(no subject)

[fridgetothefire]

Characters: Anya and various
Open? TOTALLY OPEN
Where: The tearoom, the libraries, the halls...all over Schwannheim castle and its immediate environs.
When: All day on the 10th of Rebirth's Height.
What: Having tea, doing some research, and meeting new people =3
Warnings: Should be safe, but Anya can be a hideous person. If anything comes up, I'll edit to warn here and on the thread.



After getting her new knives with Sif, Anya sets out to explore her new surroundings. She meets Tatra in the tearoom, pours through the oddly limited volumes in the library, and wanders cheerfully around the castle and the town.

She's curious about - well, everything, about the history of the kingdom and omg dragons really and what sorts of things are the 'heroes' supposed to do, but she's charming and gracious and delighted to listen to anyone willing to spend time with her, never prying too hard or peppering with too many questions.

Comments

Tea~~~

[tatra]

Tatra waits in the tearoom, swirling her special brewed tea around in a small cup that shows off the vivid red color of the traditional concoction. Another cup sits opposite her beside an empty plate and a tray of small cookies, both sweet and salty. Since her guests began requesting snacks the serving people have done their best to be prepared.

whoot

[fridgetothefire]

Anya knocks once at the tearoom door, then slips in. Her hair is a little more neatly arranged now, and she waves, equal parts friendly and shy.

"Hi! I'm Anya, we talked? Oh man, that smells really nice."

[tatra]

Tatra stands, takes a curtsey, then smiles and gestures to the empty seat. "Welcome, miss Anya! I do hope you like it. The servants brought us some cookies as well," she noted with an even wider smile.

[fridgetothefire]

Anya manages a half-bow, half-curtsey thing, despite not wearing skirts. She takes a seat and takes her hat off, just in case that's rude.

"Thanks for inviting me," she replies. "They look great."

[tatra]

"Of course," Tatra replied enthusiastically, taking a seat herself. It was common courtesy to show hospitality in this manner. This may not have been her home, but she was given free reign of the castle and would feel remiss if she did anything less.

"I find tea can be a great comfort in unusual situations like this one."

Around the bulletin board

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Having not attended the previous night's party, Faolan was a little confused about the lack of information on the bulletin board for the day, so he stood peering up at it far longer than usual, trying to make it make sense.

And then there was a new smell. It was a human smell, but not one he'd smelled around here before. That could mean just about anything, but investigating new smells was his job as a 10 year old boy. He turned, located the source of the smell, and trotted over to look up at the woman.

whoo

[fridgetothefire]

She smiled and waved as he came over. Her sane, nurturing big-sister side had been repressed for a long, long time, but it was easier to be some faint shade of sincere with kids, especially kids that weren't family.

"Hi, kiddo. What were you looking at over there?"

[greatsquirrelhunter]

"Bulletin board. Doesn't make sense today." Faolan returned her smile. "Are new?"

[fridgetothefire]

"Yeah, I just got here this morning. I'm Anya." She offers her hand, then peers at the board.

"So what is it usually like?"

[greatsquirrelhunter]

Faolan leans and sniffs the offered hand.

"Usually says right day," he answers. "And really says things."

[like_a_gerbil]

Once Steve had figured out he wouldn't be thrown out of the castle, whether it was because he was seen with a 'prince' regularly or simply because he had been granted access to various areas, he figured that he'd better try to get more information on the place he and his team had found themselves in.

He paused in the door when he saw the young woman, smiling politely as he stepped inside. He still wasn't sure about what was considered polite in the new world he'd found himself in and decided to err on the side of caution. "Excuse me, miss. Do you mind if I use the library too?"

[fridgetothefire]

She glances up and smiles. "Oh, sure. I mean, as long as you aren't going to through a rock party in here or something."

She frowns at the stack of five copies of How to Succeed in Kingship Without Really Trying that she's accumulated.

"This library is kind of weird though. There's a lot of the same thing."

[like_a_gerbil]

It took him a few seconds to translate the strange term, his crash course in pop culture not quite giving him a definition of a 'rock party' but he had a basic idea of what she meant. "No parties. I promise."

Moving farther into the library, he eyed the stack of books she'd collected. It was odd that they were all the same, especially since he assumed that this was more of a personal library than one meant for the public to borrow from. Noting the title, he considering reading it to see if there was some significance that he didn't see offhand. "Is there any pattern to what books they have multiple copies of?"

