14th Fairy Tale § Voice

[tehoniongirl]

[Jilly woke up in a cave.

At least, that’s her first impression. Opening her eyes, she blinks several times at the gray, cavernous walls in confusion before she realizes that they aren’t going away. And she’s equally confused when she goes to stand and finds herself on somewhat spongy ground.]

Len? Buffy?

[she calls out, but there’s only

Comments

[voice]

[abidinglaw]

[Norrington has been in a highly chivalrous mood of late, and he has been making much more use of the journals besides. Hearing the plea is enough to have him standing and donning his jacket, hearing the mention of Buffy makes him move even faster. It is not because he feels any preference for Buffy and her associates that he moves with such sudden haste, but because in his experience they have a talent for under-stating the severity of their distress. He has the spine of the journal laid out of the palm of his hand, looming over the book when he replies;]

I know the way to house seven - I can be there momentarily. What is the matter? Is there anything that I should I bring?

[Calm voice, comforting, he has already sheathed his swords.]

[voice]

[tehoniongirl]

[calm and comforting was perfect...since she hadn't exactly been meaning to panic anyone. She's still a little out of breath, but she doesn't sound particularly stressed.]

I don't know that you need to bring anything. It's just...

[a small huff of breath] Well, I'm guessing it's either an experiment, or Alice in Wonderland coming to life.

I woke up tiny.

[a beat. It's not that she finds it hard to believe. She just figures others might] As in...size of a....mouse.

[shoot. They still had one of the kittens in the house. There's a glance at her closed door. There shouldn't be any way for it to get in...but that suddenly made things a little more uncomfortable.] ...You might want to lock the cat up when you get here.

[voice/action]

[abidinglaw]

[..Mouse? Perhaps it is the association with Buffy that causes the flash of snarky incredulity to spark within his heart. If so, her influence is not enough to overcome the years of socialized courtesy. He bites it back. He'll see for himself what the problem might be, and if the girl is safe and well? Then he'll snark. So. Out the door, he doesn't even spare the time to change out of the modern attire that Buffy and Jack had advised that he take on and into his naval wear. As soon as he can he comes to House 7, and raps upon the door. He pauses a good ten seconds on the thresh-hold before he thinks to use his journal again. Courtesy reigns.]

I am here. ...Uhm.. Miss Mouse ..May I come in?

[voice/action]

[tehoniongirl]

[there's a pause...and a laugh at the address. She climbs back up onto the journal to make sure she's easy to hear, abandoning her careful exploration of her room.] It's Jilly, actually.

And yes. Come on in. [whatever this change was, she'd at least been provided with clothes that fit, so she wouldn't have to wait for Buffy to arrive] When the hallway splits, go left. Mine's the last room there.

[action]

[abidinglaw]

[Norrington took the time spent travelling to determine that he would serve them both best if he were to take her description of herself to heart. A shift, he expects, or magic. Who could she have angered to bring this fate down upon herself? At any rate he opens the door and walks into the hallway with due caution -- or undue rather, as he knows that another door yet stands between them. Still, he keeps an eye out for the girl and the cat both, and when at length he reaches her door he opens it carefully, gently, steps inside and closes it as quietly as he might. When he speaks, he addresses the journal.]

Okay. Now. Are you truly ...?

[And he peers about.]

I confess I scarce dare move for fear of harming you.

[action]

[tehoniongirl]

[she's sitting on the pages of her journal. She figures she's much less likely to be stepped on, there. Not that she'd be easy to see, even under better circumstances.

Her room is not dirty. Laundry is all put away. Dishes are nowhere to be found. But that does nothing to keep it from being cluttered. Very, very cluttered.

Books are stacked in many of the available surfaces, some bookmarked, some not. Her pochade box is open, a half finished painting sitting in the lid, and a handful of thin brushes are resting in a bottle of turpentine nearby, giving off a rather pungent scent. Papers and sketches fill the remaining space, as well as a few blank canvases she hasn't yet moved to her studio. All in all, it looks a little like a library, a studio, and a tornado got together for a good time]

I'm truly.

[a small sigh] I'm by the bed. On my journal. Unless you step on the book, I think I'll be fine.

[action]

[abidinglaw]

[Well then he shall move less cautiously. Sort of. He must look quite the fool - or else quite the hero. He cuts a hulking figure at the best of times, broad of shoulder and taller than the majority of full-grown men. To see this man watching every step, peering around every corner before he progresses, checking behind each bottle and between each stack of books.. But of course, it is the cat that he is checking for. It is a long time before he finds the bed and the book with his eyes, but when he does his eyes widen. At once he seeks to stifle the shock of it. He would not want to alarm this lady. So. He falls back on tradition and actually bows to the book and the girl upon its pages.]

My lady mouse. I apologize that I could not come sooner.

