(no subject)

[twocomplex]

Who: Oren and you!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: Evening...?!

[With his arms stretched wide, Oren is now taking in the view of the Marsiva's large windows.]

Well, I should count myself blessed to witness this with my own eyes! [He laughs, and it sounds joyous, if short. Turning in place, his hands fall back to his sides, and he's flashing a grin around the area. Night. Night, this was definitely night... And there were others here, he'd just not run into them. So what does he do?]

Have I missed the celebrations? The dancing? [Finally, he stops stepping backwards and turns to face the window yet again. Expansive and dark, but as captivating as it was-- what did this mean for Nocta?]

Night falls, and all it's met with is quiet? Tell me, have you all been stunned to silence, or am I left here alone with this view?

Comments

[innercactus]

Are your nights missing?

[ Its the only reason he can think of for why nighttime would mean dancing.

Also hello, night time means his glow is active (much like the icon). ]

[twocomplex]

Are mine?

[He laughs, turning to view the nearest video feed before he stops his reply short. His smile breaks and he has to squint, stepping closer in his shock. Were his eyes playing tricks on him?

No, not again, not this.]

...Aren't yours? [He'll take this slowly.]

[innercactus]

[ Oh no, he has to think on this. ]

I get confused a little. [ Here he catches one of those leaves on his head, near one of those purple points of light. ]

I think it is the very inside metal ships.

[twocomplex]

[Okay what the fuck is going on he is definitely talking to... a creature of some sort.]

Confused... I must say I'm the same at this very moment.

[innercactus]

.... Hm?

[ Thinking, thinking, thinking, what could be confusing him.

... Oh. ]

I am a Sylvari. We are made of plants.

[ ... That helps with the confusion, right? ]

forward-dated to after everyone else; action/audio

[noctiphile]

[The voice cuts cold. It steals the breath from his lips, freezes the blood in his veins, solidifies his feet to the floor. The world fish-eyes around him, everything curved and much too far away. With unusual clarity, he looks down and notices his hands are trembling, fingers quivering like an engine. Attempting to speak only reveals that his throat is dry, cracked as the desert they came from.

They. Goddess. There wasn't supposed to be a they. There was supposed to be him and him alone, sheltered from the eyes of those who knew. Of those who had known.

He could still see his smile as he fell, manic and joyous and broken all at once. Idly, he wondered if the screen would show the same thing and if, when he spoke, he would hear Ahl's voice crack once more. Hear the sickening crack and thump, distant but distinct, of his body breaking on stone.

Bile rose and he folded over to halt it, hand clamped over his mouth as tears stung unbidden at the corner of his eyes. This couldn't be real. A joke, a dream, a fault of the augment—something had to have gone wrong. There was no way—

His hands are curling over his stomach. The scars burn like a beacon into his flesh and he remembers everything. The voice in his ear, the grip on his arm, the closeness of his warmth—he remembers it all but the pain. It's something he regrets now. Wants to memory of death to resurrected instead of the memory of him and the laughter in his eyes. The sound of their footsteps, joined in motion, tapping upon mosaic ground.

He needs to move. The hall of the ship around him is spinning and everyone, far though they are, feels too close. Escape is a necessity and he stumbles to find it, slamming into the Starstruck's shuttle with a drunkard's walk. The others will ask questions later. ELN will ask why he took the shuttle away, Aaron will say something snide, Felix will—oh, demon's take the others. Demons take everyone.

Sliding into the pilot's seat, he pulls from the ship and blasts forward, driving somewhere, anywhere, as far as he could go. As far as it would let him. As far as his screams would carry him.

He stops when his voice is hoarse and when his fists are raw and bleeding, sore from banging against metal panels and knobs. The ship slows with his heart. His breath comes back to him but even still, it's a long while before he pulls up the communicator. Longer still before he watches the broadcast and an eternity before brings the microphone to his lips.]

AUDIO

Oren.

jesus christ

[twocomplex]

[There he is. From one word alone he could recognize that voice. The distasteful way his name sounds with it. His fingers tap along the edges of the screen he's viewing now. Empty. Only voice, and a strained one, at that.]

Now, there's the man I was looking for! Our Great Messiah himself! [Joy overflows from his words, and his video still broadcasts. His lips twitch a bit as he leans closer, resting against the stand the screen is held on as he smiles.]

Tell me, Mattias. This is cause for celebration, isn't it? [Worry cracks into his voice, accusing-- but nothing over the top. Like he's trying to convince himself more than the man on the other side of this strange device. This was nowhere close to home, was it? What had happened?] You sound troubled.

[His smile drops ever so slightly into something a little more serious, though he has a relaxed way of bringing it across. It's true concern on his face.] It leaves a man worried.

THERE'S A LOT OF EMOTIONS INVOLVED HERE

[noctiphile]

[He wants to laugh. He wants to sob. He wants to throw the fucking communicator out the fucking ship. A man worried? A lie dipped so sweet he could almost taste it. Nearly wanted to. How wonderful would it be to go back? To the library, to the walks, the twirls and twists. It's with a lurch in his stomach that he remembers none of them were real and it's with a shaking voice that he answers.] For celebration?

