Mending bridges is hard work

[The Beast]

The Beast had grown annoyed with the negative emotions that had bothered him the past few weeks. So he decided he would go outside. Maybe it was being inside the dark castle too often, the constant reminder of his curse, or the fact that despite how much he cared for bell the spell hadn't yet been broken. Whatever the reason, he was fed up with being moody, particularly with Belle, so he was ready to allow him mind to clear.

He still, after all this time, found walking upright odd at times. He hunkered when he did, and when alone, as he was for the moment, he was content on all four paws. It was when he was around Belle that he would stand for her, to show his respect. The snow felt cold as it penetrated his fur, and pressed between his digits.

His blood red cloak protected his back from snow, but it still fell in his mane and tail. He had a slight coating over his broad, wet nose of half melted snow. As he walked under one of the trees a large heap of snow fell on top of him. He growled and shook like a dog, fur floofing up and standing on end, blue eyes wide and teeth bared.

Once free of the snow pile he shook his feet one at a time, snarling slightly at the snow all around him. Unknown to him was the crown of snow still stuck between his horns. He had a pout on his face as he sat in the snow, his front paws resting between his back ones, his chest inflated.

[Troll]

Lost in a forest full of anger, unlike the one of Wonderland - it was far more imposing, darker than the bridge she was content with sleeping under not too long ago. Troll's blue brows furrowed as her heel encased feet dug into the powdery white substance below, watching it melt and wet the sides of the cloth leg warmers she was graced with to this new travel. A new appearance had struck her, for some reason...it seemed more pleasant. More of them.

While her father had long spiraling horns, the upper class had curved horns as a ram would, and she found comfort knowing that hers had thickened and twisted into the gnarled shape that was known as 'elite'. Perhaps she found herself a bit more attractive then, but she wouldn't admit it completely. That would be bizarre. How could a woman with grey skin, fangs, red eyes, and murky blue hair be remotely attractive? To put it simply, she wasn't.

What? A pity party? No, she wasn't looking for that. With a strong gust and a face-full of this icy substance, she let down her hair to cover her shoulders. Though her body temperature was slightly above...whatever these pink-hued people were, she could still get a little cold around the neck. Murky blue spilled down to her waist and the oddly colored woman narrowed her eyes, sniffing the air. It just smelled like water. Perhaps it was this white stuff?

Red eyes pinned in surprise as she saw a figure lumbering about in the distance. Ergh. She did hope it wasn't an individual like Xigbar, she didn't need sarcastic remarks. It made her rather violent...almost.. punch-face-into-the-ground-violent. Troll could tell that no one wanted that, however, this fellow ahead seemed to be in a bad mood. As she stepped forward, she grabbed a strand of her hair and began tugging and twirling it lightly. It needed to be longer. Much longer so she could leave her arms hanging down as she played, rather than drawing them up.

"Hey, you there. What are you doing out in this cold stuff?" Maybe she'd try to tone it down, be a bit polite. After all, he might have had shelter of some sort that would be handy...

[The Beast]

The Beast sniffed the air deeply, and his lips curled away from his teeth. There was a stranger nearby, and he had well learned to not trust strangers. As if hunting, he brought himself low to the ground, snow melting against the velvet of his trousers, making small wet patches at the knee.

When he heard the voice, and the crunching of snow under another body, his ears perked and his head rose. "Who is there?" he asked, his claws digging all the way down to the earth under the snow, his heavy body leaving deep foot prints. He kept to the edge of the forest, not willing to go into the dark should there be a trap awaiting him.

"Come to where I can see you." he said, his voice ending in a rumbling growl, authority and command in his voice from all his time commanding his servants. He may be nicer now than he was before, but he still hadn't lost his commanding presence.

His chest puffed out as if to appear larger, a primal intimidation tactic from the animal-like parts of his brain, the parts of him that had started giving into the curse before Belle came along. His tail swished lazily back and forth, just barely dancing along the top of the snow.

