Day 1, pt 1

PygmyOwl watched her clock excitedly, clutching the wooden phoenix in her right hand tightly. Her left hand was wrapped firmly around the handle of her suitcase. She didn’t know much about this teleporting business and didn’t want her suitcase left behind- she needed its contents. Nervously readjusting her grip, she glanced down at the wooden bird. Its likeness to the phoenix was slightly uncanny.

The alarm clock beeped. Pygmy jumped and looked around at it… but it wasn’t there. In its place was a very disoriented looking Darkling. “Wasgoinon?” asked a confused voice. Darkling turned around to see Nightfall and Galaxy standing behind her.

A scream pierced the air. “ORSON!” yelled someone else. Nightfall turned around and saw Orson wailing and Bakerloo yelling at him to stop with his hands over his ears. Orson subsided. “Ow,” said Bakerloo, rubbing his ear. “What are you shouting about,” asked a very grumpy Starlight. Heroes uncovered her ears. “Seriously,” she muttered.

“Where are our hosts?” A.A. asked, wisely changing the subject. “No idea,” said Sage cheerfully. Luna looked worried. “I hope nothing bad happened to them…” Moondrop nodded in agreement. “That would be a really unlucky start to this vacation.”

“They’re probably just running a little late,” said Summer quickly, remembering some other vacations she’d been on. That’s not very polite of them, thought Spring, annoyed. Sterling shimmered into existence. “Woah,” she said, taking a step back. “How did you get here?” 

“The same way you did, I expect,” laughed Win. Sterling smiled. “Yeah, but why did I show up so much later than you?” Night Vision shrugged, just as another figure teleported into the clearing they were in. “Hello hello! I’m Yasmine, sorry I’m running a bit late, my clock was a couple minutes behind. But I’m here now and welcome to Phoenixe Place! There are rather a lot of you, aren’t there. Well, let’s go!” Yasmine said cheerfully.

Moondrop opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. “Um… what?” asked Bakerloo. Pygmy just stared at Yasmine, a little shocked. There wasn’t anything very shocking about their host’s appearance, exactly, she was just… a lot. Yasmine was tall, with curly black hair in a messy braid. She had freckled brown skin and her eyes were a twinkling black. Somehow, she gave off an aura of fun. 

Yasmine laughed. “I suppose I should slow down, shouldn’t I.” Nightfall nodded emphatically. Yasmine laughed again. “It’ll be a bit of a walk- we’re going the long way-” Orson groaned. Bakerloo elbowed him. Spring rolled her eyes and exhaled loudly. Sage and Galaxy both covered their mouths to smother giggles. “-do any of you have a problem with that?” 

“Yes!” Orson shouted. Bakerloo sighed. “Here we go…” Heroes scowled and Starlight opened her mouth to start yelling, probably, but Orson cut her off. “I have a script to finish! How can I do that if my feet are sore?” he asked, gesturing wildly. “Wait, why can’t you do that if your feet are sore?” asked a very confused Luna-Starr, at the same time as Darkling asked, “You’re into movies?”

Orson was apparently too shocked and offended to speak. “He prefers to call it ‘cinema,’” explained Bakerloo in a bored voice. Spring privately thought this was going to be a very long vacation. “Wait, why?” asked Agent Winter. “Because it sounds more dignified! Obviously!” exploded Orson. “And of course I can’t write with sore feet! Have you ever tried?” Luna squinted, not sure if he was serious. “Uh, yeah. It’s not hard at all.” Sage burst into laughter, along with several other AEs. (And CBers, who would probably deny this fact if you asked them about it later, though).

Yasmine, hiding a smile, waited for the laughter to subside and continued. “We are going the long way,” she announced, “whether Orson likes it or not. Because there is some beautiful scenery this way. And also it will answer a lot of your questions.”

The CBers and AEs buzzed excitedly. Maybe they’ll explain why it’s called the Edge of the World or why they spell phoenix with an e, wondered Summer as they set off.

~to be continued~

Deceased: 0

Alive: 17

Suspects: 0

A note from the author: this wasn’t extremely exciting, just explanatory. But to quote a musical many of you know, ‘just you wait.’ Oh, and expect a new installment every Thursday.

Toooop!

Day 1, pt 2

Darkling wondered what scenery Yasmine had been talking about. So far the only things they had seen was mist floating around in the warm air. Why was there so much mist anyways? And the mist only seemed to be getting thicker, almost a fog by this point.

“Woah,” breathed someone behind her. She looked around. Sterling was staring at something apprehensively, her mouth slightly open. “What?” asked PygmyOwl.

“Welcome to the Edge of the World!” beamed Yasmine, waving them off the path. Orson gave a strangled little squeak. “See, I told you we were afraid of heights,” said Bakerloo, taking a step back. Darkling, who still couldn’t see anything, walked around Nightfall and Galaxy, who were staring with open mouths, and finally got a glimpse of the Edge of the World.

It was three waterfalls, that somehow silently crashed over the rocks, making mist that somehow was… warm? The waterfalls dropped so far down that she couldn’t see the bottom. Darkling stepped closer to the edge, leaning over the railing. “Be careful!” squeaked Night Vision.

Summer walked over to the falls thoughtfully. So that’s why it’s called the Edge of the World. It was slightly terrifying, but also extremely beautiful. 

She wasn’t sure where the water was coming from. It seemed to just bubble up and then come rushing down the cliffs. Summer felt the water. “It’s warm!” she said, surprised.

“That would be because of the phoenix nests further down the cliffs,” Yasmine said matter of factly.

“Phoenix nests?!” gasped a very shocked Moondrop. “Yes indeed!” Yasmine said cheerfully. Suddenly Summer had a very disturbing thought and she stepped back hurriedly from the waterfalls.

