``Happy Ending? Not So Much {open!}

[missginger]

The air was cool. Crisp. A light breeze brushed against her skin, and the Blind Witch knew she was outside. But...outside where? The air here did not carry the light, spicy smell of her garden or the fresh, earthy scent of the forest beyond - no, this air smelled sharp and acrid in comparison. Full of foreign odors she couldn't ever remember encountering before, many of them strong, smoky, and unpleasant. As if the smells weren't enough, this place was obnoxiously loud. The roaring of loud mechanical objects that zoomed by warned her off the lower pavement of the streets. She took a deep breath, attempting to identify these strange creatures by their scent - but all she got was a particularly strong whiff of that smoky acrid smell again, and recoiling slightly she fought back a sneeze. So this was where the Queen's curse had sent her? How...revolting. And she'd got off easy - she could only imagine what sort of place the rest of them might be in right now.

...Wherever they were, she certainly hoped that those two brats who'd pushed her into the oven were suffering. Bright red lips curved into a slightly deranged smile at the thought - there was one good thing to come out of all this, at least. When she'd been preparing to cook the children, at least their deaths would have been relatively quick - now, in a world like this, they could suffer for the rest of their pitiful lives.

She, meanwhile, wasn't going to just stand her and cower away from this new, unnatural environment. In fact she wasn't going to waste anymore time at all; once she found a base of operations of sorts, she very much intended to get to work on breaking herself out of this curse. Whatever the Queen has used to bring them all here was dark, powerful magic - the likes of which the Blind Witch had rarely tampered with before. Still, she thought haughtily, if that amateur excuse for a sorceress could pull off something like this - then surely a much more experienced witch such as herself could find a way to transport herself back to the world she knew. Feeling a prickle of anticipation at the thought, she turned and began to carefully make her way down the cement path before her. First and foremost, she needed to get out of the open. Find a place where the sharp-smelling air wasn't quite so strong and the obnoxious, mechanically whining noises weren't quite so loud...a place where she could concentrate...

What she didn't have any way of knowing yet was that she happened to look distinctly out of place in the streets of the small New Jersey town. What few people had spotted her already actually paused to stare for a moment at the unfamiliar woman with misty blue eyes, still wearing her long red lace gown as she blindly ventured down the sidewalk before her. The Witch, however, paid them little mind...mostly because she'd been too preoccupied with the other smells and sounds of this world to actually keep tabs on whether there was anyone nearby. Right up until a man passing by shouldered right into her, of course.

"Hey, watch it, lady--oh...sorry..."

His originally indignant tone faded into an uncomfortably apologetic one, the way most people's might when they realized they'd just nearly knocked over a blind woman. She paused, going very still as she listened to him speak, her head tilted slightly to the side. Here, at least, was one scent that was very familiar...human. Humans populated this world - and where there were grown ones, there had to be...children. Her pearly white teeth showing in a small, delighted grin, she responded in a soft murmur. "It's quite alright....." Slowly she proceeded to saunter past him, faintly biting her lip as if to stop herself from laughing at some incredibly funny joke. Even if she couldn't break the curse any time soon...perhaps this world wouldn't be so bad after all....

[Sphinx & Juju]

Juju had serious business to attend to and that meant Sphinx was on her own for now which wasn't too bad. However, that meant making decisions without his help, guidance, or anything of that nature. Well...okay that wasn't ENTIRELY true, because he could troll nag pester bother communicate with her via telepathy. For now though, her mind was void of his voice and the last thing he told her was to be careful. Twiddling her fingers as she walked along all by herself...alone in a crowd of people was a little strange...but none were familiar faces. Biting her lower lip a bit with a bit of a nervous composure all about her, she reached into her sleeves and pulled out some circus flyers. They were going to try and have a show here....but they had to rally up interest.

On top of all that, the circus was hell bent on trying something like a circus of nightmares. Lure them into what appeared to be a dream as it contorted like a trap to play on their fears a bit. However, one needed guests to visit the show to make it possible. "Would you come to the circus? It's really fun...?" Timidly, she piped those words with some enthusiasm and cheer, but it couldn't conceal the fact that she was much like a worried kitten. People walked on by and ignored her little words to which she frowned and saw her peers walk by her.

