubts about them, enough to confide to a near stranger.

klaus glances down, licks his lips. ] Because they doubt you or because they fear it? [ he deduces it is more than likely either one. ]

[hypoxic]

I reckon it's a bit of both.

[He shrinks into himself a bit more. Klaus is rubbing at some horrifically raw nerves.]

You don't really find a lot of encouragement when you start talking about tearing into the structural integrity of an entire dimension.

It doesn't bother you?

[poppycock]

[ he can tell he is rubbing raw nerves; in point of fact he means to. these are answers to questions he needs to know. more importantly, he'd like to measure how quickly fitz might tuck tail and run, if it does come to that. because it is potentially catastrophic: fitz describes it quite eloquently.

it could fail. what this man is attempting very well could destroy them all and their dimensions with them. klaus does not need to fabricate the fear of that worrying his expression. the difference is he doesn't care for anyone in the crossfire, push come to shove. only himself, only his sister, and only camille. (the woman he loves whose existence would cease with this place.

but he would give her up too, for his daughter.)

and even if klaus does believe it might fail, that fitz's dedication instead become blind, dangerous desperation, well. he could cease that folly with a few words.

so yes, it does bother him. but that sentiment is inconsequential; his expression is decided, as is the renewed vigor in his voice. ] I believe in war there are sometimes horrific consequences to necessary risks. We're here to be stripped of who we are. What other option is there?

[hypoxic]

You're talking about the memory loss, aren't you? That's... Less of an issue, I think.

[His dedication became blind, dangerous desperation long before he arrived in Wonderland. He's only just barely holding it together as it is.]

When someone is important to you, I'm sure that nothing could ever pull that away. Not completely. No matter who tries to do it. They'll never be able to steal your family from you. Not where it matters.