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[unto-death.livejournal.com]

[Suddenly, there is a rather startled half-elf standing on the Plane and looking around himself in confusion. This is not a normal place for storefronts to lead. He turns around to find the door he just walked through, but there's no door behind him. Just stars and blackness and...rather incongruous buildings, as far as the eye can see. Oh, and a remarkable forest nearby that makes him think of the legendary woods around the elven village of Heimdall...]

Is...anyone here? [Even aside from the completely, bafflingly unfamiliar environment, his instincts seem certain that something is very, very wrong in this place. He draws his sword without even considering the motion, and draws a small reserve of mana around himself. Maybe this is Yggdrasill's doing, somehow? It looks like the sort of thing that might be possible with the help of the Eternal Sword...] Show yourself!

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[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil was already on edge seeing as there's... monsters and shit around. But then SUDDENLY HALF-ELF.] Uwaah—! Y-you don't have to point that at me, you know!

[Botta should get an interesting read off Emil. He can use magic, but he doesn't /feel/ like a half-elf, yet there's a good amount of dark mana surrounding him at all times.

There's also a wolf with him, as in the monster, whose hackles rise at the threat. It growls and Emil steps back, reaches down to curl a hand in its mane.]

Wolf! Stop!

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

[...That is interesting. He's not lowering his sword just yet, but he's not overtly threatening Emil with it, either, just holding it in a defensive stance.]

Who are you? What is this place? [And why is that monster listening to you?]

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Wolf does calm down at Emil's touch, though it whines a bit in protest. But then it thumps its butt down on the floor and pants a bit and suddenly everything is better. Emil looks relieved and scritches it behind the ears.]

Emil Castagnier... sir. This is the Astral Plane.

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

Indeed. And what does that mean?

[Botta is relaxing, just a little, although the general atmosphere of the place is still creeping him out, not to mention the fact that it is a physics-defying land that should not be, and he has no idea how he wound up here. Or why this kid feels like mana and darkness. ...So he's still not ready to drop the sword just yet.]

[pactum.livejournal.com]

It's sort of... uh... a world between worlds. What happens at home stops when you come here and it'll be there when you go back. Normally you can return just by thinking about home and taking a step, but something happened so it's not working anymore.

[Emil keeps looking at the giant swordaxe in front of him. It's easier to look down than up; Botta's got like two feet on the one kid who has terrible posture anyway.]

In fact... the Plane is actually kind of dangerous right now. There are zombies wandering around, and floating hands... but it's safe in the forest and the library and the kitchen. And the bar, I think.

S-someone like you shouldn't shouldn't have any trouble, though!

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

[This isn't entirely making sense to him - this sort of thing shouldn't be possible. But he does know that travel between worlds is possible, even if he doesn't fully understand dimensional phase-shifting and whatnot. And one thing is very clear: he's stuck here until he can find some way home.

He finally lowers his sword, but doesn't sheath it.]

...I see. Monsters aren't an uncommon sight where I come from, it's true. ...You look as if you have some experience with them, yourself. [Why do you have a wolf?]

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil's eyes widen.] I... ah... he's... [He's acting like a gigantic man-eating dog. Emil laughs a little and stops scritching it behind the ears, which makes Wolf pout. It flops down and wiggles onto its back, begging for bellyrubs, while Emil stands there looking like he's trying to explain where his homework went.] ... he's just helping me on my journey, that's all! Not all monsters are bad!

A-actually, most of them are only aggressive when provoked...

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

You must be dealing with different monsters than I've ever met. [He sighs and shakes his head. A wimpy kid (no matter that he still feels weirdly like mana) and a tame wolf don't seem to be a major threat right now.]


Are you sure that no time passes while we're here? I have some rather vital work waiting at home.

[pactum.livejournal.com]

... I almost got eaten by a bear once. But Wolf doesn't hurt people unless I tell him to, so you're okay.

[Emil nods.] Definitely! I've been here for a while, so I would know. [He'd be in trouble if time passed, too.]

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

I suppose I'll have to take your word for it for now.

[That sword is finally sheathed, and Botta is looking around a little more, satisfied that Emil and Wolf probably would have already attacked him if they were going to do so.]

Are there others here, then? What are they doing in the meantime?

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil relaxes visibly when the sword is put away.] Um... hiding, mostly. Usually the Plane is pretty busy, but since there's monsters around, most people don't go out by themselves. The library is big, so I know a lot of people are living out of there.

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

They've found a measure of safety, then. Good.

[He takes a long moment to just consider the depth and absurdity of his predicament. No resources, no real idea where he is, a world full of monsters and what he presumes to be frightened civilians hiding from them...and one strange kid with a trained wolf, who his mana senses still insist is more than he looks like.

Well, it's not like he isn't used to hopeless battles.]

Emil, was it? Where are you from, originally?

[pactum.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I think everyone's okay so far, especially since someone left a bunch of weapons out for people who didn't bring them... but it makes me wonder just how bad this is gonna get. [He scratches at the back of his head, but halts the scritching when he's asked that question.]

I was born in Sylvarant. ... I think. [He's a little confused, okay?] Um... why?

[clinical]

[Jade is drawn to Botta mainly because Botta looks like a new arrival, and that seems unusual, if not improbable. It certainly brings to mind new questions. He takes his hands from his pockets to show that he's unarmed. Theoretically.]

Try not to shout too loudly. The zombies won't be able to hear themselves scream.

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

[Botta blinks at this newcomer, and doesn't lower his sword. He's not a half-elf, but he feels like a magic-user...interesting.]

...And you are?

[clinical]

Jade. And you seem to be new.

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

My name is Botta, and if you mean new to this place, I certainly am. Can you tell me anything about it?

[The sword is lowered slightly, but not yet sheathed.]

[clinical]

I suppose I might. To begin with, I'd suggest you keep your sword out. A few monsters have been trying to kill people for about a week.

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

[He nods slowly, looking around.] I'll keep my guard up, then. But where are we?

[clinical]

Supposedly, it's called the Astral Plane. There's a pamphlet somewhere explaining it. I'd pick the one by the man called Explosion. If you find it, it will tell you that you can go back to your world by thinking about it.

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

If that's true, why do people stay where they might be attacked by monsters?

[clinical]

Inconveniently, that doesn't function any longer. For the indefinite future, you're trapped here with us all in hostile, unknown territory.

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

[dryly] Naturally.

And what are people doing in the meantime? [This Jade guy seems like the type to know, although Botta certainly doesn't trust him one bit. There aren't a whole lot of options available to him right now, though...and Jade obviously knows it.]

[clinical]

Looking for the person whose choice brought them here, I imagine.

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

So there is someone responsible for this place.