first song ♪ not quite the beginning she wanted.

[gleamingly]

Characters: Rapunzel (gleamingly) and you!
Setting: Room 1-01, floor three, floor six, and floor twenty-two.
Format: I'm starting with prose, but I'll match you.
Summary: Rapunzel wakes up in the Tower of Animus after an argument with her mother. Worst time-out ever.
Warnings: Nothing so far.

Room 1-01.
When Rapunzel wakes, it is with a start, and it is not because it's too loud. Rather, it's because there is a distinct lack of noise. Where is the rustling of the leaves in the trees, the chirping of the birds, the (rather obnoxious and unattractive) snoring of her (ridiculously attractive) traveling companion? She remembers the argument with her mother and her heart nearly drops into her stomach. Had she been brought home?

A look around the room answers that question. No, she hadn't, but she also isn't in the woods on her way to see the floating lanterns. She is also not wearing her dress, and -

Are those other beds? She gasps and pulls her covers up over herself, self-conscious about the strange white jumpsuit she's found herself in, before peeking out.

"Who... who's there?" She calls out shakily. "If someone else is in this room, tell me now...!"

Floor Three.
She has never seen so many books in her entire life. It is all she can do not to drop her mass of hair and run among the shelves to find something to read; instead she keeps her long hair gathered up in her arms and steps off the staircase so that she can explore the library at a brisk pace.

If she had something like this in her tower, it would have been so difficult to get bored.

One might find her peering curiously at a book with pictures of automobiles, or with two novels in a trilogy resting on the frying pan and the pile of hair in her arms while she rushes about looking for the third, or maybe even eyeing a book perched precariously on the top of a shelf as she twirls her hair like a lasso and throws it to pull it down.

Floor Six.
Anyone passing by the forest floor may see a peculiar sight: A barefoot, long-haired blonde in a dress that seems too short for her, clutching a frying pan and staring down a deer with too-sharp teeth. The deer is growling; Rapunzel is glancing uncertainly between it and the chameleon perched on her shoulder.

"Deer aren't supposed to growl, are they, Pascal...?"

The chameleon chitters at her and points insistently at the staircase with his tail, but she shakes her head. "No, I don't want to just run away!"

Floor Twenty-two.
She is somewhat more relaxed now, but only because she hasn't yet gone very far into the gallery. For the moment she is just looking at the paintings and chattering to about them to Pascal, who is now perched on her other shoulder.

"Whoever painted this must have been very skilled! Look at the reflection in the water," She's saying, brushing her fingers against a painting of a young man staring into a pond. The plaque below it reads Narcissus, but she doesn't know what that means. "It's identical to his face! And look at the way the water catches the light. Can you believe this was made with paint, Pascal?"

The chameleon does not look very impressed. Rapunzel is undaunted; she'll continue her tour of the gallery.

Comments

Floor six

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica's duties as a bodyguard were never done it seemed. She still had to patrol, even if one of her arms was still hurt. She just carried it in her cloak, the other arm out with sword in hand.

It's quite easy for her to see Rapunzel when she walks through this floor. She can hear the girl, and she can also see all that hair around her. Girl that's a lot of hair.

For a moment, she simply stares at the spectacle that is a woman pointing a frying pan at one of the monster deers that roamed around here.]

....Uh... h-hey, you m-might wanna step away f-from the deer, okay?

[gleamingly]

[For a moment, all Rapunzel does is stare back at Veronica and the scars that were visible on her. That's... a lot of scars. She looks slowly from the girl to the deer.

What if that deer was how she got those scars?

Carefully, Rapunzel starts to back away from it, still keeping her frying pan out in case it spontaneously attacked.]

Easy there... Nice monstrous-looking deer... I'm just going to back up and go over to this nice lady over here, okay? Stay where you are...

Room 1-01

[wrigurun]

[There's a rustling of covers from the other side of the room and a small figure sits upright, her hair sticking up in all kinds of directions and a pair of antennae twitching on top of her head. She mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like ''m here, don't kill me off yet' before falling back down onto the mattress.