[Troll]

Come out? He couldn't see her? It seemed light enough to catch her frame in the dank forest. At least...her eyes made it dank. Troll had dimmed eyesight for various reasons, mainly so that she could see in extremely bright rooms, and...it also helped with the night-time. It made brighter things stand out more.

But light? There was light here? It looked more like a lighter shade of dark. Which didn't seem to help her with the befuddling creature in front of her. It seemed that it was a male, as it's voice was deep and it's posture was rather...rugged for a female. Also..those teeth, and horns? It almost made her feel like he was a hairy version of her kind.

But...her men were more...humanoid, she had to admit. The fact he had fur covering him didn't bring her to any sudden conclusion either. Pursing ebony lips, she stepped forward and placed her hands on her hips, foot crunching into the snow and face twisting into a slightly irritated sneer. She hadn't the foggiest why he couldn't see her. Perhaps it was those dorky blue eyes he had, round and angry-looking. Oh-so-scary...

"Tada. Not much to see here, now is there?" Hand moved up and tapped along the metal on her face, blue tongue sticking out for a moment to catch one of these...white things. Eyes widened and she seemed to let out a silent snarl. Gross. Gross. Gross. GROSS. What the hell was that stuff? It tasted...blank. She hated blank. She liked rotten and savory, or so salty it blanched out everything. Curiosity struck her again as her tongue darted out and she got another, face growing livid. Why didn't she stop? Perhaps it was fun?

Troll wanted to gag. She really did. "So. Can I go now?" A dull look crossed the dark-hearted young woman's face, the tapping of metal rising in the air around them.

[The Beast]

His large brows furrowed and his head tilted a bit. This was an odd one. He had never seen a person who looked like this, but he had seen heartless, and Organization members, and they didn't look normal at all.

He flared his nostrils to smell the air, confused by this person. "Why are you eating the snow if you don't like it so much?" he asked, his voice half sounding like a growl, his blue eyes irritated.

"A better question is what are you doing on my land?" he asked, shifting onto his hind legs in order to keep his claws ready in case he needed to attack or defend. His voice rumbled, as if his vocal cords weren't human. They were only half human, the curse had affected his speech as well.

His ears flicked as he heard more crunching in the snow and he took his eyes off Troll, his muscles flexing and readying himself for a fight, unsure as of who it was.

[ohnobelle]

As usual, the day had a relaxed, slow pace to it. There wasn't much for Belle to do, cooped up in the "Beast"'s castle, other than mingle with the magically personified furniture and spend hours and hours with her nose buried in a book.

Come to think of it, her days at the castle weren't very different from her days in her little town of France. Except for the talking furniture. No, that was new. And the Beast that held her captive. If one could really call it "captive." Despite his shocking and intimidating looks, if one were to look past all that fur, they'd see quite the beautiful creature. He could be quite charming and caring when he wanted to. He was just... well... scared, you could say.

Yes. Scared. Of what, she wasn't entirely sure. But he was scared of something.

But she had yet seen the Beast that day. He'd been quite illusive as of lately. His company was something she enjoyed, to say the least -- it got lonely in this castle sometimes. So, grabbing her mauve cloak, she decided to journey outside the castle walls for a bit to not feel out of touch with the world beyond its walls. Once outside, her cheeks blushed a bit from the cold nipping at her skin. She couldn't help but smile, though. The air felt so crisp and clean; and the snow was positively enchanting. Snowflakes danced gracefully down from the sky and began to speckle her sleeves. She needed to be outside...

She didn't walk far before she heard a familiar snarl. "It's him...!" she said under her breath, a bit excited and yet worried at the same time. Her pace quickened to a light jog, her feet sinking into the snow with every step. Soon enough, past a collection of trees and bushes, she saw him, in the defensive stance that he was in.

