deercountry | it was the silence underneath the stars

[It had been dismissed in the beginning, as other things here had been, like the lingering pain that remains within her body when others touch her. Yet the drumming had not departed. If anything, it had grown stronger and stronger... Until she had found it. Padmé had not been familiar with anything by the name. Even just looking at it had caused her heart to quicken. Something... Something about it had called to her.

The residence is sparsely furnished, a work in progress, and the game had stood out like a sore thumb. She had passed by it a few times, the temptation growing each time, until she had fallen for it's spell. It is a game, after all, and what harm could come from a game? The prick had barely been registered upon the tip of her finger when she had touched the piece, rolling the dice and moving.

She kicks herself now for that as she kneels upon the ground. An unfamiliar place, not at all where she had been moments before, and Padmé finds herself surrounded by jungle. She seeks to still her breathing, to listen, to try to figure out where it is that she has found herself now. The whisper of wind through leaves and the squawks of birds reach her and she slowly rises, glancing side to side. Where...? Yet it is the snap of something that darts her eyes to the side, and Padmé bends, finding a piece of wood, waiting as her heart pounds within her chest.]

Sabé didn't even really care for games, but the pull had been too strong... In hindsight, she should have questioned more where the game had come from. She certainly hadn't brought it home, and if Padmé had she's sure she would have said something. Regardless, she was here now and she'd have to figure out a way back.

She was grateful that she still wore her blaster on her at all times, especially now that she found herself in an unfamiliar jungle when she'd been in the Trench just minutes before. She'd been through a lot back home, but never anything like this. It's eerily quiet and she can't tell if that's a good or bad thing at this point. All she does know is that she shouldn't stay in one place.

Sabé isn't really sure how long she's been wandering the dense jungle, and while she's been as quiet as possible, that means nothing to the foliage under her feet. She saw the person ahead before she could make out if it was someone she knew- the mushrooms that kept clouding her vision for the past few days made it more difficult than she'd care to admit. It really isn't until she's closer and the twig snaps under her boot that recognition dawns on her.

"Padmé?"

Or Airy- though the movement seemed familiar enough that she was almost certain it was the former.

Trench wasn't exactly the land of wish granting, but Ariadne couldn't help but wonder if maybe her homesickness had gotten a little too loud somehow. Finding herself in a jungle that so reminded her of Deleo was dizzying. It helped to remind herself that it didn't smell like Deleo. And that Deerington had occasionally whooshed her off to some alien place, only to bring her back after some kind of...to be optimistic...adventure.

The grant hotel. The hospital. The wonderful beach. She was just going to have to treat the jungle as such, until she knew better.

But just because it was a fake jungle didn't mean the laws of physics didn't apply. Probably. At any rate, it didn't take her long to scramble up the nearest tree. Just like when she was ten years old.

There were Human scents, not too far away. Familiar ones. So she leaped into the next tree. And then the next tree, following her nose, until she heard what could only be Sabé's voice below. Taking care to rustle the leaves as much as possible, so her presence wouldn't alarm anyone, she jumped down into a lower branch. The landing hurt more than in her youth; her whole body was absolutely aching for reason she couldn't exactly figure out. Ignoring the pain, she crouched down, pushing a few leaves back to see the women below.

Her life had usually been too busy with other events that Padmé hadn't had the time for such things. Now and then, some chatter, especially when she had been younger, but as the years had passed and her responsibilities had grown, it was lucky if she made it back to her bed to sleep instead of falling asleep on her desk or with a pad of information in her hand.

She had always liked green spaces, but this was a bit much. Her pulse had quickened, that alertness to the strange situation that seemed to rise even higher with each passing moment. Yet it was relief that flooded across Padmé's face, although it quickly shifted. It meant that Padmé wasn't the only one stuck here. "Please tell me you're just out for a stroll..."

Although Padmé didn't believe that it would be that easy, especially here. Yet if there was an exit... While it may be true that the Senator no longer her senatorial duties, that didn't mean she wanted to go tramping about a jungle. Between reading more about this place and trying to clean up a little around the Willful Machine area, Padmé had more than enough to keep her occupied.

She'd made her way closer to Sabé, mindful of the footing, although she paused in turn, glancing back out around the foliage, drawn by the rustling.

"I wish that were the case."

Sabé would prefer that to be what was going on- it would make much more sense than randomly finding themselves in a jungle with no clue what to expect. She carefully moved to close the distance between them but as soon as Padmé paused, she did as well.

The rustling could be nothing, but she doesn't want to assume the best from this place (or any place). Her fingers found her blaster at her hip as she looked in the same direction as Padmé. Without a second thought, she closed that distance and held her blaster at the ready. Once a bodyguard, always a bodyguard.

