+ Your imagination can't hurt you! +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: YOU!
Where: The Mindscape
When: starting November 11th
Rating: may be up to R for character deaths
Summary: Navigate challenges to learn valuable lessons about nonviolence, cooperation, and self-sacrifice! Release your inner animal! Read more about the event here, and on the bulletin board.
The Story:




"If you know yourself, you have nothing to fear."
"Working together is the only way."
"Deaths are a necessary part of life, but not all deaths are necessary."
"The needs of the many outweigh the life of just one."

Comments

[stefanged]

[Pay more... attention....

He rolls up his sleeve, dipping his hand in a little further. This goes way beyond a simple soda spill. He's right up to his elbow and he can't feel the end. As he pulls his hand back up, the droplets stick to his arms.

So much for that theory.]

Okay, well... somehow, I don't think we can get a public service announcement out of this one. [beat] I'm Stefan, by the way.

[finewithhalf]

[Or something whatever.]

I'm Maya. So what, you're not gonna do that adult thing where you start barking off orders and expecting me to follow them?

[Because this guy's at least a senior, and she's not used to being treated kindly by those.]

[stefanged]

Of course not.

[He shoots her a confused look, wringing his arm a little to get the droplets off.]

You've been here longer. If anything, you're in a better position to order me around.

[finewithhalf]

[She straightens somewhat, regarding him skeptically.]

You'd let some kid just up and do that to you? You're one of those types that never grew much of a backbone?

[stefanged]

You say backbone, I say "someone with a ton of Wonderland experience."

[Stefan grins, sitting up a little straighter and leaning on his knees.]

So, Maya... I'm gonna assume that this isn't our real challenge. What do you think we should do?

[finewithhalf]

[A slow smile spreads across her face.]

Yeah? You're really gonna take me seriously?

[If she sounds cautious, it's probably because this is obviously a trick and she's still waiting for the other shoe to drop.]

[stefanged]

Uh-huh. Two heads are better than one, and from where I'm sitting - I can't figure out what this whole thing means.

[He's completely serious. He may not agree with whatever she'll say next, but he sure doesn't know what to make of this place.]

[finewithhalf]

'Kay. Say I tell you to drink some of that stuff. You gonna do it?

[There's a little voice in the back of her head that sounds a lot like Riley as it tells her this is a bad idea. She ignores this voice.]

[stefanged]

Not yet. [He realizes it sounds odd, so he'll hold out his hand and let the soda droplets fall off his fingers.] See how the spill goes way deeper than my forearm?

If this were a normal spill, we would've been able to feel the end, but we aren't. So... I don't know if this is actually soda.

[finewithhalf]

It could be whatever. [More shrugging. It's not like any of this is going to matter in a few days.]

Soda, or root beer, or chocolate or some less-gross beer stuff. It's Wonderland. You got your network thingy on you? Someone's probably already sending messages about what we're supposed to do.

[And then they can proceed to not do those things.]

[stefanged]

[Using his other hand, he checks his pockets and nada. He doesn't even have his trusty notebook with him.]

Nope. I must've left it in my room with my other stuff.

[He sure could use a napkin right now, though, so he takes a step back and tries to piece together what he knows: he's with someone he barely knows, the floor is soda), and the floor is endlessly deep where there's soda. Doesn't look like he can wade over to the other side.]

I'm gonna guess that you don't, either?

[finewithhalf]

Nope, but that's not really a surprise.

[She dips her finger a bit deeper and then absently draws a pattern along the "shoreline".]

If the point is to bore us to death, it they need to make it so we have nothing to do at all.

[stefanged]

Or they need to make it a little more obvious.

[He pauses, watching her patterns and noticing how the soda doesn't quite mesh with the shoreline.

So he takes his hand again, leaning over a little and feeling the edge of that "shoreline," right underneath the surface.

There are ridges. Hard ridges, as if he's brushing against rock.]

Huh. [Headtilt.] What if this isn't soda, and we're looking at something else entirely?