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

[characterquarry]

That feeling of being watched is back again. When her hand comes away, she gets seven Favors and no Gifts.

"Holly, seven favors. Part of my job is to give advice on how to use your wishes, if you would like."

[inourhead]

"Sure, what can they do?"

[characterquarry]

Erin has a long list. Wishes are good at giving people knowledge, abilities, talent, and powers. She has excellent vision and knowledge of cooking from a Favor, a subtle and vague sense-of-magic from a Gift, and the ability to speak any language from a Boon, as examples. Some examples of other peoples' powers are flight, healing, extra-sensory perception, supernatural strength and coordination and balance, telekinesis...

Wishes are also good at finding things, from finding the lost treasure of King Yu, to finding the answer to a challenging intellectual problem, to finding someone you could have a happy relationship with.

[inourhead]

At that last suggestion, Holly snorts.

[characterquarry]

Erin looks confused for a moment, then giggles. "I'd imagine wishes would be good at finding someone you could happily cohabitate with, too. I've never tested such a thing, for obvious reasons."

[inourhead]

"That wasn't why I laughed. But speaking of finding people, um, before we got eaten we were with our brother and his cohabitor. And we don't know what happened to them."

[characterquarry]

"Oh... Hm. Favors can usually do single teleportations of something or someone, but you have to know where it is and where it ought to go. I think a Favor might be able to tell you where they are, but wishing for information usually results in a sort of... Dream sequence. We have special rooms set aside for it, but you might not need them."

[inourhead]

"And we're from really far away," Holly reminds her. "Would Favors get us home? Or them here?"

[characterquarry]

"It's unprecedented. You'd have to try it. If you make a wish that's too big, sometimes it does part of the wish, sometimes it does nothing, but the wish is used up any which way."

[inourhead]

"...There's really no way Book and Lightning both would get zero Favors, though, right? So that's more wishes to go around, if we got them here."

[inourhead]

"- But it would be bad if it partly brought them here. What if it just put Book back in with us, then what? He'd have to move out again, I don't know what would happen to Lightning!"

[characterquarry]

"I would like to state for the record that it may not be the best idea to teleport someone without their knowledge or permission, unless they're in danger or something. I'm older than I look, by the way, I've seen thousands of wishes and my intuition is saying that if a Favor couldn't do it completely, it would most likely do nothing."

[inourhead]

"...We were all in the wilderness being chased by demons," says Crystal. "And low on mice. They may have been eaten too, maybe to someplace less safe than here."

[characterquarry]

"You should still wish to see where they are and what they're doing before wishing them here."

[inourhead]

"In case they're, what, in another world with more convenient extra magic about to transport us there?"

[characterquarry]

"In case they're... Holding someone else who is about to fall into a demon's mouth if they let go, or some similar thing. I admit that sounds unlikely, and they're your wishes, I've said my bit."

[inourhead]

"There was no one else around," says Holly.

Crystal makes the wish. She wants Lightning and Book, here, safe, in their customary body, please.

[characterquarry]

There is a spike of discomfort, like trying your very hardest to lift something and only barely being able to manage it.

Lightning and book are here, safe, in their customary body. But it felt- draining, like troporting tiredness onto yourself. And two of Crystal's Favors are gone, not just one.

[inourhead]

Some unclear blend of Holly-and-Crystal fling themselves at Lightning for a hug. "You're okay!"

"We're what? Where is this?"

"No idea really, but there aren't any demons in it! And magic that isn't troportation!"

[characterquarry]

"Hi. We have no demons, no cohabiting, no troportation. But we do have wishes from what may or may not be a god."

[inourhead]

"Look," says Holly, pushing up her sleeves, "look, they're -"

"Holly, let Crystal tell me, would you -"

"We'll both tell you, it changes when we do, watch -"

Lightning watches. Crystal fades forward and the constellation of wishes changes.

"That's - I'm sure this is amazing," says Lightning, "but right now I really need a mouse and water and maybe food."

[characterquarry]

"Will nonmouse small animals do? We have frogs and fish, in the pond. I really want to troport. If I can't get it without, I'm going to burn one of my last two Favors on it."

[inourhead]

"It doesn't matter if they're mice in particular but I don't know if frogs and fish would work as well," says Crystal.

"I'm not sure I can pull it off even if they do technically work. Used to mice," says Lightning.

"Holly can do it for you," Crystal says, patting his arm, "if it does have to be something non-furry."

[characterquarry]

"You could probably buy mice somewhere in the city if you were willing to troport things for people. Or catch squirrels in the forest or something. But the frogs are right here if you want them. You're Lightning and Book, correct? I'm Erin."

[inourhead]

"He's just Lightning. Book's asleep - very completely asleep, he can't hear you," Crystal explains. "When do you think...?"

"I can sleep in another sand or two," says Lightning. "I don't quite understand...?"

"They don't have demons here. Any of them. Or troporting. She's all alone in there, apparently everyone here is," says Crystal.

"If I have to run through a forest to get a squirrel - ugh. Holly, a frog, please."

"No problem," says Holly, and she leaps at the nearest frog.