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Post by mugenginga on Mar 17, 2010 20:28:44 GMT -5
(OOC: Don't hold your breath, in other words. No specific knowledge is NEEDED, but posting rate and style play huge parts. Me and FF so far.)
The sun had risen hours ago over the city. While the Island was not a globe in any fashion, something or another seemed to regulate the sun in a manner not unlike Earth. It was likely the same reason the moon had phases matching most Earths and the seasons followed a understandable suit. In any case, the tropical evironment meant the seasons were summer and rain, and the sun came up early and set late.
The city was up and about. It was a lot like Void City in that regard. The pace was slower, more like the country, but it sprawled over the top of enough of jungle calling it a village would have been a terrible misnomer. In the hut of a shaman figure (not the shaman figure, nor even an apprentice) there were various dolls all over the place. Some were well formed, most were not. It would give a bit of a creepy feeling to many, as some of the dolls weren't even whole.
A mirror lay tied against a corner of the hut. There was a hole in each corner, and it was tied firmly with hemp. The mirror rippled like a reflective silver pond before a tall humanoid wooden doll was ejected out of it. Very roughly, to the point it was thrown against the opposite wall. Before it could recover (as it was moving despite being a doll), an ornate gold suitcase was fired after it with a great amount of force.
It hit with enough force that it popped open and the crimson velvet clad female doll rolled out and landed on the bamboo with her face down. A gold "key" of sorts rolled landed next to her. The case landed in a way that the silk lining could not be seen, as both ends were facing towards the ground much like the doll was.
A very well dressed white humanoid rabbit stepped out of the mirror and it finally stopped rippling. He stood over six feet and eyed the position the female doll had landed before looking up towards the taller doll. It appeared to be expecting a reaction from it, and seemed willing to wait for a century if that was how long one took.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 17, 2010 21:13:40 GMT -5
Eriol didn't know how long he'd been out. Hell, he was barely coherant. All he knew was that suddenly, he'd felt himself being pulled from Miss Himitsu's shop and now he was here. He had ended up being ejected rather roughly and had slammed up against the wall. He was sitting upside-down against the wall now, and wasn't making much of an effort to move from the position he was sitting in. The eyepatch he wore over his missing eye had slipped from the impact, and a bit of the large gaping hole where the left side of his face should have been was showing.
At the moment, Eriol was trying to figure out what had happened. Miss Himitsu had given him a suitcase. Said not to open it no matter what. Then ushered him off to his not often used room, the one she'd given him despite the fact that he was only a doll, and thus didn't need one. And then, he'd appeared here. How long had he been out? He couldn't get a fix on the time or date. He really was shaken up.
He held up a hand to examine it before realizing that something on the other wall was rippling. He couldn't see it too well from here, but he knew that there was something coming out of that mirror. Eriol's expression didn't change as the suitcase he'd been entrusted was the next to fly out of the mirror and hit the floor with enough force that whatever was inside popped out of it. If his eyes could have widened, they would have at the sight of what exactly had been inside of it. It had been a doll.
It had been a doll. Like the grotesque, half finished ones that surrounded him.
He rolled over onto his stomach and began to climb to his feet when the rabbit faced figure stepped out the mirror next. Eriol seemed to freeze as he looked up at the figure's head. A rabbit's head. A rabbit. The symbol of the Creator. If only he knew where his key were right now.
"Who are you?" Eriol asked. His voice sounded a tad bit garbled, but that was only due to the impact. They'd fix themselves soon enough. He wished he wasn't so fragile. He'd been built to last the ages, but his insides hadn't exactly been up to standard.
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Palette had gotten to Canopy City long before Eriol had. Currently, she was having a bit of a crisis moment. Once again, the strange anthropomorphic androgynous artist pulled the letter she had recieved from her pocket.
Palette sighed. Himitsu had been her caretaker in this world. Her only protection. Palette not only didn't doubt that knowledge of her abilities would eventually be found out, but that people might and would kill to get her. Palette didn't want to be in that kind of danger again. Himitsu was right; she needed to find allies.
