heirtothedragonsfire | Forays into the Land of Fun - Bringing westfallcorndog to a Funfair

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Forays into the Land of Fun - Bringing westfallcorndog to a Funfair

Though she'd only been around a short time Runa had already made an impact on Viatorus' life. His office was filled with flowers and, more often than not, fresh baking. She'd fearlessly stepped into the Nexus and welcomed his friends, who had in turn welcomed her right back. It was as she was an unstoppable force of boundless optimism. So when she asked Viatorus to come with her to a fair ground it was impossible for him to give her an adequate excuse to get out of it. Not that he particularly wanted to. Even with his thoughts deep in his work the novelty of a fun fair piqued his curiosity. He'd relented and Isidor had stood firm on needing to come along to protect both of them. As with anything, Runa took the idea as if it were her own, continuing the thought that maybe they should invite someone else along to even out the numbers. 'In case there are any games with teams', she'd said.

They had agreed to meet with Harrowheart at Viatorus' office where the scholar then took his friend and his fiancée to his home on his own world. This time it wasn't a mansion, but an apartment, and Isidor was waiting for them. In contrast to Viatorus with his jumper over a shirt and his suit trousers, or Inigrun with her shirt and jumper harking back to older styles, Isidor is wearing the most contemporary clothes of them all. The all black ensemble includes fitted trousers, short heeled boots and a jacket that looks more sleek than warm.

"You look like a bodyguard," Viatorus says to his sister, not bothering to hide his amusement.

"It was only to make you feel better about having a babysitter," she teases as she passes him and he pouts. Walking up to Harrowheart, she looks him up and down and holds up a wooden, flat square box. "I managed to borrow this for the day. So you don't draw any unwanted attention." She tilts her head at him. "Can you grow back your hair?"

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Meeting with Viatorus is as natural as it ever is, and Harrowheart is just as eager to see Runa again, but the prospect of seeing Isidor is... Complicated. Of course he wants to see her, but at the same time does he? It's the first time he's seeing her since she met with his family and – in his and Lawrence's opinions, at least – disrespected everything about who he is. This meeting is the fabled 'next time he sees her,' the moment he should expect an apology. But under these circumstances?...

For the first time in his life he thinks he really understands the core of being Isidor, because he knows he has one obligation: To swallow his emotions, put on a smile, and have a wonderful day. For Viatorus' sake. It helps that every time he sees his friends his natural inclination is to smile, though he's not used to the strange kind of dissonance that comes when he finally sees Isidor. How can he be at once so excited and so full of dread?

He calms his nerves by spending a moment considering their fashion. Viatorus is looking overly-formal and will certainly be uncomfortable – standard, really – and Runa is unsurprisingly adorable. Isidor is...

He looks down at himself rather than stare. He's dressed much the same as always in workboots, shorts, and a muscletank. The 'World's Greatest Planet on Earth' shirt, of course. How else would everyone know he's a tourist?

The unexpected offering of the box surprises him and he puts his hands on it immediately. "Can? –" Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to pointedly ignore her. Prove in some petty way just how hurt he was beneath the surface. He's already ruined that little plan, though, so he might as well go forward living this new 'talking to Isidor' lifestyle he's adopted. "'Course," he says curtly. "What're you gonna do, shave me?..."

Runa has hopped over to a mirror to double check her eyeliner and then make sure everything she needs is in her bag. Meanwhile Viatorus watches Harrowheart and Isidor a little closer than usual. "It's a family heirloom," he explains. "I asked Isidor to get it. It's a glamour. Well made, too."

Inside the box is a silver locket with ornate engravings on the front and tiny circles of opal gems around the edge. While he opens it, Isidor smiles and then fetches a pair of scissors off of a table top. "It needs some of your hair to work and I'd hate to give you a permanent haircut." She lifts the scissors and looks at his hair, considering where might be the best cut. "Do you mind?"

Viatorus continues rambling. "Usually it helps you look like someone else, but in this case you don't need to look like someone else. You want to look like you. Which means it needs your hair."

