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]

... 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.

[assassino]

[Helpless shrug.]

I do not know.

[threeweeksago]

Aha, so there's finally something that you're just as stumped as I am over.

[It's probably meant to be an insult or something, but it doesn't quite come across that way....]

So. Aside from the kidnapping, time travel, and freaky summoning shit... is there anything else I should know about this place?

[assassino]

[Ezio chuckles...]

The castle has taken something from you, as a price for being here.

[threeweeksago]

[Now that causes her smile to fade, though she looks more confused than outright worried as she immediately begins rifling through her pockets.]

I didn't really have anything on me, so it couldn't have... [Her pistol's still there, switchblade still there, nothing but lint in her pockets...

... Wait. Hold on. Now that he mentions it... Ellie pats herself on the chest a few times, then pulls back her shirt's collar a bit and--]

Oh fuck no! [She sounds angry. Not just the annoyance she was feeling earlier, but full-on anger now.] It had no right to take that so it better give it back before I find enough crap to build a bomb and start blowing the walls down!

[assassino]

[He holds up a hand.]

Calm down, calm down. There is nothing that can be done right now.

[threeweeksago]

That's bullshit! There has to be some way to get our stuff back!

[Fuck fuck fuck it's taking all she has stop the angry tears from coming because this stupid fucking castle took Riley's pendant and fuck maybe if she hadn't started wearing it when she didn't need to carry her backpack around with her all the time, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Stupid stupid Ellie.]

All of it has to be hidden somewhere, right? We just need to find the right place!