This Man's Home Is A Castle [OPEN]

[imperious_lex]

When he first saw it weeks ago, shortly after the crew had finally caught up him, he thought for certain that he was hallucinating. But there it was, nestled among several other castles. The Luthor Mansion, in all it's glory.

Lex was never a superstitious man, but even he believed that there was more to heaven and earth than what could be proven on paper. The appearance of his home, a reward no other crew member had received (to his knowledge), certainly made him think. He wondered if this was some sort of sign that his decisions so far had indeed been right, or that he was on the right path. Perhaps it was put there as a distraction of sorts, as well, as there were many unpleasant memories that haunted those walls. For the time being, he decided to take it as a reward, however relocating there initially proved to be problematic.

The Mansion wasn't in disarray, but it was clear that no one had walked its halls in quite some time. Not only that, but the last people who had clearly had little regard for the property. There was a layer of dirt and dust everywhere, expensive and priceless paintings had been torn off the walls and trashed, priceless artifacts were just broken pieces of clay or stone, pieces of antique furniture had been smashed, and every vault was empty. Not a single green meteor rock to be found. He counted himself lucky that his pool table, piano, and a handful of family photos managed to survive.

Rather than be dejected, Lex looked at it as project to occupy his time. Since he only worked in Neuropathy whenever he felt like it, and manned the bar in the lounge at his discretion, he did have plenty of time to devote to this project. Which was good, because cleaning up and fixing up a 40 room mansion-- replete with its own library (with real books), well supplied medieval armory and modern armory, pool, wine cellar, gym, and grand ballroom-- took a lot of work.

Work which still hadn't been completed, but he had progressed far enough to not only make it livable, but also presentable. The master bedroom, Lex's office, and most of the common areas had been cleaned up. All the rest was blocked off for the moment, but were in locations that were fairly out of the way.

So, he put out a message on the omnicomms, and invited a few people to check the place out. The ones who weren't already spying on him, at any rate. He laid out a few drinks, and a sampling of some of the fresh fruit and food he picked up while during their last mission to earth. He didn't expect many guests, after all, he had never been the most well liked person, even back when he was a relatively kindhearted kid. Most parties he hosted as an adult, he was usually surrounded by obsequious employees desperate to move up the food chain, business partners who wanted a more favorable deal, business rivals who were trying to find out something about the competition, charity representatives who wanted money, and sycophants who wanted the notoriety of being in the same room as Lex Luthor and access to the connections that alone can bring. Friends were simply a foreign concept, if he ever truly had any to begin with, and he certainly hadn't gone out of his way to make any on the ship. He was curious as to what category his guests, if he had any, would fit in.

((ooc: This is something of a party style post, so feel free to talk to Lex, Lois, or talk to each other while your character looks around.))

Comments

[bonnypiperlad]

After a brief trip to the bar, Jamie's wandering the room, glass in hand, when he spots someone who isn't Lois, but looks vaguely familiar all the same. He shifts his path to head over in Nanoha's direction.

"I'm sorry, but ye look familiar. Were ye at the snowball fight?" She was up high enough that he didn't get a really good look, but he thinks that's where he might have seen her. It's worth a shot, anyway.

[starlightace]

"Oh, yep! That was me," she chuckled. "I think I might have hit you with something - sorry about that!"

[bonnypiperlad]

"A lot of snow," Jamie admits. "But I didna mind." He grins briefly, then sticks out his hand. "I don't think we've met formally yet. I'm Jamie McCrimmon."

[starlightace]

Nanoha takes it, her grip firm for such a soft hand. "Nanoha Takamachi. It's nice to meet you, Jamie!"

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie seems actually rather satisfied when he hears the name. "Och, so ye are Nanoha! Katara mentioned I should try to find ye. I was afraid I was going to have to try and track ye down on that wee bitty...er, the Omnicom."

[starlightace]

The mage blinks, a bit taken by surprise. "Oh, uh... she was? Well yeah, that's me! What can I do to help?"

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie's not really all that surprised at the reaction. The reason Katara mentioned it isn't generally one that tends to come up at parties.

"She had mentioned ye might be able to help with learning some...och, what did she call it? Mental meditation."

[starlightace]

"Oh, did she? Well..." Nanoha paused. "Meditation isn't something I usually do, but I definitely know that we have some people in the department who do it a lot! I could find one of them for you if you really wanted - what did you want to learn it for?"

[bonnypiperlad]

"Katara's worried." That's not really the whole reason, though, so he feels he should probably explain in a little bit more detail. "Well, I am too. About what's to come, aye? She thinks I could use some help with that, and...I canna say I disagree with her."

