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Post by monaco on Sept 8, 2012 18:00:11 GMT -6
Although part of her didn’t want to, and her instincts were nearly screaming at her that something was bound to go wrong and that she should run away as fast as she could, Ciel had re-entered the Manor. She couldn’t help it, really. She was curious. And once Ciel was curious, it was incredibly difficult to dissuade her desire to know things. Ciel wasn’t quite sure, but she yearned to learn as much as she could about the Manor. There was an unsettling feeling and a strange, cold aura about the place. It fascinated Ciel. Of course she couldn’t fight her curiosity; it had already gotten the better of her.
Ciel soon found herself walking through the dark and dank hallways once again. She shivered, and chills ran up and down her spine. Something wasn’t right, and Ciel was determined to find out what.
She decided that the library would be the best place to start. Books, papers and records of all sorts were the primary source of information that Ciel would read through. Remembering the halls as she had already walked through them twice, she recalled the library being on the second floor. She hadn’t originally dared to stay long when she had first stumbled upon it, but now she had vowed to herself that she would find out everything she could about the Manor. It was in her nature, she supposed.
She cautiously entered the room, shining her flashlight about for anything slithering around. Nothing moved, but that didn’t settle her nerves. Not in the slightest. A creaking noise came from behind her and she whipped around, directing the beam where the sound had come from. “Is somebody there?” Of course, it could just be paranoia. But it was always better to be safe than sorry.
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Vasile Ionescu
Survivor
Played by Roma.
Offline.
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"
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Post by Romania on Oct 14, 2012 23:44:29 GMT -6
(Can I jump in? 8>
...
*jumps in anyway*)
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Vasile was having fun.
Hours wandering around the mansion after everyone went their separate ways - most in some degree of panic, poor things! - and he was still enjoying himself as much as ever. There was a certain, eerie aura enveloping the entire building, dripping of the walls and lingering in the air, and he really enjoyed it. With each step he could feel them shift in the shadows, in the air itself. He wasn't quite sure what exactly "they" were, but he knew them to be something sinister. Monsters, ghosts, poor souls trapped inside the confines of the mansion, forever.
He really liked the sound of that, so poetic!
Vasile stopped at the sight of a door he was pretty sure he hadn't opened yet (pretty sure, not entirely sure, his memory wasn't his best quality) and tilted his head, smile in place. Should he go through? What could he find from past there? This was all so exciting, enthralling - every room was a new adventure, an entire world of its own, separate from all the rest. Testament to that was the time not obeying the same rules in two rooms a row - he had noticed that some time ago when his watch had gone crazy.
The Romanian brushed his fingertips across the door's surface. ”They” shifted, tensed, as if they were waiting right on the other side of the door for his arrival. His head felt thick, so full of feelings not his own. Damn, the only problem with a mansion so full of monsters was that... it was giving him a major headache. Well, that, and it was difficult to identify any one creature when to him, they all felt like they were part of one big mass of evil intent.
More poetry. He should definitely write a book sometime, he’d be a best seller for sure.
Which reminded him, he didn’t really have time to peek into random rooms right now; he was looking for a certain room, a door labeled as the “library”. He wasn’t sure what he hoped to find there to be honest, and the mere thought of sitting down and reading in the middle of such delicious chaos did sound strange to him, but… Something within him urged him to visit the place anyway. Maybe it was the simple need to know more – to see if the place held any old documents on the creatures here. Who knew, maybe he could even find some books to help him with his magic; ever since he had stepped foot inside the manor, he had felt his powers go somewhat… awry. He couldn’t summon his good friend Pricolici anymore, and though his protective charms seemed to work, he could also feel a certain sense of dread whenever he thought of using them. Was it a curse? Something every magic user within the mansion experienced? He didn’t know, but he hoped the library would bring answers.
So, allowing his fingers to leave the wooden surface (and feeling ”them” calming down a tad), Vasile set his sights back on the hallway in front of him. He didn’t know where the library was, but he hoped it wasn’t far. Having to walk past all these interesting rooms was killing him.
He walked, spinning his flashlight and throwing it in the air, carefree. He wasn’t afraid of darkness, so he admitted to not really taking good care of the thing. ‘Sides, it was better to save it for the occasions he really needed to see something; he doubted there were spare batteries lying around.
As he entered the second room however, Vasile found himself having to turn the thing on regardless, so as to not miss the library sign; it was darker in here than on the first floor. More silent, too. Was everyone else in a room somewhere?
“Oh well, guess I can worry about that once-,” the Romanian stopped in his tracks, his mouth stuck open mid-sentence and eyes widened as he noticed the door he was walking past. It took only a while for a grin to find its way on his face, and as realization hit him, he couldn’t help but pump his fist in the air. “Aww yeah, one library, found!”
Whistling to himself, pleased, Vasile opened the door – which produced a rather pretty creaking sound – and slipped inside the room.
Only to… have flashlight shone right into his eyes.
Another person?
“Oww! It burnsss!” Vasile hissed as if the light had physically hurt him, holding his eyes and wincing like he was at a danger to be vanquished on the spot. Like always, his slipping into a role was seamless and instantaneous. He was proud. He hadn’t even noticed who the person he apparently startled was, and his own shout had drowned the other person’s words underneath.
Well, it didn’t really matter, he had a role to play!
“Turn it off, wrrretched human, or I’ll ssuck you drrry!” He threatened, fangs bared as he inched closer, still pretending to be a monster in pain and about to eat the poor person alive.
Maybe coming to the library wasn’t such a bad idea after all~
-------------- (( First rp post on the site, yay!
EDIT, 17.10: Changed around the font color for speech))
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Post by monaco on Oct 20, 2012 9:21:04 GMT -6
“Turn it off, wrrretched human, or I’ll ssuck you drrry!”
She jumped at the words, gripping the flashlight. Ciel certainly wouldn’t be directing the beam anywhere else anytime soon. She examined the other figure closely, cautious, but at the same time, intent to find out exactly who it was. She repeated the words over in her head, searching in her mind for the owner of the voice, mixing and matching until it came to her. It was none other than Romania.
