[PRP] Southern Gentleman'd (Beaubelloni & Renard)

[Melancholies]

Oliver had agonized over just want to send to Mr. Leroux that evening, most of which had been spent pacing his room as he tried to balance between 'pretentious' and 'cordial' and 'friendly, but not too friendly'. Realistically, the first draft had probably been alright, but this was Oliver. It had to be perfect.

And honestly, Renard had held up to his end of the bargain insofar as being prompt was concerned, Oliver definitely owed him one on that. Needless to say, a date and a time had been set aside for the three of them to have an audience. It was noon, the sky was a bright blue, and Oliver could already smell the peach cobbler even from halfway around the house. His tutor sessions usually left him in casual attire because he didn't have a lot of time in between his commute from school, but this time he was caught a little closer to semi-formal. His shirt was collared, but not tucked in. He wore a jacket in a light shade of yellow and his pants were an off-white pink.

He cleared his throat, but it was more or less directed at the gaggle behind him.

"So, respectful." He reiterated. "And make sure you take your shoes off by the door. Also he has a daughter. Her name's Ascension but I'll introduce you both."

He looked back up to the Shore estate, the soft blue exterior, the... turret. Lord.

"Ready? I'm going to knock." And he did, very daintily.

saedusk

The Semblance of Unity

shibrogane

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace ended up wearing some of the tamest clothing he owned. Respectable and all that. Renard never had to know that underneath his sober slacks he was wearing pineapple boxer-briefs. His clothing was all darker in tone, a grey vest, black shirt, royal purple pocket square, although he'd eschewed a tie. Oliver, however, looked like a pastel dream... or a popsicle. Definitely a popsicle. It was like they were all going to Sunday school. Horace rolled up his sleeves.

Was this what it felt like meeting someone's parents when you were there to pick them up for prom? Should he have brought cupcakes? A pie?

"This is such a haint house," he said, lips twitching at the stupid joke. "Aye aye captain, I'm ready."

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"When have I ever not been respectful when need be?" The question wasn't scathing or even accusatory. It was calm, smooth like silk, because Elliot was absolutely practiced at this sort of thing. Just because Oliver and Horace had seen sides of him that weren't so prim and proper didn't mean he couldn't put on the ritz when he needed to. His parents were rich, after all, and he'd been to more than once fancy party before they'd parted ways entirely.

His choice of semi-formal attire was nothing to sneeze at, either: dark grey pressed pants and an attractively light to dark purple gradated button-up. Even his shoes were shiny, but considering they'd be coming off, it was a good thing he'd worn nice socks.

"Born ready, darling, let's not keep him waiting or Horace might have time to come up with more half-baked jokes." There was humor in his voice, though. It wasn't an unfriendly tease.

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Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Renard answered the door. When it came to Oliver's lessons, generally it was Sonny, with their slicked-back hair and bright smile. Not today. Today was business, and so Sonny just hovered nearby, wringing their hands before them.

"You can take the man from Louisiana, but you can't take Louisiana from the man," said Renard. "And haints are a very real phenomenon." He smiled at Oliver. "Punctual as usual. Come in. We'll meet in the dining room."

Sonny watched Horace and Elliot particularly closely for shoe removal.

Melancholies

saedusk

The Semblance of Unity

 

[Melancholies]

Oliver returned the smile, grateful to have something else to focus on rather than wearily eyeing over his compatriots. It wasn't that he didn't trust Elliot and Horace, he was just... anxious. Then again, when wasn't he anxious? He took a solid breath.

After his shoes were deposited at the door (his socks were grey and white argyle, he looked like lemonade with the yellow and the near-pink), he joined Sonny in ensuring the other two did the same (Horace... what was with those socks? Oh my god? Whatever, don't fixate on it, he tried his best, don't be a d**k).

He'd remembered the interior of the house well enough, but did his part to wait until they'd collected in the living room for introduction. "Thank you for the hospitality, Mr. Leroux." Ollie sounded genuinely grateful, "I know you're busy, but my friends and I appreciate it." Come on, say you guys appreciate it. "My friends being, um--This is Horace Nokoni and Elliot Labelle." He motioned to each of them in turn.

He turned to his dynamic duo a second later, "And this is Renard Leroux, my teacher, and his daughter Ascension." There, he did that right, right? No botching? Lord help him.

shibrogane

saedusk

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"I love it," he said, casting once last glance at the porch ceiling before following Oliver, their fearless leader, inside. You like my jokes, Elliot. He toed off his shoes as indicated, wiggling his toe-sock clad toes. There were a colorful affair covered in smiling daisies because life was far too short for boring socks. The bottoms of the socks proudly read 'FLOWER POWER', but no one would be reading them anyway.