He's being a little vague, but that's more out of the wish to be circumspect than anything else.

[starlightace]

Nanoha understands perfectly, and nods with a sigh. "I understand perfectly. Don't worry, we'll be able to help. Have you met any of the Jedi yet?"

[bonnypiperlad]

"Are they the ones with those..." Jamie makes a kind of circular motion with his finger as he tries to remember the word he wants to use. "Light-swords? No, light-sabers." He frowns at Nanoha. "Is that right?"

[starlightace]

She nods. "Yep, that's them! They're really good at meditation - I'm sure they'd be happy to give you some pointers."

[bonnypiperlad]

"I've met Obi-Wan once, but it was a wee bit ago. Although..." He trails off, looking thoughtful. "Actually, I think I know someone who might be able to help with that, if I ask her. Thank ye, Nanoha." He smiles. "Ye've been a great help!"

[starlightace]

The mage blinks at his sudden change of mind. "I... I have? W-well, I'm glad I could help, then! Let me know if I can do anything else to help you prepare, okay?"

[bonnypiperlad]

There was actually more logic to Jamie's sudden statement than was evident when he spoke before - and he thinks that maybe it might not hurt to explain. "Well, aye. I wouldna have thought about Arha if ye hadn't mentioned the Jedi, since she knows Obi-Wan. I know she knows about meditation, too."

He is looking rather happier, now that is out of the way. "Aye, I will." There's a moment's hesitation, then he asks, "Um. I did have a question, but it's not about the meditation. I don't want to keep ye from the party, though..."

[starlightace]

"Oh, right! That makes sense, when you put it that way." Nanoha quirks an eyebrow when he hesitates. "Sure, what is it? Don't worry, you're not keeping me from anything too important."

[bonnypiperlad]

He catches that 'too important', but his curiosity has gotten the better of him again. He blurts out, "I was just wondering, what it was like? To fly, that is." It's the first time he's gotten up the nerve to ask about it to one of the crew that he knows can fly. Nanoha seems very nice, though, and he hopes the question won't offend her.

[starlightace]

Oh, Jamie. Oh, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie. You've just asked Nanoha about something she truly loves, and she smiles softly as she closes her eyes in thought. "It's... hard to describe," she admits, "but it's something that I've always loved dearly ever since I could do it. I'm feel at home in the sky, with the wind whipping through my hair and making my fingers numb if I go too fast... it's really liberating. I feel like I can go wherever, even if I can't actually do it."

She opens her eyes again. "S-sorry, I could really go on all day about that sort of thing."

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie could easily listen all day about that sort of thing. "Och," he says softly. "That sounds grand." He's not entirely sure about the numb fingers part, though. He never pictured that happening.

"I used to wonder what it was like, when I was a wee lad," he admits. "To be caught by the wind and free to go as far as ye wanted. To see large cities, other countries, other people."

[starlightace]

The fond smile on her face is completely genuine as she nods. "It is. I feel like I was born to fly sometimes... there really isn't anything like it."

It widens, turning into a playful grin. "I could take you sometime! I'm stronger than I look, you know."

[bonnypiperlad]

"Aye. I got to go in a flying beastie once. Uh, an airplane, that is. It was verra...er...interesting." He's looking a little uncomfortable thinking about the memory.

Jamie's eyes widen at the offer. "Really? Ye'd be willing to do that for me?" For a moment, he looks as though he's going to jump at the chance, then he sighs and rubs at the back of his neck with his free hand. "Och. I don't know."

Clearly, he wants to accept. He just has to know one thing, first. "Is it anything like flying in an airplane?" Please say no, please say no. "Because, um, that didna go so well."

[starlightace]

"No, it's nothing like flying in an airplane at all! You know you're moving the whole time, so it's... well, I think it's a lot easier, actually."

Nanoha quirks her head to the side. "You don't like planes, huh."

[bonnypiperlad]

"It's not that, it's just..." He drops his gaze downwards as he admits, "I may have gotten a wee bit sick when we were moving."

He doesn't really want to do that to someone who would be carrying him around, after all. It would not be a good situation.

After a moment, he hesitantly looks at Nanoha again. "Ye can see why that might be a problem."

[starlightace]

"Aw, no, it won't be a problem," Nanoha smiles, though it's slightly sheepish. "I'll just carry you below me. And I never get airsick while flying!"

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie thinks about it, then smiles broadly. "Aye, then. I'll do it." He'll just worry about whatever happens when it happens.

"I'm glad I got a chance to talk with ye. I should let ye get back to things, though." He doesn't want to keep her from enjoying herself, after all. "I'll look ye up sometime?"