exsiliumlogs | (no subject)

Date: February 1st
Location: The Initiative Hold & Courtyard.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports have all arrived and have been shuffled into the Courtyard after their initial briefings, while older Transports are returning from the mission to Uruguay.
Warnings: None.

While those who have been guests of Exsilium since at least the last wave of Transports return from their desperate mission and are pressed out of the Transporter room and into the Courtyard, the Initiative prepares to receive a second wave at the same time. And if you're in that second wave, the fresh meat, then you've just been hustled and bustled through mazes of information and literal, wide corridors of the Initiative Hold and you've been equipped with your weapon—be it a gun, a sword, or even your existing powers. They've handed you this light netbook and a small pouch of coins (or a debit card, if you're more inclined), and there are several Transports before and after you going through the very same motions. You can hear the Greeter's voice as she walks alongside large groups, telling them all about the history of this place and sharing with you your purpose here in a hurried and urgent tone. "You're in luck that we have enough rooms for all of you; the housing building is getting awfully full. Please, let me show you into the courtyard."

You pass what looks like huge gymnasiums, all with dummies and targets strewn and splayed around the room. Training areas. There are even classrooms, and a few small offices. You're rushed past a large library while the Greeter informs you that you can find almost all your information there, if you've got the time to look—and trust her, you'll have time. You don't spend a lot of time in the bank, and it's a bit of a blur of exchanges with more and more of these strangely-accented and oddly polite-seeming members of the Initiative.

Soon enough, you're in a massive courtyard bustling with all the other Transports. It's not exactly what you'd expect, and it looks more like barracks than anything—huge walls of concrete and stone, separating you from all of the hallways you'd just passed through. It's raining heavily, and dark clouds loom in the air, though it hasn't turned to snow. It's a chill cold, and there are shelters—long cloth hangings that extend from the walls of concrete to house you from the rain, but not enough. Most notably, the courtyard is filled with a marketplace. Even in the cold and the rain, there are several citizens seated at their covered booths and tables, bundled up against the weather. They're selling all manner of their own handmade goods and foods, and citizens and Transports alike are traveling from one small covered shop to another in search of all manner of necessities.

The Greeter's voice has become so faint now, but you swear you can make it out in the back of the crowds as she tells you, "Good luck. Be safe!"

Her voice is drowned out by the busy marketplace, though even the transactions taking place are somewhat subdued. Nobody is overly happy, really, though most citizens can be found with smiles on their faces. It doesn't seem like they're that shocked to see you, either; even if you're not bound in tattered rags and wrapped in heavy shawls as they are. You're welcome to walk up to a shop, and find yourself something to eat—hey, maybe you'll even find something akin to a raincoat. Or, you can join the others under the coverings against the walls. Where am I? What war? She was talking so fast, and it didn't all make very much sense… did anyone else catch it all?

Welcome to the courtyard. Welcome to the Initiative Hold—and most importantly, welcome to Exsilium

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Upon suggestion, Elliot was now donned in a raincoat. He wasn't really a fan of the bright yellow slicker, but it was definitely better than nothing until he could get a change of clothes. The stench of the blood covering his was still all to apparent to him.

Despite his enduring shock, spotting a girl dragging a shield along the ground definitely catches his attention. What did she think she was doing? He's certainly not getting a good first impression of her.

...Especially not after he sees her fall. With a sigh, he starts walking over, with a frown that shows annoyance more than anything else.]

Hey. You're not hurt, right?

[She doesn't notice the stranger until he speaks, and his sudden appearance is startling; so much so that she slips again, falling back to the ground just after she had started to rise. With a wince, she looks up at him.]

I'm fine.

[Good grief, this girl was like a walking accident. He doesn't move from his spot, though it's more that he's waiting to see if she really needs help than just not offering it.]

You should really try to be more careful, you know. What if you had gotten hurt? And why are you dragging that thing around, anyway?

Then I would have gotten better, that's usually what happens when people get hurt.

[She pauses, looking down at it.]

Because it's mine!

How would you have gotten better? Would you have taken care of the wound properly?

Yours? You don't mean...

[And yet, he distinctly remembered the whole process of selecting a "weapon" from this place, so the association seemed pretty obvious. Yeah, this girl definitely needed some help.]

Why would you pick something you can't even carry?!

Because when you get hurt, it heals! That's kind of how it works. And it's not like it would have been something bad, or at least not something that would've needed special attention.

I didn't realize I couldn't carry it until it was too late! What does it matter to you?

It's that attitude that gets people hurt that badly! [Trust him, he knows...] And what about the people who care about you? Do you just make them shoulder all your burdens like that?!

You can't carry it and you keep tripping! Anyone that saw you would be concerned! Why did you choose that if you hadn't tried to lift it yet?

[There's a moment of surprise that he would actually say something like that, and then her voice is a notch angrier.]

How am I burdening anybody? I wasn't asking anyone for help! I wasn't asking for your opinion, either, so you can leave if you're just going to be awful!

[Good, she's getting annoyed, that means he's getting through to her.]

I'm just telling you what I see! And burdening doesn't mean you're asking for help! It's when someone has to carry the weight of anything you do! It could just be doing something like not standing up for yourself!