Amaya's Oubliette; Deep in the Sewers. Friday [07/05].

[special_rabbit]

Well. This had been a rather interesting turn of events, now, hasn't it? Not long after Seivarden had left the shop yesterday, the goblins finally took their opportunity to snag Amaya, once she was back on the roof and it would be a little harder for her to fight back. Because, with what they'd seen, she was definitely going to fight them back. And she did. She'd been pretty impressed with the pile of them that had accumulated from her tossing them right off the roof as quickly as she shook them off of her. But, unfortuntely, they had numbers on their side. There was just too many of them. Numbers wouldn't be a problem if she'd had the Crumbler, of course, but up here on the roof, there was only so much she could fend off.

And then there was the one who'd found that frying pan...

...the next thing Amaya knew, she'd woke up in her own bed and, for a moment, thought perhaps it was all just a dream. Of course it was. Her bed, stolen, while she was still in it? There was no way that would actually ever happen, that was absurd, she must had just imagined...it...all....

Slowly, Amaya was realizing that she was in her bed, sure, but she was hardly in her bedroom. In fact, she didn't know quite where she was, just that it was underground, subterrainiant, and she was imprisoned in a large (and surprisingl durable, she discovered) cage. With those rock-brained goblins nearby, apparently keeping a watch over her, and getting rather excited when she got up. Excited and...

...oh, zards, yup. No doubt about it, once she was up, those goblins were definitely flirting with her. One seemed to be giggling and making kissy noises and telling her garbled jokes, one looked like he was setting up a romatic sort of picnic dinner, one had even done a portrait of her that she was sure was meant to be flattering if you were a goblin.

Which she was not, nor did she have any interest in being one, despite what these little numbskulls seemed to think was going to happen!

Eventually, though, she exhausted herself out when it came to threats and trying to pull down the bars herself or trying to reach through them and hoping one of them had slipped up and gotten close enough for her to snatch him and demand to be released at the threat of violence, but no such luck. They seemed all too aware of exactly the length of Amaya's reach, and she was going hoarse with her shouting at them, but that only seemed to encourage them, as she realized that they seemed to be attracted to the low, gravelly tone of her voice.

Great.

Just great.

Amaya, glowering, dropped onto the mattress, folding her arms in front of her as she tried to think of some way to get out of this particularly unpleasant jam.

But, on the bright side, at least she found out who stole her bed, right? And she supposed it was sort of considerate of them, really, to include it for her in her cage, though she didn't much appreciate the suggestion that this meant they planned on having her staying long enough that she'd want to be good and comfortable. If only she could just figure out a way how...


[[ LOOK. Goblins stealing Amaya's bed while she's sleeping in it, and then kidnapping her, and then keeping her in a cage and trying to woo her because they're kind of in love with her is CANON, and I am going to continue to USE THE CRAP OUT OF IT. Mostly establishy, although expecting one, and I would certainly not be opposed to any other oubliette buddies who might stumble upon her and want to fight some enamoured goblins! ]]

[[also, I am definitey done spamming you all, I promise ]]

Comments

[built_fjord_tough]

There in the darkness, there was a sphere. Just... a sphere, bobbling along, minding its own business. Not that it had any business existing in the first place. It still carried the faint scent of peaches, though there was something else to it, too. It flickered from time to time, a faint blue flashing to sudden, fiery orange, and one could almost imagine the thunderous rumble that might be heard through the water they were clearly peering through at that flash.

And then, suddenly, the water's surface broke and a body plunged through, back shredded and bloody, a dagger plunged through the chest of the man who had been thrown from the explosion. He sank for a while, stunned, and only came to once the water was far too deep for him to attempt to get to the surface, even though he was trying his damnedest to follow the bubbles. He was drowning, he knew that. There was no hope of making it to the surface to draw in a breath, his lungs filling with water as he opened his mouth and gasped, unable to stop himself.

A glowing orange eye, serpentine and ominously huge, opened in the darkness. And then another. And another, and another.

And then there was nothing, just the water's calm, glimmering surface, until a bright orange fiery blast illuminated everything, and Fjord's body was thrown back into the ocean again, battered and bloodied.

And again.

And again.

And again.

[special_rabbit]

And that...that was definitely something...different. Amaya blinked a little, all too eager to have something happen in this mindless pit where the only thing around her, the only thing to do was stare at goblins who stared right back at her and then winked. It was slight, though, she thought maybe it was just her imagination at first, the first cracks of a breakdown from being confined, from having no idea where she really was, or how long she'd be there or whether she could figure out a way to get out, but, no, there was some sort of...ball...a sphere floating into the space and Amaya slipped closer to the bars to lean on them as she strained for a better look.

The goblins took only a mild, passing interest in it, too, acknowleding its presence, but seeming unsurprised by it as it seemed to be just passing through.

