entranceway | First* Video/Action

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First* Video/Action

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[Bela is standing in front of the camera, dressed in pants and shirt and a brown leather jacket-rather common clothing considering the eclectic pile of clothes behind her. If anyone cares for those kind of details they'll see a wide arrangement of clothing, from suits to cocktail dresses to waitress uniforms and even a maid costume.]

So. The closet? It's a very nice touch, I have to admit. I certainly wouldn't mind having one back home. Though seemingly free food, board, and clothing just means there's a hidden cost. So what is our benevolent caretaker charging us?

And what becomes valuable in a place like this? Is there a currency in particular items? Favors? Souls? [And there's a wry smile there to indicate that might possibly be a joke.]

Or does everyone here work on altruism?

Action A: Wandering Wonderland
[Not one to idly sit when her surroundings are so undiscovered, and therefore a little bit threatening, Bela takes to exploring the grounds with a casual step that belies just how uncomfortable she really feels. She can be found idly touching decor along the walls of the mansion, or grabbing something to eat in the dining room, or eyeing the titles of books in the library even if she doesn’t actually reach for any right now.

[ooc: This is your find her wandering anywhere you want to option.]

Action B: An unlocked room is an invitation.
[After exploring the more open grounds, Bela can be found roaming the hallways. It’s a seemingly innocent gesture by itself, except for the subtle jiggle of a handle here and there as she moves about. Just her way of...well, casing the place. Not that she’s planning on stealing anything quite yet, but she’ll feel more comfortable once she’s got a good map of the surroundings and people around her since it doesn’t seem like she’ll be leaving very soon.

Occasionally, when she finds an unlocked door, she casually opens it just to get a good idea of the room-and on the occasion that someone is actually in their room without bothering to lock the door, well, she smiles sheepishly and offers an embarrassed apology.]

Oh, I’m sorry. I have the wrong room. [Ignore the subtle sweep around the room before she tries to retreat.]

Action C: A locked one is just a challenge.
[She’s good. For a while. But after finding so many empty and unlocked rooms, she’s a little curious to see what’s inside a locked one. And just as curious to see how easy it is to pick a lock on these particular doors.

So she chooses a random one in a rather quiet hallway, listens near the door for any tell-tale sign of shuffling, and when she thinks she’s in the clear, she kneels down and jimmies the lock, before pushing the door open. If there’s no immediate reaction, she’ll take a step inside. Just a quick scouting mission, don’t worry, she’s not here to steal anything.]

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[She's not one to take anything at face value, but she'll sort out lies and truths herself later. For now, her curiosity is piqued, and it's in her best interest to get some idea. So she arches an inviting eyebrow before making her way over to one of the library tables where she sits down and nudges a seat out with her foot for her current companion.]

On that chance that I won't get any memories back, why don't you indulge me?

_{[That's a decisive invitation if he's ever seen one. With a glance behind him at the shelf he'd been browsing, he inclines his head and follows behind her, taking a seat with hands folded in his lap.]}

Very well. If you wish.

_{[Maybe it will stand as sufficient apology for getting caught staring and making her wary.]}

I noticed you haven't seemed terribly surprised by anything said so far. Are you getting acquainted with the place?

_{[Growing desensitized to surprises is a sure sign someone is acclimating to Wonderland.]}

I like to think I'm adaptable.

[She's not all that inclined to act anything other than nonplussed in public. It would put her at a disadvantage when she's already got so many other lined up against her.]

Slowly learning my way around.

[Right to it then, shall we?] What do you know about me?

_{[That answer doesn't really quite tell him what he'd like to know, which is what she actually thinks of someone introducing themselves with a name connected to his brand of secretive science. Perhaps an opportunity will come to find out.

For now, she has her own valid reasons for grilling him over hot coals and he won't deny her that. He settles in to begin reciting facts like an accountant reading numbers off a ledger.]}

We spoke in person once the October of last year, and as I said, it was brief. I can't say I know much at all, if you're worried I do. I was newly arrived, you told me you had already been in residence for fifteen months yourself.

