Portals are strange things, Alexia decided. Then again, she didn’t have any other experiences with portals to compare it with. She wondered if the rest felt the same sensations she did. Her body was pulled and stretched, compressed and empty all at once. Her mind was bombarded with images and glimpses of things she couldn’t comprehend.
This way.
Someone or something compelled her to reach out and follow the voice. She stopped in her… tracks? Was there even a road? Her mind could only adjust to floating about like an apparition in the vast void of… something. But there, the voice told her, an entrance similarly white and blue, though it moved in opposite direction. Was this it? Was this the key, or the way, to triumph over the char?
Alexia beckons her companions to follow; her voice is fleeting, disembodied. They follow just as she steps (floats? flies?) through the portal. Everything is white for a moment.
A blaring horn is the first thing to pierce her senses and Alexia fought the urge to cover her head. The sun was setting, but its fading radiance blinded her also. Another horn blared, likely the first one, again and again.
“Hey watch it, will ya!? I almost ran you over!”
“You,” Alexia spurted out irritated, her eyes adjusting quickly and she feebly shot back, “You watch it!”
“I’m not the one in the middle of the street, get out of the way!”
“What is this place?” Cherry asked softly, looking up to the buildings and their surroundings.
“Get out of the streets, you weirdos! You’re blocking traffic!”
Alexia pushed them all away onto the sidewalk, a few fleeting curses were shouted at them, and the monk just ignored it as she herded her crew to safety. She looked around slowly, amazed at what she saw. Moving metal objects, sharp angular buildings, and the people; they were looking at them as though they were the strange ones.
“Where are we?” Alexia wasn’t sure who asked; too busy looking at this strange place.
“Your guess is as good as mine, we should find shelter,” she mumbled after a moment.
“There are few trees on this road, why is that? This place is all metal and machines,” Erick said sadly, noticing how unnatural everything looked.
“No time for that,” Traxt interjected impatiently, “Let’s just go…” he looked around. The Apartment that was a few buildings down; it looked oddly isolated. He pointed to it, “That one.”
“Why that one?” Cherry asked crisply, folding her arms.
“Got a better idea?”
“As a matter of fact…”
Alexia paid them no mind, moving off to Traxt’s suggestion and weaved her way through bystanders and into the building. The group would follow her as soon as they took notice. The air was chilly inside, almost cold. She wondered what sort of magic allowed this place such comfortable climate. The interior was pristine, though it was as far as she could say; the furniture and the décor were all so very different.
“So,” Cherry piped up again. “Who do we talk to around here?”
“I wish I knew.”