mingle post? mingle post. MINGLE POST!!

[carreau]

Who: you
Broadcast: if you want
Action: also if you want
When: right. goddamn. now.

[ It's a mingle post. IN SPACE.

Just comment and tag around. ]

Comments

waystation action;

[payback]

option 1.

[Rin is clinging to one of the fences, her feet resting on the bottom slat and her arms hooked around a higher slat so she can just hang... and stare... and hang... and stare...

... Eventually an ostrich takes notice of her and stalks like a tall bird-dinosaur on over to take a look at the tiny human.

It stares at Rin...

She stares at it...

It stares at Rin...

She stares at it...

It stares at Rin and then - it lunges.

Rin promptly falls backwards off the fence.]

Eeee!

[MAN SHE HOPES NOBODY HEARD THAT SILLY NOISE]

option 2.

[Okay she's established that she's kind of scared of ostriches. Even though she wants to pet one too. Ride one... pet ostrich...

So she's left the ostriches behind to go chill under one of the trees in the courtyard. She took a deck of simple four-suit playing cards with her, and is slowly playing her way through a game of solitaire now, looking very serious about the whole process.]

option 3.

[Solitaire is played. Nothing too bad has happened. She's leaning back against the tree now, eyes closed... looks like she's pretty much asleep.

There's no more kidnappers around, right?]

option 1

[rebella]

( Ella's also been observing the ostriches, which don't look like any bird she's seen at the royal zoo, and are a llittle less interesting than the parrots, who at least had odd phrases to teach her in their own way. still, the way these birds move is fascinating, especially as they're flightless animals. what does that feel like? to be part of an overall species group meant to fly, but being restricted to the ground?

imagine if she meets a penguin one day.

they're also astonishingly fast, as she witnesses up close when one charges another young woman at the fenceline. Ella hurries over, dressed in her clothes from home (she's much more comfortable in them). A dress is what it is! From, you know, medieval fantasy sort of magic times. )

You didn't accidnetally insult him, did you? ( there's a small smile and a wink, before she glances at the ostrich and waves her hand at it in a shooing motion. it opens it's beak and sort of... hisses at them. ) That's quite enough out of you! It's rude to rush a lady.

( another joke, but hey. she's trying. )

Are you alright, miss?

[payback]

[She's floundering around trying to get back to her feet, and it takes a few minutes to register that someone is concerned for her; Rin glances up and then blushes hotly. It could be worse, it's... slightly less embarrassing to go tipping around like a drunk kitten around a woman her own age. At least Ella looks like her own age.]

I'm okay-!

[In a fluster she gets up. Rin herself has caved to the clothes they're given here, and is wearing a jumpsuit zipped up over a tanktop and sports bra; she looks enough like a local. Her face is very red, but she manages a smile even if it comes out funny.]

I didn't think - I mean, I didn't think they'd be, you know, aggressive -

[Speaking of said ostrich, the bird seems to be threading its head through the fence slats to reach after them... maybe this specimen is rabid?]

[rebella]

Aggressive? Or aggressively friendly?

( One could squint and see friendliness there. Sort of. If they held their head a certain way. Ella straightens her skirts, not that they need straightening, but it gives her hands something to do. )

Then again I might be resentful if I was only being kept around just to be thrown into the pot once I was fat enough.

( Thanks, Father. Gratefully, that's a metaphorical fire of marriage and one also she's... just had to ruthlessly ruin with the prince, but that's all part of the price necessary to pay for the greater good of the kingdom, and the man she loves. Unfortunately. Ella's smile falters, but evens out again a moment after. She steps back, out of range of the ostrich and its beak. )

You're a persistent thing, aren't you? Pull your head back in where it belongs, you'll get stuck like this, and what will the other birds have to say about it?

( Lecturing an ostrich while not exactly serious at all, she does have her hands both on her hips now. )

[payback]

[It doesn't seem too friendly. It hisses more and takes a snap in the general direction of both of them. Rin finally straightens herself out, but she moves towards Ella, already accepting the other girl as a co-conspirator...]

Maybe... we should just leave it alone...

[rebella]

Maybe. Maybe he's just hungry. Do we have anything to give him?

( no walking away is probably the better answer sobs, but the bird still can't reach them where they are )

[payback]

I don't... [You know what, she moves back towards Ella as the bird streeeetches its neck out in their direction even more.]

Are you sure it's all right? Maybe we should just... let it be...

