[ between klaus' arrival, and the days spanning shortly after, their room - shared, upon the inarguable insistence of a bitter old man - had quickly taken on a different shape.
one of those days, klaus will find five standing on top of his bed, that's been shoved against one of the walls, a piece of chalk in hand, scribbling equations on the drywall.
five holds a journal in one of his hands, barely glances up when klaus ventures back inside, keeps writing equations on the wall. ] There's a year.
[Klaus saw no point in fighting the inevitable when Five insisted not only that he was staying in the boarding house with him, but the very same room as well. There were some jokes about it, at Five’s expense and furthermore to his annoyance, but in the end Klaus really did rather easily agree to rooming with the old man.
Some exploration was in order, Klaus needed to get to know his new and thus far continued surroundings. The more time drags on, the more this is going to feel like the 60’s where he was stuck, trapped where he didn’t belong and no way home.
At least he’s got Five this time.
Or maybe not.
He walks back into the shared room to find his brother going full-blown nuts with equations on the wall, standing on the bed to scrawl incomprehensible things across it.]
Aw, come on! Did you have to go all— [He waves a hand vaguely at the walls.] Beautiful Mind on our room, Five?
[He drops a bag of a few random snacks he’d grabbed from the store and pulls out a pack of red Pall Malls to light one from it. He drops gracelessly onto the bed he’d claimed as his own, staring from an upside down position at his brother across the room.]
[ five's approach is subtle as a hammer. he wanted, in no short terms, to make sure he knew where klaus may be in this shitshow of a town.
of course, that wasn't a guarantee, nor would he be following klaus around every corner, but there was something to be said about peace of mind, and this solution brought a piece of it to his.
nothing at all to be said about how heartachingly familiar this was to when they were actual kids.
because even if five would never say it, would never know how to maybe, five would always rather have klaus here than not.
even if they each wanted to throw something heavy at each other some days. five gives klaus a withering look, finally looking away from his notes. ] Its chalk.
You've drawn on your walls when we were kids too! [ if it sounds accusatory, it is because it is. ]
But if I have a year, I can try and see if there's a way to see what happened to this town. That could be our answer out of here, Klaus.
Yeah. When we were kids. [He repeats, eyebrows arched. A beat passes and he gives a facial shrug.] But I guess you are stuck going through puberty twice.
[Another beat and he drops down onto the bed he'd claimed as his own, leaning back on one hand.] Plus, at least half of that was auto-writing from ghosts trying to fucking talk to me in fun and exciting new ways. [His voice tips up an octave or two with faux excitement laced through it in the last handful of words. He was not excited, but it sure happened.]
What year do you have anyway? [He gets it. Academically. This is what Five does, has spent nine billion hours of his life doing all the time. Equations and time-space fuckery and trying to find his way home. But he can't let himself get caught up in the whole idea emotionally. Hope is such a dangerous thing.]
[ klaus is lucky five isn't holding a mug, and is too preoccupied holding chalk and notebook to try and chuck something his brother's way. instead, he grinds out a: ] Oh bite me.
[ that reminds him, actually. klaus's powers... ] About that - have you felt anything since you got here, Klaus? With the ghosts, I mean.
[ It's a careful question, and he looks at over at the snacks on the bed instead. this is one of the few moments they've had, at least before their mutual disjointed arrival here, that five's had time with klaus without the imposing notion of the apocalypse.
five isn't well versed in the idea of catching up, but...]
1693. [ hope is dangerous. there's no guarantee this will work.
but he's too deep into his need for answers, for solutions, for anything other than the stagnancy of sitting still. ]
He notices the careful way Five asks that question and he... appreciates it. He's in a much better place with his powers than he once was, but the consideration to how he feels about it goes a long way. He shakes his head in answer, though.] Nm-Mm. I haven't noticed anything when I was wandering around town or anything. It's like- like there were never people here for there to be ghosts left behind. I don't know... it's really weird.
[He hasn't particularly tried to conjure anything so far, but... if he can't even see at least one ghosts wandering the streets of the town, he's not sure there is anything to conjure.
