Closed All’s Well That Ends Badly (Aislyn, Reysin)

[Phobius]

81st of Winter, 515 AV

"M-maybe...maybe this is a bad idea. I mean, I..."

And then he couldn't bring himself to continue, unable to make sense of the thoughts that were rushing around in his head like a swarm of angry bees, let alone translate them into Common. Clearly frustrated with himself, Phobius fell silent, his face scrunching up and his brows furrowing.

But what could he say? What could anyone say, when they had as strong and as bad of a feeling as he did? And when they'd had it for so long...?

Not that he had thought much of it, at first. When Fall had finally drawn to a close, allowing Winter to move in to take its place, the young Inarta had been hoping that things other than the weather would change, and for the better. But they didn't; life was proving to be no less dull than it'd been a season ago, the Alvads no less bored-looking as they trudged up and down the streets with that same emptiness in their eyes. The only real difference was that the days had gotten a bit longer.

No...that wasn't true. There were other things—things that he'd been trying hard to ignore, like how there'd been talk of illusions hurting people, and how some of the city's buildings had disappeared, and how he had begun to feel as though someone (or something) was following him whenever he left the Inn.

Somewhat fearful for his own safety, Phobius had confined himself to his room for the majority of the season. True, it'd been a bit lonely—even with Nini there to keep him company—but it kept him from getting hurt, and that was all that really mattered. If he waited long enough, Alvadas' sickness was sure to go away, turning it back into the lively, colorful, endlessly-changing city that he had grown to love.

When he realized that he had forgotten about Araphos, however, he chanced a walk to the stables, only to find it empty and unnervingly quiet without the sounds of the horses shuffling about. Even Mister Raingrass seemed to have vanished. Worried, the boy went out to search for both of them; what he ended up finding instead was the door.

It didn't look much different from other doors he had seen—and he'd walked through plenty in his somewhat-short lifetime—but what was weird about it was how it seemed to stand all on its own. Even weirder than that was how there wasn't anything behind it, or rather, how he couldn't see anything behind it.

So it was just a door. But what was a door doing in the middle of Alvadas? And why wasn't there anyone going through it or coming out of it?

Curious, Phobius had stood near it for a few chimes, wanting to wait and see if anything would happen. But the door remained still and untouched, and when he eventually grew tired of waiting he decided to move on, a destination in mind.

Some time later, the boy had arrived at Miss Maya's house. Once inside, he'd asked her if she had seen Araphos wandering around, as well as Mister Raingrass and the rest of the horses that he took care of. And then he'd told her about the door.

Now she was packing up her things, as though she were getting ready for some sort of trip. Phobius had been trying his best to talk her out of the (what he considered to be) terrible idea that had crawled into her head, but she didn't seem to be hearing him, anymore.

"I...I don't like it," he said, forcing the words out. "The door, I mean. I don't...feel good. For it. It's kinda scary, but...not? But it can be."

Guh, why was talking so hard to do, all of a sudden? Nibbling at his lower lip, Phobius was silent for another moment. Then he spoke, again, the beginnings of a plea seeping into the uncertainty of his voice.

"W-what if we look at it...and then go? You can help me find Araphos. Please...? He...I don't like him alone. He's always with other horses, or...or me..."

[Aislyn Leavold]

81st of Winter, 515 AV

Maybe this is a bad idea.

It was a thought that had gone through her mind quite a few times since Phobius had first appeared at her doorstep. However, it was a thought she had just as quickly dismissed. She had already committed to this. Whether it was down to stubbornness or simply a refusal to back out, she was in this to the end. Similarly, Phobius echoed her thoughts, his face a mixture of emotions when he’d arrived on her doorstep.

She understood, kind of. From what she’d gathered, the boy hadn’t been taking the whole foreboding thing all that well, had been locked up in the Cubicious Inn for most of the season, and it also appeared the boy had lost his horse.
As he’d rambled, Aislyn had gained a distinct sense of déjà vu. Phobius’ explanation of Araphos was the same story as Aislyn’s mother. Except with a carving shop instead of a stable, and a woman instead of a horse. She had neglected to tell this to Phobius, of course, which was probably why he seemed to think her decision to go in this door he spoke of was so brash.
She had her reasons.

