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

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WAKING UP

[mirror_mod]

[Time to rub the sleep out of your eyes and get a look at where you are. And who it is you're stuck with, while you're at it]

THE CITY

[mirror_mod]

[Crossing the bridge, the buildings of the city come into the view. Up close they are dark and dingy and dilapidated looking, and no lights can be seen other than the lamps that line the main thoroughfare. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be anything else living in this city, unless you count the school of silvery fish that occasionally swim through the air overhead.

But for those who know it well enough, it almost looks like the City Royale, except for the little ways everything is just slightly off. The facades of the buildings are a patchwork of materials, the windows off-kilter and the rooflines just slightly tilted. Anything beyond the main street seems laid out in a haphazard fashion.

It's only likely to get stranger, deeper in, but where else can you go?]

[messin_with_my_zen_thing]

[Flynn's eyes slide awake and he stares at the sky for a moment. Okay. That's new. Moving slowly, he brings his hands to his sides and sits up. His eyebrows crease as he looks around, concerned. Yep. This definitely not where he fell asleep and even more concerning is the fact that it's nowhere he's seen before and he most certainly does not recall moving anywhere. And unless he's one hell of a sleep walker this is a definite problem.]

[youhavebeenflynned]

[Harry rubs his eyes as he sit up. This was most definitely not his room. He has no idea how he got here wither. He looks around and takes in the scenery. It doesn't look like Paradisa, at all. He quickly glances down on his person and notices that he's only wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top. With panic in his eyes he looks around but his gun is nowhere to be found.]

Bloody heck...

[chippedcup]

[Belle wakes up suddenly, and knows she's not in her bed. For a minute, she thinks she might have gone home but no, she realizes this looks nothing like it. It all looks...wrong. And she's in her pajamas.]

...Now what has this place done?

[honorinflames]

[Zuko's sitting up fast as soon as all the wrong registers in his brain and shoves him out of sleep, and then scrambling up to his feet right after.

At first he's automatically falling into a defensive stance... but as the unreal quality of his surroundings really starts to sink in, he slowly lowers his arms until they're hanging uncertainly at his sides]

...Am I dreaming?

[persequor]

You don't know where we are either, do you?

[ A twelve-year-old girl is on her feet next to him. She chews her bottom lip as she looks around. Aside from the nervous tic, she doesn't seem afraid although a bit too solemn for any child. ]

[persequor]

If you are, we all are.

[cloakand_danger]

[Waking up on cold hard ground is not a completely new thing to Yuan, but generally when he does it, he's wearing more than his castle nightclothes, which consist of dark blue boxers and a black tank top. Opening his eyes produces a vision of nothing but bright blue, and he irritably brushes his hair aside as he sits up so he can get an actual look at their new surroundings.

He blinks a few times to make sure his eyes are clear - everything seems so fuzzy - and then shakes his head hard as if trying to wake up the rest of the way. Things are still blurry and weird, so he gives up trying.]

...This is bizarre even for Paradisa. Anyone seen anything like it before?

[persequor]

[ Don't mind Arya being the first across. She creeps up to the closest building to peek inside the windows looking for any sign of living people.

Maybe an adult should go after her just in case an adult proves necessary. ]

[save_the_souls]

[Allen is shirtless so you can see his mess of scars and sadly he is pretty calm when he wakes up. He's actually assuming this is still a dream since it looks pretty similar to the scenery he dreams about a lot, haha whoops. He does frown a bit in confusion when....other people are here.]

Eh...?

[cloakand_danger]

[Yuan is up and about now, looking around and getting a sense of who all is here. He's looking pretty confident and steady for a man in boxers and a tank top, although his unbound hair keeps getting in the way.]

Your guess is as good as mine, unless you recognize this place. Sometimes it sends us to places the other residents are familiar with.

[He squints around them, still trying to get used to the unreal look of everything.] The real question is, where are all of the others?

[persequor]

No. [ short. To the point. The Starks have mastered the art of conversation. ]

[cloakand_danger]

[Yuan seems unfazed by the bluntness. Or the fact that there's a little kid with them in this...wherever they are.]

Well, that's one response. We should ask around, though, sometimes it brings us to places that other residents are familiar with.

[He cranes his neck to look around at the others, and his hair falls into his face again, forcing him to brush it aside again.] And also look for somewhere we can get proper clothing.

[save_the_souls]

[it looks somewhat familiar to Allen, but he's keeping his theories to himself until he knows for sure. No need to say more unless he has to]

Only in dreams, I'm afraid.

[chippedcup]

No, my world tends to have living forests in it. [She's having the hair problem too, sadly, and is currently trying to tame it without a hair tie.]

Perhaps it only took some of us.

[persequor]

[ Arya is intensely glad her mother has been allowing her breeches. The underpants are of a thin, close-fitting material, but they allow her to move comfortably. The long-sleeved tunic also covers her well. The only thing she lacks for is shoes. ]

Mayhaps there will be some over there. [ She points to the city in the distance. ]

[thetrudger]

[Geoff rubs at his eyes, glancing over at Allen.]

I'm guessing you don't know where we are either.

[save_the_souls]

Not really...

[not a lie! But he's not about to say his original thoughts]

Are you all right, sir...?

[cloakand_danger]

[Yuan has decided to actually take this comment at face value, at least to some degree. Now how to ask this without sounding like he's prying into Allen's personal life any more than he already has...]

Coincidence, or do you think it's related?

[thetrudger]

[Geoff's looking around when he notices Arya getting far ahead of everyone. He quickens his pace until he's near enough to bend down near her.]

Careful, my dear. We don't know who or what lives here.

[persequor]

[ Arya blinks at the scars. Her mother and septa would be chastising her, but it is oddly like watching that knight die during the joust: fascinatingly terrible and she cannot help staring. ]

Did you get all those fighting those monsters?

[cloakand_danger]

Seems likely. [He's not thrilled about walking into town in his pajamas, but staying here would be thoroughly unproductive.] Doesn't look like there's much to do here, we should try to get everyone moving. There's safety in numbers, at least until we know where we are.

[chippedcup]

[Belle isn't at all daunted by the scars. She's already standing and offering him a hand up.]

So, you don't have any idea where we are either, I'm assuming.

[save_the_souls]

[He shrugs and shakes his head]

I'm not sure yet. I'm not sure what this could mean if it was related though...