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[youngtimer]

NeverAcorned - Standard UN || HoratioV - Fog/Lighthouse UN || 5ofDiamonds - Casino Business || Odyssean - Anonymous/Sock UN

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Comments

[youngtimer]

Good.

[he realizes he might have just ... shown her something inadvertently, but maybe - by the way she's reacting, maybe not. time to play it straight and NOT let on that he'd be really, really, really upset if she HAD wanted to die]

I already have to keep enough people I know from throwing themselves into the Sea of Stars every time shit hits the fan. ... Is that why he drained you? Because you pushed him about Ryou?

action, backdated to the end of June!

[knifemonopoly]

[Knock knock, Horatio.

It was actually a little tricky to knock on Horatio's door with his arms full of unconscious girl, but Atem manages, and there's no sign of awkwardness when the door to the suite at the casino opens. It's late but not terribly late, and Celeste's being cradled with care. The bandage over the bite mark is hidden under the high collar she favors, but she's pale and Atem's got a lifelike flush and that alone might be enough for a keen observer to piece together what's happened.

Atem doesn't look particularly guilty, though. He's unrepentant, but not gloating, either -- from his expression, he might as well be walking a friend into a hospital with a broken leg. An injury that's not life threatening, but which needs care, and one he doesn't feel guilt over.]

<NeverAcorned> jeebus why did I retag an earlier comment that was dumb

[youngtimer]

You are, but this is like a baby step.

Maybe you're closer to him than to the rest of us?

[gothicgambit]

[The temper starts to settle as quickly as it had flared, though she doesn't quite switch tracks as fast as Horatio. Still slightly smoothing ruffled feathers, Celeste purses her lips-]

I have no intent of harming your bottom line, have no fear.

[Dry, but lacking in any sort of humor or sarcasm that would hide the hidden truth lurking behind that statement. She waves a lazy, graceful hand to dismiss the subject.]

But no, that was just part of the stakes in the first place. If I had won his soul would have been forfeit. I was just trying to throw him off his game, it was an honest effort.

[Because she said she didn't intend to die permanently. Which was true. It didn't mean she hasn't been trying to stay alive either. Celeste had chosen those words carefully, to hide behind them similar to how Five was hiding from her now.]

[youngtimer]

[he's in the middle of reading a book he borrowed from Javert's library on the various forms of manticores, a margarita at his elbow, when the knock disturbs him. he barely even looks up, guessing it's Celeste]

Just come on in, Jesus...

[but she doesn't. he sighs, wondering if she's got her arms full of groceries or some ridiculous wardrobe finds, and gets to his feet, abandoning his book. as he pulls the door open, he's not shocked. not angry. just ... yep. this is his life. his lips purse inward and he turns to lead Atem toward her room]

Follow me. ... What the fuck happened this time?

[knifemonopoly]

[Ah, she is staying with Horatio. That's good, that it's a stable arrangement, if short-term...

But that isn't going to answer Horatio's question.]

Penalty game. I bit her. She's lost a lot of blood, but she's stable -- the fog's due to come in tonight, so I expect her to pull through without losing a life, but she could still use someone to keep an eye on her, just in case.

[Still weirdly unashamed about any of this!]

[youngtimer]

Penalty for what, exactly?

[he turns down the covers, feeling an inevitable sense of deja vu. he knows how important games are to both of them, so it all tracks - he's not angry about it, but he's surprised at how concerned the pallor of her face - like a gothic china doll - makes him. a voice for him, silence for Atem:]

(Funny, that used to be your type.)

... shut up, Dolores.

[youngtimer]

If it was about the bottom line, I'd just hire another dealer. You're one of the people I trust, Celeste. Those aren't as easily replaced. My personal rules and secrets are more complicated than counting cards, and you know it. Yours are the same.

[it's not laying all his cards on the table, but he's giving her a taste of what he's working with. hopefully enough.]

