trettende | cmo/post-Curtains

[Technically, with the way Hans and the Balladeer travel, time doesn't mean a lot. You can easily exit one world in summer and walk into the dead of winter in the next. That kind of thing was one big reason they decided to find a home base of sorts sooner rather than later - interdimensional jet lag can be killer.

The Balladeer deliberately keeps the setting vague, trying to avoid getting caught up in anyone else's story. In the end, the house ends up being a little liminal. They don't exactly have neighbors, just lost travelers who occasionally find themselves walking up through the forest in the back, or wandering along the otherwise empty road. He worries it's too weird for Hans, the lack of normal living...but they can reach a small town just by walking down the hill, and the people there get to recognize them fairly quickly, even if they're a little weirded out by the two men who always stroll into town out of nowhere. It's not too bad, he guesses, and freedom's still new enough to both of them that they spend more time out of the house than in.

But winter's come now, both to the house and the little town. It's December. And that means it's Christmas.

The Balladeer's never experienced a Christmas himself, but the holiday's so thick with story that it's impossible to be ignorant of it. He's excited! And once the displays come up, he's quick to take Hans down into town for some shopping. They need a tree. They need lights. Proper ones, too, not just something he magicked up.]

We could get two. [He's looking up at one of the larger pines, which probably wouldn't fit in their house.] One for inside and one for out. Not like anything much happens in the front yard anyway.

[ Christmas traditions in the Southern Isles revolved mainly around nativity, mass, and of course celebrating the presents left by Saint Nicholas, along with a million royal balls and celebrations. It was all kind of overwhelming if he was being honest, but most of all, it just made Hans kind of mad.

See, Hans never got to celebrate his birthday. Who had time for something like that, when there were celebrations to be had? At midnight they'd have mass and in the morning his brothers would all get better presents than him. Hans was lucky if he got extra coal, and that was if anyone actually remembered that his birthday landed on Christmas Day.

Needless to say, Hans is quick to embrace all these new traditions that the Balladeer seems so excited about. Anything is better than what Hans had going on at home. He doesn't care that they live in a house on the edge of reality, or that they both seem to attract more weirdness than the normal they were originally going for. Hans spent so long faking it, that he's never been too much of a fan of other people. Shopping and setting up Christmas lights are a much better alternative than thoughts of his brothers, their kids, and the amount of people he'd be forced to interact with otherwise if he were home.

Maybe not "home," not if he can help it. Hans is just as ready to make this Christmas be his first one, too. And it starts with picking out a tree. His family would have never let him pick out the tree. ]

Are you thinking a big one outside and a small one inside? [ How are they getting it home? Maybe if they carry it together... ] Do we have a ladder this big?

[The Balladeer slowly folds his arms. He's not picky about how they get the tree back; a simple timeskip would do the trick. They'll want to get out of sight of the townspeople, though, if they want to keep coming here to shop.

He does want to do the decorating by hand, though. And maybe he's not as prepared for that as he thought?] I'm not sure we have a ladder.

...we should probably get a ladder. Maybe we can just worry about the small one first, and think about doing the outside once that's settled? We've got the whole month.

[Longer, if they feel like. Who's gonna be around to judge how long they leave their tree up?]

[ Leave it to the narrator to forget how much work goes into these things. Not that Hans is worried, though. He wants to do all that stuff. ]

We'll get a ladder. [ He nods, neck craning up towards the top of the current tree they're eyeing. It would look amazing, covered in tinsel and lights like he'd seen in the displays. Maybe they could upstage the neighbors. Not that they could see their house outside of their periphery but it's totally the thought that counts. ]

Yeah, let's do one step at time. We could even set up as many trees as we want outside, I'm totally fine with that.

[ Christmas totally lasts until New Year's. Maybe even Three Kings if you wanna get fancy. ]

Could throw some lights on the ones in the back, too! [They're all deciduous and leafless by now, but it'd probably still look neat. Just in a different way. It kinda is a shame they don't have neighbors as such.]

Okay, smaller trees... [He gives the big tree one last look, then turns to head down to the other end of the little tree farm. It's not a huge selection; they wouldn't need one in a place this size. But if they decide to go hogwild on the trees, he'll just take them shopping farther abroad.] I guess any of these look fine. I don't know if I know enough about this to tell. What room did you want to put it in, the living room?

Yeah, that'll be fun! The backyard could use some light.

[ It's always kind of weirdly dark in their backyard now that the trees are kind of dead-looking. A few pine trees and Christmas lights might help with the aesthetic.

He follows the Balladeer and gives the smaller trees a cursory look. ]

I'm not sure either, my family always just had our gardeners do everything so I don't know. [ Honestly, Hans doesn't know anything about decorating any of this stuff, but he's happy to try and follow Bal's lead. ]

That, or the foyer, so people see it when they come in?

[ Not that they have many guests, but they could. ]

Guess we could've asked Seymour. I always thought he was more interested in flowers than trees, but if he's studying to be a botanist he'd have to know it all.

[Well, too late now. And anyway, all that matters is their own taste, right?]

