(no subject)

[powerandstatus]

Character: Marcello.
Fandom: Dragon Quest 8.
Player Name: Lisa

[Marcello's body quietly lay amongst the rubble for some time. The bits of rocks made him feel woefully uncomfortable. And the one lying beneath his elbow did indeed jab into his arm and make him move. And he was soaking. Even if he wasn't lying amongst the rubble back on Neos - he thought he was - he was still rubbing the back of his head and feeling wamrth run to the side of it. While it felt strange, for he was soaked through. He swung over his arm and rose to his feet as slowly and clumsily as he could force his body to move.]

[He took the time to orient himself. It was strange. Night had spread like a dark veil across the sky. He saw beyond his pile a clean city. He stropped then and waited for his mind to catch up with his eyes, with a hand gripped over his amulet like a talisman. His free hand pushed his sword down stiffly, like it was struggling against some unseen force.]

"It seems fate got the first word in after all."

Comments

Let the suffering begin!!

[beauchevalier]

[Angelo had been on his way to the Golden Victory to check on it due to the water damages from the bubble being broken. However, when he arrived in the plaza a certain individual caught his eye. At first, he simply stood there in shock. He didn't want to believe the very person whom he never wished to be there was there. Slowly reality sank in though, Marcello was here in the bubble and this wasn't a dream. Instead of being silent, he walked straight over to his brother's form.]

Well well, look at what the coral dragged in.

Roll a 1, I dare you.

[powerandstatus]

[Marcello assumed he was hallucinating the red suit he was unable to move away from. He kept imagining he could hear the voice around the back of his head, instead of in the front. The crust of blood around his fingers was hidden when his hand pressed into the folds of his robe. He seemed agitated and just stood there trying to comprehend.]

[Nothing happened first, at first or for a while. Till Marcello chose to remember angrily of the dust cloud he had left behind on Neos, and the ring he has tossed behind his back. He unbalanced himself on the spot and made to barge past. He looked at Angelo with his eyes to tell him him to go.]

[beauchevalier]

[He could tell his brother was from the time he left Neos, his memories flowing back to that time period. Though drifting from his memories, he can see the expression in his brother's eyes. It's true, he wanted to go. But no one he could go would get away from the person standing right in front of him.]

You're trapped here with the rest of us, including me. You won't be able to escape from this place or me.

[powerandstatus]

[Marcello resisted the urge to spit on the floor. He had left his old life behind him, but he still had some of his bearing.]

Hell is other people. Well, truly I've died if yours is the first face I see.

[beauchevalier]

[Of course he would answer that way. He sighs, why was he having to deal with this again? Oh well.]

This isn't hell nor are you dead, brother. You're in a bubble under the sea and very much alive.

[powerandstatus]

[This left Marcello even more confused, and with a moment to imagine his brother was having a joke at his expense. In earlier times he had strode past the annoyance. The shame! That he must be spoken to in this way and be able to do absolutely nothing.]

A bubble under the sea. Really.

[beauchevalier]

[Angelo shrugs his shoulders. Same old Marcello, even if he's able to tell his brother is possibly from the time they crossed paths in Neos. Even possibly the aftermath of that where he was possessed by Rhapthorne. It's only a theory in his head of course.]

If you don't believe me, you're free to look upwards at the sky. Which you'll notice is in fact water and not sky at all.

[powerandstatus]

[Marcello glanced up lazily. He tried his best to humour his brother, but with the way his shoulders were down and his eyes half-closed lazily, he showed he really didn't care. He hoped Angelo would turn on his heel and walk back the way he had came.]

Tell me more, by all means. [A pause had him click his tongue. He still had his pride.] Or turn around and walk away. Either is of no concern to me.

[beauchevalier]

[Angelo pulls something out of his pocket, a brochure it looks like, and hands it to Marcello.]

This will tell you everything you need to know. And with that, I'll be on my way. [He started walking away from his brother, before stopping himself.] I kept your ring, I thought you should know.

[bufudine]

[It's not unusual for Serph to be about, especially when it's the time when new people tended to arrive in the city. So when he spots a stranger, soaking wet, Serph turns from his intended destination, making a detour to take a towel from a local before approaching the stranger. He takes care to be in the stranger's line of sight -- he doesn't want to startle -- before silently offering the towel to him.]

[powerandstatus]

[Marcello groaned. He was by then conscious enough to feel the sting of the saltwater cleansing his wounds. It was so through. The smell of the sea salt hanging on his clothes made him sick and mortified. For a long time he was too self-absorbed to acknowledge the presence of another, till it was impossible to ignore. He stared at the towel as the stranger drew it under his nose. He had no capacity to endure anything else, and looked at the stranger as though he was the last person he would ever see in his life.]

