001 :: >press any key to continue (arrival)

[kickassqueen]

Who: Charlie Bradbury and anyone!
Where: Outside the mansion/entry hall.
When: January 1st, celebrating the new year newbie style! (Being confused)
Rating: Prob PG-13
Summary: Charlie's not in Oz anymore, Toto.
The Story:

One moment she's saying good bye, starting on her journey down the yellow brick road, and the next she's waking up beside a horse stable, propped against the side.

The high pitched whinny is what wakes her. Charlie comes to with a start, gasping and immediately regretting it as her nose is assaulted with pure horse. It's definitely not an odor she was expecting, which is why she chokes for a moment and starts coughing violently.

Once her initial shock dies down (and she's able to breathe again), Charlie pushes herself to stand, confusion starting to settle as she glances around. Anyone can see that this place? Definitely not Oz.

With more questions brewing in her brainspace, Charlie walks around to the front of the stables, checking out the horses she's had the pleasure of smelling today.

"You know, you guys look way awesome in movies and paintings," Charlie says this companionably as she crosses her arms, just having a friendly chat with the horses. "But in real life? Super smelly. Not majestic at all."

The horse closest to her snorts, pawing the ground. She gives it a suspicious look and decides maybe this isn't the time to make friendly with the animals.

"Gonna take that as my cue to get going. Later, my equine bros." Giving them a Vulcan salute, she turns around to take in the landscape and to figure out what's next on the agenda.

It's easy to pretend to be calm when it just seems so surreal. Like being in a lucid dream. That's what this has to be, right? As she starts a path down to the mansion, she doesn't feel so confident in that theory.

Oz is real, she was going to it. Who's to say she wasn't transported into some other kind of fairy tale world? And by the looks of this place, that's what it has to be.

Maybe there's be some dancing munchkins inside that can point her in the direction of the Emerald City.

As she walks, Charlie's looking over her shoulder every few seconds, wondering where her new traveling companion is. Traveling with Dorothy, the Dorothy, is like a super rad dream come true. Now here she is, alone in a strange place with no backup to speak of. Awesome.

It's like every fantasy novel she's ever read, or at least every RPG she's spent hours of her life chasing after every side quest she could find. Normally, that would make her feel a little better except for one simple fact: every hero, when beginning their quest, usually ends up running into some super hard tutorial fight. Maybe even an unwinnable one.

Charlie's wishing for a sword right now, and when she puts a hand in her jacket pocket, desperate for anything, her fingers brush against something unfamiliar.

"Huh?" Pulling out the object, at first glance it seems like a regular smart phone. Not hers, though. By now she's reached the steps in front of the mansion, and she comes to a stop, sitting down on one of the steps and turning the phone over in her hand.

She's in a hurry, sure, but she can take a fiver to figure out what this thing is, and more importantly, what it does.

(OOC: Charlie will chill on the steps a bit before going inside, feel free to catch her anywhere!)

Comments

[kickassqueen]

Now that's disappointing to hear. She wishes the day would come that the stories she devoured in her childhood would stop coming to life and fail to live up to her expectations.

Ah well. She turns back around to continue onward, wondering what else this place has in store.

"A magical library. Nice." Except for the fact it enjoys hiding. "Bet I'll be spending a lot of time there...once we find it. What'd you check out anyway?"

She tried to get a subtle look at the book in her hands, but so far no luck.

[cowhouse]

Tell him about it. It's not like he was some massive Wonderland fanboy, but come on. Some things are sacred and hookah smoking caterpillars should be awesome, it's just... Nature or science, or something.

He's over it, though. And he's picked up the slack in that department, so there.

"It's huge, yo, if that's your thing it's the place to hang out, I guess..." And at her question, he raises the book, turning it so she can see the cover. "It's not really my thing but it get a little insane around here, so I figured, you know... Better get my shit together, right?"

HE'S TRYING. AN EFFORT IS BEING MADE. Slowly and probably not as enthusiastically as it should be, but it's there.

[kickassqueen]

The cover of the book has her giving Jesse a funny look. So far, this place doesn't seem incredibly dangerous, and she's heard stuff about what happens around here every so often, but it's harder to believe it can be that bad.

Then again hunting turned out to be a completely different game compared to what she pictured.

"Is that something I should check out? I guess it gets pretty bad, huh?" She looks unsure as she asks this out loud, not really expecting him to give her a YES YOU SHOULD type of answer. Charlie can take care of herself, that much is true, but it helps to be prepared. "Maybe I could just hide behind Dean or Sam or something."

It's a joke, but she's half serious. Charlie is gung ho for killing some bad guys, but only when it's absolutely necessary. She still hasn't gotten over the whole 'being afraid to die' thing, despite dying at least once already.

[cowhouse]

Not incredibly dangerous?? THAT'S JUST WHAT IT WANTS YOU TO THINK........

"Yeah, it's, uh... Things get a little insane around here sometimes. Like every couple weeks." He sighs. "Right after I got here the whole place turned into this massive like mine... Thing, and there were zombie dogs and giant worms and spiders... And then there were, like, actual zombies. That time everything was a huge abandoned prison and the weather got all weird... Finding somebody to hide behind sounds good in theory but even with other people it's just... Crazy. Totally insane. Hence, you know-" he waves the book again. "All of this."

A pause, and then: "...Wait, so you know people here from home?" He knows a few people who're lucky like that; it's hard not to be a little jealous, sometimes. ...You know, right before feeling like the world's biggest shithead for wishing your friends were here in this mess with you.

...Even if his friends would probably be all over the whole magic closets and monsters thing. Still, it's not... All it's cracked up to be. That's all he's sayin'.

