[SEMI-OPEN] took a power trip

[chariotry]

WHO? Achilles, Ryuji, Siegfried, Chiron, Bucky, and perhaps others (there's an open prompt!)
WHAT? National Convention mission and the aftermath
WHEN? 1792 Paris
ANYTHING ELSE?

[OPEN] got me open all night

[ Guess who discovered that he can make a decent living playing music in the higher-class areas of Paris?

This is how he's going to get by: getting picked up by lonely, rich housewives whose husbands who have fled Paris on "business" and getting free reign of their estate while he's allowed to stay for a day or two.

Anyway, come sit around and listen to this fuckboy play the lyre. ]

Comments

RYUJI

[chariotry]

[ The estate is surprisingly unguarded, considering the painter's prominence in Paris.

With only a few servants around, breaking in is relatively easily, especially with a spirit who had the ability of phasing through solid matter. All Achilles had to do was take on his spirit form and move inside the building, unlocking a window on the top floor and letting his partner in.

They had come to a mutual decision prior to the infiltration that they would gather intel first, then go about the best course of action. Since earning an audience with David just didn't seem realistic, Ryuji is forced to think outside of the box. If he's unable to find anything worthwhile, then Achilles will have to take over. ]

We need to decide what to do in the event a servant catches you. [ Achilles could easily just take on spirit form, but Ryuji can't exactly do that. ] You said you have experience doing this kind of thing, though.

SIEGFRIED

[chariotry]

[ It's late at night and Achilles is wandering the streets of Paris, not quite aimless but not with purpose either. He's simply restless, with no battles to fight and no tent or lavish home to return to.

Fate works in funny ways, though. He finds that if he leaves himself open to opportunity, opportunity will come. That may be a perk of being favoured by the Gods, though he still resents things like fate.

So naturally, staying out when most people would be asleep might end up proving to be a good choice. He can already hear a bit of commotion coming from the next block over, and he's drawn to it like a hungry wolf looking for its next meal. ]

CHIRON

[chariotry]

[ The events of the night have left Achilles shaken, though he'd be hard-pressed to admit it. He hadn't expected that the mission would entail confronting a man who was an actual fan of his, and a man whose influence was through his art, art in which depicted his lore, his life, his legacy.

It wouldn't have been so jarring if he'd known, he thinks. Though Patroclus was a beloved memory of his, he still hasn't come to terms with his death or the fact that he was indirectly responsible for his murder. And his desire for vengeance -- oh, had it left the tail end of his life a mess.

Those three paintings, depicting his dear friend, his funeral, and his enemy, have left a lasting impression and one that will not fade with time.

Maybe this was fate at work again, intwining him with reminders of the shameful part of his past, so as to punish him. Well, if that were the case... he'll just have to deal, won't he? As loathsome as it is to be played with by the Gods, he would have to prove his strength by not letting these things break his spirit.

He and Ryuji have parted ways for the rest of the night, but a Heroic Spirit doesn't need sleep. He has expelled quite a bit of mana by putting on that show earlier, so he is in need of rest. But not before paying his horse (that he left in the care of the stall owners) a visit. ]

Keraunos! I'm back, and I've brought you dinner. I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me for leaving you alone for so long.

[ Yes, he's charming the horse... Don't judge. ]

BUCKY

[chariotry]

[ The stall owners have taken great care of his horse and Achilles has made the executive decision to leave her there. He didn't have much use for her otherwise, since they weren't going into battle anytime soon, and a city just isn't easy for a horse to navigate through, with its crowded roads and marketplaces.

But Keraunos isn't happy being abandoned. She's broken out from her stall more than a few times since Achilles has started leaving her there.

