Forsythe
Achronum
Morose
Kirah
Blizz
Snowdrops
BlueSky44
KTostada
Nallore
Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer
Skills: N/A
Skills: N/A
Sam finished getting ready, applying a bit of blush to his cheeks and nose to give him a bit more of an innocent flush look. He looked himself over, making sure once more he looked as well as he wanted to. He walked back towards the room, starting to unpack a bit until he heard a knock at his door. Opening it to reveal a sharply dressed man with well coiffed gray hair and deep dark eyes. Honestly, the butler could get it, he was like a silver fox if Sam was into that sort of deal. ”Hey, how can I help you?”
“Hello, Monsieur. I am here to collect your dinner preference card.”
”Oh. Uh one second Mr…?” Sam tried to ask for his name as he went back into his room, leaving the door open to search for where he placed the dinner card. Finding it back on the desk before bringing it to the butler at the door.
“Wadsworth, Felix Wadsworth. At your service Monsieur. If you need anything please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate.” He took the card and placed it carefully in his coat pocket. “Thank you.”
”Mind if I call you Waddy? Wadsworth is a bit of a mouthful. But uh, I could use help with one other thing if that's ok? Where could I find La Putain Juliane? I was hoping she could show me to the dining hall or around the grounds before dinner if she wasn't too busy. She seemed very informative when we spoke last.”
“I would prefer it if you did not. You may call me Felix if that is what you prefer, Monsieur.” He kept a neutral face as Sam gave his request. “May I assume that this is your first time in France?”
”Wee miss-sure Felix. I haven't been able to travel this far yet. Is it that obvious?” Sam said a little meekly.
“I’m afraid so, Monsieur.” He said the last word slowly, enunciating it for Sam. “The, uh, profession I believe you would like to request would be, la femme de chambre. The mademoiselle, Juliane, is currently employed as such. Please understand I say this next part so as to not embarrass you, but to save you from future embarrassment. La putain, is the oldest profession. It is for the ladies of the night.” He raises one of his graying eyebrows slightly, a question. Does Sam understand what he is implying?
”Oh. So she's only a night maid, I guess someone called out this morning then if she was helping with luggage. If maybe you could point me in the direction of the dining hall? Just to ensure I'm not late to the party.” Sam said a bit embarrassed. If anything they should've left a map of the estate on the desk.
“Ah, Monsieur, I am afraid I have not spoken plainly enough. La putain means whore. You shall find the dining room down the stairs and to your left. The bar is to the right,” Wadsworth said without any break in the ‘butler’ facade.
”Oh.” Was all Sam could say in a small voice. No wonder the maids had laughed when he'd called her that. Oh gods he called a maid a whore! Sam's face blushed a bright red, bleeding through the blush he'd applied earlier. ”I. Uh. Thanks. I'm gonna…go.” Sam said as he rushed past the butler, closing the door behind him and walking briskly down the hall. His mind both blank and full all at the same time. What had he said? He made a right, the only option at the moment before making another right, the instructions had already been long lost and he was too afraid to turn around and ask again. It felt like so many doors were closed and locked behind keypads, a big DON'T ENTER basically plastered across each and every one. That is until he reached a pair of double doors with one propped wide open.
A young woman was just leaving the room and inside he could see the silhouette of the back of the man deep inside the room. ”Oh. Is this room occupied? Sorry I'll just…” God's what was he doing here? He felt so out of his depth suddenly.
”Oh, no. Uh. Not really. It is a lounge area. There are lots of places to sit.” Ralph gestures around indicating the groupings of chairs.
All Sam could do was impulsively whistle the second the man turned around and spoke to him. ”Fuck” He whispered under his breath. ”Wow, You look…great. Is that what they meant by fancy?”
”Thank you.” Ralph clears his throat, nervous about the compliment. ”I think so. I don’t think it is supposed to be black tie. Those sorts of events are listed as black tie. Fancy seems to mean well dressed. Like if you’ve ever been on a cruise and do the nicer events. They don’t like shorts and sandals. More slacks and a coat. Even if the weather isn’t good for a coat.” Ralph caught himself. He was rambling. ”I mean you look good too. I think your outfit should be fine. I can’t be sure though. I grew up on a farm. I’m way out of my element here.”
