ONE. may have interesting subject lines eventually

[blessingone]

[Accidental Action]

[Anyone around the outskirts of Luceti's village today might notice a girl wandering around, avoiding high traffic areas. There are three reasons that they might notice her.

1. Her expression is guarded, but she can't keep out some hints of being very afraid.

2. Half the time she is walking shoulders hunched inward, with nervous steps while she keeps looking out for people seeing her--that is, a walk that is trying so hard to be unnoticed that everyone notices. The other half of the time, she's trying to sneak between trees and behind buildings with such stealth as to be even more obvious than the walk--Solid Snake, she is not.

3. ...She looks a little ridiculous. The outer layer is a dress something like this, only hiked up to not trip her up as she's about five inches shorter than the intended wearer. But she's also wearing a coat over it and a second dress underneath due to the cold, and it's fairly obvious she is since the collars are designed differently. Speaking of that, it's hanging rather loosely on her there, since it was made for someone who is anime!racked. She's kept decent by the fact that she's still wearing the New Feather dress underneath those, which covers up the rest of her to her neck. Also, unlike in the icon, her hair is tucked up inside of an unusual hat. She's probably even in bad footwear for the weather, but it's impossible to tell since the dresses are trailing in the snow. EDIT: ...Also, she probably has hidden her wings under some scarf.

She's trying to not attract attention, but this is not obvious.

...Oh yeah, forgot. She has her journal with her, but she hasn't opened it and she's holding it so that her name is hidden by her body.]

[ooc: Also, because I imagine that any of them would be inclined to get her out of this somewhat odd get-up and she's not likely to trust anyone else, any Ferines threads probably take place after any others.

...This entry is getting the crap editted out of it tonight, but THANK YOU SO MUCH PERSON WHO GAVE ME PAID TIME. I was going to buy some when I had gotten more icons, but I am very grateful to get it as a gift. ♥♥ ...Even if I'm using about two icons so far this post.]

Comments

[action]

[blessingone]

I'll say it's complicated! How long was I out for? [She reaches up to her head to try to feel for any bumps (maybe she had just bumped her head and forgotten...a really really long time), but the hat rather gets in the way of that.]

[action]

[prayingone]

U...um... [oh gosh this really isn't the place to tell Fenimore "hey, bff, you've been kidnapped -- to a completely different world!" ... while trying to avoid telling her that she's dead. Somehow.]

[action]

[blessingone]

[...that is not a comforting noise.] Shirley, what's going on?

[action]

[prayingone]

It's ... just hard to explain. And this isn't a very good place to try...

[action]

[blessingone]

...Is there really any better place? [She rubs her arms through her sleeves to try to help warm herself up a little.]

[action]

[prayingone]

My house isn't too far from here... it's just down the path, actually. [She turns and points in the direction of House #34... which might be hard to see, with the snow. But it's there!]

[action]

[blessingone]

[She squints.] An Orer-- ["--ines house?" She cuts herself off, though. It's not as unusual that Shirley would be living in an Orerines house since she had for quite a while. ...It was really cold and Shirley seemed to think it was all right.]

...Okay.

[action]

[prayingone]

[Shirley gives Fenimore what she hopes is a reassuring smile, and bends down to pick up her basket again.]

Don't worry... it's safe. Walter should be there. [... kicking snow off the roof.]

[action]

[blessingone]

Walter's...? [...Well, then, obviously it is safe. Although it would be a bit weird that Walter was living in an Orerines house if not for the fact that he'd probably live in a bird's nest if it would help protect Shirley.]

Right. Let's go, then.

[action]

[prayingone]

[Walter takes every measure to make ensure that the house is safe. You should see how perfectly clear her front walk is when the snow is not actively coming down.]

Okay. [Shirley will carefully retrace her steps in the snow -- the stuff isn't easy to walk in -- back to the main road she was on before.]

[action]

[blessingone]

[As an additional feature, it's even heated! But Fenimore will literally follow in Shirley's footsteps--she's been tripping about in this stuff in an oversized dress long enough. Since Shirley said that she'd explain inside and Fenimore is currently too swamped with questions to think of much else to say, so she'll probably be pretty quiet on the way.]

[action]

[prayingone]

[Poor Fenimore. Shirley will be shooting her worried, almost anxious looks the entire way -- although when Fenimore looks her way, it'll change to a nervous-looking smile.

... at least they're not far away.]

[action]

[blessingone]

[Fenimore is also giving out worried, almost anxious looks, but this is more to the general scenery, as if she expects the Gadorian knights to suddenly jump out behind a snowbank. She does, however, occasionally shoot glances at Shirley.

