2785/AToF - Songbird part 1

AToF - Songbird part 1
Date of Scene:	12 August 2015
Location:	Soul Eater World
Synopsis:	Ella sees strange visions as her own sight does not work in a strange place.
Cast of Characters:	22, 729
Tinyplot:	A Taste of Fear

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Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    There is nothing familiar about this.

    It's cold, strange and eerie, without a single sense of comfort.

    Whatever this place is, it's been here for a long time. But still, however you found your way here is a mystery as well. No matter how hard you think, no memory comes to mind that would explain just why you are here.

    But here you are, in the middle of the night.

    Or perhaps it's daytime? It's hard to tell, considering it's all dark. Maybe it's just the fact that Ella is unable to see that makes it dark, it's impossible to know. The air here is pretty heavy, dry and old, leaving a somewhat sour taste in her mouth. It smells of stone, sand and fire. Yet it is quiet save for the sound of her own breathing and her own heartbeat.

    Upon inspection however Ella will find that she has nothing save for her own clothes. No radio, no phone, nothing. It's just her and the darkness.

Nightblind (729) has posed:
    Night, day, it didn't matter. She couldn't see anything anyway. She exhales, stirring as she comes to. She takes a deep breath throguh her mouth, taking in the sour taste. The acrid taste of distant fire... this was not home.

    Her hearing told her nothing of this place, save that her heartrate was rising. Ella McRae slowly tapped herself down. Her sweatshirt. A T-shirt, her jeans and shoes. Socks. Underwear. No radio. No phone.

    ... and no Nightblind gear.

    The girl shifts her weight, and stoops down, slowly trying to feel her way to a wall, keeping an ear out.

    She doesn't say anything. She tries not to even let her sneakers scrape against the floor as she tries to determine what it is... and maybe where she's been brought to.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    The first thing that might catch her attention is the fact that her foot steps echo, bouncing off of the walls. Wherever she is doesn't have a high ceiling, and it's pretty close between the walls here. During her search Ella finds a cold and dry stone wall, rough against her fingertips. It's not fine stone, not something new and fancy, like marble. This feels more like large stone blocks that has been placed together.

    The floor is pretty even though luckily, which might reduce her chances for tripping.

Nightblind (729) has posed:
    Large stone blocks. An echoing hallway. A mysterious transportation.

    Ella isn't liking this. ANd the temperature may drop a little of its own accord as she puts her hand to the wall, and begins to walk very carefully forward, sweeping with a toe for anything she might run into.

    No radio. No vision devices. Nothing. Ella is literally walking blind.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Every foot step echoes gently against the walls as Ella begins making her way. Now and then the sound and feel of lit torches on the wall can be felt, the warmth offering some comfort against the cold that rules this place along with the darkness.

    After some minutes of walking however, something peculiar happens.

    It's as if static strikes. Something strange dances in front of Ella's eyes, as if she's granted a moment of sight. A glimpse of what's going on. But it's not what's in front of Ella that flashes before her eyes.

    A darkened room with flickering torches lining the wall, all seen through the point of view of somebody low to the ground. Up above the ceiling rises high, all before the view turns downwards to a pair of thin arms that struggle against the chains that bind them.

    It only lasts for a moment. Then it's gone, and Ella is once again left to the darkness.

    Yet in the distance, she should be able to hear the rattling of chains, just faintly.

Nightblind (729) has posed:
    A sudden vision catches Ella offguard, and she gasps, raising her arm in reflex to block the sudden light. It was the wrong vantage point. She can see the ceiling, but it didn't make sense to have it that high. The arms catch her attention, thin arms, struggling against their bindings.

    But it was another person... or... something else.

    The young woman brushes her fingers against the wall again, and she begins to make her way towards the sound of chains, careful for the pockets of warmth... who knows what else is lurking down here!

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Onward she goes, and as Ella follows the sound she heads down the corridor. But as she walks, trailing her hand against the wall, she is suddenly met with empty air. The wall ends as it opens up into another corridor that goes on to the left. Upon further inspection it seems that the hallway continues on onwards.

    The sound of the rattling chains is closer now, but due to the echoes it's pretty hard to tell which way it's coming from. Though... are the hallways all connected? It might sound like it.

    Which way way it be? The corridor to the left, or continue onwards?

Nightblind (729) has posed:
    Ella exhales in a soft 'chuff' sound. She turns, and puts the current wall to her back, and slowly begins to step forwards, fingers outstretched, keeping in a straight line to try and find the right-hand wall. Shegives a shudder, hoping there aren't spiders in the way. Wondering how she got here. Wondering what happened...

    "What would I do to have Toph here." she mutters, half crossly.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Finding the righthand wall of the corridor is easy, and it's only a few feet away. These corridors aren't too large, and the stone feels the same as Ella touches it. No spiders, no creepy crawlies or slithering sinisters can be felt or heard.

    The chiming of the rattling chains still echo as Ella continues her blind march. More choices present themselves as the wall ends and yet another corridor to the right presents itself. But then there is something else that can be heard from it... a soft male voice singing.

