[...he says, with the distracted air of someone trying to mentally figure out how much time is elapsed...]
I will... see you then.
[...she seems calm enough as Hendrik leaves, so Jasper heads up into the castle. Fortunately, it’s relatively quiet.
...no, wait, as he walks further in, it almost seems too deserted. People should still be milling about and patrolling, shouldn’t they? Maybe it’s just that he arrived at the perfect time... or maybe, as the cold chill running through his spine and hairs sticking up on the back of his neck would suggest, he’s already been noticed.
“I had wondered what sort of explanation you would provide for your sudden absence, Jasper. It seems as though some prior carelessness has caught up to you, has it not? Now, how closely should I follow how King Carnelian would have reacted to this, I wonder...”
He swallows, trying to come across as calm despite how pointless he knows it to be. It’s an instinct that he can’t shake off, even in the face of the demon wearing the king’s body, who seems able to peer through skin, muscle, and bone straight though to his very soul...
...
He at least manages to get away physically unscathed. The child is outright crying instead of fussing, but he’s laser-focused on getting back to his room. If anyone tries to stop him he doesn’t notice, and he doesn’t quite come back to reality until the door to his room is tightly shut behind him and he’s slumped down against it.
...right. Calm down baby. Figure out where to set baby down for now. Maybe figure out... where baby should sleep...? Well, anyway, by the time Hendrik’s returned, the baby is aimlessly wiggling in the middle of his bed, and Jasper is going through his room for... anything that might be kind of useful? Also there is an open bottle of wine on his desk. It is clear that he’s started on it, but there’s no goblet in sight............]
no subject
[...he says, with the distracted air of someone trying to mentally figure out how much time is elapsed...]
I will... see you then.
[...she seems calm enough as Hendrik leaves, so Jasper heads up into the castle. Fortunately, it’s relatively quiet.
...no, wait, as he walks further in, it almost seems too deserted. People should still be milling about and patrolling, shouldn’t they? Maybe it’s just that he arrived at the perfect time... or maybe, as the cold chill running through his spine and hairs sticking up on the back of his neck would suggest, he’s already been noticed.
“I had wondered what sort of explanation you would provide for your sudden absence, Jasper. It seems as though some prior carelessness has caught up to you, has it not? Now, how closely should I follow how King Carnelian would have reacted to this, I wonder...”
He swallows, trying to come across as calm despite how pointless he knows it to be. It’s an instinct that he can’t shake off, even in the face of the demon wearing the king’s body, who seems able to peer through skin, muscle, and bone straight though to his very soul...
...
He at least manages to get away physically unscathed. The child is outright crying instead of fussing, but he’s laser-focused on getting back to his room. If anyone tries to stop him he doesn’t notice, and he doesn’t quite come back to reality until the door to his room is tightly shut behind him and he’s slumped down against it.
...right. Calm down baby. Figure out where to set baby down for now. Maybe figure out... where baby should sleep...? Well, anyway, by the time Hendrik’s returned, the baby is aimlessly wiggling in the middle of his bed, and Jasper is going through his room for... anything that might be kind of useful? Also there is an open bottle of wine on his desk. It is clear that he’s started on it, but there’s no goblet in sight............]