...And here one would think that after the Ferines village they'd be past most of this awkward. So it's a good thing it doesn't take long for them to arrive despite the snow. Fenimore sighs in relief when they enter--she had been getting pretty cold out there, especially since she had been used to much warmer temperatures before she arrived.]

[action]

[prayingone]

[Fortunately for Fenimore, the only threatening things behind the snowbanks are the bare trees of Luceti's forest -- which, at this time of year, are admittedly a little creepy looking.

Out of habit, Shirley steps outside of her boots out of an interest in keeping her floors clean and hangs up her scarf and shawl on some hooks in the little entryway room. Fenimore is free to notice that she's wearing her Orerines clothes underneath, only with a pair of long stockings for her legs. The other hooks are empty; it seems like Walter has gone out today. As she does this, she gives Fenimore a sympathetic look in her awkward ensemble.]

Would you like to get changed, first?... [Because those clothes are both wet, poorly fitting, and even more awkward looking than Legendia's fashion sense what Fenimore is probably used to seeing as "normal" Ferines clothes.]

[action]

[blessingone]

[When she sees Shirley take off her boots, she slips off her own footwear. While Charlotte likely has boots in her apartment somewhere, Fenimore did not notice them in her rush and ended up with shoes, instead. Fenimore does notice the Orerines clothing, but it does not strike her as odd, as Shirley wears her Orerines clothes a lot and in Fenimore's mind, it makes sense that Shirley would wear Orerines clothing to keep from drawing too much attention in an Orerines village.

...While she wants to say "no, tell me what's going on!", those are very good points. And Shirley doesn't seem to be in a rush for some reason. She holds the hems of the dresses up a little to try not to have them rub across the floor while wet and tries to smile a little, awkwardly.] I think so.

[action] enjoy the needlessly tl;dr response

[prayingone]

[Shirley flaps her wings which I forgot to mention were visible now, since she's removed her shawl and scarf a little; it's uncomfortable, keeping them underneath such heavy garments... but it's too cold to leave them bare in the winter. A conundrum.

And Shirley's not in a rush because, well... Fenimore, neither of them are really going anywhere. She'll leave her basket by the front door for now; she can put those groceries away later, while Fenimore is changing. She smiles back at Fenimore, trying to project a sense of reassurance.] I promise, you'll feel better when you're in some dry clothes... my room is this way.

[As they make the short walk to Shirley's room, Fenimore will see that Shirley's house is very, very clean -- between Shirley and Walter's inherent housewifing abilities, it's pretty much spotless. Although the architectural style of the house is what Fenimore would label as "Orerines," there's a lot of Ferines-style touches around the house, such as a blue and white area rug or large, round aquariums with pieces of red coral and seashells submerged in them.

Shirley's room is open and airy; she's got a blue and white quilt spread out on her bed, and another one of those little aquariums sitting on the top of her dresser. Shirley immediately goes to her closet, opening it to reveal Orerines-style skirts, vests, and blouses, the garb of the Merines, and several Ferines-style dresses. She'll pull out the first female one for Fenimore, because that looks it would be better for the colder weather.]

Would this one be alright, Fenimore?

[action] really raring to go on house mapping, huh? (we're both massive action tags, short talking)

[blessingone]

[Fenimore gives a bit of a doubtful look at the first comment. While dry clothes will make her feel a bit more comfortable, she's really doubting she's going to be feeling that much better while they still seem to be stuck out here. After all, why would Shirley and Walter be planning to live here if they weren't stuck?

She muffles a bit of a gasp when she notices the wings--she still has no idea what the heck is up with them, but she's blaming whoever kidnapped them. She doesn't mention it, though--probably another thing that Shirley will explain later.

The reassurance is working in that Fenimore is not flipping out entirely at this very strange set of circumstances, but she's still visibly uncomfortable. The Ferines style touches invoke a strange mix of comfort and uneasiness. The familiarity makes her feel a little less lost, but it also implies that Shirley plans to be staying a while--that Shirley has already stayed a while, which is very weird since Fenimore can't imagine having lost that much time.

She takes off the hat while Shirley goes to the closet, letting her hair down and looking around a little at the room. She looks at the dress when Shirley speaks and at first looks a bit happier. That looks much more comfortable.

But the uncomfortable feeling returns when she notices something.] The sleeves are a bit short, aren't they? ...I mean, for this weather. It's really cold outside here for the season. [She tries to cover up her discomfort, but she is fiddling with the hat a bit.]

