paixaorpg | An Entrance [Complete]

Characters: Briar Rose, Saïx
Content: Briar Rose and Saïx arrive and meet
Setting: Muspelheim Gate
Time: Afternoon
Warnings: None

Briar Rose clutched the so-called journal the man had given her as though it were a lifevest and she were near drowning in a river. She had made it through the wide, arching gate and had stopped dead in her tracks, confused, lost, and a little lonely.

The torch had done it, she had decided, while waiting in line. She had been fumbling through the darkened storerooms and had lit a torch. Before this world had overtaken her own -- well, the mundy world, anyway -- she had had time enough to read "Extra-Dimensional Items and Items of Teleportation" scrawled on the shelves. A torch of teleportation? She would slap whoever thought that up, particularly since she hadn't wanted to go anywhere except back to her suite.

Worse, her adventure had left her inappropriately garbed for a visit anywhere. She was dressed in a comfortable pair of sneakers, tight-fitting designer jeans, and a once-adorable shirt purchased from the mundy store Old Navy. However, the sneakers were simple, the knees of her jeans stained, and her white mock peasant-top sprinkled and smudged with dust. Dust, too, was apparent on her hands, smudged on her face, and, she knew, ruining her lovely auburn hair. Fortunately, her hair was in a high ponytail, and so, with any luck, most of the dust would be invisible. In short, she was an embarassing mess!

With so much working against her, she had decided that this could not be a dream. After all, her dreams had always been the most lovely things! She had slept for an entire century, and she had never once suffered a nightmare in all that time. This particular dream seemed like a nightmare, and so, reluctantly, she had ruled that out.

There was only one thing that could make this worse, she felt. Briar drew herself together, attempted to pretend that she was covered in glitter rather than dust, and hailed the nearest person.

"Pardon," she said, smiling charmingly at the individual. "Is this the Empire?"

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For his part, Saïx would have been content to pass on unavoided - he had never been one for polite conversation. However, it would be impolite to leave the question unanswered - not that he minded, actually, but better to seen as 'polite' even if it were a lie.

"I know of no 'Empire'. Not here at least." There. That would do.

'I know of no Empire. Not here at least.' Briar breathed a sigh of relief, tempered by an immediate fear. What did that mean?

"Not here?" She questioned, unable to stop herself. It would be a foolish matter to pursue, she knew, but the Empire had destroyed her home -- and the homes of so many others.

A passing suspicion went through her, and she chided herself. This man was no troll, nor wooden soldier, nor dragon. If he knew of the Empire, he, certainly, was fleeing it as well.

Clutching the journal tightly, she ventured, "I only just arrived." Lifting a slender arm, she pointed to the gate. She dare not tell him where she had come from.

He couldn't help but sigh at the question, but answered anyway.

"In other places, perhaps, there may be an empire. But this is not those places. Not from what I've seen at least."

He nodded slightly at the comment about only just arriving. "As have I. It would appear then, that we are in the same position."

His words made her smile, despite her apprehension. That was one less concern, then, and that had been the greatest. Fear of the Empire had superceded even her strange arrival here.

Graciously, she extended her hand to him. She hesitated a moment with her palm towards the ground, as though she expected him to kiss it, and then she turned her hand to the "handshake" position.

"My name's Briar Rose." She paused once more, watching his face curiously to see what sort of reaction the name might provoke. Mundys always gave such interesting reactions to her name, but no one, of course, had ever guessed her true identity. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Although physical contact was not exactly one of things he much enjoyed - then again when had he ever 'enjoyed' anything? - he carefully took the proffered hand in one of his own, black-gloved, hands.

"You may call me Saïx." If her name meant anything to him he showed no reaction to it - face as impassionate as ever.

"Unusual," Briar replied with a smiled murmur of approval. "You're new here as well, yes? Do you know what land this is?"

She was curious to know if she'd found herself back in the Homelands, or if this was a strange place in the mundy world. There were other alternatives, of course, but Briar had never bothered herself with learning much about gateways and teleportation and other worlds.

"Or what this is supposed to be?" She held the journal aloft with a girlish giggle. "They told me it was a journal. It seems everyone has one."

Another brief nod. "I am. The name given to me at the gate was 'Paixao'."

At her display of the journal - it nearly matched the one he had tucked away in a pocket of his coat - he simply shrugged. "I would assume it is as they say it is. I doubt they would have need to lie about such things."

Briar found herself a little amused with this character. He was so very...straight-forward. Letting the question of the land go, she instead focused on the journal.

"What I meant is," she said, by way of explanation, "What is it for? I mean, clearly, it's a journal, and so we are expected to write in it." However, it was not the sort of journal she was accustomed to. There were similar computers in the mundy world, but she had never attached much interest to them. "And then what?"

Briar gave him a lovely smile that bespoke of her confidence in him. Even if he didn't know the answers, her smile said, she knew he could puzzle it out.

Although he still showed no expression outwardly, inwardly he was beginning to smile - a cold, cruel smile - how easy it was to gain this woman's confidence. Imagine her despair when she learned it had all been a facade.

"I would assume that others here may answer. After all -" here he drew the journal he had been given out of his pocket "- it seems they are given to all comers to this place.

"I imagine so," Briar returned in a voice which praised his cleverness at such an idea.

Of course, Briar had assumed that somebody, somewhere, must understand why they were given journals. However, at the moment, he was the only person she knew here, and the throngs of people, most seeming to be as confused as herself, did little to bolster her confidence in finding a quick solution to her question.

Briar tucked the journal back under her arm. "Strange, isn't it?" She laughed as she glanced around. "I hadn't noticed that until you said so."

In truth, she had noticed it, but she was too accustomed to the role of a princess -- or, at least, an heiress.

"Do you have friends here?" she asked, returning her gaze to her companion.

"Sometimes it is the little things that one misses."

At her question about friends he almost - almost - laughed. Could she be offering her hand in friendship? How naïve of her. "Perhaps," he answered. "I have what you could call friends, yes, but whether or not they are here remains to be seen."

Such curious wording...

"Well, I do hope you find them," she reassured him, her smile echoing her compassion. "This seems a rather large place."

Briar rather doubted any of her friends -- or fellow Fables -- had appeared here as well. She would have heard -- perhaps. Beauty and the Beast did like to keep things hush-hush -- especially from the Mayor. The thought of her friends made her smile widen slightly.

"Any thoughts of what you will do until you find them?"

At this round of questioning he merely shrugged. "That remains yet to be seen. They may not be here, after all."

That last wasn't entirely true - he knew that others of his kind were here - but best to not mention that just now. They tended to prefer secrecy above all things.

Briar waited for a few moments. This odd fellow, however, did not seem to have any wish to prolong their conversation, and so she smiled charmingly and lifted her small shoulders slightly.

"I think I'll wait here and look for a resident, I suppose. I am so sorry I've pestered you with so many questions." One more, she flashed him a smile. "If you get lonely, I suppose I won't be to difficult to find. I'll be over there." She pointed in a direction that looked as though there may be a bench or something to sit upon. "And I'll be trying to figure out this." Her fingers patted the journal gently.

He nodded, although he had no real intention to return later. There were places to go and people to find, after all.

"Then I shall leave you to it." And with that he headed off - on foot, instead of simply portalling away. Perhaps he'd find someone else here.

Briar watched him go, then, true to her word, she turned to find somewhere to sit. Though amusing, she decided, he was not the friendliest person she had ever met. What serves for courtesy in some places, she thought, would never do in others...

She hoped he found his friends, in any case. It would be the most impolite thing in the world to wish otherwise.

An Entrance [Complete]

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