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 Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:42 pm
Was everything in place? He certainly hoped so, because this was his very first time trying it, and if anything went wrong it would set back the whole day by . . . a lot. Mort didn't know how to quantify it exactly, but he was a bit uneasy about the little things that could go wrong. But Bells had faith in him - surely he could reciprocate.
The day went by as usual, and it wasn't until later in the afternoon that the witch would hear scratching noises at her door and a soft woof - a very familiar sound to Belladonna and Binx by now. Lanna was impatient to get in, sporting a new leather collar; Mort would have gone for something shinier but, well, his funds were less than adequate at the moment. The thin strip of leather would have to do.
Really, the point of it wasn't for appearances anyway: it was to hold the small scroll atop her back securely.
Yipyipyipyip! went the foxfire, whining.
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:21 pm
It was a normal afternoon for the witch in the fact that she was busy at her desk pouring over a few sketches she was thinking of for an art class. The past few days had been absolutely fantastic, what with Mort having returned to school (happily and well!) along with a few more successful classes under her belt. The affections between Belladonna and her pets had resumed its normal fervor now that Lanna had taken her leave and though the witch did miss the small pup, she was glad to have some private time with Binx. (And Galahad too! Now that he decided she was alright to munch on again...) It was strange then, that a small yipping had begun outside the witch's door. "Oh Seven Hells, what is that?" Binx drawled from the bed as she sat up and flexed one of his claws. Momentarily distracted from her work, the witch's face pinched in confusion as she stood and padded over to the door. "Is that... Lanna?" She asked as she opened the door and looked down. Why yes! Yes it was! "Darling! Whatever are you doing here? Are you lost? Where's Mort?" The witch worried bundled the pup into her arms and looked her over for anything wrong. She seemed fine, excited as usual and yipping, but wait... Was there... Something on her collar?
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:34 pm
Yipyipyipyipyip~! Lanna leaned forward and licked her face several times in greeting, little tail wiggling. While it was nice to be back in the cool room she ruled over, the witch's pinkness (and especially her fluffy rug) had been missed. If Lanna had any idea where her owner was, however, she wasn't able to say. But she did keep turning her head towards the itchy piece of paper on her back, picking at it until at last the scroll was pushed off with a flutter of her wings.
It hit the ground with an imperceptible thud. When picked up and read properly, there was only a small message to find written in what Bells would soon come to know as Mort's thin, cramped handwriting:
Follow the white rabbit home to begin your journey. Bring nothing but your wits! And your clothes too of course. Unless you really want to go into my room naked.
That was a strange way of saying "go to his room", now wasn't it.
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 5:37 pm
Initially distracted by her sheer presence, Belladonna could only hold the foxfire to her chest and idly scratch her behind the ears as she leaned forward a little and peered down the hallway. Huh... This was so strange! But oh! Fluttering piece of paper!! Quick to snatch it up, Belladonna returned to her room and set Lanna down on the floor so she could reacquaint herself with the pink rug. Carefully the witch smoothed out the paper, delicately holding it by the ends so that she could read the it. The handwriting was familiar yet not, but she quickly surmised that it must be Mort's. White rabbit? Journey? Wits? Naked? Was that a challenge? Whatever the case, Belladonna knew an adventure when it presented itself. So, sure to properly change into an outfit befitting an Alice In Underland, Belladonna gave Binx a kiss and tied a black ribbon in her hair to finish the look. She grabbed an extra leash and quickly secured it to Lanna, who wiggled about before finally settling back on the idea of a walk. "Even though you're not a rabbit, that's ok. Lead me down the rabbit hole!" Belladonna called out gleefully as she kicked open the door and let Lanna rush out.
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 6:30 pm
And rush Lanna did. First to the witch's rug. Rugrugrugrugrugrollrollrollrollroll. Oh how she missed thee~ But all it would take would be a few tugs of the leash to get her moving again, and with a few yips she'd happily lead Belladonna' onwards towards the undead dorms, panting heavily by the time they made it to Mort's door; those extra few pounds were doing Lanna no good. At the least she still liked walking, so that exran layer could be shed off in due time.
It was evident that lights were on inside, but if Belladonna knocked there would be no answer. Trying the handle, however, yielded better results: it was unlocked for some reason.
The most dramatic change to Mort's room was the fact that it was actually decent for public viewing. The floor was 80% visible (a few odds and ends were still there, but pushed off to the side), and with the lights on she could see what lied within immediately. Underland this was not, but there was evidence that Mort had at least tried with what resources he had to replicate a shadow of it - mostly by abusing the crap out of the library printers and Greugle.
