4th Tea Party: Sewing up the Ranks

[suicidoll]

(After all of that mess with pranks, Kreutzer felt very proud of herself and the fun she was able to have with it. Mayfield seemed proud of what she was able to accomplish as well since she found an envelope addressed to her when she returned home. Upon opening it, she found a picture of eight very familiar dolls; dolls she's no doubt made before...)

Action: The General Store

(Anyone doing some grocery shopping today may notice a group of flying dolls roaming about the store. No one seems to be watching over them and one of them is carrying a hand-written list of things that needed to be purchased. They're strong enough to carry the grocery baskets on their own, even the gallons of milk! Should you bump into them, you either see them going about what they're looking for...or arguing amongst themselves. And yes, they all have voices on their own, so you may think it's a group of people going around!)

Action: Jonathan's Tools

(Yup, the dolls are all here, too! Anyone dropping by can expect the same shenanigans as they caused in the supermarket...except there are a lot more sharp things here. Why is that one holding an exhaust pipe...? And another sporting garden shears?! Who knows what they might be up to!)

Action: Outside 2239 Stevens

(The garage door is wide open and anyone passing by will see Kreutzer working on...something. It appears to be mechanical, but since it's still far from complete, there's no way to tell what it is...unless you ask her. Will it be curiosity that makes you step up? Or are you there to complain about the noise? Or maybe there's something about all of the dolls that are flying around the house that makes you want to ask exactly what's going on? The choice is up to you!)

Phone: Filtered to Rarity

Good afternoon, Rarity. Are you free today?

Comments

[spitefulvitae]

[For starters, cute things should not be trusted.]

I'm already surprised.

[Oh, Goddess, it was so cute...]

I... am wondering what's going on in there. [She indicates the garage with a weak point of her finger.]

[suicidoll]

In the garage? Kreutzer's working on a biiiiig project. It's this big!

(She outstretches her little arms to emphasize her point.)

She's been working on it since last night.

[spitefulvitae]

Kreutzer. On a project. I see. What kind of project?

[It's always good to gather information. Knowledge is power.]

It looks like a very nice project...

[A little honey never hurt.]

[suicidoll]

It is! It's a secret project that she says might incorporate everyone in town!

Do you want to ask her about it?

[spitefulvitae]

....

[Why did that sound terrible? Why did it send a crawling feeling of dread up her spine? (Probably because she's a horrible person that assumes the worst of everyone...)]

Yes! I'd love to! Could I? Please?

[suicidoll]

(Plans that include everyone in a concentrated area tend to be at least slightly bad. It might not have helped that the doll said all of that with her innocent smile.)

Of course! Right this way!

(And she's now leading Natalie to the garage. The doll's little wings were excitedly flapping about as she lead the house guest over to Kreutzer, who was busily working away at this project.)

[spitefulvitae]

[Maybe it was the dissonance of the cuteness and the plan that was provoking fears and concerns. Maybe just a bit. But she made an effort to be smiling and neighborly and pleasant and nice as she followed the doll's lead.]

Aaah, so you're one of my neighbors... might I interrupt?

[...but for all her efforts to be polite and unassuming, she was still a sunken-eyed dead-looking thing that smelled heavily of bad rose perfume with an undercurrent of mildew.]

[suicidoll]

(Since the doll took the time to properly alert Kreutzer of the visitor, she was able to easily break away from her work for conversation. So Natalie may not have been the most appealing to the eyes or the nose, but Kreutzer didn't seem to mind; especially since she was smile-y and neighborly and pleasant and nice. Good behavior will get you far.)

Of course. How may I help you?

[spitefulvitae]

I haven't been in town very long, and... well, I've been rude, not introducing myself to the neighbors. I think I might have startled someone else in this house a night or two ago. Can I pass along my apologies?

[She was pleasant, almost overly so. As physically unpleasant as she was, she liked to think she wasn't too bad with words.]

Are you going to be working out here all night? I'm a night person, I don't mind... but you haven't had any complaints, have you?

[suicidoll]

(If there's one thing Kreutzer has mastered, it's that appearances aren't everything. She didn't seem to mind Natalie's appearance because of her friendly disposition.

If it was someone from this home, then it must've been my assigned "husband," Hajime. Don't worry about him; I also tend to have my fun with him and he's come out of it just fine.

(Nevermind the fact that those two try to kill each other on a daily basis...)

I plan on working through this night as well before I turn to sleep; it's not too healthy for me, but it's manageable if done sparingly. I've not too many complaints; moreso curious minds who wish to learn what I'm developing. I assume you're one of those minds?

[spitefulvitae]

Hajime... aah. He did look a bit like you'd think a Hajime would look like. Maybe I can bring over a cake? I've been baking a lot, lately. You two wouldn't mind cake, would you?

[It was easy, really, once the patter got going...]

Now that you mention it, I am a bit curious. It's nothing dangerous, right? After all, I'm just across the street.

[suicidoll]

Oh no, not at all; I'm rather fond of cake. I'm not sure about Hajime, but I certainly wouldn't turn one down.

