[002] tell me everything that happened

[themuseabandonsyou]

Who: Orpheus (themuseabandonsyou), Kyle, Bigby, Kassandra, and Michael
What: December 2021 catch-all
When: Throughout December
Where: In memory (the Road to Hell, the Underworld), Cellar Door (a fountain square, a small cafe)
Warnings: drug-like mental effects/mind alteration, dog attack

I. they had lights inside their eyes (cw: drug-like mental effects/mind alteration) (Cellar Door - a fountain square)(closed to Kyle)

It may be a pretty dreary day, even by Trench's standards - a light drizzle of rain falling down on the city streets and the sky gray and overcast, but to Orpheus, the city's never been more beautiful. He turns, slowly, circling around a mostly-empty fountain square as he a sweet little melody he picked up from Fern on his guitar while he dances, as if waltzing with an invisible partner. It's a bit of a sight, dressed as he is in a sharp brown tailcoat and a very strange top-hat, not to mention the fact that he seems to glow slightly, golden-toned as if the afternoon sun was hitting him despite the heavy layer of clouds overhead, but if he knows how much he stands out at the moment he doesn't seem to care. He's having a great time.

"Let me call you sweetheart
I'm in love with you
Let me hear you whisper
That you love me too," he sings, to an audience of crows gathering around the rooftops up above. It's cold and wet, but he sings and dances his way through it without a care in the world.

II. did you see the closing window (Cellar Door, a small cafe)(closed to Bigby)

Well, that was something. Orpheus takes... a few days to recover, from whatever it was that made the world seem so relentlessly bright and beautiful and easy, unsure of how to feel about any of it. In a way he sort of mourns the loss, but he knows by now that being so caught up in dreams like that can make it very, very easy to lose sight of what's real, and important. It's easy to let go (especially when it leaves him with such a tremendous headache in its wake).

Once that's over with, though, he gets back to work. The cafe's owner welcomes him back with open arms, thankfully, despite his multiple sudden disappearances - happier that he's safe and not dead than mad that they had to substitute in another act for him a few times. Once they've negotiated his pay, (as much of the spare food left at the end of the day as he can carry home, which includes, excitingly enough, a basket of oranges they're setting aside for him) he sets up on the little stage in the corner and begins to play.

He sticks to mostly classical pieces, as this particular cafe has a bit of an air of sophistication about it, though he can't help but dip into some light improvisation when his mind starts to wander, a flickering glow of little firefly-lights starting to accumulate like dust motes around him whenever he starts to drift off in his own direction. Ultimately it's not a terribly eventful day, and as the shop starts to close up he steps off the stage to some polite applause from the patrons, smiling and taking a shallow bow. As he slings his guitar over his shoulder and gets ready to go, he glances around the room, looking to see if there's anyone who seems to want to talk to him. It's not too uncommon for someone to have questions for him, or to have something else they'd like to say, and he's more than happy to wait around for that.

III. did you hear the slamming door (cw: dog attack) (The Road to Hell)(closed to Kassandra)

The desert stretches off into infinity all around, no mountains in the distance nor stars above by which to get one's bearings. The only things for miles are a vast expanse of sand, a half-buried set of train tracks, and the occasional telephone pole jutting up out of the ground. Orpheus, bedraggled and dusty and exhausted, treks slowly along the tracks, his guitar slung over his back as he watches his feet. Occasionaly he looks up and around, searching for some sign that he's making progress, but there's none to be had, and he goes back to the endless plodding of putting one foot in front of the other.

He's not sure how long he's been out here. Long enough that the sun should've risen again by now, he thinks? But there's no way of knowing for sure. All he knows is that he's tired, and thirsty, and that he can't stop for anything despite that. He keeps on - looks up again, and this time sees the distant lights of what looks like a city on the horizon. Surprised, he pauses, then steels himself and sets off again, a grim determination settled over him. He sings to himself, quietly, eyes forward.

"Wait for me, I'm coming."

IV. they moved forward, and my heart died (The Underworld)(closed to Michael)

"Young man."

A low and booming voice comes from the balcony above the factory floor, a man silhouetted against the bright light spilling from the open door behind him. Orpheus, standing among the rows of machines with Eurydice next to him, shields his eyes and squints upwards, catching his first glimpse of the Lord of the Dead. Hades watches him with a critical eye, and speaks again.

"I don't think we've met before. You're not from around here, son. I don't know who the hell you are, but I can tell you don't belong. These," and he gestures to the workers at their stations, heads bowed low but watching the proceedings as subtly as they can manage, "are working people, son. Law-abidng citizens. Go back to where you came from - you're on the wrong side of the fence."