At first, it was just the curiosity of it. The adventure. But then as she’d thought and planned, Aislyn had realized there was much, much more to it. This was Alvadas. There were no coincidences. It was more than likely that the missing people and the missing houses were on the other side of that door. And if no one went to help them, odds were they weren’t coming back. Her mother, no matter how broken, was all Aislyn truly had left. With no father, no family, no friends. Though perhaps the last part wasn’t true. She had…

She had...

Well, she had Phobius. That was an uplifting thought. All she had was Phobius and her mother, both of which she was risking losing by going through the door. The door in the center of the city that no one dared to enter.
Except for the brave, the foolish, and the determined. Though which category Aislyn fit into was debateable.

She’d asked Phobius for all he knew about the door, what he’d seen, what was around it, who was around it. It didn’t take him long to figure out what she’d intended to do.
After that, the illusionist had asked him to wait outside for a chime as she “got ready”. Aislyn dressed in an outfit of almost entirely black, hoping to compensate for her less-than-stealthiness by blending in, should the need arise. On top of her clothing, the pendant she had gotten from the Speakers weighed heavy on her heart. Beneath her shirt, her locket felt like it was burning a hole in her skin.

As her mind had begun to realize what she was planning and what might happen, the gravity of the situation began to weigh on her. She ran her hands through her hair, letting out a long-baited breath. The white-blond of Maya’s hair had momentarily faded back to her true, dark brown as her fingers touched the strands. The rest of her illusion followed suit, rippling between reality and falsity with the security that Phobius was safely on the other side of the door. She needed a moment to breathe.

Aislyn had let him Phobius back in after she had her precious few moments of silence, pushing the lock open with one hand as she pulled her hair back into a tall tail. Immediately, the boy redoubled his efforts to talk her out of whatever it was she was doing. Truthfully, even she herself didn’t know what she was doing. After a while, she just stopped listening. She could tangibly feel how upset he was. The boy’s presence was almost unnerving, in a way that as soon as he could see her again, she began to doubt how good of a plan this was. With him, there was a feeling of worry, of dread, of… Fear.
Shaking her head, Aislyn convinced herself it was nothing.

”I know you don’t like it, Pho. But what good am I going to do here?” She paused as she collected a small satchel of charcoals to fit into her bag. Then, she turned towards him. ”What good are we going to do here?”

Methodically, she folded a set a clothing, rations, her notebook, and a spare, blank book to make up the backbone of the bag. Strewn all across the center table were items she’d already considered taking with her, or were waiting to be packed.
”Your horse-” And her mother. ”-could be on the other side of that door. If no one goes through, how are we supposed to help them?”

The flint and steel, a brush, her mirror, then both an eating knife and a fighting knife slipped into the side of the bag. It wasn’t all that heavy, thank the gods, and she still had a fair amount of space left. As almost an afterthought, she put one of the masks she had bought from the season before into the empty space. Then, she closed it, securing it to her back.

”Speaking of which, don’t act like I’m going to go through the door and never come back. We are going through that door, together. It’ll be okay. It’ll all be okay.” I promise. She almost said it. She almost promised him, but caught herself at the last tick. She didn’t make promises, and she certainly couldn’t make this one.

Taking a deep breath, Aislyn forced herself not to bite her tongue.
"You're my friend, Phobius. You have to trust me here."
She exhaled, immediately averting her eyes as she said the words. You're my friend. That was a something she hadn't said in a while. Or ever.

Fascinated herself with tightening the straps of her backpack, Aislyn turned away from Phobius, instead reaching for her newly bought quiver. A lucky investment from earlier in the season, it had a good amount of bolts within it, just in case. Then came the crossbow, the heaviest thing she had. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing to attach to the bag, but if it was secure, it was maneuverable. She’d made sure to pack lightly enough for the crossbow to not be a hinderance. Besides, the straps of the crossbow tied both it and the backpack close enough to her body to allow her full movement. If she needed to run, she was able. And with that, she was as ready.

As ready as she’d ever be.

[Yisanareysin]

Rey stood before the door, just another face in the crowd, watching as person after person passed through the door. The zith were entering in droves as well, seemingly driven by some higher purpose. Were they going as a nest, he wondered? Or was there something about their race that made them eager to enter?

He turned to leave, breaking away from the crowd. All around him, he saw fear, worry, confusion. The city felt like a spring, wound too tight, liable to break at any moment. Perhaps this door would serve as an outlet of sorts, a way for the most tightly wound Alvads to find relief? Or, perhaps, to simply disappear.

