Soar, Part 17 - Tongue

Vanilla jumped off the bed and started to walk around the room, quietly inspecting the medical supplies and other things that were scattered all around it.

"Just Vanilla?" Alex asked as the girl picked up a syringe from the side table.

"Oh, that's not my real name," she said cheerily, putting the syringe down and picking up a medicine bottle. "But it's the name I go by, in this realm. I can't just go around giving my real name to people just like that, now can I?" She flashed the girls a smile, a very creepily innocent smile. "Names hold a lot of power, you know."

"Right, Vanilla," Roxie said, taking a step closer to her. She turned her orange eyes to Roxie. "You were about to tell us what happened? Back when you got... cursed? When you were petrified."

"Oh, yes, that's right," she said, smacking herself on the forehead. "You said you had a friend there, didn't you?"

"And you said you knew what happened to her," said Roxie, taking another step closer.  She was starting to get anxious, to lose her temper, and she loomed over the small girl in front of her. Vanilla didn't seem intimidated though.

"What happened to her is what happened to all of us," she said calmly, walking back to the bed and jumping on it. "There was a curse laid upon that street that petrified all those who set foot on it."

"That could have been us," Skye whispered, her hand flying to her mouth. "We went to the street, didn't we?"

"You were lucky," said Vanilla with a smile. "The curse had been removed by then. It was no longer necessary."

"But wouldn't people have noticed?" said Roxie, gaining the attention of the rest of the group. "I mean, if the victims didn't arrive at the same time, but got gradually petrified, shouldn't have someone noticed? Or at least found it before we did? We did come at least an hour after the curse had been made."

"Ah, that's where it gets clever," said Vanilla. "There was a distraction spell."

"A distraction spell? That is clever," said Olivia.

"So you're saying that everyone that walked down the street just... didn't realize anything was wrong?" said Alex, dumbfounded. "Sounds incredible. I mean concealing a person or too, that's no stretch, especially in an environment you're familiar with, but an entire city block? Wow."

"Why though? Why did the people get petrified in the first place?" insisted Roxie. There had to be a reason. There had to.

"That I don't know," said Vanilla, shaking her head. "By the time I realized that no one was moving around me it was too late. I was careless....."

"But you noticed no one was moving? Despite the spell?" asked Olivia, sitting down on the bed next to Vanilla. She squinted at the little girl, who smiled and looked up with a tilted head. "...your aura is funny."

Vanilla laughed, and despite the oddness of her voice it was a refreshing sound. "I suppose it would be," she said. "Actually, I noticed that there were some people that were moving in the middle of the group. I didn't have time to figure out what they were doing or who they were before I was petrified, but there were several of them, and I would bet that they were the ones that were doming the spells. I don't think there's any other way they could've stayed awake."

"Awake? You mean you... fell asleep when you were petrified?" Skye asked.

"Not quite," said Vanilla, swatting away Olivia's fingers where she had been trying to touch her golden hair. She stuck out her tongue, but Vanilla continued, uninterrupted. "After our bodies were petrified our consciousness were sent into a plane beyond the dreamworld... into Limbo. We were stuck there, wandering around helplessly trying to break free to no avail. There were dozens of souls. Most of them desperate... I'm glad I managed to wake up, but the rest are still stuck there, until we can break the curse."

"How did you wake up?" asked Alex, crossing her arms. "If none of the other victims can."

"Because of Roxie," said Vanilla happily, looking up at said girl. She shuddered. There was a weird glint in the girl's big eyes. "Oh I never imagined I should get so lucky... A Valkyrie, just happening to walk by. Of course, it is rather unlucky for you, considering the state of your friend."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up," said Roxie, waving her hands around. "What's this got to do with me being a Valkyrie?"

"Everything," Vanilla breathed. The manic glint was back in her eyes. "The Valkyries, the warriors of Valhalla, the choosers of the slain, the leaders of the fallen warriors. You are the ones that lead the souls, you are the ones carrying the dead to the gates of Valhalla. You are my soul's link into the realm of the living, Rótafkárr, daughter of Reginleif."

"How did you..?" whispered Roxie, her eyes wide as she stared at the small girl in front of her. Suddenly she didn't feel so small anymore, but somehow bigger, older, wiser...

"Know your name?" Vanilla asked, smiling. "I know a whole deal more than you think I do, and your mother is one I know very well."

"But since Roxie's mom is a Valkyrie, why wasn't she her link the realm of the living? She's been hanging around the hospital because of the investigation, right?" Olivia whispered to Alex, while Roxie could only gape.

"The one who's a police officer isn't a Valkyrie, that's Roxie's other mom. Detective Ma'at is a deity, dumbnut," Alex whispered back.

"What's wrong, Roxie?" Vanilla asked, grasping everyone's attention. She didn't seem malicious, but rather... amused? "Cat got your tongue?"

"I know..." said Roxie, her voice barely above a whisper. "I know what your name is."

"Ah, names... they are powerful, are they not?" Vanilla said, her lips curling into a smile. Roxie shuddered and drew in a breath.

There was a loud crash from somewhere in the hospital.

"Shit!" yelled Alex as she sprinted to the door of the room and glancing down the hallway in panic. "What the Hell was that?"

"Oh, I think the mob has finally gotten inside," said Vanilla, walking up to her. Whatever had been different about her just a moment ago was gone, and she seemed like a, well not normal, but a little girl none the less. "I hear the police talk about it before I could move again."

"Oh right, I forgot about them," said Olivia, looping her hand through Skye's arm. She squeezed it reflexively. "I wonder what they'll do."

"I'm reasonably sure they're here for me," said Vanilla, way too calmly. The four teenagers turn to stare at her. "Well, I guess we better move. It ought to be trouble if they catch us."
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This is just one cliffhanger after another haha.

I have an idea for who Vanilla is but it still needs some ironing out, so I won't say anything yet. Now it's time to escape some zombies! they're not actually zombies i think they're possessed people but it's really up to you idk

I wanted to tie Anka back in but looks like I didn't manage to do that this time..... hmm..... ohhh well.

Your topic is *drumroll* "Blaze"

Pie out.