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xp_logsPaige and Meggan find themselves captives of a less ambiguous variety. Their fellow prisoners have their own tale to tell of this land and its inhabitants.
The face before her could be described in one word: grey. Unkempt grey hair fell across a lined grey face that could have been anything from a hard-worked twenty to a youthful seventy. Even his clothing, barely more than rags, seemed sapped of all color. It was generally held that people did not mildew, but this man seemed to be the exception.
He said, “I think she’s awake.”
Paige groaned as consciousness returned to her. Mornings were not her favorite time of day. She didn’t remember going to bed, but that might explain why she was on the floor. Opening her eyes, Paige jumped at the sight of the grey face in front of her and not Jono’s like she expected.
“Who the hell are you?” She looked around, taking in the holding cell she had been placed in. Had she gotten kidnapped again? Maybe she needed to start making a plan for when that happened.
"I ask myself that sometimes," the man replied, "but I can't remember the last time I knew the answer. You must never give them your name. Once they have your name they can take even what's inside your head." He half-turned his head, addressing someone just outside of Paige's immediate eyeline. "That goes for you, too."
“I won’t. We’ll do our best to remember,” Meggan assured him. She had woken just a few minutes before Paige, and had immediately sensed that they weren’t in the place they ought to have been, just by how everything felt to her. There had been a major difference that had struck her. A look around had only shown her the obvious: that they were prisoners, and the likely culprits.
She would have to be incredibly careful not to let herself slip and accidentally say anyone’s name, and hope that Paige wouldn’t, either. If they lost themselves here, they wouldn’t be able to help anyone at all! She wondered if eating fae food would cause the same thing; she was pretty sure that there were old stories about things like that.
“Uh huh.” Paige was trapped in a cell with a man who insisted they shouldn’t tell each other who they are and a girl with pointy ears and gold eyes. If she didn’t know any better, she was trapped in one of those fairy stories Jono loved so much.
Paige shook her head and focused her attention back on the grey man. “Ok, where are we and what are we up against?"
They weren't alone in these cells. In the dull light other figures could be seen laying on straw pallets or gazing listlessly at the floor. Despite the newcomers, none but the grey man seemed to notice -- or care.
"Up against? There's nothing to fight. You're in Otherworld now. The Gentle Folk will work you until you're used up, and then when the next cycle comes they'll throw you out and take someone else. That's how it works." The grey man glanced at his fellow thralls. "Only two this time," he muttered, as if to himself. "I thought they'd bring more. Most of us are nearly done."
Meggan wondered just how many people had passed through these cells. How many were fully done? Could any of those poor souls possibly make their ways home, or be what they must have once been? She remembered that Pixie and Namor had been with her, before she’d been knocked out. If they were waking up in other cells like she and Paige had, then she really, really hoped that there were no accidental or intentional declarations of names.
This Otherworld just felt so strange to her, sometimes just making her ears and face feel slightly tingly in a mildly distracting way. “Are you okay? Other than the situation?” She asked Paige, instead of focusing on the sensation. She didn’t know the circumstances of the other girl being spirited away, or if there was anything mild that needed tending to that she hadn’t seen resulting from it.
Paige paused and gave herself a once over. “Yeah, I’m fine. Not even tired. Wonder what they used to knock me out.” It was strange, she felt completely fine even though she had been drugged and abducted. “So we’re just supposed to sit around and wait for these people to come back? There has to be something we can do.”
The thrall shrugged. "Some of the Gentry, the winged ones, make some kind of dust. The guards carry it, too. They'll use it when they can because we're not as useful if we're hurt. Sometimes people try running away just to get dusted. The punishment is reduced rations afterwards, but a bit of oblivion can be addictive. Don't push it. If the guards realize what you're doing they'll-"
Abruptly, the man broke off. He was looking at Meggan, and even his dulled affect couldn't blunt his surprise.
"I thought you -- you're not human. Why did they put you with us?"
Meggan’s eyes widened. “Oh!” She had a good idea now what that tingling probably was. Whatever was in the atmosphere—she must have latched onto it while she was unconscious. It couldn’t really be helped right now, because there was just so much of a difference here. It might be better if they were ever able to get back home.