It'd look nice in the foyer, yeah. People could see it from the street at night. [You know, the radically lost people that wander through every once in a blue moon!] You're supposed to put presents under them too, right? Are we doing that?

[He suspects that might be a thing you do for kids? But it would also look nice, and they'll have presents anyway.]

Seymour might tell us what tress will last the longest or something like that...

[ Would've been worth a shot, but these all look the same to him, personally. Hans shrugs. They could probably keep them green with magic. ]

I think that'd be nice. Opening the front door to a nice tree would be... homey?

[ Welcoming, maybe. Not that Hans could tell you what makes things homey. But the more people notice their hard work, the better, right? It's nicer than thinking about presents. Or all the presents he didn't get as a kid... ]

Of course. It's not Christmas without presents.

[ Hans definitely spaces out here. Don't mind him, he's just having more war flashbacks to how many years it took for him to give up on getting people to remember his birthday. ]

[The Balladeer, leaning down to compare the space beneath the trees, doesn't notice. There's only the two of them, but for all that he's created out of thin air, it's mostly just been practical things to get them settled. They haven't ever exchanged presents. He should be able to come up with some ideas, right?

He straightens and pats a good-sized tree with a decent amount of present space.]

Let's just take this one, then. It looks like it'll last a while!

[ How many presents are you thinking here, Bal? Leave it to the Balladeer to distract Hans from getting too self absorbed. Hans is gonna have his hands full trying to think of what to get someone who can just make anything...

He'll have to think about this one. Maybe something handmade? Not that Hans knows how to knit or crochet. But he can think about that later. Their tree looks fine, not too tall and not too short. Good thing he and the Balladeer are about the same height. ]

Looks good to me. Do we ask them to cut it down?

[ It's the blind leading the blind here. ]

[The Balladeer looks around, trying to see what other customers are doing. There's none in the immediate vicinity.]

Guess so. We didn't bring a saw.

[Granted, he could have it down anyway, but that would look weird to the normal people around. It would've been obvious if they were carrying tools in here.]

If we can just carry it out of sight, I'll snap us back home. Around the corner or something.

[ Hans tries to get someone's attention. It's not like they look all that strange, two guys in flannel picking out Christmas trees. ]

A saw seems kind of brutish. But I guess they must have some kind of machine?

[ Then again, Hans has never used one in his life, princes have servants for that stuff. There aren't exactly many normal people around, and personally, traveling via Bal's powers is kind of cool. ]

Shouldn't have to carry it too far, then. But that's part of the experience, right?

[ It's much easier this way, Hans likes this a lot better. He can lift, sure, but carrying a tree home would suck. ]

Maybe a chainsaw.

[He shrugs. It's easy enough to get someone's attention, at least - the place isn't so big that customers can easily get lost in it. And yep, here comes the chainsaw. The Balladeer pays, with the money he tends to have out of nowhere, and declines the offer to help lash it to the top of their car.]

Okay, great! You take the back, I'll get the front?

[Easier for him to get them home if he leads. The tree's manageable, but pretty heavy. It would be awfully difficult to carry all the way home, if they were actually going far. He wonders, sometimes, where exactly the locals of this town think they live.]

[ Man, technology is incredible. One day it'll stop impressing Hans, but that day is not today. He watches the Balladeer go about his transaction, then reaches down to grab his end of the tree. It's heavy and not exactly easy on his hands. Maybe he should've worn gloves for this part.

Not that they'll have to carry it far, they don't need a car. They have something way better. Weird corners and inter-dimensional travel. ]

Alright, is that steady for you?

[The Balladeer's not as strong as Hans, but he is at least wearing gloves. He's still a musician, he can't walk around letting his hands get all torn up. Besides, it's cold. The top of the tree's less heavy anyway, and he gets it hoisted up onto his shoulder.]

Yeah, feels good. C'mon. [He makes for the end of the lot, where there's a little copse of wild trees and bushes they can duck around behind. Once he gauges they're sufficiently covered, they step through the trees again and out into their front yard. The front door's already standing open, so they don't have to worry about getting back in with the tree.] Oh, tree stand...I'll just make one, I don't want to go back for that.

[ He's been in eternal winters, this is nothing now. But Hans carries the tree up to the bushes and manages to almost not flinch when they make the scene transition to their front lawn. See, he's getting better. It's just a little disorienting, but probably not as weird as whatever someone would see if they were actually looking at them when they disappeared.

The people in town must think they live in the woods or something. They're not... totally wrong. Ish. ]

Oh, I completely forgot. [ Hans shrugs his shoulders, careful with the tree as they make their way inside. ] And a ladder too, maybe? That'll make putting the lights up easier.

[ Hans doesn't exactly want to treat the Balladeer like he's some kind of wish-granting genie, but he doesn't feel guilty asking for minor stuff. It's a fine line when you're an ex-manipulative jerk, he's gotta be careful. It's probably more power than one guy should have... but man, does it get tempting sometimes. ]

Sure, but we're getting the lights for real. We're gonna want them next year.

