145. Trapdoor

[corrinesbell]

[Sheena does her best work at night. Slipping around, darting shadow to shadow or fast leaps from rooftop to rooftop, feet barely touching the surface before she's off again in a hurry. The wings barely slow her down after enough chances to get used to them.

This isn't the town she went to sleep in, she thinks. No amount of maps and briefings could've prepared her for Sylvarant, though, and maybe this was just part of it. She spends a couple days looking for the Chosen, and can't find her - but she does find one of her traveling companions, living with a really annoying redhead in a house near the village square.

Approaching them might bring trouble.

Once she's all sorted and slightly less confused - and proportionately indignant about her situation and being somebody's pet experiment project - she spends most of her time training in the barracks, still doing the semi-stealthy roof patrol thing, this time while trying to get the drop on people, and...ready to play games of hide-and-seek or tag with any kids that might be wandering around. She'll even offer to start as It!]

Comments

[wise_maiden]

[After even talking to a few people, Raine is able to put some of the pieces together on just what sort of situation this is. Her friends are younger, and with that comes a certain lack of knowledge about their situation, and with her left without too many ways to explain it. After all, there's no point in explaining to experimented on people that their mindsets are experiments and that it would all return back to normal... better just to ride it out, as best as possible.

Even so, that doesn't mean she can't keep an eye out for her friends. Given what happened recently with the invasion, Raine has some concern that this would have a bad effect on Sheena were she unaffected, or if, perhaps, she had been turned into a child... still, she just can't seem to track the ninja, which might indicate another sort of problem. Was she in hiding, wanting to avoid faces that might not remember hers, or was she in some unapproachable state, given her track record?

Hopefully there would be an answer soon, but for now she'll just continue going about her business - as much as she can, anyway. She usually ends up alone, checking places like the clinic or tea shop, or paying some attention to the neglected village flowers - the bright side of having a lot of people hot-headed and possessed of a desire for action.]

[corrinesbell]

[The tea shop and its name haven't escaped Sheena's notice. It isn't set up well for any kind of sneaking around, though, so she goes in only once or twice.

Lucky her, to look up and see the silver-haired woman come in at one of those times. Before she can have time to adjust from the outside light, Sheena's on her feet and in the woman's space, looking as fierce as she knows how.]

I'm looking for the Chosen of Sylvarant. Where is she?

[wise_maiden]

[A Sheena she wasn't prepared for, she thinks, though in a blink has already stepped back defensively. A Sheena from during their journey, on a mission of her own - the Sheena she hadn't trusted enough to heal, back then.]

You're not going to find her here.

[And perhaps it was lucky - had Colette been in this world, she would have been easily found by now, and possibly in some trouble.]

[corrinesbell]

I've seen her with you enough times that I know you know where she is.

[wise_maiden]

And what makes you think that you're going to get information out of me that way?

[corrinesbell]

Because I'm gonna find her even if you don't tell me, and this'll just make it easier for you. Otherwise people might get hurt.

['People', meaning this woman here. Not any of the other people.]

[wise_maiden]

Threats aren't going to help. In any case, she's not here, as I said. She's back in Sylvarant, which is... a place where neither of us are, right now.

[freedoms_price]

[Oh, Jack is heading through the barracks -- he's got to get out to the sea, you see.

So he might interrupt some of her training.]

Oh, hullo lass. You're...sweaty.

[corrinesbell]

[She stops mid-strike, turning to face him with her outstretched seal card and a scowl.]

Who're you? Is there something you want?

[freedoms_price]

Jack Sparrow, first mate aboard the Fair Wind. And I want nothing more than to see myself out to the ocean.

[That being said, he seems hesitant to actually DO so now that he's met a beautiful girl in the barracks.] And you are?

[corrinesbell]

Sheena. ['Jack Sparrow' sounded like more of a false name than hers was.] I haven't seen an ocean anywhere around here.

[freedoms_price]

["Sheena" sounds like the name of a wild woman.] That's because you can't SEE it from here. You've got to travel out there.

[He sounds awfully pleased with himself for knowing that. It wasn't long before that Jack was also confused about the ocean's location.]

[corrinesbell]

That's pretty obvious. But we've gotta be so far away it'd take days.

[Action]

[lostlegacy]

[There's someone on roof. Excuse Sophie while she leaves off playing with her ball to stare at you.]

[Action]

[corrinesbell]

[Sensing that she's being watched, Sheena turns around until she gets far enough to find the observing pair of eyes-

And they belong to a little kid. That's not so bad. She even smiles.]

Hey.

[Action]

[lostlegacy]

Why are you on the roof?

[Saying hello? What's that?]

[Action]

[corrinesbell]

It's, uh, a faster way to travel. But it's probably not safe for you.

[Action]

[lostlegacy]

Why not? I'd be careful.

[She's totally careful all the time.]

[Action]

[corrinesbell]

You can still get hurt even if you're careful.

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert is looking around the village, still trying to put together some idea of the situation that would lead to him having ... well, anything to do with the setup and well-being of this place. The library seems largely fruitless, the best source of information was apparently a blank slate... He could only frown at his surroundings and the residents as he went around.

It's towards the evening when he's finally heading back to the house. He pauses from time to time, unused to the sheer amount of nature and the noises that come along with it.]

[corrinesbell]

[Well then he'll appreciate something noiseless.

She drops from a rooftop to land behind him, almost soundless, to spring forward and try to get one of his wrists to twist up behind his back. Not to really hurt him - these people mostly seem okay, not trying to start any problems - just to see if she can do it.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Wary he may be, but Albert is in no way a fighter, and he grunts as his wrist is grabbed and twisted. Reflexively, he tries to jerk his hand away, which only serves to jostle his wrist and irritate him further.]

Unhand me.

[corrinesbell]

[Which she does, mission accomplished, even taking a step back in case he decides to swing.]

Guess you're not one of the people with a sense of humor.

[chikaidestroyer]

You have a terrible sense of humor if you think accosting people in the dark is funny.

[He's definitely not pleased, and it's apparent in his voice and the way that he turns to frown at the woman-- girl, really-- who had attacked him.]

[corrinesbell]

I don't think any of this is funny. [The matching gesture, an arm-sweep of their surroundings, also contains a hard frown.] Just from that I bet you're about as lost around here as I am.

[She's seen him with that elven woman though.]