Of Sight, of Sound, of Mind (open)

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Jiminy wasn’t always certain of where he was. He was on the road very often; he'd been on the road more frequently than he'd ever been anywhere else, as a matter of fact. Moving along was just what he did. Small cities and other such stops along the road all tended to blend together, after a while, but this time around was different. For the first time in a very long while he had been very certain of where he’d been, or at least where he was supposed to be. Situated on the windowsill of a woodworking shop, in a little Italian village in the dead at night. This city was quite plainly not that city. It was daytime, for one. And busy— much busier than the village ever had been. Large, too, far larger even than the human city Jiminy had grown up alongside, littered with storefronts and stages.

Stages. For performing on.

Which— yes, okay, fine; not all actors, he knew very well, but it was the principle of the thing. That was no sort of environment for a kid to be in (they could start getting ideas about skipping out of school to go and chase after a stage or screen career, and do you have any idea how rarely that works out?). And this was a fairly massive issue, Jiminy thought, because there were children everywhere. It was busier, in fact, than any human city Jiminy had ever passed through (though he made a point to avoid large places such as London), full of families everywhere he looked, up and down the street, and Jiminy hastened to get out of the way to somewhere more hidden (and quiet, if such a thing was possible amidst all the bustle) with such speed that he scarcely even looked where he was going and nearly got himself trampled as he darted across the street, paying no mind to the human that nearly toppled over in his attempt to dodge the little insect leaping between his ankles. 

The street was distinctly… American, which under ordinary circumstances wouldn’t be much of a problem at all. Jiminy had nothing against America, naturally. His roots, despite how far he wandered, could still be traced back to a farm out in Missouri, and the heartbeat of the human cities he passed through beat just as plainly here as they did there— the big band music and the chatter of families walking up and down the sidewalks, the trolley cars (well, car, just one; stationary, but still familiar) and sidewalks full of suitcases. But Jiminy (for once in his life) had actually been planning to stay where he was, at least for a while, and he was in Italy. Hence the issue. Italy, from all Jiminy had seen of it— or at least the little village he had been situated in— didn’t have things like this. Things like the big farmers markets and outdoor food stands, and stages for theater and film viewing alike, and a massive, multi-story hotel at the end of the street—

...A hotel.

So he was in a tourist town. That cemented it— cemented the fact that he would never deliberately make a stop here. Jiminy never stopped in tourist towns. That much traffic was just asking for trouble. And, besides, he was too proud to consider himself a run-of-the-mill tourist. He was a traveler, yes, but never a tourist. 

Jiminy didn’t know a great deal about a lot of human structures, as he tended to stick to the outdoors or otherwise perhaps just a quiet little apartment to wait for the next train he could catch, but he’d made his way through plenty of hotels in his time. Hotels had maps, and people willing to let you hang around in the lobby, at least, while you figured out how long you would be staying, and there seemed to be a fairly steady flow of families making their way to and from the place as he hunkered down to observe the crowd from amidst the leaves of the potted plant he’d jumped into, situated right outside the door of what appeared to be a gift shop. That was the best option, he decided— go hide out in the hotel lobby instead, find a map, maybe even work up the nerve to ask for help (he was in the wrong place, quite clearly, which was bad news at all times but particularly when you had a charge you were supposed to be looking after).

Making his way down the street took much longer than it would have for a human, but getting there was, surprisingly, not much trouble despite all the foot traffic. Jiminy was able to quickly wave his way in and out of the crowd, hopping his way down the street towards the wide-open doors of the hotel and into the lobby—

Where he found the doors suddenly closed behind him, the noise from the crowd entirely cut off as he stood at the entrance of an entirely empty, dusty lobby, lost in eerie quiet and the long-since-dead lights of an abandoned hotel. The only noise came from the quiet whir of the machinery behind the wall, over by the service elevator that sat waiting

“Wh—” but there’d been a crowd, a whole crowd of humans lining up just to enter, he’d seen them filing their way into the building. They couldn’t have just vanished; but even prodding at the bottom of the door, where Jiminy would normally have been able to find space to slip under and back out, was fruitless. But someone had to come and open the doors back up eventually, didn’t they? All of those humans couldn’t have just up and vanished. Heck, there’d been a sizable crowd standing in the lobby itself when Jiminy had first come up to hop through the doors. The place couldn’t have been entirely abandoned, even if it certainly looked that way, all dust and cobwebs. Places didn't simply up and change like that, not that quickly, although he realized as he considered the issue that he'd already been met with one abrupt change of location today. He certainly couldn't stand for two; if this was a joke, it was a very unsavory one. “...Hello? Is there a, um… receptionist? Manager? ...Anybody?”

