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@joelle-stone

Lol, that was pretty funny.

Thank you!😊

@this-is-not-an-alien

Ooh, soliloquy’s soo fun to say! Like serendipity and selcouth and susurrus!

IKR!

Liorah

A girl swept between me and the others, protecting them. Two long, lightly curved swords seemed to appear in her hands. I eyed the weapons.

Gavril had told me anyone who fought with two swords was either pretentious or very, very good. Judging by how quickly she had drawn her swords, I would err on the latter side. This girl was not someone to trifle with. I kept my sword poised in a guarded, but not aggressive position.

The girl lowered her swords and smiled. I narrowed my eyes and did not drop my guard.

“We are people that ran into each other here and are trying to work together to escape. You must be new to the setting. I am Wen. You?”

A boy in the circle looked up, noticing me. He told the small girl he’d been whispering with something, then wandered over, muttering and counting on his fingers.

“Is that fourteen or fifteen now?” He turned his attention to me. “Oh, I’m Ehud, you’re trapped in another dimension now and we’re all gonna die!”

I frowned, trying to grasp what he meant. ‘Dimension’? ‘All going to die’? 

He peered at my sword, seeming to want to touch it. I raised an eyebrow. That was a strangely foolhardy thing to do. I wouldn’t attack him, but I had never seen anyone who’s first reaction to a bare sword was trying to touch the razor-sharp steel.

“…if there are three passages…that’s five members a team…” He muttered, staring into the distance as though calculating something.

I raised my chin.

“I’m Princess Liorah of the Lehabim and I just decided I’m not going to die,” I said, straightening my shoulders. The proper thing to do now would be to make a polite, smiling, fake curtsy. But I saw no reason to.

“My older brother said he’s going to win at sword practice tonight and I’ll prove him wrong if it’s the last thing I do,” I eyed Wen’s swords again, then decided to trust her. She didn’t seem hostile.

I slid my sword back into the scabbard but kept my hand on the hilt, ready to draw again.

“Also, if your entire plan is splitting up and exploring the tunnels, I’m not going to help.” I snorted. “The walls move, and I’m not going to get trapped in a stone prison without air. Dying isn’t in my plans for today.”

I hugged myself, glaring at the cave in general. Stupid weather. Why was it so cold in here? An icy draft washed over me, sweeping through the cave. The others didn’t seem to mind, for some reason.

Draft. Air.

I looked up and saw a small spot of light above us. It was no larger than my hand, and the stone surrounding it was thick. At least we were in no danger of immediate suffocation. I pushed my way through the other people toward the spot of light, paying them no heed.

I bumped into the small girl. Her large dog growled and I took a step away.

“I beg your pardon,” I said, absently, before standing directly beneath the spot of light. I scowled up at it. There was something… The idea slid into place.

I grinned.

“We can get out of here. I’m not going into those passages blind, but I know something.” I twisted my braid around my wrist. Talking in front of so many people made me nervous, so I made sure not to speak directly to anyone. “Does anyone have something to burn? Fabric, sticks, anything.”

_______

Just want to clarify real quick, it’s not actually particularly cold in the cave.😉 Liorah lived in a desert her whole life, so she exaggerates the cold.

I’m having a ton of fun! I love everyone’s characters!