justonetruth | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

[You can smell smoke.

This is not usually a good development, so it's natural that no matter where you are in the mansion, you'd stop what you're doing and look around. Maybe glance towards the open window and catch sight of a plume of grey smoke in the distance. Glancing out of the window, you can see that there is a small -- shed? shack? At this distance it's hard to tell -- building erected on the lawn.

In front of it a small campfire is burning brightly. There's no sign of anyone tending it. Do you invest--

Sorry. Silly question! Forgot who I was talking to a moment there.

Of course you investigate.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Not if you don't want to.

[...wh...at... slowing even more at all that]

Centaurs with claws? And— nurses?

That's the names people gave them, 'cause they had to call them something. I think there might be other types too, only not everyone gets to see them.

I don't know why though. Spiders make sense -- they're little and have lots of legs too, and they climb anywhere. But I haven't seen a real nurse, and Kaito-nii says that centaurs aren't real.

What in below are they?

Isn't that rude?

They don't sound even remotely human, or like anything else I've ever heard of!

But when I asked Ran-neechan, she told me off!

[props free hand on her hip!]

I still look like a lady, don't I?

Very much like a lady! You've even got a bonnet.

[Shyly]

It looks really nice!

[This one would look just like any other Aoko, if it wasn't for the scars—claw marks—raked across her right forearm, and the heavily weaponized mop she's carrying: staff-quality wood, with a steel tip and steel core.

… Definitely going to investigate that.]

Hello~?

[Conan's returned to his shack and fire after a tour of the mansion that's given him a lot of disquietening food for thought -- so a familiar face is very welcome.]

Aoko-neechan!

[There's a pause as he takes in the scars.]

You are Aoko-neechan?

Ah…

One of my names is Aoko, but I'm not the one you're looking for. Sorry.

You don't need to be sorry. It's hard to tell, from looking.

Mm, it can be. You can call me Isabelline instead, if you want—or Isa.

Isabelline or Isa. I'm Conan.

Nice to meet you, Conan-kun.

[Conan nodded, inwardly debating. He'd come back, intending to cook the rabbit he'd caught earlier over the fire, but whether there'd be enough for both of them, or if Isabelline would even want to eat fire-cooked rabbit after what he'd seen in the mansion ...]

Are you hungry?

Only if you have enough for leftovers.

[Glancing him over. She's skinnier than she should be, herself, but him…]

[Conan looks relatively healthy, if more tanned and grubbier than he is usally -- but this kid is never going to look anything but weedy, alas.]

It's rabbit, so the fire needs to burn down, and even then it'll be a while to cook. We can look for something to go with it.

Alright! That should be fun.

[Conan's encouraged by Isabelline's smile.]

Do you remember how to look for mushrooms?

[Guess who is still struggling with this alternate universe concept?]

[she doesn't really mind it; this place can be ridiculously confusing, especially for the first few visits.]

I got pretty good at foraging while I was in Sabra.

What's Sabra?

[Conan's going to shift his dead rabbit inside, out of the sun, and check that the fire is still burning out. He doesn't like to leave it, but he's done all he can to make sure it's unlikely to spread. Preparations made, he'll lead the way across the lawn to where a --

How long has there been a wood there?]

Somewhere else. It's, um, it's hard to explain.

[… … Well, then. If she hadn't been stuck in the Mansion for a while now, she would've found that more disturbing. As it is, she just gives it a determined look.]

Do you want me to look for anything more than mushrooms?

Sometimes you can find fruit, berries, or birds nests.

[Conan might have shunned the mansion, but he's explored the woods enough to feel confident in them.] I checked that direction before, so let's try this way.

[Will follow him, grip on her mopstaff tight, but otherwise easy-going and trusting.]

Is there anything dangerous in here?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 3 of 12