(no subject)

[initiates]

Date: December 1st
Location: The Observatory.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports arrive and are shuffled into the Observatory after their initial briefings.
Warnings: None.

Your arrival here has been very unceremonious. One second you were somewhere else, and now, very suddenly, your feet hit the glowing white of the Transporter pad, and you're here. You aren't alone, either. There's a crowd of others around you, each seeming just as bewildered, angry, or confused as you might feel. At the head of the group is a woman in purple robes, solemn and taciturn. She hurries over a quick overview of your intended purpose here, and gives direct answers when asked for them, but to most things she simply shows you how to access the tablet you've just been given, or tells you that the DITR's greeters will explain everything. On the tablet, you can find the history of this place and a record of what your new cohorts have experienced. Someone stands on hand to give you a weapon, and though the armory is now greatly reduced, you should be able to find something to suit you.

You're shepherded down a walkway tunnel and into the Observatory, where you will find screens mounted on three sides of the wide room; they show multiple variations of satellite images, focused on... somewhere snowy. It's difficult to say more than that, but those that record heat readings seem to suggest there are people there, where ever "there" is. It's night outside the great wide windows, and the lunar landscape isn't much to look at right now. But, hey, at least all the lights are on, right? No more creepy red emergency lighting upon arrival — not that you'd know anything about that.

You're free to explore the base, visit and use any of the VR rooms, or discover your new room and roommates, but try not to step out of any airlocks if oxygen is a requirement for your system.

Welcome to the moon base, and to the remains of Exsilium.

[[ ooc; As a note for players of current characters: please keep your root comments confined to the various groups and organizations that set up root comments to greet new characters! We highly encourage tagging around here, but since it's a log meant for new characters specifically, we ask that they be the ones to set up root threads to the entry. Thank you, and happy playing! ]]

Comments

oerba dia vanille | ota

[smiled]

a.

[after leaving the transport pad, Vanille explores. maybe she's looking for her friends, maybe it's her natural curiosity taking hold, maybe it's avoidance of things she'll have to consider about the situation. whatever it is, it leads her all over the base, through the nooks and crannies and probably into things she has no business getting into. she looks bright and cheerful, and will offer a friendly wave and a smile to anyone she comes across, regardless of how receptive to happiness they look.

she stops every so often to examine things unfamiliar to her, bent over and squinting, tilting her head from side to side.]

Hmm... I wonder what this does...


b.

[eventually all that exploring finds Vanille back in the observatory, forehead against the window, looking up at the stars. she's calm now, quiet, thoughts turned inward. the fingers of one hand brush idly against the weapon fastened at her lower back, a sort of branched metal wand.

it's not the first time she's woken up in an unfamiliar place, drafted into a war she wants no part of. at least this time someone had been kind enough to explain things to her, but if there's anything she's learned about war, it's that no side is the right side, that everyone involved might just be afraid of something they don't understand.

she doesn't want to be here. she'd finally found a way to atone for her sins, to save the people she had been tasked to doom. she had found a measure of peace asleep in that glittering crystal spire, and losing the promise of that tranquil eternity makes her heart ache. it's only compounded by the worry that flares up suddenly, like cold hands that ghost along her spine - what happens to cocoon if she's no longer holding up the pillar that cradles the world?

there's a strong urge to cry, and then to run until she forgets that she is afraid and alone in a place she doesn't know, that her being here might have ruined a world she and fang gave themselves to protect. but she had promised herself, had promised everyone, that she wouldn't run away anymore. there's nothing to do but be brave and try to find a way back.

she nods to herself, determined, and breathes out slowly against the glass to draw shapes in the fog.]

b

[dead_shot]

[ Tired of all the walking, Lockon sat himself with his back to the monitors. When the girl first approached that wall and just stood there, unmoving, he had to tear his gaze forcibly away before his mind had a chance to play a proper trick on him.