His immediate reaction is to put his hands over his sideburns. She can't have those. His eyes flit between the scissors, rambling Viatorus, and Runa doing her makeup. He nods at her and says, "I can be someone else? Why can't I be Runa? She's cuter than me... And if I'm her then I might be able to steal a kiss from Viatorus." He winks at V and smiles at Runa, but quickly shakes his head. He's not being serious. Hopefully.

"I'd say you oughta take it from my chest where nobody's gonna notice, but I can't guarantee I ain't gonna take my shirt off at any given time." He crouches down for Isidor to snip some of the hair from the top of his head but warns her, "Don't take too much and give me a big ol' bald spot like my brother..."

Luckily everyone seems to understand the joke. Runa grins at him and giggles, and even Viatorus smiles, even if he does go a little red as well. As for his shirt comment, Isidor smiles and rolls her eyes, but focuses once he offers his hair up for snipping.

She chooses a small lock of hair that's easy enough to brush over. Holding it tightly between two fingers, she sets down the scissors, opens up the locket and puts the hair inside, before closing it again with a reassuring click. The locket is offered up to him and she steps back to watch, both intrigued and uncertain. "Try that on and see how it works."

Harrowheart begins to put the locket over his head but he doesn't get it past his forehead before some thought gets the better of him and he stops. Instead he bites his lower lip and fights a cheeky grin as he looks at Isidor.

As quickly as he can he reaches out and tries to slip it over Isidor's head.

Harrowheart has the height advantage, the strength advantage, and more importantly the element of surprise. The long chain means that not even her ponytail gets in the way of Harrowheart's fiendish prank. Isidor blinks at gawps in shock and her brother does much the same. Runa, as Runa does, laughs in breathless stutters before deciding it best to hide her smile behind a hand.

Of all the things to happen today, none of them quite expected to see a pink faced, living Harrowheart dressed in edgy, androgynous black staring back at the Harrowheart they all know and love with his cold blue skin, glowing eyes and questionable sense of style. The 'living Harrowheart' is growing redder by the second. She looks herself up and down, but as she pats down her abs/stomach what she feels does not match what she sees.

Harrowheart immediately tosses his head back and cackles. His own cheeks are a touch darker when he looks at Isidarrow in her -- his? -- strange outfit. He laughs again when she touches her -- his?! -- body.

"Damn, Isidor, if only you did that every time you saw the real me!"

He folds his arms in front of his chest and taps his chin like a thoughtful art critic. "I don't look half bad like that, come to think of it. Idunno about them heels but, shoot, you might have to hook me up with your stylist."

He motions to her then and asks, "How do you like it, bein' tall and buff? You wanna go stand next to Runa and feel the raw power of it?" He laughs once more before he turns to Runa and asks, "You want a go when Isidor's done?"

Runa giggles again, cheeks filled with her large smile. "Ah, but if I looked like you I wouldn't get to be seen with you, would I?"

Isidarrow considers her now large hands with a frown. She's not sure what to make of this, but since everyone else seems to be all right with it, she might as well indulge them a little bit. "It's just a glamour, Harrowheart. I'm not really in your body. I don't have your 'raw power'." She casts her eye over to Runa, still standing by the mirror, and walks over to have a look for herself, hips swaying as she goes. When she sees him-her-his body staring back at her, her brow lifts and she takes a minute just to stare. Then, slowly, she touches her nose and her lips... until she suddenly turns around, shaking her head and pulling off the locket to offer it back to him. "No. No, this feels strange. Here."

Watching his own ass walking away from him and swaying like a woman's gets him to laugh and he covers his mouth with his hand to quickly quiet himself. "I can't tell if I'm laughin' at your expense or mine," he says as he watches her inspect her glamoured form.

Still, when she's ready to give it up he doesn't make her wait. He takes the locket from her, his hands lingering near hers just a few seconds too long as he considers her true face once more. It wouldn't do to stall forever, though, and eventually he has to wear the locket himself.