His eyebrows both arch impossibly high on his forehead at that answer. Holy century jump, what the fuck. But then, almost instantly, his face scrunches up, pinched in confusion.] But all the clothes are like.... 90s fashion. How's that work?
[Of all things to get hung up on, honestly. But it's weird. He would have thought the closets would be filled with regency era type clothes if that was really when they were.]
Ugh. [ seriously klaus? he really should have expected that one, and yet...
he rolls his eyes, and though his attention is split between klaus and the curve of numbers on the wall, he's listening and by the end of it, he's fully stopped writing. ] Hmm.
Interesting way of putting it. Actually - time's been strange here too. Nonexistent, in fact. [ which sounds impossible, but with how things have been going so far, it was less impossible than one would think. and what klaus is saying...like there was no dead left. that's disquieting, but also affirms a few theories. its a step, and five is all the more glad for klaus' presence. selfish, he knows. ] It's like whatever happened here wiped this place from any map.
[ the nineties remark gets a light snort. ] Yeah. Didn't think New England Coastal fashion would be your thing.
What? [Beat.] You stopped- why'd'ju stop? [He thought of something. Or saw something. A theory is happening, and Five needs to share with the class. He frowns an instant harsh confusion etched into his features.]
Wait- what does that mean? Time exists. Time always exists. You're practically Father Time, how can you say time doesn't exist?!
[He huffs and flops back on the mattress.] Honestly, it's awful. I'm disappointed. [He pouts.] My choices are so limited.
[ five, and sharing? doesn't entirely go hand it hand.
but in this case - it doesn't help either of them to keep things like theories hidden anyway. it isn't that he came up with anything profound in the moment, but it is that klaus's insight lended into a very interesting point.
it isn't that five had thought about ghosts much - they weren't his problem or burden, not like it was for his brother - but it is disquieting to hear that whatever it was that happened in the past wiped any trace of people completely.
his mouth quirks up, annoyed. ] Yes, sure. Time exists in the space between us, right now. In the sum of seconds. I can break a cup, and I can undo it to never happening.
But any record of time before we all got here? [ he hops off the bed, instead falling into a slow pace around the small room. ] Look - all watches stopped at different times. All of them. Any hint of a date - aside from this single year? Gone.
[ he lifts his wrist, a found watch around in, emphasizing: ] Every time I look at this damn thing, it says a different time. One minute it'll be 3 pm, and the next it will be 11 am.
And - there's clues pointing to something happening here. Something big, that caused some sort of mass exodus that apparently, - [ a wave in klaus' general direction. ] - wiped away any lingering traces of anyone ever being here. So - what happened? Was this town always the central hub of bullshit?
[ it was!! very frustrating!! and he has to do something about that soon! ]
[ but also] ...I'm sure you'll find something to make it work. The clothes, I mean.
Didn't you say you'd been looking through records at Town Hall? Isn't that kinda the whole point of that place? [This is all such a muddled mess, honestly.] What have you even found in there?
Central hub to bullshit-- the technical term, I suppose. [Sorry, Five. Klaus makes jokes when he's not sure what to say. Or scared. Or uncomfortable. Look, it's his top coping mechanism, okay, don't judge him.
His lips do quirk up into a genuine, small smile at that last comment.] Thanks.
Absolutely jack shit, that's what. [ hands thrown up in very clear exasperation ] It's like they took anything useful out of there, and stuffed it with poorly written articles on what fish someone caught.
Maybe there's a secret compartment. Maybe someone burned it, like the books in the library. [ okay, well to be fair, klaus, that was a pretty funny joke. five won't admit it, but his snort is as good as a laugh. you might even catch a quirk at the corner of his lip. ] Yeah - might as well be.
Well, that's stupid. [He may not be as invested in all of this as his brother, but he can definitely commiserate all the same. Klaus is good at being the thing, or person, that people need at any given moment. He's very chameleon-like that way.
And now he's babbling theories. Oh, boy.] Maybe it was Colonel Mustard!
