Players:
Summary: With many questions still unanswered, the girls find at least some of their complaints addressed… which only leads to more questions.
Date: February 28, 2012
Log Title: Wants and Needs
Rating: G
"As for me, all I know is that I know nothing." -Socrates, attributed in Plato's Republic
Romania - Tower - Top Floor
Grandeur is one word that can be used to describe the rectangular room. A large crystal and gold chandelier hangs from the middle of the high ceiling with long white tapered candles that always stay lit without ever needing to be replaced. Four smaller chandeliers hang from each corner to provide more light and accent the larger one. The high ceiling is nothing shy of magnificent, with gilded molding to accent to the white designs and intricate patterns that almost give it layers.
The walls are all white with golden trip and design which accents the ceiling. A large mirror with a grandiose gilded frame sits above a magnificent marble fireplace that is always lit with a comforting fire, which provides the perfect amount of warmth. Two large couches sit around a marble toped tabled and a few chairs sit on the sides of the couches to be pulled up around the table. On the mantle of the fireplace is a clock that doesn't seem to work, a few small statues and candelabras.
Across from the large fireplace are two large glass doors that lead out to a balcony which hangs over a large water fall. Looking down it's easy to tell the tower is high up in the air and there is at least five hundred feet between the balcony and bottom of the waterfall. The red moon can be seen in the night sky shining down on the tower as it seems to be perpetually night.
Along one side wall two mirrors hang with gilded frames and in front of each is table a with lit candelabra in the center to help provide the brightness in the room. In between the mirrors is large painting of an old fashioned, pale looking male with dark hair and a pale face that hangs over an elegant lit fireplace. On the opposite wall it is covered will books from floor to ceiling along with a small rolling ladder attached to the shelves to reach the harder to find books. It seems like almost any book you wish to read is there.
Two large doors sit on each side of the large fireplace with mirrors set into their doors. One door leads to the hallway where the bed chambers are and the other to the bathroom. The bathroom has a large circular tub built into the floor with many taps around it that provide bubbles, scents and water in the perfect temperature. Golden lamps hang from the walls and there are fluffy towels off to the sides.
It's… the middle of the night, in the tower. This is of course unsurprising, as it is always night. In the common room the fire continues to crackle away, never seeming to run out of wood. Sophie is seated in a chair near to the fireplace; she's in a different dress now, a blood red gown with black chasing, and a matching blindfold tied about her head with a single long end that drapes down her shoulder. She has a book in hand, and is quietly concentrating on running her fingertips over the pages, back and forth, over and over.
Kalindi is wearing one of the dresses from her closet, favoring something in black and gold colours. She, as usual, has one of the glasses of mango lassi from her room: if it's never going to run out, she isn't particularly worried about preserving it. "Ah, hello," says Kalindi, upon finding Sophie near the fire, "Where did you get your book? It is a special book with bumps, yes?"
It's no wonder that the captives keep gathering in the large central sitting room. There's really nowhere else to go. Bare feet slapping softly on cold tiled floors, Jill has abandoned the dreaded high heels for more practical, if less fashionable options. The dress is different, floor length and made of somewhat plainer almond colored linen. It's embroidered in black and white with delicate traceries suggestive of vines with diaphanous lace collar and cuffs. "Hey, umm. Anybody speak… um… whatever language *this* is?" she queries, waving what looks like a folded newspaper. In Romanian. Dated 1893.
Dashenka walks out of her room, dressed in one of the elaborate and elegant dresses that she found in her closet. Since it's either wearing one of these or going naked, Dashenka had decided on the former. She's wearing a blue silk gown, that bares her shoulders, cinches in her waist and makes certain assets, well, more assetable. The end of the short sleeves have this poofy white lace attached to them that, while giving the dress an accent of color, they do seem to do no good in anything other than getting in the way. All in all, the dress seems to make her look elegant and graceful despite having the figure of a professional wrestler. "Ah!" she says when she spies that the other girls are beginning to convene in the common room. She walks down the hallway, managing the heels in such a way that belies she's walked in them before. "It is good to be seeing everybody again," she says. "There was this strange stitched up person who brought me Chinese food. Did he visit you, too?" She looks at the waving newspaper and she looks at the waving newspaper and shrugs, "Give it to me. I might."
