Silent Night (Open to Everyone ^^)

[Restless Lucidity]

Laeti's voice vibrated through Muffi, and it sent a chill down her spine. Despite knowing the girl was up to no good, she could only let out a soft moan as she was gently squeezed while another hand ran through her hair. She'd always enjoyed having her hair stroked, and it made her relax, her small hands grasping onto the other girl's frilly dress when she felt Laeti's lap growing beneath her butt, and the girl's torso expanding to fill her vision entirely.

The small bumps beneath Laeti's dress brushed against Muffi's face, and she could feel her butt poking out behind her, chubby thighs spread apart by the older girl's lap, leaving her underwear exposed even as she felt the panties shifting into something longer and more frilly. She could feel strength fading from her legs, and her arms growing less coordinated, and blushed brightly at the sensations.

She squirmed and wriggled, but her body felt so small and awkward, and Laeti's gentle grasp was so firm. Her wide, blue eyes looked around at the other little girls, and her chest tightened, overcome with shame as she saw them all watching this. With a whimper, she turned her head and buried her face in the frills of Laeti's chest again, clinging onto the girl that had caused her humiliation because she didn't know what else to do...

"I have to work... my report... ".

Laeti kept hugging and cuddling Muffi while she squirmed, which might have been comforting if Muffi wasn't so confused about the situation. No matter how distressed Muffi became, Laeti just continued to giggle in the same, adorable way that she had when they were playing Musical Chairs. As if being smothered by Laeti wasn't enough, Muffi couldn't help but feel uncomfortable gazing around the room; not only did everything look larger to her, but nearly every set of eyes in the room was on her. Every little girl, in a similar way to Laeti, giggled and fawned over Muffi... and there was nothing she could do about it but struggle in Laeti's grasp.

"What's that about a report, Muffi~?" Laeti continued to stroke Muffi's hair and snuggle against her. "Aww, do you have something to do for school? Laeti can do it for you! But for now, everything's okay! Let's just play!"

Ignoring any and all protests that Muffi might have tried to make, Laeti began to style her hair, putting it in pigtails, giggling, and then undoing them to put her hair in a ponytail. Laeti put Muffi's hair into nearly every hairstyle that one could conceive when thinking of a cute little girl in a mere twenty minute period. Only after she had put Laeti's hair into another (quite adorable) twin tail tie did Laeti finally ease her grip and stop cuddling Muffi.

"Oh, Muffi... you're so adorable!" Laeti giggled again. "I just want to sit here and hug you forever!"

[Harri-chan]

Muffi squirmed with embarrassment as Laeti asked her if the report she had mentioned was for school, and her blue eyes glanced across to the deactivated spherical camera that lay on the floor in one corner of the room, but she couldn't even see it because of all the little girls in pretty dresses that were gathered around her. It was such a humiliating feeling, that she was unable to just get up and walk out, as her brief attempts to wriggle down from Laeti's lap just caused her own dress to bunch up further..

Unfortunately for her, as humiliating as it was to have Laeti fixing her blonde hair into all manner of childish styles, it was only relaxing her further. It sent tingles across her scalp and down her spine, making her rather quiet and docile. The little girl had unknowingly discovered one of her weaknesses, and was using it to full effect.

When she was finally released, and slid down onto her own two feet, she thought for a moment she was actually going to fall flat on her face. Her legs seemed weak and awkward, and the mass of frills under her dress wasn't helping either. She stumbled forward, or at least she tried to, but there seemed to be an adorable looking little girl blocking her path no matter which way she turned.

"I gotta... I gotta... ", she started to say in a quite distressed tone, but huge chunks of vocabulary seemed to have gone missing entirely from her mind.

[Restless Lucidity]

The young man's attention keeps turning from the tour to the multitude of books. Each one of them looks so wonderful to read...and far more entertaining than the tour which seemed to be dragging on and on. Finally the young man was unable to stand it anymore and ducks out of the tour group, at last finding himself alone with all the books. He runs a finger over some of them as he squints to read their titles. One book however seems to call to him more than the others. The young man silently and gently pulls it from its shelf and peers inside.