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What was a 6 year old doing at the Tower of Terror? Morgan was trying to be as brave as Jessie. Jessie used to tell her stories about her adventures and she had seen her do some brave stunts*, even though Jessie was just a small-sized doll. Giselle was plenty brave, too, but if someone smaller than her could do it, then she could, too.. maybe. Still, the little girl embraced her cowboy doll all the more tightly in attempts to absorb as much of the doll's bravery as she could, given that she didn't like the sound of terror in the name at all. Although she lived in New York, the little girl wasn't used to the life of danger like Jessie was; she was used to her penthouse suite in Manhattan and her daddy kept her away from anything that would have her in harm's way. Also, she wanted to remind anyone that she only started karate lessons as a white belt, so she certainly did not feel prepared. 

Morgan was good about following people, since the obedient girl had done that all her life while living with her dad. Yet when the crowd of people disappeared, her eyes blinked in surprise and alarm upon suddenly finding herself alone. Instantly, she turned her head to look behind her, only to realize that the door was shut behind her. "Umm...Hello?!" Morgan immediately turned around and tried knocking on the door several times before she leaned against the wall in defeat. "Jessie? Is this supposed to happen?" She asked the doll, wondering if she knew if this was supposed to be part of the ride, though the fact that the crowd of people suddenly disappeared made her feel uneasy. She wasn't sure if even Jessie could come up with a reason for that. The little obedient girl was content to just staying put, hugging her Jessie doll in hopes that someone would come to find her, but a voice alerted her with the understanding that she was not truly alone after all.

“...Hello? Is there a, um… receptionist? Manager? ...Anybody?”

"...A talking grasshopper??" The six year old raised her eyebrows as she verbalized her confusion at the unexpected encounter when she knelt before the insect to inspect the source of the voice further. The little girl didn't mean to sound insulting by identifying the insect wrong, but she was too young to understand the difference at this point. Instead, she found the concept of it talking both shocking while at the same time not being able to hide the slight tone of disappointment from her voice and her expression. She didn't mean to sound even slightly disappointed. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful that she wasn't here alone, but the fearful little girl was secretly hoping that the voice belonged to someone..bigger? Like an adult? Of course, she knew better than to say that aloud. After all, Jessie and even Jake were a lot of help despite their size. Maybe a grasshopper could be helpful, too. After all, Giselle called to them for help in cleaning the apartment that one time. Whoa, her daddy was really wrong about bugs. "Hi..Can you help me?" Morgan asked with pleading hazel eyes, hoping that the insect was one of the friendly ones that Giselle would have called to. "..do I have to sing to you for help?" The six year old crinkled her nose slightly and looked a little sheepish with that shy smile spreading across her chubby cheeks, hoping she didn't have to sing to it for him to help her out. Giselle did sing to bugs for help, and Jessie did apparently know how to do a yodel for help, but Morgan never had to do anything of the sort before. She did, however, suddenly feel sorry for helping her daddy clean the apartment of all the insects that last time Giselle called on them for help. Now that they actually do talk, just like Giselle had said, maybe her daddy would treat them better next time. 

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Jiminy, in all honesty, had not actually been expecting any sort of response; and while the response he did get wasn’t verbal, it was still enough to startle him thoroughly. There was unmistakable light flooding in from behind, from the door; and then footsteps, thank goodness. The cricket turned over his shoulder to confirm that, yes, he at least wasn’t the only one stuck, surprised but relieved to see that at least one other person had made it in— even if, admittedly, he’d been hoping for more… well, adult help. Fully-grown humans were great at things like breaking down doors, and though he knew far better than to underestimate children, he wasn’t about to go making such requests of someone that young. He did, however, make one hasty request as soon as he processed the fact that someone else had made it in from among the crowd— too little, too late, as it would turn out, but it was an attempt nevertheless.

"Wait— the door, don't let it—"

...Close.

Not as though she could have really done anything about it. He’d never seen any door move that fast, closed before anyone could even process that they had entered in the first place. If he didn't know better Jiminy would be inclined to speculate that the hotel possessed a will all it's own, but that would be entirely ridiculous. Still, she seemed as surprised by the development as he had been, so in some small way it was reassuring to know that this was more than likely not, in fact, standard operating procedures for this hotel. Or if it was it was very bad about advertising that fact.

