revivalproject | Lurking Shadows

Entry tags:

Lurking Shadows

WHO: Celty, Open!
WHERE: Around Temba
WHAT: Another new...face?
WHEN: This week
WARNINGS: N/A

Around Temba
There's no warning, other than the light crunch of gravel beneath tire treads, or the scattering of loose stone and dust from a tight turn. And yet there it is, a black motorcycle speeding around the wider avenues of the ruined city. There's no growl of an engine that those familiar with such models would expect, and yet it can't simply be powered by gravitational momentum as there are obvious times it speeds up or slows down.

Its rider is difficult to discern given they're likewise dressed in black, a full bodysuit and gloves to match. The brightest thing is the yellow helmet with its blue trim, with molded cat ears and a dark visor. Where they're going is anyone's guess, but if there's someone out on the road or somewhere nearby, they'll make a stop.

SPACESHIP?!
I've been kidnapped by aliens.

She's been trying to deny this as fact ever since she'd touched that horrible glowing ball thing at the fountain, but even then it had been a slippery uphill battle. And now she's found her way to the hangar, filled with actual spaceships. In her thoughts she might be screaming, just a little bit.

Slowly, hesitantly, the helmeted rider walks her motorcycle along towards one of the closest shuttles, the Starduck. Maybe they're just...movie set props? Yes! They've gotten really good at models! That's all this is! Wariness bleeds away from her shoulders at this prospect, and she steps over to the hull to run a hand over its surface.

Eeeh. It's...very solid for a set piece, she notes, pulling her hand away. That hesitancy has returned as she starts to circle around it, and she just about jumps when the shuttle opens up as she nears its hatch. Shoulders hunched, she backs away hurriedly with her bike, looking on the verge of panicking.

No way! It's not real! Aaah, why did it open up?? Are there aliens inside?!

All the while she's silent, her thoughts a nervous swirl as she edges back a little more, looking just about ready to vault onto her motorcycle and speed away for whatever reason.

Network - Text

I found this device when I arrived. If it belongs to someone, I'll return it. It's a lot different than what I've used before.

I seem to be missing my phone, but I guess it probably wouldn't work here anyway. Still, it's important...

Is anyone else here? I really hope the alien thing is a joke.

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She supposed he had a point. Them being on an alien planet made them aliens themselves too, didn't it? Not those creepy gray-skinned ones, but just non-local to...wherever in space this was.

Why Celty hadn't considered that it wasn't just Earth that might have had people abducted was not something she knew the reason for, but then she was prone to neglecting sometimes obvious things, especially her own uniqueness. The suggestion that even time was a factor to be played with here, let alone other dimensionshowever was something she had not thought of at all. This new point made her slowly cringe like she might be suffering from a growing migraine, her helmeted head sinking into gloved hands that she ran across her face. She remained this way for a good few seconds before she grasped her tablet again.

[This is too much...]

The teasing in Tony's expression softened into something more apologetic as it became clear that Celty was really struggling, and Tony might have already taken her to a breaking point that was dangerously close to tears. That was not the way he wanted to get that helmet off of her, and that was not going to be a tender spot that was easy to manage if they left it untreated. He went, "Hey," and reached across the table to nudge the tablet down and offer both of his hands for her to take in trust that he could fix this problem. Maybe not the big problem they were both in just yet, that took a lot of trust, but at least the one he had just made for her. Softly, he said, "You already knew most of this. You already knew there are stars out there, part of systems and galaxies so inconceivably far away but burning bright enough that we can take photos of them from our backyard. You knew that time is not static, and you know eventually you'll move with it into a future, and if a future exists then so does a past and both of them must be tangible. All you didn't know yet was that you were going to get to see these beautiful things, that there was some way to go to these wonderful places, and that in one of them you were going to get to meet me." His disarming grin returned to conclude, "Aren't you lucky?"

The tablet left her fingers with little effort, the hands that were held out in place of it stared at for a moment before she lowered her own to grasp them. It was a connection, a physical tether to whatever reality this was, and one she desperately needed.

I never thought much of any of it past how distant and immense it all was, she thought, reflecting on those times she'd glimpse the night skies, or on those rare occasions that found her outside of the big, bright cities, up on some hill or country road to look up at a starry sky so vast she thought she could get swallowed up. It was beautiful, it was scary. Scarier, perhaps, being in a place that proved a beyond farther than the Earth she felt she was only barely beginning to understand.

I've moved on from the past... But it was true she couldn't deny she had one despite the future she'd embraced. She'd just spent so long chasing the past, if fruitlessly so. Maybe they were so far away from where those times mattered that it all blurred, way out here. It probably wasn't how it worked, but it made a little more sense to her somehow, that way.

Celty leveled a look at Tony at his slick conclusion. Wait, really..?

All that and he circled it right back to making it an astounding pick-up line. Unbelievable. And yet it was what broke that tension, the stress of an unknown, overwhelming situation. Her helmeted head lowered again, shoulders once again shaking in a silent but unmistakable laugh.

Tony still hadn't quite figured out what the shaking shoulders meant yet, and for a horrible moment thought he had made it worse, mouth open and ready to apologize until he processed her whole posture and chuckled in return, mostly in relief. He folded his arms back to prop his head in one hand, tilted coquettishly with that fangy smirk to ask, "That one wasn't bad, huh? Don't worry, I've got a ton of 'em, we can keep this going all night. This isn't the worst place you could have ended up."

