primrosella | Entries tagged with exploring

[Accidental Voice Post]

[The audio opens, as most posts of the accidental nature do, with some shuffling, some rustling, some gentle flurry of movement--the swishing of skirts, the whisper of wind, the soft thud of footsteps against a well-worn path. Branches snap, leaves crackle; the footsteps abruptly go silent as a voice, startled, cuts through the background noise.]

Is that--

[A few rapid steps swish through the grass; the suspense hangs in the air another moment before the voice speaks again, this time heavy with uncertainty and disbelief.]

But it can't be--!

[Another pause, wavering amidst the wind and the rustling of nature. And then at last, quietly this time, as if the speaker were remarking to herself under her breath--]

I'd know that old house with the ghosts anywhere. The graveyard, the crypt...no, that's it, there's no doubt of it, but why is it--

[She trails off, hesitant, before something occurs to her--and the words take on a new, eerily emphatic tone.]

I wonder if that box is still there...

[The footsteps begin to rustle again, a little quicker this time, and shortly thereafter the audio switches off.]

[OOC: So there actually is a haunted manor in Rosella's canon, in which she meets some ghosts and robs some graves and dodges zombies like a boss. Oh, and it's also where she hid Pandora's Box all those years ago, locked up tight in the crypt. (Good old Whateley Manor, withdrawn from the charming little town of Innsmouth to the world of Daventry.) Obviously, the one she's seeing isn't the exact same one that she visited in Tamir...but of course, Rosella's cursed out of her mind and doesn't know that. :D]

Current Mood: curious

[Accidental Video Post]

[The feed clicks on with a skitter, a rattle, a dark and velvety shadow completely obscuring the camera, a soft whiff of air in something that might be a snort of impatience, and then--]

[Hello, children.]

[OOC: ♪ She can't hiiiiide her lion eyes~ ♫. Man, it's been a really long time since Safari Day turned Rosella into a lion; normally she ends up a Western Rosella because pretty birds are pretty. But today she is a lion, which means she's long out of practice with working a Network device through big meaty paws. Hence the problem. All responses are therefore assumed voice or video, and she'll be prowling around the City today if anyone wants to ~~GET IN THE CAR~~ action, too! o/]

( Written Correspondence: Sir Mal Heymer )

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( Written Correspondence: Sir Zuko Flamel )

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( Written Correspondence: The Most Honble. The Marquis of Cloverfeld, Nigel Colbie )

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[Video | Open Action]

[It's far more pleasant to spend time in the garden at Versailles; the palace itself is cramped and stifling, and such enclosed spaces have never sat well with Rosella, who much prefers open spaces and clear air. So at the moment she can be found lingering near the marvel that is the fountains, admiring the sculptures and the scenes they depict, and carefully calculating her plans for the evening.

Any passerby who stop for a word and a moment of her time will be received with her most charming smile and her full attentions; she's not about to waste any opportunity to gain advantage that may arise, no matter how slight, and the more she impresses, the better.]

[OOC: See HERE for the details! TL;DR, Rosella de Brus, Princesse Royale of Daventry, is large and in charge in your Versailles! Muns of her entourage, I hope the names and titles I've randomly bestowed here are cool with you; if there's a problem with any of it, let me know and I'll fix it right away! Let's have some shenanigans. o/]

Current Mood: busy

[Accidental Voice Post]

--'ll have to stop and hunt soon, I should think; this seems to be a good area for it, and so much the better that we store up while we have it, since there's no telling what we might be able to find on the other side of the river once we cross it.

Now remember, as my grandfather used to tell my father, who then passed it on to me: "Boy, if I have learned anything in my life, I have learned this: when in doubt or in trouble, pick up anything that is not nailed down, and if it is, check for loose nails or boards. Check carefully into, under, above, below, and behind things. Read everything; you might learn something. Wear clean undergarments, brush after meals, and always remember, nothing is as it appears. Nothing."

I'm sure there will be plenty of rotten logs and hollow trees and things around when we do stop, so don't forget to check them all carefully! One never knows where one might find a bag of diamonds or a jeweled bracelet or any manner of things like that. And speaking as someone who might not be alive today if not for a dead worm, believe me when I say that my grandfather very much had a point.

Well! How about this spot, then?

[A creak of wagon wheels, a murmur of fabric, and the audio ends.]

[OOC: Oregon, ho! Currently on the cast list for Team Adventure are Rosella, Suzaku, Fran, and Maria, but anyone's welcome to tag in! Sorry, children, Mother's making sure we do this adventure right. ~~Hopefully there aren't any rattlesnakes in all those empty logs you'll be looking into.~~ :D]

Current Mood: busy

[Voice Post]

[The audio comes on with a fumbled click, and a moment later a child's voice speaks, slightly muffled due to the fact that she's holding the microphone a little too close to her face. However, despite this faint distortion, her voice is clear and authoritative--or at least, it gives the impression that she's trying very hard to sound that way.]