Oh, well. No matter. It wasn’t to say that his concern entirely dissipated, but there was much less of it to shoulder with company than when one was alone, and besides; Jiminy found his priorities abruptly changing tracks without so much as having to consider it. He may not have been particularly optimistic regarding the situation, or at least not particularly confident in what was going on, but he did know that it would be far less helpful to inform a child of this fact than it would be to keep spirits high, instead. Jiminy stepped a bit closer, meeting her halfway when she knelt to get nearer to his level, picking at his gloves with a trace of fretfulness even as he smiled genially at her.

"Hi..Can you help me? ...Do I have to sing to you for help?"

“Now, I dunno what sort of tall tales you’ve been reading about crickets, but I promise we’re not that picky about who we go around helping. No singing required, Miss. Promise.”

Not that he’d be much help in either case, though. Jiminy turned his gaze back towards the imposing doors, his light chuckle fading out with just a hint of uncomfortable trepidation.

“In any case... well, I’m awful sorry, but I sure wish I could help. I’m afraid I’m a little lost, myself. Wasn’t really planning on an extended visit.” He certainly wouldn’t be hanging around in a place like this willingly, after all, but he had enough mind to keep from saying so. “But, uh, hey! You and I both got in, right? Which means somebody else is gonna find their way in, too, eventually. And we can just have ‘em hold the door open for us when they do! Just gotta wait for a little bit. We can manage that, can't we?”

No, staying put for some vague amount of time in hopes of a potential 'eventually, maybe' was not exactly Jiminy's idea of a good plan, or even a plan at all. But it was better than absolutely nothing, wasn't it? At least to some degree. He wasn't exactly swimming in options at the moment. 

[Jessie]

Jessie's plan was speaking when it was pertinent, much like she did in day to day interactions where Morgan took her around. She had since learned that she didn't have to be as careful about the No Letting on You're Alive rule here in the parks, but still, it caused all sorts of reactions if she just spoke or moved because she felt like it. Around adults especially.

Stealth was one of the first lessons toys learned, though, and so Jessie easily took in all around both herself and Morgan even as they entered and she remained limp. Including the small bug's cry to not let the door close. Too little too late, yes.

It, and the atmosphere, gave an ominous feeling...but then maybe that was part of the ride. Still, Jessie's mission here, and for as long as they were both in the parks, was to help Morgan. Same as any toy's mission was. So why were they in such a scary ride? To help the girl's confidence.

Morgan wanted to go on this ride, with her brave cowgirl doll right there to help her get through it, and Jessie was determined to see that mission through!

So she did not speak her internal concerns about the door closing out-loud even as she answered Morgan's question. "Yeah, I--I'm sure it's fine. Just a really fast door".

Just because Jessie talked, didn't mean both she and Morgan weren't intrigued to see a cricket that did the same! Jessie, again, intended to just be a silent observer in all this, unless he'd caught her replying to Morgan, but that got harder and harder as she listened to the cricket's explanation...

Waiting around wasn't Jessie's idea of how to do things, and if this whole situation got worse, and thus Morgan got more scared, it really wasn't any way to do anything! Of course Jessie was still mostly sure it was a ride, but...best prove to both of them that everything was fine and they could open the door any time they wanted.

"Howdy there Mr. Cricket, beg your pardon for the startle", Jessie began, apologizing even as she spoke to him, and tipped her hat, before jumping down, "but maybe my girl here can further explain while I just see about something, I don't think we're as trapped as all that. Door probably opens with a bit of messing with it". Jessie rushed over and investigated the hinges to prove her point. Of course she was no mechanic, but, as a toy, she understood locks to an extent, and had found that poking things until something happened was also a viable way out of situations.

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"Yeah, I--I'm sure it's fine. Just a really fast door."

While the wavy haired little girl understood that Jessie couldn't always talk, given that she didn't want to scare the adults by talking and moving all the time, she gratefully appreciated when Jessie did respond to her with reassurances when she did need it most. In this instance, Morgan was already starting to regret trying to prove her bravery by coming here in the first place, but she didn't voice them aloud. Giselle talked about how brave Pip was, and she wanted to keep trying to be brave for Jessie, so the reassurances helped. "Okay..!" Morgan silently nodded in agreement upon hearing Jessie's words. She trusted Jessie.

“Now, I dunno what sort of tall tales you’ve been reading about crickets, but I promise we’re not that picky about who we go around helping. No singing required, Miss. Promise.”