The book is a bright blue with white borders, and in the center of the book is what looks to be a clear gemstone. There is only one word on the cover of the book: Stiria. The story tells of a girl and her sister who find a hidden world behind a painting. The passage the boy reads is as follows...

"Once there were two twin sisters, each with hair of an icy blue. One wore their hair long, and the other short. Each had eyes to match their hair, and vibrant imaginations were reflected in their gaze. This pair had a curiosity that inspired a thirst for adventure, and that curiosity would eventually lead them to a particular museum in the heart of a bustling city..."

"Their names were Stiria and Caliga."

[Cleio]

The boy smiles a bit as he reads about the sisters, imagining what they must have looked like with their icy blue hair and eyes. He leans up against the bookshelf, getting a little more comfy so he can read more. He has never been so happy to have ducked out of a tour group.

[Restless Lucidity]

Muffi squirmed with embarrassment as Laeti asked her if the report she had mentioned was for school, and her blue eyes glanced across to the deactivated spherical camera that lay on the floor in one corner of the room, but she couldn't even see it because of all the little girls in pretty dresses that were gathered around her. It was such a humiliating feeling, that she was unable to just get up and walk out, as her brief attempts to wriggle down from Laeti's lap just caused her own dress to bunch up further..

Unfortunately for her, as humiliating as it was to have Laeti fixing her blonde hair into all manner of childish styles, it was only relaxing her further. It sent tingles across her scalp and down her spine, making her rather quiet and docile. The little girl had unknowingly discovered one of her weaknesses, and was using it to full effect.

When she was finally released, and slid down onto her own two feet, she thought for a moment she was actually going to fall flat on her face. Her legs seemed weak and awkward, and the mass of frills under her dress wasn't helping either. She stumbled forward, or at least she tried to, but there seemed to be an adorable looking little girl blocking her path no matter which way she turned.

"I gotta... I gotta... ", she started to say in a quite distressed tone, but huge chunks of vocabulary seemed to have gone missing entirely from her mind.

"Awww... that's right. It's your nap time!" Laeti smiled at Muffi and stroked her hair one more time. She picked Muffi up from her place in her lap with relative ease; if it wasn't already evident how small Muffi was, it was impossible to ignore as Laeti, a dainty girl herself, was able to hold her without any real effort. Laeti walked with Muffi in her arms through the crowd of giggling girls, and every member of that group seemed to stare down to Muffi.

"She's soooo cute!" The girls in the room were making comments left and right about Muffi; how adorable she was, how pretty her hair was, and how badly they wanted to steal her from Laeti and snuggle her forever. Others waved to Muffi while she was in Laeti's arms and said hello. What seemed to be a pleasant game at first had quickly turned in to something of a nightmare; the game of Musical Chairs had suddenly ended, thrusting Muffi in to this sea of giggles and frills. While a part of her was happy about this, happy about being fawned over and loved, another part of her was horrified. She did feel truly helpless; the way she was now, she could never get away from the girls. Her movements were too awkward, her proportions too small and unfamiliar. The giggles that seemed cute to her before now seemed deafening. Choking. Every girl in the room but Laeti must have been giggling in unison, and it was hard for her to hear... or even think.

After a walk that seemed to last an eternity to Muffi, she and Laeti reached a bright pink door with silver lines that ran across it to form swirls. The handles were, just like the handles to the door that lead to this room, flowers. Laeti turned once more to face the crowd of girls; they were somewhat far away now, still over by the pink piano while Muffi and Laeti now stood at the room's North extreme.

"Say goodbye, Muffi!" Laeti gently lifted Muffi's arm and helped her wave to the crowd. With that, Laeti turned again to face the doors, and opened them.

