this ship is taking me far away [open]

[zohvin]

Characters: Zovhin, Antarcticite, and you!
Date: Latter half of October
Location: The Dreaming Bridge and within Aifaran
Situation: Zohvin's just arrived and he's pretty sure he wandered into the wrong galaxy.
Warnings/Rating: Nothing yet!


A. Arrival (Open)
Like many other Dreamfolk, on his arrival Zohvin was dropped him in the middle of the city for seemingly no rhyme or reason. He came back to awareness in the alley behind a building, and stepped out to find that not only was the landscape different, so were the people around him. One of the resident aliens directed him to the Dreaming Bridge, and off he went, a blue-skinned man in an Imperial uniform with a slight strain in his expression and a pace a bit too quick to be casual.

However he had gotten here, no one he knew would've been inclined to just dump him on a strange planet with no warning. This was either a reprieve or an imprisonment, and the sooner he found out which it was, the better.

Once Zohvin arrives at the Dreaming Bridge, he spends a good amount of time pestering a couple of the staff members, not only about basic questions but also regarding things like the name of the galaxy, interstellar communication, and the year relative to events they had never heard of. It takes a while, but he eventually gives up on getting more answers and takes some time to look around the Bridge.


B. Breakwater #8 (for Antarcticite)
Once Zohvin arrives at the room he's been assigned, he stops in the doorway, looking suspiciously around the room. There were three beds here.

This wasn't terrible, no, but it wasn't ideal. He hadn't shared a room with strangers since he was a youngling. (There was Vacarius, of course, but those circumstances were different and he hadn't been a stranger by then). Needless to say, Zohvin didn't like the idea of having so little privacy here, but did he have a choice? He was here with no credits on a planet that didn't even use credits as currency.

While he had the place to himself, Zohvin started to snoop - first just in the closets and drawers, but then he increasingly began to look under the beds and behind the furniture. He was looking for bugs, sensors, or listening equipment, and while that might've seemed like paranoia to anyone else, he had already experienced being monitored on a regular basis. Zohvin much preferred to know when it was happening.


C. Out Around Town (Open)
There was some kind of festival going on, that much was obvious. After some time spent orienting himself in the Bridge, Zohvin ventures back out into Aifaran, mostly intending on learning this way around.

Instead, he finds himself often distracted by all the signs of festivity on display. There's outdoor stalls of all kinds and many other businesses who are spilling out their doors and onto the street to entice customers. There's colorful lanterns all over the place, too, and a few times he saw short little aliens with heads much like the food on display. So much to take in was a little overwhelming, but at least he hadn't woken up in the middle of a swamp, or in a jail cell. Matters could be much, much worse.

It's as he's passing by another storefront with an open door that a person outside of it presses a free sample into his hands. Zohvin doesn't unwrap it until he's a few paces away from the store, finding a cube of candy with a consistency a little more firm than gelatin, in a bright cheerful pink. He sniffs it before taking a small bite, almost shocked at how sweet and creamy it is on his tongue. He pops the rest of the candy in his mouth without a second thought, his expression almost blissful.

Comments

B

[acicular]

One of those beds, upon closer inspection, is not a traditional bed at all. It more closely resembles a basin for containing water, in spite of the pillow and blankets nestled within it. And when its owner pauses in the doorway to the room, they cast a slim shadow across the floor.

Petite and prim-looking though they may be, Antarcticite's eyes quickly widen at the sight of a complete stranger snooping around near their bed. They step towards him, glaring with indignation enough to rival a miffed school prefect, and demand, "What are you doing?"

[zohvin]

That 'bed' was an oddity, considering the other accommodations here, but Zohvin didn't bother to stop and think about what it was doing there. It's not until he hears footsteps that he straightens up in a hurry, but not fast enough to keep himself from getting caught. And caught by a... was their hair glistening? There were just too many new aliens here for him to keep up with.

"I dropped one of these strange coins they use here," he said smoothly, "But it seems to have rolled right into a black hole. This is exactly why no one else likes using physical currency." Zohvin didn't pause to give them much time to think about what he said, instead quickly following that up with asking, "Do you live here? I noticed we're supposed to share these rooms."

[acicular]

Antarcticite has not had enough negative experiences with other Dreamfolk, or indeed any folk at all, to have developed much in the way of intuition regarding their peers. And so when Zohvin states that he’s looking for a coin, they have no reason to disbelieve him. The indignation and suspicion disappears from their features, replaced instead by curiosity. “Oh,” they start, and open their mouth to offer more assistance--but then Zohvin speaks right over them, and the topic is more or less forgotten.