Tonight happens to be another successful escape and she gallops through the quiet roads in search of her rider. She's not going to find him so easily, though. ]

[ryuji]

[It's a pretty simple infiltration as far as the work he's done in the past- just a house, nothing spectral or magicked beyond belief. This is well before the age of surveillance, so he doesn't think anything of the plan that they had laid out prior. Of course, this would be a little easier if he had Morgana around (he hated to admit to that), because a small pet wandering in the mansion would be a good ruse should anything go south. But since there's no chance of cat burglary going on tonight, Ryuji just has to rely on everything he's learned up to this point as a guide post to get through with this mission.

And it's nearly flawless. The route up to the second floor is easily achieved by scaling a nearby building and landing onto the roof via the entrance way provided through an alleyway. He waits for the subtle sound of the window's opening, and then carefully climbs through the window. This is so much easier when you have a guy on the inside to help.]

Don't worry about that. I'm actually pretty great at this stuff. Trust me, 'kay? [He's already looking down the hall and making some guesstimates of what room would be what. This isn't so much a fine art as it is just having good hunches at where people keep their most valuable stuff. Since they're not looking to rob the dude, it just comes down to deducing the difference.

And it's not like he hasn't robbed an art museum before. Granted, it was far more Escher than this, though...]

Probably bedrooms on this level, but see where the stairs wrap around and lead to that door in the middle? That's probably his workshop. There's a good chance he's in there.

Oh... and, don't call me by my real name. My signal is "Skull," got it?

[chariotry]

[ Achilles has nothing to worry about himself, but in the worst case scenario, Ryuji might get captured by the enemy and then he'd have to abandon this mission altogether to go and rescue him. After all, with tension so high in this day and age, it's likely the boy would get his head immediately lopped off by a paranoid revolutionary.

They have to take the appropriate measures to ensure that won't be the case.

He has to trust him, though. He's young, but he's still an adult by his own personal, cultural standards. He's old enough to know what he's doing, and the only thing working against him is his lack of worldly experience. He's done this before, where Achilles hasn't, so that means he's leading this operation.

He won't admit to that, of course. ]

Skull? [ He tries to hide his amusement, but is unable to catch the quiet snort that rushes out of his nose. ] Like your mask. I get it.

[ Hey, he's not going to protest. Ryuji only knows him by his own codename, so it's only fair. ]

Why would he be in his workshop this late at night? [ He's not challenging him, but asking him out of genuine curiosity. He seems so sure of this deduction he's made that he would like to understand his process of thought. He's mildly impressed. ]

[ryuji]

[Ryuji doesn't really think the chortle at his codename was something that was particularly funny at first- but then he remembers how, that first palace, when he took Kamoshida down, how dumb it sounded to begin with. Now, it feels second nature, and watching Achilles become amused with it brings an equally dumb smile to his face. He likes this side of him- and he has to catch himself falling too far into that thought so that he can start to move forward and furtively mask his footsteps.

He brings a finger to his mouth and lowers his voice immensely.]

Dude, he's either asleep or in his gallery. Nerdy types like this are all the same. Yusuke would be up right now, painting. I'd put money on it.

[He hears a stir of sound and retreats behind the corner. It's kind of amazing how swiftly he can move when he's actively trying to use his agility to his advantage. There's the sound of a maid coming upstairs to snuff out the lights to half dimness. David must like the rooms darker at night- he takes note of that mentally.

When the coast is clear, he motions for the room at the top of the stairs. Now or never.]

[chariotry]

[ Alright, he'll trust his intuition for now.

At the sound of the maid coming up the stairs, he vanishes in thin wisps of energy, dematerializing and making himself invisible to the human eye. Ryuji does as he claimed he was capable of and darts for the corner.

The maid passes by them without a second glance and Achilles reappears, only to forge on ahead before Ryuji has the chance to emerge from his hiding place.

And he just pushes the door open without any warning.

Sorry, he's no good at this covert stuff. ]

[ryuji]

[His eyes grow wide at how stupid Achilles is being. For the first time in his entire life, he actually sympathizes with Morgana; this must have been exactly what the master thief saw when he was looking at Ryuji doing the same thing during his first heist. He mutters a few highly vulgar words under his mouth, and darts to a nearby table, checking to see if Achilles was noticed making his grand entrance. Feeling somewhat safe for now, he follows in quickly, closing the door as quietly as humanly possible before he enters...

