Private - Marco Polo: Strangers in a Strange Land

“ What if he’s late… he’s always late….” Lina muttered as she paced up and down the hall of her dormitory for the fifteenth time that hour. Pacing was a nervous habit of hers, and today, Lina has plenty to be anxious about. “No… he promised he’d be on time. He’d better be on time. If he makes me go without him,” The small brunette balled up her bitty fist and shook it up at the ceiling of the hall. Not that this was entirely intimidating mind you. Catalina Silva was all of five foot two and about as gentle and cuddly as they come. Sighing as she looked down at her phone, she realized it was nearly time and she should make her preparations to go.

Today, at approximately 1:00pm eastern standard time, Catalina and her best friend Albert were going to dive into the world, known as Terrasphere. At first she was nervous about the whole ordeal. Albert had gotten the game on SD card from an unknown source, and their online searches came up with very little about the game. But Albert was intent on going, and Lina was not going to let him go alone. They decided to go together, and that was that. She go herself ready and waited for go time.

1:01pm

Lina was in.

Character setup only took a few minutes. She and Birdie had already discussed details… logins and such so they would be able to easily find each other. For a moment, everything in her field of view went white as she was set into the game world.

Warmth.

Azazel could feel warmth upon her little round cheeks as she slowly opened her eyes and the white display began to clear. Her chocolate brown eyes darted about the scenery and she blinked rapidly as she took it all in. Her jaw dropped as her eyes went wide and she stumbled back and fell on her behind.

“Well I’ll be…” she said finally with her little lips still agape.

She was in a forest! A lush forest, with trees much like those you’d find in the Redwood Forest on the West Coast. The tree reach several stories into the air and the trunks of each were humongous! It’d take at least six or seven people to hug a trunk. She stared up into the skyline as the sun continues to stream through the branches high above her head. “It’s so real!” She said as she thoughtlessly ran her hand along the moss lined forest floor. She could hear the birds high up in the treetops. “Albert! Do you see all this?” She said as she continued to marvel at the sky.

“Al-bert?” she said as she realized her rather boisterous companion was dumbfounded into silence. She looked around and began to realize she was quite alone. “Albert?” she shouted as she stood. Where was her friend? They were supposed to start together, and most games typically dump you all in the same starter location, so why wasn’t Birdie with her?

“Don’t panic…” she told herself as she looked down at her hand and opened up her menu.

“Where is it… where is it- AH!” she said finally finding the communications system. Furiously, she began to scribble her note and added his name in the sender spot.

She sent it off in a hurry and waited to hear back from him. She sat back down with her back up against the trunk of a tree. The little Faerin made herself small, even smaller than she already was and she waited.

“Birdie…” she whimpered slightly scared and worried. Where could that boy be?

 

Albert reached over his bed, grasping at his phone for the upteenth time. At each swipe it managed to wriggle it's way out his grasp, until it fell to the floor. It constant siren noise, which was his ringtone woke him again. He grumbled as he shifted his body to grab the still singing phone. As it turned out, he wasn't being pestered by someone trying to get ahold of him but instead his alarm going off. He swiped his finger across the screen, silencing his phones cry. He was awake now, at least he had that. But his alarm was set for ten thirty. He scratched his still tired mind, trying to remember why he had set the alarm to begin with. And why would he be up that early? It was about forty minutes past noon now, so whatever it was he was sure that he was late. He looked at his messages, several of them being from Lina. He gazed over them for a full second before realizing what he had missed out on. "Damnit!" He swore aloud, rushing out of bed. His blanket caught his ankles and he tumbeled to the floor his chin bouncing off of his carpet. "Ow..." He muttered as he rolled and kicked the blanket off of his feet. He got to his dresser, and ran through his drawers. He grabbed a pair of jeans, and a random t-shirt.
"Hun, are you okay?" A femanine voice chimed in through the door. His mother was home, a rarity. "Yeah, no. I'm fine mom. Just got tripped up. I'm young out soon, is there anything to eat?" Al asked his mother. "I'll see what I can whip up." She said, before he could hear her footsteps retreating back down the stairs. Albert ran to the bathroom. If Satan had a face, it would like his. He was a mess. No time for a shower he did the next best thing. He brushed his teeth, and threw his hands into some styling gel. His hair no longer a tangeled mess, and his mouth free of morning breath he quickly went down stairs. His feet barely touching the steps as he came downstairs. He grabbed the off brand hot Pocket from the table as he grabbed his jacket and bag. "Thanks Mom, see you tonight." He said before darting out the door.

