+- Court of the Fallen (https://cotf-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Out of Character (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=26)
+--- Forum: Important (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Archives (https://cotf-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: six impossible things before breakfast (/showthread.php?tid=3045)
six impossible things before breakfast - Petra - 04-01-2020
Picture this. You stumble out of bed in the wee hours before dawn, like, two hours before the alarm is about to ring. Actually, more close to an hour and a half. Groggy and still half asleep, you stagger to the bathroom, blind yourself by turning on the light and do your business, still more asleep than not, trailing the line of the floor with eyes that can't quite rememeber how to focus. And when you're done, and have flushed, and washed your hands, you push said bathroom door open again to head back for your nice, comfy bed...
Imagine, in that instant of opening the door again, you're hit full in the face with a flashing light that really should not be there, stagger forward with lights flashing before your eyes... and find yourself standing in the pouring rain. Outside. With a gloomy overcast sky to obscure the time of day - it definitely is day, which of course is impossible - and a sweeping view over a vast, barren landscape that has nothing whatsoever to do with the small town views you are accustomed to.
In a few moments the pyjamas has become soaking wet - and there's a moment of relief that you even have pyjamas on at all, because let's face it, it's not always the case - and with a numb disbelief you look back, to see where your bathroom went.
Only to find that it is gone. And the only thing that is behind you is a huge, tall, looming black building that is clearly the result of someone who's trying to compensate for something.
[say]"Uhm..."[/say]
This would be the most eloquent response a great number of people could come up with. And it was exactly what spilled from her lips. In a dazed, numb, half-asleep kind of way.
Now, a few things could possibly explain this. A, she had dropped back to sleep, or B, she had tripped and hit her head and was now in a coma, with this being a dream - the most logical assumption. But the rain was very wet and the wind that sent it whipping about was cold enough to make her shudder, and she'd never har a dream like that before.
[say]"Oookay...?"[/say] Wiping at the water when it began to roll down her face, she turned on the spot. Stepping in place, her bare feet very wet and very cold on the gravelly ground. There was still no sign of the bathroom. Or the door. Or any other part of the apartment.
And as she scuffed her big toe on a rock and dug a pebble into the heel of the opposite foot, and began to hiss and curse and wobble around while pain shot through her feet... that was when her heart began to race.
[say]"Uhm... uhm... okay... eeh.."[/say] The anxiety was a very physical thing. Shortness of breath, a sinking, nauseating feel of the stomach, and a ringing in the ears that har her lift her hands to the head, to the messy - now sodden - tangle of mousy blonde hair. Then they came down again, as she wrapped her bare arms around herself, trying very hard to keep breathing.
[say]"Oh fuck. Oh fuck, someone has got to be kidding me."[/say]
Only, there was no one around. Not that she could see.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Loren - 04-01-2020
Loren had gone back to the Hollowed Ground to reread the note Delphia had left from Maea. Though it made his heart ache and tears spring to his eyes, he was looking for some sign of a message he could give to Sunjata, who needed such solace far more than the healer did. Unfortunately, nothing sprung out, and he gulped back a sob at reading the section dedicated to him.
Stumbling away, he made his way back for the Spire, not wanting or needing to stick around any more. However, as he approached the tower, he noticed the woman, who was wet and cursing. Sighing, he took a deep breath and scrubbed his eyes, trying to restore some semblance of normalcy.
Then he called out softly to her. [say]"You alright?"[/say] His voice was raspy, but also filled with a gentle concern.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Petra - 04-01-2020
She was quite overwhelmed, to say the least. All the wheels in her head were spinning wildly, like a bike wheel after the chain popped off, but no matter how she twisted and turned and reasoned with herself, she just reached the same conclusion.
She was not sleeping. Not dreaming. And she was not at home.
Her wild staring around made her spot the approach of the person quite a while before he was within hailing distance. Numbly, she just stood there and stared at him until he noticed her in return. It was just a kid. Or well. Not really, but he looked too young to be of any real help either. Not when her breath came in short gasps and panic was mounting like some tsunami after an earthquake.
[say]"Uhm..."[/say] came the helpful response, when he asked about her state of being. [say]"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Everything's just peachy."[/say] It was a complete lie of course. Things had never been less fine in her life.[say]"I.. uhm.."[/say]
How did you explain this? How was she supposed to explain the panic of being taken from your warm, cozy apartment in the middle of the night - alright, pre-dawn was more like it - and dropped in... wherever... dressed in saggy flannel bottoms, a spaghetti top linen with sweat stains and chocolate crumbs down the front, and sleep lines still etched in the cheek?
