CLOSED ♔ THIS AIN'T A FAIRYTALE

[uncurse]

WHO || Emma Swan, some NPC bitches [closed]
WHAT || Where the fuck is Storybrooke.
WHERE || Not-Storybrooke, Middle of the Fucking Woods, Maine
WHEN || January 26th, 2013
HOW || However the fuck Arden wants

This is a story all about how the savior's life got flipped, turned upside down. And let's take a moment and just sit right here and hear about how she stumbled upon NOT FUCKING STORYBROOKE.

She'd come out of the Veil in Canada - Vancouver, to be exact. And not gracefully. She'd staggered out of the portal, compass in hand, and found herself in the middle of the city - a city she didn't remember.

A city she was fairly certain wasn't the Vancouver she'd left behind, either.

The Shadowkind references were hard to avoid, and as Emma navigated her way from bus stop to bus stop, and finally a rental car shop, it became exceedingly clear that something had changed - and she couldn't help but make the assumption that it had something to do with the fact that magic had been brought back to Storybrooke. Just who else had come back from other worlds?

It only made her more eager to get back to it and her family. Mary-Margaret was going through the portal with her, she should be there - and she should be rescuing David from his sleeping curse. But, when Emma pulled the car off the road at the part of the highway where the exit for Storybrooke was supposed to be, she found that there was no exit. She found that there was no sign for Storybrooke.

It was possible, of course, that they'd torn them down. That the magic had spread and that something had changed. She took to hoofing it, out into the woodlands of Maine, snow jacket belted tightly around her, rubber boots on over her jeans, and beanie pulled low to cover her ears. Each heavy exhale from the hike in the snowy, wooded area caused a puff of chilled air to be visible in front of her face.

Mostly, she was just hoping she'd be able to find the road.

Comments

[necessaryevil]

While not much seems out of the ordinary in glancing around, she'd hear another noise from the adjoining room: the sound of something large moving around. In fact, she practically feel the wooden floors creaking underneath her feet.

"About that." As she's turning towards him, there's the sound of a soft scrape of metal on leather, and she finds herself facing the business end of a handgun. He speaks quickly, as if to get the words out before she tries to go all ninja on him or something. "No sudden moves, and take it from me that screaming would be a really bad call. I just need to explain some things, alright? And then I can send you on your merry way." He gestures with the gun towards the ratty couch. "Have a seat."

[uncurse]

The breath sucked out of her as she caught sight of the gun, and Emma's hands immediately raised in a motion of surrender. She watched Max carefully, trying to measure whether or not he was trying to get control or actually planned to shoot her, as well as whether or not she could believe him (sense motive 27).

"Explain what things?" Her tone was placating as she lowered herself to the couch without taking her eyes off of him. Her movements were measured and slow. In hindsight, this hadn't been her best plan, coming into his place without any form of back-up, but Emma hadn't had enough time to get used to the luxury of having it ever.

[necessaryevil]

"The thing they're claiming is terrorizing the neighborhood's not a monster. It might look like one, and sound like one, but he's a thinking creature and an innocent one. He just got stuck in the wrong place, wrong time." It's clear from the way he's holding the gun now that he's more interested in getting Emma to believe him than terrifying her into it.

A wisdom check of 14+ also detects a sudden strong scent of ham wafting in from that next room. Tinged with a bit of violets.

[uncurse]

Emma didn't smell shit (wis 9), but she did lower her hands slowly, realizing that Max didn't mean any particular harm. She eased up.

"What kind of creature?" She felt a prickle in the back of her neck, an eagerness to look around for what Max might be hiding, but she didn't dare whip her head around and take her eyes off the gun. No sudden movements.

[necessaryevil]

The look in his eyes made it clear that he wasn't sure how to word this one without sounding crazy. "Don't suppose you've ever heard of saurials."

[uncurse]

She shook her head (knowledge 11). Granted, she hadn't heard of much short of the standard monster movie fare that she was beginning to suspect was also real, and dragons and ogres. And Ruby being a werewolf, of course.

"I have a feeling I'm about to. What are they?"

[necessaryevil]

"I guess the long answer would be something about interdimensional reptilian interlopers." He glances towards the kitchen as there's another loud bang. "Short answer: talking dinosaurs."

[uncurse]

Interdimensional, reptilian interlopers. She stared at him for a beat after that, then found herself distracted by the loud bang in the kitchen. Her head whipped over in that direction suddenly. His words filled in the gaps.

"And this … talking dinosaur. Saurial. That's what's in there?" Emma's gaze shifted back to Max, eyebrows raised, one hand lifting to point into the kitchen. "Is that what's been attacking people in the area?"