_{[A long time, to be sure. Now they've come full circle--he's the one to given more than a year of his life to Wonderland, and she's re-learning it from the ground up.]}

You were aware that our perceptions of time can be skewed by this place. You recalled a time where you remembered returning home and living out a handful of hours there, only to return to Wonderland and find a month had passed in your absence. It was warning, I think. A warning that I should not take Wonderland lightly.

[She guards her thoughts closely. She's entirely familiar with the game of bartering and in her experiences, knowledge is a common enough trading commodity. And she's always willing to take from those that are willing to give for free.

So she's surprised to hear she offered any warning to this man, wonders why she would have done it at all. But it's hardly the most interesting question that comes to mind with his explanation. skewed time. being here for several months? Returning home more than once. It's a hard bit to swallow. She's not missing any time back home, no blanking out or wanderings from over a year absent. She had been very careful with her time, after all. Considering she had been on a very specific life span. And dying is still so very fresh in her memory.

Her fingers tap on the table and it's the only outward sign of discomfort with any of this.]

Is that why you're offering to share? Because I gave some advice a year ago?

_{[He tilts his head owlishly when his motivations are called into question, eyes pale and unerringly watchful.]}

You wanted to know and it's hardly confidential. Had you not shown you're already somewhat familiar with this place's idiosyncrasies, I would have considered keeping that I recognized you to myself to spare confusion.

_{[But she had, and he isn't in a hurry to be anywhere at this hour, so here they are. It's as simple as that.]}

I have no reason to withhold the information or mislead with the false kind.

Sorry. [And her smile looks apologetic enough.] Not quite used to people doing anything for free.

[And while she knows that enough truths are buried in fiction, she doesn't expect this man to be an exact imprint from Mary Shelley's novel. Which makes him another curiosity just for existing.

So this certainly isn't the worst way to spend her time.]

I'm not confused, just under-informed. So, anything you have I'll appreciate. I've heard varying warnings about this place, but hardly anything concrete.

You're owed information about yourself, and by having it you may remember something, or make a connection only you could make.

_{[Expecting something in exchange would be crass--and most importantly, counterproductive. Victor wouldn't say he's a do-gooder out to do favours for free, but he does believe in doing things for a purpose. Reticence doesn't serve him or her in this instance.]}

You'd like to hear about Wonderland? I can share what I know, but I can't promise I have the hard and fast answers you're looking for. Wonderland does a job of defying a clear definition.

[Well, she certainly won't argue with those words. And if anything, it makes her like the guy just a bit.]

Unless you have anything else to reveal about me. People I associated myself with, perchance. What I claimed as an occupation. Details would be fantastic.

And if not, I'll make due with what I can about the wonders of Wonderland.

_{[A faint smile adds a trace of caustic humor to his features, sharpening them rather than softening them.]}

Have you forgotten that much? Or do you trust me that little?

_{[It amounts to the same--his answer wouldn't change. The humor fades, returning the scholarly matter-of-factness.]}

I can't tell you. We didn't speak of those things, and I'm unaware of what acquaintances you may have here. Who you are remains your secret. As for Wonderland, what did you have in mind? It's a broad topic; we could be here the entire day discussing its length and breadth.

[She gives a soft smile and a shrug. It's an odd question for sure, but introducing herself as a great thief with a group of people she is inexplicably trapped with seems like an incredibly stupid move.]

I've many professions, I'm just trying to figure out at which point in my life I was here before.

[An easy enough lie.]

Warnings, perchance? Things to be acutely aware of? I assume if monsters lurked amongst the halls I would have found one or two already.

_{[At the very least, Victor can reassure her on a point on which he is confident.]}

Impossible as it may sound, I'd wager you were near the same age you are now. Physically, you are unchanged.