What greeted Muffi next was quite a surreal sight to behold. Directly in front of her was a bed of the same pure white as her dress, and translucent curtains that flowed from all sides. On the floor was a pure white rug... and beneath it a pure white carpet. Everything in this room was that same pure white, even the three paintings that hung around the room. There were several lamps on tables in the room which gave off white light (if it was even visible in this place), and these lamps were shaped like Lilies-Of-The-Valley.

"Oh, but Muffi isn't old enough for that bed yet..." Suddenly, the bed in front of them faded out of view, and was replaced by a crib of the same color. In addition, a hanger with a moon and four stars that rotated around it appeared above the new crib. Laeti walked over to the bed and stroked Muffi's head one more time, also giving her a small, soft kiss on her forehead. Despite everything, and despite Laeti seeming more intimidating than ever now, she couldn't help but feel somewhat comforted by the kiss... and her eyelids grew heavy. Even though she had been fully awake just moments ago, she now felt tired and sluggish, and her senses were dulled. "Goodnight now, Muffi... big sis will see you in the morning."

Laeti set Muffi in the crib, and after one more small wave, walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. That door was the only thing with color in this room... everything else was white. It felt like Purgatory. There was nothing in the room for Muffi to focus on besides the rotating stars, and she had to fight to stay awake. If she did fall asleep, she had no idea what would happen to her...

... but it was probably best not to find out.

While in the Hall of Paintings, Arisu snapped her fingers, and a set of clothes appeared out of nowhere. She snapped her fingers again and the clothes she was wearing switched places with the new clothes, and because she was wearing clothes she bought from Circe's shop, she returned to her appearance. Another snap and the Miko clothing vanished. Arisu soon gazed into one of the paintings, seeing 2 different things, the other one after looking hard enough. It was a red design of sorts, but her eyesight wasn't the greatest, and couldn't make out what it was.

If Arisu were to focus more on the red design, she would see that it makes a red floral pattern... and if she looks even more deeply, it forms a bed of scarlet red flowers. The other image Arisu sees is upside down, and portrays what appears to be a red rose blooming. Finally... if she were to step away from the portrait, she would see that the blooming flower forms the bottom of a dress, and the red flower bed the top. The entire portrait appears as a woman dressed in all red, but with no head and no arms. The only clues to hint at where these things would have been are the red gloves levitating to the left and right of the 'woman' and the opening at the top of the dress.

The room is extremely quiet. When Arisu walks, her footsteps seem to echo throughout the room.

[Harri-chan]

Muffi started to protest as Laeti finished off her sentence by suggesting it was time for a nap, but before the words could reach her lips, the hand stroked through her hair again, and she felt her mind numb slightly, and her eyes close. The floor sunk away beneath her feet as she was easily lifted up once again by the little girl, and carried away from the piano. Her eyes opened to see the little girls smiling and waving to her, but there was nothing she could do to stop what was happening to her! She wasn't used to hearing people say nice things up her, and so part of her wanted to feel comforted by their cute little comments, yet the utter lack of control she now had over get own situation was horrifying!

She winced as the giggling and chattering, while sounding adorable, rose to a level which made her ears ache. She wondered if it would have still felt as loud if she'd still been a teenager, or if it was because of how young she was now. Her eyes closed again, and she lifted both awkward little arms, the puffy shoulders of her dress tickling her cheeks as she pressed her tiny hands over her ears to try and block it all out. A moan slipped from her lips as she felt one hand pulled away from her ear, her eyes opening in surprise, realising Laeti was waving her arm, as if even such a basic thing was beyond her now, and she felt like she was close to bursting into tears as the girl took her into the next room.

"Laeti... ", she said, but again the words she was looking for failed to come, and for a moment her wide blue eyes gazed up at the little girl helplessly, before she turned her head a little and looked around at the white bedroom. It didn't seem real to her, and she wondered if this actually all WAS just a nightmare. She blushed as Laeti pointed out she wasn't old enough for the bed, and watched in disbelief as it faded away and was replaced by a crib!

