thebastion | Day 129 :: Prose [OPEN]

Who: Rikki Chadwick, anyone who stumbles on her.
Open: Open
When: Day 129, Mid-Afternoon
Where: Entrance of the Skyway, wandering lost in The Bastion
What: Fish out of Water, lost and a bit surly.
Format: Prose
Warnings: Surly, otherwise fine.

This has, by far, been the weirdest day in her life. And she turned into a mermaid three years ago, and used mermaid magic to save the world from a meteor, or asteroid. It was a really big rock. But today she woke up in half beach half surf shop, then had to spend a while dodging creepy critters as she headed toward the only thing that seemed... well, there weren't many options for where to walk. She followed the paths that formed before her, which didn't help how weird this day was.

So she was alone, not in Australia, and this place had monsters outta something Lewis would like. Great. At least this all looked safe... empty, little creepy... but there didn't seem to be any monsters here. Of course the monsters before were pretty good at just springing out of nowhere. Still, solid ground, none of it shifting around in front of her, she'll take it.

"Right... wherever here is, now what..?"

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Maka is still getting used to the Bastion herself having only been there a few days when she spots the girl wandering around with a confused look on her face. She's been familiarizing herself with the layout of The Bastion, and really, she knows she's the last person to try and explain anything to anyone, but she's going to try and help anyway.

"Did you just arrive?"

"It's kinda written on my face, isn't it?"

Rikki looked a little put out by the question. Since, she felt, her being new here was obvious. Her accent was very clearly Australian... if anyone here knew what Australia was... What sorta map do you use when the land doesn't exactly follow simple rules like gravity?

"The floating path thing, that's... normal here?"

The accent was familiar enough to Maka and she nodded with a long sigh, trying to figure out what to say to this girl when she herself barely had a grasp of what was going on.

"From what I've heard so far, it is. If it helps any, I've been here less than a week. I'm Maka." She held out her hand as she introduced herself, belatedly remembering that if people were from different worlds and universes and maybe she wouldn't know what a handshake was.

"Rikki," who knew exactly what a handshake was but ignored it as she walked a few steps to continue to survey this... place. "A week is still enough time to learn this place's name, yeah? And maybe what we're doing here?"

Rikki figured that she wouldn't get much, if the other girl has only been here a week. But a week should still answer all the more pressing questions of what this place is, where to stay, where the food is, and whose fault is it. At least, as far as Rikki is concerned that's enough time.

Well then. Maka let her hand fall to her side, but didn't take offense given the circumstances.

"It's called the Bastion, and the floating path is called the Skyway. There should be an amulet in your pocket if you just arrived. You have to keep that with you at all times. If you try and go out on the Skyway without it, the path will fall. or so I've been told." Maka motioned to her own amulet hanging on a chain around her neck.

"As for what we're doing here, that's the hard part to believe. Do you believe in others worlds and alternate dimensions where you're from?"

Rikki rummaged through her pockets till she found the thing. Odd little bobble, not really all that impressive looking to her. When she found a place to herself she'll have to see what happens with the amulet when she changes. ...Which means she should probably keep it around her neck.

No pockets when she's scaly.

"Bastion. Skyway. Amulet that's important. Got it."

As for the question, "If you asked me yesterday I'd have said it was for geeks who had too much imagination. But... something about this says I believe in it now."

Since Rikki hadn't immediately called her insane or flat out rejected the question, explaining the rest was going to be easier. At least easier to explain, if not so much easier to believe.

"I'll tell you what I know, but you won't like it, and you probably won't believe it. I'm not sure if I do." Because everything couldn't just be gone but she wasn't going to stand here and cry about it with a complete stranger.

"There were thousands or more worlds and universes out there, yours, mine, and once you meet other people, you'll realize almost everyone else is from a completely different planet. Something happened that destroyed all of them, and we're what's left. This place is the only thing left standing in all of the universes." It was said like someone reading out of a textbook, clinical and to the point.

After a pause in which she's not sure how to continue, she finally adds a delayed and awkward, "I'm sorry. You would be better off asking someone whose been here longer if you want to know more about it. I can point you in the direction of the dragon who explained things to me if you'd like. He's very kind."

"You're right, I don't like it."

Rikki, while believing all of this could be true from what she's seen with her own eyes, didn't want to believe this was the truth. Certainly if it was that her home and all her friends were dead. Not that she didn't expect to be the one to survive out of all of them, she just didn't expect... this.

"And I'd be better off with someone else who knows a bit more. Thank you, though."

It's a better reaction than she was expecting, but then she was expecting denial at best, and an emotional breakdown at worst. It wasn't as though she would have blamed her.

"There's a dragon here who's been here for a while. I'd ask him." Because talking to dragons is normal right, what could be weird about that. Even if dragons were sparse where she came from, it couldn't be too unusual to tell someone.

"His name is Paarthurnax. He can tell you more than anyone else I've met so far."

"So... your telling me the best way to get answers is to talk to a magic dragon, does he live atop a constantly creepy dark mountain with a huge pile of gold?"

Not that Rikki doesn't believe you, but you're telling her to go talk to a Dragon. That's... a bit more than she can take, not on it's own, but after all that? Something here has to be a joke. It just... can't be this weird.

"I don't know if he's magical actually, but he lives over that way." She points South East in the direction of a building that Rikki will find out later are the apartments. Thankfully, Maka isn't oblivious and she catches onto the sarcasm. Since dragons are incredibly rare in her own world it's not too hard to work out where the sarcasm might be coming from.

"...dragons don't exist in your world, do they." It's going to take her a while to get used to this 'different worlds having different rules' thing.

Day 129 :: Prose [OPEN]

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I'm so sorry this took so long, nanowrimo is killing me |D

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Sorry about the delay. Finals and holidays and... stuff

No worries, I backtag forever

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