(no subject)

[initiates]

Date: January 1st 8th
Location: The Transporter building.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports arrive and are shuffled through their initial briefings. Then... out into the cold?
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. You're guided through the armory and given a weapon, and though the armory is now greatly reduced, you should be able to find something to suit you.

You're currently in a large multi-roomed warehouse, graciously granted by the cagey and suspicious remains of the organization known as the Initiative. They don't know you or trust you, but they've given you leave to set up camp in one of the warmer corners of this building until you find a place of your own. And if you want to leave right now, step into the driving winter winds and never look back? Well, friend, you can be their guest.

Outside you'll find the wintery village of Exsilium, with most of its buildings permanently buried in snow and ice. There are tunnels underground to connect neighbor to neighbor to marketplace, and most of the people here use them, but you'll still see people braving the above ground weather here and there for a more direct route. They hardly glance at you, should you venture out among them — unless you don't look human. That hologram emitter the greeter pressed upon anyone non-human on arrival? Yeah, consider that very important to maintain good relations of any kind.

Welcome to the current reality of Exsilium.

Comments

Beastmaster (OTA)

[whippersnappering]

[Outside, a little ways away on the river, there's a boy and a penguin with their heads together. The boy looks well-dressed for the cold, from his large, floppy yellow hat (are those ears? are they moving?) to his long scarf to his... sleeveless vest... and... shorts...

He doesn't seem to be paying the temperature any mind, though. Actually, he's sat down quite casually on the ice as he gesticulates animatedly and talks to the disgruntled but fancy-looking penguin next to him.]

Look, I know you're hungry, and I could go for some fish myself, but you can't peck through the ice. Knowing you, you'll crack the whole river open, and then we can't use it! Do you wanna walk through snowdrifts?

WARK.

[Sigh.] Whose fault do you think it is we can't walk on snow?! Ahhh, she's not even here to take responsibility. Give me a minute here...

[He peers speculatively down at the ice beneath their feet, shakes his head.]

How about you go look for fish back home?

[For a second, the penguin looks almost indignant, but then the boy cracks the whip in his hand (and where did that come from?), and it's gone. Some moments pass, then:]

Leonardo Johnny Pitt Damon! Bring me fish!

[CRACK. And there the penguin is again. It's empty-beaked, though, and looks even more indignant than before.]

WARK.

[OOC: Last reminder to check out his permissions post! I'll stop spamming y'all about it, promise.]

[skilful]

[ A red scarf around his neck, dressed in a jacket, Totsuka -- returning from a search in vain for other members of Homra -- is watching this curiously, having seen this person at the base earlier.. He's about to step forward and point in the direction of food when the penguin disappears.

And then the boy calls the now angrier penguin's name is "Leonardo Johnny Pitt Damon"... Putting how it sounds like a movie star out of his head, he quietly steps forward. ]

Good afternoon! They have cookies back where you came from.

[ Pointing in the direction of the transportation pad, he turns back and glances down at "Leonardo Johnny Pitt Damon"... Can penguins eat cookies? ]

Hmm. [ And then, more to himself: ] Did we have fish in the house...?

[whippersnappering]

Penguins can't live on cookies.

[Beastmaster hardly raises his head; only enough to see the abysmal stats winking at him from above the stranger's head before he goes back to staring perplexedly at his disgruntled partner.]

What went wrong...?

[He would've dismissed Totsuka altogether as an NPC, but the place where he'd been summoned had been full of these kinds of people, with stats that made them look like completely new characters regardless of their level, or no stats at all. These were supposed to be his party for this quest?

Leonardo Johnny Pitt Damon, though, has ears only for Totsuka's last works, and he makes a sharp honking noise, fixing his beady eyes on the newcomer. That gets Beastmaster's attention.]

Hmmm, do you live here after all? We can replace the fish once we have the proper tools. [He says it confidently, almost carelessly.] Lead the way.

[skilful]

Temporarily, with some of my friends. I came through the gate last month.

[ But smiling, he starts walking, leading the way towards homera. ]

I'm Totsuka Tatara. You are?

[whippersnappering]

So you are supposed to be a party member. [It's halfway to himself. The penguin tugs on the bottom of his vest to get him moving.] All right, all right.

[Stranger danger? What stranger danger? This is an RPG.]

Beastmaster. And this is Leonardo Johnny Pitt Damon, but an idiot named him, so we just call him Pei.

[skilful]

[ Totsuka wonders for a second if this person is a chuunibyou.

He chuckles at the name. ]

It's a mouthful. Friend of yours, Beast-kun?

[whippersnappering]

[Wow, rude. You're literally in Exsilium, Totsuka, why are you still accusing people of being chuunibyous.]

That's why we had to shorten it! How do you think it feels, having to call it out every time I summon him?!

