(no subject)

[outstandingbalance]

Who: Natasha Romanoff
Broadcast: Fleedwide
Action: Iskaulit to start with
When: 16 Nov

Video

[The broadcast is brief and obviously accidental. A young girl's face appears on screen, confused and tense, then almost at once her brows draw down and together in an intense frown. Her expression is dark and thoughtful as the feed shakes, then cuts out entirely.

For those paying attention, the corridors off the Islaulit can be identified behind her before the transmission ends.]

Action

[When she wakes up, a young Natasha finds herself in what appears to be a small dance studio. Unfamiliar, but not too shocking. The mirror, the barre, the wood flooring, are all things she's accustomed to. It isn't where she expects to be, but it is somewhere she would expect to wake up in a general sense, in a general way.

Waking up somewhere strange isn't completely shocking either.

It's not until she ventures out into the rest of the Iskaulit that she starts feeling out of her depth. She can't place where she is, even where she might be. There's no outside. The structures are nothing like she's scene before. The computers are completely alien to her. The people are worse. She avoids them, of course. At least at first. Sneaking through shadows and hidden corners, in ducts if she's lucky enough to find access. She observes what she can, trying to work together the situation as she can, applying what training she can. But how much she can do is limited.

Tiny spy is out of her depth.

Which is what forces her to come out of hiding. (Maybe that was the point?)

When she finally lets herself be approached, she's already determined to put on a lost, scared face. It's for the best. That way people will underestimate her. Trust her more. It's a good plan.

The expression might not be entirely fake, though, and she can't entirely hide her suspicious skittishness. The end effect isn't entirely unlike a stray cat begging for food.]

((OOC: Augment glitch? Come play with smol murder ballerina.))

Comments

[outstandingbalance]

I am not sure what this is yet.

Not what it seems.

[revengeofthemordsith]

That applies to any place.

[ Cara doesn't talk down to anyone unless they annoy her. Her experience with children is limited. ]

It doesn't change the strangeness of this place and how you came to be here so suddenly.

[outstandingbalance]

There could be a lot of reasons for that. Kidnapping.

[Or this really is a test.]

[revengeofthemordsith]

[ She nods approvingly. Logical conclusions. ]

Those are equally possible. What do you think?

[outstandingbalance]

I'm not sure yet. There's still more I have to know.

[revengeofthemordsith]

It will take time. People will be helpful, but their advice is confusing at best.

[outstandingbalance]

That much, I do believe.

[revengeofthemordsith]

Everything I said is believable. It's hardly my fault this place is absurd.

[outstandingbalance]

You and I have very different definitions of believable.

[revengeofthemordsith]

You're young.

[ Which isn't an insult to her capabilities, but experience is a factor. ] You learn to work with the unbelievable.

[outstandingbalance]

You know that for a fact.

[revengeofthemordsith]

[ Cara looks her over before nodding slowly. ]

I do.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha glances away, frowning as she considers, considering what her instincts say about this.]

I think you believe this.

[revengeofthemordsith]

I believe enough of it to survive here.

[ She still doesn't eat the food given to them. ]

[outstandingbalance]

And you disbelieve enough to survive her as well?

[revengeofthemordsith]

I'm still alive. That counts.

[outstandingbalance]

It counts for something.

[revengeofthemordsith]

Yes. I am alive but I'm also living for something better.

[outstandingbalance]

You said that you were a weapon. [A brief pause, then she adds with a certainty that comes from youth.] Weapons don't choose what they live for.

[revengeofthemordsith]

Perhaps.

Or, as a weapon who thinks and feels, you can decide which master suits you best instead of letting yourself be controlled by an unskilled one.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha's eyes narrow at the suggestion, scrutinizing Cara's expression for signs there's a trick in this.]

Saying that sort of thing could get you in trouble.

[revengeofthemordsith]

No more trouble than usual.

You can't remove the weaponized part of yourself. But you can at least decide where it serves you best.

[outstandingbalance]

[This is a line of thinking Natasha doesn't have much argument against, but she's also unfortunately not ready to hear. She doubts herself too much to trust this line of reasoning.]

[revengeofthemordsith]

[ Unsurprising, considering how long it took Cara to come around. But she's not here to convince Natasha. She simply speaks her point of view and leaves it at that. Cara never expects to be heard or even understood - it's enough that she can exist freely and have her purpose. ]

It's up to you.

[outstandingbalance]

I will remember what you've said.