what in the longdark spitting-pit is that

[inourhead]

This was a bad idea this was a bad idea this was a bad idea.

Holly runs as fast as she can but the demon's faster. She has no idea where Lightning's gotten to; maybe he found a tree to climb. She on the other hand has been diverted into a treeless hill and she's careening down a slope, trying very hard not to trip.

And the demon's gaining on her.

She's never seen anything like it and neither has Crystal; maybe Book knows what it is but Book's asleep. It's mostly mouth - it looks like a cross between a floorlength mirror of a mouth and a snake to propel the mouth along.

And Holly's not fast enough.

The mouth catches her.





But it doesn't hurt.

Where are we?

----


with Minus (kappa)

with Mark (kappa)

with Max (Benedict)

in Terraria (kappa)

with Emma (Marri)

with Erin (Rockeye)

Comments

[unblinkered]

They are in a room, in a building, filled with small chairs with little hinged desk attachments. One wall is lined with windows, through which a single sun peeks. Another wall has a blackboard, empty except for some chalk symbols which they can not read (but which would read "Mr. Maxwell's 7th Grade Science- Go, Vote-For-A-Class-Names!"). The other walls are covered in various posters and diagrams, all of which are as unintelligible as the words on the chalkboard.

There is an open door leading to a darkened hallway, and in the doorway stands a man whose mouth is wide open. In addition to the doorway, the man stands in a slowly-spreading puddle of coffee, spilling from a dropped cup and pooling around his shoes. The man is staring at them.

[inourhead]

"...Slai?" says Holly, waving. "Srenpuumhikuefamuilgi glu?"

[unblinkered]

So, a girl just appeared in the middle of his classroom, like, popped into existence without moving or coming out of hiding or anything, directly in his field of vision. Max is kind of alarmed about that. This state of alarm is the sort that overrides his coffee-gripping faculties.

But he has mental defenses at the ready! Things like this are usually tricks, insofar as there are things like this. Before panic happens, the number one priority is to identify the trick! What illusion could be in play, and for what purpose?

"What- you- what did you just do?! How did you do that?!"

[inourhead]

"...srenpuumhineniuple tu," she says apologetically.

[unblinkered]

She's got a really thick accent, or she's mumbling- he can't make out a word she's saying.

"Hey! Speak up! I can't hear what you're saying, and I need to know what it is you're saying if you don't want me to... report this!"

Report to who, and for what, exactly? He's not sure, but this is clearly some sort of transgression against some rule or other. There's someone who he can report this kind of misbehavior to, he's sure.

[inourhead]

"Sren-puum-hi-ne-niu-ple sin!" she says, loud and clear.

[unblinkered]

It's rain poom he nane you play seen?

Okay, no, that is a different language. She's literally not speaking English, is the problem here. This is going to be a barrier to communi- to getting answers out of her. And he is ready with an immediate solution to the problem- a tactic so foolproof one could mistake it for the work of Sun Tzu himself:

"What are you doing, huh? Cut that out! Speak English!"

[inourhead]

She rolls her eyes and starts investigating the feasibility of going around him and out the door.

[unblinkered]

The feasibility of this is as follows: Max kicks aside the coffee cup and shuts the door. She's not getting away with this that easy.

A thought enters his head- the only flaw in his brilliant plan- that she might not know English at all. But... how could she organize an elaborate prank like this without help? She'd need accomplices who spoke English, probably- or at least, found some way past the language barrier, if she's here in a New Jersey middle school before hours- there's a vanishingly small space of stories that explain her making her way here and organizing an invisibility prank without having to talk to anyone.

"Do... you... speak... English?"

[inourhead]

"Srenpuumhineniuple sin!" she shouts. "Nlul!" Now she's investigating the latches on the windows.

[unblinkered]

She would find, on inspection, that the latches are easily undone- but that they are two stories up.

"Hey, now! What are you doing?"

He stays in front of the door- he can't imagine she'd risk the jump, so he sits down on the floor. Gotta block the exit, but be all... nonthreatening, and stu- oh, for the love of- the coffee spill, he forget the coffee spill, now his pants are... approximately the same shade of beige, actually, but wet.

[inourhead]

The girl is frustrated at the two-stories-up thing. She swings her bag - and the mouse cage attached below it - around in front of her so she can rummage through it.

[unblinkered]

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, mice? Where'd you get mice? What are you doing with- put that- I mean, please put that down, just- listen, explain what's- could you explain what's going on here?"

The panic's gone out of his voice, but not the worry- he's still bothered by the invisibility trick, he doesn't know how that happened.

[inourhead]

"Soo," she growls at him, and she continues rummaging. But apparently she doesn't find anything useful. She closes the top of the bag and reaches into her mouse cage, poking at the animals. They seem to be asleep. "Praspai...!"

[unblinkered]

He sighs. She doesn't seem to be too happy about having her escape foiled, and he's not sure how to get her in a cooperative mood without her understanding anything.

He deliberately softens and slows his voice- maybe that'll cut down on the hostility, assuming she really doesn't know what he's talking about. "Do you want... what do you want? Are you okay?"

She probably didn't understand that, but perhaps the tone came across.

[inourhead]

She looks over her shoulder. Uncomprehending, but paying attention to him instead of ways out the window.

[unblinkered]

Okay, so, language barrier. How does one get around those? ...Pantomime, probably. Pointing and gesturing, and such. He can't necessarily assume she knows common sorts of gestures like nodding and shaking one's head- can he? How universal are those sorts of things?

He stands up and points at her- "You!" He walks over and points at the floor where she appeared- "Here?"- and repeats this inquiry a couple of times.

[inourhead]

"Pyay," she says, pointing at herself. "Ruum, Sohng. Tlaa."

[unblinkered]

Oh! Names! Names are easy. He has no idea what the rest of that means, but... he points at himself, "Max," and at her- "You, Pyay?"

This is probably a necessary first step, although there's the part of him that's annoyed by how her name has nothing to do with how she magically appeared in the middle of his classroom. He tells that part to sit down and be patient, if it can.

[inourhead]

"Sin, Mahks," she approximates, pointing at him. "Mri, Pyay." She points at herself again.

[unblinkered]

"Sin, you... mri, me." He pauses. "Or possibly mri, I. Or- it's first person, it doesn't matter. Or- thinking out loud is probably going to confuse things..."

He gestures in a circle at the spot on the floor where she was standing. "You... sin, Pyay..." He makes a confused, interrogative sound that she hopefully won't confuse for a word.

[inourhead]

"Mri Pyay," she says agreeably.

[unblinkered]

"No! No- I meant- specifically- you-" he gestures more emphatically at the ground. It doesn't seem to be working- he throws in a few different sorts of peekaboo-type charades, to try to convey something appearing and disappearing.

[inourhead]

Pyay spreads her hands. "Mripuumhinehutple tlir!"

[unblinkered]

She... doesn't know? Or he could be misreading her gesture, or... she could be confused about why he's asking, and expressing confusion about his confusion... but more likely the first thing, and that's not okay. She did this, she has to know.

"Hold on, I'm gonna check..."

He drags over a chair and stands on top of it, then inspects the ceiling above the spot closely. There's nothing- and nothing obvious behind the ceiling panels, either.

His close inspection of the ceiling and precarious balance leaves the path to the door quite unobstructed.