wilderlogs | [Open] In Philly

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[Open] In Philly

Who: Trance and Open
What: A proper introduction! One that doesn’t involve anyone getting attacked, getting healed, or getting in a gigantic unexpected argument! After the chaos of arriving, running for her life, learning to heal, and attempting to stop her best friend from completely burning every possible bridge, Trance looks for a little mental R&R by doing some exploring around the camp.
Where: In and near the library.
When: After the healing log but before the quest moves on.
Warnings/Notes: Only what you bring with you. I’ll update if any are added.

I. Outside The First
[There’s a curious-looking purple girl with a tail exploring the abandoned buildings outside the library the group has holed up in. She stops to pet one of the oversized vines, talking to it under her breath, before she notices one of the many-eyed lizards farther up the building.

Her tail twitches slightly side-to-side before she extends a hand toward it, carefully, slowly. It’s well out of reach, but she doesn’t let that stop her. The lizard doesn’t seem to take note or care either way if it does see her. With that many eyes, how could it not notice? She frowns slightly and wiggles her fingers a bit.]

Come on. I don’t bite. ...I hope you don’t bite, either. You don’t, right?

[The lizard remains unfazed.]

II. Outside The Second
No, not- Not that way!

[Trance has discovered another spell she has access to. She sits cross-legged in a patch of grass breaking through a pile of rubble that may have once been a road, hands stretched in front of her, fingers buried in the grass. The grass, which she is talking to.

The grass… which seems to be responding, after a fashion.

It grows right impossibly fast, twisting and turning around itself to make vine-like ropes that grab for anything passing by. She, perhaps, hasn’t quite learned to control this part of it yet. The grass-vines grab the nearest passerby and Trance snatches her hands away from the ground with a squeak. The grass doesn’t do anything but hold its accidental prisoner in place, but it also doesn’t seem to be receding.

Sorry! I’m sorry! That wasn’t- [She takes a deep breath and presses her hands to the ground again.] I can fix this.

III. Inside
[Trance has found herself a quiet corner to read in, out of the way and unlikely to be stumbled upon by anyone she’s currently annoyed at. A small pile of books sits next to her, a couple larger ones already tucked into a sad-looking messenger bag. They largely seem to be medical books or emergency preparedness manuals, although one has a blank but fancy looking binding that obviously doesn’t match the decaying state of a lot of the library’s books.

At the moment, though, she’s distracted by one particular book that even at first glance is not the serious subject matter of the rest of her finds. Though faded, the cover obviously once sported bright colors and reflective foil in the shape of scales on a fish. She seems entirely engrossed in reading the picture book, not paying much attention to her surroundings except to look up whenever she hears footsteps.]

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[One moment she was minding her own business, just walking outside and thinking, and then she finds herself trapped by vines. Ange gasps, startled, until Trance speaks. Oh, great. Someone's playing with magic -- or so she thinks, at least -- and not doing it well, apparently. She's both frustrated and a little jealous]

Then do it.

[Ange stays completely still, without moving, thinking that'll make it easier for Trance to undo this]

What are you even trying to do, exactly?

[At least she caught someone she kind of almost knows? Or has met, anyway. What a way to introduce yourself to someone this would be.]

I don't know?

[It takes a minute of concentration but eventually Trance seems to hit on the right combination of whatever she's doing and the plants release Ange and wilt back into their previous forms.]

Just trying to figure out this whole magic thing, you know? I'm usually good with plants, so I thought maybe... I guess I'm a little too good with them now.

These new powers would be better if they came with instructions. [Ange steps forward, as if she's expecting more plants to trap her. Good, she's free!] I just came from that L-something sector. If you're trying to hone your magic, you should take a look there.

You're bound to find it more useful than me, at least...

[It's not that Ange didn't understand what she read there, it's more that she's having a hard time believing she'll be capable of doing all she read about. It's almost too much for who used to be a normal everyday girl who didn't believe in this kind of magic]

Edited 2018-05-17 01:34 (UTC)

[No, no more vines. Trance is being good. She even puts her hands safely in her lap where she's pretty sure she can't make anything new or unusual happen. Probably.]

L-something sector? [She considers that for a moment before nodding.] I'll have to wander around some more to find it. Any help would be good. But why wouldn't it be useful for you?

...I guess I could take you there.

[It's not like Ange has anything better to do, after all]

Because it's too overwhelming to process at once. It's ludicrous to expect me to wholeheartedly accept I can use alchemy, want me to learn a new language, and get used to concepts that didn't exist in my world, as far as I know.

I guess it'll be matter of time before it turns into a second nature for me, but until then I'd rather not to have a deluge of books and words be shoved at me.

Edited 2018-05-17 15:18 (UTC)

Really? That would be so fun! Like a field trip!