Ciel relaxed, but only slightly. She continued to stare at her fellow nation warily. From what she had observed of the other county, he wasn’t exactly the most pleasant person to be around; especially in a creaky, dreary and unsettling manor she barely knew anything about. He was seemingly the type who enjoyed playing with people just for his own entertainment and the sole purpose of the unfortunate target’s reactions. There was also the fact that more than a few of her fellow countries believed him to be a vampire of sorts, and she hadn't believed it before. She doesn’t believe anything that isn’t proven in some sort of logical way, but the Manor was… different. Uneasiness was beginning to drown her.
And besides, who was to say that it was truly the legitimate Romania? She did doubt an inhabitant of the Manor would ever say something like that, and Ciel hadn’t really explored, but something was off. There was the possibility it wasn’t even Romania, but instead an impostor of some sort. She would need to be absolutely positive it was him before she would even consider the thought of trusting him. There were simply too many possibilities of Ciel endangering herself.
But for now, she should perhaps pretend as if everything was normal. That, at least, was something she was most certainly adroit in.
“Hello, Romania,” she greeted, her voice curt and purely business. If she played her cards right, she could very easily turn the situation in her favor. However, it all depended on whether it was actually the genuine article or not. If it was, Ciel had the advantage of knowing how to deal with him in a basic manner. If not, she would at least be able to tell after a certain point, but she wouldn’t be able to escape with her poor fighting skills. She had always relied on someone else for protection and was now regretting that she hadn’t learned anymore than a few simple moves of self-defense. Ciel was no better than a trapped mouse, but if she used her wits, she might have a chance of surviving.
Of course, she was thinking as if it were the worst case scenario in which the “Romania” was indeed a fake and instead a roaming monster that would easily kill her. She was supposed to be near-immortal, being a county, yet Ciel had a deep sense of dread within her. Her instincts were screaming that she could, in fact, die in the Manor. Even (or perhaps, specifically) in an extremely, bloody and violent way at the hands of a Romania impostor.
She grimaced at the thought.
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Vasile Ionescu
Survivor
Played by Roma.
Offline.
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"
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Post by Romania on Oct 29, 2012 6:49:17 GMT -6
The woman was initially startled – much to Vasile’s joy – but it didn’t seem to take long for her to gather her thoughts and settle down.
She didn't answer immediately, most likely due to so many thoughts rushing through her head, but when she did, Vasile’s threatening expression instantly fell from his face. Not only because of her words, but also because of the tone of her voice; it wasn’t the scared, terrified tone he had expected and hoped for. No, it was calm, curt, like the two had just been introduced to each other in a business meeting. It was a little wonder she didn’t offer her hand for a shake to top it off. How disappointing. Out of all the people trapped in the Manor, he just had to find the one who wasn’t a scaredy-cat, didn’t he? She seemed to recognize who he was too, phooey.
Allowing his shoulders to relax and a pout to occupy his face to let show his displeasure, Vasile sighed. Oh well, first attempt to scare her failed. Unless she was really shivering inside, you never knew, right? Right, and next time’d work for sure. It didn’t help to frown now, it wouldn’t change anything. So, face back to normal and disappointment gone as quickly as it came, Vasile nodded towards the person in front of him.
“Right, hello-,“ it was mid-sentence that he realized he had no idea who he was talking to. “Uh…”
Vasile swung his flashlight to a proper angle and clicked it on, allowing the light to illuminate both him and his earlier ‘prey’, who he now saw was a somewhat strict looking female with light hair and glasses. Huh. Vasile tilted his head at the sight, not entirely sure who he was staring at still. Like mentioned, he wasn’t blessed with the best memory in the world, and so searching for the right name took him a considerable while. Luckily, the list of females he knew seemed to be a lot shorter than the list of males, so going through every name until he felt that ‘click’ wouldn’t take so long.
And then it him all of a sudden.
“Monaco! Yeah, that was it, right? Monaco!” Vasile shouted, excited, slapping a hand on his forehead as if to illustrate how the realization had hit him. It didn’t even occur to him to try and hide the fact he had had trouble remembering her, it was never part of his nature to particularly avoid insulting someone. Instead he just grinned, pleased with his accomplishment, and took a step closer. “I remember now. My friends – ah, they’re bats, see, they’re everywhere – told me your blood should be reaaally delicious. And they know good blood when they smell it, they’ve sucked so many people dry! Haha!”
Vasile smiled from ear to ear, taking another well-planned step closer. He’s earlier attempt at fun had failed, but maybe this time he’d get a more of a reaction out of her? Keeping up his smile the Romanian lowered his head for a polite, profound bow, his left hand removing his hat with one big, almost theatrical motion. He looked up, his back still bent and offered a hand towards Monaco, making sure his eyes were fixed on her face at all times to catch her reaction... Whatever it is.
“Would you…” he began, trying to find a proper, beseeching tone to use, “allow me to taste your blood to see if the rumors were true, m’lady?”
He was kidding, of course.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t realize that.
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Post by monaco on Oct 31, 2012 19:19:56 GMT -6
Ciel sighed. It wasn’t surprising that Romania didn’t immediately recognize her; she wasn’t exactly what she would define noticeable in the world. A small nation, known for tourism and her casinos (which ironically weren’t even her designs) located between Spain and France. Rarely, people knew who she was and that she even existed.
It seemed to be the real thing. She doubted that an imposter would have such a reaction, because even though they may try, they could never be the genuine article and copy the original perfectly. Forgetting her simply wasn’t something a fake would do.
She was growing increasingly more uncomfortable as the other steadily moved closer and closer. And the smirk dancing mischievously across his face didn’t help, either. Unconsciously, she took a step back. He was succeeding in making her anxious, and it displeased her. She knew he was only playing a game of cat and mouse with her, but it was convincing enough to make a crack in her mask. Romania’s dramatic (and what one would usually consider a well-mannered) greeting also irritated Ciel, to the point where she adjusted her glasses to disguise her nervousness. It was all fun and games to him.
