vatheon | (no subject)

Entry tags:

canada (matthew williams)

(no subject)

Who:

unnoticeable
When: during gilbert's arrival.
Where: canada's apartment.
Style: starting in third, but feel free to switch to [brackets] if you'd like. i don't mind either at all.
Status: closed.

"S- sorry. Orwell doesn't ring a bell. Is he a new writer?" He did sound interested in it, however, as the subject sounded possibly intriguing. On the other hand, it was also something that he could look into later on his own. In the meantime, he was offering him that towel finally. "Right now, I live in Yutopil apartments near Nostalgia Nook. It's quite a nice building, really. We can go there now, if you'd like."

With a friendly enough smile, he waited for a moment or two before starting back in the direction he came from. "The starfish is actually a communcations device around here. It's like a..." There was a slight pause as he looked for the proper word he was trying to find. "Cell phone, I believe. You can talk to people over it like using a regular phone, send them text messages, or even video chat. As a default, however, the thing broadcasts across the network as a whole so everyone can pretty much see whatever it is that you're doing. Of course, you can also hold private conversations over it." He hoped it was a simple enough explanation but sometimes he did have a habit of accidentally making things more complicated than they should be.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

When Gilbert arrived back downstairs he was greeted with Kuma sitting at the bottom of the stairs, having been watching him descend them. The bear said nothing at all but sort of gave him a slight nod before wandering off towards the kitchen, probably to find something to eat. As for Canada, he was laying sprawled out on the couch, reading a book he had picked up from the library. Having heard Gilbert coming down the stairs, he set the book down and offered a smile.

"Good evening, sunshine. Feeling any better now?" Aside from still trying to get used to the whole being in a new place thing, of course. That took a bit longer to get used to and even then sometimes it was easy to wake up and be a bit surprised to still be in Vatheon and not homme.

Gilbert ignored the strange, sentient bear thing, giving it only a passing glance as he stepped into the living room. He did a slight double take at the greeting, mildly disturbed by the rather domestic pet name, and shook his head with a small snort. "Uhn. A bit. I feel well rested and less...angry, I guess."

Well, he wasn't less angry, but he wasn't ready to go flying off the handle and tearing the entire 'Vatheon' apart looking for those responsible for his kidnapping. He flopped down on the armchair, lifting his feet up off the floor and curling his toes over the edge of the seat. He was still pretty drowsy, so he snuggled down in the seat and watched Canada from underneath his pale eyelashes.

"So...what's the first order of business for newcomers?" he asked.

There was the tiniest of shrugs and perhaps just a hint of smirk. It never hurt to learn new tricks and tossing oddball nicknames was something he had picked up along the way. Sometimes the reaction was worth it. Other times, it seemed to fall flat. "S- sorry about that." His voice was a bit lower than usual, making the apology more of a mumble than anything audible. "There's a gym around so in case you decide you want to hit things, I'd recommend going there." He'd give him the tour later and point out places such as that.

"It's just a tiny bit outdated, but I found the welcome pamphlet for you." After setting the book down and sitting up, he grabbed it from the nearby end table and sort of tossed it in Gilbert's direction. "The contact name listed has since went home, but a few of the names on the list are still around to happily answer questions as needed. So really, a tour would probably be best." It could be done whenever Gilbert wanted since the places weren't really going anywhere. Thankfully.

Gilbert caught the pamphlet and read through it thoroughly, soaking up any knowledge from the words. His brow furrowed deeply, and reminded, he looked at the underside of his left wrist. Right, that weird mark thing. He completely forgot about it in the whole...confusion. "Tattoo? So that's what this is?" he asked, lifting his hand up to show the tattoo, stark against his deathly pale skin. "They tattooed us?! Fucking hell..."