Sophie's fingers continue to glide over the page, even while Kalindi is talking to her and Jill and Dashenka are approaching. "Braille," she murmurs. "It is called Braille; and si, it is one of those books, that I can read with my fingertips." She flips the page, and there she slides a ribbon into place as a bookmark. "The Phantom of the Opera… I have never read it, but it is a good book. There were several books like this in my room when I woke up. They were beside my bed; I almost fell over them." She pauses, and taps her fingers over the cover after closing it. "Did anybody else find things they had… lamented not having? …For myself, I find it disturbing. It means that our every word is being listened to… or perhaps our thoughts."
"Yes, yes, very much perhaps everything is being listened to. It will make it very hard to make plans. Or maybe the idea is to make us want to be staying forever. But I would like my computer and I do not think that I will be having it," says Kalindi, shrugging lightly at what Sophie has to say. She then glances towards Jill and Dashenka and shakes her head, "I do not know the language. I am not even very good at English."
Handing over the newspaper, Jill taps at the top corner. "October, 1893, but that's about all I can get out of it. There's a couple of people's names in English, but nobody I recognize." Letting her arms fall, she moves over to lean on the back of Sophie's chair again and scratch her cheek sheepishly. "Well, uh, now you come to mention it… I might've said something about McDonald's and Starbucks. Then… poof. Right there on the serving tray for the next meal." She gets a disappointed look and shakes her head at Kalindi. "I asked for a TV or a radio, but Igor said there's no electricity. But when I asked for a newspaper, well…" A glance at the incomprehensible thing in Dashenka's hands.
"I am wishing for GTO," answers Dashenka as she looks over the newspaper. "But I am not thinking that it would fit in room." She flips over the newspaper, and then opens it, flipping through the pages before closing it with a shake of her head. "It is Romanian." she concludes. "Have seen it before, but I do not know how to read. Am terrible with languages. Still having problems writing English even after living in America for over a year."
"If I could still see, I would help you learn to write English," Sophie murmurs. She tilts her head up as she feels the pressure of Jill leaning on the back of her seat, and sighs softly. "I? I want to go home," she declares with sudden petulance. "But I do not expect that is going to— wait, did you say 1893? As in, over a century earlier than… Please, I would like for someone to tell me we have not been snatched backwards in time. All of our friends could be looking for us all they want, they won't find us if we have been taken to a time before they were born." The blind girl sighs heavily, and scratches at the back of her head. "Also, Kalindi had the most disturbing thought last night. It might be that this 'Master' who has brought us here wants a strong bloodline. In which case that would seem to mean he intends to have children with all of us." Judging by the way Sophie's face takes on a decidedly unhealthy color as she says this, it may be easy to work out just what she thinks of this particular plan.
"I thought about that, but it was a passing thought," says Kalindi, tilting her head lightly, "If I am to be honest to you, I do not think that I would have been chosen if his plan was for a strong bloodline. I am not a mutant, and my sorcery it is, ehhh, very middling. I will be requesting an audience with our host." She shrugs lightly and then says, looking towards Dashenka, "You say that this is Romanian letters? Romania, that is far from our homes."
"As far as we can tell, we're *not* in the past," Jill reassures Sophie quietly, waving a hand as if to shoo the idea of time-travelling kidnappers away. "There are books in here that are a lot newer, like from the 50's and 60's. An' they didn't have Big Macs in the nineteenth century, either." She turns back to the conversation at large, curiosity piqued. "Romania? … *Seriously*?"
