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Entry tags:
TDM 003
TEST DRIVE MEME 003 ❀
CONTENT WARNINGS: potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore.
Please note: FOR THE FIRST 24 HOURS AFTER 'HATCHING', CHARACTERS WILL FEEL WEAK AND ANY POWERS THEY HAVE WILL NOT WORK.
Test drive meme threads can be considered game canon for players who are later accepted and wish to keep their CR. The Quago prompt will be a TDM-exclusive, though existing players are welcome to use it in the game itself and players are free to use it as canon, but it will not be repeated as part of the hatching. The other prompts that you see here will also appear on our first game log. There will, of course, be more going on that week.
Please reserve questions about altering or meaningfully investigating the setting for the first log of the game, where we will have a Mod Questions thread at the top of the log. That thread will not be present on this test drive meme.
This time, the Adamant's survivors are ready. When the Hatchlings arrive, they are no longer held at gunpoint or the tip of a spear. They are helped up, taken to the showers, given time to clean themselves.
They are still quarantined for a few days — albeit in a more comfortable setting. An area of the Theatre has been set up with emergency bunking and privacy screens. Each bunk has a small bundle of amenities on it — a change of clothing (that may be too big or too small, too fine or too plain, feel free to swap!) and what precious else can be spared, including a small tube of protein paste. Given that the theater doubles as a childcare center for the basecamp, your character may find that any toddler-aged children will stare hungrily at these tubes!
Ensign Ashley Porter flits about this emergency station at all hours, chatting amicably at people. Explaining the situation. He's reasonably certain it's his fault — the entire 'hatching' process seemed to start after he tripped one day and fell into the Central Chrysalis. This disturbance must have triggered the process of pulling in people from other universes. He's terribly sorry and will say he understands if people want to be angry at him or hate him for it. He also makes mention of the fact that some people have found personal items if they return to the Chrysalis — in eggs, like the ones they woke up in.
The Hatchlings are given a few days to acclimate, and then they are expected to contribute to the duties around camp. The day-to-day life in Basecamp Leviathan is not glamorous. Repairs are always needing to be done, food is always needing to be made, dishes always needing to be washed. Anyone with specialized skills will probably be snapped up by a division before too long!
A few notes:
Please note: FOR THE FIRST 24 HOURS AFTER 'HATCHING', CHARACTERS WILL FEEL WEAK AND ANY POWERS THEY HAVE WILL NOT WORK.
Test drive meme threads can be considered game canon for players who are later accepted and wish to keep their CR. The Quago prompt will be a TDM-exclusive, though existing players are welcome to use it in the game itself and players are free to use it as canon, but it will not be repeated as part of the hatching. The other prompts that you see here will also appear on our first game log. There will, of course, be more going on that week.
Please reserve questions about altering or meaningfully investigating the setting for the first log of the game, where we will have a Mod Questions thread at the top of the log. That thread will not be present on this test drive meme.
❀ HATCHING
This time, the Adamant's survivors are ready. When the Hatchlings arrive, they are no longer held at gunpoint or the tip of a spear. They are helped up, taken to the showers, given time to clean themselves.
They are still quarantined for a few days — albeit in a more comfortable setting. An area of the Theatre has been set up with emergency bunking and privacy screens. Each bunk has a small bundle of amenities on it — a change of clothing (that may be too big or too small, too fine or too plain, feel free to swap!) and what precious else can be spared, including a small tube of protein paste. Given that the theater doubles as a childcare center for the basecamp, your character may find that any toddler-aged children will stare hungrily at these tubes!
Ensign Ashley Porter flits about this emergency station at all hours, chatting amicably at people. Explaining the situation. He's reasonably certain it's his fault — the entire 'hatching' process seemed to start after he tripped one day and fell into the Central Chrysalis. This disturbance must have triggered the process of pulling in people from other universes. He's terribly sorry and will say he understands if people want to be angry at him or hate him for it. He also makes mention of the fact that some people have found personal items if they return to the Chrysalis — in eggs, like the ones they woke up in.
