A Different World Entirely [Adventure] [Closed]

[perfectenn]

Who: Tenn and Eleven
Where: On campus, inside a mirror
When: September
What: Local teenager finds enchanted mirror
Warnings: I’m not planning on it, but it’s a spooky mirror, so we shall see!


It's mid-morning on a day off, and no one is surprised when a tired, sweaty dancer arrives in one of the general bathrooms. Tenn pushes the door open with one foot, easing in with his duffel bag. It’ll have to be quick, but he can indulge in a shower. His schedule still isn't as packed as it was when he was with Trigger. Now that he’s established himself in this world’s entertainment industry, he can return to his studies-

-and then his foot hits a soapy puddle of water and he slides into a mirror.

On the other side, Tenn draws a breath to gasp. In the first frightening seconds, he thinks there’s something wrong with him; the world has gone grey as the silver screen and just as silent. Then his hand reaches to his head, nervously brushing his hair back. He can move, and he’s not dizzy. Everything is just... colorless and reflected.

Flicking his wand out of his sleeve, he scrutinizes the surroundings. There's no movement. It's a relief, maybe... no, he can't stay here. With a spell held on his tongue, Tenn steps back...

And into the world of life and color again. There’s no resistance, no sign of anything wrong. It was as clean as dipping underwater and out again.

And it’s going to continue to bother him for the rest of the day.

~

So much later, in an hour when the bathroom is empty and quiet, there's the odd sight of Tenn holding the door open to admit his familiar. The giant tortoise waddles in and up to the mirror, squinting at it.

"Well?" Tenn presses. He refrains from touching the surface again, studying the lingering fog from the showers obscuring the mirror with cloudy shapes. "Yes, I know it looks normal. It did then, too. It didn't swing open. It was like I stepped through. Do you want to have a look?"

Goliath gives his version of a shrug, and proceeds in headfirst, the glass shimmering and melting around his nose, then head, then against his shell. He’s a magical tortoise and it’s just another day at Diatu – nothing to worry about. Yet. Despite having made the trip himself, Tenn paces, tugging at his bangs. But at least he wasn’t investigating alone. After explaining the situation to his familiar, he’d sent a note with time and directions.

~

Eleven,
I have found something odd in the mirror of one of the bathrooms. Since you seem well-adjusted to the magic here and are an Eiather student, I’d like you to take a look at it. Could you please meet me there this evening if you are free?
Tenn

Comments

[bearshermark]

"I'm all right," he assures, and flicks his wand out of his sleeve to draw a rune on his left hand.

Eleven enters the darker world of the mirror with a ball of light floating over his upturned palm. He won't draw his sword for fear of potentially scaring off Tenn's familiar, but his fingers itch to all the same. The lack of light and color in the world is viscerally discomforting.

He takes a breath.

"..I don't think I know what your familiar looks like," he says in a hush, eyes sweeping over their surroundings. "What is it?"

[perfectenn]

Once on the other side, the effect is less daunting as he knows what to expect. Light floods the dim monotone space, and Tenn can instantly see that it is just like the room they left, down to the texture of material. It’s a very good copy. And still, he presses his lips together not to ask Eleven to smother the light. They stand out so much. If anyone else is here, they won’t be able to hide unless Tenn casts for inconspicuousness.

"Goliath? He’s a giant tortoise." Seeing as there are no other students with tortoises following them around, he explains further, still keeping his voice low; it’s unnaturally loud in this eerily silent place. "He’s not from the school, though. We met when I first arrived."

Tenn immediately turns to move deeper into the bathroom. It’s disconcerting with everything reversed, but he checks in the baths and stalls, just in case his tortoise dried out and decided to try the otherworldly water. When Tenn reports back, his tone is deliberately calm. "He’s not here."

god I'm sorry I've been slow on this one

[bearshermark]

A giant tortoise. Well, that should be difficult to miss.

Eleven turns as Tenn moves to investigate, reaffirming to himself once again that he absolutely does not care for this world. It can't be real, surely. He shivers to think what the sky might look like.

"We'll keep looking," he assures, stepping for the doorway. "Is there anywhere he usually likes to go?"

[perfectenn]

Tenn pauses, having to give this some thought. It's something of a trick question, given Goliath's transportation ability. But taking into account that Goliath's powers may be affected here, and assuming the layout mirrors Diatu, there is one place he can name with certainty.

"He'd travel downstairs." Tenn replies. "He prefers to be outside by the pond in the gardens. Assuming there's one here, that is where he’d wait for me."

He follows Eleven out the doorway, but stops with a sharp intake of breath when they find themselves in old corridors of cracked walls and worn stone. If the bathroom looked like a meticulously crafted copy, this section looks like a Diatu that has been unkempt for many, many years.

Observing the weathered hall by Eleven’s light, Tenn muses, "Not so perfect a copy, after all." Looking back to the room they just left, it feels like standing between two sets in a studio. Gaze drawn to his feet to find the seam, the floor appears to be in the process of rejuvenating. Tenn frowns and sidesteps off the active magic, like a cat avoiding something sticky and unpleasant.

"I thought Modification spells were cast for instantaneous effect. This is different."