Ionu knew there'd been more than enough disappearing this season. The speakers and the entire underground had been nowhere to be found, and Rey had near a dozen open cases of missing Alvads. Cases he couldn't work on, because a concerning number of his contacts had disappeared, either off the streets, or when Alvadas proper had been split from the underground and the docks.

Troubling business, to be sure. But intriguing. Rey considered all the facts he knew as he padded into his room in the Cave.

There was danger behind the door. The need for a weapon proved that much, as did the restriction on the severely wounded and the young of Alvadas. The illusions that had been popping up also seemed more dangerous. And speaking of illusions...

The city was fracturing. Illusions of the half formed, half completed, were growing more commonplace, as were illusions of, well, illusions. Flickering flames of frost, a torch that plunged the streets into darkness, seemingly solid ground giving way to emptiness. Flickering illusions in the mirrors. These were dangerous times. And it seemed whatever was through the door, was even worse.

It didn't matter to Rey. Whatever this was, this was big. Important. It hadn't escaped him that this plaza that had opened up twenty days ago was very familiar. In fact, if he wasn't mistaken, this was the very same plaza where the speakers had held that.. eventful celebration. What was it they had said?

""The past repeats itself under the guise of the future, And yet both find a place in the present. They are coming."

Ominous words. Especially coming from that pair of nuits that Rey had been hearing mention of for half a year now. At least two seasons had led up to this, and the disappearance of the speakers couldn't be a coincidence. No, something was happening, something big.

He intended to find out what. Rey detested being left out of something interesting, however dangerous this might be.

Still, events of the past year had taught him caution, even more so than his years in Sunberth had. At least in Sunberth, he'd always had Kyla to watch his back. He wouldn't go into this defenseless, or unprepared.

From his bag, he retrieved a pouch. Clearing off his desk, he opened the pouch, and spilled it's contents out on to the desk. The dice clicked as they tumbled, bouncing on the wood of the table before finally coming to a stop.

He was not going into this blind.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Phobius]

For once, the woman turned to look at him—actually look at him—and Phobius could feel his heart leap in a brief bout of hopefulness. But then she spoke, and her words brought the bad feeling right back.

What did she mean, what good were they going to do here? What good did they need to do here? Wasn't it better for them to just...sit and wait for whatever was plaguing Alvadas to go away? For things to go back to being normal?

The boy wanted to say as much, but held his tongue and stayed quiet as Miss Maya went on, amber eyes darting back-and-forth between her and the things that she was packing up. Then she mentioned that there was a chance that Araphos was behind that door, and the small frown upon his face deepened a bit. He hadn't thought about that...but horses didn't have hands, so how would Araphos have been able to open the door and go through to whatever was on the other side?

Still, he had to admit that she had a point. If the horse, for whatever reason, was behind it, they wouldn't be able to get him out unless they went in. And as much as he disliked the whole idea, he didn't want Miss Maya going alone.

Not that he seemed to have much of a choice in the matter, anyway. Slinging her packed bag over her shoulder, the woman said that everything would be okay...and though it sounded a lot like a promise, Phobius found that he couldn't fully bring himself to believe her. Neither of them knew what they'd find behind that door; how could she know that it would all be okay—that they'd be safe—if she didn't even know what they were getting themselves into?

Then she said something that surprised Phobius so much, he had to ask himself if he'd heard her right.

"You're my friend, Phobius. You have to trust me here."

Friend...? he inwardly echoed, his eyes widening a little as he stared at her. She had never called him her "friend", before, and though there'd been no doubts in the young Inarta's mind that they were in fact friends, he'd occasionally wondered whether or not she saw him the same way that he saw her. But now...now it seemed like she did. And despite everything, that made him feel a little bit better, bringing the ghost of a smile onto his face.

It vanished when she turned away from him, however, and he watched as she went to pick up some other things; one he recognized from when he'd tried to use a bow during one of his Yasi assignments—though he didn't know what the name for it in Common was—and the other was a wooden thing that looked kinda heavy.

Miss Maya was prepared for anything. Him, on the other hand...all he really had was his bracelet. Frowning, Phobius glanced down at it, briefly running his thumb over the smooth blue beads. He still didn't know where it had come from, or who had given it to him, but had been happily wearing it ever since he'd found it in his room after the ordeal with Miss Wanda. Even if it didn't do anything, having it brought some semblance of comfort and made him feel a little less helpless than he was.