Oh. A private folio. There's art in every direction; on the walls, mounted and ready to be sold off, on the floor for the less than important commissions that he had been working on. An empty easel stand in the middle, with a blank canvas that's been untouched. Someone who was really into art would have died to be here. Ryuji, on the other hand is just simply happy that they haven't gotten caught yet.]

Rider...

[The coast is clear, though. His first deduction was wrong, in the end. Maybe his understanding of David was off as well. Little did he know that he was mostly famous for selling his art- that he was good at it, but maybe it wasn't the type of passion that had him awake until 2am fervently working with his brushes in hand.

Maybe this dude just did this shit for money.]

[chariotry]

[ Achilles had waltzed right in not because he hadn't been anticipating someone behind the door, but because he fully intends on making his presence known and intimidating David into doing what he wants. It'd be easier than wasting the night away exploring the house.

But with no famous painter in sight now that they're in the room, it seems that plan is foiled. Ryuji is fortunate.

The door is closed behind Ryuji, shut quietly as they enter the dark room. Moonbeams stream through the glass of the window, illuminating the gorgeous paintings adorning the walls and and the works in progress laid out on the floor. Achilles idly strolls through the gaps, glancing at the pieces with fleeting interest. ]

You look pale. Did something spook you? [ Yes, he'd rather tease the boy than actually take any of this seriously. ]

[ryuji]

[Ryuji just stares at him incredulously. He invited him to help make this mission a success, not to bring a level of nonchalance to it that even he wouldn't attempt. It's hard, really, to explain that he wanted this to be his debut in COST. This mission was the first chance where he had an opportunity to actually be good at something, and although a lot of it is just silly pride, some of it was him being hopeful that he could also show off to Achilles exactly where his talents lay.

He rubs his forehead, trying to piece this together a little bit better. The next stop would have to be his bedroom, and god, did Joker go through all this painful thinking when he was leading them through infiltration? This shit is harder than it looks.]

Huh? No way. It's gonna take way more than that.

[Finally paying attention to the room they were in, he notes that whoever this David guy was, he clearly was insanely talented at what he did. Ryuji's no art critic; far, far fucking from it, but even he can appreciate being up close and personal to things that looked like they belonged in a museum, but were just randomly chilling on the floor and up against the walls.]

Looks like our target ain't here.

[He pauses, and pushes a tease right back at him.]

You gettin' all nerdy on me or something? I didn't take you for a cultured kinda guy.

[chariotry]

[ Achilles can appreciate art as well, to an extent. Art, music, and performance are all integral to his culture, so his eye for aesthetic is pretty much ingrained in him. That's not to say that these paintings are like anything he's ever seen when he was alive; the detail in the oil colours are far more advanced than anything his people had ever created. Achilles looks on curiously, stepping through the maze of images and falling quiet as Ryuji goes about his own processes.

He stops only when his eyes catch a familiar name. Though romanized, his mind translates the letters easily and recognition dawns on him as swiftly as a sword being plunged into one's belly.

The Funeral Games of Patroclus.

It's such a magnificent painting, taking up the bulk of the room; he has to wonder why he hadn't taken notice of it sooner.

Ryuji's voice is white noise to him as he drowns out his own senses in favour of focusing on making sense of depicted events in the painting. The scenery isn't familiar, nor the faces of the people, but he registers the clothing and and armour as distinctly Grecian. This is an homage to the Illiad.