Whoever it is, she obviously isn't in that deep a sleep. A little more coaxing might wake her up]

[gleamingly]

[She peers out at the small figure, taking in the ruffled hair - normal enough - and the antennae - definitely not. She is tense, poised to gather up her hair and run if she has to... but then Wriggle just falls back down.]

...what?

[Rapunzel comes out from under her covers and cautiously inches herself off the bed, her eyes on the lump that is Wriggle's sleeping form.]

Um... do you live here...?

floor three

[chainsawn]

[ ...

Wow. That's a pretty cool trick, the whole hair-lasso thing. Urotsuki hasn't ever tried doing it for herself (although at first sight her own hair is way too short to do anything like that with) so she's just staring quietly at Rapunzel for a moment or two. So quietly, in fact, that it's probably hard to even notice she's there until she speaks up. ]

That's pretty cool.

[gleamingly]

[Urotsuki's voice is the first clue to her presence that Rapunzel has. When she hears it, she jumps nearly a full foot in the air, almost dropping her book. It's only after a quick, frantic scramble that she manages to catch it before it hits the ground.]

Oh! [It occurs to her that Urotsuki has just complimented her so she smiles.] Thanks! It took a lot of time and practice to perfect it. A lot of time...

floor 3

[keepscalm]

England works in the library, so he's seen all manner of interesting things happen in it, including book retrieval methods of all kinds. While he understands not using the ladders, lest they suddenly grow spikes or hands or something else unfortunately characteristic of the Tower, some of the methods he's seen are equally questionable.

None have been quite so odd, however, as using hair. England hadn't even noticed her at first, busy reorganising the books on the opposite side of the library. It's when he passes through one of the aisles with an armful of misplaced books that he catches sight of her. She...certainly has quite a lot of hair. Well, it's– resourceful, to say the least.

After a moment of wariness, England ventures to address her. "Do you need help with something, Miss?"

[gleamingly]

...those sure are some bushy eyebrows.

Rapunzel hasn't seen a lot of eyebrows in her time, but England's are distinctive enough that she really can't help but stare when he speaks up. It takes a concentrated effort to drag her gaze back down from his eyebrows to the rest of his face, and she sincerely hopes that he didn't notice the staring because, as Mother always said, staring was dreadfully rude.

(Which has really never stopped her before.)

She shifts her weight from one foot to another and looks down at the book she had just retrieved before smiling shyly. "Actually, yes," She says. "Do you have any more books about astrology? Or astronomy? Or... both, maybe?"

Floor Three

[keybearer]

[Did that girl just...

Riku rubs his eyes, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Did that girl seriously just use her hair like a lasso? And besides that, how's she manage to get around with what looks like at least fifty feet of hair? Wouldn't that weigh her down?

Well, it's not like he hasn't seen stranger things between the tower and his home universe. Rather than just gawk, Riku gives her a small round of applause.]

Man, I've never seen anyone use their hair as tool before. How'd you manage to work that out?

[gleamingly]

[You haven't seen anything yet, Riku.

She turns, startled, at the sound of the applause, and clutches her book to her chest with wide eyes for a moment or two before she realizes it's just a man. Boy? ...man? He doesn't look much younger or older than her. And she's no child, so he must not be either. After a moment, Rapunzel smiles.

She isn't too nervous. It doesn't look like he has fangs.]

I've had a lot of practice. [She laughs a tad bit awkwardly.] If you had hair as long as mine you'd try and do whatever you could with it, too.

Floor Twenty-two

[averytinyparticle]

Quark's always wary when he sees people going into the gallery--especially people he's never seen around before. And it's a lot easier to keep track of faces now that the Tower residents have all been smashed up to the first few floors. He figures he would've remembered seeing such long hair before. But that doesn't matter! He can ask her about that later, after he tells her about the gallery.

Ugh, girls are so weird. The last person he saw going in there unaware was another girl. Granted, that girl was way, way littler. Quark darts the rest of the way up the stairs to follow the blonde newcomer into the gallery, calling out as he does. "Hey!"