[He's helping. Don't you love it when he's helpful, Five?]
Colonel — oh for the love of - [ you know what? he's going to be chucking a pillow right at your head.
this feels so heartachingly familiar. the banter, the budding aggravation that's so close to the surface of anything five does, all wrapped up in that rhythm of family that makes him think of the time when they were kids.
he is more invested in this than klaus is, and that is honestly fine by him - let him worry about this shit. he's a soundboard, sure but at the end of the day, five will be the one messing with all of this, not his brother.
[He just laughs and swats the pillow, which lands somewhere on top of him. He’s still grinning and moving it out of his face when Five asks that question. He leans up, rolls half-over the pillow to dig through the bag he’d brought in with him earlier.]
Duh, this is me you’re talking to. [He finds the candy and chunks the Fudge Nutter back at Five, who will probably do something stupid like catch it because he’s an asshole like that.
He lays back against the mattress, hugging that pillow to his chest as he makes both almost decent and terribly off-color commentaries on whatever Five is talking about at any given moment.
Eventually, his responses come slower until, during a lull where Five was distracted by something in his wall scribbles and silence took over, he finally drifts to sleep.]
[ he does, in fact, do something ridiculously stupid like catch it, fudge nutter snatches out from the trajectory.
he hides his excitement, naturally, but the way he tears into the wrapper is telling enough, before he returns to speculation, tossing out assumptions here and there, and for the most part ignoring the astute observations klaus tosses his way.
at the end, he asks him a question, staring at the wall of scrawled chalk, with dust on his sleeve and hands dry. ] Klaus?
Kla — [ a single look over to his brother's side tells him enough, and he pushes out a sigh and shakes his head, and goes back to the writing on the wall with the smallest little smile for no one else to see. ]
[ Eliot's feeling productive today. Which, he supposes, is a good thing, because it's either bustling around the town or sitting at his house feeling sorry for himself. And, considering he doesn't really have everything he'd like to have in order to properly spiral, bustling it is.
It keeps his mind off of things.
So earlier in the day, he'd stopped by the town hall, and now next on his list is dropping in on Klaus at the boarding house. He's got some fruits of their labour to share, after all. Eliot knocks at the door of Klaus' room, hoping he's in. ]
[Klaus is....exhausted at this point. The scene in the kitchen the previous morning took a lot out of his already run-down reserves. He's not sleeping, but he is laid upstairs in his room, wondering how much longer this can really last.
The knock pulls him out of his head, gives him something to focus on, something to do as he gathers himself to his feet and pulls the door open. He greets his friend with a tired smile.]
Hey, Eliot. What's up? [He steps aside so he can come into the room.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
action! a few days past klaus' arrival
Date: 2020-11-18 02:07 am (UTC)one of those days, klaus will find five standing on top of his bed, that's been shoved against one of the walls, a piece of chalk in hand, scribbling equations on the drywall.
five holds a journal in one of his hands, barely glances up when klaus ventures back inside, keeps writing equations on the wall. ] There's a year.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-20 01:09 am (UTC)Some exploration was in order, Klaus needed to get to know his new and thus far continued surroundings. The more time drags on, the more this is going to feel like the 60’s where he was stuck, trapped where he didn’t belong and no way home.
At least he’s got Five this time.
Or maybe not.
He walks back into the shared room to find his brother going full-blown nuts with equations on the wall, standing on the bed to scrawl incomprehensible things across it.]
Aw, come on! Did you have to go all— [He waves a hand vaguely at the walls.] Beautiful Mind on our room, Five?
[He drops a bag of a few random snacks he’d grabbed from the store and pulls out a pack of red Pall Malls to light one from it. He drops gracelessly onto the bed he’d claimed as his own, staring from an upside down position at his brother across the room.]
no subject
Date: 2020-11-22 01:23 am (UTC)of course, that wasn't a guarantee, nor would he be following klaus around every corner, but there was something to be said about peace of mind, and this solution brought a piece of it to his.
nothing at all to be said about how heartachingly familiar this was to when they were actual kids.
because even if five would never say it, would never know how to maybe, five would always rather have klaus here than not.
even if they each wanted to throw something heavy at each other some days. five gives klaus a withering look, finally looking away from his notes. ] Its chalk.
