Somewhere in Eastern Europe (probably) [Saturday afternoon]
The portal dropped two blond girls onto a small side street in Europe. "Remember what you promised. No..." One of them trailed off, frowning.
This wasn't the right part of Europe. In fact, it felt... distinctly... Eastern. The Balkans somewhere? Definitely not Rome. Not even Italy.
Not good.
Karla
Karla, having no idea what any of Europe looked like, continued to chatter. "I know, I know. I'll be good. Though if it comes down to it, I'm totally breaking my promise about your cobbler--Triela?" It finally dawned on her that they weren't moving. And that Triela looked distinctly displeased--if one could read her 'I Feel Nothing' face.
Which immediately put Karla on guard. "What's up?" she asked quietly.
Triela
"Portal's gone, isn't it?" Not that Triela actually had to ask. She paid attention to that sort of thing.
"We're not in Rome," she scowled, hand rising to tap her shoulder holster lightly. "Or in Italy, as far as I can tell."
Karla
"Gone," Karla confirmed. "Not in Italy at all? Is this about the cobbler? Because I was mostly joking."
Her quip was accompanied by the raising of her shields, of course. No one said humor and caution couldn't be allies.
Triela
Triela turned slowly in place. "Climate and terrain suggest we're at the right latitude." She pulled out her phone and scowled at it. "But my phone doesn't have service here, which probably means Eastern Europe. Serbia or Bulgaria or Macedonia, maybe."
Karla
"Ah yes, the terrain. You're right, I would have guessed the same in another moment or two." Karla joked, but keeping her voice down so it didn't travel beyond them. "I'm getting a cluster of psychic scents that way," she said, pointing. "Not enough for a town, but it feels like a decent-sized group."
She didn't say anything, but her tone suggested she had every intention of deferring to Triela's judgment.
Triela
"We need to get somewhere where we can get in touch with the Agency. They can do an extraction, or arrange for another portal." Triela sighed. "But depending on where we are, two teenaged girls on their own... not a good idea."
Karla
"Not that we're ordinary teenaged girls, mind," Karla said, the slightest hint of a feral grin on her lips. "But your point is well-taken. So, then we head towards people? We can ask them for directions to the nearest town...assuming we speak the language." She looked at Triela. "Do you?"
Triela
Triela nodded. "Depends on where we are. My Russian is okay, and usually you can find someone in most places in Eastern Europe who still speaks it, but... we'll just have to see, I guess."
Karla
"Do you want to start your shields?" Karla asked. "And I can toss up some sight and aural shields, too, if you wanted. We could stealth it."
Triela
"Talk first," Triela decided. "But you keep a... whatever it is you do on them. They might say they're going to help and have... other intentions."
Karla
Karla nodded. "If they're planning anything, I should be able to pick it up from their psychic scents." She frowned, gazing off into the distance. "We have a while before it matters anyway. They feel kinda far away, but they're the only ones I'm picking up."
Unsurprisingly, the direction Karla was pointing to lead to a forest: a deep, heavy, old-looking forest.
Triela
Triela scowled. "Why couldn't the portal screw up and dump us somewhere conveniently in the city, anyway?"
Karla
"What's wrong with the woods?" Karla asked. Of course, she'd grown up with a forest practically out her back door, so her expectations were a bit skewed. "They're fun to tromp around--oh."
There was a dismayed look down at Triela's boots. They were most certainly not made for tromping.
Triela
"They're full of dirt," Triela pointed out. Even though it was obvious.
Karla
"And trees and plants and all kinds of neat things," Karla agreed happily. "Haven't you ever been hiking? This could be fun?"
Okay, Triela's face did not suggest she was in a happy funtime hiking mood.
"It could be less horrible that you think," she amended.
Triela
"I try to avoid hiking as much as possible," Triela admitted. Just think about what this was going to do to her suit!
Karla
So her dry cleaners could handle blood just fine, but a little honest dirt and grime was beyond their capabilities? And everyone said Karla's world was weird.
"Just think of it as a training exercise?" she suggested. "If you can walk through the woods in heels, you can walk anywhere."
Triela
"That's almost certainly not true," Triela pointed out. But she sighed and moved to follow Karla's lead.
Karla
"Okay, walking across an ice-covered lake will still pose a problem," Karla said, trying to find the easiest way through the woods. "But my point stands." She pointed down at the knobby root system poking up through the ground in some places. "But walking through that stuff is still good practice. Or something. And who knows?" She gave Triela an impish grin. "Maybe we'll get chased by a bear. Then you'll have practice running through the woods in heels."
Triela
"Or practice running with no shoes," Triela countered. Not happily, though. Because that would ruin her stockings.
Karla
And hurt like a bitch.
"You probably don't want to do that," Karla said with the wisdom that came from suffering. "You'll step on everything that way. Thorns that never existed until you decided to run barefoot will find their way into your feet. Trust me."
Triela
Triela snorted. "My skin's puncture resistant," she reminded Karla. Not that she'd ever tested it against seriously rough terrain. That was, after all, what boots were for.
And she wasn't really eager to do any testing.
[NFB for distance, NFI, preplayed with the ever-fun glacial_witch. Apologies in advance to the flist this weekend.