After a while, Phobius let out a sigh.

"Okay. I...I trust you," he said.

[Aislyn Leavold]

It kind of hurt how surprised the boy looked. For a moment, she regretted having ever so much as mentioned the word friend. But no. It had to be said. He had to be convinced.
Though convinced of what, she wasn’t sure. Convinced of their safety? Convinced of her security, her assurance? Convinced of the fact that nothing bad could possibly be on the other side of the door?
Convinced of Maya?
Turning the doorknob, she hesitated. Once again, the feeling of insecurity hit. A sort of helplessness, even. But that wasn’t right. She was in control, here. She had everything right where she wanted it, right where she knew it would be. Nothing could stop her at this point, not Phobius, not Alvadas, not the gods- well, maybe Ionu could, but that wasn’t an issue at this point. Nothing.

”I… I trust you.”

Alright, so perhaps things less than Ionu could stop her. She hadn’t expected those words to come out of Phobius’ mouth so easily, so… Innocently.
Petch, that hurt.
Her hand shook a little as she pushed the door open. She didn’t know how to respond to that. What could she say? ’You shouldn’t.’? She couldn't dash his hopes. She had to stay trustworthy, stay believable, stay the person her believed her to be. Stay Maya.
She pulled herself through the door, locking it once Phobius exited as well.
She didn’t deserve trust. She didn’t deserve anything.
Then she was on her way.

After a while, Phobius caught up to her brisk pace, and she managed to decide on an answer.
”Thank you.”
There was nothing else to say, really. She couldn’t feasibly lie anymore than she already had. How long ago had she met Phobius? A year? Just under? It was a wonder he hadn’t found out already. Granted, she kept her illusions steadfast and watertight around him, but even then, it had taken lesser people less than a day to figure her out in the past. Yet Phobius remained a constant. Not once he questioned her if she disappeared inexplicitly only to return a few chimes later, nothing seemingly changed. He didn’t seem to notice the occasional flicker that plagued her into thinking this is it, this is where he discovers. He remained unknowledgable, and thus they became… “Friends”.
Or rather, Maya became friends. With Phobius. Who knew nothing of Aislyn Leavold, or illusionism, or the fact that Maya was nothing more than a figment of Aislyn’s imagination that she had invented on one long-ago summer day.

She rubbed at her eyes with her fingertips, contemplating just how long one day could possibly be. She’d chosen a random direction to walk in, and had just as much chance as ever of finding where the petching door was. Then again, Alvadas had seen much more… Circular. Recently, at least. She hadn’t seen a true business for quite a while. All of her spending had been confined to the bazaar, which, even then, seemed strangely out of place. As they walked, all there was were houses. Houses and… A path.

A bit to the side of the street, through what seemed to be an alleyway. But it was paved eloquently, with equally shaped cobblestones. As they came up on it, Aislyn turned into it. She had a feeling.
It was dark at first, but not for long. Almost like a tunnel, but with voices at the end of it. Kind of whispers, a few shouts. Lots of rabble.
Definitely their place.

On the other side of the alleyway, a crowd was gathered. There was no better way to find trouble than in a crowd, and by now, there was no use in denying it. They were looking for trouble. It wasn't a crowd like the bazaar, it was… Slower. Rotating around a point, instead of moving in a stream. A door, Phobius had said. A door in the center of the city. She paused at the edge of the crowd, wondering if taking the boy’s hand to avoid losing him was worth the risk of touch. In the end, she decided just to warn him,
”Don’t get lost.”

They continued through the crowd at a fairly steady pace. Aislyn hugged her cloak closer to her, debating whether or not to put the hood up, as well. There was no such thing as too much anonymity which it came to situations like these. Especially since, as they approached, it was obvious those entering the door subjected themselves to the center of attention. At the rim of the circle surrounding the door, Aislyn paused. Even when Phobius arrived next to her, she hesitated. Again, the feeling of insecurity, powerlessness. Certainly the feeling couldn’t be hers. Yet her hands shook as she entered the circle, reaching out to run her fingers over the miraculous triangle that shifted colours like it lived and breathed, despite being firmly attached to the door. Slowly, and just loud enough for Phobius to hear, she read out the rules.

