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"I guess… we don't. But she hasn't tried to attack us yet, and she looked pretty insubstantial as well. So… I guess we just hope she doesn't turn on us." Laurel bit her lip. She was concerned about Alina's levels of friendliness as well, and there was something about her appearance and those two holes in her forehead that bothered her a lot. Hopefully, the place they were going to would have some answers.
"I hope she doesn't." Ana shook her head in confusion. "Why is this happening, anyway?" She turned onto a gravel road, through some trees. There, the golden line stopped.
"Same," Laurel agreed, looking back at the road ahead of them. "I have no idea. I hope there's some explanation wherever we're going." She spotted the end of the line and looked up. A little ways past the golden line was a castle made of pale silver stone. It was a pretty small castle, but it was still a castle. "Whoa!" Laurel gasped, a small smile appearing on her face despite herself. "What is that doing here?"
"I-I've been this way before, and I've never seen a castle here before," Ana said, her voice amazed. "Then again, I haven't ever been along this road, but still… a castle." She shook her head and brushed her hair from her face. "Should we go in?" She asked Laurel. "Because if we do, I should hide the car."
"Yeah, we should go in!" Laurel exclaimed, clearly excited about the whole thing. "You should probably do that first, though. If that castle appeared out of nowhere, who knows what– or who– else did." As if on cue, a crashing sound came from the castle along with some shouting. Laurel couldn't make out what was being said, but it sounded angry.
"Um… this probably isn't a good idea." Ana backed the car into some bushes, unbuckling and hopping out to hide the car with branches. She grabbed a few knives and a handgun. "We should go check that out. Come on."
She pulled her hair into a ponytail and pulled her hood over her head, clenching her weapons in both hands, as if trying not to shake.
Laurel simply nodded, checking to make sure the knife she'd grabbed was with her. She helped Ana hid the car, then started towards the castle. The door was closed but unlocked, and opened soundlessly. Inside was a large entry hall, some doors on the sides. In the center of the hall was a short person with black hair, their back to the door. They were muttering angrily to themselves, hands waving around wildly.
(bump)
(Sorry! I've been offline a lot.)
Ana clenched her gun tightly in her fists. Should she avoid the person in the entryway? Find another way into the castle? This could be a trap, she knew, and she needed to keep away from other people if she could help it. She glanced at Laurel, a question in her eyes. "What should we do?" She murmured quietly.
(Okay, you're fine!)
Laurel stared at the person, eyes wide. She had no idea what to do now that the castle had a person living inside of it. Or, at least a person standing in it. At Ana's words, she looked over at her, but a voice coming from the direction of the person caught her attention.
"What should we do?" Laurel looked back to see the person staring right at them. "Sorry, was that meant to be a personal question? I have very good ears." They took a few steps closer and Laurel could see it was a woman. There was something really weird about her, but Laurel couldn't place it.
"Um… I don't know," Laurel whispered at Ana, keeping her eyes on the strange woman. She looked much more alive than Alina had, but Laurel was still on edge.
(Thanks. I know I haven't been the best person to rp with lol)
"I think we should avoid them," Ana murmured, pulling a knife from her jacket and replacing the gun. She spun the knife in her fingers with the ease of a master, and frowned. "There's something that isn't right about her. She's… strange, like that one Alina person. Unless you'd rather see if they have any helpful commentary or warnings for the weapons?"
(Eh, that's to be debated. Your writing is pretty great! :)
"Yeah, agreed." Laurel nodded, glad she had Ana with her. If she was alone, and whoever that was attacked… she didn't like her chances.
"Did you say Alina?" The woman asked, her entire face lighting up. "I love Alina! I'm Endor, her… ex-bodyguard, current friend. If you know Alina, then she must have sent you here. Wherever here is." Endor narrowed her eyes and looked around suspiciously. "But, anyway! If she sent you here, it's because you need my help." Endor spread her arms wide, another wide smile on her face.
(Yours is better, though.)
"How do you know we can trust you?" Ana interrupted, her tone wary. Her eyes were hard, and she looked like she didn't believe a word of what the strange woman had said. "Or Alina, for that matter? What proof do we have that you're not evil, or that you want something out of us?"
