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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[ Or maybe it was nothing but trouble for the old man. He doesn't say anything to her regarding that, instead frowning and moving on. ]

We don't know if creatures here have rabies or spread disease yet, huh?

No. There were giant worms two months ago that were poisonous, though.

. . . I guess that's not too weird. . .

They also regenerated unless you set them on fire.

[ He still manages to not think this is too weird. But he comes from a world where only a handful of ships can attack monsters trying to destroy humanity, so, uh. ]

Were you okay during that?

I got caught out with a few other people when they first started showing up, but yeah -- it turned out okay, for me.

[ Not for whoever the worms ate, though. :c ]