Young Writers Society

Colleen glanced up after hearing her name, then immediately shaking her head, even while Tara spoke. She had never even thought something like this could happen, not even with believing somewhat in different forms of magic back home.

"No, I mean, yes," she flushed a bit. "I've only ever been home, not anywhere else, if that answers your question."

Colleen looked at everyone else sitting down, wondering how they had been to different places over their lifespans as well. It seemed there were a few adventures she had never been a part of before.

Queenie ignored the voice when it spoke and carefully archived everything she learned about these people she was trapped here with. If this was like the last couple of times, she was here for a reason. Probably a dumbass reason, but still a reason. What she did and didn't have in common with the others might have a couple of clues as to what that reason is.

James already knew she'd been in at least one of these situations before, and he'd already said about that much. She didn't have to elaborate on that then.

"It's...confusing," she said, finally joining the actual conversation, "I can't see why we're here." Lay down a card, one of her puzzles, and maybe the others would have the pieces to complete it. An elaborate, unfun game of Go Fish. Sounds like something Briar might put together for guests to play, then promptly vanish back into what Queenie lovingly dubbed her 'Bratcave' to cook up something a little more painful than a boring card game.

"I mean, everything here is so intentional," she elaborated, mostly to make it look like she was giving away more of her thought process than she was, "We can't have just been randomly plucked from whatever times or places we're from."

Odris finally found his voice.

"It's not just intentional," he pointed out, looking up from his name tag. The fact that it said Odris and not Oliver Cartwright was a sign that CB knew more than they should have. And while Odris didn't want to be here and didn't want to risk revealing his secret if he talked for too long, he found this to be frustratingly familiar - it reminded of him of what his life had been like before Maahes suddenly grew up. Odris knew a thing or two about meetings and talking to other people.

"CB knows things about me that no one should know," he said. No one without a certain level of security clearance, at least. "Everything here is personalized - and I'm guessing it's the same for everyone else, too."

Queenie shrugged a shoulder, "There have been some coincidences," she offered. A risk, being that vague, but if she said everything was entirely accurate then any future tricks up CB's sleeve were likely to point in awkward directions.

No way in hell was she explaining to a bunch of strangers why this mysterious voice in all their heads was associating her with, well, anything to do with her home life, really.

James listened quietly as the conversation began to unfold. CB knew things about them that no one else would know, and that meant CB either had informants or the time and resources to spy on them. Those were the only things he could think of that made sense. Either there were people out there spying on them for CB, or CB was doing it themself somehow.

James had no idea how that could be possible, though his doubts were less about the improbability of it and more about the means to which it would be accomplished. That level of research required dedication and borderline obsession to acquire.

Who would take the time to note all of the books he'd read? The type of quill he preferred? Who would know about the masquerade, and this suit, and all of the other times he'd woken up in places he didn't belong? God? That was a thing, right? But CB did not give off the impression that they were an all-knowing god.

"Coincidences, yes," James repeated. "And knowledge of private matters. CB doesn't seem like the type of person to care much about our privacy, or anything sensitive being kept secret. I wouldn't be surprised if they subjected us to --"

His sentence cut short when a wolf in a little wolf-tailored tuxedo jacket popped up beside him, seemingly out of nowhere, with a letter in its mouth. James stared at it for a moment, and it only looked back at him, unfazed.

He looked back at the others, namely Odris, giving him a look that asked if Odris had seen where the wolf came from. When he turned back to the wolf, it was still sitting there, offering the letter. James took it, and then the wolf nodded and padded off to the other side of the room. James watched as a door slid open in the side of the wall before closing as if there had never been a door in the first place. No hinges, no cracks. Nothing.

He opened the letter and pulled it out, reading it quickly.

"CB says if we think intentionally of any food and wish for it in our minds, it will appear on our plates," he said. His eyes scrolled to the bottom of the letter, where there was a "P.S."

"...They say not to overdo it."

Perhaps now should be the time that Colleen actually spoke up more than a few sentences, as it seemed that everyone realized they all came from different places, and wouldn't be as alarmed as before if she had said something before.

"This CB person knew far too much of my past. Even with what the posters say."

She didn't know who she really spoke that to, but she figured some more affirmation would not hurt. The wolf caught her by surprise, but maybe things like that happened in this world.

"But I don't know why CB would be interested in me of all things, or why they would put so much effort into making that room to my liking and having all the symbolism. It's not like there are a lot of written records back home, and it was rare to find any people that would speak about anything besides the weather and the livstock. And besides that, I'm not a very popular person, or interesting person, or anything besides the typical leaving-home-storyline."

She hadn't realized her thoughts had turned into words spoken aloud until her voice had grown softer and she almost felt like she was vibrating. Oh dear. She hadn't felt like this in a while. Colleen looked over the dining table, just realizing what James had said. What had he said about food?

It was experiment time, it seemed. She thought entirely of a ripe, vibrantly colored apple.

Colleen opened her eyes to see a perfectly formed, light pink-colored fruit.

Yum.

"CB had pictures of my family," Tara added. "He's still going to need to explain himself for that."

She took a deep breath, registering what the letter James read had said. It seemed like someone had already managed to make food appear.

Tara closed her eyes and tried. Like magic, a hot dog with ketchup and mustard appeared. Potato chips. Maybe not the thing she would have pictured for a dinner like this, but it smelled so good.

