(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

Scott McCall | Teen Wolf | OTA

[banded]

[The information is overwhelming. It's not that he doesn't grasp it—the last year and a half of Scott's life has ensured that he understands things thoroughly and quickly without denying a second of it—but it does make him feel displaced. He has to catch himself before it gets to his head, before he feels himself unwinding, and his fingers pierce into his palms as he does it, keeping that other part of him at bay.

He feels less together. But then, he has lately. The darkness over his heart (he feels it, he knows it's there), the recent expanded distance from Allison, and everything else—some part of Scott is able to look at the facts and think: It's too much. But that part doesn't always win. He can handle it. Of course he can. There isn't a question to it.

His fingers don't pierce too much before he manages to listen to the rest of the explanation, before he chooses a weapon, grabs a coat (it's a longer coat that's a little bulky—but then, he's from California, some part of him thinks "go big or go home" when it comes to facing inclement weather he's not exactly familiar with), and heads out into the cold.

Scott sniffs the air before he chooses a direction and starts walking. Something tells him he's hardly in this alone. That is, aside from everyone he showed up with. Being alone to face things would almost make it all too easy and simple compared to the bigger picture of how things go. He wouldn't want to put anyone else through this weird and confusing experience, after all.

Beacon Hills is bad enough.]

[argentite]

[ it feels like the strangest bout of déjà vu when allison spots him. of course, this time its more snowy than the characteristic rain of the old exsilium, but it doesn't stop her heartbeat from picking up when he crosses her line of vision. no matter what her feelings might be, or where they stand, or the fact that seeing him here again meant that his temporary relief of being sent home wasn't quite so temporary as she'd thought — there's a kind of hopefulness that bubbles up inside her, followed swiftly by a hint of happiness that she allows to stay, despite the circumstances. ]

Scott? [ her voice is soft and his name is more breathed out than anything. even if he had heard her, she's already jogging towards him as quick as she can while still minding the ice. ]

Scott! Turn around!

[banded]

[If there's anything that Scott McCall doesn't need, it's to be told to turn around when Allison Argent is calling him. Some part of him lifts up immediately at the sound of her voice, as if every part of him that was abruptly unsettled by his arrival here moves back into place right where it belongs. His anchor, though he knows it's more complicated than that. And it's only recently that he's been dragging up thoughts of that, her ever-present presence in his consciousness before never really requiring direct thought.

Scott knows it's more complicated than that now, but this whole thing is a bit bigger than werewolves attacking Beacon Hills. It's even bigger than what they did that night to save their parents. His few additional minutes prior to hearing Allison's voice granted him that clarity.

Of course, there's also the part that was dominant before. The part that told him that he wouldn't be alone. That's the scary part. Neither of them should be here. This whole really scary and weird experience can tell him that much. Because beyond that sudden togetherness, there are the same protective instincts. Those same thoughts will undoubtedly come up again, but they're not winning at the moment.

But still, he turns around, an easy smile coming to his lips—or as easy as smiles are for Scott these days, things have changed—and he trots toward her to close the distance, less mindful of the ice, but he's keeping his footing all right. He does feel the slickness beneath his shoes, but Allison holds his focus.] Hey.

It got a little cold, huh?

[argentite]

[ to be fair, having him turn around had been more for her own sake than his, to make sure she wasn't simply imagining things. ( there's plenty of things that she tries not to let her mind dwell on and she didn't want him to be one of them ).

she stops in front of him, looking far more prepared for the weather than he does and much more like the native crowd, unlike the wave of new transports that stick out like a giant sore thumb. ]

You're back. [ she doesn't suspect that he may not remember, or rather doesn't want to suspect it despite knowing that it can easily happen. she clings to his words because its far easier to think that he's simply remembering the time when exsilium wasn't a completely frozen landscape - and gives him a smile, unabashed for once, even if it is still a little withdrawn. truth be told, she is just happy to see him again. ]

How long ago did you get here?

[banded]

Like, just a few minutes ago. [Scott can answer that question easily, because it's not the one riddled with statements like "you're back" that he suddenly has to figure out. What does that even mean? He's back. Maybe she means back in the circle, back in some other way, back here to help her—there are a ton of answers to that, and all of that make some level of sense.