He scowled irritably and dropped his hand, his eyes returning to the pamphlet. "Hm...Lam-u-fao," he pronounced slowly. "So that was what that creepy coral thing was. Well," he dropped the pamphlet onto his lap. "Alright, so...let me get this straight. Vatheon, which is the place we're currently at, exists on its own dimension and time /thingy/ and snatches people up from different worlds. Lamufao is the super creepy coral thing that cures people. Everything is free, and we have freaky zombie locals roaming about. And we have no idea why we're here." He tilted his head. "Did I miss anything?"

"That's pretty much it. The fairies are no longer around as they just recently... well, let's just say they just poofed." It was close enough to the truth without saying that they pretty much popped. ...which also wasn't a pleasant moment. There was little fairy parts everywhere. "It's pretty much like those aliens that go around abducting cows or something. Except instead of cows it's people." Which was just as nice of a mental picture, probably.

"There's also a large elevator that goes up to an island, but one can't leave the island so they're still pretty much stuck in this place. At least it offers another place to visit instead of just being stuck in a bubble under the sea." It got a bit boring after a while no matter how nice the view was. "The elevator was built late last year so it's all a relatively new thing. The island, itself, doesn't have very much on it."

Shrugging just slightly there was a momentary chuckle. "It's rather science fiction-like."

Gilbert looked uneasy at the word 'abduction'. "There aren't going to be 'surprise probes', are there?" he asked warily, shifting on his seat as he pressed his knees harder against his chest. Alien abductions usually included probing and vivisections - and Gilbert had more than enough brushes with too curious doctors and scientists to leave him with a healthy phobia of anyone looming over him a scalpel or something...probey.

"I think I would have warned you of that right away had there been something like that, you know. It's not something you toss out as an 'oh by the way.'" Frowning just a bit, he ended up just sighing and shaking his head softly as if indicating 'no' to the question. "There's nothing like that, no. So you don't have to worry about anything like that from any native here." Those people are free to do on their own in whatever capacity they chose be it tame like new clothing style or as crazy as the one mad scientist that used to hang around. "Those who are brought around are another story. Some of them can be quite odd and there was once a mad scientist around who liked to dissect things."

Wonderful. Gilbert made a mental note to approach everyone he didn't recognise with severe caution. Like hell he was going to get strapped down on a dissecting table, mutter, mutter...

"So...tell me about the other people here. Not the zombie locals, I mean, the other kidnapped lot," Gilbert said. Time to seek information on the enemy, or possible allies, whatever. The more information Gilbert squeezed from Canada, the better. He was not going to step outside the house until he knew what he was up against, and if he could do so awesomely. He wasn't gonna stagger about all wide-eyed and confused like some lame newcomer. Gilbert was going to strut like he knew all the hot shit around town.

"They're from pretty much all over. Different worlds, different realities. The past, present, future. You name it and it's probably possible. They're usually human or human-ish though there's the occasional sentient animal. In fact, there's a mouse around that is fully capable of most things people are." It was something he found interesting at least. "They come from all walks of life, too. Royalty, military, regular citizens, etc." Pirates. Ninjas. Pretty much anything imaginable he figured.

"Most are friendly enough so everyone pretty much gets along with one another. There's really nothing to worry about unless you plan on picking fights or something." And he'd advise against that because he'd give him an 'I told you so.'

Picking fights was an inevitability on Gilbert's end. His blood was that of a soldier, from the very first day he was born, so if he saw an opportunity for a good fight, he'd sink his claws into it. But he stayed quiet on that subject and hummed quietly to show he heard, obviously deep in thought over something.

The first order of business would be to secure his own base, really. Gilbert hated living by himself though - it was why he remained with his brother, aside from mooching purposes - and the thought of going through the process of claiming a house was daunting. He shrugged his shoulders. He'd stay with Canada for now. The blond hadn't made any impatient comments or anything, and Gilbert wouldn't, like, trash the house. He lived with the strictest person alive, so he could handle Canada for a short period of time.