Being so small in such a big world was tough for sure...looking down at the flyers...they made em' look happy enough...didn't they? Pffff...well she sneakily slid the flyers into pockets on her little walk going on unnoticed due to her stealth. Juju would have had some pretty neat suggestions to actually gain their attention rather than act like a feline ninja...though she wasn't stupid, he made such an impression on her life that it was as though the girl was fairly dependent on him....lost at times without him. Letting out a squeak of a whimper, missing her kitty demon buddy...it was lonely without him. Though, before her pity party could go much further, a voice of some annoyed person hit her ears like a drum and she quickly bolted toward it. OOOOOH SHE WAS GONNA MESS THAT PERSON UP SO BADLY FOR BEING A BULLY! Up until she skid to a stop and saw that the man was now apologizing...plus...the woman looked blind...lost...and seemed to forgive him.

Poor thing! Something about her felt...comforting...yet not really all at the same time and instead of having her coach make a choice of which feeling to go for...it was about time to decide all on her own. A blind person in a world made for people who could see was like a disaster on a pair of legs! "Ummmmmmm....miss lady person...do you need an escort? I can help you!" Those words were sugar coated levels of diabetes kind, but the words she mumbled under her breath were laced in a sugary disgust, "Unlike some of these stupid, inattentive losers...." Gritting her teeth a bit at the thought of how rude people appeared to be here....she couldn't wait to lure them into the house of mirrors somehow and rip them apart.

Clearing her throat a bit, she squeaked out in a tone indicating her apathy for the woman, "I have to pass out flyers for the circus, but I don't wanna leave you wandering all alone...and you wouldn't impose either! I can help you and pass them out!" Truly, she did worry about this lady! The mean people in this world she hoped to destroy one day may very well take advantage on someone with such a handicap. Inconsiderate jerks made fun of her for looking different, what would stop their peers form being horrible to someone who couldn't use their eyes to avoid a great deal of silent dangers out there?!

[missginger]

It was going to be difficult to hear and, more importantly, smell things as sharply as she was used to with this world's overlaying stench of pollution, until she became properly accustomed to it. And while that was unfortunate, she was still far from being completely unaware of her surroundings. The immediately recognizable scent of a nearby child caught her attention almost instantly. After a fleeting few moments of hesitation, however, the Blind Witch resisted the instinct to investigate. This was a public street, after all. It was more than likely that this child was accompanied by her parents, which wouldn't make approaching her and striking up a supposedly 'friendly' conversation very practical. So in a begrudging attempt to focus her thoughts elsewhere, she continued on down the sidewalk.

...Right up until the sound of little footsteps somewhere nearby alerted her to the fact that someone was approaching her rather deliberately. Initially the Blind Witch appeared to take little notice, however, as if much more unaware of the world around her than she actually was. When the girl spoke to her, however, she paused inquiringly. ...What was this? An expression of mild surprise crossed her face. This girl actually seemed to want to help her? Blinking, she gazed down to where the kid's voice had sounded from - she sounded fairly young and just about as sweet and as genuine as could be - how adorable! And, more importantly, unless the Witch was mistaken...she was alone. As she processed all of this information, the Blind Witch's vaguely bemused expression changed to a warm, delighted smile - though probably for very different reasons than any innocent onlooker would assume, of course.

"Oh, well...that's very sweet of you to offer!" she chirped a reply in her usual soft-spoken, deceptively honey-coated manner. True, she'd been planning on finding somewhere satisfactory to stay at least for the present - and then seeing if she couldn't find a child or two to lure along with her - but there wasn't any reason she couldn't switch things up a bit now that such an opportunity had presented itself! "I could use just a teeny bit of help, if you're sure you have the time...this is a big town, isn't it? I think I'd be getting lost even if I could see where I was going." She gave a tiny shrug and a brief giggle, as if she found what she'd just said nothing short of amusing - despite the fact that she was joking about her own blindness.

Underneath all the smiles and giggles, however, the Witch was thinking carefully about the situation at hand. In a place like this, it wouldn't be too difficult to whisk this girl down some alley or other where no one could see and make quick work of her, but...then she'd still have no idea where she was going, and in addition she'd have a body to drag around - hardly a smart way to draw attention to yourself. So why not take advantage of the girl's offer - ask her to show her around the city a bit as she went about handing out her flyers, perhaps learn a bit more about her...and bide her time. There wasn't any real rush, after all. Her smile widening a bit, she went on, "...You said you were handing out flyers for the circus. Do you work there? I wouldn't want to get you into any trouble by distracting you..." Or perhaps they'd just hired a girl to run around town and do a bit of advertising for them, but...still, the possibility was faintly intriguing. That, and acting as though the maternal sort of concern she displayed was entirely genuine could only help her out here...

