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Post by kaybeezy on Sept 9, 2009 18:57:49 GMT -5
Chrystabelle had been walking around for awhile, and had no plausible conclusions. She had, however made a few theories.
One: She was dreaming. That would explain so much, from the new surroundings to the nice clothing. She'd didn't think this was true, as her bare feet were sore from hitting the concrete.
Two: She was dead. If that was true, she couldn't' say she wasn't disappointed. Her death must have been incredibly boring if she could not even remember it. The steady rhythm of her heart contradicting that theory anyway.
Three: She had no idea. Luckily, she could live with that.
A little ways down the street, Chrystabelle spied a park. She began to run, using small time skips to arrive faster. Her last memories involved a park, and it felt appropriate to return to one.
As she entered, the cool grass tickled her feet, and she shifted a slow stroll. This wasn't her park, but it was peaceful all the same. She didn't feel as solitary as she had wandering in the streets. She spotted an idyllic blue lake, and sat down as close to the edge as she could. Looking at her reflection in the water, she could only wonder what was going on.
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Post by Trace on Sept 9, 2009 19:14:40 GMT -5
Rosa and Maz were taking a slow walk through the park when they both sensed her aura as she arrived. Viscum was elsewhere, still typing up some loose ends while learning about the new status-quo of Animus city. Rosa and Maz were surprised to say the least when they saw the girl, being able to take notice of her time skips while the mindless around her didn't even comprehend what was going on around them.
"She's new to Animus." Maz stated quietly, being sure that the new girl wouldn't notice her as she made her way through the park. "I can still sense Room 4 on her aura."
Rosa nodded at Maz's remarks, fully aware of what Room 4 meant. It only remained in a person's aura for a brief time when they arrived in Animus, and was only distinguishable by those who had not entered Animus through the room, which the majority of current residents obviously had. The siblings approached the new girl as she sat at the lake, apparently lost in thought. That didn't surprise either of them, it had to be confusing just waking up in a place like Animus.
"You must be new." Rosa said cheerfully as she sat down next to the new girl. "My name's Rosa, pleasure to meet you, and this is my brother Maz." Rosa finished, pointing to Maz who stood behind them.
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Post by kaybeezy on Sept 9, 2009 19:30:34 GMT -5
Chrystabelle turned away from the water, staring at the two siblings. "I don't usually dream of strangers, so this must be Death after all." She blinked and covered her mouth, embarrassed by her behavior. "Sorry about that. The words always seem to slip out before I can even think them. I meant to say 'I'm Chrystabelle, nice to meet you'." She smiled brightly, realizing that her theories could be proven or rejected by the two. "Could you please tell me where we are?"
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Post by Trace on Sept 9, 2009 19:46:58 GMT -5
"Could you please tell me where we are?"
Rosa and Maz shared a look and both started grinning. How were they meant to explain this without making the girl think either they or her may be completely crazy.
"Well, its a bit of a long explanation, but the good news is your not dead. That's always a good thing to start with I find." Rosa said with a chuckle. "The bad news however is that your in a completely separate plane of existence with no way of getting back to wherever you come from."
Maz scratched his head and his grin turned into a small smile. Having heard Rosa's explanation he realized that while it sounds plausible it also sounded a little but crazy. None the less it was the truth and Chrystabelle would need to accept it before they could help her adapt to her new surroundings.
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Post by kaybeezy on Sept 9, 2009 20:00:22 GMT -5
"Well, that's a relief. I wasn't quite ready to be dead yet." She stood up and stretched, shutting her eyes tightly. She took a slow and steadying breath. "As for the never getting back...well, does anyone really know where they come from? I've always wondered if people existed before they were conceived and born. Wouldn't that be something, to have a life before you're even alive?" Chrystabelle opened her eyes and clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm rambling, sorry. What did you say, a separate plane of existence? That's not so bad. Why are you here?"
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Post by Trace on Sept 9, 2009 20:07:46 GMT -5
"Why are you here?"
"We were brought here to work for..." Rosa stopped mid sentence. She didn't want to overload Chrystabelle with too much information at once, and Animus being a completely separate being would certainly be too much for one person to take at once. "the city, to keep it safe. The real question is why are you here?"
Maz looked at the girl, unsure of what to think of her. Obviously she had some kind of power, for he had sensed her time skips fairly easily, but other than that she seemed normal and otherwise a nice normal person, which were becoming increasingly hard to find around Animus recently. It didn't help that Chrystabelle wasn't too hard on the eyes either, although Maz knew far too well that looks could be deceiving.
"People don't end up in this city for no reason you see," Maz continued where Rosa left off. "Everyone who comes here through Room 4 has a reason for being here, although that can often be difficult to work out."
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Post by kaybeezy on Sept 9, 2009 20:23:38 GMT -5
Chrystabelle bit her lip, frowning. "I don't know why I'd be here. You know how in stories, someone will wish they'd never been born and then poof, wish granted? I've never asked for that. I've had a happy life..." She looked down again at the fine white dress, the neat and manicured nails. "But it doesn't seem like I've been living it in a while. "
She brushed her fingers lightly against her watch. She'd owned it since she was a very small, a gift from her mother before she'd left home. It was a huge comfort. "It must not be a punishment to be here, or else you two wouldn't be protecting it, right? But it doesn't really feel like a blessing either."
