You'll miss the birds completely. You're traveling so fleetly.

[hark_and_hush]

Who: Ruby and OPEN
Where: Various locations around the edge of town
When: The late evening of day 19
What: Ruby woke up and went exploring instead of playing with the communicator.
Notes: Feel free to intercept her at any point on her journey.


Ruby listened to the voice coming from the little device on her wrist. She listened, but she didn't really accept. She pulled her cloak tightly around herself as she stood, looking around at the sleepy-looking town and the strange little fountain.

She huffed a heavy breath in the cool night air, picked a direction and started to walk. She stopped to eye the pile of rubble that used to be the diner before following the road further towards the forest.

She spied an empty house and pushed the door open gently. "Hello?" It was seeming more and more like this was another curse and she wasn't so sure that she wanted to go in.

Comments

[primogen_vampirate]

Without the clinic to work on, Mina felt very much without a purpose. And that didn't suit her. Not at all. She was a woman who always had a mission, either from the Valkyries or the hospital or the Prince or of her own making. And it seemed she would have to make work for herself, in order to keep from going stark raving mad.

But there were precious few options.

Scrounging was hardly a glamorous occupation. But then, in her heart, she would always be something of a pirate. So with little else to do, she'd taken to exploring some of the empty houses. If nothing else, she'd certainly expanded her wardrobe considerably, though she'd found little in the way of useful materials.

She was trying on a red button-down shirt that she'd discovered in a closet when she heard a voice downstairs. It was, of course, a bit hasty to reach for her guns. So she only reached for one, cocking it quietly in the pocket of her trousers as she moved to the top of the stairs and peered down.

A girl. And one she hadn't seen before. Mina let go of her grip on her pistol and pursed her lips, whistling softly.

[hark_and_hush]

Not yet accustomed to her heightened sense of hearing, Ruby heard movement on the floorboards upstairs and jumped a little. She wasn't actually sure if someone being home was good or bad, but at Mina's whistle, her head shot up in the direction of the stairs.

She didn't have much in the way of protection, but she was at the door and she could run pretty fast, even without the wolf. She'd actually become pretty good at running, even if it had been a while since the last time she really had to. Thick tree roots and branches wouldn't slow her down, either.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you. I know it's late, but I seem to be a little lost." She gave a nervous smile. She felt so strange having her cape over her modern clothes, but she was still incredibly thankful to have it. It wasn't exactly easy to replace. She pulled it tighter around herself like a suit of armor, like it could shut out the world.

[primogen_vampirate]

"You're new here," Mina observed.

Swinging her arms, she swaggered down the stairs. The girl didn't seem like much of a threat. She seemed just as lost and as hopeless as the rest of the sorry lot. Fortunately, Mina's compassion, marginally though it could sometimes be, wasn't dampened by recent events.

Anyway, a bold young lady was always of interest to her.

She waved one hand dismissively. "This isn't my house," she said, coming to a stop a few paces away. Enough distance for comfort, but close enough that if for any reason Mina felt the need to grab her, she could do so easily.

Although why she'd want to grab this girl was beyond her at present.

"Are you newly arrived, then?"

[hark_and_hush]

Ruby nodded for a moment before saying anything. "Yeah--yes." The last time something similar had happened, it had been the curse and she hadn't remembered anything. Maybe she just had to keep looking out for a familiar face.

"What is this place? I mean, I heard the company line, but what is it really? A curse?" She walked into the house a little further, touching a side table warily. The voice hadn't exactly given her much to go on and frightened as she was, she wasn't going to just lay down and accept whatever this place was. Was Granny here, too?

[primogen_vampirate]

"A curse?" Mina repeated, raising a thin eyebrow. "That's quite the declaration. Do you believe in things like curses?"

She asked in a neutral tone of voice, neither skeptical nor believing. The girl had no predator's taint, but something about her, something Mina couldn't quite put her finger on, told her that looks were very deceiving.

And she liked that.

[hark_and_hush]

Ruby had to consider the question. She'd never really left Storybrooke after the curse and before it... well, of course she'd believed in curses then. She had to remind herself that that curse had brought them to a world without magic and maybe this woman was from a world without magic, as well.

She knew this land still had magic, because she could still smell and hear better than she ever could before the curse broke. "Maybe it sounds silly, but I do. You don't?"

[primogen_vampirate]

"Absolutely," Mina replied. "But it isn't every night I meet a like-minded individual."

The girl had more than caught her interest. And it wasn't just because she bore a bit of a resemblance to Jacqueline. Or because of that indescribable 'something' about her.

And when a woman caught a Valkyrie's attention, that was no small matter.

"Doctor Mina Barrett," she said, offering the girl her hand. "Formerly of the Cape Kore clinic."

[hark_and_hush]

Ruby took her hand. Her handshake was soft, but sure.

"Ruby. Hopefully not formerly of Granny's Diner." She smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

She never thought she'd want to get back to that diner quite this much, but the idea of leaving when it wasn't her choice--leaving! How did she remember who she was? If she wasn't in Storybrooke, shouldn't she have forgotten again? She realized that she'd gone quiet in thought and shook her head.

