Arrivals - Beachville - OPEN LOG

[fluxscapemod]

Who: You and Jerry, the info booth guy!
What: Arrivals! Information! Money! New Homes!
Where: What's commonly referred to as the Information Hub.
When: August 15th, Mid Afternoon.
Synopsis: New faces arrive in Beachville. Jerry is a helper! Probably! Most likely, he isn't. At least, not as well as people wish. He can only tell people so much, see. But there are cookies, if you aren't a jerk.



It starts off simple enough. There isn't even any warning. No feeling like something's coming. No little instinct in the back of your head or what have you that tells you change is coming. You blink, your setting has changed. It's as simple and as quick as that. From where you stand, you're surrounded by tall palm trees. The ground beneath your feet is a mix of dirt and sand and you can smell the ocean. A clean, salty scent only found on untouched, tropical paradises. You can hear the sounds of the beach. People laughing, amusement park rides thundering in the background. And it's actually pretty peaceful. Even the weather is perfect. Just the right amount of Summer heat without being muggy or humid. There are tropical birds singing in the trees around you, and a light breeze in the trees, rustling the leaves. It's pleasant. Until someone clears their throat nearby. And this is when you notice you're not the only person standing there with a confused look on your face. You're part of a crowd, surrounding an information booth with an older gentleman inside.

Was that information booth always there? And how long has the man inside been watching you with that look on his face that suggests he's internally sighing at your presence? He seems friendly enough, however, and once all eyes are on him, he begins speaking.

"Can I have your attention please?" he says, voice calm, lightly accented. And certainly 'no nonsense.' "My name is Jerry Schiff and I run the information booth. I have several envelopes with names on them, so if you hear your name, please step forward and claim your money and information."

With that, he runs down the list of names. And what do you know, your name is on that list.

When you approach, you'll be handed a packet containing money, enough to get through the month, and an information pamphlet about Beachville, along with a note from the mayor welcoming you to town and telling you your stipend only lasts so long and there are many employment opportunities in town. There's also a map with an address and a set of keys. This is where you'll live. The last thing he says to you is to check the chest in your living-room, you'll know which one, before he hands the polite people a box of cookies. They smell amazing and the box is warm, like they're very, very fresh. You might even find your favorite cookies in the box. They've won awards and are delicious. Just as an aside, though; for anyone that's rude, no cookies. For anyone that tries to take a box anyway, they'll find the box is empty. Maybe even full of dead leaves and rocks. That's what you get for acting up, apparently.

Rude enough and he'll shut the information booth windows. No amount of knocking and screaming, magic or psychic abilities will get the doors open again. The booth is pretty resistant, as is the man inside.

Once everyone has their information, Jerry will thank everyone for their cooperation, close the booth down and head into town. Try to follow him. After rounding a corner, he'll seem to vanish and no amount of looking will find him again.

It seems as though the only things left to do are either talk to the people around you, or find your new home.


[ooc: please warn for anything triggery in your threads! thanks! ]

Comments

[rottedking]

Bucky wasn't the only one who was confused. Athol was more concerned than annoyed, himself, if only because of all the people who depended on them and not knowing how this was going to affect them. But, that aside, there were other people to worry about right now, too.

"I agree," Athol said, approaching a little but keeping a safe distance between them, so no one felt crowded. "This is a strange kidnapping, isn't it? Or we're all hallucinating." Who knew, maybe they were all drugged or enchanted or hooked up to computers.

"Cookie?" he added, flipping open the lid of the box and holding it out. "They're chocolate chip."

[luckybucky]

He glanced over at Athol and nodded his head a little, letting out a quiet hum. "I'm not sure what it is. You'd think if we'd been drugged or knocked out we'd at least have some kind of awareness of lost time," even when he'd been fighting to get his memory back, he was at least aware of a blank existing.

But this was totally different. It was like his whole world had changed... in a snap.

He hummed in appreciation for the offered cookies, and accepted one. "Thanks. Where'd you get 'em?" He had not yet gone to the booth to receive his own, but these were damn good, and he let out a happy noise as he took a first bite.

[rottedking]

"Potentially," Athol said. "This is my first time being kidnapped; it's not going how I'd always thought it would." He definitely hadn't imagined any beaches or tropical towns. Maybe a cold cell with iron bars, or chains.

He nodded his head in the direction of the booth, gesturing with his free hand. "Over there," he explained. "I also received money and information." Which was, again, strange for a kidnapping.

[luckybucky]

"Yeah, it's generally a lot heavier on the restraints and threats of physical violence," Bucky agreed. "Though I suppose it depends on who's doing the kidnapping and why."

The mention of money had his brow furrowing. "Money? Why..." he shook his head. If he didn't know, why would this friendly stranger? And if he did know, he probably wasn't going to share the information anyway. "I guess I'll be back with cookies," he shrugged his good shoulder and headed in that direction.

[rottedking]

"I suppose so." Maybe there were cameras watching them right now, and whoever had brought them here was getting a kick out of their reactions.

He shrugged. "To last until we get jobs, apparently," he replied. "Good luck on scoring some cookies." He'd already noticed that not everybody left the booth with some.

[luckybucky]

Jobs. He supposed there were worse things to expect of people, as long as they weren't the kind of jobs Bucky had sworn off, anyway.

He returned a couple minutes later, awkwardly holding everything in his one arm and absolutely beaming as he held the box up. "They smell just like mom's." That, apparently, won this place a few points.