The time was now one oh seven, and Albert was still on the bus. He tapped his foot impatiently, as the bus continued to take it's sweets ass time. When it was time for his stop, he regretted his decision to sit in the back as every kid from the suburbs was goning to school or something. There was an abnormal amount of teens and adults getting off at the school stop, which made getting off the bus a four minute venture.

Al swiped his student ID and made his way inside. Shit, he'd forgotten which room she was in. He ran back outside, and counted windows. Retracing his steps of a sort. He made his way to her dorm, catching several stares from other girls as he did. He knocked on her door, hoping she'd still be awake. But with no response he sighed. He looked at his phone. One fifteen. She'd already be inside the game. He sighed as he took out her spare room key she had loaned him and let himself inside. He locked the door behind him and began to pull his things out of his bag. He set up his equipment, and rolled out a floor mat for him to lie on. Helmet on and game running, he dived into the world that he wasn't supposed to.

Coming to he was asked to enter in a name for his avatar. He ponderes the thought for a while and entered in 'Crowe'. He didn't know why, but it sounded cool to him. Satisfied he hit the enter key and was warped to a grey room with a body in a chair. It looked remarkibly like him, but anyone who used thier own likeness was asking for trouble. He began to use the tools provided to him to make his avatar, better. Blonde hair instead of black, long and point rather than short and smooth. Blue eyes still, blue eyes were handsome. Or so, his mother told him. And after a few moments of fiddiling he was happy. He accepted and blacked out once more.

When he came too a second time, he could hear birds chirping. He felt like he was slapped with a ton of bricks, and then dragged through some more bricks. He rubbed the nape of his neck as he stood up. His ear pinged as a message came in. He was already used to other vrmmos, and instinctively swipped at the air. Surprised at not seeing a menu he scratched his head. He held his hand out, a secondary way for menu screens and one appeared in his palm. He clicked a few buttons and read the message from someone named Azazel. After reading the message he knew that it was Lina. He quickly went to send a message back.

"Kept you waiting, huh? Sorry for being late, bus was being a pain."

He looked up as he could faintly hear a voice. It kinda sounded like Lina. He quickly sent the message, at least to leather her know that he was in the game. "Cat! I'm here!" He called out cupping his hand besid his mouth to amplify his voice. Hopefully they'd find each other quickly, so they could explore together.

 

There was a blip and she pulled up her display panel once more. “There he is…” she said as she clicked the message open and read it. Lina sigh clicked her tongue and then smiled. She could never stay mad at birdie like ever. The bus was late… of course. She knew it meant that HE was late. It was fine though. He had a key to her room, and if he was finally in, then it meant he was in her room and safe and that they were now together in this new world. Now all she had to do was find him.

“I wonder if I can send him a friend’s request…” she asked herself and began to poke around in her menu. Maybe if she handed him, she could see him on her map and they could find each other that way. As she started tabbing through things, she heard something. Her ear twitched as sound hit it again. It was faint… but she thought someone said “Cat”; only one person ever called her that.

Azazel stood and waited to hear if he might call out to her again. Nothing came but she knew what to do. New York was a big place and the pair knew exactly how to find each other. They played Marco Polo. It didn’t matter where they were: Time’s Square, Broadway, Central Park, if she got lost and separated from her companion, she’d holler for him until they’d find each other. While she could’ve just used her cell phone to text him, this was just ultimately more fun.

Cupping her tiny hands around her mouth, Azazel raised her head to sky and inhaled in deeply before bellowing out.

“MAAAAAARRRRRRRRCCCCOOOOOO.”

Her tiny voice carried enough to scare the birds in the tree above. Ravens were sent flying overhead and little Zaz just giggled at the sight of them. “There,” she said, “I wonder how far off Birdie is…” she said and waited for a call back.

 

The forest was eerily quiet, save for the crunching of tall grass beneath Crowe's feet. He took the time to survey his surroundings. He has forested wasn't just trees and grass. Stones littered the forest floor, as well as other signs of civilization gone and forgotten. He knelt down, picking up a loose stone in his hand. The stone crumbled softly in his hand, like old aged concrete. This world was based on the real one? His head shot up as he heard a voice. Whatever was said was drowned out by distance, and bird fleeing the sudden noise. His head turned to the sky, looking for where the birds were fleeing from.

He smirked, already knowing what was happening between him and his friend. He stood, taking in a deep breath before bellowing out,

"POOOOLOOOOOOOO!"