"N-No... ", she tried to plead as the lips softly brushed her forehead, and she was lowered into the crib, watching the white bars stretch up above her, the top of them far beyond her reach. Much to her surprise, her mouth was forced wide open by a huge yawn as the little girl turned away and left the room, and she watched the frilly dress bounce and the pigtails swish. She felt so lethargic that Laeti was gone before Muffi had even thought to call to her to wait!

If anyone had told Muffi they'd had a nightmare involving frilly dresses and cribs of all things, she'd have laughed, but that's exactly how she found herself now as her little legs gave up, and she crumpled down onto her butt, this infantile thing trapping her like a prison. She tilted her head back, blushing at how sleepy it made her feel to watch the moon and stars slowly rotating above her. She could feel her eyelids growing heavier, and despite knowing how important it was that she got her report back to Ms. Jones at the TV station, she just couldn't fight it off.

Slumping down amongst the soft sheets and pillows, she stretched her tiny little body out, and rolled onto her back, and she thought to herself if she just rested her eyelids for a short while, it would make her feel better, and she'd be able to keep herself awake. So with another big yawn, she did just that, but unfortunately for Muffi, she was in a deep sleep just a couple of minutes later.

[Ookalf]

Penny nods nervously and leads the group onward, turning several corners and walking through aisles and aisles of the massive red wood bookcases. Eventually, the group comes to one of the two large staircases leading upwards, this staircase being the one opposite of the flight Muffi traveled up to get to the Children's Section.

"This staircase leads to different areas of the library. The first room we'll come to will be the Hall of Paintings." Penny tries her best to make eye contact with each visitor and keep a joyful look on her face. It's always better to look happy on the job, after all! "Every painting in that room is an optical illusion. They look like one thing at first, but if you look hard enough, you'll see another picture! And some say that the second image is different depending on the person! Spooky, huh?"

*Yoko nods.* Sounds fascinating...

Yeah. Can we go in and see 'em?

[Ryan5011]

If Arisu were to focus more on the red design, she would see that it makes a red floral pattern... and if she looks even more deeply, it forms a bed of scarlet red flowers. The other image Arisu sees is upside down, and portrays what appears to be a red rose blooming. Finally... if she were to step away from the portrait, she would see that the blooming flower forms the bottom of a dress, and the red flower bed the top. The entire portrait appears as a woman dressed in all red, but with no head and no arms. The only clues to hint at where these things would have been are the red gloves levitating to the left and right of the 'woman' and the opening at the top of the dress.

The room is extremely quiet. When Arisu walks, her footsteps seem to echo throughout the room.

Upon closer inspection, Arisu noticed the red flower pattern, which was forming a bed of flowers. Arisu stepped away, and noticed it seemed to be the formation of a dress, or at the least the bottom of one. She wasn't using her brain enough to know that the bed of flowers was actually the top part of the dress' design in this painting, though she did notice once she saw the red gloves to the sides. "This painting's pretty...and nice."

[Blaze]

Nova gives Penny and gentle poke, as the girl seems to have zoned out.

"Uhm... is this the end of the tour?"

[Restless Lucidity]

Slumping down amongst the soft sheets and pillows, she stretched her tiny little body out, and rolled onto her back, and she thought to herself if she just rested her eyelids for a short while, it would make her feel better, and she'd be able to keep herself awake. So with another big yawn, she did just that, but unfortunately for Muffi, she was in a deep sleep just a couple of minutes later.

Muffi gradually slips further and further in to her deep slumber as feeling slowly leaves her hands and legs, giving way to the numbness that comes before one falls asleep. For a while, Muffi felt like she was floating in nothing... a place void of life, void of sound... void of anything. She could barely even think; it felt like her very existence was fading away in that blackness. Where being in that situation with Laeti made her feel like she had no control, this void makes Muffi feel helpless on another level; helpless to stop whatever dreadful thing might happen while she was floating here... helpless to stop herself from disappearing completely. While it was humiliating before, it was truly soul crushing and horrifying now. However, just as Muffi was starting to consider that the end may in fact be near, a small white light appeared, and expanded... and expanded, and expanded further.

