scrib | [OPEN] PROSPIT MINGLE

[It's not the first time she's gone to sleep and woken up here, like her life here is on pause while her life in the real world continues. It's not always a constant- some nights, she still has nightmares, but even then they're not as bad as they had been before. Right now though, she could care less about the Golden City, its strange people, or the fact that here, for some reason or another, she can fly. Right now, all that matters is that she's finally somewhere that the others can't somehow spy on her, and she can finally let the consequences of the game sink in.

She can finally deal with the fact of her dead moirail, her dead matesprit, her dead friends, few as they were- and that on top of that, there's not a single troll in this lot she thinks she can actually trust.

She decides that there's too much light, and draws the curtains over her window, blocking a bit of the golden glow from the outside and then returns to the pile beside her recuperacoon, falling face-first into it. She doesn't move for a long moment, not because she's trying to get back to sleep, but because she's trying to get herself under control. She doesn't manage, however, and in a moment she twists onto her side and more or less wails as she lets herself cry.]

[Bharal awakes to the sound of a girl crying.

This on it's own was rather unusual. Bharal never spent much time around girls(due to his lack of social graces, not by choice), and on the few occasions he'd had to spend time around girls in person, they didn't do much crying. So it takes him a moment, mind addled by sleep and eyes adjusting to being opened for the first time in what seems like ages, to realize what it is he's hearing. Once it registers, he sits bolt upright, or tries to, but he feels stiff, as though he hasn't moved in a very long time, and it takes a second or two to get his limbs to respond. Which, if he'd been thinking more clearly, would be rather troubling. He'd only been sleeping for a minute or two, hadn't he...? Oh, no time for thinking like that, there's a lady in trouble! He runs towards the window, and looks outside.

...oh. Well, then. This is not where he fell asleep. He spends a minute looking out over the golden city, and turning around to look back at the room he woke up in, before realizing that he seems to be on top of a very, very tall tower, with more nearby, on a very bright, shiny golden planet. The sudden change in locale, along with the fact that he seems to be wearing strange pajamas and that everything within sight is, frankly, rather surreal, has him fairly convinced that he must actually still be dreaming. Which means that the crying is a dreamgirl....? Or maybe a dreamlady? The distinction is mostly academic to Bharal; someone is in trouble, which means that he has to go help them. It really is as simple as that.

The sounds of crying seem to be coming from one of those other towers, and Bharal is momentarily stumped as to how to get there, considering he doesn't think there are stairs down or anything, but a quick inventory of the items he has in his room give him an idea. He pulls the curtains down from around the windows, and every other scrap of cloth he can find, and ties them all together into something resembling a rope. He looks around for something to tie the end to, before deciding to just pull the curtain rod down, bend it into something approximating a hook, and tying the curtains to it. He stands on the windowsill, and judges his shot.

He pulls back and throws as hard as he can, trying to hook the curtain rod on the windowsill of the other tower. It almost looks as though it's going to fall short; comically short, in fact; but as Bharal focuses on it, he tries to funnel that boundless optimism and determination of his into it to just get it a few more feet come on you can do it I believe in you, and, miraculously, it continues through the air, and gently lands on the windowsill. He chalks that up to dreamlogic winning out, but it's much more likely that, with how fast Prospit and it's moon is rotating, and how high up they are, he somehow managed to cheat physics enough to make it land. Whatever, he'll take it.

Once he's reasonably sure that the line is secured, he begins trying to climb, hand over hand, up to the window. He has a close call here and there, but as he climbs, he begins feeling lighter and lighter, until it takes so little effort to move himself that he could almost do it with a single finger. He also chalks this up to dreamlogic, and decides to investigate no further.

Finally reaching the window, he quietly climbs up, and peeks inside for signs of trouble. What's the etiquette for creeping in someone's window? Do you knock? He's gotta announce his presence somehow. So he gently raps against the wall, and calls out.]

H-Hello? I-Is everything okay in here...? I-....I heard someone crying....