The Hatchlings are given a few days to acclimate, and then they are expected to contribute to the duties around camp. The day-to-day life in Basecamp Leviathan is not glamorous. Repairs are always needing to be done, food is always needing to be made, dishes always needing to be washed. Anyone with specialized skills will probably be snapped up by a division before too long!
A few notes:
☆ Your character will at some point be pulled aside and asked about where they're from, what year, any personal information they wish to share, etc. This is no longer described as an 'interrogation' as with the first set of Hatchlings. It's now more of a chat. Captain Childe has deferred this duty to her various underlings, and she will likely not make an appearance here unless a Hatchling says or does something very interesting or meaningful.
☆ The NPCs will be as forthcoming about how the Hatchlings have arrived and what they know about the Chrysalis as possible. Unfortunately to both, the answer is 'not much'. They will still try to be transparent about this.
☆ The NPCs will be as forthcoming about how the Hatchlings have arrived and what they know about the Chrysalis as possible. Unfortunately to both, the answer is 'not much'. They will still try to be transparent about this.
❀ EXPLORE THE BASECAMP
The Engineering Corps is always looking for new members who can contribute to some of its long term infrastructure solutions. The head of this department, Thorkil, is a large man with a booming voice who brews moonshine on the side and is the sort of bright, cheerful soul that can light up a room when he enters it. He is friendly with all the Hatchlings unless given a reason to be otherwise, and he is also very patient, gentle and understanding. If your character has demonstrated engineering skills of any coat or color (mechanical? electrical? outdated by hundreds of years? more advanced by a millennium?) please expect that Thorkil will ask if they'd be willing to help out!
The Security Division is headed up by a rather unpleasant man named Rémi. He neither wants nor, in his opinion, needs the help of the Hatchlings, but he's perfectly willing to let them risk their lives instead of the lives of his people where leaving the basecamp is concerned. Little wonder, most of his division has been chewed up and spit out by the harsh conditions on Ethyraia — can one blame him for being a little protective? If anyone asks about helping here, he's going to respond scornfully and dismissively. However, some of the Hatchlings have earned enough of his goodwill that he will consider, consider letting people have a weapon from Security's stores if they're leaving the Basecamp. (Carrying of non-Hatchling weapons is forbidden within the basecamp itself, so please be mindful!)
The Theatre is another venue that one could help out with — there are stories to be told! The current production is a classic, She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. However, after performing this for the thessyx at the talent show, the theater department is moving onto their next show — Procyonate, for which there are many props to build. As the only truly fortified building in the Basecamp, the theatre doubles as a place to care for children (most of the 'young' survivors are between 13-19 now, but babies have been born to the survivors since their crash-landing!) there is also a need for anyone who excels with toddler care. They are also looking for anyone who can sing, write music, or play instruments. Such people will be hastily recruited and put to work!
The Aid Station is being run by a very harried woman named Sunya Hyacinth, who fits the description of 'overworked and underpaid' to a T. She doesn't have time to reach out to any recruits, but if you wander into the Aid Station you might find yourself being put to work. Just be careful — if she decides you have higher accreditation than she does, she might just decide to dump her practice on your lap for a week so she can go take a vacation! Standard injuries you may see include acid burns, broken bones, and bad cuts and gashes out of the engineering department who's hard at work repairing the sink holes around the base. Some of the 'ill' being treated will also have psychological effects. PTSD is common, and there are no officially 'trained' counsellors, just people who try to listen and help.
The Sanitation Department handles a lot of the day-to-day cleaning that involves sewage, garbage, et al. After all, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it! Not only will they take just about anyone, but if they warm up to you they'll let you in on a little secret... they've totally started an underground green house where they're growing some interesting plants...
(pot, it's pot).
The Communications Department is headed up by the AI Cartagena, and helps with disseminating useful information to the population, as well as managing the intranet and its infrastructure. Cartagena will be quick to point out (cheerfully) that they don't get days off and would love for someone else to make announcements once in a while! A small group of the communications department is also hard at work on a distress signal, persevering in the belief that someone will come looking for the wayward Adamant.
