boxolawyers | Once upon a time, when we thought of joining adstringendum...

[she curiously notes the odd way his features twist, but the observation goes unremarked. with a nod, she quickly bounds through the doorway, taking in the scenery with awe. it's not the nicest apartment she's ever seen, but it's certainly better than a lot of the rundown places she passed along the way]

Your place is really cute, Mr. Edgeworth!

[he stands in the doorway with his hand still on the door for support, staring blankly at the strange, young girl as she enthusiastically looks his pathetic living quarters over. when she finally speaks, he blinks as if seeing her for the first time.]

[dear God, pull yourself together, man.]

I'm afraid there's only so much one can do in an environment like this. [he gestures for her to take a seat on the sofa and crosses to the electric kettle and box of Twining's sitting on an old sideboard at the back of the room.] Would you like a cup of tea?

[she flops onto the sofa, glad to find it's comfier than it looks. bouncing a couple times as she settles into place, she turns her attention back to Mr. Edgeworth]

Yes, please! Oh, and some sugar, if you have any.

[nodding, he busies his hands with the work, as his mind rolls this confounding new situation over and over and comes back to square one. finally he joins her, sitting in the armchair across from her and setting a lacquered tray on the small table between them. he leaves her to prepare her own cup while he prepares his.]

Did you just arrive here?

Edited 2014-06-13 02:46 (UTC)

Mmhm. [she diligently prepares her tea like one who's done it many times before, spooning in what seems like a haphazard amount of sugar but is actually a very precise measurement in her world] Just a little over a week ago. --Oh! [suddenly she stands, tea momentarily forgotten, and looks determinedly down at Mr. Edgeworth] I almost forgot! If you don't know me yet, I have to introduce myself.

[cup and saucer still in hand, he blinks up at her. surprised yet again... a trace of a smirk crosses his lips, and he lifts his teacup towards her in salute.] That would be helpful.

[idly he wonders if someone taught her to prepare her tea with such care. not Wright, surely.]

[tipping her hat at him, she smiles] Trucy Wright, ace magician and CEO of the Wright Anything Agency, at your service! Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Edgeworth. ...Um, again, that is!

[quite a long introduction for such a young girl. he sets his drink down to give her a sort of half bow from his seat.] Miss...Trucy. The pleasure is all mine.

[he wants to ask her so many things, but first thing's first. retrieving his cup, he frowns down into his tea.] Has someone been taking care of you since you arrived here? The city is quite dangerous, especially on the outskirts.

[flopping down on the couch again, she reaches forward to stir her tea but stops short to pout at his next words]

Taking care of me? Mr. Edgeworth! I'm not a little kid, you know! [she sobers quickly, tearing her gaze away to concentrate on her task] ...But no, I've been on my own the whole time, except for meeting some people in the city. I'm not really sure where I'm supposed to go...

[the vehemence with which she protests being considered a child is so childlike that he has to smile. he doesn't allow it to last long.] No one should be on their own here, regardless of age. And as much as I've tried Wright's generosity in the past, if I allowed any harm to come to you he really wouldn't be able to forgive me this time. Nor could I forgive myself.

[a soft, resigned sigh, his gaze drifting down to his cup once again.] You're welcome to stay here tonight...if you wish. In the morning I'll see what I can do for you.

[cup poised at her lips, her eyes light up with surprise--and, to one paying close attention, a trace of relief] Really? You wouldn't mind?

[there's a trace of stiffness in his jaw; he not entirely comfortable with having someone intrude on his sanctuary. still, it can't be helped. at least the girl seems sufficiently grateful. he shakes his head and smiles softly.] No. Unless you'd prefer to spend the night out there with the monsters? [teasing, gentle but clear. he takes another sip of his tea.]

[frowns disapprovingly] It's not nice to try to scare people, Mr. Edgeworth! [lifts her chin] Lucky for you I stopped being scared of monsters a long time ago, even though Daddy still tries to tease me about scum goblins to get me to clean the toilet... [clearly, she hasn't heard as much about the city as one would think in a week's time. most of the people she's met have been surprisingly unfriendly and unhelpful. it took lots of stubbornness and sheer luck on her part just to get any information about Mr. Edgeworth]

[she finally takes a sip of tea, and her eyes light up happily] ...Oh! Earl grey! My favorite.