[He is dressed in a black jacket, and beneath that a bright white button-down shirt. His trousers are a thick navy blue and they barely appear to have been used. Indeed, he is wearing them for the first time today. To all appearances he must look frankly modern in spite of his manner. Even his

[action]

[tehoniongirl]

[clothes might make the man...but that bow and the formality of his language gave him away as easily as if he'd been in full uniform.

It takes quite a bit not to laugh, and as it is she's certainly smiling as she stands carefully on the open pages. She's in the miniature version of what she'd gone to sleep in...just a t-shirt and shorts...so her tiny, bare feet make almost no sound at all against the paper]

Sir, I'm not about to criticize a rescue. And I'm not on a time table. Just...

transportationally challenged, at the moment.

[action]

[abidinglaw]

Certainly. I would not risk the distance to the floor from here were I you.

[He kneels, now, and after checking quickly beneath the bed to make certain that the cat does no lurk there he draws himself up and does his best to seem less imposing. He lowers his voice, and keeps himself from making violent gestures with his hands.][An awkward pause. He watches he within this time, balancing an attempt not to patronize her with the effort not to harm her. For this he notes her reactions carefully.]

How did this happen?

[action]

[tehoniongirl]

I wish I knew. I woke up like this.

[a laugh] I guess it's better than waking up in the river. [not that she'd minded all that much. Being a naiad had been rather enjoyable.]

[The lowered voice and the controlled motions are certainly helpful, but she wouldn't have expected anything else, considering the way he'd entered the room. And when he kneels, she gets a better look at his face, recognition dawning.]

Oh! I know you. [your lack-of-uniform hides nothing, sir. She remembers running into you while you were sewing it]

[action]

[abidinglaw]

My goodness.

[The recognition seems to hit him too, her features having been hidden by distance and quite reduced. Somehow his having encountered her before makes her yet more worthy of his attention in his own eyes. More worthy of his care. It is in service of care that he takes and holds a breath, and adds,]

A tea-cup. I might convey you in a tea-cup.

[action]

[tehoniongirl]

[she can't help but laugh] If you keep helping me, I'm going to have to find a way to pay you back.

[there's a pause as she considers this proposal, torn between relief and amusement. He could have picked her up, of course. She'd assumed it would happen when she'd sent her call for help. But there was something a bit more reassuring about being conveyed in an object, rather than a hand.

An object with sides.]

I know we have some in the kitchen.

[action]

[abidinglaw]

Nonsense.

[This with regard to the very notion of being paid back. That cat. Where is that cat? And what would he have done with himself if he had heard her plea, delayed in coming to her door, and later found out that that cat had bought its owner a particularly gruesome gift? He shudders to think of it. Standing now, deliberately, carefully, he glances behind himself.]

Will you be quite alright if I leave you here a moment?

[He doesn't want to pick her up with his hands - no. She has reminded him of his difficulty sewing. What if he were to drop her? Or worse?]

[action]

[tehoniongirl]

[she nods, glancing around.] Plenty fine. I'm not planning on wandering. [she knew how precarious some of those book piles were, and she didn't feel like being squished.]

Cupcake's probably in Len's room, but even if she's not, I'll be fine if the door's shut.

[a small smile. It's not quite embarrassed, but she knows there's no reason he has to do this. She's grateful] Thanks.

[action]

[abidinglaw]

[Presuming, of course, that the cat is not in this very room this very moment. He does not know the age nor the size of this beast -- this cupcake. There are plenty of places for a kitten to hide amongst the clutter if it is young, or even if it is merely a breed genetically predisposed toward having a slighter build than the common domestic species. He cannot bring himself to inquire, however. He would expect that she is doing her best to keep the creature from her mind.]

I shall only be in the kitchen.

[He says. By now he has come to stand. It is only once he has taken a single step away that he realizes what he must do. Perhaps he feels its weight in his pocket and that itself is enough of a reminder to his unconscious mind. Whatever the reason, when he turns again and stoops it is to place a small tin soldier on guard beside the shrunken girl. He offers her a smile as if to say that this idol will protect her in his stead, and with that he is up, and out of the room, taking care to close the door behind him.]

[action]

[tehoniongirl]

[it's unexpectedly touching, having that little soldier standing guard. She doesn't feel particularly endangered --more inconvenienced than anything-- but the thoughtfulness of the gesture makes her smile. Though, looking over the plastic figure and it's tin weapon, it does make her think. She doesn't want to hurt either Cupcake or her kitten, if she happens to run into them, but it might not be a bad idea to fashion some kind of weapon to ward them off if they viewed her as a particularly fun cat toy. Maybe a tiny plastic sword, like the kind found in fancy cocktails. Or a toothpick.

...she really should have let Jack start to teach her sword fighting before this all happened.]