[ota] sleeping under strange skies

[thepupthatmatters]

He's ready for this. Of course he's ready for this.

He wouldn't be here if he weren't ready. Holló wouldn't have sent him through without being prepared. This isn't, after all, the sort of place a person gets sent without it being purposeful. Even the people who wander here 'by chance' are the people who need to be here, he's been told.

So it's the right time for Aleksei Volkov to be stepping out into the cold sunlight barely warming the walls of the Castle Spades, newly minted and processed and told he'll have to start working his way up from Two now.

The few things he'd brought with him have been settled into the cramped quarters he'll be sharing with a few other recent arrivals. What's stuck from his grandmother means he'll be starting off under the apparently quite severe Spade kitchen staff.

Hopefully it isn't the end of the world that he needs to pause when he's sent out to Town to pick up a few extra bottles of truffle oil and vanilla extract. Hopefully being 'ready for this' doesn't mean he can't take a moment--take a deep breath--as he lets settle into his bones the fact that he's here.


{ooc; He can be bumped into at the castle or being lost in Town. Also tag plz?}

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[thepupthatmatters]

"Is Mister Chives one of those?"

Really, it was mostly had to think of Iollan liking anyone. At least after these first few hours knowing him.

[oneirophiliac]

"Preeeetty much. You practically have to have blue blood to be liked." Pause. "Or to have a high position, but that doesn't guarantee it. It's like... the road to being liked is hard to climb, but the road down to being disliked is really easy. Y'know?"

Up the stairs now. Careful.

[thepupthatmatters]

Carrying things up stairs had come much more often as his grandparents aged. At least this time he's not doing it alone.

"Is-- actual like or just-- respect more important?"

[oneirophiliac]

If she had a free hand, she'd wave it vaguely. As it is, this twisting of lips will have to suffice.

"I figure that depends on what you want out of life, y'know? If you wanna rise high, you definitely need respect. Liking isn't in the picture. 'Course, if it's both, that's better. Like our Queen. I don't know anyone who doesn't like her."

[thepupthatmatters]

Respect it is, then. Which doesn't mean throwing away chances for both.

"I suspect I will never-- what is it. Look so good in tall heels as she does, mm? It might be a more difficult path."

[oneirophiliac]

That gets a deep chuckle out of her. "Oh, trust me, no one ever will. You have to start young, I think. She probably learned to walk in high heels instead of barefoot."

[thepupthatmatters]

"High heels." There. Important English word stored. He'll thank her for it when it remains an infinitely useful piece of vocabulary. Or something. "You stand more chance than I do, I think."

[oneirophiliac]

That needs to wait for them to get onto a landing before she answers. "And a whole hundred more people ahead of me. Probably more."

And a side-kick to showcase her sneakers. "Definitely more. This is the highest I ever go."

[thepupthatmatters]

That gets a calm little noise like a laugh. "I suppose we're about even, then. It seems a much-- less dangerous way to live."

[oneirophiliac]

She manages a shrug before sneaking a look behind herself. "Yeah, you might end up tripping and cutting a major artery with your stiletto. Uff- it's this floor."

[thepupthatmatters]

One last big heft, then, to get himself over the last stair. Not so bad. Not even killing so much time.

"--what are these for, exactly?"

Probably before moving was the time to ask that.

[oneirophiliac]

"Mm? Oh, my snakes. These used to be fishtanks but Francis killed his fish by accident and got fed up." And oh look, room full of tanks and balls of snakes.

It probably shouldn't have only occurred to her that he might freak out just then. Her grip tightens.

[thepupthatmatters]

Apparently it's a day of being surprised by unexpected animals. At least his reflexes are good enough that starting slightly doesn't mean actually dropping his end of the tank.

"Jézus--" But he's not skittering. Just... moving a bit more slowly, peeking around the room. "These-- are pets?"

[oneirophiliac]

Better than she expected. Good.

She maneuvers to set the tank in place. "They're work animals. Pest control, when they're not brumating. Er, hibernating." His carefulness with English hasn't passed her by.

[thepupthatmatters]

He's following less fluidly now, it's true, but he's still following. Just.

Possibly peering down at the ground. Just in cases.

"...work animals?"

He'll get to 'brumating' in a minute.

[oneirophiliac]

They're not moving unless you look really closely. They're hardly going to detangle, jump out and bite him.

Possibly it'd be more alarming if they did do just that.

"Uh huh. Their diet's mostly rats and the creepier crawlies we find around the castle. We know they're doing their job well if I have to take them out to find food." She's already turning to the door, but she looks over her shoulder at him. "So try not to smash a snake if you see one indoors, okay?"

[thepupthatmatters]

All right. Snakes. Working snakes. Working snakes who ate rats and weren't meant to be killed. Salute for the lady while carefully shifting to follow.

"And bru..." Damn. The world was already gone. "Brum--bernate?"

So close.

[oneirophiliac]

"Brumate," she says, enunciating carefully as they patter down the stairs. "And hibernate. Hibernating is when animals sleep for the winter, yeah? One long sleep until spring? Brumating is for the reptiles, but people are more familiar with hibernating as a concept."

[thepupthatmatters]

The words are repeated very softly under his breath as he follows along at her elbow. It's important to say them, after all, if he wants to get them actually settled into his mind.

"Why are-- there two words? Is it... different with reptiles?"

[oneirophiliac]

"The basic deal with reptiles is that they don't need to build up anything where food's concerned before winter starts. Long cold days-" she snaps her fingers, "-sleeping snakes until it's warm again. Whereas mammals need to eat up before they hibernate, because they have to keep warm by themselves."

She taps her fingers along the banister, then adds, "Regular pet snakes don't need to brumate, but you can feel how cold the castle stone gets. Imagine crawling on your bare belly on that for hours. Plus they breed better after a long sleep."

[thepupthatmatters]

His fingers shift briefly to smooth against the stone walls they're passing. It's not as cold as the home he had known--but he can certainly see the problem for something stuck against it all the time.

"It must be-- interesting work. To handle snakes here."

[oneirophiliac]

She grins as they reach the first floor. "It is. Keeps me busy, and it's- well, it's not like I'm much good with a lot of other things. I've liked them since I was a kid, so it was lucky I could spin 'em into a job."

[thepupthatmatters]

"It is-- very lucky?" Maybe this was a place everyone made their dreams into reality. After all, isn't that what he was here to do, in his own way?

[oneirophiliac]

"Mmhm. Between washing dishes and working with the castle exterminator, that was totally a piece of luck." She wrinkles her nose as they pick up the second tank. "I don't think I'll ever wash a plate clean enough for dad-in-law."

[thepupthatmatters]

It takes a second. 'Father-in-law' isn't a common word to begin with, and substituting in a synonym for 'father' makes it take that longer.

But he does get to the point of being hit with a thought and stumbling.

"--Mr Iollan?"