4th Wall Shenanigans!

[markofthebrave]

[Whelp. Katara has no idea what's going on here. Suddenly, everything is crowded and there are people without wings and this isn't madness - it's LUCETI. So. She's just going to shrug and roll with it, basically.

Saturday has Katara out running errands and visiting friends, then making dinner for the house and practicing by the river in the evening.

Sunday has Katara sneaking away for a little bit and winding up in the hot springs. Masaomi's party had been a great idea, okay? And surely nothing weird would go on there, right?]

Comments

[everlastingturmoil]

[He arches his back at the contact before turning around to face her. He'll try to catch her wrist, but if she's pulled away by then he probably won't be able to.

Wordlessly, he studies her. Her eyes in particular, in hopes of getting a glimpse of what she's thinking.


Then he frowns.]

You don't remember.

[markofthebrave]

[Well, she didn't step back - just drop her hand - so the chances are good he could actually have caught her wrist and so, you know what, let's go with that. It's an abrupt contact that startles her, her eyes widening as she returns his stare...]

No, I think you're the one that doesn't remember.

[Light frown, and she tugs at her wrist.] Let go, I'll show you what I mean.

[everlastingturmoil]

Don't pull that with me, Katara! [His tone is sharp and his brows are furrowed. He's not mad at her, but he is mad at this situation. Mostly because he doesn't understand it.

Raging at things one cannot comprehend is always the logical thing to do, right?

Right. He tightens his hold before dropping it and sighing through his nose.] There's nothing to show.

1/2

[markofthebrave]

I'm not pulling anything!

[markofthebrave]

[But he drops her wrist and one hand goes to it and briefly circles where he'd touched her, as if to rub away the sting from her grip while she steps back.]

And yes, there is. [And so, with very little fuss and brusque, business like movements she takes off her parka and turns to the side, revealing the blue wings sticking out of her tunic. They're a lighter blue sticking out of her back and gradually intensify into the indigo of her eyes by the feathers on her wingtips, the feathers are long and silky, though the wings themselves don't extend more than down to about her elbow.]

I don't know where you think you are, but you're not there right now. This is Luceti.

[everlastingturmoil]

Yes you are! [Oh look, they're fighting. Now it's starting to feel like home.

He frowns at the gesture with her wrist but stubbornly looks away to ignore it. It isn't until she removes her parka that his eyes flicker back, knowing she wants his attention. and at the sight of the wings, he wants to just yell out of frustration. He wants to demand what that means, to tell her there's no way they're in a place called Luceti, to make her remember Adstring.


But he just sounds a little defeated.] The hell is that?

[markofthebrave]

[And - cautiously, hesitantly, and really almost gently, because she knows that he isn't always the most... stable and even if their relationship steadily deteriorated in Luceti she doesn't want to hurt him...]

They're wings. Everyone who's stuck here has them, or else we... die. You don't, so it must be some kind of weird experiment. However you ended up here, you probably won't be here long.

[everlastingturmoil]

[He just takes in a deep breath, hoping it'll mask his temper. But he knows that it probably won't. Then the word die catches his attention.]

How long have you been here?

[markofthebrave]

[A deep breath, as the answer nearly chokes her.]

Almost two years now.

[It's cold. She wants to put her parka back on. But... her gut tells her to wait and let the wings sink in a little bit longer.]

[everlastingturmoil]

[It confirms something, he just doesn't know what. In the back of his mind, though, he's telling himself this is just another trap, another event, and in a few days it'll be over. They were messing with his head, maybe he was sleeping again...

But he wouldn't give them the satisfaction.]

Wanna show me around? [....] You should put that back on before you get sick.

[markofthebrave]

[Blink. Okay, that was both sane and considerate. This is clearly an experiment.

She shrugs back into her parka and lifts her arms to free her hair from it so that her hair can dangle outside the coat. Some of it stays trapped on the side, but don't worry, she'll get it in a minute.]

Yeah... I could do that.

[Although. He is cutting into her practice time. And it is. Jet. But she can't just let him wander around alone, confused and angry, even if he could disappear at any second because. Reasons.]

This is the river!

[Oh, false enthusiasm and 'what the heck is really going on here', how you stain her voice.]

[everlastingturmoil]

[He watches her absentmindedly, his thoughts clearly in another place. Another place and another time, and hey, she did what he suggested without making any remarks. That always makes things go a little more smoothly.

When she speaks again, after agreeing to his request, he rolls his eyes and smiles faintly. At least she was trying to keep the mood up.

Right?




This is going to get so awkward. HE CAN FEEL IT.]

Gee, I really couldn't figure that one out. [He nods his head in a random direction, gesturing for her to walk alongside him. He's already started walking, too.]

[markofthebrave]

[Uh, yeah. She's standing right there, doing a strange combination of a smile and a smirk.]

There's nothing but the forest that way.

[...actually. She has an idea. It's a brilliant, horrible, crazy, wild idea, but it just might work!]

Although maybe there is something you'd like to see that way. Come on.

[And she starts off in that direction but at a slightly different angle.]

[everlastingturmoil]

I grew up in the woods. [That is Jet's pride's way of saying I totally knew that's all that was there. Because. C'mon. He really did... stop looking at him like that.]

Yeah? Something like what?

[But he'll follow, only a few steps behind.]

[markofthebrave]

Something I've been working on for a few weeks.

[Seriously, this is a brilliant plan and it CAN DO NO WRONG.]

[everlastingturmoil]

That could be a lot of things, Katara.

[And as much as he wants to tease her with the possibilities HE WON'T.]

[markofthebrave]

If I tell you, it won't be a surprise!

[It's juuuust over that hill, due to RP timewarp.]

[everlastingturmoil]

I'm not really a fan of surprises.

[FTW |D]

[markofthebrave]

You've already been dumped someplace you're not familiar with, without wings. I'd say you're out of luck. You'll just have to deal with some more surprises.

[everlastingturmoil]

I wouldn't want wings. And not if I can get you to spill before we get there.

[markofthebrave]

Not going to happen. [And she wouldn't want you to have them either. That means that he'd be stuck here too and...

...okay, maybe it isn't worse being dead, but... yeah, she doesn't want to think about that right now. She can totally keep this light until they get there and not ask any weird/important questions. She can!]

[everlastingturmoil]

Just tell me... it's not like we have a whole lot to talk about. [He nudges her lightly with his elbow, because it is light. And he likes that. He hasn't had a casual, light conversation in a while, and even if this started off different...

Well now it was okay. And Jet's always been one to take things as they come.]

[markofthebrave]

Nope. [And she skirts away him at the touch. Apparently, she's allowed to be as familiar as she feels the situation warrants, but he needs to keep his hands to himself. A double standard, huh? Who knew.]

Besides, we're almost there.

[everlastingturmoil]

Yeah. [Katara the sexist. He'll try again, though. Just to get to her.]

I'm not the most patient guy, either.

[markofthebrave]

[Hey, it's not sexism! It's just that she's clearly right.

Her gaze flickers to his back, then. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long.

But soon enough, they come to the top of the hill.]

There they are.

["They" are monstrosities made of out snow. There are three of them, a big one, a really big one, and a slightly more normal-sized one. There are tunnels. There are loops. There are sheer falls that turn into spirals. They are beautiful, beautiful horrors.]