The Fae World: Thian: Lottie: New Game
Oct. 26th, 2016 08:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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kawebbwritingFor a long time all Lottie could do was stare at the options in front of her. It definitely wasn’t what she’d been expecting. She’d read about the light, and the door, and all sorts of other things, but she’d never once heard about someone who’d died being faced with the choice of pressing one of three buttons. Heaven sounded boring, to be honest. The last thing she wanted was to end up somewhere that was meant to be perfect. Hell… well, she’d heard a lot about hell, and she couldn’t be certain that any of it was true, but that didn’t meant she wanted to put herself in danger of being tortured for the rest of time. After thinking it through it seemed like the only thing she could do was press ‘New Game’ and hope for the best.
“Thank you for choosing a new game.” Lottie looked around, wondering where the voice had come from. “Please choose your avatar.”
In front of her was a body. It looked very much like the body she’d left behind, so she didn’t have to change it, but she’d never been entirely happy with what she looked like. Her skin colour was fine. Hair colour could be a little blonder. Not too much, though. She cycled through the colours, trying to work out what she wanted, before going in the other direction, wondering if she’d been wrong to spend half her life dying her hair blond. When she found a shade mahogany she never thought she would have picked she nodded to herself. It worked. Her eyes needed to be different, though. Once again she cycled through the colours, picking a nice shade of brown. Her body shape was something she was happy enough with, although experience told her she didn’t want her breasts to be quite as large as they were. The back ache that came with them was an issue.
Clothes appeared next. They weren’t what she would have imagined choosing from if she was going back to the life she’d led before, but Lottie knew it was possible she might be going back in time. It seemed sensible for something that would cover her well, keep her warm, and protect her from bad weather, but then there was a chance she might end up living in a hot place.
Sighing, she picked the best she could, even though she wasn’t entirely certain they were the right things to have picked. When she was as happy with the choices she’d made as she could be she took a step back. “If you would like to save this avatar please say save. To begin again please say restart. To randomise the avatar please say random.”
“Save.”
“Your avatar has been saved. Please choose where your game will begin.”
A map appeared in front of her, and it definitely wasn’t a map of Earth. Lottie shook her head. Maybe she’d made a mistake. Was there any way back to the beginning? As she didn’t think there was she focused on studying the map, trying to work out what world she’d end up on, but there was nothing about it that seemed familiar. Finally she pressed one of the larger cities, not knowing whether or not that was a good choice. “Your choice has been saved. Enjoy the game.”
In a blink, literally, Lottie found herself standing in a room that she guessed was a bedroom in an inn. Slowly, to make certain she took everything in, she turned, wondering if she’d made the right choice when she picked ‘new game’. As it was far too late to be having doubts she focused on what her next step was going to be. There was a bag on the chair. Logically it had to be hers, so she walked over to it. Would it tell her anything about the world she found herself on? Would she have anything within it? Breathing deeply she put her hand into it and the first thing she touched felt like it was full of coins. Relieved she pulled it out. There weren’t as many in there are she would have liked, but it was better than nothing. The next thing she touched was what felt like parchment.
Pulling it out far faster than she should have done, in the hope it was something that would tell her where she was an what she was doing there, Lottie found the paper almost disintegrating in her hand. Carefully she put it down on the floor. It seemed like there had been words on it once, but it was no good to her as it was. That, she was certain, wasn’t damage she’d caused, but it had been like that when it was put into the bag. Sighing, she went back to the bag. When she touched another piece of parchment she was more aware of how easy it would be to make in unreadable and she was much more gentle with it when she removed it.
When Lottie looked at it she found it was something helpful. It just wasn’t as helpful as she was hoping it would be. ‘15 coppers = 1 silver; 7 silvers = 1 gold. Payment for the room is 3 silvers. All food extra.’ Knowing how the money worked was helpful and when she tipped the purse out she found it was full of silvers. Carefully she counted them out. 19 silvers, 3 to go towards the room, and so far no way to replenish them. She put it back into her purse, making the decision the best thing she could do was go downstairs to listen to people talking. If she could get a drink of some kind, spend a little time learning more about where she was, hopefully she would have more of an idea what she should do next.
She’d just put everything back in her bag when the door opened. For a long time she stared at the man in front of her, and he stared back at her. “I was told this room wasn’t taken.”
Lottie smiled. “I was just leaving.” All she could do was hope that was the right thing to say. “I’d forgotten something. You know how it is.”
As she pulled the bag onto her shoulder she tried not to pay any attention the way he was staring at her. She was almost out the door when he said, “You picked ‘new game’, didn’t you?”
Slowly, Lottie turned to look at him. “How did you know?”
“I did the same thing.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “I’m Bastien.”
“Lottie.” She nibbled her lip. “How long have you been here?”
“A couple of years, in their time. I have no idea how long it would be on Earth.”
Nodding, she glanced down at the floor before looking back at him. “Would you be willing to help me learn what I need to know?”
