``Raindrops on Roses & Whiskers on Kittens!

[missginger]

{TAG - Moriarty and OPEN if you dare to join the insanity xD}

One of the strangest things that the Blind Witch had observed about this new world so far was that there didn't seem to be any actual Queen or King or - well, monarch of any kind in place. Instead, the government currently in place seemed perfectly content to allow their citizens to run amuck freely. She...wasn't quite sure how she felt about this, honestly. On one hand, the disorganization was rather irritating. On the other...a government that was so oblivious to what their people got up to half the time only made things that much easier for her.

This particular city seemed to be their capital, from what she could gather. After ever-so-sweetly conversing with a rather startled-sounding woman and her two delectably smelling children, The Blind Witch had gathered that this place was known as 'Washington D.C.'. Interesting, to say the least. Since the Evil Queen's curse had taken effect and brought her here, she'd been just sort of wandering from place to place, managing to snag a child every now and then when one stupidly wandered too far away from its parents' side - or when the parents themselves were just too stupid to be keeping a careful eye on their precious little bundles of joy. Staying in one place didn't seem to be an option just yet; this society paid far too much attention whenever a child went missing. So for the present, she needed to keep moving to avoid anyone figuring out just what she was doing. Perhaps once she grew more accustomed to this world, she could select a place where she could settle down more permanently, but for now...

...For now, she was passing through Washington D.C. Enjoying...well, not the sights, but the sounds and certainly the smells. She hadn't really intended to do much...exploring, however. At least not until two children who seemed to be venturing off alone caught her attention. In an odd sort of way, they reminded her of those two brats who'd pushed her into the oven - a sister and brother, both seemingly quite adventurous, and without their parents for whatever reason. In fact, their parents seemed to be the exact people they were attempting to hide from - giggling conspiratorially as they raced up the steps and into some sort of large establishment. The Blind Witch had dreamily drifted after them, and they had yet to spare her so much as a glance as she trailed a safe ways behind them, humming lightly to herself as she half-listened to their silly conversing.

"...Um, this isn't the museum with the dinosaurs..."

"No. It says 'National Gallery of Art'."

"Oh. Well that sounds boring."

"Exactly! Mom n' Dad'll never look for us in here..."

An art museum? That was where these two had taken her? The Blind Witch giggled softly to herself - there was something vaguely poetic about a blind woman in an art museum, after all. This would no doubt prove to be...an interesting little outing...

[moriarty]

Sherlock would just love this next heist Moriarty was funding! It was an average criminal doing an average crime; stealing a famous picture from an art museum. The simplicity of it would confuse Sherlock so much! Of course, he wasn't doing the robbing himself, no, it was just some criminal who wanted his funding to do this. It wasn't like the stealing was actually his plan at all. He would be surprised if Sherlock even got involved, actually. Moriarty began to think about the crime until he spotted something that was very strange. A blind woman in an art museum? Moriarty raised an eyebrow, but continue on...

Until he saw that the woman was practically drifting after two children. A serial killer that he didn't know about. That was practically impossible! Moriarty began to follow, placing the iPod he was using to signal the thief that it was time to steal the painting into his pocket. What did it matter if he didn't steal it anyway? Moriarty waited for a bit before speaking. "Are you going after your next prey..." Moriarty smiled stepping forward. "or your next meal?" It was a joke, of course. Her blindness and attire reminded him of that Fairy Tale Hansel and Gretel.

{Short! >__< They'll get longer D:}

[missginger]

Initially, the Blind Witch didn't pay the distinctive steady sound of footsteps behind her much mind. This did, after all, seem to be a public place - this man (for his tread was firm, and while not loud, his footsteps weren't as light as feminine ones) might very well be just another patron of the 'museum'. It didn't take her long to realize that he was following her, however. Intriguing. Did he suspect her of something? Most likely he'd noticed her tailing the children...but she didn't turn around, instead choosing to pause a moment as if to muse on one of the paintings on the wall - if she'd been able to see it, of course. Now it was only a matter of whether or not he'd decide to confront her - or perhaps after a few moments, he would lose interest.

