to say what you feel is to make your own grave [introduction]

[thatcherly]

All right, so people--namely, Mrs. Kidd and her husband--were upset about Marlene's promotion. So what? If Howard Kidd had had a heart attack because she got promoted, then he could die, for all Marlene cares. She doesn't have time for niceties, particularly with men who looked down upon her

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[doomofatreus]

Clytemnestra has not exactly settled in. To say that would imply some kind of peace or relaxation that is wholly alien to Clytemnestra's nature. However, she has largely accepted that this is no dream or spell, and however she has come here, her daughter is here, and while that may mean that Atreus stands without a leader - and she has lost the hard-won power and self determination she fought to gain - she cannot truly count it as a loss

[thatcherly]

Marlene practically jumps in the air--she really hadn't been expecting anyone to answer.

"Oh, God, you scared me!" she says, putting a hand to her chest. She takes a deep breath before continuing. "Oh. Um. Where am I? I mean, I've got to get back to work."

She looks around again. Crazy. Insane. Batshit. Marlene's certain that she's all of these things, and the woman sitting there looking like...well, like she doesn't come from modern-day London doesn't help that belief.

[doomofatreus]

Clytemnestra folds her hands on her lap. "It is my understanding that this is a strange realm outside of the bounds of the mundane world," she says, with perfect calm, though she is really anything but, and yet another barbarian with no manners. Clytemnestra hopes that someday she will meet someone who knows how to show proper courtesy, so she does not have to ignore their transgressions gracefully even as they itch at her skin. "I know not where you hail from, but it does not seem that there is a ready connection to the everyday world." Not that Clytemnestra, personally, looked very hard. Personal power was an ambition of hers, of course, but she would rather have her daughter.

[thatcherly]

"So...did someone slip something in a drink of mine?" she asks, still confused. "I mean, this is a little bizarre."

She sighs, rubbing her forehead. "I just need..well, I need to not be here."

[regency_twihard]

Here's a fellow Brit, sitting in the main room, a pot of tea and a tray of scones and clotted cream at her elbow, though she'll likely look like someone out of a Jane Austen costume drama on "the Beeb" or ITV.

Right now, she's reading some book called "Practical Magic", though there's not a whole lot of magic in it, and the women in it are a bit scandalous at times.

[thatcherly]

She sees the young woman and smiles a little. Marlene never used to read like that, but she does love a good book from time to time.

"May I ask what you're reading?" she says, rather politely, standing a distance away.

[regency_twihard]

She looks up. "Oh, I am sorry that I did not greet you sooner," she says, turning the book over. "It's an American novel by one Mrs. Alice Hoffman, entitled 'Practical Magic'. It's not quite as magical as the title would suggest, unless one thinks of family love and the love between sisters and mothers and daughters as a kind of magic.

"I'm Catherine Morland. And you might be...?"

[thatcherly]

"Marlene," she says crisply, still smiling, however. "I'm new here. I'm afraid I haven't heard of the novel."

[advisorattorney]

Career women gotta stick together, right, right?

If Marlene cares to wonder around the library, she might find a brunette searching for books. She's looks fairly mundane and trustworthy... well she's got a tad too much cleavage.

[thatcherly]

She may indeed be exploring the library! She's just looking about, not for anything in particular, when she spies someone nearby.

She'll watch them for a bit, not wanting to interrupt.

[advisorattorney]

Then Mia may notice Marlene.

"Why hello there."

[thatcherly]

"Hello," she says, kindly enough, smiling politely.

[thistle_muncher]

Here's someone Marlene might not be sure just *what* to make of, and she might even question her own sanity: a grey plush donkey, sitting on a cushion in the library, with a picture book of King Arthur legends laid out on the floor before him. After a moment, he'll nose over a page, immersed in his reading.

[thatcherly]

She sees the donkey from a distance, thinking at first it's a posed stuffed animal. When it moves, however, she shivers a little, a tad disturbed.

Marlene might just stay back a moment, concerned.

[thistle_muncher]

The strange critter looks up from from the book, lifting an ear. "Sorry I didn't say hello," he replies, in a surprisingly deep but decidedly mopey voice. "Got rather wrapped up in my book.

"Hello and welcome to the Mansion and all that."

[thatcherly]

She blinks, a tad startled.

"--You talk," is all that manages to come out of her mouth.

[in_summer_leaf]

If Marlene finds her way out to the gardens to the side of the house away from the lake, she will find Hisoka building a Japanese-style gazebo on a lawn between lush flowerbeds. He's in his jeans and tank top, with a bandana tied around his hair as a sweatband. The sound of hammering carries far in the still, sunny air.

He may look busy but he wouldn't mind company. He likes meeting new people.

[thatcherly]

She hears the sound of the hammering a ways off, and goes to investigate.

"That looks remarkable," she says, when she can see what the man is building. Of course, she stays a polite distance away.

[in_summer_leaf]

"Thanks," he answers. "I'm trying to make myself useful around here, and at least I know how to hammer a nail straight. You must be new?"

[thatcherly]

She nods. "I am new, yes," Marlene replies. "Does everyone work on these sorts of things?" She's wondering if she has to get her hands dirty.