[center][color=8493ca]{ This post serves as a collab between Baphomini and Xandrya as a means to cover the encounter in a cleaner flow }[/color][/center]

A sudden clack sounded on the roof of Lily's car, seeming to echo much more loudly than it should have as the sound reverberated through the parking garage. It was followed by a steady but chaotic clattering as something tumbled down the windshield, before coming to a dead stop in the crack between the window and the hood of the car. The item was small, but not hard to see, by far. A shining blue d20 with golden numbers adorning each side. One of these sides rested perfectly against the windshield.

[ [color=fff200]13[/color] ]

A playful laugh split the silence before it could even form, a sound like a multitude of people all giggling in perfect unison. The voice didn't seem to come from any one [i]where[/i] in particular, but rather, from all around, and the car did nothing to muffle the sound of it.

Something much larger than the die fell on the roof of the car then, and an arm hidden by the sleeve of an overly large sweatshirt reached down from above to retrieve the die with white-gloved fingers.

"Thirteen..." the voice finally spoke, that laugh still lacing their words in a tone of impish amusement, "Luck be kind, or luck be cruel...a well-off hero, or a tragic fool? High roll! High roll! A gift, indeed, for such a sorry soul... But ah, alas, the number here, you see, is not a number to whoa, but sadly, my hero, it is truly a number to fear..."

The car creaked and popped as the movement of some form started overhead, and in a moment, a figure dropped down on the passenger side of the car, back facing the vehicle. The figure stood still and silent for a moment, die held carefully in hand. Soon enough though, the strange, warbled words continued, cutting a bit here and there as the voice modifier worked to keep up with the individual's speech.

"You set off on an adventure to visit your family. A dinner like every other. You're running late, your studies having displaced you in time, it would seem. Alas, no matter, your family would never mind a small delay, but oh, dear hero, what will become if a simple encounter were to set you astray?" they paused, then turned, masked face looking in through the window. Cold. Emotionless.

"Before you can make your regular escape from the confines of your garage, your vehicle is approached by a figure most unsettling. What do you do?"

[center]* * *[/center]

She thought she was alone. Lily gasped as something suddenly hit her car. She looked up, not that it’d do her any good, then her eyes followed a die coming to rest at the base of the windshield. She was confused and in fear, her heart just about to burst through her chest as a much louder thud shortly followed. Someone was toying with her, and she went into complete panic at the realization. Lily was hearing their words, but she was having a hard time registering them. It was only when the figured jumped down and made Lily nearly jump out of her skin that she listened a little better.

[i]"...what do you do?"[/i]

The young woman found the willpower to reach for her door handle, nearly tripping and falling onto the pavement below as the door no longer held her weight. She’d always feared she would be a target. Of what? Well, there was plenty to choose from in this evil world. There was an empty space between her car and a neighbor’s. Lily hurried and circled around their trunk, her back to the row of cars as she didn’t dare to lose sight of the unexpected visitor if she could help it.

“Leave me alone! What do you want?”

Her purse was in the car, the same purse holding a small bottle of mace as well as her cell phone. Lily kept her eyes open to try and not be caught off guard.

For a few moments, the figure did not move, simply watching the young woman as she ran from the car. Taking in the scene. Studying, as it would seem. It wasn't long, however before they moved around Lily's car and stared after her at an almost casual pace.

They took the way around the front of the car, continuing along that line between car and wall despite the obstacle it caused. Walking behind a rather large truck, they were out of sight for a moment, and then, suddenly, they stepped out from behind an SUV a few cars ahead of her. With a flick of their hand, the figure sent the die tumbling once more towards the woman, and awaited the result as the object landed between the two of them.

[ [color=fff200]7[/color] ]

"Seven," they spoke out the number as a matter of fact, "A sadly low roll for our hero, but a lucky number to be won. Mayhaps thy luck still can grow. After all, to fail so soon would be no fun. You chose to flee, forgetting all guard. Your tools and weapons left far behind. The chase is a waste, for despite all the math, the figure manages to cut off your path. Flight or fight, the choice is yours, the third of these, of course, would be to freeze."

It suddenly dawned on Lily whom she was up against the moment the figure appeared once more.

“I’m not playing your game...” she added, emphasizing her statement with a head shake. Lily slowly took some steps back in the direction of her car. Would she be able to sprint quickly enough to reach her vehicle?
“This building has plenty of cameras.”
It had a few, some not even fully operational.
“Your best bet is to leave right now before someone shows up.”
She stopped, then without warning turned on her heel and sprinted what she thought to be a short distance to her designated spot.

Just as before, they watched her go, showing no hurry as they waltzed over to retrieve their die. Giving it a small toss in the air and catching it once more, the figure continued after the woman, a soft hum sounding from behind their mask.

Despite their late start and careless pace, the figure was soon in step behind Lily, their voice coming in just behind her as they spoke again, "Ah the pitiful hopes of an unwilling hero," they sighed, "You cling to an assurance which holds no ground, and entrust your fate to a comfort that does not exist. To think fate is but a choice, to believe that one can simply choose not to play. Your pursuer is amused by your efforts. Alas, the game has only just begun," and with that, they quickly twirled in front of the woman, slipping into her path with a grace that didn't quite match their short, pudgy form.

"You attempt to flee once more, reluctant hero, but the figure once again defies all logic, and with one little prick, the clock begins to tick," as they spoke, they raised an arm, something metal catching the light for only a moment, before piercing pain met the side of her neck.

A small clattering. The soft [i]tick, tick, tick, tack[/i] of the polished resin bouncing off the hard ground as the little blue die danced to a stop.

A simple design of a golden calla lily was all that showed on the upward side of the die.

One.

"The sedative courses through your veins at an alarming rate, the world steadily growing distant as sleep takes hold. It was foolish to think you could ever fight fate, foolish to think you could escape a story already told..."

[center]* * *[/center]

Was that even possible? To be outmatched to such an extent? 

Lily pressed her hand against the side of her neck, stumbling back into one of the many structural beams within the underground garage. She looked at the masked figure and a few moments later she could barely make them out. Her legs unwillingly gave out as Lily slid down to the ground, trying her hardest to hold on to whatever bit of consciousness she could. In a futile attempt to plead for her life, Lily opened her mouth to speak but no words would come out. Instead, her body went limp before lifelessly coming to rest on the ground.