Karla's Inner Landscape, Late Monday Night/ Early Tuesday Morning Fandom Time

[glacial_queen]

At first there was mist. A dark and heavy mist occasionally illuminated by crackles of Sapphire lightning. Through the mist, they could sometimes make out the shape of trees, twisted and heavy. The ground was soft and squelched beneath their feet.

Abruptly the mist parted and there was light. Balls of dimly-colored light—witchlights, Karla had called them—burned in crystal goblets that hung unsupported in the air. If one looked closely, they could see small hairline cracks beginning to form at the base of each chalice. Small, hardly noticeable, but with the potential to grow and shatter the crystal if left alone. Behind them was the dark, misty wood they had come through, but ahead, the forest split, showing two paths leading on to the distance. Both paths were lit by the floating chalices, though they veered into different directions no more than a few feet down either side. There was no way to tell where either path led.

And no sign of Karla.

[Establishy, NFB, NFI save for plot-slaves Team Rescue! WARNING: DARK THEMES. POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING. TRUFAX]

Comments

Decide where to Go

[glacial_queen]

Who is going where? With whom?

Re: Decide where to Go

[momslilassassin]

"We should split up," Ben declared as he tried to orient himself to their new surroundings. "We can cover more ground that way."

Re: Decide where to Go

[trigons_child]

"Neither path calls to me more than the other," Raven said, looking from one to the other. She was frustrated that she couldn't sense which way to go to help Karla.

Re: Decide where to Go

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Well, this was going to be fun. First time getting pulled into one of these situations and she'd jumped right into the deep end, hadn't she?

"Well, geez, let's not stand around taking all day about it." Katchoo's eyes narrowed as she glanced between the two paths. "Don't know about you, but I'm going that way."

Briarwood

[glacial_queen]

Briarwood is the pretty poison. There is no cure for Briarwood.

A large, brick building. Though the architecture is lovely, there is a sad and desolate air about the place. And the building itself screams 'asylum.' The grounds are vast and snowcovered, with several tall hedges clustered on the back of the building. Off to one side is a small garden.

There is also a large tree, standing off by itself, with a perfect branch, just shaped for swinging. It is empty.

Briarwood: The Grounds

[glacial_queen]

There seems to be little more to the grounds than just what could be seen at first glance, but, like with everything in Briarwood, those appearances were deceiving.

The first hint that all was not right was the sudden appearance of a young girl, walking closer. She seemed solid and very real, from the top of her brown hair to the bottom of her blood-soaked dress. "Hi there," she said, smiling prettily. The act of speaking made the edges of the gaping wound in her throat move and tear. "Welcome to Briarwood. Want the tour?"

Re: Briarwood: The Grounds

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine would be staring in horror, thank you. "Are you--" No, no, she was not all right, but it wasn't presence of mind and the conscious knowledge that this wasn't real, it was a memory, that cut off Francine's question. Just her own throat closing up. "What... who did that to you?"

Re: Briarwood: The Grounds

[glacial_queen]

"Uncle Bobby," the girl answered. She couldn't have been more than eight or nine when she died. "He slit my throat when I told him I wouldn't lick the lollipop."

Briarwood: Inside

[glacial_queen]

Inside the building is cold and deserted. The warmth and luxury of the area just inside the entrance (presumably the only parts guests would see) soon led to barren and austere rooms. The individual bedrooms were almost the size of closets, filled with a thin, child-sized metal bed and tiny cupboard for clothing. There were no pictures, no books, nothing to show that a person with real thoughts and feelings and emotions lived here. The dining room was also small, with a few tables and child-sized chairs chairs clustered around them.

Everything in here felt so grim, so stark.

And then a young girl appeared. She brings in the first hint of color--the bright red of blood that covered her dress. "Hi there," she said, smiling prettily. The act of speaking made the edges of the gaping wound in her throat move and tear. "Welcome to Briarwood. Want the tour?"

Re: Briarwood: Inside

[trigons_child]

To say Raven was uncomfortable in this place would be an understatement. She walked through the building, trying to sense Karla's presence.

When the girl appeared, she almost jumped, then stared at her in horror. Her words and demeanor didn't match the wound in her throat. "Yes," she said hesitantly. "What is your name?"

Briarwood: The Uncles' Playground

[glacial_queen]

The corridors are softly lit and thickly carpeted to muffle sounds. Here is all the warmth and comfort that had been missing in the rest of Briarwood. The furniture was all comfortable and well built--even the straps on the beds were of fine, hand-tooled leather and the sheets finely woven.