[If Trance catches any hint of reluctance, she doesn't respond to it. She hops up off the ground, brushing off the dirt from sitting on the ground.]

All of that does sound really complicated. I don't really know what I'm doing either, yet. Obviously. It just kind of feels like I should know how to use it? Maybe I can help you look for books, too! Really simple ones. Maybe they make alchemy picture books.

A field trip to a supernatural library. Just in case, don't ask the giant owl to give you a tour of the place.

[Is it friendly? Who knows. Ange's not going to be the one to find out. Ange starts walking towards the inside of the library]

Alchemy picture books...you make it sound so simple, as if magic has difficulty levels other than 'hellishly bizarre'. [It's worth a try, though] Have you seen anything like this before, like...does your world have magic?

Edited 2018-05-18 18:13 (UTC)

There's a giant owl?!

[The warning doesn't seem to have deterred her. Perhaps the opposite.

Trance is quick to follow along, making extra sure to pay attention to their route so she can find her own way back later.]

Well, everyone has to start someone, don't they? Even the people that were from here and wrote the books? Right? So there has to be something easier than... 'hellishly bizarre.' [She hesitates slightly over the words. They maybe aren't exactly the ones she'd have used.] My world has lots of things I can't explain. None of them are exactly magic like this, but maybe I just haven't seen it yet.

An owl and a...simian creature of some sort. Also fox spirits.

[Not mentioning the corpse because it's freaky. Ange's trying to forget she saw that]

A world is a big place, but I had always thought I was sure I knew everything one should know about mine. Even the biggest mysteries have rational explanations. I would almost think everything here is a trick of some sort...if I hadn't received powers too.

[Trance will probably think the corpse is pretty gross, too. Maybe they could avoid that entirely.]

I guess most mysteries can be pretty rational, but if all of them were rational, then they wouldn't be very mysterious, would they? They'd just... be things no one has figured out yet. The best mysteries are mysterious to everyone. [She thinks so, at least. Most people she knows would probably disagree. She's also used to being one of those non-logical mysteries, so she's a bit... biased.] I don't think you'd be alone in thinking this is all a big trick, though. The voices in the tunnel could probably explain themselves a little better.

The voices in the tunnel should have sent invitations if they wanted anyone to come here. Politeness must be such an alien concept to them.

[Ange will never stop being bitter about being brought here without her authorization, even when she actually grows to want to save this world]

That, too. [It's a simple, quiet agreement, no hint of matching annoyance on Trance's part. Sometimes you just don't have the luxury of asking permission when you're trying to save the world. Doing the necessary things and asking for forgiveness later is faster and as long as the world is saved, if your important people hate you a little bit after, at least they're still alive to do it?

It's even easier when you don't really care what the people you're busy not-asking think about you.]

But, I mean, they do seem to be kind of on a time limit. And people would probably have said no if they asked, so then they'd have to find even more people until enough of them said yes, and it seems like a really good cause, not letting things get destroyed. Right?

...I can't disagree with that. I would have said no if they had asked. [And saving an entire world is a good reason to do stuff, most people would say] The end justifies the means and all that, right?

Well. Yes. [She frowns a little.] It doesn't sound very nice when you say it like that, though. And there are good things, here. It's like an adventure!

[Her enthusiasm is more than a little forced at that.]

An adventure...

[Well she's not wrong, this is an adventure! A...weird one Ange isn't sure she likes, and all she wants is return home so she can continue her personal quest, but right now, well, it's an adventure. Should be somewhat fun. The corners of Ange's mouth twitches upward for a moment]

I could grow to...tolerate it [She doesn't want to say 'enjoy' because she thinks she shouldn't enjoy it] as long as there aren't more of those things that attacked us on those hills. That's all I ask.

Tolerate is good! [Goodish, anyway. It's a start! Ange playing along makes her perk back up, more honestly enthusiastic now.] And really, what are the odds we'll run into something like that again? Probably they were just angry we surprised them and camped on their house or something.

People get really angry when you camp on their house without asking.

[Hiccup looks up from where he's scraping bark off of a willow tree. Toothless is nearby, looking around carefully just in case the city isn't as safe as it appears.]

Ah, leave it be. It's probably happier where it is.

Edited 2018-05-17 00:46 (UTC)

Maybe it wants a friend. [It really doesn't seem to want any friends, though, so she does leave it alone in favor of someone to talk to that she isn't mad at. The opposite, in fact.

The lizard takes advantage of her distraction to scurry up the vine and into a crack in the wall, out of sight.]

In my experience, if you want to befriend a wild animal, you need to wait for them come to you. Or give them food. And hope they don't think you're food.

[Hiccup places his scraped willow bark in a bag, while Toothless sniffs at Trance.]

Toothless doesn't by the way. He prefers fish. People aren't on the menu.

