[Miss Maisie's Lanterns] What Dreams Do Gypsies Dream?

[Nessani Kemenlo]

The gypsy girl sat a moment in silence once Miss Maisie had left the room. Doorways appearing and people disappearing were certainly strange occurances, even for an Air'riela. Perhaps she shouldn't have come to this place after all, but then, hadn't Miss Maisie called it fate? Curiosity was a trait that had gotten Nessani into more than a little trouble and the gypsy girl decided that a moment more of it couldn't hurt. After all, she was here already and nothing bad had happened to her... yet.

Standing, she looked for the door that Miss Maisie had used, or at least the Mousai who had been here a moment ago. She crossed the space and started heading the direction that she had originally come from. She thought. Maybe it was the other way. Oh Amria. She wasn't sure which way it was now.

She stepped hesitantly into a goodly sized room walled on three sides with shelves. Books in languages that Nessani didn't recognize lined the shelves in places, which really wasn't saying much. Air'riela didn't have much use for the written word, so it could have been lettered in some of the more verbose but less common, Common words and Ness probably wouldn't have been able to sound them out.

Between the books were novelties which drew the gypsy to them like a bee to nectar. She moved to the closest one, taking it innocently in her hands. Thief she might be, but what she saw so far were simply curiosities, nothing that she would deem valuable. The item in her hand appeared to be nothing more than a tube of woven reeds with dragons heads on either end. Holding it to her eye, she peered through the holes in the open maws but saw nothing. Curious as a kitta, she slid her fingers into the openings at the ends, only to find them stuck between the teeth of the dragons. The harder she pulled, the tighter the contraption held onto her. Panic nearly flooded her until she took control of her emotions. There had to be a way out of the infernal thing. And just as she was about to try biting it, her grip relaxed and as if of its own accord, the trap released her.

The thief quickly set it back on the shelf and took a step along the wall. A globe sat on top of a book, the glass dome enclosing a scene that resembled a white island city. Turning the globe set tiny sea birds in motion, floating through the liquid inside as if flying through the sky over the island.

Higher on a shelf sat what appeared to be a telescope of beaten brass. Nessani had seen her father use something similar to see long distances, although the glass pieces of his were held together by a tube of hard leather, rather than the metal of this one. Trailing her fingers on it gently, her thoughts on sentiments of her father, Ness picked it up and stared into its depth. Rather than seeing across the room as if she were there, the gypsy saw shards of color, prisming in beautiful patterns. It was beautiful to look through and the thief was tempted to pocket it then and there, but something unsettling about Miss Maisie made her return it to its place on the shelf.

She turned instead to something unlike the others. Another globe, certainly, but inside of this one lightening crackled and raced. The air about it was charged with electricity. The gypsy tentatively reached out and the lightening followed her hand, but did not harm her. The electricity ran along her hand, though, and she could feel each of her hairs standing on end. She jerked back her hand and moved along.

The third wall held a contraption that Nessani was less familiar with. It had two openings that appeared to be made to look through and a handle on the bottom. On one end was a clamp that currently held a sheet of paper with an artist's rendering on it. Other sheets sat beside the device on the shelf. Grasping the handle, Nessani held it up to her eyes, turning toward one of the lanterns that hung from the fourth, bare wall. The artist's drawing seemed perfect and as it was illuminated by the light from the wall, Nessani could imagine she saw the painted grass waving in the wind and the clouds creeping lazily along. She removed the painting and placed another, looking again at the image, lighted from behind.

Afraid she would break it, she finally set it down again and moved to inspect the suit of armor standing in the center of the room. It appeared to be of elven design, though Nessani was hardly an expert in the matter. The green armor was swirled with embossed ivy in a darker shade of green. The helmet on the body had a plume of yellow and purple. In the arm of the hollow man was a weapon that seemed related to a crossbow, but with a flourishing and curling in odd places.

Curious, Nessani touched it, setting off a chain of events that even she couldn't have predicted. The released bolt flew across the room, ricocheting off of the kaleidoscope, then the globe of lightening and finally piercing the glass ball with the island scene inside, sending a flood of tiny white seagulls spilling onto the floor. Her hands withdrew from the armor, tucking themselves innocently into the folds of her skirts as Nessani beat a retreat back out of the door.

The gypsy was half running as she entered the corridor that soon opened up into a courtyard dotted with animal shaped hedges and marble statues of creatures only heard about in fairytales. A fountain trickled gently in the center of the arrangement and as Nessani approached, she saw fish in gold and orange swimming within the water.


OOC: I hope I didnt go too far. Like I said, I've had a LOT of time to think on it.

