2025-01-17 - One Suspect Down In the Bouquet Mystery

Ever since Esme woke up this morning and found a pretty colorful bouquet from a secret admirer, or at the very least, it was unsigned, she had been on the prowl to locate the sender of such pretty flowers! After having practiced a bit at the Ice Palace, she was back at the apartment, bouquet in hand.

She's also draped in a lavish velvet pink shawl with white fur trim that has pretty floral enclosures, all which hides her outfit beneath, which is most likely part of her ice skating wardrobe. She's wearing regular white ankle-length boots this time, and draped over one hand are her skates, so floors can breathe a sigh of relief. Her hair is pulled back into a full, messy pony tail.

Once inside, she looks between her roommate's doors before marching over to Wesley's first and KNOCKKNOCKKNOCKS., "Wesleeeeey. Are you in there?"

"Yeah, sec, don't hack the door down or anything," comes from behind the door, some rustling following before the door opens. Wesley stands there in a tank-top and sweats, tail hanging out behind him, almost literally the opposite of her 'dressed to show off' fashion at the moment.

His eyebrows go up as he looks to her, his laptop open on his bed behind him. "What's up?"

Once the door is open, the bouquet is raised, being held within both hands to SHOW Wesley. Almost as if it's being shoved up at home. After a moment, she moves it to the side, so that he can better see her face peering from beneath it and those big blue eyes.

"Thank you for the bouquet. They are beautiful." She then asks, "Did you really come and watch the opening of Swan Lake? It was crazy."

Wesley blinks slowly as the bouquet is thrust in his direction. "I... did not," he says slowly, one eyebrow going higher as the other drops in a bemused sort of expression, "And I didn't send you any flowers, either, uh-- was this Peyton? Did she sign my name to it or something?"

That does seem like something she'd do.

"You didn't see my debut in Swan Lake?!" Esme asks with wide incredulous eyes as she stares up at Wesley now that those flowers were lowered and clung tightly against her velvet shawl covered chest. Her head then lowers, "It's fine if you didn't. Weird things happened and the story of Swan Lake changed completely! And I think one of our skaters might be quitting." One of her legs swings forward, then back a bit in an idle manner. "So these weren't from you... Peyton? Hmm. I'm not sure, because..." And she's about to say something, her mouth open, but then they slowly close.

"I guess I'll ask her. It could've been Nicholas as well, I suppose!"

"Why would you think they'd be from me?" Wes's brow furrows a little, and he shakes his head, "And no, I didn't, I haven't really been in the mood for shows and shit lately--" He shrugs one shoulder, "What happened? Is everyone alright? I know magical shit's been on the rise since New Year's..."

Esme then sighs heavily, "BECAUSE, WESLEY, you're my roommate! And one of the few people I know. Who else would it be from?" She then frowns, hearing that he hasn't been in the mood for such things as of late.

She'd say more about that, but she'll hold it for later. Instead, she'll tell him alllll about the show.

"Well first of all! The ice started cracking! Like, we had to avoid, leap over, etc the cracks to not fall over. It wasn't so terrible, because my big solo performance was finished and they were back in the castle when the cracks formed, so it was more my character looking in and spying. But then! These little snowball creatures came out of those cracks and started scattering eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeverywhere. All over the stage, underblade, and out into the audience. The show went on, however, but then when Louis came out, he played the evil Baron who cursed me into being a swan, well, all of those snowball creatures started going after him as if they were protecting me! They all teamed up and chased Louis all over the rink, but we were still putting on a show, so... Prince Siegried ended up with Princess Odetta all without the sacrifice and stuff."

She then adds in, "Louis said that when those things touched him, it's like he was getting frostbitten anywhere that wasn't adequately covered and that he wasn't being paid enough for this. So! Maybe Lucien can take his place as Odile's father, even though Lucien is only eighteen... and Odile's skater is twenty-eight."

"That's... worrying," admits Wesley, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe and both arms folding over his chest, "I mean, at least it sounds like they were just... trying to go along with a story and protect the good person, but, if the little critters are starting to get more aggressive..."

He shakes his head, "I'm still worried about the whole direction all this is headed in."

