open } hiding wolves in wicked skins their darkest sides preserved

[krmvgivv]

Who: YOU
Where: Wonderland
When: 11/11 - 11/13
Rating: Will vary a lot depending on the thread
Summary: Catch-all log for anyone who wants to do stuff post-challenges but still during the event.
The Story:

[Congratulations, you solved all three challenges! Now you get to hang out and wait for your friends to also finish. Plus, you still get to turn into neat animals. Have fun!]

Comments

[theothermrgray]

[Despite his best efforts, the cat lands on Tim's feet with a thud. At least the cat reflexes helped, but what the hell, human.]

[The cat shakes itself off and licks his paws, stopping every now and then to look up at Tim.]

[postictal]

[Tim rubs at the cuts with a low grunt of annoyance more than any sort of pain, scowling. He transfers his glare to the cat as it stares at him.]

What? I said I wasn't gonna catch you.

[theothermrgray]

[The cat pouts at Tim, like it wants to say "I never asked for you to catch me."]

[This slight is easily forgiven, for he has a feeling the moment he transforms into his true self, the other man will either fly off or run. Just like what happened in Neverland.]

[Not wanting to upset Tim any further, the cat rubs itself against his legs, tail up and purring. He makes one or two passes before walking in front of Tim and sitting, expecting to be petted.]

[postictal]

[This is now the second time in this event that a cat has seemed oddly eager to get attention from him. What the hell. Tim's mouth tightens as he eyes the thing wearily, shaking his head.]

Sorry, bud. I don't have anything for you.

[theothermrgray]

[You don't need to give him anything but attention.]

[The cat paws at Tim's feet and rolls over onto his back. Clearly, it wants your company and pets, right?]

[postictal]

[Sorry, pal. Tim doesn't want to risk the inevitable weirdness when the cat turns into a person again. Instead he heads to the nearest tree and leans up against it. He draws a cigarette from the packet in his pocket (fingertips brushing the edges of a tape he doesn't think about, god but he's not thinking about that right now) and light sit up, steadfastly ignoring the feline at his feet.]

[theothermrgray]

[Oh? Is that a cigarette?]

[They looked odd, but they were quite similar to the ones Harry introduced him to a long time ago. Admittedly, he preferred the effects of opiates, but this was one way to possibly forge some sort of bond.]

[Dorian's going to spare you some of the weirdness. The cat walks behind a tree just a few steps away from where Tim's smoking to change.]

[Moments later, a handsome gentleman who looks like he literally stepped out of an Oscar Wilde novel calmly approaches. He may seem familiar, but he's not going to ask you about anything personal... yet.]

Pardon me, but could you spare a cigarette?

[postictal]

[Oh jesus christ where did he come from. Tim stares at the other guy suspiciously, mentally sizing him up. The cat is...gone, and he looks vaguely familiar. Maybe someone he's seen in an event before?

It's hard to keep track sometimes. But he offers the pack out dully in the guy's general direction regardless. He can always get more.]

Knock yourself out.

[theothermrgray]

[Did you want to see the transformation?]

[Whatever, Dorian's going to accept a cigarette from the pack. He holds it out to be lit...]

Hm... I didn't think to bring any matches. Would you kindly light this for me?

[postictal]

[Tim grunts his concession as he flicks his lighter out and offers it up to the guy in question, clicking it on with the hiss of stilling flame.

He's not gonna assume any names. If he does, that just makes it awkward in the future. Just...yeah. Don't bother. Keep things safe and distant.]

[theothermrgray]

Thank you.

[He takes a drag and breathes out a little puff of smoke.]

... Is it just me, or do these rotten events just keep getting worse?

[postictal]

[Depends on how long he's been here, Tim would say. But that'd open a window to turn the conversation onto Tim, and he's not about to risk that.]

Could be worse.

[That's a lie.

He's good at that, it turns out.]

[theothermrgray]

Worse?

[How could it possibly be worse than a labyrinth filled with enemies and your worst nightmares?]

What do you mean?

[postictal]

Give it a few months. You'll see.

[That's a hunch, but given the way things have been going, he thinks it's a pretty good one.]

[theothermrgray]

... Ah.

[Dorian takes another drag of his cigarette, deciding to try making little smoke rings as he ponders the possibilities.]

At least it's over for now.

[postictal]

I guess.

[It's not, though, is it? If it were over he wouldn't have a tape in his pocket and a dozen reminds for something he doesn't wanna think about.

It's never over for him.]

[theothermrgray]

[Dorian glances over at Tim, and notes the tired look in the other man's eyes. There is a sense of pity, now, but the memory of the frightened boy from Neverland lingers.]

[Better to not address the issue directly. This man wouldn't take too kindly to that.]

... Do you drink?

[postictal]

No.

[It's more of an issue of can't drink, but saying so tends to raise a lot of awkward questions. He needs to keep those to a minimum. So instead he flicks ash off the end of his cigarette, wryly.]

One vice at a time.

[theothermrgray]

Of course, of course.

[You can juggle more than one vice at a time, Dorian's living proof of that. However, some people just can't hold their liquor and there is nothing wrong with that.]

[The next thing he could think of suggesting were carnal pleasures, but he refrains from asking. There's an unspoken rule about society, and that is "all men prefer women unless proven otherwise." Though, Dorian could easily get the proof he needed once the man trusted him enough...]

... Going to watch a movie isn't a sin, is it? Just to get our minds off things.

[postictal]

[Tim considers the words blankly for about fifteen straight seconds. The air is silent but for the slow, bracing inhalation of smoke and nicotine.

Is he...]

What, um. [Is it egotistical to presume as much? That'd be laughable, seeing as Tim lacks pretty much anything related to an ego, but now that he's thinking about it he's having trouble really pinning down what the guy is even asking.] Are you, like...asking me out?

[theothermrgray]

... What?

[Wait. Ask me out = date.]

No! No, it's nothing like that at all. I just thought it would be something to do now that awful ordeal is done for.

Like I said, to get our minds off things.

[He leisurely takes another drag, hoping Tim isn't getting the wrong idea.]

[postictal]

I'm not a movie guy.

[An easy excuse. He can say - what, movies remind him of the friends he lost, the friends he killed, implicitly and explicitly, the pretentious jerk who ruined his life by dragging everything through the dirt, just when he thought he was safe from it?

Yeah right. He's not about to say a goddamn thing.]

[theothermrgray]

Oh? I thought you would like them...

[Movies are a staple of modern culture, right?]

... Though I suppose the library is just as good. Really, I'm more used to reading a novel than watching a movie.

[Dorian is still from the 19th century. He'd try new things, but he also appreciates familiar things.]

[postictal]

If that's what you like to do.

[The guy is trying, he can admit that much, but Tim's also pretty firmly of the mind that no one should be getting to know him at all. If he can stonewall him at every turn, lead him to believe that there's genuinely nothing worth knowing there - then that'd be for the best.]

[theothermrgray]

[This fellow is more stubborn than Victor. Quite a challenge, indeed.]

I could recommend a few good stories if you're interested.