“That is a very, very good question. Maybe it’s not completely beyond us to figure it out.” She managed to smile at him, despite the conundrum, and hoped she didn’t look too worried. She didn’t know exactly how alien she was looking without access to some kind of reflective surface, but she could make a guess or two.
“If you could please give us a few minutes in private, sir, maybe the two of us can work it out?” She glanced over at Paige, hoping she could manage to speak with her semi-privately if he would just wander off to another corner.
“Uh, ok.” Paige wasn’t sure who the other girl was, but she looked a little familiar. She moved off into a corner a little way away from the thrall, hoping it would provide a bit of privacy and that Meggan would follow.
Meggan was close behind; she’d seen all the confusion, and just wanted her to know who she was. When she reached to push her hair out of her face, she got a glimpse of gold, and then felt her pointy ears. “I don’t know if I’m looking completely unnatural and nothing like normal, or just very, very uncanny valley right now.”
She paused, remembering the whole ‘better not to say her name’ thing. “Not sure if the warning extends to private conversations with names, so—I’m the one whose name started with an M on the team, and I was a blonde when we met! Hello again.” She said it with a little wave
Meggan shook her head apologetically. These things just happened sometimes, though discovering all the ways Otherworld affected her was hopefully not going to be too bad. “I'm an empathic shapeshifter. I was out cold when we got over here, so...started glomping onto the environment when I really didn’t mean to do it.”
“Oh!” It clicked together for Paige, this was one of Jay’s teammates. “Hello, I guess you can call me P, your teammate with the wings is my little brother. I’m a shapeshifter, too, but not an empathic one. I have to put a lot of thought into it.”
She gave their cell another look over, and noticed the large figure outside the bars of their cell, likely the guard. “So…any ideas on how to get out of here?”
Meggan mulled that question over. She felt like she had an idea, or half of one at any rate, and eagerly nodded. “For the first step? We could use what inadvertently happened to make them think I’m not really human, and never have been.” It had worked for the thrall, when he’d taken a good look at her. Maybe it could work for the guards? "It could get them to unlock the door."
Paige nodded along as Meggan spoke, planning out her own response for when the door opened. “Sounds good, we can improvise from there.” They didn’t know what was past the door, so there wasn’t much to plan for past the door, but as long as they stuck together they could probably find a way out of…wherever this was.
The face before her could be described in one word: grey. Unkempt grey hair fell across a lined grey face that could have been anything from a hard-worked twenty to a youthful seventy. Even his clothing, barely more than rags, seemed sapped of all color. It was generally held that people did not mildew, but this man seemed to be the exception.
He said, “I think she’s awake.”
Paige groaned as consciousness returned to her. Mornings were not her favorite time of day. She didn’t remember going to bed, but that might explain why she was on the floor. Opening her eyes, Paige jumped at the sight of the grey face in front of her and not Jono’s like she expected.
“Who the hell are you?” She looked around, taking in the holding cell she had been placed in. Had she gotten kidnapped again? Maybe she needed to start making a plan for when that happened.
"I ask myself that sometimes," the man replied, "but I can't remember the last time I knew the answer. You must never give them your name. Once they have your name they can take even what's inside your head." He half-turned his head, addressing someone just outside of Paige's immediate eyeline. "That goes for you, too."
“I won’t. We’ll do our best to remember,” Meggan assured him. She had woken just a few minutes before Paige, and had immediately sensed that they weren’t in the place they ought to have been, just by how everything felt to her. There had been a major difference that had struck her. A look around had only shown her the obvious: that they were prisoners, and the likely culprits.
She would have to be incredibly careful not to let herself slip and accidentally say anyone’s name, and hope that Paige wouldn’t, either. If they lost themselves here, they wouldn’t be able to help anyone at all! She wondered if eating fae food would cause the same thing; she was pretty sure that there were old stories about things like that.
“Uh huh.” Paige was trapped in a cell with a man who insisted they shouldn’t tell each other who they are and a girl with pointy ears and gold eyes. If she didn’t know any better, she was trapped in one of those fairy stories Jono loved so much.
Paige shook her head and focused her attention back on the grey man. “Ok, where are we and what are we up against?"
They weren't alone in these cells. In the dull light other figures could be seen laying on straw pallets or gazing listlessly at the floor. Despite the newcomers, none but the grey man seemed to notice -- or care.
