Once upon a time...

[timefather]

[ For the residents of Märchenstraße, and all the land surrounding it, the eighth of December was a day to look forward to. Looking at it from an outside perspective, strangers and travelers could easily assume it to be a holiday. At the very least, a day for a festival, if a modest one. A day that shopkeeps spent all morning preparing for, that all manner of creatures spent days traveling to the city to witness. They'd heard the talk that passed around, the rumors from those still left. But would it work? No one knew for sure, no matter how confident the stories seemed to be. But hope was very quickly becoming all they had left.

They had decorated the whole town. Streamers, banners, wreathes and garland made of autumn flowers, plus whatever the Fairy Godmother had cooked up. Oh, she was just giddy. No skepticism could be spoken around her, not if you wanted to escape the wrath of her wand! Rumor had it that she had caught wind of a few piglets squealing about the likelihood that their magic would fail, and that they were subsequently transformed into the band of musicians who could be found performing in the park.

Well, at least the music was festive.

Of course, the decorations weren't for the newcomers alone. Autumn was coming to a close in just a few weeks, and Old Man Winter would take the reigns like he did every year, and their weather would turn cold and harsh. The chill was already there, cool and biting when the wind picked up speed. Lady Autumn was much preferred to the citizens of the city with her gentle nature, even if she failed to show up, finishing her work in the orchards instead. That was what they liked about her.

It was mid-morning when Father Time was found outside of his tower, checking one of the numerous pocket watches he kept on his person. "Unnecessary, but comfortable," he called them, and closed the watch again. It was twelve o'clock in the afternoon, and where empty space had been just seconds before, now they were. Sitting on benches, lying in flower patches, scattered about the city and outside of the gates in peaceful slumber. They would awaken to the bells of the clock tower. Some, to many friendly and relieved faces all around them, some to grateful ones carrying gifts of food and clothing and magic, and some to fearful, cautious faces. Regardless of how the town treated them, they would awaken to a celebration of their arrival, and choices to be made, and the books. Each and every one. ]

Comments

[perfectionisms]

Hold it!

[ She has nothing against being called princess, and she doesn't care what he thinks of her but... ]

At least take that poor rabbit out of your pocket, you animal pervert.

[themortalson]

[He does stop, but he doesn't turn around, his head merely turning towards his shoulder.]

What the hell did you call me? [Seriously? Under the surface, there is a spark of anger.]

[perfectionisms]

[ Without batting an eyelash. ]

Animal pervert.

[themortalson]

[That's what he thought.]

If I bothered explaining why that was wrong, I'd be on your level of insanity. [Still, he takes the rabbit out of his pocket despite complaint and sets it on the fox. Both animals seem confusions, but he can only roll his eyes.]

[perfectionisms]

[ She takes the hare by the ears and takes it with her to place it away from the fox because she doesn't want to see it eaten, thank you very much. Not unless it's prepared by a butcher and cooked by a chef. ]

[themortalson]

[That gets perhaps the worst response he's heard all day. Each animal in his company balks and the rabbit kicks madly. She can't hear it, but they're all pretty much yelling like pre-schoolers all attempting to taddle tail at once with one kid crying. Shinjiro immediately approaches.]

What the hell are you doing?!

[perfectionisms]

I'm not going to watch you feed your animals to each other!

[ She does not turn to face him, but that one, annoying little rose vine does slither and stand behind her like a serpent guarding its home. ]

Sorry about the delay. I didn't get notified for some reason

[themortalson]

[That's not going to make him back down. Shadows have had worse bite.]

Don't be stupid. First, you don't want the hare in my pocket and then, the fox can't carry him. I can't give a tired rabbit a break off its paws?

[He took another step closer]

Second, who taught you to hold live animals? You don't carry a rabbit by its damn ears.

what delay? I got both replies in succession.

[perfectionisms]

Don't be a fool. Fox eat rabbits. It's basic biology

[ She takes another step further. ]

I've seen professionals handle rabbits like this. [ By professionals, she means chefs and hunters. By rabbits she means dead ones. Who has never had a pet rabbit before? It is Franziska von Karma.

But fine, if it gets him off her case, she'll cradle the foolish, flea-bitten thing. ]

Hm... it might just be my email client again.

[themortalson]

Yeah, and so do wolves, dogs, bears, and lions.

[Surprise that they hadn't considering how long they wandered around. Still not helping him figure things out though. He isn't about to leave either.]

Chefs and hunters holding dead rabbits... [Scowling, at least he seems to lighten up now that the rabbit's being held correctly.]

Now, are we done here, or do people need to know you steal animals?

[perfectionisms]

[ She would roll her eyes at him if it weren't immature. ]

It's a wild animal. There's no one to steal it from.

[themortalson]

Maybe you weren't aware, but I do own them. Rabbit included.

[Animals, though wary of the woman, circle around without growling. The bear even rears up to swat thorns.]

[perfectionisms]

[ With one hand reaching for the whip on her hip, her voice falters a bit. She'll think about why that threat to that thorny vine unnerves her later. ]

More than half of those creatures require special licenses to own. Either you produce those licenses or I have the right to arrest you for illegal possession of endangered species.

[themortalson]

[He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the journal. It says 'Older Brother' on the spine.]

This is the only license needed in this place. Try to arrest me if you want, but it isn't happening.

[perfectionisms]

So? [ Journal flashing is the new badgeflashing. It was conveniently next to her whip anyway. ]

This says I'm supposed to be the "Thirteenth Fairy". Do I look like a fairy to you?!

[themortalson]

That explains the thorns...

[He shakes his head]

No one said we had to look the part. Anyway, the animals belong to this guy. I tried to send them off, but they don't leave. I have to deal with them just like you have to deal with colored flowers.

[perfectionisms]

This explains nothing, except that you're foolish enough to belive this cockaminy farce! [ And that as long as she can deny the existence of magic through forceful use of "logic", she will. ]

And you're feeding someone else's rabbit to someone else's fox, which makes it worse.

[themortalson]

Keep disbelieving if you want. That's not my problem... [Not completely. Still have his rabbit after all.]

Because when you feed an animal, you obviously place food on its shoulders. Are you hearing yourself right now? [... Wait, why is he even bothering with this? She's not holding the animal by the scruff or anything.] Oi, rabbit, let's go.

[Long ears up, the bunny's about to spring unless the 'fairy' stops it.]

[perfectionisms]

Again, do not expect me to comprehend the thoughts of animal perverts such as yourself. [ Look, she'll even help out. By dropping the bunny. It can land on its feet right? Or was that cats? ]

[themortalson]

[The rabbit is caught before it hits the ground and by the fox of all things. It brings the rabbit back to Shinjiro who inspects. Shaken, but not dead surprisingly. This woman obviously doesn't know what animal abuse is.]

I'm going to forget this meeting happened. [Otherwise, who could say what would happen should they encounter each other again.]