Unidentified Falling Object

[Nyxrose]

(TITLES. I DON'T EVEN. AGH.
...Might change later, I seriously can't think of anything good right now. >_<)

Clessidra sighed in relief as she found herself in a new dimension. She had escaped the chaotic future of her dimension by turning back time and entering one of the first rips, and now it was time to figure out what was causing them. Strange buildings surrounded her, steam pouring from almost every single one through pipes in the walls and on the rooftops. The night sky was barely showing through all the lights of the city.

As she curiously explored the new world, she began to notice some humans scurrying about. Many of them gave her strange looks. Soon she began to worry. Where were all the guardians, doragons, and other creatures? There seemed to be only normal humans here. Her ears, wings, tail, and even hair color made her stand out like a sore thumb. Were other worlds really so different from her own? She was beginning to think so.

As she stepped off of the narrow street and onto a much more crowded one, she instinctively hid her wings. She had practiced this multiple times on Fairedin, so it wasn't that hard anymore. However, her ears and tail couldn't be as easily hidden. The more looks she got, the more she wished she could hide them, as well.

"Hey, you there!"

She heard someone shout in her direction, but didn't stop. It's not you. No one knows you here. Just keep walking, she silently thought to herself. She was forced to a stop when two men cut off her path.

"Hey! What's up with that look? Lookin' for attention or somethin'?" one of them asked. She winced. "N-no.. I'm a guardian," she said quietly, uncertain of if they even knew what a guardian was. Her suspicions were confirmed when the other man asked, "Guardian? Of what? Cats?"

"Uh.. I.. suppose," she said, deciding not to tell them any more than she already did. She didn't really know what a 'cat' was, though, so she just went with it. She tried to step around them after that, but the first man cut her off. "Hey, hold up!" he said. She took a step back, ears falling quickly. This didn't look to be going in her favor. Trying to think of what to do, her hand began slowly drifting to the locket around her neck.

She was just about to grab hold of her necklace and use her power when she heard another voice, this one female, speak up from beside her. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked. The boys stiffened, but didn't say anything. She was smiling as she asked cheerfully, "No?" They remained silent. Her smile dropped and she growled, "Then get back to work. The rest are already done here." They nodded and quickly hurried away. The girl then turned to Clessidra. "Sorry 'bout my.. associates. They can be hard to keep under control at times," she said, a friendly smile on her face as she added, "My name is Lucilla. What's yours?"

Clessidra hesitated, then quickly responded. "Clessidra," she stated. She sounded uncertain of whether or not to trust this newcomer, though she didn't really see a better option yet.

"Well, then, Clessidra.. You new here?" Lucilla asked.

She flinched, as if surprised by the question. "I-I.. Um... W-well, kind of--" she tried, nervous about revealing that she was from an entirely different dimension. If she could help it, she wouldn't say anything about that.

"Hah, no need to hide it. I can tell," Lucilla said, cutting the guardian off. She paused to look her over once before asking, "No luggage or money is a little curious, though. Where you from?" When she didn't respond and looked away, Lucilla gave a quiet, thoughtful sound. "Well, no matter.. I should be going now, though. Perhaps we'll meet again," she said, and started to walk around the guardian and down the street, but stopped when she spoke.

"W-wait! Um.. Would you mind if I tagged along? I.. really don't have a clue where I'm going," Clessidra said, hoping to learn more about this new world if she spent some time with the inhabitants. The timeline didn't seem to be affected by her presence here, either, so she was almost excited to spend time away from her dimension. It gave her the chance to interact with the world around her without having any consequences.

Lucilla stood quietly for a moment, seeming to consider it, then smiled again. "Sure. I don't see why not.. But just so we're clear, I don't have the best reputation around here.. or any other place, for that matter. Still want to tag along?" she asked. Clessidra seemed uncertain for a moment, but then nodded. Lucilla's smile widened as she waved a hand to get her to follow and said, "Hope you don't have a problem with airships." Clessidra hurried after the airship captain, silently wondering what an 'airship' was.

(This is where I get lazy. xD)

A little later, after a short explanation about airships, an introduction to the crew on this particular ship, and a short adventure in which the guardian of time found out what a pirate was, revealed that she had wings, and somehow ended up being an unofficial, and almost unintentional member of the crew, she found herself traveling through another rip, though this one was big enough that the entire ship was somehow in it. However, the trip had caused some damage to it, and when it got to the other side, it barely got a few feet away from the rip before beginning to arc towards the ground. A few yells and some panicked rushing around later, the ship managed to come to life one last time, just enough to slow the fall and land without killing anyone, before giving out completely.

