The rocky bits- Thursday afternoon

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

Audrey was on the way to the town meeting. But she'd been trying to get some idea of what was still there and what wasn't, and so she left a little early in order to go around the island and check things out after the shielding had failed this morning. Let's ignore that an island having a shield wasn't completely new to her and she was trying to pretend that was normal, no matter how grateful for it she was.

When she got to the rocky bits, she made sure not to get too close to where there wasn't anything, looking around and trying to get an idea of just how much was gone. And she was completely calm about it. Externally, anyway.

Comments

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

Three people dressed all in grey were examining the shield inquisitively.

One turned to peer at her. "What are you looking at?" he asked.

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

"Not much," Audrey said, and then looked over at them. She hadn't been in town too long, and she wasn't the most outgoing of people, so she knew there were still people she didn't know. Still, she knew to be wary right now. "What are you looking at?"

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

"An unexpected energy field," another answered, without turning around. "It should not be here. It is against the Rules."

The third turned and cocked her head at Audrey. "Is it customary to find an energy field here?" Human customs were odd and difficult to understand. It was possible that some involved energy fields.

The first man glowered at Audrey. He was experiencing an odd, unpleasant sensation related to the response she had given him. "Your answer is unsatisfactory. Define 'not much'."

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

"If we've always had this energy field, I didn't know about it," she answered, because it was true, and a safe answer the way she figured. "But we did used to have a lot more land here. And now we don't."

She paused, and sounded nice and casual when she said, "Did you guys know anything about that?"

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

"Define 'not much'!" Mr. Green insisted again. He had asked a question, and she had not answered. It was untidy!

Mr. Emerald stepped in front of Mr. Green, because the discussion he was having with the human was more important. Since importance could be denoted by position, he should therefore be in front.

"The other land no longer exists," he informed Audrey. "It is less messy."

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

"'Not much' means there's nothing there to look at," Audrey explained, just to get that guy off her case about it. "What do you mean it's less messy?"

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

Mr. Green nodded, satisfied, and then contemplated himself. "We experienced an unpleasant sensation when she did not answer our question, and now experience a pleasant sensation when she has. It would appear this body responds on its own to logical queries. This must be studied."

"The multiverse was full of change," Mr. Emerald answered Audrey. "It was constantly being altered. It was untidy. Now, it is tidy."

Ms. Lime paused her investigation of the field to turn and look at Audrey for the first time. "You will tell us how to deactivate this energy field!" she demanded.

(OOC: Sorry for being AFK so long.)

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

"I don't know how," she told them, calmly, with the same time of a voice in which she would talk to someone who was holding a gun on her. "I don't control it and I don't know how or who does."

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

"Then you are useless," Ms. Lime decided. The energy field was far more interesting than this human, and she went back to studying it.

"You could be lying!" Mr. Green exclaimed. Human beings tended to mess around with the natural order of things. The stating of incorrect things was just the sort of untidiness the Nothing was getting rid of.

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

"I'm not," Audrey said, still calmly. Nevermind that if she knew how to make the shield go away, there was no way in hell that she'd tell them. "I'm new here. I don't have access to that information. I promise."

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

"We, also, are new here," Mr. Emerald told her, trying out a different argument on her. "What information do you have access to?"

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

"Depends. What information are you looking for?" She didn't plan on telling them, but finding out some things couldn't hurt, right?

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

"The causeway. Explain it!" Ms. Lime demanded, again without turning around.

"Irrelevant," Mr. Emerald corrected her. "The causeway no longer exists. Instead, explain the concept of a 'school'."

"Explain why you are on this part of the island!" Mr. Green demanded. "This is a place for rocks, not a place for humans. You are incorrectly situated."

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

"I was checking to see what parts of the island were gone now," Audrey said, feeling like the last question was the most pressing one. "I'm more than happy to go where the humans are."

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

Ms. Lime turned around again, with a quizzical look on her face. "What is 'more than happy'?" she asked. "Is not 'happy' a continuum? If you are 'more' than happy, are you not simply 'more happy'?"

"Happy people smile!" Mr. Green interjected. "She is not smiling!" (Regardless of whether or not she actually was; the Auditors' understanding of "smiling" was just as limited as their understanding of everything else.) "Therefore, she lies!"

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

"If I can leave here, I'll be happy," Audrey amended. God, these guys were sticklers. "And then I'll be smiling. But since I'm not going anywhere right now, I have no need to smile. Therefore, I'm still not lying."

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

"She is lying about lying!" Mr. Green countered.

"You are becoming emotional," Ms. Lime cautioned. "And irrational."

"We cannot be irrational!" Mr. Green shouted. And to prove it, he lunged at Audrey. If he removed her from existence, the problem would be solved.

[also-audrey.livejournal.com]

Audrey had pretty good reflexes, but in that second it took her to try and gauge how close she was from the force field when she was getting lunged at, Mr. Green managed to touch her-

-and then she who hadn't been lying about lying didn't exist.

[not-the-irs.livejournal.com]

And she was not only nonexistent, she was also no longer relevant. The three Auditors returned to their task.