driftfleet | open mingle post;

Entry tags:

open mingle post;

Who: Everyone on the waystation!
Broadcast: n/a
Action: open to everyone to tag into
When: October 11, 2014

[It sure is a lovely ~~day~~ actually pretty much indeterminate time period out here in the vast darkness of space, isn't it? I bet everyone's enjoying themselves, getting a chance to get off their dinky little ship and stretch their legs. Even on this shitty, empty little waystation.

Where are you, droot flooters? What are you up to? Stay out of trouble, now.]

[ooc: hi everyone! I thought I'd give this a try and see how the game liked it. What we have here is a mass mingle post. Rather than everyone making a bunch of different posts about landing on the station, everyone is invited to post a parent comment with their character out and about, doing something. Everyone else is invited to look at who's posted, tag them, post their own parent comments, thread jack, tag around and generally have a grand old time! It should hopefully be a nice low-pressure way to do some action tagging with each other.

Please tag in if you feel so inclined! Don't be shy to tag around!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hange spots her while she's working out, but doesn't bother Emblica for a while... although she keeps an eye on the girl, when she's there. No one is bothering Emblica, which is good, so Hange will let her alone for a while and bide her time.

Eventually, though, she feels like she's finished her work out for now. She drops from the tree she's been using as a pullup station and makes her way over to the tree that is currently sheltering Emblica, kneeling down and giving the smaller girl a light shake on the shoulder.]

[ She's a light sleeper, so it wakes her up easily enough.

Though her first instinct is also to panic, because it's been a while since anyone actually has woken her up like that.

The ground shifts, slightly, but whatever keeps her from damaging the ships or doing any real damage to others here is also stopping her magic from having any real effect here.

And after that, she's fully awake. ]

...oh, I must have really been asleep if I didn't notice someone was there. Did I hurt you?

[ A bit embarrassed, she is now a concerned older person. ]

[She felt that and sat back on her heels, ready to spring away. Her eyes and expression both darken briefly with wariness...

... then Emblica is awake, sounding like her normal polite self, thought with a slightly unfamiliar authoritative note. Or, no, not authoritative, Hange thinks - adult. And she shunts her wariness away with the ease of practice and smiles again.]

Not at all. Was that you, Emblica?

[ How embarrassing. ]

It was, unfortunately. Please, don't worry too much about it, though.

[ She's a lot more clear after she's slept, and after that initial shock had worn off.

Gesturing to the little implant: ]

I'm not able to do quite as much as I am normally, with this in.

[Hange shifts to sit cross-legged near Emblica, but not so close as to invade her personal space: a respectable distance.]

How interesting. What can you normally do?

[ Stretches a bit, almost catlike. One thing to be thankful for is the lack of joint problems that come with aging. ]

There's quite a lot. But I think I prefer to do things normally and forget about the magic, if I can help it.

[Hange just observes her. Interesting; she's really quite sure Emblica is not human, but also isn't willing to pry and potentially scare her off. She'll try to build more rapport before she asks more questions.]

How remarkable... I seem to have heard a lot about magic and gods here. Do ghosts appear in your home, Emblica?

[ Well, she did promise that she'd tell Hange in person! ]

Not in my home, but it's said that the town I lived in was full of ghosts, before living people began to inhabit it once again.

I never was sure if it was true.

You don't have an opinion either way?

I don't like to form opinions on things I don't have proof for.

That's very thoughtful of you.

[She leans backwards to pick up the URV from where it rolled away from Emblica, and offers it to her again. The real plant stands out against the fake grass... fake grass, fake trees, fake surroundings, it's all faked and they're all caged again.]

This is yours, correct?

[ Looks at it for a second. ]

I think it might be. Things just keep getting away from me today, doesn't it seem that way?

[ Takes it, returns it to its rightful place in the packaging. ]

Now, Miss Hange, I think I owed you an explanation?

[ At least here, it's just them, not other people on their ships who may be listening or watching. ]

[Owed is perhaps not the world she would use, but Hange smiles nevertheless.]

I'd like to hear whatever you had to say.

[ She'll go ahead and take off that skull for a bit, then. ]

One of the hardest parts...is probably finding a place to start.

But I'll tell you what I can.

[ Well, might as well try to start at the beginning. She's better at talking about real things like they're stories; it's a bit easier that way. ]

A long time ago, there were just...people. Everyone was equal, or at least somewhat. But somewhere down the line, the gods gave some of them powers beyond that of normal humans. It wasn't long before those people were branded monsters and witches, and cast out of society. The witches made their own societies, and then even some of them were considered special.

A normal life is like...

[ Gestures, a straight line. ]

But some of them were more like this.

[ The same line, but slower, then stopping, then starting again. ]

Children were born, and then didn't grow up for a long time. They couldn't die, they couldn't grow old, until another like them was born.

Does it make sense so far?

[Hange looks curiously at Emblica, not interrupting but listening closely as she speaks. It's interesting to see her face! She does look so young, and the freckles are charming - she wonders why Emblica is so shy to show herself, though.]

I suppose it does. Please, go on.

[She'll save her questions until after the story is over.]

[ Nods. ]

After a while, people ended up being so afraid of the witches that they decided to kill them all. And with all their methods, they eventually succeeded. Except for the four remaining immortal children. Because those four were immortal until another was born to take their place, there was no way for them to...stop.

Traveling the world, hiding away, trying to start new lives...they tried different things, and sometimes, they were even happy with the way their lives turned out.

And eventually, people forgot all about their fear of the witches, and it became easier for them to live-- or try to live-- normal lives.

[ She hadn't really been looking at Hange's face for most of this, finding it easier just to disconnect, but she's started trying to read her face by now. ]

[Hange just looks very calm and attentive, nodding along. She doesn't seem to be having a strong reaction, although she can guess where this is going to at least some degree now.]

I see... go on.

[If there's more, that is.]

[ Yeah, she figures that's the case. ]

I've been wearing that--

[ Putting a hand on the skull. ]

Because people won't notice how long I've looked the same, or the marks of a witch that I have.

But that's only when I go out. It's been a while, though.

The "marks of a witch"? What are those?

On my face. It's only people who can use magic without drawing on a god's power that have them like this.

[ It feels weird to have someone who isn't familiar with her actually looking at her face; she wonders how long it's been. ]

Would most people here be able to identify them as those things without you telling them? You could go without the mask.

No, but...I feel more comfortable wearing it, now. As I've said, I'm not good with people.

Well, it's not hurting anyone [Except maybe you, child,] for you to wear a mask. Why a skull, Emblica?

If it looked more human-like, I think it would get more questions. With this, it's strange enough that people don't ask about it.

It's alright if people think I'm strange, or if they're scared of me and don't want to come near me.

[...]

How old are you, Emblica?

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