[open post: thursday's eve]

[forgethertoo]

When the predetermined day and time for the night hunt comes around, Aornis kits herself out quite reasonably, though she secretly loathes every second of it. Sensible, dark clothes and sensible black shoes with no heels. Flashlight. Notebook and pen. A few other useful and routine tools -- and an odd contraption that she's holding in her hands. The outside of it is a glass bottle that once held a beverage of some sort, washed and cleaned thoroughly. Since she didn't want to appear to be the sort to waste food, she's filled it with different colored plastic beads that she discovered in one of the lounges. The bottle is sealed, with the cap on, as she waits for Claudius and Lan Wangji.

Alternatively, if anyone would like to speak with her while she waits for them, they are also more than welcome to -- though we can't particularly guarantee a scintillating conversation, as she's still masquerading as Thursday Next.

Comments

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji lets his eyes settle on her face again, taking the ready excuse of interest in her answer. She could tell the truth. She has, so far, in the most roundabout of ways -- at least so far as he knows, so far as he can remember. But she could as easily flip Claudius' question on its head and hand them some false strategy that would have them walking directly into harm's way.

[forgethertoo]

"A silver bullet was the only thing that could kill him." 

[wickedwit]

Claudius raises an eyebrow. "Dramatic," he says. "How did you outsmart him? A man like him must be fairly intelligent, to get away with so much."

[lightbearinglord]

The crushed bullet that killed Shen Yuan is in Lan Wangji's possession, hidden neatly away at the back of a cabinet in his bedroom. It also contains the sword that nearly killed Magnus. He doesn't particularly like the idea that a bullet might be the only way to eliminate Aornis, as if evil can be neutralized only with evil. He also isn't certain he believes it.

The trees are thinning again, the moons brighter through the sparser treetops. They aren't close to the mansion, but they are closer than they were.

[forgethertoo]

"Extremely intelligent. He was my English professor," Aornis says, with a touch of irony -- but then she smiles, just slightly. "I could not have done it without Mr. Rochester."

[wickedwit]

Claudius sketches two portraits in his mind's eye: one of a woman with a firm sense of justice, fond enough of an old professor to add superlatives to his intelligence, but with no doubts about whether he deserved to die. The other is a woman who lost her brother, masquerading as her brother's killer, mocking her inflexibility and dull dedication to her job, letting her mask drop more the longer they walk together.

It's a matter of perspective. Assessing threats has always been Claudius's most relied-upon skill, and he turns over these two studies, wondering which one is most dangerous. He's never been more glad to have Lan Wangji at his back.

For now, he says in his usual, cheerful tone, "There's a story there, I can tell. Someone more clever than Acheron? A close friend? An old flame?"

[lightbearinglord]

Because he knows Claudius well, Lan Wangji feels the depth of his thoughts beneath his amiable manner. Something is coiling up in his mind, or multiple somethings. He has no doubt that he will hear every woven branch of it later -- so long as they emerge from this evening with their memories and bodies intact. He watches Claudius as he walks, his bright affability in contrast with the way he picks his way through the woods with sure steps, never faltering in his heeled boots. Thursday, or Aornis, walks just as confidently. It would be an interesting matchup if not for the death of Shen Yuan hanging over them and if not for Lan Wangji's simmering anger at the attempt on Magnus' life.

[forgethertoo]

"Oh, no, not an old flame," Aornis says, perhaps a touch too hurriedly. "He's the male romantic lead of the novel we were in, Jane Eyre. Every year, he's in contention for Most Troubled Romantic Lead at the BookWorld Awards, though Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights wins the award almost annually. Either Mr. Rochester or--" She pauses for a meaningful beat and would, perhaps, shoot a sidelong glance at Claudius here were she not in front of him. "--or Hamlet, Prince of Denmark places second, typically. It's quite contentious."

[wickedwit]

The eyeroll is automatic. "Troubled I'll accept. Gertrude did her best with the boy, but genetics and his ghostly apparition of a father won out in the end." To be fair, Claudius shares some of those genetics. He's done his research.

[lightbearinglord]

A ghostly apparition who really ought to have been suppressed or eliminated at the nearest cultivator's earliest convenience, Lan Wangji thinks but doesn't say. The trees are starting to open up now; many of the stones at this part of the woods are arranged neatly, by a human hand rather than the will of nature. It's Galahad's handiwork, his tidiness after lifting them as instructed by Lan Wangji.

[forgethertoo]

"I suppose Hamlet is hardly a romantic play, is it?" Aornis asks lightly, as though they're talking about the weather. "Oh, I almost forgot."

At this moment, she holds up the container of beads and gives it a shake. The colors are still distributed normally and randomly after this shake. No entropy manipulation.

[wickedwit]

"It's just as well," Claudius notes with a sigh. "I'm beginning to wonder whether we're ready to face her. I hate to say this, Thursday, but we may have to use you as bait."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji stays silent, but he is poised now to offer backup for whichever direction Claudius may want to take this. However she chooses to answer, something will be revealed; it is the kind of sly verbal maneuvering he could never have thought to try on his own. He doesn't break his stride or otherwise react, but he does spare a thought of gratitude for Claudius' clever mind.

[forgethertoo]

Aornis lets a look of mild dismay cross her face. That is, after all, how poor little Thursday Next would react. Her? As bait? She's the protagonist; nobody would dare suggest that. On the other hand, it is a legitimate facial expression. Everything she's said tonight has had more than a shade of truth to it. She is both dismayed and slightly thrilled by that suggestion.

