vatheon | ☀ look what the cat dragged in ☀

Entry tags:

☀ look what the cat dragged in ☀

Who: Rose & anyone
When: Today
Where: near the coral in the plaza
Style: Starting with prose, but brackets are cool too.
Status: Open

Rose's first thought when arriving at Vatheon was that she'd somehow blacked out before they entered the new session. But one look around at all the actual people walking around was a sign that she was not in SBURB, a dream bubble or ~~Kansas~~ on the meteor anymore. Wherever it was that she was now currently located, she was soaking wet in her orange and yellow god tier outfit, on the ground and pretty damn drunk.

And Kanaya wasn't here with her. In fact, at this very moment, there wasn't anyone she recognized. So not only was she in somewhere completely unexpected, she was separated from her matesprit and her friends. Her head was starting to throb and she could use another drink about now. Might make all of this easier to deal with.

That's when she noticed the welcoming brochure on the ground next to her and reached out for it.

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Even during a curse like the one currently going on, life doesn't stop, and Dirk is good at ignoring minor inconveniences for the sake of getting things done, when he wants to. Currently, being productive has taken him out of the house he and Roxy share, and is bringing him through the Plaza.

After eleven months in Vatheon, identifying people among large groups of people has come to be much easier than when he first arrived. The complete novelty of it has had a chance to wear off since then, and although some days he doesn't want to bother with it, it doesn't take him by surprise any more.

But today, the sight that greets him does give him pause- first because it's rare to see someone in a full outfit that's such a bright orange, second because of who it is wearing that outfit.

"Do mine eyes deceive me?" he drawls as he heads closer. "Not that I would mind hallucinating in neon orange. You just get here?"

"Dirk?" Rose asked, blinking her eyes. Yeah, she wasn't imagining things, that was Dirk. Not an easy face to forget even though she'd barely met him. And met was a pretty loose term. He'd appeared out of nowhere, said a few words, grabbed the sleeping Roxy and busted out of the dream bubble. But yeah, she remembered him.

"Yesh, I juss gothere, wheerever here is."

Wherever here is. Well, that answered one question- namely, whether she remembered the city or not, and the answer seemed to be a definite no. Well, he can't be too surprised. It's been months, after all, and she seems different from the last time he saw her.

Drastically, different, in fact. That slurred speech is both troubling and worryingly familiar. But he doesn't voice his suspicions, just holds out a hand in an offer to pull her to her feet. "If I said the one and only that would be a complete lie, but nevertheless your powers of recognition are unparalleled. Here, for the record, is Vatheon. And also a different universe."

Vatheon. She looked back down at the pamphlet on the ground that was now soaked from the puddle she was sitting in. She could barely make out that same word on the front of it. It took another moment before she reached up for Dirk's hand, missing it by just a little on the first attempt.

"Did we cera-*HIC* create thiss uninverse? Universe." It was a completely logical question, though if they had, it would mean she'd blacked out for a lot longer than she already believed she may have.

When she misses, rather than letting her miss again, Dirk just grabs her hand himself, and starts pulling her to her feet. He doesn't let go once she's up, either. Normally he's all for giving personal space, but he suspects that Rose will end up intimately introduced to the ground once he does.

"Nope. Far as we can tell, this universe exists beyond SBURB's influence. Quaint, right? Long story short we've been kidnapped, no way in, no way out, and we're guinea pigs. Shit sounds lovely, don't it?"

Rose leans heavily against Dirk as it's much easier than standing. She'd been doing the same to Kanaya before she'd wound up here.

"It shounds like the cherry on the fucucking ise cream sundae thas been our lives forr the last years."

"On the plus side, they give us free food and housing. So we can pretend it balances out."

A year of dealing with Roxy has left him ready to serve as a leaning post, but he starts making his way toward a bench along the edge of the Plaza anyway, one right by the Welcome Center for the convenience of nearby towels.

"Now, Lalonde, I have a very vital series of questions for you, and I need you to answer them honestly. First, what was happening before you got here. Second, are you drunk or just, like, concussed to hell and back."

Rose sits down on the bench when they get to it. Sitting was good. She looked up at Dirk as she answered his questions. Honestly like he asked.

"We were on the meteoer aboutto enter your sesshun. Annnnnd I was dri-drunk then sooooooooo... I still am now."

"You were about to enter our session drunk." He repeats it once, as though he isn't sure he wants to believe what she's saying. Partially, he isn't. From what he's seen of Rose, she's at least aware of danger, but this seems much different from that. "Whatever. Too bad the dunk you took getting here didn't sober you up.

"One thing this place does is take people from different times. So keep that in mind when you run into trolls and your friends and shit. I'm not that far off from you timewise, but thanks to this place I've had a chance to talk to you before."

"I wash nervoush. Kanya le-*HIC* lectured me abut it allready." She knew it was a poor excuse for getting drunk, but she'd still done it anyway. And there wasn't much she could do about it now.

"I washere before? I have no recollecshun off ever beeing in thish place. Was I drunkk then aswell?"

"Hell no. You were sharp as a tack. Jesus fuck, the universe can't exist with a sober Lalonde, apparently." He wonders where the determination Roxy had to just change something about herself ended up in Rose, that she would slip so easily after having seen the effects.

Then again, that isn't really his place to judge. Maybe he'll ask Roxy to talk to her about it instead. "Forgetting everything about this place is an occasional side effect. Don't get your God jammies in a twist about it."

If asked, Rose could provide a plethora of reasons why she had that first drink on the meteor. And a million excuses for why she kept drinking after that. She'd used enough of them to justify her actions, but excuses were all they were. But Dirk didn't ask, so she kept them to herself.

"They're not in a tiwist. I wash jus curious why I dinnit recall being heere."

He might learn them eventually anyway. Or figure it out, if he really decides to pry. A drunk Lalonde is an opponent he's pretty certain he can face.

"And there's your answer. Any other obvious questions to get out of the way? I'll get the more complicated ones when you're sober. 'Sides, if you don't remember being here I'd gather more than a few of those questions might be about me and your mother."

"Rocshe's here too? How ish she doing?" If Rose could steer the conversation off of herself and her lack of sobriety, that would be ideal. In hindsight, talking about her teen mom was probably not the best choice in steering the subject away from sobriety.

"She's doing fine. More sober than you, believe it or not." He doesn't know what Roxy was like as Rose's mother, though he does remember that comment he made to her about his and her ability to raise children- or rather, their lack of ability.

"Thas good." It's not hard to believe that Roxy might be sober. But it would have been equally believable that she wasn't.

"No jumping for joy, huh. Then again, you'd probably faceplant, maybe it's for the best." He resists the urge to sigh. "Look, Lalonde, you're competent enough to figure out how to message people with the starfish, ain't you?"

Rose picks up the purple and black SFC that's sitting next to her on the bench and turns it on.

"Of courshe I am. Even the worscht drun*HIC*kards can poperate a cell phone and thish looks to work jus like one."

"Then have fun with your drunk texting. Or complaining about your hangover in the morning." Once again, he holds out a hand to her. "C'mon, I'll shove you in a hotel or some shit."

She had no intention of complaining about a hangover in the morning and she likely wouldn't be drunk texting tonight either, but she agrees anyway.

"I'll make shure you get the bru-*HIC* brunt of my drunken textsh."

Rose takes his hand and lets him lead her off to the hotel.

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☀ look what the cat dragged in ☀

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