zach_rp

Many of the people in Gensokyo saw the head of the Scarlet Devil Mansion as a monster, a terrifying creature who'd clawed her way from legends and come into their midst. While there were also no shortage of those who seemed to consider her home some sort of amusement park, her reputation kept the majority of people from venturing too closely to her home.

While there was some truth to this, those who actually knew Remilia well knew she was more concerned with appearances then anything else. This was a reputation she had worked hard to obtain, and just as hard to maintain. That fear let her live her life in peace while having a semblance of respect from the people of Gensokyo. While at times it might be a bit boring, it was better then the alternative. Uncontrolled chaos had no place in HER home. She had spent centuries building her power and wealth to the level it was at now, after all, she wasn't going to see that ruined or disrespected.

And yet no one who saw her as she was at the moment would find her to be something to fear. While surrounded in the walls of her mansion she had no reason to try and maintain her image. Everyone around her already respected her, as the mansion's mistress. She did not need to put on a front to maintain that respect. Each of the people in the mansion had their own reason for staying there, but Remilia was the one that made it all possible.

The vampire was in her private chambers at the moment. Despite what one might think, the room was not a dark, terrifying place. It was predominantly red in color, as befit the name of the one who lived there. Large crimson curtains normally cover the windows, but are left open this evening to let some air in. The center of the room is dominated by a red curtained canopy bed which is clearly far larger then the vampire needs. Next to this is a desk and it is there that the vampire is sitting now. She is entertaining herself with two things. A book and a plate of delicious cookies. There would be no other kind of cookie coming out of her kitchen. Nestled in her room with snacks and a book she looks less like a monster and more just like a normal kid. Just a kid with wings.

Though Remilia was spending a quiet, peaceful moment in her own private chambers, the Scarlet Devil was not alone. There in the room with her was one of her closest companions in the mansion, the youkai magician with mastery over the elements of nature and a vast repository of learning. Her reputation was not as widespread or fearsome as that of Remilia's, but nevertheless, it defined her purpose within the household and complemented the formidable appearance that her good friend liked to maintain.

Normally, Patchouli might have been deeply absorbed in her research into magic or providing some kind of advice or insight for Remilia, but for tonight, that was not the case. With no one from outside the mansion bothering either of them at that moment, the magician herself was also in a relaxed state. Sitting on a corner of Remilia's desk, a slice of three-layer black forest chocolate cake right by her side, Patchouli was also reading a book of her own. Not one of her magical grimoires, but rather, a lengthy novel from nearly a century ago. She was already somewhere in the middle, with a bookmark's ribbon marking where she had started reading just then.

After finishing a chapter, Patchouli lowered her book and lifted her reading glasses up to her forehead. She picks up the plate which carried her slice of cake, then uses a fork to delicately place some of the cake in her mouth. After swallowing the morsel, the magician glances over to Remilia, her amethyst-colored eyes trying to see what the vampire was now doing. "What page are you now on?" she asks.

Again Koishi wandered the strange, endless hallways of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It was a place she rather liked to visit while on the surface. It had many confusing rooms and hallways and always an empty bed or floor to sleep on if night fell before she could get home. Always extra food that she could sneak off with if she hadn't eaten that day. It even contained a good bit of fun, the fairies always eager for the distraction she provided… Well some of them, anyway. The others were spooked by her and would fly into a panic, shooting danmaku everywhere. Then again, danmaku was a good pastime. It was merely the fact that fairies did not make good opponents.

But as much as she enjoyed the size and scope of the mansion, it was easy to get lost. This visit was no exception. She had climbed some stairs and walked in a loop, turning in a circle… She wanted to find the kitchen. She was hungry. That was why she had come here in the first place. She had not eaten for almost a day now and her stomach was starting to get very cross with her. She knew that if she could just get to the kitchen that the nice fairies there would give her some leftover cookies or cakes. The mansion always had those in abundance. Maybe she could bring some back home if there were enough.

