Near the Causeway | Tuesday after sunset

[fortworeasons]

It had been a long and perilous journey from Staten Island, and by 'perilous,' Laszlo mostly meant 'kind of boring and lonely.' It had hit him somewhere around south Pennsylvania (one of the lesser -sylvanias in Laszlo's opinion) that he'd left behind not only Staten Island, but the life he'd enjoyed for half a century.

He wouldn't miss his roommates. Fuck those guys. But his sweet, gentle Nadja -- well. Probably for the best that he wasn't around for when she read that letter, really.

But she was strong. She'd cope without him. And Laszlo was distracted from his marital concerns shortly, as it seemed he'd found a castle to hide out in until Jim forgot about the debt he owed.

Thus, near the causeway, a bat trailing a plume of black smoke gave a pop and became the form of a human man, and Laszlo looked around at his new surroundings curiously.

"Did I somehow end up back in Europe?" Oh, that wouldn't do at all. He'd certainly need a disguise there. Unless human memories really were so short as to forget a man they'd driven out a mere 150 years prior.

[so open!]

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[mother_love]

Billy had been out of the apartment for handwavey reasons that evening and was enjoying the stillness that seemed to fall over the already quiet island at night. He was standing near the end of the causeway, enjoying an evening smoke.

He had been blissfully unaware that anything odd had been going on that weekend and assumed the few kids he had seen running around were just family visiting people on the island for the holidays coming up. So, in blissful ignorance, he was enjoying the cool night air when he heard a strange noise from behind him.

Billy turned and blinked in surprise at seeing someone there. He could have sworn the causeway was empty except for him just a minute ago. He shrugged it off as him just being distracted and turned to the stranger and gave a slight nod of recognition.

[fortworeasons]

Laszlo gave the other man a similar cool-guy nod of recognition as he surveyed his surroundings curiously.

Since he didn't say, 'Hey, weren't you a bat a moment ago,' or anything, he figured hypnosis wouldn't be necessary.

[mother_love]

"Here to visit someone, or just passing through?" Billy asked, already getting the idea that not too many people were just passing through for the sake of the scenery and all.

[fortworeasons]

Laszlo glanced over, wondering what business it was of this human's what he was doing here, but he might as well be friendly. "Passing through, I suppose," he replied with an amiable shrug. "I certainly don't know anyone here yet."

Probably should rectify that, though he needed to make a snap decision on whether or not to use an alias -- given that he wasn't in his human disguise (and would not be, as blue jeans were uncomfortable), it probably wouldn't work.

"Laszlo Cravensworth," he added, extending a hand with a little flourish.

[mother_love]

"Billy" he replied, giving Laszlo another look over as he reached out and shook his hand. "Guess I am the first to welcome you to Fandom." Oh the irony.

[existencemisspent]

Eliot was happening by on a stroll, enjoying a cigarette, when a bat transformed in front of him.

He stood back and applauded politely. “Do you also do children’s parties?”

El, sweetie, you showed up and immediately started throwing around firework displays. You had no room to talk.

[fortworeasons]

Laszlo's hand went up in front of him in a vaguely outreached gesture, because he didn't especially want to have to hypnotize this well-dressed gentleman, but he also would tolerate no pitchfork or mob action, thank you.

"I'd rather not," Laszlo replied with distaste, looking around. "There aren't any children here now, are there?"

Also, did everyone here smoke? He'd have to take to holding a cigarette or a pipe again. One of his bygone affectations that had mostly been abandoned when everyone started demonizing smoking.

[existencemisspent]

Not everyone, just the truly fabulous.

“I don’t think so,” Eliot said. “I think everyone’s grown back up by now. The children were just a weekend thing.”

[fortworeasons]

"That's convenient," Laszlo decided, just rolling with it and deciding Eliot probably didn't warrant hypnosis if he was already being confusing about children. Maybe the man was mad. That would be entertaining, at least. "Where precisely am I? Here I thought I was somewhere around Delaware and...."

He inclined his head slightly up towards the castle. "That screams France to me, somehow."

[existencemisspent]

“It is extremely French, yes,” Eliot agreed. “But it’s actually an American high school of all things. We’re outside of Baltimore just now.”

Eliot didn’t bother to question why Lazlo didn’t know that. If the spell hadn’t come with a magic homing beacon for Brakebills South, who knows where he’d have wandered off to as a goose. . . .

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon had come outside for a smoke and wandered down to the causeway. He missed the bat transformation, but it was hard to miss the large new person.

"Oh, um. Hello."

Yes, Laszlo, everybody smoked.

[fortworeasons]

Excuse you, he was short and thicc.

Laszlo glanced over at yet another human determined to give themselves cancer and, hand up and ready to hypnotize, replied, "Hello there. Are you selling something? I won't be buying, thank you."

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Oops. Well, Jon was short and scrawny.

"Er...um, no?" Jon was eyeing that hand warily now. "I-I was just saying hello. I, um. I haven't seen you around before."

[fortworeasons]

"Why is everyone here so nosy about their neighbors?" This was worse than having Sean constantly calling over the garden fence, though at least he'd come to appreciate Sean's friendship. "Do you know every resident of this island by sight, sir?"

If so, he was maybe going to have to find somewhere else to post up and hide from Jim.

[texted3times]

Eric was out for a lurk. Walk. Something. And the bat thing caught his attention.

"People still do that?" he drawled, crossing his arms over his chest. "How old school."

[fortworeasons]

You weren't a vampire for half a century without being able to tell vampire from human at a glance, and thus Eric was met with a bright, fangy smile.

"It's a classic, old chap," Laszlo replied airily, dipping in a little flourishing bow. "And less conspicuous than a man flying through the air, isn't it?"

These were the only options, clearly.

[texted3times]

"Perhaps, but I make flying through the air look amazing."

If there'd been a bigger budget for it, yes.

Eric grinned. "Eric Northman. Welcome to Fandom."

[fortworeasons]

Laszlo tended to look like he was being suspended from wires when he flew, strangely enough!

"Laszlo Cravensworth," he returned, dipping a half-hearted little bow. "Is this your territory?"

[hatesparadise]

Danny had been through a lot of things since arriving on an island that had quite literally kidnapped him. Evil Christmas ornaments, raccoon conspiracies, that one time a fox was selling counterfeit art...

But this?

"You know what? Nope."

Bridge too far!

[fortworeasons]

Laszlo, who didn't realize this human was freaking out about him, looked around curiously.

"Hmm?"

[hatesparadise]

"I'm not doing this," Danny said firmly. And also not helping clear up that confusion. "I was having a very nice, normal time post-cat."

[fortworeasons]

"Good for you," Laszlo said in a voice that clearly said he thought Danny was some sort of escaped deranged person.

Rambling on about cats and arguing with nothing, really.

[notagoose]

Goose was extremely restless and thought going for an evening run might finally help.

At first Goose thought it was the after effects of being on day 2 of currently not being able to sleep and found himself staring, “that’s new,” he remarked, he hadn’t actually seen anyone transform from a bat before.

[fortworeasons]

"You're new," Laszlo said. Not that that made sense but he had a hand up ready to hypnotize this random man, anyway.

[notagoose]

Goose had no idea what he was about to be in for and also wasn’t currently the most alert that he normally was.

“Shane Gooseman,” he offered, “most people call me Goose,” he said, “I teach engineering up at the school,”