After some time, he looked over to see her gesturing to it and, thinking she was doing something with the controls he decided to get up and see what she was up to. He's cleaned up a bit, but carrying around the cracked helmet of his forest green spacesuit even if it isn't needed in here.

When he gets close enough to see the foggy circles with patterns drawn, and close enough to be heard, he chuckled quietly. All of them are how far and how long from home, and she's doing... that. ] Ah. I get it now.

[smiled]

[absorbed in her thoughts, vanille doesn't hear lockon approach, and it isn't until he laughs that she becomes aware of his presence at all. the suddenness of it startles her forward; she bumps her face against the glass.] Ouch!

[whirling around quickly, she lifts a hand to rub at her sore nose, and offers up a sheepish smile.] Ah, sorry! I didn't know anyone was here...

[dead_shot]

[ —okay, he had to try not to laugh at that reaction, but he's smiling all the same. ] No, I'm sorry for startling you. You seemed like you were having fun.

[smiled]

[her smile slips a little at that - 'fun' isn't really the word she'd use - but the lapse in its brightness is brief, covered up by something less sheepish, more friendly, and not altogether completely genuine. it's hard to appear so joyful in such a miserable situation, but that's one thing vanille's had a lot of practice at, so it's likely barely noticeable if at all.] It's okay!

[she shoves an enthusiastic arm out in front of her for an introductory handshake.] I'm Vanille, it's nice to meetcha!

[dead_shot]

[ He'd rather keep his judgements in reserve. Most people here have been just as lost as he was. No one could be blamed for losing face for even a second, given the circumstances. Anyone who could genuinely go along with things with such a positive attitude is a hell of a lot stronger than him. ]

[ Checking his hand to make sure he wasn't holding the helmet gave him a moment to consider his answer before taking her hand in his gloved one and giving it a shake. ] Nice to meet you, Vanille. I'm Neil. [ . . . ] The rhyme is coincidence, I promise.

[ He fancies himself a funny man, sometimes. ]

a.

[feel_nevermore]

Better not touch it if you're not sure what it does.

[Standing at a reasonable distance from her, a girl whose face is half shadowed by her hood gives her an emotionless look.]

Welcome back, Vanille.

[Granted Raven does not expect her to recognize her or remember her previous stay in Exsilium. But it's still nice to see yet another familiar face among that new wave of strangers.]

[smiled]

[vanille stops poking immediately and straightens up, turning to look for the source of that voice. she's just so curious, it's hard not to investigate things like that, but the advice is good if she thinks about it. she laughs nervously and looks at raven.] You're right... I wouldn't want to break anything!

[and then she's puzzled. how does this person know her name?] Welcome... back? [her brows furrow and she cocks her head to the side. ] Do I know you?

[feel_nevermore]

[Raven shrugs.] Depends if they took you from an earlier time point this time. Because if so well, technically, no you don't.

But you were brought here before. I used to try and teach you meditation.

[She gives a nod in greeting.] I'm Raven.

[smiled]

[And she's not any less puzzled. In fact, she's more puzzled. The furrow between her brows deepens.] Earlier... time point?

[She shifts from foot to foot, hands on her hips. She supposes there's no real reason she can't have been here before. If someone had told her back home in Oerba that she'd wake up in a strange world without knowing how she got there, well, she wouldn't have believed them. But it's happened twice now. And the other girl doesn't seem like she's lying...

Her face brightens, the worry lines in her forehead smoothing out.] You did? We must've been friends then!

[And then she's stepping closer, grabbing one of Raven's hands in her own and giving it a good shake.] Nice to meet you! [A laugh.] ...Again!

b!

[pauldron]

[It's not quite old habit, not yet, but Lightning does the rounds through the base when new people arrive. She's looking for familiar faces, always looking for those she knows and wondering who else the Initiative is going to bring into this seemingly pointless war. There's too many people here already.

