House of Cards RP

This year, Leigh is fifteen.

Leigh is fifteen and she is eligible to challenge and she's very, very certain that right now she doesn't want to. She'd already convinced Säde that she didn't need a party, certainly not when she was still hurting too much over Isaac's death. Even the snow isn't lightening her mood much. She's pretty sure Säde will start talking about challenges soon when she thinks Leigh's feeling better. Enough classmates have said the same of their parents, enough people have mentioned as much of when they were Leigh's age, whether or not they were considering themselves in comparison to her or not.

She isn't really certain she wants to venture outside of her room today. Just her and Georgia, that would be nice. Except then a delivery comes, from Aoife, an arrangement of wild geranium and sweet pea, along with a small tank and two small spiders. Company for Georgia.

And somehow- somehow it makes her think of last year, of the little spider cakes Isaac had baked. She can barely remember the taste now, how big they'd been (the size of a coin? smaller?), how many he'd baked or where he even got the dolls' plates and napkins to go with them.

Suddenly she wants to taste them again. It takes fast talking, a little pleading, for Gwendolyn to spare her ingredients from the day's dessert preparations. She's as careful as possible, baking them. They aren't so small, certainly a little more delicately decorated than Isaac's had been. She's counted the portions carefully, every one. Just right.

[ooc: while she's baking or afterwards when she's trekking around the castles giving them out. She only made a certain number, so the spider cakes will only be given to her friends or Isaac's.]

There was no visible reaction to the letter a Two of Spades had delivered to him late last night. A brief flash of surprise, a tightening of his lips, but nothing to indicate what the letter contained. And it was hard to tell, all morning, that anything was wrong. Grouchy moods weren't exactly unknown when it came to him, after all - he and several of his guards had even grown up together, so that they knew that sometimes Jordan got snappish, sharp, rude with an edge of cruelty, and it didn't necessarily mean anything. Nothing that could be discerned, at any rate.

The news that Meghana Sankaran had left the Deck hadn't spread to the mid-and-low ranked Hearts until afternoon, by which time Jordan was long gone, having made a vague excuse about dealing with an issue at one of the more distant Heart homesteads, a farm not too far from the outposts. There wasn't any problem. He just needed...air, and driving seemed to be a good way to get it. Driving too fast, punching the accelerator with the windows down and the crisp autumn breeze whipping through his hair. It would have cleared his head, but the roads were still a little slick from last week's storm's runoff, and instead Jordan fishtailed outside Town, running off the road.

The car got the worst of it, really. He wrenched his knee, sure, and had managed some sort of mysterious scrape on his arm, but he shook away the nearby farmer's offer to fetch a doctor, and just asked for a tow and a lift back. He checked the car into the garage, waited with seeming patience for an estimate, and just gave the mechanic a distant nod at the exorbitant amount the repairs were going to cost him before leaving the man his number and limping out.

He hadn't managed to get that air yet.

Might be a bit of trouble.

It has been an interesting day in the Deck. He's only been here a couple of years, but surely a Jack doesn't often resign on the same day that both a Ten and a Nine depart the Deck, not to mention two Sevens. And so many of them were close, too: the Jack of Clubs and the Seven of Hearts were best friends; the Seven of Hearts and the Nine of Spades had been dating; the Ten and Nine of Spades had long been very close friends, and then there was theirs. Friends with both the Nine and the Jack (who had apparently disliked each other, too).

He and Vasiliy had always gotten on well enough, being similar sorts of Diamonds, but it didn't mean he wasn't concerned with this particular disappearance. Vasiliy was a man with an interesting skillset, after all. And he did know quite a bit about the Deck.

Probably was worth looking into, really.

Elani isn't particularly, precisely upset...but perhaps her usual bright shine is a bit dimmer than it might be expected to be today.

No humming, no dancing, she can instead be found quite determinedly making a lovely apple cake down in the kitchens. It seems proper, somehow, to mark Tegan's leaving by baking something she can send to her friend Outside. Even if she's gone to be with her pastry chef boyfriend, that doesn't mean baked goods aren't appropriate going-away gifts.

Now, it was true, was probably the worst time for him to be planning to go off deck. But he had made a promise to Zoe- one that she received confirmation of in the form of roses and a note that was accompanied by confirmation of a five night stay at the Mandarin Oriental Prague.

But like many things- he was not merely going to be away from the deck during a ball. Victor had business to attend to. Esteban had instructions to keep his eyes on Thaksin Metharom and Charles Hahn while he was away, and Victor had plans to tap contacts outside the Deck to follow up on Meghana and Nico's disappearance. Vasiliy as well was important, but largely not his problem at them moment- aside from the fact that his best source for IDs was suddenly gone. His attention was on his suit, and what the implications of this desertion meant.

And like most days, Victor found his way into the halls of Spade Castle to lurk. The Kitchens were among his favorite places to listen- people often forgot he was sitting at the back table, carefully kept safe by Chives. But he lingered from time to time in the training areas as well, watching with out the overt impression that he was always observing. It was true that the cameras throughout the Castle would let him do these things from his office, but there was something to be said for not putting a screen between himself and the world. A small something- but one all the same.

But today he walked with a file in hand, lightly tapping it against the palm of his other hand as he followed at a distance behind a Spade whose name came up in the most interesting of conversations earlier that day. And the careful observer might well note there was, though faint, still a trace of blood on the collar of his shirt- a souvenir to remember an assassin by.

I must say, that was illuminating

Maybe he's snarking about something you just said. Maybe he's serious. Maybe you overhear him talking to someone else entirely.

But he did just, with the help of Victor, have a nice long conversation with David's failed assassin. So there's that. Don't worry, Katya, they left some for you to play with when they were done.

Lets just not. [Discuss today.] Yes?

---

Hadyn has not been in a good mood for over two months now. Between the constant pressure over his mood and weight; and his plays (Aladdin and Tis A Pity She's a Whore), and just any number of issues- he just has a point that he really doesn't want to talk any more. Particularly when Nico takes off without warning. Dr. Rhodes was supposed to be helping him prove he wasn't 'suffering' a mental handicap depression.

That is clearly out the window.

And then his brother tried to kill himself. Accidentally.

And he's supposed to be packing, but he'd rather bang his head against a wall he thinks. Life hates him, that's really all he can sum it up as. Life just really hates him.

Well, maybe a Vacation would just make it all better. One can hope, right?

That or borrowing a limitless Amex for some new clothing.