[It's obviously an old rant, but it's mostly half-hearted because at least they've got the nickname now. And also because--]

And what the hell, don't call me Beast-kun, that makes me sound like one of my pets!

[thegrimheaper]

[This is... quite the scene to watch. That thing looks more like a Popquin than regular penguin, which okay sure, whatever. If he ignores all rules of the UG completely, it does look a lot like a Noise. But the fact he's talking to it? And with that name?

What.]

What's that?

[whippersnappering]

[Both boy and penguin look up at the same time, then at each other, and then behind them. The penguin clacks its beak indignantly at the interloper after a moment, while the boy just glares.]

Be more specific if you want your questions answered.

[thegrimheaper]

I was talking about the Popquin, but I can see why you'd be confused I meant your ugly mug.

[whippersnappering]

What the hell's a Popquin? [Beastmaster sounds indignant, but it's nothing next to Pei's loud WARK that very nearly drowns him out. The penguin has its wings spread and its neck stretched forward, beak and throat and eyes gaping.]

You shouldn't offend Pei like that if you know what's good for you. Then again, if you don't even know what a penguin is, I guess there's no helping you.

[And just so you know, he means the insults to both of them.]

[thegrimheaper]

I've seen penguins before, and that-

[Sho points towards Pei.]

doesn't equal a penguin.

[Since when are 'real' penquins purple!]

[battering]

... can you really talk to that thing?

[ First priority. He's very skeptical, alright, after recently pulling a sort of "I can talk to rabbits" prank.

But if this was a prank, this guy sure was taking it to the next level-- Yata had stopped to watch the exchange on his way back home and caught most of that. No one was around!! A prank on who? So many questions with this picture. ]

what a good first meeting

[whippersnappering]

What, you think I'm talking to myself?

[Seriously, out of all those questions, that's the one you pick?? A tamer who can't talk to his creatures is no tamer at all. It earns Yata an evil eye.]

Show him, Pei. Give him a lesson in using his head.

[By the time he's done talking, Beastmaster isn't even looking at Yata anymore. He's gone back to staring thoughtfully at the ice. Leonardo Johnny Pitt Damon, alias Pei, on the other hand, straightens with a vaguely ominous WARK.

Are you prepared, Yata?

Because next second there's a crisp sliding noise, a whoosh; and that sure is a penguin flying at your face, beak extended straight for your beanie.]

lmfao the best

[battering]

Shit--

[ Yata jumps left, throwing himself down into the snow to avoid that sudden penguin attack. What the hell just happened?! He sits back up, eyes wide, before a sharp glare gets directed at the other. ]

What the fuck, asshole?! It was just a question!!

[whippersnappering]

[Pei, having launched himself into an elegant slide across the ice to get at Yata, can't change directions so easily, but once he loses momentum he simply flips himself around with his wing-fins and comes whooshing over again.

Better keep on your toes.

Beastmaster just looks bored, though he's now watching the exchange because hey, seeing his partner show off is always enjoyable.]

And? If I answered with words, you'd ask for proof, wouldn't you? And Pei's a lot less nice than I am. Take it up with him.

[inhumanity]

[Christopher appears feeling a strong need to offer helpful advice.]

You should both be careful. Sometimes, the vampires around here consume penguin blood.

[Yup. Lookin' out for your penguin bro.]

[whippersnappering]

[Christopher actually earns more than a passing glance, being one of the more unusual-looking ones so far (if you didn't count the obvious non-humans, though really non-humans weren't a big deal; they just didn't usually walk around in towns, is all).

The penguin shuffles in front of its master, who toys with the handle of his whip while he looks the stranger up and down. Both of them are relaxed, but obviously ready for trouble.]

I don't know if that's a threat, but you should probably know, my penguin drinks vampire blood.

[There's a little smirk with that, but otherwise Beastmaster looks entirely serious. The penguin clicks its beak softly in confirmation. Maybe a little ominously.]

[redsea]

What does he mean by that? "We can't walk on snow."

[ She was on her way home when she sees the pair banter with each other. ... it seems like banter. Kougyoku isn't one to approach others, so instead of asking the person directly, she wonders aloud to herself as she watches the boy and his penguin. ]

sorry kougyoku

[whippersnappering]

[The boy seems to ignore her, maybe because she's talking to herself like some weirdo, but the penguin's head perks and then swivels slowly in her direction. Sharp gold eyes fix themselves on Kougyoku across the snow.

It's not a very reassuring stare.

The penguin doesn't make any noise for a long moment, then--]

WARK.

... You should ignore stupid questions, Pei. [Beastmaster speaks without looking up, tapping at the ice with one knuckle.] We're going to be seeing a lot of those.

[redsea]

[ Beastmaster, that's rude. Kougyoku stomps on the ice with her skates. ]

Who's asking a stupid question? Aren't you the stupid one if you can't walk on snow!?