The Agriculture department could always use a few new green thumbs around their little hydroponic garden units, and of course the Mess Hall is in dire need of someone who can make ten pounds of questionable protein paste taste palpable...
Otherwise, the daily grind in Ethyraia seems to be fairly... well, grind-y. People wake early to manage their chores in the early hours, everyone breaks during the hot hours of the afternoon to nap or lounge around, sometimes they take in the daily movie at the Theatre, and then it's back to work for the afternoon shift. People generally work from 7 AM to 11 AM, and then have between 11 AM and 3 PM 'off' (with the exception of anyone on KP duty) and then work again until 11 PM. Exceptions are: each person's designated 'days off', or recovery time from injuries/etc. Ideally, the Adamant's survivors will work 4 days and has 3 off in a week, but oftentimes this is cancelled due to need.
While it's not mandatory that the Hatchlings work, those that don't 'pull their weight' so to speak will find themselves being increasingly shunned by the community, and the quality of their rations and their overall care will decrease. There isn't enough to go around on the best days, much less when someone isn't contributing at all!
What goes on at the base for me to engage with?:
What else can I do?:
A few additional notes:
The Security Division is headed up by a rather unpleasant man named Rémi. He neither wants nor, in his opinion, needs the help of the Hatchlings, but he's perfectly willing to let them risk their lives instead of the lives of his people where leaving the basecamp is concerned. Little wonder, most of his division has been chewed up and spit out by the harsh conditions on Ethyraia — can one blame him for being a little protective? If anyone asks about helping here, he's going to respond scornfully and dismissively. However, some of the Hatchlings have earned enough of his goodwill that he will consider, consider letting people have a weapon from Security's stores if they're leaving the Basecamp. (Carrying of non-Hatchling weapons is forbidden within the basecamp itself, so please be mindful!)
The Theatre is another venue that one could help out with — there are stories to be told! The current production is a classic, She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. However, after performing this for the thessyx at the talent show, the theater department is moving onto their next show — Procyonate, for which there are many props to build. As the only truly fortified building in the Basecamp, the theatre doubles as a place to care for children (most of the 'young' survivors are between 13-19 now, but babies have been born to the survivors since their crash-landing!) there is also a need for anyone who excels with toddler care. They are also looking for anyone who can sing, write music, or play instruments. Such people will be hastily recruited and put to work!
The Aid Station is being run by a very harried woman named Sunya Hyacinth, who fits the description of 'overworked and underpaid' to a T. She doesn't have time to reach out to any recruits, but if you wander into the Aid Station you might find yourself being put to work. Just be careful — if she decides you have higher accreditation than she does, she might just decide to dump her practice on your lap for a week so she can go take a vacation! Standard injuries you may see include acid burns, broken bones, and bad cuts and gashes out of the engineering department who's hard at work repairing the sink holes around the base. Some of the 'ill' being treated will also have psychological effects. PTSD is common, and there are no officially 'trained' counsellors, just people who try to listen and help.
The Sanitation Department handles a lot of the day-to-day cleaning that involves sewage, garbage, et al. After all, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it! Not only will they take just about anyone, but if they warm up to you they'll let you in on a little secret... they've totally started an underground green house where they're growing some interesting plants...
(pot, it's pot).
The Communications Department is headed up by the AI Cartagena, and helps with disseminating useful information to the population, as well as managing the intranet and its infrastructure. Cartagena will be quick to point out (cheerfully) that they don't get days off and would love for someone else to make announcements once in a while! A small group of the communications department is also hard at work on a distress signal, persevering in the belief that someone will come looking for the wayward Adamant.
The Agriculture department could always use a few new green thumbs around their little hydroponic garden units, and of course the Mess Hall is in dire need of someone who can make ten pounds of questionable protein paste taste palpable...
Otherwise, the daily grind in Ethyraia seems to be fairly... well, grind-y. People wake early to manage their chores in the early hours, everyone breaks during the hot hours of the afternoon to nap or lounge around, sometimes they take in the daily movie at the Theatre, and then it's back to work for the afternoon shift. People generally work from 7 AM to 11 AM, and then have between 11 AM and 3 PM 'off' (with the exception of anyone on KP duty) and then work again until 11 PM. Exceptions are: each person's designated 'days off', or recovery time from injuries/etc. Ideally, the Adamant's survivors will work 4 days and has 3 off in a week, but oftentimes this is cancelled due to need.