He slows down a bit when he catches sight of her again, breathing out a sigh of relief as he approaches. Quark's glad that she didn't get too far yet. He didn't really wanna have to see those scary things again, himself. "Don't go too far, okay, Miss? The paintings get really really scary and awful!"

[gleamingly]

Rapunzel looks over her shoulder when she hears the boy calling out, but she doesn't see him right away. It is only after he catches up that she notices, and she smiles, crouching down a little - but just a little, because she really isn't that tall to begin with - to be face to face with him.

"Scary?" She repeats. From her shoulder, Pascal makes a noise that, if chameleons could make such noises, sounds quite a bit like one of disbelief. "What do you mean by that? The ones I've seen so far are beautiful."

But then he said not to go too far, which of course meant they were much further in. "Do you know who paints all of these?"

floor 6

[notsogrimreaper]

If Rapunzel isn't going to run away, there are still certain people in the Tower that'll look out for her... especially this young man, who isn't one to leave someone in danger just because he doesn't know them.

Though that unfamiliarity may make things a tad awkward when the boy running up to her, yellow scarf trailing behind him, suddenly transforms into a skeletal monster with a huge sword and a cape made of eerie coffins. He steps between Rapunzel and the deer, sword poised to attack should the deer still advance.

[gleamingly]

There are some things in life more frightening than a deer with vicious-looking teeth. A young man turning into a skeletal monster is one of them, and Rapunzel lets out a shrill cry and backs away from both Ryoji and the deer, brandishing her frying pan.

The deer is ignored; her eyes are on the man-turned-monster.

"Stay back! I'm warning you, this is a lethal weapon and I know how to use it!"

Pascal, meanwhile, has darted from her shoulder to hide in her hair.

Room 1-01

[attheclocktower]

[Xion jumps from where she was sitting on her bed, working on a sweater (probably one of the last ones she'll make, given that the weather is starting - slowly - to warm up). She glances over, wide-eyed. The bed that had been filled when Zo shuffled people around, suddenly left empty a couple of days later, was occupied again.

She sets down her project next to her and moves to get up, eying the new occupant with a mixture of nervousness and sympathy.]

Hey, I'm here too. ...You just got here, right?

[gleamingly]

Um... yes.

[Or she would assume that, anyway. The last thing she remembers is lying down to sleep and tucking the satchel away, tossing and turning as she worried about whether or not Mother was right. It isn't a pleasant memory and Rapunzel tries to push the thought away, focusing instead on the sweater Xion is making.]

...did you do that yourself?

Floor Three

[colonial]

America's reading abilities, while stronger than those of a human child who appears to be his age, still leaves a lot to be desired, so he mostly surrounds himself in books with interesting-looking pictures. Of course, seeing a girl lassoing a book down from a shelf with her hair is more attention-grabbing to him than the books are, so he leaps up and stumbles over top of his scattered assortment, wariness forgotten.

"Hey, that's really neat! How'd you do that?"

[gleamingly]

Rapunzel's heart nearly breaks when she looks over in the direction the voice had come from and sees such a small child. She is frightened enough being here. She can't imagine having come here when she was as small as he is... but children are resilient and he seems cheerful enough.

She crouches down, sets her book on the ground, and holds out some of her hair to him. "It takes a lot of practice. You loop it like this," She says, looping and then knotting it so he can see, "And then throw. Do you want to try?"

Floor Six

[fragileprophet]

((ooc: I hope you aren't sick of this prompt being tagged yet otl))

Ion's heart leaps up into his throat as he passes the floor and catches sight of the long haired girl trying to defend herself against the monstrous creature with...a frying pan, of all things. He knows that this is going to be a bad decision before he makes it, but he's been much more prone than before to reckless activity now that his guardian no longer watches over him in the Tower. And even if she had been there, he couldn't simply leave someone all by themselves when they appeared to be nearly defenseless. She doesn't even have shoes on!