[necessaryevil]

He lowered the gun to his side entirely now, as if satisfied that he'd at least gotten his point across. "Consider it a cultural misunderstanding. He'd just come through the Veil, was disorientated, confused, scared even. And when I say 'talking', I don't mean you and he can have a conversation. He speaks at a pitch most people can't even hear. I imagine he freaked out the natives, and they got spooked by the way he looks and... Well, you can figure out the rest."

[uncurse]

"Most people. Meaning … you can." Emma watched him carefully, wondering just what this guy was capable of and what his interest in this saurial was. "What are you doing out here? How did you know what he was?"

[necessaryevil]

"I can't. But some of my... friends can." The hesitation as he picks the word makes it clear it's not his phrase of choice. "And I saw what went down between him and the natives. All of it. I get what he was doing - and not doing."

There's a brief pause again and then: "We just wanna help."

[uncurse]

"I hope your friends helped you come up with a plan to do that, 'cause you've got two angry rednecks outside waiting for their chance to get a shot at him. And, I'm sure they weren't the only ones stomping around these woods looking for the thing responsible."

Emma glanced toward the kitchen. If what he was saying was true - and as far as she could tell, it was (sense motive 15) - then they needed to get that saurial out of here and someplace safe.

"Any ideas for getting it past them?"

[necessaryevil]

"I'm glad you see the problem." Apparently entirely unconcerned with the possibility of her just saying what he wanted to hear at this point, he slid the weapon away into his concealed holster again, and moved to push aside the yellowed curtains with one finger, very slightly, to look outside. "And I was thinking maybe you could help me with that."

[uncurse]

Of course he did.

Emma repressed a sigh, though the look of reluctance made it onto her face. She couldn't help feeling it was no accident she'd been dragged into this, and she just wanted to find her parents.

Still.

She worked her jaw for a moment, then straightened up.

"What do you have in mind?"

[necessaryevil]

"Well, my mind sort of jumped to the word 'distraction', unless you've got a better one."

[uncurse]

A thin, sardonic sort of smile tugged across Emma's lips and she shut her eyes, nodding. Should have figured that. She fixed her gaze back on him, then looked toward the kitchen.

"You better have a way of sneaking that thing out." She sighed and made her way toward the door. "I can get them away from here, but not more than a mile or two before they catch on."

[necessaryevil]

"I've got my ways. But there are going to be tracks to cover up too, so I need you to sort of do double duty." A pause as he seemed to realize it was asking a lot of a stranger. "We can make it worth your while."

[uncurse]

"Notice how I agreed before you tried to bribe me. Which, for the record, doesn't really make you seem that trustworthy." Criticism aside, Emma waved him off. "I can take care of it. Which way are you gonna be heading? I can follow after I get rid of Duck Dynasty out there."

[necessaryevil]

"It wasn't bribery," he added defensively. "I just thought you deserved something for... doing the right thing." A pause. "I know it's not always the easiest thing."

He scratched the back of his neck, apparently eager to move on from the subject he'd brought up. "Two miles to the southwest."

[uncurse]

"I've had enough people take the easy way out in my lifetime, I'm not about to pull that on someone else."

Realizing that admission was perhaps more than she intended to give, she waved a dismissive hand.

"I'll meet you."

Without another word, or leaving room for discussion, she turned and slipped out the door, jaw tight and shoulders squared.

[necessaryevil]

The two yokels were a little ways off by now, but they noticed her emerging from the house and headed back her way, waving her closer.

"Hey! You find anything in there? We noticed tracks covered up around the yard here. Something's mighty fishy."

[uncurse]

"Just a couple kids," Emma answered with a dismissive shake of her head (bluff 24). "But, one of them said they got scared by something out in the woods while they were playing. That way." She pointed East. "I think we should split up, try and get a good look at what might be lurking out there. Sounded like they were playing pretty close, just this morning."

[necessaryevil]

While Tom Selleck looked immediately eager at her tale, looking off in the direction she was pointing, Butch eyed her warily, glancing back at the cabin.

"What a good idea. Why don't you go with Jake?" he suggested, so that Arden didn't have to keep calling him Tom Selleck mustache guy.

[uncurse]

Gaze flickering from Butch to Jake and back again, Emma carefully nodded. One she could handle. She just needed to make sure Butch got on his way in the opposite direction. Problem was, she wasn't sure he'd do that.

"I'm a big girl, I can handle myself in the deep dark forest. How about you head North, I take the South, and your buddy Jake here heads straight East. We can all swing around and hopefully converge on this thing together." (diplomacy 21)

After all, she didn't need to lead them in the opposite direction entirely. Fighting them about it would be just as much a distraction to give Max the time he needed as anything else.

[necessaryevil]

"I'll take the South," Butch immediately retorted, grinning at her with a nice gold tooth exposed. "I know my way down by the creek there. Like to take my boy fishing." He watched her, as if expecting a rebuttal.