Still, this sucked. This meant the old lady was dead and now she was in some random place on this stupid island. She knew enough that she was in Canopy City, but beyond that, she had no idea how to get back to Void City, or if she really wanted to go back there.
Not only that, but she was, like Himitsu had said, separated from Eriol. And dammit, she'd grown attached to that stupid emotionally unstable doll.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 17, 2010 21:34:28 GMT -5
"A name is a name by any other name," the rabbit replied.
He gave a sweeping bow, one gloved hand held at his waist and the other spread to the side, grasping the cane he had with him. The bow seemed a bit off somehow, as if his waist was a bit higher than it should be. His legs kept perferctly straight, and the posture was excellent. He straightened up and placed both hands on his cane as he positioned it in front of his feet.
"However, it is understood that most prefer a mode of reference. You may call me Laplace's Demon if it pleases you. You are Eriol," he didn't say it as a question. It was a statement of fact.
He glanced down at the still doll on the floor. Despite the rabbit like way his face was formed, one could almost see a look of very mild amusement raised. He blinked his albino red eyes and returned his gaze to Eriol.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 17, 2010 21:45:13 GMT -5
Eriol finally managed to manage a glare at this, and he was glaring right up at Laplace's Demon. He quickly assessed his surroundings, and pulled a large bit of bamboo from the wall that he'd slammed in to, holding it much like a staff used in several different martial arts.
"How do you know my name?" Eriol growled. He narrowed his eye as the rabbit man glanced down at the lifeless doll on the floor. Eriol seemed to make a decision then and there and rolled to the side, grabbing the red clothed doll as he did so. He held her cradled in one arm while holding the stick of bamboo in his free hand.
"Who is this girl?! Did Miss Himitsu create her? Is Miss Himitsu dead?!" Eriol asked. All he had were questions, but he didn't seem to realize that the rabbit-faced man would not likely answer them.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 18, 2010 12:09:13 GMT -5
The rabbit didn't flinch as Eriol brandished the makeshift staff. No reaction had been made towards Eriol scooping up the doll, either. He waited for Eriol to finish his accusatory questions before he spoke again. His expression would have been hard to read as a human, let alone a rabbit man, but he wasn't phased by anything in the least.
"How does the nameless know the named, how indeed can anything know the truth of nothing? It is as clear as death, as muddied as untarnished glass," the rabbit wasn't making much in the way so sense, "However, it would appear there are things to do. What makes life, is purpose something one should deny? For how does one know if the task at hand is the task required?"
Laplace's Demon reached to the side with his staff-like cane. He brought it down in a sweeping motion and a hole seemed to be cut through reality. A yellow space appeared in the tear. He jumped into the air just a bit and passed most of the way through the whole. only his head was exposed as it began to seal itself.
"What exists before may be lost for what exists after."
And with that he pulled his head into the portal and it sealed itself.
(OOC: Eriol should probably notice that wind up key on the floor or the plot might have issues. XD By "wind up key" it looks kind of like the thing you see on the back of windup things with the two looped handles attached to a small tube piece. The bottom of the tube piece is hollow, but the place it sticks into Shinku's back appears hollow to. it probably hooks on something inside that is hard to see.
Yay living dolls needing to be wound up? XD)
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 18, 2010 20:55:37 GMT -5
Eriol had glared after Laplace's Demon the whole time it made its retreat, not even moving after it had disappeared into its portal. The thing had spoken in riddles. Eriol didn't care much for riddles. He liked deals, but not riddles. And it had been a rabbit. He didn't care much for rabbits either.
He finally set the little girl doll down on her stomach. She didn't seem to be moving. He crouched down beside her and poked her a couple times before finally noticing a small hole in her back. And he suddenly understood.
She's a doll... of course. She needs to be wound up, Eriol said. He looked around toward where the suitcase she'd popped out of had landed and noticed a small intricate wind-up key nearby it. He stood up and walked over to it before picking it up and walking back over to the girl, where he stuck the key into the hole, where he began to wind it.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 18, 2010 21:09:44 GMT -5
What happened then was comparable to a seizure. The thrashing for lack of a better word was a bit on the violent side, but the doll rose to her feet. Without the use of hands, so it was a bit eerie. It continued to shake and the mechanical sound of long since used clockwork could be heard. The doll took a few shaking steps foward, and she looked like she was going to rattle herself to pieces.