[She's not sure if she's more surprised that he's there, or that he's asking id there's something wrong. Either way, the sound of the voice registers in the back of her mind, but her body doesn't react for a moment, pressed as deep into her pile as she is. When it does hit her that someone is actually asking, actually worried, she sits up sharply, face blotchy and tearstained and expression wide-eyed and startled. She takes in the troll at her window with a high degree of wariness, pushing herself up with her hands to sit up, fingers tensing into her pile.

She's seen the other towers, of course, figured there might be other trolls- but she hadn't really cared to find out, and hadn't had the occasion to do so. Seeing someone else of her race in this dreamworld of hers was... startling.

She could have imagined worse, she supposed.

Still, even 'dreams' couldn't change her suspicious nature, and she narrowed her eyes at him, hands tightening on the pillows she had a hold of.]

Wh-who the hell're you-?

[Her voice is small and hoarse, and it cracks, not used to speaking in this body. She blinks in surprise, like she wasn't even sure she could manage it, but doesn't take her eyes off of him. Even as she asks, she rolls out of her pile and into a tense, nervous stance, completely ignoring the fact that she's both a tear-stained mess and, frankly, roughly half the size of the troll that's just come in through her window.

...how did he even manage to get to her, anyway?]

[At her reaction, Bharal's own eyes widen. He hadn't expected whoever he found in the tower to respond in such a way. Though, considering his experience with infiltrating towers to investigate the sounds of weeping heard within amounted to pretty much nil, he wasn't really sure what he had been expecting. A girl, certainly. An....ahem, attractive one, presumably, if the stories he'd heard were anything to go on, who probably needed saving. Seemed fairly accurate so far...?

Realizing that she's asked him a question, Bharal attempts a response, though, when his own voice cracks due to disuse, he clears his throat sheepishly, before trying again.]

A-Ah, I apologize, I should have introduced myself. I am Bharal Serala, miss. [He bends in a small bow.] I thought I heard someone c-crying within yonder tower, so I made my way here to see if assistance was required...

[He kind of trails off after that, almost as if he realized he said that many words in a row to a girl, and that he should probably stop talking.]

[She eyed him suspiciously as he introduced himself, wondering just what in the world he'd come up with to explain his presence there. She was surprised by what she heard, and pursed her lips slightly, shoulders hunching a little as she skimmed over his much larger frame slowly, looking for weak spots. Whoever this guy was, he-

...wait a minute-]

Bharal... Serala?

[She blinks up at him, disbelieving, and then rubs her eyes with the heel of her hand, still attempting to stop her eyes from watering. She hated crying because of this too- it never really wanted to stop when she told it too.]

Somehow, I pictured you a bit scrawnier. [She let herself flop back down to sit, no longer quite worried about his presence, and crossed her legs, setting her hands on her ankles.] Not so tall, either.

[Shoulders still hunched, she looked up at him again, lips still pursed in suspicion.]

So you... heard crying and came running to help? [And here she was, a hot, tear-stained mess, just waiting to be 'rescued' or something, right? Please.] Ain't that a bit stupid?

[His eyes widen a little when she seems to recognize his name. They widen almost imperceptibly more when she makes remarks suggesting she'd had some preconceived notion of how he'd look.]

Y-Yes, miss. I apologize, but have we met? You seem to know me, but I am afraid that I do not believe I can say the same.

[The fact that this might be one of his fellow game-mates doesn't seem to dawn on him; probably because he thinks this is still a dream.

When she asks those questions, he blushes a little, but he tries to look nonchalant. This being Bharal, he isn't very good at it.]

U-Uh, yes, I suppose...that is what I have done. I do not think I agree that it is stupid, though. If I hear someone in need of help, what else could I do? Hmm, I suppose I...could have looked for someone else to come with me and help...but there doesn't seem to be many other people around here...

[He trails off, somewhere between growing more awkward and drifting off a little in thought.]

We've talked. Sorta.

[In a manner of speaking at least, though she's not sure how much their 'conversations' on trollian can be counted. But... she knew he was a gamer, so it made sense that he'd be playing this stupid game...

But she still hadn't seen it coming.]

Zurahe Cadens- or blackoutEtude, I s'ppose, if you prefer.

[She crosses her arms then, frowning up at him and arching an eyebrow in disbelief.]