While it's not mandatory that the Hatchlings work, those that don't 'pull their weight' so to speak will find themselves being increasingly shunned by the community, and the quality of their rations and their overall care will decrease. There isn't enough to go around on the best days, much less when someone isn't contributing at all!
What goes on at the base for me to engage with?:
You are free to invent NPCs to have (minor) antagonistic clashes with, or who can flag down your character to assist with something, or who you can have to help 'rescue' on a mission outside the Leviathan. We want to give players as much freedom as we can within the structure of the game, and we would rather people not feel limited.
What else can I do?:
There is no one keeping your character physically at the Basecamp! If they would like to leave and go exploring on their own, that is perfectly welcome. For the sake of the TDM, we would ask that anyone choosing this option refrain from asking us any in-depth questions — we will happily collaborate with people once they're in the game.
A few additional notes:
☆ If your character leaves the basecamp and wanders outside the Leviathan, they may begin to notice that what they perhaps took as a giant cave is actually an enormous dragon. Everything they see that seems 'human made' will look varying levels of worn down, patched, repaired and patched again. This is not a place of prosperity and happiness. Many people are recently injured, or have new scars or missing limbs.
☆ While mods will not be facilitating exploration beyond the basecamp at this time, characters are welcome to take on any number of missions, such as rescuing civilians, gathering supplies or travelling to the furthest 'mapped out' areas to try and chart the lands. If you would like to use any of these prompts or can think of anything else you'd like to do, feel free! If you app into the game and would like to use any of these threads as 'canon', please just let us know so we can include or incorporate any details into our overall worldbuilding! (Or work with you to tweak some details to suit!)
☆ If you think your character wouldn't be interested in helping or pitching in, that's fine! However, please be aware of the consequences that will follow — a decrease in NPC esteem, support, etc. The NPCs understand that the Hatchlings didn't ask to be here, but they simply do not have the resources or manpower to accommodate for anyone who doesn't want to work or assist in engaging with local infrastructure. Your character will not be ICly ousted from the basecamp, but they will experience a poorer quality of food and little social engagement from the NPCs. Even Captain Childe picks up a trenching tool with the best of them!
☆ While mods will not be facilitating exploration beyond the basecamp at this time, characters are welcome to take on any number of missions, such as rescuing civilians, gathering supplies or travelling to the furthest 'mapped out' areas to try and chart the lands. If you would like to use any of these prompts or can think of anything else you'd like to do, feel free! If you app into the game and would like to use any of these threads as 'canon', please just let us know so we can include or incorporate any details into our overall worldbuilding! (Or work with you to tweak some details to suit!)
☆ If you think your character wouldn't be interested in helping or pitching in, that's fine! However, please be aware of the consequences that will follow — a decrease in NPC esteem, support, etc. The NPCs understand that the Hatchlings didn't ask to be here, but they simply do not have the resources or manpower to accommodate for anyone who doesn't want to work or assist in engaging with local infrastructure. Your character will not be ICly ousted from the basecamp, but they will experience a poorer quality of food and little social engagement from the NPCs. Even Captain Childe picks up a trenching tool with the best of them!
❀ THE QUAGO
One day, a patrol team brings back a small potted plant in a containment jar. It seems rather innocuous at first, and one of the more science-minded survivors sets it aside to study it. Unfortunately for the intrepid habitants of the Basecamp Leviathan, this was the equivalent of cradle robbing! This plant is the young form of a creature known as a Quago, which is a large, semi-sentient creature with myriad tendrils and no fixed roots. It's something of a flora/fauna hybrid, and it's here for its baby!
This creature releases spores into Basecamp that, for the most part, will put people to sleep. However, some people have... different reactions. It can also cause: hallucinations, itchy rashes, feelings of thirst, lightheadedness and, perhaps counter-intuitively, insomnia. The hallucinations can range from 'acid trip' to 'that dream I once had about riding Falcor'. Not everyone will be affected — some people might have natural immunity from this strange creature.