And something was happening...inside the ball? Amaya squinted, leaning a little further, trying to see better as it passed close enough that she could even pick up some of the colors and shapes with her poor eyesight.

There was no mistaking the appearance of that eye though, enough to startle her back for a second, and then the slow realization that she'd seen that eye before, on that one day, when she and Fjord were fighting that dragon that had mysteriously shown up in the supply closet...

And then the scene in the ball shifted again, more blues, and a green figure cutting through it.

"Fjord?" she asked, frowning, reaching out through the bars, but it was too far away for her to reach.

But her interest piqued the goblins' interest a little more, as they considered the floating sphere and their captive's apparent interest in it, and one of them moved in closer, wondering if this was something it could perhaps use to its advantage.

[built_fjord_tough]

The ball didn't react, simply drifted closer to Amaya's cage. Not quite within reach, no. In fact, just that little bit too far to be good and frustrating, and the scene played out again. From a different angle, one could see above the water's surface, too. Could see Fjord staggering up from below deck, dagger in his chest, wide-eyed and in pursuit of a half-elf who was sparing no time in simply leaping overboard.

The flash was far, far brighter from this vantage point, but the end result was the same. The ship rocked, shrapnel flew, and Fjord was thrown into the water. He sank.

And sank. And sank. And drowned.

And from the water's surface, the faint yellow-orange glow of that eye opening again.

And again.

And again.

[special_rabbit]

"What in the....?" Amaya trailed off, not really having the words to quite convey the strangeness of this situation, which was saying a lot, considering she'd had her bed stolen from underneath her for the sole purpose of some hopeful goblins' love nest.

Of course, she didn't have a lot of time to really formulate much of a word there, either, as just when she thought it might be drifting closer, one of the goblins went and snatched it up for a closer look of its own.

"Hey!" Amaya called out to the goblin getting its filthy paws all over this supposed little Fjord-bauble. "Drop it, Peewee! Or no! Don't drop it! Just leave that alone! You--"

A thought struck her, a different tactic. The goblin now had something she wanted, right? And she...uggghhhh...had something the goblin clearly wanted, too. In fact, the goblin knew it, too. It was looking at Amaya with a nearly hurt expression on its face, holding the sphere closer to its chest almost protectively and making complaining little burbles at her with an injured little sniff, turning a cold shoulder her way, as if to say that it clearly didn't need her anymore now that it'd found something else that wouldn't be so mean and cruel and threaten to punch it every two seconds.

It was toying with her, she knew. And she knew what she had to do to play its dumb little game, but there was something clearly about that ball and she needed to figure it out! It was going to take her a while to build up to it, so hopefully the pipsqueak didn't pull off any funny business while she tried to dig deep, deep within herself to try to pull this out as convincingly as she could.

Which wasn't going to be very convincing at all.

"Oh, little goblin? Hi. Hey, there, uhhh....handsome..." Blech. "Can I....can I have that?"

And here was the hard part.

"....please?" she offered, the word heavy on her tongue, but not as heavy as the self-loathing that came with the fact that she said it while reaching out her hand and giving the goblin...ugh....puppy eyes.

Which certainly intrigued the goblin, who looked up from where it was cradling the little sphere and looked at her skeptically. Expectantly. Amaya let out a low, slow groan, realizing that please wasn't going ot cut it. She sighed, closed her eyes, told herself she could punch herself over this later, but to just suck it up and get it over with and see what that thing with Fjord in it even was.

"Oh," she murmured, unable to make it even sound a little bit sincere, very clearly just going through the motions, but, hey, that was all she had, "I am so sorry about earlier, little goblin. Really. I didn't mean to be so mean and threaten to push your rock brain through your thick skull. I've been a big pain the rear...And I'm..." She swallowed, this was going to take some work, "soooorry."

Unconvincing as it may have been, though, the goblin seemed to eat it all up, preening a little as it giggled proudly. It squared its shoulders, pounded its chest and flexed its scrawny little arms in a very clear display of its strength and finer attributes.

"Oh, wow," said Amaya, not in the least bit impressed and not in the least bit able to sound impressed despite her effrots, "very impressive. You're so...chiseled---blugh!" She nearly gagged. "I can't....!"

But she could. She had to. If she could just win it over or at least get it near enough to try and get the sphere from it, but...how couldn't she....?

A terrible thought struck her. Terrible...but crazy enough it just might work. All she had to do was...UGH.

"Would you..." she ventured, hating every seond of it, "like..." Oh zards, why??, "...a hug?"

WOULD it? Would it ever! The goblin cheered, lifting its arms in triumph and telling its unlucky comrades to suck it as it rushed over, leaving no space for Amaya to change her mind as its arms went through the bars for the waiting embrace. Which involved one of Amaya's arms sort of wrapped around its shoulders while she pulled her shoulders and head back away from the goblin as much as she possibly could.

