[X] Go for a walk around the lake
Koakuma follows after her irritating master and you head toward the books. You've sorted books before - had to sort books - and it's a nice mindless way to kill time. Some people sit under waterfalls and think about how they're not actually cold even as hypothermia sets in, you sort books. You nudge a few books to one side or another with your foot before sighing and shaking your head. Your heart isn't in it, and more to the point you don't want to. You rise into the air and head toward the stairs at a somewhat brisk pace, but not fast enough that you need to seriously worry about overtaking Marisa, at least not before she reaches the stairs. If whatever Patchouli did keeps affecting her once she's in the rest of the mansion … well, you'll deal with that if it happens.
You make it to the stairs without seeing her, and the hallway is devoid of movement as well. Sakuya or the maids will probably be here sooner or later to straighten up, but for now you're the only one around. You consider going to see Sakuya about the party; maybe there'll be particular areas that might be interesting to Ilya, or boring, and while you probably could just stay on one of the balconies and point out people to her - and considering how people react to you, it might even be a better option - she might want to mingle and see things personally. But Sakuya's pretty smart, and you want to make sure you can hold your temper if she says anything about what you did. Not that you're going to sneak out, of course. You drift out the front door and, parasol shading you from the morning sun, fly to the gate.
"Oh, Lady Flandre. Did Marisa forget something?" She grins and you wonder just how Marisa keeps getting in, especially since it doesn't look like there was a fight this time. Do they have some kind of deal going on, or is the witch just that sneaky? Something to ask later.
"No, I'm just going to go for a walk." Meiling's expression falls and she shifts her weight nervously. "I'm just going around the lake. I shouldn't be gone more than an hour or two." You can practically see her mind working, trying to figure out just how much trouble you can get into in an hour, even at the lake. Before she can get very far, however, she shakes her head and takes a breath.
"Alright. Have a good time." She smiles and bows and you fly past her. There isn't a path as such leading down to the lake, but a cleared area loops around the ridge in case anyone wants to walk to or from the mansion. You fly over the trees until you reach the ridge, then descend to the ground and walk to the lake itself. The lake's namesake fog hasn't risen yet, so it's not hard to see across it, but you merely lean down and put your fingers in the water. It tingles, barely noticeable but actually a little comfortable, but you know that it's the interplay of the lake's stillness and the running water of the river that feeds it. It's not a terribly large lake, after all. You look to your left and see a small pack of wolves drinking from the lake while a youkai watches you nervously. Beast youkai are supposed to be pretty stupid, but maybe it saw you come down the ridge. You turn and start your walk in the other direction. If someone starts something with you, that's one thing, but if you just go and pick a fight then people will notice. Well, they'll notice either way, but this is going to confuse them and make them think instead of making them worried and afraid, and there's a party tomorrow so you don't want them thinking you're going to attack them out of hand.
You see a few more youkai, and some see you as well. Two youkai working together, one with extremely long arms and the other with very long legs, are standing in the lake fishing. A tall woman with a large water bucket approaches the lake farther on. She watches you suspiciously as your paths grow closer, and she adjusts her sleeves to cover her arms and bows, letting you pass in front of her. You nod in response, wondering whether she recognized you or your power, or if she's just a polite youkai. It doesn't particularly matter … but you almost wish she had attacked you.
About a third of the way around the lake you stop and look back the way you came. The fishermen look like they're still there, but you don't see the tall woman who came later. A few more monstrous youkai make their ways to the lakeside, watching each other suspiciously. Shrugging, you turn around and keep walking. After a couple minutes, a small rain of objects hits your parasol and the ground around you, and you crinkle your nose in disgust. Eggs, milk, and a few other things you can't identify by their smell - but all rotten or otherwise spoiled. Someone laughs and you turn to see the blue ice fairy hop out from behind some rocks. A few other fairies come out with her, but three in particular don't share their leader's mirth; in fact, their eyes are doing quite good impressions of saucers right now. Runaways from the mansion, perhaps?
"Hahaha! Intruder, this is the Fairy Kingdom! Give us your respect and shiny things!" An odd thing to say, even for a fairy, but then you see the bottles around them. They're drunk … which probably explains why they're wasting food by throwing it at you, even if it is all spoiled and rotten. "Hey! I'm … the strongest!" Well, that's certainly a challenge.
What do you do?
[ ] Accept their claim on the area … if they can go to the bottom of the lake and bring proof.
- [ ] A fish this big.
[ ] Fairies are rarely worth the bother. Drunk fairies even less so. Ignore them and keep walking.
[ ] Spell Card Duel.
- [ ] You against the ice fairy.
- [ ] You against everyone that has a Spell Card.
- - [ ] At the same time.
[ ] They have attacked, insulted, and challenged you. Demonstrate to them why this is considered a bad idea.
[ ] Other?
