Quest 116

[primrosella]

[Private//Hackable by Friends]

Well...it's been ten days now.

...I still don't know what to do.

I keep trying to think things through, to find a good answer and figure out how to put it to use, but whenever I try, it always seems like I arrive at the conclusion that saying what I did was an absolutely ridiculous idea and I really shouldn't have and honestly, I should've known better and why didn't I know better and--I don't know. I really don't, and sitting around letting my thoughts go around and around in circles isn't going to solve anything either.

Three boys, three roses. Pink, red, and orange. How funny that they all go in a line that way--will the next one be yellow, I wonder? Will there be a yellow at all? Neil was green, but that was different, and that skipped a color in the middle, anyway. And Neil has his own worries to deal with, he certainly doesn't need any of mine.

Pink. I was sitting in a tree on a warm August afternoon, and he made it appear for me, and I took it and held it and thought...well. I didn't know any better then, I don't think. I still expected things to work out the way they do at home, and he was so charming, and I just--I didn't know. But I learned, didn't I? Things went wrong and I realized afterward that I hadn't known the whole story after all, and there was another girl, and I'd been foolish all along and I shouldn't have--mm. I shouldn't have trusted that it would all work out on its own, I think. That was when I learned not to hold a curse against someone.

The pink rose is a memory that things aren't always what they seem.

Red. I don't remember how I came about this one, but I know what happened before and after, and I remember why I don't remember it. Red was Valentine's Day, and I remember I was so happy, and there was a ball to go to--Blair's red rose ball. I had a modern dress to wear and glass slippers and I went with Blue, who was heartbroken too, and Mikaela was here and she went with Sam and they had a lovely time together. And that was strange, getting used to Mikaela, since I'd heard so much about her but then I really got to meet her in person, and she came to live with us and I wasn't sure what to think about her, really. But she turned out to be just lovely, and she meant so much to Sam, and things got better went on. And I don't remember where this rose came from because it was one of the most precious memories I had, and I gave it away for something equally valuable.

The red rose is a memory that everything changes.

Orange. This is the rose that doesn't belong to me, exactly, but to a girl that I might've been. And how happy she was when she got it, too--everything in the world was going right for her, just then. She'd done well in school and she had a beautiful dress and a party to attend and a charming escort, and it was almost like a fairy tale in itself, despite the setting. Wasn't it? And then she realized that she hadn't known the whole story after all, and there was another girl, and she'd been foolish all along and she shouldn't have...mm, it's strange, how some things never change, isn't it? But she was a good girl, wasn't she? She knew the right thing to do and she did it, no matter what it meant for her or anyone else. She was a good girl.

The orange rose is a memory that some things are more important than oneself.

What do I do? What can I do? I can't take it back now. I can't fix it, I have to keep going on forward. But Sam's doing everything he can to put my feelings before his own, and he's determined to convince me to see this out, and I don't want him to get hurt but I don't see how he can't, what with this mess and that and--

One thing I've been wondering, all this time, is if all this trouble is all really worth it in the end. Which is an awful thing to wonder, I know, but...would it have been better if I hadn't said anything at all? I thought the right thing to do was be straightforward and confront things as soon as possible and be honest about them, and then it'd all work out from there, but...

...But then again, hiding things doesn't mean they go away, does it?

[/Private]

I, er, know this is rather late, since it's been quite a few days now, but I'm terribly sorry to anyone I might've worried by the, er, way I was acting the other day, during the machine curse. I'm fine, don't worry, I just...don't like machines very much, that's all. But I'm just fine now, and I managed all right that day, and with any luck, that curse won't come up again.

And now it seems we have a mountain, as well? I've heard talk that there are monsters on it, just like there are in the forest. I rather wonder if there are any Abominable Snowmen living up there. We have them in Daventry, up in the mountains, and they do tend to make things rather dangerous for anyone that might try to cross them. And then of course, there's always the problem of what lives under the mountains as well--trolls, for example, seem to favor caves beneath mountains very much. Well, and bridges, too, but it's considerably harder to get a goat to follow you down into a cave in a mountain, so it's much more difficult to deal with trolls in mountains than it is trolls around bridges.

Still, I rather want to go explore it, sometime. It seems to be staying put rather nicely, and there haven't been any great upheavals or plagues or swarms of monsters invading the City from it--yet--so maybe it's just a change of scenery, after all. Do you suppose we ought to name it? On the other hand, we don't really have a name for the City, I suppose, other than "The City", so perhaps it'd be fitting to just call it "The Mountain", and keep with that pattern of naming things. It's not as though it's exactly difficult to figure out which mountain we're referring to by it, after all.

I could do it if I were a bird. It'd make things a hundred times easier, being able to fly across the mountain rather than climbing it on foot. Like having the flying monkeys carry me up to Lolotte's castle. I wonder...