There were pictures of unnatural trees plastered against the walls, and the table had been outfitted with several ancient-looking teacups, dishes, and a teapot designed to look like a dragon's head. A one-eared bunny-wunny sat at the head of the table, frayed at the edges and with more than a few specks of dirt. Ssqueaks from within one of the teacups belied the presence of a miced tea scavenging what was left of half a cookie, having left crumbs all about the table. The electronic alarm clock by the zomboil's bed was surrounded by paper-cutouts of the stout twin Tweedle reapers who peered at Bells with mixtures of curiosity and suspicion. Strings of light that looked as though they had belonged to a Christmastival tree lined about the room, throwing light every place the main one above did not. In fact the only place that wasn't immediately visible was the inside of the bathroom, of which the door was slightly ajar. The lights were off there.
As the witch took that all in, Lanna pulled excitedly at her leash towards Mort's bed, nostrils flared. Atop the sheets were four objects: a small ziplock bag that had mixed dog treats and, curiously, three small boxes. One of them had an index card on top.AyeAvast Grammatical errors = second quote ffffff
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 9:09 pm
It did take a few tugs to get the foxfire back on the right track, but finally Lanna was out the door and down the hall. Belladonna was sure to keep up with her, but even though she knew the way to go, she still tried very, very hard not to out-run Lanna. What did Mort have planned? Did he know how much she loved Alice in Underland? Because she did. A lot.A book about an overly curious girl who got herself into trouble, but always managed to escape it? A girl who traveled around and was brave despite her fears? Oh yeah, definitely a favorite of Belladonna's. So when they reached the door, Belladonna knocked expectantly and with a great deal of excitement. A whole minute passed before she realized that no one was in. Impatiently she tugged at the handle and found it unlocked. Her curiosity rose its greedy head and she pushed the door open a littler further as she popped her head in. She only got out the very first 'm' sound before she broke it off into a gasp. With a dramatic dash she was in the room, her eyes wide as she stared at all the things within. A tea party with the appropriate guests! The forest with all its trees and even a string of lights! Perhaps it was best that the boil wasn't in the room, for the witch most likely would have slammed him into whatever stable surface there was with the force of her combined kiss and hug. Absently her fingers trailed over the tea cups, curiosity dictating that she try to open the tea pot to see what what inside. But before she could, Lanna pulled one last time and the witch whirled with a small "Oh!". Quick steps brought her to the bed where she was kind and opened the bag and gave one treat to Lanna. A brief moment of brilliancy hit the witch and she slipped the bag of remaining treats into one of her apron pockets to save for later. If Lanna turned out to be her white rabbit, she'd have to continually follow her for the duration of this mystery and the witch wasn't prepared to gamble away the foxfire's fuel just yet. Yet she couldn't keep her fingers from finding the boxes and the index card on top. The witch grinned like a mighty fool as she read over it. Ol-j-man Oh my glob I am so totally charmed by this. I am a HUGE Alice in Wonderland fan, so I'm kind of gleeing all over the place. XD
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 9:32 pm
The miced tea squeaked at her intrusion and leapt out of the teacup with a clatter, leaving behind a piece of a cookie the size of her thumbnail. There had been bits of paper within too, but they had been shredded beyond recognition.
Lanna continued to paw at Belladonna's heels regardless, spinning around and standing on her hind legs to try and charm the witch into giving her something. She'd been a good ghoul and led her here, hadn't she? SHE WOULD'VE GOTTEN LOST WITHOUT HER EXCELLENT NOSE. Yipyipyipyipyipyip.
Upon closer examination, the small cardboard boxes were uniform save for the picture glued to their tops: one sported a collection of stars, the second a full moon, and the third had the photo of someone smiling (though it was cut off just below the eyes as if to emphasize the smile itself). The index card read as such:
Welcome to Underland!
Today's journey will be a hybrid of scavenging and riddles. You're looking for specific post-it notes hidden everywhere in the room. The riddles will point you in the right direction if you answer correctly. Good luck, and press start when you're ready to begin!
"START" was written in all caps in the bottom right corner, followed by an arrow prompting her to turn the card over.
Sometimes bright as the sun, sometimes dark as space
Like a pearl on soft velvet, diamonds twinkling on her face AyeAvast I AM GOOD MINDREADER, because I had no idea. 8D Glad you like though!