She stopped just as suddenly as she had begun shaking. She was hunched over, and it looked like she shouldn't have balance if she was truly unconscious. Her eyes had remained shut the entire time, and her face was concealed due to the angle. Then she suddenly straightened up, her eyes snapped open, and she glared at Eriol... before blinking in what could be surprise before narrowing her eyes. Or her eyelids, as her pupils remained the exact same size.
"Who are you?" she demanded, a somewhat polite way of speaking with a not so kind tone of voice.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 18, 2010 21:23:23 GMT -5
Eriol didn't seem very surprised as the clockwork doll in front of him began to rise to her feet. That settled that, then. She was a Doll. Maybe... even one that had been created from his template. She was quite a bit smaller than him, but she still seemed to be made of clockwork, and he could ever remember waking up like that.
He didn't even blink as she spoke. Well, he didn't really blink much anyways. She didn't seem very nice, though.
"My name's Eriol. I'm a doll like you," Eriol stated. Well, not exactly like her. But it was close enough.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 18, 2010 21:29:02 GMT -5
"Do not speak to me with such insulting words," the doll stated, "Father would have never created something as unattractive as yourself."
Her words cut like a knife and her tone would not have been out of place in Antarctica. She brushed down the front of her dress and looked around the room. One could almost see her nose sticking into the air like one might expect a noble lady to do so. Her eyes settled on the box and her frown deepened.
"You have no respect for the belongings of others, do you? How uncouth."
She walked over to the box and lifted a hand. It raised into the air by what seemed its own power and flipped itself upright. She didn't seem to be in the mood to listen to any complaints to what she had said.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 18, 2010 21:42:18 GMT -5
Eriol finally did blink as the doll addressed him. She... seemed rather rude. And blunt. She called him ugly. He wasn't that ugly, was he? Okay, so he was missing an eye, and was a boy, and didn't have any frilly clothing, and his hair needed to be combed pretty badly, plus his joints were all showing, but he wasn't really all that ugly was he?
He stood up as the girl flipped the box over again. She seemed to have powers of her own, but more importantly, she'd said he had no respect for other people's things, which was the complete opposite of the truth. He had plenty of respect for other people's things! Wasn't his fault he'd been flung out of a portal like that and her box had been knocked open.
"...I'm sorry about that," Eriol said.
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Palette looked up from the letter, which she'd pulled out to read once again. And her eyes widened.
Standing in the middle of town was what looked like a red-clothed, brown haired, rabbit hatted version of Eriol. He even had an eyepatch, though it was more the medical kind than the pirate-y kind Eriol wore.
"I know he's here... I sensed him here. I know he's gotta be here. He's gotta be," the doll mumbled. Palette blinked and walked over to him.
"Uh, hey, kid, you alright?" Palette asked. The doll looked up at her.
"Oh, excuse me, sir. I'm looking for this very dangerous boy. He has blond hair, wears yellow clothing, and has a bird hat. His name is Eriol. Have you seen him?" the boy asked.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 18, 2010 21:47:12 GMT -5
The doll, who had yet to introduce herself, seemed far more preoccupied with checking the condition of the box. She brushed the dust off several places and examined the lining. Everything seemed to be in order. She glanced around on the floor for a moment before looking over to Eriol. He was still holding the wind up key. She didn't seem pleased by that. She glared again. She walked over to him.
"That does not belong to you. Return it," she ordered, holding out her palm while continuing to lift her head so she could look him in the eye.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 18, 2010 21:52:18 GMT -5
Eriol didn't like this girl very much. Especially when she walked over to him and ordered him to hand over the key. He held the key behind his back.
"No," Eriol said. "It's a better key than mine. Mine's too big. You can share."
Looked like he was still in the habit of using other dolls' body parts as his own.
