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

[andrarrrgynous]

[For Faris the welcome is lukewarm, at best, with many of the townspeople casting her suspicious, even disappointed looks. As if they'd been hoping for someone else instead of her. Every now and then she catches mention of a "Prince".

No matter, she had her own problems to deal with (namely: waking up in some mysterious city without her friends or her ship), and without even glancing at the name written on the spine of the journal she found in her lap, she tucks it into her satchel and starts off across the grass, approaching the first stranger who will listen to her.]

Hey! Mind telling me what the hell's going on? Where are we?

[A little abrasive, yes, but it's been a long day and Faris isn't exactly the most gentle person on a good day.]

[lil_sunspot]

[The moment Kiri hears Faris' "hey", he cuts her off with his own concerns.]

Y'seen a girl? Got blue hair. [Come on, blue hair, people. That's distinct. Does he need to start talking about her shockingly tough punches, too? Actually - ] An' a mean right hook.

[andrarrrgynous]

I've seen plenty of girls around here.

[She holds a hand out to her side, indicating the crowd of people milling around. Nobody with blue hair though.]

'Cept I'm looking for one with pink hair. Seen any of those?

[lil_sunspot]

[Rude, Kiri. Be happy she's being gracious about it -... or, not and continue pining for Elle. At least he listens to her question(?); pink hair. Here he thought blue hair was distinct coming from the kid with red eyes and blonde hair.]

Nah. I'll keep an eye out for her long as you keep one for Elle.

[He's already starting to part ways before he's half-way done talking.]

Gimme a holler if y'find her!

[Really, this entire time he hasn't thought of how they'll get a hold of him. As far as Kiri is concerned, it doesn't matter much, anyways. If he can't find her himself, chances are she'd be -... no, don't think like that. Just keep moving.]

[andrarrrgynous]

[Faris stares after him, and almost lets him run off before remembering that she has absolutely no idea where she is and none of these other citizens seem too keen on helping her out.]

Hey! Corral your chocobos!

[She jogs a few steps and reaches out to grab the sleeve of his shirt before he can get too far.]

Mind tellin' me what's going on around here?

[lil_sunspot]

[That odd word 'chocobos' doesn't catch Kiri's attention. Grabbing his sleeve, on the other hand, stops him cold. The beginnings of get your hands off of me practically snap him around to look at Faris. It dies down in an instant when the severity in her eyes hits home.]

I -... I don't know. I woke up on a bench without her.

[It all kind of tumbles out before Kiri has a chance to stop himself. He takes pause for a moment, if not less.]

[andrarrrgynous]

[It wouldn't be uncalled for to yell at her, she's not exactly the most gentle person in the world,

You just woke up? Where were you before you woke up?

[She grits her teeth, trying to figure out just what this all means. It's looking like she's not the only person who just woke up in this mysterious town, but how did it happen? And more importantly, how do they get home?]

[lil_sunspot]

I -... Uh...

[Good question, because it's still a bit hazy. Their journey was just starting. Kiri's brows furrow a little when it hits him. They were -]

A mile 'r two outta Deodradd.

[As far as he can see, this is his fault. If only he'd kept a better eye on her, if only -... maybe. Kiri starts a few strides away from Faris in more of a hurry than before. He's spent too long here.]

Look, thanks. I-I gotta go.

[twitchery]

[Having shoved a piece of bread inside of his mouth just as the pirate asked that question (having acquired a small baguette to eat in the first place through some undisclosed process which we shan't dwell upon), Owain answered,]

Märchenstraße.

[But given the baguette, the name, and the situation, it might've sounded close to a sneeze. Hold on. Swallow.]

Märchenstraße. [Repeated, and it was more clear although he slaughtered the pronunciation so it wasn't like it was that much better.] At least that's the name I was told.

[andrarrrgynous]

[She resists the urge to offer him a tissue, (though considers asking where he got the bread) and gives him a skeptical look. He said the name with about as much finesse as someone who has no idea where he actually is.]

Never heard of it.

[She gives him a once-over,]

What're you? Some sort of tourist or something?