He did say it was a penalty game, when he dropped you off. ... What was your intention, playing with him in the first place? You know he's a shark. It couldn't have just been for practice.

[knifemonopoly]

I--wait, who's Dolores?

[Atem straightens, a little concerned that he hasn't noticed someone else in the room. A shade, maybe? Whoever it is, can they be trusted? Atem's grip around Celeste's shoulders and knees tightens a moment as he tenses.

He trusts Horatio, generally. But someone invisible, who isn't revealing themselves...that sounds like bad news!]

[youngtimer]

Oh - I'm sorry, bad manners. I was preoccupied.

[he gestures into the room they came through]

Atem, this is my ex-girlfriend, Dolores.

(You're always so rude. Especially lately. You're paying more attention to that girl than me.)

Don't start now! Jesus, we've got company...

[knifemonopoly]

[Atem, still holding Celeste, peers back into the other room.

He looks left.

He looks right.

???

??????

I don't see anyone...

There's a broken mannequin, but. Like. That can't be it, right?]

Is she a monster, too...?

[Atem, the spirit of a dead pharaoh, doesn't believe in ghosts, generally. There's usually an explanation for paranormal ocurrences, and he doesn't think non-shade ones exist in Ryslig....so he doesn't wonder for more than a moment if it's a ghost.]

[gothicgambit]

[Yours are the same...
He's right. She knows that, and he does too. There's the tiniest twitch - like Celeste's about to furrow her brows and stops herself, and her expression is smooth again. If he blinked at the wrong time or took a sip of his coffee he would miss it. It's not that she thinks he's outright lying.

It's just that she doesn't believe him.]

Very well. [She sips from her own cup to hide her face, regroup. Good thing too, because his question... She can either admit something she very very much doesn't want to. Or she can lie. Her heartbeat threatens to race for a moment, embarrassed about the urge and unable to do anything else. The cup returns to its saucer and she props up her temple on one hand.]

If he is, than so am I. The more... official way of doing things here is not quite my usual method. He asked, I accepted. Why do you need to know?

[A sidestep, no outright lies yet but that can easily change. Damn him for seeing through her the way he does.]

<WhiteWizard>

[softspokenlandlord]

I suppose I am. We live together, and he's helped me through a lot. It's not that all the rest of my friends aren't important, I care about everyone very much.

It's different though, with Atem. I've never been as good a friend with him, so it's nice. We can depend on each other when things get bad.

[Okay, that's...enough of that, right? This isn't the Here's Why Atem's Great Power Hour.]

Don't you have friends that you consider to be closer to you? It's like that.

[It's not like that.]

[youngtimer]

No, she's right there.

[he clearly looks over at the mannequin.

duh.

come on, Atem.

d u h.]

[knifemonopoly]

She's a mannequin.

[Just. Confirming.

Maybe...Dolores was haunted, or something, where Horatio came from...but he also seems to be talking to her now...

It says something that "doll's haunted" is more immediately believable to Known Skeptic Ex-Ghost Atem than "my friend hears voices that aren't there."]

[youngtimer]

... Yep.

[it isn't a "so what" sort of tone, just... bald acknowledgement. he jerks his head toward the bed that's become Celeste's]

You should probably put her down, yeah?

cwing for dismissive/ableist mental health talk in the meta

[knifemonopoly]

[Is Horatio pretending, is there some kind of magic at work, or is this some kind of...neurosis? A way he'd coped with the apocalypse? Is it madness?

Is Horatio mad? Is Celeste still safe here?

.....

....yes, obviously Horatio is a little bit mad, but that doesn't mean he isn't a good friend who's worth trusting. Atem's gotten nothing off of Horatio that would imply Celeste wouldn't be safe, and she chose to stay here with her sharp senses for people's intentions, so Atem accepts this fact about Horatio and moves on.]

Right. Yes, of course.

[And he'll finally set Celeste down on the bed, beside the downturned covers.]

[youngtimer]

[they both want to make sure they don't lose their edge. he can understand that. but still ...]

