a meeting of unlike minds [closed]

[magicthreads]

Characters: Sandrilene fa Toren and Vriska Serket
Location: Some back alley somewhere around the clinic
Rating: Vriska puts it at a PG at the least.
Time: Late Evening, October 4
Description: Sandry is wandering around since she can't sleep. Too bad spiders lurk at night.

Comments

[visioneightfold]

The answer, as she was about to find, was "a troll

[magicthreads]

This didn't look like a sand construct. That was Sandry's first thought on being ambushed; the second, of course, was pulling a knitting needle out of her purse. She had been keeping a set on her ever since she had returned from Michigan, as a precautionary measure. She remembered their effectiveness against the frogs.

"Generally, people introduce themselves before sneaking up on others." Despite the startling appearance, she wasn't really afraid; there were stranger people out there, after all.

[visioneightfold]

Vriska managed not to look terribly taken aback--she licked her lips, taking a step out of Sandry's face to get a beter look at her. Not bad. Much better a reaction than she'd been expecting! That comment, however... not very snappy!

"Maybe where you come from," Vriska didn't quite mask the sneer that accompanied the sentiment, but it was mostly harmless; she was mostly just giving this white-skinned alien a hard time. Mostly. It changed to something of a smirk. "But where I come from, that pretty much defeats the point." It was a not very subtle way of saying that if she'd wanted to introduce herself, she already damn well would have.

But she didn't.

Yet.

[magicthreads]

Sandry wasn't exactly a battle-ready warrior. Generally at home, she had been assisting from the sidelines: spinning magic, keeping her friends together, channeling them power. All the same, she felt as if this was some sort of important and slightly treacherous conversation. It was best to step lightly. The other girl didn't look human, from what she could tell; the darkness did a good job of covering up most major giveaways.

Lowering her weapon of choice only slightly, she looked for signs that this could be some sort of kidnapper. Maybe the witches had created a new type of monster.

"It seems there are a lot of differences between worlds, then," she remarked. Her voice was firm, although she was busy preparing for anything to happen. Sandry couldn't keep herself from being nosy, though. "You're not working for the witches, are you?"

This probably needs editing, but I'm so bloody tired...

[visioneightfold]

"What!" The word burst out, and it took a good deal of Vriska's self control not to laugh in the girl's face; contrary to popular belief, Vriska Serket did exercise self-restraint--it was just exclusively on her own terms. "No," she retorted finally. "Nice try, though!" She took on a stance that was almost pensive, albeit possibly insincere. "I think I'll take that as a compliment." Vriska adopted a conversational tone, shifting her weight to one side casually--her posture was much less predatory like this, but somehow no less threatening. In fact, it might have been more so.

"So. Where ya headed? It's getting pretty laaaaaaaate for your kind to be out and about." She flashed another grin, full of sharp, dangerous fangs and a tinge of malice.

psssssh, it's fine

[magicthreads]

The compliment bit didn't help Sandry to relax, but it was good to know that this person with the fangs wasn't about to drag her off to Michigan again. It made her feel a little bit more secure, though she didn't put her knitting needle down.

"I was just wandering. I couldn't sleep, and it seemed like the best idea." Despite the fact that nothing was really open at this hour, Sandry didn't feel like telling the stranger that she had been in the clinic. Although the bandaged hands probably gave her away, as well as the stiffness in her spine. She mentally cursed herself for wandering around in the dark.

"What are you doing out, then? And your kind, what does that mean?"

Pssssssssh.

[visioneightfold]

"Your kind means your kind! Humans!" Vriska gestured demonstratingly, then threw her hands up as though perhaps exasperated with the whole species. "You're a pretty strange bunch, if you ask me. Not that anyone did, but who cares." She 'grinned' much more naturally for a second, tossing her wild black hair over her shoulder before leaning back and ticking features off on one hand as though enumerating a list. "No horns, nubby teeth, pink and white skin, sleeping at night and 'wandering around' during the day... pretty weird!" She didn't sound angry--if anything, she sounded intrigued, which she was. But she was also amused. And a little bit annoyed. "I should think the differences should pretty obvious just from standing here, but I guess not."

The troll gaze Sandry another once-over, then crossed her arms over her chest, planting one foot up against the wall.

[magicthreads]

"I assumed you weren't human, but you can't really tell in this city." Sandry held her chin high, to show she wasn't afraid. Really, unless the girl did something to threaten her, she had no reason to quiver like a child. It took far more than some intimidating words to make her back down.

"I can tell you've got pointed teeth, a skin color that is certainly different than white, and do you always wander around at night? Is it a hobby?" She couldn't help the curiosity that leaked into her voice at the end. Despite the dangerous situation, she was fairly curious.

