onceburnedtwiceshy: (Panic)
Hanako Ikezawa ([personal profile] onceburnedtwiceshy) wrote in [community profile] queenofheartsrp2012-01-23 11:52 am

1st Page [voice]

[For a moment, the recording seems completely silent. Maybe someone accidentally activated the Vine before walking away?

But no. Anyone paying close attention might pick up on the sound of panicked breathing.]


W... Wh... Wh... [The owner of the voice is obviously having a hard time, and stutters a few more times before she's able to actually spit anything out.] W-W-Where... am I...? This place... I don't...

[A dream. It has to be a dream. But no... she pinched herself, and it definitely hurt. So it was real? But how did she get here? A million questions were running through her mind - already reeling - and just kept adding to her panic.]

L... Lilly...?

[please answer please answer please answer]
headedforhope: (it's hard to dance)

[we should start a club for orphans]

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-25 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Mami leans back for a moment, regarding the now empty space where the Vine used to be. It's her better nature that wins out in the end, making the decision to look around the Gardens for this "Lilly" person an almost unconscious one.

And true, there's some hint to an ulterior motive at work here; focusing on the plight of another will keep Mami's mind off of her own troubles. But this selfishness plays but a small part, riding piggyback on the natural instinct to comfort and assist like some kind of vile parasite. So at a purposeful, yet steady pace, Mami begins a wide patrol of this place that she's had to accept as home.]
headedforhope: (gotta moveˏ gotta choose)

[they will play Angst Bingo on weekends, the prize is tissues]

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-25 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[Mami's sweep of the Gardens is methodical and unhurried. There's a lot of ground to cover - sprinting everywhere would only gain her a painful stitch in her side and a loss of breath. There's a certain urgency nagging at the back of her mind, riding on the coattails of her worry on Hanako's behalf, and it's why Mami doesn't spend too much time in any one place. She has to keep moving, keep looking, can't afford to stay still.

In time, Mami comes upon Hanako from behind. It wasn't intentional - she simply rounded a particular bush and clump of trees and there the older girl was, the plain dress that all newcomers woke up in doing a poor job of concealing all that scar tissue. The gold eyes widen. Instinctively, helplessly, Mami takes a step forward, beginning to reach out - what had happened? that looked so painful - and steps on a branch. It cracks under her weight, a curiously loud snap! sound.]
headedforhope: (gotta seeˏ gotta be)

[tear-soaked stuffed animals!!]

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-25 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[For all her growth and attempts to change, Mami still lives and breathes subtleties. Hanako's fear is anything but, a blatant and uncomfortable thing to witness.

Mami realizes that she's staring, and with a jolt of shame glances away. She lowers her hand, intertwining the fingers with that of her other hand, the gesture smooth and making a good show of being intentional. Her voice is just as soft and gentle as it was over the Vine, if without recognition or familiarity:]


Ah, I'm sorry - I didn't know that there was anyone here. You must be a new arrival, right?
headedforhope: (don't let them take you in tow)

[GOOD.]

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-25 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Hanako....Ikezawa-san?

[Mami looks at the other girl, and this time she sees and yet doesn't see the scars - gazing directly into those anxious eyes as if nothing else existed. Some of the coaxing weight falls out of Mami's voice, and perhaps it's ultimately for the best....to address Hanako as a person, rather than a ball of nerves and fear.]

Oh, we spoke on the Vine! [She glances around the forest, taking in the surroundings rather than avoiding Hanako's body.] So this is where you woke up? I suppose it's different for everyone....I remember waking up in a field.
headedforhope: (you're the woman who just won't sell)

[spoiler; the queen's magic is fueled by the tears of children]

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-26 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, I see. [She shifts easily, not yet wanting to broach the subject of Lilly - it hasn't been that long, no need to bruise hope prematurely.] I suppose between the cats and the scrolls, you have a handle on things now?
headedforhope: (so I like to keep my issues strongˏ)

[EVERYDAY WE'RE SUFFERIN']

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-28 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
Really? That's good! If, mm, it's all right for me to ask....where have you decided to live? Perhaps we could end up being neighbors.
headedforhope: (every illusion in between)

[game over man, game over]

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-29 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, there's plenty of options to choose from, really. There's the various houses free for the taking, you can create your own from the magic dirt... and there's also plenty of apartments.

Did you happen to catch a glimpse of the complex? [A thoughtful pause.] Although mm, maybe you couldn't see it from here...
headedforhope: (and every demon wants his pound of flesh)

[YOU KNOW WHAT THIS PLACE NEEDS A RIPLEY]

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-29 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[Her smile doesn't falter as she listens to the awkward beginnings of the request. She takes in the fidgeting, as well, and it seems obvious enough to Mami what Hanako might be trying to ask.]

Show you around? Of course; I'm certainly not busy.
headedforhope: (and you were laughing along)

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-29 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[There is the thought, the impulse of an idea, to offer Hanako a hand to hold. Mami realizes that it's silly within moments; the other girl is older than her, and anxiety or not, shouldn't be treated without deference to her age.]

Ah, it's no problem! Just follow me.

[And she turns to go, but then pauses and throws a polite glance over her shoulder.] Oh, but maybe you'd prefer to get dressed first....
headedforhope: (what's right?)

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-30 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
You could easily fit your normal clothes on over that slip, I'm sure, but whatever you'd like.

[She pauses, going thoughtful, and turns first this way and that.]

Hm....the nearest building should be the onsen...
headedforhope: (it's hard to know where I stand)

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-31 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, then you're in for a treat. I lived there for awhile before- [the calm smile falters, grows a little melancholic.] -before I moved to my apartment.
headedforhope: (but I like to keep some things to myself)

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-01-31 09:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[A pause - just a heartbeat, really - and Mami's voice when she responds is so light and carefree that it seems hard to imagine she could ever be sad. The mask has reasserted itself; the facade she continues to rely on, even as she does her best to walk forward rather than stay stranded in place.]

That's about it for open housing, unless you decide to gather some magic dirt and create a home tailor-fit to your desires, as I've said. Mm, but you need to wander into the Wild Places for that, and it could be dangerous......but besides that, we also have a library, an arcade....
headedforhope: (chasing some mirage in my mojave sun)

[personal profile] headedforhope 2012-02-01 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
[In contrast to Hanako's stuttering, Mami's response is smooth and unruffled.]

Of course. Right this way!

[Mami heads off, the paths of the Gardens as familiar to her by now as the lines of her palm. They pass the onsen from a distance; Mami points it out, being careful to skirt the edges of the busier areas of the Gardens. No need to subject Hanako to the eyes of curious strangers anymore than could be helped, right?

Fortunately, there's no one lingering around the entrance to the Monsigny Apartments.]


Here. Looks pretty fancy, huh? It's just as nice inside, I think... [She says in a casual, offhand way, making her way through the front doors.]

(no subject)

[personal profile] headedforhope - 2012-02-12 21:16 (UTC) - Expand