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Civilian
HUMAN
22 years old
SCIENTIST
played by REDOX
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And they all said I was mislead But now the odds all stand beneath me
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Post by ALYA KARIMI on Jan 11, 2015 4:33:26 GMT
alya was picnicking at her camp when the fire nation attacked. a nation of fire salamanders, that is. one of the beastly things make off with her bread loaf. another gets his snout stuffed up a jar of marmalade. one of the smaller females sneezes and ends up setting fire to her tent. "what the hell-" which fairy of fortune did she piss off today? alya's not sure, but she's not about to wait for her camp to go up in smoke. she puts out the fire before darting off to chase a lizard that had made off with her water canteen - she would have to travel another kilometer or so to reach the nearest spring. alya leaves the camp and all her belongings unattended for about five minutes, starting... now.ZAYNAB IQBAL
heritage.
made by redox of gs
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Monster
DJINNI
327 years old
WANDERER
played by PISCES
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COLOR YOUR CARTOGRAPHY IN YOUR DREAMS OF ME; MAPS WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE IN ME
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Post by ZAYNAB IQBAL on Jan 17, 2015 4:08:03 GMT
a tawny desert cat shiftily peeks out from the neighboring shrubbery and slinks into the deserted camp, whiskers twitching. it weaves through the mess of camping equipment laying in the sand, nudges at its reflection in the shine of an overturned metal pot, and disappears under the tent flap. bright eyes jump around the temporary adobe curiously. the feline explores the space and pokes its head into packed bags to find a trove of curiosities zaynab’s never seen before. then one paw steps on an dog-eared notebook, pages invitingly splayed open. zaynab pauses in interest. he’ll need fingers and opposable thumbs—the better to turn the pages with. when the absent camper returns, zaynab will have changed forms and comfortably settled in, a blue-haired youth sitting cross-legged on the sleeping bag, notebook in lap. he looks up. “hello,” the djinni greets, as nonchalantly as if he were meant to be there all along.
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Civilian
HUMAN
22 years old
SCIENTIST
played by REDOX
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And they all said I was mislead But now the odds all stand beneath me
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Post by ALYA KARIMI on Jan 19, 2015 1:43:30 GMT
alya brushes off some of the soot from her adventurer's jacket and marches right into her camp. by then, she's already put out the small fires in her clothes. she should probably have brought the one lined with drakeskin, but those were expensive and really hot to be wearing in this kind of place. she kicks a rock and it lands straight into her fire pit. alya looks up and spots a teenager with her belongings. all she has to say is, "please don't tell me that you breathe fire too..." if he starts sneezing sparks, she'll just have to push his face in another direction. for the moment, she walks over to her water canteen and pours half the contents over her head. ZAYNAB IQBAL
heritage.
made by redox of gs
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Monster
DJINNI
327 years old
WANDERER
played by PISCES
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COLOR YOUR CARTOGRAPHY IN YOUR DREAMS OF ME; MAPS WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE IN ME
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Post by ZAYNAB IQBAL on Jan 20, 2015 23:51:50 GMT
(amused look and quiet snicker.) zaynab makes a noncommittal sound and holds up the bound leather notebook. “what are these drawings?”
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Civilian
HUMAN
22 years old
SCIENTIST
played by REDOX
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And they all said I was mislead But now the odds all stand beneath me
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Post by ALYA KARIMI on Jan 21, 2015 5:12:59 GMT
the morning has made her out to be rather grumpy."bau-era glyphs that will steal your soul if you look into them for too long."then she realizes that's a really frightening answer for a teenager. especially if he wasn't actually experienced with magic in any way. alya looks slightly more apologetic when she amends her answer."that one, i don't know. that's why i'm bringing it to a colleague who does. he's kind of a weirdo recluse though. i'm hoping that i can find him out here before a sand drake eats him." she had attained his friendship years ago, back when the rivalry between irkalla and shara was mere ideological disagreement. now, meeting in the imperial library would have been dangerous. "so what's a kid doing all the way out here?" she puts her hands on her hips and looks down at him curiously. ZAYNAB IQBAL
heritage.
