bigdamndestiny | Shilo's Room, Wednesday Evening (Reply)

Shilo	As the sun began to set over the island, if for nothing else but to be appropriately dramatic, three figures could be seen making their way across the causeway. Or, at least, Shilo hoped it looked like this, as she'd be so wrapped up in her own thoughts during the first half of the causeway that Arthur and Merlin could have been abducted, or turned into newts. Or, as she steered her thoughts back into some semblance of reality, Arthur could have changed his mind and turned back, and Merlin would have gone back to convince him otherwise. In short, she could have been abandoned and not noticed. She glanced behind her. Both young men were still there. Excellent. She stayed silent for a few more moments, and then finally worked up the nerve to talk. "All right," she said, a little louder than she'd intended. "So my plan is this. We wind up wherever in my time, make our way to my house, get you two changed into something that will blend in, and then go find a friend of mine. He tends to know everything that's going on around the city, so he should be able to give us a hand. After that..." Yes, Shi... what about after that? What if he's in the catacombs? a nasty voice in her head spoke up. What if the Largos had him burned? What made you think this would be simple? "After that," she repeated, "we'll figure it out as a group." She looked forward, at the last two steps of the causeway. "Okay, here we go." A moment later, she found herself, Arthur, and Merlin, in her bedroom. "Well." She looked around. "That definitely takes a step out of it."
Arthur	... All right, a girl's bedchambers wasn't a particularly comfortable place for Arthur to wind up on. If he was performing a search, perhaps, but not when caught by surprise. He could hence be excused for the amount of looking around he was doing, especially considering that it was just a little bewildering. "Well," he said, digging deep for some understatement, "This is certainly new. Where are we?" Wherever you wound up when you were nice to people, Arthur.
Merlin	"Um. I believe we're in Shilo's world." And good god, that never got more bizarre to say.
Shilo	"Oh my God, we came back to my room," Shilo breathed. And then she frowned. "Oh no, I hope Dad didn't lock the door for some reason." She tried the knob. "Shit. Hold on." She moved to the dresser, found a hair pin, and began to pick the lock. "I used to be so good at this. It'll just be a minute."
Arthur	Arthur was still in the throes of looking around, fixing one wary look on a skeleton hanging in one corner of the room. Eventually, he let his attention fall back on Shilo and what she was doing-- "Or I could force it open," he said, somewhat gently. It just seemed like a more straightforward solution all-in-all.
Shilo	Shilo paused, apparently contemplating the idea. "Sure," she said, standing. "It's not as if I'm going to get grounded for it or something." She moved out of the way.
Merlin	Merlin just shot them both a look. "Perhaps we could try something less violent?" Sensible was hard to be sometimes.
Shilo	Shilo shrugged. "As long as we get out of here so we can get to my father's room, I don't care," she said, looking away. "Whatever's fastest."
Arthur	"Don't be such a girl, Merlin," Arthur returned, just as easily. "If you have a better solution for getting through this door beyond nattering on about it, I'd be happy to see it."
Merlin	Stepping forward, Merlin gave the look a firm look. This was going to work like it said in the book. He closed his eyes and breathed a word over the lock. Nothing. "Um. Hold on." He tried it again and... faint click?
Arthur	On that wonderfully adventurous note, Arthur moved in to push him aside and actually, you know, try the door. Which opened. "Not as useless after all," was his verdict. "Shilo?"
Shilo	"Good job, Merlin," she said with a faint smile, sliding past Arthur to go into the hallway. "Come on, we should be able to get you some clothes from my father's things." She headed to her left, past another hallway, where another door stood. She tried the knob. It swung open easily. "C'mon," she said, flipping the light switch. "Thank God, the electricity is still on. There's the closet." She pointed in the corner. "Just pull a shirt or sweater or something. Anything that won't make you so obvious."
Merlin	Because that clothing was going to fit Merlin. "Thank you Shilo," Merlin muttered, holding onto that bit of joy of managing the spell without someone in mortal danger. "It's a... very nice room."
Arthur	Arthur would have posed some kind of argument against the allegations of not looking obvious, but even he wouldn't march into a border village in full Pendragon colours; instead, he saved his disdain for a slight look at said clothing as he yanked open the closet door. He took out a dark blue shirt that was probably just a size too small, and glanced at Merlin. "Well, I suppose it's about the same sizes as those shifts you wear. Hurry on up."
Merlin	Well of course Merlin was going to help dress Arthur there before himself. Nothing odd about that at all. "Where are we going?"
Shilo	"We'll be heading downtown," Shilo said, "to meet up with Graverobber." She checked her watch. "The Zydrate addicts meeting will be out soon, so he'll be near the community center. He tends to know what's going on better than anyone else, so he might be able to help me. Us." She sat down on her father's bed, and looked at the floor during any and all instances of boy half-nakedness. "The ladies with him will probably try to hit on you. Just brush them off. And if he tries to sell you Z, tell him no. What else... oh yes. If you see a woman with two guys in sunglasses and ~~bondage gear~~ leather straps on their chests, tell me, because we need to run."
Arthur	Of course there wasn't anything odd about it. It was, after all, Merlin's job. Arthur smoothed over his ridiculous new shirt when it was through with, but continued to keep most of his commentary on the inside, where it belonged in a time of crisis. "How likely is it that we'll meet the latter?" he asked, and offered Merlin a sidelong glance to see how he was managing with what went for clothing around here. Yes, inside voice, Arthur. Keep it up.
Merlin	He was managing just fine, thank you. He just looked a bit like a street urchin with a techno twist. "We'll avoid them," Merlin said quickly.
Shilo	Shilo finally looked up again, and bit her lip. Arthur looked ~~hot~~ like Arthur, but in the future, but Merlin's look was going to make her laugh. He looked too nice. "The chances of us running into them may be pretty good," she said. "Amber's addicted to the knife, so she may be coming by for Z. Then again, she's the CEO of GeneCo, so she might just be going through company stock instead." She then realized that Arthur and Merlin might not have the first idea of what a CEO was. "A CEO is like... the king or queen of a company," she explained.
Arthur	"So I've heard." Arthur had picked up something from that child that was never going to happen. After one last quick check (partly for space to put some weapons if necessary, if he was completely honest with everyone) of his gear, he nodded at Shilo. "Sounds like fun," he said, idly. "Let's get to it."