No Longer in Kansas - Episode 1

[Anyr]

Once again, Sarah was surprised by how refreshing the night's rest had been. Sleep had come easily to her lately. She stretched as she clambered out of her comfortable bed. For a forest hideaway, this place had plenty of amenities. No doubt feelings of doom would return shortly. But for the moment, Sarah felt ready to face the day. If her room-mate was awake too, Sarah would greet her with a bright smile. Then she'd set off to have her morning bath. The doom could wait a little longer.

[dethkruzer]

The dcotor would flop over in her bunk, seemingly stirred by the sounds of the other getting up, her head would peak out from under the covers, a mop of platinum-blond bed-hair with a pair of green orbs thrown into the mix. "Coffee..." Julia groaned, her voice slightly hoarse like some demented caffeine-driven zombie.

The sleep had certainly been good, leagues better than what she'd gotten the night before in the wagon, but still nowhere near her stupidly high standards. Her gaze lazily followed Sarah as she left, the blonde staying behind for a little while before rather violently shaking the sleep away from her eyes.

Bath. Coffee. Bath. Coffee. Bath. Bath. Yes, bath is good. Her thought process went as it slowly picked up speed. Julia would finally get up, pulling back her hair to make it at least somewhat presentable, before stepping out as well.

[Anyr]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I've gone ahead and assumed some things about the local area. I'm guessing that you don't have important plans that hinge on bath design. If that's actually not the case, I'll of course edit.

Soon, Sarah was relaxing in her own semi-private pond. Rivulets of water danced around her in intricate patterns. At times like this, she felt so connected to nature. Maybe this would actually help to train her powers. She called out to her fellow bather, a couple of feet away. Their respective ponds were close, but separated by a wall of natural foliage. It was a nice arrangement. The pair could converse without actually sharing a bath.

"I'll be honest: Part of me just wants to stay in here forever. I'd tell people that I'm in deep communion with the earth and water. That's the kind of thing that an 'element child' does, right?"

[dethkruzer]

One of her legs would rise slightly out of the water as the blonde would further straighten herself out, her upper body dipping down low enough that the surface of the pond just crested across her upper lip. Her breathing was slow, deep exhales from her nose sending the smallest of tremors across the surface. Sarah would speak behind the brush, Julia tilting her head back slightly. A lazy smile would creep onto her face. "I wouldn't blame you. This is rather nice. Though it would be even better if someone could turn this pond into coffee." She would say, before capping her words off with a lighthearted chuckle.

"Jokes aside. I'm curious. What is like, being able to will around the elements like the way you do? Is there some kind... Communion, going on?" Julia would sit up slightly as she spoke.

[Anyr]

"I wouldn't exactly say that. It's more of a one-way relationship so far. I wish, and they respond. Remember that first fight against the soldiers? I desperately wanted a weapon; Any weapon. So the air provided one. There was no need for me to be specific. Just my general desire was enough. It's like the elements are trying to please me. If I'd stayed in that garden for much longer, I bet I'd have accidentally given myself...Hmm. Just a second. Let me try something."

Sarah clambered out of the pond. At first, the tendrils of floating water followed her. But a wish from her caused them to (reluctantly?) leave her. She stood unadorned: Thinking about how embarrassing it would be to be seen by someone. What she really needed right now was some covera-ha! She felt something shift beneath her bare feet. Then the earth itself rose up to surround her. It packed itself around her form, in accordance to a design she pictured in her head. When the movement ceased, she looked down; And smiled.

"Hey, Julia. Part the foliage and take a look. Don't worry; I'm decent."

At first glance, it would look as if Sarah had just got dressed again. Except her clothes were now brown instead of green. Closer examination would reveal the truth: She was clad in earth. It was mimicking the shape of her usual outfit. The naturally attired banker grinned with the thrill of a new discovery.

"Not bad, hmm? Normal clothes are still better, of course. But considering recent events, this trick might well come in handy."