Lucilla gave a frustrated sigh before yelling out, "Everyone still alive?!" When she heard everyone reply she gave a nod. "Alright.. Clessidra, you come with me. Everyone else, see if you can't get the ship working again... If nothing else, protect our resources," she said as she walked towards the edge of the ship and jumped down, using a rope to get to the ground safely.

Clessidra followed with a quiet, "Alright," and jumping off the edge, using her wings to slowly glide down next to Lucilla. "What are we going to do..?" she asked, seeming uncertain about venturing out into the strange land.

"Find out where in the hell we are," Lucilla replied without hesitation, then quickly glanced around. They seemed to be in some kind of scrubland with lots of rocky areas with cliff-like forms poking out everywhere. In the distance she saw some kind of glow, and, assuming it was sentient life, started towards it.

(..Something. Idk, I just have a mini-plot for them that I wanted to get out of the way. They'll probably get thrown into Beacon at some point, though. xD)

[maniacalmeep02]

((xD ok))

Colliding with the ground was the worst shock by far, even compared to the surprise of suddenly plummeting at full speed, despite having, just moments ago, been standing on solid ground. Sitting up after a moment of catching his breath revealed that Grayson, who was now sprawled on the ground on his back next to him, had just had a similar experience.

“....What the hell...?” Kelland muttered, looking around.

“...Oh...oh my god...” He heard Grayson whimper, and turned back to look at his friend again. “...W-what was that?!” His voice was a panicked squeak. Kelland blinked, looking up now, seeing what appeared to be a purple rip in the air, maybe twenty feet above them. Before answering verbally, he pointed up at it.

“I’m guessing those are why the school’s in lock-down.” He said. Grayson whined quietly.

“....nn...a-are w-we dead?!” He murmured. Kelland glanced at him, seeing him sitting up now, and frowned.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course not.” Grayson whimpered again, and the lab subject glanced around, suddenly doubtful. “...I don’t...think so, anyway.” He tried not to mutter as he spoke. There was a long silence, then Grayson squeaked again.

“O-over there!” He gasped, pointing. Kelland followed his gaze, and found two figures approaching them. He hurried to his feet and Grayson did the same, then immediately ducked behind him. The lab subject stood facing them, wondering vaguely if they should flee, and internally preparing to activate his glowing power just in case.

((something \o/))

[Nyxrose]

As they got closer, they saw the object causing the light, another rip, along with the two now under it. Lucille frowned as the rip closed, then stopped and asked the guardian next to her, "I get the feeling they won't know a thing about this place.. what do you think?"

"I.. uh.. probably not," she answered after a moment, cat ears falling. As she looked in their direction, she added, "They're just kids, though... Shouldn't we help them? Or.. something?"

Lucille seemed to dislike the idea as she said, "Ugh.. I guess." She didn't move, though, simply looking back to them with a look of disapproval.

Clessidra realized she probably wasn't going to get any closer, and gently started towards them. She looked back to see Lucille hesitate before following and smiled. Once they were close enough, she spoke. "Um.. hello. My name is Clessidra, and this is Lucille," she said, introducing herself and her 'companion' to the two. She was trying to be as polite as possible so as not to seem like a threat, but Lucille just frowned and crossed her arms when Clessidra introduced her.

(... -goes to add to Lucille's profile that she dislikes kids-)

[maniacalmeep02]

Grayson stood with his shoulders habitually hunched, and his head ducked, fidgeting and wringing his hands as he tried to avoid making eye-contact with the strangers. He trusted Kelland to speak for him.

“Um.. hello. My name is Clessidra, and this is Lucille,"

The lab subject nodded.

“I’m Kelland. This is Grayson. I don’t suppose you know where we are? Or what just happened?” His tone was as formal and reserved as ever, although he had to look up a little to keep look at the other two. Not a whole lot, but Grayson was substantially taller than his friend, standing head and shoulders above him, and would have been more-or-less eye-level with them. However, hunched over as he was, he was only a couple inches above the lab subject.

((idk what the point of that bit at the end was. Just filling space. XD))

[Nyxrose]

(xD)

Clessidra gave a quiet hum as she glanced around before saying, "Well.. The rips.. like the one you probably fell though, since we saw it closing back there," she waved to the crashed ship in the distance as she said 'there,' "Seem to be linking universes together.. and consequently destroying them. We're not from here, though, so I really couldn't say where it is we ended up," she explained. She paused before deciding to add, "I, myself, came from a world much different from Lucille's." Her ears kind of drooped at the thought of failing her own world, that was doomed to end just like the rest of them, but she tried to keep a friendly face.