”Farm boy? You wouldn't by any chance be Clark Kent would you?”
Why the fuck did I just say that?!
“Im from Florida, so I'm kinda out of my depth here too. Glad I'm not alone in feeling that though.” Sam said as he began to close the gap a little.
Ralph snorted at the Clark Kent comment. ”Not that type of farm. A dairy farm. And not Kansas.” Some of the tension Ralph had been holding in his shoulders went away as the conversation fell into a comfortable chat. ”I”m Ralph.” He offered his name and hand.
”Shame. I can't call you Kansas then.” Sam joked as he went in to shake Ralph's hand. His heart skipped a beat as their skin made contact. His knees felt a bit weak. This man was too handsome for words. ”I'm handsome. I mean, no you're handsome I mean. Hi. I'm Sam. It's nice to meet you Ralph.”
Ralph had a firm handshake, his hands slightly calloused. ”You are handsome. It is nice to meet you Sam.” He was smiling. The rest of the tension that had been in his shoulders was gone now. At least he could get something nice out of this event. A friend?
Sam blushed even harder. His hand still held Ralph's as he let out a small chuckle. ”Thanks. So what do you do farm boy?”
Ralph shifted, a little uncomfortable at the farm boy comment. He didn’t consider himself a farm boy anymore. Not in years. ”I’m a pilot. Small craft,” he answered. ”You?”
”That sounds amazing. What did you think of the flight here?” Sam asked as he went to move towards a chair, feeling a tug when he noticed he was still holding Ralph's hand. ”Sorry. And uh, I'm a Paranormal Investigator. I go to locations that are said to be haunted and attempt to gather Conclusive evidence that the Paranormal does exist.”
Ralph let go of Sam’s hand. He was a little sad about that. ”Like Ghost Botherer?” Ralph asked, a little surprised.
Sam couldn't help but notice how sad Ralph looked when he let go of his hand. He supposed if Ralph really wanted him to let go he would've pulled away from him sooner. He let out a small sigh as he chuckled, standing up from the seat and taking Ralph's hand into his, pulling him closer towards him. ”I don't mind holding your hand handsome, but maybe we can do so while we sit?” Sam asked as he moved their hands next to his leg. Motioning with his head toward the seat he just vacated.
”But no, not exactly like Ghost Botherers. They're… a bit more disrespectful than I am towards ghosts and demons. Something I'm trying to learn to be better at myself to be honest.”
Ralph smiled and let Sam take his hand and lead him to the circle of chairs, sitting. ”I’ll be honest I’ve never watched it. Just saw the ads for it. What is it like? What do you do?” He had forgotten to answer the question about the flight to France, fully distracted by Sam.
Sam sat down on Ralph's lap, holding his hand as he tried his best to think on how to describe his job. ”I have a bit of my equipment with me here actually. Supposedly this place is haunted so I figured I'd check it out…if you're interested later? It's not very glamorous, a lot of waiting around really. But I use specialty equipment to try and contact spirits through various methods. Anything as simple as flashlights, to spirit boxes, emf, and rem pods. It's…a lot. But it's fun with another person by your side.”
Ralph was a little surprised when Sam sat on his lap, but he wasn’t upset about it. The man was attractive and had made his interest in him apparent. He blinked as Sam explained what things he used as tools of his trade. He didn’t quite know what it meant, but it seemed interesting. He nodded. For a moment not trusting his voice. ”Yeah.” He cleared his throat. ”That sounds interesting. I don’t know anything about ghosts.” He admitted.
”Nothing?” Sam said, a bit surprised. ”Well there's a ton of lore behind them, especially based on regions. Each culture believes ghosts are manifestations in different things, whether it's a wraith or poltergeist, a demon or oni. Buuut…I'm rambling, sorry.”
”No it’s fine. I don’t mind listening. I guess I know about about the Catholicism stuff. I just never learned much beyond the basic stuff. I don’t know the difference between any of those things.” Ralph hadn’t really thought about ghosts. Not anything more than the personal ones people carry with them.
Their faces were so close. And Ralph was even more gorgeous at this length than from across the room. ”It's uh…semantics. It's ways to categorize those within the afterlife so that others may know what to expect. Poltergeists are far more active and can lift and throw things in a room. Some spirits are more vengeful, others calmer, some are shy.”
