itscurtains | once more with feeling [act 3]

You awake in an unfamiliar bed.

It’s comfortable enough, sure, but it’s certainly not yours. The room, too, is unfamiliar, especially in such heavy darkness. There seems to have been a great effort put into making it a livable space, with fuzzy rugs laid over linoleum, beds arranged as best to fit (and one bunk bed per dorm, rip whoever has the bottom bunk), and a single desk. You've also got individually labelled trunks; if you look inside yours, you'll find a yearbook with mostly blank pages, as well as a few with some interesting information. But even with all these changes it’s clear this room started it’s life as a classroom, every window hidden behind heavy dark green curtains.

To add to the strangeness of it all, your clothes have been swapped for some kind of uniform. It, though fitting your body perfectly, might feel a bit odd to some of you, as the body you have isn’t quite the same as it was before you mysteriously fell unconscious. The other important thing to note is the people in the other beds around you, all wearing the same color-coded uniform.

The hallway outside the dorms is narrow but well-lit, with fresh white walls and some scattered posters advertising some kind of midweek club meeting. The hallway goes on until, for the more contemporary of you, the pieces start to fall together as to your location: a school. Once you leave your rooms you’re free to wander as you wish but pinned up on a corkboard just outside the cafeteria there’s framed information that you might find helpful. If you explore further into the other rooms, in fact, you'll see there's an identical copy outside all of them.

In the lobby there are linoleum floors and fluorescent lighting, and a pair of glass doors that appear to lead outside. You can see out of both of them that the sun is shining brightly and there’s definitely more to see in the distance but the glass is unbreakable; you can't get out that way right now. A rolling metal sheet blocks off the hallway to the west. For the moment, both doors leading outside are locked.

It looks like you’re stuck. But hey - at least you aren’t alone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Eh, a guy losing his shit. Nothing weird about that in a kidnapping situation. Probably. This is her first one, after all! Peregrine isn't bothered. ]

They're built of something impossibly strong. If we wanna open 'em, we've gotta try something smarter...but I can't figure out what yet.

...so it seems. [all of this is so unfortunate and Salieri would very much like to go home, but it is not at all dignified to say so.]

Lockpicking is the only thing that comes to mind, though admittedly it is not a skill I have.

[ Peregrine grumbles. ]

Me neither. Wasn't really focused on how to escape a kidnapping. [ But... ] But maybe someone knows. That could be a lead.

...I suppose, based on that, finding someone with that skill would be the next best course of action.

[ A lead's all she needs to straighten up from the wall. No more moping. ]

Exactly. There was a guy I talked to earlier, he might know. [ connor definitely knew how to break windows, so like, locks? probably no big deal. ] Thanks, uh... Sorry, what's your name?

Maestro Antonio Salieri. [he dips into a partial bow, quick, before straightening] At your service.

[he takes a step towards her] Do you, perchance, know someone who might be in possession of such a skill?

[ Her eyebrows raise up to her hairline. ]

Uh. Maybe. I'll...have to ask him... Did you just say Antonio Salieri? [ Orpheus was one thing, but this? ] ...Like, from the Shaffer film?

[that'll...give him pause for a moment]

...I'm afraid I have no idea what a Shaffer film is, however my name is, indeed, Antonio Salieri. I've composed some works for his Highness Joseph II recently in Vienna, if that is at all familiar?

I think it was a play first, actually, wait. [ Peregrine mutters to herself for a moment before realizing that's super not important. ] The composer, like— like the actual guy?

[ From her tone, she sounds pretty skeptical. ]

Who else, exactly, would I be, aside from the actual Antonio Salieri. [DRY and he's folding his arms]

I am a composer, yes. I have been for many years.

Though, mademoiselle, if I may...you have yet to offer your name.

[ She hasn't, that's...true. But she can't just leave this weird as hell mystery, like—

For a moment, she appears at war with herself. Then she sighs very mightily. ]

It's Peregrine. Peregrine Wells. [ This is too weird. Might as well go with it. ] Sorry. This is just really...strange to me.

Mademoiselle Wells. A pleasure to make your acquaintence. [drawled a bit, but this time with a mild hint of amusement. ] Apology accepted. These circumstances are incredibly strange to myself as well.

[Honestly, it's...almost a relief to speak to someone that has seemed to have heard of him. He's not entirely sure what a Shaffer film is, but considering the "fun fact" left in the Yearbook, the fact that she recognizes his name is almost comforting.]

[ This guy has to be putting on an elaborate act. Or he's like that guy who thought this was all a story. But so dedicated... And for what? She's gonna have to watch him. ]

Mademoiselle? Jeez, just...call me Peregrine, okay? I'm not even eighteen, that sounds weird.

[at that, Salieri frowns slightly, looking a little wrong footed. Isn't that too familiar????]

...if you wish. Apologies, I did not mean any offense. Only, where I am from, mademoiselle is the proper form of address for a young woman.

[ Wow, he's so uptight. ]

It's fine, I figured France...no, Austria? Kinda different. Like if you gotta, fine, but...I don't take any offense or whatever.

Austria, correct. And...I shall take your words into consideration. [yeah he's totally going to be using the title lmao]

Aside from all this...you said you might know someone that could pick these locks?

[ fucking figures smh ]

Oh! Yeah, Connor. The guy with the longish wavy hair and like...really sharp cheekbones. If anyone here knows how, I bet it's him.

[that description sounds familiar, and not just because he's read the Yearbook like twelve times already]

...I see. It is certainly worth an ask.

Do you know where he is?

Uhhh... Not right now? We split up after the makeshift battering ram didn't work.

[ Naturally! ]

The aforementioned training weight, I assume. [a small huff of a sigh because it wouldn't be polite to sigh LOUDLY obvs]

I do wonder if there is some place to perhaps make an announcement. Otherwise going about and simply searching could take some time.

[ Completely straight-faced, Peregrine replies: ] Oh, no, we used one of the trunks.

[ Anyway. ]

Maybe he's back by the dorms? Ugh, if there was a central hub... Maybe waiting in the hall outside the gym. That seems to be the focal point of the building.

[the bit about the trunks causes Salieri to blink, once, but...let's be honest, not the weirdest thing he's heard today.

Moving on.]

That might be our best option at this point for finding someone who could perhaps pick locks, which is, as far as I can tell, our best option for getting out of here.