pentamerone <% /!UseJournal %>
06/30/2007 22:49:00
[info]nottobemourned
Ozland - Open
Some time after she lost Rabbit, Penthesilea had a decision to make. She could head back to the river and wait for a ferry that might never come or push forward, with only the hastily described directions of a bizarre stranger to guide her. It was not an easy decision to make and she delayed it as long as she could. As the sun was setting Penthesilea made herself a camp in the forest for the night, rather than decide. But when morning came after an uneasy sleep, her mind was made up. She would leave this strange place as quickly as she was able.

She traveled alone, on foot, undisturbed for many hours. The sun was high in the sky but stretching towards the west, late afternoon, by the time she reached civilization. And what a strange civilization it was! A marvel to behold, of course. The roads and buildings were all very well kept. There were inventions and machines the likes of which Penthesilea had never seen before. She was sure Daedalus, himself, would be impressed. But the people were very strange. Skittish and jumpy, ready to hide from their own shadows, the people here reminded Penthesilea of Rabbit a great deal. This was very likely the land he came from. But for the life of her, Penthesilea could not remember what name Rabbit had used for this place.

"You there!" She shouted out to the first person she saw, all bravado and commanding tone, "Tell me, what is this place?"

Current Music: "My TV And You" by Vast
Tags: knave of hearts, penthesilea

 
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From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/04/2007 10:45:45  

[OOC: I have limited internet access until the 8th-ish, so I'll reply again when I can!]

Knave weeded his way through the people, the anthropomorphic animals and insects, and robots alike. It was only late afternoon, and thus he was on duty, bedecked in his leather coat, hearts insignia, and axe strapped to his back. He patrolled near the northwest entrance into Ozland today, the entrance that led off into the woods.

He saw the woman coming before she called out to him, and with a eyebrow raised at her tone, responded, "You have come to Ozland." His tone was neither welcoming nor dismissing, just matter-of-fact. His eyes skimmed over her quickly. She was small, but seemed almost ferocious. Warrior-like.
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/04/2007 23:56:11  

[OOC: No worries!]

Penthesilea was reasonably certain that Ozland was likely the name Rabbit gave her before. Appeased by that one fact, she still had many more questions, but she didn't know which to ask first. Where was Ozland? Why wasn't she dead? Who dared to take her off the battlefields of Troy to this place? Who ruled this land? How was the war going? Any news of her fellow Amazons?

More and more questions continued to race through her mind. And as they did, Penthesilea grew more and more frustrated with herself. She began pacing back and forth, quickly, scowling fiercely. Until finally, the man she'd question caught her eye again, and she spat out, "And who are you?" before she even considered stopping herself.
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/10/2007 15:25:55  

Knave watched the woman pace and was about to continue on his way before she suddenly and rather rudely demanded to know who he was. His jaw set. "I am the Knave of Hearts, commander of the Hearts Brute Squad. And who are you?" He crossed his arms looking down - way down - at her as he spoke.
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/10/2007 21:16:16  

Penthesilea made the strategic decision to not answer Knave's question just yet. He was a military man and if he was aligned with the Greeks, then admitting her identity as Queen of the Amazons, he might just take her prisoner and ransom her to her tribeswomen.

"And who do you and your Brute Squad pledge allegiance to?" She asked just as haughtily as before.
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/10/2007 21:27:26  

Knave's eyes narrowed. The woman's tone was commanding, as if she were used to having people listened to her, to giving orders and expecting them obeyed immediately. Much like the Queen of Hearts.

His belligerent streak had him responding, "I'll answer that question when you've answered mine. I'll repeat. Who are you?" Tch. He was starting to sound like that blasted caterpillar.
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/11/2007 16:03:46  

Penthesilea did not appreciate Knave's stubborn nature in the slightest, but knew she could not expect the deference she was due if he didn't know who she was. All the same, it would be unsafe to tell him just yet.

"I'm a foreigner, obviously," She finally admitted. "I've been fighting in the Great War for a little over a year now. That should suffice for now. Now tell me, which side do you and your men pledge to?" She was, of course, talking about the Trojan War. Penthesilea figured if Knave did not recognize her as an Amazon by her manner of dress then he at least must know of the War.
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/11/2007 16:18:51  

"I could figure that much myself," he responded wryly. Knave was no more fond of this short little warrior woman the she was of him. "If you choose not to give a name, the 'Foreigner' will suit just fine. I serve the Queen of Ozland, Her Majesty the Queen of Hearts." He seemed not at all deferential to his actual queen either. There'd be little chance of him giving her the respect she assumed she was due.

"What is this Great War are you speaking of?" Because the only 'side' he was on was his own, not even the Queen's, though he helped lead her invasion of Ozland.
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/11/2007 17:18:37  

When she learned that Ozland was ruled by a queen, Penthesilea was comforted slightly. She had a great deal more trust placed in female monarchs than males-- but when Knave did not seem to know about the Great War she was shocked! How far away was this place?!