Dashenka shakes her head, dismissing the bloodline idea. "I am… how do you say… poor white Russian trash. I do not think this Master is wanting me for that." She places the newspaper on one of the end tables and swishes herself into a chair. She looks doubtful, however. "Do they have McDonalds in Romania?" she asks. "Just because stitched man gives us hundred year old Romanian newspaper, it is not meaning that we are in Romania." She waves a hand about this room. "This castle is magic. Could be anywhere."
"Or anywhen," Sophie asserts. "Look. If anyone could snatch us from New York in 2011 and bring us to Romania in 1893, then he would certainly have little trouble doing the same with a few hamburgers and some coffee. And the newspaper? It is from 1893, and I can hear you handling it; the paper sounds fresh and crisp, which it would not be were it nearly a hundred and twenty years old. So either it is a complete fabrication, or we are in the modern day and he brought that from the past, or we are in the past and he brought things from the future for us. …Either one of which doesn't bode well for us, I think."
"Or this person knows a restoration spell," suggests Kalindi, shrugging lightly, "This person knows a replenishment spell after all. I think we are very likely to be in the same time. Time magic, it is very very powerful. It is not something that will be used to just bring burgers." She shakes her head and then nods at Dashenka, "And yes, this castle could be anywhere. But if it is in Romania? That would not surprise me, with these monsters that we have seen."
"We'll keep trying, then. We'll figure this out. Except…" Looking down at Sophie, the blue-turned-blonde girl clicks her tongue and frowns. "I'm getting a little sick of magic," Jill gripes, resting her chin on her folded arms with a sour expression. Her eyes flick to briefly Kalindi then away to the fireplace. "It explains everything without explaining anything."
Dashenka looks up at the admittedly extremely extravagant ceiling in thought. "Is there dragons in Romania?" she asks. She shrugs, not able to answer her own question. "This is first time for magic for me," she says. "Did not believe in it until seeing ever-filling bottle of Vodka." She looks around at the opulent setting they're stuck in and concludes, "Could be worse."
Sophie snaps her fingers, and lifts her currently collapsed cane to point in Dashenka's direction. "Don't," she murmurs. "Don't start thinking like that. This may be a gilded cage but it is still a cage." She sits up straighter as she draws in a deep breath. "That's how it starts, isn't it? First, it isn't so bad. Then, it's alright. Then, it's good. …And before you know it, you don't want to leave. But you are still a prisoner, si? It is just, that instead of the cage being in the walls, it is in your mind, and then you are truly lost."
Kalindi shakes her head and says, "She is right, though. It could be worse. It could be squalid and uncomfortable. We are prisoners, but that does not mean we cannot appreciate what is happening inside of our cave. Even the man on their death row should enjoy a last meal, yes? But, it does not mean we should not seek to leave. Nothing good can come of this." She pauses for a moment and then looks towards Jill, "Well, we know something about our sorcerer by the kinds of spells that he can afford to cast. It would be very much the same if he was a powerful mutant, but this is very certainly sorcery. I know sorcery." And then finally to Dashenka, "Ever-filling vodka? That is in your room?"
"It may be a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't wanna live here," Jill mumbles into her forearm dourly. Her head lifts slightly to focus on Kali. "Well I *don't* know sorcery, so it doesn't tell me anything." Realizing her tone is edging toward argumentative, she visibly takes a moment to collect herself before going on. "I'm doing my best to cope here but I'm gettin' stir-crazy. I wanna see the sun, or go outside. There's just nothing to *do* here and it's starting to get to me… y'know?"
There's a small growl that emanates from deep within the large Russian girl. "Have been prisoner for two years. First in Russia as Putin's … how do you say? Test subject. Guinea pig! I still have month hole in memory. Then in New York as 'guest' of SHIELD." If she still had any fur it would be bristling. "Here, I can be princess. So, da. Not so bad." She huffs, settling back in her chair, when Kalindi's question catches her by surprise. "Da. Good vodka. And chocolates. 'Master' wants me drunk and fat."