He's been effectively caught off-guard, surprise evident in his furrowing features. Unconsciously, he reaches out to run a gloved thumb over the image of the fallen man being clutched by who he suspects is supposed to be him. ]

let me share my favorite poem with you https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43588/dover-beach

[ryuji]

[That's.. weird. Usually when he says something like that to Achilles, he fires something back, at least an acknowledgment or a condescending stare. He doesn't hear anything back from him, so he turns to see what the heck is actually going on in here. Ryuji approaches, ready to grab him and start telling him that they need to get moving, that they don't have enough time to just sit around and stare at art all day--

But his expression is what tips him off, and he stands next to him for a second, looking at what Achilles was looking at too. And, honestly, he doesn't really get what's going on here, but seeing him lift his hand up to the painting and just be caught so... enraptured with it, catches him off guard as much as the other had been surprised by the existence of this piece.

He reads the plaque below it as well. A funeral?]

Yo... yo, you okay?

[chariotry]

[ Ryuji approaches and Achilles is momentarily distracted, withdrawing his hand the second he speaks up.

He isn't embarrassed to be caught in his own vulnerability, but he is supposed to be keeping his identity a secret. Crossing his arms, he lets out a disapproving noise. ]

Tch. [ He continues to stare at the painting, wondering what it symbolized for the painter... Were there more paintings depicting Greece in here?

He turns to look around the room. ] I need a lantern or a candle.

[ This painting is so huge that the moon is catching it from outside of the window. The rest of the room is too dark. ]

[ryuji]

[He can't believe this is happening- Achilles wants to explore more? They're in the middle of a mission, this could cost them the success of everything they were looking to achieve. Ryuji bites down on his bottom lip, and he's... conflicted. He knows they should just go after David and finish this, restore the timeline back to its proper order, but then the side of him that isn't a Phantom Thief is calling out to his sense of inner desire to know what makes this guy tick.

He gives a short pace around the room, sighs, and quietly makes his way to the door. Opening it ever so ajar, he peaks through the small slit that's created to make sure that the cost is clear. This is such a bad idea.

If he takes a candle from the main foyer, then it'll be all too obvious that someone was in the gallery, so he carefully sidesteps back around the corner they originally had arrived out of. He takes a candle away from the candelabra on the wall and blows it out. In a few seconds, he's back into the entrance of the gallery, closing the door behind him. He wishes he had a key- he notices that the space underneath the frame would let light leak into the hallway, and that would also be a poor infiltration skills.

Leave it to Ryuji to be rash, impulsive, listen to his desires more than the warnings of literally everything around him. He touches the wick of the candle, whispers persona, and electrocutes it, sparks rising like a small firework as it catches on fire again.]

What the hell's gotten into you?

[And he draws closer again, the light illuminating the way and stretching its brightness over the canvas they were just in front of not too long ago.]

[chariotry]

[ Who knows why all the paintings depicting Greek mythos are conveniently all in one room, but let's go with it.

His eyesight is keener than a normal human's, so he could get by with the moonlight alone, but he selfishly wants to appraise the art in better lighting. Ryuji is surprisingly obedient, leaving the room to get what he asked for, and he doesn't thank him when he returns and lights the candle. ]

Shut up for a second. [ RUDE. But another name catches his eye, and it's Hector's of all people. He's just going to march over to the painting and drop to a crouch, holding onto the carved wooden frame surrounding the picture. He's glaring daggers at the body, making another disapproving noise under his breath.

And yeah, he clutches the frame so hard it snaps a little. Oops. ]

[ryuji]

[Shut up?

Shoulders slumping, he figures that it's probably best to just... let him do whatever the hell he was up to. He's about 10 seconds away from going to find David by himself, before he hears the crackling of wood. Ryuji didn't give a fuck about art, or history, for that matter, but he wasn't here to start destroying someone's hard work. What the hell about a painting could make him so pissed off that he held it tight enough to break its plating?

Huh.

Ryuji looks back to the first picture they had found, and then this one.]

...Who's Patroclus?

[chariotry]

[ He said FOR A SECOND.

Don't sulk... He's not going to notice, because he's too wrapped up in his own head. ]

He was my friend. [ Quietly, his voice a murmur. He releases his grip on the painting, gently laying it back up against the wall despite having almost broken it in half.