The strange part is how nothing feels different. He takes a few experimental breaths and fails to feel the satisfaction of it. He pinches the skin on his forearm and shakes his head when the sensation is the same old dullness. Like Isidor had he goes to the mirror to inspect himself, but what catches his attention most are his eyes. He peels back his eyelids and watches his brown irises flick from sight to sight.

"It's weird," he says, leaning back. "But at least it ain't like all those magical swaps Doctor Hill puts us through. No offense to y'all, but my breather days are over and I ain't interested in one more magic surprise that turns me into one for real."

Then he glances toward the nearest window. He remembers Viatorus' apartment having a balcony, and the urge to go out on it is incredibly strong. "What I am interested in is seein' Earth! Now that I'm a regular-old breather man, of course. Your foreign friend from the strange and far-off world of Texas. And since I don't think Earth folks name their kids Harrowheart, y'all can call me..."

He scans the room, from Viatorus to Runa and finally... Isidor. That spark of quiet contentment that usually brightens his eyes when he sees her is gone, and in its place only a pointedly blank stare.

"Harry," he says flatly.

It's a relief to hand it over the locket. Looking at him in the mirror like that had felt so... invasive. It was like being able to touch someone without their permission. She wraps one arm around herself to grab the other while she watches him put on the locket and inspect himself with his perfectly normal eyes which she soon finds locked onto hers.

She stares back, purses her lips and nods while turning her gaze away. She makes her way to the door and holds it open. "Well with that sorted... The car is downstairs. Let's get this party started."

Unaware of any tension, Runa beams and heads out the door as she talks. "You look like a strong German man, Harrowheart. If you had the right accent I would say you would make a wonderful Wolfgang! But Harry is a good friendly name too."

Viatorus looks worriedly between Isidor and Harrowheart before following her out.

"Wolfgang!" Harrowheart says loudly, pleased for so many reasons. As they make their way down he throws an arm around Runa's shoulder and pulls her in for a quick, jostling hug. "I like that too much. You know, Viatorus is teachin' me a little German? I think it's a real easy language, except for the spellin'. The words and the sounds're real similar to my langauge. Which he's been pretty good at learnin' himself!" He looks between Isidor and Viatorus and announces, "Okay y'all, my new name is Wolfgang, wrong accent or not."

To fill the silence along the way he asks, "Have any of y'all ever been in a car before, or am I the only one gettin' in for the first time? I've only ever seen 'em on movies. Is this gonna be like a Fast and the Furious situation, or more like a... Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? Does it drive itself or are one of y'all gonna drive it? Can I sit in the front seat? Oh! No, I gotta say shotgun! Right?"

The friendly hug and excited banter has Runa laughing and patting Harrowheart's arm. Even Viatorus smiles at this change of plan and he agrees, "It suits you."

Viatorus is the one to hold the next door open. He almost wouldn't except that the street is filled with Normal People who might stare at a self opening door, if only to wonder why their apartment doesn't have one of those.

"You can sit where ever you like," Runa tells him after a glance behind her at Isidor's brow hinting at a frown. "But that might make it harder for you to hear us if you have any questions."

It turns out that there are two black, expensive looking cars waiting for them, back doors being held open by two well dressed men. Isidor looks between Runa and Harrowheart. "Viatorus and I will take one car, if you two are happy to share the other?"

"Gladly!" Runa, ever the good hostess, takes Harrowheart's arm and steers him to the car. She's happy to natter away as she slips into the car. "Cars are the main form of transport here. We have all been in them before. I learned to drive, but I am not very good at it."

Whichever seat he takes, Harrowheart will be met with a clean leather interior with dozens of buttons hidden here and there to activate a variety of features. The ride itself is reasonably long with plenty of different things to see as they pass. The city turns into the suburbs which in turn become green and dotted with buildings. Ingirun is persistently cheerful, and eager to answer as many questions as she can, as well as compare the scenery to her own country which, she tells Harrowheart, has much more space between all the different places.

