Round Robin October 2020

7-9 October 2020

7 October 2020

"My plan is to, well," Professor Xoi started slowly, looking furtively at Professor Dlaun. "It's to somehow get the tattoo to transport us back."

"You want to-"

"THE STUPID TATTOO THAT GOT US STUCK HER IN DA FIRS' PLACE?! THAT'S YER PLAN?" Samantha blew up at him, her accent thickening as she yelled.

Professor Xoi held up his hands and began to placate the angry armed young woman. "Samantha, the hypothesis that I have is that the tattoo got us here. If the tattoo can transport us here, why can't it transport us back?"

Samantha listened to the professor and turned to Professor Dlaun. "What do ya think prof?" Samantha's accent still unconsciously heavy on her tongue.

Professor Dlaun looked like she was in deep thought. "I think-I think his hypothesis is right and wrong." She looked up at Samantha and Professor Xoi. "I think the tattoo," she winced, briefly touching her forehead, "transported us here. But it brought us here for a reason. We just have no idea as to the reason why it brought us here."

8 October 2020

"You have a point, there, Emilia." Gregory spoke solemnly. "But, can we risk trying to find out?"

Emilia thought for a moment about how best to respond. On the one hand, Gregory was right: they didn't have many resources, there were hostile locals, and she was blacking out every other second. On the other hand...

"But I can't control the tattoo." She grimaced at calling it a tattoo, but that's what the other two called it so she would just use the same term. "And besides, there's no guarantee that it will take us back until we do whatever we were sent here to do."

"That's true..." Gregory reluctantly agreed. "Agh! Why didn't I go talk to Dr. Lenox with you that time! Then we might know more about what happened to him and we might have a clue about how to get back now."

A pang of guilt stabbed at Emilia's heart. "If I could remember..."

"No. Don't even go there." Gregory cut her off. "You've tried, and it just made you suffer, so don't go there."

"So we 'ave no plan again?" Samantha did not look happy. And her accent reinforced her unhappiness at the situation.

"Samantha, seriously, what is going on with your accent?" Emilia inquired.

Samantha looked upset, caught off guard by Emilia's question.

"I was just curious, you don't have to answer me," Emilia continued, noticing Samantha's reaction. Gregory nodded, backing up Emilia's statement.

Samantha looked like she calmed down a little at Emilia's statement and Gregory's affirmation. "I'll tell you, but I have to skip over some parts because of...reasons." Samantha said, forcing her accent under control.

"It started when I was young. My parents were okay, but my grandfather who lived with us had strict rules on how us young'uns presented ourselves to outside society. I may have an accent when I'm upset or plain mad but I can present myself as an educated woman no different than anyone in higher social status." Samantha held herself up a little higher as she continued her story.

"Grandfather brought in outside help to train us into society ladies. That man was..." Samantha trailed off. "The best thing I learned from him was how to hide a knife in various outfits and still be able to use it easily."

"My great-uncle taught us how to use the knife outdoors and not in self-defense. He helped us learn how to survive in the backwoods. My siblings and I were lucky to have two great men in our lives, Grandfather and Great-Uncle." Samantha's gaze went unfocused as she murmured, "I miss them."

9 October 2020

Emilia's heart twinged, and - from the look on his face - so did Gregory's.

"Well, that's the story." Samantha plastered on a smile. She looked like her perky self, but Emilia thought that maybe not all that perkiness was real. "So, what're we gonna do now? Try Professor Xoi's misbegotten plan or search for nonexistent clues about what we're doin' 'ere in da first place?"

"Well," Gregory stated calmly, "first, you don't need to 'talk like a lady' to impress us, Samantha. Just be yourself. Second, since we don't have any clues, maybe we try using the tattoo once and if it fails miserably then we don't do it again and start trying to figure out why we're here."

Emilia nodded. "I agree with both those points." She paused. "And can we please start calling it a mark instead of a tattoo?"