And you totally didn't see this already because I would never set a post to public when I meant to set it to private. THAT WOULD BE SILLY.]
This wasn't the right part of Europe. In fact, it felt... distinctly... Eastern. The Balkans somewhere? Definitely not Rome. Not even Italy.
Not good.
Karla
Karla, having no idea what any of Europe looked like, continued to chatter. "I know, I know. I'll be good. Though if it comes down to it, I'm totally breaking my promise about your cobbler--Triela?" It finally dawned on her that they weren't moving. And that Triela looked distinctly displeased--if one could read her 'I Feel Nothing' face.
Which immediately put Karla on guard. "What's up?" she asked quietly.
Triela
"Portal's gone, isn't it?" Not that Triela actually had to ask. She paid attention to that sort of thing.
"We're not in Rome," she scowled, hand rising to tap her shoulder holster lightly. "Or in Italy, as far as I can tell."
Karla
"Gone," Karla confirmed. "Not in Italy at all? Is this about the cobbler? Because I was mostly joking."
Her quip was accompanied by the raising of her shields, of course. No one said humor and caution couldn't be allies.
Triela
Triela turned slowly in place. "Climate and terrain suggest we're at the right latitude." She pulled out her phone and scowled at it. "But my phone doesn't have service here, which probably means Eastern Europe. Serbia or Bulgaria or Macedonia, maybe."
Karla
"Ah yes, the terrain. You're right, I would have guessed the same in another moment or two." Karla joked, but keeping her voice down so it didn't travel beyond them. "I'm getting a cluster of psychic scents that way," she said, pointing. "Not enough for a town, but it feels like a decent-sized group."
She didn't say anything, but her tone suggested she had every intention of deferring to Triela's judgment.
Triela
"We need to get somewhere where we can get in touch with the Agency. They can do an extraction, or arrange for another portal." Triela sighed. "But depending on where we are, two teenaged girls on their own... not a good idea."
Karla
"Not that we're ordinary teenaged girls, mind," Karla said, the slightest hint of a feral grin on her lips. "But your point is well-taken. So, then we head towards people? We can ask them for directions to the nearest town...assuming we speak the language." She looked at Triela. "Do you?"
Triela
Triela nodded. "Depends on where we are. My Russian is okay, and usually you can find someone in most places in Eastern Europe who still speaks it, but... we'll just have to see, I guess."
Karla
"Do you want to start your shields?" Karla asked. "And I can toss up some sight and aural shields, too, if you wanted. We could stealth it."
Triela
"Talk first," Triela decided. "But you keep a... whatever it is you do on them. They might say they're going to help and have... other intentions."
Karla
Karla nodded. "If they're planning anything, I should be able to pick it up from their psychic scents." She frowned, gazing off into the distance. "We have a while before it matters anyway. They feel kinda far away, but they're the only ones I'm picking up."
Unsurprisingly, the direction Karla was pointing to lead to a forest: a deep, heavy, old-looking forest.
Triela
Triela scowled. "Why couldn't the portal screw up and dump us somewhere conveniently in the city, anyway?"
Karla
"What's wrong with the woods?" Karla asked. Of course, she'd grown up with a forest practically out her back door, so her expectations were a bit skewed. "They're fun to tromp around--oh."
There was a dismayed look down at Triela's boots. They were most certainly not made for tromping.
Triela
"They're full of dirt," Triela pointed out. Even though it was obvious.
Karla
"And trees and plants and all kinds of neat things," Karla agreed happily. "Haven't you ever been hiking? This could be fun?"
Okay, Triela's face did not suggest she was in a happy funtime hiking mood.
"It could be less horrible that you think," she amended.
Triela
"I try to avoid hiking as much as possible," Triela admitted. Just think about what this was going to do to her suit!
Karla
So her dry cleaners could handle blood just fine, but a little honest dirt and grime was beyond their capabilities? And everyone said Karla's world was weird.
"Just think of it as a training exercise?" she suggested. "If you can walk through the woods in heels, you can walk anywhere."
Triela
"That's almost certainly not true," Triela pointed out. But she sighed and moved to follow Karla's lead.
Karla
"Okay, walking across an ice-covered lake will still pose a problem," Karla said, trying to find the easiest way through the woods. "But my point stands." She pointed down at the knobby root system poking up through the ground in some places. "But walking through that stuff is still good practice. Or something. And who knows?" She gave Triela an impish grin. "Maybe we'll get chased by a bear. Then you'll have practice running through the woods in heels."
Triela
"Or practice running with no shoes," Triela countered. Not happily, though. Because that would ruin her stockings.
Karla
And hurt like a bitch.
"You probably don't want to do that," Karla said with the wisdom that came from suffering. "You'll step on everything that way. Thorns that never existed until you decided to run barefoot will find their way into your feet. Trust me."
Triela
Triela snorted. "My skin's puncture resistant," she reminded Karla. Not that she'd ever tested it against seriously rough terrain. That was, after all, what boots were for.
And she wasn't really eager to do any testing.
[NFB for distance, NFI, preplayed with the ever-fun glacial_witch. Apologies in advance to the flist this weekend.
And you totally didn't see this already because I would never set a post to public when I meant to set it to private. THAT WOULD BE SILLY.]