paixaorpg | Hello darkness, my old friend [active/open]

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Hello darkness, my old friend [active/open]

Character(s): Lei'ella, Iago, Neirenn
Content: Lei'ella finds herself in Paixao, and literally in the dark about it
Setting: Niflheim Gate
Time: Week Nine, Dark o'clock?
Warnings: None really, just a ~~trigger happy~~ stabbity-prone, angry elf... Unless Iago counts as a warning? <3

"Give me one reason not to kill you..." Lei'ella heard Varden's voice, very faintly, as if miles away... She tried to open her eyes, only to finally come to the realization that they were open... and everything truly was pitch black. An unfortunate woman she couldn't see asked her for her name, and what she received in reply was a snarl and a very quick retort about how truly unnecessary that information would be to her. She could feel something hard in her hands, as well as what felt like a bunch of parchment papers. They seemed like they may be important, whatever they were, so she tucked them away in her belt.

Wait. Where were the others? Shouldn't they have been here with her? Lei'ella could have sworn that the portal had taken all of them... and what perfect, terrible timing it had. She was blind, nearly, and opened her mouth to call out for Varden, Acheron, anyone... then it struck her. The awful, empty realization. She couldn't sense any of them. Very, very faintly, she thought she could almost sense Neirenn... but that was no doubt just the lingering portal spell. She was alone, once again in a completely unfamiliar city. She was beginning to miss the days where magic was absent from her life.

So, Lei'ella, being completely lost and in an entirely unfamiliar place that had something to do with pie, stalked blindly off into the darkness, making sure, for familiarity's sake, that her cloak was pulled tightly around her and over her ears. She kept her senses alert, trying to keep track of everything around her, not wanting to literally run into anyone. No telling what she would encounter in the inky darkness.

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"YOU MOOOOORON!!!!" Iago screamed at Jafar as the lamp was thrown by the genie. Then...POOF! Suddenly, Jafar was gone, and the parrot was outside of the lamp, staring at a gate that was surrounded by ugly fake plants. He was shoved through a line of people, then a bunch of papers and some...thing...were shoved into his beak and his claws as he was shuffled inside (though of course he let them all have it--no one pushes Iago around!) and he found himself in...pitch black.

"Geesh, am I inside the lamp again?" he wondered out loud as he took flight, scattering the papers (he couldn't read in the dark anyway) and holding the device in his talons (it was beeping real annoying-like, made him want to throw it on the ground--if he could find the ground). Being unable to see, it didn't take long before he flew beakfirst into something a little soft, but harder on the inside.

"Watch where you're goin', nuts-for-brains!" The parrot shook a wing, though it couldn't be seen in the dark, then took a couple steps forward, where he ran into the same thing. "I SAID GET OUTTA THE WAY!!"

It was bad enough being in a place she'd never imagined, much less in the dark. She'd stepped outside to wait for Neirenn to try to find her, only to be greeted by something unprecedentedly more disconcerting than the inky fog. Then something whacked her in the back of the head, and Lei'ella shrieked briefly, drawing her daggers defensively and whirling around.

"If you can see better than I, then by all means, LEAD THE WAY!" Lei'ella snapped, completely startled by not only being attacked, but at being attacked by the loudest, most obnoxious disembodied voice she could imagine, that was now screeching somewhere around her ankles. Her daggers were drawn out of reflex, though she wasn't sure they would be necessary. She could almost make out the bright, small shape of the creature at her feet. She stepped aside, out of the way of the... bird?

"Don't let me get in your way," she muttered, daggers replaced into their sheathes. What sort of cretins inhabited this city? Was this one of the locals that someone had mentioned to her?

There were wisps of bluish light curling in the air nearby, with a few butterflies flapping before fading out a little faster than they normally would have without the fog of darkness. It had worked! Neirenn smiled to herself. She hadn't tested her portal spell since its spectacular failure last week, but it seemed it worked just fine as long as you didn't try to get back to Aydensfell.

In the brief light, Neirenn saw the familiar face of the elf, in the clothing she and Varden had stolen after what had happened in the watchtower. But she's still from the past.

And she looked pretty aggravated, too. That was only to be expected. "Lei'ella!" Neirenn said with a smile, not noticing the bird at her feet yet.

"Lei'ella? Who the he--I mean, who names their kid Lei'ella? It sounds like they just wanted an excuse to get their chump daughter made fun of in school by all the other fat, chump kids on the rusty jungle gym they called a playground because they were too stupid to know what a real playground looks like. Now listen here, Lei'eeeella, I need to know where I am, because last time I checked I was stuck in a lamp with a moron. Can you please tell me where I am so I can get away from you? You're really bugging me. And why is this other girl so excited to see you? Are you two girlfriends or something, because that's honestly gross. I can't think of anything more disgusting."