Pulling back her hands, Celty leaned back against her seat with a silent sigh. She picked up her tablet again, tapping at the screen.

[That was pretty smooth, I'll admit. I guess if you can still say such things then it can't be so terrible a place. Anyone I should watch out for aside from you?]

She mirrored his position, holding up the tablet in her free hand to show she was mostly joking.

With another laugh, Tony touched his free hand to his chest like he was scandalized by this accusation, then pointed his thumb in the vague direction of the hotel to report, "Lark can get pretty dangerous with a little encouragement. She's probably home if you want to go find out." Who exactly was likely to flirt with Celty was more of a fun surprise for her to discover than anything she needed warning about, though, so Tony let the bit go with a shrug of one shoulder and hand flat on the table, levelling for seriousness. "She'll look out for you, too, if you need help. Most people will, I think--we've got a shared problem here, it's not in anyone's best interest to make enemies." That didn't mean there weren't things to watch out for. With a deep breath, Tony started carefully, "There's a gal you'll like, got the ears," and gestured with a flat hand against his head to indicate the cat ears that he assumed would be endearing to Celty, "and she's--great, little wild, just a kid, so--but there's something going on with her right now, you should probably keep your distance until we figure it out." That was vague, but Tony really didn't have the answers yet, and didn't want whatever this thing was getting worse before it got better. More optimistically, "But, if you want to know more about what might be going on, you want to look for a guy with a metal arm. Says he doesn't have a name. Makes himself hard to find, so think of it like a scavenger hunt. He's tangled with some of these things before."

She mentally filed Lark's name as someone to be careful of, casting a glance after Tony's gesture towards whatever direction this woman was to be found, her head shaking as she wasn't too inclined to want to find out what he meant, not immediately anyway.

[No names for the others? The...cat ears? And the metal arm?]

Although Tony's explanation of the man with the metal arm didn't really say much by way of what it was she would be finding out more about if she sought this person out. Regardless, it was beginning to sound like quite the assortment of characters that she supposed it would be easiest to just treat it like being back in Ikebukurou. That this situation was a shared problem did make it more reasonable for people to be willing to look out for each other at least.

"Catra," Tony allowed, with an aborted gesture to form the ears again--Celty got it--and gave a shake of his head to suggest that was the closest she should get again. Even if whatever was going on with Catra wasn't dangerous, it would probably be unmanageably confusing for someone still getting their footing with the concept of aliens. "And the guy, he'll tell you to call him Soldier, if he tells you anything at all. He's not as scary as he sounds. There's some comic books in the library, over there," he continued, with another vague point of his thumb, "that he probably shows up in looking very adorable, but don't tell him you know that."

Celty was too busy processing the fact that there was potentially an actual cat-girl around. She knew a few people who'd be absolutely ecstatic at the prospect. ...probably better the otaku weren't here.

A library...with comics? That apparently had this Soldier guy in them. This was starting to get confusing again, but she decided it wouldn't hurt to have a look. As Tony spoke, she pulled up the map to get a better idea of where the library was that he was pointing out.

[Are you in any of them?]

Tony gave a snort like that was a ridiculous question, then suggested, "You'll have to ask the librarian." He might not have been keeping much of a library, but if Celty got talking to Jon, he could probably fill her in on the rest of the parties of note and the conflict as they understood it. And where the comics came from. "Try not to ask him open ended questions, though, until you get yourself a night light."

That just earned Tony another confused tilt of the helmet.

[Someone else to be careful of?]

She supposed that was a general rule for any place. At least she felt she could take care of herself, more or less. Tony could probably provide her dossiers of everyone but Celty knew she'd just have to find out for herself when it came to the others.

[Anything else?]

"Something like that," Tony smirked, clearly delighted by this interpretation. He wouldn't deliberately send her into a dangerous situation, would he? He warned her about Catra and everything. He didn't seem to be as readily forthcoming about anyone in particular, though, as he was about what their utility to Celty might be.

He leaned back in his seat, tapping his chin thoughtfully like he really had to consider what else he could help her with and there wasn't about a million things she had to come to terms with very quickly. He really hadn't got much from her during this conversation, but the covered face made her incredibly hard to read and the pressure points he did find so far were not the useful kind. "Drop by for a game of tennis some time," he eventually said, failing at maintaining a straight face and grinning as he tossed his head in the direction of the gym, like the aliens, the storms, the multidimensional powers, and all of the strange creatures she could encounter on this undead planet were all secondary concerns.

Again he was met with a silent stare before Celty eventually gave another headshake. The man was amusing, she'd give him that. She was rather glad that he turned out to be pleasant and not some scary guy in armor who chased motorcyclists down for fun.

[Anyway, thank you for the information. I think I have a lot to soak in.]

Tony accepted this thanks most graciously with a sarcastic bow of his head and flourish of one hand, merely a player in Celty's service, only to go back to languidly sipping his coffee and happy to have had the excuse to do so. It was incredibly casual, a farewell and an afterthought to tuck away in the back of her mind, when Tony went, "If you need help soaking, it would be my pleasure to show you the hot springs," only then flashing his dangerous smirk.

[You're almost as bad as my roommate.]

There was some unmistakable flourish to those final keystrokes before she flipped the tablet about, holding it out long enough for Tony to read before she rose from the table. She slipped the device back into her pocket, her departing gesture somewhere between a salute and a wave before she turned to walk back towards the door.

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Lurking Shadows

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