Y' realize that as a troll, yeah, it is pretty stupid to go runnin' when someone screams for help? Usually? It's a trap.

[A small smile spreads on his face when she introduces herself; he's glad to have found a fellow session-mate, even if it's one he doesn't know very well yet.]

Well, 'tis a pleasure to meet you in person, Lady Cadens.

A-And yes, I suppose it is not what most trolls would have done, but then again, I am not most trolls. I cannot just stand idly by while someone is harmed, whether it might be a trap or not.

[He looks a bit sheepish now, or, more than he already did.]

Y-You also did not ever say whether or not you were in trouble...

[Prospit is always too damn bright. For someone who's nocturnal, the gaudiness of the city is almost painful to the eyes. She manages well enough though- it's easier when she can fly above most of the city, lessen the glare she has to put up with. It's nice floating down in the streets sometimes too- the weird little white-shelled people are usually pretty decent, even if they are a little weird.

It's never really hit her, in all honesty, that this place could have anything at all to do with the game.

So she floats around, trying to find new places to get into and looking around for anything that might be able to entertain her some. It sure beats moping in the tower for much longer, really.]

[Well, if she's looking for a fight, she'll find some entertainment soon enough.

There's a dreamself wandering around and acting lost, but he looks like he's been in a fight or two--there's old purple blood on his yellow clothes, and he's obviously worn out. Not a dreamself that's just woke up and only been in the relatively peaceful golden city, that's for sure.

He doesn't make a single sound no matter what happens, even when a Prospitian tumbles into him. Perhaps to his credit he does set the little carapace back on her feet, if a bit clumsily.

He hasn't noticed the other troll yet, but that will come soon enough.]

[Honestly, she's not looking for a fight.

That doesn't mean that running into a blood-covered sea-dweller doesn't immediately set her on edge, a little hiss rising in her throat. She forgets this body can speak sometimes, and this is one of them- though that doesn't stop her from starting up a warning rumble deep in her chest as he rights the Prospitan he'd run into. Her shoulders are tense, jaw set, and she kicks at a streetlamp nearby, the clang intended to get his attention.]

[He turns, startled, and his silence makes more sense. His scars are so much a part of his self-image that he still has them--he has almost no memories of what life was like before, after all. Part of him wouldn't know what to do with a voice and is secretly scared of the idea enough not to want one.

Then he recognizes her and his harpoon is out and his posture goes very much like hers--air is forced out between his clenched teeth in a slow, threatening hiss.]

[Unlike him, Zurahe's voice is as much of her as breathing- but she isn't quite in the mood to bother with 'talking' at the moment. Because all she knows is that there's a highblood threatening her, on what she considers her streets, and she doesn't like that one bit. Her handlashes out and with very little actual effort, pulls the streetlamp she'd just kicked out of the ground and leverages it at him with a snarl before slamming it down, aiming for his head. Whether she hits him or not, there's likely to be a crater in the street when she connects regardless.

Sorry Prospit. Your princess is about to wreck your shit just a little.]

[Well, it makes a crater, but not as much of one as there should be. The metal just...rusts and twists, like a thousand years passed in a second. Guess who just destroyed its time? This Komesh has had a lot of practice with his game-given powers.

It gives him enough room to dodge out of the way without. He signs though, in an awkward one-handed way. He doesn't think she knows sign--never expects anyone to, but he's venting.]

Go to hell, lowblood! You don't have the time for this. You're all going do die if I don't--

[And then he's snarling in silence and sending a harpoon at her. His aim is deadly, but he's not actually aiming to kill--he's trying to save everything and vaguely remembers in time to jerk the harpoon just a little to the side. The timelines are messed up, but he thinks he needs her alive.]

[She doesn't bother wasting the time being surprised with the pole not lasting- she has more important things to worry about, considering there's a hostile highblood attacking her. The signing does give her a pause, but she only gets angrier when she sees what he's signing, the rumble in her chest starting up once again.

'Go to hell , lowblood', huh?

Not a way to get on her good side, Komesh. Not at all.