Morgan had to blink upon hearing that the talking cricket, as she had learned, sounded a lot like her father did about fairytales, even though it was a talking cricket. "But I really know two people that can call animals for help when they sing!" Morgan insisted with her eyebrows tilted upwards, hoping that the cricket would believe her. "Last time, Giselle called a bunch of bugs, mice, and pigeons to help clean the whole apartment just by her singing!" She recounted in an excited tone of voice, the kind of voice that just loved to dish out about the latest things she learned about. The little kid liked proving that she was old enough to know things. The other person happened to be Jessie, whom she falsely believed could really summon critters like Jessie said she did in the TV show. 

“In any case... well, I’m awful sorry, but I sure wish I could help. I’m afraid I’m a little lost, myself. Wasn’t really planning on an extended visit.”

The six year old felt her face fall upon hearing that the cricket was also lost, too. It gave into the fear that she had about this not really being a part of the ride. She tried to smile a little when he kept his spirit up about waiting for someone else to come through. Her daddy would say something like that, too. Just waiting and staying put. Morgan nodded obediently to the cricket. Unfortunately, that was not doing anything for the little girl's fears, especially being in the dark. Morgan tried to concentrate on the tiny beam of light coming from the doors, when Jessie suddenly introduced herself to the cricket. She smiled a little more when Jessie decided to talk with the cricket and then listened as Jessie said that Morgan would be able to explain things to him! Morgan blinked, realizing that the cricket was actually lost because he must've come from another place, just like her and Jessie did! She never thought of the cricket being in the same exact situation before. Morgan wasn't normally used to being put on the spot, but she saw Jessie heading over to try to open the door, so she decided to try to explain to the poor cricket. "We're far from home, too.." The six year old tried to explain the situation the best she could, with a sympathetic expression for the poor cricket that was also far from home, too. "We came here by magic! Like fairy magic!" Perhaps that's where all reasonable explanations would go downhill, as this came from a little girl, but this was the best way she could understand what was going on. "But we can't go back whenever we want..it won't let us.." She said with a frown, missing her daddy back home. Morgan tried to wipe away any watery eyes she might've had from both the fear of being here and also missing her daddy. "Where did you come from?" She asked the cricket, curious to know where the cricket came from. 

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“Oh, well, mice and birds, sure. Heck, you can get a bird to do just about anything for ya if you’ve got the right song to sing. Goes for cicadas and katydids, too. But crickets—” 

For better or worse, the girl was spared from whatever further lessons in cricket customs Jiminy had up his sleeve for the moment, at least, as his train of thought (and of conversation) derailed nearly instantaneously as the doll the girl had taken in with her sprang to life, tipping her hat and making her way across the floor abruptly. 

...Well, sure. Why not. One more talking doll was by no means the strangest thing that Jiminy had encountered in the last several days. Still, it took a fair while for Jiminy to steer his train of thought even remotely back towards the right direction, mind running a hundred miles a minute. The cowgirl got little more than a mute nod at her suggestion, both a silent go-ahead and an agreement to hear out the doll’s charge while she began poking around the door more thoroughly than Jiminy had thought to.
He wouldn't say no to an explanation, naturally. For any of this, all of this, if such an explanation existed. A great many things could be chalked up to magic— even living dolls, or, rather, especially living dolls— but it was not magic that Jiminy had been privy to, and that made all the difference. 

“—well, that’s… that’s neither here nor there, I guess... magic, you said?” Thoughtfully, he mulled the remark over, rubbing his chin. “Reckon it does kinda fit the bill, goin’ off of what fairy magic I’ve seen…”

Now, Jiminy knew better than to take the word of a child as law, especially given it seemed more to him like a theory rather than a concrete explanation, but he had to admit he couldn’t come up with any other feasible reasoning for his presence here— nor could he dismiss the possibility as being out of the question when he’d been a first-hand witness to fairy magic on more than one occasion already. What if that had been it? What if it had been magic, deliberate magic, maybe even by Miss Blue herself— he had to admit it didn’t seem unreasonable to assume as much. After all, he hardly had any work left to do when it came to his previous assignment (though the thought made his heart ache, both that of not being needed anymore and even more so that of not seeing Pinocchio again). But that would hardly explain why anyone else had found their way here— or why they couldn’t leave.
Besides, if it was a matter of being assigned to a new charge (something Jiminy had not agreed to, not that he'd signed a contract or anything) he would have expected at least a word of warning beforehand. He would have liked to pack, for starters. And he certainly would have liked to say goodbye. And maybe negotiate some terms; he certainly wasn't all too fond of the concept of not being able to leave whenever he wanted.

