There are laws we must obey, certain ways this story goes... [Closed: New Arrivals]

[babylonmods]

Waking up in the Woods for the first time is never a pleasant experience, but this time may be just a bit more unpleasant than most. The tangled branches overhead block out the sky, and most of the light - it could be midnight or high noon, but this part of the wood doesn't seem like it would notice the difference either way. It's bitterly cold

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[modernholmes]

When Conan wakes, he instantly knows something is wrong. He should be hearing the sound of traffic and smelling the familiar leather and chemical smell of Professor Agasa's car. But here there was only the smell of a forest, the sound of birds and a seemingly rapid shift in the climate

[sparrowhillrose]

Rose is cold. This is not new. Rose is also inexplicably both in her prom dress and alive, however, so she's not really in a good mood. Whatever the hell dragged her into this god-forsaken forest is really gonna get it if she gets her way.

Still, she notices a kid, younger than her, wandering around and shivering... well, she's not heartless. "Hey, kid," she calls, trying to keep her teeth from chattering together, "you okay?"

[modernholmes]

Ah, an adult! Much as Conan hated needing help, he couldn't deny that some situations he just couldn't handle in his current form. And his small body was not handling the cold well.

And it wasn't like he had much dignity left to lose.

Conan turns, wrapping his arms around himself as he shivers, and answers in a plaintive voice with a bot of a whine.

"I'm okay. But its really cold!"

[sparrowhillrose]

An adult? Ha! While her maturity level has risen over the decades, Rose can only barely pass for 18 if she's trying, and with her curled hair and party dress, she can't look a day older than she was the night she died - sixteen with the world ahead of her.

Not that she wouldn't be gratified to know she'd been thought of as an adult.

Rose grimaces sympathetically at the little boy. "Yeah, I noticed. You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you? Is your mom or dad here?"

[modernholmes]

When you're stuck navigating the world as first grader, anyone old enough to avoid parental supervision could be useful. Being more than three feet tall was also helpful.

Conan's gaze flickers over the girl, cataloging the clues he could see from her appearance. A foreigner, about his own true age. American, from her accent. Frilly, somewhat dated dress. She had obviously been on the way to some event. No obvious calluses on her hands.

He shakes his head. "I got sleepy and then I was here. Do you know what this place is? Did you see what happened? The people who take care of me will get worried if they can't find me."

Not soon, thanks to Hattori's lies on his behalf. But when Ran reached the Agency and discovered Conan had never made it home? That silly strong girl would worry. He'd never wanted that for her.

[sparrowhillrose]

Rose shakes her head and crouches down in front of him, so he won't have to peer up at her - not that she's that much taller than him, compared to a proper adult, but still. Only fair, right?

"I don't," she says apologetically. "I was... taking a walk, and then it felt like the ground fell out from under me and I woke up here. But I'm sure we can find someone who'll know how to get you home."

She was, of course, no such thing. Life (and death) weren't fair, and you didn't always make it home, and bad shit happened, a lot. But she wasn't going to tell that to a little kid who was alone and probably scared.

[modernholmes]

A courtesy he appreciated. People always looked so weird from his angle. All feet and legs and tiny heads he had to crane his neck to see. Sometimes he thought it would just be easier to keep track of people by their legs.

"Oh? That seems really strange! Do you have any ideas why that would happen?"

Inside his head Conan laughs bitterly at the platitude. Not even a real child would have bought that one. If there was one thing repeating first grade had taught him, it was that kids could be a lot more perceptive than people gave them credit for.

[sparrowhillrose]

Somewhere in the back of her head, Rose knows this. She knew, at that age, that bad things happened to good people, had cried herself sick more than once over her Daddy who was gone forever, had realised that children can be horribly cruel, especially to each other. But she desperately wants to believe it, if only because she knows the dangers of the ghost roads, and she has no idea what'll happen to her if she dies here, in her prom dress, for the second time in her existence. So she says it.

"I really don't," she answers with a sigh. "But if I find out, I'll let you know, okay?"

[modernholmes]

No immediate clues here, then. This was rapidly turning into one of the stranger kidnapping cases he'd ever encountered. They hadn't taken any of his gadgets. Not even his cellphones. Although neither of them were receiving a signal. It made him wonder more than ever what the motive was behind this.

"Mmm, thank you! This is going to be a tough puzzle to figure out, isn't it."

[sparrowhillrose]

"Looks that way." Rose makes a face. "I just wish whoever did this had given me different clothes. These shoes were not made for hiking in the woods."

She stands and looks around. "Okay, so this might be a dumb question, but do you know anybody here?" She's guessing 'no', but she could be wrong.

[modernholmes]

"That was very mean of them," Conan agrees. He'd heard Ran complain about shoes like that enough times. Of course that was usually after she'd used her karate while wearing them.

He shakes his head. "You're the first person I met. But I think I heard some other people moving around."

[hagothehills]

Tiffany, still stinging from the encounter with Kat and her selfishness, goes with Rose to find Conan.

This--

This is not helping.

Looking at him, she sees his posture as a child, at odd with the intelligence behind his eyes. Was Faerie chosing these people who were and were not something -- even Rose, who she could not pin down EXACTLY what was wrong, had something that was not normal about her-- seemed to be dualnatured.

"I am Tiffany, and this is Rose," she said, gesturing to the other girl, "I think it would be wise if we stayed together for safety. Would you accompany us? I will keep you safe."

She didn't seem much of a warrior, but she had the confidence to back her words.

[modernholmes]

Conan observes the girl calmly. A little younger than his own true age. Slightly worn old fashioned clothing. The color of the mud on her boots didn't match any of the soils he had observed in this location. From the calluses on her hands, she was accustomed to some form of manual labor. From her brisk, somewhat bossy, attitude he could infer that she was used to being underestimated. Quite possibly due to her age.

Put together, this was obviously a girl who believed herself to be competent. And who was accustomed to leading others. Her casual offer to protect him grated on his nerves a little. But looking as he did, it was something that he had gotten used to.

It was a good suggestion, nonetheless. Just not quite good enough. Time to manipulate the situation a little.

"Wouldn't it be better if everyone stayed together? I already promised Agent Hotchner I would help him."

[hagothehills]

Tiffany watched Conan in turn, picking out the irregularity. He was already turning this back on her, and that garnered him a small smile; less confident, more kinship.

"We can work with this Agent Hotchner," she said. "We want to gather all that live and work together. Only with this may we all have a chance of getting out of here." She asked, a moment later, "I'm Tiffany. What's your name?"

No 'what's your name little boy' with saccharine sweetness, no pretending to a mommy. She spoke to him as she would an adult.

And she was sure that he would understand.

[modernholmes]

"Mmm, that makes sense! It would be awful if someone got left behind here, wouldn't it?"

In a situation like this, it was dangerous to be alone. Allow people to split up, and that was when the culprit could pick them off one at a time. But if everyone was accounted for, then there was a slim chance to reverse part of the situation. In that case, the victims might have a chance to dictate the pacing of the confrontation.

"My name is Conan Edogawa. I'm a detective." Long ago he had learned that sometimes the best defense was to hide in plain sight. Like Poe's purloined letter. Announce himself in that manner, and with his appearance anyone would assume he was only playing detective like any other child. Or at best, mimicing the Sleeping Kogoro.

[hagothehills]

Ah. The truth. Very good.

"Tiffany Aching, Witch of the Chalk," the girl replied. "Where is Agent Hotchner? What is he-- an agent of?" That's a very important question at the moment.