❀ 01

[toyboat]

Who: Jenny Scott and y o u
What: New arrivals~
When: This evening!
Where: In the lobby
Rating: G for "little girl"

[In the lobby tonight, there is a small girl who looks like she belongs in a castle this grand. Her blue dress matches the decoration style better than most residents' clothing, her long skirts and stay intricate and befitting a higher class daughter.

This girl, however, looks extremely confused, cautiously wandering through the grand entrance and seeming for all the world like she has no idea what's going on.

Because she doesn't.

Last she recalls, she was on a ship, heading home, and this place is like nowhere on The Jackdaw at all, not that she's seen.

She takes a cursory pass around the lobby, then takes a seat on a sofa and clutches her doll to her chest.]

It'll be all right, Dolly. Father is with us now, this must just be part of the adventure.

Comments

[toyboat]

[Jenny is really quite the brave little girl, and doesn't believe in the stories she's heard of boogeymen and monsters under the bed. But suddenly everything seems a bit darker and scarier, and Jenny holds her doll tighter, looking around and kicking her feet, as her legs aren't long enough to reach the ground.

She decides to murmur a song to herself, for entertainment.]

The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown... The lion beat the unicorn all around the town...

[fearbringer]

[A nonbeliever? Pitch takes that as a challenge.]

Hello, little one. Can you hear me?

Can you feel me?

[A tendril of shadow reaches out and taps her lightly on the shoulder.]

[toyboat]

[She can't hear it, but a chill passes through her when he touches her, and she shivers, her voice growing louder to steel herself.]

Some gave them white bread and some gave them brown, some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town...

[fearbringer]

[He takes out his journal-- an action that probably looks pretty weird to her, considering the journal is visible and he isn't-- and scrawls something across a page for her to see.]

Do you believe in the Boogeyman?

[toyboat]

[All Jenny can see is a floating book, and while it does elicit a shriek, it's not really related to any boogeyman. In fact, it takes her a while to even notice the words, as she's pretty busy scrambling into a corner of the sofa.

Once she does see the actual question, which is only after she's determined that the floating book is not malevolent, she squints to read it aloud.]

"Do you believe in the Boogeyman..." No, I don't think so.

[fearbringer]

[The writing continues.]

You should.

He's standing right in front of you.

[toyboat]

There's no one in front of me, and I don't like you, magic book!

[But a small girl alone in a strange place is prone to being on edge, and Jenny leaves the sofa to try and escape the book by going to the other side of the room.]

[fearbringer]

[Pitch frowns. This is irritating. It's his goal to make everyone in the castle a believer, and children are supposed to be the easiest converts. This one really is a stubborn thing.]

You really should learn to keep your mind more open. You're making my job difficult.

[After he finishes writing, he sets the open journal down on the floor and slides it towards her.]

[toyboat]

Leave me alone!

[She huddles in the corner of the lobby, kicking the book away as she clings to her doll.]

[fearbringer]

[Ohhh, that fear is great. But he doesn't feel like settling for fear alone right now-- he wants her belief.

He goes over to retrieve the book, picking it up to write in it again.]

Believe in me, and I will. I'm sure you've heard stories. Maybe you believed at one point.

[toyboat]

I won't read you, book, I won't I won't I won't!

[She's covering her eyes. Maybe it's a nightmare. Maybe she's aboard The Jackdaw and dreaming of magic books that chase her and ask her scary questions.]

[fearbringer]

[Tsk tsk, little girl.

On the one hand, the fear coming from her is awesome. Even if this encounter was ultimately a failure, he at least got that out of it. He'll have to try again some other time. Even though he knows she can't hear him, he speaks out loud:]

We'll meet again; you can be sure of that.

[And then he picks up the journal, and heads towards the lobby exit.]