Edited 2018-05-22 20:54 (UTC)

[Toothless gets a slightly more subdued reaction in person, if only because she's not surprised this time. The sniffing gets a little giggle before she holds out a hand for him to sniff a little easier.

He won't have sniffed a purple person before, most likely, so the fact that she doesn't smell at all human or even exactly, properly alive probably won't be the weirdest part of the introduction.]

I didn't have any food to give. Definitely not any fish. Sorry.

Probably for the best. He might decide to share, and trust me, you don't want him to share. Not unless you like regurgitated raw fish, anyways.

[Toothless ignores the commentary on his eating habits. He bumps his nose up against Trance's hand. She seems nice, she can pet him.]

[It takes a second for that entire warning to sink in.] Why? I- Oh. [Her nose scrunches up as she tries not to think about regurgitated raw fish.] I'm sure it's very nice of him, but...

[As if she'd say no. She pats Toothless' nose, a bit awkward and not used to large animals despite how much she obviously likes them. Even very smart ones. There just aren't that many pets in space. Shocking, right?] More for you, huh?

[But then a thought occurs to her. If he eats fish...] Why is he called Toothless, though? That seems like a stranger name than Hiccup.

He has retractable teeth.

[Hiccup gestures at his own mouth, wiggling his fingers a bit.]

Sort of like a cat's claws? The name wasn't really intentional, it just sort of stuck.

Oh. Okay. [She nods, although her expression isn't even trying to pretend she understands.] What's a cat?

[Really, really not many pets.]

Ah...small furry, four-legged animal, roughly this big? [Hiccup holds his hands apart to a distance similar to the average cat's length.] Long tails, pointed ears. Most people use them to keep away pests. Berk uses dragons called Terrible Terrors that are about as big for that, though.

[For a second, there's confusion, but then the lightbulb goes on.] They sound like baby Nightsiders. Do they eat each other, too?

[Not that baby Nightsiders have four legs, but they're small, furry, and pointy. Close enough.]

Baby Nightsiders would be good at keeping away pests, probably, but they'd keep away everything else, too.

[ Simmons isn't sure what happened while he was taking his nap, but he can read the team mood. It seems like it might be best if he just stays out of the way and lets it blow over.

Luckily, he has some (re)reading he wants to do anyway. He's dug up a copy of The Fellowship of the Ring and is trying to find a quiet corner to sink into when he discovers someone else had the same idea. ]

Oh!

[ Awkward. He's seen the purple woman around camp, but hasn't exactly spoken to her much. ]

Do you, uh, mind if I sit here?

[ He's lowkey scoping out the stack of books as he does. He's digging through Tolkien now, yes, but he has plenty of other things he wants to try and skim before they move on. ]

[He doesn't want to know. It was a lot of stupid, and Trance is still a little miffed over the whole thing.

It's got her paying even less attention than the should, and she jumps when a person speaks, nearly dropping the book she's reading before she grabs it back into her lap. For a second, she flounders in surprise, but then she smiles, gathering her things closer to her from where they'd started to spread out.]

Sorry! Yeah, please. Hi. I'm, um. Trance. We haven't really met yet.

Sorry I startled you.

[ Awkward. Good job, Simmons. ]

I'm Simmons. ...Nice to meet you?

[ That's no less awkward, he's really batting a thousand as he sits down. He's polite about that, though, accepting some of the cleared space without really encroaching on Trance's personal bubble.

It's a little dim, though. He reaches up and puts a hand to the wall behind him for a moment, then pulls it away and leaves a glowing handprint behind to read by. Good. ]

I take it we're all doing a little research.

[ He's in no place to judge what Trance is reading when he's returning to his own childhood books for medical information of all things. ]

It's okay. I just didn't see you coming. [She hasn't seen anything coming since she got here. It's surprisingly difficult to adjust to, but she's managing well enough. Minus the whole having to pay attention to her surroundings part.

He can be as awkward as he likes. She's good at ignoring awkward entirely, and anyway, awkward is much better than hostile! She smiles brightly, settling back into her more compact spot.]

Nice to meet you, too!

[She even makes it sound like it really is nice to meet him, because it is. She's met so many people, and most of them haven't even thought she was weird for being purple yet! No one has called her tail stupid or called her a monkey or just plain pretended she wasn't there. It is very nice.

And then he does that light trick and she gasps in appreciation.]

That's amazing! Did you learn to do that here or could you always do that?

[ She may be purple and have a tail, but commenting on that would probably be rude. Simmons is grateful some of the guys he knows from back home aren't here, it would've been an entire scene with them.

She's kind of pretty, actually, but thinking about that wouldn't make awkwardly meeting a new person any easier so he tries to just let that observation drop. ]

Oh, the light thing?