“Would you… allow me to taste your blood to see if the rumors were true, m’lady?”
Ciel’s breath hitched, and she involuntarily took another step backwards at the words. It was more than an understatement to say they were unsettling, in the least. She continued to tell herself, surely Romania knew the rumors about himself and liked to play games of reverse psychology purely for the sake of amusement. With great difficulty, she barely managed to keep herself composed and her handle on her flashlight far too tight for comfort. Her palms were becoming sweaty, and she reprimanded herself for not having complete control over her body. She took a few quick deep breathes to relax her tense shoulders and to try and cool her heated face, but her blue eyes remained dilated and alert with fear.
“My apologies, but I must refuse your request,” Ciel inwardly praised herself for being able to keep a calm tone, “I am planning on leaving this place without losing a single drop of blood.”
By ‘this place’, she may have meant the library, but she may have also meant the Manor itself. Ciel wasn’t quite sure. Regardless, she didn’t know if leaving fully intact was even an option. And she disliked not knowing things, the future especially, even though probability and chance were hard to measure. But then again, she was an avid fan and participant of various types of poker, a game which heavily depended on probability and chance. More than often was she victorious. She was an unwilling player of this game, but she had no choice but to win.
Ciel could only hope that she was holding the right cards.
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Vasile Ionescu
Survivor
Played by Roma.
Offline.
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"
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Post by Romania on Nov 11, 2012 2:04:42 GMT -6
Vasile quite enjoyed the situation. The woman’s few, careful steps away from him, the nervous adjusting of her glasses, the change of pace in her breathing… It all told the Romanian more than any of her words ever could. He couldn’t claim to be an expert when it came to human behavior or even psychology in general, but he did know a thing or two and definitely recognized the signs of anxiety, of lingering fear and doubt when he saw them; he had studied his fellow humans enough to.
He could tell that Monaco didn’t completely believe him, and to be honest, it didn't surprise him. Rare were the occasions when anyone believed his tales without a question. It wasn’t in people’s natures to accept scary things without denial, after all. But like with most everyone else, she couldn’t be absolutely sure he was just playing, either. Ignoring possible danger wasn’t part of a human nature either, and it was the doubt Monaco had to be experiencing right now that made the situation so enjoyable. She couldn’t be sure. What if she relaxed too much while thinking he wasn’t serious, and lost her life – or at the very least some blood – due to her mistake? She wouldn’t risk it. She’d be cautious. Humans always were.
He knew, because in the end, he was just a human as well.
Vasile chuckled to himself as he patiently waited for the woman to get herself together and answer. There was no rush; the more time she took, the more shaken she had to be, and so, the more accomplished the young Romanian felt. At first, he had been a bit let down that he had ran into of the more serious people in the manor, but now he was actually more glad than sorry.
That was because, to Vasile, there were two sorts of serious people in the world. The first ones were the ones he didn’t like, the ones he wanted to stay away from if at all possible. They were the stoic, adamant types who were unmoved, unaffected by jokes and threats alike. Their mask never cracked, they were walls Vasile couldn’t break. They were the ones who made him anxious.
And then there was the second type, the people whose serious faces hid under so many different emotions. People who were serious because they saw the need to be. They weren’t emotionless walls, they were people who tried to be tough and formal. They could be affected, and their emotions could be dragged onto the surface. It was this latter type that Vasile actually enjoyed to interact with it, and it was apparent now which category Monaco belonged in.
Thank god.
“My apologies, but I must refuse your request,” the woman answered just then, her tone calm just like previously. But this time, Vasile was not fooled. That calmness was fake. “I am planning on leaving this place without losing a single drop of blood.”
Romania found her way of clinging onto formal language and manners funny. Adorable, even.
“Aww, well isn’t that a shame. I was looking forward to it too,” Vasile replied with a well-mimicked (if, again, overdone) pout, before he straightened his back and placed his hat back on his head. He allowed himself a small chuckle and a grin, eyes still focused on the woman. “But you know, things rarely go as planned, right?”
Vasile decided he’d change his approach to something a little less aggressive for now. Sometimes it was best not to outright threaten people, but to implant an idea, a fear in their mind instead and let the victim’s imagination run wild. Usually, people who were afraid could come up with far more horrid images than any outsider ever could. He would stop advancing now, and just give her a thought to mull over. One that would dwell inside her mind for a while, grow and frighten her. And then at some point, he’d say it was all just a joke and finally allow her to relax. It’d be fun! Would she be mad that he tricked her? Would she be relieved she was safe? Or… would she still be afraid and untrusting? He couldn’t wait to find out!
So, the Romanian took the last few steps forward, just enough to catch up to the woman and stand right in front of her. He flashed her a smile and bent his back just a bit once more, in order to be able to whisper close to her ear. That was usually pretty effective. Even… if it had earned him a black eye more than once. Some women in particular could be so very violent.
Shaking those memories away, Vasile focused back on the situation and spoke, his voice naught but a whisper.
“Because you know, I have a plan too, and I'm pretty stubborn about it,” he lied to her, lowering his voice just a tad as he continued: “See, before we leave this mansion..."
Vasile took in a breath.
"I... plan to taste your blood," a short pause, "and I will not let anything stop me, m'lady.”
He straightened, his face in a joyful, friendly smile again as if he hadn't just basically threatened her. "So! What are you doing here at the library~?"
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Post by monaco on Nov 22, 2012 6:19:58 GMT -6
If she were to be completely honest, Ciel would say she had close to no idea concerning how to deal with Romania.
He was a special case. Ciel, unfortunately, couldn’t say she had ever even interacted with anyone remotely similar to the nation. He was conniving, he was insidious, he was sly and he was completely smooth with his words. He liked playing mind games.
It irritated her.
