Beginning

[thecastle]

One moment you were elsewhere, surely speaking to your friends, fighting in a battle of your life, dying, or even in a state of non-existence in its entirety. It doesn't matter now, since when you open your eyes it’s become clear that not only is everything around you foreign and unfamiliar, so is everyone. And there seems to be a fair lot of you, at that.

It's easy to discern a few things upon a cursory glance, once you pick yourself up from the field of grass you're resting on. The place you've awoken in seems to be fairly tranquil, for the first few moments at least, and the view of a newly budded sakura tree is among the first that will greet you. In the distance, is a towering castle that manages to look all at once both imposing and welcoming at the same time. There's also an odd pendant around your neck, which you'll find won't come off despite your best attempts. In your pocket you'll find a room key, engraved with a number.

The weather is currently cool, with the sun brightly shining in the sky, though there are a few too many clouds to make it a completely clear day. While most of them appear rather normal, every so often you might spot one that looks just a bit off— like a storm cloud that's completely lost it's way. Lucky for you, it doesn't seem like you're going to have to worry about any inclement weather anytime soon, as they'll vanish from your vision as quickly as they came.

A large stone wall surrounds the entirety of the castle, though it's anyone guess why that is— maybe it's for your safety, maybe it's to keep you trapped, or maybe it's for another reason entirely. The only breach in the wall is a single gate that looks like it certainly led to the outside at one point, but that too has been cordoned off by solid stone.

Fortunately, there's nothing to stop you from entering the castle itself, where you'll find it's pretty grand all things considered. The lighting inside is provided not by electricity, but by magical flame that adjusts to the time of day or night. Actually, if you're looking for anything electronic anywhere, or even a simple power outlet, you'll be sorely out of luck.

For now, it might be best to explore and make some sense of where you are and why you're here— maybe one of your fellow travelers might know something? There are some plaques in the Great Hall that might catch your interest given their focus, in addition to one ridiculously large golden one that seems to bear rules.

Welcome, fellow warriors, to your very long stay.

Comments

[deontological]

arrival - outer castle grounds;
[Well. This is... hm.

This place and these people are utterly unfamiliar, and Sen can't help but feel more than a little uneasy to see it - after all, mere moments ago she was with people she knew. Is it really possible for things to change so quickly in the blink of an eye?

But she takes a deep breath, laces her fingers together, and rests her hands over her stomach. Panicking won't do her any good. Instead, she smiles faintly and inclines her head in the direction of anyone who happens to be mingling nearby.]

This is rather odd, isn't it?

a bit later - room 26 & nearby;
[Well, if they're to stay here for some time as the stone walls suggest, then the key she's found most likely belongs to wherever it is she's meant to sleep. So, off she goes to find a room with a corresponding number.

She uses it to unlock the door, takes a quick look around, and snags the notepad and pen to tuck into her obi before heading back out into the hall. Next order of business - find out who else is staying in the immediate area.

If she sees anyone approach, she smiles.]

Ah, hello! It seems we're to be neighbors during our stay here. I hope we can get along.

even later - great hall;
[Sen's examining the plaques now. And... taking notes, apparently. But when she hears footsteps, she shuts her notepad and steps off to the side so that anyone else who's hoping to get a look at the plaques has the space to do so.]

My apologies, was I blocking your way?

even later than that - kitchen;
[Okay, realtalk: She's a princess.

Generally speaking, people make food for her, not the other way around. But as she's found not even one single familiar soul here so far, she thinks it's for the best that she handles this herself. After all, how difficult can it be? It seems... relatively straightforward.

Tea is easy enough to brew, so she gets some of that going first thing. As a result, she has a cup to sip at as she surveys her options - she's spread a plethora of ingredients out to look over, and she mumbles a little to herself as she narrows her eyes at it all.]

Stew is meant to be easy to make, isn't it...? Ah, but how would one prepare the broth?

whenever - wildcard;
[Sen's going to be exploring as best she can, so if none of the above works for you feel free to run into her anywhere your character would be!]

kitchen;

[maddogs]

[ whoa, damn. they're in a castle and it's all pretty and what majima might consider traditional but he literally double takes at sen because he can see it in the way she carries herself and the way she's dressed - this girl looks like a princess. and even if she isn't she looks like a lost girl staring at all those ingredients so he's just gonna

come on over i guess.]

Ya need some help there...?

[deontological]

[What a polite criminal...

Sen turns her attention away from the ingredients she has no idea what to do with and to the stranger. To her credit, she doesn't look all that intimidated by him. She's either not, or she's very good at hiding it. Either way, she smiles.]

I suppose it's obvious I'm a bit out of my depth, isn't it? [A bit, she says...] If you could provide some instruction, I would appreciate it.

[maddogs]

It's alright! Cookin' the first time's always fuckin' weird. That's why people eat all that instant ramen shit.

[ majima goes over to inspect a block of knives, pulling them out one at a time with a little bit of gleam in his eye ]

Why dontcha pick out some ingredients ya think'll be good in your stew and I'll show ya how ta chop 'em.

[deontological]

[And so a princess got cooking lessons from a mobster.

Sen watches him with the knives before nodding, separating out some of the ingredients she'd like to work with. Pork, onion, carrot, potato, cabbage... If nothing else, they should be nutritious enough to give them energy while they're here.]

There, I think that will do. [And then, with a small bow -] Thank you for your assistance. It's very kind of you.

great hall;

[originallutece]

Not exactly.

[But Rosalind steps forward, glancing up at the plaques as well. Her eyes skim over each one, until finally--]

Senhime, is it?

[deontological]

Yes, though you may call me Sen, if you prefer.