"We are trying to find out what's causing the rips and put an end to it before it destroys everything. A very dangerous mission that has already cost me my beautiful ship," Lucille said, sounding thoroughly irritated.

Clessidra looked to her and said quietly, though loud enough for them all to hear, "I-It's also very dangerous to be alone," to which Lucille let out a huff and looked away. Clessidra, looking back to the boys, quickly added in a louder voice with perked ears, "Um.. but I'm sure the crew could keep you safe.. --if you'd like, that is."

[maniacalmeep02]

Kelland stayed quiet and straight-faced through Clessidra’s explanation. He blinked when Lucille spoke. Ship...? When Clessidra said they could stay with the crew, Kelland only hesitated for a second before nodding.

“Thank-you.” He answered. “That-” He cut off as Grayson gave a low murmur from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder at his friend, he sighed a little, then looked back to the other two. “...That would be great.”

((AJHLFSDJHFWHY ARE THESE ALL SO SHORT B())

[Nyxrose]

(@_@)

Clessidra smiled a little more and gave a nod. "Alright," she said, then turned to Lucille. "We should.. probably show them back to the ship before we do anything else," she murmured, at which point Lucille seemed to give in and nod.

"Fine. If we're lucky they've already got it working again and we can just search for life from the sky," she replied, turning back towards where they came from. She let her arms fall back to her sides as she started walking.

Clessidra gave a small wave to the two in a beckoning motion before following the steampunk pirate.

(Short-ish.. I guess we can time-skip back to the ship now so as not to draw out the boring bits... or they could talk or something, idk. xD)

[maniacalmeep02]

((ok, well I don’t know what’s supposed to happen next so….talking xD))

Grayson shared a small glance with his friend worriedly. He trusted Kelland of course, and Clessidra seemed nice enough, although the schizophrenic was still skittish and hesitant around strangers. The fact that she was obviously not completely human wasn’t helpful, either.

He was definitely wary of Lucille. She seemed dangerous to him. Of course, that might have been the fact that she seemed irritated by them, and that alone might have been enough to make him uncomfortable, but there was something about her…maybe the way she dressed, or acted, or the fact that she seemed to be someone with, if not a lot of power, necessarily, it sounded like she was in charge of a ship, and the crew of people on it, which was certainly enough for him to consider her an authority figure, and as an authority figure that didn’t seem to like him…

He swallowed, following Kelland as the lab subject began walking after the two women, his back straight, hands clasped neatly behind him as usual, putting him very much in contrast with Grayson’s slow, hesitant, hunched-over almost-limp.

“So, what did you mean by ‘ship’…?” Kelland asked after a few minutes, finally breaking the silence.

((…..idk. you time-skip if you want to. You know where this is going, not me xD))

[Nyxrose]

(xD k)

"An air ship. My air ship. We had a bit of a rough landing, but we have enough spare parts that any damage should be easy enough to repair," Lucille replied curtly before calming her tone a little towards the end. She seemed to hesitated, glancing back at the two before adding, "There are three main cabins, not including the lower decks. You will be staying in one of those until we can get the ship running again." When the ship came into view she smirked. It was hovering just off the ground, with an anchor on the ground and a rope hanging from the side of it. "That was quick," she noted to herself.

When they reached the side of the ship Lucille stopped and turned to Clessidra. "They're your problem," she whispered, then quickly took hold of one of the ropes and began climbing. It wasn't long before Clessidra could hear her barking orders. She turned to Kelland and Grayson, letting out a quiet hum of uncertainty before smiling again. "Um.. Do you need help getting to the deck? I-If you want I could fly you up there one at a time.. Or maybe pull you up with the rope?" she offered. She was trying to be helpful, but she sounded very nervous.

[maniacalmeep02]

Grayson released a small whimper from behind Kelland. The lab subject glanced back, trying to gauge his opinion on the topic, an effort that he should have realised would prove fruitless, as his schizophrenic friend just stared at him with wide eyes. He sighed, turning back to Clessidra.

“I don’t know. Whatever you think is best.” He answered, hesitant to make a definitive decision. If whatever they picked ended up failing, this way he wouldn’t have any liability.
((SUPER SHORT ASDKJLGH))

[Nyxrose]

(@v@)

"Oh, um.. Alright," Clessidra said, glancing to the ship briefly. "Okay.." she murmured, then looked back to them. "Here, uh.. tie this rope to both of you and I'll get someone I know to pull you up," she said, taking hold of the rope Lucille had climbed and holding it out to the less timid boy. As soon as the rope was out of her hand she spread her wings and began to steadily fly up until she reached the deck. There she called over one of the stronger men on deck and got him to agree to pull up the rope whenever she gave the word. Glancing over the side of the ship, she checked to see how the two were doing before calling down to them. "Are you ready?" she asked, ears perked forward to make sure she understood whatever reply she got.