[ He's gotten used to it, he didn't even think about doing that. He never thought he would get used to that. ]

Yeah. I can do a couple new things here and that's one of them. I can also heal people and make these chains out of light?

[ He makes a little sweeping motion with one hand, as if he's trying to mime out the shape of a chain. ]

...It's pretty cool.

[ He's trying to be dignified and respectable, but he can't contain a little bit of the dorky excitement he gets whenever he reminds himself of that. ]

[It's okay, Trance is 110% dorky excitement most of the time when she learns new, interesting things, too. She's certainly not judging him for it. If anything, her smile grows and she sits forward a little.]

Really? I can do that, too! The healing, I mean. Well, a little. It's not very much, but it's definitely more than I could do before without Andromeda and all the equipment in the medical bay. I can't do chains or anything, but I did make a bunch of plants accidentally grab somebody earlier, so that's new, too.

[There is no place for dignified and respectable here. The picture book lies closed and forgotten in her lap, all her attention now on her new friend and their shared powers.]

Was that your ship?

[ It has a medical bay. Part of Simmons is like oh, thank god, someone else who understands about space. So far it seems to just be him, Brainy, and the Jedi. ]

That sounds pretty useful. Mostly I've been using chains to trip people up, I'm not sure how much they can hold and I don't want to find out at a bad time.

I bet you could do that with plants too.

[ That's what he was doing during the Weathertop fight. And also something he's done to Dixon, but he's not exactly broadcasted that incident. ]

Well, she's more her own ship, but she was the ship we were all living on. The Andromeda Ascendant. She's a warship, but she's really nice.

[The ship is built very well, but Rommie herself is also very nice. Just nice all around. She just assumes pretty much everyone knows about starships, though. That will be a bit of a shock once she discovers otherwise.]

Ooh, I wonder if I could. Probably kind of hard to practice, that, though. Most people aren't going to want to let me trip them just to see if I can.

[Of course, if she happens to run into Harper soon, she might try it anyway.]

I've been on a couple of ships, but I wasn't Navy. I'm used to being on the ground.

[ He totally got spacesick like five times. ]

Some people might volunteer. That Impulse kid was asking me to test the light thing on him to see if he could absorb it.

...Might want to find somewhere soft to try that, though.

We're not navy. We're High Guard. Well, sort of. Rommie's High Guard, and Dylan, and the rest of us are kind of honorary since we're there anyway. I don't think I've ever met an android that wasn't High Guard, either. [Not a sentient one, anyway, but specifying that seems a little like it might be an insult so she doesn't.] Are there lots of them in the navy where you're from?

[He's all made of metal. Of course he's some sort of android or robot or something. A combat android looking like him makes complete sense. Although he does look a bit like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum now she's thinking about it and the thought makes her smile.]

I don't think I've met him, either, yet. I haven't met very many people. Everyone's kind of... I mean, there was a really big fight, so I don't blame them for kind of wanting to keep to themselves, right?

[ If the purpleness hadn't tipped Simmons off that Trance isn't from his neck of the woods, the reference to High Guard would've. There's nothing by that name in the UNSC.

But as for being an android... ]

Oh. Erm.

[ Right. It seems like other worlds don't have people running around in combat armor all the time. This is an easy mistake. ]

I'm only about one eighth cyborg, actually. Arm, leg, some organs, but...

[ Simmons unseals his helmet and pulls it off to demonstrate. See? Human. ]

I've only seen a couple of robots personally. [ One in particular, and he's an asshole. ]

Everyone's kind of beat up and tired, that was the worst thing we've seen so far.

[To be perfectly honest, there's not much High Guard in the High Guard these days, either. But they're working on it.

She looks a bit embarrassed when he reveals her mistake, but only a bit. As least she hadn't assumed he was something weird.]

Oh! Sorry. There's nothing wrong with being a cyborg, either, you know. I've met a few of them. One was really mean and tried to shoot me, but I'm sure you won't do that.

[It had been a trying time for everyone.]

Have you been here very long? I only just got here right when everything was kind of. Exploding.

It's okay, I don't even have a gun anymore anyway.

[ Given how things are going, he kind of misses it. Shooting at people who were trying to hurt his friends, those sure were the days. ]

I've been here since... well, I guess since we started showing up here? That was the worst thing that's happened to us so far.

[ It's not like anyone else has shown up and claimed to have been around longer. ]

You'd think that would mean I have some idea what's going on by now, but no. I don't think anybody really does.

...That would probably make it harder.

[But just probably. She has faith in people's ingenuity.]

I guess that's good. Unless things are just going to get worse which is always possible. Or maybe they'll get better and we'll all be really happy and surprised. [She even looks like she believes it. Optimism is very strange when you don't know whether it's really going to happen that way or not. She's working on it.] At least if nobody knows, then we're all on equal footing? It's like a field trip!

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[Open] In Philly

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