Sasha's glare at the two Angels deepened as they brushed off the questions, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, her attention was snatched away by the appearance of the mysterious objects. As they took form from the light the Angel had summoned, it seemed hers was one of those among them that manifested as a pair of goggles; though hers appeared a little more
heavy duty than many of the others around them, with dense glass lenses and a solid steel frame that made them look a lot like some of dad's old equipment.
She reached out and took them- maybe these would give them the abilities the Angels seemed to think they possessed? The female Angel's words seemed to corroborate that idea, and Sasha was about to press them for details when-
"Fare thee well, humans."Sasha blinked, and they were no longer in the marble room. She looked around the forest, and between the other individuals assembled there, at first bewildered; and then, as reality sunk in, increasingly
furious. Just as quick as they'd been to snatch them away from their lives without so much as a by-your-leave, those 'Angels' had unceremoniously dumped them in another unfamiliar place, beneath an unfamiliar sky- and expected them to get to work?
"Kurva", she spat, wishing she'd had the presence of mind to levy that one on the two who'd dropped them here. She knew their type all too well from what dad had told her when she was old enough to understand. Just like the company that had tossed him and mum aside, they looked at other people and their lives like numbers on a sheet, resources to be allocated or problems to be solved. Well, if they were Angels, may the devil take them. She wasn't going to do their bidding, not without a damn good reason she should abandon her responsibilities to pick up the slack for them.
She looked around. Most of the others were in a similar state of disbelief, but one of them- the one who she could have sworn was little more than a small child- seemed outright enthusiastic about doing the Angels jobs for them. She sighed, reaching out after them-
And then, with a flash of light, a new person arrived in their midst, hanging precariously in midair above the child(?) for a long, tense moment. Sasha froze, her heart jumping into her mouth; but as she saw them fall, she made for their position, catching up to them just as she landed, almost crushing the boy she'd landed on.
"Hey, are you alright?" Fortunately, it looked like it hadn't been too severe a collision; the girl was up and talking again in a moment, at least, and while the boy seemed momentarily dazed he didn't seem outright hurt either. The pink-haired girl who'd been clonked over the head by the Angel caught up to them as well, seemingly less concerned but at least willing to explain what the newcomer had 'missed'.
"Try not to think about it too much. We'll find a way out." She nodded along to the other girl's explanation; presumably if they'd been snatched here as easily as that, it wouldn't be too tall an order to find someone who'd be willing to send them back. She then turned her attention to the boy, still lying on the ground. She offered him a hand to get up, when-
"Look, you can drop the whole stage persona, you know." The pink-haired girl
also directed her attention to the boy, crouching down to glare at him at the same time Sasha offered him a hand up.
"I'll even sign an NDA if we ever make it out of this that I won't blab you can act like a person who doesn't spike the blood pressure of everyone of age to vote.""Excuse me?" It wasn't quite as fierce as the glare she'd levelled at the angels, but Sasha couldn't help but stare disapprovingly at the girl; but a moment later, as the meaning of her words sunk in, she turned her attention back to the boy. Now that she mentioned it, and that she was this close, there was something oddly familiar about him. While he certainly looked very young, there were a few telltale signs that he wasn't exactly an outright child; though he was short, his proportions didn't match the profile of someone who was still growing, and while his face and features were soft, they seemed carefully arranged in that fashion. She stared, trying to get a read on him-
And then it hit her. She'd seen him before;
and heard the song he'd burst into earlier. He was the pop star Kat had recently become obsessed with, to the detriment of her chores, finances and Sasha's sleep schedule. Yes, it was the face she'd seen pinned on her sister's bedroom wall, and on the TV when she'd caught her staying up late to watch his newest music videos: Cameron Mason.
"... Right." Sasha stared at the little toerag before her. God, this was all she needed right now. "Okay. I don't like the way she just spoke to you either, but I can agree with one thing. Let's be grown-ups here. Let's not go running off to god knows where in a place we don't know and can't trust, and let's keep the
theatrics to a minimum." Kat was going to be so mad when she found out she'd met Cameron Mason, but that anger was a drop in the bucket compared to the deep,
deep dread Sasha herself was feeling right now.
She sighed, deeper this time, and got back up to her feet. The pink haired girl and some of the others were making introductions. She guessed she might as well bite the bullet.
"I'm Sasha Koslova, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't have the slightest intention of running around for those two." She looked around the others, gauging their reactions to what was going on. None of them, bar
him, seemed particularly enthusiastic about doing busywork for the Angels. But it seemed like the general mood was more frustration and confusion that could bubble over any moment than anything that would be conductive to getting them home. So she took a deep breath and spoke again. "If they brought us here that easily, it stands to reason we can find someone willing to send us back. Let's get our heads on straight, stick together and see if there's anyone around here who isn't a complete tool."
