Coraline wouldn't necessarily find him in his room, but he did reside near it at least. Thus far, he was wandering aimlessly, lost in his own thoughts. He hadn't really had time to meet anyone, and caught brief glimpses of people around him. At this point, Serge was all but convinced the mansion was empty. Or haunted, at the very least. His Swallow laid strapped against his back, which appeared to be a pole with two curving metal blades on either end.
Coraline hummed to herself, walking zig-zag patterns down the mansion's chessboard-tiled hallways, making sure to keep her toes from touching the black squares. She pretended they were dark endless holes that stretched down into the ground like bottomless wells, and balanced precariously to keep from falling.
This preoccupied her a little, until she happened to glance up and find someone close nearby, windmilling her arms haphazardly to keep from stumbling into the black spaces. She straightened and grinned expectantly at the new stranger.
The sudden break in silence caused Serge to focus back on his surroundings, his gaze shot to Coraline, a hint of panic visible in his eyes. He was still wary of his surroundings, and considering who was after him, he felt he had every right to be. He had no way of knowing if this mansion was even safe or not.
"I, uh.. Just got here. I didn't think anyone lived here." He said, rising to his feet. Serge absentmindedly tugged his gloves firmly onto his hands, giving them a comfortable, snug fit. "Who are you?"
The girl didn't look particularly threatening, unless an eleven year old's keen roving appraisal could be considered a threat.
"Oh lots of people live here" She shrugged casually, rocking back and forth up onto her toes and back again. "The mansion's got a bunch of people in it, they're probably just...staying in bed today or playing on the computer or something. I'm on my way to go see!"
Still hopping tiles, she made her way closer and extended her hand.
True, on second inspection, she looked perfectly innocent, maybe even a little charming. Serge finally relaxed a little, and shook her hand with a firm, but not rough grip. "Serge. I just got here. Although... I don't really know where here is." He said, taking a moment to glance down the hallway. "Then again, waking up to a weird mansion probably isn't the strangest thing I've been through within the last few days."
He took a moment to process what she was saying, as well as observing what she was doing. "...What's a computer? And why are you jumping over the black tiles?"
"Here's Wonderland." She answered, pulling her hand back to clasp her arms behind her back, looking him over curiously. People were really neat when they first showed up, but usually they asked the same obvious and boring things, when the really interesting things were them.
So she heaved a sigh, shaking her head. Too many computer lessons. Maybe someone else would do it this time. "One of these days I'm just gonna make a guide pamphlet." Coraline grumbled, rolling her eyes.
Then she tiptoed her feet apart just a little, so they were positioned perfectly in the center of two squares. "Oh...no reason! It's just a game I'm playing."
"Where are you from? What can you do? Are there any magic-things, in your world?"
Her questions certainly seemed harmless enough. Serge decided to indulge her. "Wonderland, huh..? Definitely didn't exist back home or that other place." He said, seeming more to confirm something for himself than comment to Coraline's quip. Serge dug around in his pocket, digging out a neatly folded map. His hand fell to the central island first, before he began speaking. "This is the El Nido Archipelago, a set of islands off the Zenan mainland. I'm from this place, Arni." He motioned to the village on the southwestern point of the map.
"As for what I can do? Well, I can sail and fish pretty well." He made no motion to the weapon hanging off of his back. "Magic..?" He paused thoughtfully, reaching into his pocket to pull out a spherical object. "I can't do anything like magic, but I do have Elements. Don't tell me you've never seen one before?"
"Woah." Coraline blinked softly, leaning in to peer over the parchment, eyes widening at what she saw. Whole different worlds that had their own maps and everything. She smiled approvingly back at Serge, flashing him a thumbs up. "You came prepared!"
Well maybe not for Wonderland, seeing as nothing could really get anybody ready to be tugged out of their world and put in a mansion with a bunch of other weird people. But prepared for explaining the bits she was interested in, at least. So she decided to indulge his interests, when he told her about the sailing and fishing.
"There's an ocean here!" She pointed off in a vague direction, indicating the 'outside' broadly. "Out past the gardens. And there's an island out there, it's sort of fuzzy and fake-looking. In the meantime you can take an empty room and stay here...its raining today." She sounded ever so slightly dissapointed in the weather.
Coraline's reaction to the map earned a small laugh from the boy, scratching his head shyly. "I actually got that in Termina. It's a big city to the north of my village." He said, motioning to the large port. "Next to that is where the man who protects it lives, General Viper." Again, Serge made a motion to the map. This time to the building east of the city. "It helped to reorient myself, depending on which dimension I was in." He didn't plan on admitting so much, but something about Coraline's presence helped him calm down from his experiences back home
( ... )
She listened with rapt attention, peering over the maps and his artifacts with a keen interest. Stuff about powers from other worlds were neat, and she dug a hand into her pocket to touch the small stone there, with a hole in it. Which was the only real piece of magic she could really say she possessed.
"Wow. That's really neat!" Coraline smiled slowly. "...And you can maybe find a fishing pole in a closet. Or from the vendors! We don't really have elements in my world- well not ones that people feel close to, like that."
She tilted her head thoughtfully. "But in the four nations, where my friend Aang's from, they've got Fire, Water, Air and Earth. And if you're a bender, you can move them!"
Truth be told, Serge hadn't seen these vendors, or much of anyone yet. He was still too wrapped up in what had happened at Viper Manor. Now, he was a little more sure of his current game plan. Get familiar with his surroundings, and find a way back. There had to be another hole like the one on Opassa beach, right?
Serge shook his head, motioning to the northwest, where it appeared the reef made a small tunnel. "The only other nations are Guardia, Porre, and Medina. Guardia was destroyed about fifteen years ago. They're all on the mainland. To my knowledge, I don't think they have Elements, they're unique to El Nido."