Eventually, Muffi was in a room that was completely white. She was no longer floating in a void, but now found herself, in the same form that she had entered the museum in, sitting in a white armchair, gazing at a seemingly endless expanse of still more white. It reminded her somewhat of the room that she had fallen asleep in... and yes, tales she had heard of purgatory. In any given direction, Muffi only saw more of the nothingness that surrounded her, but eventually, her frantic search for any trace of life or substance was interrupted by a voice... and a figure that had appeared along with another chair that was now to her immediate right.

"Isn't it beautiful, Muffi?" The figure sat cross-legged and her gaze never shifted from the white on the horizon. "This endless white... what do you think of it?"

[Harri-chan]

Muffi woke with a sharp intake of breath and a racing heart, her chest feeling constricted somehow. Her blue eyes tried to focus, but there was just emptiness and loneliness. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she glanced down and saw the skinny teenage figure in the knee length skirt and smart blouse that was slumped in the arm chair rather than inprisoned in a crib. Surely then it had all been a dream, she thought, but the whiteness that surrounded her did not seem real either, so was she awake even now?

The voice startled her, and she looked over in surprise to find there was another girl sat beside her. She squinted at first, studying the girl and her clothing, before following her gaze to the emptiness. She seemed to consider the other girls words in silence, but there was something deeply unsettling about this place, and an almost fearful look swept over her face.

"There's... nothing there. How can I think about nothing?", she said, her voice trembling slightly. She often felt as if she lacked the intelligence and knowledge of those around her, but nothing made Muffi feel quite as intellectually inferior as someone asking for her thoughts on philosophical matters. She swallowed a deep breath, looking back to the girl, shifting awkwardly in her seat.

"How do you know my name?"

[Restless Lucidity]

"Truly?" The girl looked Muffi in the eyes and smiled. "Is it really that you can't think about it... or that you don't want to?"For a moment, the girl just sat there, gazing at Muffi. She could have sworn that the gaze of this odd girl literally pierced in to her mind... and judging by the aura that she gave off, that probably wasn't too much of a stretch. However, there was something else strange about this young woman. While she did indeed seem to be able to read Muffi's thoughts, that wasn't all together unnerving. Of course, it did make Muffi feel vulnerable and uneasy, the prospect of this woman somehow knowing more than she herself could ever comprehend, but her gaze also seemed to inspire her to think for a moment. Why was she so uneasy right now, anyway? Maybe this woman wasn't intellectual at all. Maybe she was no more than a figment of Muffi's imagination... but before she could continue with those kinds of thoughts, the girl spoke again:

"Ah, but the issue of knowing your name..." The girl adjusted her glasses. "I know much more about you than you would expect. It's a special ability of mine, you know, and my library knows all that I know. When a person in my library is alone, it begins to embody something they love very dearly... something that also comes with a degree of embarrassment. It fulfills guilty pleasures, if you will. And other times, it fulfills a person's most deep-seated fears. " The girl smiles, shifting her gaze back to the white expanse, and giving Muffi some time to let all of this information sink in.

"But I don't want to stay an enigma forever... you've guessed who I am by now, haven't you?" The girl looks back to Muffi, tilting her head and giving Muffi an inquisitive look.

[Harri-chan]

Muffi gazed back, and started to find herself losing track of time. She couldn't recall wether they'd been sat in the armchairs, gazing at the emptiness for just minutes or if it had been hours. Lifting a hand, she rubbed at her forehead, wincing slightly, and she shifted once again, the pink skirt riding up her thighs ever so slightly. The idea of anyone being able to see right into her mind, to delve into her deepest secrets made her feel very on edge.

Her cheeks went a very bright red as the young woman continued, and she could feel the warmth spread even to her ears. "Well then your library isn't working properly, because it turned me into... ", she started to protest, but trailed off, looking deeply confused. Her blue eyes shifted down, gazing nervously at her skirt before she quickly smoothed it out down her thighs.

