What looks like a small boy is posting these signs all throughout Estervale. There are some scattered throughout varying areas and kingdoms as well, especially Camlann. This is the second such wave of these posts.

( NOW IS A PERFECT TIME TO PANIC! )

Careening down through a cloud was a young woman, seething with anger and clinging desperately to a case and a bridle. Her screams so far had been loud yet justified; after being flung into the air by a pack of Dwarves, floating for what felt like hours during which she had lost half of what her husband had thrust into her arms as she was banished from her home, the young princess was plummeting from the sky with cumulative speed and higher pitch.

The sight of the earth growing ever larger beneath her prompting her hoarse throat into a new octave, Snow White could do nothing but continue her cries and hope to land in the lake. As she thought it, her course seemed to tilt ever so slightly, and moments later a soggy lass flung her case and bridle ahead of her onto the ground, hoisting herself after. The sights around her completely and utterly unfamiliar, Snow burst into tears, for it seemed to be true.

She was stuck, cast away to the strange land of Pentamerone.

Who: Hansel and Carabosse
When: Backdates a few weeks after this narrative
Where: Estervale, Hansel's cabin
What: Hansel gets a surprising visit

( Welcome Home? )

Who: Mabb and Carabosse (disguised as Gretel).
When: Backdated a few weeks.
Where: Carabosse's castle in Estervale.
What: Mabb goes hunting for Carabosse but doesn't find the prey she's looking for.


Mabb had more time in the caves beneath the Blasted Lands than she could recall. It could have been weeks or months. Maybe even years. It was all the same to her, a mere blink in time in the grand scheme of things.

She'd parted ways with her unexpected companion, Morozko, some time ago, and while she did hope to run into him again in the future, she didn't have the capacity to miss him in anything more than the vaguest sense.

( Besides, she had something else to draw her focus at the moment. )

Senor Eduard de Bleu Barbe needed to inject some life into his crew. He cooked up the idea a few weeks ago to hold an open audition. He'd base his selections off of their ability to swab, swashbuckle, and amuse. He set up a table on the deck of La Bonita Caravel, a parchment rested on top with an ink pot and pen. As soon as he was satisfied as to the pirate's ability he would conscript them to his crew by having them sign the parchment.

He sat on deck, ordering his pirates about to ensure that the ship would be perfectly clean when the auditioners arrived.


This is open to any one who would be interested in a change of pace, anyone who'd like to be a pirate for a little while.

Who:Gretel and Hansel
When: backdated a few days
Where: Estervale
What: Gretel is fed up with Smee's crew, she hops ship and goes to the one place she knows

Gretel had been in Smee's crew for a few months and it was not everything she had wanted. There had been a handsome pirate on the crew for some time but in a terrible accident he was killed and therefore Gretel had nothing left to do on the ship. Her menial tasks of cleaning the decks, helping navigate, and sharpening swords were a little less fun when there was no one there to flirt with. She had grown used to the lifestyle and liked it quite a lot but Smee and his crew were bent on avenging some old grudge that she wasn't a part of.

( One night while the crew was sleeping... )

It must have been magic. It had to have been magic that Akira the little terror had fallen asleep again, and only moments before the other babies. They were getting older, growing so quickly, and Shūhei stared at them with pride on his face as they all slept. The pride melted to love as his gaze shifted to Genkurō, who was asleep himself. It was a naked expression on his face, one Genkurō rarely saw. One Shūhei rarely showed. Leaving Genkurō a note, he tiptoed out of the room so as not to wake anyone.

( He stepped out, collecting leaves off the treehouse branches as he went. )

The tunnels of the underground were far more expansive that Morozko had initially imagined. They twisted and winded like the snake inhabitants that called the place home. Mabb had been with him, at his side for some time, but somewhere along the way, Mabb turned left and Morozko turned right. After what felt like miles, his path turned upward, and riddled with curiosity, he followed it up and out.

Stepping out from what turned out to be a hollowed out tree above open ground, Morozko spied the land before him. The tree line ended some ways up ahead, and he could see structures, buildings. A town. He tilted his head up, checking the position of the sun. It was early evening, the sun heading towards settings. The blazing heat was gone, the unnatural weather of that foul desert far behind him. What lay ahead was unknown, and so Morozko headed forward, entering the town about a half hour after he slowly set out.

His step was curious, wandering, even meandering. It was as though he could not walk a straight line, but not like a drunkard. He twisted and wove about a like a distracted child, taking in every sight and sound. The sounds of a tavern caught his ear, and he pushed open the door, stepping inside. It had been long, too long, since he had been anywhere near what constituted a crowd, and his slightly jumpy behavior was testament to it. He chose a lone table, the last one left open, and sat, staring with both intrigue and distaste at various parts of the decor.

Puss wasn't on any particular errand as he wandered around the countryside of Pentamerone. Cara had things fairly handled from her castle and having Curly around gave Puss far more free time to simply pursue his own interests. At the moment he was just enjoying being a free cat once more. There were fields of tall grass to bound through, mice to chase, milk to beg for. At the moment he was running through tall grass, the sweet wild smell tingling against his whiskers. It was truly a glorious afternoon to be a cat.

Shūhei climbed back up into the treehouse he and Genkurō had managed to con their way into. Food in one satchel and a bag full of leaves that were no longer money in the other, Shūhei put down his load and headed straight for the nursery. In one hand was a piece of rolled up parchment, something he'd found stuck to a tree at the edge of town. "Gen-chan, I'm back. With food and everything, but..."