[fridgetothefire]

"Collections of stories, mostly, except for this one. And it's hard to tell if they're fiction or non-fiction when this place is like something out of a fairy tale to start with." Her tone is neither disparaging nor delighted when she mentions fairy tales; she sounds thoughtful more than anything.

"Are you new too?"

[like_a_gerbil]

"I've been having that problem too. Everything I've been told sounds more like bedtime stories than reality." Except that this was their reality. For now at least.

"I arrived a few days ago." Smiling, he offers his hand for her to shake, hoping that it isn't making some kind of cultural blunder. "I'm Steve."

[halfwitch]

She'd flat out told the monks they couldn't make her stay during the day, promise to Sif or no, and the second she'd scarfed down breakfast she'd headed straight for the castle to try to snoop for information. Gretel had made a deal with that strange spy lady and if she was going to get her candy she'd have to do the work first. She'd been sneaking around the hallways all day with little to show for it, so by the time she heard footsteps coming down the hall she was more than ready for something interesting. She hide around a corner, peeping out to stare at Anya and trying (though failing) to stay still and not make any noise.

[fridgetothefire]

Anya giggles a little at the childish gesture, smiling and waving at the other girl.

"Hi there."

[halfwitch]

Pouting that she'd been caught, Gretel slide out from her hiding space to stand in the middle of the hall.

"What are you doing?"

[fridgetothefire]

Anya shoves her hands in her pockets, and her smile goes a little impish, like they're both in trouble together.

"Just exploring. What about you?"

[halfwitch]

"Looking for something interesting." She replied, rocking on her heels. "What are you exploring for?"

[wanderwonder]

A few hours in the castle's library was hardly enough time to conclude it held nothing of use to returning to her sister, but with the numerous copies of books, Olinda wondered if her answer didn't lie elsewhere. Libraries were supposed to be a source of knowledge, but this one...

If nothing else, she learned that the kingdom was (or had been) relatively wealthy. How else would one afford to fill the shelves with numerous copies of a single book? ("Tales Past the Wall" -- what wall? A special wall? Where? She'd have to inquire about that.)

The lack of a librarian was a shame, and Olinda found herself missing the calm and rigid confidence of Reilanin, the Golden Hour's librarian. She wondered how the werewolf was now, and whether she was, in fact, still alive. That, in turn, reminded her keenly of Moonsong's safety, and Olinda's heart grew tight. If her return depended entirely on the completion of the reason why she had been pulled here, then it would make little sense to put off saving the kingdom.

Unfortunately, Olinda knew she was unable to do this. Save a kingdom, her? The force of Moonsong's snort would send her to the moon. Thus the best option she could think of was to get in touch with the other strangers who were willing to help the kingdom of Schwanheim out. Before that, though...

She left the kitchens and made for the castle's exit. In one hand, a raw potato that she was working on, and several vegetables held to her chest with her other. The staff had looked at her strangely, but Olinda found that looking strangely back at them helped. It was just as odd, if not odder, for her to want their produce as it was for their king to snatch people from their homes!

[fridgetothefire]

Anya was just passing by, swiping a breadroll and a bit of cheese to eat on the go as she roamed around the castle gathering information. She stopped for a few minutes to chat with one of the cooks, marveling at the size and efficiency of the kitchen staff and the heat of the largest ovens. As the cook sent her on her way, laughing at the wide-eyed comparison to dragons, Anya passed by Olinda on the way out, giving her a curious look, though not a shocked one.

assuming her orb is visible. if not, lmk!

[wanderwonder]

Oh, drat-- There it was, that pull she knew so well, that pull that got her into worlds of trouble (literally.) It was difficult to resist even now.

Mid-bite, Olinda came to a still. There was a second of indecision, then she removed the potato from her mouth and smiled hesitatingly. "Hello-- ah!" This girl, she was with an orb for a necklace as well.

As if the thread of commonality had disarmed her, her guard dropped. "You are a stranger, too?"

Sure, that's fine!

[fridgetothefire]

Anya smiled and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I am. Just got here this morning. You?"

*will tense shift to past tense later, but for now..*

[shiromadoushi]

If she happens to wander outside of the town limits to the fields, she may spot a white haired young man in a stupid floppy mage hat and robes holding a short staff standing facing the woods, eyes closed in concentration.