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

[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.

[notsogrimreaper]

He should have thought this through, but it's a little late now. He focuses on taking down the deer first, slashing at the animal until it runs off, thankfully just injured instead of killed. When he does, he turns to face her and quickly turns back to normal, both hands raised in an attempt to show he means no harm.

"I-It's okay! I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

He still takes a few steps back, just in an attempt to calm her down.

[gleamingly]

Ryoji's demeanor is such that she almost thinks he is as afraid of her as she is of him, but some aggressive chittering from Pascal reminds her that it could be a ruse. Mother had warned her about dangerous men. And what was more dangerous than a man who could turn into a skeletal monster?

She keeps the pan up and in position to strike if necessary and keeps her eyes on him, watching for any sudden movements.

"Who are you? How did you do that?"

[notsogrimreaper]

Rapunzel's intuition would be correct, if only she'd trust it. Ryoji's not human, to be sure, but that means being around humans can still make him uncomfortable. He seems to be unarmed besides a sheath at his waist holding an entirely different blade than the one the monster held, but his hands aren't going towards it.

"My name's Ryoji. Ryoji Mochizuki. I... I've always been able to do that. It's part of being a Shadow... but I promise, I won't use it against you."

[gleamingly]

He says Shadow and it makes her frown, because where she comes from, shadow doesn't mean relatively-harmless-looking-boy-who-can-turn-into-a-terrifying-monster, it means that thing you get when you put a solid object in front of a light source. She demonstrates it by holding out her frying pan and cutting her eyes at the shadow she casts on the ground.

"That's a shadow," Rapunzel says. "I'll ask you again: How did you do that? Don't lie to me this time! Are you some kind of a sorcerer?"

[notsogrimreaper]

He glances over at the frying pan, and smiles weakly.

"That's not the kind of shadow I'm talking about. Where I'm from, Shadows are... a type of monster made from darkness and the negative emotions of humans."

And admitting to that surely isn't making him seem very trustworthy, but unfortunately, he has no other option to explain it.

"I'm promise I'm not lying to you. That form you saw is my true form, the one usually hidden by my human side."

[gleamingly]

Darkness and negative emotions. Rapunzel supposes she can't exactly call BS on that one when she has magic hair that glows when she sings.

Slowly, she draws the frying pan back to herself and keeps her eyes on him. He still hasn't made any move to attack her and that probably means he is at least a little trustworthy. She turns away from him and brings her free hand up so that Pascal can scuttle into her palm, then whispers to the chameleon urgently.

"What do you think? ...I know, I know, we don't know anyone here. ...I know, he helped us. Okay. Okay."

Then she turns back and sets Pascal back on her shoulder. "Luckily for you I believe you," She says as imperiously as she can manage. "If I didn't, you would have been in for a world of hurt!"

[notsogrimreaper]

...Is she... talking to that little chameleon? Ryoji is confused, but... well, he can't really call it that strange, considering what he ran onto the floor doing, and considering what a lot of people here can do. He pretends that he didn't hear anything when she turns back around, and nods seriously.

"I'm glad you believe me. I was really only trying to protect you. Sorry to say it, but a frying pan isn't always the most reliable weapon here."

[gleamingly]

"Really?" Rapunzel looks amused now, if only because this is something she has heard before. "That's what people said back home, but it's really come in handy!"

Pascal nods, and she can't help but giggle when she feels the motion.

"Thank you for your assistance... Ryoji Mochizuki. My name is Rapunzel, and this is my friend Pascal. We're new here."

[notsogrimreaper]

"Well, I guess to each their own, right? Just make sure to have a couple people that'll look out for you if you do get in trouble."

He manages a soft smile, and a chuckle at Pascal's nod.

"Nice to meet you both. Pascal is your pet then?"