You've drawn on your walls when we were kids too! [ if it sounds accusatory, it is because it is. ]
But if I have a year, I can try and see if there's a way to see what happened to this town. That could be our answer out of here, Klaus.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-22 12:28 pm (UTC)[Another beat and he drops down onto the bed he'd claimed as his own, leaning back on one hand.] Plus, at least half of that was auto-writing from ghosts trying to fucking talk to me in fun and exciting new ways. [His voice tips up an octave or two with faux excitement laced through it in the last handful of words. He was not excited, but it sure happened.]
What year do you have anyway? [He gets it. Academically. This is what Five does, has spent nine billion hours of his life doing all the time. Equations and time-space fuckery and trying to find his way home. But he can't let himself get caught up in the whole idea emotionally. Hope is such a dangerous thing.]
no subject
Date: 2020-11-22 09:37 pm (UTC)[ that reminds him, actually. klaus's powers... ] About that - have you felt anything since you got here, Klaus? With the ghosts, I mean.
[ It's a careful question, and he looks at over at the snacks on the bed instead. this is one of the few moments they've had, at least before their mutual disjointed arrival here, that five's had time with klaus without the imposing notion of the apocalypse.
five isn't well versed in the idea of catching up, but...]
1693. [ hope is dangerous. there's no guarantee this will work.
but he's too deep into his need for answers, for solutions, for anything other than the stagnancy of sitting still. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-11-22 09:47 pm (UTC)He notices the careful way Five asks that question and he... appreciates it. He's in a much better place with his powers than he once was, but the consideration to how he feels about it goes a long way. He shakes his head in answer, though.] Nm-Mm. I haven't noticed anything when I was wandering around town or anything. It's like- like there were never people here for there to be ghosts left behind. I don't know... it's really weird.
[He hasn't particularly tried to conjure anything so far, but... if he can't even see at least one ghosts wandering the streets of the town, he's not sure there is anything to conjure.
His eyebrows both arch impossibly high on his forehead at that answer. Holy century jump, what the fuck. But then, almost instantly, his face scrunches up, pinched in confusion.] But all the clothes are like.... 90s fashion. How's that work?
[Of all things to get hung up on, honestly. But it's weird. He would have thought the closets would be filled with regency era type clothes if that was really when they were.]
shit this got buried in my inbox i'm so sorry!
Date: 2020-12-01 11:42 pm (UTC)he rolls his eyes, and though his attention is split between klaus and the curve of numbers on the wall, he's listening and by the end of it, he's fully stopped writing. ] Hmm.
Interesting way of putting it. Actually - time's been strange here too. Nonexistent, in fact. [ which sounds impossible, but with how things have been going so far, it was less impossible than one would think. and what klaus is saying...like there was no dead left. that's disquieting, but also affirms a few theories. its a step, and five is all the more glad for klaus' presence. selfish, he knows. ] It's like whatever happened here wiped this place from any map.
[ the nineties remark gets a light snort. ] Yeah. Didn't think New England Coastal fashion would be your thing.
no worries! <3
Date: 2020-12-02 12:15 am (UTC)What? [Beat.] You stopped- why'd'ju stop? [He thought of something. Or saw something. A theory is happening, and Five needs to share with the class. He frowns an instant harsh confusion etched into his features.]
Wait- what does that mean? Time exists. Time always exists. You're practically Father Time, how can you say time doesn't exist?!
[He huffs and flops back on the mattress.] Honestly, it's awful. I'm disappointed. [He pouts.] My choices are so limited.
<3 !
Date: 2020-12-05 06:23 pm (UTC)but in this case - it doesn't help either of them to keep things like theories hidden anyway. it isn't that he came up with anything profound in the moment, but it is that klaus's insight lended into a very interesting point.
it isn't that five had thought about ghosts much - they weren't his problem or burden, not like it was for his brother - but it is disquieting to hear that whatever it was that happened in the past wiped any trace of people completely.
his mouth quirks up, annoyed. ] Yes, sure. Time exists in the space between us, right now. In the sum of seconds. I can break a cup, and I can undo it to never happening.
