[INTRO] Flowers, Flowers Everywhere

[matizrojo]

WHO: Isabela Madrigal and YOU
WHERE: her labyrinth or the city
WHEN: Feb. 12th
WHAT: Another Labyrinth has spit out another Madrigal. As they do.
WARNINGS: None

labyrinth

[Everything about this labyrinth felt so familiar to Isabela. So well put together, so pretty, so perfect, so-- STIFLING. But in trying to navigate it, she learned that she couldn't change it. The thriving power she'd only just awakened to was gone-- reverted back to the most basic, the most boring version of itself.

A nightmare. This was a nightmare. But she wasn't waking up. So the only thing left to do was to get the heck out of here as quickly as she possibly could.

...right after taking out her frustration on a series of colorful, perfectly arranged arrangements.]

Hrrrrghhh--!

[With an aggravated cry, there are suddenly a lot of pretty flower petals of different colors flying everywhere. It's hard to say how much destruction it will take to make her feel better-- fortunately in this perfect world there are no thorns. Watch out for the occasional flying branch though.]

city

[As soon as she makes it out, Isabella collapses on the nearest bench utterly exhausted, letting her eyes fall shut. That took a lot more out of her than she expected-- and not just physically. She may have broken open the ceiling but there's still a lot of unresolved feelings about it all. It's nice to just rest for a moment a let it all go.]

Finally.

[She's still covered in an explosion of colors; her dress a wild and creative mess of her own making. But she has a lot of rose and orchid petals stuck to her too from the labyrinth. Honestly she kind of looks like she got into a fight with a flower cart and lost.]

What is going on...?

[It never stops. Just when they thought things were going to be better... But opening her eyes and squinting at the city before her, it's more than just "what".]

Where... am I?

Comments

City

[whiteshroud]

[So after chance encounters with Bruno, Mirabel, and Dolores -- Jun sure is noticing a trend. And so when Isabela happens to plop down on the bench next to him while he himself was unwinding after a busy day at work before heading home, he can't help but feel a sense of tired deja vu. Here we go again]

This is Kaisou. [But also why does this girl look like she got in a fight with a flower shop?] Are you alright?

[matizrojo]

Kaisou... [It feels strange to say-- different from anything she'd know. But then again... looking at it, that probably makes the most sense.] Right...

[It finally sinks in-- the way she looks... probably even the way she sounds right now. She sticks out like a sore thumb. Some part of her internally flinches and forces herself to sit up a bit straighter; pulling herself together and putting on a small smile.]

Oh-- don't worry about me. I'm completely fine. [And she's good at saying it at least, whether it's true or not.]

I just got here, so I'm still getting used to everything. Do you live here?

[whiteshroud]

[Uh well...that's a change in her demeanor. It'd be completely believable if her looks didn't say otherwise. He raises his eyebrow a little]

Haha...I'd hate to see the other guy then. [He makes a joke about it, but he'll move on. They just met, so it's not his business to pry]

I had a feeling, we've had a number of people appear here. But yeah, I've lived here for a few years now.

[matizrojo]

[The other--? Oh. Isabela laughs sheepishly as she plucks the extra flower petals from her hair and clothes.]

...oh this? I was just working on some flower arrangements! [...] I might have overdone it a bit.

[And it's not entirely incorrect either. But she's somewhat relieved to hear that it's not the first time this sort of weird thing has happened. But he doesn't give off the impression that it's some kind of expected thing either, so it's not as much of a relief as she would have liked.]

I'm guessing this isn't... normal then. I mean-- people just... going from one country to another through a strange magic hole.

[whiteshroud]

Ah, I get it. [He scratches his jaw] My dad works at a florist, and he's always coming home with petals on him.

[Maybe this girl is a bit on the clumsy side like his dad? Or flower arrangement is just that intense...who knows.]

It's not, no. Traveling to another country usually takes a lot longer, and it's usually on purpose than accident.