Neil, I'm afraid I'm still working on thinking my way through that mystery we were discussing. I keep jotting down notes and things every time I think I come up with something clever, but other than that I haven't gotten much of anywhere with it. Cain said he'd help to come up with a good story, and I'm sure once we have the basics we can just alter things to make it fit for our purposes, but other than that I'm a little...stuck.

I can hardly believe it's almost September already. Where did the time go?


[OOC: Still faking it like it's hot, and getting better at it, too. Also, my HMD thread is over here, for anybody that might've wanted it and missed it. ♥]

Comments

[toboldlytroll.livejournal.com]

The mountain just rose up out of nowhere?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Didn't it? One day it wasn't there, and the next day it'd just risen up and now there it is.

[toboldlytroll.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't know. Today is my first day in the City, you see~

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Oh! My goodness, no wonder. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, and welcome to the City, though I'm very sorry to mention that you're, er...stuck here now.

[roseblooms.livejournal.com]

Time does seem to fly here. It's enough to make a lot of us complacent about the fact that we're watching the seasons go in a place that isn't really our home.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Oh, drat. Keep smiling, keep smiling.

Mm, and this is the longest I've ever been away from home and my family, actually. But it's rather all right in its own way, isn't it? It still feels like home here, somehow...even if it's a different sort of home.

she aint beatin' around the bush here baby. you're getting it hard and fast.

[roseblooms.livejournal.com]

I suppose. It's not like protesting and fighting will get us anywhere, will it?

Private; Unhackable

But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about, luv. I'd like to speak to you in person, if you're available.

I'm sorry to spring this on you... but it's urgent and you're the only one I can speak of this to.

she likes it hard and fas--wait, that sounds really dirty. Never mind.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

No, it won't. We just have to make the best of things, of course.

Private; Unhackable

Urgent? My goodness, of course, is everything all right? I'll meet you anywhere you like, right away.

[misterblackbird.livejournal.com]

So are you going to explore the new mountain, despite the prospect of abominable snowmen on it?

I've been giving some thought to everything-- the play. I've a few ideas. Shall I send them along to you?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

I'm giving it some thought. I'd rather not go rushing off and getting myself into trouble if I can help it, but I do want to go have a look and see what all there is up there, anyway. I'll just have to plan a good way to do it.

Oh. Of course, the play. Oh, have you? That's wonderful! Yes, please do!

I AM HERE TO MAKE THINGS AWKWARD!

[misterblackbird.livejournal.com]

I'm planning on walking about on it a little--not a real climb up the entire height of the thing, but enough of a climb to have a look at it. Hopefully there won't be anything monstrous on its lower reaches.

They're in terrible shape at the moment. Let me write them out properly and I'll send them along.

MORE AWKWARD IS ALWAYS NECESSARY

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

It's really a pity you don't have wings today. It'd make exploring things up there so much easier, wouldn't it?

Of course, and then I can go over them with Neil and Todd and get things worked out. We'll have to look into how many people would be interested in acting in the mystery, of course, and how long we have until we want to perform it, and things like that. But we really can't do anything without having a story first.

Got a headache so backtag later?

[passionforshoes.livejournal.com]

Go looking for shit, you're going to find it.

Absolutely! Hope you feel better soon!

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

I suppose it depends on how hard you look, and for how long, and how carefully, really.

Re: Absolutely! Hope you feel better soon!

[passionforshoes.livejournal.com]

I mean that if you go up there and get eaten, don't come down crying about it.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

It would prove quite hard to come down crying if I'd already been eaten, wouldn't it?

But in any case, I don't think Blue will let that happen.

[playstheblues.livejournal.com]

I'll go exploring with you.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Up the mountain, even?

[playstheblues.livejournal.com]

Sure! I'd prefer to go with you than have you go alone.

[not-so-smooth.livejournal.com]

You should look into that one magic where you turn into animals. You could turn into a... I don't know, a thing that does well on mountains.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

An eagle, I think, would do well enough for a look at a mountain. Or a goat, I suppose. Um...perhaps a rattlesnake? Well, no, maybe not the rattlesnake.

[not-so-smooth.livejournal.com]

An eagle would probably be better than a goat. Why couldn't you pick something like an Abominable Snowman though?

[had_not_lived]

I'm glad you're all right, though. It's not your fault that they frightened you.

I'm having a hard time getting ideas for the mystery, too.... I wonder, could we adapt some other story to start with?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

That was just a bad day all around, I think. I'm glad it's over.

Cain said he'd thought of a few ideas--he's solved a few mysteries himself, I think, and he said he'd write out a few of them and send them along for us to use, so with any luck we'll have something in a day or two. But we're going to have to adapt it anyway, most likely, just to make it fit for a play and all that. Er, if that's the story we decide to use, anyway. Nothing says we have to, if we think of a better one ourselves.

[had_not_lived]

Oh, well that's a help! I haven't really read that many mysteries myself, so having someone with experience help out is certainly a good idea.