But any record of time before we all got here? [ he hops off the bed, instead falling into a slow pace around the small room. ] Look - all watches stopped at different times. All of them. Any hint of a date - aside from this single year? Gone.
[ he lifts his wrist, a found watch around in, emphasizing: ] Every time I look at this damn thing, it says a different time. One minute it'll be 3 pm, and the next it will be 11 am.
And - there's clues pointing to something happening here. Something big, that caused some sort of mass exodus that apparently, - [ a wave in klaus' general direction. ] - wiped away any lingering traces of anyone ever being here. So - what happened? Was this town always the central hub of bullshit?
[ it was!! very frustrating!! and he has to do something about that soon! ]
[ but also] ...I'm sure you'll find something to make it work. The clothes, I mean.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-05 08:44 pm (UTC)Central hub to bullshit-- the technical term, I suppose. [Sorry, Five. Klaus makes jokes when he's not sure what to say. Or scared. Or uncomfortable. Look, it's his top coping mechanism, okay, don't judge him.
His lips do quirk up into a genuine, small smile at that last comment.] Thanks.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-06 08:25 pm (UTC)Maybe there's a secret compartment. Maybe someone burned it, like the books in the library. [ okay, well to be fair, klaus, that was a pretty funny joke. five won't admit it, but his snort is as good as a laugh. you might even catch a quirk at the corner of his lip. ] Yeah - might as well be.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-06 10:06 pm (UTC)And now he's babbling theories. Oh, boy.] Maybe it was Colonel Mustard!
[He's helping. Don't you love it when he's helpful, Five?]
no subject
Date: 2020-12-13 12:18 am (UTC)this feels so heartachingly familiar. the banter, the budding aggravation that's so close to the surface of anything five does, all wrapped up in that rhythm of family that makes him think of the time when they were kids.
he is more invested in this than klaus is, and that is honestly fine by him - let him worry about this shit. he's a soundboard, sure but at the end of the day, five will be the one messing with all of this, not his brother.
he's going to do his best to make sure of that.
a beat. wait: ] Did you bring snacks?
no subject
Date: 2020-12-13 12:34 am (UTC)Duh, this is me you’re talking to. [He finds the candy and chunks the Fudge Nutter back at Five, who will probably do something stupid like catch it because he’s an asshole like that.
He lays back against the mattress, hugging that pillow to his chest as he makes both almost decent and terribly off-color commentaries on whatever Five is talking about at any given moment.
Eventually, his responses come slower until, during a lull where Five was distracted by something in his wall scribbles and silence took over, he finally drifts to sleep.]
no subject
Date: 2020-12-13 07:21 pm (UTC)he hides his excitement, naturally, but the way he tears into the wrapper is telling enough, before he returns to speculation, tossing out assumptions here and there, and for the most part ignoring the astute observations klaus tosses his way.
at the end, he asks him a question, staring at the wall of scrawled chalk, with dust on his sleeve and hands dry. ] Klaus?
Kla — [ a single look over to his brother's side tells him enough, and he pushes out a sigh and shakes his head, and goes back to the writing on the wall with the smallest little smile for no one else to see. ]
➼ day 022, afternoon
Date: 2020-12-21 07:42 pm (UTC)It keeps his mind off of things.
So earlier in the day, he'd stopped by the town hall, and now next on his list is dropping in on Klaus at the boarding house. He's got some fruits of their labour to share, after all. Eliot knocks at the door of Klaus' room, hoping he's in. ]
no subject
Date: 2021-01-03 11:12 pm (UTC)The knock pulls him out of his head, gives him something to focus on, something to do as he gathers himself to his feet and pulls the door open. He greets his friend with a tired smile.]
Hey, Eliot. What's up? [He steps aside so he can come into the room.]