“Aww, well isn’t that a shame. I was looking forward to it too,” Ciel was beginning to hate that mocking tone. But she refused to give Romania the satisfaction of seeing how much it was affecting her. “But you know, things rarely go as planned, right?” He moved even closer, and the Monegasque was just about ready to slap him away. She was sorely tempted to. Physical contact was irking in most situations, but even more so in this particular one. She hardly even knew Romania; she couldn’t bear the thought of him touching her of all things.“Because you know, I have a plan too, and I'm pretty stubborn about it,” Oh, is that so? The rhetorical question echoed in her mind. She shied away from him; his breath was tickling her ears in the most uncomfortable way possible. Yet the only thing she could do was awkwardly stand there, unable to move.
“See, before we leave this mansion...I... plan to taste your blood," She stiffened here, her breath getting caught in her throat against her will. She reprimanded herself for her lack of control over her body; it figured that the one crucial time she really needed her body to obey her, it didn’t. She couldn’t show anymore weakness to the other country than she already had. "and I will not let anything stop me, m'lady.”
What Ciel detested the most was that she couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. Was this what it felt like to other nations who conversed with her during business meetings? She wouldn’t say that Romania used a poker face like she did and hid away her true feelings, but instead the exact opposite. He seemed to display his emotions at all times with a mischievous grin, always amused, entertained and/or looking to be.
"So! What are you doing here at the library~?" It was an understatement to say she was relieved when he gave her back her personal space, and shifted away. But the feeling of uneasiness persisted. Everything about him was rubbing her the wrong way and strangely giving her a feeling of despair.
“I do not believe that is any of your business,” She replied, fixing her glasses one more time. Her voice adopted the same business-like tone as before. She didn’t have any intention of telling him what she was doing, and she couldn’t see herself doing so anytime in the near future. “I think a better question would be what you are doing in the library. You do not seem to be the… library type.”
One could never judge by appearances, of course, but now Ciel was looking to extract information. She had to gain the upper hand in this little game, and somehow get control of it. As soon as Romania had taken on a more relaxed tone, she felt… Well, she didn’t want to define it exactly as “safe”, but she didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger. Of course, she wouldn’t be forgetting his strange threat or letting down her guard anytime soon.
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Vasile Ionescu
Survivor
Played by Roma.
Offline.
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"
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Post by Romania on Nov 23, 2012 3:36:52 GMT -6
Vasile allowed a sly smile to grace his features as he saw the way Monaco reacted to his sudden change of both subject and tone. She seemed relieved to say the least, as if a huge, pressuring weight had been lifted from her mind. Oh yes, Vasile recognized that wave of relief that washed over her – after all, he had been the one to set it in motion in the first place.
In that same vein, he could see that the woman didn’t let herself completely relax still. She was relieved, yes, but she wasn’t at ease, because doubt was one of the most difficult feelings to scrub off once implanted. It would take a lot more than him backing off and beaming at her for her to ever let her guard down near him, or for her to trust him. It suited Vasile perfectly though; it wasn’t her trust he sought, it was her real feelings and emotions, dragged to the surface and laid bare from behind that poker face she always wore. He didn’t want her to trust him, because it was her being so reserved that kept up the tension, that kept this little game in motion.
That kept the Romanian entertained.
It wasn’t that he had anything against Monaco. He wasn’t doing what he was out of spite or meanness, no. This was just a friendly little game, and nobody would be harmed once this was over. It wasn’t anything personal, either, as this entire game was one he could have been playing with anyone he deemed suitable and in the right set of mind; Monaco just happened to be the first one to stumble upon him when he was bored. That wasn’t to say Vasile wasn’t glad it had been her and not someone else, though; he was hard pressed to find a more entertaining person to mess with than the formal Monaco. As the young man had come to expect of herby now, it didn’t take long for Monaco to use this small break to rush and regain her composure. It didn’t take her as long to answer as it had previously either, suggesting her mind wasn’t filled to the brim with questions and escape options anymore. She was again serious and seemingly determined – back to her usual self, in other words. Even her tone, once she opened her mouth, was back to its usual stoic, business-like self, despite her eyes having shown the Romanian a multitude of different, even heated emotions just seconds before. Despite what she might’ve hoped however, her words could not hide what she had already shown, they could not bring back composure once lost. Because words, Vasile had found, had little weight when compared against body language and whatever a person’s eyes displayed. Words were, after all, chosen by the person speaking them. That meant they could contain lies. The body did not lie, as it was not completely controlled by a person’s will.
“I do not believe that is any of your business,” Monaco fixed her glasses; that was what the Romanian paid attention to first. Her nervousness was still there then, just shoved behind this mask called ‘formality’. It was stored away, ready to be dragged back outside on the slightest cue.
Or then he was just overanalyzing her. Entirely possible, he kinda had a history with that. Either way, he was having fun.
“I think a better question would be what you are doing in the library. You do not seem to be the… library type.”
Was she complimenting him, or was that a subtle jab at his intelligence? Vasile found himself not quite knowing the answer, though in all honesty, either option was fine with him. Compliments were always nice and well-received, but listening to little insults from his ‘victims’ – honestly, he hesitated to refer to them that way, it made him sound all mean and predatory – were of course welcomed with open arms as well. He had nothing against a small battle of wits, even if being snarky wasn’t at all his thing. He rarely got into arguments or started throwing around insults – he didn’t like to do that, and it wasn’t at all what he excelled in. He was better off just sticking to his mind games if he wanted to affect someone. After all, why would a chess player, so clever and able at his game, cast away his pieces to go play card games instead?
Well, whichever meaning the woman’s words carried, Vasile’s answer remained pretty much the same; a small, amused laugh at the words and the wit, before he wrapped his arms around himself as if he were cold.
“Brr,” he began, once again dramatically and with a very visible shiver, “You’re being so cold I’m afraid my blood’ll freeze.”
