He lifted his wife with ease – one arm under her knees, one under her arm, twirling around with her once and placing a kiss on her lips, holding her close, feeling her warmth and softness.
It’s been too long, travel was usually acceptable, but he even got a horrific headache right at that moment, so this was a very welcome-
“LET GO! CREEP!” and there was an impact on his already battered head.
And he felt dizzy. Very dizzy.
Out of reflex, his hold tightened until the world stopped spinning.
“HEY! Didn’t you HEAR me, you creeper?!”
The woman with his wife’s voice pushed against his chest. It did not truly register as a serious attempt, but something seemed to be… amiss?
He let her down on her feet very carefully, making sure she stood firmly. And then he looked at his wife’s very angry features… and for once, did not know what exactly he had done to deserve it.
“What was THAT all about! This was HARRASSMENT! How DARE you d-“
“Gabe. Gabe, you know I do that. It’s been too long. Sorry I indulge-“
“HOW do you know my NAME?!” despite the angry tone, his headache slowly subsided. And he could definitely ascertain: Gabrielle was angry.
All the love and relief of holding her in his arms slightly dissipating. Already.
She also had… painted her face?
Did he interrupt some kind of meeting? But he had been on the way to her rooms and-
There was a strange honking sound. And a whirring. Wind blew in his face. He wasn’t in the castle. Not at all.
His eyes locked on the lady in front of him again: “We… are married, my loveliest of Gabrielle’s. Even if you don’t want to acknowledge it sometimes.
Hs eyes flitted from side to side. There was still a lot of stone around. He stood on… an ornamental walkway? Made of stone? There was a very flat black mass next to it. There were white stripes.
There was light. Vey bright. Flickering slightly.
“WHAT?! I’ve never once seen you in my LIFE! What kind of stunt are you trying to PULL?!”
He wanted to pull her towards him. That’s the only thing he wanted to pull.
“… Gabrielle Jibril. Whatever cruel prank you are playing at here… I haven’t seen you in almost four months and I am very tired from the travels… could we just-”
“Again, I do NOT know you! Whatever delusions you may have, this is not going to fly!” she batted the hand away he had reached out to her.
And he simply stood there. Maybe looking somewhat dumbfounded, looking at his obviously rejected hand. The light was still strange and flickering.
When he looked up, he saw a ball of light. Made of… glass?
… several, if he looked around.
And there was a… wheeled moving cabin. Moving. And going VERY fast… past them.
It followed the lines on the black mass.
There had been light in front of it, too. Shining at them.
“What are you looking at?! Have you hit your head or something?!”
With a frown, his eyes wandered back to his… strangely-clad wife. The clothing was… very strange, to say the least.
“Does… err… is everything around here… normal to you? The strange lights? The thing that just passed us?”
“What?! Ech. You DID hit your head, didn’t you?!” She didn’t look any less angry.
“I… did not. I’m simply not familiar with the surroundings. I… don’t really know how I… got here?”
“NOT making any points in your favour, buddy”
For all she complained not to be Gabrielle, she certainly had the same mannerisms. The same-
Ugh. He just wanted to hold her.
“I… don’t have head trauma. I can prove it to you. Climbing the building? Walking on hands? It’s not something you can do with no balance whatsoever” The building looked… strange. But there were enough handholds for him to get it done.
“And then it’s my fault it gets worse – no thank you,” heh. That was… actually a little nicer than Gabe would usually be.
She looked him up and down, then made a face: “You gotta see a doctor,” she said, pulling out a rectangular thing from her person… it lit up as well. Like the ball above him. It really was all very strange, “Shit. It’s past 22. Fine. I’ll bring you to a friend… it’s… probably better”
He looked down on himself. She’d probably seen the blood. Mh.
“I… thank you?” She was certainly just as kind as Gabrielle. And… looked and sounded like her and… what in the world was going on?
“BeHAVE!” She said, slapping at his hand again. He had reached out again. Because he couldn’t help it. This time, he actually pulled it back“ And follow me, but don’t try anything. I do have pepper spray with me!
He nodded. Slightly amused that any kind of spray was supposed to be a warning for anything.
She also walked like Gabe.
What in the world was happening.
