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

[imitational]

I said get off!

[ Ten minutes in, and there's already a ruckus. The source of it, a teenage boy with silver hair, a bizarre sense of acceptable fashion, and a shadowed look about his entire body that doesn't match the ray of sunlight he's lying in.

He's trying unsuccessfully to push a drowsy pig off of his leg. This would be easier if the pig were not roughly as big as he is, and considerably drunk. The boy looks furious, and would probably be doing much worse than his ineffective shoves and punches if he had something in reach. ]

[unaccepted]

[ Well, this headache won't go away when someone is screaming. Grantaire locates the source of all the noise and pauses as he looks over the boy--he feels far too sober for this. ]

Have you tried cooking it? That would be quite a feast.

[imitational]

Does this look like a joke to you?

[ The boy looks like he could easily take every bit of the aggravation he's taking out on that poor pig and transfer it to Grantaire. The pig, for his part, seems to sober minimally at the suggestion. Enough to turn to him as well, with considerable horror. ]

[unaccepted]

[ Grantaire eyes the pig and almost feels as though he can relate. He has seen drunken eyes such as those in the past. ]

Can it be anything but a joke? In any case, I have given you a serious solution.

[imitational]

Because I'm really in a position to do that.

[ A solution indeed! The pig snorts unpleasantly and puts more effort into standing. He makes it, but only with a shove from the boy on the ground. ]

[unaccepted]

[ Grantaire does not expect the pig to actually move, but he will take credit for it nonetheless. ]

You see? A serious solution has been presented, even if you thought very little of it. What do you say, then?

[cancercarcino]

[Once Karkat's finally figured out how to walk with a pair of wings on his back, he decided to walk around town to see if he could find some answers as to what the hell was going on, and, more importantly, try and find someone he knew. Which was how he came across a particular white-haired individual, stuck under a drunk oinkbeast.]

[Karkat stares for a minute before shaking his head.]

No, okay, fuck it, I've seen everything now.

[imitational]

[ The replica doesn't seem to find his appearance too strange. Strange enough to get a raised eyebrow, but that's mostly at the huge set of wings, and not the grey skin. He's seen weirder. ]

And here I thought this was an every day thing. Don't tell me you've never seen a guy with a pig stuck on him before.

[ You're fluent in sarcasm, right, Karkat? ]

[cancercarcino]

[It's like a second language to him. He crosses his arms and rolls his eyes.]

Oh, all the time. Right alongside sniffing special stardust and giant talking cats. What the fuck do you think??

[imitational]

[ Hey now, giant talking cats aren't too rate! ]

I think I'm not putting on a show for people like you to gawk at. Now get lost.

[ If he's not going to volunteer to help, which the replica is definitely not asking for. ]

[cancercarcino]

[Karkat is tempted to just let the asshole rot underneath the oinkbeast, but he knew once he simmered down he'd probably feel like an asshole. So he sighs, uncrossing his arms and stepping forward.]

Yeah, sure, and you can just go back to rotting underneath that drunken oinkbeast. Did you try kicking it?

[libero]

[What's this? He hears a poor creature in distress...

N to the rescue! He dashes to the scene of the crime(?) and gently lifts up his pig friend. If it were another situation he'd be questioning as to how he even had a single ounce of strength enough to carry a such a heavy creature, but that comes later.]

Stop! Your aggressive actions are scaring him.

[imitational]

[ The replica seems a little startled by that display of strength, but he's up on his feet immediately, brushing off his clothes from where the pig had been. ]

Then maybe he should've picked a different spot to nap.

[libero]

[He shakes his head, lightly petting the pig's head to reassure it.]

He was not napping, but was not able to stand up on his own. If you had paid a little more attention, you would have seen he was too ill to gather his bearings.

[This person seemed to have quite a short fuse. It made N uneasy to think about what might have happened had he arrived any later...]

[imitational]

[ The pig grunts at him in thanks. The replica looks completely unimpressed. ]

Ill, right. In that case, what would you want me to do?

[libero]

Hmm....

[There is a moment of awkward silence as he looks down at the pig and nods as they commune in their own alien animal language.]

This one says they want you to return him to his home.

[direhit]

Hey, hey! [It's hard not to hear the yelling even from afar, or notice the boy himself. That pale hair can be seen a mile away, and as Mei comes closer, she can see exactly what's going on.

Oh boy, that's really a pickle, but it's not a reason to yell bloody murder at the poor pig.] Hey! Calm down. There's no need to scream at him.

[imitational]

But there's a need to pass out on me?

[ Yeah, no, he doesn't think so. He'll stop yelling, but he's still shoving at the poor pig. He doesn't seem quite awake enough to care. ]

[direhit]

Well, no! But there's other ways you can handle this!

[Hibiscus meanwhile, moves without warning or acknowledging her trainer. Slithering up close to the Replica's side, she tries to wrap her tail and body around the pig in an attempt to lift him up off his foot temporarily.]

[imitational]

[ Whatever he was going to say is cut short when Hibiscus moves. He freezes up in a way that is often followed by violence. He doesn't know what she is, but she's no ordinary snake, and she doesn't smell like a Heartless. ]

What is that?

[direhit]

[As she carefully winds her body around the pig some more, Hibiscus gives the Replica an annoyed and loud hiss in his ear, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye. She's not a thing, boy :T]

She is a Serperior. Her name's Hibiscus and she's trying to help you. [Mei sounds a little more grumpier than normal explaining it as she comes over to help give a hand. The pig is so big, its hard to find something solid to grab, but she finally gets herself into position.] We'll lift him up, okay?

[offbeet]

[ and there's Luna, wearing a ridiculously big hat, standing a few feet away, and watching the entire spectacle unfold rather passively ]

I don't think he'll listen. He seems rather comfortable.

[imitational]

Right. I don't know what I was thinking.

[ That was sarcasm bordering on bitterness. Maybe he'll just lie down and hope this is some bad dream. He's never had dreams before. ]

[offbeet]

[ she smiles ]

I have no idea what you were thinking either.

[ she hunches down, digging in her bag ]

I might have some cake. That will be useful here.

[imitational]

Do pigs eat cake?

[ He's not actually trying to be sarcastic there. He doesn't know. ]