exsiliumlogs | (no subject)

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(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

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[...He lifts his hand and gives a small wave back. She's giving him some sort of look, he's not really sure what that is. Er...!

—And are those wings real? Whoa. But he's courteous enough not to stare. He's seen weirder.

When a moment has passed and no one's said anything more, though, he swallows his food and tries a smile.]

Have you just returned from the mission?

[Realization dawns quicker than it probably would for most people. Nill has seen this happen too many times to mistake it for anything else.

A third boy with a scar on his face. A third boy with a weapon for an arm. A third boy named Allen Walker.

...She is so, so tired of this. It only shows on her face for a moment, but she's so tired. How many more timelines will she meet here, wearing the faces of friends that have never known her? She doesn't know if she can handle it.

The moment passes quickly; barely a second later she looks as composed as she did the moment before. Nill shakes her head, and pulls the tablet she'd been given out of the pocket of her jacket, unfolding it. A second later she holds it up for him to see.]

No. I only just arrived.

Did you just return from a mission?

[His eyes widen as she types out her answer, and his smile falters. She's mute...? And she's new. So many new faces arrive every month, it seems... He has mixed feelings on the Initiative, but he definitely cannot abide by their method of conscription.

But at least he's found out there's a legitimate use for the tablets' text function.]

I did... [But there's no need to go into that right now, he thinks.]

Have they explained the situation to you, miss?

Edited (redundancy... ) 2013-02-04 02:28 (UTC)

[It's a reaction she's gotten used to at this point. No one really likes realizing she's mute, but there's no good way to just bring it up, either. It's not exactly the best conversation starter.

He's not elaborating on the mission though, so Nill looks him over, perhaps a little too concerned for someone that has only just met him. He looks okay, and he's eating, but when doesn't Allen eat?]

They have, yes.

You didn't get hurt, did you?

[The concern is a bit odd, coming from a complete stranger. But perhaps that's just the sort of person she is. He shifts awkwardly and shakes his head at her, rubbing the back of his neck.]

I didn't. [Not badly enough to matter.

He pauses, and holds out a hand to her.]

My name is Allen Walker. I know it can be a difficult adjustment, so, if there's any way I can help...

[She wants to argue the minute the thought crosses his mind, because yes, Allen, of course it matters, it always matters--

But she can't. She remembers how uncomfortable he was with just the way she could speak before, and this is an entirely different boy.

(Different enough that he wouldn't be in the situation the last Allen she'd known was? Nill has no idea, but she hopes so.)

At any rate, she says nothing on the matter. Instead she reaches to take his hand and give it a shake, typing on her tablet with the other hand. ...This thing isn't as useful for one-handed typing as her NV had been, and she has to resist the urge to frown at it.]

Thank you, Allen. I'll remember that.

My name is Nill.

[Nope, denied.

It's only a quick shake! He pretty impressed by her typing ability, though. He still hasn't graduated past the one-fingered hunt and peck.]

Pleased to meet you, Miss Nill. Circumstances aside.

Er-- I apologize if I've interrupted you...

[She must've come over here for something, after all. He's being rude by distracting her!]

It's a pleasure, Allen. Though Nill is fine.

[She shakes her head, and glances back out into the rain for a moment.]

You haven't. I was only going to wait to see if anyone I know showed up.

[He pauses, glancing back at the throng of Transports and vendors.]

...No luck, so far?

[Nill looks back at the crowd of Transports with a somber expression. She'd had luck, technically. She'd had quite a bit of luck with familiar faces - it was just that most of them didn't know her anymore. Instead of responding with text, Nill just shakes her head.]

[He turns to her, expression sympathetic. He knows how unpleasant it is, ending up in a strange world, without a friend in sight.]

I'm sorry.

There are a lot of Transports, though... [He gestures to the tablet.] Ah-- you can use that to send a message to everyone at once, so perhaps you could look for them that way.

[She glances down at the tablet in her hands, tapping a button or two on the screen. The post function pops up, and she considers it for a moment. It felt strange, foreign. But she supposes that shouldn't be surprising, given that this whole place is very foreign to her. She switches back to the notepad program.]

I might do that. Thank you.

You needn't thank me. [He rubs the back of his head; even though he's had two months to familiarize himself with the technology, he still finds the tablet kind of confusing. He wouldn't be much help with it.]

--If there's someone in particular you're looking for... I could keep an eye out for them, as well.

Edited 2013-02-12 05:00 (UTC)

[Someone in particular... Nill glances down at her tablet for a moment, before tucking it under her arm to keep it in place. She pulls her NV out of one of the pockets on her jacket, and unlocks it, scrolling through a few files. When she holds it up, there are pictures of two boys on either side of the screen. The one on the left, an older teen with dark hair, looking up at the sky. On the right, a younger teen with light hair and sunglasses.

Carefully she pulls her tablet out again, and types on that before holding it up over the screen so that the names hover over the correct pictures.]

Shikamaru Nara and Dave Strider.

[She'd ask about Yosuke... but she already knows he isn't here. Not the way she wishes he was.]

[His eyes widen at the NV-- what is that-- but focuses on the images when she turns it around. Their names and faces are completely unfamiliar, but he nods.]

I'm afraid they're not familiar... But I'll let you know if I see them.

[Nill hesitates for a moment, glancing down at her NV and the pictures on it, before she locks it again and places it safely back into her pocket.]

Thank you.

I know this will seem strange-- but if you see them and you mention my name to them, and they don't know it, please don't bring it up to them again.

Edited 2013-02-13 09:43 (UTC)

[...That strikes him as an odd thing to request. If they're friends of hers (she's even got photos of them!), then surely they'd know who she is, right...?

But he doesn't ask.]

All right. I won't.

[She's more grateful than she probably should be for Allen's lack of nosiness. If he doesn't ask he won't know, and if he doesn't know then chances are the whole ordeal with him finding out she was friends with a different version of him won't happen.

...She is worried, though. The last time she knew Allen, his circumstances were so poor in his world, and he was hurt... should she warn him about that? Or had the possibility of that being an outcome for his timeline already been negated by being brought here? Nill has no idea.]

Thank you.

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