made by redox of gs
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Monster
DJINNI
327 years old
WANDERER
played by PISCES
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COLOR YOUR CARTOGRAPHY IN YOUR DREAMS OF ME; MAPS WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE IN ME
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Post by ZAYNAB IQBAL on Jan 26, 2015 2:13:42 GMT
he glances back down at the curling lines and intricate hatches despite her warning—they’re not markings he recognizes, but zaynab senses nothing ominous in them, only a few tendrils of ancient magic that tickle at his nose. he sneezes. "you almost scared me, miss.” gracefully, he picks himself off the cot and rises to his feet, bare and dust-covered. “i’m not as young as i look, either.” it’s the truth he carefully doles out in portions, but it’s mostly unconvincing given his youthful physique, thin wrists and full cheeks. “i’m traveling, like you. you don't mind my dropping in?” the camper’s dripping bangs and slightly charred clothing make it difficult to take her seriously. his expression is faintly mirthful. his hands find the bony juts of his hips to mirror the woman. “a recluse, huh? i’ve seen a few.”
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Civilian
HUMAN
22 years old
SCIENTIST
played by REDOX
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And they all said I was mislead But now the odds all stand beneath me
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Post by ALYA KARIMI on Jan 30, 2015 3:26:03 GMT
she's not inexperienced enough to be surprised anymore, not even out here. alya laughs.
"then maybe you should have taken up the guise of a big buff man. then it would be more believable if you wanted to pass for an innocent traveller." scrawny kids didn't last long out here. even alya was over a hundred pounds of toned muscle.
"again, as long as you don't breathe fire, i'm good." especially out in the desert. the goddess has a really sick sense of humor. "have you seen a redheaded man with glasses so loose they look like they're about to fall off of his face?"
it's not enough to just find him. she has to make sure that something comes out of her hastily-done scribbles. or her home is doomed. alya starts to refill her pack with water, snacks, sun lotion, and other goods that she might need on her next mini excursion. "wanna come with?"
ZAYNAB IQBAL
heritage.
made by redox of gs
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Monster
DJINNI
327 years old
WANDERER
played by PISCES
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COLOR YOUR CARTOGRAPHY IN YOUR DREAMS OF ME; MAPS WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE IN ME
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Post by ZAYNAB IQBAL on Feb 6, 2015 5:08:32 GMT
the woman’s perceptive, and humans who can see past his guise’s apparent age prove dangerous—but zaynab doesn’t believe this one is, so he stays in place and considers aiding her on her quest. “okay,” he replies simply, closes the notebook and tucks it under his arm instead of returning it. it’s leverage, security, a paper-and-ink hostage to hold close. zaynab is not a child, who trusts fully and foolishly. he steps closer to peer into her pack. “i might’ve seen him before, this red-headed man. if i remember, he was muttering. he seemed a little mad.”
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Civilian
HUMAN
22 years old
SCIENTIST
played by REDOX
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And they all said I was mislead But now the odds all stand beneath me
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Post by ALYA KARIMI on Feb 7, 2015 8:46:07 GMT
alya notices, but she doesn't say anything about the journal. she has no reason to distrust a stranger who has no cause to do her harm.
she laughs rambunctiously the way that she would for any joke at the expense of an academic from zaquar. "if he's still working on that revision on magical conservation law, then i bet he is. c'mon, kid. we better hurry before the sun goes down, yeah? lead the way!"
* * * they eventually reach a small cavern formed by years and years of sediment buildup and magical pressure. alya pauses and takes a sniff and a soil sample. magical energy pulses here -- possibly the site of a energy core. sometimes, those were often the only thing holding an otherwise physically impossible structure together. before heading in, she unpacks a small instrument and measures the pressure.
"all clear!" is all that she says before she skips into the cavern in search of their mystery man.
