primrosella | Quest 231

Quest 231

[Accidental Video Post]

[The device opens on a shot of the interior of the Library, with Rosella sitting at a table reading a book in the foreground and a glimpse of tall shelves loaded with books in the background. Her blonde hair is pinned back off her face, as it usually is when she is at work, and there is a stack of books on either side of her on the table itself. On her left--the camera's right--the stack is quite tall, perhaps seven or eight neatly stacked books; on her right, the pile is only one or two books tall.

The one currently in her hands is old and bound in brown leather; the cover is so worn that the title is nearly illegible. But she appears to be thoroughly engrossed in her reading, and as yet hasn't even noticed that her camera has switched on.

She reaches to turn the page, and her finger slides along the edge--]

Ouch!

[--and instantly the scene seems to go into slow motion: the edge of the page slowly, agonizingly slides through the pad of her finger; her blue eyes widen faintly at the abrupt sting; her hand moves instinctively toward her mouth as a small droplet of blood squeezes out from the sudden wound--and the soundtrack kicks in.]

♪ MMMM, WHATCHA SAAAAAAAY?
MMM, THAT YOU ONLY MEANT WELL?
WELL, OF COURSE YOU-- ♫
[As she sucks on her cut finger, a look of exasperation crosses Rosella's face, and her eyes narrow slightly as she slides it from her lips and hisses in a severe whisper: ]

Oh, honestly. We're in the Library!

[And, as if properly abashed, the volume of the background music suddenly dials down to a more appropriate tone.]

♪ --DID,
MMMM, WHATCHA SAAAAAAAY?
MMM, THAT IT'S ALL FOR THE BEST? ♫
[Rolling her eyes, Rosella sticks her finger back into her mouth and returns to her book, and the soundtrack continues until the video slowly fades out to black.]

[OOC: Papercuts: they're serious business. And dramatic enough for today's curse, apparently! So naturally I couldn't resist. Action for anyone in the Library, Network for everyone else. Just remember to keep your voice down! :D]

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Of course I do.

[ It's a catchy tune. So by the time that Rosella's back to full speed and her finger is all bandaged, Mouse has begun humming the tune very softly to himself in a thin, warbly tone. The look that he gives her is probably a good indication that he's teasing. ]

Better than falling down stairs.

[ Trust him, both of his eyes are still bruised all around, though healing. He knows. ]

[Oh, feel free to giggle, Sharon. Though Rosella does appreciate your restraint in not laughing outright.]

It is today, at least. Hello, Sharon. How are you today?

Goodness, then I certainly wouldn't want to practice with you when you were going difficult on me! Or fight with you at all, for that matter.

So I would certainly recommend a bandage. Or at least a handkerchief to hold over it until it stops bleeding.

Not that I've seen as yet, no. I've not had anything following by rather dramatic and annoying music so far today. I'm almost surprised.

You do know that I wrote those guidelines almost as a joke, of course--don't you?

[They make a rather banged-up pair, really, though the lingering remains of the bruise on Rosella's cheek from Halloween have been carefully covered with makeup while it heals. People kept looking at her funny, for it.]

I should imagine so. I've nearly done that a few times, myself. Long skirts have a nasty tendency to tangle up in your legs at the worst times.

[Speaking of long skirts, she reaches into one of her skirt pockets, removing a small bottle of makeup, and motions slightly to his eyes.]

Would you like to try to cover those a bit, the way I did with my cheek? They wouldn't be so, er...noticeable, then.

One day you'll be able to.

_{( She may be now. Just a little. )}

Considering I have yet to be assaulted by music, I'm doing rather well.

I'll try a handkerchief until I can go find one, then. I wonder if we might have some at the front desk? I'll have to look.

Well, if you've managed to avoid the music, I think you've managed to avoid being cursed, as well. It's really quite annoying, because it's such a short song that whenever it comes to an end, it just starts over again.

Considering that you wrote them the day after the curse that had everyone else doing it? I'd rather guessed that much, yes.

Do you really think so? Not anytime soon, though, I'd imagine...

[ Mouse's attention lingers on Rosella's cheek and inquisitive impulse has him wanting to reach out and give it a poke. Not to be mean-spirited or to watch Rosella squirm, but just because. But Mouse knows better than 'just because', so he simply bundles more of the fabric of his sleeves around his hands and shoves them far into his pockets so that they'll behave.

Lifting his shoulders, he ducks his chin down, giving his head a little toss in the hopes of hiding behind his bangs even though his hair's not nearly long enough. Crinkling his nose, he asks timidly: ]

Looks bad?

Oh, good, then you're likely not cursed today. That's a fortunate thing; this one is really quite annoying, when one has to endure it all day. Though it is rather harmless, at least, and that's always something to be thankful for.

Well, but eventually.

I'm wondering if I should count my blessings or wait for it to hit worse.

[Her expression softens a little, and she raises her hand--complete with newly-bandaged finger--to her own cheek, drawing attention to it without quite touching it. It does still sting a bit, if pressed, and she doesn't want to mar the makeup, either.]

I got tired of people looking at me strangely and asking about mine, that's all, so I covered it up to make it more difficult to notice. I only thought you might like to do the same, if people have been bothering you, too.

How long is it until eventually, then?

Well, the lucky thing is that it's November now, so with any luck, most of the worst is over, for the time being. We...usually get a bit of peace after the really bad months. For a little while, anyway.

Oh, well. Probably several years.

I haven't even been here several years!

[ Mouse's hands wiggle in their pockets but he manages them to keep them where they are. And when Rosella says the word 'bothering', his mouth puckers slightly, just as if he's tasted something sour all of a sudden. ]

Just worried about you, [ he offers, in response to the idea that anyone would look at Rosella funny. Part of Mouse knows that all people aren't as kind as that, that maybe some were just staring at her to make her uncomfortable or to judge her, but he likes to pretend otherwise. It makes the world seem like a nicer place. ]

M'okay. Thanks.

Is that a problem?

[She nods a little, thinking back to the reactions of some of her friends when they'd first seen her that night, before she'd had the chance to explain.]

Likely so, yes. Still, it's a long story to explain over and over again, being the princess with the pea for Halloween and bumping it with a hairbrush and so on. So it's much more convenient to just avoid it when I can help it, I should think.

[But she does smile at him then, putting the bottle away.]

All right, then. Is there anything I can do for you, though, to thank you for rescuing me today?

Well, the lessons won't do me much good if I can't even beat an opponent with them for years and years yet.

Well you can't beat me.

[ Mentions of princesses gets Mouse to smile down at his shoes in a small, private way. He says very quietly, almost to himself: ] Princess.

[ But then his brain skips over this little beat and he looks up at Rosella again with a grin. Canting his head to one side, he beams at her, just proud to have been helpful in the first place. When he smiles this broadly, the piercing (http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lafcrwvnxJ1qboh6jo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1289369024&Signature=2Ir8usr2bQRqOzapU1r27b6LzBk%3D) in Mouse's mouth exposes itself. That's why it's called a smiley, after all. ] Free of charge.

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Quest 231

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