“Of course.” He gestured for her to step back into the room. “Those of us who were brave enough to pick new game should stick together.”
Breathing a sigh of relief Lottie stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. “Are there many of us?”
“More and more people seem to be choosing new game when they are given the option. I don’t believe everyone is. Just those of us who would be best able to cope with this.”
“Right now I don’t feel like I’m able to cope with this.”
“You wouldn’t.” She could see the sympathy in his eyes. “You’ve just found yourself on another world, Lottie, and it’s going to take some time to get used to, but I promise you it will happen. What do you have in your bag?”
“A purse with money in it and a piece of parchment that’s very damaged.” Lottie had done her best to keep it from falling apart entirely, but she didn’t know if it had survived being in the bag. “Nothing else.”
“Give me the parchment.”
“Why?”
“There are things I can do to help you see what was originally on it.” He studied her. “Your bag would have belonged to someone who once lived here, and now doesn’t. It should give you an idea of who you can be, when you’ve been here a little longer, although you don’t have to follow that path. You are free to do whatever you want.”
Carefully, so it wouldn’t disintegrate entirely before Bastien could do whatever he was going to do, Lottie took the piece of parchment out of her bag. He gestured for her to put it on the dresser. “What can you do to it?”
“Sometimes I can fix it. Sometimes I can copy it. It all depends on what this was originally. From the state it’s in it’s obviously very old. I’ve worked with old parchment before, but this is going to take a little bit of time.”
Lottie sat down on the bed, not wanting to put him off by being impatient. Hearing him chant over the parchment wasn’t entirely unexpected. She kept her eyes on the window, instead of staring at Bastien, because she knew that might make what he was doing harder than it already was, even though she wanted to see what he was doing. Finally he looked over at her. “You are going to have a very interesting time ahead of you, if you choose to follow the same path the person who originally owned the bag was walking.”
“What do you mean?”
Bastien sat down next to her, the piece of parchment still in his hand, and she kept not looking at him. “I’m not going to lie to you. This isn’t easy. Choosing ‘new game’… there have been plenty of time when I wished I made a different choice, but I feel like the options we’re given at that point are specifically chosen to make us more likely to pick ‘new game’.” He sighed. “You’re here now, and what you need to do is decide what that means. I can tell you what you need to know, in the way I was taught myself, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to know what path you want to be on. All I can do is try my best to help you.”
“Am I the first one you’ve come across?”
“No, but you’re the first one I’ve chosen to help.”
“Why didn’t you help the others?”
“I couldn’t. Back then I wasn’t ready to help someone else. I was still learning the ropes myself, and I… other people would have been there. That’s always the way it is. Someone is in the right place at the right time. This time it was me, and I know what to do now. I know I can help you.”
Nodding, Lottie looked at Bastien, and their eyes met. “Tell me what you know.”
“Thank you for choosing a new game.” Lottie looked around, wondering where the voice had come from. “Please choose your avatar.”
In front of her was a body. It looked very much like the body she’d left behind, so she didn’t have to change it, but she’d never been entirely happy with what she looked like. Her skin colour was fine. Hair colour could be a little blonder. Not too much, though. She cycled through the colours, trying to work out what she wanted, before going in the other direction, wondering if she’d been wrong to spend half her life dying her hair blond. When she found a shade mahogany she never thought she would have picked she nodded to herself. It worked. Her eyes needed to be different, though. Once again she cycled through the colours, picking a nice shade of brown. Her body shape was something she was happy enough with, although experience told her she didn’t want her breasts to be quite as large as they were. The back ache that came with them was an issue.
Clothes appeared next. They weren’t what she would have imagined choosing from if she was going back to the life she’d led before, but Lottie knew it was possible she might be going back in time. It seemed sensible for something that would cover her well, keep her warm, and protect her from bad weather, but then there was a chance she might end up living in a hot place.
Sighing, she picked the best she could, even though she wasn’t entirely certain they were the right things to have picked. When she was as happy with the choices she’d made as she could be she took a step back. “If you would like to save this avatar please say save. To begin again please say restart. To randomise the avatar please say random.”
“Save.”
“Your avatar has been saved. Please choose where your game will begin.”
A map appeared in front of her, and it definitely wasn’t a map of Earth. Lottie shook her head. Maybe she’d made a mistake. Was there any way back to the beginning? As she didn’t think there was she focused on studying the map, trying to work out what world she’d end up on, but there was nothing about it that seemed familiar. Finally she pressed one of the larger cities, not knowing whether or not that was a good choice. “Your choice has been saved. Enjoy the game.”
In a blink, literally, Lottie found herself standing in a room that she guessed was a bedroom in an inn. Slowly, to make certain she took everything in, she turned, wondering if she’d made the right choice when she picked ‘new game’. As it was far too late to be having doubts she focused on what her next step was going to be. There was a bag on the chair. Logically it had to be hers, so she walked over to it. Would it tell her anything about the world she found herself on? Would she have anything within it? Breathing deeply she put her hand into it and the first thing she touched felt like it was full of coins. Relieved she pulled it out. There weren’t as many in there are she would have liked, but it was better than nothing. The next thing she touched was what felt like parchment.
