queenoflogs | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Characters: Belle (

elbowpower); OPEN
Date: Mid-afternoon, Saturday, Nov. 27th.
Summary: Belle's exploring the Necessities and the Orchard, because a girl's gotta eat. Come mingle!
Warnings: N/A, will edit if something happens!

Belle's curiosity has a habit of getting the better of her, but interesting as the display the mirrors were giving her on the Vine, eventually she decided she'd gathered as much information as anyone else in this place. Her, and many others, have been taken to a different world ruled by a Queen with little more than cryptic answers given when she wants, and no more than that. With no one else knowing any more than her, exploring did seem like the best option. Not only did she find her clothes (who undressed her, anyway?), but she eventually made her way toward those 'necessities' she read about. Thanks to those helpful little cats, with their helpful little scrolls.

Now she's well on her way to exploring through the very edges of the Orchard, using her apron to hold what she's gathered -- which is very little, so far, just a small pile of fruit weighing down the cloth.

It's been a while since she's had to really cook for herself; the servants back at the castle have always been more than happy to do that for her, since that very first night. Which is not to say she's incapable of it. Before she went there, she always cooked for her father and herself. Hunting, on the other hand... Well, she knows one thing for sure. No matter how long they're stuck here, both she and the other women she's met will have to eat at some point. She might as well start getting things ready.

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Mireille hadn't actually asked the cats anything yet, beyond the one that had pointed out her clothing to her. She'd only found this place because Naoto had mentioned it and she'd gotten rather frustrated looking around the dead ruins in the center of the garden.

So far she'd been in three of the 'necessities', and each was as different from the last as it could be. One she would have sworn hadn't been touched since at least the seventeen hundreds, and yet the next was so perfectly modern she could have lived in it back in Paris. And the third...

Well, she hadn't known what half the gizmo's in that strange room were.

She was moving quietly towards the fourth one when she spotted the brunette nearby, and the Corsican paused for a moment, studying her. So far, none of the people she'd encountered had attacked her...she didn't want to say they weren't dangerous because she was quite sure they were. But they hadn't been hostile. Still...

After a few seconds she put a smile on her face and approached, letting her boots step on the occasional branch and stone to announce her presence.

"Afternoon."

That brunette hadn't heard her coming at all, humming softly to herself around a mouthful of berries. So, when she turned around with her cheeks full and her hand over her mouth, she was so surprised she almost swallowed them whole. Mireille would have to excuse her, as she hoped she didn't seem rude, but it would have been even less polite to speak with her mouth full. Fortunately, berries don't take long to chew, and Belle finished them quickly, dragging her knuckles across her mouth.

"Oh, hello!"

Mireille raised an eyebrow at the girl as she chewed on her berries, and looked rather amused, but she said nothing and simply waited politely for her to finish. It wasn't as though there was any particular reason to rush in this place.

"Hello," she echoed once the other had managed to talk. She looked around a bit, shifting her little purse on her shoulder. "Do you need any help with those?" She asked as she pointed towards the little pile of fruit.

"If you'd like," was her pleasantly surprised reply. "I certainly wouldn't turn it down. To be honest, I'm not sure how much I should gather... There seems to be a lot of us here."

Lucky for Belle, she was never the easily embarrassed type. Getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar, so to speak, didn't really bother her. Perhaps it was just natural for her to give off such a friendly aura to strangers! She wiped her fingers off on her apron to lessen the residue of the berries, and then extended her hand in greeting. "I'm Belle. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Mireille knew the other woman's name was French, and she couldn't help but smile faintly at it. "A pleasure, Belle. I am Mireille." She reached out and shook the others hand firmly. "Are you French?"

"And are you planning to cook for everyone, then?" She added as she drew her hand back. Mireille wasn't particularly looking out for anyone but herself so far, but she actually enjoyed cooking so helping out probably wouldn't be too much of a chore.

One thing Belle had established on her own was that she was not on her own world, so to hear a question like that was quite shocking.

"Well, yes," she stammered. "Yes, I am. French, I mean. But I am also planning to cook for as many people as I can. Or at least, get enough food for everyone." She paused to grin. "I'm just wondering how long before anyone else thinks of it."

