[Open Commentlog] - Old Persian - Found Prince 001
[Unfortunately, Dastan only reads that very first line written by Lord Deior before he snapped the journal closed, frowning before absent-mindedly tucking it into his belt. Sorry, Deior, but he believes he has a way to fix this, and if time isn't on his side he has to move now so it soon will be. First objective: find the dagger. He certainly can't
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Eh?
[He doesn't recognize the word, but a part of his mind notes it sounds a lot like a name. The intense look she gives him, coupled later with her complete elation has both of Dastan's brows shooting up in surprise. His surprise escalates as she switches to completely more complicated sounding language entirely.]
Ah...ehm...excuse me, but--
[Dastan drops to the ground, dusting his hands off and thinking of explaining, or getting answers, or perhaps learning some bit of information when his already flustered senses deplete altogether. She's kissing him. He wasn't even prepared for it, and his mind and body panic and freeze at the sensation, his mind no longer functioning enough for movement.]
Wha-wha-wha...
[This is where he leans away, pressed up against the wall as if wishing he could suddenly climb it, wide eyes staring at her with so much awkward panic and also a multitude of questions in their depths.]
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At his attire.
At his hair.
At the obvious, painful fact that while this could, in fact, be Jack’s identical twin, it is…not her partner.
Humiliated beyond belief, she straightens and rearranges her face into the blank mask that she’s worked so, so hard to perfect over the years and clears her throat, lips still burning from the briefest of torturous kisses.
She swaps back to Common. Not that that’s going to help.]
I…I am sorry. I thought…I thought that you…
[Her voice trailed off.
The Gods hate her. They must. Because this was entirely unfair in so, so many ways.]
I thought you were someone else.
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H-hi... um... I'm Dastan.
[He waits a moment, looking everywhere but at her, then finally sucks it up and meets her gaze. He brings both hands to his chest.]
Dastan.
[Then, he tilts his head, waiting for her reply.]
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Definitely, definitely not Jack.
Despite the intense pain in her heart Anna nods, and presses a palm to her chest, mimicking his action.]
Anna. [There was no reason to tell him a false name, as she had intended to do upon first arrival when things had been so chaotic and she hadn’t realized where she was, or known a soul. Alex had told her she’d somehow been here before and that nearly the entire Keep knew her secret and her name. If she lied, he’d find out sooner or later anyway. Little sense in that.]
Anna Dominguez. [She holds up a finger in a ‘one moment’ gesture, then fishes out her journal from inside of her coat.
Come on Dastan, tell her that you took yours with you from your room.]
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...
[When he sees the journal--one that looked like the very same one he found after he awoke here, Dastan reaches behind him and pulls his from his belt.]
This?
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Oui - yes. Anna. Anna Lynn Dominguez. [She offers him her full name, then gives him an incredibly pleased look when he pulls his out. Good, good. He’d brought it with him. She tapped her temple, near her eye - a clear indication - ‘watch’. She has an idea - and it's distracting her from the fact that she intimately kissed a stranger.
She flips the book open and holds it in her hands, then starts speaking again, despite knowing he won’t understand it. Unfortunately, she forgot her quill, so this will have to do.]
You speak, it translates into text that is able to be read. See?
[She holds it up. Now, the problem with this is that whatever they converse will be visible to everyone, but at least they’ll be able to understand each other.]
Try.
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This... is the craziest thing I've ever seen.
[And he had seen some crazy things.]
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Are you certain?
[Because she is fairly certain that showing up in a Keep and then being suddenly, rudely kissed by a woman that he has never seen before in his life might rank up there with a book that translates audio into text.]
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No...
No, I guess not.
[After all, this journal didn't turn back time now, did it?]
So what is this place? Why are we here?
...And who is Jack?
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You read this, yes? It explains some things, though in terms that make little sense. I...do not know how we came to be here, this power is greater than anything we have in my world, and... [She hesitates, then sighs.
Again, he'll find it all out anyway.]
And in my world, there are very powerful beings yes? Like me. [She taps her chest.]
Shapeshifter, hm? You...do know what a tiger is? [She wouldn't be surprised if he didn't - not all people came from places that had the same kind of animal.]
...
[Ah, he would ask that. Of course he would - it made sense for him to do so, after she'd acted in such a way.
She smooths her expression, and explains in as neutral a voice as she can manage.]
Jack...was my partner, yes? We led...a Resistance. Against the oppressive government. Five years we worked together. Recently, we became close.
...
You could be his twin. Almost identical.