He holds so much contempt for Hector, but he's still a part of history and his own legacy. He can't begrudge someone for paying their respects to him through art. Maybe if they hadn't been enemies, they would have been friends. Though, he can't think of a world or life where that would have been possible, given their mutual fate. Hah, fate. He wonders how the Gods might react if they knew he was preserving it, after all his talk of hating destiny and wanting to rebel against it.

In the end, he's just a soldier, isn't he? Doing as he's told because he was promised that his compliance would make him a hero. Is he still a fool?

If only Patroclus was around to council and reassure him. ]

I loved him. [ He admits without any shame. ]

[ryuji]

[The words crash into him strongly- this was the last thing that he could have ever expected to come out of Achilles' mouth, and Ryuji just looks at him, still crouched down on the floor. The touch he planted against the painting was more than just remembrance of something... it was deeper than just that. Longing? Painful, maybe. Ryuji can't really tell, but he's also not sure if he should push it. I loved him - that was simple enough to understand.

Moving forward a step, he places a hand on Achilles' shoulder and doesn't say anything more to already ruin the mood. It's brief, but with a squeeze, he lets him have a few moments to himself.

So the person in that painting, the one who was holding him... that was Rider, wasn't it?

God, of all missions to have to be on, of course fate would bring them here. Ryuji is like Achilles in this regard, wanting to rebel against anything that's telling him what he's supposed to do. Following the path of your drum, that aesthetic is more beautiful than anything hanging on the wall in this room. He's at a loss for words, so he wanders a bit, giving him some space.

His eyes are caught by another painting, and it's eerie how all the eyes in the room seem to move with him, but this one- this particular painting doesn't hold anyone's gaze. It's simple- a man with his back turned, and as he reads the inscription below it, he sees the same name as before.

This David guy... he had an obsession. But! Hey, this is better than that painting of Hector, so he picks it up strides over to Achilles, placing it in front of the one that he had broke. Out of sight, out of mind, right?]

He looks like a cool guy.

[He loved him.

Ryuji's heart feels heavier in his ribcage. What's it like to lose someone you loved?]

[chariotry]

[ Ryuji brings him another painting, one of a man he doesn't recognize either. But the name on the golden plate nailed into the frame certainly is, again. He takes the painting into his own hands, holding it out to appraise it properly. His expression is steely, like he's judging rather than admiring. ]

... He doesn't look like that. [ His eyes flicker to Ryuji, fondness softening his otherwise heavy brow. ]

We can use this to our advantage, though. [ A little smile... ]

[ryuji]

[He just scratches the back of his head. Well, yeah, this isn't the modern age. It's not like someone can just snap a photo and bam! history is kept safe forever.]

Yeah. I bet if you loved him he was way hotter than this.

[It just sort of tumbles out of his mouth without thinking, and he's probably being insensitive to the fact that holy shit he was just forced to think about his dead boyfriend, but the intentions are good in spirit.

He thinks of Sayuri for a moment, recalling on his own past experiences and how Yusuke had felt when he saw how the painting was originally meant to be. He tilts his head a little bit and opens his mouth again, verbal diarrhea. But he's earnest in what he says, and it's not incredibly deep or anything, but:]

You can't capture everything with a picture, anyway. It ain't made up of all the fights, all the makeups, kisses- whatever- all that shit in between just in one moment anyway.

[And this was limited to David's imagination. People can only envision what they see, anyway, and it's not like the artist could just travel back in time on a train like they could.]

So, uh. What's the plan? [He smiles back at him.]

[chariotry]

[ Wow, Ryuji, just immediately jumping to conclusions about HIS RELATIONSHIPS. He laughs, though, tipping his head up with a deep sigh. ]

Wait for me on the roof.

[ And now he's turning the painting over so he can start opening up the brackets keeping the pieces of the frame together. Oh, he stealin'. ]

[ryuji]

[He hears that sigh. Did he do something wrong?

Probably.