Sophie sighs softly, as a blush creeps over her features. "Dashenka, I am sorry," she murmurs. "I… I am frankly still quite terrified, and I don't know how to cope with it. At least all of you can see the room and might see if someone is sneaking up on you with a big knife or something." She pinches the bridge of her nose through her blindfold, and leans back in her chair. "If I cannot go home, and I cannot have my cellphone, or my crucifix… could I at least have some red wine and holy wafers, so I may have communion?" She directs her voice upwards, towards the ceiling. "And I am sure we would all enjoy some music."
Kalindi nods slowly at what Dashenka says and remarks, a joking tone, "I maybe should be visiting your room more." She sips from her glass of mango lassi and then nods at Jill, "No, you are very right, it does not tell you anything. But there are times where you will be the one who knows things and times where you will not be… I am answering questions you have, eh, to the best of how I know, but I do not know the sorcerer here."
"There's nobody with knives. Nobody else at all, aside from Igor." Jill's hand drifts from the back of the chair to stroke gently the top of Sophie's head. "Just a very empty, very lonely looking place." She sighs. "Off-hand? I can't think of anything I know that somebody else here wouldn't. Certainly not anything that helps."
Dashenka looks down when Sophie apologizes. "Is okay," she says. "I am not saying I want to stay here. I have…" she trails off. "There is…" she trails off again. "I am meaning there is person I need to see again. In New York." Another pause and she adds, "And my car." She looks over at Jill and looks thoughtful. "Maybe that is why we are here. This 'Master' is lonely, and never learned how to talk to girls." She looks around and suddenly stands up. "I am thinking I will have some of that Vodka. And Chocolate. Will be seeing you." With that she slips off into her room.
Sophie nods slowly, and her blush slowly fades, once she has Dashenka's forgiveness. "Si, perhaps," she replies tacitly. "See you… in whatever passes for morning, here." The blind girl looks up, and tilts her head sideways to gaze in Jill's general direction. "Do either of you know how to lead a blind person? It might be important, should we find an opportunity to escape, si?"
Kalindi tilts her head slightly at Jill and she says, "You do not think so? Well, maybe, maybe not. In many places, I do not know much. I know magic. It is what I know. And fighting. But other than these things?" Kalindi shrugs. And then towards Sophie, Kalindi says, "I do not know how to do it properly. Is it a thing that a person needs to know much for doing?"
Jill spreads her hands helplessly and offers up what she might know that no-one else would. "I know how to use my mutation? Not really useful information anymore." At Sophie's question, she glances between Kali and the blind girl, apparently echoing the sentiment. "I, uh… well, no, not really. I thought I was doing okay just holding your hand or something? Didn't know there was a right way to do it."
Sophie shakes her head slowly. "No, it is not difficult," she replies. "I use the cane with my right hand, si? So you should allow me to hold on to your right arm with my left hand, just above the elbow. And then you simply… walk." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "it is important only to make sure you do not walk me into a wall or a post or some-such. Also, if you are going to do anything like speed up suddenly, you must warn me first. But that is all there is to it. It is not complicated, just… be mindful of what is in front of me, si? Remember that I don't know what is coming."
"Well," says Kalindi, "I would not walk someone into a wall if they cannot see for no good reason. I am not needlessly cruel…" She takes a drink and then adds, "I think we will escape this, especially if I am able to get an audience with this so-called Master. But we will all have an audience sooner or later I think."
Jill nods her agreement and touches Sophie's shoulder. "We'll look out for you, Soph," she promises. "Just… ah… be glad you can't actually see Igor. Got a face like roadkill." She moves slowly to the end table to pick up the undecipherable newspaper once more. "So, what are we supposed to do until then?" The newspaper waves accusingly in the direction of the absent Dashenka. "Get drunk and eat chocolate?" Jill's arms fold and she huffs a breath out through her nose. "Shit. Should've asked for Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit instead of a stupid newspaper."