'Scuse me. Um, I know there are lots of people in this magic box, and I think maybe my knight is in here too, so could somebody tell me where he is, please? I really need to find him 'cause I think he's supposed to be watching me, so if somebody could help me, please, you would have my eternal gra--graturtude.

[A brief pause.]

Or if you don't know where he is, could you tell me how to find the castle? That's where my daddy always goes when we visit here, 'cause he has to talk to the king about matters of state. But I don't ever get to go so I don't know where the castle is. I think it would have a moat because our castle does, too, and maybe alligators.

[And now there is a long pause, long enough that a listener might think that the speaker has forgotten to switch off her device, but it turns out that it is merely Rosella waiting to see if her magic box will answer her. When no reply immediately comes, she makes a faint whine of frustration, then quickly composes herself and resumes speaking.]

Well, I'm going to go look for the castle, so if you change your mind, can you please tell me? Please? I really need to find my mother and daddy.

[Another pause.]

It's really important.

[There are another few seconds of silence, and then a rustle of fingers and fabric near the microphone, and with a click, the recording shuts off.]

[OOC: Yup, Tiny!sella is back, back again. And she has some vague memories of the last few times she was turned into a child, so she's a little more confident about where she is (and a little less willing to admit that she's lost). She's setting out to explore the City and attempt to find the nonexistent castle, so all responses assumed voice, and feel free to action if you want it.]

Current Mood: nervous

[Accidental Voice Post]

[The audio begins, rather abruptly, to the sound of someone in near-hysterics, shrieking in a tone that is both desperate and pleading.]

--told you he doesn't know! Stop it, stop it, put him down, how can you expect him to--Alexander! Leave him alone, he told you he doesn't know! He said he doesn't--

[Then, suddenly, she goes silent as she at last becomes aware of her surroundings, and more importantly, the fact that these are not the same surroundings she was seeing a moment ago.]

...What--what sort of trickery is this? A fountain...? Horses? This isn't--where am I?

[The sound of her breathing quickens.]

What have you done, Mordack?! Where am I?! Where's my--Mother, where's my mother, what have you done with her?! Alexander--our castle--no, no, what have you done, where am I?! Where have you taken me? What is this, what have you done?! Let me go!

[The questions seem to hang in the air as she falls silent again, waiting for a reply that never comes. There is a long, drawn-out pause, in which the only discernible sound is the faint rush of water from the Fountain in the background. When Rosella finally speaks again, her voice is quiet and trembling, obviously directed more to herself than to anyone else whom she thinks might be listening. Despite sounding on the verge of tears, it is clear that she is determined to carry on as bravely as she can.]

It still won't work. Whatever you've done to me, it won't work, it doesn't--it doesn't matter what you do to me, he'll never change that awful cat back for you. No matter how you threaten us--it won't work, it won't ever work, he'll never help you!

Don't tell him anything, Alexander. It doesn't matter about me. You've done more than your part already. This time--this time it's mine to bear.

[There is a soft rustle of cloth as she gets to her feet, and then the faint sound of heels clicking against pavement as she begins to walk around, trying to get her bearings as she attempts to make sense of everything she is seeing.]

Mordack...what in the world have you done with me...?

[OOC: Ahhh, I've been wanting to do this one for a while. So today, Rosella is cursed with Feels Like The First Time,

( which means... [OOC Explanation Within] )

She is currently wandering around the Square, mostly keeping near the Fountain, so action for people out there, and voice for everyone else.]

Current Mood: disoriented

( Letter Home | Viewable to All )

Ugh, fashions and lessons and entertainments are all well and good, but what's the fun of coming to a City like this if I never manage to get out and see any of it? Cousin Lotte would have me stay where she can keep an eye on me, I think, or at least where Edgar can do it for her, when she can't manage it herself. And they've shown me all manner of pretty things, it's true--all the right things for a pretty girl, albeit one just a bit out of fashion, visiting from so far away. But only ever in their own time and their own way, and according to their own designs.

I think she must not like me very much, Cousin Lotte. Or at least, she only likes my presence for the novelty of having a foreign relation staying in her household, which makes for one more thing to chat about with her ladies.