"So what happened to the clinic?"

[primogen_vampirate]

"Oh, nothing," Mina replied, her tone quick and breezy. In spite of the fact that she'd imagined a great many things happening to that clinic lately. All of them involving fire. "It's still there. The current population has simply decided they won't be requiring my services."

She gave a shrug, as if to suggest 'what can you do?' Nothing in her body language conveyed quite how much it was all eating her alive.

Mina liked having power.

[onteamdyson]

Now... a logical person would see a new arrival and introduce themselves. Probably strike up a conversation and get to know them. Normal stuff. Sensible stuff. Probably any other day, Kenzi would have done that normal stuff.

But it is really, really, REALLY boring here sometimes and she decides to follow this chick instead. Nonchalantly at first, like she just happens to be coincidentally walking in the same general direction, but then she goes into exaggerated stealth mode like the vigilante super hero she truly is! She might have just rolled behind a hedge just now...

Totally normal.

[hark_and_hush]

Even if Kenzi had actually been good at this, Ruby could smell her. The scent of sandalwood had started following her at the exact same time that she'd heard the girl approach.

She was on edge until she managed to catch a glimpse of the girl rolling into a bush out of the corner of her eye.

She turned around, a bemused smile on her face. "You're not very good at this, are you?"

[onteamdyson]

There's an offended gasp of disbelief before Kenzi pops straight up from behind the bush like a way-cute whack-a-mole or something. "Excuse you, lady, I'm amazing at this. You're just paranoid."

Kenzi logic. Truly a thing of beauty.

"Just keep walking. Pretend I'm not even expertly tailing you. It's okay. I'll give you a five second head start."

[hark_and_hush]

"I do have pretty good ears." Ruby laughed. "You never stood a chance with me, but I'm sure you sneak up on everyone else with ease."

She wasn't going to deny that she was paranoid, though. She'd just been kidnapped. How was she supposed to feel?

"Do you stalk everyone or am I special?"

[onteamdyson]

FINE! Fine. She's out of the bush and approaching Ruby like a normal person. "Special like the pancake breakfast on a Wednesday. Stalking is a privilege, not a right. Sup? I'm Kenzi. When did you get here?

Because she probably would have remembered someone this sassy. Sassy people are her favourite. This one has massive potential.

[hark_and_hush]

"At my diner, we have pancakes every day." Well, it was Granny's, but it's felt more and more hers, too.

Her face falls a little after that. "I just woke up here. What is this place? Some kind of trap?"

[onteamdyson]

"Wow. Must be nice. I gotta beg Trick for pancakes. Apparently they aren't bar food." Whatever, Trick. PANCAKES! "Okay, so special like something else that is special."

Ack. Kenzi hasn't had much luck giving the rundown to newbies without having them go totally internal breakdown on her or worse. She tries her best to smile reassuringly, holding her hands up in a non-threatening way.

"It's a lot of speculation and not many facts. Might actually be better if someone else runs through the basics."

[hark_and_hush]

Ruby made a mental note to make pancakes for the girl, assuming she didn't turn out to be her captor.

"Well I wouldn't mind hearing your guess, too." She gave a warm smile. "My name's Ruby, by the way."

[porcelainpride]

"It's open!"

This much is obvious, Kurt. But really, he had a good reason for leaving the door to number 17 ajar -- he was on his way out. Visiting was a good way to kill time.

He'll poke his head around the corner, buttoning up the front of his crimson-colored jacket (repurposed from a hideous flannel blanket) and smile. "Oh. Hi. I haven't seen you around here before."

[hark_and_hush]

She relaxes a little. It doesn't seem that anyone here is particularly intimidating. Of course she knows better than anyone that appearances can be deceiving. She isn't letting her guard down completely for anyone.

"Hi. Sorry, I don't know my way around yet." She frowns a little. "How long have you been here?"

[porcelainpride]

Kurt pauses, blinking a couple times, because that's an interesting first question. "Here...in the house? In Cape Kore? ...on the planet?"

[hark_and_hush]

"Cape Kore, I guess. That's where we are, right?" She looks around cautiously. This place is so strange. The people are strange. She can't smell anything familiar here.

[porcelainpride]

"So I've been told. I've been here almost three weeks" He pauses, then steps back, giving her some more room. "Come in, if you'd like. I can offer tea or...tea, really. My hot beverage supplies are a little low."

[hark_and_hush]

She smiles. "Tea sounds nice." She steps inside, closing the door behind her. "My name's Ruby." She starts to take a closer look at things in the house.

[porcelainpride]

"Oh good. I have chamomile, Earl Grey and green." He bounds into the kitchen, leaving her to her perusal. The house is dim and shabby, but has obviously been cared for recently by someone with an eye for style. There are neatly-hemmed curtains in all the windows, and carefully-polished novelty knick-knacks everywhere. If questioned, Kurt would no doubt mumble something about "kitschy chic".

[hark_and_hush]

"Chamomile sounds nice." She pauses to look at a few of the knick-knacks. They remind her of Granny a little. "What did you say your name was?"