(no subject)

[immoralflame]

Who: Sol Badguy and presumably Zelda and her welcome wagon anyone who wants to run into a grumpy man.
When: May 27th, evening
Where: Plaza
Style: Anything goes, I'll match :>
Status: Open~



Ochre eyes reflected little other than what could be dulled annoyance but what probably was his usual indifference as the man found himself sprawled gracelessly half-in and half-out of a fountain, long brown hair soaked and winding through the water lazily. The last time he'd wound up in one of these things, a Gear was knocking him around in a deserted city sometime during the war. This one actually had clean water running through it at least, and it did something for the tell-tale stick and grit of salt water clinging to him. It didn't really matter either way, but the lack of salt meant he'd be marginally more comfortable. This left him with a question, even as the bounty hunter hauled himself up onto his feet proper with even less grace than his landing position.

Where the fuck was he? Too blue to be where he just was--dry, drought-ridden, deserted formerly-European city number-whatever this was not.

Popping his neck what felt like back into place, he decided he only cared enough to find a way out. Lotta magic around, but nothing else that caught his elusive attention. The oddities he could sense also felt pretty trivial, but it was when Sol reached for the Fireseal (which had mercifully not landed in the water with him, not that it'd matter too much, just a shit-ton of steam) that he paused, but only for a split second.

He really must've been out of it for someone to be able to ink him unawares. At first, he didn't pay it much mind; as he straightened back up, Fireseal in hand, he stared at the marking just below the fold of his elbow. The longer he looked at it, the more he decided he didn't like it. Thin lips turned down at the corners, and Sol growled on reflex.

It wasn't just some idiot running around with ink and a needle gun. This was a brand.

This would not fly. In fact, that plane was going to crash as soon as the wheels lifted up. Complete system failure, right back to the runway. He'd been branded once, and that was all he needed. Time's up, blue place. This Badguy is just gonna walk away.

. . .

Except he can't, apparently. So he'd been informed by a shopkeep of some kind. They'd thrown a towel at him and some starfish-lookin' thing that even Ky couldn't get mad at. Sol remembered cell phones, PDAs, tablets, and all that shit but this was different.

The blunt edge of the Fireseal struck the ground, partially impaled, and Sol folded his arms while that would-be scowl returned. Well, then.

Comments

[closedcircuit]

Ky had done the whole standing around in the plaza and greeting new people whenever they showed up, but he'd discovered it was more productive to give them a chance to settle in and to give people who liked greeting for the sake of greeting the chance to be cheerful at new arrivals. Ky preferred to wait for people to post on the network. He did, however, sometimes have business in the plaza, and it was that business now that flew completely from his head when he saw who was standing there.

Ky approached slowly, half-expecting Sol to vanish before he got there, then stood, close enough to speak at a normal volume. "Sol. Welcome to Vatheon."

[immoralflame]

Oh, for... Sol twisted to peer over his shoulder at Ky, feeling his annoyance increase at least five times over. The man scoffed, turning to face Ky properly while arms crossed over his chest.

"Figures," he muttered, hardly meaning it as something for the Frenchman to hear. The first sign of Ky getting in his face and he was going to walk until he couldn't any farther. He was far from in the mood. "So, boy. The Hell is this place?" Because Ky was nothing if not very thorough with data collection--anal, Sol would argue. Might as well make use of that trait.

[closedcircuit]

Ky would happily follow if Sol did attempt to walk. At least here it would be easier, and he did have an obligation to make certain that Sol understood the situation, now that he was here. Ky would even let the 'boy' pass, because he hadn't seen Sol in a while.

"It's an underwater city. There's a welcome center, but the short of it is that we're trapped here along with Dizzy, and random other people who seem to be from...different worlds, I suppose. Sometimes things happen outside the normal rules of magic."

[immoralflame]

Obligation or not, ease or not, Sol really would not have appreciated the earnestness with which Ky would have pursued this task. He'd appreciate it less than usual, even. Getting in the way did, in fact, include getting in the way when Sol felt like fucking off. Fortunately for both of them, it wasn't going to happen just yet.

Underwater was pretty apparent. Trapped was a nuisance. Different worlds? Well, time to hand it to the guys who swore that was real. Not that they were alive any longer. Multiple worlds would imply that there'd be multiple sets of rules depending on the composition of the planet? Unless it was more than just world variation. Theoretically... Too much thinking right now, not in the mood.