"I imagine everyone is still far too busy trying to figure out how to get home," Mireille was one of them, though since her investigations had brought her here, she imagined she could afford a bit of time. "But they'll be quite grateful when they start to feel hungry."

She shifted her purse so it was hanging from her wrist, and then held out her hands to take some of the things the girl was holding so that she could keep picking. And then when she spoke again, she was speaking in French. "I have to admit, I'm glad I've run into you. I was afraid I might not have much reason to speak my second favorite language."

Either Belle's abilities linked to her Heart did it, or the origins of her world, but she didn't notice a difference other than the intent behind the other woman's words. All her previous thoughts of food and cooking were temporarily forgotten in that moment, her actions automatic as she held the fruit out.

"As am I! But only your second favorite? May I ask your first?"

Mireille took the fruit as it was offered, though her hands filled up rather rapidly and soon she was holding them more cupped into her arms against her stomach. Her own skirt was far too short to be of any use that way.

"Corsican. Though I never get to speak that anymore." She paused, and suddenly realized the woman might not know where it was, despite being French. With people being drawn from different times, it was hard to guess what anyone would know. "It is an island to the south of France, technically part of the country, but..." She shrugged and smiled. The Corsicans rarely considered themselves French, after all.

"Oh." No, Belle knew, but living in a very small village where news only really came from travelers, she had only heard the vaguest of details about Corsica. However, what she had heard and what Mireille was saying so casually didn't seem right.

"When? I'm afraid I don't know much about what's going on."

"2001, near Christmas." She shrugged. It was odd, all these people from different times. "What about you? Almost everyone I've met so far is from the future."

Mireille looked about a bit with her arms full of fruit, her eyes searching, and then sighed. "You would think a place like this would have a basket somewhere."

Now that was something she couldn't help. Her jaw dropped, and Belle stopped to stare.

"2001? Two-thousand... You must be from a different world. Or maybe you're from my future." Belle covered her mouth to laugh. Despite the shock, it was truly amazing. "It's only the 18th century."

"The future is more likely, as we both can speak the same language. I've met a woman from 2017 as well, and another from 2012." She shifted faintly in place. "I don't really understand it, but...they have no reason to lie."

Edited 2010-11-28 22:56 (UTC)

"Oh no, I doubt they're lying. With as many worlds as there are out there, I believe anything's possible."

Belle shook her head, smiling, and turned to go back to picking fruit. But now that the subject of other worlds were brought up, she had to wonder. Would Sora make an appearance here, too? The Queen certainly didn't act villainous, but you never knew...

"Considering what has been going on...Anything is possible sounds about right." Mireille just smiles and shakes her head in a bewildered sort of way. None of this particularly made sense to her, but that didn't mean she was necessarily confused by it. More like she was just learning to adapt as quickly as she had to.

"Have you found anything here besides fruit?"

"There are vegetables over there," she said, pausing to point in the direction she had seen them growing. "There are also plenty of nuts, and I heard we could hunt the animals found in here, but... Well, I've never hunted before."

Anna is there, setting up a simple snare trap. Or trying: she's fumbling with a knot.

"Been too long since I needed to do this by myself," she mutters.

Of course, when Belle stumbles across another person, she's going to be a mixture of pleased, curious, and naturally cautious. But that last part is so overshadowed by the other two that she has to approach.

"Are you having trouble?" she asked, bunching up the fruit stored in her apron.

"A little," she says. "I'm trying to set a snare, get one of the game birds with a bit of luck."

"Oh." She shifts her weight, reaching up to brush a stray hair out her face. "Well, is there anything I could do to help?"

"Can you hunt or trap? Or, hell, tie knots? I've forgotten how to do this one."

"No... But I could try, if you'd like."

No one should ever doubt Belle's willingness to try new things.

Anna backs off a bit, then holds up the business end.

"It's supposed to only tighten when you're caught here," she says.

Belle nods and pulls the ends of her apron up, folding them over the fruit and tying the ends together behind her back. "I'll do my best."

And she will! She'll just end up not quite succeeding. On the upside, it's no worse than it was before Belle got her hands on it.

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