"There, there," she said, patting its shoulder awkwardly, trying to figure out how to best snag the ball from him. "Isn't this just...lovely? We...are...hugging, and hugs...are...fuuuunn...."

OHSTARS, SHE COULD NOT DO THIS ANYMORE! Amaya had to give up, but, thankfully, the goblin was close enough and distracted enough that she could pull back her arm now, and send it shooting forward in a firm, direct punch straight into the goblin's face. It was so startled, the sphere went flying up into the air and, Amaya, quick on the uptake, reached out to catch it, pulling it in and backing away from the bars into the safety of her cell before any of the others could try to snatch it back.

"Sorry," she told the swooning lump of goblin on the floor, legs all akimbo, stars seeming to dance over its head, "I'm just not the cuddling type."

And now, however, to figure out what this thing actually was. Amaya's attention went to it there in her hand, holding it a little closer, brows knitted as she peered inside for a better look.

[built_fjord_tough]

The scene reset itself again, and for a moment, a brief moment, so quick one might be forgiven for thinking they were seeing things, there was only darkness.

Darkness, and then the unmistakably green palm of a hand pressing up against the inner surface of the sphere as if trying to claw its way free.

Only a fleeting moment, and then it was pulled away again, and moments later, Fjord was staggering up the stairs, rage and desperation in his eyes, a dagger in his chest, pursuing the half-elf and knowing damn well he had no chance of catching Sabian before, once again, he threw himself overboard.

Before, once again, the cargo below exploded...

[special_rabbit]

The appearance of that hand was so startling, felt so real, that it almost startled Amaya to the point where she jumped and nearly dropped the sphere. Her heart was racing, goosebumps rose up on her skin, and she shuddered a little. She almost didn't want to look at it again. She definitely didn't need to see that scene playing out, over and over again. What was this thing? Some sort of...magical memory device? A sort of fortune telling crystal? What was it doing here and did it have anything to do with why Fjord never showed up yesterday?

Amaya sunk down on her bed, frowning deeply, chewing her lower lip a little as she turned the ball over in her hands, as if that could help her think better, as if that could somehow shake the images inside of it and make them disappear. Still tempted to look again, though, to find some sort of hint inside...Instead, she idly lifted her eyes toward the commotion of the goblins rushing to the one whose lights she'd pushed out, swarming around it to see if it was okay.

And as she looked over, one of the goblins looked right back at her and murmured something vulgar that would not be repeated in the narrative because they were both from family friendly franchises, thank you very much!

Amaya's emotions were already much more riled up and heavily knotted than she was used to, so that little snide comment went right into her and struck her in the most primal way. "WHAT did you say to me, you little pipsqueak?" she demanded, bolting to her feet and, knowing that there was no way she could reach the offender from behind the bars, her impulses took the one thing she could do in retaliation, which was take that convenient missile she had in her hands right now and launch it straight for its head.

It took a second for Amaya's brain to catch up with her hand, but, by then, it was too late. The sphere had already left her grasp and was flying toward the goblin, and her heart sank and her eyes widened and she even made a small attempt to try to grab it back, but...well...she had a damn fine throwing arm.

Worst of all, it didn't even hit the goblin. It moved out of the way just in the nick of time, and the ball hit the ground with all the force of a throw with a whole lot of arm strength behind it, and it shattered into an array of tiny, glittering little shards.

"Ahhhh, zards," said Amaya, whose devistation lasted for a lingering moment before her ire turned away from herself and her own gut-reaction stupidity to the goblins, who where now falling over themselves with amusement.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up, rock brains."

She sunk back on the bed, really, really hoping that, whatever that floating ball sphere with all the stuff about Fjord inside of it...she hadn't only gone and made things worse in destroying it.

Maybe it was a....good thing? Nothing about it felt like anything good, really...

...but, stuck in her cell, surrounded by nasty little goblins, it was hard to really be optimistic about the whole thing.

[built_fjord_tough]

Then again, it was probably not a terrible thing when Fjord, passed out in an alleyway as he'd been for days now, awoke with a gasp, golden eyes opening with a start as he'd braced himself to take that dagger to his chest again.

Again.

Again...

It took him a full minute to regain his composure, to figure out where he was. A good portion of hedge had simply grown around him, content to wend its way through town no matter what body was in the way. After all, it wasn't as though he'd ever been intended to escape.

Quietly, brows furrowed, trying to sort out reality from the dream, he started to fight his way out of the brambles. There had been something... something fleeting in between that nightmare re-living of one of his worst moments... a face. Amaya? But he couldn't make out more than that. Hadn't had the time before the hands had grabbed him away again.

"Amaya..." He frowned, dusted himself off, and then summoned his falchion to hand. Maybe if he could get to the forge, he'd be able to find answers.

Or maybe he would simply end up more lost than before.