Sophie smiles softly, just for a moment. "I am sure you would not do it on purpose," she replies, gently. "But it would not be the first time I have been marched into a wall by accident, si?" She shakes her head slowly. "I would simply prefer that it not happen while we are escaping, it would slow us down greatly. …And, I for one will not be getting drunk, but… I may try the vodka. I have never had it."
Kalindi tilts her head back and forth a few times and then nods, "I do not think that I will be getting drunk either, but I would not mind to be having some drink." The young woman glances towards Jill and then shrugs lightly, "We will do what young women have done in the past, before these things. We will talk, we will socialize, we will bond. What else is there to do? I do not think that should be a problem."
Jill fumes silently, rolling the newspaper in her hands into a tight cylinder. "That's it?" she asks dryly, obviously nonplussed. "We just play like it's some big sleepover party until this fancy-pants Master decides to show up and tell us what the hell's going on?" Suddenly she's on the downswing again. Slowly, the paper uncurls like a tensed spring, and so does Jill. She deflates, shoulders lowering, a look between exhaustion and resignation on her face. "…Sorry."
Sophie shrugs her shoulders lightly, after Jill's outburst. "For the moment… si," she affirms. "That… is what we shall do, I suppose? Unless Rashmi has any better ideas, since none of us seem to… and she has dealt with this sort of thing before. I am just doing everything I can not to burst into tears." The blind girl reaches up to pat the air over the back of her chair, to see if she can find Jill's hand. "Do not be sorry," she murmurs. "You are coping the best you can, as we all are. If getting angry helps you… then, by all means, be angry."
Kalindi's eyebrows furrow and she says to Jill, "We socialize. Come to understand one another. Whether we do or do not like one another, we will be compatriots. It is best I leave many things unsaid, since we are being listened. But you must understand… this is not a sleepover party. We may enjoy our luxuries, but I expect that we all have the same goals." She looks towards Sophie and then Jill and then says, "For now, my idea is to request an audience. And if that fails? I will have another idea. And then another. I do not intend to be passive, and I think that Rashmi has thoughts too."
"Still…" mumbles Jill guiltily, her hand reaching out to take hold of Sophie's and give it a gentle squeeze. The girl obviously wants to argue the point further, but is either unwilling or unable. She starts to move away, her fingers slipping out of the blind girl's hand. "I just-" Jill starts to say but does not finish the thought, merely shaking her head. "I'm… tired," she amends, though from the pause it sounds as if 'tired' was not the first word she would have used. "Maybe I'll feel better after a bath and some sleep." Tossing the curled newspaper into the seat of an empty chair, she pads softly to the bathroom, brooking no arguments as she politely but deliberately shuts the door behind her.
Sophie squeezes Jill's hand, and manages a weak smile. "Si, perhaps you will feel better," she agrees, before falling silent as the former blue girl makes her retreat. Then, she tilts her head back forwards, and brushes her fingertips through her hair. "Kalindi," she murmurs. "I… I wish I was having great ideas about what to do. But I don't even know the full layout of this room, or even my own. I am just… sitting here, waiting for something to happen." She sniffs softly, and a trickle of moisture appears below her blindfold and trickles down her cheek. "All I can do is dwell on how afraid I am. Without my powers I… I don't seem to be much help at all."
"You might be sightless, but you still have your mind about you. Just because you do not see the layout of the room does not mean that you are without value," says Kalindi, shaking her head lightly, "Your mind is more valuable than anything, your eyes, ears, nose, or hands, or your mutant abilities. I would not count that lightly." She approaches Sophie to put a hand on her shoulder for a moment, "If you do not think you are much help now, that is fine. Right now, we do not even know what we are doing. We are just trying to figure that out. But if anything comes to your mind, well, you may say it. Either it will help or it will not, and if it does not, eh, I do not think anyone will be caring."
