[OPEN] Ready or Not...

[widows_kiss]

Who: Natasha & whichever unlucky souls stumble across her!
Where: the kitchen
When: evening of 4/21
Rating: PG-13ish? There might be cursing but hopefully no violence. Probably. Maybe? >.>
Summary: Hello, Wonderland! There's a spy rooting through your drawers. Wait, that didn't come out right...
The Story:
Natasha knows something is off before she even opens her eyes.

She's slumped over a solid surface, her head cushioned on her arms, toes just barely reaching the floor beneath the stool or whatever it is she's perched on. She goes from the unawareness of sleep - or unconsciousness? - to high alert in the span of a heartbeat, although visibly she doesn't so much as twitch. Her breathing remains calm and even as though she were still deeply asleep, but she's already cataloging what her senses can tell her without the aid of her eyes.

This is not her sofa, where she's fairly certain she'd drifted off a short while earlier. Her thoughts are clear, not clouded or foggy, no telltale traces of a foreign agent responsible for missing time and changed locations. She's unhurt except for the lingering ache of still-healing injuries and as far as she can tell there's nothing restraining her. It's quiet - no hint of anyone else around, although she waits almost a minute to be sure before letting her eyes slide open.

The kitchen's unfamiliar. Large, well-equipped, tall windows letting in the warm rays of a setting sun. There's a bowl of fruit at the other end of the counter, simple and unassuming. Nothing is familiar and nothing stands out as obviously out of place, other than her. It's just a kitchen. One she's got no idea how she arrived in, but at least she's apparently been given the freedom to look around.

Natasha slides off the stool to prowl around the room, checking the windows first but there's no one in sight, just an ornate stretch of gardens outside. Her second task is rooting through the kitchen drawers in search of a knife or anything else she can use as a weapon.

She's not sure why she's here, if she's in danger or not, but she likes to be prepared for anything, just in case. And call it paranoia but waking up somewhere strange and unfamiliar - no matter how pleasant - rarely results in anything good.

On second thought, maybe she'll borrow a few knives...

Comments

[imnotsure]

"...You know, they're gonna notice."

There's only so long that Selina can stand playing at Holly - the girl is too sweet, too naive, and probably the worst idea for a cover in the history of histories. All the same it seemed to keep people off, except Blake.

Still, you can only play innocent to a point, which is why she's leaning against the fridge wearing a dior dress and a necklace. Anyone with an experienced eye can tell that both the diamonds and the ruby are real. Very real.

"It's a communal kitchen."

[seekinghome]

Ed watches her from the doorway, bemused. "How many knives do you need?"

[eatsyourscience]

The kitchen is a place where Souji spends a lot of time, despite the fact that he works in an impromptu diner upstairs. He's gotten in the habit of cooking his own meals, even though the dining room is much more convenient, and he's never found a good reason to stop. If nothing else, it was a useful way to meet people.

He's not entirely surprised to find someone he doesn't recognize in the kitchen. It's also not surprising for her to look like she's on edge--arriving does that to most people. It's the people who are calm right off the bat that he has to wonder about.

"Hey." His greeting is accompanied by a lazy wave. He comes further into the kitchen, but doesn't approach her. People, newcomers especially, need space.

[possiblymad]

Loki isn't one to sneak off for a midnight snack. Or a mid-afternoon snack. Well, for any kind of snack in general, but he's spent the last few days (week?) barricaded in the library with a simple illusion cast over himself to keep him out of sight while he diligently researches everything he can on this Land of Wonder. Several kind souls recommended reading that interesting tale called 'Alice in Wonderland'. He also found several other pieces of literature linked to the very same. One, in particular, called 'Through the Looking Glass'. To be quite honest, they were not exactly his cup of tea, but he suffered through them for information's sake.

Now, that leads to his current predicament, in which he decided it might be a good idea to actually ingest something semi-decent and rehydrate his body, when he walked in on a rather curious sight. Said sight was rummaging through a drawer of cutlery, causing Loki to immediately retreat right back out of the room before she could turn. She probably heard him--he wouldn't put it past that crafty cow--so he needed a disguise before she inevitably came after the intruder.

Out of view, a shimmer of magic washed over his form, concealing it under the guise of another, before he stepped back into view.



Complete with dark sunglasses, some scruff, a sharp waistcoat, tie, and formal shirt, he struts into the room with all the energy he can muster to appear jovial and light-hearted.

"Are you looking for something specific, or do you usually take to raiding unfamiliar drawers of cutlery? Seems like a strange habit to me, but who am I to judge, Miss...?" He prompts for her name, though he already knows it. He knows much more about her than one might imagine, actually, but right now, he's just playing the part of some poor defenceless human with no knowledge of the Avengers. A human who has been reading too much and can't seem to come up with a decent cover name that doesn't involve that god-forsaken book! Thus, Thomas Cheshire was born.

[notmymccalling]

Scott couldn't help but notice the rather distinct sound of someone rifling through a drawer of silverware and other utensils. It wasn't particularly loud, but it was enough for his enhanced hearing to pick up as he passed the kitchen. So he backtracked and peeked inside. Wow, okay. He knocks lightly on the door frame to get her attention. You do not just walk up behind a woman gathering knives and startle them. Even if you do happen to possess a supernatural healing factor. Healing or not, it still hurts!

"Um... You know, it's probably easier to ask the closet for something more specific than steak knives. ...if you're looking for weapons, I mean." Why else would anyone be collecting blades in such haste? And yes, Scott sounds totally sane. Just ask the closet. It makes perfect sense to a newbie.

[avoirfaim]

Even if the kitchen is most definitely communal, Hannibal has taken to treating it as his very own. He keeps it neat, he sucks his teeth when someone has moved something and leaves polite but stern notes warning against doing that again. The kitchen is communal after all, and we all must know where to find what we're looking for.

The plan for dinner tonight is simple. The kitchen has taken to giving him random chops of meat in the fridge, whether they be human or animal, and the game begins. He can be inventive, and perhaps that's the point. Exercise your creativity, for you will need it here in the confines of your gilded prison. In order to do what you like you're going to need to think outside the box in an instant. And so he does what's necessary for a satisfying meal.

He watches the stranger for a moment, silent from the doorway, before speaking up.

"I hope you plan on putting those back when you're finished."