eachdraidh | 001 ♝ video ♝ open to both courts

[ While the small stack of books in front of her have certainly come from Caer Scima's library, Ariadne is in her room within the castle, seated on her bed. Asleep with its nose sticking out from her back, head resting on an open book, is a bandersnatch cub -- rather like a cat, it appears to have decided to 'help' her research. ]

If you could protect something -- say, a building -- from anything, what would you protect it from? I've thought of fire, high winds, earthquakes, mosquitoes, falling trees, and hail so far.

[ In the background, the door to her room appears to open slightly; with the wind, perhaps. ]

I'm an architecture student, back home, and there are a lot of possibilities here.

[ She looks like she's about to say more, but just then a glowing red imp leaps onto her head, screeching and yanking at her hair. The bandersnatch cub jerks awake and Ariadne screams, the locket flipped over so that all that's shown for a moment are the sheets on her bed. It's turned up again a moment later, falling onto the floor and on its side this time, followed by a loud thwack.

The imp falls to the ground, dazed; in the next moment, a thick, leather-bound book with a pawprint on its spine slams into it a second time before the bandersnatch cub races forward and grabs onto the imp's legs, shaking its little head and growling in a way that would be adorable if it weren't trying to maim something. ]

Oh, don't- [ before the locket is closed by the hand reaching for it, there's the sight of broken skin and blood -- sharp little imp teeth had found their mark. ]

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He's too little to think of that too much anyway. [ Aw but he's so cute, Greg! ]

It seems the saddle thought it was the other way around.

[Yeah, real cute, but everyone knows cuteness is just camouflage, a way to lull you into complacency. Once you let your guard down...bam.

Of course, it's possible the same could be said for Ariadne.]

He won't stay little for long. I sure hope you've got him housebroken. Otherwise it's going to get messy.

[He pretends to look insulted.] Well, sure, but who're you going to believe? Me or the saddle?

[ she'll never teeell ]

I'm working on it, at least. It's only been a few days.

[ And, laughing- ]

Well, I guess I can't talk to the saddle, can I?

Good luck with that. [It is a wild animal after all.] Though if it doesn't work, he'll be in 'good' company. I'm still not convinced the trolls are housebroken.

Hey, around here, anything's possible...though a talking saddle would've made for a very strange trip. It would certainly put a whole new twist on being called an asshole.

At least they're being more well-behaved than some of the imps currently are. [ Small mercies. ]

If my saddle started talking, I honestly think I'd just... walk.

Tell me about it. Anyone know what's got the little bastards all stirred up?

Trust me--if you were traveling to the station, you'd ride, talking saddle or not. It's not just the distance either. There's some scary stuff out there. [Not that there isn't scary stuff everywhere but at least in the castle you've some chance of defending yourself. Or hiding really well.]

This is the first one I've seen -- are they doing the same thing there, too?

[ She had thought it was just the one, but if not... ]

I heard a tree tried to eat you. [ UNSURE FACE ]

I saw a couple of them acting particularly vicious earlier today. I though maybe they were just premenstrual. [Yeah, he's being rude for rudeness' sake there. He's not even sure imps are sexually differentiated. It's not like he's gotten close enough to check.] But if they're acting up at the castle, too, maybe there's something more to it.

[He just line-faces at the locket. Of all the things that happened on his journey, that's the one he'd prefer not become public knowledge. It's a little embarrassing, okay?]

Something like that. I mean, I ended up inside a tree. Not sure what it was planning to do with me, though.

[ Very funny, House. Ariadne rolls her eyes, but seeing as it's very much a Him thing to say, doesn't comment on it. ] Are they glowing red, too?

[ She is fairly certain the glowing red part isn't normal, after all. Of course, she would have thought that about trees eating people, too. ]

Probably better not to know.

Yeah, I would say there's a definite glow involved. [As if the damn little buggers weren't repellant enough. Now they're lit up like a bunch of evil Christmas elves.]

I didn't want to stick around long enough to find out but I'm sure it wasn't going to be pleasant. Daud set the tree on fire...which would not have been my first choice of escape plan but it worked out so no harm, no foul, I guess.

[ everyone she knows is getting set on fire wtf ]

Well, tell him I said thank you for getting you out of the tree and not giving you any horrible burns.

Sure, I'll run right out and do that. Maybe get him a box of chocolates, too. [He doesn't do gratitude, Ariadne, not even by proxy. Just imagine what would happen if he started. People might start expecting it and that would just be awkward.

Also, he'd have to acknowledge that you care enough to be grateful and that would be even more awkward.]

So what else is going on? You mastered that invisibility thing yet?

Edited 2014-06-19 01:01 (UTC)

Try a fruit basket. [ She hadn't actually thought that he would go and thank Daud, but at least now he knows that she'd care if something happened to him. ]

I think it'll be a long time before I can sufficiently say I've mastered it, but- I've gotten pretty good.

Good idea. Chocolates might send the wrong message. A fruit basket is perfect for every occasion.

Hey, you'll be spying in the showers before you know it. [Let's face it, if House could make himself invisible, that's what he'd do. He'd certainly be tempted at the very least.]

And you can still send the wrong message with fruit, if you try hard enough.

[ Not that she's suggesting you wear a whipped cream bikini with cherry nipples for Daud -- though if you do, House, she wants a picture. ]

I think I'll pass. No guarantee of who you'll see, and a high probability of slipping and cracking my head open on the floor.

Wouldn't have to try all that hard actually. [Whipped cream isn't really his thing. Obscenely suggestive handling of a banana however, is entirely possible.

Either way, he has a strict no picture policy so you're out of luck, Ariadne. Though, on second thought, that might actually a bit of good luck for you.]

Good point. If it's the latter, you could find yourself in a really embarrassing situation. If it's the former, you could be psychologically scarred for life.

[ That depends entirely on what she wants to do with the picture. She is not above blackmail. ]

Or a combination of the two. [ Thanks House, now she's thinking about trolls in the shower. ]

[Nice try but no cigar...or any other phallic symbol of your choice. In order to blackmail someone, they have to feel embarrassed or in the wrong. House has no shame and he's never wrong.]

That would be disturbing. [He's pretty sure trolls don't even know what a shower is but there are plenty of other odd looking creatures with presumably equally odd looking bits under their skirts.] I suppose that means you'll have to use your superpower for more legitimate purposes, like stealing and getting into clubs when you've forgotten your fake ID.

[ Alternately, she can just threaten other people with it. ]

Hey, I'm twenty-three. [ Even if she looks twelve. ] Only one of those applies.

001 ♝ video ♝ open to both courts

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