There were many rooms in this hidden wing. There was the gaming room, where girls stood as stakes for a hand of poker or cradle. There were many, many soundproofed cubicles just big enough to hold a chair, a bed, and a 'toybox'--no dolls or blocks for these rooms, however. The largest room was the playpen, where misty little girls wandered in tiny little nighties. They had been dosed up with the special 'medicine', which kept them panting and eager and sensitive. So sensitive that the slightest touch soon turned to pain. The medicine didn't stop them from whimpering though. Or crying.

Re: Briarwood: The Uncles' Playground

[trigons_child]

Raven kept a hand pressed to her mouth, biting her finger so she wouldn't scream. They were inside Karla's head, this wasn't real, this wasn't real. Maybe if she kept telling herself that she would believe it. But even the ghost echoes of torment and anguish were clawing at her shields, threatening to overwhelm her. How could Karla survive this awful place?

Re: Briarwood: The Uncles' Playground

[momslilassassin]

For a boy who thought of himself as fairly jaded, there were aspects of the human condition Ben hadn't been exposed to, and right now he really wanted that ignorance back.

He had his hand tightly gripped on the hilt of his lightsaber to stop from keeping it clapped over his mouth.

"Karla?" he called out softly.

Glacia

[glacial_queen]

At first glance, the road led you to a perfectly lovely 19th century town, complete with carriages, horses, and cobblestone streets. Except it doesn't feel 'perfectly lovely'. The air is oppressive and the entire town stinks of fear and pain and a malicious glee. As you pass, frightened faces glance out of windows, then slam shutters closed, bolting them securely.

Voices cry out and are quickly silenced, but it's impossible to tell where they're coming from.

Glacia: The Streets

[glacial_queen]

A young woman dashed out of the alley, clearly almost mindless with terror. Her face was wet with tears and already starting to bruise. She didn't seem at all aware that anyone else was present, wholly occupied with getting away from that alley.

Re: Glacia: The Streets

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah looked after her, trying to remind herself that this was just a memory. "I've seen this movie. This is a bad, bad movie to be in," she muttered. "I'm thinking we should follow her."

Glacia: The Tavern

[glacial_queen]

The tavern was almost completely deserted, just a few well-dressed males sitting at a table in front of the fire. Their serving-girl, barely thirteen, stood silent and frightened in the shadows. Every so often one of them would call for her and she would approach, unable to hide her trembling.

Behind the bar stood a man, resemblance suggesting he was the girl's father. Fear and impotent rage warred in his face, with fear winning whenever the girl had to get too close.

The young men, however, didn't seem to notice the fear. Or, if they did, it was only to find it amusing.

Re: Glacia: The Tavern

[divinesurfchick.livejournal.com]

Still sickened by the men they'd fought in the alley, Aphrodite was halfway glad to step inside.

But after watching the fear on the girl's face, and hearing the comments by the men, she wanted to curl up in Max's arms and pretend the whole night was just a dream.

"Dinah, stay close to Max, please?" One of them should feel comforted by the big man's presence.

Glacia: The Party at the Estate

[glacial_queen]

There was at least one home that seemed immune to the fear pervading the rest of the town. It was a large estate, on top of the hill, looking almost like a benevolent king smiling down on his courtiers. Music and lights spilled out of the windows, and inside men and women in handsome suits and beautiful gowns could be seen laughing and dancing.

Re: Glacia: The Party at the Estate

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Or the hangout of a mafia don. People profiting from pain always seemed to be enjoying themselves. At least from a distance.

"Front door, or side door?" Dinah asked 'Dite and Max softly. "I'm thinking side. Or break a window somewhere."

OOC

[glacial_queen]

I think that's everything. And, if it isn't, I can fake it for awhile and then add as needed.

Re: OOC

[thatsamilkshake]

Carrot Patch.

*wibble* *creepify* *wibble*

Re: OOC

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

Dear gods... you made it feel just like it felt when I read that part the first time. *shudders*

My inner girls would like to smash and set on fire.

Re: OOC

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

Two things:

1) Sorry for disappearing last week. Busy, busy, and other such lame excuses.

2) Do we want to finish up the thread? I didn't want to just jump in and do it in case you had a plan which doing so would ruin.

Re: OOC

[glacial_queen]

Considering I did the same thing this weekend, you are forgiven. I'm eating your candy for it, though.

2) YES!