found you [OPEN]

[theguideless]

Date & Time: Sept 30 - Oct 6
Location: all over the danged moonbase
Characters: Martin, all sorts of folks
Summary: He's not a lion he can talk to people now
Warnings: BUH...





Martin had barely found his footing on solid ground before it was settled on stranger tiles. Yet stranger things had, and would happen, wouldn't they? He stressed little on his own behalf, only wincing and worrying on behalf of others. His friends...the old and new. He couldn't have warned them, could he? Not with the deal he had made. Simply being around others turned out to not be enough.

And those others...He couldn't wait to see them. To speak to them! To understand, better than what a cat's ears and nose could spell out, how they've endured. The scale and scope of their stay in this place still hadn't wholly formed in his mind, still so used to working step by step, piece by piece.

He wandered, often too brisk, at times distracted by the sights outside, and sought those familiar things out. The nature of the base only frightened him for moments, easily forgotten in the face of what he was really after.

Where are they?

Comments

[gevurah]

Tired and brimming with an anger she's managing to keep at bay, Kate needs coffee and something to snack on. There's an indescribable feeling, examining their sleek new base and imagining Exile children running through the corridors, filled with excitement at being in space. As she marches down the hall on the lookout for the cafeteria, she can't stop herself from picturing all the faces she had familiarized herself with back in Exsilium and her stomach twists with sharp revulsion.

She turns a corner, finally cutting herself off from those memories.

However, when she looks ahead, another face she had become familiar with appears almost out of nowhere and her mouth drops slightly. Before she can do anything else she calls:

"Martin?"

[theguideless]

The sound of his own voice, more than anything, was what stopped him in his tracks. His shoe scuffed loudly with that staggered, halted step, arms swinging with that stop and falling slack at his sides.

He stared, eyes yellow and wide. She looked different to a boy's eyes, but there were very striking things about a woman like Kate that nagged at his memory.

"You know my name," he said, just a shade above a whisper, awed.

[gevurah]

She can hardly believe her own eyes. It's a moment like this that makes her doubt her own sanity. It's the strange cycle of the moon, the restless nights, the lack of sleep she's had since news of the nuke broke.

Yet not too long ago, she had seen a strange and depressed looking lion in the streets of Exsilium. She's seen various Earths appear in the night sky back home years ago.

She's not sure how Martin Darkov is standing before her -- alive -- but some things you have to take it on faith.

"You were gone for a long time," her chest rises with a sharp intake of breath before slowly settling back in place.

October 6 I TRIED I AM SORRY

[imperfectness]

[He's not really paying attention as he paces in front of the large window in the Observatory. One hand on his chin, scratching slightly at the stubble there. This place defied all logic, and yet...well. He had learned in the past year and how many months (it was nearly four months, he reminded himself, because he could clearly mark that passage of time) that sometimes things just...were. And what he observed was true.

Didn't always make it easier to digest.]

...but this would prove, in theory, that space-time is more like a loop than a flat timeline...I really need to look at those machines to see how they manage it...

[He looks up from mumbling to himself to see someone there.]

Oh. Umm...hey. Looking for something?

[theguideless]

Ah– [at being acknowledged, Martin startles, shrinking on impulse from where he stands in the doorway.

or...opening. he could've sworn there'd be a door, but there was a woosh and then...nothing? that's what he'd just been investigating, actually, but...]

H-hello! [his voice lifts in that stammer to fill the distance.] I'm...yes! Looking for something. [squinting:] Someones.

[soul_sister]

[They might not be familiar by the distorted shades and perceptions of feline vision. They may be missing the scents Marty became accustomed to. Their voices may sound different, pitched through different nerves entirely.

But that arguing. THAT hasn't changed even a little.]

Really though! How dangerous could it be? Besides, who WOULDN'T want a piece of the moon?

[overclocking]

[And if absolutely nothing else, the purple mullet on the tiny one is unmistakeable. Chrono flicks a glance at Martin as the bickering pair wander by, but naturally, there's no recognition.]

Have you learned how to not breathe since yesterday?

oct 3rd because sad birthdays WHY NOT

[revelation]

[ even in space, bright pink hair tends to stand out among all the dullness surrounding them. back down on earth, Madoka welcomed it but since her arrival her she has shied away from much attention. she usually remains in her room, or hidden away in one of the empty ones that she can find but for the past two days she keeps finding herself pausing in the observatory to stare out down to the tiny planet.

but her mind is on the friend that never returned. she swallows at the thought, moving to turn away when something catches her attention but- it couldn't be could it? after all the last time Madoka saw Martin he didn't... well, he didn't quite look as she remembered.

there's no mistaking it though, even if she questioned it before but the fact remained; his eyes were remained still the same. ]

... Martin?

i have acquired sad party hats

[theguideless]

[this is...what? the third? fourth? stop back to this observatory. it's almost routine, and Martin's already ready to turn away and move on, but just a glimpse stops him very quickly.