Persephone, all in black and looking deeply concerned, strides into the room and surveys the situation, apparently having been summoned by one of the workers. Seeing Orpheus, her eyes widen in surprise, before she sets her jaw and looks up at her husband. "Hades, I know this boy."

"One of the unnemployed."

"His name is Orpheus."

"You stay out of this." Unimpressed, Hades turns back to Orpheus and Eurydice. "You hear me son? You better run!"

All but shaking with exhaustion from his long journey and facing down an unfamiliar and unsympathetic god, Orpheus hesitates only a moment before shaking his head. Alarmed, Eurydice grabs his arm and tries to pull him away.

"No! Orpheus, you should go."

"I'm not going back alone. I came to take her home."

For a moment, Hades seems taken aback. Then, he laughs - a low, bemused chuckle building into a loud bark of disbelief. "Who the hell do you think you are? Who the hell do you think you're talking to? She couldn't go anywhere, even if she wanted to. You're not from around here, son. If you were, then you would know - that everything and everyone in Hadestown, I own."

V. Wildcard

[ ooc: Want to do something with me this month? Let me know at questionableveracity on Plurk or quodVide#2951 on Discord!! ]

Comments

[kyley_b]

Kyle sighs. "Yeah, you're feeling good NOW. Trust me, in a few hours it's going to suck. I'll stick with you and keep you out of trouble, though."

[themuseabandonsyou]

"Oh? Why do you say that?" asks Orpheus, wide-eyed and curious and apparently not in the least bit concerned. "That's awfully nice of you, though! It's good to have company on days like this. Or any day, really."

He beams at him, clearly very happy with this new friend he's made. "Oh! If you want, I can buy you something hot to drink? Since you said you were cold earlier."

Or he'd made the objective observation that it was cold out, but same thing, really, as far as Orpheus is concerned right now. He's fine with the weather, so this is clearly a Kyle problem.

[kyley_b]

"Because I got infected with the same virus. You're basically rolling on molly right now, dude." He sighs.

"Yeah, sure. That'd be nice."

[themuseabandonsyou]

"It's a virus?" asks Orpheus, blinking at him owlishly. "I don't know what that second part means but - aren't those supposed to make you sick?"

He glances away for a moment to catch a waiter's attention and orders two hot chocolates, handing over a pearl he found on the beach while scavenging a few days ago. It's a bit of a steep price, chocolate and milk both being as rare as they are here in Trench, but why not, right? Kyle's being so nice to him, after all. The waiter brings two steaming mugs and sets them on the table.

[kyley_b]

Kyle nods. "Yeah. And you are kinda sick, you just feel really good right now. Don't worry, you won't like, get hurt or anything."

Kyle beams at the hot chocolate. "Dude, thanks. I owe you one. So, uh, you said your girlfriend doesn't know you're out wandering around right?"

[themuseabandonsyou]

"Oh, okay," says Orpheus. He doesn't sound skeptical, at least, happy to take Kyle's word for it, but he sure doesn't sound concerned either. It's totally possible that he's just entirely failed to absorb the implications.

"Don't worry about it, though! And, no, I don't think my wife knows? She was out scavenging for things to barter, so I went out looking for her!"

He beams, also oblivious to the possibility that Eurydice might really not like it if she comes home to find her injured husband has disappeared suddenly.

[kyley_b]

The crash will come soon enough.

Kyle bites back a sigh. That poor woman was going to have quite a mess to deal with later. He has no idea that Orpheus was injured previously on top of everything else.

Wanna start to wrap this/FTB?

[themuseabandonsyou]

And Orpheus will be entirely unprepared for it! Ha ha! Good times.

"She's the best," he sighs, dreamily, also oblivious to Kyle's exasperation. "I was so worried I'd never see her again when I came here, but then it turned out she was here before me? And now we can spend as much time together as we want! Even in winter here there's enough food and supplies that we don't have to spend all our time working to make ends meet! It's wonderful! I love her, and I love this place for giving me another chance with her."

It sounds like he could keep going like this for a while, left to his own devices.

Yeah I think we can call it :)

[kyley_b]

Kyle actually smiles at this lovesick rambling. Is it a bit much? Yes. Is it sweet? Also yes.

"Love is pretty special, isn't it?" he muses aloud.

"I tell you what, dude: as long as we've got love we've got a chance. I believe that. And I know you're tripping, but like... remember how much it matters later."