It shouldn't be anything for you to worry about; what I'm working on will only affect volunteers who wish to take part...

(It's like she answered the question and then nullified her own answer...she's mysterious like that.)

[spitefulvitae]

I've known very few people that don't like a nicely-made cake. Red velvet, then? I've been meaning to make a red velvet cake...

[Why, this girl seemed to speak the same language of polite evasion that she did! Wonderful. Still all saccharine and smiles, Natalie continued on.]

Volunteers! Well, it's good to be getting volunteers, if you're doing anything that might be risky. Is this something to... try and get us all out of this town?

[chalicejoker]

[Hey, that noise in the garage isn't letting up and some people are trying to sleep. Hajime's opened the back door to yell at Kreutzer to keep it down, but he spots Natalie before he can complain.

Poker face. At least she seems more together than the last time he saw her.]

Oh. Hello again.

[suicidoll]

Oh, I would love red velvet. It's such a fine cake...

(Kreutzer has mastered polite evasion. Comes with the whole "I'm royalty" deal.)

I wish it were, but that's not something I'm capable of. Instead, I'm working on something that just might make life easier while also getting me acquainted with others in town.

(A more direct answer than before, but details are sparse. She'll just turn to Hajime as he makes his entrance.)

Hello, Hajime. Our neighbor was curious about my project, too.

[spitefulvitae]

[Oooh, there was the neighbor from before! She turned away from Kreutzer, still smiling pleasantly, and took a step towards him.]

Oh, Hajime! I'm sorry that I was so... under the weather, last time we saw each other. I thought I'd come over and apologize, but... well. Interesting work she's doing, isn't it?

[chalicejoker]

[He nods by way of greeting. He'd figured something was not right, at least. Doesn't mean he exactly trusts his neighbor.]

Glad to see you're doing better.

[And he glances towards Kreutzer and her work.]

Fascinating.

[There is so much sarcasm dripping from that remark. So much. It's clear he'd rather Kreutzer not be doing whatever it is she's doing.]

[suicidoll]

(Yeah, it's hard hiding that sarcasm from her anymore. It's at the point where you practically say no when you say yes.)

I don't recall fully telling him what I plan on doing, but he's not too appreciative of my work. Isn't that right, Hajime?

(Kinda hard to like things that have tried to kill you on several occasions.)

[spitefulvitae]

Well, you two will have to work that out for yourselves... [This was awkward. This was interesting. And somehow, she liked Hajime more. His poker face had a certain honesty to it.

Also, he wasn't the one building strange things in the garage.]

Oh, I never really introduced myself, did I? I'm sorry. I'm Natalie Waters. And according to your... doll, you're Kreutzer, yes? It's nice to properly meet the both of you.

[suicidoll]

(With how mysterious Kreutzer almost always finds herself being, she pretty much expects to creep people out. Though anyone who manages to stick around long enough can find out how interesting she can be...unless you're Hajime; he's an exception.)

I am. It's a pleasure, Natalie.

Don't worry about my dolls; they can be quite precious when they're not threatened.

[chalicejoker]

I'm sure you could find a better use of your time than this.

[Hey, he's actually a 10,000 year old monster of destruction so maybe she's picking up on that...it explains why he's so bad at emoting most of the time. Hasn't been human long at all.]

Nice to meet you, too.

[He gives Natalie another polite nod but snorts derisively when Kreutzer says not to worry about the dolls.]

And they'll explode quite nicely when they are. You might have seen our kitchen going up a couple of weeks ago.

[Yes, Kreutzer, he's still holding a grudge over that.]

[suicidoll]

(She just shrugs at that. Self defense; that's her story and she's sticking to it.)

And if you have such a keen distrust for my dolls, then what would you suggest I do instead? Give me an actual answer; don't say "nothing."

[spitefulvitae]

[Her eyebrows shoot upwards at the news that there were kitchen explosions.]

Really? I must not have been paying attention, the day that happened. But I'll keep that in mind.

[Yup. Hajime was definitely more trustworthy, here. Open. Honest. Forthright about exploding things.

She starts to edge her way back out.]

[chalicejoker]

[Hajime arches an eyebrow at Kreutzer.]

You could try making them without bombs, for starters. Maybe make them a bit less annoying.

[He jerks a thumb at the emotionless one he'd talked to earlier.]

That one wasn't as bad.

[He glances towards Natalie as she starts backing out the garage.]

Going so soon?

[suicidoll]

A lot happened that day; it would be understandable if your attention was held elsewhere.

(Kreutzer can easily mess with people's minds like that; it's one of the many reasons Kreutzer's the true villain in her canon...though Hajime's remark quickly catches her attention.)

Oh, so you have preferences towards Earl? I'll keep that in mind...

(But now she looks back at Natalie.)

Oh, I hope we haven't spooked you. This is simply how conversations work between us.

(Maybe not the best move on Kreutzer's part; tag-teaming Natalie like this might make her run faster...but why does she look like she said that on purpose?)