fh_adventures | Outside the Labyrinth

Outside the Labyrinth

It seemed the time for research and planning was through. In Jareth's address to the island, he gave them twenty-four hours to traverse a Labyrinth that seemed to change on a whim in order to take back the friends that he had stolen.

Team Distraction was entering first. Anyone with as much power as this Jareth seemed to would probably have some nasty surprises in store. They'd go in ahead of the second group to spring as many traps as they could while the other team ghosted in and headed directly to the castle.

Well, that was the plan, anyway. Let's see how long things went as smoothly as our would-be heroes would like.

[For the members of Team Distraction, please! If you want to RP out how the teams were formed and decided, there is a place to do so here! ~~Wait for OCD or the biting fairies will get you~~ OCD ready to go!]

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Rinoa was here. Here, and determined. She was a Sorceress. It didn't matter if she couldn't access her powers. She was still a Sorceress, and that meant something. Namely, that no bastard in tight pants was going to kidnap her Knight.

She had, however, volunteered to be the distraction team. Because getting too close to that guy again was just asking for trouble.

She checked her supplies again and looked around at the rest of the group.

(I know she tagged into the preplay -- this is here for anyone who wants to chatter before we go in.)

'Dite had realized quite a while ago that her powers were wonky. That didn't mean she still didn't try to zap in a chair to sit on before sighing and dropping down on a large stone.

"Stupid goblins, stupid Jareth-guy, stupid tight pants. They probably cut off the flow of blood to his brain, the -- oh." She glanced at the young woman beside her. "Sorry." 'Dite squinted. The woman actually looked more like a teenager. Karla's age, maybe. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Rinoa said, not sure if she believed it, but her voice at least sounded steady. "And he's probably compensating. Anyone needing to show off that much probably stuffs."

Seifer had never felt the need to -- okay, he'd felt the need to brag, but not walk around in pants that looked like shrink-wrap.

"We're getting them back. Right?"

"Darn right we are!" She thumped her sword on the ground. "No one takes my friends without my permission." 'Dite thought about that, then waved it away. "You know what I mean." She hoped.

"Hi. I'm 'Dite. And I'll bet you're right, he stuffs." She grinned evilly, then muttered. "But I still have bigger ones at my shop." And hoped Rinoa didn't hear that last line.

"Rinoa Heartilly," she said, offering a hand. "I wish we were meeting under better circumstances."

There were all sorts of better places to meet people. And better times, when Rinoa wasn't wishing she could kill things with her mind.

Or, worse, worrying that she could.

"I know what you mean," she said. "They took my Knight. They're going to be very sorry they did."

She would have come for him anyway, but saying it like that made it sound more intimidating. She hoped.

"A Knight?" 'Dite only knew one kind of person that had knights. "Are you a princess?"

It made sense. Karla was a queen, although not royal. Which still tripped her up once in a while, but hey. "They took my friend, Karla. She works at the store for me. And I totally agree about the sorry part. That they will be, I mean."

"A Sorceress," Rinoa said, with the same slight hesitation she always had. Except no one here knew what that meant, and so no one here feared that. It was silly to think they would. "Karla's a friend, as well. We'll get her, too. I promise."

She didn't know how, yet. That didn't stop her from promising.

"A sorceress!" Well, 'Dite didn't know what that meant in Rinoa's world, but she knew what it was here. She also sensed Rinoa's hesitation there. "Are you a good sorceress or a bad sorceress?"

Then she snickered. "This is good. The sorceress and the goddess have to team up to save the witch. Oh, Karla will never live that down!" 'Dite would never let her.

Something about the phrasing made Rinoa laugh.

"A good one," she said. "At least, that's what I'm trying to be. It's still a little overwhelming."

Professor Skywalker's shields had, at least, let her get some sleep. She owed him, for that.

"You're a goddess?" she asked, intrigued. "That's so cool."

'Dite didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Finally, someone on the island thought being a goddess was cool. But this had to happen to finally meet that someone.

She chuckled a little and shook her head. "Except when something freaky like this happens and suddenly I can't do anything." Goblins, 1; love spells, 0. "But mostly, it's pretty cool. So," 'Dite turned a little more to face Rinoa. "Why does a sorceress have a Knight? What's that all about?"

"It's ... complicated," Rinoa said, wary of how much to divulge. Except ... well. They were about to storm a castle together. That made for a bonding experience, didn't it?

"He's supposed to help me, with ... not being overwhelmed by it," she said. "So I don't go crazy and get lost and not find my way out again."

She probably should have stuck with 'bodyguard,' her usual lie.

"That's . . . actually a good thing." She nodded. "Having someone to do that, I mean."

'Dite knew a little about going crazy. She'd been there. A couple of times. "Am I right that this is a little new for you? Being a sorceress, I mean?"

"Do you ... have someone like that?" Rinoa asked, unable to hide how relieved she sounded. So, 'Dite got it. And wasn't scared off or anything. It was reassuring.