"Oh, there you are..." her voice contrasted the cold of the outdoors, "I've been wondering where you've been -- " Belle paused as she took notice of the other person in their company. If she hadn't have met the Beast first, she probably would have been taken aback by this feminine creature's appearance: grey-bodied with horns and tattered clothing. But nothing of unusual appearance seemed to phase her now.

"Oh, hello..." she began slowly, smiling at the female, "Is this a friend of yours, Beast?"

[The Beast]

He spotted it was Belle and he backed one full step away from Troll, his eyes softening and his muscles relaxing. "Uh, Belle. No. No, I don't know uh..." He gestured with one paw to Troll, glancing back to the other woman. His voice had less growl with Belle there, and he no longer looked ready to attack anything. In fact, he looked more like he would be tucked behind Belle and barking from her ankles, should he be far smaller.

His posture seemed more rigid, as if trying to hold himself properly with Belle in the area, and he even folded his hands to the small of his back after gesturing to Troll. He was a fair deal taller than Belle, and far more vicious, but he responded to her mere voice.

His eyes held an uncertainty and distrust as he viewed the other woman. He was torn between the lesson of not judging by appearance, and being forever cautious of heartless. He kept between Belle and Troll, but not in a manner to obscure one from the other, merely there protectively, should Troll have any devious plans up her tattered sleeves.

[Troll]

As the new woman appeared, she took in the appearance and the rather calming demeanor of the young lady in front of her. Just a year younger, maybe. Or even her age, she'd feel safe to assume. Blinking, red orbs focused once more and the grey-toned female snorted in a rather animal-like fashion. A pink-skin. 'Human' as they were called on these strange worlds. She had been mistaken as one, and had set them straight...sheesh, the people of Wonderland were often rude with their accusations.

Mind snapped back once she caught that smile and her eyes instantly narrowed in mistrust. One thing Troll never did was to trust someone that smiled. Especially one who had a 'friend' like that...hairy thing that growled at her. "Look. I was dropped here due to this portal of darkness. Or whatnot. I had no choice in the matter of where I landed. Sorry if this lowly abomination landed in your territory."

Lips pursed and the irritated creature backed away a bit more, hands curling into fists against her form-fitting skirt. Abomination was the title she was given on her planet, so why not exploit it a bit more? She was a freak of color and name, after all. Staring at Belle, she realized how plain and...rather pretty she was, for a pink-skin - er. Human. There wasn't too much of a difference between Belle and the elite other than they had ebony skin and startling purple eyes... Clearing her raspy-sounding throat, she inclined her head lightly.

"I don't know him. I don't really know you either. So I guess you could say we're on a sight basis at the moment..." Troll muttered, fiddling with a strand of her hair once more. Finicky thing, she was. "My name is Troll. If I'm intruding, I'll leave quickly. Not...really in the mood to fight today."

[ohnobelle]

Belle took notice of the Beast's straightening posture, taking a few steps closer to his side. His stuttering got her curious, as though he had something to hide or be nervous about. She glanced over at this woman with them, observing her posture as well.

But it was her harsh voice more than anything that Belle noticed. She could be the most stunningly beautiful creature alive -- not that she was ugly, no... Belle didn't judge much on appearances anymore -- but that voice of hers would make her seem to be the most wretched of them all. However, it was rude of her to form such a judgment, so she pushed it to the back of her mind. No one had a choice in how their voice developed.

And despite how she looked or sounded, she didn't deserve to feel pushed away if she were lost. The last thing Belle would have wanted if she were lost would to be greeted by hostility and rudeness. No one deserved to be pushed away in a time of need. Only a monster would allow for that. Exceptions allowing... there were always those exceptions...

"No, no, Troll... don't feel like you have to leave," she cast a look toward Beast, as though speculating as to how he treated Troll before she arrived, "It wouldn't be very polite of us..." She turned back to face Troll.

"I'm Belle, and this is my friend: Beast. Why don't you join us for dinner?"