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 10:02 pm
The witch apologized to the miced tea, however belatedly, before she took one glance at the bits of paper and decided to leave them. While Lanna did her little twirl, Belladonna did her best to ignore her, but only a few yips later and the witch had dug out another treat to toss to the pup. "That's it for now. Help me again and you'll get more." She told her with a strict point at the pup to show that she meant business. To soften her words she gave the foxfire a quick smile before she turned back around to the three boxes. Were they to be opened now? They were so pretty! And the pictures were lovely. Hgggnnn~ Belladonna managed to hold off opening them until she read the index card, her nose scrunched up in thought. She took it slow, filing away every detail she could in case she needed to remember it later. It took her a few moments to record it all, but after a moment she found the 'start' button and turned over the card with a very jolly little "Beep!" to indicate that she had started. It was silly, but something she figured Mort would enjoy, wherever he was... And then her stomach dropped. Real riddles? Actual, legitimate riddles that she would have to solve to find the answer to? Yikes! Belladonna was not very good at those... But this one seemed easy! It had to be... Right? The answer seemed so obvious... "Maybe..." And now that Mort didn't instantly jump out at her, now Belladonna began to talk to herself. "Maybe they start out easy to get me in the mindset to think of harder answers. OK! Great! I guess... The Moon!!" The witch called out with a finger held triumphantly in the air. .......But nothing happened. Huh... She tapped a finger to her chin and thought for a long moment. So the moon had to be hidden somewhere in his room right? That was where her next clue came from... Did he mean the overhead lamp? Or maybe a desk lamp? Or did he mean a light source at all? Did he have a lunar mini pet in his closet, waiting to jump out at her? Or was it... "Right in front of my face." Belladonna dropped her serious stance and reached for the small box with the full moon on it. For a moment she examined it, uncertain if this was right... If she was wrong... She'd destroy the whole surprise. And this was such fun! Mort had been so kind and set this whole thing up for her! Just for her! She didn't want to ruin it... But she also wanted to know what this was all about! So with hesitant and ginger fingers, she pried open the box with the moon on it.
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 10:28 pm
OwO YAY NICE LADY YAY. Lanna happily carried the treats to the little rug by the bathroom door and sat down to eat, leaving the witch be. For now.
Nothing jumped out at Bells even as she opened the moon box, mostly because what occupied the space within hadn't yet turned on. A palm-sized robot with gripping pincers for hands lied within, originally silver though now coated mostly with blue paint to give it the appearance of being segmented. Two small wires were taped most professionally atop its head lie antennae. The robots facial screen dull with inactivity until it was exposed to the multiple lights above. With a whirr it began to boot up, rising out of the box like a vampire from the coffin, pincers opening and closing in preliminary function tests. Once it was standing, Belladonna would be able to see two post-it notes were stuck to its back for the taking - one had a bold M, the other an O.
After "blinking" itself awake (that is, the screen flickered several times), the robot turned its head towards the witch and spoke in a mechanical monotone. "UNKNOWN USER DETECTED. PROTOCOL 1 ACTIVATED. UNKNOWN USER IS ASKED TO LISTEN TO THE CATERPILLAR." It "coughed" out several trails of smoke before speaking again.
"IT BEGINS ETERNITY AND ENDS TIME AND SPACE
SPEARHEADS EXISTENCES YET ENDS THEIR RACE
WHAT AM I?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 11:56 pm
Complacent with Lanna, the witch turned her attention to the box and was surprised to find a robot inside. It whirred to life and she let out a tiny "eek!" of surprise. With wide eyes she watched it rise with a small giggle. Content to let it boot up, the witch made herself a little spot on the bed, the other two boxes tucked next to her for safe keeping. With quick fingers she pulled off the M and the O and pocketed them in the other apron pocket. Why! Didn't she just feel like Alice, collecting things and pocketing them. The witch was patient and waited for the robot to fully boot up before it started to talk. Then she got a bit worried... She almost interrupted it with an interjection of 'Just call me Alice!', but it kept going so she didn't figure she needed to tell it anything. .............................................. "Errr... I'd like to hear that again." Belladonna mumbled, but wasn't sure if the robot would be kind enough to repeat it for her. In any regard, she'd have to figure it out on her own. With a deep breath, Belladonna leaned back a little and held the box and robot in her hands. Think, think, think... What both ends and begins time and space? Glad she was able to quickly remember a few things, she blinked slowly and thought out loud. "Begins eternity and ends time and space... Begins... Ends... Eternity, time... Space... Spaaaccceeeeeee. Eeeeeeeternity-- ITS E!! ITS THE LETTER E!!!!" Belladonna suddenly shouted with a jump to her feet. She looked with an excited face to the robot and smiled at it with excited glee pouring from her. OK! This wasn't so bad! She could do this and Mort was the most sweetest, bestest boilfriend ever!
