1st rose petal ⚘ accidental video

[tenpetals]

[At first, the post seems to be audio, but the intermittent glimpses of light from above and the muffled quality of the voice will soon reveal that it's just that the network device is in someone's pocket.]

Ib? Ib? Mary? I'm not stuck anymore! Can you hear me?

[Muffled though it may be, the voice's panic is very clear. There's a bit of mumbling for a moment- sharp ears might pick out doesn't look like the gallery at all- the sound of footsteps, and then a few moments of silence. Then there's some rustling noises as the device is finally pulled out of the pocket, glimpses of something blue held in the other hand, and after a few adjustments, the face of a young man with lavender hair.]

Ib, do you have one of these? Or, um, if there's anyone else... have you seen two young girls? One has brown hair and red eyes, the other is blonde with a green dress. I just need to know that they're okay.

And thank you for the leaflet, it's... helpful. [The tone suggests more politeness than genuine feeling; he thought it seemed needlessly harsh, but it clearly took some effort to provide the information, so whoever made it should be thanked anyway.]

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video

[seekingbrother]

I haven't seen anyone like that around...but you're not where you were before right now.

[tenpetals]

I know. [It's a bit short, but that's obviously because of worry. Garry's been quietly panicking- and occasionally noisily panicking- ever since the gallery changed, and he sees no reason to stop here in "Wonderland".] I'm sorry, but I'd like to keep this available in case Ib also has one.

[oversight]

[Oh, god, did someone print up a new batch of those pamphlets? Blake's pretty sure, despite the good information in them, they produce a lot more questions on top of their answers.

Then again, it does seem as if these people are a little calmer about their arrivals in another place and (potentially) time.

He clears his throat.]

Hey, hi, I hear you. Name's Blake. [A pause.] Ib an' Mary are your friends?

video;

[radiopalkiller]

[ Way back when Philip used to make a point of being around to play tour guide to new arrivals, thinking he wouldn't want anybody stuck with the same disturbing lack of clues he had at the time. The sentiment only lasted so long though, and these days he's stopped bothering, unless his Wonderland seniority card presses the issue.

Except then Christmas happened, and Philip is thinking that this might be as good a way to pass the time as any, while he's trying to sort through some thoughts. And if that isn't just the muffled darkness he was looking for. ]

Take the--

[ ...thing out of your pocket, okay, never mind, there we are. ]

Hey. [ He waves into the light of the newly unveiled video feed. ] Probably best to take the leaflet with a grain of salt, we're a bit short on accredited editors here. It's got the gist right though, but if you need any more information...

[ One question he already asked, but Philip is skirting the answer for a bit longer. He's been away for too long to have a good idea of Wonderland's population, and blonde with green dress could be anybody, or most likely nobody at all, unless whoever was with that guy just earlier already made it to Wonderland weeks ago. ]

[tenpetals]

Yes. [At least this Blake sounds like he knows what he's doing. A little bit of Garry's palpable terror drains away.] That is, I haven't known either of them long, but we found each other in the gallery, and it was too dangerous to go alone.

[oversight]

Gallery? [He's not sure the mansion has a gallery, but he wouldn't be surprised if it does. In fact, it probably does and he just doesn't know what he's looking for.] You met them here?

[tenpetals]

No, not here. There was an art gallery, and...

[And here Garry trails off, because for the first time he wonders- how is he going to explain what happened? It's a problem he's glad to have, because it means he's no longer in the gallery and still not dead, but if he hadn't been through all that himself, he certainly wouldn't believe a story about murderous paintings and statues.

Of course, if the leaflet is all true, then the people here might have accepted similar strange things, but he's not completely sure he trusts it.]

[tenpetals]

Then... this is really Wonderland?

[He definitely still needs to find Ib and Mary, but if he learns more about this new place it can only help him do that, right? Or at least make him more able to help them eventually.]

[audio]

[goodnightlisteners]

Haven't heard of an Ib...I'm not sure about a Mary either, I'm afraid. Welcome to Wonderland all the same, though.

[tenpetals]

...thank you?

[That seems like the right thing to say. Garry doesn't necessarily want to be welcomed to Wonderland- it beats the gallery so far, but he wanted to get back to his actual life- but it's better than being here and being unwelcome, so... yes, if he's here anyway, a welcome is probably best.]

[goodnightlisteners]

You're welcome! I'm Cecil; I've been here a few months, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Ib and Mary...are they friends of yours? Sisters? Brothers? Pets? Enemies?

video;

[notthesecondworstfighter]

I haven't seen anyone like either of those descriptions. Chances are, they're...probably not here.

[Hating to be the bearer of bad news, he purses his lips for a moment and runs his hand over the side of his helmet, almost trying to scratch his head through it.]

Sorry. I mean, they might be, I haven't exactly met everyone here, but...you know. [...No, you probably don't.] Er, I just mean... The people we know from home or wherever we came from don't always turn up here with us.

[tenpetals]

[That's a very interesting list, and Garry looks even more confused than he was before. Pets? He'd thought it went without saying that the girls he was describing were human girls, but... apparently not? Still, the true answer is straightforward enough, and he only WTF-faces at the others a moment before he answers:] Friends. I mean, I really just met Mary, but we were trying to stick together because it was so dangerous...

[tenpetals]

Then...

[Garry is already pale, but now he goes even paler. It's true that he'd been separated from the girls already, but at least he'd been in a place where they would know where to find him. Even though it seems safer here, if they're still in the gallery...]

...then I have to go back.

[He really doesn't want to be back there, and it shows. But there's really no other choice, right?]

[seekingbrother]

The communicator? That's fine, everyone gets one when they're brought here. What's your name?

[tenpetals]

Oh! Sorry, I should have said that before. [He's very apologetic, isn't he? Not usually so much, but he's kind of disoriented right now and is falling back on extra politeness.] It's Garry. And you are?

[seekingbrother]

I'm Alphonse. It's nice to meet you, Garry. [He smiles warmly.] You said you found one of the leaflets, right?"

[tenpetals]

That's right. Are they yours? [He doesn't want to complain about the tone and then have it turn out that it was Alphonse who wrote them, after all.]

[seekingbrother]

[Al shakes his head.] No, someone else made them. But they are good for explaining the weird stuff that goes on around here quickly.

[tenpetals]

Yes... it's a little harsh, though, isn't it? I don't think it's necessary to call people names when they've just fallen into another world.

[radiopalkiller]

It's a Wonderland, though it might not be the one you've heard of, if-- well, you've read the pamphlet. Wonderland is what everyone's been calling it, and some of it matches well enough, but I wouldn't trust Lewis to be much of a guide.

[ A beat. ]

You said you were looking for someone? Er, Mary and...?

[ Nope, he didn't catch that other name. ]

To be honest, if they were just with you, then they probably didn't make it here. There's a chance they might already be here, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[ Or necessarily wish it on them, for that matter. ]

[goodnightlisteners]

Uh oh--dangerous? [Grown-ass man, two little girls, "dangerous", hmmmmmmmm.]

[oversight]

[Blake doesn't quite understand what's got this guy trailing off, but it's obvious there's more on his mind than immediately meets the eye. When it's clear he's not quite ready to talk freely, John takes a stab at prompting him a bit.]

An' what? Somethin' happened?

[tenpetals]

Ib. [Garry is looking very worried, and most of it has nothing to do with Wonderland.] And I can't just leave them back there...

[tenpetals]

Yes, there... well, with all the strange things about this place, it wouldn't be too unbelievable if I said there were monsters, right? [He's not quite ready yet to say "the artwork tried to kill us", it sounds too ridiculous even to himself.]