[001]

[kingdoms_to_run]

Oh...I hadn't counted on an afterlife.

[Yep, that's her first assumption of this place. She remembers dying and hasn't seen anything to contradict it, so what else could it be, right? She'd stopped believing in things like heaven when the Cannibal had reared his fangy, puffball head, and she hadn't put much stock in the notion to begin with. Dreams

Comments

[ms_bounty]

[She should've seen this coming.]

Hey, Peach. Welcome to the nuthouse.

[kingdoms_to_run]

[She recognizes that voice, but it belongs to someone she hasn't seen in quite a while.]

...is this Samus I'm speaking with?

[ms_bounty]

That'd be me, Sugar. Been here a couple days along with the police chief and a couple of kids from the Kingdom. How are you holding up?

[kingdoms_to_run]

It's good to talk to you, Samus.

I'm doing fairly well so far, all things considered. People have been very helpful...I'd forgotten to expect that from strangers over the years. Bowser's here, too, but there's clearly something wrong with him.

How have you been?

[ms_bounty]

Doing good. Your Kingdom's in good hands at the moment if you're worried about that and I'm not surprised about Don Koopa himself acting strange. People get brought here from everywhere across the multiverse--includin' different times as well as different 'verses.

[kingdoms_to_run]

Were they caught, then? The Butchers? Are Mario and Luigi safe? Were you, before you got here, or...?

So there's a possibility that he's not even our kingdom's Bowser? I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.

I apologize for all of the questions; there are just so many things I'm not sure of anymore.

[ms_bounty]

Where you stayin', Princess? This is an open line and I think some of this stuff is best said face-to-face. 'Sides, I should've kept in better contact with you after my contract on the Cannibal finished all those years ago. I missed sitting down and talking to a great gal.

[kingdoms_to_run]

[After she takes a peek outside:]

747 Partridge Drive. I'll be very glad to see you.

[ms_bounty]

Same here! [Especially since the last she saw of Peach she was just a twisted ragdoll she had to convince Luigi to move away from.]

(ooc: Wanna do a proper log in the logs comm or just do action-spam here? Either way is fine by me!)

Can we do an action spam for this one? I'd like to get more settled in before I attempt a log...

[kingdoms_to_run]

I'll see you soon, then.

[She hangs up the phone.]

No problem! Just wanted to be sure since I don't know your preferences with this stuff yet. <3

[ms_bounty]

Sure thing!

[and a little while later Samus, in one of those ridiculous 50s-style dresses, knocks on the door to Peach's house, all the while hoping she doesn't act weird at all considering she knows Peach should be is dead. The Princess dealt with enough in life, she doesn't need that on top of it, too.]

[kingdoms_to_run]

[Although Peach has been waiting by the door ever since she hung up the phone, she holds off for several moments before opening it. Maybe she's not a princess anymore, but that doesn't mean she should abandon whatever decorum she has left. Waiting by the door like a pet dog...that just wouldn't do.]

Hello, Samus. [She gives her a warm smile and steps back to allow her guest entry. There's something odd about seeing the former bounty hunter dressed that way; Peach, although not in her customary gown, is still in pink. Some things just don't change.] Please, come in.

[ms_bounty]

[Samus smiles at Peach, warm, open. Even with the dancing job this is the first time she's worn a dress since she was a kid. And she can't help but be amused at the pink dress Peach she wore. Last she checked, Peach had become hardened since the Cannibal, while Samus had loosened up considerably.

But still, it was nice to see a couple things hadn't changed, the dress, the manners. Makes her feel like, even with Peach gone back home, that it wasn't in vain. That the Princess herself hadn't been a lost cause to begin with.]

Thanks, Peach. [She says as she enters the house and gives it a once over. It might seem like she's checking out the decor, but she's keeping an eye out for any possible traps or escape routes. Even as a dancer, that eye for knowing her surroundings had served her well.]

Nice place! Wind up married to a nice guy or have you not gotten the chance to deal with him bossin' you around yet?

[kingdoms_to_run]

Married--! [That catches her by surprise. So this place didn't just give her a new home, it gave her a new family as well.] If I am, he hasn't been around. Thankfully.

[She leads the way to the table, motioning for Samus to take a seat first.] I'm sorry, but I didn't think to put out anything to eat or drink. I've been fairly distracted. [She's trying to keep her tone light, despite the nature of what she knows they'll be discussing. She doesn't expect to maintain her so far perfect composure for very long.]

It's been so long since we last talked like this. [She finally sits down and looks down at her hands, neatly folded on the edge of the table, for a moment.] Six years, maybe even seven...

[ms_bounty]

[She smiles at the attempts at composure and lets herself lounge a bit in an attempt to get Peach to relax a bit. Part of her is tempted to find the alcohol, but no. This isn't the fallen Police Chief who reportedly used it for a crutch. This was Peach, who preferred to take things head on.]

Where does the time go? Seems like yesterday we were having that party celebrating the Cannibal's imprisonment. [This here? Is her one regret. Never attempting to make direct contact with Peach for fear of how much more flak she'd get consorting with a stripper and former bounty hunter. She'd gotten enough flak for needing to bring in outside help to begin with.]

[kingdoms_to_run]

[She gives another small, sad smile.] That truly was the last great moment of the Mushroom Kingdom. After it was over, everything else fell apart.

[It wasn't as if she'd tried to keep in touch with many of her independent allies after that night, either. She'd gotten so caught up in the decaying of the kingdom and her own petty dramas...and for what? She'd barely managed to keep her kingdom from completely collapsing and ended up scrutinized by the news media for promiscuity and bouts of escapism. Well, no more attempts to escape reality, not even for the smallest of moments. She needed to hear the truth.]

I'd like to know what happened after I died, Samus. Even though it's not my kingdom anymore...I want to hear everything.