Concern around the basecamp run high: are the conditions caused by something in the food? Is this a new Ethyraia-native illness? None of those infected seem to improve on their own. The Agricultural department is particularly on high alert until, after two days, someone notices that those that are affected can be roused by... chocolate?
Vidar and Cal Kestis, in the month prior, found a box of rare rations aboard the wreck of the Adamant. They brought this box back and opted to share it among the Survivors, and one of the items happened to be hot chocolate powder. A little sprinkle of it under the tongue of anyone sleeping, hallucinating or otherwise experiencing symptoms of the spores will find themselves returned to normalcy in a handful of minutes.
(They could also drink hot chocolate, but where's the fun in that?)
The Quago will come into the basecamp, steal its plant child and flee back to nature. It will not harm or attack anyone, but the effects of its spores will linger for one week. Those sleeping will seem almost to be in a state of suspended animation, and do not need to be tended.
Can my character fight the Quaggo? How big is it? What does it look like?
Can my character experience more than one effect of it throughout these three days?
FETCH QUEST
Once characters realize that it's chocolate that makes the difference, a singular prospect looms. There is nothing native to Ethyraia that produces chocolate — so the only hope is to travel back to the Adamant and search through its wreckage for another such box.
Luckily, Cal and Vidar have already done a great deal of work! They've cleared a previously blocked-off area of the wreck, and the route to an old storage area of the Adamant is now traversable. Any character cogent enough or immune to the spores will be able to make the trip. However, given the scorching heat and the intermittent acid rain, we would ask that a 'baseline' character (ie: someone without super speed or a vehicle/pet of some sort they arrived with from home) take roughly 2-3 days to make this round trip.
There's a possibility there could be more luxury items such as chocolate undisturbed in the Adamant for the past three years. For those who make the trip, feel free to find one small luxury item that your character can hold onto in addition to the other goods they bring back for the basecamp as a whole.
The wreckage of the Adamant is empty and overgrown. Most of the bodies have been moved out of the crash in the interest of burying them properly, but there are some that were caught in areas that were simply unreachable or unstable, so the ship is rank with death. Any of the plants listed in our herbiary may be found inside the wreckage, and players may engage with any of their myriad effects (or, if you're an existing player, feel free to add more!). There is no internal power to the Adamant, so even the emergency lighting on the floors will be out.
Can my character make a side-trip while at the Adamant crash site?
This creature releases spores into Basecamp that, for the most part, will put people to sleep. However, some people have... different reactions. It can also cause: hallucinations, itchy rashes, feelings of thirst, lightheadedness and, perhaps counter-intuitively, insomnia. The hallucinations can range from 'acid trip' to 'that dream I once had about riding Falcor'. Not everyone will be affected — some people might have natural immunity from this strange creature.
Concern around the basecamp run high: are the conditions caused by something in the food? Is this a new Ethyraia-native illness? None of those infected seem to improve on their own. The Agricultural department is particularly on high alert until, after two days, someone notices that those that are affected can be roused by... chocolate?
Vidar and Cal Kestis, in the month prior, found a box of rare rations aboard the wreck of the Adamant. They brought this box back and opted to share it among the Survivors, and one of the items happened to be hot chocolate powder. A little sprinkle of it under the tongue of anyone sleeping, hallucinating or otherwise experiencing symptoms of the spores will find themselves returned to normalcy in a handful of minutes.
(They could also drink hot chocolate, but where's the fun in that?)
The Quago will come into the basecamp, steal its plant child and flee back to nature. It will not harm or attack anyone, but the effects of its spores will linger for one week. Those sleeping will seem almost to be in a state of suspended animation, and do not need to be tended.
Can my character fight the Quaggo? How big is it? What does it look like?
Your character will likely not notice the Quaggo unless they are one of the very rare people immune to its effects. It is not hostile or violent, and killing it will not cure the symptoms of those affected. Could you kill it? Yes, but then you'd have to live with the guilt!
