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

[righthandcat]

[ When Ranulf wakes up he's lying on a bench, opening his eyes to a troupe of excited people. The first feeling to greet him even before doing this was confusion, understandably this place smelled far different from where he remembered being last. And where was his friend? Still not used to being in open presence among beorc (humans), he's taken aback and jumps behind to a nearby tree defensively--only to find other people there. ]

Welcome! Welcome!

[ Okay, someone just grabbed his hand and was shaking it fervently. Then in the next second put up a pile of miscellaneous things in his hands. What was... happening.

He was so lost. ]

I--

[ Before the guy could protest more, a kid started poking at his tail. And that's what got him to lighten up. After playing with the kid a bit and thanking the locals for their kindness, he went on his way with his pile of things. Don't get him wrong, it was nice to meet a sweet kid, but he wasn't any less confused than when he first arrived. Thinking it would be easier to get around in his transformed state, he shifted and--promptly got himself crushed by his own stuff. ]

Eh?!

[ So if you pass by that sideline pathway, there is, for some reason, frustrated meowing coming from underneath the pile of objects. Truth be told he could carry them himself, but he hasn't realized the extent of his new powers yet. As far as he knows, his transformation just got really... different, like he was a kitten again. ]

[totallyfairest]

[ At first, Apple thought this was some sick joke. Now she's starting to get worried.

This kingdom doesn't look like it belongs to anyone she knows, and this village seems a long way from Book End - the villagers seem to just want to bow and call her "your majesty" and then get right out of her way, which is very nice of them, of course, but not all that helpful when all she wants to know is where she is. If this is Raven's fault, she's going to be so hexed off at her later.

So she wanders around, clutching the book she hasn't bothered to look at yet to her chest, a sleepy Gala wound around her neck. As she passes by the pathway, though, she hears sad little mewing coming from underneath a pile of random junk, and...well, she isn't Snow White's daughter for nothing. Princess Instincts engage! ]

Ooh, poor thing! [ She pushes the pile aside to let the poor thing pass, and sort of wishes she had Ashlynn's ability to talk to animals. She could use someone to talk to right now. ] You sweet little...blue...kitty! Are you all right?

[righthandcat]

Mew!

[ His face froze. Wait, did he lose the ability to talk coherently while transformed? He tries again, with marginally better results. Kinda made it sound like something was stuck in his throat. ]

Th.... thhhhaaa...

[ Again, it was all a matter of getting the hang of things, but baby steps... it won't even take very long to get the hang of it, but for now he doesn't know that. And his dialogue was more than a little disappointing. His ears dripped back in a bit of embarrassment. Oh well, his lack of speech shouldn't be too big a problem, he supposed. Since he could still do so just fine in his default form. And actions can speak louder than words... So he looks up to his savior with appreciative eyes and a tail raised upward. Any girl who stops to help out what appeared to be a random stray was good in his books. Was she a stranger to this place too? Something about her felt different from the locals he met shortly before. ]

[totallyfairest]

[ Hear that? That's the sound of Apple's heart melting in the face of kitty. Even blue kitty making weird noises. Hearts don't judge when it comes to adorable cats. ]

Aww! You're okay, see? Gosh, who in the world would just dump things on a poor little kitty, that's so - so wicked!

[ She proceeds to try and gather him into her lap, because where she's from, all animals inherently appreciate being gathered by beautiful young maidens. Gala, meanwhile, has slightly better instincts, and has unwound from her neck and is standing off at a polite distance now. Cats do not generally react well to foxes, even in fairytale land. ]

[righthandcat]

[ Well, he would explain himself that those gifts weren't things he could just casually reject after all that enthusiasm, but... all he can respond with is a lowering of his head that looked vaguely like a shrug. When he's picked up he's not entirely sure how to feel about it; after all he's a perfectly capable young adult who only somehow got caught in this small body. But rejecting it seemed unkind to such a nice girl, so he'll bottle away any awkwardness for now. He just hoped inside she wouldn't freak out on him later if he changed back to normal... Not all "frog prince" circumstances are met with enthusiasm, so. Ranulf didn't mind Gala though, what a nice fox. He looked at her a second, then back up at the princess.

