(ah I'll put a title here when I think of something) [Active]

[chroma_girl]

Character(s): Marona, Ash and a Djinni
Content: Marona finds one of the Djinni and worries about monsters.
Setting: Actua Are hotel near Niflheim/Paixao Center (J-7)
Time: Uh, afternoon?
Warnings: None. \o/

Comments

[paixaonpcs]

Now, off to the side of the Actua Are's front stairs, there sat two skinny artificial trees. Why these fake trees had been planted in flowerpots with real dirt, or why the hotel staff watered them every day, was unclear. Even more unclear was how a Djinni had managed to bury itself in the dirt, so completely that it didn't appear anything was even buried there.

Well, almost. As part of that, it was also stuck. Its efforts to wriggle free quickly carried into the tree above it, shaking its golden leaves and jingle-bell berries much too excitedly to be the work of the wind.

(Besides which, there wasn't any wind.)

[violentemotion]

Ash did what he always did, he sighed. It was not an ordinary sigh, it was one of boredom and anxiety. He still didn't understand everything Marona had told him. He had taken it in, little by little, and pondered it. This place was so weird, even normality wasn't exactly normal.

He certainly felt it, a sense of false calm in the area. It all felt very fake, very numb. Ash couldn't feel things through touch, or whether the air was hot or cold, but he could feel the presence of evil, of unrest. As a phantom, these senses were heighten when all other senses were robbed.

He weaved through objects as he looked for Marona. Ash smiled softly, when he had met her, she seemed slightly different from the girl he was accustomed to. It was nice seeing her more upbeat again, it certainly affected his emotions as well.

"Good afternoon, Marona." Ash sat next to her, curiously looking over her shoulder, "What are you doing?"

[chroma_girl]

"Oh, Ash," Marona greeted, having sensed the phantom's presence a moment before he'd spoken, looking away from the screen to smile briefly at him. She couldn't help but smile. It was still such a relief that he was back. "Mm, just looking at this."

She tilted her journal to him, showing him the posts, a more worried expression casting back over her face. "People are saying there's monsters in the city," Marona explained. "I wonder what's going on..."

She trailed off, her gaze drifting to the tree jingling. The plants here were so strange. Could you even still really call them plants? It seemed to be getting more noisy, but the wind...

Wait. There wasn't any wind, was there?

"Ah... Ash? Um... that tree keeps jingling, but there isn't any wind!"

[violentemotion]

"Are you serious!?"

Monsters? Here? Perhaps he was right to go with his gut feeling, this place felt safe. Too safe. After living on Ivoire, Ash knew things weren't always as peaceful as they would like to appear. It seemed like this world was no different, they had to be on their toes.

He scanned the journal briefly, "Don't worry, Marona." He rested his hand on her shoulder, "Whatever happens, I'll make sure you're safe." He smiled in reassurance, there was nothing that was going to stop him at this point in making sure Marona was safe. Not after achieving her dream, he was certain of this.

His eyes shifted to the tree, Marona's words putting him on alert. He stood quickly, materalized, and walked over. Monsters couldn't be this close already! ... Could they?

Ash extended his hand, there was something there alright. But... what was it?

[chroma_girl]

Marona felt safe. With Ash here she didn't feel too worried about her own safety. She knew he'd keep her safe, but there could be others out there who weren't. She couldn't have been the only one left alone out there. Many people could be in danger!

The young chroma, wasn't really afraid of what could be in the tree, so much as curious. A terrifying monster couldn't really hide in a pot that size, could it? Why would anything dangerous be hiding there at all?

As Ash moved to investigate, Marona hopped to her feet, following up behind him. Staying close, she strained to peer around him to get a good look of what he'd find as Ash reached into the flowerpot. What could be there?