mythmaking | (no subject)

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[It's a cloudy mid-morning on THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, and the town is bustling as always. Many people are quite excited about the second batch of new arrivals; though they're not getting quite the celebration the first round got, they still might find themselves being greeted by bizarrely friendly folk.

Out of place is a number of geese scattered around town, each with their own little messenger bag packed full of rolled up parchment. They're putting the papers up all over, on fence posts and market stalls and storefronts, even stuffing them into mailboxes and leaving them on benches. Each paper is nearly identical, with large, blocky font and the occasional inky feather mark.

LOST
SEVERAL ITEMS OF GREAT IMPORT

SOMEONE HAS STOLEN FROM OUR HOMES THE FOLLOWING THINGS

ONE GOOSE-SIZED NIGHT CAP
THREE TEACUPS (PINK AND YELLOW FISH PRINT)
EXACTLY SEVEN AND A QUARTER LEFT SOCKS
AN APPLE CRUMBLE

IF FOUND PLEASE CONTACT
ADELICIA VON FARTHINGTON (THE FIFTH)
AT THE NORTH BANK OF THE LAKE

If stopped, the geese will be more than happy to talk at great length about how terrible this all is. Strangely, there appear to be a few other people and animals poking around as though looking for something, or acting a bit sullen for such an otherwise joyful day.]

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[Naoto keeps her trips into Marchen minimal. Between seeing the Merchant and his family by chance or accidentally killing Beast while outside of the castle, she doesn't want to take risks. Imagine her surprise though while leading the silver-maned horse that she receives the parchment. A chance to investigate again even if it is a fairy tale mystery...]

[Still, there's very little to work on. Who would want seven and a quarter left socks, a night cap, teacups, and an apple crumble? No to mention they fit geese... Perhaps it was someone looking to play tea party or have a baby shower? Matters are further complicated when more items go missing. They tell her not to worry; Beauty has other things to worry about.]

[Sighing, she sits, letting the horse drink from the lake near Father Time's tower. Holding out a hand, she decides to practice making roses grow in her palm instead of bemoan her fortune.]

[Jonathan finds Naoto on accident- and technically he notices the horse first. When's the last time he rode on horseback? Of course, everything is this world is idyllic and beautiful, so he shouldn't expect any less. Still, though...

...he notices the actual human a bit later, coiling roses through her palm. After a while of watching, he realizes it's probably pretty rude to stare, not even to mention how unsettling it might be. So he just puts on a smile and walks forward.]

Good morning, miss. [That sounded formal.] That's a rather stunning horse and ability you have. [A thought crosses his mind- on horseback, has she spotted anything to do with the stolen items...?]

[She doesn't mean for it to be unsettling. Less thorny foliage would be in her future, but better to start controlling the dangerous before the dainty.]

[Hand closing, the rose goes away, petals falling to the ground with the thorns still tangled around her wrist and palm. It had almost been in full bloom.]

'Miss'? Ah... [She still needed to get used to that.] Yes. It's one of the castle horses.

[Having the ability to control plant life is something that evades the Samurai, though. He's still having trouble unlearning his instincts, that everything he doesn't understand is suspicious or demonic. But... that was an incredibly nice rose, still. Shame.]

Oh, I'm sorry, do you not want me to call you 'Miss'? [The castle... he knew someone who apparently was the Beast inhabited the castle, but he doesn't quite connect that Naoto is Beauty.]

I see... may I? [His hand is lifted a bit above the horses' mane.]

If you wouldn't mind. [Slowly, the thorns recoil and fade away as much as they want to remain. Seems she's noticed a few subtle notes of his unease.]

If you wouldn't mind. It... hasn't been applied to me in years. [She fixed the front of her coat, wondering how much was shown. Maybe she should ask for different cuts. When he inquires about the horse, she nods.]

You may.

Of course. What's your name, then? [Pause.] Or... what do you want me to call you?

[Maybe he shouldn't have assumed Naoto was even a girl, just from the roses and grace...? Yeah...

He starts stroking the horse's mane- as long as it's been since he's finally seen one, and as silvery this one is, it still feels natural.]

Naoto... however, the townspeople will say it's Beauty.