It reminded her of the bonfires she had growing up. Still, she hesitated in taking a bite. Something about this wasn't right.

Queenie was not accepting food here, that was for sure. She'd been poisoned too many times for that, and besides, it was a tried and true fact that she could go many, many days without eating if she had to.

Hopefully, she wouldn't have to. That shit was miserable.

"So this 'CB' person is a top-tier stalker with magical powers, at least one really well-trained pet wolf, who decided to gather us all here for a chat," she summarized.
"So. Let's chat. Who are you people?"

He hadn't been hungry before Queenie's question was asked, but he was even less so afterwards. Any thoughts of trying to figure out how food was appearing out of thin air left his mind. Instead, he was trying to figure out what exactly Queenie meant.

He had already given his name. He had said where he was from. Queenie could only be asking why CB had taken an interest in him - and Odris knew he wasn't supposed to give the truth.

Or all of it, at least.

He took a tiny, shaky breath.

"...If you're asking why CB would take an interest in me," he said, "it might be because my brother works for the military. He works at a facility near where we live with his wife. I've been there before, so CB might have been interested in me because of that."

He knew it was a weak answer, but he could always say he couldn't say more because it was confidential.

James was pretty positive the "brother" Odris was talking about was Maahes, married to Vala. While Odris's connection to Maahes was a valid reason for someone to be interested in him, if that was the main reason, then Maahes would've been here instead.

Odris had his own personal history that was interesting, he was just omitting it. Which was fair, of course. Just because CB wanted them to "get to know each other" and talk, didn't mean they had to obey. And they could still choose what they wanted to share and keep quiet.

He noticed Queenie was doing that. She was trying to get answers out of everyone else as a way of making it seem like she was more open. That was normally what he tried to do. The only way they'd get her to speak more directly about herself would be if she was asked a question directly. Even so, he knew how to avoid saying things while still making it sound like he answered a question. He figured she did too.

Tara and Colleen though, they were being more open. And they were the only two who'd thought of food.

James wasn't particularly hungry, but he did wonder how the magic worked, and he wanted to test it.

First, he envisioned something that wasn't food. He imagined his glass full of water. As if it was being filled, water gurgled up from the bottom to the top on command.

"I'm sure we all have interesting stories in our own right-" James began to say as he tried to envision something in his mind. He wanted to test the limits, even though CB said not to.

"-even if we think our lives are 'normal' because it's what we've grown used to. It's easy to think your life is mundane when it's all you've known, but to someone from a wildly different context, and as bored or obsessive as CB seems to be, I'm sure CB finds it all quite-"

A large, roasted turkey appeared in the middle of the table. James didn't plan on eating it, but he smirked at its appearance. He could still see all of the others over it, of course. It wasn't absurdly big.

"-fascinating."

Play nice.

With the turkey had come all of the materials with which to carve it. She wondered, absently, of course, and just for fun. A thought exercise, really. How would CB react to a little blood on the tablecloth?

But, since it was here, she rose and brushed her braid over her shoulder before picking up the knife - careful of how she held it, she still didn't know if any of these people knew how to use a knife properly - and starting to carve the bird. Mostly just to keep her hands busy, but also because she was curious who would take some. Most of the people at the table had already summoned food, but it was a bit different when someone else had summoned it. A little less control.

"Fair enough, I'm from Earth," Queenie said. It was a pretty fair thing to guess that most of the others were from there too. This bit of information would mean nothing to them, and her dress was vintage, just as most of their clothes looked.

Colleen crunched into her apple, thinking that she should probably wish for another one in a few minutes.

Was it obvious that she was not from here? This Earth, as Queen said. Although that seemed like a weird name, but it wasn't her place to critique the names of places.

Especially because her home had no name.

"I am, well, not from Earth." Colleen swallowed down a big piece of skin before speaking again. "We don't actually have a name for it?"

She shrugged, leaving her information at that. She didn't want to bore anyone with a million and one questions about this Earth.

Odris, who had been eying the turkey as Queenie carved it, immediately went still when Colleen revealed that she was from another world. He couldn't help but look over at her and stare - wishing he had gone with Odris and not Oliver from the start of this. Their experiences would never be the same, especially if she hadn't been living on Earth for the past year or two.

But the little boy in him that had never grown tired of visiting other worlds - even when it was for diplomatic things and not fun vacations - couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement at the thought of finally interacting with someone else who wasn't from Earth.

(Outside of Teal'c and literally everyone in the Cartwright family - excluding Maahes. James technically counted, and Maahes might have counted, too, but James's experiences weren't the same and Maahes had spent a long time on Earth - despite it not being his first home.)

Colleen had said she was not from Earth. Great.

"Okay, CB," Tara shouted. "Enough games. Tell us what's going on." As she waited for a response, she took a hesitant bite of her hot dog. She wanted to eat it and enjoy it, but her stomach hadn't been this in knots since the day her mother had told her who her father was.

There was a small pause of silence as James and the others waited for a response, but it quickly became clear that CB wasn't interested in explaining themselves or rescuing them from the awkward pauses of the dinner party that was forced upon them.

James broke the silence. Something of a first for him, really. If CB really knew as much about him as he suspected, they were probably getting a kick out of all of this.

"So. Earth," he said, looking at Queenie. "Where on earth are you from?"