paixaorpg | (no subject)

Character(s): Belle and Open! {~~Hyenas welcome.~~}
Content: Belle's adventurous spirit has taken her to a foreign landscape. (To be announced.)
Setting: Near Matteus Museum of Art.
Time: Mid-Morning - Week 33
Warnings: To be determined.

It wasn't hard to find a basket that matched the one she had back in France. Belle hadn't wasted any time in filling the basket with books, either. Some things would never change, it seemed - though Belle had no desire to lose her passion for the written word. She lost herself daily in a book or two, fascinated to find out how each story ended. These days, it was one of the few things that kept her from worrying herself sick.

Today, however, she elected to spend her time walking about the city. There hadn't been many places to travel to in her tiny village; when she was at Beast's castle, she had spent more time inside than out. Thus this was a rare opportunity.

Swinging her basket to and fro, Belle stepped lightly through the streets, her gaze passing from one building to another. Nothing really caught her attention until she saw the art museum. Pausing, she looked around and bit her lip.

Did she feel like looking at artwork? If she was honest with herself, the prospect of spending time in a quiet building didn't appeal to her. She had been in the library for far too long already - not that she hadn't enjoyed it. It was just...

She needed a change of pace. She needed to find some way to come to a decision about the turn her life had taken. What was she going to tell Beast? Should she tell him the truth and risk scaring him away or should she bottle up her feelings and pretend like little had changed between them?

The latter option wasn't right and she knew it. He deserved to know the truth and she had to be brave enough to tell him.

But how?

Sighing breathily, the girl sat down in front of the museum and pulled a book out of her basket.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shenzi sauntered up the street, making absolutely sure that the humans did not come within touching range of her. Though she liked the way they tasted, she disliked either oily fingers and the way their mouths moved when they spoke. Also their teeth seemed flat and pointless, which went along well with their ridiculously small mouths.

She slowed down when she spied a human sitting on the front of one of the buildings. Shenzi had learned that some human's here were different than others. The ones with the light pelts were often more lifeless than the ones with multicolored pelts and different clothes. Shenzi crept slowly up to the female, her nostrils and ears flaring, trying to see if this human was any threat (or would make a good meal.)

How strange, she seemed to be staring at the block in front of her. Every now and then she would turn a thin part of the block and continue staring at it. Shenzi wondered if she was so bored that she'd rather sit there and do nothing.

The first thing Belle noticed was the sensation that someone was watching her. Just as she was turning a page of her book, the sensation became unbearable. Blinking, she lowered her book and met Shenzi's gaze. The shock of seeing the hyena caused Belle to gasp and bring a hand to her mouth.

"...h-hello?" she stayed seated, her face pale, "Are you...Shenzi?"

For some reason, she didn't think this hyena was male and, as far as she knew, there were only two hyenas in Paixao.

Shenzi growled a little and flattened her ears. She didn't back off though, nor did she bother slinking closer. Her nostrils flares some more before answering. "You sound familiar." Where have she heard her? "Yeah, I'm Shenzi, who are you?"

A tremble ran through Belle's body and she clutched her book tighter. After swallowing a few times, she found her voice again.

"I'm Belle." she tucked the book into her basket and debated about standing up, "We spoke over the network."

"Oh hey Belle!" Shenzi said, coming a little closer until she was five feet away. She stopped, not caring to come much closer than that.

"What's that? Why are you staring at it?" She asked, tilting her head slightly at the book.

Strangely, the greeting put her a little more at ease. Smiling faintly, she pulled the book back out and held it out for Shenzi to see.

"This is a book. I was reading." she opened it and showed the hyena the writing inside, "A library holds all sorts of books - which is why I like to go there."

Just...not today. She needed a break and her eyes were feeling strained.

So that was what a book looked like. It didn't look that interesting to her, but she supposed that human's thought differently than she did. She stretched her neck out so that she could see it closer, but she wanted to keep her body where it was.

"Are you looking at those little squiggles?" She asked. Shenzi huffed and sat down. "You human's have so many weird things it's not even funny."

Belle hid a laugh and shook her head. Seeing everything from Shenzi's perspective was interesting. Humans would be quite odd in the eyes of a hyena - or any other animal for that matter.

"Yes. That's what I read." she crossed her legs and placed the book in her lap, "It's a way to pass the time and daydream." she perked up, "Do you do that?"

Shenzi didn't understand any of that. The concept of reading somewhat escaped her. She did attempt to understand though, even though it made her head hurt.

"Daydream? Does dreaming of food count?" Shenzi asked.

"Of course!" Belle laughed and leaned forward, "Daydreams can be about anything: food, people, places or even ideas." she tapped her chin, "Do you ever think about something other than food?"

"Sure, I think of my clan." Shenzi said, "But mostly food,'cause we didn't have any for a while." She glanced cautiously up at Belle. "What do you dream about?"

A clan must be like a family, Belle reasoned. Her expression turned sympathetic. Starving didn't sound appealing at all.

"Do you have enough food here?" she queried, smiling faintly, "I used to dream about going on a big adventure and leaving my village far behind."

"Oh there's food alright," Shenzi said with a bored huff, "But we don't kill it, and I like that part of hunting." She and Ed have hunted down the odd human here in Paixao, but it wasn't as fun as hunting normal prey. Though humans did squeal rather loudly when they were being eaten.

"Well, you're away from... whatever that is. Doesn't this count as an adventure?" Shenzi asked, tilting her head at her.