Curiouser & Curiouser

[Alice]

February 25th, Year 1

  Today would be a good day, Alice decided.

  She had combed her hair, brushed her teeth, put on fresh clothes, and buckled her shoes. She was prim, pulled together, and prepared for anything. One must look their best for first impressions, after all. Alice dusted off her pinafore and carefully examined her reflection in the mirror. She nodded firmly, satisfied.

  "Right as rain!" Alice declared, and set off from her room towards the main fountain, where she'd been instructed to meet her mentor. Right as rain, the phrase repeated itself in Alice's mind. It was a strange turn of phrase, when one thought about it. Whoever heard of rain being right about something? What was it even right about, and did that mean sunshine was wrong about something too? Rights and wrongs come in pairs, after all. Alice didn't much care for rain, even if it was right. It was cold and wet and ruined an otherwise perfect day for playing outside. Alice suddenly jumped when she felt a drip on her head. There must have been a leak in the roof somewhere.

  "Oh, no you don't." Alice chastised the ceiling. "Today will be a good day, and a good day does not include raining on me." She didn't wait on any form of response, for that would have been silly, and instead hastened her step to the fountain.  Upon arrival, she noticed that there was indeed someone already there, but it was not who Alice had expected. She knew that she was to meet a horse here. The King's, to be precise. But wasn't he supposed to be white?

  "You're certainly not the King's stallion," Alice declared to the black mare that was standing in the fountain, neck craned to dip into its waters. The horse's hair cascaded in straight, perfect tresses all the way down, and her coat was shiny and sleek. Alice smiled. "But I must say, you are a very comely creature all the same." Tentatively, she reached out to pet the mare's neck.

[Morrighan]

The black mare blinks slowly as she's addressed, head lethargically raising from the water as she idly chews on something. Must be eating something. Maybe the plants? Either way, it seems the mare is friendly, even seeming to stand up just a little taller when she's complimented. As Alice offers to pet the mare, she even trots forward, as if to allow the child closer.


Should Alice make contact, she'd find that the horse is oddly cold and wet. It's more like petting the algae in a pond more than a horse, but at least it's soft. 


In her 'natural habitat', this is about where the Kelpie would cause her flesh to destabilize, grabbing hold of mortal flesh with a vice-like grip. A swift turn, a dash to the water, and she'd have her next meal. But here... Well, that was frowned upon, hunting like that. The King made sure she'd been fed enough, and whenever she was hungry, she'd snack on the fish in the fountains. That, and this human... well, she'd complimented her. Morrighan wasn't used to that. She had a mouth that opened too far, and massive teeth. Piercing, golden eyes against a black coat. She was not 'comely', or at least, she didn't hear it often.


This little princess was safe.

[Bob]

"Bob! You big dumb horse, wake up! You gotta meet your trainee today!"

The unicorn felt something smaller push him, and he groaned loudly, threatening to flip back onto whoever was shoving into him. His dark blue eyes opened to see Taylor backing up to shove him once more, and without any more prompting, the unicorn heaved himself up onto all four legs.

"How rude." Bob mumbled, swishing his tail in annoyance. And just as he had intended, he heard the very tip of his tail smack Taylor right in the face.

"OW! DUDE WHAT THE FU-"
"See y'all later!" Bob said, with a wink. Taylor'd forgive him later, she always did.

Bob bounded into the courtyard, where he happened to catch sight of the kelpie sitting in the fountain. He hadn't gotten to talk to Morrighan since her release was ordered by Clopin, but he figured that now, he'd have a chance to exchange some words. Next to her, he spotted Alice, stroking the kelpie's mane.

Bob trotted up to the pair, bowing his head in apology as his hair fell over his eyes.

"I'm so sorry I'm late y'all. Sophia and I stayed up a little too long last night workin' on some new spells from a book that Taylor stole, and I guess we fell asleep trying to make up a new one."

"So, Clopin said I gotta train y'all, but I'm not sure what kinda stuff I'm supposed to teach y'all. Are you one of those...magic humans or somethin'?" Bob asked Alice.

[Alice]

  How odd, Alice thought at first. The mare was so very damp! She couldn't imagine it being particularly comfortable for the poor dear. Perhaps she would like it if Alice had brought her a towel to dry her off. But upon Alice's second thought, she deduced that perhaps the horse preferred it this way. Come now, Alice thought. She's standing herself in the King's fountain, perhaps she's just greatly fond of the water. Alice thought back to a summer when her family had taken a trip to the beach. She'd adored the water herself then.

"I'm so sorry I'm late y'all."

  "Oh!" Alice was pulled from her thoughts to see the white horned stallion she'd been waiting for. Time to make an exceptional first impression! She gathered her skirts, dipping into the most carefully trained curtsy.

  "It's delightful to meet you, sir." She began, dipping low. Perhaps the curtsy had been too carefully trained, as it left her a little stiff. But she straightened again, beaming good-naturedly up at the unicorn. She was excited by the prospect of being taught by a unicorn. Undoubtably he would have many exciting things to teach her. Surely more exciting than arithmetic, at the least.

"Are you one of those...magic humans or somethin'?"