So it doesn't help to see those half-familiar pigtails or that weapon, and her breath catches in her throat before she can get it under control. Could it be?]

Vanille?

[She steps closer, head tilted to the side. Looks like Vanille, but is it? She doesn't quite know the other girl well enough to tell without seeing her face.]

c:!!!

[smiled]

[there's a long moment before she turns toward that familiar voice where vanille is afraid she's imagining things, that in her loneliness and fear, she's conjured up the illusion of someone she knows. not the person she's most desperate to see, but someone strong and reliable that she knows she can count on: someone who's part of her new family.

then she does turn, and lightning is there in front of her. vanille is so happy she could cry, though she remarkably manages to deny that impulse, and maybe her eyes shine bright with relief anyway. she takes a step forward, then two, and it's a sort of half run, half stumble that lands her about half a foot away, arms stretched out as if to touch lightning, to make sure she's really real.

then she remembers herself, remembers that lightning's not the type of person you just reach out and take hold of, and instead she claps her hands together, smiling the most sincerely she's done since arriving on the moon.] Lightning!

<3

[pauldron]

[Lightning's not the type of person for random hugs, not like Vanille, but she does reach out to steady her anyway. Or at least, that was the idea. When Vanille doesn't fall from that stumbling pace, Lightning draws her arms back to rest them at her sides. Sounds real, too. Fang's not going to like this, that's for sure.]

Yeah. [A quick look up and down, checking for injuries, but when Vanille appears in one piece, she sighs quietly through her nose.] Did you just get here?

[smiled]

[overcome with joy from seeing someone she knows, the vanille that rocks animatedly back and forth on her heels bears little resemblance to the solemn, still figure that had been staring into space moments before.

she nods vigorously, pigtails bobbing with the motion, and makes one of the high-pitched sounds of enthusiasm anyone whose spent more than five minutes in her presence is familiar with, and possibly irritated by.] Uh-huh! I was looking for you, then I ended up back here!

[she tips her head back and sighs with happiness, stretching her arms above her head before dropping them to thread her fingers together behind her back.] So, where's everyone else?

a

[maddeninghatter]

[ The moonbase is constructed with such efficiency and spareness for design that there is, sadly, nowhere for Break to pop out from, so he has to content himself with the next best thing, which is just quietly appearing behind Vanille's left shoulder.

It's entirely possible that Vanille has found the airlock, which has AIRLOCK - EXTREME DANGER, DO NOT TOUCH spelled out in big, friendly letters above it, except someone has crossed out "AIRLOCK" and replaced it with "ZOMBIE DISPOSAL." ]

There's one way to find out. You might want to hold on to something, however.

oh lawd

[smiled]

[vanille, who is busy investigating buttons and not really paying attention to who may or may not be looming behind her, doesn't notice break's presence until he speaks - probably intended - and starts so badly she bangs her head on a low bit of ceiling.] Ah, ow!

[she turns toward break, reflexively reaching up to check her newly-bumped head. there's no blood, and the ache is already fading, so she directs her attention to the newcomer instead. she waves, a little embarrassed.] Ahhh, hi! I didn't see you there!

HOW DID I LOSE THIS NOTIF? (feel free to drop this!)

[maddeninghatter]

[ She sounds young and spunky and cheerful, despite having been ripped from her home and kidnapped, like all the rest. It makes him angry; his temper has been harder to control as of late, a result of confinement on the moon base, the smells, the horrible food (and relative lack of it), and above all the sense of impending doom. He knows it’s only matter of time before the United Earth catch up with them, and then…

What can save them from the cold, airless wasteland on the other side of that airlock?

Pleasantly, with a smile bright as the stars outside: ]

You must be new. I’m Xerxes Break, how do you do?

a......

[tragicomedienne]

What do you think you're doing?

[If Vanille's interfering with anything, then it's Nanami's turn to show up and be a grade-A fun killer.

