mirror, mirror | garchomp

[Oswin Oswald]

Having had access to Dalek databases for an entire year, Oswin knew nearly every species of alien that had been recorded in the files. The information had come in handy while traveling with the Doctor, especially now after hearing accounts of what was an apparently invisible monster roaming the small town they'd found themselves in. All signs pointed towards the presence of a Krafayis, an alien species known for being impossible to detect, save for in mirrors or reflections. And, luckily for Oswin and the Doctor, what had happened to be stopped in the town but a carnival, which boasted having the largest hall of mirrors on Earth. It was a bit of an odd coincidence, but they certainly weren't going to question having access to something that would help.

Unfortunately, that would mean that one of them would have to be the one to lure the Krafayis into their little trap, and despite the Doctor's protests, Oswin had insisted that she be the one. The creature might recognize the Doctor after all and sense that a trap was being laid. So, it was decided that he would wait inside with something to stun the creature until they could bring it somewhere where it couldn't hurt anyone, and Oswin would be the one to lure it in. Which was the reason she was currently wandering the deserted carnival after hours, torch in hand and lingering near the mirror maze. The creature would be silent, she knew, but her scanner was on and ready to begin beeping at any sign of life.

For now, though, silence reigned. Truth be told, as bright and cheery as the carnival had been during the day, it was downright creepy once the sun went down. Nothing a companion couldn't handle though, Oswin thought with a rather self-satisfied little smirk. And, from the silence, her scanner began to beep incessantly, and for a moment, she froze. Only a moment, though, for in the next, Oswin ducked quickly into the building that housed the mirror maze, which was enormous on the inside. Certainly big enough to house the Krafayis. Greeted with the sign of at least twenty reflections of her face staring back, Oswin paused, taken aback by just how huge this place was. No time for that though, and after a moment, she'd ducked into a corridor, peering silently out at the open door.

It shifted slightly, as though something had just passed through the door frame, and as she looked into the mirrors, Oswin could see the creature emerging from the doorway. It was almost unnerving, seeing it one place and not another, but she didn't linger on it. Now to just lure it down the hall with her light... Unfortunately for Oswin, a child earlier that day had been careless and thrown the wrapper for his candy bar on the ground in the hallway, just behind her. In the silence of the hall, it made a rather loud sound as she stepped down on it, and the Krafayis suddenly swung its great head around, hissing as its glowing eyes found Oswin's form.

Okay. Not good.

Keeping a hold on her torch, Oswin immediately took off down the corridor. It didn't really occur to her that she had no idea where she was going, or that running deeper into the maze was going to get her lost. Then again, she was getting chased by a huge alien bent on ripping her head off, so who was really going to blame her?

[ooc: feel free to take control of the Krafayis, if needed!]

[Garchomp]

She wasn't scavenging. Not really!

Carnival food was distasteful, too packed with chemicals and reminiscent of the foulest brands of processed Pokemon food for Makya to stomach. She had grown up on meat and intended to stick to that healthy, wholesome diet - but in between futile searches for something her size to fight, she did need to eat, and the animals that thronged about human places made for quick, easy meals. Of course, some of those animals were probably pets, but others - rats and gulls and the like - would hardly be missed. Fortunately, there were quite a few such animals lurking in the shadows of the carnival, feasting on various wrappers and half-eaten morsels. The place was almost empty, from what she could hear and see, and though her journey did scare off a few cats, she was considerably faster than some of the other scavengers, and a few quick snaps abolished her worries about food.

Just in time, too, because she heard the scrape of something large moving nearby. Stiffening, she instantly made for the source of it, ending up at a large building that, in the darkness, looked all too shadowy and empty. She could hear something moving inside, and it had to be large.

Large meant it was worth taking a look at. Maybe this would finally give her a proper outlet - she needed a battle and another apex predator would do, even if the ones in this world were inept and weak in comparison to her own kind. Thus, the Garchomp charged in, arms out and keeping low so it would be easy to simply run quickly and crash through a wall if she really needed a way out. If it had been a bit darker, maybe she wouldn't have noticed the mirrors - but even to a Pokemon, her image thrown back twenty times over was disorienting, and she had to waste time checking that they were, indeed, mirrors, claws tapping on the glass to make sure, before she could go in search of whatever else was inside.

