i want a pony [01]

[courtneycrumrin]

It’s well past the time when Chantal should be home, tucked safely in her four-poster bed, even by her own standards, so she’s not entirely surprised when she falls asleep on the walk home. Right after the clock chimes, she collapses softly in a doorway, her handbag in her lap, and doesn’t move as the world churns around her. Buildings shift,

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[orchidlover_wa]

When the city changed, Caspar was fast asleep, passed out on a park bench, never having made it home. He wakes up feeling very foolish. He shouldn't have stayed out so late speaking with that intoxicated girl.

He sets out to return home, but the streets have changed, and without meaning to, he gets lost. He frowns at he sight of the carnival -- who has time for such frivolities -- but perhaps someone there can tell him how to get back to his neighborhood.

He spots Chantal as she goes around the carousel. Isn't that the Von Krumrhein girl? "Uh... Miss? Pardon me, Miss?" He calls out as her horse comes around.

[courtneycrumrin]

Chantal takes a moment to notice the voice, lost in the music and the rhythmic up and down motion of the carousel pony beneath her. She shakes herself out of the pleasant trance (geez, maybe she drank a little too much after all), and looks over her shoulder at the man speaking to her. Her hair blows in her face from the whack of the wind, and she can't help but giggle a little bit as the motion makes her a little dizzy, but she slides off her mount and swings gracefully out on the pole, still turning round on the base.

"Ye-e-es?" she chirps musically in response. "Can I help you?"

[orchidlover_wa]

Caspar tries not to look disapproving, but the girl has already made a bad impression on him. His parents had to start from scratch in a country where they didn't even speak the language, and people like Chantal just waltz through life with everything they ever wanted. Her frivolous behavior is not winning any points (and is making him oddly uncomfortable, to boot).

"I... ah, I'm afraid I'm lost..." She's already on the other side of the carousel. He sighs and looks up, feeling foolish, and catches sight of the birds carved on its top. Robins, bluebirds, cardinals --

One of the birds is an owl, and it feels him with a sudden dread. When Chantal appears around again, he looks pale.

[courtneycrumrin]

Chantal is in a playful mood, and while she hears him perfectly well, she's content to continue going around on the carousel and making him shout after her for as long as he'll play along. When she comes around again and finds him looking pale, however, she hesitates, straightening, and takes a closer look at his face. Maybe he's not just lost, but ill? She hops off the carousel and comes closer.

"Oh, dear, you don't look well at all," she tsks softly. "I'm sorry, I'll behave myself. Maybe you had better sit down..."