Rather than the more obvious one. Scott doesn't even consider the most obvious one because, simply put, it'd be the most confusing.]

But I didn't see you in there when I got in. [He's processing that, brows knit.] What does that mean?

[argentite]

I — [ there's a sort of realization beginning to dawn on her and her lips immediately begin to quirk downwards. ] — I never left. When you disappeared, Isaac and I both stayed behind.

[ involuntarily, of course, but that was the nature of a lot of the things that happened around here. everything they did felt reactionary to an extent. but now wasn't the time to dwell on the nature of exsilium and the united earth. she keeps her eyes on scott, searching for any kind of recognition in his face at what she's saying. when she fails to find it, her expression drifts towards a more serious one. ]

What's the last thing you remember?

[freezerburned]

[Part of living in this snowy city with someone like Peter meant foraging for their own food. Peter is somewhat insistent on not relying on the Initiative- and even though Isaac doesn't blame him for it, it's still kind of a hassle. Nevertheless, he's out now, hunting through the snow when he catches a familiar scent.

It's one that he hasn't sensed in months, and it stops Isaac short, his head snapping to the side as he tries to locate it again.

Scott.

Isaac rushes through the street, trying to follow the scent as quickly as he can without losing it in the cold. Scott is a ways off, but he seems to only be walking, and Isaac is practically running toward him- so quickly that he narrowly avoids slamming right into the alpha as he rounds a corner. His arms dart in front of him to stop himself, and he catches grip on the back of one of Scott's shoulders- cheeks flushed, breathless in the cold, but grinning despite himself.]

Scott- !

[It is him. Even though he left, even though Isaac had heard nothing from him for months, he can't help but to smile upon seeing him again. He's back- everything is fine now.]

[banded]

[The moment Isaac draws closer, Scott can sense it—the fact of Isaac is like some burgeoning, ever-present feeling in his mind, a reminder that he can't push away. His new alpha abilities have afforded him a number of things, and a consciousness of his pack is one of them. He's still getting used to it.

The fact that things are a little awkward with Isaac is just an extra, somewhat complicated factor on top of it all.

But something about Isaac doesn't seem to reflect that, and Scott doesn't blame him. There are bigger things at hand—except Isaac doesn't seem to be reflecting that either. The smile does make him curious, but then, they're friends. Of course they are, so it's not really a big deal.

He pushes any other thoughts out of the way. Not important. Not compared to this.]

You ... look like you've been here for a while. [That's his next point of assessment. After all, Isaac wasn't exactly inside. Scott would've recognized what was up with that feeling immediately.] How—? [The fact that he's been here for a while immediately moves Scott along to worry, but he lets Isaac speak instead of hitting him with a string of questions.]

[freezerburned]

Yeah.

[Not exactly the warm welcome he was expecting, but he can deal with it. Besides, Scott must be a little out of sorts to have arrived here again- Isaac can sense it on him, the bundled apprehension that's not unlike how he was when they'd arrived here together last time.

On his part, Isaac definitely looks like he's been here awhile. For one, he's dressed well for the snow with boots, gloves, scarf, and warm coat, and his hair is a little shaggier than it was last time Scott has seen him. Then there's the scent. Isaac smells like another werewolf, not quite an alpha, but not exactly anything else either. He's covered in the scent and- okay yeah, they might share the good coat, but it's pretty obvious that he's been spending his time around at least one other wolf lately.

Still, he doesn't seem to pay any attention to that fact- it's likely that he doesn't notice- and that link is still there, intrinsically between them. Nothing to worry about... right?]

Well, I mean- you left like... I dunno, two months ago? It's been awhile. I was starting to doubt that you'd come back.

[banded]

[His nose wrinkles as he examines Isaac further. Scott's not against interrogatory remarks and trying to figure things out, but that other scent isn't an immediate concern. The immediate concern is the part where he was here before. He was here before, and he has no friggin' idea what that means, because he doesn't remember it.

Scott tenses and he shakes his head.] Isaac, I've never seen this place in my life.