[visioneightfold]

"Uh, no." Vriska furrowed her brow. How was... how was... could that be a hobby? Was that even a thing? One eyebrow creased in consternation. "The sun is pretty dangerous--or it is where I come from." It had been fine in the Medium--in the Land of Maps and Treasure, she'd flown under brilliant blue skies over glimmering seas with her awesome boots. But on Alternia... if the sun didn't scorch your flesh, burn out your eyes, or otherwise cause physical harm to a troll's person, then the heinous broods of undead would surely tear you apart.

"I'm sure as hell not crazy enough to walk around in it here."

[magicthreads]

"Well, I can assure you it's not dangerous here. For humans at least; I don't really know about...whatever you are." It was safe to assume that it was harmless for anyone, though Sandry didn't exactly feel that generous at the moment. Lurking in the dark seemed to be reason enough to mistrust the girl in the first place. At least, she thought it was another girl.

[visioneightfold]

"Oh, I know." Vriska replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a toss of her head. "I know aaaaaaaall about your species and your weird daywalking habits. Your pathetic little yellow sun ain't much to look at. It's no wonder you aren't afraid of it. I wouldn't be! Alternia's is a lot brighter and hotter. This one... man, I don't know." She gave the leering moon above them a look, cast out of the corner of her yellow eyes. "I guess that's what you get on a second-rate planet. Anyway, that's not the point." She refocused on Sandry. "The point is, I walk around at night and you do not." She paused, putting her hands on her hips.

"Except here you are, wandering around like a little lost pupa. We're gonna have to do something about that."

[magicthreads]

"Second rate planet?" Sandry would be furious, if the planet were actually hers. As it was, she did rather miss her homeland. Emelan was apparently on a different world than Death City, as she had learned over the past few months.

"It's not mine, but it's similar enough. Was...Alternia? Was it really that different?" Other worlds were fascinating to Sandry; she frequently wondered what exactly made it so easy for BREW to reach through space and pluck people from different worlds, to place them here. It wasn't exactly a good train of thought, but did a lot to pass the time. However, now wasn't the time or place for daydreaming.

"Pupa--? Wait, what do you mean, do something about that?"

[visioneightfold]

"Yep!" But instead of elaborating further, Vriska grabbed Sandry's wrist, her strong grey fingers wrapping tightly around the other girl's pink skin.

?!

The troll nearly let go in surprise.

"The fuck?" Her grip tightened around the bruised flesh and she pulled, twisting Sandry's arm the other way a bit roughly. "What the hell is wrong with your skin?" It was... soft, all pliable and... not much like proper skin at all. There was no chitin. Just... soft tissue. She frowned.

"... Whatever, we'll talk about that later. C'mon." She turned, hauling Sandry with her as she headed for the Communal.

[magicthreads]

"Ouch!" Sandry couldn't help it; the bruises, although fading, were still quite prominent against her pale skin. And of course, Vriska had the great foresight to grip them tightly. Still, she bit her lip and refused to complain any further.

"There's nothing wrong with my skin! It's normal." However, the other girl's skin felt different...alien, certainly. But any question she had about that was momentarily put aside as she was dragged towards the Communal.

"Wait, where are we going?"

This was originally full of an explanation of what she was thinking, but then I decided against it.

[visioneightfold]

"Out of here!" Vriska replied, pulling Sandry along. She didn't appear to have much regard or interest in the oither girl's discomfort--in the process, however, they went under several lighted areas, making it much clearer that she did in fact have grey skin and asymmetrical orange horns, if nothing else.

In all honesty, Vriska should have expected such incomprehension, but she didn't much care. She had an ulterior motive here, and that motive was... well, that motive was, at the moment, slightly overshadowed by her contempt and disbelief regarding Sandry's human fragility. Nevermind how she'd gotten injured--she might get that story sooner or later, depending on how interesting it promised to be--what kind of idiot wandered around during their worst part of the cycle hurt and practically unarmed?

Hopefully the kind of idiot who had something better to offer.

[magicthreads]

The horns were a bit disconcerting, Sandry had to admit; no one she had met so far in this strange town had horns of any sort. The skin color was also strange, but paled in comparison to the thought of anyone having horns. What kind of creature was this girl, and where did she come from? It was this curiosity that kept Sandry from attacking her hand with the knitting needle. Instead, she followed along willingly, ignoring all sense of danger that she should have had.

"Fine, you don't have to pull!" She was about as ready to walk with the other girl as to run away, but she refused to come out of this night with no information. At least it would prove to be a tale to tell.