There it was again, the word ‘blood’ to remind her of his promise, of his – false – intent to harm her when given the chance. He spoke it almost by accident.
“Well,” again the Romanian started his sentence with a simple word, this time accompanied with a shrug and an expression mimicking thoughtfulness. It wasn’t a fake one either, as it did in fact take the Romanian a while to recall exactly why he was in the library in the first place. He carefully played back his earlier actions and words, all the moments during which he felt joy and excitement for getting to play with someone, all the moments when he had been so lost in thought he had forgotten where he was, until he finally found it. The initial reason, the spark that had led him here.
“If you must know, I’m here to look for something,” it was as accurate an answer as he could give. He didn’t know why he was here, he never had. All that had guided him here was a feeling, a sudden will to visit the place to see if it held anything of interest. The will to know more, to explore, he did not know. He had assumed it was because he wanted to see if the books could help him with his magic, but to be honest that had been more his interpretation than an actual fact. Still, it was the best he could offer. And surely mentioning magic in front of such a no-nonsense woman could spark something interesting?
“Something to help me with my magic,” he went on to say with a nod. And it was in the middle of that very sentence, in the middle of telling the truth that the Romanian got an idea, one he could not help but implement on the spot. Without so much as pausing for longer than usual, he allowed himself a smile and continued: “I want to curse people.”
This time he took his time to breathe, to let that sentence sink in before he placed his hands behind the back of his head, leaning on them and grinning in joy. He really was having so much fun! He loved interacting with people.
“I used to be able to do that,” he explained, his words not quite lies yet not quite the truth either. No, he couldn’t outright curse people, but he could summon a werewolf; if sticking a monster after people wasn’t cursing them, then what was? It was all about interpreting him right. It wouldn’t be his fault if she taught he actually cast black magic upon people. That was the way he always was; he wasn’t one to outright lie about things, but at the same time, rare were the times when his words weren’t at least a bit twisted to suit his purposes better. His words and his actions, all of them were a curious mix of honesty, trickery and mockery. He himself would say that he didn't lie; he joked. It wasn't his fault if people took it the wrong way. “But ever since coming here, my powers have been acting up a tad. So I’m not sure if I can do that anymore. It bothers me. I hoped to find a cure, and possibly a target to test my powers on when done reading.”
He let his gaze wander on the shelves upon shelves of books as he spoke, his form relaxed and tone casual, until he finally turned his gaze back to the woman again and smiled, eyes closed and clearly joyous.
“I haven’t found the book yet, but at least I found the target already! I’d say I’m off to a good start~!" He winked at her and then took a few steps away from her, towards the shelves. "So now, should we search the books? I’m sure you’re looking for something as well. I can help.”
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Post by south on Nov 27, 2012 15:36:35 GMT -6
[style=font-family: open sans condensed; font-size: 36px; letter-spacing: 2px; margin-bottom: -25px; color: #7C1C05]ROMANO LOVINO VARGAS[/style] [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,475,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][style=width:175px; border: 3px solid #7C1C05; height: 450px; float: left][/style] [style=float: right; width: 293px; color: #efefef; background-color: #7C1C05; height: 30px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 24px; margin-left: -2px; text-align: center; padding-top: 10px]Abyssus Abyssum Invocat[/style][style=float: right; width: 272px; color: #7C1C05; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -0.5px; font-family: helvetica; padding: 10px; margin-top: 1px; text-align: justify; border-left: 3px solid #7C1C05; margin-left: -5px; height: 391px; overflow: auto; background-color: #efefef]
► If Romano was unhappy before, nothing could describe the antagonizing rage that he was feeling now. To hell with the manor! To hell with the American Bastard! To hell with the monsters and the nations and the creepy auras that sent shivers down his spine whenever he dared to pay attention. To hell with it all! Where the fuck was Feliciano? Honest to god that pasta-loving bastard had basically vanished into thin air. Sure, at the beginning of the party he had asked for him to stay away as long as he was near the Potato Bastard, but where the fuck was he now? The Italian nation growled. Oh goddamn, when he found that guy . . . .
► It was not lost on Romano that this creepy mansion had some sort of time gauge that even the "Great Britain" could not penetrate with his faery magic and unicorns. It seemed that as soon as he took a step, anywhere, time shifted around him and engulfed his presence into something that of invisible to others or others invisible to him. He had met few, Vietnam being one and that was not a pleasant encounter, and some more nations that he knew less of here and there, but for once, that once-in-a-lifetime chance that he would actually go searching for Feliciano, he could not find his goddamn brother! Bring on the entire motherfucking groupé of monsters, just let him find his brother!
► It had come to a point that he had started to even miss Spain. Of all people (or nations) Spain! He shook his head in utter disbelief. Of course, he could be scared shitless and in fact, every time he turned his head he wanted to bring up his guns and shoot at the first thing that moved. But he was cautious, the bullets were few and he doubted an extra supply would be handed to him on a silver platter. If anything ended up going on a silver platter around here, it would probably be his head.
► He sighed. He had never been this frustrated in his life, well, maybe that one time when Antonio . . . or the one time when Feliciano . . . and perhaps at that world meeting with the Potato bastards. But that was beside the point, none of those situations were held in such a cost of penalty. None of those situations called on deep fear. And none of those situations tugged deep down in Romano's heart of the greatest loneliness he had experienced in a while.
► In short, the southern personification of Italy desired companionship. Although, he hoped he would not stumble into one of the more useless nations, useless being defined as annoying or just plain insane, god he hoped that did not happen. And so was his last thought as he unwittingly walked slowly into a seemingly undisturbed library.
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[style=width: 453px; background-color: #7C1C05; height: 35px; margin-top: -4px; font-family: oswald; padding: 10px; color: #efefef; font-size: 10px]TAGS: Monaco ▪WORDS: Don'tknow NOTES:I hope that you do not mind that I am joining! Also, sorry for the lame post, it literally felt like I was trying to pull nonsense from thin air . . . which I did.[/style] [style=margin-top: -15px; opacity: 0.6; font-size: 10px] made by FLOU of OTE.[/style]
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Post by monaco on Dec 1, 2012 9:28:16 GMT -6
Ciel didn’t appreciate his sarcasm. Not one bit.
