lockpick: (tremble little lion man)
Locke Cole ([personal profile] lockpick) wrote in [community profile] dizzyspells2013-01-03 04:37 am

She tied you to a kitchen chair...

[The shifting of the continents had done a number on the landscape. Paths that had been clear were prone to landslides, stable caves more likely to collapse unexpectedly. Locke knew that, and he was always careful to pick the path of least resistance when he was traveling. Unfortunately, there were never any guarantees.]

[He came to slowly. Locke couldn't remember all of it, but he didn't need to open his eyes to know what had happened. His head was killing him. Distantly, he could feel himself bleeding at the temple. Worse, it was strangely hard to move. He took a careful breath. Celes would-]

[Celes. That was enough to shock him into action. He took another breath, deeper this time and thinking more clearly, and attempted valiantly to open his eyes.]
aria_di_celes: (-Opera Floozy)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-06 07:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Celes watched the man for a long time, trying to read any hint of betrayal, but either he was a very good actor, or he wasn't lying. Celes wasn't sure which, but she almost wanted to believe him, and the word "promise" makes something in her heart ache in a way that confused her.]

[After a minute of contemplation, she released his hair, walking over to the pile of weapons and carefully placing them on her person before moving around behind him, crouching down to untie the bandana.]

Fine, but if you try to trick me. I won't need my magic to take care of you.
aria_di_celes: (What's that supposed to mean?)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-07 07:55 am (UTC)(link)
[She stands again, holding the bandana out for him.]

I'm not sure, awhile longer than I was out.

[And she had no idea how long she was out. It felt like a long time, but she wasn't sure if the loss of memories made it feel longer.]

Do you know the way out of here?
aria_di_celes: (Oh speak guide me anew)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-07 08:40 am (UTC)(link)
[She trailed behind him, finding herself watching him more than looking for a way out, but would almost always avert her eyes when he would look at her. It was hard to look him in the eyes, they looked so sad, and she didn't know why.]

You could tell me how we got down here. Where are we?

[She'd like to ask him his name again, but maybe a different approach would be better.]
aria_di_celes: (I'm really not sure but)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-07 09:16 am (UTC)(link)
Mobliz? [Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion,] We're on the Veldt?

[That was... a long way from anywhere she had any right to be. The Empire hadn't reached any farther east than Doma, and as far as she could remember, Celes wasn't stationed anywhere near there.]

I'm a general, not some adventurer. How did I get all the way out here.
aria_di_celes: (So the mighty Celes has fallen)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-07 09:41 am (UTC)(link)
[She had just been about to ask about the trench but his next words stopped her short, making her arch her eyebrows sharply. Even if it wasn't a threat, it was definitely alarming, and she once again considered the idea that she had been kidnapped.]

What do you mean?

[There was a certain sick feeling of dread that wormed it's way into her stomach. She remembered having questioned the purpose of the war, and she certainly hadn't turned out to be the perfect soldier the Emperor was hoping for, but... she didn't have to worry about her duties? Was she demoted or...?]
aria_di_celes: (What shall I do?)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-07 10:00 am (UTC)(link)
[Celes was good at masking her emotions at the worst of times, but this took her entirely by surprise, and she couldn't help but gawk. It took her several seconds to find words, and when she did, it wasn't the calm, emotionless general speaking,]

That's impossible! I can't have forgotten that much.

[She gritted her teeth, taking a moment to get her voice under control.]

Besides, even if he had, there's still an army, still a nation to fight for.
aria_di_celes: (No I think I'm better off here)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-07 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
You're lying. [Her voice was assertive, but there was a hint of doubt there,]

Or maybe you got hit in the head as hard as I did. An Empire can't just disappear in a night.
aria_di_celes: (Why did you stand up for me)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-08 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
[She seems to falter, all of that bravado lost as she tries to regain her footing, metaphorically.]

I don't know. I don't even know who you are, or how I got to the Veldt, so how am I supposed to know what to believe?
aria_di_celes: (We must part now)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-10 08:18 am (UTC)(link)
[Most of what he's said sounded like something you might hear from a crackpot roaming the streets, claiming about the end of days coming, but he looked so serious, so earnest.

She tore her eyes away from him, chewing on her lower lip. It was a small gesture, but a break in her cool, controlled demeanor.
]

Just get us out of here. I need to see the truth with my own eyes.
aria_di_celes: (Be polite now Edgar!)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-14 07:10 am (UTC)(link)
[She didn't say anything as he worked, just waited and listened to the song. It was familiar somehow, she didn't know what it was from, but it felt like she could hum the tune along with him, though she never joined in.

When he finally called back for her, she leaned in. It was a tight squeeze, but sure enough there was a cool breeze coming from where Locke was waiting.
]

...So are you going to tell me your name?

[Here's her attempt at light conversation as she worked to follow him through the path he'd cleared.]
aria_di_celes: (So gently you touched my heart)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-14 07:36 am (UTC)(link)
Locke.

[Did the name sound familiar? If there was any hint of recognition, it was lost in her voice. She eyed the outstretched hand, and all but ignored it to pull herself up on her own.]

How long have we known each other?

[She didn't know how much of his word she could trust, but for now, it was the only thing she had.]
aria_di_celes: (But my heart won't give you up)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-14 08:02 am (UTC)(link)
[She simply raises an eyebrow at that, but doesn't speak up to call him a liar. If he was lying, he'd have to be pretty gutsy to claim that long, especially since it meant that she was missing several years worth of memories.]

That's a long time. Do we often go traipsing around caves like this?
aria_di_celes: (You've done enough!)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-14 08:21 am (UTC)(link)
Seems like I've turned into quite the adventurer.

[She doesn't say much more as he leads her out, and, indeed is stopped speechless the moment she steps from the cave. She wasn't an expert on the Veldt, but she was fairly sure it was supposed to be a vast grassland not... this rocky terrain they were stepping out on. In the distance, she could see the water which... she wasn't sure, but it didn't look as blue as she remembered it. And behind her, over the peeks of the caves that had just come out of, an impossibly tall tower loomed over the peeks of the mountains. She knew for sure there was no building like that on the Veldt... or anywhere else in the world. She's never seen a structure so tall, it made the Emperor's palace look like a toy house in comparison.

When she spoke up again, most of the confident general was gone, and her voice was a mix of awe, and concern.
]

...Where did you say we were again?
aria_di_celes: (That's HIM...?)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-15 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
But... the Serpent's Trench-

[She didn't need to finish her sentence, anyone with half a brain would know that the Serpent's Trench was under water. There was no way they could be standing on it. Yet, Locke's words sounded honest, and with the large tower behind them, and the loss of her magic...

Suddenly she felt a little lightheaded, and the look she gave Locke was a wary one.
]

Maybe you should tell me what's going on.
aria_di_celes: (Were you only here)

[personal profile] aria_di_celes 2013-01-17 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
[She reached up, touching the wound on her head tenderly before nodding and walking over to take a seat on a grassy spot not too far from where Locke had dropped the bag. The blood loss or just the confusion of what was going on was setting in and sitting down sounded like a good idea right now.]

I tried to patch it up but without my magic... and there wasn't much to work with down there.