  "Ah... I'm afraid not, sir." She frowned slightly, her brows knitting together. While she would have very much liked to be a magic human, she had never been born such. An unfortunate thought crossed her mind. What if she wouldn't be mentored because she wasn't magic? Alice couldn't bare to think that she had failed before she had been given a chance to begin! "I-I promise however, that I'll work very hard, sir!" She added quickly, grasping at the apron of her pinafore. "No matter what it takes, I'll be the very best student!"

[Morrighan]

As the little human’s attention is drawn away, the dark mare settles into the fountain with a soft huff. Long, silky mane settles like ink in the water, golden eyes shifting to observe the unicorn. This was one of the creature’s that had been there to liberate her. He’d been the one to offer refuge among these.. ‘Rogues’.

A long chin rests on Alice’s shoulder, and lips pull back over sharp teeth in a wild, if not a bit lazy, grin.

“Oh, don’t stress th' wee princess wi' sic' questions. She’ll be perfect, magic ur nae. she’s got a swatch tae 'er. There’s smarts in those een.”

[Bob]

Bob's ears flicked back in embarassment as Morrighan rested her long snout on Alice's shoulder. The poor girl had seemed flustered at his question, and the unicorn vigorously shook his head from side to side in disagreement.

"Oh no y'all, I can still teach you! My best friend, Taylor, she's just a normal human too, but she can do cool things with weapons! Doesn't matter if y'all have magic, there's still plenty for me to pass on." Bob said with a wink.

Like what though? he thought to himself.

Ears flicked back, facing towards the kelpie and Alice.

"Y'all, I got an idea. We're gonna go huntin' for somethin'. I heard somewhere from someone in the Rogues that there's a magical object out in the woods past the city limits, and we're gonna find it." Bob said, puffing out his chest with determination.

"How's that sound?"

[Alice]

  "O-oh! Oh, my...!"

  Alice had jumped ever so slightly. She couldn't help it, really! The black mare's face split wide into such an unsettling smile, with such a great many teeth. If she had been less surprised, Alice might have commented that she reminded her of a cat she had once met. But Morrighan's teeth were a great deal sharper than the Cheshire Cat's had been, Alice noted. Furthermore, Morrighan demonstrated that she could speak, albeit with a very heavy accent.

  "I-I do beg your pardon..." she stammered, cheeks heating with embarrassment. It's always been impolite to address a human person like they were an animal. Do animal persons feel the same? Alice was too flustered to ask at that moment. Fortunately for her, Bob spoke again, this time with words of reassurance that he would still teach Alice despite her lack of magic. That was good news! The unicorn followed swiftly with a brand new offer:

"Y'all, I got an idea. We're gonna go huntin' for somethin'. I heard somewhere from someone in the Rogues that there's a magical object out in the woods past the city limits, and we're gonna find it. How's that sound?"

  It didn't quite remove Alice from her embarrassment, but it was enough for her to find her voice again. She smiled, hands clasping together hopefully. An adventure! That was even better news!

  "That sounds wonderful, sir!" She nodded with newfound enthusiasm. It didn't seem at all strange to address the unicorn as 'sir'. He was to be her mentor, after all, so it seemed only the most natural response.

[Morrighan]

“Oh, relax, wee princess. If thes auld kelpie was gonnae eat ye, she’d hae dain it awreddy. Besides, it’s nae aft a nag loch me gits a compliment. Yoo’re stoatin in mah book.”

As Bob speaks, the Kelpie’s golden gaze slowly shifts to look at him. Long legs shift beneath her, and the dark mare rises from the water with a soft groan of complaint. She should probably be doing something besides eating the ornamental fish...

“If ye don’t min', I’d loch tae come wi'. As lang as yoo’re nae huntin' Snipes, 'at is.”

[Bob]

The unicorn shook his head from side to side, puffing out his chest in confidence.

"No, no snipes. But I'm glad y'all wanna come with, it'll be an adventure!" Bob said, plastering a grin across his face. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.

Sure, good King Clopin always had a method to his madness, but pairing a human girl with him to train seemed a little more on the side of insane. Taylor got along just fine without magic, but it was because of the training she'd received from Raphael.

Bob drew in a breath and exhaled deeply. He'd find out what it was that Clopin saw in him that he could teach Alice...somehow.

The pink-haired unicorn then slowly approached Alice and Morrighan, neatly folding his legs under him until he was much lower than the two of them. He motioned towards his back with his head, urging the young girl to get on.

"It'll be quicker than us equines walkin' and you havin' to keep up." Bob said.

[Alice]

  Oh, the unmistakable look in the little girl's eyes.

  And could anyone blame her? How many girls could make the entirely honest claim that they've had the opportunity to ride a unicorn? Furthermore, there was the promise of adventure! The excitement bubbling within Alice was almost too much to bear. However, Alice thought, it wouldn't do to make such an immature display, especially in front of one's tutor. She took a deep breath, doing her absolute best to calm herself before she did anything far too childish for her age.

  "One must remain professional, after all." Alice mumbled to herself quietly. She gathered her skirts and dipped into what she would have called an 'efficient curtsy' - meaning that it was simply a bit quicker than usual. In spite of her best efforts, it was plain to see that she was eager.

  "Thank you very much, sir." She replied with a smile, and hoisted herself onto Bob's back. Thankfully, horseback riding wasn't new to Alice, even if she was a little more familiar with saddle riding rather than bareback. But she managed well enough, and after only a minute of adjusting she was in place and excited to depart.

  "I'm ready!" She announced dutifully.