[He actually feels a little bad, because that explains Isaac's reaction. He's seeing a friend return in a place that's a little messed up. (A lot messed up? Maybe.) He musters up a sympathetic smile, which isn't that difficult—Scott specializes in things like that.] I'm sorry. Are you sure?

[freezerburned]

[Isaac balks a little visibly at that, taking a small step back and glancing around them, as if he's not quite sure what Scott means. At the question, he almost wants to scoff- of course he's sure, he's not exactly the schizophrenic type and Scott was here.

Maybe not... oh. That might be the problem.]

Well- I mean it didn't look like this when you were here last. It was just a city then. And after that, we went to the moon base. You left before we came back down to this nuclear winter crap.

[There might be just a hint of desperation in his voice. How can Scott not remember? Being chained together on the moon, the asthma attack around the monster, the confession over the network- it was a lot to endure together, but they did. Even with Scott leaving before things got really bad, there's still a shared experience that's... disconcerting to suddenly not be there anymore.]

[werewolfing]

[peter tends to hang out near the initiative building on new arrivals day despite himself. it's silly to keep hoping, but he does anyway.

the familiar face he sees isn't one he's hoping for, not exactly. not for himself, anyway; peter and scott had only ever established an uneasy truce, on the grounds that peter was wary of the angry beast inside scott and scott was wary of the fact that there wasn't one in peter.

but he knows how badly isaac has wanted scott to come back, and he's currently wandering without much of the gear required for being out in the cold that long. so peter cups his hands around his mouth and calls out to him.]

Scott? Hey, Scott!

[banded]

[Unlike any of the other voices Scott will hear today, Peter's is one that he doesn't recognize. He looks toward him, wondering if maybe he misheard him, but no, he's definitely someone who is calling to him—and looking at him. That's strange. Did he miss some part in the really bizarre welcome procedure?

Actually, Scott wouldn't be surprised if he did.

He turns and strides over to Peter, shivering slightly as he stuffs his hands into his oversized jacket.]

Hey—did I forget something? [He turns his head in a motion toward the initiative building.]

[werewolfing]

[there's no recognition in scott's expression, not even the tiniest hint, and peter's guts twinge. shit.

when he comes close enough, he knows scott will be able to smell him. isaac, isaac all over everything, and the scent of peter himself, which isn't exactly what scott would recognize as werewolf, but still is. different, though. there's no angry beast coiled up in peter, no rage just beneath the surface, and he smells sweet, like a puppy. this is the person he smelled on isaac.

scott's offered him an excuse, though, and he'll take it. peter slips easily into the lie, because it's also the truth.]

Yeah, like about half the stuff you need to be wearing in this weather. Gloves, hat, scarf, maybe long underwear. Should gear up properly while you can, it gets a lot colder than this.

[banded]

[Isaac.

That's the first thought that occurs to him, and his brows furrow in response with the recognition. This guy knows Isaac, and he's going to have to process that. The other part is where he smells like a dog. Scott works with a lot of dogs, it's part of his job, so the smell is unmistakable.

The paired factors immediately make this meeting different than what it was before, and the look on Scott's face gives his away: he's recognized that scent, that weirdness.]

Good call. [Casual, oh so casual. He tries to relax, but Scott isn't always good at doing that when he's caught off-guard. Sure, he's not as tense as other werewolves, but he has his moments.] I'll go grab those, uh—and why don't you tell me how Isaac's doing? [It's not too accusatory, because he genuinely is wondering. He might be surprised to the point of tension, but that's more his discomfort with this situation than anything else.]

[limitstorm]

[ that's--strange.

riku brings a loose fist up to his mouth, twitches his nose, and looks about. he'd meet isaac a few weeks ago--a long few weeks ago. he'd only caught glimpses of that scent again afterward, and it was firmly with only two people. isaac and his friend.

but... somewhere in this crowd, he could smell it. it was similar, but... stronger? his own darkness surges as it brings light to something else--he knows that darkness. he's... he'd felt it in allison, too. it wasn't a stretch to believe they were from the same world, in that case. the problem was... the darkness itself. it was... strange. riku'd never felt anything like it, and he'd simply glossed over it with allison just because she'd seemed capable of handling herself with flawless execution.

he'd meant to just head home. but... this requires some figuring out. so instead-- ]

Hey--did you just arrive here?