Calm down, Oliver, we're not savages. "Thanks for seeing us on such short notice, Mr. Leroux. I've heard many things about you." You're doing fine, Ollie. He smiled, but avoided offering his hand because shocking their hosts would be a horrible first impression. He turned to look at Sonny.

"Sonny, right? Or do you prefer Ascension?" Sonny was definitely different from the one Leila had showed him, but he'd heard of Sonny, too. Either way, it was a damn good name. Maybe he should have brought Nugget, so he could feel marginally cool.

saedusk

shibrogane

melancholies

 

[saedusk]

As if he'd practiced just for this, Elliot's movements were precise like clockwork. He took off his shoes the way Ollie instructed—surprisingly, his socks were the only patternless ones in a straight black—and followed without much fanfair.

"Your home is lovely," he said conversationally. Once he had a chance to observe his hosts, to analyze them a bit better, he'd settle into a routine less formal where it fit. Of course, he did manage to spare Horace a look that read 'right, whatever you say.'

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Leroux, Ms. Ascension." He held his hand out to Renard. "Thank you again for meeting with us. It's more help than you may realize."

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Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Renard seemed impressed by their manners, if the look he gave Sonny was anything to go by. Sonny smiled at the three men. "I like your socks, Horace," they said. They were wearing slippers, but patterned socks were half the fun of having to wear them, in her opinion. "Most people call me Sonny. Father says it's not really my name, though."

Father smiled warmly at Sonny, and then turned his attention back to Oliver, Elliot, and Horace. "You have lessons to work on, don't you, Ascencion?"

They nodded, and said, "I'll come join you when lunch is ready!" They waved at the group of them, but most especially Horace and Elliot, who seemed particularly curious to them.

Once Sonny was off to study, Renard shook Elliot's hand and said, "If you'll follow me?"

As a place of residence, Elliot would find Renard's home familiar in feel if not in specifics. It was a house done up in exquisite, exacting tastes; the woodwork was appropriate to a Second Empire home, but the woods worked were more modern in taste. Even the furniture visible through open doorways reflected a considered mix of modern and period-appropriate tastes. "It's no trouble at all," he said. "I'm fond of Oliver; a friend of his is a friend of mine." For a certain value of friend, anyway.

He stepped through a wide, empty doorway into a dining room. The table (a long affair in glass and hardwood) was set for five. A pitcher of iced tea sat on a lazy susan with a blue porcelain sugar bowl and a matching mini-pitcher of creamer. "My daughter enjoys cooking and hosting parties, and I haven't given her many opportunities to indulge lately, at any rate." He sat at the head of the table.

(Someone--probably Sunny--had folded the mist-blue napkins into little boats.)

"So what is it you wish to discuss?"

Melancholies

The Semblance of unity

saedusk

 

[Melancholies]

The second Elliot threw his hand outwards, Oliver panicked. Of all the things he'd forgotten to mention, it was the germ thing, how incredibly inconsiderate. He knew he was missing something in his earlier rundown, just knew it, but to botch their meeting like this? So early? He could already imagine the conversation, the polite no from Renard, and then Elliot getting all 'Well I never' in that dumb voice of his, and then they all get kicked out. Forever.

Except then Renard shook his hand like it was no big deal. Alright.

That quarter-life crisis aside, Oliver seemed collected on the outside. He took a seat at the table and admired the napkins, knowing exactly who the root cause of them were. After a moment, he seemed to finally relax. Am I? Wait, did you hear anything? He looked blue in the face, Sorry, sorry, I'm fine. He exhaled.

"It's a little convoluted, but I'll try my best to explain." He started to speak as everyone took their seats. "Actually, I suppose I'm not sure how informed you even are. There was a meeting conducted by the Court fetches about the future of the Charter. Most everyone there opted to change it completely." His eyes glittered, "I'm of the opinion that there's a lot that could go wrong and a lot we don't understand, so we wanted to try to cover our basis as thoroughly as possible."

He was blessedly still, his hands resisting the urge to fidget with one another.

"Of everyone I know to ask, I thought you might be the most knowledgeable on the subject. Cutting to the chase: we need a method to dismantle the current charter, but doing so would cause harm to one Melany Dubhslaine, who I suppose has been... existing in this world normally?" His eyebrow raised at Horace, "I suppose the matter is a little complicated."

"Mostly, we don't want to see her harmed during any process of this, since it seems like everyone's going ahead with it. Rather than leave it to someone else, we figured we might at least find a way for her to emerge from this unscathed." His gaze looked a little solemn then. "But I can tell it's a very complicated spell. Your advice would be invaluable, if you have any to offer."

Was that good? He was mentally asking his friends, Ah, sorry... sorry...

shibrogane

The Semblance of Unity

saedusk

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Damn, Eli sure knew how to absolutely ooze manners when he tried. It was kind of neat, actually. Horace figured if he ever needed someone with a charisma check, he knew who to grab now. Oliver, on the other hand, was doing an excellent job of looking calm, even if his thoughts were a mess. And Horace could certainly hear bits of them.