[Gossamer]

Nessani was right in her initial assessment of the courtyard being something fantastical. Not many in Arkamat ventured into Miss Maisie's little central haven. For one thing, the jewel flowers there grew to abundance, even in years where no rain fell. A long time ago, at the outrage and accusation of a rather nasty neighboring shopkeeper over what he claimed was her gluttonous water usage, she acted swiftly. To squelch any such notion, Miss Maisie had once gifted one of the said colorful living gems to the accusatory neighbor... happily transplanting it to a pot and marching it across the Bazaar to rest it upon his counter. It seemed to like his fabric shop, because it greeted the customers quite happily day in and day out. As the story went, it rearranged his window displays when he wasn't looking, and planted the seed of doubt in his wife's mind about her husband's suitability due to his infrequent bathing. That had been just the beginning. The complaining shopkeep had staunchly refused to provide water for the flower, but it hadn't minded. Inside of two weeks, the man was haggard. Inside of a month, he was crazy and his wife had been awarded a divorce (almost unheard of) by the Sultan and full possession of the shop. After that the business had thrived. It was said the fabric shop still had its little potted jewel flower.

It was these same little jewel flowers that now scurried on their bare roots across cobbles where they were wandering to get out of Nessani's way. They shrieked and cursed as they did so, catcalling her and making morbid accusations about her being a 'flower killer' as they ran. One little plant stayed behind, weaving its leaves about and bobbing its jewel flower head as it seemed to study her.

"You aren't supposed to be here!" It said in a tiny voice.

[Nessani Kemenlo]

How she could have overlooked such lovely flowers was just another mystery that added to the air of Miss Maisie's establishment, but once they swarmed around her, Ness' eyes sparkled like sapphires to match the jewels that glittered before her. Her feet rose to the tips of her toes to avoid harming them any further.

Long, thieving fingers twitched, wanting to pluck the tiny jewels from around the flower faces, but Nessani held herself in check. They might look spendable, but things around here were not as they seemed - Mousai appearing with dishes and disappearing again, only to be replaced by doors out of the blue, and then emptiness - she couldn't be sure that plucking their petals wouldn't transform them into a chimera, ready to eat her. And what would Miss Maisie say? Her hostess was at least deserving of a little respect. She had, after all, provided refreshment and that had to be honored, strange occurances or not.

Instead, the Air'riela knelt down, resting on her ankles and balancing on the balls of her feet. She inspected the flower even as it inspected her in kind. It seemed a curious creature, if that was what it was. Perhaps bespelled? She wasn't sure what all was possible with arcana, but thought this probably counted.

"On the contrary," she replied politely, wondering if the flower could say anything else or if the warning was all it was programmed for, "Miss Maisie gave me permission to look around in her absence. My name is Nessa. A pleasure to meet you."

She extended a finger of one hand, feeling silly for introducing herself to the vegetation, but not sure what else to do, given the situation. It wasn't every day that one was chastised by a flower.

[Gossamer]

The flower bowed slightly, its brilliant blue petals looked a little like a petunia, though each petal was delicately hung by a gemlike dangle that could have been a crystal, a diamond, or even a single drop of dew. When her finger was extended, the flower scurried forward on its roots and hopped up on Nessa's finger like a tiny bird perching itself neatly there. "I'm Azuri." The flower said softly, its voice neither male nor female sounding, but rather simply somewhere in between.

"And please, if you have to step on anything, step on the weeds. They do get out of hand." It claimed, and darted busily back and forth on Nessai's finger as if testing the bounds of the perch and indeed playing look out for any dreaded weeds over the courtyard garden. "Have you come seeking the Garden Lantern? Miss Maisie hasn't let anyone into her courtyard for a long time. Its unusual that she does. But her lantern hasn't ever been seen. Thats the trick you know... finding something unseen. It's said whomever can see it, pick it up, and light it can light the way to a great treasure." The flower laughed then, and its brethern in the garden echoed its mirth. Questions rang out... "Is she really seeking the Lantern...?" or... "Azuri what did she say?"... whispers filled the air, speculation mostly, though Nessa heard some of the theories. She was a begger girl, a lost princess, a thief come to rob them blind. All were wild speculations, and the whole collection of jewel flowers seemed overly excited at any of these prospects.

[Nessani Kemenlo]

"A pleasure to meet you Azuri," she said again, slightly surprised that the flower was now perched on her finger. She didn't know what she had expected, that it would reach out with a leaf and shake her hand like a gaje?

Her hand moved closer to her face, drawing the flower in so that Nessani could get a better look. Her other hand came up and one finger rubbed lightly at the flower's sepal. Animals seemed to like being scratched behind their ears, but lacking ears, Ness couldn't be entirely certain that the flower would feel the same pleasure.

She nodded solemnly in response to its request, inwardly amused by the flowers mannerisms. "I surely will. Only the weeds."

"You must be awfully thirsty, with as hot as this city gets. Would you like a drink from the fountain?" she asked politely, wondering if there were any other ways - other than the offer of water - to manipulate a little flower into liking someone enough to tell them more. She walked on the tips of her toes, careful only to step away from the flowers as she moved toward the fountain, sitting down on its rim.

The many theories offered brought a smile to her lips. A thief. A princess. A beggar. They all encompassed some part of her, she thought, as she watched them swarm around her ankles. They reminded her of children and she found herself tempted to tell them stories - of thieves and princesses and beggars - to entertain their curious natures.