[The Beast]

The Beast heard Belles words and he pushed his teeth together firmly, clenching his jaw and curling his lips away from his long, predatory teeth. It was supposed to be his attempt at a smile, but he had never been very good at it, and with how irritated he was it was more of a sneer.

He turned away, allowing his face to fall back too how it was. "Yes." he said, his voice a rumble. "If you're lost you may find shelter in my castle." he said over his shoulder, his tail twitching and flicking as he kept his hands against the small of his back. He twisted at the hips to look back at Troll, studying her. He could stand up to anyone else in this world, but Belles requests were difficult, no matter how he disliked her desires at times.

Something within his heart whispered that it was his castle, and she had no right to invite someone in. His eyes darkened and unfocused for the briefest of moments, before his hackles raised, then lowered, and he took a deep breath. "Yes, lets get back to the castle." he suggested yet again, gesturing with one large, heavy paw back to the dark castle.

[Troll]

Troll paused as she was invited in for a meal. Surely they wouldn't consume what she liked. Rotten veggies were her absolute favorite, and if they didn't have a decent trash...then she wasn't looking. Looking around at the wilderness, she pursed her lips. How well would she fair out here? She'd slept under a bridge since her accident and was absolutely fine...

Perhaps the creature of grey would stay out in the cold. Her body temperature would fluctuate to it anyways..., wrapping her hair around her neck as a scarf, she shrugged and cleared her throat. "I could wander after you, warm up and go. I'm positive my diet doesn't consist of your food. Pink skins eat things that aren't rotten."

Erk. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. Shrugging to herself, she thought it best to get over that action instead of getting mad. Troll was working rather hard on controlling her temper recently, after all, she was trying...to become more manipulative, if anything. So far...she got them to offer dinner and a place to warm up in, beyond that, however, she wasn't quite sure how far she'd get. Giving a little shrug to herself, she shook her head and gave a wry, fanged smile. Her teeth were a startling white against the complexion she carried, which could have come off as intimidating or...pretty.

Not to say her voice was unattractive, it was rather husky for a young lady such as herself, sounding like a woman on an old vinyl, lost and found - the dust blown off of it over ages past. She had seen the looks cross Belle's face as she had thought and rolled her eyes. Pink-skins thought far too much - more...worried. She got along just fine without thinking her world was ending, if it was, she's sure she'd sound the alarm. Heels crunched into the snow as she placed her weight upon them, and the creature that lived under a bridge gave a rather wide, sweet smile. "Where to?"

[ohnobelle]

Belle only gave a sideways glance at the Beast as he harumphed his friendly gestures. Catching sight of his grimaced grin, she couldn't help but bring her hands to her mouth in an attempt to suppress a giggle. Oh, Beast...

Her attention then went immediately back to Troll, who looked as though she were deeply contemplative of the offer, something she thought was intriguing. Belle didn't think the two of them looked very intimidating -- but I guess that's because she learned herself the long way that looks could be deceiving. Perhaps each one of them found that out the long way on their own, too. She knew the Beast sure did.

Troll gave her semi-acceptance and a stunning grin of beautiful teeth, and Belle smiled back warmly in turn with her lips.

"We'd be glad to have you, even if it's just for a short while," she absentmindedly pushed her blown bangs out of her face as the breeze started to pick up ever so slightly. Pulling her cloak closer to herself, she looked over toward the Beast as she turned back toward the castle, "I'll run ahead and tell Lumiere and Cogsworth that we have a guest joining us tonight!"

And with a look back at Troll, she ran off to speak with the servants of the castle.

[The Beast]

Beast wanted to be the one to run ahead, but he allowed Belle to do as she pleased. He glanced to Troll once more and slowly returned to all four paws. His muscular shoulders rolled and bounced as he moved for the castle. "I'm sure we have leftovers." he tries to offer. Maybe his servants hadn't been as diligent with cleaning this week. Most trash went into the furnace, but he supposed there might be something left over.

