[audio] @missprincessmary; two for the price of one; [open]

[withsadness]

1.

Can anybody tell me what this is? I got it from the scavenger hunt that was awhile ago...but I forgot about it because of the ferry crashing.

[Attached is a picture of an SD card! Presumably, someone will be able to identify it for her before too long and explain how she can put it into her tablet, and I don't want to make two separate posts for this, so, a bit later, Mary's back on the network again!]

2.

Oh! It's a map! I won a map for my pictures!

[She's not uploading the picture of her map. It's her map.]

Does anybody want to come on an adventure with me? Maybe we'll find a treasure!

Comments

un: rlutece

[originallutece]

Do you know how to read a map?

[withsadness]

Nope!

[But she is the map holder. The map is now in her possession.]

[originallutece]

It may help to learn. Stop by my laboratory, and I'll teach you.

[withsadness]

Okay! I love to learn. Learning is one of my favorite things.

[Knowledge is power.]

[originallutece]

[IT SURE IS and she'll have the lab door a little open, waiting for Mary. There's all sorts of things in there, although the birds and half-finished cage may interest her most.]

Let's begin with directions.

[But not hello. FUCK greetings.]

Do you know what they are?

[withsadness]

[Sorry Ros she is absolutely getting distracted immediately by the birds. She points at them instead of answering the question.]

I love them!

[originallutece]

If you do well, perhaps you'll get one as a reward.

[She turns towards her, her expression distant but not unkind.]

Now: the cardinal directions, please.

[withsadness]

[She's clearly still a little distracted, but the promise of a reward is enough to get her to answer immediately.]

North, East, South, and West.

[originallutece]

Correct.

Now. Without the sun or compass, how can we tell which direction is which?

[withsadness]

Mmmm...

[She scrunches up her face, rocking back on her heels as she folds her hands behind her back. After a moment, recognition crosses her face.]

The stars! Special stars!

[originallutece]

Very good.

[She smiles, albeit briefly.]

Yes. So long as you know which direction is which initially, you can use the stars here, which do not disappear, to navigate.

Now. Come here, and show me which way is north.

[FIELD TRIP OUTSIDE.]

[withsadness]

[YASSS. Except, when they get outside and she looks up at the stars, she does seem to have a harder time. After a moment of looking around, Mary admits:]

I don't know how to tell which star is the one that's always North.

[originallutece]

If this were an ordinary sky, I could show you. But as it stands, the sky here is different than the one at home. So we have to substitute Polaris for another.

Do you see those?

[Those two overly bright stars, one right next to the other.]

They're fixed, meaning we can utilize them as a marking point for directions. But the question remains: how do we figure out which is north?

[She walks a little ways. It's not hard to find two sticks, setting them up in alignment with those stars. She kneels primly, then beckons.]

Lie on your stomach, and line up those stars with the sticks, so it's all in a straight line with your eyesight. And tell me which direction it moves in: left, right, up or down. It will, sooner or later. The stars still obey a 24-hour cycle.

If it goes up, those stars are in the east. Down is west. Right is south, and left is north.

[withsadness]

Lie on your stomach...

[Mary murmurs the instructions to herself as she lowers herself down, making sure that her skirt is properly flattened as she goes. It takes her a moment to properly adjust the sticks to her vision, and she takes on an intense air of childish concentration, before finally she seems to notice the movement.]

Ooohh! That's amazing! They went down! So that means north is, um...

[She points to the right.]

That way?

[originallutece]

Very good.

[Rising to her feet, she offers Mary a hand.]

Now you'll be able to find yourself no matter where you are, or where that map leads you. Would you like to go over that as well?

[withsadness]

Yes, please! I want to know as much as I can. That way, nobody will worry about me so much.

[I mean, they'll still worry. She's nine years old. It makes her feel more confident, though, regardless of anyone around her.]

I'll be a great leader!

[originallutece]

You certainly have the correct attitude.

[She nods, one hand at her back, nudging her into heading back into the laboratory.]

Let's see it, shall we?

[withsadness]

Okay!

[Mary would skip her way back in, but it's been a long month full of more sustained injuries than she cares to admit. So she takes a bit more caution in her steps, but that hardly means she doesn't seem enthused. Once they're inside, she pulls out her tablet and finds the map that downloaded from her SD card. It appears to lead to a completely unexplored area...exciting.]

[originallutece]

Hmm.

You may wish to take this slowly. Chart out a bit of the path at a time. Are you going with anyone else?

[I say, like I don't also write explorations with you.]