”1. You cannot pass through the door without a weapon.
2. You cannot pass through the door if you are severely wounded.
3. Children cannot pass through the door
4. Only one person can pass through the door at a time.
5. The door cannot be damaged by anything.”

Then she paused, the unquestioned, final rule shoving another wrench in her confidence.

”6. You leave, you don't come back.”

[Phobius]

Though Miss Maya seemed to walk a bit faster than Phobius did, he didn't have much trouble catching up to her once they'd left her house, falling into step no more than a few feet behind her. Then she thanked him and, not really knowing what to say to that—or how to even feel about it—he offered her as much of a smile as he could. Trusting someone—to him, at least—didn't seem like something you needed to be thankful for, but it was okay if she was. Some people were probably just like that.

The two walked in silence, for a while, each lost in their own trains of thought. As far as he could tell, the woman knew exactly where they needed to go, so he doubted that she would be needing his help with directions or anything. And with how lifeless the city had been over the last couple of months, the houses and shops and restaurants no longer seeming to want to move around like they used to, the boy had a feeling that they would find the door in the same place that he had, earlier.

After some time, they came across a path that led into an alley. It looked dark and a little spooky, and Phobius had never been a fan of narrow spaces, but he followed Miss Maya without saying a word, his mind running all the while like an anxious, inexhaustible machine. Just what was it that they would find on the other side of that door? Would it lead to another city? Another world? And if Araphos wasn't there, where else could he have gone?

All of a sudden, the boy realized that he could hear other people. They weren't too close by, but weren't too far away, either, and it sounded like there were a lot of them. Sure enough, they emerged from the alleyway and found themselves faced with a sizable crowd, made up of people who seemed to be gathered around something. It was then that Miss Maya told him not to get lost. The boy merely nodded, at first, but another glance at the throngs of bodies before them brought a frown to his face, and when she started to move he reached out and grabbed one of her hands. If he held onto her, it'd be a lot harder to lose her; likewise, she wouldn't lose him, and they wouldn't have to worry about getting separated.

Phobius didn't let go of the woman until they reached the center of the crowd. And there stood the door, looking as plain yet inexplicably unnerving as it had when he'd first stumbled upon it. Still frowning, he glanced over at Miss Maya, wondering what she thought of it, and watched as she went toward it and touched the triangle that he hadn't even noticed was there. Then she spoke, reading words that he couldn't even hope to see, his stomach seeming to twist itself into knots once he realized that they sounded a lot like rules.

When she was done, he stared at her, his eyes growing wide and fearful as her words sunk in. Why couldn't children go in? Why did they need weapons?

And the last one, the one that had made him feel more queasy than he'd thought was possible...what did it mean?

"That...it's lying, right?" Phobius asked, his voice quiet. "If we go, we...we can come back. Right? W-why would we not come back...? And why a weapon? Those are sharp things, right...? Like kn-knifes?"

Then he paused for a moment, thinking it over before something horrible seemed to occur to him.

"I don't have a knife. Knifes are bad. Miss Maya, why does it want people to have knifes...?"

[Yisanareysin]

Now, that was odd. The dice had landed side by side, their pictures aligned towards him. They were.. concerningly similar. The one on the left bore two images. The first was a bird of some sort. An eagle, Rey tentatively guessed, dark brown but for the lighter, almost reddish feathers on its head, and a strange, almost blueish band around its neck. It gazed up at him, its wings spread wide, as if at any moment, it could leap from the white ivory and take flight. Behind it, a blue (no, azure) triangle shimmered.

The other was grimmer, and significantly less colourful. There was only one image on that die. Another triangle, only this one was inverted, tip pointing downwards. The top was the dark, almost brownish red of dried blood, with streaks of black goo trickling down the shape, dripping from the tip.

How cheerful. So, he might find help from an illusory bird, and should avoid... what? Bloody illusions? Dangerous illusions? Rey snorted. It wasn't as if the illusions on this side of the door were all rainbows and butterflies. Still, he'd keep an eye out for that illusory bird.

