COURT: Heart Game!

[upmoving]

[Your consciousness drifts in to the sound of discordant whispers. It sounds like a hushed argument in another room, something you can't quite catch. You're cold. Your skin tingles slightly, and then...]

Comments

[upmoving]

[left or right]

[worldofdifference]

[ Right! ]

[upmoving]

[This room is decorated in rich reds, seeming somehow more... real than the delicate beauty of the hall and the other rooms. It's more raw, intimate, smells more masculine despite that the residents of the rest of the hall appeared to be mostly men.

Asleep in the bed is an older Tristan, a bit weathered but certainly not having lost his looks with age. But there are the signs of constant stress about him, and it's not easy sleep.]

[worldofdifference]

[ He's not sure what to make of this. A part of Jupiter wants to leave Tristan alone in his rest. Another knows it's probably best to wake him, that it isn't really Tristan. ]

[ After a moment he moves to the side of the bed, reaching out to gently shake Tristan's shoulder. ]

[upmoving]

[He wakes with a start, half-sitting suddenly, visibly frightened. He seems... very surprised to see you.]

...Jupiter?

[worldofdifference]

That's me. Surprise?

[ Just watching Tristan carefully, being sure not to do anything to scare him more. This is obviously concerning! ]

[upmoving]

Of course.

[He sits the rest of the way slowly, looking at Jupiter with clear affection, but also concern.]

This is a dangerous place for you to meddle, Jupiter. You shouldn't be in here.

[worldofdifference]

But here I am anyway.

[upmoving]

That's like you.

[worldofdifference]

You wouldn't have me any other way.

So what are you meant to be doing here?

[upmoving]

Staying.

[worldofdifference]

Well, that's an incredibly informative answer. Are you going to give me anything else to go on?

[upmoving]

It was a correct answer. What are you aiming to do in this place, Jupiter?

[worldofdifference]

...I was asked to help. I'll admit, I don't know how. But that doesn't mean I won't try.

Here specifically, I'm checking on you and trying to find answers.

[upmoving]

To what questions? I'm not the one to be asking, I'm afraid.

[worldofdifference]

What you're doing here, apart from "staying." What your story is, what you represent. What other things I don't know and what's different from what I do. Ultimately, I'm looking to see what I can do, so there's a lot of things. It bears investigating.

Let's start with why you're not the one to ask?

[upmoving]

Because I'm not here for you. I'm only here to continue to be here. Mistaking me for the face I wear would be a mistake on your part.

[worldofdifference]

No kidding. But it was worth a shot.

Then, if that is all, I'll leave you here. I should be looking around other places too.

[upmoving]

Go ahead.

[He seems to want him out. Something about this room is definitely unwelcoming to strangers.]

[worldofdifference]

[ Which is disconcerting, but for now Jupiter will leave it be. He exits the room, back into the hall-- and trying the left closed door this time. ]

[upmoving]

[This room is all in blue and gold. It's also very rich and pretty, and there's a full length mirror on one wall. Sitting in front of it, in profile to you, on the edge of a dressing bench, is... you. An older you, worn just like Tristan was. But this you also seems to have recently gone through quite the ordeal. His clothes (ornamental finery that doesn't even suit you now, let alone in the glimpses you may remember) are torn open down his chest, hanging off his left shoulder entirely. His throat is dark with the bruises of strangling, and he's idly poking at a rather gruesome hole in his chest. It's a kind of big hole. Honestly no one should be alive when it looks like someone's ripped straight through to their heart.

He doesn't look up when you come in, but acknowledges you all the same.]

I see you're being thorough.

[worldofdifference]

Ah.

[ This is a sight to take in. But after a moment he nods, and walks over to this other self of his. ]

Just so. I should have expected this.

[upmoving]

Yeah, probably.

[He doesn't seem inclined to do anything about the gaping wound. He's just kind of examining it like. Huh. It doesn't seem to be hurting him, either.]

[worldofdifference]

[ It's unnerving, but Jupiter forces himself to look. He swallows hard. ]

You know you shouldn't mess with that. Though all things considered, it should be fatal anyway.

[upmoving]

It was.

[He glances at you, sideways, considering.]

You wanted answers?