Yasashii nihon no joochan yo...

[therealrisette]

Who: Rise Kujikawa and OPEN
What: A possibly familiar little girl, barely old enough for grade school, is wandering around the castle unsupervised. What do?
When: Today!
Where: The castle grounds, lobby, Four Seasons beach, Music Room - any of Rise's favorite places!
Rating: PG-ish?

[Well, it's been a few days now. Rise hoped she'd only be this small for her birthday and the castle would give up on its latest little prank. But after a day or two of going back and forth between sticking close to a convenient friend (new or otherwise) or sulking alone somewhere, it's getting really boring not going out when she wants just because she's not as big as she should be. She's even been a fairy before, and that never stopped her!

... Though, at least she could fly then. Having to run around everywhere makes the castle somehow seem even bigger now, against all logic. And no matter where she goes, everything looks different.

Before she knows it, a quick trip outside of her own room has become a full-blown exploration of the entire castle. From the hallways, to the grounds, to some of her favorite rooms to visit. She's not exactly alone, but not everyone notices such a small child running around.

... Of course, someone probably will sooner or later.]

Comments

Four Seasons Beach

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie was training at the beach earlier, running on the sand and swimming. She uses the beach to train because she could just relax afterwards, which is what she's doing now. Sitting by herself on a beach chair, Chie is enjoying a melon soda on a tall glass while listening to some music on her headphones]

[therealrisette]

[Suddenly, a tiny Rise in a disturbingly frilly little pink one-piece swimsuit dashes past her!

Or, she would have dashed past, if she hadn't noticed Chie and come to an abrupt stop. Of all the people she knew, this is one she hadn't expected...]

Chie-chan?!

[With a sheepish little smile, she gives a bit of a nervous laugh. At least Chie already knew about her loss...]

Great day for a beach trip, huh?

[pint_sized_carnivore]

Rise-chan, hey!

Yup! It's a great day to exercise. I'm just relaxing right now. Want to join me? I got some melon soda, it's the same one that I always get at Junes!

[therealrisette]

[Rise's not sure what to think of the emphasis Chie put on calling her "Rise-chan". Maybe she just imagined it? That's what people always call her anyway...]

Uh, sure!

[Smiling, she runs over towards Chie's beach chair. Exercise - at least Chie's kind - isn't really her thing, but relaxing on the beach with a friend sounds fun! Even if she's less than half Chie's size right now...

She even wishes up her own melon soda! ... Which the castle gives to her in a sippy cup with a cartoon fox on it. She does not look pleased.]

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie noticed Rise's expression when she got the sippy cup. She couldn't help but crack a smile]

What's the matter? It's a cute cup.

Music Room

[luxe_can_kill]

[Mitsuru was just at the music room again to get reacquainted with her piano skills. She's playing something slow and relaxing, something perfect for waiting at the lounge or dining at a five-star restaurant. She seems to be playing something from memory too. There's a picture of her and Mariko on the piano, just right above the keys]

[therealrisette]

[Wandering closer to the music room, Rise is a bit surprised to hear piano music. Usually she's the only one there...

A bit cautiously, she peeks inside. Surprisingly, it's someone she knows...]

Kirijo-san?

[No longer peeking around the corner, Rise steps into full view. Naturally, wearing one of the ridiculously adorable outfits the castle provided for her current size.]

[luxe_can_kill]

...? Pardon? [She leans back and squints her eyes a little to see who the girl is, it's not someone she recognizes. But with the hair color and the honorific... it could be one of the girls from Inaba]

Kujikawa? Is that you?

[therealrisette]

Oh. Yeah...

[She's trying not to think too hard about it, and quickly changes the subject.]

What was that you were playing?

Music Room

[bravelittlegirl]

[Ib doesn't play any instruments, but she thought it might be interesting to come down here and look around, when nobody's watching. She's crouching to pluck idly at the strings of an out-of-tune acoustic guitar, one of several still sitting in the rack. Her back is turned to the door whenever bitty!Rise arrives.]

[therealrisette]

[Rise's surprised to see a familiar girl plucking away at the guitar when she wanders into the music room.]

Ib-chan?

[Ib may or may not recognize her... she's a lot smaller than when they last met, her voice is much higher and lighter, and she looks maybe five years old on a good day. Possibly even younger right now, given the cutesy yellow-orange jumper she's wearing. She doesn't even have her hair in her trademark twintails, opting instead to wear it down in a futile attempt to look a bit older.]

[bravelittlegirl]

[Yeeeeah Ib looks over her shoulder when she hears her name, but doesn't recognize the girl there at all. She's never known somebody to get younger suddenly, so the possibility doesn't even enter her mind, besides which the twintails were a pretty distinguishing feature. But she does still like meeting kids closer to her own age, so she regards Rise with polite curiosity.]