That thought in particular didn’t sit well with Jiminy. Jiminy was very good at leaving, as it happened. Less good at staying put, even forcefully. Especially forcefully. 

“I came here from, uh, Italy— wherever here is. I’d just been passing through, though, so I suppose when you boil it down this is really just another stop on the map,” he answered (perhaps not entirely truthfully; if he were to be completely honest, the village had felt more like home than anywhere else had in a very long while, but it felt like overstepping some sort of boundary to admit as much) distractedly, watching the doll focus on fiddling with the hinges of the door as though it would swing open if she prodded enough. Jiminy didn’t want to seem pessimistic, but he had his doubts that any one of them would be able to pry the door open regardless of how much they messed with it. They hardly made for an imposing bunch. Then again, they didn’t have any proof that it wasn’t just a trick door. Perhaps she was onto something after all, with a line of thinking like that. Though it seemed like something of a cruel joke, if that was all it was; trick doors and vanishing illusions and whatnot. Not a very friendly hotel, all things considered. “Where’s home for you folks, then?” And, more importantly— “How long’ve you been here for?”

[Jessie]

Or if it's not fine, I'll make sure it's fine...

Jessie continued her previous thought to herself with resolve as Morgan took to her reassurances. A hard promise to keep, perhaps, but the toy was determined to give it her all and for her girl.

"But I really know two people that can call animals for help when they sing!"

Jessie hoped Morgan wouldn't mention her as one of those two...

Giselle, she knew about, and...similarly, the girl though that Jessie's yodeling ability in Woody's Round-Up was something the cowgirl doll could do here. While Jessie could yodel, she doubted critters would respond to it like the cardboard ones had in the show, and dreaded the day Morgan found that out...

Luckily it wasn't needed here, they were already talking to the cricket and so he would help. If Jessie couldn't get the door, that was.

The cricket's explanations really were the cutest thing ever, but then Jessie was partial to critters. Thankfully for his self-esteem, she didn't say this thought out-loud. "You've seen real fairy magic?", she did ask.

Morgan actually did a very good job explaining the situation. Jessie paused to smile back at her proudly, whether she saw or not, before investigating the door again even as she answered the cricket's question. "I'm from around the Tri-State area. San Francisco Bay, I believe". As a toy, she had a vague idea of geography, and where the states were, though the concept of how far away Japan was was a bit harder to get her head around, and Italy fell into the same category.

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“Oh, well, mice and birds, sure. Heck, you can get a bird to do just about anything for ya if you’ve got the right song to sing. Goes for cicadas and katydids, too. But crickets—”

Morgan blinked in surprise that crickets didn't seem to be affected by the same magic that Giselle had on the other animals whenever she sang to summon them for help. She could have thought that it would've worked on any animal, but truth be told, she didn't see any crickets being summoned to clean the apartment now that he mentioned it. She glanced over at Jessie to see if that was true for her summoning yodeling as well, regarding whether it affected crickets or just other animals. Either way, the little girl was far too passive to say anything to argue it. She just easily accepted it as an answer. 

"You've seen real fairy magic?"

Morgan would have thought that she was mistaken to have heard him say that, but thankfully Jessie asked the question only to confirm that she wasn't just hearing things! "Yeah! Where did you see her?!" Morgan asked excitedly with a tone of wonder as she peered closely to listen attentively, hoping to be able to find a fairy the same way he did!

“I came here from, uh, Italy— wherever here is.."

"You mean the place where they make pizza?!" Morgan asked excitedly, knowing that Italy was the place where their favorite Tony's Restaurant was based off of in New York, where they served yummy pasta and pizza. At least, that's what her daddy told her the food in the restaurant was from. Morgan knew very few geological places, given that she was only in the 1st grade, but she could remember that much. "We're in a theme park called Walt Disney World!" She explained more on the cricket's puzzlement on where this place is. 

"I'm from around the Tri-State area. San Francisco Bay, I believe"

Truth be told, Morgan had no idea that Jessie was from there. Or if she did mention it, then Morgan forgot. She wasn't good at memorizing places, let alone states. But she did remember her address! Her daddy made sure that she remembered in case she were to ever get lost in New York, which was why she was easily able to find her way back after shopping with Giselle. "And I'm from 440 Riverside Drive and West 116th Street in Manhattan, New York!" She recited the address, still not knowing fully well that it wasn't exactly prudent to do to strangers, though Morgan would say that a talking cricket was no stranger. "We've been here for a long time, like almost a year!" The six year old said in an exaggerated tone of voice. It was a year, but Morgan had no sense of time given that she had no calendars to help her, so to her it felt like a long time that would have been nearly forever if it weren't for the fact that she didn't want to say that she hadn't seen her daddy in forever.  

