(no subject)

[fluxscapemod]

Who: New arrivals and YOU.
What: The last group arrival day before things go weird again (more on that later.)
Where: Greenway Park Information Booth.
When: Mid-Afternoon, Sunday the 25h.
Warnings: None as yet.






You know how it goes. One minute, you're in your own world. You're minding your own business. Going about your day, or maybe you're in the middle of something very, very important. Whatever the case, whether you blinked or you turned around or what have you, you're not where you were before. The first thing you might notice are the sounds around you. It's loud. Crowded. Horns honk and people shout and there's just the constant buzz of activity around you as people play and walk through and hang out in the massive park you find yourself in.

You're in a city. A large, bustling city full of people and all the chaos cities bring.

And somehow, over the din and aggressive noise pollution, you hear someone call your name.

There's an information booth nearby, with a man seated inside, watching you with vague but warm interest over the rim of his newspaper. Motioning you over, he has a packet of information for you and as he does so, he states simply;

"Check your pockets." Unless you're wearing something that doesn't have pockets, in which case, the man will tell you to check the ribbon hanging around your neck. At the end of it is a key. Maybe it's strange to you, and it'll unlock one of the apartments in the buildings nearby. Or maybe it's familiar, and you'll find a shell of your home on the outskirts of the city.

"It would be in your best interest," the man says as he points out the packet of information and hands you an envelope full of money that seem to shift colors very subtly. "If you read all of the information I just gave you."

And he's right. It has where you'll live, where to find jobs, information on a housemate (if you have one) and information on the cellphone he hands you. And there's a box of cookies that taste exactly like your favorite from home, the first bite recalling fond memories of eating them with loved ones, or biting into one fresh from your favorite bakery.

Unless you're rude, in which case, he simply stares at you until you walk away. And remember, if you persist in your behavior, he simply shuts the info booth and no manner of physical or magical attempts will get it to budge in the slightest. Or damage it.

With your cookies and information in hand, he simply gives you a small nod and a half-smile that clearly say it's time for you to move on and he resumes reading his paper.

Welcome to Wechester City.

Comments

Re: the one closed to Five ( lol )

[belay]

Lara heard the footsteps before she heard the voice, but they sounded small, so she wasn't concerned. It was likely children lived in Honeywell. The place was rather large, after all.

But when his voice addresses her, she turns to look. Taking in the mannequin under his arm, she studies the pair for a second before looking up at the apartment number and nodding. Easing herself into a standing position, she speaks in return.

"It is. Why? Are you looking for someone?"

[spatially]

When she stands up, Five has to tilt his head just a bit to look up at her -- unfortunately, 13 was a little before he had hit his growth spurt and he's still relatively small in comparison to her.

"No, I'm not looking for anyone." He shook his head, tucking his phone into the pocket of his shorts only to retrieve the set of keys that he'd been given in his welcome packet a second later. He holds them up for the woman to see. Proof that he isn't some teenager trying to pull one over on her. "I believe that this is my apartment, though."

He gives her a curious once over -- he's smart enough to put two and two together, realizing that this was more than likely her apartment as well. "Do you live here too?"

[belay]

She's probably not that much taller than him, only about five foot six. Five foot seven in a good pair of hiking boots. At present, it's sneakers.

She's good enough with details and her memory amazing enough to remember a lot of what she looks at, and she recognizes a duplicate of her key right off, nodding at his question.

"I do. It's where the housing information sent me." That's okay by her, she guesses. Extending her hand in greeting, she introduces herself.

"Lara Croft," she states with a faint smile, the lift of the corner of her mouth accenting bruises and scrapes that are in the process of healing.

"Have you just arrived in town, or have you been here a while?"

[spatially]

Considering the reaction from Lara, Five assumes that they hadn't been paired together because he needed a guardian -- he would hope that they'd at least inform someone they were going to have to look over and be responsible for another person, rather than just springing it on them. And while he probably would have rather roomed with only Delores, he still chalks this all up as a win.