Frank as ever, Iago didn't bother to move around much while talking, or even to gesture, since no one could see him anyway.

Who was the imbecile who let such an offensive creature survive this long? Surely, every time it opened it's mouth it was nearly killed? Lei'ella's blood was boiling, but she had suffered much worse in way of insults from those who knew her much better than this bird. She held her cool. For now.

And by held her cool, she drew her daggers and kneeled swiftly, the point of the dagger in her right hand now underneath Iago's beak, a smirk on her lips. "Is it a death wish you have?" she asked coolly, retracting the blade and standing once again, debating whether or not she would kick the parrot, but for the moment feeling she'd made her point. She would have told Iago anything he'd asked, really, but honestly, what was the little creature expecting by opening with insult upon insult?

And at this point she set about ignoring him. "Hello, Neirenn!" she greeted, smiling apologetically, though it probably couldn't be seen in the darkness. "I'm so glad to see you, you have no idea..." she muttered the last part a bit, but since Neirenn had no doubt heard the cacophony at her feet, she should understand.

Neirenn almost jumped--hearing a voice coming from the ground was one thing. Seeing that it came from a talking bird was another. And having that bird yapping insults in a loud, grating voice was--well--she liked the way Lei'ella handled it, anyway. She just gave the featherball a disgusted look.

"I thought it'd be more interesting to meet a talking bird," she said. She'd seen pictures in books, supposedly they came from tropical islands and lived a long time. Neirenn didn't see how either of those things could be possible for this particular specimen. She looked back up at Lei'ella, although she doubted the thing would be content to be ignored.

"It's great to see you too--I still have no idea how I got here," she said. Behind her smile she hid her worry about just what had happened--she distinctly remembered Lei'ella arriving along with the rest of them in Aydensfell. "But I can tell you a little about this place."

Iago's eyes went wide, and he quickly shied away from the knife. "H-hey lady, don't go all crazy-slashy-psychopath on me here, I'm a fragile bird. I'm sure we can settle our differences in a completely safe, non-violent, and small bird-friendly manner we can all agree on, right ladies?" The fact Iago was frightened was not masked in any way, and the sigh of relief when she pulled back the blade was very audible.

Lei'ella smirked as the bird backpedaled, thankful that her show had put her point across as intended. If he kept a lid on the insults and general vulgarity, she might even help him out a bit. If she'd learned one thing in the last month, it was that she was capable of giving even the lowliest of creatures a second chance. Granted, they'd have to earn the third.

She gave the bird a hard look, trying to decide whether she'd go back on her initial decision to ignore him or not. "You are hardly worth my effort to harm," she told him coldly, her old, familiar ways showing through. "Swallow your tongue for a moment and we'll see if maybe we can all help each other," she offered, still glaring at the creature. She turned back to Neirenn, and gave her an almost imperceptible wink.

She sighed as Neirenn spoke. "I suppose it isn't very important how we got here," she decided aloud. "I would like hear anything you know," she told Neirenn. "I don't like feeling so unfamiliar about my surroundings... maybe we should get back inside?" she suggested.

Neirenn raised an eyebrow as the old Lei'ella came through. Not that she objected to telling this--parrot, that's what it was called--to shut its beak. Fortunately it seemed to be taking the hint. She turned her attention back to Lei'ella's question.

Well, actually, I think it is very important how we got here, considering that this place just interfered with Archmage Stonier's spell and pulled you out of the past. Or me out of the future, she thought, but there was no way she could tell Lei'ella about that.

"Well," she said, looking down at the parrot as well, "This city is called Paixao. It isn't usually like this, but a person called Maleficent has cast a spell of darkness over the whole city." She looked around.

"Parrot--sorry, I don't know your name--I'm going to cast a spell that will take us inside a building. So don't panic." Then she cast her spell--the two of them vanished from the gate and reappeared in Neirenn's hotel room. Walking to a candle, Neirenn lit it with a small fire spell. That was better.

"Yes, exactly. I'm not worth the effort, that's just what I was thinking! I'm going to be on my way now, you two obviously don't seem to need me here and I'm not adding anything to the conversation, so I'm just going to pick up this weird contraption they stuck me with at the door and fly off into another building." So he said, until they continued addressing him.

"Oh no, that's really not necessary, I'll be just fine on my own and--SQUAWK!!" Iago was quickly interrupted by the teleporting spell. "LADY, do you think could kindly WARN PEOPLE when you're about to POOF THEM into THIN AIR?! It's a little disorienting when you're not expecting it." He brushed some dust off his wings ostentatiously, looking a bit peeved.

Lei'ella was grateful for the warning, but preferred that it would have come just a little sooner. She couldn't help but giggle softly at the bird's complaining. It sounded very familiar, but the voice reminded her gratingly that the similarities ended there. She couldn't help bit wonder about Varden but, she knew wherever he was, he knew how to take care of himself.

