Irena - Old Friends

The hotel shower was almost too weak to pound the kinks from her muscles, but it did enough for her to painfully climb into her car and resume her drive. She pulled into the parking garage for Stacy's condo just as the sun was setting. Stacy met her at the elevator doors on her floor, "I hope you brought something sexy to wear. We're meeting Amy and Tricia at Brochan's for drinks and dancing." Stacy was bubbling enough to not notice Irena's smile was forced and her eyes didn't light up like they should have at the prospect. "Come on, hurry up and change. They're probably waiting already!"

"Traffic sucked. Sorry I'm running late," Irena apologized.

Stacy hauled her into a tight hug, "That's ok. Brochan's will work its magic and you'll soon forget about that ass hole ex of yours and any sucky things that have happened at work. Oh, yeah, a bit of fucked up news. My ass wipe brother is down for the weekend and parked on the couch, so we have to share my room until next monday." Stacy led the way to her room and motioned for Irena to drop her bag near the door. Irena followed, stopping to take a deep breath before following her in.

"That's ok, I guess. Couldn't he stay with your parents? He has a bit more of that man smell than I like."

"Not really. You know how they are. This weekend is some sort of fund-raiser or something. They have a bunch of people from elsewhere in the state at their place," Stacy said, making a small face, "You're not turning into a lesbian are you? I love your roomy to death, but she's a bit of an odd one."

"No, just your brother has more of that man smell than I like. Beside, Shan's never put the moves on me, ever. And she's bi, just ask her last boyfriend."

"Bi? I still don't get that. Can't she make up her mind?"

"Stace, I've told you, it doesn't work that way. She likes people, not genders."

"Yeah, ok Rena, whatever you say. Now go, get dressed," Stacy gave her a swat as she left the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind her. The room hadn't changed since the last time Irena had visited. Dolls and stuffed animals still crowded the shelf over the bed. Boy band posters clung to the walls, pink lacy curtains framed the large window and the thick pink quilt was perfectly smoothed over the large bed. Scents of lavender, vanilla, and lilac collided in the air, making it almost too thick to breathe. Irena struggled to hold back her coughing, knowing once she got started, it would be almost impossible to stop. She stripped out of her travel clothes and slid into a long black velveteen skirt, tight, laced up, blood red corset top, and six buckle boots, something that would have been tame by Waverly's standards. Stacy looked her up and down when she emerged, almost frowning in disapproval for a split second, before pasting on a cheerful smile. "Still into that dark stuff, I see."

"Yup," Irena answered, not wanting to get into the old discussion again. "Guess we should get going."

Sophia - Restless

Sophia stopped in the middle of practice the next afternoon. "This is good and all, but how long do I have to stay in here? I need to get out. The emptiness and silence is beginning to get to me."

"I can't keep you here. You are the mistress and you are free to come and go as you please. Just be aware, it can be very dangerous outside. You would be safer with more training." Tyana replied.

"I have to get out and see for a bit," Sophia said. She started toward the door from the throne room to the interface. "Uh, wait, is there any way I will be able to learn the local languages?"

"Are you good at languages?"

"No."

"The hut has a translation system, however, it works best on places where it has been before."

Sophia took a few more steps toward the door and stopped as her confidence seeped away. "I, ok, you win. I don't know anything about this and I don't know what I'm doing, and I am scared, and tired, and," she folded to the floor and began crying in ragged sobs. "I can't do this. Please, just send me back."

"I can't do that. There is no way to get you home without your help." Tyana crouched down next to Sophia and held her close while she continued to sob. "It'll be ok. You'll do fine. Just give yourself some time to figure things out."

"Time? What about my friends? What about my life?"

"I understand about friends, but was the rest of your life so good you wouldn't want to change it?"

"No, but I didn't get a choice."

"Would you have changed things on your own? Sometimes change needs a trigger, something to get started with." Tyana helped her rise and settled her into the throne. "Take a few minutes, then, if venturing out would help you, I can come along."

"How does that work? Aren't you, you know, like a hologram or something?"

"I have a shell I can use to leave for short times. I don't use it much because I can see and feel things much more completely through the hut interfaces."

Irena - Vacation 2

Cheap, greasy pizza in hand, she returned once again to the screen. Twenty-four hours after she had first started reading, she leaned back and stared out at the tiny room. Unexpected tears dripped down her cheeks at the realization that the game was all just a fantasy. Uru, while real, had been a dead place, filled with the ghosts of the past and the hushed echoes of tourists. Very little of the actual research had been made available to the masses, and what places were open to explore were mostly sanitized and safe. The world trapped in her computer was vibrant and alive with possibilities, dangers, and conflicts.

She pushed the laptop to the other side of the bed, slid down, and stared at the ceiling until sleep slowly claimed her. Random images from the things she had read drifted through her dreams. Sophia's sapphire was always there, hidden, calling to her to find it and touch it. Every time she did, the air would start to shimmer and her dream would change to a new place. She tossed and turned fitfully, waking up in the early morning light, tangled in the bedding, almost unable to move.

Sophia - Training

Sophia opened the wardrobe in her room and stared at the various items hanging within. They ranged from very revealing to almost fully covering and were in deep reds, purples, and blacks. None of them looked like the bullet proof vests and body armor she had been expecting. "Tyana, I thought you said protective wear?"

"All of those are enhanced with magic. They will protect you against most average weapons."

In a large chest she found an assortment of shields and helms. In another there was an assortment of knives, swords, battle-axes, and other edged weapons. "No guns?"

"There are a few energy weapons available, however, finding replacement power crystals is very difficult most places. They wouldn't serve you very well. It's even worse for slug-throwers. You're better off with simpler weapons that function everywhere."

She tried several different weapons before settling on two short swords. One looked to be extremely sharp and narrowed to an impossibly long point at the end. The other had small burst of lightning crackling along the length of the blade. "Good choices, however, for training, could you take the other two? The ones you just picked up have enough enchantments to be really dangerous before you have sufficient skill."

"Which of the garments would you recommend?"

"Any of them. They all have similar protection, so pick the style you like." Sophia pulled out the dark black, most covering, set and set them on the bed. She started to say something, then shrugged, stripped, and slid into the clothes. They settled on her frame and seemed to shrink and expand until they fit perfectly. She picked up one of the swords and swung it clumsily around, noticing the clothes didn't grab or bunch as she moved.

"Florentine style? Just so you know, that's one of the harder styles to learn. I'm going to start by teaching you simple blocks and parries. Then we'll work up to attacks. And you're going to have a training regimen to tone you up and increase your stamina." Sophia rolled her eyes. "Or you can go outside unprepared and probably die." Sophia just nodded and gripped her practice weapons.