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 5:05 am
"THAT IS CORRECT." Coughsputtersputter. After a bit more smoke, the "caterpillar" opened the hatch on its chest and pulled out another pair of folded post-its - E and H - followed by a slightly crumpled index card.
This thing runs but cannot walk, sometimes sings but never talks
It has a face, yet no senses. But no matter, because time is of the essence!
And then without warning, the robot cried, "WANNA GO TO SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEEEEEEEEEEEE."
It was probably goaded on by the witch's own cries.
Coughsputtersputter.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:25 am
At the confirmation of her riddle, Belladonna jumped up and down excitedly and thanked the robot profusely. The proffered post-it notes were taken with great relish and pocketed along with the others. Already her mind was racing at the prospect of what exactly these letters could spell. Were they the end or were they just another clue? She only had 4 letters, so she wasn't going to try to figure it out now. It would have been silly and certainly not very helpful. But oohhh goody! Another riddle! Belladonna moved the robot to sit on her lap while she pondered over the latest riddle, but only got about three words in before it started to shout. It had startled her quite a lot, so she jumped a bit but only patted it on its head. A small "ssh" sound was her reply as she got back to the riddle at hand. Hhhhmmmm... This one seemed fairly straightforward, but the witch just wasn't sure. Riddles were supposed to look easy but were actually really difficult. But... She had been doing so well! Reluctant to wait any longer, Belladonna scooped up the robot and held it to her face. "Its a clock!" She announced with a large, prideful smile. Oh wait, unless... She turned to the table with the clock and pattered over to it, gazing expectantly at the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. "Are you two the next clue?" Belladonna asked uncertainly. Oh dear, had she just missed the riddle entirely?
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:07 pm
"SPACE," the robot asserted at Belladonna's "shh-ing", though it made no more outbursts (for now). Instead it busied itself back to the usual schedule, hopping out of the box and onto the floor to go back to cleanly trashbot duties.
The Tweedles, being made of paper, only squinted at her in response. But hey, at least they looked cute enough! In an ogreish sort of way.
As the witch peered at them, Lanna finished chewing her treats and trotted over, ready for more. SHE COULD SMELL THEM, BELLS. YOU CAN'T HIDE THAT BAG FOREVER. LOOK, TRICKS! The foxfire stood on her hind legs and began to twirl a bit, though in her exuberance she knocked against the stand with a small yelp. Something was dislodged beneath the alarm clock because of it - another index card with an O post-it stuck to it!
Checkpoint reached! the card read. Downhill begins easily enough, but watch your momentum. Press start to continue the second half! Again START was at the bottom righthand corner with an arrow telling her to turn it over.
What starts with a T, ends with a T, and has "T" in it?
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:16 pm
Unsurprised by the robot's sudden jump, the witch realized, however belatedly, that it was a trashbot! Wow! Mort must be excellent at robotics because the witch hadn't that particular, but she knew robots were... Tricky at best. And he had gotten it to do a specific number of tasks before it got back to cleaning? Not only was she impressed, with each new riddle she was more charmed. Oh, this boil of her's... "That's a lovely twirl Lanna, but I'm afraid..." The witch began, her pink eyes glued to the Tweedle Twins as she tried to unravel their secrets. But just as she was about to break the unfortunate news that Lanna would not be getting another treat, the foxfire knocked against the stand and revealed the next clue! "Good job, Lanna! You win another treat!" Belladonna cheered as she dug out a treat and tossed it to the pup. Hopefully that wouldn't teach her to start knocking into things in hopes of a treat... In any regard the witch snatched up the post it note and the next clue. 'Start' with pressed with another beep and the witch set about puzzling over the riddle. Hmm... This one seemed harder... "What starts with a T, ends with a T and has T in it? ... TEAPOT!! ITS A TEAPOT!!!" With an exuberant punch in the air the witch twirled around and darted to the table. She knew that teapot was too pretty to not have something in it! Sure to be mindful not to scare the miced tea (wherever he'd gotten off to), she carefully pulled the top off the dragon teapot. Ol-j-man I might have actually shouted out the answer while at work. >.>;
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:29 pm
"OvO <3" Assume nothing with Lanna. She would do just about anything for treats, really. Anything. Once again she took her food with a smug air and chowed down (daintily; she was a princess after all) on the bathroom rug.
The draconic face on the teapot leered at Belladonna as she approached, though it was helpless to stop her from taking the top off its head. Indeed there were prizes to be had within: T, P, the next riddle, and . . . were those little ones the miced tea's babies nibbling at its corners curiously? Apparently they were trying to turn it into bedding by tearing at the card bit by bit, though for the most part the words were still legible.
W-at -ets wet--r as it dri-s?
Somewhat.
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