Madoka always stands out, it seems, regardless of what shape he's taken or what place they happen to be.

he holds his last breath when she turns, and it's undoubtedly her. he can count on his hand how many people've remembered his name, no matter what he's looked like at the time, putting Madoka in a very elite place. that, and other things.

his expression hasn't made it far enough to emote very plainly what's going on in his head, leaving him looking more dazed and mildly surprised than anything. it's something that changes as he moves, three steps leading into a very brisk stride that ends with him right there, embracing her without even a thought to lead into it.]

oct 2nd

[imusntrunaway]

Shinji's footsteps rang loudly as he jogged to the cafeteria before realizing that he was almost running. Forcing himself to slow down to a more natural pace, he stopped at the threshold of the cafeteria's entrance, exhaling softly as his gaze darted around.

There were some Transports around, but he wasn't focused on them. They weren't important right now. Right now, his friend who he thought was dead--

And when he spotted that familiar face he forgot about keeping composure. He hurried over, mouth already open and calling out his name.

"Martin--!"

[theguideless]

Martin jerked upright, rattling the chair he'd been leaning heavily upon. He'd really gone all out, realizing the second he'd agreed to a meeting place he had no idea where it was. He didn't have the sense to simply ask outright, having spent most of the time getting there running as fast as he could. Luckily, sense had a chance to catch up before he'd tripped or hurt someone.

Still, it left his bangs stuck against his sweaty forehead and kept a sharpness in his throat; his training as a Darkov didn't translate into the body he had anymore.

That didn't matter, however.

"Shi-Shinji!" His eyes widened, mirroring the surprise he saw from across the room.

oct. 2nd

[invocation]

[Kyouko does not spend her time wandering through the halls, has popped her head into her room only briefly to check on Madoka and offer awkward words of condolence, or pat her shoulder if she looks like she may be close to tears again.

She's spent most of her time stealing things from the cafeteria. Her own possessions, gathered from Exsilium before its untimely and explosive demise, had been largely edible, but you could never be too sure when you were going to run out of food. She had a feeling there would be lean times soon.

Focusing on this keeps her from thinking overmuch about the cold sterility of the environment, or the harsh reality that Sayaka is missing, that the city she had lived in for over a year is dead and gone. She's leaving the cafeteria, inelegantly stuffing a (tasteless, bland) protein bar in her mouth when she catches sight of Martin. It takes her a little while to greet him, and when she does her mouth is still full.]

Hey. You lost?

[theguideless]

[there's a slight delay in realizing it's her. he blinks, forgetting what he was doing now that someone familiar is in front of him.]

Kyouko... [a beat, staring at her. she looks better than before. that's good.]

Huh? [there was a question, wasn't there.] Oh...I suppose so. Everything looks more the same than...[Exsilium.]

10-3

[heartsink]

There were only so many loops that could be made through the base without being dragged into manual labor, but Ruka was an expert at skirting responsibility by now. With her tablet tucked away in her purse and her attention elsewhere, there was no real telling what time it was—"day," for what it was worth, lasted weeks, as would "night."

When she felt tired, she told herself, she could stagger her way back to her own room. Until then, however, she still had the three remaining residency wings to get to know. Room placement wasn't quite as intuitive here as in a multistory building, and if there was more than just dormitories to be found, she wanted to know. A records room, a hole-in-the-wall gymnasium, some secret laboratory with a cache of comatose Transports left locked away while alien dopplegangers took their place among the unsuspecting population—anything of note, really. She might not be willing to do much for the sake of other people, she told herself, but it could only be a benefit to learn more about the place she was stranded this time.

(Besides, staying cooped up in her room or privacy wasn't much of an option, now that separate bedrooms had been jettisoned with the planet itself.)

And so, strolling through the North Wing at something approaching two a.m. Exsilium Earth Time, Ruka was paying more attention to the walls than to the halls, and gave no concern to any passersby she encountered.

Almost, anyway.

[theguideless]

Ruka was still a transient presence to Martin, be he man or beast. It was probably to her liking, but it left him with unfinished sentences and hazy images in an already hazy mind. The girl who guided the lion out into the rain had a different look and feel to the one who'd found her reading space invaded by a dozen and more blank pages.

Yet he was not too far into his human skin again to have forgotten the impact she had in his past; there was enough to slow his stride and make him wonder. Yellow eyes fixed and bade the rest of him turn to follow the girl as she moved on.

She'd be too far away if he kept quiet, but he couldn't think of what to say, because he certainly didn't know what he was thinking.