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Palette blinked. So this kid knew Eriol? Well, she probably should have expected that. He did look damn similar to him.
"...Yeah, he worked at this shop I was staying at. We got thrown here after the lady who owned the shop... died," Palette said. The doll looked to the side.
"I bet he killed her... he doesn't like humans," the doll said. Palette's eyes widened as she rounded on the doll.
"He wouldn't do that! Okay, so he's a little screwed up in the head, but he never killed anyone!" Palette yelled. A few people turned to look at the scene. The doll took a step back.
"He's a horrible monster... he killed an entire village just so he could get the Creator's attention!" the doll said. "I have to stop him! Before he can hurt anyone else!"
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 18, 2010 21:58:47 GMT -5
Shinku narrowed her eyes. Before she had been looking on Eriol with a kind of disgust. Perhaps disdain. Now her eyes were angry and a bit hateful. She lowered her hand and looked back at the box. There was no way Holly would have arranged something with a doll. Another doll could not serve as a Medium, which meant something had gone wrong. She looked back at Eriol with a glare.
"If you refuse to return it than I shall take it back by force. It is from Father and I will not have you sullying it with your hands."
She hopped backwards. To be more accurate, she launched into the air with enough force that at her apex her feet were parallel with the top of Eriol's head. She held out her right hand and a rose red light with traces of pink appeared. It was a bit bigger than a laser light, but with a far softer glow.
"Holly!" she said, and the light shot towards Eriol.
...And then she winced. She looked like she was going to land poorly. In an impressive feat of aerial acrobatics she managed to right herself just before hitting. She landed fairly, but had to take a few stumbling steps backwards. The light continued on the path it was taking before, and would bump Eriol in the forehead if he didn't swat it away. Catching it would be about as possible as catching a mosquito, but it wasn't impossible. Shinku would react based on Eriol's action in response to all this.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Mar 18, 2010 22:08:51 GMT -5
And now Eriol had officially reached pissed. She was referring to her "Father" like he had the Creator in the past. And thinking back to their similar constructs, it was possible the Creator and her Father were the same person. He didn't visibly react as the girl summoned some sort of light in her hand and fired it at him. He swatted the girl, apparently named Holly, away from him.
"Who's your Father? Is he my Creator?" Eriol asked. "If so, then that would make me your big brother, wouldn't it?" He smirked, though it came across more creepy than it would on a human due to the uncanny valley effect his general construct gave off.
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Palette was positively glaring at the doll now. "Hey, how do you know he hasn't changed? And besides, how do I even know you're telling the truth?"
"He's fooled you! All he wants to do is kill people! He hates humans! He hates all people like you! You're not human, so maybe that's why he trusts you!" the doll said. "But the Creator said to never trust him!"
"The Creator, the Creator, blah blah blah," Palette said. She thought back to some of her conversations she'd had with Himitsu about Eriol. "Yeah, I've heard about this 'Creator' guy of yours. He was a bit of a douchebag."
The doll glared at Palette and pulled a small gold key from his pocket, which then reconfigured into a large gold key. He was holding it with one hand, and it was then that Palette realized the doll's other arm was hanging limp. Like he couldn't even use it. But her major concern was the key. Eriol had a similar one, one that Himitsu had only let him use once of all the times she remembered. It had taken some... effort to get him back under control of himself after the first time he'd gotten it back.
"Don't you DARE talk about him like that!" the doll snarled.
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Post by mugenginga on Mar 18, 2010 22:15:45 GMT -5
"The amount of ego you have is quite simply astounding! To insinuate Father would create one such as you is an insult to the name of Rozen!"
Her own voice indicated she was upset now, as well. However, there was a bit of a shake there. The light that Eriol had swatted away flew back towards Shinku and seemed to vanish. She seemed to be considering her next course of action, and there was far more hesitation now then before. It didn't seem to be fear of Eriol, her still defiant look everytime she looked in his direction was indication. But something was bothering her. She shook her head. She had to risk it. While her shouting was angry, it still held a level of ladylike calm to it.
She lifted both of her hands and pointed the palms towards Eriol, "Return my key this instant!"
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