I was wrong, Alesha thought mournfully. This summoning is going to be difficult.
Currently, a group of 10 people (including herself) were standing in a circle on the beach, arguing about how to move forward. After waking up and getting their bearings briefly, everyone present had decided to hold a little conference to discuss things.
"The goal of this Story is survival," a teenager with a pink bob cut was saying. "And we each have our own secondary goals. Mine is Vampire Hunter. So vampire, confess! It's better for everyone if you die!"
"What the hell's wrong with you, little girl?" Another girl asked in an accented voice. She was short, had mid-toned skin and long, wavy black hair. Her firey attitude matched the teen's precisely. "You can't just tell people here to up and die on the first day! We should focus on survival essentials first, before you start killing off team members."
The sassy teen huffed. "Team members? Are you kidding? We're not here to play nice. We're here to kill each other off for the entertainment of that stupid Trickster Devil and his precious Viewers, whoever they are. Get your facts straight, lady!"
A dark-skinned teenage boy of average height, with short black, curly hair spoke up, "Hey, chill out, no need to get your feathers ruffled up. We've got plenty of time to be savages later. How about we take a step back and introduce ourselves first."
Several people in the circle relaxed visibly. Clearly, the tension of the argument had been getting to them.
"I'll go first," he continued. "Call me CJ, I'm 16 years old."
He gestured to the person on his right, setting the pattern for the introductions.
"Hi, I'm Layla," said a girl with tight red curls and pale, freckled skin with a shy wave. She was a bit shorter than CJ. "Do I have to say my age? Well, I'm 20."
The person on her right was a pale, sickly boy who was so skinny that he looked malnourished. He was the shortest of everyone present. "Tristen, 11 years old. I've always been skinny but it got worse when I got here, also I'll just say it since I'll probably die anyways. I'm the 'Sickly Boy.' If you're a vampire or a werewolf, please turn me."
Alesha's attention (which had been starting to wander) turned fully to the boy out of curiosity. This reaction was common to everyone in the circle since they were all surprised by his frankness, otherwise she would have had to worry about outing herself as the werewolf. Instead, since everyone was equally interested, she could freely reexamine him. White hair, extremely light blue irises, and skin so pale it was almost transparent -- the boy had albinism! No wonder he wanted to be turned. Even if he became a vampire, he'd be stronger, and vulnerability to the sun wouldn't be anything new. Those with albinism tended to be especially susceptible to things like skin cancer and sunburns no matter how much skin protection they wore.
After a short bit to allow people to ogle at the boy, the person next to him in line spoke up. He was a handsome man with pale skin, blond hair and green eyes, barely taller than CJ. "Uh, hi," he said timidly. "Hope I'm not cutting you guys short. Anyways, I'm Olphen, 25 years of age, and I like to cook. So hopefully I can be useful. Anyways. Um, what about you?"
On his right was the short, firey woman who'd been arguing with the pink-haired teenager before. "You can call me Veronica," she stated confidently, her accent coming through clearly. It was like her enunciated speech had a flavor of another culture thrown in. "I am 42 years old, but I think I got younger for this Story. Some of my old pains are gone, and my skin is less withered, haha!"
There was a ripple of murmurs throughout the circle at this revelation. At this point, Alesha wasn't quite sure whether to speak up, but she decided to in order to show a gesture of goodwill. Based on the argument earlier, such a gesture would be critical to maintaining a peaceful atmosphere.
"On that note, can I say something?" She piped up, raising her hand like a student out of habit. When no one protested, she continued, "I'm a bit embarrassed to say this, but outside this game, I'm not exactly human. I was really surprised when I got here and my, ah, extra limbs were missing. Based on what Veronica just said and what I experienced, I think Zorhellian is able to physically transform us to fit the Story. We might have to look out for even more than just that going forward."
Everyone was even more surprised at this. Some gasped and whispered to themselves, while others looked at her in either suspicion or curiosity.
Tristen, the albino boy, was boldest. "Woah, so what are you? Since you're not human, you said."
Suddenly feeling shy, Alesha scratched the back of her head. "Well, you could say I'm a distant relative of… dragons…" she answered reluctantly, the last word so soft that only those next to her could hear.
The boy heard it, though. "Woahhh!" He gasped.
Alesha didn't notice his enthusiastic response, however, as a sharp pain penetrated her skull and a headache set in. "What in the seven hells," she complained reflexively, clutching her head and crouching down. Even with her eyes screwed shut, she could see the blue notification window.
*****
NOTICE: Non-game-related topic detected -- role violation! Warning! Penalty in progress.
*****
"Shit," she groaned. "This just got a lot more complicated."