Quite abruptly, his footsteps stopped somewhere close by. A moment later, his voice sounded. She'd expected it to be sharp, wary, maybe a bit accusatory. Instead, however, he didn't sound particularly...concerned, despite the question he'd just asked. His tone was fairly light - almost as if he were joking. ...Odd thing to joke about. And what had clued him in to her true intentions for the children she'd taken notice of? Was eating children a common practice in a world like this? She very much doubted it...but still, she was admittedly a little taken aback. Turning to face him, the Blind Witch tilted her chin upward slightly to steadily meet his gaze. It was an eerie talent she had, looking people straight in the eye when she couldn't even see them - but the sound of a person's voice usually gave a pretty accurate read on their location, especially at a close distance like this.

A warm smile graced her features, as if nothing in the world made her happier than a pleasant little chat with a stranger like this one. "My, that's....cynical...." the Witch commented softly after a moment, though she looked neither disturbed nor particularly offended by his accusation. "Have I done something to make you think I mean them any harm? They're wandering around alone, after all. Someone really should keep an eye on them," She paused a moment, her smile widening, and made a small, amused humming sound in the back of her throat. "If you'll pardon the pun!" Now...what might this man want? If he'd been intending to stop her, he'd chosen a rather...passive way of doing so. Somehow she doubted that this was what he'd been trying to do, though. It was enough to capture her interest, at least for the present moment.....

[moriarty]

With a bright smile, Moriarty sat down at a nearby bench and listened. Of course, he knew that she was the kid's prey because they'd mentioned abandoning their mother and father. But what fun would it be just letting this woman know that? Probably not fun at all. Not that she'd be much fun even if he did play with her a little bit but he figured he might as well enjoy himself if he was going to be here for a while.

Unfortunately, not everyone could be as fun to play with as Sherlock so he would have to make due with whatever crazies he could find in the world. Thankfully, there were quite a few crazies; himself included. "Oh, I dunno..." Moriarty said, sounding genuinely confused despite his own knowing. "What would a blind woman be doing in an art museum, for one thing?" This was already getting boring. What could he even do to make this fun? At the moment she just seemed like another child murderer.

"I mean... you can't be their mother. They just said they were leaving their parents." Moriarty said, rolling his eyes. "Though, I don't mind you going after them - I could help you with it if you want~" With a smile Moriarty stood and glanced over to the children. Maybe helping her out would be fun - quite confusing to Sherlock too, if he were to look into this. Would he ever guess that it was he who helped the blind woman hunt down children?

[missginger]

There was really something very different about this man. Yet he was very clearly human - she could smell that much. In most cases, the Blind Witch didn't take much notice of any human who could not be considered food - which was usually the case when it came to adults. But there was something that was at least mildly intriguing about this one...for one, he was accusing her of meaning innocent children harm, and he didn't seem even the slightest bit upset about it. Pursing her cherry-red lips slightly for a moment, she traced the tip of her tongue along the edge of her teeth and considered all of this briefly. Was anyone nearby to overhear them? No, the Witch would have been aware of it if there was - still, she couldn't help but remain suspicious of this man's intentions. This just wasn't normal. And it could have very well been a trick, some underhanded way of catching 'criminals' that they'd come up with in this world, for all she knew.

So with that in mind, admitting what she'd been up to wasn't something she planned on doing just yet. "Oh, no...I'm not their mother. But they're a little young to be running off in a city all by themselves, don't you think~? For all you know, I could simply be one very...concerned...onlooker." Her comment was ambiguous enough, and she didn't elaborate, or confirm or deny anything else just yet. She just placed a hand lightly on her hip and quirked her head slightly in the children's direction. They could still be heard a little ways off, giggling, but...her attention was soon very quickly diverted from them at the man's next words.

What was this? He...was offering to help her?! This was something that, quite literally, no one had ever said to the Blind Witch before, and it was enough to throw her into stunned silence for a moment. Which, she supposed, worked to her advantage. Had she been a completely normal, harmless woman, someone saying they'd help her kidnap children would probably shock her for very different reasons. It took her a moment to process this - but once she had, her sightless eyes narrowed faintly. Alright. No one made that sort of offer in earnest, not in her experience - something had to be going on here. Despite her wariness, however, when the Blind Witch spoke her tone was just as light and airy as ever. "Could you...?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Now why would you ever want to do something like that? Really, some people would call you a monster for even...suggesting such a thing..." But she was testing him now - and was, truth be told, quite curious to discover his reaction.