Pulling it out far faster than she should have done, in the hope it was something that would tell her where she was an what she was doing there, Lottie found the paper almost disintegrating in her hand. Carefully she put it down on the floor. It seemed like there had been words on it once, but it was no good to her as it was. That, she was certain, wasn’t damage she’d caused, but it had been like that when it was put into the bag. Sighing, she went back to the bag. When she touched another piece of parchment she was more aware of how easy it would be to make in unreadable and she was much more gentle with it when she removed it.
When Lottie looked at it she found it was something helpful. It just wasn’t as helpful as she was hoping it would be. ‘15 coppers = 1 silver; 7 silvers = 1 gold. Payment for the room is 3 silvers. All food extra.’ Knowing how the money worked was helpful and when she tipped the purse out she found it was full of silvers. Carefully she counted them out. 19 silvers, 3 to go towards the room, and so far no way to replenish them. She put it back into her purse, making the decision the best thing she could do was go downstairs to listen to people talking. If she could get a drink of some kind, spend a little time learning more about where she was, hopefully she would have more of an idea what she should do next.
She’d just put everything back in her bag when the door opened. For a long time she stared at the man in front of her, and he stared back at her. “I was told this room wasn’t taken.”
Lottie smiled. “I was just leaving.” All she could do was hope that was the right thing to say. “I’d forgotten something. You know how it is.”
As she pulled the bag onto her shoulder she tried not to pay any attention the way he was staring at her. She was almost out the door when he said, “You picked ‘new game’, didn’t you?”
Slowly, Lottie turned to look at him. “How did you know?”
“I did the same thing.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “I’m Bastien.”
“Lottie.” She nibbled her lip. “How long have you been here?”
“A couple of years, in their time. I have no idea how long it would be on Earth.”
Nodding, she glanced down at the floor before looking back at him. “Would you be willing to help me learn what I need to know?”
“Of course.” He gestured for her to step back into the room. “Those of us who were brave enough to pick new game should stick together.”
Breathing a sigh of relief Lottie stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. “Are there many of us?”
“More and more people seem to be choosing new game when they are given the option. I don’t believe everyone is. Just those of us who would be best able to cope with this.”
“Right now I don’t feel like I’m able to cope with this.”
“You wouldn’t.” She could see the sympathy in his eyes. “You’ve just found yourself on another world, Lottie, and it’s going to take some time to get used to, but I promise you it will happen. What do you have in your bag?”
“A purse with money in it and a piece of parchment that’s very damaged.” Lottie had done her best to keep it from falling apart entirely, but she didn’t know if it had survived being in the bag. “Nothing else.”
“Give me the parchment.”
“Why?”
“There are things I can do to help you see what was originally on it.” He studied her. “Your bag would have belonged to someone who once lived here, and now doesn’t. It should give you an idea of who you can be, when you’ve been here a little longer, although you don’t have to follow that path. You are free to do whatever you want.”
Carefully, so it wouldn’t disintegrate entirely before Bastien could do whatever he was going to do, Lottie took the piece of parchment out of her bag. He gestured for her to put it on the dresser. “What can you do to it?”
“Sometimes I can fix it. Sometimes I can copy it. It all depends on what this was originally. From the state it’s in it’s obviously very old. I’ve worked with old parchment before, but this is going to take a little bit of time.”
Lottie sat down on the bed, not wanting to put him off by being impatient. Hearing him chant over the parchment wasn’t entirely unexpected. She kept her eyes on the window, instead of staring at Bastien, because she knew that might make what he was doing harder than it already was, even though she wanted to see what he was doing. Finally he looked over at her. “You are going to have a very interesting time ahead of you, if you choose to follow the same path the person who originally owned the bag was walking.”
“What do you mean?”
Bastien sat down next to her, the piece of parchment still in his hand, and she kept not looking at him. “I’m not going to lie to you. This isn’t easy. Choosing ‘new game’… there have been plenty of time when I wished I made a different choice, but I feel like the options we’re given at that point are specifically chosen to make us more likely to pick ‘new game’.” He sighed. “You’re here now, and what you need to do is decide what that means. I can tell you what you need to know, in the way I was taught myself, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to know what path you want to be on. All I can do is try my best to help you.”
“Am I the first one you’ve come across?”
“No, but you’re the first one I’ve chosen to help.”
“Why didn’t you help the others?”
“I couldn’t. Back then I wasn’t ready to help someone else. I was still learning the ropes myself, and I… other people would have been there. That’s always the way it is. Someone is in the right place at the right time. This time it was me, and I know what to do now. I know I can help you.”
Nodding, Lottie looked at Bastien, and their eyes met. “Tell me what you know.”