As for the other question, she nodded. "A few months," she said. "Just before I got here. Professor Skywalker was nice enough to give me shields, for the week."

Which had seriously saved her sanity.

Edited 2010-12-10 23:53 (UTC)

She had to think about that.

"I . . . . kind of have that? But . . . it's more than one person. I mean -- there's Max and Dinah, Karla of course, and Raven, and Lacey at the diner, and Sophie at the gallery . . . Dani . . ." She missed Dani. "In their own way, they all keep me sane."

'Dite nodded. "I know the value of shields. When I went to Karla's world, my powers went all googly-moogly. Her cousin had to show me how to shield so I wouldn't go crazy there."

"I've never learned," Rinoa said, lifting her shoulders. "I think he might teach me, once we get back."

She liked her wall. It was marble, and it had ivy growing on it. Maybe you weren't supposed to make shields look like something in a garden, but so what? She liked it, anyway.

"So it's friendship," she said. "Ties to people. That's what helps? I try to ... remember the people I care about, when I need to."

The people she loved, and how sad she would be if they got blown up. Especially if it was by her.

"I think so." 'Dite nodded, leaning back a little. "Not just what ties us to people, but how we feel about them, how much we care. And not just individuals, but -- people." She waved at the people around them. "I would bet that at least a few of these people don't actually know anyone who's been taken, or they know them just by sight or by name. But they're here. Because they feel. And that's the big thing." She shrugged. "Keep a connection with the world and you'll keep yourself just that much farther from the edge."

She looked around, nodding again.

"Our humanity," she said. "The bits that make me Rinoa, not just The Sorceress."

She frowned. "Is that rude to say 'humanity'?" she asked. "If you're a goddess -- I don't mean that insultingly. I don't know a better word for the term."

'Dite laughed softly. "No, no, that's fine. Humanity is okay." She paused. "Now, if you had said 'mortal' we might have had some words."

Cause, really.

She tilted her head to Rinoa. "You're pretty smart. It took me a long time to learn that it was 'Dite I needed to keep connected to people. Not just the goddess. Then again, it's kind of hard not to be the goddess when that's all people are looking for." Her smile, though, was soft and sincere. "But here on Fandom, I'm just Aphrodite, shop keeper. And that's . . . really cool."

Sadly, Rinoa wasn't from this world, and so the name itself meant nothing to her.

"Do you have followers?" Rinoa asked. "Are there ... churches and temples for you? That would be amazing. And I guess a little intimidating."

Which might be why being a shopkeeper was such a relief to her.

She smiled, again. "I have a mentor," she said. "An older, wiser Sorceress who can tell me what I'm supposed to do. It was her who told me I needed a Knight."

"I do have followers, though they're very few in number these days." She put her chin on her fist. "A long time ago, though, I had lots of temples. More than any of my sisters." For a very short time. "My whole family was . . . glorious."

She sighed. "But it was a long time ago, and people don't need gods as much today. So, I'm just a shopkeeper." 'Dite winked. "Nothing intimidating there."

Of course, Rinoa hadn't seen the store.

"It sounds like it," Rinoa said. "That must have been interesting growing up. Do goddesses grow up?"

It might be a rude question, but she was curious.

"We had a god, once," Rinoa said, "but it was a long time ago. No one's sure if that's just a myth or not."

Hyne had given out half his body. It certainly sounded like one. That didn't mean it might not have happened.

"Well, some gods and goddesses grow up. I didn't, but my son did, and so did his son." A slight smile crossed her lips at the thought of Cupid and Bliss.

That . . . sounded familiar, that no one was sure if it was a myth. 'Dite nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Once upon a time here, there were lots of gods. But mortals decided they didn't need them anymore." She sighed. "And now there aren't."

She regarded Rinoa. "What does the myth say about this god? Was he good? Did he take care of his people? If he was still around, would you worship him?"

"No, I wouldn't," Rinoa said, shaking her head. "He made people as tools. He went to sleep, and then realized the tools had made more of themselves. He was frightened, by how many there were, so he set the little ones -- the children -- on fire. That was what started the war."

The thought of a god doing such a thing made Aphrodite feel sick. Yes, Ares would sacrifice thousands for a war; yes, she'd accidentally started a war with one love bolt, but -- being a god was a sacred trust, and the one time Zeus had thought about destroying mankind there had been strenuous objections.

"That sounds more like a monster than a god." Her voice was soft. "No one's perfect, even gods make mistakes, but -- to destroy a creation because it grew greater than you made it?" 'Dite shook her head. "That's obscene."

"I hope it's not real," she said, simply. "Or if it's real, then ... it was all tangled up in the telling. Who knows what Hyne's version of the story would be."

She couldn't think of much that could justify killing off children. Even if Hyne hadn't thought of humanity as more than simple tools.

"They say the Sorceress power comes from Hyne," she added. "I hope that's wrong, too."

Outside the Labyrinth

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