Rey sighed as he examined the dice. They still made him nervous, truth be told, even after almost a year. He didn't think the speakers were the type to give gifts without strings attached. But it was oh so very useful, and what he did wasn't really illegal. Or rather, it apparently wasn't illegal enough to merit action, as he'd yet to encounter any of the speakers again. So he packed them away, carefully storing them where they would be safe

Everything else he needed was already packed properly. His time in Sunberth had taught him some paranoia, at least. You never knew when you'd need to make a quick exit. At his hip hung his cutlass, and his father's flametongue. These were dangerous times, and he didn't doubt that whatever was beyond the door was even more dangerous.

Heading out, Rey quickly made his way back to the plaza, winding through shadowed streets as quickly as he could. It was easy enough to navigate to the city's centre, now that Alvadas was circular. It still unnerved him to see the wild city so.. even. Almost organised.

The crowd had thinned some, it seemed. How many had gone through the door, he wondered? He'd seen a few with weapons earlier, but not so many. Still, even half dispersed, the crowd made an excellent cover for Rey. Almost instinctively, Rey slipped stealthily into the crowd, keeping his steps light, and his movements smooth. The trick here wasn't to avoid being seen, but rather, to avoid being noticed. Of course, it occurred to him that he wasn't really hiding anything right now. It was just an ingrained habit by now, he supposed.

Even bearing weapons openly, people around him were more interested in the door before them than the person beside them, so Rey was able to slither through the crowd without too much difficulty. It seemed that now that the boldest Alvads had either gone through or left to prepare, the meeker citizens were looking through the rules. Stepping through the door right now would attract quite a bit of attention, and would involve him shoving through that group.

Nothing for it. He was just going to have to wait until a suitably large group, or suitably distracting person went through, and follow after them in the shadow of their attention. Perhaps if this pair found their spines and decided to... to...

Was that.. Phobius? Gods preserve him, it was! That blue scarf was unmistakeable. What in Akajia's name was that boy doing here? The timid little courier certainly wasn't the type to go through the door, or even show up here. Which meant chances were, someone had talked him into it. Someone like...

Rey narrowed his eyes at the other figure. Was that 'Maya'? She was facing away from him, and it was difficult to see her face, but that hair... Rey closed his eyes briefly, and exhaled. His sense flooded through him as he did, heat prickling in his face as his awareness expanded.

Focus on the girl

Dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes, and that hateful, dangerous undercurrent in her soul. Oh, it was her alright. Rey's lips twisted into a vicious smile, his scar tight over his cheek. He disliked the illusionist, but he knew for a fact that she loathed him far more than he did her. It was such fun to rile her up, and she tended to let things slip when she was angry. She still had secrets he needed to pry from her. Then maybe he could get around to eating her.

Stepping forwards, he called out to them. "Phobiuss! Maya!"

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Aislyn Leavold]

Aislyn had almost forgotten about Phobius. Not that she has forgotten he was there, oh no; what she had forgotten was just how…Childlike… he was? Was that the word? Childlike?
Now that she thought about it, it certainly fit. She'd never thought badly of Phobius, but he certainly seemed younger than he was. But she'd learned on his birthday; he was only a year younger than she was.
And yet, they were so… Different.

The boy had refused to let go of her hand throughout the crowd. She had dismissed the idea, but it appeared he hadn't. Even when she tried, Aislyn couldn't shake his grip. Which was disastrous for her mental state, because what was worse than physical contact was the fact that he had grabbed her left hand. The hand with a jagged, ugly scar wonderfully decorating her open palm. The scar she so purposely hid from sight, but couldn't hide from touch. She was absolutely, positively overthinking it, but what if…? What if he turned out to be much more perceptive than she had thought? What if he realized that roughness on smooth skin meant lies and slander? What if he suddenly realized everything, but all the pieces together, and left her to enter the door alone?

Unfortunately, Aislyn had barely scratched the surface of worst case scenarios when Phobius began responding to “the Rules”. And once again, she forgot how skittish the boy could be.

”No, no… I mean-” Think of something. ”I… misread. No, the last one is crossed out. Someone must have come back.”
She was standing in between him and the words. He’d never know the difference. Nonetheless, she glanced over the crowd, feeling at least one pair of eyes investigating her as they stalled at the doorway. Had any of them returned? Would they really return? Or was this it? The pair was far too close to not be going in, which meant they were a spectacle for those just watching the proceedings. They were in a relatively short line of people wanting to venture through the door, surrounded by a rather large crowd who had only come to gawk. If anyone had returned, they certainly hadn’t been celebrated.
In an afterthought, Aislyn flicked up her hood.