ZAYNAB IQBAL
heritage.
made by redox of gs
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Monster
DJINNI
327 years old
WANDERER
played by PISCES
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COLOR YOUR CARTOGRAPHY IN YOUR DREAMS OF ME; MAPS WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE IN ME
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Post by ZAYNAB IQBAL on Feb 8, 2015 3:18:45 GMT
the cavern’s familiar to him, an itinerant’s home. he’s taken shelter in its depths before, soaked in the primordial magic that permeates its walls, potent and palpable even to nonmagical beings. the djinni fancies he was born in one of these caverns, called out of the quiet darkness of the womb. zaynab attentively watches the woman take her measurements, examining the strange instrument she uses with unabashed fascination. she skips ahead before he can ask more about it, so the djinni follows her into the cavern’s mouth. the air is warm and heavy here, moves sluggishly like the exhalations of some slumbering beast. the walls are slick with moss and growth; their footfalls echo and splash in resting pools of water. his eyes adjust to the gloom, but for a human the lack of light is debilitating. helpfully, zaynab kindles a flame in his palm and holds it out to light their way. they trek onward.
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Civilian
HUMAN
22 years old
SCIENTIST
played by REDOX
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And they all said I was mislead But now the odds all stand beneath me
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Post by ALYA KARIMI on Feb 11, 2015 11:02:50 GMT
the mages had liked to think their magic mysterious, as impenetrable as the void. with a few metal instruments, alya could tell them more precisely about their magic than they could themselves. just because it seemed natural didn't mean that it could't be broken up into bits and pieces and examined with some background in magnetism and conservation.
which is why this loon is hiding out in this particular cave, no doubt. alya treks forward.
[ you ... have come ]
the walls of the cavern start to glow a faint green before the surroundings start to darken, blacker and blacker before alya realizes--
"oh, shit!!" she looked backwards.
it wasn't anything supernatural that was darkening the walls - it was the fact that the already-tiny entranceway was getting smaller and smaller on its own. she runs, but not fast enough. a boulder presses against where an entrance had been. alya pushes hard, but the stone does not budge. while she pushes, she can hear a faint, mischievious laughter with a sound like bells.
"ugh, fuck this." she walks back to where zaynab stands with his light. it's all that's preventing her from getting totally lost at this point. "it's fine. i guess our goal hasn't changed any."
if there's a chance that she's been set up, well. her companion is still here, isn't he?
the cavern seems to go directly underground, like the belly of a beast. like a belly, alya can only hope that they can leave through a second end. her boots start to slosh against the slightly muddy ground. oh god, this metaphor is getting a little too realistic.
how spooky. even alya is slightly less talkative than usual.
unfortunately for the both of them, alya doesn't frighten easily. they eventually come to find an underground lake, deep below the upper surface. she stoops to inspect the water. nothing particularly suspicious here. except alya likes to get surprises out of the way. she takes a stone from the ground and chucks it into the water.
she didn't anticipate what happened next.
ZAYNAB IQBAL
heritage.
made by redox of gs
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Monster
DJINNI
327 years old
WANDERER
played by PISCES
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COLOR YOUR CARTOGRAPHY IN YOUR DREAMS OF ME; MAPS WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE WILL NOT LIE IN ME
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Post by ZAYNAB IQBAL on Feb 22, 2015 17:11:50 GMT
he’s almost carelessly cheerier than their current situation calls for. where alya sprints to the disappearing entrance, the djinni doesn’t budge an inch, stance relaxed even as the boulder finally eclipses all outside light with an ominous boom. his only response when the human trudges back, defeated, is an unreadable look paired with an equally equivocal comment: “something else’s here. whatever it is, it wants to meet us.”and the djinni, it. he isn’t anxious—the cavern’s natural magic swaddles and soothes him, the mysterious presence’s vibrates at the same frequency. there’s no dissonance, only a power that draws him forward, inward. the underground lake is more than what it seems. this is what zaynab senses and parts his mouth to warn, but the stone’s already left alya’s hand, is already careening into the lake. it falls in without a sound, without a splash. the water ripples as it should and then sings as it shouldn’t—a high, keening noise that loudens to a thunderous screech. in the span of the next second, two liquid tentacles break out from the lake’s surface, each encircle an ankle, and throw the two explorers into a churning lake. they wash up on an unfamiliar shore, where the walls shine with phosphorescence. the walls provide enough light to see, so zaynab stands up and uses both hands to wring out his water-logged hair, blinking droplets off thick lashes. “we’re closer,” he chirps.
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