chalk

[alicornucopia]

In Paraasilan, Esmaar, a pair of roommates are about to break a rule that, compared to the one about running in the corridors or even the one about unlicensed teleportation, is there for a good reason.

In unison, they complete their shared spell.

~~~

with Adarin (Aestrix)

with Ekador (kappa)

with Brilliance (kappa)

with the admin (kappa)

with Teah (kappa)

with Katran (lambda)

with Hall (kappa)

with Joy (kappa)

with Kalinda (Christy Hotwater)

Comments

[slgemp141]

She closes her eyes only briefly. She's overwhelmed, and she's never overwhelmed. She's letting love back her into a stupid decision, and she's spent her life up to this point very studiously not doing that. But she has to be on top of her game this time. She can't let anything out of sight. The cigarette she shouldn't be smoking soothes her, and she opens her eyes as she exhales, ready for this, ready for anything.

She arches her eyebrows slightly.

Well, perhaps not anything.

Her lips part, only just. The cigarette falls to the ground, forgotten.

Has someone drugged her? Someone must have drugged her. She quickly reviews what she consumed this morning while dropping into a defensive crouch as two young women peer at her. Does the one have...elf-ears? She cautiously reaches into her boot, but waits with an eerie stillness to see what would happen next.

[alicornucopia]

What happens now is that elf-ears and her younger, browner friend start chattering at each other at high speed in total gibberish.

[slgemp141]

Her eyes dart from one girl to the other, unsure. She forces herself to loosen the rigid tension between her shoulder blades, and quickly checks her six. She glances out a window. She doesn't know what she's seeing, but it's not Florrick/Agos and it's not Chicago. She struggles to regulate her breathing and retain her composure.

[alicornucopia]

Elf-ears gets a book off a bookshelf and flips through it.

Eventually she finds what she's looking for and waves her hand through the air and speaks more gibberish, followed by:

"Can you understand us now?"

[slgemp141]

A pregnant pause fills the cozy, warm room.

"This isn't happening. You aren't real."

[alicornucopia]

"We're real," says younger-and-browner.

"It doesn't matter," elf-ears tells her friend. "We only need her for a few degrees anyway and then she can go home, there's no reason to bother convincing her."

[slgemp141]

"If you're going to try and hurt me or force me to do something against my will, I'd advise against it." She sounds more confident than she feels. She usually doesn't have to fake it, but this is not shaping up to be a very usual morning.

[alicornucopia]

"We're not going to hurt you or make you do anything, we're just borrowing you to show to Nemaaar," says younger-and-browner. "It'll be quick."

[slgemp141]

"Who's Nemaaar? For that matter, who are you two?" She slowly stands upright again.

[alicornucopia]

"Nemaar's our classmate. I'm Saasnil, and that's Korulen, my roommate," says the human one.

[slgemp141]

She attempts to stride over to the window to get a better look outside, but she bumps into something invisible. "Ow," she grumbles. "Girls, I don't have time for this--whatever this is--I have a meeting I need to attend. A good friend is depending on me....Two good friends."

[alicornucopia]

"It's only for a little bit and then we'll send you home," says Korulen. "Nemaar's class will let out and Saasnil will go get him and then that's it."

[slgemp141]

She sighs. Who would do this to her? Who would gain an advantage over her by drugging her? Certainly not Diane. It's more Canning or David Lee's style, but if they knew she was considering defecting to Florrick/Agos there are a million better ways to handle it than a random drugging. A drugging would be more characteristic of someone actively trying to hurt her. Damian? He's petty, but he's not quite that petty. Surely it wouldn't be worth the risk. Some associate of Nick's? No. Impossible. Those loose ends were tied up...weren't they? An idea strikes her. She reaches into the pocket of her jacket, and sure enough, there's her trusty phone...Of course, she has no bars. Of course. She eyes her captors warily. "Why can't I move? What is this...circle?"

[alicornucopia]

"The summoning circle comes with a ward, so you can't hurt us," explains Korulen.

[slgemp141]

...This couldn't possibly be real, could it? It seems so vivid. If she has been drugged, it's certainly not a drug she's ever tried. She can smell the sweetly sour scent of a teenage girl's bedroom. She can't see the seam where Korulen's fake ears meet her real ones. She can see the flushed excitement on both the girls' faces, and everything about her is exactly the same as when she woke up this morning. Maybe she's still asleep, and this is a dream. That must be it. It's a test for what's to come. So she'd better try something. She bites her lip, and bats her eyelashes at the older one. "I'd never hurt a little girl..."

[alicornucopia]

Korulen blinks. "Well, that's... good, but we still can't let you out. We'll send you home in like a degree, okay?"

[slgemp141]

"You know, I work for a law firm. I'm friends with a lot of cops. You kids don't know what you're playing at. You can't just go around--abducting people." She's flailing, and she knows it. Creeping into the back of her mind like an oil spill is the feeling she hates--she's trapped, and she's out of her element, and nothing will work. But she will regain control. Somehow.

[alicornucopia]

Saasnil giggles.

Korulen shoots her roommate a look. "It's not actually funny. This was technically illegal."

"Only if we get caught. She can't get us caught."

"It's still not actually funny."

[slgemp141]

Of course! That's it!

--
The comforting dark of another Chicago watering hole, and Alicia, radiant in that red dress, relaxed...
"Wait, he actually..."
"Yep. He emailed the file."
"No."
"Oh yeah."
"And the cop knew the email sound?"
She laughed, that beautiful melodious laugh. "Kalinda, you know how hip I am. And even I know what sounds an iPhone makes."
It was so good to be drinking with her again. The nights of longing...She had stopped listening, eyes glazed over as Alicia went on about forfeiture corridors. For once enjoying a moment for what it was. Why couldn't they all be like this?
--

With hooded eyes she opens the voice memo feature on her phone and clears her throat. Of course, third-party consent may apply. But she'll cross that bridge when she comes to it. "So do you ladies abduct people often?"

[alicornucopia]

"No," says Saasnil. "We've never summoned anything before."

[slgemp141]

"And, uh," she continues, rapping a knuckle on the invisible barrier, "how does this summoning business work? You might as well bring me up to speed while we wait for your friend." Keep them talking. Always keep them talking.

[alicornucopia]

"Well, we had to get some summoning chalk, and then it was just - co-casting the spell out of the old book," shrugs Saasnil. "The ward's built-in, it's not a separate spell."

[slgemp141]

She blinks. If this is a dream, or a test, or whatever, why are there magic spells? She had never gone in for that sort of thing, even as a girl. She loved reruns of "Charlie's Angels" and "MacGyver," people who could solve problems in any scenario, no matter how ridiculous, people who could win a fight or a battle of wits and who were always smoother than her and always knew just what to say. No, she's learned her own magic. "Why me?" she asks Korulen.

[alicornucopia]

"It's random," Korulen says. "We didn't know who we were getting before you showed up."

[slgemp141]

"And why does Nemaar need to see me?"