[Sphinx & Juju]

Smiling brightly at the fact this woman was being so pleasant and kind with her offer, Sphinx couldn't help but feel some serious warm fuzzies infest her soulless shell of a body. Plus! The lady seemed VERY happy despite her current condition, as if she got used to it. That was better than getting depressed and emotional all over it like how she did when there were a box of abandoned kittens. All she wanted to do was take them somewhere and roll around in a huge fluffy bed where they could be happy with sunshine and rainbows! Juju called her hopes and dreams `far fetched`, but she knew it was the demon's polite way of saying `absolutely idiotic, but sweet I suppose`. Taking the woman by the hand and lacing her own scrawny fingers with this lady's average and probably healthier digits quite delightfully.

"If it was going to be an imposition, I wouldn't bother asking, silly! This place is HUGE, I'd offer to help you around even if you could see. Really sorry about being so grabby with your hand, miss, but it'd be stupid if I expected you to follow me without any assistance in such a busy place." Blinking for a moment, purring softly with delight under her breath, she looked at the woman and stared into those milky tinted optics...feeling...so...hungry and the WEIRDEST craving for a carton of milk! Wait a sec...she asked a question about if she worked there, didn't she?! Nodding on reflex, she paused realizing BLIND PEOPLE CAN'T SEE, so piping up delightfully, Sphinx chipperly gave a sliiiightly delayed response.

"Oh! Right! Yeah, I work at the circus as an acrobat and help with some other stuff too! You should really come even if you can't see...because everyone is so nice...better than my real family too!" Lightly swaying the lady's hand to and fro, she felt a strange energy from her...it was almost demonic but different from what she and Juju could do. Ugh...if only he was here right now...the demon feline who firmly understood how justified vengeance was could figure this lady out. For now though, Sphinx too had a sense of blindness going on...oh well it's not like this lady was going to force feed her holy water! Lightly tapping her chin with flyers and having a slightly confused face which was similar to a completely puzzled kitten, those pink and red optics gazed off to the sky for a moment then right on back to the lady.

"Huh...you know...I don't think I got your name and it's wrong for you to be traveling with a stranger. I think it's the only useful thing my birth parents taught me. Anyway! I'm Sphinx, nice to meet you, lady!" Grinning like a delighted Cheshire cat for a moment as her tone transitioned from a little flustered to diabeetus inducing happy. Some people did a double take as they passed since the girl was purring...and...figured there was a super happy cat somewhere. That and this town had seen weirder...like...giant mechs.

[missginger]

Oh, well wasn't she just a sweet little thing~! It really did make it so much easier when children she coaxed into trusting her weren't absolute little brats--wait. Gently gripping the girl's hand in her own, the Blind Witch blinked. Her fingers really did feel extraordinarily thin...hmm. Well, that wouldn't do at all! If she'd been anywhere near close to home, she might have locked the girl up and fed her until she was sufficiently fattened up, but...it didn't seem particularly wise to kidnap a child now, when she herself had absolutely no idea where she was or how this world worked. No, instead she was going to have to bide her time, gain this girl's trust, and probably give her...a whole bunch of cupcakes to stuff her face with. Or something along those lines. All in good time, she decided...in the mean time, at least she was putting up with such a friendly, pleasant little thing as opposed to a whiny, obnoxious brat.

A slight, surprised chuckle escaped her lips at the girl's apology. "It's no trouble, dear! I should be thanking you, really. I don't think many people would go out of their way to help a stranger, even if she was blind..." she trailed off with a small shrug. In some ways, this world didn't seem so different from the one she was used to - ah well. She much preferred not needing anyone's help anyway, but given her current situation...her hands were sort of tied. So far, though, this whole thing seemed to be working out quite nicely - so she wasn't complaining.