Ariadne spotted that blaster. And while she wasn't terribly familiar with firearms, she'd spent enough time with the Winchester boys to know a weapon when she saw one. Quickly, she sprang up to a higher branch. "It's all right," she said. "I'm not dangerous."

To them, anyway. She was actually quite dangerous, when needed.

Quickly, she pushed aside a few of the thicker branches, her moon-white face popping into view.

Their face?

It was still so strange to look at two people who could easily have been her sisters. If her sisters had been Human. And alive. And a bit older than she was. But those were just minor details.

"It's me!"

Kriff. It was muttered softly under her breath though as her brows knit with a look of concentration. The two of them had survived the invasion of Naboo, even if there had been additional help, but whatever this was, they could put their heads together. Padmé might not have a lot of experience with this place in general, but that wouldn't stop her from working this through.

With the first issue being to ascertain what exactly was out there. Not that they needed to wait long. There was a moment where Padmé tensed, and even if she hadn't taken to wearing her blaster (which may well change in the future), it didn't leave her entirely defenceless. The breath was let out though as she spotted Ariadne.

It was still strange, as she could pass rather well for Padmé, at least appearance wise, although Sabé was the one who knew all those little things, from the talk to the walk to the bearing. Bail had admitted that it had only been due to the right angle that he had even been able to see through their disguise.

"I suppose you've suddenly found yourself not where you expected to be as well?"

Sabé recognized the voice before she saw the other woman's face- her fingers relaxing as Airy peered out from the branches. Her resemblance to Padmé was a little more startling in person- but with the three of them there she was sure if they were to come across anyone else it would be even more startling.

If it weren't for the situation at hand, she might have smiled a little at that. Instead, she carefully tucked her blaster away and let out her own sigh of relief.

"Thank Shiraya," she murmured as she relaxed slightly. It wouldn't do to let her guard down completely when they had no clue what was out here- but for the moment at least they were faced with a friend instead of foe.

Ariadne really wanted to ask who Shiraya was. She wanted to hear Sabé's stories. Learn about her life and her adventures and the culture that managed to produce so many identical women. Her curiosity was a caged tiger in her mind.

But it needed to stay caged.

Especially when they might run into actual tigers, in a jungle that none of them had ever seen before.

Slowly, with apologetic movements, she climbed down the branches, falling into a squat on the rich soil below. With her hands still out, she walked over to the others. "There were drums," she said. "I heard drums. And then I saw a strange...painting on a board. With funny, little figurines. And then..." She made a sweeping gesture.

And then she was here.

She could understand the confusion that others would have had with Padmé and her handmaidens. A swarm of girls, all dressed alike, akin in various ways, that it would be hard to keep track of who was who and who was where. That had been part of the reasoning for it. With Ariadne, it only added to it, so perfect a twin it was those small details that made the difference.

"It is much the same. I touched a piece, and it pricked me. The next thing I knew, I found myself deposited here." It seemed to be a running theme of this place, and it did not seem like something that people could prepare for, much to her annoyance. "We'll need to figure a way out of this, preferably in one piece. The board..."

She thought that she had seen it.

"Same here... Have you been wandering the jungle long, Airy?"

Though it hardly seemed likely that Sabé's experience might have differed, it was helpful to know that they were all on the same page, so to speak. Drums, a game, a prick of her finger, then? Jungle.

She glanced around the area, now that they were assured the other sound had been Airy and not a threat. At least, that that sound had been her. But when Padmé trailed off while mentioning the board, she looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait- did it travel with you?"

Kriff. Did the one she had messed with travel with her and she lost it? Or was it the same one Padmé found?

"Not long," Ariadne said. "Just climbed the tree to try to get a better view, but the canopy is even thicker here than the forest where I grew up."

Which was saying something. A lot. Deleo was the thickest jungle in the entire realm. At least until the Red Dragon burned it to ash. No other woods could possibly compare.

Until now.

At the mention of the board, she lifted her face to the sky, taking a deep sniff of their surroundings. Through all of the chlorophyll, she picked up something different. Something cured, something unnatural.

"This way," she said, pointing in the direction of the scent. "I think it might be over here."

Padmé wouldn't be able to say one way or the other, especially with the nature of this place. It hardly worked on any rules that she knew, although there were some constants here that still remained. There was just plenty else that was beyond the scope of her knowledge. One board, three boards, would it matter? Personally she hoped at one, as three seemed a little excessive.