He gasped as he let go of the word. His lungs aching from holding it for so long. The birds surrounding him paid no mind as only a few took off to other trees. A lot of good that helped him. Now they had to walk and play this game even longer. He didn't mind the game, in fact he enjoyed on occasion. But it cuts into their exploration time, and that irked him somewhat. He was also curious as to what she made her avatar look like. They had discussed it briefly beforehand, but he wanted to see how she actually looked. He wondered if she kept her dimples when she smiled, that was his favorite part about her. He could feel his cheeks flush with color and he patted them back down to normal. Meanwhile, he resumed his walk in the direction of where the voice had come from.

 

"POOOOLOOOOOOOO!"

She heard off in the distance. It was Albert! His voice was faint, but she was able to pinpoint exactly where the holler came from. Turning to the right, Azazel stared at the sky above watching the birds scatter overhead. They were flying from the East and that was where she would find her Birdie.

Azazel walked quickly, climbing over dense root systems and bounding over mossy Earth below her tiny feet as she wandered toward Alert’s call. She leapt and bounded over the soft Earth, scrambling toward the echo, but the forest was dense, and she was unsure of her direction. After having played this game quite often with her companion, Zaz knew that first echos were always deceiving, they would give away the first heading, but not the true direction. She had discovered this after a near tragic accident at the Bronyx Zoo where she had nearly plummeted right into an animal enclosure after a round of Marco Polo. Had Albert not been there to grab her by the back notch of her jeans, stupid little Catalina would have tumbled first into the brown bear den.

After another 20 feet more or so, Azazel stopped and cupped her hands around her mouth and called out once more.

“MAAAAAARRRRRCCCCCCCOOOOOOOO…”

Surely she had gotten a bit closer to her companion that she might find him soon enough.

 

A few moments passed and another cry was heard. This time he could make it out in its entirety. There was no doubt now that it was his dear friend calling out to him. He rounded a tree, feeling the bark gently scratch at the palm of his hand. He stopped a moment and looked at the tree with disbelief. That felt, way too real. He touched the tree again, letting his fingers trace along the bark and the knots. He looked up into the tree light cascading down through the leaves catching the loose particles in the air. A somber tone took a hold of him. He was, almost happy to be here. To be alone. To be surrounded by nothing but nature. Living near the city his whole life gave no chance for fresh air, or grass that was real. He sighed, holding onto the moment for a little longer before tearing himself away.

He cupped his hands again, calling out. "POOOOLOOOOOOO!"

He had a good idea of where Cat was at. They had done this several times before, most time with him catching Cat at just the right time. Bears, traffic, Renagade toddlers at the mall all sorts of things that had threatened to either run her down, or vice versa. He gripped an overturned tree, and vaulted over it with his feet landing with a solid thump as the dense grass gave way to his sudden weight. This world was too real. Everything felt like it did in the real world. Was this place, even a game? He shook his head. Everything was starting to get to him, any longer here and he would start contemplating life, and why they were all here.

 

"POOOOLOOOOOOO!"

There it was again!

“BIRDIE!!!!! I LOOOOOOOOOVE YOOOOOOOU!!!!” Azazel hollered out into the treetops.

Azazel truly did love her best friend and she often told him that. He was fun and exciting, and Lina greatly enjoyed the adventures they had together. Terrasephere was exactly that. Azazel ran through the woods just as she would if she were back home in Central Park. She felt the sensations: the soft ground giving under her feet as she padded along, her pulse and heart rate thumping in time with her exhaustions, she could even hear the white noises of the forest, the breeze, the birds, all of it; it was all so real, and surreal. This was all in her head and everything felt almost as it did back in New York. She knew she was getting closer now; his cry was loud and clear.

The little fairy ran until she found herself at the edge of a meadow. The patch of open field was only about 100 feet wide and was covered in wild flowers. The sun beat down brightly upon the little blossoms and Azazel cheerfully ran through the flowers, holding her arms out at her sides little a little airplane as she twirled and jumped about. “YAAAAAYYYYYY!” she cheered as she twirled and circled about. It was beautiful! However, she still needed o fin her friend so she yelled out for Albert once more.

“MAAAAAAAAARRRRRRCOOOOOOOOOO!”