"Up against? There's nothing to fight. You're in Otherworld now. The Gentle Folk will work you until you're used up, and then when the next cycle comes they'll throw you out and take someone else. That's how it works." The grey man glanced at his fellow thralls. "Only two this time," he muttered, as if to himself. "I thought they'd bring more. Most of us are nearly done."
Meggan wondered just how many people had passed through these cells. How many were fully done? Could any of those poor souls possibly make their ways home, or be what they must have once been? She remembered that Pixie and Namor had been with her, before she’d been knocked out. If they were waking up in other cells like she and Paige had, then she really, really hoped that there were no accidental or intentional declarations of names.
This Otherworld just felt so strange to her, sometimes just making her ears and face feel slightly tingly in a mildly distracting way. “Are you okay? Other than the situation?” She asked Paige, instead of focusing on the sensation. She didn’t know the circumstances of the other girl being spirited away, or if there was anything mild that needed tending to that she hadn’t seen resulting from it.
Paige paused and gave herself a once over. “Yeah, I’m fine. Not even tired. Wonder what they used to knock me out.” It was strange, she felt completely fine even though she had been drugged and abducted. “So we’re just supposed to sit around and wait for these people to come back? There has to be something we can do.”
The thrall shrugged. "Some of the Gentry, the winged ones, make some kind of dust. The guards carry it, too. They'll use it when they can because we're not as useful if we're hurt. Sometimes people try running away just to get dusted. The punishment is reduced rations afterwards, but a bit of oblivion can be addictive. Don't push it. If the guards realize what you're doing they'll-"
Abruptly, the man broke off. He was looking at Meggan, and even his dulled affect couldn't blunt his surprise.
"I thought you -- you're not human. Why did they put you with us?"
Meggan’s eyes widened. “Oh!” She had a good idea now what that tingling probably was. Whatever was in the atmosphere—she must have latched onto it while she was unconscious. It couldn’t really be helped right now, because there was just so much of a difference here. It might be better if they were ever able to get back home.
“That is a very, very good question. Maybe it’s not completely beyond us to figure it out.” She managed to smile at him, despite the conundrum, and hoped she didn’t look too worried. She didn’t know exactly how alien she was looking without access to some kind of reflective surface, but she could make a guess or two.
“If you could please give us a few minutes in private, sir, maybe the two of us can work it out?” She glanced over at Paige, hoping she could manage to speak with her semi-privately if he would just wander off to another corner.
“Uh, ok.” Paige wasn’t sure who the other girl was, but she looked a little familiar. She moved off into a corner a little way away from the thrall, hoping it would provide a bit of privacy and that Meggan would follow.
Meggan was close behind; she’d seen all the confusion, and just wanted her to know who she was. When she reached to push her hair out of her face, she got a glimpse of gold, and then felt her pointy ears. “I don’t know if I’m looking completely unnatural and nothing like normal, or just very, very uncanny valley right now.”
She paused, remembering the whole ‘better not to say her name’ thing. “Not sure if the warning extends to private conversations with names, so—I’m the one whose name started with an M on the team, and I was a blonde when we met! Hello again.” She said it with a little wave
Meggan shook her head apologetically. These things just happened sometimes, though discovering all the ways Otherworld affected her was hopefully not going to be too bad. “I'm an empathic shapeshifter. I was out cold when we got over here, so...started glomping onto the environment when I really didn’t mean to do it.”
“Oh!” It clicked together for Paige, this was one of Jay’s teammates. “Hello, I guess you can call me P, your teammate with the wings is my little brother. I’m a shapeshifter, too, but not an empathic one. I have to put a lot of thought into it.”
She gave their cell another look over, and noticed the large figure outside the bars of their cell, likely the guard. “So…any ideas on how to get out of here?”
Meggan mulled that question over. She felt like she had an idea, or half of one at any rate, and eagerly nodded. “For the first step? We could use what inadvertently happened to make them think I’m not really human, and never have been.” It had worked for the thrall, when he’d taken a good look at her. Maybe it could work for the guards? "It could get them to unlock the door."
Paige nodded along as Meggan spoke, planning out her own response for when the door opened. “Sounds good, we can improvise from there.” They didn’t know what was past the door, so there wasn’t much to plan for past the door, but as long as they stuck together they could probably find a way out of…wherever this was.
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Date: 2025-01-11 01:15 pm (UTC)