He then maintains his upward gaze at her, as if wanting to tell her to say more about herself, hinthint. ]

[totallyfairest]

[ Apple doesn't need much prompting. She did, after all, ace all of her classes in Pouring Out Woes to Small Animal Friends. ]

Oh, kitty, I've had the most awful day! Or night. Or night-and-day. Well, whatever-after, it's just - first someone I thought was my friend totally ruined the most important night of my life and might've made me poof out of existence just because she wanted "a choice" and "a say in how her life turned out" and other crazy things - and then I wake up here and I have no idea where I am and everyone is looking at me like they're afraid I'm going to turn them all into slimy frogs or something - (sorry, frogs are very nice and not at all slimy, excuse me) - but at the same time it's like...like they want me to be here and they're glad I am, they just don't like me! I don't understand it! Everybody likes me!

Do you know what I mean, kitty? I hope everyone's being nicer to you than they are to me, it's not like you did anything wrong. Although I don't think I did anything wrong either. Oh, this whole thing is just...downright disenchanting!

[righthandcat]

[ Woah this was a lot more to take in than he expected. His eyebrows furrow together as he thinks what the situation could mean. In his own case it's not like he was doing anything particularly important, and at least the companion he's become separated from can take care of himself... For now maybe he could look after this girl, it sounds like she's having a rough time and wasn't sure how to deal with all these questions. In an attempt to comfort her, when she finishes talking he rubs his forehead against the back of her palm. It would be alright! Thinking optimistically always helps.

Noticing a familiarly-shaped book on her person, his eyes light up. He abruptly hops off her lap and looks pensively at the item stack he had escaped just a short while earlier. Taking a careful paw, he swipes one of the books at the bottom out of the way, and hops out of the way of the toppling other-things.

He wasn't sure what it meant yet, but maybe there could be a meaning to both of them having these? He pushes with his nose a journal just like Apple's, but the label on his was instead "Puss in Boots"... While notably he himself lacked the said articles of clothing. Ranulf thought it must have been a case of mistaken identity for another cat and that he'd accidentally ended up with it; and now he should find the real owner. The similarity of the volumes was uncanny and interesting though. Could it be a clue on what this place is all about? ]

[youdidwell]

[It takes him two or three steps past the pile of stuff before it registers in his head that there's a sound coming from underneath. He stops the backtracks but doesn't get too close because who knows with things here.

As he tilts one head to the side to make sense of the pile of stuff (who would leave all of this here in the middle of the path?) when he hears the meow again.

Huh.

Kageyama crouches down and peers at the pile but his wariness keeps him from actually touching anything there.]

[righthandcat]

[ Smelling the scent of a potential rescuer, Ranulf starts mewing a bit louder. ]

Mya!! Mya!!

[ Oh--but he has to do his part to help himself out too, right? So he reaches forward some stretch so that his front-paws are just barely poking out of the mess. Just in case the guy still had any doubt there was something under there. ]

[youdidwell]

[The paws suddenly reaching out surprise him but Kageyama manages to catch himself before he falls backwards onto his butt. By the looks of things, the thing's probably not under all that stuff because it wants to. He hopes so, in any case. Part of him is still wondering if this is a trap somehow but nevertheless, he starts picking at the things on top of what he suspects is a cat and setting them aside.

Please don't jump out and attack him suddenly...]

[righthandcat]

[ Hearing the boy picking off the items, Ranulf pulled back his paws and just waited patiently for a few more seconds. What Kageyama sees when he's cleared enough things is a thankful-looking cat with two eye colors. Doesn't look like he has any reason to feel threatened, unless he has a phobia or allergies. ]

[youdidwell]

[Oh. So it is a cat. That's definitely a relief.

Anyway, clearing stuff off one by one like this is too slow so instead he grabs the cat by the scruff of its neck and pulls it out of the pile instead. Then, he shuffles over a bit before setting it down on the ground.]

[righthandcat]

[ Woah, kid's a little on the impulsive side huh he could've hopped out himself... He appreciated that he cared enough though to do the gesture.

Looking back at him curiously, he wondered if the boy expected him to run off. But he wasn't exactly dealing with a random unfortunate stray like he might have figured. ]

[direhit]

[Cute, tiny blue kitten, meet a snake whose head is the size of your whole body.