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Post by Trace on Sept 10, 2009 4:57:44 GMT -5
"But it doesn't seem like I've been living it in a while."
Maz noticed the comment and realized that he didn't know from what point in time this girl had been plucked from, or how long she had remained in limbo before awakening. Time was a fairly relative concept when crossing between planes of existence. A quick trip could feel like weeks to make, while a lengthy trip could be completed in only hours.
"It must not be a punishment to be here, or else you two wouldn't be protecting it, right? But it doesn't really feel like a blessing either."
"We're technically not protecting it anymore," Rosa said with a laugh. "We kind of... got fired if you want to call it that. But its your decision to make on whether this is a punishment or a blessing. Only you can decide what you do while your here, and that's whats going to make all the difference. Just be aware that you'll need an open mind while your here, because things aren't exactly normal."
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Post by kaybeezy on Sept 10, 2009 7:02:11 GMT -5
Chrystabelle smiled at the last statement. "I guess it's good I'm not exactly normal either,"she replied, executing a grand spin as if to prove her point. It made her hips ache, and she frowned. She must not have been dancing for awhile if the muscles had gotten weak. Deciding it was nothing a few hundred plies wouldn't fix later, she turned her mind to more pressing concerns. She turned back to Rosa and Maz.
"So I guess I'll be staying here in Wonderland for awhile now. What should I do?"
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Post by Trace on Sept 10, 2009 9:38:59 GMT -5
"So I guess I'll be staying here in Wonderland for awhile now. What should I do?"
"Whatever you want to do," Rosa said gleefully, happy to have met someone who seemed at least a little normal. In a city full of killers and psychopaths Rosa was surprised to have met a number of people who just wanted to live their lives. "Do the same things you did before you came here, or reinvent yourself as someone new. There really is nothing stopping you doing anything here."
"Its like the land of opportunity, but you just have to be a little more careful not to get yourself killed." Maz finished with a grin, only half joking about the dangers Animus posed to its residents.
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Post by kaybeezy on Sept 10, 2009 17:29:39 GMT -5
"Hm..." she hummed, thinking. "There's no need for street performing on these empty streets, and it wouldn't be the same without..." Chrystabelle paused. It had dawned on her that she had left her past life behind, and with it all her old friends. She was not accustomed to loss. She'd left her family by choice, with no regrets. But the thought of never seeing her gypsy friends again was heartbreaking. 'They'll get along fine without me,' she decided optimistically. 'And I'll be alright.'
"I think I know what I'd like to do now," she concluded, after a few moments of reflection.
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Post by Trace on Sept 10, 2009 18:09:03 GMT -5
"I think I know what I'd like to do now,"
"Care to share?" Rosa asked, slightly intrigued by what Chrystabelle had decided upon. It wasn't often that someone came into Animus so open minded and certain about how to handle their lives through so drastic a change. Chrystabelle was getting close to earning Rosa's respect, which didn't come easily. While Rosa was happy to be friendly with anyone who seemed genuine, it took something special to earn her respect. "We'd love to help in any means necessary."
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Post by kaybeezy on Sept 10, 2009 18:35:46 GMT -5
Chrystabelle smiled. "Well, me and my friends, we used to sing and dance and do other kinds of performances out on the sidewalk, and the people walking by would pay us. But we didn't do it for money. We did it because it made us feel whole, you know? It was filling. Anyway, once in the park, I met this man. He was young, and messy, and he had a whole stack of books. When I asked him about them, he said he was a university student. He started telling me about his classes, and his professors, but mostly about the books. And I could just tell from the way his eyes lit up, that they filled him the way performing filled me." She sighed, remembering the encounter as if it were recent, instead of in a whole other life.
"Now, I've never had much schooling, but I can read. So I'd like to start learning, to see if all those books and stories and words can be as filling as they seem."
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Post by cyansky on Sept 10, 2009 19:07:56 GMT -5
Syl opened one eye as it stretched and woke up from its rest. Apparently Rosa and Maz hadn't noticed it napping. It woke up in time to hear the last part of their conversation, its keen hearing picking up on it easily due to the fact that Syl wasn't really very far away, just well hidden beneath the dense foilage of the trees. It quickly picked up on Maz and Rosa's auras within the area. Maz, it was wary about due to his analytic capabilities (although it could relate to him), but Rosa...
Syl squealed in the delight of seeing her. It grinned to itself as it leapt from the tree, landing in the dense foiliage of the park. Rosa... Syl had gotten quite fond of her. It was eager to see her again. Not minding the leaves and flowers that clung to it as it walked past them, it set off toward where Rosa and Maz were, along with an unknown aura. Syl sensed that its owner was human, but had some special powers. A new person! Sweet! Another new friend (it hoped)! Fascinated, it ran towards them, through the dense vegetation.
When it reached their location, a mniute or so later, Syl peeked out from behind a nearby tree. Leaves and flowers were stuck in Syl's hair, with a few thistle heads stuck to its clothing, especially its sleeves. Syl didn't even notice them as it smiled warmly at Rosa.
"Am... I interrupting anything?"
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Post by kaybeezy on Sept 10, 2009 19:39:13 GMT -5
Chrystabelle turned to see the new arrival, slightly startled by the sudden appearance. She remembered her manners and curtsied. "Not at all, we've just been talking. I really do talk too much. I'm Chrystabelle, hello stranger."
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