“What’s wrong?” asked Spring as Yasmine led them away from the Edge of the World towards what she said was the house. “Nothing,” said Summer quickly. “Do you see the house, by the way? Because I don’t…”

Spring squinted through the fog. “...No…”

Meanwhile, Agent Winter was having a very similar conversation with her AE. “It’s probably behind the fence,” reasoned Win. “Yeah, but then why can’t we see it?” wondered Night. “I don't- I see it!”

“Where?” asked A.A., who was walking behind them. “It’s gone now,” Agent Winter said disappointedly. “Oh… wait, I think I see it too!” A.A. said excitedly after a moment.

Soon the house was visible to everyone. It was somehow painted the exact same color as the mist surrounding it, and blended perfectly with the blue, blue sky, and the windows and window boxes overflowing with jasmine were shrouded in so much mist they were hardly visible until you got close enough.

Yasmine opened the gate and waved them down the path. “The front door is straight ahead, don’t take any detours. It’s easy to get lost in the fog if you don’t know where you’re going, though it will be a lot less misty the closer you  get to the house,” she said, and closed the gate.

“Where are you going?” asked Heroes. “Oh, just running a quick errand,” Yasmine said and vanished with a flash of light. “What,” said Bakerloo after a moment of silence.

“I’ve no idea,” said Orson, “and why does it have to be so humid?” Everyone ignored him. “We should probably do what she said,” A.A. suggested, and the CBers agreed. 

They walked up the path, Sage pausing occasionally to sniff the apricot colored roses lining it and Luna pausing occasionally to tell her to hurry up. The grounds were much larger than any of them had realized, and most of them stayed in a group, not wanting to get lost by themselves.

The door swung open and someone Luna-Starr assumed was Fae poked their head out. “Hello, CBers and AEs. I’m Fae. Did Yasmine leave you? Ugh, I’ve told her so many times she can’t keep doing that. Anyways, come in, please. I’ll give you a tour in a minute, but make yourselves comfortable.”

The humid heat was beginning to get on Starlight’s nerves, so she was the first one inside, where it was wonderfully cool and dark (and dry).

Not only that, but as the CBers looked around they realized it was also something like Book Heaven. Or at least the next best thing. The room was stuffed with armchairs, bean bag chairs, a couch, coffee tables, and everything else cozy. The walls were lined with so many bookshelves three out of four walls weren’t even visible.

“Wow,” PygmyOwl said. Fae smiled. She had black hair pulled into a severe bun, the same black eyes as her sister (except on Fae, they weren’t fun- just intimidating), and was much shorter, but much scarier as well. She gave off a bit of a Professor McGonagall aura, Nightfall decided.

“Sit down, please,” Fae said politely, and the CBers and AEs all grabbed the seats that looked comfiest to them. After they had all quieted down, Fae began. “Welcome to Phoenixe Place. I hope you’ll enjoy yourselves here. Our rules are very simple. One: don’t destroy property or bodily harm anyone.” The murderer shifted uncomfortably, but no one noticed. “Two: respect people’s space, please. And finally, three: if you get lost, keep walking. You’ll find your way back.”

A.A. frowned. “How?” “Magic,” Fae said, without a hint of sarcasm. She stared at AutumnArtist for a moment longer and turned back to the rest of the room. “Now for the tour. This is the library, and you can be in here whenever you want, no matter how early or late it is. You can borrow books as well, but please bring them back once you’ve finished reading them.” The CBers nodded and followed as Fae led them through a door to a-

Sterling took a step back. The room they were in was made entirely of glass, and it was somehow directly over the Edge of the World. From here you could see phoenixes swooping in and out and around the waterfalls like sparks in smoke. It was actually… beautiful, once you got over the terrifying distance to the bottom.

But all too soon, Fae hustled them out and throughout the rest of the house with the assurance that the observation deck was open at all times.

“Where are our rooms?” Sage asked as they finished up back in the library. “Oh,” Fae (who seemed incapable of exclamation points) said. “Follow me, I forgot to show you the stairs.” She walked back through the kitchen and made a turn up a staircase.

Moondrop made her way up the stairs, thinking. She didn’t seem to remember the staircase being there before… “Okay, Chatterboxers.” Fae interrupted her thoughts. “CBers and their AEs will be rooming together. CBers who came by themselves will get their own rooms. You should probably be able to tell which door is yours but I’ll tell you whose is whose anyway. Oh, and doors on the left overlook the Edge of the World. The right side overlooks the grounds.” 

Moondrop, peering over Heroes’ shoulder, saw a hallway with twelve doors, each painted a different color. “Moondrop, this one’s yours-” Fae gestured to the first door on the left, which was painted a solid purple, and Moondrop pulled her suitcase with her through it, Fae’s voice announcing other rooms fading as she closed the door.

It was painted white, with a wall sized window across from the door. Curtains were tied on either side of the glass. One side of the room had a bed and the other had a stack of drawers and an empty bookshelf. Moondrop slipped off her shoes and began to unpack, organizing everything so she’d be able to find it easily the next day.

~to be continued~

Deceased: 0

Alive: 17

Suspects: 0

Author’s Note: Starting now, installments will sometimes be interactive. The question for this week is as follows: Does anyone have a question they’d like to ask Fae or Yasmine? If so, what is it? Please respond by Wednesday October 28.

Topping before the next part!

Hello, CBers and AEs. We would like to apologize. The next part will be rather late in coming, but it will be here by the end of tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Fae and Yasmine

Note from Author: I had a dentist appointment yesterday, which is when I usually write, so I'm finishing it today and will either have it up by night or at latest by tomorrow.