”Do you live here? I noticed we’re supposed to share these rooms.”

“I do.” Unfortunately, they could add, but they do not; their previous roommate and his odd proclivity for messy foodstuffs was gone, and so they have little reason to complain. Antarcticite takes a step further into the room and carefully removes the light jacket that has been issued to him by the Sentry. “Though I am often working. That is where I sleep.” They nod to the peculiar basin.

[zohvin]

"I wondered if that was a bed," he admitted, watching how Antarcticite moved with little pretense of trying to disguise his own curiosity. Perhaps they were humanoid in shape, but the more Zohvin observed the more it seemed obvious that their 'skin' was quite hard, if not the rest of them as well. Here was a being that you probably didn't want to throw a punch at, not that he had any intention of doing so. Though Zohvin wasn't eager to share a room, he also wasn't eager to start making enemies.

"It looks like I'll be taking one of the other beds, then. I was assigned to this room just a short while ago. You can call me Zohvin." That introduction out of the way, he moved to sit on the edge of one of the unoccupied beds, his full attention still on his roommate. "I have to say, I haven't encountered any other aliens that look quite like you do."

C

[shaini]

The festival was too good an opportunity to miss for sampling new beverages, purely for reasons of stocking the cafe of course. Yuuko had spent a very pleasant half hour visiting various stalls and trying the local brews.

She pauses to fortify herself with some proper food, finding a street vendor with skewers of meat and vegetables sizzling on the grill, and she quickly purchases a few to make into an impromptu dinner, along with another skewer of sweets which remind her of dango in appearance.

Once she finds a good quiet spot, she settles down with her spoils, nibbling at a bit of spicy vegetable, and watching the crowd ebb and flow. The Chiss' unusual colouring catches her eye as she people watches, especially when he seems staggered by the sweet he rather surreptitiously sampled.

She cocks her head, thinking this is a new thing, as he doesn't match any spirit she'd seen so far, or human for that matter. Still watching him without any reservation, she lifts the skewer of dumplings and holds it up with a small smile, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

[zohvin]

It's not until Zohvin looks up again and makes brief eye contact with the woman nearby that he realizes that he wasn't as anonymous in the crowd as he thought. He does in fact look mildly embarrassed at getting caught. This wasn't a place where anyone would care that he was indulging himself, but old habits died hard.

"I shouldn't take any more, but thank you for the offer." After all, stopping to eat confectioneries was the last thing he should be doing on a strange planet like this, no matter how tempting it was. At least taking in the sights of the festival could be called an attempt at familiarizing himself with the culture here.

"I'd be just as happy to know what that treat is made out of, instead."

[shaini]

When he waves away the offer of the pastries, she nods and takes a deft bite of one of the little round sweets herself, politely pretending not to notice his slightly sheepish expression.

"That I can not tell you, as I haven't any idea what kind of dessert it is. It's quite colourful, though." She pauses, looking at him again, more thoughtfully.
"Are you another of the unexpected travelers who have arrived here?"

[zohvin]

"Ah, I see." That was mildly disappointing, but they did have the holonet here - or the local equivalent of one, in only two dimensions on a screen. It wasn't quite what he was used to, but considering it was all they had, Zohvin would just have to make do.

"I'd say that describes my situation perfectly. Of course, this wasn't a vacation I was planning on taking." Zohvin says it a bit ruefully, still having not settled for himself whether he appreciated ending up in this place. He couldn't deny that it had come at an opportune time. "And what about yourself? Were you rudely whisked away from your planet as well?"

[shaini]

"Oh yes. I woke in a rainstorm, under some trees. There is some manner of..." She makes a gesture, as one does when searching for words. "...disturbance, a barrier, that isolates this place. It is.. very strong."

In fact, one of the first things she'd tried was using her own innate abilities to leave the city and return to her home, and found herself soundly remaining exactly where she was.
She frowns to herself a little bit, because the nature of the city and the world it is in has confounded her, and she isn't used to the experience.

She shrugs slightly, after a moment. "So here we are, and here we shall remain, although I have been told people occasionally disappear from here randomly. Let us hope back to where they belong, eh?"

He gets a slightly crooked smile with that last comment, as she knows there is absolutely nothing to be done about the unknown nature of those disappearances until she experiences it herself.