"You didn't see anything then? Any buildings or smoke or clearings?" Even a nice big sign that proclaimed exit. She knew that wasn't a realistic goal, but reality and fiction seemed to walk a fine line here. Padmé looked to Ariadne with a curious expression, trying to figure out what she was doing. A look was passed to Sabé, as if to say shall we go that direction? Not that she distrusted Airy, but rather she had just started to make her acquaintance.

Sabé couldn't help but smile a little fondly at her friend's wishful thinking. Some suggestion that they weren't truly stuck in this jungle would be nice, but it's hardly anything she could hope for. First thing first, however: find the board. That might be the key to all of this.

She also watched Ariadne curiously, glancing from her, to the direction... To Padmé, who was looking to her. She answered in her own small, affirmative cue that they'd created over a decade ago. There was no harm in following the direction Airy had given them, especially when they were already on high alert.

"That's a useful skill- a gift from this place, or something you came here knowing how to do?" she mused, glancing over at Airy as she slowly made her way in the supposed direction of the board.

"I was born with it," she said, pretending not to notice the way they hung behind her. She couldn't blame them for being cautious. In reversed roles, she probably would have done the same. "Alastrians have an enhanced sense of smell. Helps us to survive in the wilderness."

And it was quite helpful for telling different people apart. When you had nineteen brothers and sisters, you learned how to develop your sense of smell quickly.

At the very least, to avoid some pranks.

She smiled a little bit, following the scent without looking back. "I'm afraid I didn't see any signs of colonization," she continued. "But I did see some storm clouds. I'm not sure if they're heading this way or not, but we should probably be prepared for some rain."

A pause, and then she pulled back a bush, revealing the game board, sitting out there was if it had grown up from roots. As though it just...belonged.

She was inclined to follow anyway, given the interaction that Padmé had already had with Ariadne. She had seemed genuine when they had met, although with what Padmé had learned of Palpatine, it did make her question most of what she knew. To be so blinded by a man that she had trusted and admired for years, looked up to and sought his advise and opinions...

It was a trained position that they fell into, the world unknown around them, keeping an eye out for anything that might come their way. She still listened though. Padmé had learned that yes, this place did apparently change things within people, although she had also learned that she fell within the Warmbloods of this place. "I suppose it might be a little hard... With all the leaves, a place could likely be built within it, disguised, but it should also hopefully offer some cover if it does start to rain."

As Padmé gingerly picked her way closer, eyeing the game. Was it a trap? Or was it that easy? Squatting, she found a smaller piece of wood, and tossed it towards the roots holding the board.

Padmé's inclination to trust was carefully balanced with Sabé's inclination to trust no one. Perhaps it made her appear paranoid at times, but thinking back on Captain Panaka's training it's no wonder that she is the way she is.

Storm clouds, however, sounded ominous... and even while Ariadne and Padmé seemed to find the board (something Sabé only took a cursory glance at as it was revealed), she hung behind them.

"We should find high ground soon."

Just in case those clouds were something to be worried about. She clipped her blaster back into its holster and glanced around where they'd come from- her back to her friend and her doppelganger as if on guard for the two of them. The last thing they needed, apart from a possible downpour, was a surprise guest.

"High ground is easy," Ariadne said, glancing up at the trees. She supposed that just because all three of them were shaped the same, that didn't mean the other two were any good at climbing. But if she had to, she could get them to safety.

Although her body ached thinking about it. All month, her blood had rebelled against her, any time she so much as touched another person. She would do all the touching required to save them. But it was going to hurt. Probably a lot.

Still, her was distracted when the board suddenly rippled in the corner of her eye.

A small bubble in the middle of it swirled, looking suspiciously like something called a 'Magic Eight Ball' she'd once seen in Deerington. And then words appeared. "What does it say?" she asked Padmé.

She glanced over to her friend, taking heed of her words, although Padmé wasn't exactly certain which direction they should be seeking if they were to look for higher ground. She cast a surprised look to Ariadne, but of course... Not that either Padmé or Sabé couldn't climb a tree. They could. Arguably to varying success, depending on the tree, but Ariadne had an advantage there, as clearly shown.

Still, one thing at a time, knowing that Sabé would keep an eye out as they went to retrieve the board. It did seem to be doing something though and Padmé took a step closer as Ariadne spoke. It took a moment, how it twisted and slowly formed into words. "They grow much faster than bamboo. Take care, or they'll come after you. I don't- whatever does that mean? A plant?"

She glanced back at the other two in time to catch Ariadne's suggestion of the trees being their high ground. Perhaps not as easy to them as it would be to her, the biggest concern would be hanging on if it was raining enough to need the high ground in the first place. She looked up at the trees, then back at the two as they moved nearer to the board.

