Tale of the Innocents » Places

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"So hear my battle cry! I'm out for blood to claim what's mine. Finally questioning, if I am my own worst enemy..."
- Battle Cry by Beth Crowley

SIBÉAL MAC AODHAGÁIN
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prudence

It was a normal day.

The temperatures were cold in Dublin, as usual. Sibéal was walking home from gymnastics practice, as usual. The same foreign couple, speaking rapid Irish Gaelic with perfect grammar, but an absolutely horrible accent that made their words incomprehensible, was standing in front of the same chocolate shop, as usual.

Sibéal took the same path to her home, where she would be greeted with an empty house that would stay empty for the next few hours. Except as Sibéal entered her house, her routine went completely off course and next thing she knew, she wasn't in her house. In fact, she probably wasn't in Ireland at all.

Was Sibéal floating? She couldn't put her finger on it. That was her immediate assumption, but now that she was going over it, she wasn't all too sure. The situation reminded Sibéal of her dreams - always abstract, never definite. Most people at some point in their lives mentioned or described on of their dreams at some point; perhaps not always to perfect detail, but enough that one could have at least a very basic grasp of the situation in the other's dream. Except for Sibéal, she could never describe what went on in her head while she slept. No language could describe Sibéal's dreams; they were beyond words, beyond her own comprehension.

It felt like one of her dreams right now.

"Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Sibéal fought to open her eyes, the tightness in her chest loosening once she gained control over her body once again. A tall blonde was extending a hand in Sibéal's direction, the latter nodding in thanks as she accepted it. "I'm Concetta, hello!" Concetta? ... sounds Italian.

There was some redhead making comments about Toto and Kansas, and in all honesty, Sibéal did not have a clue what he meant. Well, except for the fact that Kansas was in America, but the United States were common knowledge. Sibéal snuck a glance at Concetta, noting the thirty-centimeter height difference in dismay. She was hoping that not everybody in this...place were absolute giants, but the closest person to Sibéal's height was the snarky redhead, and even he was at the least fifteen centimeters taller than her.

“So, anyone know what’s going on here? Or is that too much to ask?” the redhead asked with a smirk on his face, most likely comparing Concetta and Sibéal's heights. The redhead seemed like a trickster; Sibéal expected some height jokes in the future.

"I don't think it's too much to ask, it's just that you're simply asking the wrong group." The other man with brown hair responded. He reminded Sibéal of the characters in literature who always spoke in riddles, although the man's words weren't difficult to comprehend.

"Yes, and I believe the right group is coming this way," Sibéal spoke, tone completely neutral as she gestured slightly towards the four whimsical-looking beings approaching them. The man with long, white hair was the one to speak - she couldn't see his face, but he reminded Sibéal of Merlin from the tales of Camelot.

"Welcome, dearest wayfarers, to your new home." Sibéal didn't like what was coming out of Merlin's mouth, but she remained neutral and polite. "Please, you do not have to doubt what you see or raise your guards with us." Easier said than done. "We have been tasked to come here to greet you, and to help you prepare everything you may need before you begin your new lives." Merlin took off his hood, revealing his not Merlin-like face. "Allow me to introduce ourselves. We go by the titles of The Heavenly Graces. My name is Fides, and these three are my colleagues, Makas, Cecilia and Lucian. It is a pleasure to meet you. Of course, I believe there is a great deal that you want to know about your being here. One thing I can assure you is that this is certainly not a dream. We are here to answer any questions you have in mind, so have you any?"

"Please, elaborate on our 'new home,' if you wouldn't mind." the words flowed out of Sibéal's mouth; she didn't play around. The blonde wanted to know what going on, and if Merlin (Fides) was kind enough to answer questions, then Sibéal wasn't going to hold back.