Open RP - The Master returns

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

((with the approval of the other Who muns))

He was...

He was in a slick heap on the floor, the smell of butter the first thing he consciously aware of. The smell. It was impossibly silent, an undreamed-of silence.

The Master, looking distinctly unmasterful in ragged, butter-drenched clothes, dragged himself from the room, pulling himself upright on the doorframe.

Silent, but for his breathing, and the butter dripping from him to the floor. His mouth felt greasy, and he spat to clear it. If only he could do the same to his mind! It was too quiet to think. He staggered into the hall.

He was...

He was alive. And that was all the starting point he'd ever needed.

The Master's laughter echoed down the stony corridor, echoing, folding in on itself. He was alive.

Comments

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"No problem." Rory smiled, opening a nearby door. "But I think we - yeah, the baths are through here. If you want to go get cleaned up, and I'll find a house elf to take care of your clothes - did I mention them?"

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Not yet," he answered cheerfully. "But you're going to tell me everything you know about them, aren't you?"

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"Of course." ...obviously. Why wouldn't he? "The house elves do all the housework and castle maintenance and apparently more or less anything you ask for, within reason, or unless the Sorting Hat wouldn't like it. You never see them unless you need them for something, but they're always around. They look like - just wrinkly little people, about this big, with big ears."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Fascinating. And have these oh-so-useful little creatures always been here?" This was fun. This human was responding so readily to just the slightest bit of hypnotic pressure, it was obvious he'd have been perfectly forthcoming even without it.

But it still gave him a toehold into Rory's mind. A foundation for more profound levels of hypnotic control. Glorious.

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

If the suggestion had been anything else, Rory might have resisted, or at least been a little more aware that something was wrong. He'd held on to his own mind despite Auton programming, despite hundreds of years alone guarding the Pandorica, but... all he was doing was answering a few questions. Helping someone out who was lost.

"As far as I know. The school, I've heard used to be different - not run by a talking hat, for a start - but I think they've always worked here, yeah."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Run by a what?" The concept was so bizarre it was bound to be some sort of misunderstanding, or perhaps a mistranslation somewhere. "As in headwear?"

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"As in headwear, yeah. Trust me, I know how it sounds. I've met him - it, whatever." He didn't want to go into how he knew the Hat's gender. "And you will have, technically, but I know you don't know. The Hat's the one who decides what house people belong in when we first get here."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

It was almost disappointing, how freely this man was spilling information. It was, however, information the Master needed, and for now that was the important bit.

"I'm afraid I don't remember anything like that," he said apologetically. "And I'm not sure what you mean by Houses."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"That's okay! It might come back to you, but you - you'll be fine, anyway." He stopped himself saying might not want to know. "The Houses... it's an old-fashioned boarding school thing. In practice I don't think anyone pays much attention to it apart from deciding what dormitory to live in, but there are four Houses - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff -" he wasn't really aware of the other ones "- and which one you're sorted into depends on your personality, what's important to you. Gryffindor if you're brave, Ravenclaw if you're intelligent, Slytherin if you're ambitious and Hufflepuff if you're loyal and hard working."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

Probably not Hufflepuff, then. The Master's only loyalty was to himself. He put on his most charming smile.

"And if the answer is 'all of the above'?"

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

Rory smiled back, amused. "Yeah, good question. It's whatever you value most out of them ...or whatever's convenient, honestly, I think I ended up in Gryffindor because Amy was."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"It sounds terribly chaotic," the Master said, faking a touch of consternation. Internally, he was delighted. This much disorder would give him plenty of freedom to maneuver.

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

His expression turned solemn again. "It can be. And I should warn you now, it can get dangerous, too." He hadn't wanted to bring up the mad-exploding-demons side of Hogwarts before, not just yet - important as it was it would have been a bad thing to drop on Carl while he was still disoriented and unstable -

(something had been bothering him about that, hadn't it?)

- but it was important, and Rory wanted to help. As much as possible. "There are people you want to watch out for."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"How disturbing," the Master said, doing his best to appear concerned. "How can I tell who to look out for?"

Always good to have forewarning of potential pawns or hindrances.

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"The computer network's one way - don't ask me why there's a computer lab in a place like this, but there is, and people have made warning posts when someone who's a serious threat arrives." He sighed. "Which happens. The two I've heard of... one's blonde and carries a sword and might look male or female or both, and one's ridiculously tall and wears a mask over here." He put a hand over the lower half of his face, briefly. "And if you see either of them just run, basically. They're both indestructible psychopaths. They can't kill you here, and I can show you defensive spells, but you don't want to have to use them."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

A computer lab? That would be something to secure for his own purposes, for a start.

But something else needed explaining first. "And why can't they kill me here?"

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"People ...just don't die here. I don't know how it works, can't say what happens if anyone tries, but no one in the castle can be killed. Hurt, but not killed."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

That reminded him of happy times on the Valiant with that Harkness fellow. Would it be like that here? The thought of experimenting was sweetly tempting, like a rich dessert.

"So if I stay in the castle, I can't be killed? Sounds like it would make running errands feel like extreme thrill-seeking."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"It might be that we can't die anywhere we go in this world. I doubt many people have tested it."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Really." What a wonderful puzzle he'd been given to play with! But the questions he really wanted to ask would raise too much suspicion. "That really does give me food for thought."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

Rory nodded, misinterpreting that. "It is a lot to have to take in at once."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

A wrong impression, but not an unintended one. "It is, isn't it? I suppose I'll need to adjust."