It is approximately the size of a VW minibus (minibus for scale!) though perhaps a little taller. It is mostly a tangled nimbus of vines and bracken around a central 'nucleus'. Imagine a giant, sci-fi tumbleweed with a disturbing amount of sentience.
It is approximately the size of a VW minibus (minibus for scale!) though perhaps a little taller. It is mostly a tangled nimbus of vines and bracken around a central 'nucleus'. Imagine a giant, sci-fi tumbleweed with a disturbing amount of sentience.
Can my character experience more than one effect of it throughout these three days?
Yes! You are free to mix and match the symptoms as you desire. Feel free to be creative! Your character could be an itchy insomniac, or hallucinate Spongebob LARP while being very thirsty... or any other combo you can imagine!
FETCH QUEST
Once characters realize that it's chocolate that makes the difference, a singular prospect looms. There is nothing native to Ethyraia that produces chocolate — so the only hope is to travel back to the Adamant and search through its wreckage for another such box.
Luckily, Cal and Vidar have already done a great deal of work! They've cleared a previously blocked-off area of the wreck, and the route to an old storage area of the Adamant is now traversable. Any character cogent enough or immune to the spores will be able to make the trip. However, given the scorching heat and the intermittent acid rain, we would ask that a 'baseline' character (ie: someone without super speed or a vehicle/pet of some sort they arrived with from home) take roughly 2-3 days to make this round trip.
There's a possibility there could be more luxury items such as chocolate undisturbed in the Adamant for the past three years. For those who make the trip, feel free to find one small luxury item that your character can hold onto in addition to the other goods they bring back for the basecamp as a whole.
The wreckage of the Adamant is empty and overgrown. Most of the bodies have been moved out of the crash in the interest of burying them properly, but there are some that were caught in areas that were simply unreachable or unstable, so the ship is rank with death. Any of the plants listed in our herbiary may be found inside the wreckage, and players may engage with any of their myriad effects (or, if you're an existing player, feel free to add more!). There is no internal power to the Adamant, so even the emergency lighting on the floors will be out.
Can my character make a side-trip while at the Adamant crash site?
At this time we will not be facilitating further in-depth exploration prompts of the Adamant.
❀ NETWORK
Oh! Look! There are more of you.
YOU may refer to
(1) Hatchlings;
(2) Children of the Leviathan,
depending on your cultural and religious background.
Hello and welcome! My name is Cartagena. As you will be responsible for one another's, and the former crew and passengers of the Adamant's, survival, it is in our best interests to get to know one another.
I have prepared some questions:
If you could be anywhere else right now, where would you go, what would you bring with you, and why?
Oh. Oh dear. That one isn't really ideal, is it? Just a moment. I will find a better one.
If you won the lottery*, what would you do with the money?
*LOTTERY may refer to a means of raising money by selling numbered tickets and giving prizes to the holders of numbers drawn at random.
A few notes:
YOU may refer to
(1) Hatchlings;
(2) Children of the Leviathan,
depending on your cultural and religious background.
Hello and welcome! My name is Cartagena. As you will be responsible for one another's, and the former crew and passengers of the Adamant's, survival, it is in our best interests to get to know one another.
I have prepared some questions:
If you could be anywhere else right now, where would you go, what would you bring with you, and why?
Oh. Oh dear. That one isn't really ideal, is it? Just a moment. I will find a better one.
If you won the lottery*, what would you do with the money?
*LOTTERY may refer to a means of raising money by selling numbered tickets and giving prizes to the holders of numbers drawn at random.