[rebella]

( Is she? Not really. But it's more apparent the bird's just aggravated and not trying to tear down a fence to get at them, so it's probably okay. If they stay back here. )

You don't think it's just lonely?

( She's joking. No really, she is. Ella gives a small wave to the ostrich before deciding that exiting is probably indeed a good idea so the poor thing can calm itself down. )

I think anything would be bothered when it feels teased by people outside of where it can freely go. I wonder if they're intelligent enough to get bored... we can head over toward the market area, if you want.

[payback]

Let's do that...

[She's just relieved to be walking away. Skittish girl. And she follows after Ella, though she takes a moment to look over this stranger's unusual garb and appearance with curiosity.]

Um, who are you? [BEFORE SHE JUST FOLLOWS ELLA OFF WILLY-NILLY]

2

[amarant]

[ Those are some tall birds, I mean...who can blame you?

She approaches from the front, not wanting to startle Rin by accidentally sneaking up on her. And watches her playing solitaire for a few moments... ]

So that's how you play with the cards you found?

[payback]

[Rin starts very slightly and looks up before she recognizes the voice, but she relaxes once she sees of course it's only Emblica. She smiles!]

This is one way you can do it. You can play by yourself like this, but I know games for more people.

[amarant]

[ And it's her actual face this time, wowie. ]

If you don't have anyone else to play with, I could join you.

[payback]

Oh... if you want to, sure. Do you know any games? I can teach you some. [She's already shuffling the solitaire deck into one stack of cards.]

[amarant]

Not with cards like these...

[ She sits down by Rin, watching her shuffle. ]

[payback]

I'll teach you solitaire. It's a game you can play by yourself... [She spreads out the cards and shows them to Emblica, all four suites displayed.]

See how there are four suites? The object of the game is that at the end, you have then all in four stacks in order, starting with the ace and ending with the king. Of course it's more complicated than that, but that's the goal.

[amarant]

Interesting... you can play if you want-- I'll try to learn from watching.

[payback]

Let's play together. [She shuffles the cards and starts arranging them into stacks.] It'll be easier for you to learn if you do at least a little of it. Okay, you see how the rest of the deck is put here? [She taps it with her finger.]

option 2!

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Heeey.

[her peace and seriousness, of course, had to be interrupted. Robin comes strolling by, but stops just to cast a shadow and see what she's up to.]

What're you doing out here?

[payback]

[She looks up. Waves. Actually smiles. She'd be more irked at the interruption if this was really a game that required any concentration at all.]

It's solitaire. Do you know how to play?

[birdsbirdsbirds]

No ma'am. [aw, he'll lean over to look, though. actually being interested!] Do you just play it by yourself?

[payback]

Uh-huh. I used to play with my friend, but we'd just do it together. [A pause.] I'll teach you if you're interested. It's not hard.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Hm. I was going to go look at the birds again, but I have a feeling they won't be going anywhere soon...

[so, sure! he'll have a seat next to her. show him how to play this game.]

Is this an Earthen game?

[payback]

[She gathers up all the cards at once and shuffles them back into one deck. Take it from the top.]

I guess? I don't know, it's pretty simple.

Okay, so we star with a stack like this. [She makes the stack. Rin plays with the cards face up and pulls them out in threes.]

I like to pull them out so you can see what they are, and three at a time, but you can make it so you can't see the two cards underneath and only turn the first one over, or do it one at a time, or how you want. And there are four different kinds of shapes on the cards, understand? Hearts, diamonds, clubs and... uh... spades. So you start with them spread out like this too...

[She starts pulling out the stacks of cards, from the first to the longest one of seven.]

You can't look at the cards that are stacked under these bottom cards. What you want to do is you start four piles... and you put all the cards in their suites in order, from one to the king.

[Their starting seven cards are a jack, a seven, a three, a ten, a five, a four, and a nine. Rin pulls off three cards from the remainder of the deck. The top one is an eight of spades.]

See how the eight is black? The nine is red, because it's a nine of hearts. So we can put the eight on top and then move the seven over because it's red too. Do you have this game?

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Hm...

[he's following as well as someone with quick, incomplete instructions could, tapping his chin with his finger.]

Kind of. It's got a different layout, but you match the suits up the same...

[payback]

Let's play a round. If you want. [She pops the black eight onto the nine, revealing the black six underneath for use, and then moves the seven onto the either and turns the card underneath over. Red four.]

You'll get it once you play.