[action] it has been something I have been thinking of for a while, actually (we are such winners)

[prayingone]

[Shirley is of the opinion that the little things are what make all the difference in bad situations. Shirley blinks at Fenimore's reaction, considering that the rest of the dress was designed to be warmer.]

Well, I have a shawl you could wear... [... but that look of discomfort gives her the impression that a shawl wouldn't really help.] ... but I think I have one with longer sleeves. [She turns back to the closet, replacing the first dress and pulling out the second option -- longer sleeves, but with a shorter skirt.] Is this better? I have some stockings you could borrow, to make up for the skirt...

[action] it looks like a lot of fun and useful

[blessingone]

[At first, she thinks that she's going to have to just take parts from each of the outfits to make it work, but stockings should be good enough. Shirly is probably the one person Fenimore could explain the reason, since she was in Vaclav's cells, too, but she'd really rather everyone forgot it.]

That should work with the stockings. [assuming Ferines use stockings] Thanks, Shirley.

[action] I blame the fact that athena and keia were working on albert and raine's house a while ago

[prayingone]

[Shirley hands the dress to Fenimore with a smile.] You're welcome. I've already modified it so there's holes for wings in the back...

[At which point she moves over to the dresser, opens a drawer... and pulls out a pair of those goofy Ferines shoe-legging-stockings things. Which can totally be called stockings! Anyway, she pulls them out and lays them on the bed for Fenimore.]

I'll be in the kitchen while you change, okay?

[action] and they'd probably blame zero (ffff sorry edit)

[blessingone]

[She had been rather wondering why her quick search hadn't found anything that could cover the wings. She murmurs as she takes the dress:] ...So that's why....

[Those will work, so long as they're long enough. She does her best to smile back to show that she's grateful, but it ends up with a very small smile.] Okay.

[When Shirley leaves, Fenimore sets about getting dressed. It'll take her a little longer than it might usually. Main reason being those wings are a pain when you're not used to them. Literally, too, since it's uncomfortable enough to cover them up when the wings aren't new and already a bit sore. She manages to keep any "ows" fairly quiet, though, so Shirley probably won't hear them.

She also is not quite sure what to do with the clothes she had on, but eventually decides to carry them rather than put them down anywhere since they are damp from the snow. As well, she takes the time to check that she's all covered.

Eventually, though, she makes her way out to find the kitchen. She's a little hesitant about poking around, so it's good that it's not very hard to find. Her wings are now out, looking a bit rumpled and probably twitching a little.

When she sees Shirley, she calls out:] Shirley?

[action]

[prayingone]

[While Fenimore was changing, Shirley put a kettle on the stove to heat some water for tea. On the table, there's places for two, with a plate of cookies in the middle, and a little bowl of sugar and pot of cream, as well as the currently empty teapot. One thing that rubbed off on her from living with Musette was that One Must Always Be Ready for Tea. Next to one place is a journal, with Shirley's name written on the cover and a bookmark in it; although Fenimore won't know what she's bookmarked, it's the Guide.

Fenimore walks in on her putting the last of her groceries away: a small bag of flour in a cabinet that is just high enough that she needs to use a little step-stool to comfortably reach it. When Fenimore calls her name she turns, smiles, and closes the cabinet door before stepping down to the ground.]

Does everything fit alright? [If her wing feathers are messed up, Shirl will totally help smooth them down. Ruffled feathers aren't just messy, they're uncomfortable to boot.]

[action]

[blessingone]

[...Tea and cookies? This is the friendliest kidnapping ever. Fenimore probably has never had tea before, since it would be hard to get in her village, though. The bookmarked journal is a bit of a surprise--a book with her name on it had seemed a lot more sinister than something that Shirley would read.

Actually, after her fearful awakening, this comfortingly normal scene is almot surreal.]

It's a little tight-- [mainly around the chest, but possibly a little elsewhere since Shirley is a stick] --but it's just noticeable. It fits fine.

[Fenimore flops down into the chair at one of the places, but she jolts forward a bit, wincing. She forgot about the wings and knocked them against the back of the chair.] Ow!

[action]

[prayingone]

I'm glad to hear that... [... fenimore, why must you injure yourself while sitting down] A-are you okay?

[Don't mind her, she's going to come over and fret over Fenimore and her sore wings.]

[action] 1/2

[blessingone]

[because these wings are dumb who thought they were a good idea] No! We've been kidnapped and abandoned in a closet and we have wings! I'm not okay! This would be a nightmare if it didn't hurt!