1 ❀ ( video / action ) open to both courts!

[snipers]

[ well this is a fine few days yukari's been having. first she gets kidnapped and dumped in the middle of some strange forest that doesn't even remotely resemble any of the forests back home (something about it just screams 'supernatural' to her, and not in any way she's familiar with). then she meets up with some odd old woman in the forest who offered her a place to stay and something to eat; you know, the basics to make sure she didn't do something like get eaten by a grue while lost in the woods. at the time it had taken some plying to get yukari agree to staying in a creepy old place in the woods, but after her stomach growled — loudly, as she hadn't eaten anything since before her trip into tartarus — she knew it was useless to try and fight a kind offer.

now here she is making her way through la llorona again, having left the house about an hour ago after a nap that lasted ten days — not that yukari is at all aware of this right now. for all she knows, it's only december second, and where the small cottage used to be now lies broken and collapsed trees. though she felt her heart stop in her chest upon seeing the sudden absence of company in a spot she was so sure she had slept in not hours before, yukari hustles through the underbrush, knuckles white as she clutches her bow in one hand and fiddles with her locket in another. there has to be something about this thing since it was given to her moments after arriving. the imps were no help, laughing and playing keep-away with the object until yukari fell into a deep snow drift, and they vanished before explaining anything, nothing in evidence of their existance save the map that slowly tumbled down through the air to rest on the snow a few feet away.

she shivers in her coat at the memory of it, rolling her shoulders back to adjust the way the coat grips her, hoping to use friction to keep her skin from freezing. ]

Ugh...

[ the video feed opens up with the sound of a shivering, unhappy girl letting out a sigh as she continues to trek through crunching snow and snapping twigs. in the background there's the sound of a creek nearby, and if the continued noise is any indication, yukari happens to be following it, she hopes, out of the woods. ]

I think I can safely say I hate the woods. [ yukari, are you muttering to yourself? you're muttering to yourself. you should see to that. ] Hah, I'm sooo glad our leader never suggested camping as a way to build up team ... team... — [ she trails off with another huff ] Ugh! It's so cold I can barely think! Seriously, who's bright idea was it to drp me out here in my school uniform, huh!?

[ finally, the locket swings around to show yukari in all her pink cardigan'd glory, bright red bow peeking out from under the collar of her coat, brown eyes wide as she inspects the locket and crap, it's active, isn't it? if she's right in her assumption about this thing, then... ]

Oh geeze... How long has this—? [ she shakes her head, snowflakes puffing up from her hair and falling down to her shoulders. ] Hey, my name is Yukari Takeba and... I think I'm lost. [ beat ] No, scratch that. I'm very sure I'm lost. I got dumped out here yesterday [ actually it was ten days ago, but she remains unaware of this fact ] with a map but no GPS so, heh, looks like the map's no good to me if I don't know where I am. [ but she doubts anyone could help with that, so she lets that be ] But um... I do have some questions, so... if anyone could answer them, that'd be... great...

[ something catches her eye and the locket as well; high walls and tall trees and a great big imposing fence surrounding... something. jogging forward and to the side just a bit, yukari catches sight of château du rêveur, and she spends a long moment just staring at the building. ]

... 'Kay, first question: Who builds a mansion like this in the middle of the woods? This's like something out of a western fairy tale...

[ and with that, the feed cuts out! ]

( ooc; open to action to anyone around in la llorona or château du rêveur! )

Comments

video.

[winterwork]

Wow, you are making a terrible first impression. Would you prefer a boiling desert setting instead?

[GO AHEAD. KEEP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE COLD. Never mind that this was the girl he said he'd help look for or something. Have an asshole spirit to start.]

video.

[snipers]

[ ... wow, you know what, jack? she does NOT need your sass right now, and she comes equipped to return it. ]

Normally I prefer autumn, and I don't mind winter, but it's usually when I have something decent to wear!

[ B( ]

It was almost spring a couple days ago, 'kay?

video.