She was starting to reach the point where she was ready to lash out in anger. Coercing her into getting so riled up was quite a feat to be accomplished, and it seemed Romania had (which only further irritated her when she realized this). Her neutral expression gave nothing away, but she was almost completely sure that her eyes were betraying her. She could feel them flashing in fury and annoyance.
The other nation seemed to talk constantly. He never shut up, with the exception of questioning her with that amused glint in his eyes. Romania blabbered on and on, and Ciel was sure that she could formulate an essay about how much he loved to hear his own voice. She was still paying attention, of course, but five specific words snapped her out of her furious musings.
“I want to curse people.”
Ciel had been glancing off to the side, fiddling with her flashlight, but now her attention was straight back on him. Which was probably what he wanted, but she paid no heed to that.
He was a magic user.
Now, proclaiming to be a vampire (or rather, insinuating it) was a stretch, but magic wasn’t. Ciel didn’t seem like the type to particularly believe in magic, but she had collected data and observed England and Norway's abilities before. It didn’t matter if the rest of the world assumed them to be ‘crazy’ or ‘insane’ for practicing magic and their ‘imaginary friends’, but Ciel believed it. She was in possession of enough proof to know it existed. And she wouldn’t be surprised if Romania could actually curse people.
What a troubling situation, she thought to herself. I’m trapped in an unexplored, deserted mansion with a magic user who claims to be a vampire and plays mind games with people for fun. Just wonderful.
And she had been (inwardly) complaining about sarcasm before. Ciel was a hypocrite.
“I used to be able to do that, but ever since coming here, my powers have been acting up a tad. So I’m not sure if I can do that anymore. It bothers me. I hoped to find a cure, and possibly a target to test my powers on when done reading.” He seemed far too laidback for her liking. And why was he telling her about not having his magic? Surely he wouldn’t expose such a weakness to her. After all, what if she had ill intentions and was planning on assaulting him? …Perhaps it was just she was more paranoid than others. Yes, that was probably it. “I haven’t found the book yet, but at least I found the target already! I’d say I’m off to a good start~!" Ciel did her best to ignore that infuriating wink. But, interestingly enough, he turned away from her and moved towards the bookshelves. The thought of assault once more came to her mind. Why would he leave his back undefended? Maybe he wanted her to attack him? No, that’s foolish. She easily dismissed the idea. Ciel had been told more than once that she tended to over think the situation. She suspected this was another one of these times, but to be entirely honest with herself, she was more unsure than before. Something seemed as if it could go one way, but could go the other, yet… It all ended back to the start after traveling around in countless circles, rethinking possible escape routes, and ultimately, proved completely ineffective. It was frustrating, to say in the least. "So now, should we search the books? I’m sure you’re looking for something as well. I can help.”
“Why would you offer your assistance?” It was awfully suspicious. He was looking for a curse, she was looking for information concerning the Bordeaux Manor, and neither seemed to have the motivation to assist each other. It only made the situation worse for the unfortunate Monegasque, adding more trails and possibilities to her mind map in a futile attempt to solve the unsolvable puzzle. “If you could so kindly excuse my bluntness, I could understand if you wanted more entertainment, but it seems rather pointless. If you were curious as to what I was doing, you could merely observe than instead offer your help... Are you evolving from an antagonistic observer to becoming an actual player in this little game of yours?”
The words were exactly as she said – blunt and straight to the point. She was nearly dizzy after spinning in the same track over and over; it was about time to switch gears. Ciel couldn’t help being curious either, she was interested in Romania’s motives—
Creak.
Ciel immediately stiffened, whirling around to the doorframe and directed her beam of light straight at the center. And here she was being a hypocrite yet again, leaving her back undefended to the other country, but a possible hostile outsider took priority over a sadistic magic user, as strange as it sounded.
She peered at the figure closely, the flashlight starting to reveal the newcomer’s identity. She saw a familiar hair curl, positioned on the nation’s right side of his head. Ciel didn’t particularly like him (maybe one would even interpret it as the slightest intimation of a grudge), but he was better than being alone around Romania. Her shoulders visibly relaxed, and she attempted to recompose herself, while at the same time reminding herself that she couldn’t afford to be caught off guard.
“Italy Romano,” she nodded her head in polite greeting, not wanting to frighten him away. The words were less than pleasant; perhaps the slightest hint strained, tired, and maybe even held a dry sort of tone. “How wonderful it is of you to join us.”
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((Okay, um. Yeah. There's not much I can say... Except I apologize for my poorly written post? ;; ))
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Vasile Ionescu
Survivor
Played by Roma.
Offline.
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players"
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Post by Romania on Dec 11, 2012 15:00:31 GMT -6
To tell the truth, Vasile was slightly surprised by the way Monaco not only indirectly turned down his offer, but also went so far as to tear it apart without a second thought. He had assumed she would have welcomed both the change of subject and the offer of help with open arms, but it seemed to not be the case at all. She even sounded slightly pissed at him - which was understandable in its own right usually, but a little strange in this context.
Or did she always talk like that? Vasile hadn’t heard her speak much, so he wasn’t sure. Either way, what shone from her words more than anything else was suspicion, doubt, and Vasile could go so far as to call it paranoia. She doubted his wish to help, and she didn’t bother to hide it at all, for once. Vasile was glad about that; this time, he was able to hear her honest thoughts without much effort on his part, even if her speech was still tainted with futile attempts to sound polite. It was no use. Her choice of words hardly did anything to hide all the disdain behind the words.
Vasile couldn’t help but think how funny it all truly was; the only time the Romanian actually hadn’t had any ulterior motives behind his offer for assistance, he was suspected and called out on a completely innocent gesture. The irony was so delicious he could almost taste it, and he could have sworn he actually licked his lips in thought.