Someone must have come back. Sure. Like saying something in a believable tone would make it true. She was a good liar, she gave herself that, but to Phobius it was… Too easy.
She just needed to give him hope.

”There's no reason for us to not come back. It's probably just another illusion, you know, like every other-” Her words caught in her throat. Perhaps easy was not the right word. ”-every… Every other illusion. Whimsical as much as the next floating fish.”

Easy was wrong. Easy implied Phobius was gullible, which he wasn't. Perhaps a little bit, maybe. But he wasn't stupid. Aislyn would never think him so. It was easy to keep her illusion up around him, that didn't make her feel any less guilt. It was easy to tell lies, spin enough truth into her statement that no one would question the diluted reality. But she was dragging Phobius into a world she could not guarantee was safe, no matter how many excuses she gave for why it couldn't possibly harm them. A world that could be as perfectly fine as her words painted it to be, or could be the end of the world as they knew it. They are coming, after all. Whatever that meant.

”It wants weapons because…” Why did it require weapons? Was a fight so absolutely guaranteed? That could be problematic. Especially for Phobius. ”...It probably wants to make sure people come prepared. If the people on the other side need saving and all.”
That went in a relatively good direction. All she had to do was turn the whole situation into a children’s fairytale.
”Waiting for a hero. Or- or something.”

Or something. The whole door could be a trap for all they knew. Aislyn had put her full faith in the little triangle on the door, like that confirmed Ionu’s presence. Like it ensured she couldn't be hurt. Marked by Ionu, she had once believed herself to be invincible. But after the past few seasons… Faith didn't protect her from everything. And it certainly wouldn't protect her from whatever was behind that door.

”So the hero has to protect themselves, right? So they have a weapon. For self defense.” She paused, suddenly remembering something. The knife she had packed, one for eating and one for fighting. That was a weapon, wasn't it? And Phobius could wield it, if he tried. Which would grant him access through the door.
”Here- here, Phobius.”

Quickly, she her pack over her shoulder and blindly scavenged through it. She didn't scramble the organization of the backpack, being careful to keep the items in place. But eventually, her hand closed around a wooden handle. A knife, which she then handed to Phobius.
”Look, now you're the brave hero, off to save his mighty horse in distress.”
Attempting some sort of smile, Aislyn nearly ended up cringing instead. She sounded like an idiot. But a hopeful idiot, at least. A hopeful idiot that was handing Phobius a knife moments after he'd explicitly expressed his disdain for the weapon.
Perhaps she was an idiot. But, if she just ignored the strangely alien and somewhat disconnecting feelings of apprehension and fear that kept attaching itself to her thoughts, she'd be able to pull herself through.

”Look, I'll even go through first. Then that’ll be proof that there's nothing bad on the other side, right?”

Not allowing Phobius a chance to give her back the knife, Aislyn gave him an encouraging look before turning her back to him and finally- finally- wrapping a shaky hand around the doorknob of the magical door. Without turning back to look at him, she forced out a long breath of air.

”Don’t worry, Phobius. It’ll be fine.

Opening the door, the woman refused to stare into the creepily empty, yet also strangely full void that hid behind the wooden frame. She had put this off for far too long.
Aislyn stepped through the door.

”Phobius! M-”

It felt like all the air around her was sucked away. The sound disappeared into roaring waves, and the air from her lungs felt as a casualty. Her mind felt like it hit a wall, before information began seeping through the cracks. That was a voice. That had been a voice. There was someone who knew Phobius and possibly even ”Maya” who had just called out to them, and Aislyn was now far, far away. Too far away to help. The voice was familiar, but she hadn’t heard enough of it to pinpoint who it was. Familiar was bad. Familiar could be dangerous, hinderous, disastrous. Familiar meant...
Familiar meant she had Phobius alone on the other side.
If he just came through after her, it would be fine. They could block whoever it was from the other side, as long as Phobius came through. But if he didn't…

Suddenly, the void was gone. She was on the other side. And with just one thought floating on her mind;
This is a bad decision.


Continued Here.

[Phobius]

When the woman said that she'd read the rules wrong, Phobius frowned, not feeling very relieved. The other rules weren't quite as bad as the last one was, but they still bothered him; mostly because they didn't make any sense.