"I wish the other worlds all had maps like this." She sighed wistfully, thinking of all the new places she'd been hearing about, wondering what other lands were like. They didn't quite mean anything to her, the names, other than something new, but most of them sounded more exciting than back home. Worlds with magic and fairy tale things
( ... )
Serge listened to her explanation intently. It was all sort of confusing to him, but maybe the Amulet would work here. "So... Is it possible for people from the same world to show up?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at the mention of the strange trio. Serge checked his device, and spotted the announcement for himself. "...Any idea what it means?"
For as many questions as Coraline answered, she unwittingly made more in his mind. "What's so scary about a mirror? Well, unless you don't like seeing your hair in the morning."
"Uh-huh." Coraline nodded, shrugging one shoulder as she tread around him carefully, still keeping off the black squares. "I don't know anyone from home here, but some of the other people are friends and family and...know each other, from their own places?"
She glanced over when Serge glanced down at his communicator, sighing frustratedly at the resident's riddle once more. "Nope, they're like that. Weird clues."
That earned a chuckle, briefly, before her expression grew gravely serious. "Because she's watching you from there. The Queen of Hearts and her mirror people, who all look just like us, but they're opposite versions, and mostly not nice. We've gotta cover 'em up to keep privacy."
"Could be a good or bad thing, depending..." He said, muttering the words under his breath. Seeing as he could gain no further useful information from the announcement, he stuffed his communicator back into his left pocket. The idea of a malevolent force living in the mirrors around him did little to settle the fear that was already in his heart.
"Wonderful. Well, they're gonna have a hard time doing that. Aren't they all stuck in the mirrors, though?" While asking, he contemplated the idea of just smashing the blasted things. Maybe melt the fragments with a fire Element.
"They're not supposed to switch places with us unless she orders them to...but sometimes, she does." Coraline answered somberly. "They came over here back in February, after one who snuck to this side, and while they were here they really weren't very nice."
...writing bad stories about her death, and everything. The girl shuddered a little.
For now, he didn't notice Coraline's presence.
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This preoccupied her a little, until she happened to glance up and find someone close nearby, windmilling her arms haphazardly to keep from stumbling into the black spaces. She straightened and grinned expectantly at the new stranger.
"Hello. I don't think I've seen you here before."
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"I, uh.. Just got here. I didn't think anyone lived here." He said, rising to his feet. Serge absentmindedly tugged his gloves firmly onto his hands, giving them a comfortable, snug fit. "Who are you?"
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"Oh lots of people live here" She shrugged casually, rocking back and forth up onto her toes and back again. "The mansion's got a bunch of people in it, they're probably just...staying in bed today or playing on the computer or something. I'm on my way to go see!"
Still hopping tiles, she made her way closer and extended her hand.
"I'm Coraline Jones. Who are you?"
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He took a moment to process what she was saying, as well as observing what she was doing. "...What's a computer? And why are you jumping over the black tiles?"
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So she heaved a sigh, shaking her head. Too many computer lessons. Maybe someone else would do it this time. "One of these days I'm just gonna make a guide pamphlet." Coraline grumbled, rolling her eyes.
Then she tiptoed her feet apart just a little, so they were positioned perfectly in the center of two squares. "Oh...no reason! It's just a game I'm playing."
"Where are you from? What can you do? Are there any magic-things, in your world?"
Reply
"As for what I can do? Well, I can sail and fish pretty well." He made no motion to the weapon hanging off of his back. "Magic..?" He paused thoughtfully, reaching into his pocket to pull out a spherical object. "I can't do anything like magic, but I do have Elements. Don't tell me you've never seen one before?"
Reply
Well maybe not for Wonderland, seeing as nothing could really get anybody ready to be tugged out of their world and put in a mansion with a bunch of other weird people. But prepared for explaining the bits she was interested in, at least. So she decided to indulge his interests, when he told her about the sailing and fishing.
"There's an ocean here!" She pointed off in a vague direction, indicating the 'outside' broadly. "Out past the gardens. And there's an island out there, it's sort of fuzzy and fake-looking. In the meantime you can take an empty room and stay here...its raining today." She sounded ever so slightly dissapointed in the weather.
"...So you're a waterbender?"
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"Wow. That's really neat!" Coraline smiled slowly. "...And you can maybe find a fishing pole in a closet. Or from the vendors! We don't really have elements in my world- well not ones that people feel close to, like that."
She tilted her head thoughtfully. "But in the four nations, where my friend Aang's from, they've got Fire, Water, Air and Earth. And if you're a bender, you can move them!"
Reply
Serge shook his head, motioning to the northwest, where it appeared the reef made a small tunnel. "The only other nations are Guardia, Porre, and Medina. Guardia was destroyed about fifteen years ago. They're all on the mainland. To my knowledge, I don't think they have Elements, they're unique to El Nido."
Reply
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For as many questions as Coraline answered, she unwittingly made more in his mind. "What's so scary about a mirror? Well, unless you don't like seeing your hair in the morning."
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She glanced over when Serge glanced down at his communicator, sighing frustratedly at the resident's riddle once more. "Nope, they're like that. Weird clues."
That earned a chuckle, briefly, before her expression grew gravely serious. "Because she's watching you from there. The Queen of Hearts and her mirror people, who all look just like us, but they're opposite versions, and mostly not nice. We've gotta cover 'em up to keep privacy."
Reply
"Wonderful. Well, they're gonna have a hard time doing that. Aren't they all stuck in the mirrors, though?" While asking, he contemplated the idea of just smashing the blasted things. Maybe melt the fragments with a fire Element.
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...writing bad stories about her death, and everything. The girl shuddered a little.
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