(Really? Thank you! :)
"Well, you don't. But you should believe that you can." Endor frowned and tapped her lip. "Well, we're not evil because someone else already took that position. And we do want something from you: help." She shrugged, looking from Ana to Laurel. "And I have something for you, too, if you want to trust me enough to take it." Laurel frowned and glanced at Ana for a second. She was kind of freaked out about this 'Endor' person, but at the same time… she was offering them help. And Laurel, at least, was so ready for some help.
(It's true!)
"Why do you need help?" Ana asked, still wary. "You seem pretty powerful yourself. Why not do it alone?"
She knew that she was probably treading on dangerous ground, but she wasn't ready to do anything unless she had a valid explination. She met eyes with Laurel, eyes questioning.
(finger guns :)
"Well, I am powerful. Very powerful. But, uh, I'm not the right person for this job. You are!" Endor said, pointing at Laurel– or was it Ana– with a big smile. "That's why Alina chose you. Any other questions?" Laurel glanced from Endor back to Ana, and shrugged. She didn't really trust this strange woman, but if she had answers about the monsters and all…
"We should probably see how much she knows," Laurel whispered to Ana, hoping Endor didn't overhear her. "It might help us."
(XD)
Ana sighed, pursing her lips. "Alright," she murmured quietly, lips barely moving. "Maybe we can find more about this dangerous threat that they seem to be up against. But be careful, she might be leading us into a trap." She wondered who Endor had been pointing to. It was probably Laurel. Ana was no one special, plus, she was already a fighter. She didn't need any more power… right?
"Hmm." Laurel nodded ever so slightly, her eyes straying back to Endor. The strange woman was standing in the middle of the room still, her hands fluttering through the air.
"Done talking between yourselves? Good. Come this way. I promise I won't hurt you." Endor's hands dropped to her sides, and she turned, walking towards one of the doors. At the last second, she stepped to one side. Laurel half-expected Endor to simply walk right through the wall, but that didn't happen. Endor walked right into the wall, her head smacking into the stone. "Ow!" Laurel stared as Endor clutched her head, muttering curses. This was the person they were looking to for help. They were going to die.
"Oh no," Ana mumbled, staring at Endor, who had run into the wall. "Are we sure she can help us?" She asked, not even trying to be quiet. "If we're supposed to place our lives in the hands of someone who can't see straight - " she stopped. "Are you blind?" She asked suddenly.
"Um… At first I thought, maybe? And now… nope." Laurel shook her head, running a hand through her hair.
"I am not blind! Magic doors are a little difficult and I can never remember if it's open or not!" Endor shouted, tapping a stone on the wall. She cautiously reached forward, grinning when her hand somehow went through the wall.
"Um… magic door," Laurel said, a small, amazed smile appearing on her face. "Awesome."
"It's just an illusion," Ana said, rolling her eyes, less inclined to believe all this… magic… stuff. She shook her head. "Pretty advanced tech. Anyway, are we supposed to walk through the wall?"
"I mean, you're not wrong about the illusion thing." Endor shrugged, looking back at them. "It's not 'tech', whatever that is. And yes, walk through the wall with me!" She grinned and disappeared through the stones. Laurel glanced at Ana, then decided 'screw it' and hurried after Endor. Laurel was a little hesitant to walk through the wall, but after feeling that nothing was there with her hand, slowly walked through the 'wall'. It was a bit like walking through mist, except she didn't get wet at all. All together, Laurel wasn't dead– yet– and magic was real. So, amazing.
Ana frowned. She liked to be in control, and this was anything but. She pinched her lips together, but followed Laurel. She had to protect the girl, after all. There was something interesting about her, and Ana was hesitant to abandon anyone.
Laurel emerged into a large room stuffed full of bookshelves and all sorts of other stuff. There were statues, chairs, tables, cabinets full of glowing bottles, and a skull sitting on a pedestal in the corner of the room. Laurel gasped in amazement, then glanced behind her. Hopefully, Ana would be coming soon. She really didn't want to choose between magic and Ana.
"Welcome to my storage room!" Endor exclaimed, throwing her hands towards the ceiling.
Ana, who had come through just as Endor said that. She raised an eyebrow. "A big storage room. What is there a skull?" She asked, spotting it. She moved quickly over to it, studying it with clinical interest. "Is it real?" She asked, voice interested for the first time since entering the castle.