City

[nonmagical]

[Mirabel still recovering from Luisa’s labyrinth when she sees that unmistakable dress… and her sister attached to it.

She does a double take-]

Isa?

[matizrojo]

[Isabela sits upright rather quickly; causing several flower petals to fall off her. And sure enough, right in front of her--]

...Mirabel?

[nonmagical]

Isa!

[It is her! She pounces her for a hug. Or more like leans down and aggressively hugs her - no getting out of it with a song this time!]

When did you - where did you - are you okay?

[matizrojo]

[Before she can get up, Mirabel is there and-- no, she's happy to be able to hug her sister; reaching up to hug her tight. She's glad she's here and safe, no matter what strange thing is happening now.]

I fell and then... I don't know how long it took me to get here but-- I'm okay now. I'm here.

[nonmagical]

[It's comforting, and while she's not glad that her sister is here instead of safe and at home, she's glad to see her.]

Did you get stuck in some kind of maze too?

Labyrinth

[crushtheskulls]

[One of the branches smacks Horse in the face, but she shakes it off. There's a gray horse standing behind her, watching Isabela's trail of destruction.]

Yeah, you show 'em!

[matizrojo]

[Isabela stops rather abruptly for a few reasons. First of all, she didn't realize anyone was here or that they could see her little uh. Show.

Second-- that's a horse.]

...did you...?

[Looks around... no. No there isn't anyone here except the horse that she can see. Okay. Yeah.]

Was... was that you? Just now...?

[crushtheskulls]

[That is a horse. Just. Standing there.]

Yeah, that was me. Yes - the talking part is weird.

Really enjoyed your moment of carnage, but... what have you got against flowers?

[matizrojo]

No... no. The talking part is not weird.

[But only because she's a Madrigal. However, that just makes things even more confusing. Her powers diminished but-- she could also use Antonio's powers now?

What... is going on here?]

It's the fact that I can understand you right now.

And... I don't. I like flowers. Different flowers. This is just... wrong.

labyrinth

[escuchando]

[It's pretty in here. It reminds her of her cousin, and she would be lying if she didn't wonder whether or not Kaisou had pulled in yet more of her family. Just how and why it was focusing so much on the Madrigals is still a mystery to her, but it's that curiosity that drives her to poke through the picture-perfect labyrinth before she hears frustrated yelling.

Ah, but doesn't she recognise that sound?]

Isabela...?

[Her head cocks instinctively towards the sound, though her hearing is still fading in and out in so far as it being anything more than normal goes. Another yell confirms it and she lifts up her skirt to hurry, finding the other woman in the middle of whacking the living hell out of a floral arrangemeent.]

Isabela? Isa! [Dolores reaches out for her cousin's shoulder, curling her fingers over it and gripping gently but firmly.] Isa, stop.

[matizrojo]

[This place felt like it was directed specifically at her and that caused her to jump to the conclusion that she was alone here. If she'd known that others could come here, she never would have let herself get so worked up over a few silly arrangements. But thanks to her little fit-- she doesn't hear her cousin approaching until she's right there; hand firmly gripping her shoulder and telling her to stop.

Isabela's blood runs cold. She stops; half-torn flowers dropping from her hands. If it were anyone else, she would be mortified. But this is Dolores, the person who knows better than anyone how long she's been bottling up her true feelings.

Sure there was some part of her that knew she was just accepting the inevitable. There was no hiding anything from Dolores. But another part of her was happy. Because she didn't want to hide it. She wanted a place for her feelings to go. Someone she could confide in.]

...I don't... I don't want to go back to being this.

[escuchando]

[She had spent a long time pretending not to notice the way that Isabela's private self could be so different to what she presented to others, but there had come a point where she could no longer ignore the suffering of her cousin. Even if Dolores could never say anything about it, at least Isabela would not have to bear the weight of the family's expectations of her alone.

When Isabela turns to her she gives a small, hopefully reassuring smile. She hadn't meant to sneak up on her cousin like that, but clearly Isabela had had her mind on other things...]