The guy looked concerned, and she really couldn't blame him. She was concerned too. To put it mildly.
[say]"I.... should go home,"[/say] she said, and turned on tender feet, to look again for the bathroom door. It still wasn't there.
She was acutely aware of his eyes on her, and the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra.Was this the kind of dream then, where you walked around without underwear and har to suffer the humiliation until you woke up?
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Loren - 04-01-2020
The woman's response was less than convincing. Despite Loren's own sorrow, he gave her a sympathetic and understanding look. Approaching slowly, he raised his hands in a placating gesture to let her know he meant no harm. [say]"Where's home?"[/say] Again, he spoke in a low and soothing voice, and while his eyes were still sad, he did his best to make his posture and expression as reassuring as possible.
Taking a deep breath, he lowered his hands. [say]"Look, let me help you."[/say] Taking a moment to study her features, he clasped his hands behind his back. [say]"I know this is going to sound weird but...did you unexpectedly find yourself here?"[/say]
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Petra - 04-01-2020
Despite the mounting panic, she noticed that the way he approached was with the caution of someone coming up on a skittish horse. It was really rather insulting, but she wasn't exactly in a position to complain about it. Wouldn't either, because that would be rude. He might leave, and that idea felt more than a little terrifying.
The question did make her look around again, as if a sign might miraculously appear. [say]"Well... hell if I know. Earth, I suppose?"[/say] She said it like it was the most ridiculous joke and laughed weakly, cringing as she heard how hysterical the sounded.
[say]"I mean... yeah. I was just going to the bathroom. And then there was this flash of light, and..."[/say] She broke off, staring at the dude with her mouth gone very dry. [say]"If this is a joke, it's not very funny,"[/say] she told him, with a note of accusation.
The rain kept pelting down. She was soaked through by now, and the chill made her shiver. Biting her teeth together to keep them from clattering, she thought longingly of the thick comforters she had left only minutes before. [say]"I really wouldn't mind waking up about now,"[/say] she whined plaintively.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Loren - 04-01-2020
The word Earth caused Loren's eyes to widen slightly. That was a world he knew from Abasi and others. The thought of his dead love didn't exactly help with his sad expression, but he forced himself to focus on the woman before him. [say]"I see."[/say] His voice was still shockingly sympathetic.
Shaking his head, his eyes took in how she chattered. The cold rain didn't bother him, but he waved a hand. The rain parted over them in a wide dome. That done, he warmed up the water already on her to a comfortable temperature. [say]"It's not a joke. It is a lot to take in, though. Trust me, I've been in your shoes"[/say] Sighing, he clasped his hands behind him. [say]"You might want to sit down."[/say]
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Petra - 04-01-2020
It was only because she looked at him in that moment that she noticed the way his eyes widened. Like he was surprised. There was none of the grinning, sniggering mockery she would have expected from someone in om this kind of prank however, and his response was calm. The look of pity on his face made her stomach drop with a horrible foreboding.
But she quite forgot about that - for the moment - when the rain did something that rain definitely wasn't supposed to do. [say]"Whoah, what the...!?"[/say] She hunched and snapped the arms over her head when it suddenly stopped falling and stopped in the air above, like it was hitting some pane of glass. As the water soaking her skin and clothes became warm, she pawed at it, at herself, more than a little freaked out.
[say]"Shit, what is happening!?"[/say] she blurted, staring wildly at the water - still shivering, but in shock rather than cold - and far too agitated to pay attention to the rest of what he was saying.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Loren - 04-01-2020
Realizing that demonstrating his magic in front of someone from a world that, by all accounts, lacked such abilities, Loren raised his hands again in a calming gesture. [say]"It's okay. I promise I will explain everything."[/say] Still speaking in that soothing tone, he took a step closer to her.
Taking a deep breath, he turned his palms upwards. Reaching upwards with his magic, he called some of the rain towards his hands: it swirled around them, snaking up and down his arms. [say]"It's...magic. I know this is all very overwhelming for you, trust me. Why don't you take a seat and I'll explain it all?"[/say] His voice was as kind as he could make it.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Petra - 04-01-2020
Okay, so maybe she was a startled horse, and deserved the treatment. She just wasn't sure it worked, because her mouth was still dry as a desert and her heart kept pounding like a sledgehammer in the chest, filling her ears with a high pitched keening. He took a step closer, and she leaned back a little, the personal bubble quite big at the moment.