[winterwork]

Sorry to say, little miss. You're stuck in a winter wonderland for a few more months and it's only gonna get worse.

[BECAUSE HE'LL MAKE SURE OF THAT. Oh wait, now that he's paying attention to what she's wearing. Someone said something about some lost pink girl.]

Oh, hey. I think I met your boyfriend. He was yammering about looking for you.

VIDEO;

[slugout]

Jesus, Yukari, where've you been? I've been lookin' all over for you! I mean, shit's haunted, but it's not that haunted!

video. 1/2

[snipers]

[ what the— ]

video.

[snipers]

[ kjdsfklsdf JUST HER LUCK ]

Shut up, Stupei!

[ don't SAY THAT when she's 99.9% sure that she just spent the night in a haunted cabin ]

video.

[slugout]

Why'd you head off on your own without looking around? I was at that stupid castle for days before I found out you were here...

video;

[notyetlegend]

Mind th' bandersnatch. He's young so he's a bit jumpy.

[She can't help herself.]

video;

[snipers]

[ ... INNER CRYING ]

The what? Is that some sorta... small, fluffy and excitable creature?

[ oh god please don't be dangerous ]

video;

[notyetlegend]

Bandersnatch. It's a species of bear.

[Said as calmly as possible.]

He's just a cub though so he probably won't do much damage.

[There's a yet on the end there.]

video;

[individualist]

I think you can get clothing a little more appropriate for the season...I mean, once you're out of the forest.

I stuck with what I had though.

[Still wearing her own school uniform she arrived in.]

video;

[snipers]

[ yukari lets out a frustrated whine. ]

You must be somewhere real warm, then.

[ standing in knee-deep snow with only a mini-skirt protecting your legs from the weather? not the best way to meet the new world. ]

But hey, I'm taking that to mean there's somewhere to shop around here.

[ which is good GIRL NEEDS TO BLOW OFF SOME STEAM. ]

video;

[individualist]

I'm just...really good at handling the cold, actually.

[Inherent Resist All for good measure.]

Still, I can't say I'm sure, but it'd only make sense for them to have something like that. I can't imagine everyone makes their own clothes.

action; idk let me know if you want anything changed!!

[liven]

[ Shijima misses the locket entry. She likes to listen to it sometimes, to open it up and see if anyone is speaking so that she can hear, but other times she simply shoves it away in a pocket and forgets about it. This day she hasn't listened to it at all, really. Instead she's stalked through the woods, technically hunting the Hart but mostly hunting entertainment. She's already run into a few other people, and observed more. While she isn't opposed to the hunt of the Hart, Shijima also isn't really trying her hardest to catch or kill the thing.

It's more interesting to hunt other prey. That she intends to eat. Or, alternately, that she'd heard about earlier. Pink sweater. Archery. Bad attitude. Shijima unceremoniously leaps down to the ground near Yukari, from up in the trees. ]

Found you. [ She sounds so smug about it, too. ] See? Of course I'm better than a werewolf.

[ fuck dogs tbh cats are better in all the ways ]

action; YOU'RE GOOD.

[snipers]

[ so hey, here's a funny picture: yukari being so tense from her run-in with a possible ghost earlier and trying to figure out the best way to go about entering this huge mansion and its heavily fortified surroundings, that she almost jumps out of her skin when shijima drops down beside her. as well trained as she is in fighting shadows, there are still some things that can easily startle yukari. women jumping down from high branches? definitely one of those things.

she lets out a shriek and instinctively leaps back a few feet — and for all the good it does her, just sends her right onto her butt in the middle of another snow drift. there she remains for almost a minute, dusting off the snow and trying to untangle herself from roots so that she can stand up again. ]

What— [ oof, tripping forward a few steps, now looking cold and wet. ] What're you talking about?

action;

[liven]

[ Shijima is completely unapologetic about this...sorry, Yukari. If she were going to be apologetic, she wouldn't randomly leap out of trees at people. At least it is not a malicious tree-leaping. Having located Yukari, Shijima seems pretty content to just sort of crouch down nearby, staring at the human girl.