"Fenestra. The schoolgirl that's doing the tour spoke about you", she muttered. "You're a lot younger than I imagined the owner of a library to be. You barely look older than I do", she said, her gaze wandering slightly over the girl's clothing. "This is a lot to take in", she said with a sigh, and rubbed a spot right between her eyebrows. "What happened to me, it was just... in my head?", she asked, her attention very much on Fenestra, as gazing into the nothingness made her feel uncomfortable.

[Restless Lucidity]

Nova gives Penny and gentle poke, as the girl seems to have zoned out.

"Uhm... is this the end of the tour?"

Is startled in to awareness, almost literally spinning backward to face Nova.

"Oh! N-no, of course not!" Penny's cheeks turn a bright red, and yet again, she seems to be at a loss for words. "I just... I just got lost in a little daydream, that's all!" With that, Penny turns around again and, with shaky steps, leads the group up the staircase. Before long, they come to the top of them, and are greeted by a pair of ornate double doors that resemble works of Pablo Picasso.

"O-okay! Sorry for the wait, but here we are! This is the hall of paintings!" Penny walks up to the doors and opens them up, revealing a brightly lit room full of, not quite surprisingly, paintings! On the floor is an intricate sun pattern made of multicolored tiles that is surrounded by a pattern of blue and white wavy lines that resemble an ocean. No book cases appear to be in this room, but upwards of forty paintings line the walls. With that many paintings, there just has to be something for everyone in here. But before anyone can go and look around, Penny starts to speak again...

"Remember everybody! There are two images in each picture that are hidden. It can be really fun to look for the hidden images, but they can be a little hard to find, so we'll stop here for a while to look." Penny smiles, but a few seconds after she finished her thought, she seemed to get nervous again. "I-If that's okay with everyone!"

~+~

Arisu sees the rest of the tour group enter the room, but they don't seem to acknowledge her presence at all... had they just not seen her yet?

Muffi gazed back, and started to find herself losing track of time. She couldn't recall wether they'd been sat in the armchairs, gazing at the emptiness for just minutes or if it had been hours. Lifting a hand, she rubbed at her forehead, wincing slightly, and she shifted once again, the pink skirt riding up her thighs ever so slightly. The idea of anyone being able to see right into her mind, to delve into her deepest secrets made her feel very on edge.

Her cheeks went a very bright red as the young woman continued, and she could feel the warmth spread even to her ears. "Well then your library isn't working properly, because it turned me into... ", she started to protest, but trailed off, looking deeply confused. Her blue eyes shifted down, gazing nervously at her skirt before she quickly smoothed it out down her thighs.

"Fenestra. The schoolgirl that's doing the tour spoke about you", she muttered. "You're a lot younger than I imagined the owner of a library to be. You barely look older than I do", she said, her gaze wandering slightly over the girl's clothing. "This is a lot to take in", she said with a sigh, and rubbed a spot right between her eyebrows. "What happened to me, it was just... in my head?", she asked, her attention very much on Fenestra, as gazing into the nothingness made her feel uncomfortable.

"I apologize in advance, but can I answer your question with a question?" Fenestra seems to be just as fixated on Muffi as Fenestra is on her. "Did it feel real? If it did, then you don't need to ask me that. It was real because it felt so to you." Fenestra pauses again, and a somewhat relaxed smile appears on her face. "That is hard to answer, but let me put it this way: in the reality that is accepted by you and the others that came to my library today, you are a little girl now, just as you were before you fell asleep. So, too, would this be considered a dream." She pauses again to observe Muffi's facial expression. "What you saw then, however... was no fantasy. When you wake, that shall again be the form that you occupy." She crosses her legs, and falls silent for a moment.

[Ryan5011]

Arisu looked away from the painting as the group came in. She found it odd that none of them pointed out that she was there before them, it was almost creepy. Seeing a lone miko in a library wasn't that common, was it? Arisu began walking towards the back of the group....