[moriarty]

As he brushed a bit of dust off of his normally well-kept suit, Moriarty smiled up at the woman. Trying to fool him? This might be fun after all! Clearly this one was either pretty new to the whole "crime" thing or she was just from some other dimension. That was actually possible now, too! Apparently so many people had come from another dimension! Nodding as if he understood fully and had just made a small mistake, Moriarty seemed to act like he was completely trusting in what she was saying. "Well, when you say it like that..." Moriarty ran a hand through his dark black hair and smiled brightly at her again. "I still don't believe you~."

And then came that little moment of confusion - that TINY little bit where they were so confused by his offer to help them out with horrible things like killing children. It was the best part of the deal! Seeing those small little facial changes - practically sensing the little distrust in all of them as they glared, wondering just what his game was. Little did any of them know that he was being completely truthful~! As she spoke, Moriarty nodded ever so slightly. This time, he fully knew what was going on - she was testing him. Thankfully, Moriarty had so much experience being tested he knew just what to say when it happened.

"Monster, beast, snake... spider..." Moriarty said, counting them off on his fingers. "I've heard it all, y'know. As for why.... Why not? Not much else to do." Curiously enough, he was being entirely truthful. He was bored - bored enough to find the closest criminal and offer his assistance to them. Who knew, he may just gain a powerful ally. Now wouldn't that be useful? One of those... magic-users or whatever they called themselves on his side! Now that would confuse Sherlock!

[missginger]

Her grin widened slightly at this, her pearly white teeth bared in an almost vampiric smile that carefully hid her suspicion, confusion, and curiosity behind a portrayal of evident amusement. The man wasn't backing down from his offer - wasn't even hesitating - so either he was trying to trick her, or he had no conscience whatsoever. Still - why go to such lengths to trick her? If he wanted to apprehend her, there was no reason to go along with her little game first...not unless he knew who she was and that confronting her head-on would be a bad idea, of course, but that seemed unlikely - she had not made her identity known to anyone in this world as of yet. So...perhaps he really did wish to assist her? No doubt he had his own motives for doing so, but still - that really was...interesting. Already, the people in this land were proving to be so much more entertaining than those in the Enchanted Forest!

At any rate, if she wasted much more time trying to figure him out, those children were going to get away. All in all, he'd managed to capture her interest - and that alone was enough reason to keep him around and accept his help for the time being at least. She'd just have to make sure to keep an eye on him...figuratively, of course. "Well...in that case...I only have two questions for you, little spider~" Her grin had faded slightly by now, replaced by a small, sly smile. It wasn't as if she desperately needed the help, mostly due to the amusingly superficial ways that the people in this world tended to judge each other. Because she was relatively small, and sweet, and blonde, and blind, and above all a woman, her presence around children that weren't hers didn't typically raise any red flags. And yet...the Blind Witch was perfectly aware that she must look very different in comparison to the 'civilians' of this world, and that drew her more attention than she would have liked. Having someone around who was...accustomed to the way this world worked would no doubt be at least somewhat useful.

"How exactly do you intend to 'help' me? And..." She trailed off for a moment, fidgeting with the lacy edges of her dress, her sightless gaze fixed thoughtfully at a point just slightly over the man's shoulder. "What are you getting out of all this?" While it might've been true that there was 'nothing else to do' as he claimed, the Blind Witch still wasn't simply content to take it at that. People - especially strangers such as this one - didn't often offer their services without expecting something in return, after all...

[moriarty]

Ah, questions. Of course there would be questions! Truth be told, he'd expected her to ask questions eventually. It was probably not at all normal for someone to just walk up and be all "HEY THERE I'M GONNA HELP YOU KILL SOME KIDDIES! C:". It was pretty much the way Moriarty usually conducted himself around the people he wanted to work with. It wasn't at all normal for Moriarty to approach someone he found interesting - the only other one he could remember was his top assassin Sebastian Moran. But in this case, what would be more interesting than watching Sherlock chase after someone who oh-so-resembled a fairy tale character?