But I'm not here for Cousin Lotte's guidance, either. I came because wanted to get away from home and see all the wonders of the city for a change, and here I am. I should be happy enough with that, shouldn't I? The bits and snippets I've managed to glimpse through the carriage windows are better than nothing at all, and yet...no, it's not enough. It's not, because I want to hear the music, to see the lights, to meet the people and hear their stories and talk with them for hours about anything at all--or even nothing at all, just the same. I want to be here because here is an adventure, and it's anything other than home.

Now if only I could convince Cousin Lotte to let me out to see it.

I'd sneak away, if I thought I could manage it, but the chance is too great that I might get lost or get caught. My French is still awful and other than parading me around in front of a whirlwind of matrons, Cousin Lotte seems content to keep me chained to Edgar, so I haven't much practice with knowing where I'm going, or how to find my way home again if I go. And he won't take me to the places I want to go. He'll only do as Cousin Lotte tells him to. And besides, if I'm to get myself in trouble, I'd rather not be responsible for getting him into it as well.

What I need is a plan. Or a confidant. And at the moment, I have a rather unfortunate lack of both. So until I come up with one or the other, I suppose my adventure will just have to wait.

[OOC: So Rosella is cursed to be a young lady of the nobility, visiting a distant relative here in the City in the hopes of Getting Culture and Having Adventures. Unfortunately, her relative's idea of culture and adventures aren't quite what she had in mind. So what's an enterprising young lady do to? Why, take matters into her own hands, of course.

Dibs on busting her out goes to Ferris (

la_vie_rapide), so her replies will either come before she's made her escape or after she's out in the City. Feel free to action her up if you want to run into her somewhere; she'll be hitting the town in general tonight. =D]

Current Mood: bored

Well, now that yesterday's curse has come and gone, and people seem to have successfully managed to keep from sticking to each other today, I think it's finally safe to get out of the house and give Valor some exercise. I'd planned to go yesterday instead, but of course yesterday's curse would've made quite a mess of that idea, wouldn't it have? I doubt it'd be a particularly pleasant experience, spending my whole day stuck to my horse, and I'm sure Valor would've enjoyed it even less so. But such is the nature of the City, and that's why it's always a prudent idea to keep one's plans as flexible as possible, just in case an inconvenient curse should arise at exactly the wrong time.

But now the curse is over, it seems, and I can get back to the errands I wanted to run yesterday. There are still roses blooming in Xanadu, aren't there? Even though it's winter out?

~~And even if there aren't, I could still use the fresh air--and the time to think.~~

Mm. In any case, this month has been much milder than some of the other ones we've had, and I'm glad for it. So really, we ought to make the best of it while we can, I think. It's two more months now until the first day of spring ~~and my birthday~~, and next month is when Valentine's Day comes around, isn't it?

...Yes, I really do think we ought to make the best of things, while it lasts.

[OOC: And she's off to the Rose Path in Xanadu, should you care to see her along the way.]

Current Mood: productive

Well, this is...unusual, to say the least.

I've been a lioness before, and that was an entertaining experience, to say the least. I'd never felt anything quite like the power and confidence of it; I spent the day prowling and stalking and running as fast as I could, feeling as though I could go anywhere and do anything I pleased.

I've been a frog before, too, but that wasn't quite as entertaining. It was a bit more...slimy. And green, as well. But it served its purpose, in any case, and while I might not be eager to repeat the experience, I certainly don't regret it.

I've had wings before, too, but those were borrowed from an angel, and came with plenty of other, er, surprises of their own. In hindsight, the opportunity to fly so high was a marvelous one...but at the time, it scared me, having all those abilities. I ended up trying to avoid everyone as best I could, for fear that I might hurt them on accident. After all, if I could destroy a tree just by pointing at it--though it was a bit more complicated than just pointing, as I discovered later, but I hadn't known that at the time--who knew what I might do to one of my friends.

But this...this is unusual. Though it's the good kind of unusual, I think. It's fortunate I left my window open a bit yesterday, or I might never have gotten out today. That would've been a shame; it's so nice to stretch my wings and swoop and dive and float and soar, all over the City.

Just the same...I won't be sorry when this string of curses ends, either.

[OOC: Have a Western Rosella, thanks to the Safari Day curse. ~~Yes, it's a pun, I'm hilarious.~~ According to wiki: the Western Rosella is "largely sociable with humans and will whistle in return if whistled at."]

Current Mood: colorful

[Voice Post]

…I’m here.

…No, I’m fine. Had a few close calls, but I’m not hurt. The locals here don’t seem to be particularly…friendly.

…I had no choice. But there’s something weird going on over here—the people are…afraid. Half won’t talk to me, and the others—

…Bingo. But from the ones who do talk, a name keeps coming up over and over again. Lolotte. Any idea what it means?

…Religious cult organization? Great. And I’ll just bet they’re the ones behind the president’s poisoning, too?

