Archon's aesthetic did not match his internal experience, right now.

Aesthetically? He was a tall, straight-backed humanoid with porcelain skin and a cherubic expression, his moon-silver eyes stern and his jaw set. He strode with apparent confidence, the black wings at his back held high, his steps certain as he made for the library. His black robes swished, the sickles at his hips gleaming.

Internally?

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. FUCK.

Archon was trying not to panic. Failing, mostly.

'You're not getting any lines by the way! YOU gotta put the work in and figure out how to be wise, or I'm going to be MAD!!'

Those were the lines that the little card had read aloud, in Nemean's voice. Ludvic, he reminded himself, his urgent step taking him through the arched door and into the library proper--where he paused.

He'd been here before. He could read, if not perfectly, but well enough. The crackle of the fireplace, the comfortable reclining chairs intended for a certain Hand, the shelves and rows of everything from cheap fiction to ancient tomes...

Archon didn't know where to start.

He just knew--remembered--that somewhere in this library there were plays. And he knew he had to learn to act in a play, and fast.

He did not want to earn Nemean's ire. ...Plus, some part of him wanted to absolutely slay.

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

Coilean was trying (and failing) to learn to read before the play. It wouldn't help him exactly, but this was his first time in the palace and he was fascinated by the bound collections of fragile paper and he would really like to know what they were saying. There were so many markings and pages full of them, line by line, so clearly they were saying a lot.

He struggled to get the page's edge to catch on his nail so he could flip it over. He'd been trying for 5 minutes. This was the first page of the novel.

Regarding the play itself, he wasn't sure how he'd sabotage the lead at all. He was not someone who schemed, but he was kind of good at making stuff up on the spot, so he was hoping inspiration would strike on the stage. Plus, he was a sidekick, meaning he could just copy the other person he was attached to.

Coilean heard the distant, dramatic swoosh of robes to his left and an accompanying silhouette, catching his scattered attention immediately. He knew vaguely what Archon looked like, and the only comparison he'd drawn was Cyneweard if he was bald. For a lot of reasons, this wasn't a nice thought to have about anyone. Hopefully, if he could get to know him better, he could come up with a better one.

He waved a knife hand from where he was standing. "Hey! um, you're uhh... Ludvic, right? I'm Tristan. Or Coilean, out of character. I think."

@Archon

Archon's gaze fell on the... bipedal scythe-dog? He didn't have words to describe Coilean, but the canine-like beast was hardly the strangest creature he'd seen in the caves, or even among the top ten. So he didn't stare too much, or look astonished or anything rude along those lines.

He was surprised at being identified, and by his role, at that. His step toward Coilean stuttered and stopped, and he blinked in surprise. "Oh? -Nemean mentioned me?" he guessed, head tilting a little, expression quizzical. He looked Coilean up and down again, brow furrowed in faint confusion, then shook his head. "I'm afraid I didn't think to ask about the other actors." Archon's nervousness drove him toward overly polite formality.

Archon gathered himself. "My actual name is Archon," he said, stepping forward again and offering a hand out to shake. "...Er," he then added heroically, eyes falling on the knives that extended from Coilean's arm. "...Is a handshake appropriate?"

The question then occurred to him. "What role does Tristan play? -Ludvic is... Secondary lead, I think?" and then his attention shifted to the book that Coilean was struggling with. "-Are you here to practice, too?"

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

@Coilean

Coilean was struck again by yet another wave of disquieting familiarity when Archon faced him. Eyes like Sky's. He wasn't used to seeing them on a stranger. The guilt came back again after, they'd barely exchanged a word and he was already carrying so much pre-existing baggage. Not that he'd have any clue.

"Yeah, kind of. I'm a supporting role, so it's kind of important to know, I think." Was that too passive aggressive? He knew Archon had a similar character.

'..Is a handshake appropriate?' "Ha! No." Coilean didn't waver, but his easy smile didn't drop either. "Tristan is... Well. He's like a sidekick? All I know is that he doesn't love Gryffin, but works with him anyways, and he schemes. He schemes a whole bunch."

"Uh. I'm here to waste time." It was a little embarrassing to admit. "I'm kind of lost on where to even start. So like, why bother stressing about it? It'll probably... Turn out fine." Probably.

@Archon

Archon was not normally the easygoing sort, and laughter, for him, was rare. He put on airs, pretended to be more confident and important than he felt. Which was "not at all," most days. But right now a brief smirk flashed across his expression, more than reaching his eyes; a soft and indelicate snort escaped him, so that he quickly took the hand he'd been offering out and covered his mouth and nose with it for a beat. A shake of his head formed an apology, of sorts.

