[In the late evening, the video suddenly turns on as there's a loud thump and a splatter, like something wet just hit the ground next to the vine. At the first, the picture is dark and its hard to make out the shape there. A trembling silhouette, hunched over as it rises unsteadily off the ground - the form seems small and thin, but draped in lengthy darkness - hair? - but also the limbs seems somehow... too long. Claws?

What little light there is reflects off the eyes of the cats coming to greet the new arrival, but as they draw closer, they hiss and their hair stands on end before they turn and run. The figure in the dark collapses back onto the ground again, curling up, shrinking in on itself.

For a moment, all is still. Then there's a soft, muffled noise as that huddled figure trembles. Sobbing. The vine finally sheds some light on the situation, illuminating the curled, dripping wet form of Kazumi, curled up in a glen on the grassy floor, clutching herself and sobbing quietly. It's a few moments before she opens her eyes, looking around, noticing the vine for the first time. She looks helpless, lost, but her first question isn't "Where am I?"]

Who am I? What am I?

This isn't good... [ A concerned Mugi addresses the vine. ] I can't find my way back to the apartments. Could someone please help? I really need to get this food back to Akira-kun, but between the mansion and there... I think I took a wrong path. This doesn't look familiar to me at all. [ She's so out of it that she didn't even summon a mirror for this. And she's been here long enough to have at least a passing familiarity with a lot of the Gardens. ]

I just can't leave her alone right now. She hasn't been feeling well, not since... not since Kazumi-chan went home. [ Vanished, from one night to the next. Mugi sounds rather down about the fact, herself, but it's an odd sort of distance. A distraction. She's lost in more than one sense of the word right now, and it's clear from the lack of any positive excitement in her voice. ] Please! I really need to get back in a hurry!

[ Anyone who manages to find their way to her will see that she's actually fairly close to those apartments, just... somehow keeps walking wide circles all around and avoiding any paths that actually lead in toward the center of that circle. ]

[Sora is... tired. Nightmares, lately. But she won't let that get her down, not when it's close to one of her two favorite times of the year. So here she is, Vine, tired smile and all.]

It's almost Halloween. I think I'm going to make a few pumpkin things and maybe, if there are people who want it, have a costume party. Something simple and fun on the thirty-first.

[Here, have a "new" arrival. Her scarred visage may or may not look familiar to you, but boy does she look pissed.]

This again? I thought I was done with- [She makes a motion to encompass, well, all of the Gardens.] -this ridiculous place. What possible reason could warrent me coming back?

[A sigh.]

[Then, as an after thought:]

Are Kiriko and my house still here?

[The Vine turns on to a very distressed-looking Yuyuko, her robes disheveled, her fingers threaded through her hair, her hands trembling violently.]

Youmu, where did you go? Did you leave? Youmu, help me...

I...have lost something? I think I have. I don't...know what it is. My memories? Did I...lose them? I can't remember what it was...what it was like, when...

[She stops speaking abruptly, and stares at a something off in space.]

I wasn't always a ghost...was I?

[ The vine brings a simple message to the ladygardens today. There is one bushy-browed blond young lady seated outside, where she is attending to the laundry drying on the lines behind her, ] Good afternoon, everyone!

I have a small request of you, if someone could please help me out. It might seem odd, but I have given this a lot of thought, and...

[ Mugi closes her eyes, taking a deep breath as if to prepare for something serious. And her expression is quite serious when she opens those blue eyes again and leans in closer to the mirror. ] Is there anyone who could teach me magic?


((OOC: Action is open to anyone at Larry Vincent's house, whether they live there or just see her outside hanging the laundry and scribbling in a notebook with... a quill.))

-The vine unfurls, the image displayed being a rather distraught Akira.-

I went to investigate the missing birds. I wanted to ask Mugi if she'd come with. Wasn't home. No big.

But when I actually get to the place I was going to scope out, I found a bottle in a tree. Inside... well...

-Akira holds up the bottle, pulling out its contents. Rolled up in the bottle are two pieces of parchment, lined for sheet music. The first page is a letter written in a neat cursive, with the words laid out in the space between the blocks for notation. It makes makes the spacing kind of awkward.-

( ooc cut for image )

-The second page is a page of haphazardly sketched musical notation (meant for piano, as those familiar will notice). There are lyrics, too, which are awfully cheery when you consider the fact the author was kidnapped! The title is "Dreams Dancing in the Clouds". Yeah, there's no questioning that this is authentic.-

... Is anyone else missing?

[[ ooc: Transcibed:

Dear Madam:

The view of the Gardens is breathtaking from above!
There is so much to see and learn, even here.
I am being treated well. There are others with me.
I wish that I could share it with you all, so I have
attached something special to that end!
I hope you are doing well.

--Tsumugi ]]

[To say Sapphire was displeased at finding herself here would be an understatement. Was this a kidnapping? Some kind of sorcery? Either way, she couldn't be certain that she wasn't in danger, so she has her sword drawn as she explores the Gardens, and the Vine has brought forth a mirror to record each and every one of her words and movements.]

To whoever is in charge, I ask that you show yourself! If this is simply a misunderstanding, then I believe we can resolve things peacefully, but if this is a kidnapping… that is unforgivable!

