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

[follow_the_leader]

Well, 'alarmed' is better than 'threatening'. Enough that Emma doesn't immediately bolt, at least. But she doesn't recognize the language, and that is worrying. She likes languages. She knows quite a few of them, for that matter. And not a one sounds even faintly similar to this language, in that way languages tend to blend when they're spoken near each other.

She starts making a mental list of questions, such as "who is this person" and "what language is that" and "why are they here", but it gets distressingly long and she gives up.

"Hi?" she tries again. She doesn't know why she bothers, if this girl knows no Welchin repeating words won't help and it doesn't sound like trying something like Malinquan would help at all, but she doesn't know what else to do. She sits down where she is and waves slightly, trying to smile. See? Non threatening Emma. Will not bite.

[inourhead]

The girl waves back. She produces more gibberish. She pauses, then produces a halting sentence of what might be a different language of - total gibberish.

[follow_the_leader]

Emma shakes her head, makes a sad face, and lifts her hands in what she hopes is a confused gesture. Mystery girl waved back, at least, that's something. They have some basic gestures in common.

Attempting to mime her meaning is not really her strong point, and even when practicing her languages she avoids it whenever possible, but she's not seeing much of an alternative. She points vaguely in most directions, then at the girl, and then makes a confused face/hand raise again. Hopefully this will resemble "where did you come from" closely enough for the girl to at least point? Name a country Emma might recognize?

She can hope.

[inourhead]

The girl mutters more gibberish and looks as confused as Emma.

[joy_in_laughter]

A familiar blonde head peers around the corner. "Emmaaaa, was that you? Where are yoooou, guess who I brou- oh! You brought a friend too!"

Emma rounds the corner, followed by Alli. She waves at the girl with Emma. "Hi! I'm Jenny! What's your name? And more importantly, how do you feel about blueberry pie?"

[follow_the_leader]

"Good luck," Emma says rather helplessly. "I don't think she speaks Welchin. I don't even begin to recognize what she's saying."

[inourhead]

The newcomer blinks at Jenny, and waves back, again.

[joy_in_laughter]

Jenny stares in confusion. "Wait, what? Is she not with you? What's she doing here, then?"

[cry_me_a]

Alli sighs. "Well, the outfit's weird enough." She walks around the girl a bit, staring at her attire curiously- it's like Alli works in a clothing shop, or something- but once she's past Jenny she stops with a start.

"Also. Anyone else deeply creeped out by how's she's wearing a mouse?"

[joy_in_laughter]

Jenny lets out a high pitched squeak of terror that would put chalkboards to shame, and can now be found behind Alli.

[follow_the_leader]

"She- what do you mean she's wearing a mouse?" Emma demands. She comes down the stairs to join them, and walks around the girl to get a better view from Alli's side.

"...that is not 'wearing a mouse.' That is a cage, with mice inside it, attached to a bag."

[cry_me_a]

"So I summarized. It's not less weird."

[joy_in_laughter]

"There's more than one mouse?"

[follow_the_leader]

"The cage part is relevant! ...but yes. Still weird."

[inourhead]

The girl jumps to her feet when Jenny squeaks, then calms down when nothing scary materializes. The mice don't wake up even at the sudden change of direction; they're very much asleep.

[cry_me_a]

Alli looks rather impressed at the mice for staying asleep, then returns her attention to Emma. "Okay, so? Explain the Welchin-less mouse collector?"

[follow_the_leader]

"I don't know! She just- appeared!" Emma says, who is by now exhibiting minor signs of both hysteria and terror. "As in, very literally, I was walking down the stairs and then suddenly that part of the floor was no longer empty. She did not walk in, or run, or anything-" though the girl does look sweaty, so now Emma's retroactively doubting herself. She's good at that. "-she popped into being. Like magic."

[cry_me_a]

"So, she's- what, some kind of foreign Prime?" Alli asks, more suspicious now. "What're you doing with her?"

[follow_the_leader]

"Don't know, don't know, and," she adds for good measure, "don't know. I mean- she did magic, so we should tell the Primes and the king, at least."

[inourhead]

The girl is turning slowly on the spot, inspecting the surroundings. She holds up her hands placatingly and then slides her backpack off her shoulders slowly to put it on the ground and rummage through it.

[cry_me_a]

Alli motions towards the placating gesture. "Come on. She's not dangerous, look at her. Weird, sure. Trying to kill us with crazy foreign magic, no. Why haul her to the palace? She can't even talk to them."

[joy_in_laughter]

"Couldn't any of the Primes understand her?" wonders Jenny. Having never seen a Prime, much less interacted with one, she has a tendency to ascribe them Mystical Powers.

[follow_the_leader]

"None of them do anything special with languages," Emma says absently. It's one of the reasons her parents suggested she study languages. An in at Court, they said. "But even if they can't help... what else do we do with her?"

[cry_me_a]

"Well, gee," Alli says. "If only one of us lived in a huge mansion with extra rooms."

[inourhead]

The stranger has found what she was looking for: it appears to be a map. She flips through it until she comes to a zoomed-out page depicting a place of uncertain scale - a few apparent cities are dotted and labeled in unfamiliar script, there are mountain ranges in stylized flock-of-triangles form, there are bodies of blue water and a big ragged black spot of nothing in the middle. She points at a city-dot towards the bottom edge of the map (at least the way she's holding it; it's anyone's guess what direction the script is supposed to be read in) and shows it to the others, murmuring gibberish and looking hopeful.