Not that his thin sandals are much better, mind you, but nonetheless Ion hurries forward to meet her, staff in hand. "Careful! Don't get to close!" As he cautions this, he raises his staff forward in front of him as of it were a shield. "I'll see if I can dispatch it; you aren't hurt, are you?"

Despite his confidence, Ion's voice is small and soft, his form pale and thin. He doesn't look like someone who can take down the creature that growls at them, advancing slowly and ready to attack. "Can you make it to the stairs?"

[gleamingly]

((ooc: I don't mind at all!))

"No, I'm not hurt at all!"

This is all happening too quickly for Rapunzel to really take in. One minute it's just her and the deer; the next there's a young boy trying to protect her. As far as protectors go, he isn't the most impressive she's ever seen. Then again, there just weren't many who could measure up to Flynn Rider-- er, Eugene Fitzherbert.

She appraises the situation, her eyes sliding from the boy to his staff to the deer. He really does look fragile, she thinks. Much more fragile than a flower, to borrow her mother's turn of phrase. Can she really just run away and leave him behind to cover her?

...no, but she can do something else. She darts for the stairs, hefting up her hair and looping it as she runs. When she makes it a few steps up, she turns back and tosses it, trying to lasso Ion around the waist.

"Hold on, okay?" Assuming it makes it around him and he doesn't struggle to free himself, she'll pull him out of range of the deer.

Floor 6

[justabignobody]

[After two-years-and-some of this place under his belt, Riku doesn't even think about summoning his Keyblade and firing a Blizzaga spell at the deer when he sees the girl standing over it with just a frying pan - it's not down yet and on this floor only a dead deer is a good deer.]

Quick, get away from it!

[gleamingly]

[There is no time to contemplate how strange the sudden burst of frost is. The other person is shouting and the deer is still there baring its teeth, growling like a wolf or a bear. Rapunzel grits her teeth, smacks it with the frying pan as hard as she can, and turns to run for the stairs.]

Are all deer this vicious...?!

Floor 22

[silencetoreason]

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

France lingers nearby, keeping a comfortable distance between himself and the long (long, long, long) haired stranger. He's got a warm smile on his face, but his posture is somewhat guarded, arms crossed over his chest. There's a sheathed rapier strapped to his side.

"Narcissus..." He chuckles to himself. "I identify with him, you know?"

Ever-so-slowly, he's been making an attempt to force himself to act more cheerful. Chatting with a pretty stranger seems like just the thing to perk him up. And what better thing to talk about than art? Specifically, art of a man who knows what it's like to be unimaginably beautiful.

[gleamingly]

"Do you?"

Rapunzel looks to France curiously, wondering what he means by that. Oh... well then. This is certainly a very pretty man, now isn't it? Her tastes lie more in the direction of rugged brunets who smolder, but she is an artist and she can appreciate beauty when she sees it.

In stark contrast to France, Rapunzel appears altogether open. Sure, she is carrying a frying pan, but she isn't Hungarian and she isn't carrying it threateningly; it's gripped in one hand with her arm at her side. Looking at the paintings has relaxed her and there is not much tension in her shoulders. Her arms aren't crossed.

If anyone is guarded it is Pascal, who is alternating between giving France a look along the lines of Just try it, buster and glaring at his rapier. "How so, sir?" She asks, either oblivious to Pascal's hostility or accustomed enough to it by now to not let it bother her.

Floor 3

[savedbyasong]

Shion was stacking books. His job in the library was one of the better constants of the tower, the others being pain and fear, which he would rather live without.

He looked over at a sound and watched, impressed, as the girl lassoed the book down. "Wow."

It took him a moment to realised he had spoke outloud. "That's a lot of hair."

[gleamingly]

She looks over at the sound of his voice and tucks the book under her arm; he doesn't sound threatening but she is in a strange place and she doesn't know him, so the look she gives him is wary.

But Rapunzel does like compliments, and "Wow" sounds like a good thing.

She laughs. "It is. I've been growing it out since I was born," She explains, "I think it's seventy feet long by now."