Little Girl Lost

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

Arriana was frantic. In Dalethria's absence she had been given the duty of looking after the youngest Mal Pannis, and somehow had managed to misplace the girl. Now wandering the halls looking for her, she called out the girls name, her voice growing increasingly thin and worried- especially at the thought of what the Sith Mistress would do if her child fell into one of the many seemingly bottomless pits the keep contained.

"Aliandra! Aliandra, dear, it's Arriana."

She paused, shifting gravity planes. Her pale cheeks became flushed red.

She threw balled fists down at her side, "ALIANDRA! Where the frell are you!"

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

Alia was growing bored. Not that she didn't like the Kalesh, but she missed her mother. She had managed to sneak away from Arriana while she explained how the Keep's gravity worked. It was the perfect lengthy explanation to make her escape!

The search for Mommy was on!

"Erm..." Aliandra looked around the bizarre winding stairways and pouted. She couldn't remember which way was her room...

She picked a random direction and hit a shift in the gravity, causing her to fall on her butt. "Grrr..." Maybe she should have stayed and listened to Arriana's explanation, course most of it was going over her head.

Hopping over that weird spot, she concentrated on using her amulet. That would make things easier! Or... so she thought. For some strange reason, it caused an odd backlash she wasn't expecting. She yelled, scared of what had happened and toppled over, falling dangerously closed to the edge of the walkway.

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

The shriek caught Arriana’s attention. She turned on her heel and head off at a sprint, managing to traverse three gravity planes, in a mesmerizing display, in the space of a few moments. Her feet landed again on solid ground, that which was on the same gravity horizontal as Aliandra.

“Stay still, sweetie,” she said, trying not to hiss her words out through gritted teeth- and failing for the most part.

“I’m coming.”

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

Arriana didn't sound happy ... Course that was the furthest thing from Alia's mind as she fought for balance. It was too hard! She squealed, trying to regain her footing but the odd gravity in combine with the backlash was too hard for her.

Alia cried out as she felt herself leaning over the edge...

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

When Aliandra came into view, she was wobbling precariously over a ninety-degree switch. This meant that, in laymen’s terms, if she were to go over the edge, the fall would be quite long and more than quite painful. Arriana cringed. What little training she had done in the use of telekinesis came into play, as she threw out a hand – as though grasping for the girl – then tore it backwards; the Force tugging at Aliandra enough so that her balance would be pushed backwards. This meant she was likely to stumble backwards a little, but at least she wouldn’t fall over the edge – and Arriana would be able to scoop her up within mere seconds.

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

Alia's eyes grew wide as something touched her, the shock of it almost was enough to push her over the edge. She didn't know where it came from, but the sensation went away. Arms flailed as she fell backwards, the wind knocked out of her when butt hit stone. She was safe. For now, though her outstretched legs were inches away from the ledge ...

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

As quick as she had fallen, Arriana was picking her up and dusting her down. “Ali, you mustn’t run away like that. You put the fear in me,” she said, her anger subsiding into something of a more maternal anxiety.

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

Aliandra clinged to Arriana's shoulders, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to almost fall!" She wasn't hysterical, just horribly upset to make the Kalish worry so much. "I just wanted to find mommy. I haven't seen her since we came here. I used to see her all the time at home, but not anymore." Her eyes had filled with tears, "I like Meras better."

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

“I know, dear,” she sighed, gently stroking the child’s hair as she held her. She couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the girl. “I’m sure you’ll see her lots more again soon- your mother just needs to make sure everything here is ready, and its best if she gets that done all at once, isn’t it? Then she can get back to spending more time with you as soon as possible,” she added, with a hopeful smile.

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

She sniffed, "Maybe. I dunno..." Alia pulled back to rub away the tears from her eyes, "This is like when mommy was one helping to run the Empire. Never got to see her." She started to get angry, "I wanna see her!!"

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

“And you will, but just not right now,” she assured, then feigning a pout asked,

“Don’t you want to spend time with poor Red?”

