The Lost Word of Lyra Hanahaki

0.1: Teatime As Usual? Pt.1

[Lyra's Pov]

A grand white house stood before me, surrounded by an neverending forest. It was unusual that I was here, seeing as I've never seen this place once, but at the same time, there was a slight hint of nostalgia.

Coming from my left peripheral vision, was a blone haired girl in a neat, doll like dress, and floating next to her was small doll with a very similar appearance, with the sole exception that it was holding a lance in a somewhat provocative manner, but with no sense of hostility. "Oh, there's just so much to do!" The blonde girl announces to nobody but herself, pacing around the yard while carrying several items to and fro. From the looks of it, they appeared to be several chairs and a small round table

"Right, Patchouli? There's not enough time to do everything!" At the bottom of my vision, I notice a transparent bar appear, along with a name and title; Alice Margatroid, Seven-Colored Puppeteer. That name, I probably guess it belonged to the blonde girl with the doll. To my right was a girl with royal purple hair, clad in a light purple nightgown.

"Yes, we are rather busy..." Her reply was not without a sigh, probably from exhaustion, "You still seem to be enjoying yourself though." Once again, that transparent bar appears, but with a different name; Patchouli Knowledge, Girl of Knowledge and Shade.

Looking back to Alice, she seem to look at Patchouli in confusion. "I do? You must be imagining it."

"Well, if you say so. Where should I put the teapot?" Now that she mentioned it, I could see Patchouli carrying a teapot, which I could tell was completely empty, since there seemed to be no steam flowing out from the spout.

"Right on top of that table! Oh, but we have to put down the tablecloth first!" Alice exclaims, going off to grab a tablecloth. Although she was at a considerable distance, I could still hear her talking. "I need to bring out the sweets too, but I guess I can leave that to Houri and Shanghai... There's still so much to do!"

"There's no need to rush..." Patchouli sighs in exasperation, shifting her hands on the teapot for a more comfortable hold, since there was no telling when Alice would come back. "Honestly, that girl... I know it's been a while since our last tea party, but she's getting carried away. She should be more collected, like me..." She smiles, closing her eyes almost as if she was proud of that fact, letting out a light giggle.

Now that I thought about it, I had no clue why I was here, nor if it was right to talk to strangers, but I felt they were nice enough to talk to. "H-Hello!" I hear myself call out to Patchouli, not without a slight stutter, wincing in slight pain as my voice had been caught briefly in my throat.

Patchouli opened her eyes to look for who had called out, her gaze landing on myself before jumping back in surprise with a small gasp. "Were you standing there the whole time? I didn't even see you!" She looked at me cross, possibly annoyed at how I accidentally frightened her. She stared at me for a bit before walking up to me, "I-It's nice to meet you too..."

As if the timing couldn't be any better, Alice comes back with a tablecloth in hand, and a few more floating dolls which carried containers of sweets. "Oh, there's so much to do!" She exclaims for possibly the third time within the span of a few minutes.

"Good timing, Alice. Your guest has arrived." Patchouli turns to Alice, telling her that I was here. Though, I could only look at the two of them in confusion, since I had no recollection of Alice inviting me here, no less meeting her before.

"Huh?" The blond puppeteer looks back at Patchouli, then turns to me, studying my appearance carefully. It was silent before she spoke up again. "I don't remember inviting anyone..."