Travel Arrangements

[Robert Cross]

"Around the World in Eighty Days," that's what the announcement said.

A themed court. The whole thing seems ridiculous to Cross. Frivolous.

But, when they'd found out, Alice appeared genuinely delighted. And Alice is the only one who is capable of infecting the Burned Man with her excitement. The charms and enthusiams of others slide off his scarred exterior. Somehow, she's different.

And so, Robert Cross, Whip of Clan Nosferatu, Deputy of the Domain, and former Constable of the Deep Kingdom had gone...shopping. A sight too bizarre to be captured in words, therefore best passed over in silence.

Somehow, in the process, he's caught the mood of the whole affair and, as he enters the Caldarium, recent purchases wrapped in a bag and held under his arm, he's eager to surprise Alice with his idea and the costumes he's procured. Besides, if she's not into it, he's kept the receipt...

"Hello? Alice?" Gruff voice softened by familiarity, by the comfort of this place, and of his anticipated company.

[Alice Hart]

When the Burned Man stepped into the calming serendipity of the Caldarium, newborn flames flickered, their shadows dancing against the walls. While Gilroy was no longer with them, and this orders concerning the candles no longer applied, each night Alice still brought new life to new wicks.

The routine was a calming thing. Empowering, with her now-hollow gaze, and sure movement brought that hungry light she'd never see again, but still evokes a tightened coil, and an unimpressed hiss from the Wraith within.

The Blind Doll herself has taken off her shoes, and carefully pulled her skirt higher on her thigh as she sat on the ledge and let her legs dangle in the water. Bone-white hands are clasped gently, resting on her lap. It had taken her time, as Katya said to become used to meditating without breathing, but within the Caldarium, it was as slipping between nonexistent beats of her heart.

The sounds of Robert's footsteps, first against the metal grated stairs, then on the stone of the world below brought the Doll out of her meditation, her head tilts toward the familiar sound of his gruff voice, as her lips form a delighted, too-wide-too-sharp smile. "Robert!"

[Robert Cross]

Blame it on his Beast's distraction by the flames of those candles, or on the unnatural stillness granted Alice by her meditative state, but Cross fails to spot her sitting there until she speak his name.

When she does, his usually cold, blue eyes find the Doll where she rests. For a moment, those eyes are filled with a warmth that others rarely see. If he could take a picture of Alice, calm and composed, feet trailing in the water, he would. But it wouldn't do her justice. Instead, he simply takes a beat to watch her, trying to memorize the moment.

He can't just watch her, though, so he approaches. "How are you? he asks. One of his hands rests on hers, briefly, scarred flesh against her own flawless skin, as he settles next to her, setting the shopping bag beside him, and begins to unlace his shoes.

"What have you been up to?" His dress shoes are set aside, socks pulled off, pants legs rolled up. She'll hear him dip his own feet in the water, feel the water ripple against her skin as he stirs it gently.

[Alice Hart]

Alice used to find it a little strange, how Robert would hesitate before coming closer, but after so many nights it's expected, and would be strange if he didn't take that time...to do whatever he did during that pause. 'Maybe he's making sure the flames aren't too close.'

His question receives a hum as she thinks, "I'm alright," the Doll gives a paradoxically jerky, yet easy nod, "Enjoying the calm." she murmurs, his hand on hers. As his hand retreats, hers reaches up, searching for his, only stopping when she hears more movement.

"I've been entirely too lazy." bone-white fingers flick up, as they dance in the air for a moment before returning to her lap. "I just lit the candles."

His movements cataloged as sounds within her mind, a picture paints itself, and the Doll smiles when she feels the water ripple against her dead-doll-flesh.

"And just what have you been up to?" she echos him, a smile, bright and too sharp upon her face, as she turns towards the Burned Man.

[Robert Cross]

"Good," he replies simply, approval in his voice. Her unlife, and the Domain at large, has been a hotbed of turmoil lately. To see her enjoying a peaceful moment makes him happy.

"And I noticed," he says, referring to the candles. This too carries a note of approval. While the flames stir his Beast, and other, painful memories, he appreciates her dedication to the task. Not only does it provide structure to her nightly existence, it also recalls a time of glory for their Family, holding on to the promise that the Necropolis will one day expand again...

He pauses, admiring her smile. To others, the artificial aspect of that gesture may prove disconcerting, but for the Burned Man it is one of the best sights in the world.

At her pointed question, a chuckle escapes him, low and scratchy. "Well, I've been...shopping," he lets that sink in for a minute, knowing how strange it will seem. "And I have a surprise..." With that, he pulls the package into his lap, the sound of the paper bag distinct in the quiet of the Caldarium.

[Alice Hart]

It still makes her a little giddy to hear the warmth and approval in his voice. Every time she heard him speak with another there was never that spark of warmth threaded throughout his voice.

"I'd be worried if you didn't." she quips, but there was a thread a worry present, if Robert hadn't noticed the flames...well there would be more to fret over then their much diminished kingdom.

While it makes the Doll giddy to hear that warmth, it's another thing entirely to hear the man's laugh. A fluttery feeling, as something coils within (which has absolutely nothing to do with the Wraith).

"Shopping?" Alice blinks, forgetting for a moment, her hollow eyes, "You?" she remembers having to badger him into shopping for her own sleeping bag. "A surprise?" she echos, her confusion replaced with curiosity, she could imagine him shopping for something practical, but nothing that could have been called a 'surprises'.

[Robert Cross]

"Well, I was thinking, about the theme for court..." He's drawing this out, enjoying her curiosity. "Trying to figure out an exotic location I'd like to visit." Which is not Cross's usual fare. He's got too much on his plate, night to night, to worry about his fantasy vacation spot. Still, this is something they could do together and so he'd tried. Tried very hard, in fact, to come up with an idea.

"It got me wondering: for us, Kindred, what's the most exotic thing in the world? The most foreign, or strange, thing, you know? What's something we never get to experience?"

[Alice Hart]

"You were?" Comes from her before she can stop it, she'd honestly thought that she'd have to poke at him more to even consider costumes. Which was why the only thing she'd done this evening was to light the flames, she was more focused on coming up with a reasonable argument in the face of a resounding 'no'. Well maybe not a 'no' but the silence Robert could wield spoke volumes.

But this, this nearly playful way that Robert was dragging this out was something new. She'd never seen this side of him and Alice couldn't help but smile. It was...she didn't know but it was something and it fascinated her. There was still so much about the Burned Man that she didn't know.

Kicking her feet in the water Alice tried to come up with an answer. "The day. Obviously. But there's lots of places in the world where you could visit in the day, but then there's their night time variants...so...hum." Alice thinks aloud before offering a strings pulled shrug. "I don't know."

[Robert Cross]

Cross smiles, leaning in to whisper something in Alice's ear, a scarred hand resting on her back as he does so.

The feel of her hair on his face, the way she smells, is intoxicating to him, and he lingers close to her for a moment. Finally, he manages to pull himself away to examine her reaction, feeling slightly anxious about how she'll take the idea.

"What do you think?"

[Alice Hart]

As Robert draws closer, Alice stills, when his hand finds the small of her back she bites her lip. His scared lips brush against her earlobe as her eyes lids flutter closed. Only for them to fly open with a delighted gasp as his words register.

"Oh that dose sound fun! I've never really been before....but..." she trails off. "What colors did you pick?" She asks, completely intent on his answer.

Then as a thought occurs, "Wait!" her face turns to where the source of Robert's voice had come from, "How much skin would I be showing?"