She remembered her duties as a hostess and was about to ask for tea...

[ameliaashford]

Laughter drifts into the Mansion as a young woman with golden hair (and cornflower blue eyes) walks through one of the doors and into the general hallway. She is dressed in an exquisitely cut day dress in pale pink muslin. She is turned back toward the room she just exited, clearly expecting a reply from someone still inside the room

Comments

[in_summer_leaf]

If Amelia should walk down the long hill to the lake, she will find Hisoka there. He is hip-deep in the water, floating a model sailboat that he has just finished making. And although he is clearly absorbed in what he is doing, he would not at all mind company.

[ameliaashford]

Amelia has taken to walking outside after all the excitement inside the Mansion. A brisk walk on the grounds might be just the thing and she assumes that since the Mansion appears to be similar to other homes from her time, that somewhere on the grounds there will be a pond or lake with well tended paths leading to and around them.

As she crests the hill, she is indeed presented with a view of a lake nearby. The one thing she notices however is that there is a shape in the water. Thinking this person in trouble - for who would go into a lake willingly, when the risk of drowning is VERY real - she rushes to the lake side, temporarily forgetting her manners, and calling out - but not very loudly - for the person's attention.

"Hello? Sir?"

[in_summer_leaf]

Hisoka looks around. "Oh, hello! You must be new here," he says.

[ameliaashford]

"Are you alright? Do you need help getting out of the water?" At first, it doesn't register for Amelia that the boy doesn't appear to be in any kind of trouble. She's a little out of breath and slightly flushed from rushing down toward the lake.

[in_summer_leaf]

"I'm all right," replies Hisoka, "I was just testing a boat design. But you ran all the way down here to help me? How kind of you!"

[ameliaashford]

A slight flush of embarrassment appears on her face. "I thought you were in trouble, sir. Water is best avoided when one is alone!"

[in_summer_leaf]

Hisoka responds, "It's a good rule in general, I agree. But I learned to swim before I could walk. Mermen usually do. Don't be embarrassed; it was a kind thought you had, and I appreciate it. And by the way, my name is Hisoka Kurosaki. Have you just arrived at the Mansion?"

[ameliaashford]

Amelia is still getting used to the idea that people can swim. Belatedly, she realizes there was a greeting as well, so she curtseys politely: "Amelia Ashford." After she rises from her curtsey she looks at Hisoka. "I'm unfortunately still coming to terms with having arrived here, yes."

[in_summer_leaf]

Hisoka bows formally in response to the curtsy. "Pleased to meet you...Miss Ashford? Madame Ashford? Have people answered your questions about this place? Is there anything you need?"

[ameliaashford]

She's already gotten used to the more informal way of doing things here, so when Hisoka appears to be searching, her reply is simple (but perhaps not so straightforward). "Madame Ashford, Lady Calverton, Amelia, we're all one and the same person." She thinks back to the host of answers she's received so far, and stumbles once again on the clothing issue. "Yes, most of them, though the whole concept of clothes and personal care are still unclear to me."

[in_summer_leaf]

"Oh, that's easily explained," answers Hisoka. "The Mansion is a little parsimonious with clothing, I'm afraid. You have what you have brought with you and whatever you find here that previous residents have left. We've all become expert scroungers and salvagers."

He hopes this next won't sound too impossible: "...However, there's also a cabinet in the kitchen which mysteriously provides many items if it is asked politely. I always try making a request when I'm short of some item of clothing. And even if it doesn't deliver, there are ways to get around that. There are people here who specialize in constructing costumes from scratch, acquiring the raw materials from various sources, including that cabinet. But the cabinet is always good for personal care items; that won't be an issue."

[ameliaashford]

"Do you mean the..." and she still stumbles on the words a bit "Plot... hole?" she's clearly still trying to come to terms with this magical device. "I was shown this device by mr. Dean earlier." She can't help adding the mr. in front of Dean's name, it's so ingrained. A slight flush appears on her face as she remembers how she reacted the first time it was demonstrated to her.

[in_summer_leaf]

"Why, yes, the Plothole!" says Hisoka. "That's what I mean." He smiles. "Dean Winchester? He's a friend of mine. It's nice he showed you around."

[ameliaashford]

She furrows her brow, trying to determine if this Dean Winchester is the same person as the Dean she met. "I don't know," she eventually admits. "He only told me his name was Dean." She does manage to give a fairly accurate description - tainted though it is by her experiences - of Dean, allowing Hisoka to either confirm or deny if it is the same person. "I must admit, this plothole is very confusing... It just presents you with whatever you like?"

[in_summer_leaf]

"Yes, that's him!" says Hisoka, after listening to Amelia's description.

And as regards the Plothole: "Well, not everything you like. It doesn't seem too enthused about high-technology items like cell phones or digital cameras. And if Dean tried to get his car back, he was disappointed!" He chuckles. "But essential items, yes. Oh, and food. If you don't feel like cooking, you just ask the Plothole for whatever you want. And if you want to be the chef, but you can't find the ingredients in the cupboards or refrigerator, ask the Plothole."

[ameliaashford]

Hisoka probably didn't mean it quite that way, but his mentioning of very modern inventions leaves Amelia very, VERY confused. "Cell... phones? Di-what cameras?" Photography as such has not yet been invented in Amelia's time... "Well, it presented me with a bottle of perfume. The strangest thing, really, I was thinking of Luc..." Her facial expression becomes somewhat distant as if she is once again lost in thought...