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

Alia started squirming in Arriana's arms. Who was she to say that she couldn't see mommy now! :mad

“Don’t you want to spend time with poor Red?”

:( She didn't mean to make the Kalesh all upset. "You all lonely like me too?" :(

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

Pouting somewhat, she nodded. “We both have people we want to see, but can’t… but we can keep other company, hm?” she said, then brightening up with a smile.

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

Red was starting to make some sense. The kind of sense that made Aliandra smile. "Yes! I likes that a lot! Then time go by faster to see Mommy later!"

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

“Precisely!” Crouching down, Arriana set Ali back on the floor, but kept a close on her. “So, what shall we do now?” she asked, looking around the room they stood in. “I think getting out of here would be a good first step, don’t you?”

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

She rubbed at her hands nerviously, "Yeah. Walking. Flying's no good in here. I don't wanna fall again." :(

Alia got up to her feet but didn't move. She looked up at Arriana worried. "Everything's so messed up here. Can't walk right."

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

With an amused sigh, she once again lifted the girl. “Come here, then. I can walk just fine.”

She began to take a few steps, the gravity shifting and making both Arriana and Aliandra feel a little dizzy as they moved onto another plane. Arriana was confident in her movements, however, because of her species natural ability to shift their center of gravity and hoped this confidence would project onto Alia.

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" Though a bit lightheaded, Aliandra found this means of travel to be most fun. "This is great!" :D

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

Arriana walked briskly from plane to plane, as Aliandra delighted in the feeling of the world turning upside down. After a time, however, they reached something unusual. There were no more gravity shifts, and only a single set of stairs. They wound upwards, uneven, into… darkness. Arriana looked between the unknown and the little girl in her arms.

“Fancy a bit of exploring?”

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

Her brows furrowed, almost like Dalethria's, "This is creepy!" Aliandra waved her hand around and felt no odd pulling and took it back when her eyes spied the darkness. "It could be dangerous tho....

Let's check it out!" :D

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

A small smile pressed into Arriana’s lips. This little Mal Pannis had certainly inherited one thing from her mother. The pair took their first daring steps towards the stairs. The redhead walked purposefully slowly, if only to heighten the excitement for the little bundle of curiosity in her arms. The staircase was unusually even, unlike the precarious pathways that filled the rest of the bastion. Somehow, it seemed, the chaos hadn’t worked its wicked way on this place yet. Then again, it was black as night and nothing good could survive on the red planet. How curious.

THUMP- Arriana started, flinching back. If she squinted hard enough through the shadows, she thought she might be able to see a door up ahead, although she wasn’t sure. Another resounding knock against wood confirmed her suspicions. Slivers of red light, barely visible, were spilling out through cracks in the timber. They drew closer, and a door handle – dull gray and twisted – stood out against the grain. The door shock once more, struck by some unknown.

“… Still want to explore?”

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

At this point, tight little arms clung around Arriana's neck. It was really dark and spooky. Almost too much for her, but she just thought about how mommy would react in this situation. Mommy wouldn't back down for nothing!

Her eyes went wide with amazement and fear when the door shook again! "AAHH! How can it do that???"

Alia peeled her head away from Arriana's neck so she could look at her, "Maybe it's a Vore???"

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

“It doesn’t sound like it,” she whispered, watching as the door once more trembled from the impact of whatever was on the other side. It seemed that with each strike the force grew more powerful. Edging forward, Arriana cautiously stretched her hand out towards the door handle. Just as her fingers were about to grip the metal, it began to rattle back and forth. She flinched away for a moment, wondering if exposing the youngest Mal Pannis to this sort of peril was a good idea. “Last chance to back out, Ali…”

[Aliandra Mal Pannis]

She started to debate, as good as any child could at her age, as to the good and bad. Good, something new, neat and mysterious to look at. Always a bonus!

Bad, mommy would be mad, probably Arriana would get in trouble, they could all get into trouble and maybe get hurt!

"Um," she was nibbling on her lower lip, obviously unsure what to do. The bad surely outweighed the good, but Alia was still torn. It was such a curse being so curious! :(