Not that all the suspicion and malice would’ve bothered Vasile. That wasn't the case at all; he was well aware the fault was, at least partially, his – he had been the one to build himself a reputation as the sort to indulge in mind games at his leisure, regardless of time and place, and had actually proven the rumors right not even ten minutes earlier.
And actually, the more Vasile thought about the current situation, the prouder he felt over his accomplishments; had he truly impacted the Monegasque this much? Had he really planted the seed of doubt so deep into her mind it would affect her even when that wasn’t his purpose? Even without him initiating it? If so, he was far better at this than he’d ever thought he’d be. He had offered the woman a temporary escape, a way out of his little game, but she, so shackled by her paranoia and controlled by her doubt she didn’t know better, had drug herself right back into the middle of it. And despite her vast intellect, despite probably having noticed the doubt that laced her words, she seemed to fail to realize this at all. Failed to break free.
That, or maybe the Monegasque was just paranoid by nature. It could be Vasile was giving himself too much credit, and that suspecting everything she came across was just part of the woman’s usual behavior. Vasile wouldn’t blame her if it was, especially not in a place like this, and he admittedly didn’t know the woman well enough to be able to tell. All he knew past the mask she wore in public were the little facts and tidbits of info he had found out here today, and even then, there was always the risk of misinterpretation – even if he doubted it. He had that much confidence in his skills, at least.
Either way, he’d have to rectify not knowing her, as the woman had so far proved to be immensely entertaining; he wouldn’t mind coming to bother her again once their little library session was through and they both went their separate ways with their books – if they ever got that far. Vasile kept getting sidetracked, and apparently, so seemed Monaco. They’d need to stop that soon, or else everyone else would be dead by the time they finally got out of the room. And, spending too much time in one place and with only one person, no matter who it was, would eventually start to bore him. He wanted to get out before that happened.
Still, he couldn’t help himself from reacquiring his previous grin once more once he turned to face the woman for the umpteenth time that day. Remembering her words again, it was completely impossible for the Romanian to suppress an almost giggle-like chuckle. She had called him an antagonist, he recalled now, wasn’t that just precious? He hadn’t even done anything bad. Just… conversed, offered a break from all the gloominess and silence of the manor. If anything, he was one of the good guys, few just seemed to realize that – which was just what he wanted, pretty much.
“Aww, you’re being so mean again, my lady, ” Vasile complained at last, holding a hand over his heart as if to illustrate the pain her words brought. Hey, it was entirely possible he could have gotten hurt over those words. He just… didn’t happen to. “I honestly just wanted to hel- “
It was then that the two’s little play was interrupted by a third player entering the stage – rather nonchalantly.
The door opened without a warning, and before Vasile could but blink in surprise and lower his hand from his chest, in walked another nation. The Romanian hadn’t yet pieced together his appearance to match with a name when Monaco already spoke her mind out loud, sounding strangely dry, uninterested even.
“Italy Romano,”right, that was his name, “How wonderful it is of you to join us.”
Vasile would have, once again, assumed her to rejoice she got a companion on her side in this little game, and if not, at least he thought she would have been a bit more enthusiastic to see more people were alive. Oh well, the reason for her reaction hardly concerned Vasile right now; he was more interested in looking the newcomer over, a curious, clearly mischievous look decorating his features. His gaze was sharp, evaluating, and he didn’t even bother to hide it – in fact, he did the opposite; raising a hand to his chin and tilting his head, he let show his interest for the two others present.
“Ooh, well look at that,” Vasile went on to say without a moment’s delay. The timing of the boy’s arrival couldn’t have been any better – just when he had felt concerned over getting bored, a new piece, a new victim joined the game. And, from what Vasile knew, this one was quite unlike his current prey; from what he had heard, Romano was foul-mouthed and, more than anything, a complete scaredy-cat. There were even those who said he was worse than his brother in that regard, just that he attempted to hide it more fiercely.
With a premise like that, how could Vasile not want to find out more? Were the rumors true? Did he truly try to hide his fear and if so, why? Did he have something to prove? To who? The Romanian truly wanted to see if he could find out. Of course, that didn’t mean he’d forget about Monaco, oh no. He still wanted to continue teasing her as well, and especially find out whether or not either of the two was affected by the other’s presence – after all, people were said to be stronger in groups, right? And yet, there was a flipside to that as well. A group, unified or not, was a perfect breeding ground for fear. It was enough to get just one member of a group scared, as the others would follow after, whether they wanted to or not. It was natural. Human. Fear was easy to spread.
“Now I have another target to test my curses on!” Vasile rejoiced a little after his initial exclamation, grinning from ear to ear, palms pressed together in excitement. And he truly was excited; he wanted to see how the boy'd react. Would his fear show? Would he attempt to hide it with insults? “Romano, was it? Hey, we need to find some books first, but after that, do you wanna be my first guinea pig? Or do you wanna go second? Either’s fine with me~!”
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Post by south on Dec 15, 2012 19:12:55 GMT -6
► He cursed his luck. Really. Romano cursed many things, but at the present (or was it future?) he could find nothing more than to curse that one person who decided to play around with his luck, or therefore lack of. To be honest, he did not expect the library to be empty. He knew better than that now, but for whatever reason, instead of being graced with the presence of a nation who would be level-headed and willing to put up with his bullshit, he was graced with the presence of two nations, neither who fit that description exactly.
► The first: Italy Romano, held a dry, humourless tone, and for what he could see, or perhaps, not see was that she instantly lifted up one of those damnable flashlights to shine directly into his eyes. This one perhaps held half of the description: one level-headed; the other half, not so much. He could tell from the way she said his name, it was not joyous, nor neutral, but tainted with a certain dislike and weariness. What did he do to make her dislike him? Did he flirt with her? Probably. Although, it could have just been his 'unlikable' attitude in comparison to others she had met. At least it was not direct hatred. Maybe, just maybe she would be willing to help him find his fratello, How wonderful it is of you to join us,, or from that sarcastic tone, maybe not.