Alright, now that Gilbert had his base, the next thing would be... "Well I guess it's time to explore then," he said cheerfully, suddenly leaping off the seat with the spryness of a young cat. He looked down at his feet, frowning at the red and white socks. "What shoe size are you?" he asked.

He wasn't one to kick anyone out, either, since he had plenty of room. And should he ever decide he was tired of having someone else, he'd politely go sleep on someone else's couch for a few days since he still wouldn't kick anyone out. It probably helped that he was also sort of used to living with someone else by that point. People just had a habit of either leaving or changing their minds on him. So Gilbert was pretty much free to come and go as he pleased.

Plus he enjoyed the company.

It took him a moment to answer since he had to stop and think about the question. "Nine." Hopefully that worked. "If you need something else, I'll make a quick stop to the store." He promised not to bring back anything pink or with heels, too, should he need to go get something.

"I'm a size eight," Gilbert said thoughtfully. "I guess one size bigger won't kill me while I go get my own pair - wait, how do you even get stuff here? Do you go to the store and just take what you want, or, how does that work?"

"It should work for the time being." He had a pair of sandals as well if Gilbert preferred since those usually didn't matter too much what size they were just as long as they weren't too small.

"Pretty much. I like to chat with the shop keepers sometimes. They can sometimes be helpful." ...and some like to talk about what's in season or share stories in general. "It's just shopping like general except for you don't have to stop at the cashier on the way out."

Gilbert just imagined walking into a store and shoving things into a burlap sack. It made his snicker quietly to himself, and he shook his head. "I see, that easy, huh? Alright then. Lemme steal some shoes of yours, I think I should go shopping for clothes and...stuff." Hopefully they had internet access here...

If Gilbert tried that, he'd have to hit him and remind him to be civil about things. One should be polite when they shop. And only take what they need or will use. Well, that was his own rule, but he liked to share it with others since the locals were nice enough to just give things away for free.

"I'll be right back." After finally standing up he wandered off to grab an extra pair of shoes. The whole task didn't take long at all and he was quickly returning, offering him a nice pair of shoes. They looked a bit old-fashioned and probably uncomfortable, he he'd assure him that they were far more comfortable than they looked.

The shoes looked like they had stepped from the 1920s, and Gilbert smirked a little in nostalgia as he took the shoes from Canada. He remembered to say 'thank you', and sat down on the sofa to carefully tug the shoes on, tying the laces with neat tightness more suited to military boots. The shoes were a bit big on him, but that was to be expected. He straightened up and stood up again. He was still dressed in the clothes that Canada gave him, but they didn't look overly...pyjamaish. If anything, Gilbert looked exceedingly casual, and for someone who made regular trips to the corner shop at the end of their street in just his boxers if they ran out of milk, this didn't bother him in the slightest.

"Alright, looks like we're ready for a shopping trip!" Gilbert chirped. Now that the initial anger from his kidnapping had diminished, and he had warm food and a nice nap, excitement was starting to set in. An alternative dimension with strange people from other worlds? It sounded so /fun/ and exciting! Gilbert was practically bouncing with eagerness to explore.

While he was pretty sure there was no real dress code around, he would advise going out in public dressed. It went back to that whole polite thing. Though so long as people were at least partially dressed when they went out, it was at least a start. Anyway... He had a nice outfit or two to go along with the shoes, too. Though he could let Gilbert play dress up later since he's sure he'll probably be doing that while they're out getting things, anyway. Unless Gilbert just liked to grab clothes off racks and wing it, but Canada couldn't quite see how that would be practical.

"I'll give you a quick tour as well along the way." There were some places along the way to the stores. Other places were a bit further away but for the most part a lot of it was in the same general area. "Everything is pretty much up on the second level so it'll be easy to remember." Being polite, he'll let Gilbert out the door first as they leave.

Gilbert dressed like he had only just recently discovered clothes - unless he was wearing military garb. His version of clothes shopping was tearing clothes that caught his interest off the rack and buying them. If they didn't fit, well, Gilbert /made/ them fit. And let us not start on his fashion sense - or lack thereof.