[dethkruzer]

"I see... Interesting. I would be curious to find out how these new capabilities of yours function, but I guess there will be a time and place for that at some later point." Julia would remark, staring off into the sky, onl tilting her head slightly when she heard what she judged to be Sarah getting out of the pond. GEtting out already?`Well, as nice as it was to just soak in the relaxing water, there were things that needed doing today, so... Julia found her line of thought cut off as Sarah spoke, asking her to part foliage? Her expression turned to one of confusion as the blonde would roll over in the pool, so her front was facing the bottom of the pond, before pulling herself slightl up against the ledge, pulling aside some of the foliage as the other had asked.

"What is-" She started the question, but stopped when she saw that Sarah was already dressed, but those weren't her clothes from before. Julia would tilt her head, eyeing the clothing a little closer, until saarah said something about it being a "neat trick". After a bit, and a bit more eyeing of the "clothing", it seemed to click. "Wait, is that.. soil?"

[Anyr]

"It is indeed! I should have thought of this sooner. The elemental tools I shape don't need to obey the normal rules. Water can flow uphill. Fire can burn without fuel. So why not have earth that moves like fabric?"

Sarah gave a little twirl. The 'material' of her new outfit shifted just the way that her normal one did. A great many grains of soil collaborated en masse to create the effect. Their wearer continued to grin. Oh sure, this trick didn't have much practical use. But it had a lot of fascinating implications.

"This really is ridiculous. So many natural laws are being violated to produce such a mundane result. And it's arguably worse than the standard options any normal person has. Unless magical forest pixies steal our clothes, I have no reason to ever use it again. A lot of my new magic is like that: Amazing, yet somehow mundane.

Now, please avert your eyes again. I'm getting back in the water."

Once the foliage was back in place, Sarah would shed her coverings with a thought. the soil lost its cohesion, and cascaded away. By all rights, its former wearer should have been filthy. But she was just as clean as before. Truly ridiculous. With a bemused shake of the head, Sarah submerged herself once more.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Feel free to continue or end the scene as you see fit. Left to her own devices, Sarah will keep bathing and chatting for as long as Julia does.

[dethkruzer]

Julia nodded, flashing a small smile at this. "I honestly would not surprised if we did end up with little fairies stealing our clothes at some point." She was half-serious with that, as ridiculous as the idea might sound now that she considered.

Wehn requested to avert her eyes, Julia would let go of the brush, before flipping over in the pool again. One of the other females words stuck with her.

"Magic..." That's what it was, really. That was really the only thing that could possibly explain some things in this insane world. Weird bloted flesh that could be squeezed between metal plates without harm? Walking lizard- and bear-people? Giant green-skinned men with tusks? Those could all probably be attributed to science with enough digging. Having the elements follow your whims? Shooting green flames from your hands like some X-men reject? That, was something she was fairly sure couldn't be explained with scinece. not with how she knew it today.

Today. That might just be the key word. Maybe.

Her eyes would close as she lowered her head under the surface. For a few seconds she would remain there, until an aching in her chest started up, demanding oxygen. Beneath the surface she would swing her head around in an arc until she was sitting with her head above her knees. She would then straighten out her form, standing up as her wet hair would whip up and over her head in a needless flourish. Water flew back in a wide arc.

The air gave a chilly bite to her exposed flesh, the blonde grabbing a towel. "It was nice to have a bath, but I really have to go find me some coffee before I accidentally kill something." Julia would say in a somewhat snarky tone, before climbing out of her pond.

[Anyr]

"Save a pot for me too. I'll be along in a bit."

Sarah soaked for a bit longer. Soon, though, the siren call of coffee lured her too. She reluctantly lifted herself out of her new favourite relaxation spot. She hadn't brought a towel. She didn't need one. With a thought, the water covering her body coalesced and departed. It began to orbit her, as it had yesterday. The now perfectly dry banker strolled over to her clothes. Then she went off to join Julia at the breakfast table.

[PeacefulOak]

The air is cool and crisp as you both make your way towards the only place you remember there being food, the central space of the encampment. Your journey takes you near by the yurts, and you are momentarily taken by the raucous snores that come from the boys' yurt, clear signs that Colin yet slumbers. Deciding to leave a sleeping... monster... lie, you continue your journey guided by the subtle smells of a familiar dark liquid.