All he gave Ky was a grunt to acknowledge he'd heard the former knight.

[closedcircuit]

In this case, Sol should just accept Ky's greater familiarity with the situation. Perhaps he could tell Sol information that he might need. Knowing Sol as he did, Ky knew that he'd probably be happiest if Ky left him alone, but that didn't seem like the thing to do.

A grunt was probably the closest to permission to continue as Ky was going to get, so he took it with at least energy, if not enthusiasm. It was hard for even the optimist Ky was to think of Sol being here as something that would go well, or be pleasant. "Yes, every once in a while the mark that we have glows, and then some kind of...well, many people call them 'curses' even though they're not really that sort of thing, occur. They've been things like making us think we're characters in a fairytale or showing people's dreams."

[immoralflame]

Ky could say he should accept it. Didn't mean he was going to. Though while being left alone would be great, there was the conflicting fact that Ky... actually did have one up on him, for once. Even if the enthusiasm was irritating, he'd listen for now, then.
...And wondered if walking away was still an option as soon as "curses" came into the picture. Oh, Hell no.

He could theory away different kinds of magic--they still didn't know the full ins and outs of it. It was just--curses sounded a little too crazy. Then again, 2014, they'd have thought everything he'd seen was crazy. Sol shook his head once, waving the information off as if to dismiss his attempts to derive logic from it. But showing people's dreams? He'd rather no one get in his head, thanks. His brain was private property.

"They filter some kinda hallucinogen into this place regularly?" he drawled despite the roughness to his voice.

[closedcircuit]

"If they do it's likely a result of the coral." Ky gestured at it, taking Sol's suggestion as if it were something Sol might actually think was the case. It was true that some of these things couldn't be explained away by magic as he knew it, but hallucinations didn't fit either.

"We're required to touch it periodically, and apparently it's our energy that it uses to maintain this place." Are you enjoying his exposition, Sol? Tough, because Ky wasn't done yet. "Attempting to hold off from touching it results in a weakness that lasts until we do touch it. I believe, in addition, it's somehow the coral that makes our magic function here."

Ky made a face, then. "The natives worship it as a shrine to their gods."

Did someone summon a wagon?

[zelda_hylia]

[Zelda doesn't seem to have the same manic cheerfulness about her that many of the locals do as she greets Sol, though she is smiling - if anything, she seems a bit rueful about the situation. She can tell that he's displeased.]

Did you just arrive, sir? If you'd like, we can head indoors and I can explain things for you.

It just wouldn't be complete without one.

[immoralflame]

[That's a relief, at least; he's had about as much cheer as he can take in one dose. His mood just won't allow for it. He faces her almost lazily, impassive.]

How about how to leave.

[It's less a question and more a rumbling annoyance.]

[zelda_hylia]

A way has not been discovered as of yet, but you are free to analyze the situation on your own.

[Have one of the brochures, Sol!]

I can clarify anything you may have questions about.

[immoralflame]

[He's glad to do that, too. But later. In the meantime, he takes the brochure and looks at the front of it, than looks back to Zelda. He thinks for a moment, reaches for his back pocket, and pulls out a soggy pack of cigarettes. He expends a faint amount of magic, just enough to raise his temperature and vaporize some of the water still clinging to him. Doesn't do much of anything for the smokes, though. Hn.]

Know a place I can find these?

[zelda_hylia]

[She leans over and peers at his cigarettes. What are they? Her head tilts to the side curiously as she tries to figure out their purpose. Smells somewhat medicinal...]

Is it some sort of medicine? I know where the pharmacy is located.

1/2

[immoralflame]

[. . .]

2/2

[immoralflame]

[He doesn't bother hiding the small snort. It's annoying, sure, but a pharmacy carrying cigarettes... Right. It's kind of amusing. He decides to set her straight.]

It's not. This place have a convenience store?

[Probably no gas station; this used to be easy. And then almost two centuries pass and you're shit out of luck half the time it seems.]

[zelda_hylia]

[Did she say something funny? She chews at the inside of her cheek before leaning up to indicate on the map included in the brochure where the nearest convenience store is located.]