Not that she was going about it stealthily. Claws scraping on the ground - and the narrow, twisting halls seemed to magnify even the slightest of noises - she snarled a challenge to whatever was ahead of her. Her eyes narrowed as she kept moving - was that a light up ahead? If a human was here then... perhaps she was going to have to endure the usual response of screaming and running, but at least she would get her fight in the end. Right now, exhilaration and purpose thrumming in her veins, that was the only thing that mattered.

[Oswin Oswald]

Okay, so. Running from an invisible monster that could only be seen in reflections. Definitely at least in the top ten worst situations that Oswin had ever been in. Maybe even the top five if you didn't want to count that one time in Barcelona, but that was neither here nor there. Oswin could only be thankful she was small and hard for the Krafayis to spot, once she'd turned her torch off. Of course, that meant that the only light source now was the dim security lighting, which wasn't helping her find the exact hallway the Doctor had told her to lead the monster down. Certain she was going in the opposite direction, but unable to to anything but run, Oswin rounded a corner quickly, pressing herself up against a wall and drawing in a soft breath as the Krafayis entered the hallway adjacent.

For a few seconds, all that could be heard was the creature growling softly as it attempted to locate its escaped meal. Though Oswin could see properly from her vantage point, the Krafayis raised its head, scenting the air before continuing onward, huge claws scraping against the floor. Slowly, Oswin began to edge her way down the corridor she'd entered, hoping to conceal herself a little in the darkness. Perhaps there, the Krafayis wouldn't be able to spot her, and she could take a little time to come up with a plan beyond running for her life. Not that Oswin wasn't adept at running for her life. Maybe if she could get to an exit, she could come around and trap the Krafayis inside the building...with the Doctor. Okay, maybe that wasn't such a great plan.

Just as the Krafayis began to near Oswin's hallway, it suddenly took pause, a quiet growl of confusion escaping its beak. Something else was in the building besides the human it had been hunting, something bigger. In the shadows, Oswin took pause as well, for she could see that the creature had raised its head away from where it thought she might have been, clearly distracted. Was it the Doctor, come to see what was taking his companion so long, or if she might have failed in her attempt to lure the alien beast into the maze? Oswin puzzled for only a moment before a loud snarl caught hers and the Krafayis' attention. Her eyes widened a little. Two of them? That was almost impossible, the scan she'd done earlier had only picked up one!

Turning to face what was obviously more interesting than just a human, the Krafayis returned the challenging snarl. This was its meal, and it wasn't about to just give it up without a fight. As soon as it's attention was away from her, Oswin peeked out from the corner of her hallway, searching for whatever else had ventured into the hall of mirrors. Definitely not another Krafayis. Not anything she'd ever seen before, even in the Dalek databases. Whether or not it was friend or foe or neither was completely up in the air, and she probably should've been taking this opportunity to run and find the Doctor, but curiosity kept her around and watching.

[Garchomp]

Sight told Makya that there was nothing there at first. The air resonated with an answering snarl caused by nothing she could see until she bothered to look into the mirrors that lined the walls. She didn't really need to do so, though - even with her eyes closed, at this range, her senses screamed of a threat, a challenge to her own strength. For all it was hidden normally except for its reflection, it made sounds, minuscule shifts in its position or louder ones when it moved. She could smell it, feel the vibrations in the air and the floor beneath her.

Oh, it was interesting prey - or even a challenger - but difficult to pin down? Hardly.

A moment of assessing the predator that faced her, and she finally took notice of the human she had thought was here - small and frail-looking like all of them. It was too dark to tell apart normal details for her eyes, but she didn't need to. At least, if this one was smart, it would be in no danger. Humans were typically good at running away from threatening situations, even if they did so with a great deal of noise. Surely this one would do the same.

Still keeping low, she arched her neck and hissed, a warning of attack - and then she lunged at the beast. The thousandfold reflections around her were confusing to look at, but she didn't need them that much. She charged forward, not bothering to use proper moves - simple attacks had been enough to fell every other animal she had met in this world. If this one was different... well then, that would be even better. She lashed out with her arms, sharp-edged fins and claws intended to just graze the other's hide, see how tough it was.

Or gauge its reflexes if it moved or attacked her. There was always that, though the possibility of it being faster than her was something she dismissed casually. In her own world, where everything could breathe fire or control the very air, she had been fast - what were the chances of this strange beast being quicker than she was? Darting in closer, she snapped at it, trusting to her reflexes to keep her from suffering too much of an injury in return. This was still, in quite a few ways, a test, but already she felt better.

Finally a proper fight.