It's okay, Isa. You don't have to.

[She squeezes the other woman's shoulder then lets her arm drop, slipping her hand into Isabela's instead.]

It's going to be okay. Let's get out of here, mm?

City

[wedonttalkabout]

[At this point, Bruno really should be used to his family members just randomly showing up in this city. He's not sure what's causing this to happen, and he'd honestly rather they be home and safe than here where everything is so uncertain. But Bruno doesn't get what he wants - so he nearly wanders directly into his sobrina, only stopping his quick head-down-walk through the city, avoiding as much eye contact with everyone as possible.

It's the excess of flowers that gives it away, honestly.]

...Isabela?

[matizrojo]

[Even at a glance, it doesn't take long for Isabela to put two and two together. There really isn't anyone else quite like tío Bruno. It's nice to see him out. Somewhere. Anywhere. But it's pretty clear he still has a lot of work ahead of him.

She sits up; a few flower petals falling off of her in the process.]

...you stick out like a sore thumb. You do realize that-- right?

[wedonttalkabout]

[He really does stand out like a sore thumb. He screams not used to social situations At All with every movement he makes. He laughs, awkward as ever, shuffling his feet. ]

Hah- I guess so. [Ah, but this is important! More family.] Are you okay? When did you arrive?

[matizrojo]

[Those screams come across loud and clear. But there's certainly a lot that's endearing about how hard he tries. Too hard. Way too hard. But it reminds Isabela a lot of Mirabel.]

Just a little bit ago. Don't worry-- you didn't miss anything.

[She pats the open spot on the bench next to her. Sit.]

City

[cardinalrule]

[It's really, really hard to miss all that colour. And while Hunter has only been here a short while, he's picked up enough that this really isn't the season for flowers, so what's with all the flower petals? That's weird, she looks weird, and that's enough to make Hunter pause.

That is also enough to make a little red cardinal with a scarred eye who had been tucked safely into his scarf to decide to flutter out and over to her. Rascal lands on the bench next to her, reaching over to pick up a little red flower petal in his beak.

Which, of course, means that Hunter can't just keep walking. With a grumble under his breath he walks over, shooting the bird an annoyed look before his eyes move to her.]

You look like you got in a fight with a flesh-eating plant and won.

[Ugh fine, since he's here he might as well see what's up with the petals.]

[matizrojo]

I wish.

[...wait that's-- that's weird, isn't it? Isabela sits up a bit straighter. Maybe her family knows she's not the delicate, calm and graceful girl she's always tried so hard to be but just because they seem willing to accept that doesn't mean the whole world will. And the last thing she wants to do is draw negative attention to her family.]

...What I mean is-- I can't claim to have done anything that amazing. [Nailed it.] I got lost in a place with nothing but flowers. Nothing poisonous or carnivorous just... ordinary everyday flowers.

[And yet the more she talks, the more she can't help but make it sound like that's a bad thing. That labyrinth really was something quite awful.]

[cardinalrule]

[Yeah, that's a bit suspicious, even that Hunter is raising an eyebrow. Even back home the only witches eager to encounter man-eating plants would be the ones specializing in plant magic. That tone isn't lost on him, either.]

But you're human, right? Aren't ordinary everyday flowers normal for you?

[So why does that sound like a bad thing. He's pretty sure if a human was to run into one of the more aggressive plants on the Boiling Isles they'd be lunch, so why are ordinary flowers are bad?]

[matizrojo]

Human, yes. Ordinary... well.

[No one has ever really used the word "ordinary" for well... anything about her. Even among her family, she was always treated as something special. But she actually doesn't mind the sound of it. "Special" always comes with so many expectations.]

Ordinary everyday flowers are what I do.

[Isabella stands and takes several slow steps; focusing in on what's left of her Gift. And behind her, where her footsteps had been-- small yet perfect orchids bloom.]