29.04.2019: Flowers For A Funeral

Flowers For a Funeral
A young woman visits her father, bringing her friend along for support.
Players	Evaline Teagan
Location	Capet Manor, Prospect CA
Spheres	Mage

This scene takes place immediately after the "Uninvited Guests" plot, which can be found here.

Transcript

The rumbling beast that the duo of Detrevni and Teagan occupy has taken to a safer speed now that they are out of the fire and back into the much more reasonable frying pan. The interior of the Countach is a mess of whirring, humming computers and confusing machinery that clicks and thunks with every automatic decision of some deeper consciousness at the heart of the beast. An array of screens cover the drivers panel, where the steering wheel has recessed into the dashboard to allow room for even more devices. The car seems to be driving itself along the open highway that cuts through the outer suburbia of Prospect, a sleepy, misty landscape of middle class life that stretches on to infinity. This cosy bubble of tech is almost silent, the roar of the powerful engine brought to nothing more than a distant whisper.

The only real noise is the clacking of keys as the maskless Detrevni types at an obsessive pace. Words fill the screen in front of her, detailing a graphic report of every move the enemy made, their numbers, their weaponry, where they came from, how she was stabbed and how she took refuge in the only place she could flee to: Teagan's apartment. Finally, when she seems done, she looks up to see the car pull into a small side street that juts through a thick forest on the very outskirts of the city, climbing slowly up the hilltops and finally, as the sun is barely beginning to rise over the misty, rain swept conifers, they are met with a huge iron wrought gate that begins to open for them automatically. The black metal letters above tell a familiar line of poetry: "BY WHAT IMMORTAL HAND OR EYE FRAMES THY FEARFUL SYMMETRY".

As they approach the grounds, the main house of the Capet estate looms over them: a testament to forgotten times of gothic architecture, wholly out of place in this contemporary city. Stone gargoyles and warriors with swords in grand scenes of war decorate almost every exterior wall, transported here from some other European land. The further grounds that contain staff housing, stables, the garages, etc, are all visible at this point through the rolling greens.

Evaline, this whole time, has been completely silent, as though in quiet contemplation of the events that have just unfolded.

Teagan lets out a sigh of relief as the car finally starts slowing down. It's only then that she notices how strange the insides of this car actually are, and she meticulously inspects each part of the curious contraption. "Hey, so, uh, cool ride." She says, looking over to Evaline. Receiving no response, she awkwardly inhales through gritted teeth and leans back in her seat. Quietly tapping her fingers on her lap to form some kind of beat, Teagqan casually looks around at nothing in particular as the car trods along. As they pass the gate to the estate, she reads the line of poetry out loud. "By what immortal hand or eye frames thy fearful symmetry? What's-" She looks over to Evaline again, and breathes a quiet "Right." to herself, dropping the question.

"You live here?" Are the first words to come out of Teagan's mouth as she steps out of the car. Her eyes slowly move from the courtyard to the house itself, having to tilt her head up to see all of it. "Wow." She says as her expression shifts to one of surprise, clearly impressed. Looking back to Evaline, she adds, "Seriously?"

Meanwhile, as Teagan and Evaline drive off in their swag wagon. Saskia jumped onto her motorbike parked outside, her sword still drawn - flames extinguished. She kicks the throttle and roars it into life, speeding off as she keeps up with the Countach for a few minutes, but they've picked up a tail. Oh no! She peels off, and rides right at them to draw their attention. A kick thunders out like a proper biker, slamming against the car door of their beater to draw their ire. She rides off back the way they came, the car swerving around with an all-mighty screech as they try to chase her down.

Evaline grabs a hard case briefcase from between the seats as they exit the car. The wing doors close of their own volition. It slowly trundles off down the paved drive, turning at a small intersection toward the garages.

The woman kneels down and unclips the case, opening it to reveal an assortment of cloaks. She takes out a long, draping black cloak and throws it around herself, clasping it at the neck. It covers her damaged armour, and she closes the case again, rising to a stand. Finally, she speaks: "Yes. This has been the home of my family for generations dating back to the founding of Prospect." She takes a few steps forward, toward the main manor house, still some 10 minute walk through the grounds from here. "Normally I would arrive at the door and have an assistant take the car to the garage for repair. But, by coincidence, today is a rather important day for myself and the estate. Follow me, we have a ways to go, but we can discuss your apartment and my payment of compensation on the way."

With that, Evaline walks through the main drive toward the house, but eventually comes upon a side gate still a ways off. This thin gravel path travels into some dense forest, with enough trees and shrubbery cleared to allow for safe passage. This area of forest is truly ancient, with a misty early morning fog still settling above the ground, where the mildew sparkles in the warm morning sun. "I sent a request to a clean-up team I have on standby for these occassions. They should be at your apartment now, cleaning everything and replacing anything that has been damaged. They are professionals that I have hand selected for my line of work. They'll be able to remove the bodies and explain away any complaints that the neighbours have. Obviously, more tenacious sleepers will have to have their minds wiped." She lets this final part hang in the air, as if it were compeletely normal for people to erase the memories of others.

Teagan raises a hand in the air to interject as she sees what's inside the briefcase, but stops herself before saying anything as to not come off as annoying. "Well, that's pretty cool." She says in response to Evaline's brief history lecture. "So what's the special occassion?" After asking her question, a gust of wind catches Teagan and she shivers before following along with Evaline, warming herself as best she can. "Oh, and you don't have to pay me, or anything..."

As the two walk across the grounds, Teagan's attention is intermittently caught by decorations and buildings. "Uh, right..." She says to Evaline, not entirely sure what she's gotten herself into. "That's- that's good." Her tone is a little questioning, but she does not feel confident to inquire any further. It's evident that Teagan is still very much on edge, but she's trying her best not to show it.