The cars pull up to the open gates of the funfair. The outside already setting the tone with neon lights and strong colours in bold, simple patterns. Once they get out Isidor glances over to make sure the others are here before walking up to one of the booths to get them tickets. From the entrance they can glimpse a couple of rollercoasters, the rising and falling of the tracks on stilts that somehow are built into giant loops, and bright canvases peaking up through the crowd of stalls and rides to catch the attention of visitors.

Seeing chauffeurs surprises Harrowheart, but only for a flash. Of course the Durants don't drive their own cars. But it's not as if he can drive either, so he hasn't got much room to be high and mighty. Plus, he's seen the movies. Driving on Earth must be a bloodbath. It really only makes sense they'd leave it to professionals.

Except once he's on the road he finds that isn't exactly the case. There's a lot of honking in the city, but also a lot of waiting at red lights. Harrowheart of course busies himself with pressing and unpressing all of the buttons, playing with the lights, and even lowering his face to the seats to smell the strangely-scented leather. Through most of the ride he keeps the window down for the best possible view of the world at large. It's a good thing he's been paired with Runa for this ride – she's probably got the patience to handle him ceaselessly pointing out the relatively mundane. The Nexus has prepared him for certain peculiarities of the modern world, but this is Earth and these are Earth postmen and cyclists and old ladies grabbing the paper. And they're all human, too! He points that out (several times) much to his never-ending surprise. All humans, none of them in armor, and nothing flying in the air aside from the far-off planes which captivate him.

By the time they're exiting their cars they might as well skip the fun faire, because Harrowheart has thoroughly enjoyed his first prolonged exposure to the world of his dreams. In between his marveling at the rollercoasters he has to relay some of the most surprising things he's seen to Viatorus (like, did he know there are trucks that sell ice cream?) while he waits for Isidor to buy them tickets.

When all four of them are prepared to enter he looks between his friends and eagerly says, "There's only one place like this where I come from, and it ain't like this. So where do we go first? What do we do? And what's the chances one of us is gonna die?"

The car journey has Viatorus rather mellow as he steps out onto ground again, so he's entirely unprepared for Harrowheart's sudden appearance and his burst of excited rambling. His shock passes after a minute and he can't help but smile, and even to laugh, as his friend reacts like a child, or a puppy. Runa comes over to help add bits and pieces to the conversation, but mostly to also enjoy their friend's giddiness.

"No one's going to die," Isidor ~~orders~~ tells them (but mostly it's directed to a suddenly unnerved Viatorus). "How about we go inside and see what catches our attention?"

Runa bounces on the spot and is happy to lead the way, Viatorus making an attempt to stay by her side, and Isidor following up behind everyone. On the other side of the gates they're able to see even more rides and stalls for games and food.

"Ah, how about some of the games?" Runa asks excitedly as she looks at a coconut shy.

"If you win anything I'm not going to hold it for you," Isidor warns playfully.

"You're right." She looks between Viatorus and Harrowheart. "Rides first?"

"Rides first," Harrowheart says with a confident nod. "Then food. Gotta do the rides before you do the food, right? And you can't go to the faire without eatin' weird stuff on a stick. Then we'll head on over to the games, and I'll win better prizes than Isidor 'til she gets mad at my sheer skill and starts cheatin', which is probably about when we'll go home."

Though he might have been touchy in the apartment it seems the car ride cleared the air. He winks at her, smiles, and then nods in the direction of one of the rides.

"So, big rides or little rides first? Y'all can pick the order, I'm just... Along for the ride?"

"I won't cheat," Isidor is quick to tell him. Then she grins, encouraged by his wink. "I won't need to."

This time Viatorus actually has an opinion he'd like to share. As they walked he'd been worriedly eyeing some of the screaming patrons of a rollercoaster, so on the subject of rides he turns to his friends. "M-Maybe start with something small?"

"How about the Waltzer?" Runa asks, before touching Victorus' arm and heading over to it.

Isidor nods and heads to the operator to pay for their ride. "Take a seat. I'll be there in a minute."