 

A full sentence was heard, this time around, and clearly enough for Crowe to whip his head around it. Following the voice, the air seemed the grow sweeter, as his nostrils picked up on the scent of flowers. The grass also seemed to become much more green, and the trees thinned as the sunlight grew stronger. A clearing appeared and Crowe shielded his eyes from the sun's light as he stepped into it. A field of flowers stretched across the land, not far but enough to make it sizable. He could hear Cat called out to him again, he could make out the word 'Love'. He rubbed his temple. She said that she loved him, but it was more like a brother and sister thing, rather than the love between two people. Either way, alone it made him happy to hear her say such things. But he'd never admit it, at least not publicly.

The field of flowers was magnificent. Wildflowers of every color could be seen. The scent of all of them mixed together, rending the scent of anything else to be nonexistent. His nostrils flared at the pollen in the air, making it somewhat difficult to breathe easily. Perhaps he had an allergy affliction? He never knew as he spent most of the time in his room, or in the city. And only recently he had been visiting Cat in her dorm room.

Squinting, he could make out a figure running, and playing in the field. He scratched his head in a bit of confusion. He couldn't be sure of it, but he had a feeling he knew who it was. And his hunch was confirmed when it stopped and shouted out again. "Polo!" He shouted out, waiting for the woman to turn around and look at him. He raised a hand above his head and waved at her as he made his way over to her.

 

She heard it!

Spinning around she saw a man standing there in the field and she knew exactly who he was. “ALBERT!” She squealed as Catalina raced toward her friend, her arms wide open ready to grab him once he was within her reach. She crashed right into his midsection and threw her arms around him squeezing him as tightly as she could. “Can you believe this place?” Azazel squealed as she released her friend from her grip and spun around. It had been years since she’d seen anything so beautiful. She plucked up a purple bloom and held it out to her friend, whom looked vaguely reminiscent of how he did in the real world.

The height and build seemed exactly right for him. Even in the real world, the young man towered over her. It was even more noticeable in her doll-like body. His eyes were also the same color, but that was all that remained similar in the face. Here he had tons of spiky blond hair, and the rest of his features were reminiscent of his own, but not entirely. She giggled as she hugged him once more. “I’m glad we didn’t spawn so far apart. It was a little scary out there on my own.” She looked up at her friend, her tiny face beaming merrily. “But where were you!” She said and nudged at him. “You’re late!” She giggled more. Lina was never the type to hold grudges, and even when she was pretending to be upset, she wasn’t the sort to hold on to it for very long at all.

"Look Birdie!" she said as she twirled around showing him her character and costume. "I'm a fairy! A real freakin' fairy!" She was too terribly excited about being a Faerin. She was only sad that she did not have wings.

 

She turned, and Crowe knew what he was going to have to do. She was small, but she was deadly. He threw one leg forward and lowered his center of gravity to make the blow much easier. He exhaled so that the air was not forced from his lungs. He lowered his body, grabbing Cat in his arms and swinging her around. A perfect glomp if he could say so himself. He spun one full rotation, before picking up the small woman in his arms. "Yeah, this place is insane. It's like, a real world in here." He said, rubbing his stomach. He chuckled again when she mentioned that he was late. "When am ever I on time?" He said, laughing.

Crowe watched at Cat spun her body around, flaunting off the fact that she was a fairy. "Yep. You're something alright." He said, jesting. But her look was something alright. She, well her avatar, was incredibly cute. Like a forest princess from a whimsical anime. "I like it. The outfit I mean. it suits ya'." Crowe said, now looking at his own attire.

It was very, monochromatic. Filled with whites and blacks in a checkered pattern. Very basic pants, and a red undershirt. Otherwise, nothing all too special. But now that the pair had eachother, what did they have to do now. "Now that we're here. What's next?" He asked, his companion.

 

“NEVER!” She replied and laughed as she was spun through the air.

Azazel giggled in delight. It was true, Albert made it his life’s mission to be fashionably late everywhere. Lina didn’t mind in the least as he never showed up too terribly late, and she was always too early. She was set back on the ground where her ensemble was inspected. She met her friend’s approval and Zaz clapped her tiny hands together. When she was asked what they were to do now, Azazel tilted her little blonde head and shrugged.

“I don’t know Birdie, this is your game remember?” She raised a hand to her cheek and began to tap her forefinger against her face as she gave the question some thought. “ I suppose we could go to town? Do you have a weapon? I have magic, I think…. What skills did you pick?” She asked her friend curiously. “ I got something called Naturamancy… cultivation and cooking.” She said with a nod. She wasn’t entirely sure what she could do with all that but she liked the sound of all of it.