debut: Elphaba

[no_good_deed]

"Fiyero?"

The word echoed around the room in a wholly unsettling way - this was not Kiamo Ko, nor was it any place Elphaba had ever seen before in her life. It had the cold, unsettling feel of some of the clockwork alleys she had peeked down in the Emerald City, but there was nothing green here. Well, except for her.

Pacing solved nothing, nor did her attempts to force her way past the invisible door trapping her inside. The words that usually sprang more or less fully-formed to her lips were shy here, refusing to issue forth no matter how hard she probed for them, and eventually she had to concede defeat. Tucking her knees to her chest she sat and waited, a deep and unsettling gnawing in the pit of her stomach. This had to be the work of the Wizard, she just knew it.

***

When she was suddenly transported out of the cell Elphaba thought at first that perhaps Glinda had found her, rescued her, but there was no sign of the bubbly blonde in the wide-open room where she was. More chicanery from the Wizard, then, most likely.

She hadn't gotten far in her investigations before a noise to one side startled her, and she turned to glare in its general direction, wary of tricks and illusions.

"Show yourself," she said flatly. "I know you're there."

Comments

[no_good_deed]

"But you must be in here for a reason. What did you do?"

[wholeworldoutthere]

Klaus chuckles at the question. "Could fill entire books with everything I've done, but this isn't what it's about. You've got white hats locked in with the monsters here."

[no_good_deed]

She frowns; this isn't what she expected, but perhaps it's a good thing, in a way. "I see. So it truly is just... random, then?"

[wholeworldoutthere]

"I'll let you know when I've got my hands on our captors and they've told me how exactly they chose us, but there are a few theories floating around," Klaus states. "Not all very sound, or very likely."

[no_good_deed]

Elphaba certainly had some theories of her own, but she wasn't sure she trusted this Klaus enough to share them just yet. "I've never heard of Vampires. Or Virginia, even in any of my classes at Shiz. Where is it located?"

[wholeworldoutthere]

"Earth, America, not that any of these things would mean anything to you," Klaus answered, rocking on his heels slightly. "Roughly, the same kind of place Dorothy came from, only different. Different worlds," he repeated himself, hopefully helpfully.

Klaus didn't as rule enjoy repeating himself.

[no_good_deed]

The repeated mention of that name wasn't earning him any affection, and Elphaba eyed him a moment longer before nodding her slow assent. "So what's the situation like here? Who's in charge?" She needed to know who - or what - she was dealing with if she was going to be stuck here.

[wholeworldoutthere]

"No one that's deigned to show themselves, so far," Klaus answers, a hint of bitterness peeking through the nonchalant amusement that was his default attitude. "Or if you mean among our little band of imprisoned misfits, no one's stepped up to take charge, and I wish good luck to anybody who would."

[no_good_deed]

So it was like that, was it? Invisible captors and anarchy at the zoo. Well, it beat the alternative. Maybe.

"I see. So people just fend for themselves, here? There's no purpose to our captivity?"

[wholeworldoutthere]

"If there is one, we're not privy to it," Klaus answered with a shrug. "How is your magic?"

[no_good_deed]

"It's fine," she lied, not wanting to betray a weakness in front of a stranger, one who seemed to know more about her than she did about him. "Why? Is there something wrong with yours?"

[wholeworldoutthere]

Klaus smiled, mostly humourlessly. He knew for a fact that the bloody nanites affected witches as well as everybody else with more than human, or non-human, skills and abilities. "Don't answer me if you won't," he stated, sounding as carefree as ever. He took a step back, meaning to go, "If you get tired of living on top of the others down here, there's only two of us rooming on the fifth floor. Better accommodations, but whimsical locks."

[no_good_deed]

She nodded warily, intrigued by the idea of quieter accommodation but unsure if he was the sort of neighbour she'd choose to keep. At least he didn't seem prone to flouncing, or braiding peoples' hair.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the warm welcome."

[wholeworldoutthere]

"Any time, love," Klaus assured her mechanically and, with one last smile, turned on his heel and went on his way.