As she asked her questions, Moriarty, like a serpent, slowly oscillated his head. It was an idle movement one would commonly find Moriarty doing... especially when he was thinking. It was usually a bad sign, but one that could only be fully detected by people who'd seen him before. As she finished asking, Moriarty chuckled slightly. What was he getting out of this? In truth he was getting a bit of amusement. Not from her, of course, but from {who else?} Sherlock. Not only would the great consulting detective be confused when he found out it was her, but if she was the witch Moriarty thought she was she had to have some kind of power. Probably more than Sherlock would be capable of handling.

"Here's the deal..." Moriarty said, crossing his arms. "I just want you to keep doing what you're doing... and if you do, I'll give you a suitable amount of money." It was the usual deal. Money for a favor. What else did people want? Money was power - it made the word go round. It did any number of metaphors that people felt like saying to sound deep. "... And I think I told you. I'm bored with nothing else to do. I get nothing out of it."

[missginger]

And there it was: his offer was finally out in the open. The Blind Witch had to admit, this man just kept surprising her - something that was difficult to do. She had to give him credit. But...money? She was to be paid for continuing on with her usual work? That was...very curious indeed. While she still wasn't quite sure she entirely believed him when he said he wasn't getting anything out of this (he was paying her after all, and people didn't typically just throw their money away), she decided that his motives weren't desperately important at the moment. If he attempted to betray her later, he could be dealt with. Just what did she have to worry about?

Back in the Enchanted Forest, the Blind Witch might have actually refused his offer even now. Money, or currency of any kind, had never been of any real use to her. But she was no longer living in a gingerbread house in the forest, comfortably isolated from the rest of the world - no, now she was living in this world. And money made this world go 'round, she could already see. It would be undeniably useful to have a way of making it, should she ever need it in the future. And on top of that...she couldn't say she'd ever had an actual ally before! This could certainly be interesting, in the long run. And she did have to admit, the whole thing was beginning to sound like a pretty nice deal. Her smile returned once again, as cheery as if they were discussing the weather - and not an arrangement that involved being paid for killing children.

"Well! If it's really as simple as all that, you've got yourself a deal!" she responded at last, evidently just delighted bout the whole thing. This little trip had certainly gone better than expected, and the Blind Witch was in an even better mood than before. Oh - but there was still the reason she'd come here in the first place. Two reasons, actually...and they were both probably in the next room by now. With a soft 'hmm', the Blind Witch turned in the direction she'd last heard them, narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, and then turned back to her new 'friend'. "Now, I really should try to find where those adorable little kiddies ran off to...oh, but I haven't even caught your name yet.." she realized, curiosity edging her tone. Silly, to run off without even discovering this very unusual man's identity! And on top of that, skipping over introductions was just rude...

[moriarty]

A deal! How nice! Moriarty smiled, thinking of all the LOVELY FUN he'll get up to now that he had a crazy child-eater on his side. That was something he didn't expect to gain that day! Hopefully Sherlock would find his new friend just as fun as he did. Clapping his hands together, Moriarty spoke again. "Fun!" he said, keeping that bright, yet somewhat sinister smile on his face. "But I want you to try to attract the attention of a little friend of mine by the name of Sherlock Holmes." The detective would probably be positively mortified if he found out his BEST FRENEMY was gaining allies like this one... and that was just what Moriarty wanted out of whatever allies he was going to gain.

...and it seemed Mr. Holmes was going to have his first child-eater case any time now! `THE CASE OF THE CHILDREN-WHO-WERE-FOUND-EATEN-AT-A-MUSEUM`! Moriarty grinned at the prospect. Giving Sherlock the disturbing cases was always his favorite thing to do, though he'd never really done too much of that in the past. This was just the perfect opportunity to do it, though! "My name? He asked, adjusting his tie. "I suppose you can call me Jim. And you are...?"