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[His expression turns solemn at that, wondering what kind of powerful being she was. He had quite a few powerful foes, and hoped she was nothing like them. At the word shapeshifter his eyebrows shoot up.]
I know what a tiger is... [He says the words carefully--cautiously.] Shapeshifters are real in your world? [Okay. Now he was experiencing some of the craziest things he had ever experienced in his life. Clearly some God was laughing.]
Ah. [And it all made sense now. Mostly. Dastan makes a bit of an awkward expression and smooths a hand over his face.] I'm ah--I'm sorry I'm not...him. [Yep. Awkward Dastan is awkward.]
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I can understand. When I first arrived...I was...not inclined to read a book, either. [No, she'd wrecked her room and had to wait until she was more...personable to talk. She had not been in a good mood.]
Yes, very real. We are...called Misfits. There are many kinds of us, not just those like me.
[She shakes her head.]
No - it is not your fault. I am...very sorry for being so...ah, forward.
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Misfits? [He's grinning now, openly. He is not mocking you, Anna, though it may appear so. He is thinking that word greatly applies to him and his gang of--well--misfits.] You do not appear to be what I would call a misfit, no. Some of my friends on the other hand... [Okay. Himself included. He led them, after all.]
[Raising his eyebrows at her formal words, a hint of that smile returns to his lips.] It wasn't so bad. I--er--ah... [And his next witty comment goes right out the window as he remembers it. Just looking at her for a moment causes his brain to shut off. He shakes his head, and clears his throat, though he is also unable to look away.]
Wh-what I mean to say is, ah... it was an honest mistake.
[Yeah. That.]
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Exactly, yes! I…cannot imagine just sitting here and letting someone else fight for my world, my people. [She waved a hand.] I am a…freedom fighter, yes? I lead a revolution, people like me have been oppressed for too long, we suffer and die at the hands of those who claim to be stronger and better than us and for them to just…expect me to sit here? [She frowns.] I do not think I can stand idle.
[Another nod.]
That is the name we were given, yes? Some of us can…manipulate the elements - fire, water, air, earth. Others can manipulate currents - electricity. My friend, Danica, she can…[What was the word Danica always used…] Phase. Move through solid objects…? Teleport. Useful ability.
[She is, for some reason, incredibly inclined to trust him. Of course - the reason should be rather obvious - he has the face of a man that she has trusted with her secret for five years. The face of someone that had found her in an alley in the body of a feline that was not her own, a man that had coached her and taught her how to handle that power lest it take her over.
Her cheeks color at his words, and she clears her throat and looks away. Well. At least he didn’t hate it.]
Yes. I…meant nothing by it. [Well. Not now, anyway. When she’d thought he was Jack…maybe then, yes.]
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What would you do? [He asks the question carefully, but still, he wants to know. What kind of people were brought here? What were Anna's true abilities?] Maybe, if there are enough people like us here, finding a way to get out and saving our people won't be so difficult after all. [It's a stretch, but a hopeful one.]
[Both eyebrows shoot up.] Very useful ability. Are you able to... manipulate any of these elements? [He isn't quite sure what to think of that.]
[Again, both brows shoot up into his hairline. It certainly felt like she meant it. At the time. He's smiling, but his incredulous expression eases and he shakes his head.] A thing of the past, then. [What an interesting way to meet a stranger, indeed.]
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I told you, I am a Misfit, yes? [She presses a palm top her chest, her other hand still holding her journal.] At home, we are persecuted, hunted. Murdered and tortured, because of our potential. [She frowns, expression distant.] They hunt us because they fear us, what we can do. But we are people, just like...anyone else.
Sometimes...we cannot control our powers, at first. It has to be taught, harnessed. Like...any talent. Because of this, we were deemed illegal, as if we were some sort of...thing. [A bitterness crosses her features.] Anyone caught harboring one of us was subject to death. I ran away at twenty, to spare my mother. I lived in the streets, until I met yo-Jack. Until I met him.
[She breathes a noisy exhale.]
There are labs - a government bureau, called the Facility runs them, and in them..bad things happen. To...people like me. [She absently wraps a hand around her inner right elbow.]
We liberate these labs. Prove...a point, yes? They should not discriminate. We fight for freedom, equality. [Except her tactics are sometimes less than honorable. She's blown up her fair share of government buildings before.]
I can not manipulate elements, non. [She gave him a sidelong glance, eyes twinkling.] Is turning into a tiger not enough for you, Dastan?
[Well...yes She certainly meant it but...now that it's not who she thought...Erm. Yes.]
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