You're My Friend, They're My Friends (IC Intro)

[whimsicalism]

Whatever you were doing before, wherever you were before this moment it doesn't matter. The world seems to grow dark around you: an almost inaudible giggle floats to your year before you lose consciousness completely. Other it belonging to a child there's no defining characteristics of the voice. Maybe you just imagined it? Even if you did, one thing is clear when you wake up.

You're not where you were before. The bedroom you find yourself is plush and well decorated, almost like a fancy hotel or apartment. That might be little comfort considering that it's clear that you don't recognize it. Before you rush off to explore your surroundings there's a message pinned to the door to the hall.

From the desk of the Queen:

Hello, my friends dear.

I can only hope you enjoy your new life here. For those you stirring from sleep, this is my promise that I will keep: I will let you go if that is what you desire but the price for it will be quite dire.

For my rules are quite clear that I don't wish you to leave. Yet I will, if you can take the grief.

If you wish to know my name and the reasons to my game, meet in the audience hall for tea. Tea, yes, a grand tea party for my grand guests! Cake and sweets are what we need to meet. In an hour we both will be there, no peeking before!

Signed,

Instead of a signature, there's a small feline paw print underneath as well as some strange sort of heart crest?

There seems to be others moving outside your room. Perhaps it's time to explore, to see if anyone else knows what's going on. Don't slip on the playing card (an ace of hearts, with the heart shape replaced by the strange crest). That there's a scribbled phrase of 'dormez-vous? dormez-vous?' on the card but surely one of the others slipped it under your door.

This Castle seems like a strange place ot live in... yet for now it's quiet and peaceful, even if the Audience Hall is locked.

Comments

[theawfulaccount]

Apologies, I've never... seen someone like you before.

[ It is lucky, for the sake of this conversation, that Violet's upbringing trained her to be both very polite and very open to new ideas. ]

Are you not familiar with people like me, either?

[soverainty]

... Of course I know what reality is supposed to be like.

[There's a note in it that's both confused and a little mixed up, because the fact of the matter is that this... is considerably more confusing than reality or even the simulations she's used to.

She might just be clinging to the parts of it she sort of understands. Sometimes it's just easier to explain things with science-fiction or futuristic whatever.]

That's not what I meant, but I guess you know that now. I'm glad... I just wanted to figure out if there was some way to leave the castle. But I guess this is too obvious...

[undershadow]

Really confused and annoyed about being here? Yeah, I am.

[ And she's just going to let that... sit... everyone can simply marinate in this weird awkward feeling for a few seconds before Lena adds: ]

And a duck. That's what you actually meant, right?

[battlestations]

[Nigel pulls down the shades for a moment. His eyes are bl..............ue!!]

Happy now?

[soverainty]

I-- Well--

[She seems totally flustered to be called out!! But she was flustered in the first place, so it's just worse now. Can't believe the duck is the one with more composure here. Niko flails around for a moment before putting her face in her hands and mumbling.]

--I'm sorry. It's definitely both, right? I didn't mean to offend you, but I'm not sure what to do in a situation like this?

[This goes like twice or thrice over right now. Also, she's peeking through her fingers, because she can't help hrself.]

[undershadow]

... Okay.

[ She pauses, blinking upward and weighing how offended she should actually be by this, considering she has no idea what a Pokemon is. By the end of this intro log, she'll definitely be falling on the end of "not really offended at all, none of these people have ever seen a duck before and it's a problem", but...! ]

So, what's a duck supposed to look like? Honest question.

[whimsicalism]

[It's back to normal as soon as she enters the castle once more.]

1/2

[golden_king]

[ Oh no. It wouldn't be a chat at all. Nosiree.

At least this Gil wasn't hope-despair-obsessed like a certain non-fate Servant. Small mercies. ]

That's exactly what I was thinking.

2/2

[golden_king]

...Alright, last one to the next room is an unbelievably huge slowpoke!

[ He'll shoot off towards the Dining Hall which wasn't that far anyway. Surely with such a short distance Nagisa wouldn't have trouble keeping up? ]

[golden_king]

Yeah, so definitely not a coma, like I said. I don't really feel all that different, so it'd really be probably just a few days at most...unless shenanigans because of the memory thing, but let's pretend it's a more simpler solution for now.

[ Here they were brainstorming such things like it was such a casual thing. Well, they've got so much time on their hands, so... ]

Even something like that would be new to me. The people I know back home would've had a fit if they knew I was caught up in all of this.