If this is going to be a regular occurrence between the two of you - which I expect it may - just remember the Fog's wager in all of this if one of you kills the other. The house always takes a cut.

[having said his piece...]

Now tell me more about this business with Ryou. I want details. What, exactly, did you say?

<NeverAcorned>

[youngtimer]

[ugh, don't condescend to him, Ryou, he's at least twice your age]

I get the feeling you and I handle friendship a lot differently, regardless. You've at least had friends outside of your family for most of your life.

[gothicgambit]

I do not plan on it becoming terribly regular, but I have little she would want from me regardless. Still, I shall keep that in mind. [The over-formality of her language is a tell, only to people who know her, something about this is making her nervous. Losing her memories though is obviously not it. She doesn't care about that, never has.]

Well, he asked where I was staying should I lose, and I named that you would look after my body. I've thought he and Ryou were involved for ages, so I asked about him, but Atem didn't seem to understand. So I clarified how he was so very noble and fussed over Ryou like a mother hen. I've never seen someone so repressed.

[Pot, meet kettle. She pauses to take a sip of her coffee.]

Once I realized his obsession wasn't something he was aware of, I tried to exploit it. I tried at first to make him jealous, by implying I was interested in Ryou, [No indication on whether or not that was true.] but that didn't work.

Exactly? I said I didn't want to romance Ryou, I wanted to break him. [It's said casually, with the assurance that she could. This is a dark side of Celeste she's revealing here, worse than her aggression and anger: her urge to manipulate, to grab strings on people and pull until they danced precisely how she wanted.]

[youngtimer]

[one of those guesses is completely right. if Atem ever does ask, Horatio will gladly tell him their story. but for now, he follows Atem into the guest room and tucks Celeste in]

So, tell me about this game. ... I'd offer you a drink, but you've already had one.

[youngtimer]

[he can sense something is off, but not what: he doesn't quite know her well enough yet. he just has realized that Celeste's formality is a mask, and there's something she's masking. he's not about to try and make any assumptions as to what: they're both too complex to demean each other with meager guesses]

Tch. You think that's repression, you should have met my brother Luther. Ten times worse.

[he reserves his judgement on her 'interest' in Ryou until she's said more. ah. her interest lies in his relative innocence to the rest of them, then. Horatio does have to agree it's fun to push a button or two and watch him squirm, but in a teasing way. this darkness she's showing him is something else. something that shows that at some point, she lost so much control that she needs to lord it over others in ways they won't necessarily notice. where only she will know she's in control. instead of shock, fear, disgust ... Horatio simply thinks back to the conversation they had climbing up from the basement in the forest. of how they each had stories to tell. he wonders what they did to her. how deep that fault line of hurt runs.]

Tell someone you want to beat him at a game he takes a lot of pride in, and it's never going to go well.

[gothicgambit]

[Hm, the.. well not understanding, but lack of a reaction is noted. Both unexpected and not. Five had his own experience with control, and what the lack of it does to people. She's thinking about that conversation too. It's a polite side-step instead of outright admitting that was a fucked up thing to say.]

Yes. I'll admit I did it to bring out his worst, but I did not realize it would be quite so effective.

Which brings me back to my point. [She lifts a single finger now, they've finally circled around] The two of them are being absolute idiots and I'm sick of watching them waffle around like fools.

[youngtimer]

You, too, huh?

[he chuckles into his mug before taking another drink]

What would you even do about it? I can't say this is the sort of meddling I have any experience with.

<WhiteWizard>

[softspokenlandlord]

You may be right.

[The fact of the matter is that he doesn't know enough about Horatio to realize whether that's true or not, nor does Horatio know enough about his life to assume anything himself.

And...he's not sure if they should talk about it now.]

I didn't really have too many friends so much as game mates and hangers-on before Yugi and the rest of our friend group though. I'm very grateful for my bonds.

How do you do deal with friendships?

[He's genuinely curious. And it's a hopefully smooth shift from anything else.]