Viatorus twists and turns in his seat, trying to figure out what it will all look like when the ride activates, eventually setting down and looking at the wheel in front of them. "I think we might have to use this."

Viatorus isn't the only one who enters with curiosity and confusion. A waltz is a dance he doesn't know how to do, but it doesn't seem like that knowledge is going to come in handy in this giant bowl he finds himself sitting in.

That's when V mentions the wheel and Harrowheart immediately reaches out to experimentally spin it. When the contraption spins with the movement he gasps and takes his hands off... And then he's overcome with a terrible idea.

Grinning wickedly he looks between his friends and clamps his hands on the wheel as tightly as he can. "All right y'all. I'm gonna spin this shit like we're on a wild kodo. If y'all can take my hands off the wheel then you win and we'll take it slow. Deal?"

Deal or no deal he's white-knuckling that shit already, ready to start it spinning as soon as the ride begins. Hold onto your butts, people!

Edited (grammar) 2017-04-30 21:40 (UTC)

Nobody around him knows what a wild kodo is, but they can all guess what's about to happen. Isidor meets Harrowheart's challenge with a competitive stare, but doesn't move quite yet, instead keeping an eye on her brother dithering about what to do. Runa barely has time to look between everyone before the ride starts.

The second they start to move, Isidor grabs onto the wheel and does her very best not to let Harrowheart move it. Beside her, Viatorus startles and then grabs on to try and help his sister.

Harrowheart gasps when Isidor takes the wheel. He grits his teeth and fixes her with the hard stare of a man expending all his effort as he pretends she's keeping him from spinning the wheel, but soon he starts to laugh and plays his hand. Physical strength is what he does, Isidor! She's strong for someone of her size and build, sure, but he can easily spin the wheel against her efforts and suddenly change direction so that her pushing or pulling gives him a little help.

"That all you got?" he says between laughs. "Isidor, I could pin you down with one hand and do whatever I want. In fact!..."

Cackling, he wrenches the wheel in her direction with both hands before he takes one off the wheel and leans in with all his weight to pin her to the seat with his free arm and his shoulder. He can't keep all of Isidor down, but at least he can keep her from gaining full leverage.

He's only got one hand on the wheel now, but it's spinning wildly left and right. And who's left to stop him now? Runa? Viatorus? He's a madman unchecked, a dark and capricious god set free among mortals. The Durants will rue the day they summoned this evil spirit to The Waltzer.

Runa, unsurprisingly, is the first to burst into gleeful laughter. At first she takes time to enjoy the delirium of swirling lights and colour and noise, but there's a competition going on that she can't ignore. When Harrowheart pins Isidor down, Runa grabs the wheel to try and help Viatorus who, surprised and encouraged by her decision, does his best to actually put what effort he can into stopping Harrowheart's mad, wheel-spinning ways.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't pin me down!" Isidor scrambles to get out of Harrowheart's grasp without falling out of the ride. She tries to do anything and everything she can think of. Brute strength might not work, but maybe she can find a pressure point, or a ticklish part of him? Anything?

With his attention mostly on keeping Isidor trapped it's much easier for Viatorus and Runa working as a pair to dictate the direction of the wheel. He's easily taken off guard and finds himself playing catch-up to their tugs moreso than guiding the ride himself.

Meanwhile, Isidor's roaming hands are poking, prodding, and chopping all over his body. At first he's laughing at her futility -- of course none of that is going to work! -- but then her fingers go between his ribs and suddenly he yelps! His hand comes off the wheel and he nearly loses his balance as he gawps between his side and Isidor. He is ticklish?! Faintly, but it's still a shock! Then again, how would he have known? Who else would have poked a death knight in the side with anything less than a sword?

Now, though... Now both of his hands are free, and what are the undead but creatures of vengeance? With Runa and Viatorus in control of the wheel it's time for Harrowheart to pay back Isidor for her crimes. He pokes and prods at all the regular places a person might be ticklish, laughing even though he's sure he's not going to succeed.