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Jiminy had only been to New York once, to catch a ship to Europe, and he'd never been to San Francisco (though he'd certainly heard of it). Still, he nodded slowly— so this place took all sorts, then, from all over everywhere. Somehow that only made it more confusing; he tried to piece it together in his mind, what the connecting thread between them could possibly have been that would lead to them getting taken here, and why, and how. But it didn't seem as though any of them had the answers to that. He pushed the mystery into the back of his mind— getting frustrated about it wouldn't help solve it, by any means, no matter how desperate he was for answers. 

Conversation, at least, was a good distraction from the persistent worry he found himself caught up in (did all of this mean he was the only one here from home? Would his absence be noted? Would Pinocchio be alright? Sure, he had his father there with him as far as Jiminy was aware, but the boy needed a friend and additional guidance and without Jiminy around—), and he couldn't help but to laugh just a bit at the girl's eager question. 

"You mean the place where they make pizza?!"

"Well, uh... yeah. Yes, that's right. The place where they make pizza." By no means a particularly educational answer, but she wasn't wrong, and that in and of itself was pretty impressive coming from a child. He continued almost absentmindedly, glancing over his shoulder and then hopping up onto a windowsill as he spoke to begin poking around the frame of it for an exit point. "I've never been to a theme park before." Pleasure Island did not count. He didn't even want to think of that place. "Certainly not one that you're supposed to stay for a year in... always thought they were more of a, y'know, quick family vacation sorta deal."

A year or longer, he added mentally. The thought just unsettled him further. Jiminy wasn't good at staying in one place for a day, let alone a year or more, and now he didn't even have a say in the matter. But he could dwell on that in his own time (it seemed as though he was going to have plenty of that on his hands).

"Anyhow, this fairy— she's an old friend from back home. I've only ever seen her a couple times," he added quickly, then, in the interest of being entirely truthful. After all, he couldn't claim that he had a great level of experience when it came to magic of any sort. Some, certainly. And he was a firm believer in it, regardless. But he was no expert; in fact he hardly understood what he'd witnessed. "But I've seen her magic plenty, and it's as real as anything. She's pretty spectacular."

[Jessie]

As a doll, Jessie wouldn't fault Morgan's childishly simple answer of Italy being where Pizza came from. She smiled to herself, and especially as Jiminy was so gracious and didn't correct her. The cowgirl had already pegged the bug as a good sort of critter, but that just bumped him up in her estimation.

Morgan was more specific in stating where she was from. As most kids her age were, Jessie knew; their addresses being sewn and written into things like their backpacks, and in the event they were ever lost.

"Certainly not one that you're supposed to stay for a year in... always thought they were more of a, y'know, quick family vacation sorta deal."

"Oh they are, usually", Jessie answered, "But this place...works different...for some reason", she paused as she strained at what she thought was a mechanism inside the door, but if it was, it wasn't what she sought because it didn't do anything. With a sigh she came back over, "Well that's not gonna work...", she tried to not sound too disparaging, though, for Morgan's sake if not all three of theirs.

Maybe fairies was a good topic to get on to. "What kinds of things can she do?", Jessie added her own question to the conversation.

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"Well, uh... yeah. Yes, that's right. The place where they make pizza."

The six year old girl smiled contently, almost proudly that she had gotten that answer right! Her daddy would be proud that she remembered that. She listened as the cricket said that she had never been to a theme park, especially not one for a year. "Me neither," The 1st grader added with a small smile before glancing down at the floor. Her daddy said they'd go since she was old enough, but he was very busy lately. She wasn't sure when that was supposed to happen.

"Anyhow, this fairy— she's an old friend from back home. I've only ever seen her a couple times,"

"You made friends with a fairy?!" Morgan exclaimed with a gasp of wonder and a bright smile across her chubby cheeks, almost as if that sounded like a dream come true. She just thought that was the luckiest thing in the world, almost as great as knowing an real life princess and prince! She wouldn't make comparisons about it though, it wasn't a competition and she was ever bit as genuinely interested in the cricket's fairy friend. It sounded like the fairy only visited Italy, the place where they make pizza. Maybe fairies like pizza? She thought that was strange, but then again she had never heard of Giselle's different story about the Little Red Riding Hood.