You're fine, you're fine. We're right here. Then he tried to send a wave of HAPPY BEAMU. Horace had no idea if it worked, but still. "The exact issue is that we must destroy the Charter - obliterate it until not even dust remains - to create a new one. Both the paper portion and the more human element. However, I'm unwilling to compromise on destroying Melany." He drummed his fingers along his thigh.

"So... we need to both find a way to destroy the charter and transfer it onto something else... I guess? And Oliver thought you might be a good resource." He pushed up his glasses. "Sorry to impose on you like this..."

saedusk

melancholies

shibrogane

 

[saedusk]

For the life of him, Eli couldn't figure out why Ollie was panicking so hard it radiated off of him like the goddamn sun. Alright, that wasn't the whole truth, because he knew Ollie was anxious this way, but he couldn't pinpoint the exact reason. Never would he have guessed it was because he did the gentlemanly thing and shook their host's hand.

For a short moment after taking a seat, he admired the simple, but elegant handiwork of whoever had set the table. Ascencion, he presumed, if what Renard said was any implication.

"You'll have to excuse me," he said to Renard, "I'm quite new to this whole magic situation. I'll do my best to keep up." And though he didn't mean for it to happen, his words were punctuated with a genuine smile. Weird. It felt like someone had hit him in the back of the head with a HAPPY BEAMU, whatever that was. Of course, he couldn't actually respond to Oliver and Horace's mental conversation outside of opening his mouth and speaking to the world, so he tried his best to be supportive in spirit as he glanced between them.

"I have to agree with the others, though. Whatever we need to do in order to separate Melany, I believe we're all willing."

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Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

(Renard had stealthily purell'd his hands. Germs were gross.)

"You aren't wrong," said Renard carefully, pouring himself iced tea and offering it to Oliver, the person on his left. "I do know a great deal about magical destruction and magical bindings. It would be best, of course, if my husband were here--this is his area of expertise--but if it is to free an innocent woman, then I don't see how I can say no." He folded his hands before him. "Is the protection of Melany Dubhslaine your ultimate goal? What results are unacceptable to you? I know of several ways to utterly destroy paper constructs and bone constructs, but they are... painful, and of course, destructive. She would not emerge unscathed."

Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

saedusk

 

[Melancholies]

Well, that hadn't been what he wanted to hear. Oliver accepted the ice tea with a thank you, poured his own glass, and then was content to offer it to Horace and Elliot in turn. He mulled his words over with a sip of the refreshing drink. "So it goes then, I suppose." He offered wistfully. Putting his drink down, he sighed.

"I would say for us it is." He glanced towards Horace and Eli again. "Horace could speak for Melany's behalf better than I could. From what I've heard though, Melany is very much aware of the charter dwelling inside of her." He tapped his fingers along the glass, "The Spinel Lady, I think Shiloh called her..." He trailed off thoughtfully.

"Whatever method you'd have in mind to minimize the pain and trauma would be best, I think." Obviously... "Horace? You talk with her. You know what she wants..." We'll talk to her too though, after this, if you want. "You're probably better apt to answer the question."

He sipped the tea again, so good.

shibrogane

The Semblance of Unity

saedusk

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace sighed and took a moment to rub the back of his neck. "She is... self-destructive. She is fully aware of the Charter within her - it's sort of manifested as a second personality, one capable of horrible acts of cruelty." He pulled out a small notebook and began to make notes as he spoke. Just small things, the sum of the people before him.

"An unacceptable outcome would be death, or such pain as to completely break mind and spirit. Melany is a strong woman." A faint, fond smile crossed his lips. "But she has already been through a lot of pain. And, she's a dancer, so her body is of some concern - a ballerina Would there be a solution able to meet those criteria?" He thought of her guilt over Ezra. "Of course, I'd propose it to her and get consent before we did anything."

A+ Eli. You can be our anxiety support. Also, holy s**t, you're gonna out gentleman him.

saedusk

melancholies

shibrogane

 

[saedusk]

When Elliot took the pitcher, he also took a moment to give Horace a subtle, sly sort of grin. It wasn't his intention to out gentleman Renard, and he highly doubted he could accomplish that in earnest, but it was a fun thing to humor. He poured himself a glass of iced tea and left it for Horace. If he wasn't interested, he'd return it to the lazy susan.

"As a musician, I couldn't imagine life without my voice. I wouldn't want to see Melany without her dance." Not that he'd ever met her before, but there was solidarity in the arts, he thought.

"However, we are also quite short on time." A month might seem significant, but it would speed by in the blink of an eye. It always did. "Whatever the best course of action is, we need to begin as soon as possible."

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Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

shibrogane