Sabé was never one for riddles- her nose scrunched a little at what the board said and turned her gaze back to the jungle. Not knowing the meaning just made her anxious, so she knew she'd be little help in figuring it out. Instead, it was easier to use that energy towards keeping the two of them safe while they deciphered it.

"There aren't many plants that grow faster than bamboo," Ariadne said, creeping a little closer to lean over the board. "Duckweed, maybe. But...they'll come after you?" She couldn't think of much that fit that part of the riddle, or whatever it was.

She heard a faint popping sound.

Immediately, she raised her chin, breathing in deep. "Something is upsetting the soil," she told the others. Fresh dirt, moist and rich.

Ariadne was the last person in the multiverse to be afraid of plants or growing things of any kind. But this was Trench. The rules were never quite the same. She held a hand out to Padmé. The simplest touch was intensely painful, right now. Still, urgency drove her forward. "We'd better get to high ground," she said. She threw Sabé a rueful smile. "Her snarly mate will kill us if any harm comes to her."

A pathetic attempt at a joke. But she was beginning to fear real danger.

Edited 2022-04-05 15:15 (UTC)

"I honestly couldn't even say how fast bamboo grows." If she would have hazard a guess, Padmé would think not that fast, but plants weren't something that she was overly familiar with. She had them in her apartment back home, but she wouldn't claim to be the one to tend to them. No, her pursuits had been in different areas.

"A plant then, at least, right?" As she glanced back down to the ground. Either way, Padmé couldn't say she really wanted to find out... Somehow she doubted that it was beautiful blossoms for the smelling. She hesitated in turn, before reaching for Ariadne's hand, wincing as well as she rose, although giving her a look with the comment. Not that Padmé made comment on it, brushing it off like she did the debris on her pants. With the game, Padmé glanced around.

"Are we attempting to climb, or picking a direction and aiming for it?"

Plants aren't Sabé's area of expertise either- especially with how often she moved for different assignments. It seemed futile to try and keep something like that around. Eirtaé would be best in this situation...

But even as she was lost in her thoughts, she glanced back at them again with the comment from Ariadne- a look from her to Padmé, her expression carefully neutral but she knew her friend would understand it. It wasn't entirely about the hurt she felt knowing that such a secret had been kept from her- it was something of an acceptance. If that was something she didn't want to address, then it wouldn't be addressed.

"Yes, we'd better," she answered carefully as she turned to join them by the board. "I'll get the board."

It didn't matter to her whether they were running or climbing, Sabé would follow suit. But what did matter was the board had joined them here and it could very well be the key to getting them out of here. So as the other two made their decision, she carefully pried the board from its spot among the roots.

Ariadne might have commented on the stillness. Except that her head was swimming in the scent of broken earth. Something unnatural was happening. It was worse than a plow or any of the technology the farmers in Trench used.

It was...intense.

And it was coming closer, somehow. She couldn't explain it, she could only feel it. But the earth was rumbling.

Quickly, she walked over to a sturdy tree, one with a thick trunk. She put a hand on that trunk and leaned in close, whispering to the bar, "I'm sorry." And then, with a metallic ring, Ariadne released the talons in her right hand.

Alastrians talons were long and black, nearly ten inches at full length. They kind of looked like metal and they kind of looked like a bird's claws. More importantly, they could cut through almost anything. With a reluctant cringe, Ariadne leaned against the tree and cut a toe hold, about at knee level. She then raised her hand up, cutting another. Gods, she hoped the other two could climb. there were some promising vines above them, but they had to reach them first.

"Come on," she said, fitting her foot into the groove she'd cut and pulling herself up, slicing away to leave a trail for the others to follow.

There were few things that Padmé kept close to her heart, and Anakin had been one of those. A selfish act on her part, she knew, and everything that she had told him still remained true about how their relationship would have to be, but she had also known that the words on Geonosis to him had not been false. Still, despite this place, she wasn't going to discuss it, especially here, although it had been on her mind to address it with Sabé. It wasn't just Padmé's secret though.

Would whatever it was climb the trees themselves as well, or be big enough to reach them regardless? That had been Padmé's concern, not knowing what was down there. Yet depending how fast they were going to grow, running may have not been the best option either... Surely not a tree, as there was none that Padmé in her limited knowledge knew about that would grow that quick. Yet Ariadne was already making way with the tree, and Padmé waited for Sabé to get closer, just in case, before she started upwards as well. She hadn't looked too closely, although Padmé did find herself wondering how Ariadne had done it. An issue for another time.

PROMPT 1: JUNGLE LEVEL : CLOSED ( Ariadne and Sabé)

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