Day 1

[mirror_mod]

The first sign is maybe different for all of you – the hard ground underneath you, the lack of a body next to you, or no blanket to pull over your shoulders when you reach for it. Either way, when you open your eyes you know for certain you aren’t in the castle.

It’s a little too quiet here, except for the sounds of people around you moving about. There is a strange, unreal quality about everything, as if were viewed through the grimy patina of an old piece of film or photograph and half-realized blurs of images and words seems to hang suspended in the air like solid smoke – there but not quite there.

The group seems to be at the edge of a dead forest, the trees dark and twisted and the ground swirling with mist. A path seems to lead into the depths, but the sky that way is cast with dark umber and hanging shadows that don’t seem terribly inviting.

Not far off, however, is a long stone bridge stretching over a chasm of nothingness and leading to what looks like a city. Far beyond the rooftops, there is the briefest glimmer of dazzling light, gone almost as soon as you see it.

((OOC: WAIT FOR SECTIONS PLEASE! Aaaaaand GO!))

WAKING UP | THE CITY

Comments

[detectivegenius]

[Tim remembers her from speaking one time a long time ago, so he approaches her to make sure she's okay.]

Fred...? Everything alright...?

[fredless]

[There's a glance over her shoulder. Despite the noticeable group, she'd been falling into herself]

...just trying to decide where it is we are. And might have to answer the rest of that question later.

[detectivegenius]

It'll be okay. [He hesitantly reaches out a hand to rest it on her shoulder lightly for a moment, giving it a soft squeeze.] We'll get back to the castle. We just need to stick together. [He's just as lost as she is. This doesn't sound like anything he read about in Lois's report.] Maybe this is a world change.

[fredless]

[Her fingers stray up briefly, brushing over her hand. The contact is good, it grounds her. If this was going to be like before, she'd be alone]

If the world's just changed, then where is everybody else?

[There's a few faces in particular she is thinking about]

[detectivegenius]

They could be nearby, just not right with us at the moment. [Or they might not even be here at all, but that goes unspoken.]

[fredless]

[Her features stay small. Quiet]

So nobody's made any kind of contact?

[detectivegenius]

I don't have my journal on me to check. Do you have yours...?

[fredless]

[For a minute her hands search along the unyielding ground. But they already both know her answer]

...no.

[detectivegenius]

[Well that fills him with more of a sense of unease.] Maybe if we search around, we'll find them. We can't know for sure unless we look.

[fredless]

[She pushes up then, looking around them as she stands. Fred doesn't immediately recognize anything]

So whatever this is, we're cut off.

[detectivegenius]

Cut off, perhaps, but not alone. [This is Tim trying to be reassuring.]

[fredless]

[And she senses that. Enough that he'll get a flickering, ghost of a smile]

You're right. We're not alone.

[She's usually the one lifting people up]

[detectivegenius]

Is there anyone else you know who's around...? [He doesn't want to just leave her by herself, especially not after all that talk of not being alone. He wants to go explore and poke around, but he's definitely planning on keeping an eye on her, just to be sure.]

[fredless]

[She tilts her face towards a familiar blonde head]

That's Geoff over there.

[She also knows that look]

...go on. I'll be fine.

[detectivegenius]

Alright. If you need anything, just ask.

[fredless]

As long as you remember that works both ways.

[detectivegenius]

I'll do that.