Yes? That's me.

[therealrisette]

[Oh, she doesn't even recognize her... well, that kinda makes sense. She hasn't known Ib for very long, or anything.

She's not sure what she should do, though. Should she introduce herself again?

Her uncertainty coloring her actions a bit, she tentatively steps forward. (And realizes even Ib is noticeably bigger than her now... that's strange!)]

I didn't know you played guitar!

[Yep, Rise settled on just being friendly and ignoring the hint that Ib has no idea who she is. Mostly buying time to figure out how she's supposed to act...]

[princelyspirit]

[And here's Utena, killing time by going from room to room in the castle. Before she can get far, though, she sees a young girl that she hasn't noticed before. Now, the castle isn't always dangerous, but it's still pretty scary being dragged away from home, no matter how old you are. So, Utena walks over, just to make sure everything's alright]

Hey there! [smiles at the kid] Are you looking for something?

[therealrisette]

Oh~! Hey...

[The other girl startled her for a second! But she recovers quickly, smiling and looking up...

... and up and up. It's still kind of awkward being this small - she's barely up to the girl's thigh! But she seems friendly, and like she's trying to be helpful! She probably thinks she's new, or something...]

Oh, no, not really! I was just kinda bored staying in my room...

[princelyspirit]

Yeah, I know how that is. But, luckily for us, Paradisa's far from boring. It's just a bit...temperamental, sometimes.

[Scratches her head, trying to think of where to take this. The kid seems like she's doing alright, but it doesn't feel right just leaving her by herself. Suddenly, idea!]

Hey! I'm feeling kind of antsy myself, and I've been meaning to check out that beach room for a while now. Would you like to come with me? I figure that having some company would be less boring than going alone.

[therealrisette]

[Yep, she sure knows what this girl means about the castle... "temperamental" is probably one of the lighter ways to put it. There might be a slight grimace visible for like, a nanosecond. Before the mention of the beach perks Rise back up.]

Oh yeah! I was thinking of going there, too!

[She'd even worn her swimsuit under her jumper, just in case! And it would be nice to have some company! Rise smiles and gives an excited nod.]

Sure! I'd love to!

You know where it is, right?

[For all she knows, this girl is brand new to the castle, so it doesn't hurt to check! ... But she does seem to be used to things around here, so maybe not?]

[heloise]

[ Occasionally, she stops by her brother's old room to see that it is still well and empty. Today proved different, with a new name replacing the once blank plate. Levi. He doesn't deserve the honor, no one does. So it is with the sourest mood that she makes her way down the tower and toward the entrance, only to find a familiar-looking girl running about.

The name comes to her slowly. ]

Shiori?

[therealrisette]

[It's not her name, but it gets Rise's attention just the same.]

Huh?

[Finding the source of the vaguely familiar voice, she looks up at Lucrezia curiously. She doesn't have time to be mildly disconcerted at the sudden size difference (at least, it feels sudden seeing her again for the first time). Instead, she turns and looks around the hall. Did she see Shiori somewhere?! But... she's supposed to be back in her own world with... the other Rise, right?]

[heloise]

[ It's only when she comes closer that she notices something a little different about the girl. The mother's name comes a little later. ]

Is it you, Rise?

[therealrisette]

[Oh, right! She'd look really different now from the last time they saw each other.

She looks back up at Lucrezia and nods.]

Yeah, it's me...

[Now she's a bit confused. Did she mistake her for Shiori? She probably isn't that much bigger than her daughter was... as weird as that is to think about. And they'd only met the one time on the beach.

She gives a curious tilt of her head.]

Is something wrong, Lucrezia-san?

[eat_me_beat_me]

[Nora had been walking to the kitchen to stretch her almost healed leg and get something to eat when she spots the red mane of hair running by her. She pauses for a moment as she suddenly feels like that girl is somehow familiar]

[therealrisette]

[On her own way out of the kitchen, Rise happened past a familiar figure. Well... a familiar pair of legs, at least. No one in the castle dresses quite like her.

Not really thinking about the loss, she instinctively turns a curious glance on the now much bigger girl.]

Nora-chan?

[Wow, she looks different from way down at her new point of view! But then, everyone does...]

[eat_me_beat_me]

[Nora turns and blinks at the girl, confused as hell. Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!]

Rise?! What the hell happened to you?

[therealrisette]

[Believe it or not, this is the first time she's gotten this reaction from someone she knows. It's actually kind of refreshing.

She shrugs and lets out a long sigh.]

What else? Castle being stupid again...

[Rise did you ever wonder if maybe the castle might not mess with you so much if you'd stop calling it stupid?]

I guess at least I can still open doors and things this time?

[She gives Nora a bit of a sheepish smile. Come to think of it, she's never been smaller than Nora... they were both fairies together back when they met...]