(And he's with you on the afraid to die thing, Charlie. Like 100% with you. No, thank you, he'll have the grilled cheese and not the horrible death...)

[kickassqueen]

As he tells his harrowing tale, Charlie looks more and more taken aback, until the color drains from her face. Oh....awesome.

"Uh, yeah." His question distracts her from imagining the myriad of terrible tragedies she's sure are in her future. "Already met up with one of them. Sounds like we've got ourselves a group from home. I don't actually know anyone except Dean or Sam, though."

But she's read about them. Guess who is excited to meet Ellen and Jo?

"Apparently, uhhh I was here before?" It sounds more like a question, but since Jesse didn't actually recognize her on sight she's assuming he never met her before. "Twice. I've got no memories of it, so it's a little weirdsauce."

[cowhouse]

It is sort of harrowing, isn't it? Ugh. Sorry, Charlie, he probably shouldn't have dropped the insane details of Wonderland's shining moments on the newbie so soon. He can't be sure if he'd have felt better or worse about the whole thing if he knew what he'd have to deal with when shit hit the fan...

...Oh well. At least she's prepared now, right?

"Really? I haven't been here that long, it must have been before they got me..." His lips twitch a bit at 'weirdsauce'; that's like queen nerd status right there. It's cool, though. Reminds him of his favourite pair of assholes back home.

"I've heard a few people say that they've been home and come back and that they remember everything, but it sounds like they didn't while they were there. Kinda sucks... Oh, yo--" he nods his head as they turn a corner and a massive door looms at the end of the hall. "Library."

He holds his fist out for a pound. "Guess it's a good thing we followed you, huh?"

[kickassqueen]

Charlie's pondering the mystery that is arrival and departure from Wonderland when they stumble across the library. She was actually pretty distracted from their original goal, but hey they found it! Go them!

"Aw yes," she crows as she bumps his fist with hers. "Looks like I might have myself some secret library finding skills." Now she's eager to see the inside - she's probably going to be spending a few hours nosing through those books - and they start down the hallway.

"Are there any other rooms around here that get antsy and move around?"

[cowhouse]

He grins.

"Mad skills, yo." Like a homing pigeon, only cuter. "You might need 'em if you're into the whole tea and... Whatever you have with tea. Crumpets. Whatever, those, there are some rooms around like that but they move too." He... Has no idea where those are most of the time. Tea isn't his thing, really.

"I don't really know," he admits. "A lot of stuff moves around, this place is weird. Trippy. My room stays put-- the kitchen stays put, that's what's up."

[kickassqueen]

"I'll have to check one of them out sometime." She taps her chin in thought as she wonders what she would expect a tea room to look like. "At least to see what the crumpets taste like."

Could be delicious, who knows. No reason not to shovel food in her face while she's here, especially when it seems to be unlimited and magical.

"At least the bedrooms stick to one place. If I'm half asleep and want to face plant in some squishy softness it just needs to stay still." She ends her sentence with a flourish, throwing open the door to the library with a swoop of her arm.

A little too dramatic, but that's cool. She's sufficiently distracted by the sight in front of her.

"Wow. They aren't kidding about this place being magic, are they?" She walks in slowly, eyes traveling all over the place to take it all in at once.

[cowhouse]

Yep, Jesse's on the same page as far as the food's concerned. Not that he's been going gourmet or anything, but free and unlimited are words he's pretty fond of so naturally he's gonna help himself.

The bedroom thing makes him laugh as he follows her into the library.

"Yeah, that'd be a pretty cruel joke, moving the beds on us... Mass confusion, probably some screaming... No good--" he pauses, turning his head to take in the massiveness of the library like it's the first time he's been here. It kind of is, actually- he doesn't spend a lot of time here- and it looks... Bigger than usual. "...I think it's showing off."

Just take his book back and don't swallow him, library, he doesn't want any of that Pagemaster shit today.

[kickassqueen]

"Hey, if I were a magical traveling library, I'd show off, too." She shoots him a grin as she walks forward, peeking at a row of books.

"I'm totally gonna get lost in here, aren't I?" She doesn't sound bothered by the notion at all. Turning back to Jesse, she gives him a somewhat sheepish look. "I think I'm gonna hang out around here for a bit, see what they've got. We'll catch up later?"

Because Jesse seems like a pretty cool cat, and the noobs have to stick together around here.

[cowhouse]

He laughs, shoving the book onto the closest shelf with zero care as to whether or not that's where it belongs. It's magic, come on. He should haven't to be worried about the Dewey Decimal whatever. Is that the right one? Who knows.


"Yeah, absolutely." He turns back to Charlie with a smile. "I'm up on the eighth floor. Name should be in the phone thingy, too, I think that's how that works... Magic and shit, yo."

Because he hadn't signed up for any directory or whatever, and yet... Right there on the contact list.

[kickassqueen]

"Sweetness." She gives him a thumbs up. "I'm on the fifth! Right in the middle seemed like a good place to call home."

Also, the people she knows are there. That's a bonus.

"I'll catch you later, bro!" And with a parting Vulcan salute to Jesse, she disappears into the library shelves.

Never to be seen again. (Until the next morning when she wakes up at one of the tables, face down in a book.)

[cowhouse]

Ugh, god does that stupid hand thing make him miss his crew... Not that he doesn't usually, but the familiarity of the gesture does dredge up a pang of loneliness that's almost enough to get him to hang around in here for just a little bit longer...

He doesn't though, nor does he let his smile falter as he offers her a tiny salute of his own before bouncing.

"Later!"