[banded]

[When Scott realizes who's speaking to him, he turns toward Riku and his eyes widen momentarily. Dude, he has silver hair. It's kind of awesome in a way. It's not that he hasn't seen old men before, but there's something about the tone of Riku's hair that just makes him look otherworldly. He blinks through his moment of realizing that, because this guy is speaking to him—and right, that's the first thing to do.]

Uh—yeah, I just did. [He smiles slightly.] Is it always this confusing for new people? [And cold. Because it is definitely the very definition of cold.]

[limitstorm]

[ riku blinks twice.

scott, you're staring.

awkwardly, he brings a hand up to his face, and then rakes it through his hair. does he really look that strange? --alright, now's not the time to be insecure. he straightens, nodding with sympathy. ]

You usually learn what you've heard well enough by the second month. Maybe third. Most people get here and don't have a clue what to do--I can't blame them. [ he shakes his head, and then... crosses his arms, tipping his chin up. ]

Speaking of: where're you going? Scoping the landscape's not a good idea in this weather, trust me. I almost got frostbite.

[banded]

[Frostbite is generally the very definition of bad, and Scott looks a little sheepish. This guy is right, of course; heading out into that without any clue of where he's going would be bad. But looking for his friends, if they ended up here in some mysterious other way, that seems important.

He gives a slight shake of his head.] Not sure. But I'm usually not the only one in these situations. I was gonna look for my friends.

[And he does have the tools for that, even if he doesn't know how well he can utilize them. The air is so cold and dry that it burns his nose, after all.]

[hear]

[ there are really only a select number of faces lydia wouldn't mind making an appearance, and scott mccall has the privilege of being on that list. she also remembers her initial disappointment on the moon when she heard scott left just as she showed up.

she's swept up with the rest of transports and the whole welcome wagon (curiosity got the best of her) before she finally finds him wandering outside. she means to find allison and figure out what she plans to do. because beacon hills' population is growing and they need to do something about that. asap. ]

Oh my God. Is that — [ she raises her voice. ] Scott!

[ lydia picks up her pace, which is not easy to do in the snow by the way, swinging her arms as she meets him halfway. ]

Also, protip: you probably don't want to go that way.

[banded]

—Oh? [Somehow, he's not surprised that Lydia is here, though she's someone he wouldn't count as wanting to be here. Scott immediately figures that this is low on the list of experiences that Lydia Martin would ever want to have happen in her life. He worries a little instantly, if only because she has a completely different approach to things than the rest of them.

Then again, she's changing. They all are, aren't they?

He smiles a little and looks ahead of him.] What's that way? [Not as if he's denying what she's saying, he seems content to turn away from it—and even does so. He's just curious.]

[hyanaimne]

Scott?

[it's a soft, deep woman's voice from behind him. Tempest didn't know him very well when he was first here, but they had spoken long enough, and she knew he was Isaac's friend. Which was all that really mattered to her in the long run, when it came to making sure some of the new arrivals were alright]

[banded]

[When he hears the voice, he notes that it's not familiar. Scott stops in his tracks to turn toward her, studying her curiously. She doesn't look like any of the people who greeted him, but maybe he just doesn't have this down yet. He'll have to work on it.]

Hey. [He gives her a slight smile in greeting.] I think I'm kind of at a disadvantage here.

[hyanaimne]

[ah. She'd heard about people leaving and coming back without their memories - hell, she'd been asked herself if she'd forgotten things, too. She purses her lips, briefly, before she returns the smile and, remembering her manners, offers him a hand]

Tempest. I take it you do not remember me?

[she doesn't sound upset about it, at least]

[banded]

I ... no, sorry. [He has a feeling he'd remember a name like Tempest, too. It's an interesting name. Then again, she could easily be a customer or something. What are the odds of one of his random people who come in to the vet being here?]

How do you know me again?