It was awkward, left with this woman yet again. His tail twitched to show his annoyance, but he kept it out of his face and voice fairly well. He shook himself once they were inside, melted snow flying in various directions and his cape folding over onto itself awkwardly on his powerful back. It was far warmer inside, as Beast had commanded with Belle around. Every fire in the castle was to be kept fueled and live, in order to produce the most heat possible.

A feather duster walked past, upright, their feathers dancing along the ground, and the coat rack nearby extended it's arms after a slight bow in order to take anything she didn't want to have to carry around.

[Troll]

Smiling awkwardly as Belle rushed off, the young lady turned a little pink at the cheeks when he mentioned that they might have some leftovers. She wasn't particularly proud of her eating habits, especially since most pink-skins ate food fresh. The creature felt rather wild and...scavenger-like, even though their food on their planet had a very fast expiration rate, and only the highest class got the freshest. Of course, their skin was an odd shade of...marble...yellow? Shuddering in mild disgust, she pushed her hair out of her face as a rush of warm air came from within the castle.

Moving objects? That was odd. Narrowing her eyes at the thing that leaned out to take anything she didn't need, she sighed, looked both ways, and reached into her bag, pulling out a small knife and tucked it into her pocket, looking over to Beast with a red face, "Eating utensil...I...don't trust other silverware. Lots of nasty poisoning in my past." Explaining briefly in hopes to calm a possible defensive reaction, she handed the bag, exposing a slightly larger blade on the inside. Seemed she was telling the truth.

Well. She knew she was anyways. Following after him in an almost timid fashion, she left no room for judgment other than her appearance and clipped sentences. Red eyes darted around, counting windows - possible exits just in case she upset someone greatly. Anyways, a few glass shards don't hurt compared to getting searing hot metal attached to skin over scars. A slender hand darted up and patted the warmed, yellow-tinted metal on her cheek. It wasn't quite gold, bu it wasn't a normal metal, either. Was it a metal from her planet? Troll honestly couldn't remember.

Not that her memories mattered to anyone else here. She'd disappear from this place as fast as she disappeared from the castle she was in previously. The young woman would also disappear from any ongoing place just as fast...she had a feeling she would. "A wonderful place you have here. The perfect contrast between dark and light..."

[ohnobelle]

Once Belle had entered the castle, she hastily brushed her feet on the mat to rid of any wet residue.

"Everyone! We'll be having a guest join us tonight for dinner!" she then proceeded to disrobe of her cloak, and a loving coat hanger leaned over to take it from her. She graciously allowed it to take it from her, and brushed her hair behind her ears as she surveyed the surroundings. The castle was an awfully stark place to an outsider, and she realized this, but it was what it was.

"If at all possible, if we could get the lights up a bit later, steadily... I think our guest prefers it dimly lit, but we don't want to be tripping over ourselves, do we?" The ambiance was still quite warm, despite the slightly lower setting. Everything still felt very much alive.

Furniture rattled as Belle made it through the entryway, heading further inside to enter the kitchen. She noticed that the appliances here had already heard her chime as she entered the castle and began to work. She loved the welcoming feel from everyone -- or thing -- in this castle. It reminded her of her home town in some senses.

Playing with her tongue in her mouth, she discussed the menu rapidly, yet carefully. Utensils and things turned to look and clatter at each other at the mention of "a side menu of scraps for the guest," immediately running in different directions to see what they could scavenge. And then, perking up at the sound of the grand doors opening, she ran out of the kitchen and down to the lobby to greet them again. She got to them as the coat hanger went hopping away with Troll's bag.

"As far as I know, everything should be completed momentarily. They're off finding things that are hopefully to your liking, Troll..." she hardly took notice of the fluffed fur the Beast now wore thanks to the wetness he collected outdoors. She was very much excited in having a guest over -- it really never happened quite often! "Oh! I should probably make sure they understood what I meant by the menu -- do make yourself at home!" And again, she was gone.