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..."

[orchidlover_wa]

Caspar blushes a little, both from embarrassment and the attention of a young lady. "Must have gotten dizzy from looking at the carousel," he laughs nervously. "Perhaps I should sit..."

"I don't belong here," he adds quietly. He's not sure why he said it, but it sounds right.

[courtneycrumrin]

Looking around, Chantal spots a picnic table several yards away. "Here, can you make it over there?" She points. "There might be a drink stand of some sort, although at this time of night..." she shrugs. "But a little water would do you good."

She takes his arm, not sure why she's being so helpful, except that he's the only one around to entertain her, and this has to be better than being cooped up at home. "Yes, you said you were lost," she completely misses any deeper meaning to his statement. "Where do you live? Maybe we can find you a cab."

[orchidlover_wa]

Caspar lets himself be escorted. He still has his briefcase in his other hand, and he sets it down on top of the picnic table before sitting. "Thank you..." He looks up at her gratefully. "I live..." It takes him a moment to remember. "By the waterfront. Near the hospital." He laughs again, regaining some of his composure. "I must have worked too hard at the office. I rarely get lost."

[courtneycrumrin]

She gives him a light pat on the shoulder as he sits then slides onto the bench across from him and crosses her ankles, looking around the place for other signs of life. One of her feet taps restlessly to the beat of distant music. "Well, I've been there, but I can't say as I could tell you how to get there from here." She taps her chin with a polished nail. "Come to think of it, I'm not entirely sure where we are now. I didn't know there was an amusement park within the City limits."

She smiles brightly. "We'll just have to find someone else who knows their way around better."

In her glancing around, she spots a little stand with a red and white striped awning and lights still on inside. The proprietor, a bearded man, is half-asleep sitting up, but the chalkboard propped outside the little shack lists several different kinds of beverages for sale, both hot and cold. Again, she points. "Look, do you want a soda or something? My treat. I think I could use a coffee to clear my head."

[orchidlover_wa]

"I didn't there was one, either." Caspar is relieved, not being the only one lost. "It wasn't mentioned in the paper..."

He looks over at the drink stand, then back at Chantal, surprised. "Oh... really?" It doesn't seem right, letting a lady pay for him, but he can't remember if he spent the last of his change on the subway and he is thirsty. "A lemonade, if you don't mind." Such a nice girl. He was wrong to think otherwise.

[courtneycrumrin]

Chantal reaches into her handbag, digging through lipsticks and various other feminine paraphernalia until she comes up with her coinpurse. She pulls out a few coins and gets up to approach the stand. "I don't mind at all. Money's for spending," she smiles, unaware that Caspar might not share her sentiments

[orchidlover_wa]

Caspar most certainly does not agree, but he's not about to argue. She obviously has money to spare. All of his goes to either his parents or a savings account.

"Thank you," he says, accepting the cup. "Perhaps business is not going as well as expected." The carnival seems awfully empty to him. So many rides and attractions, yet so few people are milling about.

He takes a sip, then smiles in surprise. "Oh, this is very good." Much better than he expected, in fact. He takes another sip.

[courtneycrumrin]

Chantal perches on the edge of the table lightly, letting her feet swing, and takes a long drink of her coffee, expecting the bittersweet liquid to stir her senses back to wakefulness. Instead, she finds herself feeling a little muzzy. The strands of light around her look as if they're floating for a moment, fairy lights in a much more literal sense. She shakes her head.

"Mmn. Do you feel better now? I want to walk around a little. I mean, as long as we don't know where we are, we may as well look around." She beams at him innocently.

[orchidlover_wa]

The color has returned to his face, and he smiles. "I do. Thank you again, this lemonade is very refreshing." He's drained half his cup, in fact. "Yes, let's look around. I'm sure we'll find someone who can tell us where we are."

He stands up shyly offers Chantal his hand. Just to help her up, of course. There's something about her... something different.

[courtneycrumrin]

She takes a more ladylike sip of her coffee, accepts his hand, and hops down from her perch. Sure, maybe they'll find someone who can tell them where they are. And if they happen to stumble across some rides or games in the meantime...well, a carnival is so much more fun with someone else. Even if that someone else is technically a total stranger you've just happened to pick up randomly and--

"I don't believe I know your name," she says with a laugh. "I'm Chantal von Krumrhein."

[orchidlover_wa]

Goodness, where are his manners? "Caspar Tweeling. Nice to meet you." He'd shake her hand, but... he's already holding it. He lets go and blushes. He had forgotten to introduce himself because he already knew her name.

His smile returns. "Well, let's see what this carnival has to offer." He strolls past the beverage stand, finishing the last of his lemonade and tossing the cup into the trash. He's tempted to get another, but it can wait. There is a haunted house that sticks out from the stands. Bats with comically large eyes are painted above its entrance, and cheesy recorded moans and cries emerge from within.

[courtneycrumrin]

What a name! She smiles charmingly, managing not to look amused at the blush.

"Oh, lets! I never get to go places like this," she gushes a little, following him. Her heels beat a staccato rhythm on the packed earth. She's way overdressed for the place, but she doesn't seem uncomfortable. It's as if she were born in her red cocktail gown. She takes the last sip of her coffee by the trash can and tosses the cup away, as well.

"Bats!" she points, finding the haunted house inordinately amusing for some reason. "Look, they're smiling!" She laughs. "Shall we go in?"