_{["Never comment on a lady's age" is a good ground rule, but facts are facts, after all. He moves on without giving the comment much more thought than that, expression considering when she proceeds to cast a wide net. Have the others not informed her of these things?]}

You must be newly arrived--more so than I assumed when I first saw you. I've noticed others tend to work to quickly fill in the blanks when people arrive with questions. Literal monsters are uncommon, but not impossible. When you're dreaming, anything can happen and it can change suddenly. You can think of it like that. What's safe one day is sometimes unsafe the next, and not all who reside here are entirely human.

_{[Though by the same reasoning, not all are dangerous, either. It goes to show that Wonderland is a varied and unpredictable place to call home.]}

[That...is rather interesting actually. And in some ways she's thankful for it.]

They've filled in some, but everyone seems vague on the specifics. I prefer knowing what kind of threat I'm facing, but as far as I can tell...there are sometimes things to shoot at, sometimes not. Some people enjoy being here, others want to get home. It's impossible to get any good grasp on anything.

[Sorry Victor for the mini-rant, but it's starting to grate on a nerve. Adding to it that apparently the entire place can change through a nap doesn't help. She likes having her solid ground.

At least that last one is something familiar.] Residents are not all human? [And she pauses to glance him over one more time.] Are you?

I can't speak for anyone else, but the reason specifics are... problematic... is because it's in Wonderland's nature to change its rules as a chameleon changes colors. _{[Victor's world-weary demeanor makes it quite clear he knows how unsatisfying that is to consider.]} You've been warned about the events, as they're colloquially known?

_{[Ah, but that's an interesting question. It dislodges another smile.]}

Yes and yes. Quite human. However, I've encountered all manner of creature that appeared as I do--it's good to be cautious. Yourself?

[She can indeed understand the frustration that follows a place that won't stay the same. Having some solid footing and knowing where to hide is important.] Perhaps. Are these the "sometimes something dangerous happens and other times it's not dangerous at all" comments I've heard?

[Though she has to snort when he suggests she be cautious of supernatural creatures. Apparently she hadn't told him much if he's still making that kind of comment.]

I am fairly sure I know how to handle that kind of situation. And no. I'm very human. Do you have your creature here?

Events? Yes. Many days are days like this one--stable. Inactive. Others before us coined the term "events" for sporadic transformations that come on that drastically alter the landscape, sometimes our perception. Common belief is that they're based on memories. Memories that take shape and we, the actors who populate them until they expire.

_{[It sounds mad, and it is. He doesn't worry about the illogical-sounding premise; he expects she'll hear quite a bit about it from anyone who sits still long enough to be pumped for information. Neither does he try to question her expertise on the matter of supernatural creatures in the guise of humans. To each their own in that regard.

But at the obvious reference to Caliban, Victor's eyes narrow sharply. Your. It echoes an unpleasant note in his ears.]}

Some stories are just stories.

Edited 2016-03-22 05:47 (UTC)

Lovely. [When there's nothing clever to say, a sarcastic retort is second best. At that's all she has at the moment, because she' not sure what to do with that information except store it until she sees it herself. Maybe then she can come back to him with more questions.

So for now she'll settle on the other topic.]

Oh? You're aware of the story that shares your name? It's all fable, is it?

Isn't it, though.

_{[Victor's response is bone dry. That's Wonderland--exceptionally lovely and not at all psychologically distressing on just about every level.

Even so, he'd rather talk about Wonderland than talk about himself, if he must talk at all. The Frankenstein novel and its assorted reproductions are even more disturbing for how they put his sense of self into question.]}

I'm aware. You're not the first to remark upon the connection. _{[His gaze, fixed on her chair leg, is flat even after he lifts it to meet hers again.]} Does it matter? Mary Shelley passed away long before I was born. I can't explain how it exists anymore than I can explain how Wonderland exists.

_{[And maybe, just maybe, he's still a little put out by it. This isn't how he'd ever wanted to acquire fame.]}

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