Aornis thoroughly comprehends what Claudius is up to and why Lan Wangji, expression grim and foreboding, is present as well. She knew well before this evening, that he would be a formidable opponent — and perhaps that's exactly why she agreed to go on this Night Hunt. Boredom. A test to see how far she can take this whole act. If it all goes wrong, no harm no foul… She slips away and the memories are gone again.

"Oh," she says, furrowing her brow, as if she's never considered being bait in her charmed life. "Is that really necessary? I suppose— she probably does want her revenge against me."

[wickedwit]

"It's the best chance we have," Claudius says with the calm, reasonable intonation that legitimatizes his wildest schemes. "We only know one thing she wants, after all, and precious little to go on besides. And as loath as I am to put you in harm's way, you did come here prepared to put an end to her, didn't you?" He sighs, and there's some sincere regret in it. "Believe it or not, I did have some naive hope of speaking with her. But after what happened with Acheron ... you know what desperate times call for."

[lightbearinglord]

It doesn't particularly surprise Lan Wangji that she reacts with nothing more than muted alarm. He looks at her small frame, her guileless face anytime he catches a glimpse as she leads them. The stream has nearly run dry, but it doesn't matter; the path out of the woods is clear now, opening before them. "I would be nearby," he adds, calm, as if it's obvious. He is here to protect Claudius; of course he would be there to protect Thursday when Aornis appeared.

[forgethertoo]

"Well, if it's the only way," Aornis says, with the continued reluctance of a poker player who is about to fold. "Is there anyone here who knows what she looks like and can identify her if she shows up?"

[wickedwit]

Claudius tilts his head, a glint in his eyes like a man calculating a potential capture on a chess board. "I suppose you only know her appearance from report, then?"

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji could sheathe Bichen now, because they are on the open grounds again, the moons are bright, and the talisman continues to illuminate all three of them. He can see her features and Claudius', too; he feels a cold flare of impatience to be finished with games, to be done with it. But this is too dangerous for that, and Claudius knows what he's doing. He keeps his sword in his hand.

[forgethertoo]

Aornis blinks once, then gazes about with a confused look. She spins around and looks at Claudius and Lan Wangji, startled for a second before she appears to recognizes them. "What? Where are we? Just a second ago I was explaining how the-- how the entropy manipulation detector worked."

After a moment, realization slowly begins to dawn on her expression. 

[wickedwit]

Claudius wants to clap. Truly, he does. But clapping would signal an end to the play, an invitation for the actors to break character and make their bows, and he doesn't want to do that.

Instead he sighs heavily, and looks aside. He looks back at Lan Wangji and says, "Well, that explains that." It's a little irritable, a little unkind, his fingers twitching and twirling his pen as he appears to master his temper. It's not Thursday's fault. "I doubt she'll remember posing for the picture, or the last time she was here. This was a false lead."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji meets Claudius' eyes, but only for the fraction of a moment it might take for them to communicate a weary mutual understanding of what has happened. They will discuss the truth of this, whatever that entails, at more length later. "Mn." He slides Bichen into its scabbard and steps closer to Thursday, respectful of her space but solicitous in his own way. "You are as safe as possible with us. Allow us to escort you back to the house."

[forgethertoo]

"I can't believe--" Aornis starts, then clamps her mouth shut with a weary expression as if yes, she can believe. She turns, to begin to follow Lan Wangji back to the house. "This has happened before. Many times. I've lost days, perhaps longer. She always seems to find me, wherever I am. I suppose the one question I have is... Why has she allowed the two of you to keep your knowledge and memories of her?"

[wickedwit]

There are many answers he could give — he could return to philosophizing, explain that people are pack animals, and for a moment he considers using his exact words over again. He could share a personal story, something from his political days, and speculate on the private horror of knowing how easily everyone could forget your name and go on as if you never existed, whether you willed it or not. Even an unrepentant villain, with no desire for validation from the crowd, would still want to be seen by someone. Especially if they’ve been taught that success is how many evil deeds you can hold over your siblings during family dinners.

He could play innocent and ask, like Poirot singling in on an off-handed, yet unnatural phrase why she thinks they’ve been allowed to keep anything. Whatever could she mean? They’ve lost plenty before this. Does she know something they don’t?

And then, of course, he could play the same move back at her. Lose the thread mid-sentence. Forget. Fold up the chess board, and put all the pieces back in the box, since clearly it’s time for a different game.

Instead, he takes a different tack altogether. “Thursday, Thursday,” he says with a sigh. “We have to trust each other. You don’t think we’re working with her, do you?”

[lightbearinglord]

In truth, as grateful as he is that his memories -- to the best of his knowledge, which is a chilling concession to consistently make -- have remained intact recently, Lan Wangji could very well ask the same question. They are all careful about speaking the name Aornis, but he doesn't know enough about the reach of her powers beyond the signal flare of her name. He was forced to admit that to SecUnit not so long ago.

If he was already weary of the game, this turn makes him wearier still, but he certainly won't stand in Claudius' way until and unless he believes the danger to him outweighs the usefulness of his various gambits. So he glances down at Thursday, and it is a glance of calculating interest, but because his face hasn't changed, it could as easily be one of mild offense at the notion of working with such an unrepentant villain.