What Kind of Afterlife Is This? [Complete]

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

Character(s): Megara, Lexaeus
Content: Megara appears in Paixao
Setting: Niflheim Gate
Time: Afternoonish, week 13
Warnings: None

Well, this was new. And here Meg thought she'd seen it all. Being at the beck and call of a god sort of left you with few surprises. But now, standing in front of the elegantly carved and glittering gate structure before her, she was uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

She moved closer, lips pursed and brow furrowed. The line of people waiting to get inside the gate was longer than she thought. What was this place? If this was the afterlife, she was gonna have to start re-evaluating her whole world view. No, the sun on her shoulders and the ground under her feet felt far too tangible for this to be anything other than reality.

It didn't make any sense, but anything was better than standing in an empty field and staring like a cow. She sighed, continuing her journey to the end of the line, noting the very distinct similarities in features that the rest of the people possessed. This was just getting creepy now.

The line moved quickly, thankfully, and before she knew it, Meg was at the gate. Despite her attempts at getting any useful information, the gatekeeper was annoyingly unruffled and composed. After depositing some kind of paper and what felt like a shiny, black stone rectangle in her hands, the gatekeeper doggedly ignored her in favor of the next person in line.

Meg sighed harshly, blowing the longest tendril of her bangs out of her face and headed inside the city.

Comments

[heroinsilence.livejournal.com]

The time for observation had passed, it seemed the moment was right for Lexaeus to take a more direct role in the events that were occurring within this city.

He'd been waiting near the gate for hours in the hopes of finding one with a strong Heart. While hours had passed without one Heart of interest presenting itself, the Silent Hero was nothing if not patient. He would wait for the rest of the day if he had to, then move on to one of the other gates.

Fate, however, seemed to have decided to reward his patience, and he looked up as he felt a powerful Heart pass through the gateway, one tainted with the darkness of betrayal and loss.

Taking advantage of the disorientation that often accompanied ones arrival in this city, he positioned himself along the woman's most likely path, his face assuming the expression of quiet warmth he had spent hours perfecting so that he could offset the intimidating way he towered over most of the city. With any luck this intriguing woman would be looking for someone to help her, and if not he could always extend the offer. After all, any data he could collect on new arrivals would be of great use to the Organization.

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

Meg was proud of herself. Despite the weirdness of coming to this strange place out of the blue, she thought she was carrying herself pretty well. She appeared calm and collected, hips swaying and chin tilted slightly for the full queenly effect. When each blonde passerby she attempted to question blew her off, she remained in control, master of her emotions. Now was not a time to panic. After all, this place couldn't be any worse than where she came from.

Finally she saw him. How she'd missed him in the first place was anyone's guess, being as tall and muscled as he was. She stopped in her tracks, momentarily surprised at his appearance compared to everyone else she'd thus far seen, but collected herself quickly.

"Excuse me," Megara called out, smiling sweetly despite the cool arch of her eyebrow. "Do you think you could give me some information? No one seems to know anything around here."

[heroinsilence.livejournal.com]

One of the advantages of being a Nobody was that one did not feel the temptation to smirk in triumph when things went according to plan, though that didn't stop some of his compatriots.

Looking down at the woman as if he was noticing her for the first time, Lexaeus moved his lips into a small smile and nodded in greeting. "Of course, I would be happy to help ma'am. Did you just arrive?"

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

He sure seemed charming. Of course, Meg knew better. They always started out nice and charming but then their innate pig came through. None of these thoughts showed on her face, though. Still smiling, she clasped her hands behind her back and looked up -- way up -- to the man's face. "I did. Where is this place? I heard it called...'Piezow?' Is that right? How did I get here?"

[heroinsilence.livejournal.com]

"Paixao," he corrected gently. While Meg was more than correct to be suspicious, her reasoning behind it was flawed, mostly because Lexaeus lacked the necessary emotions to feel desire for anything but the return of his Heart.

"I'm sorry to say I don't know," he replied, a hint of regret in his voice. "I woke up here myself with no recollection of how I got here, nor where I was. Talking to others it seems that is the case with everyone who arrives here."

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

"Oh," Meg sighed, crossing her arms and looking away. "That's just great." Suddenly, she stopped her sulking, whipping her head back to stare at the man. "Wait, what? Others?" She frowned, shifting her weight so that one hip tilted out. "You're telling me this is commonplace but no one knows anything?" This whole experience was getting harder to swallow by the minute.

[heroinsilence.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Lexaeus answered simply, tilting his head to one side with a apologetic expression. "There are many people striving to discover the city's secrets, but they have not had much success. I am sorry."

Already he was seeing outward signs of the strength of this one's Heart. Her temperament may have been mercurial, but it was fierce in all its different states. Her personality was one to be reckoned with.

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

Megara exhaled a quick burst of air, blowing the curling tendril of her bangs up out of her eyes. "Well, I doubt I'd have better luck." Especially since she wasn't all that anxious to get home. She gave him a small, vaguely apologetic smile. "Seems like we're all stuck here then, huh? Thanks for being more hospitable than the last few creeps."

[heroinsilence.livejournal.com]

"You're welcome," Lexaeus replied. He didn't bother to inquire as to whether he was also categorized as a creep. The woman would think of him as she chose to, and it wasn't as if she could hurt his feelings. "Do you need help finding a place to stay?"

[therightcurves.livejournal.com]

Having been set on turning and leaving, Meg halted mid-step and blinked a few times. She actually hadn't thought about that. "Uh...well, since I'm apparently here for awhile, I guess should thinking about a place to stay." Pausing again, she glanced at the finely-dressed woman walking by with her equally ornately decorated companion. She looked back up at the kindly stranger and shrugged a bit sheepishly. "I hate to say it, but I'm all out of money. Though something tells me this place doesn't use drachmas."