[Death by Mirrors]

You've probably heard about adventures. The kind that starts in a tavern. A place full of cheap ale, good mead and not so good stew, where you are approached by someone who needs to get rid of their gold- eh, help. Someone who needs help. You prepare yourself, make sure to pack enough trail rations, your trusty weapon and a bar of soap. As anyone could have told you, that's the proper way to start an adventure.

Yours however doesn't begin in a tavern.

[Death by Mirrors]

The first thing Emery noticed when she woke up was her terrible headache. Apparently she had been passed out on a stone floor, and the cold against her cheek helped a bit to ease the pain, but still it felt as if a percussion band had taken to practice inside her skull. A really bad percussion band.
As she lifted her head it seemed unusually light. It took her a moment to process the information, but then she reached back and fingered her hair. Indeed - her thick, long braid was gone! She gasped and started to frisk her clothes, but as far as she could tell, they were alright. No rips, no icky stains, no signs of them being removed. So whoever cut her hair probably hadn't touched her otherwise. Even her hidden jackknife was still there, in an unobtrusive pocket of her boot.
No immediate danger, she thought, and was tempted to just lay down again. Yet slowly she climbed on her feet and started to look around.

[Kaderin Triste]

"Ugh...could you stop moving around so much?" Krystalina groaned in the general direct of the faint shuffling noises that she assumed was just one of her friends. She rolled onto her back and dramatically draped one arm over her eyes. She felt absolutely horrible, sort of like a cross between a hangover and a migraine. She still hadn't noticed that the floor didn't feel right.
"Ha...how much did you guys let me drink last night?" Krystalina smirked and lifted her arm just enough to look over. "Uh...who the hell are you?" She eyed the person for a moment, her arm still mostly hanging over her eyes before letting it flop back down.
"Whatever. Look, if you're gonna kill me just make it quick, I feel like shit.

[Death by Mirrors]

"Why do you think I-" Her piercing eyes still had barely adjusted to that sick, flickering light in here, but they already scanned the person on the floor. Know your enemy. It was one of these habits she couldn't get rid of, even though nowadays only a few scars told of her fighting days. Then she glanced at her own hand. "Oh, right. Sorry."
Emery tucked her knife back into a pocket and crouched down next to Krystalina. "I'm Em. Are you alright?" What a stupid question. Emery bit her lip the moment she had asked. That stranger looked roughly as wrecked as Emery felt right now, maybe even a little more. She rummaged through another pocket of her cargo pants and handed Krystalina half of a dried herb. "Here, that should help."

[Kaderin Triste]

Forcing herself to finally sit up, Krystalina cautiously grabbed the proffered herb and sniffed it.
"So...I eat this?" It didn't look familiar at all, but without waiting for a reply, she nibbled at it. After a few seconds to realized that she should probably also introduce herself. She had never been very good at the whole politeness thing, but had been making an effort to improve since it was hard to keep a job otherwise.
"Oh and uh...I'm Krysta-...uh just call me Tali." It was then that she happened to flance down at her clothes, which were not quite the same as what she usually wore. "What kind of sick fucking joke is this? Leggings as pants?! What is this, twenty-fifteen? Ugh!" She stared down at her outfit in disgust, from the shirt all the way down to her boots, nothing was the same as the last outfit she remembered wearing. "How the hell did I end up in this horrible outfit?" It was, of course, a rhetorical question. She didn't really care what she was caring anymore now that she started to look around at the room. This was definitely not her home. Or anywhere else familiar, for that matter.