"But I've seen her magic plenty, and it's as real as anything. She's pretty spectacular."

"Well that's not gonna work...",

The little girl smiled brightly in fascination upon hearing that the cricket had seen the fairy's power. Unfortunately, her attention, like any normal 6 year old's, switched over to Jessie not being able to unlock the door. Her eyebrows tilted upwards with worry on her complexion, her lips starting to form a frown before Jessie's words prompted her attention back to the subject of fairies, a far more comforting thing to talk about than the concern about getting out of this place.

"What kinds of things can she do?"

"Yeah! What kind of magic did she do?" Morgan agreed with Jessie as she leaned closer to listen to the cricket's story, the talk about fairies was probably the most comforting thing right now in this dark place, but it was always a welcomed subject for the fairy tale dreamer.

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It was a bit more difficult for Jiminy himself to latch onto the offered topic as a distraction— he was keenly aware that thus far their attempts at prying open an exit had been less than successful, and he couldn't help but to worry that they were going to run out of options at some point. Still, the doll seemed keen on keeping the girl from worrying too much; and that was as noble a goal as any. Uncertain, he frowned thoughtfully at the question.

"Oh, uh... all sorts, I suppose." The answer was vague at best, but truth be told Jiminy didn't know where to begin estimating her abilities. It almost felt like he would be doing a disservice to even attempt. "She's a wishing star sort of fairy," though he wasn't sure if that counted as its own classification or not. He had never met another fairy, nor did he ever expect to. "Y'know, the kind that... well, that grants folks' wishes. I've seen her bring toys to life—" he cast an uncertain sidelong glance towards the cowgirl, "—I mean, puppets, at least. And... even turn 'em human."

She changed people— perhaps that was the correct way to word it. She'd certainly changed him, and heaven knows she'd changed Geppetto and Pinocchio, too. Heck, she'd changed herself; perhaps he didn't have any way to confirm his suspicions, but some part of him knew without a doubt that the brilliant blue dove they'd been sent wasn't so much a messenger as it was a clever disguise.

"But she does smaller things, too, like... open doors, and, uh... and make dresses." Or at least very nice suits, though he didn't think that would seem quite as appealing to the kid. "Fairies are multi-talented like that."

[Jessie]

Around her exploration of the door, Jessie mainly just watched Morgan be so entranced by Jiminy's explanation of fairies, seeing the wonder on her girl's face just warming her to her cloth core, though she also took in the details of the story herself, and was just as fascinated perhaps. It was a secret about toys moving and all back in her world, so she was sure there were other secrets such as fairies, and all those stories in children's books being at least somewhat true, as well.

She was onto the right next course of action (maybe, hopefully), Jessie felt, as her own question at least wiped away that worried frown Morgan had gotten upon her face. Denial was perhaps not a fool-proof strategy, but it was only until she or Jiminy could figure out what to do, Jessie told herself.

The cricket seemed to understand also, and obliged them with further details while Jessie continued to scan the room, as well as listen.

They could use a wishing fairy right now! Though she of course didn't say that.

"Maybe there's a back entrance this way", she put in as casually as she could, before turning back to Jiminy as she made her way over to see what the back of the room held. "Brought toys to life like... made them human? Or did they just move, well. like me, because I could always do that, I just had to keep it secret back home. Not so much here", she explained.

Of course she had before thought of what if she was a real cowgirl, and especially with all those years in a storage box with nothing to do but think, but even if she met this fairy now, she wouldn't take her up on the offer she knew, her role as Morgan's doll being very important.

[Deleted]

"Wow! A Wishing Star Fairy!" Morgan whispered in surprise upon hearing Jiminy talk about the fairy he had seen and the kind of magic she knew how to do. The little girl had heard of wishing on stars before, but she had never heard of fairies being from there. Easily, however, it all made sense to the naïve fairytale dreamer. Maybe she could wish on a star to be with her daddy again, like him coming here! She missed him a lot!

"I've seen her bring toys to life—"

Morgan almost glanced over at Jessie at the same time that the cricket did. But Jessie was already real to Morgan even without the fairy..

"—I mean, puppets, at least. And... even turn 'em human."