"I must insist on some form of payment, Teagan. If money is not discrete enough, then at least allow me to fund a new place for you to live. I am familiar with Canyon Park and know that it is not anyone's first choice for acommodation." A blue butterfly flutters goes to land on Evaline, but a tiny spark of electricity zaps it and it falls to the floor instantly, smoking. She does not seem to notice. Eventually the thick trees give way to a small glade where rows of headstones form a private graveyard. Many are adorned with moss covered stone angels clutching wreaths and looking mournful, but one headstone in particular seems relatively new. As Evaline and Teagan pass through the squeaking gate and into the graveyard proper, it becomes clear why they are here. The new gravestone has been decorated with bunches of flowers and cards from family. The engraving reads:

DESMOND E CAPET 1966-2018

"It is the anniversary of my father's death." As if it wasn't already clear enough. Somehow Evaline managers to seem even more serious and somber. She places the hard case at her feet and clasps her hands at her front. "I'm glad to see the flowers have already been brought down from the greenhouse. I have been tending to them personally year-round for today."

"Well... I don't really think I did much to deserve anything, but, if you insist..." Teagan frowns a little and goes quiet as Evaline talks about Canyon Park. Then, as the butterfly gets electrocuted, she lets out a quiet gasp and watches it fall to the ground with a somber expression. Sighing, her eyes wander from headstone to headstone as she trails behind Evaline. Teagan reads the name on the tombstone, opens her mouth slightly, and turns to her friend. "Evaline, I... I didn't know." she says as the frown on her lips grows more prominent. She stands there in silence for a few more moments, just looking at her. "They're beautiful." She says in regards to the flowers as she shifts her gaze back over to the grave. Then, silence once more. "If... Uh, if you ever wanna talk about it..." Teagan finally says after a long moment. Her attention turns back to Evaline. "I'm here." At that, she gives her a somber but genuine smile.

"It is the nature of our kind." She kneels down and runs a hand through some of the flowers, preening them here and there by removing dead petals and leaves. They are arranged in respectful muted colours of yellows, whites and reds. There's not much other than bird song to fill the next few quiet moments with, until Evaline speaks again: "My father became ill and was rushed to hospital. It was a tumultuous time for the estate, we had uncovered associates of the family that had been funneling money and resources for personal gain. When my father found out, the stress pushed him over the edge, and he had a heart attack. He was bedridden after that, and I would visit him as often as I could." She takes a rose that seems out of place, then pokes it back into the central position of one arrangement of white and yellow lilies.

"My awakening happened at that time. Obviously the resonant energies I am cursed are electrical. Before I learnt to control it, they would surge dangerously and destroy sensitive equipment." She stops tending to the flowers, but remains kneeled, her gaze set on the headstone and its engraving. But her eyes seem to look beyond it somewhere in the middle distance, lost in thought and contemplation. "I destroyed the equipment they had been using to keep my father alive. The secret, of course, is that everyone thinks his heart gave out. I could not explain to them that my 'magic powers' accidentally killed him." She sighs. "You become something else when you awaken. People call it a curse because they refuse to adapt and leave their sleeping life behind them. If you do that, you will lose everything eventually. That is the horrifying truth of such power." Finally, she looks at Teagan, with a glint of a tear in her eye. Then she clears her throat, and rises to her feet again.

"I promised when we first met that I'd help you learn about your power. I still intend to keep to that promise. You've been able to access some level of your ability, but there is so much more that awaits. I'd like to help you control it."

Teagan takes a small step away from the grave as Evaline kneels down, and tilts her head slightly as she listens to her speak. Teagan is intrigued at first, but her curiosity slowly descends into distress as Evaline keeps speaking. Biting her lip as she starts talking about her resonance, Teagan's filled with dread of what's to come next. As Evaline continues, Teagan realizes that her fears were not misplaced, and a few tears stream down her cheeks as she has it explained to her. She clenches her fist to try to stay quiet as her breathing grows labored. Then, as Evaline turns back to her, Teagan takes a few steps closer and embraces her. "I'm sorry..."she says, barely managing to hold tears back herself. After a long, quiet moment, Teagan lets go of Evaline and backs up a little, wiping some tears off her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

It takes Teagan another few moments to gather herself fully, and she takes a deep breath before speaking again. "I'd like that, too." She responds to Evaline, sniffling before smiling at her.

Evaline seems taken aback as Teagan embraces her, but as she feels the warmth of another person some deep forgotten emotion begins to surface, and she slowly puts her arms around the girl and returns the hug with equal force. She cannot remember the last time anyone has offered closeness like this, and she enjoys the moment while it lasts. When they part, Evaline's eyes are down at her shoes. She waits for her feelings to collect themselves, for that tightly wound ball of fear, anger and sorrow to slowly fall back down into the depths of her soul. Then, she says, perfectly calm: "Let's go to the house. You must be tired and hungry from all of the excitement. You can rest and have something to eat."

Then, much in the same way they came, Evaline leads Teagan through that squeaking gate and out through the now beautifully sunlit forest. It seems like it'll be a warm day, with cloud cover sparse and the birds singing loudly.

Perhaps a little taken aback by Evaline's sudden calmness, Teagan chuckles lightly. "Yeah, let's. " she says, smiling as she looks back to the forest. "Oh, uh, you don't happen to have a change of clothes I could borrow? I mean, I like my PJs, but preferably without blood on them." Unable to stop herself from laughing at the absurdity, Teagan follows after Evaline. "Do you have pancakes? Or stuff to make pancakes? Oh! Or waffles, I could really go for some waffles. Do you like waffles? My mom used to make the best waffles, every sunday morning she'd..." And Teagan goes on, leaping from topic to topic enthusiastically as they make their way towards the estate.