[Death by Mirrors]

Munching on the other half of the herb, Emery grimaced. "Damned if I know!" She didn't care she was speaking with a full mouth, after all proper manners weren't exactly the highest on her priority list when waking up in a foreign place with nothing but a hangover and some preppy gem to keep her company. "I bet you always were one of the popular girls." It came out more sarcastic than intended, and she stared at the ground for a moment, strands of black hair covering her face. She tried to tuck them back, but it was a really stupid length right now. Nothing she'd have ever chosen by herself.
"Tali. Sorry." Emery gave up on her hair and inspected Krystalina's outfit again. It hadn't seemed worth a second thought before, just the usual sexy-but-not-too-slutty style she'd seen many others sport when hitting the bars. But now the pain was already fading, even though that dried twig tasted bitter like a donkey's breath. Every little detail could help figure out what the fuck had happened for both of them to end up here. And how to escape.
"Guess sick weirdo who brought us to this luxury retreat decided to give us a makeover." Once again she tried to push her hair behind the ears, but then just grunted and grabbed a strand. "Cut my locks and dressed you up. I think you got the worse deal."

[Kaderin Triste]

Tali grimaced at even the thought of being considered a popular girl. "Hell no. I was the loner-bitch who picked fights and cut classes and all that shit. The popular bitches really hated me. But I would like to clarify that I never was a slut. And these clothes? Definitely not my choice of fashion." She signed and ran a hand through her bubblegum pink hair, attempting to tuck it behind her ear. It was almost too short, but it stayed put. Feeling better already, she managed to get to her feet.
"So, I'm thinking since we don't want to kill each other yet, maybe we can figure out where we are or at least if there's a way out. And I am seriously changing clothes if we find anything better than this. Except the boots. They're not my usuals, but they are pretty practical."

[Death by Mirrors]

The reply made Em chuckle. "Well, then I'm even more pleased to meet you. Reminds me a lot of myself back in junior high. Except maybe that I would never dye my hair pink." She shrugged and stood up again, fashion debates sure could wait until later. Not that she considered it such a particularly interesting topic anyway. She heaved a sign of relief Tali obviously seemed much more practical and tougher than her initial impression had been. These are not her clothes, Em reminded herself. Don't jump to conclusions.
"Well spoken", she agreed to the suggestion. "As much as I like to thank the barber, I prefer to do so with a postcard." The room didn't have any windows, but there was an air duct near the ceiling. And of course the door. Em grabbed the handle. "Locked. Of course. Hotel California it is." She hummed a few beats while she inspected the lock. Then she turned around again. "Hey, you don't happen to have a bobby pin?"

[Kaderin Triste]

"Uh...so I look like I would have a bobby pin?" Tali immediately sighed and shook her head slightly in annoyance. "Yeah, I probably do." The clothes swap was really starting to get on her nerves even though her current outfit was probably more practical for an escape, assuming they could find a way out. She had really been hoping it was just her friends playing some prank at first, but this was way too elaborate for them. Nervously, Tali ran her finger through her short hair again, feeling the small bumps of her tiny hoop earrings as she tucked her hair behind her ear. It was a pointless motion, the hair just slipped free again almost immediately.
"Oh shit! What about this?" Tali asked, a little too excitedly as she pulled one of the hoops free. It wasn't a full circle, just a cheap one that looked like one. "I mean, if we straighten it out, would it work?"

[Death by Mirrors]

"Improvisation, huh? Right now it's our best bet." Em grabbed the earring and twiddled with it. Cheap alloy, probably lead or chromium with a heavy dose of nickel - but at least the hoop was made of metal and, if they were lucky, sturdy enough to hold through her attempts.
Em looked at the door again, involuntarily shaking her head ever so slightly. She didn't like to depend on luck, yet she tried her best to retain a confident posture. They both would gain nothing if they freaked out in here. So she took the knife from her pocket and pressed the earring between the door and flat of her blade. With a sign of relief she realized the metal indeed somewhat straightened under pressure. Still she had to be cautious not to break the hoop by bending too quickly.
In the meantime as the pick took shape under her hands, Em examined the lock again. In all honesty she wasn't sure whether she could get it open with a crude makeshift tool. "I need the other one too", she stated, deliberately not looking back at Tali, lest her fellow captive noticed a glimpse of doubt in her face. "As a lever."