► He blinked and shuffled to the side, out of the blinding beam of the flashlight, Monaco, he had not forgotten her completely, Fancy seeing you here as well, unlike his usual tone of voice, it lacked a bit more 'enthusiasm' than normal. Oh. He remembered, this was the Queen of poker, she had beaten him one too many times for his liking; he could not remember if he beat her at a time, was that why he failed to get a more welcome greeting, or was it something else? He just settled for a curt nod.
► The second: Ooh, well look at that, held a sort of sadistic enthusiasm that the boot-nation stupidly mistook as friendliness at first. Now I have another target to test my curses on! quickly told him otherwise. 'Friendliness', perhaps. A sick twisted sense of humor? That too. He squinted his eyes to get a better look, and what he saw did see did nothing more to ease his quickly sinking hopes. The nation was an oddity. Not really more so than most nations, but he had a peculiar aura that made it all the more different. Past the strawberry-blond hair and the small, quirked hat; past the deep, red eyes and pierced ear; past the long threatening trench coat (yes, threatening, who knows what kind of things he had hidden in there) and the abnormally sharp, toothy grin; and past all that, stood a frightening, sadistic, cunning, and ruthless nation who would give him all the hell in the world from Pluto and back, just for fun. And from just the appearance alone, he could only conclude this to be a nation near the bottom of encounters he would have liked before he died; the one and only Romania.
► He froze for a split-second and then was quickly reminded that fear usually encouraged predators after their prey. Wait, no he was not fucking 'prey'. No way would this bastard get him down. But, oh hell. This was Romania and if the stories about him were true, than god forbid, he should have just dropped everything and ran, never mind the monsters hiding within the mansion. But this was Romano, pride before almost everything. His eyes shifted to the female nation, if she could stand there next to him terror-free (or so he assumed) albeit, with a grimace, so could he.
► He straightened his posture and tried to swallow his fear. He was not sure how successful he was, but it was better than outright terror. No, he had more important matters to tend to than to be frozen on the spot by a nation who really had done nothing to him yet but play with him by words, . . . --do you wanna be my first guinea pig? Or do you wanna go second? Either’s fine with me~! Words; just words. Right. Nothing more . . .
► He bit back the terror that surely would have been shown if he had not calmed himself quickly, and put on the most unamused, unafraid, don't-fucking-mess-with-me-bastard, look he would muster, even after knowing that they both saw his initial terror, and sneered, Fuck off, Vampire, that was what people called Romania, right? He addressed them both this time, Have either of you seen my stupid-ass fratello?
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Post by monaco on Dec 27, 2012 18:19:17 GMT -6
Ciel knew Romania and Romano would not be a good mix. Judging by both of their characters, it was easy to predict what chaos would quickly follow. She did not want to deal with either of them at the moment, and simply wanted to do her research regarding the Manor.
Fortunately, though, the more Romania talked, the more Ciel was able to feel like she was getting a good read on his personality and character. She still had a suspicion that Romania was a magic user (that most certainly wasn’t far-fetched), but that he was a vampire? It was still questionable. She would continue to gingerly study the other Nation until she understood him entirely. Everything seemed to be cleverly twisted and threaded together in an intricate and meticulously weaved web, and she would have to be cautious to the extreme to ever have a chance of escaping.
“Monaco. Fancy seeing you here as well.”
And then there was Romano – at least Ciel already knew him quite well; a flirt with the opposite sex, foul-mouthed with the same sex, typically a coward and had a numerous amount of insecurity issues. She barely a spared another stiff nod at his words, shifting her weight. To her, it was rather sad, but she had no right to judge.
But adding Romania and Romano together? Oh, Ciel wished she could leave immediately. Romania was sure to play his mind games with the Italian for the purpose of seeing his reaction, and Romano would fall right into his trap. But alas, she needed the information as soon as possible and certainly wouldn’t leave for such a ridiculous reason (although she may have if they weren’t trapped in the Manor). She had made collecting information and data her own responsibility, and she was going to fulfill it.
“Romano, was it? Hey, we need to find some books first, but after that, do you wanna be my first guinea pig? Or do you wanna go second? Either’s fine with me~!”
She directed her flashlight away from Romano finally, ignoring Romania’s words and turning towards the bookshelf. It was about time she actually got down to business and began searching the dusty shelves for anything useful. To be entirely truthful, she was quite eager to read the large collection of books just to gain more knowledge. She didn’t recognize any of the titles so far, which was rare in itself, and her interest was piqued to a zenith.
Ciel plucked the first book off of the shelf starting from the left – she would do this in an organized fashion and leave the room exactly how she found it when she was finished. She held the flashlight so she could read the title: Common Sense. A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 before the beginning of the American Revolution, arguing for America’s independence. It was in fairly well condition.
She skimmed a few others of the titles, and found they were also written before the 1800s. Nothing was written after, but then again, she had only seen a few of many. She put each book back in its rightful place, and continued to steadily and scrupulously move along, carrying out her duty.
“Fuck off, Vampire. Have either of you seen my stupid-ass fratello?”
Ciel, of course, was still listening to the conversation behind her back. She was perpetually reminded that she had turned her back to the two, and was perhaps endangering herself. The paranoia was clearly evident, her posture just the slightest bit too stiff and slightest bit too intense. But the Monegasque was more than prepared to defend herself if needed – her revolver; a Smith & Wesson (S & W) Model 625 revolver, to be precise.
”I have not,” she announced after a short moment of silence between the trio. ”Before seeing you two, the one Nation I have seen since America’s party is Iceland.”
If it had just been Romania, or it had just been Romano on their own, Ciel probably wouldn’t have said any information she knew of unless they offered something in return. But here, it was more than likely she would gain knowledge of some sort from either of the two, but it required a small sacrifice of her contributing something of her own. And for information, Ciel was willing to do almost anything.
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