"Turn them human?!" Morgan echoed in shock with her parted lips followed by a tiny crinkle of her nose when she asked with a bit of sass in her tone, "Why?" She turned her attention over at Jessie when she mentioned another entrance, then obediently got up to walk over to the place her doll had indicated. Talking while they were finding the entrance helped. When Jessie asked for a clarification of what that meant. Meanwhile, the six year old had a hard time grasping that concept. It was actually very easy to imagine the toys as real humans because that's how she always imagined them to be. She just didn't know why anyone would want to turn their toys as human. It would be hard to play pretend that way, or even to cuddle with whenever she was scared, felt lonely, or when she would go to sleep.

Morgan did like hearing about the other talents that the fairy had. It was a confirmation of everything she thought fairies could do. She had heard fairytales about fairies helping make dresses for princesses. It was actually one of the things that Giselle had mentioned when she needed a dress for the ball. Even though she didn't have a fairy godmother of her own, the helpful girl was delighted to have helped by offering to pay for her dress with daddy's credit card. 

[Deleted]

He wouldn't admit it, but at this point Jiminy would chew through the drywall if it means finding a way out. The building was far too big to feel claustrophobic to someone like Jiminy, but he had to admit that crickets didn't do well cooped up indoors with no escape routes. He was glad to follow along after the cowgirl doll to prod around for another exit, and more glad at the questions they raised that kept his mind from fretting too hard about potentially being stuck.

Brought toys to life like... made them human? Or did they just move, well. Like me.

"Just... brought 'em to life," he answered slowly at first. "I mean, at first. But then turned 'em human. Later on, when they'd... er, y'know. Earned it, and all."

It was, admittedly, a bit strange. Talking about it like that to another living toy, that was to say, and Jiminy's uncertainty regarding the topic was apparent. He'd never had to really sit and analyze the situation, thinking about what Pinocchio was and what he'd had to become. It had all just sort of... happened. There hadn't been time to sit and ruminate on the situation. It had all been so strange at the time.

Why?

"Why?" The further questioning threw him for a bit of a loop, and he stammered to find an answer. "Well, I— I dunno. Because... in some cases, that's... that's just how they wanna be, I suppose," though, frankly, that wasn't exactly something Jiminy had thought of before. Had Pinocchio wanted to be human? Genuinely wanted it? Or had he just been told it was what he should want?

Yes, Geppetto's wish had been for Pinocchio to be a real boy... but the man had seemed to love him all the same when he was a puppet. And Pinocchio had never seemed any less real to Jiminy before he had achieved his goal of being made of flesh and blood. Fulfilling the wish in full was just something the fairy had seemed adamant about, though Jiminy couldn't help but wonder now why that burden had fallen on Pinocchio's shoulders at all. He'd just been created, after all... no other being had to earn their right to humanity. Would he have been happier, being told instead that he was fine how he was and didn't have to earn anything at all? Most humans had years and years to figure themselves out; what they wanted to be and do. Pinocchio had had it all thrust on him when he was approximately thirty seconds old. Was that... well, right? Or was it ridiculous to even apply such a baseline understanding of right and wrong to a situation in which he was dealing with a wishing star fairy and a living puppet, of all things? Surely that fell outside the realm of normal procedure when it came to raising a child.

...This sort of conundrum was why Jiminy had always been very certain he never wanted to be a parent.

"And she is a wish-granting fairy," he followed up after quite a while of silence as he was lost in thought. He sounded a bit more certain about this answer, though it didn't exactly do much to resolve his tangled line of thinking. "And Mister Geppetto wished for a real boy, so... so I reckon it was somethin she just had to do, y'know? Make Pinoke fully human and all. So the wish would be granted true and proper."

Another pause.

"...I think... maybe magic is just kinda complicated like that."

[Jessie]

Jiminy explained they weren't turned from toy to human just like that, they were apparently brought to life and then earned humanity. Morgan asked the question running around in Jessie's head as well of why.

"Well, I— I dunno. Because... in some cases, that's... that's just how they wanna be, I suppose,"

"Hmm..well my set up works just fine and dandy for me", Jessie wasn't cirtical as she said this, just commenting. "Still, as ya say, I guess some like experiencing that". Woody had switches purposes, in a sense, after all, even if he remained a toy even through it.

Jiminy went on to explain it had just been Mister Geppetto's wish, his puppet turned into a son, and so Pinocchio had probably been alright to go along with it because it fulfilled his own toy's purpose, even if to an adult and not a child. "Ah, well, if this Mister Geppetto wanted a son, then I imagine Pinocchio was happy to be that, or that's how most toys I know work, whatever your kid or person needs". She shot Morgan a small smile.