King of Wands or Drystan, Dinah and Dorian in Callistoland ((spoiler warning for tarot card plot))

INT - Windgrace Manor; evening

Dinah (dollihead) considered having a special power amongst the household- chiefly, that she was unafraid of busting in Drystan's door when he was occupied. After the tanuki had been paid, the swan had been fought, and the rabbit had eaten a loaf in one bite, today was the day for strangeness. Holding Drystans' card in her hand, as soon as she'd changed out of her outdoor clothes and into her robe, she had given a brief knock and then a casual shove of the door. "Drystan, darling~" she called out, peeking around the door with a playful smile.

Dorian (alexandros.lycomedes) had preternatural twin timing, had gotten himself cleaned up, and was just coming upstairs with a bottle in one hand and a peeled and quarter eaten orange in the other as he watched his sister stride into Drystan's room. He wasn't going to miss this, so he waltzed right in behind her, though by some few paces, where he'd first peek over his head and then sidle over their way instead of padding up to his room as he'd planned.

Drystan Windgrace (jacksonn.shepherd) was just sitting on his bed, he'd had a shot, and a shot to ease his nerves, it had been a particularly stressful day for him and all he wanted was the calm in his mind. not this..otherness seeping in through the cracks. Compartmentalize. Thats what he was doing, basically. He looked up and followed her as she entered, "Yes? What is it?" He was pretty chilled. but not completely faded. enough to think somewhat clearly and form sentences at least. "Did the damn octopus get out again? I kep telling you, they are intelliget, and do not want to be kept in little jars of water, however fresh it may be...." He stopped himself and focused on her face. Then his eyes flicked over to Dorian, tagging in behind. "Oh, brother...what now?" He looked between them.

Dinah (dollihead) feigned a little pout and she swept around to the side of his bed. "Jupi is perfectly happy in his jar. if he gets bored, I can take him back to the sea" she said begrudgingly. She perched herself on the edge of the bed, curling her legs up underneath herself, and hse tilted her head as dorian entered behind her. slipping her fingers into her pocket, she lifted the king of wands card. The card bearing Drystans' face, and she rotated it between her fingers, around and around. She didn't speak yet. she didn't need to. The king was him.

Dorian (alexandros.lycomedes) was planning to share with his brother what a wild day he'd had, but then Dinah went straight to her business, so he did not have to feel like he was the one interrupting. What he did, when he neared the pair of them was to break off a chunk of peeled orange and offer it out to the pair of them. And keep his mouth shut. The whole card business took precedence, and he yet was trying to keep his sister's optimism about it aloft.

Drystan Windgrace (jacksonn.shepherd) watched his sister keenly as she made her way around and sat. He knew her so well, every stance she took, every way her face settled, he could feel her emotions more clearly than anyones, outside of Dorian himself, - after hundreds of years of events happening, he knew this was one of those things he had to pay attention to. He looked at the card, as she turned it, his face staring back at him every time it turned. It was mesmerizing in a way. He took the card from her hand, and held it, staring at it upright, the scrawled writing, indicating "King of Wands". He just stared for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. He knew a bit about tarot, but the fact that he knew Dorian had the Knight of the same house, .."How...Why.." His finger smudged over the image, studying the strokes od the artists hand. "I don't understand.."

Dinah (dollihead) smiled and leaned in to press a kiss to his hair, settling herself to be comfortable on his bed. Perfectly at ease. "you are our king. and you were worried~" she said playfully, leaning her back against the post of his bed. "the fortune teller is one of my servants.. and the card? all of our cards... will take us to the council chamber. It seems to be something akin to... some sort of...clubhouse...library. only those with a card can enter." she murmured happily, looking up towards Dorian and took a slice of orange.

Dorian (alexandros.lycomedes) yet held out the orange after she took her part, and stared at Di, having swallowed down the last of his. He'd swig straightaway, washing the citrus away, directly from the bottle of scotch, something that didn't taste like France, while staring, wanting answers the same as his brother, sensing his own questions were secondary.

Drystan Windgrace (jacksonn.shepherd) took a deep breath and let it out slowly through pursed lips. "A card clubhouse. Okay. One thing at a time. Why the bloody hell would i get THIS card, you have the Queen, he has the Knight? What exactly am I supposed to be the King of anyhow? I have no lands, no ...peoples, no lordship, nothing to reign over? The King of Nothing? Thats facking lovely innit?" He nearly tossed the card to the bed in front of him between his legs, but he didn't want to let go of it either. He turned it upside down and stared and shuddered before turning it back.

Dinah (dollihead) peeled the pith from her orange slice. Meticulously peeled the membrane skin back over it so each individual juicy cell was visible, and picked each out with her fingernails like pomegranate arils. She tilted her head as drystan spoke. King of nothing, no lands, no title... she took a deep breath and for a moment, her eyes flickered that strange, oily black as they were without her glamour.

"...you could be." was all she said. Soft. Dangerous in promise.

Dorian (alexandros.lycomedes) felt a strange sensation take him as he looked at his sister, and it was mostly strange in that it was not that. He felt her comfort and certainty and he smiled at her sultry consumption of the fruit, thinking very little about cards. He'd just star between them, and quietly shruggingly mutter, offering over the orange again Drystan's way, "She is onto something. She always is. You are... the lordly one, brother dearest."