Anyway, it's definitely unfair. I wonder if it's a lost cause to change our captor's mind at this point...mm, probably so, right? Since they went through the trouble to bring us here in the first place.

[whimsicalism]

[This area is clear for now!

Now, for the library most of the non-fiction books are gone but there's the Zoobooks. Time for some cross-reference!]

[soverainty]

[Okay!! Time to put on her researcher cap and--

Well, no, sadly her outfit doesn't come with any feathered caps but at least she has something spiffy and swishy to serve as a labcoat stand-in! Niko will mosey her way over to the reference section -- wait, why are all the books gone?? -- and promptly gets into like, a wall of Zoobooks here.]

Mmm, if I just had my Neurolinker or any kind of network connection, this would be a piece of cake.

[She's Unsure about how reliable the Zoobooks are but beggars can't be choosers.

Just going to flip through a couple and hope the pictures are high-res enough to identify a tooth.]

[byzer0]

If I was trying, you'd know. [ That kind of sounds like a challenge, his one eye bright, tail swishing once. ]

[caligulass]

Yes, I can. I'd need a gate to do it, so I can't do it on a whim, if that's what you're hoping for.

[whimsicalism]

[That is a mystery that probably will be solved at some point but maybe has something to do with that big bloodstain Allen found earlier there but, well, ignoring that!

Judging by the tooth itself and if she has some basic knowledge, it's large and sharp enough to be some kind of predator. It might take some time but a few candidates become obvious.

It's some kind of big cat.]

[soverainty]

Oh! I thought there might be, like, a lump on our heads or maybe we'd feel sleepier if it was drugs or something... but I really hope it isn't any of that.

[Not that the alternatives are all that much better but like. Who would like the idea of being out cold for (relative) ages while your kidnapper did whatever? She is just going to brainstorm in another direction, that seems like a plan.]

... It's probably messy back home, too. [there's something like a sigh in her voice as she says that, but it's probably more understated than whatever Gil is imagining] But a game like this isn't any good at all, you're right. The conditions are already so harsh. I don't know what to expect when we meet them.

[soverainty]

[Oho. In that case she's actually going to look closer at the tooth and we'll just get this out of the way real quick, does it look like a leopard tooth? She may or may not have a pretty good acquaintance with those.

If not she's just going to keep digging.]

[whimsicalism]

[It's not a leopard. Actually, something she might realize is that while the shape fits a big cat it doesn't seem right for a full grown one. It's not big enough, for one. It's rather clean, too? That is, it's not yellowed from age.]

[byzer0]

Eh? [ . . . ]

Woah, you really ARE alone, alone!!! If you don't know what that is, too bad~. You probably won't live too long in a game like this, but we'll give you a head start.

[ This explains nothing, alas. ]

[soverainty]

[Some kind of baby big cat. Is that what's throwing off her research??

... Does she need to wait and try to determine if their local Castle Cat lost a tooth?? You never know, even if ye olde regular Cheshire Cat doesn't usually count as a big predator of any sort. There's a brief frown but...

If she keep going with the Zoobooks, is there anything else to be gleaned there?]

[whimsicalism]

[That lion looks like it could be a match if it were a younger lion, maybe.]

[soverainty]

[... There wasn't a lion in the tale of Alice in Wonderland, was there?

It's really hard to make sense of this eclectic collection of objects now that she's really putting stuff together, but -- well, it's early yet. She's just going to make a quick mental note before tucking the tooth away again.

There's still the matter of the animal hair but that'll have to wait until they start forming bands all get together and she can get a sense of people...]

[byzer0]

I just said it, didn't I? And she's a kidnapper so who cares? [ Natsuo crouches down to look at the bits and bobs too, not hesitating to inspect the wreckage he just lovingly created. ]

No, there are more? Where?

[soverainty]

I know that... but even if you don't like the owner, or even if you think the tapes are useless, they could still have clues in them. I think. Just breaking them like that is bad in all kinds of ways...

[She is probably wasting her breath but y'know. Somebody has to say it!!

Y'all so loveless for these poor items. Niko hesitates for a moment; the tapes are in the room, certainly, and they're not about to get more broken, but she's going to hedge a bit first!]

I found all sorts of tapes in here, that someone was watching. There were even a few hidden under the floor.

[whimsicalism]

[There was one in Through the Looking Glass, though it was a full-grown one.

But, yes, it seems that you have gained all you can from your odd treasure trove! This is clear.]