"I checked back there this morning and the Zamboni drivers said that when they started, there was no crack in the ice, so... it must've faded before then." Esme states. Oh yeah, as she's standing here and chatting away, there's an aura of frost that swirls around her figure. It could be easy to miss, but her being the Ice Princess and having turned into an ice person before, it might not be too out of the ordinary, but it's definitely new. Oh and there's frost dripping down off the vase of the bouquet now too. It's like everything she touches leaves behind a bit of frost.

"You think something bad is going to happen? Why? Because of your tail?"

"No, not because of my tail," Wesley shakes his head tightly, "The dreams and visions people were having were definitely on the warning side of things, and with things accelerating like this-- now we're getting little magical critters running around? I'm just worried about where this is all going. It feels like it's building up. We even did a seance last week and the results were ominous to say the least."

"You did a seance?? Who did you talk to?" That has Esme super excited and more than a little freaked out now. So much so, that she can't help but shudder as she looks around the room, "You didn't bring any haunts back with you? Did you? Wesley?"

At the question about the haunts, Wesley rolls his eyes. "No. And Jack says it wasn't a ghost anyway, it was something-- else? Anyway, it gave a general location of where the source of all this is," he admits, "But refused to tell us if it was dangerous or not. And some people found a shipwreck there, and it was the same ship as their dreams, so--"

Esme's eyes widen even wider now and she shakes her head, "It was some something else, Wesley? Like... a DEMON, maybe? Were you speaking to a Demon? And if so, maybe we shouldn't be listening to what a Demon says because they are known to be tricky and liars and...it gave you the location of the source of what? Hell?"

Now she looks a bit panicked here, "Are you all going to open up the doorway to Hell?" She then starts to pace, still holding that bouquet as he tries to think. "Um... What ship? A shipwreck? So dead people. Doomed people." There's a pause after she says this and she turns to look back at her roommate, "Should we... pack?"

"No, the--" Wesley brings a hand up to rub between his eyes, "--it wasn't a demon, Esme, and no, we're not opening the doorway to Hell. And I mean the source of magic in the islands. Haven't you wondered why all this is going on?" He gestures a bit with one hand, "I mean, you're freezing that vase."

Okay, now Esme has to stop and peer up at Wesley, "How do you know it wasn't a demon? Did it tell you that? Demons lie you know." She then blinks and nods slowly, "Because... this placed was fairy blessed? I don't know! And I didn't really question it. But then you went trying to talk to ghosts for some reason and that's dangerous!"

She then lifts the vase up once more to look at the frost forming on it. "Oh this?" She says with a smile, before handing the vase over to Wesley as if to demonstrate something, "It's not cold at all. It's like.... hmmm... an illusion? And it fades after a while too." She then sticks one of her arms out, even with the shawl still draping on it, but there's that aura of frost that swirls around her entire form, "I have this as well, if you touch me, I'm not cold. Not until I turn into my ice form anyway. It's like it's telling the world that I'm the Ice Princess."

"Yeah, not questioning why you can turn into ice," says Wesley a bit dryly, "That's the dangerous thing to me. Just going do-de-do as if everything is fine and then one day we all get eaten by a dragon or something, that's not for me, thanks. I'll keep questioning and putting pieces together the best I can..."

Esme tilts her head to the side for a moment, before she says, "Fair." She then sort sidles up to Wesley now, still looking up at him, "Are you going diving with them next time? A few of my friends went last time. If so, I'll cheer you on!"

"I don't know, nobody who was diving invited me and I don't exactly have water powers," admits Wesley with a shrug of one shoulder, his hand gesturing vaguely through the air, "My only real ability is 'I don't die easily' so it's not exactly an advantage; you'd probably be better off going with them, honestly."

"I can ask my friends to you invite you if yours aren't inviting you." Esme pipes up! Though when she hears that Wesley doesn't die easily, the smile remains on her lips and she nods her head firmly, "That's good to know! So maybe you'll last long enough to do what needs to be done at the bottom of the ocean." Looking down at her bouquet again, she then sighs, before looking over at Elmo's bedroom door. He hadn't come out this whole time, but she wanders there way to KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK now too. After a moment, she shrugs. "I guess he's working." She then gets an idea, "I know! I'm ambush him at the Midway!" And with that she skips to the front door, "I hope you feel better, Wesley. And let me know if you want to go diving with my friends next time!"