queenoflogs | woke up this morning about a quarter to five

Characters: Juri Arisugawa & OPEN
Date: Afternoon, September 7th.
Summary: Juri explores the Gardens, attempting to gain a better understanding.

The golden eyes of the cats peer through the flowers of the Garden―every intent of watching the panther walk through the paths―the roses surrounding her like a sea of red. Juri lifts her eyes to a fluttering bird in the sky that disappears amongst the treetops, it is quiet here. A quiet she is used to; the kind of quiet that swallows you up when you least expect it, brings you down to the lowest threshes of your mind, and consumes you for what may feel like years.

This place does not make sense to her, but it is not a dream. The reality, she almost wants to deny it, is that she is here, as well as Tenjou. The magic dirt, the talk animals, the vine that slithers past her feet so very often, revealing lives of other inhabitants she could care less about.

Her mind wanders to the tresses of the paths that others advised her not to follow. A curiosity lingers within her, wanting to know what exactly lays past those dark woods. For now, she just remains in the Garden, she silence of the warm wind and flowers enveloping her.

[ ooc; action or prose is fine! ]

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There is a young woman seated amidst all this grandeur. Her clothes are exotic even if the colors are plain, her unkempt hair is pinned back as if the mess could ever be tamed, and she is staring down the cat before her as if she could very well will it to die with a thought.

--and, well, she is coming close to that before she hears movement and snaps her head toward the noise. Her green eyes, practically shimmering with spite, stare at the intruder into her silent staring contest.

Parsee points at the other, and then at the cat. "Make it go away." The cat, of course, has no plans to leave until the scroll is read.

The panther's eyes flicker with a quick fire, before it dissipates upon seeing another inhabitant―one she does not recognize―requesting her to chase the cat off. Her hands fall to her side, completely stoic face as she stares at the other person. What a ridiculous request, to have her make the cat go away! It's not as if she wants to deal with them herself.

"I have no control over what these creatures do," her voice is stern, almost uncaring about such problems between this person and a talking cat. "Did you read the scroll it gave you?"

What a calmness. What posture. The youkai unconsciously straightens herself up. "No." She glances back toward the cat, warily. "No one ever sends me anything." No letters or gifts. Not in a long, long time.

She understands the words have a tinge of sadness to them, but she makes no notation of it as she steps closer, motioning her upward palm toward Parsee and the cat. "It's a bit ridiculous, having a cat tell you exactly where you are, but if you read the scroll... it holds nothing but the truth."

Gardens with talking animals, where everything seems to flawlessly beautiful―she knows there is something dark hidden behind all that beauty. Nothing is flawless, everything in it's beauty is set to fall at sometime―hurting something or someone in the process of it all.

Without taking her eyes off of the woman, Parsee reaches out and snatches the scroll right from the cat's mouth. The animal leaps away and disappears into a bush as she unfurls the slightly-torn letter and begins reading it, her gaze flitting back and forth across the words over and over again. Her grip on the paper tightens each time she reads them, until finally she throws it down.

"One of who? Queen of hearts? Hah!" A short, mirthless laugh. "What a joke..."

While Parsee seems to find this amusing, Juri does not. The look on her face reads indifference, an underlying seriousness about the situation at hand.

"I thought it was a joke at first too, but it turns out that this place really is what the scroll says it is," her eyes slowly travel to look at the surroundings. "Although, I haven't seen the Queen myself, but others do claim that they have. They say she's very powerful, no one knows where she resides, which is why it is easy for her to keep all of us here. To me, it sounds like we're living in a twisted fairy tale."

She, on the other hand, looks equal parts angered and amused by this. It's an interesting mix of expressions, to be sure. "So we're not the only ones? That's great!" Though it isn't, really. "No one's fought her before? You say she's powerful, but if she isn't facing us then she's just a coward, enjoying her sense of security."

Parsee stands, one hand crossed to grip the elbow of the other arm, fingernails pressing into bare skin. "That's not power. That's cowardice. Lucky her..." There is a flicker of light in those green pools of hers but, luckily, she is not directing those at the taller girl.

It is rare for Sephiroth to miss something in the Gardens. She does not bother tracking the movements of particular individuals, as she has not deemed that useful, but she watches, patrols, monitors transmissions.

There is only one person she is constantly aware of, and that is Kadaj, whose presence she can always feel, somehow. Kadaj is avoiding her, now that they have gone their separate ways, but they sense each other, circling, as if partners in a strange kind of dance. Sephiroth's eyes glow brighter when Kadaj is nearer, as they do now, when she sees Juri.

She is traveling soundlessly and too quickly to be seen when she stops, suddenly, before the young woman, with the thought that if she approaches her, Kadaj will not.

Sephiroth gives a slight, polite smile. "Good afternoon. I am Sephiroth." She can't explain the reason for her appearance, but she feels Kadaj's presence retreat and is satisfied. "We have not previously met. I assume you have recently arrived." She is being a bit disingenuous, as she monitors the Vine and the new arrivals, but it does no harm.

Juri takes a good look at Sephiroth, taking in each of her features―detail by detail. Her stare is in no way judgmental or scrutinizing, but rather trying to figure something out. She speaks in a formal tone, no acts of anger or frustration behind it.

"I have. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sephiroth." Above them, a bird flaps it's wings, swiftly flying by―it's shadow casts on the ground. "I'm Arisugawa Juri."

She is not exactly sure how this will all fare out―this garden, Tenjou being here, no escape from it. The locket around her neck no longer exists, cut off from the wills of a duel, ridden from her past. Juri almost wants to laugh at the sheer coincidence of it, but the rational part of her remains wary. As if it is something that is far too good to be true.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Arisugawa Juri. Are you in need of assistance?" It is an automatic question; as a SOLDIER, she protects the populace. Her military bearing is plain, the sword she carries hard to miss, even when sheathed. Though she does not assume Juri needs assistance, she can tell that she is young.

"This place can be disorienting, at first. Or if not that, frustrating."

At Sephiroth's question, she gently shakes her head. Even in a completely different world, the woman is self-sufficient. She's learned how to take care of herself, only because the only person she can trust is herself. Even so, if she really needed assistance, she would not outright say it―especially to a stranger she does not know.

"Frustrating is the correct way to put it," her words are light, almost joking. "I have no choice but to get used to it though, isn't that right? I might as well try to see how everything works, rather than acting like a child and stubbornly hoping I will return back to my world."

She nods to acknowledge the young woman's answer to her offer of assistance. "I know a great deal about this place, having been here for several months. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them."

She can empathize with the frustration, to say the least. "I'd have to agree with you on that count. I've found it frustrating since my arrival here. One does adapt, however. An admirable attitude."

woke up this morning about a quarter to five

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