The Stuck in an Elevator Meme

[pantheraliam]

Looks like we'll be here a while.

This one's pretty self-explanatory! Who knows why you came to this building, but it looks like the elevator is on the fritz, and whoever you last stepped into it with will be your companion for the next who-knows-how-long. Hopefully they're not a murderer. Have fun!

Directions:
1. Post a TL, blank or with a starter, with your character name and canon in the subject line.
2. Tag around to other TLs!
3. Have fun, be respectful, follow typical DWRP rules.
4. Spread the word if you feel so inclined so more can join in on the fun!

Comments

[kingseeking]

Ah. Not for my studies. [Now, there's a smile with some authenticity to it. Gansey isn't a stupid kid, but he has no reason to think that one of his teachers would have any problem with what he's studying. Some might write him off as crazy, naïve, perhaps just as some silly kid with a silly hobby. But there's no danger in sharing his Glendower obsession. It isn't a secret. It never has been.] Do you know anything of Welsh history, Mr. Whelk?

The Romans did have some influence in Southern Wales before the empire fell. Perhaps you've come across Caerwent in your studies?

[The only notable Roman civilization in Wales hasn't much to do with Glendower, but he's trying to find a common thread with Whelk's interests. Surely a lover of Latin would have some interest in Roman history, right?]

[sacrificious]

Mm. History is just a necessity of studying dead languages, not a particular point of interest for me.

[Despite how completely he's just brushed off all of Gansey's excitement, Whelk isn't going out of his way to be rude this time. Speaking frankly about his own personal interest in academics is, in fact, downright intimate for him.

He meets Gansey's newly bright gaze with a stare that's much too incisive for the neutral energy he's trying to project.]

Why Wales?

[kingseeking]

[Gansey, perhaps foolishly, takes Whelk's interest in his quest at face value.]

I'm looking for something from Wales.

I chose Henrietta, you know - well, you know I wasn't in your class until this year, at least. [Another laugh, but he's not faking cordiality this time. His expression reflects Whelk's - looking into the dark mirror, or so the expression goes. There's a fire in his eyes now.]

Owain Glendower. Do you know the name?

[sacrificious]

[Here it is. Now Whelk has Gansey moving in the right direction. And he's got no earthly idea how all this connects to the ley line so opening up this conversation was the right move.

Yes. Yes.

Whelk's mind has fallen eerily silent. He could laugh out loud over this unexpected stroke of luck but doesn't even want to waste that much time with maintenance undoubtedly on their way.]

Yes, but only the name. [The "go on" is clearly implied in every line of his expression, his posture - for the moment, Gansey has Whelk's undivided and rapt attention.]

[kingseeking]

[Is it really luck when you could have just asked all along, Whelk?

[Gansey's smile is wry and knowing, almost as if there's a joke between them that only he knows the punchline to. But it isn't a joke. It's his passion, his life's work, and something that he's never been known to hold back about when asked. However casual he may sound, his voice is still weighted with excitement when he says:]

He was a King. The last true Prince of Wales. He led a rebellion against the English in the early 15th century. Unsuccessful, of course, but...

That's who I'm looking for. Here, in Henrietta. [He says it as if waiting for the inevitable reaction. Whether it will be interest or disbelief - perhaps a mix of both - he feels prepared. This is a conversation that he's had many, many times before.]

[sacrificious]

[Aha. The words themselves sound like madness, but so does everything involved with the ley line. To Whelk, Gansey's little speech sounds like the key he was lacking when he first tried to jimmy the ley line's lock open.

Does Glendower possess the power himself and use it in aid of others? Does he simply guard it, or pass pieces of it on? It doesn't matter. He's linked to the power of the ley line, that much is obvious, and Gansey has decided he's the center of everything.

Looking into his handsome face now, the unnatural confidence in his crooked smile, the glowing health of his complexion which can only be gifted by an extremely fortunate life, Whelk believes that Gansey would be the first one to uncover this information. But life's heart-hollowing unfairness can be hacked, and this time Whelk will make sure he does everything right - Richard Campbell Gansey III will not be the first to unearth Glendower himself.]

Is that so. Any leads yet?

[kingseeking]

Henrietta itself.

There’s a ley line that crosses through here - that is, a path of supernatural energy. They’re all over the world, but given the legends of where Glendower was taken after he died, it’s Henrietta’s that I’m concerned with. The town itself is more charged than half the places I’ve traveled.

If he’s here - and I suspect he is - it has to be on that line.

[His smile then should show clearly the difference in motivation. It’s exceedingly genuine, no longer wry, but filled with a desperate passion.]

This is my life’s work.