    "A candle lit for you, my little songbird..."

    Are those footsteps coming from the same direction?

    "A candle to shine like the sun..."

    Yes, those are definitively footsteps.

    "Giving you light, shining so bright now that the night has begun~"

Nightblind (729) has posed:
    Well, thought Ella. THAT ISN'T CREEPY AT ALL.

    The blind woman slides back a little bit, canting her head, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. The echos confuse her hearing.

    Little songbird. A candle to shine like the sun.

    "... hello?" she calls out now.

    Well. You're already stuck in the dark, can't see and you can't fight what you don't know is there.

    It's worth a shot.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    It sounds like the footsteps and the song is coming from the righthand corridor. And it's coming closer and closer.

    At least until Ella calls out.

    The footsteps suddenly halt, all until the voice can be heard, though this time speaking.

    "Is that you...? Oh, I've been searching for you!" There's clear eagerness in the man's tone, and his footsteps resume in the distance. "Now haven't you been a bad girl... getting loose like that, you could have hurt yourself!"

    His voice echoes slightly, though there is one sound missing. The rattling of the chains.

Nightblind (729) has posed:
    "I think perhaps you have the wrong idea." she ventures, trying to get a bead on the stranger's voice. The chains stopped moving. Ella holds her breath a moment, and tries to will the pounding heart, the blood rushing past her ears to be silent. "Where am I?"

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    "You have ventured outside the cage, little songbird," the man coos softly. By the sounds of it he is getting closer. And suddenly his voice is clearer, less thrown by echo as it sounds like he is at the other end of the corridor, which sounds like it's about twenty to thirty feet away. Whoever he is, he sounds to be middle-aged. His voice is kind, soft and patient.

    "Such a bad little song bird."

    Then the footsteps continue, a little quicker now. And right towards Ella.

Nightblind (729) has posed:
    Ella considers, and she squares her stance slightly. She braces herself against the wall.

    If there's one thing that Ella keeps close to her heart, it's that she doesn't sing in cages.

    She counts his steps, as the echo fades and she gets a better idea of where he stands, coming at her, she puts her weight forawrd and reaches out to grab the man, and try and throw him against the wall, not knowing who -- or what -- he's dealing with.

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    The footsteps are coming closer and closer, and when he's about ten feet or so away from Ella, the man lets out a sigh. "You really shouldn't have left the hall. I would have come to you, you know."

    When she reaches out to grab the man as he gets closer however, she will get a slight surprise as the man seems to refuse to budge. He's taller than Ella, has a more solid build... and he's strong, which should be clear as he reaches out to grab her by the front of her throat with the intent of slamming /her/ against the wall.

Nightblind (729) has posed:
    He's far more solid than she anticipated. She gives a surprised 'grk' sound as her throats grabbed -- but Ella's no stranger to people trying to get rough. She's dazed, but she braces herself and brings her knee up, sharply, trying to judge from the size of the man's hand over where his... pressure point would be.

    The girl though is in a panic. Who does he think she /is/? The person chained to the wall?

Medusa Gorgon (22) has posed:
    Up close the man smells metallic, and he moves up close to Ella. His hand has a strong grip at her throat, fingers digging in and pressing against her trachea.

    "My little songbird..." he chuckles sinisterly, his voice having a raspy tone to it. Though he grunts when she brings her knee roughly up, it seems that Ella is unsuccessful in harming him somewhere it might hurt. Wait... are his fingers becoming longer? There's the sound of creaking right in front of her, and warm breath washes over Ella's face as he leans closer. When his voice is heard again it sounds far less comforting.

    "A candle lit for me, my little songbird..."

    The static returns in full force, hitting like a migraine as there's a vision once again slowly taking over her eyes.

    "A candle to guide me through the dark~"

    The hall is there again with the ceiling high above, all before the vision returns to the floor. Small hands rest on the stone floor, the chains half undone and bloodied from where they have dug into the skin around the wrists. The song seems distant as it echoes throughout the surrounding hallways.

    Again the static disappears, and the warmth is even closer as the man leans in even closer.

    "A candle glinting upon the blade as I take your heart...!"

    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

    It's suddenly a lot easier to breathe again as Ella wakes with a start. Gone are the long fingers around her throat, the heavy and warm breath upon her face... and there is no song or static. But it should be clear she's no longer in that strange place, yet the memories of it remain clearer than most dreams or nightmares ever seem to be.

Nightblind (729) has posed:
    Ella screams. She can't breathe, but she tries. Her hands flail out, trying to grab on, to knock about. Anything that might free her.

    And when she awakes, she is still screaming. Her pillow falls to the floor with a flump! The heat in the room clicks on, unusuall for Stonegate's summer evenings. Dakota barks, his deep voice and alarm evident as sharp toenails dig into the covers, trying to rescue Ella from her own bed.

%THer room smells like pears and vanilla. It's warm, and sweet smell. And the young woman reaches up and brushes her fingers lightly over the implants of her temples.

    And she leans back, shuddering.

    A candle lit for me, my little songbird....
    A candle to guide me through the dark...