[She tightens her grip on her sword, and she bits her lower lip before speaking again, this time in a whisper.]

What sort of place is this? It seems so eerily calm…

Well, well, well! Aren't we an excitable bunch.

[ Now here's a face that's been out of the picture for far too long. Although, it's hardly just a face. ]

Do you think you're all ready for this shindig? A little beach party, a little pirate fun? Babydolls, I don't think you know her like I know her.

[ Her face splits in to a wide grin, purring. ]

But maybe you can handle it, huh? Let's see those beach bodies. Let's get all wet.

[ Here, a flamboyant little wink, a raucous giggle. ]

Better start picking out your suits, or I'll pick one out for you.


[[ooc; The Vamp is making sure there's plenty of swimwear to go around (though some of it may not be as sexy as she'd like) from now until the party on the 20th, so if you needed some help bustling a shy girl into a suit, the Vamp is here to serve.]]

P-P-Pirates?! I scoff at the very idea! Surely we are not so gullible as to be bought in by their ilk!

Tis a trap, I'll presume. No good can come from trusting a Pirate Queen.

[Hello, mirror. It seems that... Zinc may just be waking up after a few rather unpleasant days, a wave of gleaming green snakes slithering away from her, disappearing into the grass with a faint rustling. She opens her dark eyes slowly, staring off at nothing blankly for a long time.

Eventually, she makes an attempt to lift her head, but she lays back down tiredly, blinking without speaking.

It is a while still before she curls an arm under her head, getting more comfortable, although she's frowning and her eyes don't lift to the mirror. The reason for that will be quite apparent in a moment because she murmurs,]

I can't see anything.



[[ooc; I am still tagging that log. Very slowly, I'm so sorry. Sob. I just didn't want to have to backdate this any further. If anybody wants to take credit for her second death, they can have it. Otherwise it's a suicide, and... I'll just be ambiguous about it until that gets settled.]]

[Rumia, the garden's resident non-evil Lamia, smiles at the mirror at she sits nestled on the heated bed she had not long ago constructed for herself from precious magic dirt. After a few blissful moments cuddled against a pillow, she lets out an restful sigh and proceeds to address the mirror sitting not far from her directly.]

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been so quiet lately... But, since alot of people don't seem to know much about lamia I thought I'd take a few minutes to catch everyone up to speed. But I'm going to warn you, I'm not sure if all of this is really true, since I've never really lived around other lamia before.

To begin, lamia are a race of demi-humans, which means we're part animal and part human. We live in small villages, mostly located in the southern part of the world, ruled by a queen or priestess who makes decisions for the entire community based on consultation from the people under her. A queen's reign tends to last until her death, afterwords the community will come together to select a new ruler they think would make wise decisions in the future.

While Most lamia villages tends to be made up entirely of our own kind they also typically to have a small population of humans living in their midst. this is due to the fact that male lamia are incredibly rare, most lamia takes human men as husbands in order to create a proper family. I've never seen a lamia take a human woman to be her wife, I'm sure that happens sometimes also. The offspring of a human and a lamia tends to be a half-lamia like me. We're a bit smaller then our mothers and lack the tough scales and sharp claws they are known for. There is a taboo against humans having relationships with demi-humans, due largely to issues related to a religion whose name I forget, I do my best to show people there is nothing wrong with myself or anyone else like me who happens to have been born from those pairings.

That's all for now I guess, if you have any other questions about lamia or any other demi-humans, feel free to ask!

[ A giant, pleasant-looking mansion, loaded with an endless supply of tea? Mugi was not dreaming; she was in heaven.

Right now, the girl is standing at a counter in the Victorian manse's elegant kitchen, several containers of tea stacked in front of her. She is clutching a caddy spoon to her chest, the other hand cupping her cheek. Is she blushing... about tea? She is.

When she notices the mirror she makes a brief, startled sound but smiles all the same. ] Ah! Goodness. Hello there. I'm sorry to be calling again like this but... I have a dilemma.

[ Mugi brings her hand down to the top of one tin. ] Earl Grey.... [ Then the next. ] Irish breakfast... [ And another after another. ] Ginger, lemon grass, peach, hibiscus, ... I can't possibly decide! [ Tea is serious business, and she is having serious Tea Overload over here. ]

I do not know the name of this building, but if you seek the pastel-colored manor, I will be waiting inside. I will be glad to prepare some tea for anyone who might have some advice for me! [ Yes, that's all this was for. Mugi was calling out because she wanted to make tea for someone. Anyone. ]

[ The mirror isn't on for even a moment before crying can be heard. It's not coming from the blonde girl with the inordinately large eyebrows, either. No, the sounds are coming from the large egg cradled in her arms, the painted face on its shell drawn to further illustrate its distress. ]

Oh no! What am I going to do? [ The young girl is trying her best to be reassuring and soothing to the little thing, but it will have none of it! This behavior is slowly eating away at Mugi's calm demeanor. ] There, there. No need to cry~. I'm sure we can find your "mama", somehow.

[ She shifts in place, having retrieved her garments moments earlier but not yet changed out of the tell-tale slip given to newcomers in the Gardens.

Mugi is giving the egg her full attention, and has not yet noticed the Vine that was broadcasting the scene. ] This is quite a dilemma... and since when did they make trial babies out to be in this shape?