That established, the Blind Witch spent another moment or two with her head tilted slightly to one side, listening and continuing to scent the air as subtly as she could in an effort to become better accustomed to this new environment. She attentively glanced back down in her new-found companion's direction, however, when she began to speak again - giving her a warm but partially puzzled smile. Strange, the thought of a girl like this one working in a circus...and she'd said they were nicer than her real family, too. That at least suggested that she wouldn't have a pair of over-protective parents hovering anywhere nearby, but it also made the Blind Witch curious. Perhaps there was a little more to this kid than there seemed to be...at the very least, she seemed to have a very unique story. Nodding in acknowledgment when the girl suggested she visit sometime, the Witch responded,"I'd like that! Though...not that you don't make them all sound wonderful, but..." she paused a little, some of her earlier concern returning to edge her tone. "...and I hope you don't mind me asking. What made you leave your family to join the circus? They must worry about you very much, mustn't they...?"

Her tone had softened considerably by the time she'd finished her inquiry - she had to wonder whether or not she'd brushed a touchy subject, after all, even though Sphinx (as the girl introduced herself a moment later) seemed chipper enough (she actually seemed to be...purring? If the Witch's hearing hadn't gone absolutely haywire). Even so, she decided not to press too hard for an answer just now if it happened that Sphinx didn't want to give it. To emphasize this, her reassuring smile reappeared and she once again reverted to her usual quiet but bubbly tone as she responded to Sphinx's introduction. "Oh, of course - let's not be strangers, hmm? You can call me Miss Ginger. And it's very nice to meet you as well, Sphinx. " Though the Blind Witch couldn't remember a time when she'd officially gone by any actual name, 'Miss Ginger' was an alias she sometimes used to introduce herself to children. She amused herself a little, on the occasion that she used it - especially in this world, where the reference to her gingerbread house was unlikely to be understood.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Although used to the country after being so long, adjusting to America was always a strange experience for Sherlock Holmes. It had been more than once when he'd caught himself thinking the taxi driver was driving on the wrong side of the road. Even a mind like his had gotten into a few habits. There were also far less taxis in America which made trying to get from place to place much more difficult. However as his visits became more frequent due to cases needing his input. Apparently all the interesting cases were focused in America instead of somewhere Sherlock could easily access. It was slightly annoying, but the boredom had to be cured somehow and nothing in England seemed to be satisfying it. Moriarty had also begun operations in other areas of the world. The detective could only guess what he was planning next. Surely he wasn't going to attempt to ruin his reputation again; he'd already played that card once. No, Moriarty was going to try something else. But what?

He decided not to guess on Moriarty's plans. Guessing games weren't useful in a case - that much was obvious. Sherlock never played guessing games, only used the obvious knowledge in front of him to deduce information about the crimes he was solving. Until Moriarty revealed something about his next plan, Sherlock was stuck waiting for it... and waiting for a taxi. Checking his watch, Sherlock realized that his temporary flat wasn't too far away. Taking off on his walk, Sherlock began to think about the case he'd been sent to investigate. An assassination - but one that was particularly well covered. There was a single bullet wound obviously shot from a far away sniper with a well-built gun. The sniper had obviously taken pride in his ability to kill as he'd taken a very clear shot and punctured the heart directly. A flashy move and obviously a threat on whoever came after him next. The strange thing about this was that the window had been closed and there were no signs of any breaking or recent replacing of the window. Judging by how far the bullet was in the body, it had to have been fired from long range. It didn't add up... but there was one little hint.

The bullet in the heart was not the right type to embed itself into a body as far as it did. That lead Sherlock to believe that the person had been poisoned and the bullet had been a fake. That didn't add up, since there was no evidence of poisoning. There was clearly more for Sherlock to see there, since he couldn't think of any way it would have worked. Having almost reached his temporary flat, Sherlock heard a kindly sounding voice calling herself Miss Ginger. Turning his head, Sherlock noted that she was speaking with a child. To him the name sounded like an alias. It was only a hunch, but the idea of having to introduce oneself to a child seemed a tad suspicious - particularly since the woman had just arrived. That much was obvious from her dress, which was authentically medieval. Raising an eyebrow, Sherlock approached the two. One of them was a girl whom Sherlock had seen announcing some sort of circus a while ago. Sherlock noticed that the woman {who, judging from her eyes, was completely blind} was acting strangely motherly to the girl.

It reminded Sherlock ever-so-slightly of that fairy tale story he couldn't remember the name of. The one Moriarty had used as a hint for his crime.

"Hello... Miss Ginger, is it?" Sherlock asked as he approached. Putting on a nice act was likely best for this. Outstretching a hand for shaking, Sherlock continued. "Sherlock Holmes. I noticed from your clothes you're probably new here. Is this your daughter?" He knew the answer. It was all too obvious from their previous conversation that they did not know each other previously.