[one of his dark grey eyebrows shoots up his forehead. he's not sure which is more surprising: that she's been there an entire week and still hasn't heard about the creatures in the wastes or that she can recognize Earl Grey by taste. there's no chance Wright taught her that. offhandedly] That's fortunate. The tea selection is rather limited around here.

[growing more serious] Please give me some credit. I'm well aware you're too old to frighten away from dangerous locations with mere fairy tales. There are things out there, on the edges of the city. Things I could happily have lived my entire life without seeing. We're far enough in to be relatively safe here, but you should be aware of the potential threat.

[she pauses mid-sip, his serious tone making her wary. Mr. Edgeworth isn't prone to joking as it is. for him to insist like that...]

[slowly she lowers her cup] W-what do you mean? What kind of potential threat?

[with deceptive calm] The sort of threat monsters usually present: the threat that a terrible, most likely painful fate may befall anyone who runs into them.

[perhaps it's a bit of a harsh way to speak to an impressionable child. he may very well have just sentenced himself to a restless night of being awakened by her nightmares instead of his own, but it's vital for him to teach her to stay out of the Wastelands. besides, he doesn't believe in condescending to children.]

There are many different types of monsters out there, most of which are hungry and dangerous. Some of them are like our own myths and legends brought to life, while others don't resemble anything I've ever heard of.

[she shrinks into herself more and more with every word he says, then looks beyond him back to the door, as if she can see out into the Wastelands from here; a small shiver passes through her]

...There must be some way to get back home, though. Right? [she looks to him imploringly]

[immediately he regrets doing that to her. the look on her face makes him feel like a cad, and his expression softens with an unspoken apology.] There may be. But...as far as I've been able to tell, no one has found it yet. Occasionally people will disappear with no explanation. It's assumed they're taken back to their homes by whatever it was that brought them here in the first place. I think there have even been a few who were pulled back and forth multiple times.

...Oh.

[suddenly she feels her dad's and Polly's absence more keenly than she has since she arrived; shoulders slack, she stares into her tea for several moments, quiet]

[Edgeworth's chest aches dully as he watches the realization dawning in her expression and slumped shoulders. he's felt that pain many, many times since he was first dragged here, and he feels it again now at the reminder that he may never see his home again.]

I'm sorry.

[she remains quiet for a few moments longer, thoughts of home boring a hole into her heart. she thinks of Daddy and how he must be missing her, too; thinks of how there's no one there to take care of him; thinks of what he'd say if he saw her looking so sad...]

[she has to be strong!]

[suddenly determined again, she sets her cup down and stands] W-well, we're just gonna have to make the best of the situation and not give up hope! Alright, Mr. Edgeworth? [balling her fists] There's got to be some way to get out of here on our own...

[the change in her is stunning. she's a child, alone and scared, yet when unexpectedly confronted with the idea that she may never see her father again she didn't crumble or give up hope. Edgeworth stares at her in open shock.]

[suddenly it's much easier to believe she truly is Wright's daughter. an expression of excitement alights on his face, one that's usually reserved for Wright alone. he will eagerly accept her challenge.]

Whether there is or there isn't, we'll never stop searching for a way. I can promise you that.

[nods firmly] Good! And who knows? We might not even need to search that hard. [she smiles brightly then, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes] Daddy's not the only one who's got a lucky streak, you know!

[he lifts his cup from its saucer in a graceful salute.] If you possess even a fraction of his legendary luck I'll welcome it gladly. I seem to have a dearth of my own lately.

[read: for most of his life. not that he truly believes in luck or fate or anything other than man's own ability to govern his own actions, but there have been a few, undeniable times where Wright has forced him to question that certainty.]

You just need something to reinvigorate you! The first part of luck is a good state of mind, after all. [flopping onto the couch again, she raises her own cup in salute] Tonight we'll get a good night's sleep, and in the morning... we investigate!

Once upon a time, when we thought of joining adstringendum...

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