...we came in?

[strangerpeople]

POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS


[There's no doubt that those who wake up will vaguely remember a dream.

In that dream, at least for most people, there are two figures, informing them each that they had a Title. With that title came a power. More than that, they were being given rooms, as if they were meant to stay in the dark and gloomy place where their dreams placed them. The Strangers might have found this to be a ridiculous proposition. Unless they have been through this before, then were probably not surprised in the least.

All of this, of course, ended with a sense of inexplicable dread for everyone. Especially when they woke up to find themselves in long, thin, cramped rooms, with only candlelight to give them any illumination.

Yes. Unfortunately, that dream had not been a dream at all, much as you might have hoped. You are here, now, inside an old, decrepit house where you have been given what appears to be a permanent residency. While you apparently have a power to aid you, it's no comfort. You have no option to leave, you have no way to escape, and the rules hammered to your door doesn't help the creeping sense of doom pooling in your stomach.

...

Now.

Where are those two figures that had greeted you to begin with?]

((OOC: Please remember to comment on the Mansion Guests and the Guest Profiles pages if you haven't yet!))

Comments

[hexposition]

I, ah... know a couple of tricks, yes. I haven't gotten any other ones to work here, though.

[Emma, what is even the point of you hiding it anymore?

And... hm. That certainly was an attempt.]

It's all right. Fire can be difficult to master. [Local good witch is not judging.]

[silvertongueheir]

[He doesn't even know what the implications of all that would be, either. Though he doesn't press.]

You have experience with multiple elements? [He sounds a little surprised, but not as much as he would have been before meeting all those people from different worlds.]

[hexposition]

J-just little things!

Before this, I could light candles and such... really, it's nothing impressive. B-but, you know, there's a big difference between lighting a candle and lighting, say, the entire table...

[baby Emma may have made Mistakes™]

[silvertongueheir]

[Oooh, that gets a wince from him.] Ah...I'll endeavor not to cause an incident like that while practicing, then. [The dummies are probably the most flammable thing in here, at least.]

[hexposition]

If you do, it happens! Just... be sure to call for help before it gets out of hand. Lessons learned.

[silvertongueheir]

Well, I at least know I'll have you to call for assistance, should that occur here.

[hexposition]

And here's hoping it won't! I hope for the best for your practice rounds.

[silvertongueheir]

[He smiles.] I think I might as well take this opportunity to practice in this area for a while. Though I don't mind sharing the location.

[hexposition]

[She smiles, bright and cheerful.]

Heehee. All right, then. Let's see what we can do!

[Emma's not particularly competitive, so it should be a fairly nice, calm round of practice.]

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus doesn't particularly try to do anything fancy, mostly focusing on controlling the size and position of his flames, and keeping them mostly small for now. Though he does glance over every so often to see how Emma is using her water abilities.]

[hexposition]

[Emma, meanwhile, already has a much better handle of it. She's testing out how she can move it, if she can dispense it in drops like rain or if she's just stuck with summoning a sphere of water and having it crash to the floor.

She does notice Franciscus glancing, occasionally, and while she's not competitive, she can't help herself. She'll summon a little sphere of water, no larger than a marble, and have it zip around him quickly before returning to her and splashing in a small puddle on the floor, all with a little smile.

"Just a couple of tricks." Emma, you're already showing off.]

[silvertongueheir]

[Hm. A challenge, then? Franciscus doesn't really want to just duplicate her trick, since he's still not sure he can move fire around that well yet-so instead he creates a small flame that slowly grows, forming into the shape of a flower bud before seeming to unfold, halfway to forming a flower-like shape for a moment before collapsing into shapeless fire again.]

Ah...it seems experience is quite the advantage for you, here. [Though control is also more important for his power than hers, after all.]

[hexposition]

[Emma puts her hands together with delight at the little light show. It's not perfect, certainly, but she can see what he's trying to do.]

Heehee... maybe! But you're certainly getting the hang of this yourself!

That's quite a lovely use of it. I don't think I've ever thought to do that, myself.

[silvertongueheir]

I was trying to think of a way to tie it back to my original abilities. Though it felt much more unwieldy to shape. But at least I think I'm getting the hang of extinguishing it quickly, should the need arise.

[hexposition]

Original abilities? [She tilts her head.] You had magic prior to this?

[silvertongueheir]

[He nods.] I'm not sure whether it would count as magic, but I had the ability to make plants grow, which feels like it would be of use here, if that note about not feeding us until Saturday is true.

[hexposition]

It's certainly not anything anyone from my world would be able to do naturally.

[Well. Other Hexen witches might, but sssh.]

That does sound like it could be useful, though... ugh. It's not as if I dislike this ability, but I can't help but think they robbed us of things that would actually be useful to us for these.

[silvertongueheir]

It's quite natural, for this kind of situation. They can't have their prisoners rebelling so easily, after all.

[hexposition]

That's true enough, but really... aren't these powers troubling enough for them? I could flood this whole mansion, if I felt so inclined, or you could set fire to it. Hardly conducive to the rules they've set out before us...

[silvertongueheir]

If they've granted them...perhaps they have some way to stifle or restrict these powers better than they would have been able to with our natural ones. [A pause, as he thinks.] And...if I'm right about what they want from us, they probably want us to have the ability to do damage.

[hexposition]

Ah... I hadn't considered that...

[The ability to restrict the powers, anyway. It would make sense, though. If they already dragged them all here across worlds, who's to say where their power stops?

The last bit gets Emma to widen her eyes a little in surprise, though.]

What is it that you think they want from us?

[silvertongueheir]

To murder each other, for some twisted reason. [His voice is quiet as he describes it.] They'll paint it as the only way to escape, or provide extra threats and incentives to drive people to kill for other reasons.

[hexposition]

[What does one even say to that?

Emma, for her part, just looks rightfully horrified, her hands coming to cover her mouth.]

[silvertongueheir]

[It was going to come up eventually...]

I've...seen it happen before. Someone always falls for the motives, one way or another. Whether it's being convinced to act, or being lured into situations where accidents can happen... [Cartesio had literally zero self-defense murders but he's pretty sure those would count too.]

[hexposition]

Wh... why? What's the purpose of making us play a sick game like this...?!

[She doesn't really seem to expect Franciscus to answer, more mumbling to herself as she looks down. It's as if she's frantically trying to make sense of all of this in her own head, but... good luck with that, Emma.]