["The Balladeer snaps his fingers and everything is instantly decorated" doesn't seem like much of a holiday tradition to him? He's never had traditions that didn't revolve around murder before, he's a little hungry for them.]

Here, just get the bottom in there and I'll push my end up.

Of course. That way we can do it together. Although how many lights are you thinking?

[ Hans may not have been part of many of the Christmas traditions in his old home (besides 'hide the presents from Hans' and his oldest brother's favorite game, 'tell everyone how much better your gifts are') but the thought of putting real effort towards something they can both enjoy is kind of appealing. He's well past relying on servants at this point.

Next year though, that sounds really good to him. They'll have plenty of years like this. It's almost hard to believe. Hans doesn't really care how many lights the Balladeer decides to get. They'll be theirs, and that's what matters. ]

Like this? [ Carefully, Hans steps around the base and dips the tree trunk into place. ] You got it?

Yeppppp... [He gives it a shove, and the tree rocks up into place. The Balladeer grabs at the trunk to keep it from tipping too far over, but the tree stand does its job and it steadies out pretty quickly. The Balladeer laughs a little, delighted. They have a Christmas tree!]

Great! It looks fantastic. We're gonna need to string the lights around...I don't know how long the strings are, maybe two or three for this? And then the back and the front...

[He's already moving back through the house as he's talking, to peer out at their backyard. It's not particularly landscaped, and the wild plants are already starting to creep up from the woods into what's supposed to be their lawn. Honestly, he doesn't mind enough to do anything about that.]

Maybe we could just get bigger ones for out there. Like lanterns? It'd be good if anyone gets lost in the Woods this winter, it's starting to get too cold for wandering long. [He somehow pronounces the capital W. The Woods as a trope are pretty eternal, and very easy to lose your way in, only to end up in mysterious otherworldly places. Something to watch out for.]

Looks good.

[ Hans nods at the tree, smiling. It doesn't have to be huge to be perfect, and right here it looks perfect. Watching Bal be this excited is endearing on its own. Hans hasn't gotten birthday presents for years, but this could be it. Seeing the Balladeer's face on Christmas morning is definitely going to be worth it.

Hans may not know what happens to kids who get lost in the woods or why they'd end up at their place, but he follows the Balladeer into backyard. It is definitely an abyss back there. You know, just a little unsettling. But it's nothing some Christmas can't fix.. ]

I think I saw some ornaments made of lights, if nothing else. They were like... Reindeer and presents, we could set those up, too!

[ Are lawn ornaments tacky? Because at this rate they're just going to be a giant beacon of light and that's okay. ]

[Well, the ones who don't get scooped up by horror stories or traditional fantasy might end up here. He thinks they're probably on the lighter edge of the fairy tale genre; there is a Disney character involved, former villain or not. Maybe they can be the mysterious mentor figures in a pinch, sing a song and give a bit of vital advice and send the hero off without ever appearing in the narrative again. It couldn't end up any worse than the trolls.

He may have already done the early-story vengeful curse-layer bit as well. But that usually requires you to go to the curse-ees, and also he might not have technically told Hans that he turned the majority of his family into sea monsters? Billy promised not to tell him first, so.]

Yeah! We could just string them along the treeline, no need to totally decorate any one of them. And we'll need normal ornaments for this one in here...let's head back and look at what they have?

[ Trolls are a pretty low bar, but that sounds about right. Hans would be okay with helping the occasional lost traveler, it's not like he's doing the villain thing anymore.

~~He's not gonna be mad, Bal. I mean they totally had it coming and he hates most of them... He'd just feel bad that you had to meet so many of them.~~ ]

Whatever looks good, honestly. I'll follow your lead. [ He's still getting used to Christmas lights in general but they seem really cool. ]

Sure, we should have a look! [ And it's not like going back to the store takes more than a few seconds. ] What kind of ornaments did you want to get?

[~~Look he's not a hundred percent proud of it. He's not the kind of person that generally doles out life-altering curses.~~]

I don't know, the round ones? That's the kind they always have in show trees. [He turns to start heading back out the front, towards the rip in time-space that leads back to the store.] Do you think you could find your way out of here without me?

[ ~~Just blame Hans' influence somehow. Disney has a way with poetic justice.~~ ]

Okay, just making sure. I've heard some people hand-make them but I've always thought the trees look a little messy when they don't all coincide.

[ He's not the most creative guy, this Hans. He also tries not to think too hard about how the tears in time and space work, only that things often lead where they shouldn't. Perhaps even when they shouldn't. ]

Do you mean the house? Or just to the store?

[ There's some stage magic keeping the town a short walk away, sure, and Hans does plan on buying Bal a gift when he gets the chance and he's not looking. So... hopefully there's a way back, right? ]

To the store, or anywhere. And back again, I guess - I don't want you to be stuck in here if I'm doing something, or if you just want to go somewhere by yourself.

[He takes Hans's hand, leading him back through the scene transition into the outskirts of the town.]

We've all had enough of being stuck in places, I guess.

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