"...Hello?"

October 1

[hornedomen]

Ico gazed through the window. Despite the arrival of new transports, there was little that could draw his attention away. This scale of destruction was what he was supposed to stop in his world. However, the solution here could not be the same. There was no Queen in a lonely castle and no amount of children in stone coffins could delay the disaster. Machines could now produce power that once only the gods possessed.

As he witnessed the clouds consume the land, he could not stop from crying. His tears blurred his vision and when he blinked them away, he saw a vision of his friend. No, it was more than a vision. Ico leaned in, slamming his palms against the window for a closer look. It was a reflection.

He turned around. "Martin?"

[theguideless]

He wore the same pained smile his reflection did, but it was much more apparent, being the real thing. Seeing Ico right away stirred him, as few others could. Ico had a very distinct appearance, given the horns. But it wasn't that alone. Ico had been a very constant presence in a lot of ways beyond the external. He was constantly kind, interested, and eager to share more of the world with Martin.

And, as it was the first time he wore new skin, Martin once again felt himself welling up with all the joy and guilt and sorrow that came with thinking of every hurtful and happy moment. And, moreover, the truth that he hadn't managed to warn or ultimately protect the boy from what Catsovi had set into motion.

"Yes," he said, smiling a little broader in spite of the tears on Ico's face. "Hello."

[highbloodprince]

[It has been so long since he's seen Martin that he's shocked the moment he catches sight of him - surely that wasn't real. Surely this is going to be another trick played on him by life to screw him over because that's what the ultimate goal of the universe is; ruining his life.

Except no, that's very obviously a Darkov of the Martin variety.

In his surprise he loses all semblance of his attempts at being calm and collected.]

Y-YOU!?

[theguideless]

Ah–! [his shoe scuffs and squeaks loudly on the floor as he stops very suddenly. the volume is what startles him initially, because it takes a beat to realize where it's coming from. rather, who.]

Er-eridan...? [gosh. it's been a while. and seeing him in human eyes...]

[jackanope]

Joy wouldn't know who Marty was, even if she had any idea that "Spooky" was actually a human. She only knew that she was terribly, terribly worried about whether the poor lion was alright. Despite her efforts to ask around about him, she was never able to determine if he was a Transport like the rest of them - and if she hadn't seen a lion in this tiny moon base yet, it probably meant that there wasn't one here at all. Which doesn't bode well for her furry acquaintance.

Since they'd arrived, Joy had spent most of her time in the observation room, sitting on the ground and looking up at the view of the Earth. This was boring and awful. It might actually be preferable to be back at home with Greyjaw.

[theguideless]

It was one of many visits to that section of the base, with half of them being out of the need to find friends and familiar faces...and the other half simply getting turned around and straight-up lost. And as poor a visual memory as he had, Martin would've been a lot worse off had he not been able to recall someone like Joy. Even as a person, there was no mistaking the look of her.

And so, still startled by the woosh of wooshy doors, Martin wound up finding and staring long and hard at the jackalope, trying to make sense of her. A very long time.

But it clicked.

"It's you!"

October 5th

[crocodilesmiles]

Collette had decided to attempt the monumental task of laundry. To start with, she bothered with only the necessities, underthings and things of a sort that having them be unclean was unpleasant in multiple ways.

It'd been a creative and masterful disaster.

Still, she can't help but feel proud of herself when she has the basket of damp laundry on her lap, something more like a milk crate than a basket proper holding all the clean things she needs to find somewhere to hang. She's in that process, chewing on her lower lip, when she crosses paths with Martin.

[theguideless]

Like Ico, Collette was one of very few Martin could recall on visuals alone. Unlike him, hearing her would have been just as likely to spark his memory; she was that kind of person, recognizable on many levels. Not very spectacular for most, but Martin's mind and the life he led with it wasn't much like most.

And all that was why he could stop right away upon seeing her, eyes widening. He didn't have to wait for her name to rise to the surface of his mind.

"Collette."

OCTOBER 5

[fintastic]

[ As it turns out, it is super easy to miss an entire person for an entire week. But Feferi has been busy; if she hasn't been scuttling about trying to see to everyone else she can find who looks like they need help, it's stay back in her new "room" (read: her commandeered storage closet) and making it nice and cozy.

She almost misses him again, turning one corner as she turns another, but she catches enough to pique her interest and give chase, however short it is as she slips around the same corner. ]

Martin?

[theguideless]

[he's not as quick to realize there's someone worth taking a second-glance for, not when she's moving around with a purpose like she is. so he stops with a start when she zips back into view and calls his name.

he turns and looks over his shoulder, eyebrows shooting up with surprise.

oh! that's...]

Fe-feferi...