What are you doing?

[Of course, he knew what the towel was for. He stared at it as though he had only just connected the dots. When his mind caught up, however, he had already finished speaking.]

[bufudine]

[Serph tilts his head. His tone is flat, neutral.]

Most new arrivals are bothered by the water.

[He hadn't been, though. He continues to offer the towel.]

This will help you dry off.

[powerandstatus]

[Given what he's endured, it seems as though water is the last thing on Marcello's mind. This fancy world had him puzzling. When he next speaks, there's a royal accent in his voice and a clipped manner to his speech.]

There are more important matters.

[After time, he takes the towel. His clothes were still logged. And he needed to dry.]

But thank you.

[bufudine]

[Serph nods, not affected by the change in the manner of speech; the associations to nobility, to leadership, don't exist in his limited body of knowledge.]

What matters are those?

[Getting some rest? Because you look dead on your feet, bro.]

[powerandstatus]

[The only time he'll rest properly is when he's dead.]

Private. Certainly your aid is appreciated. However, I do not wish to discuss my personal affairs.

[bufudine]

[Serph nods, understanding.]

I am Serph, one of two leaders of the Defense Force here. If you require a place to rest, or answers to questions, I can provide.

[powerandstatus]

[Marcello blinked. He thought about it, and stored away the information. He was hardly capable of walking, but he had other ideas about accepting help from people who he didn't know. They might stab him in the back. He waved his hand.]

I do not require your help. I'll be fine.

[That name, Serph. Strange. Foreign. He didn't give his own, however. How did his matter?]

[ourlegends]

[ She hadn't been around for very long, herself; she had been rather fortunate, though. People she knew had been here for quite some time before her, and were able to sort of give her the general run-around of what's what. So, now, Hilda had been doing the same thing whenever she saw someone else who was in the state she had been in not too long ago; totally drenched, confused, etc.

She saw one such person today.

Hilda made her way over, slowly, not wanting to startle the man. She stopped short of him, looking up at him curiously. ]

Um ... excuse me? You're new here, right?

[powerandstatus]

[Marcello had been standing thoughtfully, looking up at the magic ocean that reminded him of a legend from his home. His arms were folded across his chest, and with the constant judders he was pressing down relaxing took some time. He kept them there when approached by a young girl wearing some strange foreign garb.]

[He stirred to attention sometime later and looked at her of his own accord; it would be unfair to ignore her. She also wasn't his brother. So already she was tolerable. Just one more thing he had to handle.]

Yes.

Unless you count the few people I've met already.

[ourlegends]

[ Oh, good, he responded. Hilda smiles, staying exactly where she is so she can talk to him. ]

You've met a few people already? So then, you know a few things about this place?

[powerandstatus]

[Marcello was standing before her looking a little confused and aghast. Her clothes were like the rags on pieces of tail that hung around such places as Pickham. She wasn't giving him a bad impression with her language or behavior, though. He attributed it to someone setting a bad example.]

Yes. A few.

[He bristled with annoyance at having to repeat himself. Otherwise he seemed calm, and was not mentioning names.]

I honestly have no idea apart from what I've been told.

[ourlegends]

[ Her clothes show off her glorious butt--

She's generally unaware of his distaste of her choice of clothing, and focuses instead on trying to teach him the ways of the world ... err, of Vatheon, anyway. ]

What have you been told? I just got here not too long ago myself, but a friend of mine has been here for a little bit and he let me in on some of it.

[powerandstatus]

[And why do you consort with monsters, Hilda?]

I was given some papers. They explained a little, to the extent I suppose it matters.

[Marcello was starting to understand that he wasn't the only foreigner here. And if he compared himself and Angelo with this girl, it was as if they were from undiscovered places entirely.]

I have not seen anyone like you before. Where are you from?

[ourlegends]

[ Because they're my friends and that's normal in my world okok

She assumes he means the Pamphlet, which ... was a fairly decent introduction. Having a friend show her the ropes was helpful, too.

At his question, Hilda looks up at him, blinking a few times before remembering that, yeah, this place held people from all kinds of worlds. His world was probably very much not her own. Hilda shifted a little, awkwardly. ]

Unova. And you?

[powerandstatus]

[Oh, he's tortured people for that shh.]

[Marcello blinked. For certainly Unova was nowhere on a map. Maybe some power was making it invisible, or perhaps there was another continent somewhere. He told himself she was obviously not a bounty hunter. Still, he was concerned enough to keep his secrets close.]

Nowhere important. Merely a small region.

[He was struggling to comprehend, too, the thought of different worlds as described in the brochure. Those accursed papers made no sense.]