[It hasn't yet occurred to her that there's others who might have just magically appeared like she did.]

[twitchery]

What? No. I am Owain, a hero cast adrift by time. I was engaged in a battle most foul against the forces of darkness! When I...ended up here...somehow. [He started out BOLD and DARING near the beginning but sort of dwindled.] I've been looking for the gate so I could get back.

[andrarrrgynous]

[A hero battling darkness huh? She doesn't look very impressed, even from the get-go.]

What a coincidence.

[She initially is commenting about his battle against darkness (don't tell her he's some sort of Warrior of Light too), but it turns out his story is pretty much exactly the same as hers, and she narrows her eyes in confusion.]

Wait, you just got here too? Just... woke up on some patch of grass?

[twitchery]

Yeah! With a book and everything. [Calling him Jack. Who was Jack?] I figured-...believed that I just had ended up in a different era, once more adrift from my companions, but no one seems to have heard about Ylisse. Or Marth. Or Falchion.

[He's taking the last one personally because it's their ancestral awesome sword of legend.]

[andrarrrgynous]

A book? Oh!

[She'd almost forgotten about it. Getting in her satchel she pulls out the journal that she'd found on her lap. For once she actually takes a minute to look at it,]

"The Prince"? What's that supposed to mean?

[twitchery]

Dunno. Are you a prince? [And here he pulls out his journal as well.] Mine says Jack. The giant-killer.

[And here he has to pause because if he's going to have a book with a title it really should've been a cooler title.]

[andrarrrgynous]

Do I look like a prince to you?

[She flips open the book, leafing through the blank pages.]

'Cause you don't look like much of a giant-killer to me.

[twitchery]

Why wouldn't you look like a prince? And I could kill a giant. [Maybe.] Hey, pass me a quill.

[andrarrrgynous]

I dunno. Usually people don't get pirates and princes confused all that often.

[She speaks as she digs around in the bag until she finds the quill that came alongside the mysterious journal. It's a fancy looking thing, like it should belong on the desk in someone's study instead of shoved in Faris' bag.]

I'll be wanting that back, by the way.

[twitchery]

I'm a-

[He was going to say 'a prince' and point out that he doesn't exactly look the part either, perhaps argue his point further with his uncle and mom as examples, but then again casually mentioning royal blood was generally a faux pas in mixed company. Not even touching the time paradox issue.]

Thanks.

[And he drew a really bad picture of a bear before handing the quill back to Faris.]

I've got my quill somewhere...I'm Owain.

[andrarrrgynous]

[She's just about to tell him her name when she catches sight of his artwork.]

...What's that supposed to be?

[And why was it so important to draw that he had to borrow her quill?]

[twitchery]

A bear. [Wow, he feels kind of embarrassed now.] I know. It's really bad, but it's the first thing I thought about. Frederick serves it all the time at dinner, and...uh, well. I thought it might do something if I wrote in it. [Oh well. He'll solve the riddle of the books later.]

[andrarrrgynous]

[Before he can stop her, she reaches out, snatching the book from his hands and turns it one way, and then another. Well, at least he know's it's bad.]

What were you thinking drawing a bear would do?

[It's an honest question, she's seen enough strange magic things in her life, and in the last day or so, that she wouldn't really turn her nose up at a magic book of all things.]

[twitchery]

I don't know, but if you've got a journal and I've got an identical journal, and both of ours calls us things that we're not, then there's obviously got to be some kind of reason for us bearing them. Some sort of clue, perhaps, to whatever wayward spirit had called us here from our respective places or whatever no doubt heroic quest we have been charged with. [...but that's not answering the question, is it?] Perhaps it would summon a bear from the ether?

[andrarrrgynous]

[She gives the bear one last look before snapping the cover shut and handing it back to Owain with a shrug.]

Doesn't look like anything but a bunch of paper to me.

[Maybe good for kindling, of nothing else.]

The name's Faris, by the way.

[twitchery]

[Accepts it and puts it away to go over later.] Yeah, but how many relics of infinite legend and power have you owned?