For the briefest of moments, he considered asking Miss Maya to explain the rest of them; after all, she was much smarter than he was, and could read much better than he could, so it was probably easy for her to understand rules and the like. But before he had the chance to open his mouth, she had gone on, saying that whatever they'd find behind the door would probably be an illusion, and that people needed weapons so that they could save the other people.

But what would the other people need saving from...?

Phobius mulled over it for a few ticks, then found an answer that he didn't like. Heroes were usually fighting monsters, weren't they? And monsters were usually big and scary, with lots of sharp teeth that they used to munch on peoples' bones and claws that could cut just about anything. In the stories he'd been told as a child, the hero had always won and saved a princess or a village...but what if there weren't any princesses or villages, this time around? What if there were just...monsters?

Seeming to have suddenly remembered something, Miss Maya went digging around in her pack, and when she found what she'd been looking for she plopped it into the boy's hands, bringing him out of his thoughts and back into the present.

"Look, now you're the brave hero, off to save his mighty horse in distress.”

Phobius blinked at her, then looked down at the thing she'd given him, nearly dropping it when he realized what it was. He had seen knives, before—mainly in kitchens in Wind Reach, where the cooks would use them to peel and chop vegetables—but this was his first time actually holding one, and he was quick to decide that he didn't like it. It felt heavy in his hands, and wrong, like it didn't belong there. And the longer he looked at it, the more uncomfortable and queasy he felt.

He didn't really want to be a hero. Not anymore.

Wanting to give the knife back, Phobius glanced up at the woman and parted his lips, an apology resting on the tip of his tongue, but she had already turned to leave, her arm outstretched, a hand resting on the doorknob.

"Don’t worry, Phobius. It’ll be fine."

"Wait!" he cried, starting after her, the horrible feeling returning and telling him that she couldn't go, that he couldn't let her go, that there were only bad things waiting for her on the other side. Then the door closed and she was gone, leaving him to do nothing but stand there and stare helplessly at it.

It took him a few ticks to realize that someone had called out to them, but when he did he turned around, his amber eyes widening with mixed fear and surprise. Seeing that it was none other than Mister Ekans, the boy rushed over to him, clutching the knife to his chest.

"Mister Ekans! Mister Ekans, Miss Maya went in!" Phobius said once he'd come close to him, sounding terribly worried. "I told her no, but she did 'cause she said it was okay and safe, but it's not, Mister Ekans. It's bad; really, really bad."

Then he fell silent, but only for a moment, seeming to think of something.

"We gotta go. We can help her, right? It says you need a weapon, and she gave me...gave me this," he said, awkwardly holding the knife out to the man so that he could see it. "I can't...use it, but we were both going in and...and I don't wanna go, but..."

And then he trailed off, giving the Dhani a pitiful look.

"What do we do, Mister Ekans...?"

[Yisanareysin]

His greeting came just a tick too late, it seemed, as the illusionist disappeared through the door just as he spoke. A pity, that. But Phobius hadn't gone through yet, and he seemed to have heard Rey's call. The boy turned, and stumbled towards him, sounding utterly distraught.

"Eassy, eassy, Phobius. Breath." Rey patted the boy awkwardly on the back while he tried to translate the jumble of words the boy had just spewed at him. The boy wasn't wrong, anyways. This door was bad news. The trouble was, it was also new news, and new news was what had always hooked Rey.

Phobius's reluctance didn't surprise him in the least. Nise, or Maya's apparent insistence on entering, however, did. From what he recalled, she had not been a person much inclined towards violence or strife.

Admittedly, two of the last three times they had met, she had first slapped, then stabbed him. But Rey considered himself a decently good judge of character, and he was fairly certain that those incidents had had more to do with her hatred of him than any innate violent tendencies.

There must be some reason for her to have gone in. Make that two mysteries that lay behind that door. Oh, what fun.

In the past, he'd learned the most from Maya when she'd been distressed. And while Rey was certain his very presence would be distressing to her, Rey had an inkling of an idea of how he could rattle her even more.

After all, she'd wanted to go in with Phobius, hadn't she? If the boy simply never showed up... Or at the very least, if Rey could delay him for a little while, to soften her up, now that would be interesting.

"Who ssayss you have to go? Iss going to be dangerouss, Phobiuss, iss why they ssay you musst have a weapon. Have you ever ussed a knife before? You might have to, through that door. "

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic