enchanted forest . mingle

[misconceived]

WHO Forest planet occupants!
BROADCAST N/A
ACTION Enchanted Forest / Spa Time
WHEN Upon reaching the system (Jan. 4) to leaving it (Jan. 31)

[ It's another day, another planet for the Drift Fleet to explore. Whether it be relaxing in the landing field, checking out the spa (and subsequently getting urged to enter the woods), or taking on the Enchanted Forest's game, there's enough to do for stir-crazy Fleet members.

Just remember one thing: make it look good. ]

Comments

[ladiesss]

[she giggles, still awkward--but also relieved.]

Uh, my name's Krista. I'm sorry to butt in, I just overheard you...

[hearsthesea]

No, it's all right. And it's good to meet another girl. I don't think I've met any since they took me here.

[Which explains why it feels so weird, actually. What a strange thought.]

[ladiesss]

[ah, acceptance! she eases up a little.]

...Yeah, isn't that weird? There was one other girl on my ship, but I think she... left. Which sucks, 'cause she was really nice.

[hearsthesea]

She left? Do you mean she's staying somewhere else?

[Surely it's not easy to just get away from all this.]

[ladiesss]

Uh... No, I think she like, left. [she hunches her shoulders, sinking further down into the water...] Like, she's not anywhere in the Fleet anymore. I made my comms guy check. Maybe she got to go home.

[hearsthesea]

You can do that?

[Then why are any of them here? Surely most of them aren't here by choice. But maybe it's not a good topic for right now...Krista doesn't seem too happy talking about it, not that Shirley can blame her.]

I'm sorry. I hope she's all right, whatever happened.

[ladiesss]

I don't know... [she frowns a little.] Yeah, I hope so too. Maybe she found a way back home, or those Atroma people took her somewhere else. I really don't know...

[...she smiles, awkwardly.] I'm sorry, I'm being a bummer. We're here to relax, right?

[hearsthesea]

No, I understand. You were friends, so it's natural that you would be worried about her.

[ladiesss]

Is it? [a beat.] I guess. That sounds right...

[hearsthesea]

You must have good friends. Many of mine ended up doing things that only worried everyone else at some point...and that includes me, too.

[She was probably the original case, actually.]

[ladiesss]

Oh, well... It sounds like that's just kind of how people are.

[that gets her to smile a little. she's sure done her fair share of dumb things...]

Still, it'd be weird to hope she comes back, right? If she ended up going back to where she's from, I'd hate if she got dragged back here again... Even if the bath is pretty nice.

[hearsthesea]

It's only natural to want to be with your friends. I wish mine were here right now, too. I'm sure they would be having a lot of fun.

[She can envision her friends clearly, but it hurts a little to think about it - and besides, it's rude to her present company.]

[ladiesss]

Wow... You're very optimistic about all of this.

[which she thinks is kind of weird, but she's not exactly a ray of sunshine herself.]

You haven't been to other worlds before, have you...

[hearsthesea]

No, I haven't. Are they much different from this one?

[ladiesss]

Oh, way different. Like, there's all these planets out here, but there are also other places that seem to like, suck up people from all over the universe and stick them in a hotel or a castle or whatever. I spent forever in this big castle by the ocean, with a bunch of other people...

[she was trying to get to the point where bad things always end up happening, and that after you're there for a year or so it gets really depressing, but... that's... in itself, pretty depressing. so she kind of lets the rest of her thoughts drop.]

[hearsthesea]

So things like this have happened to you before?

[Shirley gestures around them in an attempt to indicate their general situation.]

It sounds like you've spent a long time away from home.

[ladiesss]

[she nods.] Yeah...

[...and then she sinks down even further into the water, where it's pretty much only her head above the surface. she's frowning.]

Ugh, I'm sorry. I'm such a bummer lately.

[hearsthesea]

I don't think you can be blamed for that. I worry a lot about going home, too.

[She pauses slightly there, thinking again of the potential consequences. Still not attractive.]

But I want to focus on things that will help me get back sooner. If they'll ever let us,that is.

[ladiesss]

Things that'll help us get back sooner, huh...

[she looks up at the sky...]

Does relaxing in a hot spring count? Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep doing that for a while.

[hearsthesea]

I think it will be all right. Or else I'm guilty of the same thing, too.

[Shirley looks up with her, smiling.]

It's good to be on the ground again.

[ladiesss]

[haaa, she smiles again. Shirley's pretty good at this.]

Me too. I get kind of freaked out when I think about how we've all just been floating up in space for... weeks. Solid ground is nice.

[hearsthesea]

For weeks? It was only a few days for me.

[She can't imagine missing all of this for weeks.]

[ladiesss]

Yeah. Everybody got sick, like, a couple of months ago? And there were stations we landed on, but mostly it was a lot of flying all month.

[she's so glad she doesn't get sea-sick. or... space-sick, really.]

[hearsthesea]

[That's...alarming.]

Were you being quarantined?

[ladiesss]

No... Although, maybe we should have been. It was weird...