[rottedking]

Athol graced him with a small smile. Personally, he couldn't remember what his mother's cookies smelled like, but he was glad someone else was having a positive experience in this place. All things considered.

"Do you need help with any of that?" he asked, since he had two working arms.

[luckybucky]

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind. I didn't think to put stuff in my pockets before I picked up the cookies," he snorted at himself, and held the box for Athol to take, so he could stuff the map and the money into his pockets.

He really should've thought to do this before. His cheeks weren't turning bright red, yours were.

[rottedking]

"I wouldn't mind at all," Athol said, taking the box. He was even going to pretend that he hadn't noticed Bucky's blush. It was only the polite thing to do.

"Your cookies do smell good," he added. Then again, so did his own.

[luckybucky]

"Thanks," he said warmly, pocketing the cash and the map -- after glancing at it again, just to make sure he had the whole thing correctly memorized, and took the box back. "It's been a couple years, but sometimes I still forget I've only got one arm," he flashed a little grin. "Don't know how I'm gonna manage to do my hair, usually the village kids helped me with it." He'd come to depend on the village, just like they'd come to depend on him while he was healing and finding himself again.

He already missed the damn goats.

[rottedking]

Athol nodded. "Some things take time," he said. Even years. He wouldn't ask if Bucky still dealt with phantom feelings or phantom pain--that felt like it would be rude.

"The village kids?" he repeated, a little bewildered. "I'm sure people would help if you asked them." Like Athol. Athol would help, even if he didn't have much experience with doing hair.

[luckybucky]

Bucky nodded, chuckling softly. "I lived in a village where front doors were just fabric hanging over a hole in the front of your hut. Most mornings I'd wake up with kids already there," he chuckled. "At first they were just curious about the weird white guy in the village, but they decided to adopt me pretty quickly."

[rottedking]

Athol was more than a little amused, even though it didn't really show. That kind of village sounded like the sort of place where everyone knew everyone else. He'd hate that kind of place. Probably. He also didn't know what to do around children, so there was that, too.

"They adopted you instead of the other way around, hmm?" he said. "You must always be this nice, then."

[luckybucky]

That got a warm chuckle. "I'm pretty sure the adopting was mutual. When they say it takes a village to raise a child, they weren't kidding," and it had been wonderful to see. It had been a long time since he'd seen people taking care of each other like that -- since he'd been able to participate in it himself. "I'm not too rough around the edges anymore," he agreed with a flash of a grin. "Just don't startle me with any loud noises and you won't change your mind about that."

[rottedking]

"I wouldn't say you're rough on anything." Especially the eyes. "And don't worry, I wouldn't dream of startling you." With anything, because that sounded like it would be cruel. Athol was many things, but cruel wasn't one of them.

[luckybucky]

Bucky flashed a little grin at that. "Very smooth," he teased. He shifted his hand carefully, propping the box against his body as he flipped the lid open and held it out for Athol to take a cookie. "So does your map tell you to head over towards what looks like an apartment building?"

[rottedking]

Athol smiled, reaching out to take a cookie. "Thank you."

Consulting his map to double check, he nodded. "Indeed it does," he confirmed. "Do you think they've given us places to stay? No strings attached?" He sounded skeptical. There were always strings.

[luckybucky]

"There're always strings," he sighed, taking a moment to get his bearings before he started walking in the direction of the apartments. "But beggars can't be choosers, I guess, and this is definitely the nicest kidnapping I've ever been the victim of," he flashed a little grin. "Maybe it's just alien scientists doing an observational study. Observation is nice," probing, not so much.

[rottedking]

"Aliens?" he repeated, a little bemused. "I'm a little concerned about why that's your first thought." Or the hoped for scenario. He supposed he could easily think of much worse situations, but aliens had never been one of his considerations.

[luckybucky]

That got a snort and a smile. "I'd rather deal with aliens than robots?" he offered lightly. "I haven't personally dealt with them, but we've had a few invasions where I'm from. They're usually a lot messier than this, but I'd rather deal with them than robots. Or nazis, quite frankly. You never heard about the battle of New York? Or that dark elf nonsense in London?"

[rottedking]

Robots? Nazis? Alien invasions?

Slowly, Athol shook his head. "I've never heard about any of those things." Which, you would think he would've, if an alien invasion had happened or something. "Though I've probably dealt with a few nazis before."

[luckybucky]

Well, that was weird. He'd heard of Nazis but not the rest of it, which meant he was probably from earth, but if he was he either lived under a rock or was from a different earth.

He wasn't sure he wanted to think too hard about that. "Well, if you come across any nazis here, give 'em an extra punch for me," he said with a little nod. He's just going to ignore the rest of it entirely. It's easier that way.

It'd be even easier if he could just go back to raising the stupid goats.

[rottedking]

Athol nodded. "That, I can do," he promised. He'd do more than punch them, but that wasn't a topic fit to be discussed around strangers.

"So if it is aliens," he said, going back to an earlier point, "What do you think they want from us?" What information could they gain from observing people?

[luckybucky]

He shrugged his shoulders. "World domination like everybody else, probably," he rolled his eyes. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty well known for my fighting abilities back home." It didn't come across as boastful, just a simple statement of fact. "And at least one of the other people who arrived with us is strong and smart enough to keep up with me."

[rottedking]

And that started with observation? He supposed that was a good way to start; it was how he began most of his missions.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I served a few years in the military. I'm not bad, myself." It was an understatement, but the most private thing he was willing to share with someone he'd just met. "I doubt I could take on aliens, though." He was joking.