[His voice feels disembodied. Robotic. The question not his own, too vapid and superficial to be what he really wants to ask. How? How is he here? How is he standing? Breathing? Speaking and waving and twisting words in that perfectly charming way of his?

Mattias wets his lips.] Yes, I suppose it is.

[A flood of questions and yet when he tried to think of what to say next, nothing comes. Silence looms threatening to swallow him until, finally—] ... I told you. It's Mattias. Not Messiah.

[His voice nearly cracks as he speaks.]

ah...... gross... removes them

[twocomplex]

[It's not a good sign when even his playful words get no rise from Mattias. Broken tones and nervous silence. What did he do?

He smiles, small as it is, and focuses on the screen even if there's only a voice to go by.]

Now's no time to be humble, now is it? [Not when the night is fucking everywhere and they're nowhere near what he'd call home, civilization, the world. He's getting more anxious over that, and it's striking away at his patience quickly.]

Won't you come see me? It's been no more than a day since I've seen you last, and yet it seems you've left me here stranded. [He laughs, like he's trying to make the situation lighter.] What's happened, Messiah?

you can't it's a disease also it's video now bitch

[noctiphile]

[What happened? The question feels more cumbersome than the entire world. How is he supposed to answer? Tell the truth? He has to bite back a laugh at the thought.

Still, Oren keeps talking, his words feather-light and all too enticing. Again, his throat feels thick, clogged by his own heart's erratic tempo. Longing threatens to take him and only the grip over his wounds reminds him. Biting his lip, he breathes in deep. Closes his eyes. Leans back in the pilot's seat.

What happened? A hard answer to word but an easy answer to show. He flicks the video on. It feels too easy to do.]

She was taken.

[The words hit hard but he does his best not to flinch, holding the camera up to his face. Oren will know what it means.]

[video]

[mysunnydisposition]

[ Steph tilts her head, frowning at just how enthused this guy is about being in space. It's a little weird. ]

Um? They're just stars. I mean, they're pretty, but they're gonna get old fast.

[permavideo]

[twocomplex]

Stars?

[A foreign word to his tongue, and it's clear in the way his face curves into amusement as he says it.]

Now what do you mean by that?

[mysunnydisposition]

Oh boy.

Those lights out there in the darkness? Those are stars. Like the sun, but... much farther away.

[twocomplex]

Like the sun.

[He repeats that, slowly, and his stomach sinks a bit at the idea. Were they like Orphoros? Were they Orphoros?]

You wouldn't be teasing me, would you? [He laughs, short, and looks away. He still doesn't get it.] How would there be more than one?

[mysunnydisposition]

What? No, why would I... No.

There just are. Billions of them. A lot of them have planets that people live on, too, just like on Earth. Or... wherever you're from. Which doesn't sound like Earth at all, to be honest.

[ She purses her lips, staring intently into the screen like she's trying to figure out if he's joking. ] You really don't have night where you're from?

voice

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Most people would be a little more upset to wake up in such a strange place...

[says a mysterious (but charming!) disembodied voice from a nearby network panel. audio message for Reasons, of course.]

The night is a cause for celebration to you?

video for him

[twocomplex]

Is it not for you?

[His arms stretch out wide again, and joy is clear on his features even when he steps away and around the device. Another laugh slips out.]

I've no idea where I am, but how can I focus on that when I am before such beauty?

well jeez this'll just be voice forever probably

[birdsbirdsbirds]

It is quite stunning... But not an unusual sight, where I'm from.

Let me guess--you come from a world with no night to speak of.

VIDEO FOREVER the eternal battle

[twocomplex]

I should think that much is obvious. But you speak as if there are any other worlds to speak for!

[That's weird as heck and he's already met a plant person, so... alarming. He leans in closer, smiling like he's having fun despite it all.]

Now, why is that? You claim to see night?

[birdsbirdsbirds]

I do claim such. But--! I would hate to be responsible for ruining your celebration, truly.

[there's a creaking that might suggest him sitting in a chair... and he still sounds perfectly pleasant as well. it's so charming out here. dang.]

[invigorates]

You are hardly alone - many are watching, and all can hear you. [ that sounds more ominous than she intended. but it's true! ] At least, that is what we have all been told.

[twocomplex]

I do have a faint memory of something like that, but I’d much rather meet with you in person. [Another laugh-- he’s full of those today-- and he’s raising his arms in a wide shrug. Still… this is still too close to ‘alone’.] Wouldn’t you?

[invigorates]

I would. [ said matter-of-factly, because she dislikes this network bullshit so much. ] Speaking to someone over this ... video is odd and impersonal. Perhaps a meeting could be arranged if I speak with my captain. [ ugh. ]

[twocomplex]

I fear I'm stuck here for the time being, permission or no.

[That's what he's heard, at least. He gestures around the area with a wave.] A little strange to invite a man to a party only to hold him back from it, don't you think? [It's rude as heck is what it is.]

Though I hear I shouldn't have too long to wait for that, either.

[invigorates]

Rather unfortunate, that.

[ this guy really likes parties apparently. ]

'Tis likely you will find yourself a ship and an accompanying crew within the next week. Until then, I doubt you will be the only one on the Marsiva - perhaps someone there could celebrate with you.