WHO: Victor Fox and OPEN
WHERE: Blind Mice Way, near Humphrey's Humble, Happy Pie.
WHEN: Afternoon, when respectable people are working.
WHAT: Victor's out for a bit of snooping about. Window shopping on all the pretty virgins he can't afford to 'dine with' at the moment. Far be it for him to draw the wrong sort of attention to himself.

Victor wasn't the most popular of guys, that much was true. There was an air of mystery about him that seemed to be laced with a touch of sinister, or at least that was what some of the overly honest individuals would tell him...before promptly asking him to leave. It made things difficult when trying to do business about the town, but he didn't seem to mind all that much most of the time. After all, he really only wanted one thing out of the fine gentlemen of the village: their virgin daughters.

He had been taking a careful catalog of them since he first moments in the Village, measuring them up and down with the same critical eye of an artist. For instance, he was convince Hannah Owen likely a tender meat, but a touch heavy on the fat. She had a fancy for sweets, and never said no to any dessert her father could think up. On the other hand, Abigale Ables was likely lean, for she was a long, pole of a girl that ate no more than a birds worth of food a day. The list was countless, and each time he passed a new girl, he took terrible pains to remember every visible inch of her.

A man had to know these things, after all.

But for him, he thought, the finest meal the entire city had to offer for Elani, the young serving wench that delivered the food in Humphrey's shop. She was not too heavy on the fat, but not so lean as to be tough. If anything, she was the perfect mixture of both, and a promising choice.

If she ever looked at him. Thus far he had hardly had a chance to speak with her, through some affect of ill luck and well placed blockades; curtsy of Humphrey no doubt. Still, there was always a chance...and so, in his aimless wanderings, he yet again found his feet guiding him toward his most coveted prize.

Who: Phillip and ?
Where: The Village streets
When: Nearing sunset
Warnings: None to speak of

It couldn't be said that Phillip was settling in to his new situation though he had, at least, spent time finding his way about the Castle inasmuch as he needed to. He could now find his way to his room, to the food, and to the stables. He'd also managed to find the right person to ask about having baths brought to his room though he hadn't availed himself of any other 'service' the maid might have provided. Truly, he'd only been in the Castle enough -- once he'd found his way -- these past several days to sleep, eat, and bathe as needed. The rest of his time had been spent riding all over the land surrounding the Village.

He had also discovered that one couldn't just keep riding away forever. No, eventually -- and he hadn't quite managed to put his finger on exactly where the line was -- he always seemed to find himself riding back toward the village even when he could have sworn he'd been riding in a perfectly straight path "away".

Magic, again. Far too frustrating.

He'd ridden quickly, he'd ridden slowly, he'd walked on foot, he'd gone in all sorts of directions, and had even briefly considered (but discarded) the idea of riding backwards. It didn't seem to matter how he went, he still couldn't actually leave.

And so it is that a tired, frustrated, and possibly homesick prince may be seen walking back into the Village as the sun is going down, leading his horse beside him.

Who: Giovannuzza and Victor Fox
Where: Handel's Tears
When: Very late evening
Warnings: Gratuitous nudity!

It was probably odd to imagine so, but Albert Magnus was one of the few humans Gia tolerated with good humor. He was a terrible, rotten bastard, perhaps even more so than some others, but he never presented himself as anything more and that was what made him different. Others tried to pretend that they were trustworthy, or generous, or kind, and it was that deception that was the basis of all that she found wrong with mankind in general.

So she served revolting drinks in his disgusting bar to his hideous patrons; it passed the time and both fulfilled and quashed that irritating need for human contact she found herself fighting day in and day out. And when the last of the seedy drunks stumbled out in the wee hours of the morning, she would bid goodnight to that terrible, rotten bastard and leave to make the rest of the day her own.

She circled around the back of the building, weaving through piles of trash and discarded furniture (mostly broken from the all-too-frequent brawls) and down one of the less-traveled alleys. Thinking herself alone in the darkness, she kicked off her shoes and began to shed the remainder of her clothing.

