Twenty-Eight

[colorlesschild]

[A yawn... and then sudden cry of alarm... and then a strange thump, like someone bumping into the ceiling.]

...Um.

I can't get down.

Help please.

{{OOC: Loss start! Sora's currently in the hallway, bumping against the ceiling like a balloon.}}

Comments

[lady_maz]

[Out WALKING, no more sitting in wheelchair! But wheelchair is following her everywhere as a small, cute dog instead... That's HER loss. Crazy castle. So - calmly walking in the castle when dog barks in surprise. Looking up, Marian sees Sora in the ceiling.]

Sora! Child! What are you doing up there?

[colorlesschild]

[Miserably...]

I don't know. I woke up and was floating out of bed.

[lady_maz]

[Has to smile, tries to be reassuring.]

Oh dear! This castle... Can't you get down?

[colorlesschild]

No.. [He pushes off from the ceiling and ends up... flailing helplessly in midair over her head, limbs flying and trying to find somewhere to stand.]

I'm dizzy.

[lady_maz]

[Marian has bought a leach to her new dog Wheely, just in case. She pulls it out and spies an alcove with a safely closed window. The roof is lower there, she might be able to reach him and tie him down.]

Do you see that alcove, Sora? Can you try to crawl that way?

[colorlesschild]

I think so. [Sora... Dogpaddles rather awkwardly and swims his way over until he can use the ledge of the open window to pull himself more toward the floor. Now he's perched on the windowsill, rather like a bird or some kind of dark Peter Pan.]

It's very disorienting, Lady.

[lady_maz]

Poor sweetheart... Oh, well done! Hang on there... [Marian hurries over and grabs him.] Gotcha!

[colorlesschild]

[Simply holding him gently around the waist is enough to secure him from moving about, but his feet refuse to touch the floor. Thankfully he weighs very little, and even less with the castle's aid of buoyancy.]

Thank you, Lady Marian.

The castle likes playing tricks. How am I going to sleep tonight?

[lady_maz]

[Holds him and hugs him a little too, Sora is such a deary!] Ah, just say Marian, Sora. Hmmm, sleeping... Father Abel might have to tie you to the bed.

The castle is a prankster! Do you see that dog? [Nods at a small dog that is watching them hug with her head tilted to the side and whining because she's jealous.] I call her Wheely. She used to be my wheelchair!

[colorlesschild]

Oh, but you are a Lady.

[Some giggles... Sora's sides are kind of ticklish!]

Tie me down? Maybe I can sleep on the ceiling. Oh, but if the weight comes back, I'll fall...

[Sora gasps! He's only seen a dog once before, and it was Jilly.] Hello Wheely. The castle turned your wheelchair into a dog?

[lady_maz]

Ooops, ticklish are we? I'd rather be your friend than be a lady, if I had to choose. [It warms Marian's heart to see Sora smile.]

No sleeping in the ceiling, sweet child. Perhaps lead in your shoes could keep you on the floor?

Yes, or rather: I happened to wish for the wheelchair to be a dog, since it followed me everywhere.

[colorlesschild]

Father Abel says it happens when the Tickle-monster attacks.

[He says this absolutely seriously, as if there actually were a monster roaming about tickling unsuspecting people.]

How curious. A dog that is a chair...

Oh, but I don't know if I could lift my feet in lead shoes. [He bows his head apologetically, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.]

I'm not very strong.

B-but I can climb the stairs myself now!

[lady_maz]

Tickle-monster? Strange how some monsters actually make you giggle, isn't it? [Equally serious face, until dimples can't be held back. She's tempted to tickle him, but she doesn't want to distress him or risk that he'll float away again.]

Wheely is very sweet, despite having been a chair. Would you like to pet her?

No lead shoes for you, then. Shall I tie Wheely's leash around your waist for now?

[colorlesschild]

Yes. [Some squirming allows Sora to pet the hound gently- he uses two fingers, very mechanically, the way small children do when they've been told to be very careful.]

She's very soft. I have a rabbit named Cotton. She's soft, too.

[Sora's beginning to become a bit used to floating, so long as his feet are oriented to the floor. His feet look a bit as if they're treading water.]

Oh, but Wheely might need it. I'll be alright.

[lady_maz]

You have a rabbit as a pet? How nice! [Wheely sits there, good dog, enjoying the attention.] Scratch Wheely behind her ears and she'll love you forever.

I'll gladly loan you Wheely's leash for now, she mostly walks without one anyway. I bought it just in case.

[colorlesschild]

[He's good at following instructions, and gently rubs the pup behind the ears.]

The castle gave her to me. She lives in a little hutch by my bed. I'd never had a pet before... I suppose I was one.

[Sora gently clips the leash in a loose wrap around his waist, offering the end to her.]

I feel like a kite. I'm sorry to trouble you.