…And there’s no point in an antidote if you don’t have a poison to go with it.

…The mountains. I saw a path leading up while I was searching the countryside; maybe there’s something up there. I’ll go up and check it out.

…I will. Rosella out.

( OOC )

[TL;DR: Genre switch, voice or action posts welcome, aaaaaand I'm probably going to fail at this, but I wanted to give it a try, so bear with me? =D]

ETA: Aaaaand back!

Current Mood: determined

( Attempted Private//Woefully Hackable )

I would like to extend my heartfelt apologies to anyone I may have come into contact with yesterday; my behavior was crass, undignified, and utterly improper. For everyone who knows me, I hope it was apparent that I was under the effects of a curse, and therefore was not acting like my normal self in any way.

For those that do not know me, I ask only that you temper any judgments of my character with the knowledge that I was behaving like a completely different person, that I am normally nothing like that, and that I am truly ashamed of my conduct yesterday.

~~There. Now that that's taken care of...~~

A bit of fresh air and exercise sounds very nice right about now.

Current Mood: okay

( Attempted Private//Woefully Hackable )

Goodness, what's the matter with everyone today? So much fighting! Honestly, I didn't realize that stopping someone to ask directions was such a problem. And really, that remark about my dress was completely uncalled for! It's a perfectly good dress!

~~I don't know what a "Renaissance Fair reject" is, but the way she said it, it certainly wasn't anything nice. ...Hmph.~~

I think I'm going to start trying to play my flute more often ~~before I have to put it back where I found it~~. It's been a while since I had lessons, and I'd like to get back into practice. Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, after all.

[OOC: First strike is visible if you look hard, second strike is not!]

Current Mood: annoyed

( Attempted Private//Woefully Hackable )

It's a pretty day out, isn't it?

[OOC: Action spam for

canisfidelus, regular old journal post for everyone else~!]

Current Mood: eager

It seems sensible that I should begin keeping a journal of the time I spend here, at least until I find a way to return home. After all, Mother will want to hear about all the adventures I have had while in this strange city, and Gerwain will almost certainly want to add an account of this adventure to his book of chronicles, so I’d better start writing things down or I’m liable to forget something.

I made a list of things I thought I might need during my stay here; being transported so suddenly from home with no warning left me at a bit of a loss, but I’ve managed before and I know I can manage again. A few of these have been taken care of already, thanks to the help and kindness of Sam, who came to my aid when I first arrived. But as for the others, I will have to take care of them myself at some time or another.

One problem that has been resolved is that of clothes. My dress, while clean, is hardly ideal for adventuring--not enough pockets. But thankfully, yesterday I discovered a closet in my room with attire that is more suitable to my needs. I am not quite sure how such clothes got there, since I know I was not fitted for any of them, but perhaps there is magic in this city as well, alongside all the strange machines. That thought is enough to give me hope.

I also plan to make my way to the markets at some time, now that the matter of coin has been solved. But this afternoon, I decided that I would simply let my feet take me exploring, and see what wonders I might come across after an afternoon of adventures. (I was, of course, very careful to note the path that would lead me back to the warehouse, so that I could find my way home again.) I had chosen a simpler dress with several pockets and a pair of boots with soft soles, so I was prepared to carry home any treasures that I might come across. I suppose it would be wise to invest in the purchase of a pack, also, but for the time being I will make do with the dress.

I saw several buildings while I was out, as well as many little shops. (I kept a map of the places I went, also, and intend to add to it every time I go exploring--I wonder how big this city really is?) I looked around some of them, but there were two that caught my interest. One was at the end of a path into the woods--a barn or stable, it seemed, with a number of horses! I wish I’d thought to bring an apple with me, but at least I know now for next time. The other building that piqued my interest turned out to be a great library, large enough to make the one back home seem as small as a kitchen cupboard. There were so many books, rows upon rows of them, and I desperately wanted to go in and look around but I knew that if I did, I might never come out! So the library, like the barn, will have to wait for another day.

I took care to be watchful for any ogres that might cross my path, having been advised of their presence here in the city yesterday by a knight named Sir Gino Weinberg of Britannia. (Gerwain might know where the land of Britannia is--I will have to remember to ask him. Perhaps it lies somewhere in the Southern Sea?) Fortunately, I avoided any encounter with them, but I will keep my guard up in the future, just the same. I intend to try a different route tomorrow, so that I might add more to my map, and it may be that I have just been lucky about avoiding them so far.

...I wonder how Daddy is doing...

[OOC: Poor Rosella, being unaccustomed to curses in this city, thought y'all were serious about that bodice-ripper stuff yesterday. DX]