Wide eyed, she stared at his hands when he held them up, and hitched a breath when water began to move around it. Swirling, twisting, coiling like some living thing. It was awesome and utterly unbelievable, and her knees were feeling very weak. There was a roaring in her ears she recognized, a prickle under the skin like all the blood was draining from her head.
White as a sheet, she hunched down right where she was, hyperventilating and with darkness enroaching on the vision. Sucking in deep gulps of air, she wasn't sure if she was going to be sick or faint or both. Quite incapable of speech, of responding to his reassurances in any way, she plopped down on the ground. Felt the cold dirt seep up into her pyjama bottoms, and had the oddest feeling of the world being too vividly real around her. So real as to be unreal, if you get what I mean.
[say]"Uh, fuck,"[/say] she groaned weakly. Because cussing seemed to be all the was capable of at the moment.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Loren - 04-01-2020
As soon as the woman leaned away, Loren stopped in his tracks. Taking a small step backwards, he lowered his hands. However, once again, he realized he miscalculated with the magic demonstration. Flicking his wrists, the water swirling about his arms dissipated and soaked into the ground.
Keeping the rain parting around them, he crouched down, balancing easily on the balls of his feet. [say]"Easy now. It's okay. Just listen to the sound of my voice."[/say] Although it was unfair, he was using the tone he used to use on the skittish animals from his farmer days.
[say]"Take some deep breaths with me."[/say] Breathing in through his nose, he let it out from his mouth. All the while, he watched her carefully.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Petra - 04-01-2020
Look, she was no wild animal, but she wasn't exactly used to unexpected things happening either. Up until this point, being laid off work and breaking up with temporary boyfriends had been the extent of her trials in life, and none of that prepared you for a trip down these kinds of rabbit holes.
At least the guy was patient and didn't yell at her. Plus points for not yelling. The ringing kept going in her ears, but the tried to do as he said, and breathed, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, and something like ice kept streaking down the back of her neck... but slowly, very gradually, the roaring in her head subsided.
She swallowed. Hard. Looking up, she stared around again, at the bleak landscape, the black tower - what had they been compensating for, those who designed it? - and slowly, hesitant and with a shuddering gaze, her attention focused on the guy crouching before her.
[say]"Where am I?"[/say] The feigned composure had crumbled spectacularly, all nerves left exposed. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, but... Not knowing was even worse.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Loren - 04-01-2020
Loren kept breathing evenly, nodding encouragingly as the woman copied him. Not stopping until she spoke, he just remained crouched a short distance away. At her question, he settled into a cross-legged position. [say]"You're...on a world called Caido. In a region called the Hollowed Ground."[/say] His voice practically ached with sympathy, remembering how hard these sorts of transitions could be.
Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. [say]"You were brought here from your old world, Earth, through a portal."[/say] Pausing, he studied her features, both to look for another freak out and to give her some time to process and ask questions, which she no doubt had.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Petra - 04-01-2020
She stared at him. Nowhere near numb enough yet to just accept what he said at face value. [say]"My... bathroom door is a portal to another world?"[/say] she said, incredulous. [say]"That's... impossible."[/say]
But there was no conviction in her disbelief, because she was sitting on the sopping wet ground in a foreign landscape, with a giant codpiece of a building beside her and some sort of... magician? In front of her. Looking at her like she was a lost puppy with a sprained paw. Awwh, adorable, poor little thing.
[say]"How do I get home?"[/say] She wad rather proud of that question. For all that she was a quivering mess, she still had her priorities straight.
Need. Bed. Now.
RE: six impossible things before breakfast - Loren - 04-01-2020
Biting his lip, Loren shook his head. [say]"Not exactly. The portal can appear...anywhere, really. It plucks you from your world and brings you here."[/say] Letting out a breath, he gave her another understanding look.
At her question though, he hesitated. Shifting his weight awkwardly from side to side he looked away. For a long moment, he was silent. Then he sighed again. [say]"I'm sorry. It's a...it's a one way trip."[/say] Forcing himself to meet her eyes, he leaned forward a bit. [say]"You can't go home."[/say] It came out sympathetically, yes, but also firmly.
However, he rushed to continue. [say]"But I promise you we will get you sorted out."[/say]