She's taken the opportunity granted by moving to the moon (even though it came with that uncomfortable sadness, and Utena acting weird, and-- whatever else) to work the administrative kinks. With that opportunity has come, at unfortunate expense, more room for Nanami to shout about things she thinks she has control about. This is not the first time she's taken a chance at authority that hasn't mattered or actually given her any power.

Whatever. She extends an accusatory index finger at Vanille.]

Why don't you ask someone who knows their way around here, first?

[smiled]

[Even though she's not really doing anything more than assuaging her curiosity by poking and prodding at fairly harmless knobs and dials around the base, the smile Vanille offers up in greeting looks a little guilty. She feels somehow like she's a child at the orphanage in Oerba again, being scolded for making flower chains instead of doing her chores.] Umm...

]It hadn't really occurred to her to ask for assistance, especially not when all the other transports looked equally lost and confused. Besides, why should she ask someone to show her around when she has her own two functioning feet?

She shrugs off the uncertainty, and continues with the breezy cheer she's always been known for.] I don't know! I just didn't think about it!

[tragicomedienne]

Well, that's the problem, isn't it...

[Nanami murmurs this under her breath, her eyes rolling skyward for a moment (can't really think about skyward, anymore).

Almost a year of dealing with people who make these ridiculous displays has made Nanami feel like something of an expert...despite any of her own ridiculousness.]

I'm serious! You can't just go walking out in space, can you?

[smiled]

[There's Nanami, asking those hard-hitting questions that make no sense to Vanille. She's from a world with another world just floating there in the sky, the concept of outer space is totally foreign to her. So, of course, she interprets this using her own frame of reference.

She does look a bit confused, though.] Ahh, if there's space, why wouldn't I be able to walk in it? [A quizzical frown.] It's not like anything else is taking up the room!

B

[therealrisette]

[Vanille might have noticed a girl in a pink dress and matching hair bows trying not to be too obvious about watching her earlier. Or maybe not. Either way, Rise had noticed Vanille doesn't look quite the same... she looks just as lost as the other new arrivals, which means she probably doesn't even remember her.

That still doesn't stop Rise from sort of following her all the way to the observatory. Vanille might not know her anymore, but she still thinks of her as a friend, and she wants to do whatever she can to help.]

Vanille-san...?

[She approaches just as the other girl is drawing shapes in the recently fogged glass. She kind of hopes she's wrong, and that Vanille will remember her, but just in case...]

Oh... I'm Rise. We've... kind of met before.

[Awkward...]

... Are you alright?

[smiled]

[Having been to absorbed in some combination of exploring, talking to people she'd run into, and looking for her friends Vanille hadn't noticed Rise following her.

She turns at the sound of her name, thinking that perhaps it's one of her friends (though the voice is unfamiliar) and looks a little puzzled to see a person she doesn't recognize calling out to her. There had been another girl who claimed to have met her before, and while she definitely doesn't remember that, she's hesitant to call anyone a liar. Especially in light of the situation.

She gives a little wave before clasping her hands together behind her back.] I'm sorry... [And she does sound genuinely regretful.] Someone said I was here before, but I don't remember it.

SORRY FOR THE LATE I fell off the holiday season wagon again ;~;

[therealrisette]

[Awww, Vanille...! Rise smiles, a bit sadly, but she's glad Vanille is being understanding about the whole thing.]

Yeah, you were here for a while! We didn't really get to spend much time together, but... I think we were friends...

[She'd have been a lot more certain of that before the island got nuked. She was so much more confident in herself when she first arrived in Exsilium than she is now...]

it's cool i went to vegas for a week so i wasn't tagging!

[smiled]

[That earns a smile. Vanille is a friendly person even at the worst of times and, well... this isn't exactly the best of times. She feels a little bad for not remembering these previous friendships, though it's hardly her fault.]

Well, we'll just have to spend more time together then, won't we? [She pauses a second, a thought striking her.] Oh! If you knew me before, did you know any of my friends?