He'll course correct later. There are plans to be made. He looks at him, inquisitively, wondering what exactly he was envisioning, but he's compliant enough. With a short nod, he doesn't make a comment about Achilles stealing (that's what thieves do, right?- something like that) and snuffs out the candle again to leave the room in darkness.

He finds his way to the window, opening it. It creaks more than he'd like it to.]

Don't keep me waitin' too long. [And climbs up]

[chariotry]

[ The painting of Patroclus is rolled up and and tied shut with a piece of decorative rope he finds on one of the tables, before being carefully tucked away in a tube he also finds laying around.

He has to leave the painting in the room for now, but he'll be back for it later.

Ryuji won't be kept waiting long, at least. Achilles is quick as he shifts through the walls of the house, taking on spiritual form, and finds David in his bedroom relatively quickly on the top floor. The man is started awake as the hero makes a show of materializing as he moves through the solid panel, adorned in traditional armour.

He speaks Greek to him, announcing his presence in a dialect that has long since been buried along with its respective ancient civilization. The painter is understandably shocked by the whole ordeal, delirious from sleep and maybe even questioning of his sanity and state of consciousness.

That's fine. Achilles doesn't need to waste his time trying to convince him that this it's all real.

The man is scooped up, a strong hand wrapping around his mouth to keep him from crying out, though he's too frozen to do so or struggle. They're exiting out of the window, before he can register the danger, and taking a leap towards the adjacent building, which Achilles uses as a platform to kick off from (with unbelievable power) and launch back towards the estate. Think parkour, only this sort stupidly defies physics.

And when they finally land on the roof, Achilles is flipping the poor man and dangling him by his heel over the cobbled road below. If he's truly a fan of his lore, he'll understand the reference. Eventually. ]

My name is Achilles, son of King Peleus and Goddess Thetis, and the Best of the Achaions. I've come to you tonight so that you may heed this warning. So listen carefully.

[ David's nightgown billows with the wind, fabric falling over the poor man's face. He's panicking, thrashing around and fighting with the cloth that obscures his line of sight. He's screaming, too, though it's weak and broken as all the blood in his body starts to rush to his head. He probably looks silly, swinging around by his ankle, his entire body, along with his underwear exposed. ]

[ryuji]

[Ryuji kicks a pebble off the roof, not even caring where it lands, or if it lands on anyone. This mission was going horribly, and now that he's alone to ponder in that train of thought, he feels like a newbie Phantom Thief all over again. Achilles had told him to wait on the rooftop for his arrival, but what was he expecting? Part of him thought that Achilles would just go straight to him, to threaten him into doing as he wished, and that would be that. Case closed.

Just who was he, anyway? He didn't understand what the implications of being a Heroic Spirit meant, but if he had to guess, then he would assume that he's some ghost of a hero who had died. That... would make sense, right? They needed a power source to survive, and Achilles himself said that he was pursuing something that couldn't last.

But it was... really sad to see him so thrown off kilter by the events in the gala. Whoever Patroclus was, well- he can't imagine the other taking in a lover to begin with- must've been special enough to him to make him mournful of reliving those memories. And that man in the other painting, the one that looked like Achilles would punch a hole right through it if he had less restraint- who was he? Was he involved in Patroclus' death? So many questions, nowhere near enough answers to sate his curiosity.

A curiosity, which, he had no right to have, actually.

And it's about this time that he hears the slamming of feet against the nearby building, and then sees the encroachment of Achilles onto the roof, David dangling along like a toy to a great dane. Ryuji's eyes go wide at the sight. His armor. His armor is magnificent- where the hell did that come from?

He doesn't have a lot of time to register or make decisions, as Achilles starts to hang him over the edge of the roof, and instincts take over- Ryuji moving quickly to meet him right near the point of David's potential last moments. His heart is beating frantically, and as he starts to speak in a language that he doesn't understand, Ryuji starts to panic. If this was Achilles' plan, it was way too goddamn far.]

Rider!