driftfleet | (no subject)

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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?

[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?

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.

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

Well, once you find a sink, you can wash your face and maybe drink a little water. And after you do those things, I think you'll feel somewhat calmer. When you feel calmer, Natalie, you'll feel better, too. That you feel better is very important, you see.

No, I-I want to go home. That'll make me calmer.

[There's nothing impatient about him when he explains: ] But right now, you are here. And though you are here, you must do your best to feel well. Other people who are here want to help that happen for you.

...I'll find a sink if you tell me how to get home.

I'm afraid I don't know how to get home. But I know other things, if you would like to hear them.

[a pause, hesitant.]

What is it?

I know how to find something good to eat, and where to get some very comfortable blankets.

[He gives a pause of his own, mostly to let her consider his words and what they imply—but then he spells it out for her clearly: ]

It really is important to feel better. I'm sure you feel terrible right now, but if you stay that way, you'll be unwell. When you're well, however, you'll be able to learn many things. You could learn something entirely new; or you could even learn the exact thing you want to. ["Home," perhaps.]

How am I supposed to learn what I want to know if nobody knows it?

Hmm. [His hum is indulgent, but not quite condescending: he wants her to know he's seriously considering what she says.] Well, other people want to know, too. So I'm sure you would all like to learn together.

How long do you think it'll take...? My dad's probably pretty worried.

I can't be certain, but I do know that with you helping them, they may find out even sooner.

Besides which, your life at home is likely paused for now. You've come to an entirely new place, Natalie. Things work very differently from how you thought they did.

Paused...? What do you mean?

[This time, when Kaworu pauses, it's to consider his own words. He's thinking of how to best speak; not because she's a child, exactly (he speaks to children and adults in about the same way), but because he isn't sure how to explain these mechanics, both what he knew beforehand, and what he learned with the Fleet. Finally, he settles on...]

Do you know what a video is?

[she nods without a word.]

(no subject)

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