Harrowheart isn't the only one to pause when she hits the right spot, but Isidor is quick to dive in to mercilessly exploit the weakness she's found. If there's one there might be more, and she's determined to find it. What she doesn't expect is for Harrowheart to abandon the fight for the wheel entirely to get his revenge.

With the game changed, she has to change tactic, because she's yelping and howling with laughter though she tries to resist. As it turns out, Isidor is definitely ticklish (when someone manages to get close enough to without being incinerated). As it also turns out, laughing and tickling makes it very hard to breathe. She tries her best to keep Harrowheart outside of her vulnerable spots, but ultimately he's bigger and stronger than her. "Come on! Stop! Stop! Gods, I can't breathe!"

How did he not expect Isidor to escalate the conflict? Her first strike in search of his weak points isn't expected and she lands a sharp poke to his midsection. He makes a sound like a kicked dog before he succumbs to laughter. They exchange more lighthearted blows, but when she's wheezing and begging for the sweet release ~~of death~~ of release he has to oblige. His mother raised him better than to keep going after a lady told him to stop. It certainly has nothing at all to do with being desperate for a little de-escalation himself.

He leans heavily against the back of the seat, still laughing quietly and holding his sides as he watches Isidor with suspicion and a spark of excitement. Any quick movements on her part prompt him to prepare to defend himself until he's confident she won't pull a sneak attack. He calms down when the coast is clear, and for a pleasant moment while the ride spins at a sane and level pace he keeps his eyes on her, the slightest smile at the corners of his lips.

And that's when he feels suddenly very watched. His head lolls to the side and there they are, Runa and Viatorus, those voyeurs. His eyebrows lower and he affixes them with a grim and serious expression as he slowly sits up straight, his arms now folded across his chest. Nothin' to see here, folks, just Harrowheart and Isidor hating each other as usual...

Edited (grammar) 2017-05-02 21:13 (UTC)

While she rubs the sensitiveness out of her sides and catches her breath, Isidor is all smiles. Until she spots Harrowheart's serious expression and follows it to the source. Their expressions are exactly as one would expect: Runa has a knowing smile on her lips, though she tries to give the two of them some privacy rather than staring, and Viatorus, as Viatorus often does, looks mildly concerned and more than a little confused. When the ride slows to a stop for them to get out, he drops behind Runa to ask Isidor quietly, "You're not going to fight, are you?"

"No one's going to fight, V," she answers with a sigh. With a hand on his shoulder, she lightly shoves him onwards to Runa again. "Relax and enjoy yourself."

Runa is already dancing towards another ride, the kind that makes Viatorus frown, but he's very clearly trying not to show his nerves. The ride is tall, with 'Evolution' plastered along the top of the pendulum. It looks like it swings, and spins. Fast.

Upon seeing where they're headed, Isidor smirks at Harrowheart. "How good are you at holding your lunch?"

The Waltzer ends and Harrowheart isn't prepared for the sensation of solid ground beneath his feet. He stumbles off the ride and has to lean against a rail to stop his head spinning. Everything would have been just fine if the ride had lasted forever!

After gathering his wits once more and giving Isidor time to remind Viatorus to enjoy himself Harrowheart puts a hand on V's shoulder and has his own advice for his friend. "Viatorus, man... There ain't nothin' more fun than bein' evil, but just remember... There's always consequences..."

As proof of it there's still a hint of drunken stagger to his steps all the way up to that pendulus beast called Evolution. Whatever the Hell that is.

Harrowheart forces the most unconvincing smile imaginable and with a nervous laugh tells Isidor, "For everyone else's sake I sure hope the answer is 'real good'..."

Still, no matter how poorly he fared after stepping off The Waltzer, is there any reality in which he won't face a challenge where witnesses are involved? He musters up the most neutral expression he can as he boards this 'Evolution.' He only has to remind himself of one thing: Whatever comes next can't be worse than dying... Right?

Forays into the Land of Fun - Bringing westfallcorndog to a Funfair

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Runa canonizes the ( ͡º ͜ʖ ͡º)