"Lucky, I guess. I have to impress my Master." Really... he didn't. He thought he did. He wanted to. But Vargas didn't even know he was here. "So I was going to get a little more serious about it, but... I don't know where to start. And I suppose if you know the names of the other roles... and who the actors are, you're already a step ahead." It was a bit of a painful admission, but the questioning look he held as he glanced at Coilean made it clear it was also a question. And he was setting those names aside in his mind, doing his best to remember them. Gryffin. Okay.

"I was going to try and read... I don't know. A guide on how to act. Err. ...Do you know if we have to sing?" Archon asked, squinting at Coilean and, with unconscious nervousness, scratching at one arm.

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

@Coilean

Coilean nodded knowingly, though the bit about a Master threw him off. What a title! He was only vaguely aware of cave politics, and the goings on in Draco... Lots of spiky things. Big ones. He generally content with that amount of information.

Well. He was nowhere near an expert, and his initial instinct was to divert this responsibility... But he didn't know where to point, other than Nemean, and Nemean would get very annoyed at him for doing that. "Well, I guess it's because I'm done planning, and you've only been able to get started now?"

"Oh YES, we're singing. It's gonna be great!" He loved to make noises that sounded (sort of) nice.

"... Wait. You can read?"

@Archon

If Archon hadn't been alabaster-white, he'd have paled at the news that yes, they'd have to sing. Fuck.

"We should create a duet, somehow," he suggested in his immediate panic. SOMETHING that seemed scripted, anyway. Otherwise they'd be singing all over the place, over one another... FUCK.
Okay. They could do this. Err-

He found himself blinking at Coilean's next question, though. He looked at the book Coilean had been struggling with, and then back at the Scythe-dog himself. "Oh--yes. I can." He drew himself up as if that were important (a little confused, honestly) and then deflated, hesitating. "I assume you can, too-?" Because, otherwise, what would he have been doing with that book?

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

@Coilean

"Oh, uhm. Okay!" A duet. Coilean's confidence in his solo singing ability was flimsy - they'd need a lot of rehearsal to manage anything close to that kind of teamwork.

"Nup. Illiterate. This is my first time in the palace. Dad told us about the library, though." Oh yeah, this was where Cyneweard had grown up, wasn't it? He'd been so caught up in the musical that he'd forgotten for a moment. This is the closest we've been in cycles.

Had Cyneweard thumbed through these books himself? had he wandered through the maze of shelves, amazed and overwhelmed?

Focus. "A duet is a pretty big deal. But it could be cool! Maybe... Tristan is like, unsure of his friendship with Gryffin, and you - your character I mean - like, sings him onto the good side."

@Archon

Archon hesitated. His mouth opened, then shut. He had two things he REALLY wanted to address and he wasn't sure what to go for, first.

So he did the easy topic first. "What were you doing with the book?" he asked, confused. He just... really wanted to know; no judgment. "I can help you read, or--maybe we haven't the time to teach you but I can read to you, if you like? If there's something you wanted to read?" Was Coilean looking for a specific passage, or wanting to research something in particular? Archon didn't know.

The second thing he wanted to address was just as interesting. Moreso, even. Because while Archon had never actually performed or even really seen much performance outside Nest Nannies episodes, he immediately recognized the potential for drama, here. "You said... Tristan isn't--that he is a sidekick, that he doesn't love Gryffin? But... what if he did?" he hazarded, tentative. "Nemean--Master Nemean," he corrected himself unnecessarily "is kind of giving us free rein, here. What if we add... a little something? For the audience? Uhh, maybe Tristan's a little in love with Gryffin and that makes it even harder... and Ludvic has to convince him to help instead of sabotaging him or--something? Or maybe Ludvic's the one in love and he's got to tragically advise..." he trailed off, nose scrunching, trying desperately to come up with some sort of love triangle musical number on the spot, and failing.

Maybe Coilean would have better ideas.

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

@Coilean

"...Learning to read." Coilean answered with an awkward smile. "I don't even know what this book's about." There were no pictures on the cover. There might be some inside, but he hadn't been able to turn any of the pages to find them.

Archon had the advantage of access to television. The only drama Coilean had experience with was within his own personal life, of which he was not eager to pull inspiration from. Thank goodness he'd never been in a love triangle, then!

"OOOOOOO. You're onto something. Umm... What if they're all in secret love with each other... And then, uhh - they have to do everything while trying not to let slip... Though I don't know why it'd be secret, if it was for real. Everything is secret in theatre. It's weird." Like... You can literally tell the truth. it's free.

"One problem. I have no clue how forbidden romance works. BUT! Solution! We're in a library right now, and I've seen several books with Gembound embracing closely on the covers, and I think that's like, the first step to love.

He dropped the book he was holding (gently), and pulled another delicately from the shelves. The cover was as described. "And you can read!"

It's all coming together.

@Archon