The Roguish Type

[cageunemptied]

It had all happened so quickly. She had finally, finally, gotten away from the gilded cage that had been her home for as long as she could remember. And Booker, while a bit on the enigmatic side (not to mention more than a little sour in the face), had promised to take her to Paris, which she'd been dreaming about her whole life. It had all been too wonderful to be true.

And so it was. Booker had killed a man - killed! - and Elizabeth had been so horrified by it that she'd fled from him. "Get away from me!" she had cried as he pursued her, and when she'd found herself at a dead end, something had happened.

She'd found a Tear, and without thinking, had opened it and run through - but what she had found on the other side hadn't been anything like what she had spent nearly her entire life looking at. It was beautiful, just as Columbia was - but it was more vibrant, more... innocent, somehow.

The young woman looked about herself in wonder and awe, completely oblivious to anything but the beauty around her.

Comments

[cageunemptied]

Actually, they're called Tears. [Oh, dear. So he's seen them. But he's not trying to capture her or anything, which makes a nice change.]

I've been able to create them ever since I was little.

[youstillneedme]

You don't say?

[He's curious even despite himself, but he doesn't press. She's here and there's no menace in his words. No risk that he'll cart her way for anything. No, he's simply expressing curiosity and continuing on the conversation, all at once/]

You don't often get people who can cross worlds.

[cageunemptied]

It's true.

[It's only natural, she thinks, that he's curious. She's never met anyone who can do what she can.]

Worlds? [Well, she wasn't expecting that. She'd just thought that she was... well, in another floating city or something.]

[youstillneedme]

Yep. But most people don't know about there being more than just the one.

[He leaves her to make her own conclusions about what that means. But he's certainly implying that he knows about other worlds, and might even know how to get from one to another.]

[cageunemptied]

Well... how many are there?

[She's not seen too many herself, and they weren't always terribly different. Daisies where the roses were, tea instead of coffee, a different sunset that evening.]

[youstillneedme]

See, that's just the thing. No one's got a figure yet. Just that they're out there.

[And if he sounds intrigued by the possibility, he has good reason to be, he figures.]

[cageunemptied]

Oh.

[And how lost she is has begun to strike her. What is she going to do?]

[youstillneedme]

[What anyone does, in a new place. Not that Braig knows very well what that might be, but well. Live and learn, he's always figured.]

Anyway, you wanted to know how the city does this, yeah? Because that's easy enough to show.

[cageunemptied]

[That gets a smile, and a cheerful little nod.]

Of course I do. I'd love to, Mr. Braig.

[youstillneedme]

I'm not a 'Mister'. But sure thing.

[And with that, he's heading off towards the entrance to the great underground pipeways below the city. True, that's not all of the how, but it's closer than the Rising Falls and it's as good a place to start as any.]

[cageunemptied]

Oh! Alright. Braig, then.

[She trots along happily after him, stopping occasionally to admire the flowers or the stonework.]

This place is lovely.

[youstillneedme]

It should be! Otherwise we'd have to change the name and that'd be terribly inconvenient.

[If only for the fact that no one would be able to remember which name to call it by. Not to mention that he actually likes the city as it currently is.]

[cageunemptied]

Yes, I would imagine it would be. But what would you call it?

[Not-so-radiant Garden comes to mind, and Elizabeth is unable to stifle a small smile at the thought.]

[youstillneedme]

See, that's exactly the problem. We'd have to get people togeher and actually think about it and it's just not really worth that kind of trouble.

[While they walk the walls have been growing up around them - the first of the tunnels into the underground of the city isn't far from where they currently are.]

[cageunemptied]

Does that mean you haven't thought of it, or that you'd rather not?

[She looks around at the walls, occasionally running ahead to examine something of interest.]

[youstillneedme]

Eh, a little of one; a little of the other. I'm pretty sure no one actually in charge has thought about either, if that's what you were wondering.

[A moment or three further and they're well and truly into the tunnels. The paths they're walking on are raised enough to be above the water level, but it's clear enough that this is very much a part of the infrastructure of the city.]

I can't actually get you to the heart of the city. But this is a lot of how it works. The water's coming from the falls but those are out a ways.

[cageunemptied]

That's amazing!

[Instantly, she lights up, running ahead of him to explore the area. She whirls around, half-dancing with joy as she takes it all in.]

This is wonderful, Braig. I've never seen anything like this before.

[youstillneedme]

Pretty sure it's one of a kind.

[Not that he's been to very many worlds, but still, he's pretty sure that not everywhere would have the sorts of things necessary to make this kind of infrastructure actually feasible.

Maybe he'll have to ask about it someday.]

[cageunemptied]

I can see why.

[She laughs, turning to look at him, as cheerful as if she had never seen her former companion kill.]

Tell me, Braig - what do you do when you're not welcoming wayward travelers such as myself?

[youstillneedme]

Who, little old me?

[The question is mostly rhetorical. Or at least, he doesn't exactly allow her enough time to fit in an answer before he's moving right along.]

I'm part of the guards. Keeping everything here safe, that's me.

[cageunemptied]

[She gives him a skeptical, albeit amused, look at his false modesty.]

The guards, hm?

[He doesn't look like a guard, but looks can be deceiving.]

[youstillneedme]

Yep. Up at the castle most of the time, but we cover the streets themselves, too.

[To be fair, he does a lot more of the latter than the former, but he is/i> still a castle guard at the end of the day.]

[cageunemptied]

You live in a castle? That sounds wonderful. Do you like it there?

[Well, he doesn't look like a guard, not much, but she's trying not to judge him by appearance.]

[youstillneedme]

[He doesn't, it's true. But looks can be deceiving, and he's a pretty good shot with those arrowguns of his. Not that those are particularly visible just at the moment, but that's simply par for the course, for him.]

Don't tell me you think I'd actually stay there if I didn't like it?

[cageunemptied]

A lot of people stay in a lot of places they don't like, not least because they may not have a choice.

[Her tower had never given her much of one, at least.]