Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Oh? I feel like I napped all night. Did my vines cause trouble? I felt a bit drained for a while."

 

"A rather strange form of yourself killed one of our men," The guard says, "And yes, you've been asleep all night."

 

"What? But there's just me... Did someone copy my form? I was asleep. You know, unconscious. Not doing anything but laying there. How would I kill one of the guards? Why would I? I'm a healer!"

 

"Well, they said their name wasn't Ihra. You had a strange clouded form, pointing a crossbow at me," The guard says, "You, or your form, blasted a hole straight through the guards face with light magic; killing him instantly."

"I doubt his family will be too happy." The guard says, showing Ihra the dropped picture.

 

Ihra looks depressed.
"No... no no no... Why does everyone frame me?! I only want to help... Why can't..."
She just starts crying, clutching the picture to her chest.

 

"We can rest for a while if you'd like." I say. "We should also check your wound. Hmm...come to think of it, it could be poisoned..."

 

"You're innocent until proven guilty, Miss Ihra. Lucky for you, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. Her highness mentioned you were special. Just know that, in any other situation, you'd be guilty, though," The guard says, before producing a drawing and handing it to Ihra, "Here's the orientations to get you to the dining hall."

The drawing is of the 5 crystal dials seen in the elevators. They're all pointed in their own directions, and the centre dial has an arrow pointing it from its current position, up, to down.

 

She collects herself.
"Actually, it sounds exactly like my nightmare..."
She looks at the drawing, then looks for the nearest elevator.

"Again, if it was, it's frozen. I just want a few minutes..."

 

"Take as long as you need." I say. I quietly wait for Opal to rest, knowing he may not be used to this climate.

 

The elevator resides at the end of the hallway, a short walk away.

A door opens in the hallway, and Abigail walks out. She's wearing her casual orange shirt with red fire symbol, dark blue jeans and black boots, but her hair is a mess. She puts her skateboard on the floor and lazily skates toward the elevator.

 

"Thanks."
The air around you lowers in temperature, albeit to a comfortable level.

"Good morning, Abigail." Ihra says, trying to ignore what just happened.

 

I continue to wait for Opal. "So, what's your story? You already know mine."

 

"Wha-? Oh...hey Ihra." Abigail says, stopping and turning around; moving some of the tangled messes of hair out of her face.

"You going to the...dining hall?" Abigail asks.

 

"I've been here a while, though in hiding. I was told that I'd been freed and need to make the best of the opportunity. I thought I'd been exiled since I was in a desert. After I was captured by the tribe that brought ruin to yours, I was held in a basement. When I heard them say you were a chief, I hoped you'd help me get out if I helped you. Nobody really likes me, and I can't blame them. I've seen no other of my kind here."

"Yeah."
She's carrying her jar of honey.

 

"Oh...cool...me too." Abigail says, skating beside Ihra as the pair head toward the elevator.

"Where'd you get that honey from?" Abigail asks, noticing the honey.

 

"Interesting." I say. "How long do you plan to stay with me, and what will you do after that?"

 

"Shadow Stephanie gave me it for helping heal Stephanie. Also, you didn't know where the dining hall was, did you?"

"I don't know on either count. I figure I'll decide later; no sense wasting time making a plan if I'm going to do something else the moment I finish thinking."

 

I continue waiting for the draconian to rest.

 

"Uh...no..." Abigail confesses, "I was going to use the opportunity to try and figure out the elevator and hopefully guess the right combination."

Abigail skates into the elevator, waiting for Ihra to turn the dials.

 

After a few more minutes, he gets to his feet.
"Alright, thanks. We've been walking for a few hours now, we should be close to that lake... I hope."

"Well, a guard gave me the combination, so this'll just save you a load of time."
Ihra turns the dials as the picture indicates.