queenofheartsrp | »１［video/action］

[this entire thing screams of the kind of prank the Emperor would pull, and she managed to find her clothes and sword, so she's not as worried as she could be. Still, the tall young woman keeps a careful hand near her belt as she crouches down to greet the cat that approaches her, not noticing the mirror at first.]

Where did you come from? One of His Majesty's...?

[she unrolls the scroll with gloved hands, frowning at it.]

Queen of--there aren't any Queens, so what--

[a metallic clanking sound interrupts her, and she turns, instantly on guard. She relaxes, however, when the source of the noise comes into view. The metal dog waves its tail creakily and sits down on its haunches, one of the few stray robots left over from Antikythera's unintentional invasion.]

[The woman's expression changes from suspicion to fascination in a matter of seconds, the scroll forgotten. The cat regards her with an offended flick of its ears and wanders off.]

Look at you. You are gorgeous. Could use some oil on those joints, and a good polish, but...what kind of motor are you running on? It must be tiny, and everything's fit together with such precision--

[she crouches by the automaton, reaching out to lift a paw, pat its head, tilting her own to study it from different angles. So much for being concerned about getting kidnapped.]

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[she waves her hand a bit, not really used to being complimented.]

Out of all scenarios to present, "another world" is pretty much the least likely to be believed. I mean, I probably would have fallen for "political scheme" or something.

All women? I really wouldn't put it past him. [the worlds and times thing...she'll leave that for later when she actually believes it.]

[Sephiroth is a bit amused by Gal's resistance to believing the explanation, but pleasantly, as Gal's own explanation is more rational for someone who has just arrived to adopt.]

I cannot argue with you. It is an absurd and implausible situation, and this is an absurd and implausible place. I will tell you the truth as I know it, but you are welcome to draw your own conclusions. I would like to believe that I am still in my world, but I have seen too much evidence to the contrary, and no prison at home could hold me.

Yes, the Queen and her associates appear female, and the inmates here are female as well. The majority of them are human, but not all. I am fairly certain no males are involved, though it is possible.

Accommodating. [she actually sounds somewhat sincere. Maybe this woman is crazy, but at least she hasn't tried to destroy any worlds yet. (oh, the dramatic irony of that thought.) But different worlds, really? It's not the first thing she'd think of, waking up in a strange place. Like she said, there were plenty of rational explanations for it.]

So if they're not human, what are they? Cats? [it's half-joking, but she kind of expects the answer to be "yes".]

[Yes, she has no intention of destroying any worlds! Yet. She answers the question matter-of-factly.]

The cats are remarkably intelligent, but no. They are other sentient beings, often humanlike in form. They vary. I have seen a half-demon, an aggregate of souls with a single consciousness, magical creatures who might be called "spirits", robots, trolls. But the population fluctuates, and sometimes it is hard to tell an individual's nature, without prying.

[she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, taking this in. It's still sort of surreal, but whether they're lies or not, she's carefully filing away this information in case it turns out to have some use. The "aggregate of souls" sounds a lot like Lorelei, but even still, its existence hasn't been proven...]

So...like something out of a story, basically. Are you the official greeter, then? I didn't catch your name.

It is. I believe that story-like atmosphere has been intentionally fostered.

I hold no official position here. I came upon you by chance. My name is Sephiroth.

[she opens her mouth, closes it...then raises both eyebrows. It's a moment before she can speak again.]

Sephiroth?

[that was a little...pretentious...but there's no way she'd say that aloud to such an imposing woman. Or anyone, really.]

Right, then...mysteriously kidnapped, strange creatures everywhere, no men, no way out. Did I get all that right?

[She notes the pause, but it doesn't seem like personal recognition. This woman clearly didn't know her--she assumes it is her name that must be familiar in some way, in her world.] And what is your name?

That's more or less correct. People do return home sometimes, but not by their own means. Either the Queen decides to return them, or this place is unstable by nature and loses its grip on us. I, however, have been here some few months.

I've also known people who went home only to be brought back here again, some time later.

Ah, sorry. I'm being rude, huh? It's Gal Cecil. [the name comes much more easily to her lips than her full one, even though she's reclaimed it. It's a little plain next to Sephiroth, the very trees of light that supported Auldrant for two thousand years, but it's hers.]

How can a...place...lose its grip on anything? You're talking like it's alive or something.

[Sephiroth doesn't comment on the supposed rudeness or a lack thereof.] A pleasure to meet you, Gal.

I wish I could say with more certainty how or why such a thing happens, but the Gardens are not stable. People appear and disappear without warning, and the landscape changes from day to day. We can make things and alter that landscape ourselves--simply by thinking of them, using a certain kind of soil to build.

It is an odd, unreal place.

Sounds more like a dream than anything... [she shifts, cradling one arm with the other thoughtfully.]

I'm guessing something is stopping people from just walking out of here?

There are barriers below and above, in the earth and in the sky. In every other direction, there are areas known as the Wild Places. They can be entered, but they are disorienting and even more unstable than the Gardens proper. You can lose yourself in them, and there can be unpleasant side effects to time spent there.

Eventually, you'll always return--or be returned--to the Gardens.

All right, I'll keep that in mind... [she won't believe until she sees for herself, though.]

Were you headed somewhere in particular, if you don't mind me asking?

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