(Any time that he's treated as the adult he really is is a win to Five.)

"It looks like we'll be roommates, then." He takes her hand with his free one and gives it a firm shake -- she already seems like better company than most of his previous 6 roommates. "Five. A pleasure to meet you, Lara. I just arrived here as well, it seems like a few of us all appeared here at the same time." And that's at the very top of his list of things to research further -- how the hell they all got here, followed closely by what the hell is wrong with his powers.

"Are you locked out or...?"

[belay]

If Lara had been given a child to look after, she'd insist that was a terrible idea and that she'd rather not. While a possible guardianship had been the first thought that crossed her mind when Five spoke to her, the way he carried himself suggested a guardian wouldn't be necessary.

"Five. A pleasure to meet you, too." She pulls her own key out of her pocket to answer his question, and a beep from her FluxPhone informed her someone was ringing up to her apartment. She could see the delivery driver holding her pizza and soda and after some fiddling with the phone, she pushes the button to buzz him up.

"No. Not locked out. I just didn't want to be inside. And I'd ordered take-away, so I was waiting for that." An apologetic look to Five as she adds: "If I'd known you were coming, I'd have ordered a bigger pizza."

She's going to share, anyway. There's enough in the kitchen already where they can make something to go with the pizza.

Turning towards the door, the bandages on her back visible where her black tank top didn't quite cover, she opens the apartment door and lets Five in.

"Two bathrooms. Four bedrooms. Large kitchen and dining area. The balcony has a great view of the city. I took the bedroom down the hall. Last door on the left. No clue why they stuck me somewhere so big. Even with the two of us, it's a lot."

[spatially]

Five nods along as he listens to her speak and he can understand not wanting to be trapped inside of a new place immediately upon arrival -- hell, he'd spent a good while wandering around trying to get his bearings before even attempting to find his apartment.

"It's no problem." He gives a wave of his hand and a quick shake of his head -- he's managed to fend for himself with much less, he's sure he can get through this time around as well. "I am surprised that they didn't tell either of us we'd be sharing an apartment, though."

Five slips inside of the apartment with an appreciative nod to Lara. He's no stranger to large living spaces. He'd gone from living in The Umbrella Academy, which took up nearly an entire block, to living in the apocalypse, which literally meant everywhere was home. But, considering it's only the two of them -- and the circumstances aren't the end of the world -- Five has to agree that it's quite a bit of space.

"Let's hope we get a bit of warning before they send us anyone new. We can split the bathrooms until then, we might as well soak up the privacy as long as we have it." Setting Delores down on the floor next to him, he then gives Lara a curious look, "Did you get those when you arrived?" He lifts his chin to motion toward the various bruises and bandages she's sporting.

(just a heads up, anyone reading, there's implied violence within?)

[belay]

Lara looks around the apartment entryway for a moment before turning to look at Five when he asks about her injuries. She's not hesitant to answer. Far from it. She'd like to tell him what happened, but phrasing it properly is proving a bit troublesome. This wasn't a common situation for her, finding herself in different universes entirely. So figuring out how to explain the situation was taking a moment.

"Before I found myself here, in the hospital, I was in the jungles of Peru. I'd been in a plane crash with a friend of mine, his name's Jonah, and we'd just found each other. We were trying to find a nearby village and on the way there, I'd discovered pieces of our pilot, some of which had...been in a jaguar's mouth."

It had been an unpleasant discovery.

"I tried avoiding the jaguar, not looking to bring more danger upon myself or Jonah but the jaguar caught up to me after I'd gotten separated from him. I survived the encounter, the jaguar did not. And then I woke up in a hospital bed with nurses leaning over me saying I'd given them a fright."

Because facing a jaguar isn't terrifying, and waking up surrounded by absolute strangers isn't at all jarring.

There's a knock on the door and Lara peeks out of the view finder, opening the door and taking the pizza and soda from the delivery guy and handing him a tip. Once they're gone and the door is shut, she turns to look at Five.

"So...no. Not here. I brought them with me."