Week Six

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, in It's Curtains, the weather changed, and with it your fortune in Dads. Discord took Salieri out - or perhaps Salieri took Discord out - and left the survivors with that much less impulse control. Nonetheless, a visit from a new friend might have provided a little bit of much-needed hope?

On Sunday morning, you'll find that the other side of the second floor has opened up - as well as the actual intended path to reach the roof garden. You can finally stop climbing up that rope every time you want to have a picnic or secret lover's rendezvous!

Outside, the weather seems to have calmed down. It's sunny again, with rather a lot of clouds. Though it's warm, the atmosphere seems very...still.]


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regain and your AC for this week! As always, Hester's office hours and the merch booth remain available. ))

Comments

cw for visual hallucinations

[mcfife]

[Angus can't afford to be sick, he can't let the Wizard weaken them when they are ready to attack! As long as they have Hester's medicine and rest, they should be fine. What kind of prince would he be if his schedule was dictated by his illness?

So straight to the weight room he goes, going through his usual warmups, lying on on the barbell bench, chanting, singing to fight through the crummy haze and get strong.]

We put our hand on iron bars
And lift them to the sky
We scream out loud
And fight the weights
Adrenaline makes us fly
While we watch our muscles growing
They grow larger than they should
Than muscles should

[Halfway through a lift, one of his hands slip, and instead of grabbing the bar again, he screams - just for a second - and flails until that weight falls to the side, sending Angus toppling onto the floor.

With that bit of bruising, he opts to spend time in the art room in front of a painting. Nice. Peaceful. Good things. Unicorns and rainbows. No wicked prince would ever love these things. Yet as a light blue stroke of acrylic is laid upon the canvas, it turns dark. Red. Shimmering. Snaking through the rest of the image like a crack in the Earth, showing just how close to hell all of this really is.

He set the brush on the table.] Pottery it is.

Weight Room

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus is... doing okay, mostly! He hurts all over, and it's a strange and uncomfortable sensation and he sort of feels like he's going to crawl out of his own skin, but he's got it together better than... most of the others, it seems like. So he makes his way to the weight room, in the hopes of running into Angus. Which he does! Just in time to watch him go sprawling to the floor. ]

Your highness!

[ He hurries on over, dropping to one knee next to him and checking him over for injuries. Hopefully the weight didn't fall on him or he didn't twist anything in the process of dropping it. ]

[mcfife]

[His song of strength was not enough to keep him going. The barbell makes an awful clang again the floor, then a dull thunk when Angus hits his arm against it. Fortunately, his head is safe.]

Oof...

[But his side is not. Angus rolls over and sits up with a wince. No blood, but there's a red area on his entire left side that looks like it will bruise nastily.]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Well, that's better than it could be, since he's still able to move and all, but it still doesn't look good, exactly. ]

Are you - are you all right? Do you need me to get anything from the nurse's office?

[ There's no blood, at least, and there's not much to be done for bruises or strained muscles except to rest up, but he could grab some painkillers, at least. ]

[mcfife]

No, no, this is nothing. [Hurts more than the Knife of Evil, but less than being impaled by a normal knife.] I wasn't careful again, that's all.

[themuseabandonsyou]

Are you sure? [ Orpheus looks at him and the weight on the floor next to them critically, before shaking his head. ] Either way, maybe you should take it easy for the rest of the day? Don't push yourself too hard.

[mcfife]

[A grunt.]

I can't miss a day of training. We're so close to fighting the wizard, and if he strikes again, who will defend us all?

[themuseabandonsyou]

You'll miss more days of training if you hurt yourself trying to work through an injury. [ Orpheus points out. ] We've got Cassandra and Maya to look after us too, while you heal. And - you said you'd train me, right? Maybe you can show me what to do, or start, at least.

[mcfife]

[That's true...but it hurts to have to sit back and wait when everyone else is in distress. What kind of prince is he if he cannot commit to his promise?]

Very well. [At least he can help by teaching Orpheus.] Why don't we start now. You're here, and I am here. [He pushes himself off the floor, slowly, ensuring that he doesn't strain his arm.]

[themuseabandonsyou]

Right! What should I do?