"Thanks for the warning, Neirenn," she said truthfully, a bit of a laugh still in her voice. Magical didn't disorient her greatly, but it never hurt to know in advance what to expect.

"Where are we, now?" she asked once Iago seemed to be momentarily done with his rant. She couldn't say she was any happier than him about his presence here, but he didn't seem much a threat, and leaving him alone felt a bit cruel. Less and less cruel as he continued to speak, but that was beside the point.

(OOC: I fail worse :x god sorry)

"Oh, calm down!" said Neirenn, covering her mouth to hide--barely--her giggle at the parrot's outrage. "I did warn you. Boy, when the book said that parrots were vocal they weren't kidding. This is the Actua Are," she added, looking up at Lei'ella and conjuring a light above her hand.

"The darkness outside dampens any kind of light you try to use--candles, magic--but it won't come indoors so long as you keep the doors closed and the curtains drawn." Her own thoughts were running along a similar line to Lei'ella's... where was Varden? She had been there, and Ash had been there, and the two of them had been there. But had that changed? Or was...

...She could figure it out later. Right now, the thing was to get Lei'ella settled in and explain to her as much about this place that Neirenn knew.

(We all do, it's okay. XD)

"Oh this is just great. I get warped out of a cramped, dark, tiny little lamp inhabited by a moron, and now I'm stuck in a big, dark city where the lights don't even work! But don't get me wrong, you girls are great. Who could possibly want to meet better people than the two of you in a city where the lights don't work?" Iago paced as he ranted, gesturing vividly.

Lei'ella sighed quietly, shaking her head as she watched Iago pacing around. It really was quite comical, but she had a feeling that laughing aloud would solve nothing, so she held it back for now.

"Well, you should be thankful that it was us you met, and not someone who would gladly roast you over a spit," she muttered, more to herself, realizing that she would gladly do the honors, but she didn't think she could kill a sentient, talking animal. Just yet.

"The darkness did have an awful feel to it," she added as Neirenn explained it a bit. "Is there anything that can be done to break the spell?" she wondered aloud, hoping the answer would be yes, and that someone was already working on it.

"Would you calm down?" Neirenn said. "You're going to give yourself an aneurysm." She would probably have found it funnier if the situation wasn't so serious--Calm down. You can't do anything about it yet. Just tell her the facts of the situation. Except for the one that she got pulled out of the past.

Unfortunately, that meant she had to admit that she was as good as powerless when it came to the darkness. "As far as I know... no," she said. "I haven't met someone yet who's strong enough to break through it, and I haven't been able to do so myself. It's being made by someone called Maleficent." This next sentence was going to sound ridiculous, but it was what Yorda had told her--"She's an evil fairy, so she has a lot more power than I do."

"Oh, I'll give myself an aneurysm. You know what? That's a new one. I'll have to remember it." It was a moment later that Lei'ella's roasting comment reached his brain, and he quickly snapped his beak shut. He opened it again to make a remark about the evil fairy thing, but somehow his better judgment got the best of him and he kept quiet.

Lei'ella, however, could not keep from commenting on the likelihood of an evil fairy.

"An evil... fairy," she managed, almost making it sound like a question. She didn't doubt Neirenn's sincerity at all, she could tell it was almost a struggle for her to explain it as such. But... a fairy? Really? Some little, winged doll, the stuff of fairy tales, was making an entire city black as night? This had to be some sort of nightmare. Maybe she hit her head? Or maybe it was all the blood-loss catching up to her weeks later?

"Well... this place seems to draw all types, from what I've gathered," she risked a glance at Iago, "Hopefully whatever force is in charge thought well enough to pull a powerful good in, as well?" If this was a dream she might as well be optimistic for a change.

She also wasn't sure exactly why Neirenn seemed so concerned that this Maleficent was so much more powerful than her. Neirenn still had a lot to learn, last Lei'ella checked, so the kid didn't need to be so hard on herself. She wasn't about to say anything out loud, though, there was no reason to.

"Yeah, I know it sounds pretty far-fetched," said Neirenn. Then again, so was ending up here at all. "But there seem to be plenty of people here who got sucked in like us, and they're not all bad."

She knew, realistically as well as from experience, that against a powerful magic being that she really didn't have much of a chance on her own. But it was still a sting to her pride. Being only fifteen didn't enter into it--not when she'd already graduated.

"So what else do you want to know? I'm still trying to figure this place out too, but I can at least tell you where things are."

"Yeah sure, ignore the parrot. Not like I'm HERE or anything! The way you two act it's like I don't even exist! Not that I'm hurt by this or anything, of course not. I mean, who wouldn't want to be ignored? It's the best thing since sliced bread!"

Iago made no attempt to hide the sarcasm...not that he had done so any of the other times he'd ever opened his beak.