Mei's Serperior is the one who notices the pile of belongings, the new scent of a different animal and the quiet meowing. Curious by the sight, she noses her way into the objects, trying to help dig out the poor cat hidden beneath it.

Mei follows behind her, simply watching her Pokemon partner move around the objects.] Hibiscus? What did you find?

[righthandcat]

[ Eek!! Okay, he's faced large things before, but in a form that he was used to! The cat's fur bristles as he stares up at the eyes of the massive serpent, but he's more frozen out of surprise than actual fear. ]

[direhit]

[Hibiscus is pretty unperturbed by the reaction from him. Meanwhile, Mei's digging around his belongings and finally manages to uncover the cat. He's blue, and he doesn't look like a Purrloin at all, but he's still pretty cute!]

Hibi, come on. You're scaring him. [She very nearly giggles, while Hibiscus stares back at her trainer and backs up away, giving him some space.]

[righthandcat]

[ Ranulf upon seeing the creature back off lets out a small sigh of relief. With how hastily it got in there it almost seemed like he was gonna be someone's lunch... But he sees now that he was wrong, and gives Hibiscus an appreciative bow. And one to this young lady as well, who seemed to be the snake's friend? It looked a little like the relationship of beorc riders with their pegasi or wyverns... ]

[direhit]

[Is he bowing at them?

It's not unnatural for Purrloin to be able to stand on their hind legs, but bowing seemed to be a bit much. Hibiscus only tilts her head, examining him carefully and not returning the bow he graciously gave her. Mei kneels down though, and tries to gather some of the belongings into a much neater pile.]

Are you lost, little guy?

[righthandcat]

[ Okay, so it might've been a little too dramatic. But he can't help that he was meowing now instead of talking (he would be able to later on--just not right away), so he wanted to make his emotions clear!

Scratching his cheek with his paw, he nods. It probably wouldn't be very polite of him to keep his troubles to himself if someone was asking. The only clue he's relying on is the book he already had on him from when he first awoke, which was labelled "Puss in Boots"... And seeing as he didn't have boots, he was fairly certain he wasn't the one being referred to. Little did he know though it was just that his story chose a bit slower to take its course. ]

[themortalson]

[He doesn't hear the frustrated meows. Seriously, he doesn't hear animals making any of their normal sounds. It all sounds like someone's talking so he can't tell if it's a person that needs help or an animal in peril...]

['Master, there's a cat under those belongings.']

Hm?

[The hare is willing to speak up, warning him of dangers or beings in danger. Looking down, the white paw points to the possessions in question and he does see them moving. If it had been a human, he may have merely turned away, but he crouches down and proceeds to unburying the cat while the others look on. He does have enough animals following him, but nothing wrong with helping one more.]

[righthandcat]

[ Assistance came a lot sooner than he thought it would, and what greets him once there's sunlight again is a surprisingly gruff expression. But hey Ranulf knew better than to judge by appearances, so when he manages to step out of that mess he looks up to the helpful stranger and begins to meow his thanks. ]

Hey, thanks for getting me out of there! I have no idea what just happened, I can usually handle that sort of weight easier...

[ Then he stops, looking unsure about something. Were beorc always this big? Or for that matter everything else? ]

[themortalson]

Don't mention it.

[It's a little amusing that the cat seems to have some manners and wave off getting flatted by what seems to be a book and maybe small boots. What? He turns his head back to the cat who's giving him a weird look.]

... What?

[righthandcat]

No, sorry, it's nothing!

[ It's not a big deal in the grand scheme of all things confusing him at the moment, he can deal with it later. ]

But what are you up to? I haven't been properly able to communicate with anyone else, so...

[ Wouldn't hurt to catch more information, if he had any. ]

[themortalson]

[Shinjiro's probably not the biggest threat at Ranulf's height anyway.]

Walking. I can hear animals talk, but it all blends together.

What happened to you?

[righthandcat]

[ Huh, come to think of it he heard the stranger's companion speak earlier to his aid, didn't he... Something sensitive as other animals' languages was previously only something he understood within laguz species. ]

Oh, you know. I'm always diving into random junk. It builds character.

Okay but serious answer is I thought I could handle carrying them, but looks like it didn't work out... [ No duh. He wasn't supposed to shrink... ]