[ Orpheus has... some amount of lean muscle on him, but it's pretty much all from walking and hiking and carrying around crates of supplies at the bar where he works. He doesn't have the faintest idea of how to properly use actual gym equipment, and isn't nearly confident enough to just try jumping in without help. Especially not after watching Angus fall like that. ]

[mcfife]

What can you do?

[He sizes up Orpheus - not beefy at all, he could start with simple weight exercises.]

Can you run well? Dodge? Climb mountains?

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ It's true, it's the main thing stopping him from being a proper himbo. ]

I can be pretty fast? [ he says, thoughtfully. ] And I guess I'm all right at getting out of the way of things. Mountains I don't know about, I don't live near any.

[mcfife]

We can start there. The first step is to reach the Wizard's hiding place, wherever he may be. [...] Can you scale a wall yet?

[themuseabandonsyou]

You mean like with the grappling hook? I... I think I might be able to? I didn't really try, before the stairs opened up.

[mcfife]

Then we start now. To climb such a height, you need the proper upper body strength, and there are plenty of tools to help us here! Come, I'll bring a mattress and the tool, and we shall meet outside.

[themuseabandonsyou]

Oh, okay! Do you need help with the mattress, do you think?

[ Because Orpheus really doesn't want him straining himself, though he guesses a mattress weighs less than what Angus was lifting before, even if it is more unwieldy. ]

[mcfife]

[After some thought:] Yes. To keep it from dragging one the floor.

[There are plenty of extras in Broadhurst and Ambassador, and Angus steps through the doors, moving his his has carefully over the mattress checking for any sharp objects before picking up one end.]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus nods and picks up the other end. It's a bit of a walk from the dorms all the way to the courtyard, and Orpheus doeeeeees not enjoy it! If Angus manages to get through it without having to put it down and take a rest, he'll do his best to keep up, but by the end he's looking pretty worn out, flopping down on one of the benches. ]

I just - I only need a moment. [ he says, holding up a hand. By the looks of things he's going to need a few, actually. ]

[mcfife]

[Despite the dragging and fitting through doorways, Angus is pretty good! Nothing like light exercise to get the blood pumping. It's enough to get him to toss the grapping hook to the top and give it a good tug.]

Take your time. I want you to climb as high as you can, then come back down. I'll even give you a starting boost!

[themuseabandonsyou]

Okay! [ he says, and then he doesn't do that for a good few minutes while he tries to recover. He does get back up eventually, though, and takes a deep breath before taking the rope in both hands.

Giving it an experimental tug, he pulls it taut and puts one foot on the wall. So far so good? But when he tries the other, the first foot slips, unable to get enough traction on the wall, and he stumbles back. He gives a soft huff and gives it another try, planting his feet more firmly, and this time he manages to successfully hang off the wall with both feet off the ground. ]

Um, [ he says. ] What do I do now?

[mcfife]

[Angus takes a look at his footwear.]

We can try better shoes next time, but you're doing good so far. Now, keep your grip steady and move your foot higher. All of your weight will be on that rope, and use the strength you have to get higher!

[themuseabandonsyou]

Right. Okay. [ He can do this. Carefully, Orpheus puts one foot in front of the other and, finding himself uncomfortably horizontal at that, instinctively moves one of his hands further up the rope. It's a strain, but he manages, and with some effort he takes another step, and shifts his hands again, and then another, and again, until he's a good few feet off the ground.

Laughing, excited and a little bit nervous, he looks back at Angus. ] Oh! I think I can do this!

[mcfife]

You can do it! Reach for the highest peak! [He means the roof.]

Be a man!
We must be swift as the coursing river,
Be a man!
With all the force of a great typhoon,
Be a man!
With all the strength of a raging fire,
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Singing while trying to do something that requires a lot of sustained physical effort and concentration seems kind of counter-productive, but things being what they are Orpheus joins in anyway as he hauls himself upwards. ]

Time is racing towards us
And the Wizard's ire
Together we'll grow stronger
And we'll all survive

We're a kind and clever, determined lot
And he hasn't got a clue
Cut us down and we'll rise anew

[mcfife]

[He's getting up there! Orpheus can and will climb a mountain for his wife!]

Be a man!

[He grips the bottom of the rope, standing under Orpheus in case he falls.]