[Taking out her journal, she's mainly looking at any going-ons between arrivals recently. Surprise, surprise, she recognizes Kanji's writing anywhere. Seems like he was talking to someone on...]

[... Postmortem. Interesting... Samurais, angels, he speaks the way he talks. Still, Naoto will leave him to introduce himself once he's done petting the horse.]

[Beauty- oh. OH- Jonathan wonders silently if he should bow or not because she's kinda a princess]

Naoto, then. [He decides against it.] My name is Jonathan... I arrived here just recently. You're not... native to this land as well?

[If he bows, he will be covered in leaves so fast...]

Pleasure to meet you, Jonathan-san. And yes, I'm not native to Marchen.

[Good thing he doesn't then... the suffix as well as name, though- a lot of people here had names that rung of the Tokyo people, don't they?]

I see... and you were assigned to the role of Beauty? [That could be flattering or embarrassing.] You live in the castle, correct? Have things been going missing there too?

[She'll keep using it unless he asks to stop, but Jonathan, too bold.]

Correct. [Naoto's indifferent most of the time.] Yes, I do. And no, we still have everything. It's difficult to steal belongings from a place enchanted to never be found without the permitted guidance.

[Law Heroes are masters of tact. Try not to feel too bad.]

I see... so all these things going missing isn't by someone with strong magic, at least. [Stealing such trivial things normally won't evoke such thought, but... it's all pretty odd, right? A lot of things are disappearing. It makes you think there might be something else behind it.] Oh- have you heard about it? Items are going missing for the inhabitants here...

We can't say immediately. The robberies only started to occur and if they persists, perhaps our culprit will change their tactics. [She's been sitting here for some time contemplating the matter obviously.]

Considering a gaggle of geese sounded the alarm, I heard about it.

That's true... [So Naoto does know, then.] All the things that go missing are not major enough to warrant total panic, but not minor enough to be forgotten completely, and still upset the populace. Are they trying to take their attention off something else, perhaps...? [He's been thinking about it too! And looking. For... pretty long.

Geese are ~~annoying~~ persuasive.] It's certainly distracting.

No. Still, personal belongings hold sentimental value... If there was a relationship between the victims then maybe. Again, if they're trying to draw attention away, it's too soon to say. Though... something about left socks...

[That part is still bothering her. Why the left ones?] Hmph, you can't deny listening or watching a goose. They're not the kindest animal.

Left socks? [T-to be completely honest he thought they only stole left socks for the fairy-story comedy value but there could be more at work.] I'm... not sure what kind of magic or other ventures are considered prosaic here, so I'm not confident that I can do much to help figure out.

[Welp...] But the geese are definitely... distressed.

[She just finds it bizarre. Maybe that's the answer behind their thief though, or thieves.] That is dependent on your character and their tale. Investigating in the usual fashion may be enough for this case though.

Yes... I suggest being reasonably calm when speaking to them.

That's right... [What does Hansel even do? Be the buttmonkey while Gretel does all the actual work and be all 'Don't Lose Hope'? (Basically.)] How can one person steal from so many places at once, though? There might be a group at work. Or some widespread magic.

Well, they're not malicious... [K-kinda.]

I don't know... I would have to go to the scenes to see if there's any traces of magic left. [It easily could be either or until they get more information.]

I don't want to see them angered.

Well, it's certainly a mystery... the geese would probably tell us if there was magic, though. Or maybe the animals can't see magic...?

[That would surprise Jonathan, since in his world talking animals are basically magic and ~~the embodiment of human desire~~ beliefs.] Me neither... if anything, they'll spread crass words about their aggressor in such a fashion that no one will be unaware.

Hmm... that's another thing. I would think animals could sense magic.

[She shakes her head. It really is not enough to work on.] I doubt they would be listened to for long.

[Yeah, they're not solving this here.]

They did mention an 'Adelicia von Farthington' on the parchment, though. Perhaps that's the name of someone who manages items...? Perhaps we can talk to them and ask?

Perhaps. That could happen to be one of the geese, but either way, we should try to collect more information about the incident.

This is a land of fairy-stories, though... do you think anything truly malicious can ever be at work?

For this, not really. However, I take it you've never read a German or Russian fairy tale.