She found the person. That was exactly what she offered to do; no more, no less. ]

"Yuka-tan". [ That's what he'd called her, at first. And then - ] Yukari. I found you.

[ That much was readily evident...a more useful explanation might be useful at this point, but cats are not always the most useful of creatures. Shijima seems to feel this is adequate. ]

Action (and Steve might be showing up later in the thread if that's okay)

[wipedclean]

[They've only been at the manor a couple of days, but he's been through it a few times already, memorizing the layout.

When Yukari arrives he's walking the perimeter of the place, noting the walls and fortifications, checking the defenses. It's something he can do easily, even despite still having his metal arm in a sling.

He turns the corner and sees her, stopping, watching her. He doesn't make an effort to hide, standing in plain sight, just watching her.

She doesn't immediately appear to be a threat, but then, you can't ever be sure.

action; totally okay!!

[snipers]

[ yukari knows better than to simply stand still for the rest of her life, so after her post she begins to walk around the perimeter as well, checking to see if she can find a "front door" or somewhere she can knock and request entrance. maybe she can hang her socks to dry by a fireplace. this house looks like it's got at least one or twelve.

and that's when this stranger rounds the corner, and yukari spots him in the distance. for a second she brightens up because actual people she can talk to!! but after a few strides, her steps slow, and she takes a good long look at the person just a few yards away.

metal arm, well-muscled, tall; he looks dangerous, but so did shinjiro-senpai at first, and he turned out to be a fluffy teddy bear underneath that sour attitude of his. not that yukari's expecting the same from this guy, but... well, looks can be deceiving.

( absently, she wonders if he's an android like aigis, but she'll save that question for later. )

rolling her shoulders back, she pulls a grin back onto her face and strides forward, trying to look as friendly as possible despite the tension running through her back from the cold around her. ]

Hi! [ that's a good start. ] My name's Yukari, and ... I'm pretty lost. I got dropped out here, about a day's journey away and...

[ her shoulders hunch, and she shivers again. ]

Look, I'm really cold and I just need a few minutes to situate myself and warm up. Can I come in?

[wipedclean]

[He watches her silently, tilts his head, then shrugs with his one good shoulder. The other doesn't move, since his metal arm apparently doesn't work around here, and it's held in front of him by a sling. He looks at the manor briefly, then looks back at the girl.]

It's not my house.

action;

[mdma]

[effy is pretty close to calling someone on her locket about getting out of la llorona until she comes across yukari. she stops in her tracks, boots crunching over the snow, to make sure she's not a threat. with her bow and arrow, she looks like she could very well be on her way back from the hunt, but ...something seems not right.]

Hey, you alright?

[yukari you look kind of panicked are you okay]

action;

[snipers]

[ the cold air is a shock to her lungs when yukari gasps again, and she tightens her grip on her bow in case she needs it. ]

H-uh? [ but oh, there's no reason to be that uptight, and yukari relaxes as much as she can despite the shivers that still roll down her spine. ] Yeah, I'm all right, just looking for someplace warm to get to.

video;

[aureinsof]

[He thinks she means that as a seriously question.]

Maybe they're a very rich lumberjack.

video;

[snipers]

[ joke's on both of them, i suppose: she did mean it as a serious question. ]

... I dunno, there doesn't seem to be a lot of wood in this building. Mostly stone.

video;

[boutant]

Um. I do?

[ AWKWARD WAVE ]

It was part of a boon.

video;

[snipers]

[ there's a momentary pause as yukari tries to decide whether she wants to believe this claim or not. then again, no one else has taken credit for this gorgeous piece of architecture, so yukari does the one thing she can think of at first:

she sighs in relief. ]

Oh, thank goodness. You're not a beast.