Sophie reaches up to her shoulder to rest her fingers atop Kalindi's hand, and squeezes lightly before wiping the tear off her cheek. "Si, I will try to remember," she whispers. "If I think of anything, I will be sure to say so. …Though, I do wonder about the balcony. I have not been out to it myself, I am… afraid of falling over the edge. But I am not sure the master of this place would go to all the trouble of bringing us here, just to risk any of us deciding to escape his clutches by plunging to our death?" Sophie snaps her cane out to full length, and rises out of her seat. She's wobbly on her heels for a moment, but appears to be getting the hang of walking on that sort of shoes relatively quickly. "Would you mind helping me back to my room? I… have forgotten which way it is. I am all turned around."
"It is an interesting thought," says Kalindi, tilting her head lightly, "And one that I will maybe have to think about… but I will wait until I hear about my audience." The young woman takes Sophie's arm and says, "I am just hoping that I will be home before my girlfriend becomes worried about me too much. I think she will be worried already."
"You have a girlfriend?" Sophie latches on to Kalindi's arm, and sweeps her cane around her feet before positioning it in front of her. "I do not think I have met a girl who has a girlfriend before, if you will pardon my fascination? What is she like?" She smiles softly, and bobs her head. "I have a boyfriend. He is very strong, and very protective. I… am quite worried about him, also. I think he will be very worried, and frustrated that he can't do anything. I wish I could have given Nicholas and Robin a message to give to him before I was taken."
"Ah, yes, I have a girlfriend. I have been told that this is not a usual thing, but it makes me happy. She is nice, and fuzzy and a little bit stubborn, she is very, eh, lively, positive, strong. She is a good woman," decides Kalindi, shrugging lightly, "She will be looking, and your boyfriend will be looking… There are many many people who will look for us."
Sophie bobs her head once. "Si, many," she agrees. "What is your girlfriend's name? I will pray for you, and for her. And for all of us." She pauses, tapping her cane in front of her as she walks. "I still think we have been taken back in time," she murmurs. "I know you say time travel magic is a very complex thing to waste on producing hamburgers and American coffee. But… but I still think it makes sense, to me. I suppose we shall see. And… I would like to accompany you to your audience, if I may? Assuming you get your wish."
"Hmm, maybe, if you are awake and about, it depends on the urgency that I am brought," says Kalindi, tilting her head back and forth lightly, "Tabitha's name is Tabitha. As for being taken back in time, hmmm, maybe. But then we have to think what purpose we have been brought back in time for. I think we are in a very ancient place. I think that a place this ancient belongs to an ancient sorcerer, powerful with age and knowledge…"
"Then in that case, time travel magic might well be old hat for him… much like I am used to finding my way with a cane instead of with eyes." Sophie comes to a halt as her cane bumps her door, and she releases her hold on Kalindi's arm. "Tabitha is a beautiful name, as is Kalindi." She shrugs her shoulders lightly, as she turns to open the door. "I intend to sleep lightly… and not bother undressing. If you receive your audience, I will be easy to wake, unless the urgency is truly dire." She pauses, and tilts her head to face the other girl once more. "Thank you for your kindnesses to me, Kalindi. It means a great deal."
"Time travel magic is not even old hat for our Sorcerer Supreme, from what I know… I think if such a thing is happening, then this man, he has an artifact crafted by someone else…" says Kalindi, considering that for a moment, "But if he does have time travel magics? Then I fear for us all." She then nods at Sophie once and adds, "And we are compatriots now, it is important that we treat one another well. You seem like a nice person, and I think it will be best for you to be home."
Sophie nods her head slowly. "I will defer to your knowledge," she murmurs, "As… I know precious little of magic. And for now, I think I must sleep, so I may be alert later on when I need to be. …I will talk to you again when we both are awake, si?" She smiles, and turns to disappear into her room, though she leaves the door open while she sleeps.