Lei'ella smiled, a little ebarassedly, at Iago. "As if it was possible to ignore you. What is your name? Maybe we'd be more likely to include you if we knew that?" She knew he had learned their names, and made no secret of his apparent distaste for them, so it was merely her attempting to be polite and find more reason not to skewer him.

She turned back to Neirenn. "I'm not sure what else to ask about. It's obvious that this darkness is going to linger a while, so that leaves far too many questions. Maybe, just tell me- us," she motioned to Iago, reluctantly, but she made the motion look natural, "What we'll need to know to get by here for a while?"

Neirenn rolled her eyes at the bird. She really had never encountered something so rude and obnoxious, but the fact that he was a bird made him fascinating, which was what was keeping her from soaking him with a well-placed water spell. She took a seat on the chair. "You'd better not mess anywhere," she said, and turned her attention to Lei'ella's question.

"Well, most of the people you meet here are a little odd," she said, making sure to look at both Lei'ella and the parrot. "They almost glow, and they don't really talk about much. Money isn't really a problem here, since they'll take anything shiny as payment, like leaves off the trees."

She pulled her communication device out of her pocket. "There's a map in here to help you find your way around, too."

"Not that a map helps in the dark," Iago had to comment. "Iago, at your service, madams." The parrot gave a very exaggerated bow. "And thank you very much lady, but I'm a clean parrot. I don't think the idea of having to smell that is very appealing."

Iago was almost about to be quiet for a moment, but then the word "shiny" made his eyes light up. "So...what's this shiny stuff you mentioned?"

Lei'ella smiled in spite of herself. A true pirate's parrot, this one. She also found herself curious about leaves being used as money. That was almost harder to believe than a wicked fae.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing this city in the light. Leaves as money, evil faeries, people glowing..." she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. As Neirenn mentioned the map, she pulled her own journal out from where it had been secured in her belt and began toying with it a bit. Her first post with it had been entirely accidental. It might be difficult to use it on purpose, and she was having very little lucky in finding the aforementioned map.

Another thought hit her. She was almost reluctant to ask, but couldn't help it. "How long have you been here, Neirenn?"

"Well if you take a look at the trees and the flowers, they aren't actually real. They're made of metal and glass and silk. It's the strangest thing. Well actually not the strangest thing--the domes overhead are strange, and the people are too," Neirenn explained. "Just pull off some glass leaves if you need to buy anything."

She moved closer, looking over Lei'ella's arm as the elf began fiddling around with the journal device. It had taken Neirenn some time before she had figured out how to use it as well--its inner workings were still a mystery to her. She'd thought about finding some tools to take it apart, but the sudden veil of dark magic over the city had distracted her from that.

"I've been here for about a week, I think," she said. "I've been trying to keep track of the nights to figure out how long time is passing since the dark magic, but it's a little difficult."

"Because I can see them in the dark," Iago said mockingly in response to Neirenn's explanation of the plants.

Lei'ella tried to follow Neirenn's train of thought, but everything was so new, that the images her mind tried to form were making very little sense. Plants made of metals and glass and... silk? Domes? It was making her head swim, and she found herself slowly crouching back until she felt secure that she had something solid to sit on.

She then went back to fiddling with the journal, taking a few moments to think things over and attempt to gather her many thoughts, wincing a little as the light from it made her squint for a few moments.

"So... what do you do to pass the time around here?" Considering she had never seen the city any other way, it was hard to imagine it in a different light. Any light.

"I'm sure you'll notice if you fly into them," said Neirenn. Still, she watched Iago with more fascination than aggravation. Now that they were inside and a little bit more settled, the novelty of a talking bird was overriding his obnoxious attitude.

At Lei'ella's wince and the bright light from the communicator screen, Neirenn put a hand over her mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry, I should have lit the candles. I've gotten so used to the dark." She quickly cast a small fire spell to light the candles in the room. That would help.

She looked thoughtful at Lei'ella's question. "Well, there is some exploring to do," she said. "I've been able to feel my way around with magic, so I could probably guide you two around as well."

"Wait, you mean that I'll have to stick around with you numbskulls until the lights come back on? I mean, it's better than running into things in the dark, but flapping around with a couple of angry women who don't seem to think very much of slitting my throat doesn't quite sound like the best possible arrangement for my own personal well-being."

"If you can find the door, I'm sure you are more than welcome to leave," Lei'ella smirked at the parrot, making a motion in the general direction of door, still shrouded a bit in darkness from where the candles' light didn't carry. She was fully aware that he would be unable to open it himself, she just couldn't help taunting him.

"I would not be opposed to a short tour," she told Neirenn. "Though maybe not much of a distance... I'm curious to see the plants you mentioned, if nothing else."

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Hello darkness, my old friend [active/open]

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