Drystan Windgrace (jacksonn.shepherd) almost automatically reached and took the slice of orange from Dorian as he sat silent, just thinking, mulling over these words, the confidence in her was overpowering. "I would ..have to conquest a kingship, ..." He was more muttering it to himself, trying to put two and two together. He flicked the rind off the orange and just tore into it, slicing the citrus meat cleanly between the extra sharp teeth he'd been sporting for a while now. Made his accent sound a bit like he had a few marbles in his mouth, not that he talked much to anyone anyhow. "Dinah, .." he looked over at her, locking eyes with her, swallowing the orange quickly, licking his lips and biting them as he did. He had a crawling feeling that began at the base of his back, and it squirreled upwards, pulling into his chest to move closer to her, and lower his voice, battered with the itch to ...cause mayhem, to unleash potentials upon potentials, to allow the madness to take over, and revel in it, something they had discovered together so long ago, and had been forced to cease. but the want was always there. That wild calling. "...how do we do it? How do we make this so?"

Dinah (dollihead) finished her slice of orange, and she turned the ring around and around on her finger. It was different to her normal chunk of emerald on her digits; the ring she'd received from the tanuki was a golden leaf with a slice of quartz through the middle of it. Her gaze flicked up towards Dorian and she smiled slightly, returning her gaze to Drystan. She lifted her chin.

"how does a prince become a king, drystan?" she said quietly, glancing between the two. Would they object? would they argue? be offended at her plan? these two men had arguably suffered and chafed more under Charles than most everyone in this world "...just leave it in my hands. trust me. I will make you king. just be willing and ready to act when I say so"

Dorian (alexandros.lycomedes) did not know what his twin had in mind, he was not a consummate or even an inconsummate planner. His plots usually ended in dinner, or getting someone to come dance with him or in Dinah's room and he didn't really fool anyone. He'd not gotten drift of any dark foreboding, all he had to add was, "You should have seen how she took my getting knocked over by a swan in stride and befriended that.... strange rabbit. I believe her. I believe /in/ her, as I do you."

Sometimes jealousy reared its head when trying to be as good as his brother, but not now. Just now he was glad to be free from his father, from all England and Europe, with these people as his closest companions.

Drystan Windgrace (jacksonn.shepherd) cleared his throat. What he could tell, from this strong proximity of confidence, and just.. going with the flow...made sense. His eyes drifted towards her, and he felt another strange rush of feelings. Now he did put the card down and instead, took up her hands, putting them to his mouth, kissing the backs of her fingers,her rings, closing his eyes at the feeling of them, the power in her hands. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her, sliding one hand up to cup her precious, beautiful, forever face. "I will do whatever I am asked. I will be your King. His chest heaved a bit and his stomach did that little twisty thing, before he caught sight of Dorian in the periphery, still watching with hope and respect painted all over his face. This was for all of them. He let his hand drop and kissed her fingers again before letting them go. "When the time comes. It shall be done."

Dinah (dollihead) let Drystan take up her hands and she smiled, turning her fingers over once he'd kissed them to cup his cheeks. she brushed her thumb over his facial hair and she nodded silently, finally taking a shuffle back to slide her legs off the bed and hop to her feet, smoothing her robe down her sides.

"I am honored by your faith in me. Both of you" she said quietly, holding the door and stepping around it. she hesitated for just a moment before she moved towards the door frame. She would be heading for her ritual room.

"Father will be here for the ritual." was all she said before she slipped behind the bookcase door into her solitary space.

Dorian (alexandros.lycomedes) was glad Dinah got her way and once he'd shoved the rest of the orange in his mouth, he'd settle the bottle on the ground by Drystan's bed. Chomping and chewing it he'd watch Dinah get her due as queen and did not so much as emit a single twinge nor tinge of jealousy. He just grinned, and called after her, "Of course." He stopped just shy of asking if he'd see her later. He'd see about that later, creeping down the stairs past his wardrobe to her door, or maybe just going to her window from his and peering in.

Either way, it took him a moment to catch up and when he did he picked up the bottle again, and swigged from it, only finding words when he was done swallowing a mouthful of scotch, "Did she say PaPa was going to be /here/?" He had no thoughts about what Di could mean, he was too busy trying to figure out how he'd have to clean up his act to avoid beatings, or browbeatings at the least.

Drystan Windgrace (jacksonn.shepherd) just sat there, dumbfounded, his mind still just on Dinah, enraptured with the whole thing. "Yes...she did." His voice was ghostly, After a while of just staring into space in front of him, Hd took in a sharp deep breath and swung his long legs off the bed, and placed his hands on the edge of the mattress, digging them in, "The new moon draws near. we need to be ready." He turned his head and shook his hair from his face, looking at his brother, who he always saw as a strong man, but also as the little boy he wanted nothing more than to protect. "It's our time, long past in fact." He stuck his tongue into his cheek and nodded, standing up and turning his back to Dorian, as he went about pulling the top of the decanter, and also pulling more of the liquid gold into the vial. He needed to really keep calm now. the urge to go run out into the wilds and just, ...do anything and everything he could ever want,

Dorian (alexandros.lycomedes) lifted his bottle to his brother and with a smirk called to him like a toast, like a wish, "I just know we all can prosper here. This place... it is like our world and a dream intermingled. Is it not time we both, we all got to live our dreams? To your good cheer, and I will try to move as many of these damned bananas as I can, keep him pleased with the bottom line. Well, two things, let's do figure a way to play a game with Lockewood. And... you wear brown better than I do." He'd wink and then slink his way out toward the door to his room.

Always Run disabled.