A few notes:
☆ Characters may choose their own network usernames.
no subject
jep sounds sure, and laura winces as the paste smears over the half-ring of dug in small teeth wounds, but the pain does something too. just a sting, enough to make her suck in a sharp breath. it's like a stutter, a brief break where she looks at him, and she looks at the room, and she knows clearly that this doesn't make sense.
it's only a moment, but it's enough to steady her breathing down to something approaching normal, and she nods a little too fast. )
Yeah. Yes, I trust you. What is happening?
no subject
( it's a simple answer. enough, he thinks, to get the point across. he hasn't looked into it deeply enough to locate its source yet, but he is deeply curious. he always is when it concerns poisons, deadly or otherwise. but with laura here, any plans to investigate further has been stalled.
he stands first before he extends his hand out for her to take. )
Come out. We're going to the showers.
no subject
but laura wasn't lying when she said that she trusts jep. his logic makes more sense than her irrational fear, so she takes his hand and pulls herself up with it. and once she's upright, she only holds on tighter. )
That makes sense. ( she breathes out slowly, a very measured exhale, followed by an equally slow inhale, and then she looks around the room. there's nothing there. of course there's nothing there, even if there's something needling at her that says it must be just out of sight. ) Let's go. Quickly.
( just in case. )
no subject
she needs to wash off whatever particles remain lingering on her body and her clothes first; then he'll take her to the aid station to do a more thorough checkup. he doesn't believe whatever is currently infecting the camp to be highly lethal or dangerous, but he can't be certain of its lasting effects.
without access to the original source, he can only observe and speculate for now.
his gaze lowers to their clasped hands, but he doesn't pull away even as she tightens her grip. instead, he starts to lead her towards the showers. )
Have you seen any of the others? ( time to distract. ) I thought I was alone.
no subject
( laura, admittedly, hadn't worked hard to find anyone else. she wasn't sure whether the preferred answer was to find them all here, people she'd already worked hard to start to trust, or to know that for better or worse, at least they were still in an environment that they understood, back home.
it's the kind of thing that seemed too big to answer right away, so laura didn't. she just stuck her head down and worked — and got dosed by toxins in the air, apparently. real smart. she keeps her head down now, too, follows close. she still can't shake the lingering panic stuck in her throat that they're very imminently about to die horrible, but at least it's shifted into a less specific focus than the judge breathing down their necks. )
Do you think they think that we've caught? Back at camp.
no subject
They might think you've been captured. I don't think they would have noticed that I've disappeared as well. ( he dips his chin, regarding her. ) I'm not as important. ( but with that said, he's pretty sure that none of them would do anything about it — none of them could do anything about it. they would just have to carry on. that was the unspoken rule, after all. but he is kind enough not to point it out to her. not when she's in her current state. )
Showers are up ahead. ( fortunately, it's past rush hour for their usage — or maybe everyone is just far too gone from the toxins by now to worry about cleanliness — so no lines await them. he pulls her into the men's, ushering her into the first stall. then wordlessly, he reaches behind her to turn on the cold water before taking a quick step back out to avoid the spray of water. ) Wash thoroughly. ( he draws the curtains on her, turns his back and waits. )
no subject
( whatever laura thinks is lost to the void, because in the time it's taken her to mull over the response that was probably going to be very thoughtful, she's in the shower and the cold water has kicked in.
her initial response is to let out a stream of loud curses, because cold water might be normal for them but the shock never really goes away. if the desired effect is to surprise the panic out of her, it's pretty effective. it's hard to entertain hallucinations when you're busy trying to rapidly strip off a soaking wet shirt before the chill sets into your bones. )
Oh my God, oh my God— ( she goes on like this for a minute, without much of a break between words, but most of it is chattered nonsense, until: ) Is there a towel?
no subject
it doesn't actually bother him, so there's no need to spare his feelings with kind words and considerations.
arms crossed against his chest, he listens to her exclamations with an amused smile on his face, one that she thankfully can't see. he unfurls his arms at her subsequent question as he starts to remove his black coat. )
No. ( without looking behind him, he extends his arm back, offering her his jacket. ) Cover yourself up with this for now. Do you have a change of clothes somewhere? We can go get them first.
no subject
I have a stash.
( admittedly it's a very limited stash — actually, it's just a second set of clothes as ill-fitting as the first, but stash sounds a little cooler. she's still--anxious, high strung and paranoid in a way that laura normally isn't, but she's doing her best to focus on the provable, and not the jittering adrenaline still shaking through her. real: she is cold. real: jep is talking to her. real: she hid clothes in a weird corner of the bunks. )
Up this way. I still can't find a belt, though.
no subject
Do you need one?