Who: Rose Red and Azkadellia
Where: The Piper's Castle
When: After this
Warnings: None yet!

Rose Red was unnerved after her run-in with Snow. She hadn't seen her in so long and the shock value was a little more than she could handle. It was crazy. Crazy! How could they both have heard the music and followed it here? Of all places Snow could have ended up... she had to end up here? Really?

Rose had slowly made her way back inside after a while and was now wandering the halls of the palace, looking for anyone who might help. She really did need something to be done about those trolls. So she meandered around the palace, completely oblivious as to where she was.

Who: Snow, open to anyone in the castle
Where: The Piper's Castle
When: Just after dinner
Warnings: None as yet


Snow enjoyed living in Piper's castle. It was like her life before, except that she didn't have any of that walking baggage following her around the castle. After dinner in the evenings she walked around inner courtyard, enjoying the fresh air and the lovely garden.

She'd taken the liberty of "trimming" all of the red roses, replacing them with polar white blooms. It had been a beautiful garden before her tampering, now it was tolerable enough for her to linger here.

She picked a low bench by a deep fountain filled with Koi fish and water lilies. The water flowed from a high spout, trickling over steps down to the large basin. It was soothing here, relaxing when so little else in her life had been.

Who: Phillip and anyone in the castle
Where: The Piper's Castle
When: Late in the evening
Warnings: None?

Poor Prince Phillip was looking rather worse for wear. A bit dirty, a bit sweaty, a lot bedraggled. Definitely not princely. He'd been riding for hours since he'd crossed the Piper, trying to find the way home. It shouldn't have been that far, it hadn't been that far when he'd followed the Piper's song.

Magic, again, making things more complicated than they ought to be!

And now he found himself in some godforsaken village filled with all manner of strangers. At least the place had a castle, though there was apparently not a king to appeal to. No, this castle belonged to the Piper!

And now, Phillip was fairly certain he wouldn't even be in here except that the prospect of sleeping outside was hardly appealing. Be that as it may, he found himself wandering the halls of the castle, not quite fitting in amongst the cheerful folks who made their home there. Not when he was dirty and cranky and just about desperate enough to simply make his bed out in the stable with his horse!

If only he could find his way back to the stables first.

Who: Elani and whomever else is out and about
Where: Village streets
When: Early morning
Warnings: None?

The day had dawned bright, cheerful, and warm, just like many of the days seemed to be here in the Village. Being that Elani herself had always been something of an early riser, she had dawned bright and cheerful right along with it. Of course, there was always work to be done so waking with the sun was definitely not a fault to be found in a girl who worked in an Inn. Even if Humphrey rarely expected her to actually work until later in the day, when the village's residents began trickling in for an afternoon or evening meal. That was when she needed to be down in the main room, smiling and bringing plates of food and mugs of ale. Or singing. There were still many songs they'd never heard that she had yet to sing so the novelty of having her there hadn't worn off yet.

And she was learning new songs all the time.

Still, though she wasn't expected to help with the day's cooking that would already be beginning down in the kitchen, just the evening before Humphrey had been lamenting a distinct lack of the herbs he usually used in his famous meat pies. Elani seemed to remember seeing a patch of wild herbs growing near the field south of the village and was sure the freshly picked plants would make for a welcome surprise.

So that was what saw her exiting the Inn just as the sun rose above the trees of the forest. She'd made sure to be prepared, too, putting on her shabbier skirt and blouse since she would be likely getting dirty and hot. She'd even tied her hair back, out of the way, though not having it hanging loose always felt awkward and strange. On her arm, she carried a large basket with which to bring back the wild rosemary and thyme she hoped to recover...and she thought she remembered some wild onions, too. And of course, if she picked a few wildflowers along the way, they could always brighten up the inn's common room.

Being that it was still early and few people seemed to be stirring from their homes yet, she'd wait until she passed the last house to start singing to herself.

But that didn't stop her humming a happy tune as she walked.