The site of the feast is a mess of tables and benches, churned earth and discarded plates. You can see some few early risers moving about collecting the fallen flatware and righting the seats, but more prominent to your sight is the proud body of Yolmar who sits in a lotus position at the head of one table, with an assortment of breakfast foods and small clay pots with curls of steam rising into the morning air. The figure of peace and tranquility, the large green man's chest rises and falls very slowly, his eyes appearing to move under their lids. His hands lift and a small smile curls his lips as you approach. "Good morning, friends. Please, sit and partake of the remnants of the night's bounty. I have been deep in thought about how you can explore your stories while being of service to the Free Tribes. I have thoughts, if you would like to hear them over breakfast?" Throughout, his eyes remain closed, and his hands return to a calm relaxed position on his knees as he awaits your response.

[Anyr]

Sarah was only too happy to let Colin sleep. Just being around him was a stressful experience now. While the peace persisted, his particular talents were best left unused. Sarah instead sought out some more pleasant company. Seeing the disorderly breakfast area brought back pleasant memories of last night's revels. She gladly took a seat opposite Yolmar.

"Good morning to you also, Yolmar. Yes, I'd very much like to hear of chances to repay your hospitality."

As she spoke, her hands were gathering some more examples of said hospitality: Food, cutlery, and precious, life giving coffee.

[dethkruzer]

The blonde would stop by at their yurt, drying off further and putting on some clothes. The bath had been quite refreshing, an effect that alas would prove fleeting, as a certain near-addiction-level yearning would quickly overshadow what little gains the bath had offered beyond the cleaning of her form. Coffeeeee....

She would stumble out the yurt a few moments later, before continuing toward breakfast, almost all semblance of proper posture gone. Yolmar was there, Sarah as well. "Did I seriously take that long?" She would wonder to herself, before slumping down onto the table next to Sarah. Yolmar was offering them more information, or at least some thoughts. Certainly sounds like a good idea. Though the whole bit about exploring their stories seemed to be lost on her.

"You know, that would actually be quite nice. But could you maybe hold off on the actually important stuff until the point that I've gotten a cup or three of coffee into me?" Julia would ask, slighlty drawing out some bits of her speech, before grabbing a cup in front of her, and dumping about a quarter of its content right down her gob.

[PeacefulOak]

Yolmar gives you both some space to eat and drink, satisfying your corporeal needs before turning your attention towards matters more ephemeral.

"I have spoken with Garan, and noted a strange curiosity about your arrival into our world here. The location at which you first appeared seems to be the exact center of the plain, a place of strange import and curious history. Old rumors tie the Queen's ascension to power in some ways to that very hill. If I were to ask for some action from you, once you have resolved your business here with your... prisoner... then I would ask you to go to that hill and see what you can discover of the Queen there. Perhaps even find some way to disrupt her power. I trust that whatever you accomplish will be in the service of your purpose." He sips the remainder of his coffee, watching for your response.

[Anyr]

Sarah didn't exactly snap up the offered mission. She had a lot of very bad, very recent memories about that plain. The prospect of returning there was unappealing, to say the least. She'd much rather have been given a job in this nice safe forest. But that was just her fear trying to control her. For the twentieth time, she silently repeated her mantra: "I can't stay here forever". That unavoidable truth had to be confronted over and over again. It was the only way to make her reluctant feet keep walking forward.

"I...think that job is within my power. I accept."

[dethkruzer]

Aah, food. Delicious food, much needed. It had been rough, the past two days, but it had brought an appreciation for the... simpler things in life. Emptying down what remained of her second cup of coffee, she would pick up the remnants of a split apple that remained on her plate, shearing off what remained of the fruit pulp with her teeth and gobbling the succulent pieces down. Letting out a contnt exhale, her attention would turn to Yolmar. Though she'd mostly focused on her meal, his words had not gone unnoticed from the doctor. "Seems like a sound plan. However, I'd at least like to perform the... Operation before I do decide for certain whether to accept it, assuming you do not mind?"