[maniacalmeep02]

Kelland took the rope from Clessidra and nodded at her instructions, but didn’t say anything until she was onboard the ship. Now he turned to face Grayson.

“Help me tie this in a loop.” He directed, holding the end portion out to his friend. Grayson nodded silently, taking the end and keeping his hands through the gap as Kelland began tying a loose knot. He dropped it on the ground, but kept a hold on the end of the rope, the knot still not tied. He put his right foot through the loop and when Grayson mirrored the movement with his left, the lab subject gave a sharp yank on both the end of the rope, and the section between it and the ship. He pulled on it a few times, and attempted to move his foot, testing the security. At some point during this, Clessidra called down to them over the edge of the ship, but Kelland didn’t look up until he was satisfied that the knot would hold.

“Yes.” he answered, calling back up to her before looking at Grayson. “I don’t suppose I need to tell you to hang on?” He asked, even as Grayson was already gripping the rope with both hands, his whole body tense, as though preparing for them to begin their ascent at any second. He merely whimpered, eyes squeezed shut.

[Nyxrose]

Clessidra looked back to the crew member once she had confirmation that the two were ready and told him to start pulling. She paused to see if he could do it on his own before flying down just enough to make sure she could help if they looked like they were falling and lend a hand to get them over the edge of the deck. She relaxed once they were finally on board with a quiet sigh and weak smile. She then turned to thank the man, but was distracted by a touch on the shoulder.

Clessidra flinched and turned to see Lucille. "About time. Come on, I want to show you something," the captain said, seeming much more pleasant now that she was back on her ship. Her pleasant attitude only dropped a bit when she looked to Kelland and Grayson to add, "You too." She then turned and started towards a door to the cabins on deck.

Clessidra hesitated, then quickly followed. "But.. what about the ship?" she asked. Lucille kept her eyes in front of her and never slowed her pace as she replied, "The repairs are almost finished. By the time we're done it'll be ready for the skies again." The guardian seemed surprised by this, but didn't say anything more.

(I think in about two more replies we'll be at a point where the threads can merge. Woot! So close! @v@)

[maniacalmeep02]

((woop! \o/))

Once they were on board and Kelland had untied the knot, Grayson took one shaky step backwards, leaning against the railing at the edge of the deck, then collapsed, hunched over and panting through clenched teeth.

“Grayson?” He heard Kelland walking towards him.

“L….l-l….l-l-let’s n-never d-d-do that…a-again….p-p-please.” The schizophrenic murmured once his friend had crouched down next to him. Kelland exhaled, laughing quietly. He sounded like he was about to answer, but was interrupted by Lucille. Without either of them saying anything, he grabbed Grayson’s wrist, and the taller boy allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, where he leaned against the lab subject for support while he tried to get his legs to stop shaking as they followed behind Clessidra.

[Nyxrose]

Lucille led the way through the door into a small hallway with one door on either side and another at the end. It was dimly lit, with only the light coming from a crack under the door on the left and the open door at the end of the hall. The pirate captain stepped over to the door on the right and opened it. She took a few steps into it and turned a knob on some sort of machine hanging from the ceiling and it began to emit a dim light. She then turned to the others following her. "Those two will be staying in here," she said, nodding her head in the direction of Kelland and Grayson.

Clessidra glanced around the room. There were a few spare mechanical parts in one corner and a wooden chair in another. There was also the machine in the center of the ceiling and a speaker in the wall just above the door, but otherwise the room was empty. "Um.. where will they--" she began, but didn't get to finish before Lucille cut her off.

"You can take a few of the blankets from below deck for them to sleep on," she said in a strict manner. She then turned to the two and added, "They will not touch anything else in this room and they will not leave unless you are with them." She turned back to Clessidra. "Is that clear?" she questioned quickly.

Clessidra flinched, but nodded. "Okay," she replied quietly.

Lucille nodded in approval, then said, "Good. Now come along, and don't let those two follow." And with that, she left the room.

Clessidra hesitated and glanced to the boys. "Um.. I'll come back as soon as I can," she said quietly. She took a few steps towards the open door and paused to add, "I-I'll bring the blankets, too," before stepping out of the room and shutting the door, leaving them alone.