1st Arrow [Action]

[threeweeksago]

[Oh man. Oh man this was not good. Not good at all. Last night had been one of those rare nights where Ellie actually got a good night of sleep, a mercifully dreamless sleep where she wasn't haunted by the Infected or the hunters or the faces of all the people she had known and lost.

So of fucking course something had to happen the next fucking day. The morning had started so nicely, and then suddenly everything kind of went weird and she woke up in... wherever the fuck this was. Not cool. What's even less cool is that she woke up alone. Outside of That Incident at the resort in winter, she can't remember the last time she woke up alone. Even in the present, Joel always hung around their tiny little cabin at least until she was awake before heading off. So... being alone in a strange place with no memory of how she got here? That sent a clear jolt of panic lancing through her.

Not even stopping to really absorb her surroundings, Ellie takes off running with no real direction.]

Joel? [She's trying not to sound panicked, but she's not doing a very good job of it.] Joel, where are you, you asshole?!

Comments

[threeweeksago]

[Ellie may be panicking, but at least she has enough sense to notice Ezio before she runs straight into him. So she skids to a stop, panic quickly replaced by caution, and takes a step back. She doesn't reach for her pistol just yet, but she's certainly itching to.]

... Who are you?

[assassino]

[He puts a hand out as if to catch her, because who wants to be body-checked by a kid?]

Not Joel, that is for sure. What are you running from, little one?

[Being a very Italian man in his early thirties with a heavy Italian accent certainly reinforces that. Ezio takes his eyes off her to look at where she came from, hand moving to his sword's hilt, just in case something is chasing her.]

[threeweeksago]

[NOPE, she's just gunna back right away from that hand. And that hand moving toward - shit he has a sword isn't exactly putting her at ease, so she puts her hand on her pistol's grip.]

I'm not running from anything. [She scowls.] I'm trying to get out of this damn castle. Or find whoever the hell it was that kidnapped me and get some answers.

[assassino]

[When she backs off, he lifts his hands to convey innocence. Or try to, at any rate.]

You're going to have a lot of trouble with that, then.

[The only kids Ezio deals with are the ones he trains. He pauses for a second to think of what to say.]

What is your name?

[threeweeksago]

[Nnnope, sorry. Not relaxing one bit.]

Why do you say that?

[And she's just gunna ignore his question for the moment.]

[assassino]

This is Paradisa. No one escapes unless the castle sends you back to your home, or so it is believed. But you are alright, it is safe here.

[threeweeksago]

... You're shitting me, right? It can't be impossible to leave, there has to be a way out somehow.

[... Wait. Hold on a second.] What do you mean the castle sends you back? Look I know there are some pretty weird guys out there, but if you're thinking whoever's holing themselves up in here is the castle... that is really fucking bizarre.

[assassino]

[Ezio isn't sure he believes that most days, either, but oh well. He shrugs.]

It is complicated, to say the least. Come... are you hungry, little one? Do you want to sit down, or something? I can show you to the kitchen and explain it all.

[threeweeksago]

... No. I'm fine.

[Boy Ezio you do not want to know what happened the last time a stranger she doesn't trust tried to offer her food.]

You can just tell me everything right here.

[assassino]

Suit yourself.

But anyhow, you are in Paradisa. It is a castle in another realm. The castle is magic, or at least possesses some ability akin to a god that allows it to do what it pleases. It is very kind, or at least as kind as we can expect it to be... you will have a room of your own, and almost any object you ask for.

[threeweeksago]

... Magic.

[Just. This face.]

Okay, now I know you're bullshitting me. Look, I can take nasty surprises; I'm a big girl. Just tell me the truth.

[assassino]

[An amused look, and he moves his hands to his hips.]

Alright, then... wish for something. Ask Paradisa to give you your favourite doll, or your favourite candy.

[threeweeksago]

[A scowl, and she mirror's his action.]

Yeah, fuck that. I'm gunna ask for a pair of steel-toed boots so I can shove them right up your--

[And she suddenly cuts herself off with a yelp because holy shit suddenly a pair of boots are there.]

What the fuck?!

[assassino]

[He chuckles. Teasing:]

Language, little lady. Do you dare call me a liar now?

[threeweeksago]

[Hey. Hey Ezio look. Look what she's doing.]

My language is just fucking fine, thank you very much.

[...]

... And yeah. I do. I guess.

[assassino]

You'd be wrong, then.

[And hey, who is he to tell her twice? She can be unladylike if she wants, he supposes. For now, though, he'll settle on picking up those boots.]

Not fond of dolls?

[threeweeksago]

[She shrugs.]

Not really. We could never find any. Everywhere was pretty much trashed, y'know?

[assassino]

[A raised eyebrow.]

No, I do not know. Where do you live, girl?

[threeweeksago]

[Once again she mirrors him, raising an eyebrow of her own.]

... Wyoming. [Because like hell she's going to get any more specific and accidentally compromise the safety of what may be the last safe haven in America.] Why are you asking?

[assassino]

Is that in America? [He's clueless. She talks like an American, though.] I have never heard of such carnage in America.

[threeweeksago]

Yeah, it is.

[She frowns in confusion at that.] Are you serious? Is the infection really not as bad in other parts of the world?

[assassino]

The plague?

[Maybe she's from some weird proto-America? Connor's time? He has no fucking clue, Connor is Native and this girl doesn't look it.]

It is not terrible where I am, no. Some die here and there, perhaps, as people tend to from illnesses, but the worst of it was over a hundred years ago.

[threeweeksago]

No, the infection! The... fuck, I can't even remember what the dumb science name for it is... you know. Deadly spores that mess up your brain, weird fungus mutants that try to kill anything that gets near them? Is that really not ringing any bells?

[assassino]

I will be honest with you, little one, I am from 1488. I don't know what you're talking about.

[threeweeksago]

14...

[What.]

How the fuck is that possible? [...] Okay yeah magic I get it, but. Time travel seems like a whole different level here.