"Awesome! Maybe we'll meet some of these other weirdoes here," Gilbert said cheerfully, all but skipping out of the door.

Clearly Canada was going to have to teach Gilbert a thing or two about fashion sense. And the joys of baggy sweatshirts. And maybe plaid since it was pretty nifty. Plus he'll just subtly keep suggesting that maybe Gilbert should try things on instead of wasting time later making it fit one way or another.

Chuckling softly, he followed him out the door. ...and didn't lock it behind him. Oh well. Apparently he didn't think it was a necessary step to perform. Catching up quickly, he gave him a soft tsk. "They're no more as weird as you are, you know." ...but still somewhat strange, none-the-less. Hell. There were even trolls running around so things were always interesting.

"Oh I beg to differ! I saw some weird people on the Starfish whatever before meeting up with you," Gilbert said with a sly grin. His 'Starfish Whatever' was safely stashed in the pocket of the trousers he was currently borrowing, since he had a feeling that he needed it. It seemed important, and was his only way to communicate with Canada if they got separated somehow.

He looked about himself with curious eyes, taking in the rows of houses. "So...are all these houses just for er, people like us, or for the locals as well? Unless the locals are stashed in closets like the creepy zombie people they are..."

"I bet they were thinking the same thing about you." That was how it usually worked. Everyone was strange to someone else. "Then again, I'm sure they'd be right to an extent as well." Why yes. That was a little joke, he promised. "The locals have their own housing. Some live and work from their store. Others in other buildings nearby." Though now that he thought about it... "Y'know, there's really no intermixing, actually. Buildings that house us have no locals and vice versa. It's a bit odd, but I suppose that's how they prefer it."

But no. There was no stashing of people away in closets. Okay. There might be, but he didn't know of anyone who slept in a closet so he couldn't say one way or another for sure about that. "There used to be a place that was owned by a local who gave it to a group of us, but they still never lived there at the same time as we did."

"Hm..." Gilbert filed that information away in the mental folder that he had labelled 'Vatheon'. He was determined to solve the mystery of this place, and the locals seemed like a good clue to follow. He was sure he wasn't the only one who was investigating, but Gilbert was over eight hundred years old and fucking awesome. He could solve this mystery easily enough. He rubbed his chin in thought. "So the locals live separately? How do they act? Like, completely slavish or something?"

"I think they're friendly enough. Helpful in a way, sure, but they won't answer any questions about Vatheon or anything like that. They're more than happy to share things like recipes or suggest books, though." Any attempts at useful information about the city or why anyone was there or anything else was something that they'd avoid or just not answer. "They certainly don't avoid people, anyway, nor are they really violent or anything." Most violence tended to be foreigner-instigated.

...or a cause of curses.

Tight-lipped locals. Gilbert felt like they had stepped into a horror film - next thing they knew there'd be mysterious noises in the middle of the night and they'd stumble across the locals burning a cross and conducting a bizarre ritual. Possibly human sacrifices. Ah great, not Gilbert just disturbed himself. Well he wasn't going to allow himself to be alone with any of these 'locals' without an escape route nearby.

"Hm..." was all Gilbert said though. "So made any friends here?" he asked, switching tracks.

To be completely fair, he could probably see some of the foreigners doing bizarre rituals like that, too. Hell, there's some vampires around and he's still not too sure how they feed. Or if they do.

"A few, actually. Most of them I'd consider good friends." A smile accompanied his words as he spoke. "Plus being here has given me a chance to be friends with Vietnam and Japan." Japan and Canada sometimes do dorky things together like going sightseeing around Vatheon like complete tourists, complete with taking pictures. "There's also a couple from different versions of home. It's basically the same but there's some differences from what we know."

He paused for a moment before smiling widely again. "I'll have to introduce you to them sometime."