Shūhei trailed off, distracted as always by the babies sleeping in their beds. The little devils rarely all slept at the same time and it was a blessing that they were now. Shūhei would have liked to pick one up, kiss and coddle them, but he knew better than to wake them. Especially Akira. Once awake, the little monster would take forever to fall back asleep, and would do his best to wake up his siblings while he was at it. Shūhei's voice dropped to a whisper. "I found something though and you're not going to like it."

He held out the parchment to Genkurō, pausing to drop a kiss on his lips, and run his free hand through his hair. As easily distracted as Shūhei could be, he never failed to show in some little way how much he cared for Genkurō.

Who: Carabosse, Hansel, and Gretel
When: After this and before this
Where: Carabosse's castle
What: The kids grow up in Cara's castle.
Notes: This thread happens over the course of a week.

( Growing up is hard to do )

Grace looked a little worse for the wear. Well, worser than usual. Thus far, her plan to seek passage across Lake Raienia had amounted to nothing but taunting and soaked clothing at the hands webbings flippers appendages of various water creatures. Turning around and heading towards Estervale wasn't so much an admittance of defeat, but a change of plans. Still, Grace was ruffled by how difficult this strange land was proving to be. And she wasn't going to travel in foul spirits. This occasion called for...spirits.

( Read more... )

Cara was sitting in the receiving room of her castle, expecting the return of Puss with Hansel and Gretel (since Puss had sent word ahead that he would be, though he made Gretel write it for him since his paws always seemed to get in the way of writing).

Today was a day in which the wicked faerie godmother turned mortal was going to turn a new leaf. Or something similar to the phrase. She intended to weave some more good deeds in with her wicked ones and this would be her first.

Puss was assigned with a very important task.

"Find Hansel or Gretel," Carabosse had instructed. "Preferably both," she added with an arched eyebrow. "Give them this letter," she said, handing him a sleek envelope that had been sealed with wax.

He took it without question and left Carabosse's castle, though he had no idea where to even begin looking for Hansel and Gretel. He knew the story well enough, Cara had told him several times. She'd tried to help them, but in her twisted faerie way she didn't warn them of the consequences. She cut Hansel's body in half to give his sister (a ghost who'd been sharing his body) her own body. It worked, but now they were children, half of what they used to be and neither of them very grateful.

In her weakened mortal state Carabosse had time to reflect on this (since she was not of a mind to leave the safety of her castle). She felt rather bad about the whole thing, probably the first time she understood remorse. It was then that she'd decided to help them, working through possible solutions to their situation and latching on the idea of an aging potion, which she wrote about in her carefully constructed letter.

Puss plodded through much of Estervale hopeful. He liked this new attitude his friend has adopted, helping those that she could. He searched around, asking for two children, a boy and a girl. The girl he added was probably cranky and trying to get alcohol.

On that repeated idea he thought maybe he should start looking in pubs for Gretel. It was the closest thing to an estimation of where she might be. He wandered through the city streets, pub after pub until he grew a bit tired. He decided that this next pub would be his last for the day.

Upon entering he didn't see a cranky, little girl begging for booze. He sighed through his nose and wrinkled his whiskers, the envelope shaking in his mouth. He leaped quite gracefully onto a bar stool and dropped the letter onto the bar. He smiled at the tender. "Might I trouble you for a saucer of milk and irish cream my good man?"

Since arriving not too long ago in the uncharted forest near Estervale--the name of which she didn't know, of course--Persephone had gone...absolutely nowhere.  The "nightmare" was still fresh in her mind, and she sat at the body of water she'd found and tried to distinguish fantasy from reality.  Finally the flashes had slowed to a stop, and all she saw was the water and the forest--no caves, no Hades, no Cerberus.  Just peace and tranquility.  And some birds somewhere.  And, oh wait...a village?

But the village was far enough away that she didn't feel crowded.  She was free, and alone.  Feeling confident in her element and peaceful in the lack of bad visions, Persephone rose gracefully to her feet and spun around slowly.  This way all she could see were trees, but she would have no problem leaving the forest if she chose.  She wanted to stay and enjoy the scenery.  It left her calm and happy.  So happy, in fact, that she began swaying with a blissful smile on her face.  She imagined that the wind moving through the trees and grass, and the birds, were singing her a pleasant melody, and so she began to dance much as she had seen many nymphs do.  Her long, gauzy white skirt billowed out around her as she twirled, and her soft blue eyes closed.  Her moves weren't as elaborate as the nymphs', but they were every bit as graceful.

Carabosse looked out over the long, resplendent garden surrounding her castle. It was blessedly dimmer out today than normally; the overcast sky protected her eyes from the bright sunlight that ordinarily bothered her. It was quiet in Estervale this afternoon.

She raised an eyebrow at the orange cat bounding through her plants, holding something in his mouth. Damned creature, she thought. Puss de Carabas had been doing his best to make up for saving her life (which had inadvertently removed the faerie parts of herself and left her mortal). He'd been a good friend up until that point and it had taken Cara a very long time to forgive him.

( Puss made his way up through the castle to the room he most expected Cara to occupy. )

A man sat out in the sun, lounging in the warming light, covered in a huge over-sized cloak that tied around his neck. The hood, which was usually worn to hide his features, was pushed back. Shoulder length, dirt brown hair hung from his head in straggles with sunlight passing over it to create varying shades. It still was the color of dirt, but some soiled strands looked like dried mud or molasses. And on his face was a coat of stubble around his chin and jaw, above the lip. The man-creature was dirty and in need of a bath, a woman's prompting perhaps. His lightly tanned skin looked darker than it was, smears of earth clinging to his flesh and even clothes. But, through all his mess and ragged appearance, the thing also seemed kind.

( As he turned on his side where he sat on the Eastern outskirts of town by rocks and foliage, he sighed heavily. )