"Why that's precisely why I'm here," Ness continued in a honeyed tone, turning to face the bud on her finger. It wasn't really, but the thief in her couldn't pass up a chance to see what treasures the lantern would alight. "Miss Maisie asked me to help her find her lantern," she lied. "But... how does one go about finding something unseen?"

[Gossamer]

The little jewel flower danced happily on her finger. Then when she brought it closer to study, it gave her a long look and leaped just like a little hopping bird would onto her shoulder. There it snuggled in, right next to her ear and tucked protectively into her hair. The blue petals caressed her neck playfully as it answered her. "You see the unseen by looking for it other ways of course! And no thank you. I drink no water. I'm a jewel flower. We drink water from the very air, which is why we can bloom in the desert heat. Don't you think thats clever? We do." A chorus of echos surrounded her feet as she noted the other jewel flowers surging back behind her, trailing her like rats following a pied piper out of a city. One thing was certain. Everyone was really excited to see someone new in the courtyard... at least all the little jewel flowers.

To be honest, it had a hugely fantastical quality to the whole thing... flowers following like children? A lantern that lights the way to a great treasure? Something unseen that the flowers knew about? Nessani took a moment to really look about the courtyard. It was a snug inner undulating shape, protected on all sides by walls. Miss Maisie's building wasn't square. It was made of a sort of adobe that was curved and elegant, with hugely pleasing lines. There were seats staged in small alcoves, one of which she spotted a small mouse sitting on a bench arm, having tea with another mouse and discussing... something quite important without really looking at her.

In another section, tall trees grew up casting shade. A opossums lounged on a thick visible branch, fast asleep. A chipmunk was tickling his nose with a long feather graciously donated by a magpie that was dancing back and forth on one leg and then another on a higher branch. The opossum's paws were filled with a frothy substance that looked a lot like ... whipped cream? Nessani could immediately see what was about to happen. And sure enough... a paw slapped its nose to scratch, got a face full of the cream, and promptly fell out of the tree to disappear below in the thick purple flowers that grew tall beneath the tree. The magpie almost followed, so hard was its laughter.

There were statues aplenty and stone meandering pathways that went from one end of the courtyard to the other, none straight, all curing in elegant lines. There was no lantern to be seen though... only the huge fountain dominating the center with rearing horses dancing upon the water.... the horses had no back legs, only long curved tails like fish.

It was a magical fantastical place.

[Nessani Kemenlo]

“Why, I think that’s absolutely brilliant!” Nessani quipped, clapping her hands in feigned delight at the little flower perched in her hair. Well, perhaps not completely feigned, she thought as she looked at the wonders around them. There was a definite merry vibe to this place and Nessani’s heart was feeling lighter by the moment until giggles finally bubbled up and out of her.

Eyes that were as blue as Azuri’s petals sparkled merrily as she considered the inhabitants of the garden. The mammals she could see seemed friendly enough, though none of them were as curious about the newcomer as the flowers seemed to be and Nessani found herself as drawn to the little gems as they were to her.

A lantern that you find by not looking for it, she thought as she sat on the edge of the fountain. The gypsy girl was clever when it came to getting out of trouble, but riddles and puzzles generally escaped her. When the answers were finally revealed, usually after long pauses of frustrated concentration, Ness was often left feeling quite the idiot for having overlooked the simple result. Something told her this would be no different.

Well, if she couldn’t see the lantern, perhaps it had a sound… or smell… She would hate to close her eyes and poke randomly around to feel for it - especially given the mischievous nature of the residents of the garden. They put even Nessani to shame for their quirky senses of humor. Perhaps she could wheedle another clue from the friendly flowers at her feet.

“Very clever indeed,” she said again, approval apparent in her tone. “Miss Maisie must be clever as well. When she wants her lantern, does she listen for it? Or perhaps smell?”

[Gossamer]

Whoops!This totally slipped off my radar when my subscription list crashed! You should have poked me, though it was very kind that you didn't! Sorry for reposting with a PC. I've been hugely behind and trying to catch up lately.

Azuri's little roots took it from one end of Nessani's shoulder to the other, pacing,as she thought over what Nessani was asking of her. "Miss Maisie is clever. She's created all of this, you know... and she keeps her secrets close to her. Thats why there are tricks everywhere. But the unseen isn't so hard to see. Just because your eyes can't see such things, doesn't mean other things can't. A gleam of light, a reflection, a glance out of the corner of your eye. Sometimes you can even see things that aren't there by seeing empty space. I like this spot here, near the fountain, especially when its not spouting like today. We only let it spout in the winter or wet season, because the ripples make it less like a looking glass." The little jewel flower said.

She thought about Nessani's question. "When she wants it, she just goes to it and takes it... then she lights it and uses it. But then again, she made it. Once you see the unseen, it is never hidden from you again." The flower insisted. It paced its way through her hair to her other shoulders and made a big show of laying a leaf across a petal and pretending to peer far and wide across the garden.