[OTA] Feb/March events!

[claritatis]

Who: Ignis Scientia (claritatis), Julie Grigio Cabernet (redwinekindofgirl) and Nil (atravellerwithabow).
What: Top levels for the Feb and March events, as and when required.
Where: In the city, outside the city, wherever.
When: Feb/March for the duration of the Kiss Me Kill Me/Field Trip/Flu Season events.
Warnings: Nil.

((ooc: anything welcome! bring me your travellers, people being chased by monsters, anyone needing help, sandstorms, anything at all c: ))

Comments

[claritatis]

I've seen it.

[It's difficult to miss, and he's seen it more than once in the more recent waves of arrivals while he's been monitoring the coliseum as part of the Guard. Different colours, but the style is always easy to place. They're usually the ones who don't need any help getting out of the situation they've suddenly found themselves in.

Ignis shifts his weight from one foot to the other, making a small gesture to the photograph.]

These items have been dropping all over Hadriel, in the vicinity of people they don't belong to. Picking them up would seem to provoke a brief vision through the eyes of the owner. [He pauses, just to let that sink in, then adds-]

That was how I found you here. Not that you made it easy for me.

[uptightness]

[Wash, is where her mind goes. Even when she had first arrived, it had been his armour that others had been familiar with. Tech like this doesn't seem that common here anyway, which is why she keeps her close.

There is indeed a minute reaction when he speaks of brief visions, and that could have certainly been worse. Not that she really does anything too big, but there are some things that Carolina likes to keep private. Cleaning her armour doesn't exactly fall under that.]

If you put it down and pick it up again? Do you get another?

[Not that she is certain whether he has an answer for that, but it would be interesting to see.

If there is one thing about all of it, it is that it hadn't been easy. Perhaps he wasn't that impressed with it, but Carolina does still have some issues with this place. Given what she has learned, she doesn't exactly want to be a point on a map, preferring to keep their location to themselves, at least as much as they can.]

I... can't exactly say I'm upset about that fact, but thank you for bringing it. It... is a memento from long ago.

[claritatis]

I couldn't say. I try to pry as little as possible.

[And later, when he finds something belonging to a certain acquaintance, he'll know right away that he doesn't wish to touch it at all. Yet, he will, only to confirm his suspicions about the owner of it.]

But you're welcome. I'd say this is one of the more harmless tricks Hadriel has played on us.

[Getting a brief flash of someone's day through their eyes? It could so rarely cause more harm than embarrassment.]

[uptightness]

[A good answer, and one that Carolina can respect. She isn't one to do that either, unless it is relevant to her in some way. Then she will pry.]

Oh? What are some of the others.

[Although she's not going to press if he's not going to share. She has learned some about this place, but mostly the mechanics, and the history with the Null. Other things she has yet to investigate more completely yet.]

[claritatis]

[She can't have been here terribly long, he thinks, if she can ask a question like that in earnest. He does observe her for a few moments, though as if testing that hypothesis with the pause in speech.

Some of the others? Well, then.]

One of my first experiences on arriving here was having my entire life overlaid with memories of another which was not mine, along with everyone else here. We lived quite obliviously in this manner until several of us began to realise that something was amiss.

[uptightness]

[He's hit the hammer on the nail with that one. In the grand scheme of things, she hasn't been here long. She's been pushing herself to learn as much as she can, but there are only so many hours in a day, and even if she'd like to say she doesn't, she does need sleep.

She leans forward a little, a keen interest on her face as he spoke. It... does seem a little fat fetched, is her first thought, but at the same time, just looking back since she's arrived, why not? It's a reality that she's coming to understand, this place.]

So, it just faded away once you started to question it?

[Or scarier, how could they know what was truly real?]

[claritatis]

I'm afraid it wasn't as simple as that. It would have been far better if it was.

[Many good things had come out of that particular event, though they had taken their time in developing, but it is still something that he would much rather not repeat.]

When we began to notice, it start to turn against us.

[uptightness]

[What? Are you just going to leave her hanging now? She gives him a look.]

Turned against you, how?

[Carolina can think up any number of ways that could happen, although the truth might be something that is even more far fetched. This place seems to run on its own rules, after all.]

[claritatis]

[Don't give him that look, Carolina. He meets her eyes unflinchingly, one eyebrow lifting up a little.]

Reality seeping through. It could be enough to drive anyone mad through questioning it. [All in all, it could have been worse.]

When it was over, we were still left with the false memories, to some extent.

[uptightness]

[Hey. The look usually works. It gets results.

And it's no different now, as she does get an answer... Although the corner of her mouth might shift a little. There was a time when she would have threatened violence to anyone who didn't fall in line.

She might still, sometimes, although it's all bark and no bite.]

But you can differentiate between which ones are false now and which ones are true? Or is it just the memory of the memory that remains?

[claritatis]

[In Ignis' case, threatening violence is most certainly the path of most resistance. He's a stubborn man, on his best days.

As it is, though, he has nothing to hide here. It's only the difficulty that comes with explaining such a series of events that possibly comes across as reluctance.]

Some things were easy to dismiss. It felt more like a dream than reality. I personally found the more routine things to be more difficult to forget. Time spent with people that never truly happened.

[uptightness]

[She doesn't know whether anything like that will happen again. No doubt there are those who would likely write it off and continue on with life. That's not her. She's got to poke and prod, to understand, as maybe that will come in handy in the future.

She nods at the question, satisfied with the answer. Bringing the photo back had earned him some measure from her. Others could well have just tossed it aside and continued on their way.]

Thanks. I just like to be prepared.