The harpoon gets swatted aside with an imperious motion of one arm, and she raises her hands and signs back sharply-]

Why don't you go die, like a good, useless highblood?

[And grabs onto the rope that followed the harpoon, yanking him toward her.]

You'll die too, idiot! I'm the time player! I have to stop what will happen before--! Before!

[He's jerked and stumbles hard but then lets go abruptly. He's got quite a few harpoons stored, after all.

But the stumble does cost time, so he won't have time for a counterattack. He only falls into a reasonably decent defensive stance, already looking to retreat to higher ground where he can attack at his leisure.]

[Aria is enjoying the floating as well. Might just be the best part of dreaming. She didn't wake up until recently, so she's looking all over for all sorts of intersting places, shaking hands with some of the Prospitians sometimes just because they seem so happy to see her.

But when she spots someone else floating, she sees the black hair from a distance and thinks, well, maybe it's Faye. It doesn't occur to her until she's approached some that this girl there might not be human.

Then she just stops, mid-approach, suddenly not so sure about her own excitement anymore, and just... hovers there. Still a good ways away. Calls out instead of coming closer.]

Hello!

[Zurahe's fond of the air- though it's different than being on her lusus' back. She's a lot more maneuverable this way, and she sometimes spins in lazy loops or rolls as she flies- she even does the occasional dive-bomb toward the not-so-unsuspecting Prospitans. They took their rogue bard's actions well in stride- she never really got up to hurting anyone after all.

Well, unless they were Dersites, of course.

The call makes her halt mid-flight- it's a female voice, and she's pretty sure there are only two of them around at the moment. The third she doesn't know the location of- but their tower isn't really a place she visits a lot. Point being, the only other one is male, so when she turns, she's bracing for some kind of conflict. When she sees the pink-skinned, yellow-haired alien (she assumes it's a girl from the voice) she only blinks once, and immediately defaults into a fighting stance. When she speaks, her voice is low and a little raw from disuse still- before the other one had woken up, she hadn't had much reason to talk.

It's still not all that easy.]

--th' hell're you?

[Aria is getting used to it. Hostility being the default setting for trolls on the first encounter.

Aria floats from side to side, not by much, just the equivalent of shifting her weight from one foot to the other if they were on the ground.]

I'm Aria. You must be one of the trolls, huh?

[She's not nervous or scared. Maybe she should be, she doesn't know, but so far, nobody on Prospit has done her any harm. And time powers always help with getting away.]

Course I'm a troll.

[Hostility is the default for Zurahe a good 90% of the time unless you're a certain pair of trolls- and no one in the session was, and humand certainly aren't going to cut it. She doesn't relax at all as Aria introduces herself, just sort-of stares and then asks bluntly-]

What 're you supposed to be?

I'm a human.

[Aria doesn't seem perturbed at all. Her expression stays calm and friendly, but she doesn't stop floating. There's a rhythm to it, sort of. Tick... tock... tick... tock. Likely she doesn't even realize she's doing it.]

What's your name?

Human.

[She's never heard of any such thing, and it's irritating- she doesn't like not knowing things, especially when everyone around her seems to know more than she does.]

...Zurahe.

[She's still frowning, however, and she shakes her head a little, trying to get her thoughts in line.]

How'd you get here? You're not one of us.

[Not a troll, and certainly not a resident of this Prospit, that much she knew.]

I woke up here. Well, here-ish. [She gestures to over that way where her tower is. Should be in plain view. She doesn't turn, doesn't check.]

Actually I'm pretty surprised to see anyone not from my session, too. I thought it was just the five of us.

[Aria tilts her head, not quite sure what to make of it. Were their sessions merging somehow? Was that even possible?]

Yeah well. Lotta strange shit's going down.

[Like the fact that the session Zurahe's a part of isn't supposed to exist. That they're piggybacking onto another session because the only other option was death.]

Ain't nothin' that way but skaia.

[She jerks her chin in the direction Ria had pointed, distinctly aware of what should be there and what shouldn't- and there was nothing in the usual skyline that looked out of place, much less more towers.]

[OPEN] PROSPIT MINGLE

Zurahe

[Tower][Closed to Bhar]

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