(no subject)

[robitussin]

Who: a tiny
Broadcast: voice
Action: on the pathstone!
When: 9/16

[the voice that comes through the feed sounds young and very frightened. she trips over her words and stutters, nervous, speaking very quickly. she's wandering a corridor on the pathstone, pacing rapidly after leaving the room she woke up in, and the sound of her hurried footsteps can be heard in the background.]

Hello? I-I'm sorry. I know I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. But I think I'm lost... Um, really lost. I don't remember how I got here at all, and I tried my dad's phone number but it isn't working.

[a pause. breathing in, breathing out. it doesn't make her sound more calm.]

I don't really know who I'm talking to, but if you can help me get home - I'm really scared. Um, my name is Natalie, I...

[she trails off, and there's a pause as she walks past a window for the first time, looks out into the vast array of stars and blackness out there.]

No way—

[she fumbles with the communicator for a moment, panicked, before the feed abruptly stops.

ooc: natalie/opal is being affected by an age down augment glitch! she'll be younger for about a week.]

Comments

voice.

[paraclete]

Hello, Natalie. My name is Kaworu. It's so nice to meet you.

[Not that being a disembodied voice in the middle of outer space is much of a meeting, but Kaworu's got weird standards, of course. Anyway, although his voice is disembodied, it's also very soft, very calm, and set to a honeyed harmony. He speaks with the gentleness of a kindergarten teacher at naptime, and he sounds sure of himself, as if his confidence can balance out Natalie's fear. There's something to be said, Kaworu believes, for being mild in the face of a person's panic.]

Waking up somewhere new can be scary, right? And a stranger can be scary, too. But, if I can, I'd like to help you feel less afraid. So, can you do me a favor?

voice.

[robitussin]

[her voice, in contrast, seems just as panicked as a moment ago. the stars, the planets she can see in the distance - she's old enough to know something is seriously wrong.]

I-I mean, I... I don't know. What do you need me to do?

voice.

[paraclete]

All I need you to do, [he says, as gently as before,] is to find a sink. Do you think that you can look for a sink, Natalie? I think you can.

voice.

[robitussin]

I don't... A sink? What does that have to do with anything?

Action

[onlyanapple]

[Crowley's just going about his daily business, which is to say he's hardly doing anything at all. He's wandering off to find a good chair to lounge in when he comes across the little girl.

The little girl who says her name is Natalie.]

...Nope.

[He makes a swift turn to try and head the opposite way, hoping she hasn't seen him. ]

Action

[robitussin]

—Wait!

[unfortunately for him, it's too late. she's moving in the same direction he's trying to flee towards.]

P-Please, I need help! I don't know where I am...

Action

[onlyanapple]

[Oh...balls. Crowley COULD keep on walking, or make himself invisible, or any number of things to escape her. But he doesn't, he stops dead and turns to look at her.]

Okay. Fine. We're doing this.

You're on a spaceship. In space.

Action

[robitussin]

...I don't understand. Why would I be on a spaceship?

voice

[monolike]

[He hadn't been looking for anyone to talk to; just...a distraction. But there's no way he can ignore someone who needs help, especially not a frightened little girl. No way.]

Natalie? I'm Sorey. I don't know anybody looking for a little girl with your name, but I can try and help you. You sounded like you saw something scary, are you safe?

voice

[robitussin]

Out the window it looked like... Are we in the sky? I don't know what's going on.

voice

[monolike]

It's okay. We're going to start with the stuff you do know, all right?

First of all: are you hungry or thirsty, or are you cold?

voice

[robitussin]

I-I'm... hungry, I think. But I don't want to eat, I want to go home.

voice

[experiencepoints]

[I AM TOO FUCKED UP FOR THIS

WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO

okay no calm down. maybe i'm wrong. maybe this isn't the universe conspiring to fuck with me.]

Are you okay, Natalie? What happened?

voice

[robitussin]

I-I'm sorry... I don't recognize your voice.

[it is definitely the universe conspiring to fuck with her]

voice

[experiencepoints]

[W H Y]

I'm Nightingale. I, um. I know a Natalie?

[#smooth]

Where are you now?

voice

[robitussin]

I don't think I'm who you're looking for.

Um... Someone said to look for the name of a ship. I think it's Pathstone.

video

[foxpas]

[you know what this isn't even the weirdest thing to have happened.]

It is all right. Do not worry. You are not alone here.

Take deep breaths, and speak your mind, you will become calmer.

video

[robitussin]

Who else is here...?

video

[foxpas]

Many. The other members of your ship should be on board where you are, if you can find them.

video;

[winn]

[ a kid? why. why is the atroma determined to force him to act parental? what is the universe's stake in making him dad people? HE'S NOT READY HE TELLS YOU.

he switches on video because a friendly stranger's face is hopefully less frightening than a strange voice, and tries to appear as reassuring and non-threatening as possible. ]

Hi Natalie - my name's Winn. Has anyone explained things to you yet?

video;

[robitussin]

[a shy nod]

They said we're in space, and I can't leave yet.

video;

[winn]

That's true, but we're working on it. How old are you, Natalie? Is somebody with you?

video; a bit after ^ all of the above

[huaaaaagh]

["Natalie"? Well, it's the only little kid on the network, and Nightingale's freaking out, so this must be her. Hoo boy.]

Hey, Natalie. Nightingale asked me to check up on you. Are you doing okay?

video;

[robitussin]

I think so... I'm on a different ship now. Somebody's here with me.

Why did she ask you to do that?

video;

[huaaaaagh]

That's good. I'm glad you're safe.

It's just how she is- sometimes she worries. She'd have gone to see you herself if she wasn't stuck in bed.