She was getting nowhere fast though. It seemed almost as if both the kitchen and the staircase she had climbed had vanished… Or maybe she just got turned around again. Regardless, if she could find a window, maybe she could enter the front and try again. This wouldn't have been the first time the mansion's labyrinth like properties had made her restart.

Picking a random door she peeked inside, her gaze landing quickly on a large dish of cookies and cakes sitting on the edge of a desk. Disregarding the vampire and magician sitting nearby, Koishi walked in, picked up the plate of cookies and moved to the bed's side, plopping down on the soft covers with a dull sound. She would have liked that slice of cake, but she was always scolded for taking things out of people's hands. So, she was content to enjoy her ill-gotten treat, dropping her obfuscating cloak as she began to eat.

It wasn't that often that the vampire and the magician spent their evenings together like this. Remilia did not mind doing so with a book in her hands. While she did not surround herself with them as the magician did, Remilia had spent a lot of time with books, and a large portion of the non-magical books in the library made up her own personal collection. Of course the non-magical books in the library made up only a small portion of the library's contents, but even if one were to just count those particular books, they would still be unlikely to find anyplace else in Gensokyo with a larger collection. This might have something to do with the fact that few others cared enough to collect, but that fact also made it easier for Remilia to improve her own collection. Less competition!

The book she had selected for this evening was just one of the many she had yet to read. Even after all these years it was not difficult to find something new. She had been a little surprised when Patchouli had wished to read with her, as her friend only infrequently left the library, but it was a pleasant surprise. And so, the two had been spending the evening in near silence. It was not until the magician speaks that Remilia looks up.

"Hmm? I am on page 377. Funny, I didn't think I was going to get into it, but it is surprisingly well written. Perhaps you should take it when I am done. It is a story about a young noblewoman in London. The author did plenty of research, I recognize a lot of the references they are making."

Those cookies are not leftover cookies. No, they were prepared specifically for Remilia herself. Any that she did not wish to eat would go to the faeries, but not until she had her fill. Thus, the little intruder would certainly find them to be of a higher quality then she might be used to. However, it also comes with the catch of attracting attention from Remilia herself! Her little hand absently reaches for her plate, a plate that is not there any longer. Her hand touches the empty space which should be holding her cookies just as a sound comes from her bed.

The girl there is only vaguely familiar. Remilia has had little reason to interact with the underground youkai in the past. So she isn't sure what to expect from the intruder. She certainly doesn't look as if she were here to do any harm, though it is difficult to not think of her cookies being stolen as harm! "..You are, perhaps, not aware that you are in someone's private chambers?" Remilia doesn't stir from her seat just yet. Perhaps she'll be lucky and this intruder will actually be nice for a change.

Patchouli nodded her head at Remilia's reply. She knew what was on page 377, she had read that book before. It was exactly as her friend had said, the first time she had read it, she didn't think she would be interested, but it slowly drew her in.

Before the magician could reply back to her friend's offer however, she suddenly became aware of a third presence in Remilia's bedroom. From Patchouli's perspective, she was a bit surprised. There was exactly one person in the Scarlet Devil Mansion who was capable of suddenly appearing like that, but when she turned to look, Patchouli soon discovered that it wasn't her friend's maidservant.

One eyebrow curiously raised while she set her platter of cake down, the Unmoving Great Library examined the visitor. She seemed well-dressed enough, as many in Gensokyo were, in a nice hat, yellow-orange blouse and green skirt. What stood out were the veins and closed third eye. "Ahh, I think I know who this is. Or at least what this is." she says to Remilia. "Not too long ago, someone like her visited my library and wanted to read some of my books, looked almost like her, but a bit older and with pink hair."

The wizard looked to the underground youkai again. "Do you by chance know what I'm thinking about right now? Perhaps you also know who I was referring to?" To test whether this newcomer could read minds like Satori, Patchouli then consciously began to think of something completely unrelated to the current situation, which was what she had for tea earlier that day. It was blackcurrant tea with gingersnap cookies.