"The War!" Penthesilea repeated as if this would somehow jog his memory. "The Great War in Troy going on right now!" She added as way of explanation. "Between the many nations of Greece and the Trojans?"
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/11/2007 17:22:44  

Knave gave her an odd look. "Troy? Greece? These places are unfamiliar. And I know of no war. This is Ozland, Western Kingdom." He tried to remember the information the intelligence forces gathered before leaving Wonderland. "The Western Kingdowm of Pentamerone. Are these places you mention farther to the north or south?" Possibly east across the massive lake?
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/11/2007 17:41:44  

He hadn't heard of the war? Of Greece or Troy? She had to be much farther away than she originally thought. Worse still, she had never heard of the land he was speaking of: Pentamerone.

"Greece is North of my land, Cyrene," Penthesilea tried explaining. "Troy is North East. I-- I don't know where they are in relation to this place. Quite frankly, I don't know how I even got here."
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/11/2007 19:00:20  

Knave shook his head. "I don't know where these places are, and to be honest, I'm not entirely familiar with this land either. You say you have no idea how you came here? Here to Ozland or to Pentamerone?"
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/11/2007 19:28:58  

"I woke up in a forest yesterday," Penthesilea explained, half to Knave and half to herself. "I thought I was in the Land of the Dead. I'd been gutted in battle, you see. And then I woke up in those woods. And I met a man called Rabbit. And he told me his country was due South so I walked Southwards and ended up in this very spot... I don't know anything else."
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/11/2007 22:53:11  

Knave listened to her tale with an interested expression. This was not the first tale he'd heard of someone suddenly appearing here and not knowing how. And then his eyebrow raised. "Rabbit? Small fellow, white hair, very nervous?" He'd probably gotten himself lost again; it was so common for him. Knave was certain the little man needed a keeper. "Well he was right. This is his home now, Ozland. Unfortunately I don't know what direction will take you home from here."
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/11/2007 23:55:34  

[OOC: sorry about the double post earlier; GJ has been super weird to me for some reason]

"Yes. That was him," Penthesilea affirmed Knave's suspicion. She sighed and continued. "Even if you knew I couldn't go home. I'd have to return to my women in battle." She frowned, her face revealing a rare moment of genuine vulnerability and concern as she added darkly, "If they're even alive."
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/12/2007 23:08:37  

[No problem! It was being dumb for me too.]

Knave nodded as she spoke; he understood the responsibilities of command. Her story was interesting though. Unbelievable even. "So you thought were dead, but instead you woke up here, or in the woods rather. Gotta say, you look pretty alive to me. And I know this ain't the Land of the Dead, so, something else is going on here. You're not the first person who didn't know how they got here."
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/13/2007 01:41:25  

"Do you have any idea whatsoever what might be happening?" Penthesilea asked, her tone as close to begging as her arrogant nature would allow. "Or know anyone else who might?"
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/13/2007 13:40:10  

"I haven't been here long; I don't know this place well. If fact I have yet to venture out of Ozland at all. Hell, I doubt I know much more than you. I can tell you one thing, but I don't know if it'd help at all. We left Wonderland because it was fading away. Just disappearing, and we needed somewhere else to go. I don't know why. The Queen might, but I wouldn't suggest talking to her about it. She's very fond of beheading anyone who irritates her."

He eyed her again and then added, "Listen, Foreigner, I doubt you'll get many answers here. Here in Ozland, you'll likely wind up with more questions than you started with."
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/13/2007 14:03:31  

Penthesilea nodded, "And the last thing I need is more questions." She sighed and considered for a moment before asking, "Where else can I go?"
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/13/2007 15:22:24  

Knave shrugged. "I don't know the rest of this place. Like I said, I haven't been outside of Ozland. You have already been North, so why not try South, or East? Or even further north past the woods? I only know there is nothing further west than Ozland, just the great sea we came across." He idly wondered if someone had cried those water when they were over a mile high.
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/14/2007 13:37:18  

This was not particularly helpful. And Penthesilea almost said as much but then she realized that Knave had already been a very big help, indeed. "Thank you." She said finally, although she did not actually sound all that grateful.
From: [info]stolethetarts Date: 07/14/2007 13:59:45  

It was probably a good thing she hadn't said that aloud. Knave had actually been as helpful as he could considering he knew little to nothing about the place. He'd barely been there long enough to know the ins and outs of Ozland itself, much less its neighboring countries. Knave shrugged. "You're welcome." He didn't sound particularly thrilled either. "Anything else, Foreigner, or do you think you can take it from here? I need to get back on duty."
From: [info]nottobemourned Date: 07/14/2007 20:16:27  

"No," Penthesilea replied imperiously. "I think that will be all." She then turned her back on Knave with a bit of a pompous flourish and began walking away, wondering where she would go next.
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