[A brief glance at the profiles, just to confirm - and then she smiles as she looks back at her.]

And you are Rosalind, then?

[originallutece]

Madam Lutece.

[Though that's a gentle correction, not a nasty one. Rosalind can't sum up a smile, but there's no malice in her gaze as she glances over at her.]

A princess of where, precisely?

[deontological]

Madam Lutece, then.

[Sen makes the change easily and nods to herself, as if it will help her commit it to memory.]

Yase, in Japan. [Just leaving off the "demon" part for now. That bit hasn't shown up at all in her profile, save for the line about "false demons" - she'll play that close to her chest. No need to make everything known about herself, even if whoever wrote these outed her in some ways already.]

great hall.

[toubib]

Not at all. Unless you were seven feet tall and burgeoning with musculature, you couldn't possibly block my line of sight. [ says the person who's also been snooping around the plaques, though he has been a lot less discreet about it, operating under the assumption that anyone with half a brain would know that everyone else has already snooped.

still, was that...? vanitas smiles. ] Say, did you get to mine yet? How useful am I?

[deontological]

[She can't help but chuckle at that.]

That would certainly be a sight to see, wouldn't it...?

[Sen recognizes him on sight, because of course she's read through the profiles - her lips quirk up into a sly smile when he actually calls her out on it, even. He's interesting, certainly.]

Your skills alone make you more useful than many of the others here. However, the last one...

[She looks like she's trying not to laugh.]

"Being an inconsistent prick," was it? That lessens your usefulness somewhat, I must admit.

[toubib]

Goodness. How harsh. And they didn't even include that my feelings are as fragile as the delicate morning dew. [ vanitas makes a face, a mocking sort that drips with woe-is-me. if there were a table nearby, he'd be planting his ass right on the surface out of a deeply-seated desire to not be standing if he can help it, but since they're standing in front of a wall of faces, he does the next best thing and leans against said wall.

and against someone's face, just because he can. his mock expression aside, his eyelids shutter, evidently insincere. ] But, well, I also dislike being exploited. I would say that being an inconsistent prick is a good deterrent to that effect, wouldn't you agree? Ah, did you prefer 'Princess' or 'Spymaster'? Because I know what I prefer.

[deontological]

Ah, that was rather cruel of them. My apologies for trampling all over your delicate feelings.

[Yeah, she's not fooled for a minute. She raises an eyebrow as he settles himself against somebody's portrait, but ultimately doesn't say a word. There's little point.]

An effective deterrent indeed. [And then she shrugs.] Princess is what it's going to have to be, I'm afraid. The fact that I've been outed as a spymaster is going to make continuing as one rather difficult.

[Which isn't to say that she won't try, but her skills being listed sort of makes them useless when everyone knows about them. SIGHS.]

rooms

[bratsitter]

[Yukimi finally decided to stroll this way, see what he could expect for a room. He wasn't really expecting to run into someone where his room should be about. While he could appreciate a woman, he really didn't want to have to share a room with a stranger.]

Neighbors, huh? Seems I've got room 25.

[deontological]

We'll be sharing a wall - I'm in room 26.

[She indicates the door to her room, then smiles.]

But don't worry, I'll be sure to keep quiet so as to not disturb your rest.

[bratsitter]

Nice to meet you.

[He pops open his door and scans around inside briefly]

I'm sure you'd have to be plenty loud to be heard, if these walls are stone all the way through. But then, that's probably full of it's own drawbacks too.

[deontological]

It's nice to meet you, as well. My name is Sen. What would you like me to call you?

[She'll wait for him to look around his room. From the glimpse she catches as he opens the door, it looks more or less identical to hers... At least no one's getting special treatment, so far.]

Well, hopefully the sort of situation one would want to be heard through a wall of stone won't arise.

kitchen

[fallenember]

[ Somehow this seems familiar; Asch just scoffs. ]

If you don't know what you're doing, let me handle this.

[ Pause. ]

And just watch.

[deontological]

Hm?

[Sen turns at the sound of his voice, then looks him over.]

My, you're willing to make food for somebody you've never met before? That's very kind of you.

[fallenember]

[ Asch twitches and nearly drops an ingredient. ]

I'm not doing this for your sake. It'd be a pain if you made a mess and one of us had to clean up after you - that's all. So don't think I'm doing this out of the generosity of my heart or something idiotic like that.

[deontological]

[Oh, dear.

This would normally be the part where Sen hides a smile behind a fan, but as she doesn't have hers with her, she'll just have to struggle to keep from making it too obvious that Asch is amusing her.]

Is that so? [What a grumpy young man he is. Sen likes him already.] Very well, I'll keep my gratitude to myself.

kitchen;

[blacksong]

Dump everything in a pot and put some water in it.

[She says it from behind Sen, completely unprompted and sounding almost bored. Maybe that just means she's confident she knows how to do this??

But Zero's also the sort of person who's so unpicky it causes health concerns, so she might not be the best to ask about this either....]

[deontological]

Is that so...?

[She knows that water is involved somehow, but... she gives the ingredients, and a conveniently-placed pot, a slightly dubious look before shrugging. Well, maybe the flavor comes from the vegetables as they cook in the water...

...

Wait.]

Wouldn't that result in steamed vegetables and meat?

[blacksong]

[She looks at the pot, guessing how much it can hold all together, and:]

Dump in a lot of water. [Problem solved!]

[deontological]

[It's... fine, probably.

But Sen does as she says, and once water and vegetables are all in the pot, it's time to get the water boiling! ...you know what they say about watched pots not boiling, but she's doing it anyway.]

...hmm. I wonder how long this will take.