I believe that the nearest one is there. It is free so long as you show them your mark. Have you found yours, yet?

/forever late!

[spiria]

[ It seemed as though it was that time of the month again!

... the time of the month for new arrivals, of course. Kohaku found herself out in the Plaza more often than usual during this time, armed with towels and prepared to tell the new arrivals about the place they now found themselves in. How she isn't on the welcoming committee yet, we don't know.

Today was no different, of course; Kohaku approached the new arrival, a smile on her face. She had a towel in her hand as well, but she saw upon closer inspection that he seemed to have already been gifted with one of those.

... oh well.

She froze for a second upon seeing how displeased he was; okay, that was a reaction a lot of new arrivals had, right next to confusion about the situation in general. Proceed with caution, Kohaku. ]

Um ... hi.

[ gj Kohaku, gj. way to gooooo. ]

I take it you've just arrived here?

Re: /forever late!

[immoralflame]

[Sol peered down at the the stranger who stopped just short of him, towel draped thoughtlessly around his neck and strangely dry. Occasional perks to fire magic. Her pause meant his attention left her and went back to scanning around the plaza, running through his memory to see if there was anything that matched this place. Nothing. Not I-No, he'd have seen the bitch and she preferred things to be red rather than blue. Maybe she had a doppleganger who wore blue and was fair-haired.

He hoped not. One of the bitch was plenty.

He turned back to the girl when she spoke up again. The look she got for her troubles was one that was fairly flat and said very little. Sol wasn't sure if she'd leave him alone or not, though, and he did actually have no clue how he got here. He opted to take advantage of free information.]

What was your first clue?

[Well, people did tend to remember Sol.]

[spiria]

[ Oh. He sounded irritated. She was just trying to help, jeez. Kohaku placed a hand on her hip and shifted her weight to one leg, offering him an irritated look of her own ... no matter how hard she tried to keep it relatively neutral.

Right, he was new and just confused. That had to be it. Still, she couldn't help her tone as she responded. ]

Well, the general irritated and confused look was a pretty big sign.

[ D'oh, Kohaku. Noooo. Shake it off, be helpful. Just because he's grumpy doesn't mean you get to troll him. ]

Anyway ... [ yes, good, be nice to the new person. ]

I'm going to assume you want to know more about this place you've suddenly landed into?

[immoralflame]

[He ignored the face she made; he really didn't care. In fact, the only thing Sol much cared about was figuring out how to get out of here. He blatantly ignored the attitude she paired with that look, too; little girl, be helpful or go home. But it seemed like she was going to opt for the first, so he shifted his stance with a non-committal noise. What've you got on this place, kid?]

[spiria]

[ ... she's going to take that as a yes. ]

How much do you know already? I can fill in the blanks once I know that.

[immoralflame]

Gotta name for it an' th' comm.

[About as much as anything when it's dropped into a populated, inverted fish bowl, he thinks.]

[innocentgear]

Since Dizzy is a member of the Welcome Committee she was trying her best to greet the new arrivals. Seeing a familiar face among them was a good thing.

Or at least she thought it was.

Dizzy slowly approached Sol.

"Welcome to Vatheon."

[immoralflame]

A myriad of thoughts ran through Sol's head with the half-Gear approaching. Everything from blasé acknowledgement to uneasiness. Something about Dizzy tended to knock him off kilter just the tiniest bit, though he opted to ignore it as a general rule. He didn't bother to spend his time theorizing or plotting statistical likelihoods. His expression relaxed and his arms fell instead for hands to shove their way into his pockets.

"Some welcome." Sol lightly tossed his head just to get a wet lock of hair out of his eyes. He'd say more, but he wasn't inclined to do so.

[innocentgear]

"Ah..." She was aware that this probably wasn't the best welcome ever, but it was still something?

She gave him a slightly worried look.

"Would you like to hear about this place... Though, maybe I should get a towel for you first..."

[immoralflame]

"Talk. Got a towel." ...Which was, along with his general self, now less damp thanks to Sol's (at this point in life) almost absent-minded manipulation of heat. Easier than going to fetch a new towel.

It really wasn't because it was Dizzy greeting him that prompted the earlier assessment, either. It was more the "we're going to drop you in a fountain, have a nice day" part. And being fully aware that his pack of cigarettes was probably a lost cause.