”And you’re thinking you’ll find ghosts here?” Ralph was looking into Sam’s eyes. ”Who do you think is here?” He knew of Vorace’s death, and of the fact that this place was a monastery a long time ago.
”Who knows? Vorace maybe? According to a paper in my room this place was some sort of monastery, and those usually have activity within them. Aside from that…this place is ancient. Who knows what all has happened here. How many attachments there may be. We could…conduct an experiment tonight if you'd like?”
”I saw that paper.” Ralph tensed a little, as the memory of the photo came back to him. But Sam was a good distraction. He smiled. ”Yeah, you’ll have to walk me through it. But yeah that sounds fun.”
Sam could feel as Ralph's hold tensed slightly. Wondering if maybe he'd said something wrong. His free hand gently touched the side of Ralph's face, his thumb resting on his chin while his pointer was underneath, helping him tilt his head up slightly so they locked eyes. ”Hey, you ok?”
Ralph’s heart rate spiked. This time due to Sam’s touch. He smiled. ”Better. Just nervous.” He partially lied. He was nervous. But the photo was gnawing at him.
Sam smiled. They were so close, a part of him wanted to lean in to kiss him. He looked so perfect. Instinctively, his body inched ever closer, not much but enough for one to notice. Sam realized he'd been silent. Staring. He cleared his throat as the hand that once held Ralph's face fell to his chest, fidgeting with the lapel of the jacket as he spoke. ”Nervous about Ghost hunting? It's fine. I can walk you through it, it's not dangerous or anything.” His hand froze mid-fix, fingers going cold as his mind raced for a moment before he finally continued.
Ralph had been about to deny his nerves being related to ghost hunting but he didn’t know what he could say were causing his nerves if he pushed that off. He caught the way Sam froze and wondered why, what was he thinking. It had only been a flash. He could ignore it. If he did Sam might ignore his reaction, might let it slide. So he did. He ran one hand up Sam’s back. ”You’ll have to be patient with me. You are a good teacher right?”
Sam's back straightened at the touch, leaning into it after the fact as he looked towards Ralph and smiled. If he was reading the room right, and he was most certain he was getting the right feelings, it seemed as if Ralph wanted more than just a friend to talk to. He moved their hands onto his lap, resting them on his upper thigh. ”I'm used to being patient, I've had guests on the show who have never even heard of Paranormal Investigators so it's pretty common. Though I have a feeling you'd be a very special guest.”
”Glad to know I’m not the
only rube you’ve met. I guess I have a leg up at least having heard of it before.” He smiled. He squeezed Sam’s thigh. ”I don’t know if I can outshine you though.” Ralph was noticeably excited.
Sam held his breath for a moment. A raspy gasp wanting to escape from him. ”Heh. Yeah…I mean no, I…” He let out a sigh as his brain fully shut down. His hand resting atop the one that had just squeezed his thigh, moving it slightly higher. ”Do you think dinners gonna have assigned seating?” Sam asked, trying to speak with the first conversational piece that came to mind.
Ralph grasped onto the conversation. He didn’t care about dinner. Not right now. But damn. He glanced at his watch, adjusted to local time already. They didn’t have much longer. They’d have to head down for dinner soon. He cleared his throat.
”A lot of fancy gala type dinners do.” He hoped they’d get lucky. That they’d be sitting near each other. He caressed Sam’s leg lightly.
”Hopefully we can be near each other then? If not, well, I'll see you at dinner?” Sam asked as he leaned in and went to kiss Ralph's cheek softly. Letting it linger for just a second before pulling away. ”If only we had more time.”
Ralph turned his head, just enough so Sam kissed him on the lips. With the hand on Sam’s back he pulled him into it a little more. ”After dinner?” He asked when they separated.
”Oh most definitely.” Sam replied before going in for another kiss. He pulled away, standing up off of Ralph's lap and adjusting his pants as he cleared his throat. Making his way out of the room and towards the dining room, waiting just outside the doors to ensure he wasn't the first one in.
Ralph stayed sitting for a moment longer and then headed into one of the small bathrooms in the lounge. He needed a moment before heading down stairs for dinner.
