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[embraceyourhell]

Alex Shepherd hasn't had a very good day today. He's been fighting monsters, figuring out what happened to his home town, and being betrayed by some people he used to know. He's also just recently learned that he killed his younger brother; granted it was an accident, but still. But, he's made his amends to his brother, and all he wanted to do

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[yourwonderings]

Jo was out on a patrol, fighting monsters Rift-style.

She was on her way back to the Kashtta when she heard Alex. She's got the mouth of a sailor, this one, so she's not too fazed by the cursing. She's about to approach him when he bumps into her instead. She places a hand on his arm to keep them both upright.

"Easy there." Jo takes a step back and lifts her arms up. She's not there to do anything but help, though one wouldn't immediately assume she's anything but harmless. "You lost?"

[embraceyourhell]

Silently Alex is cursing at himself. This is what? The third person he's bumped into on accident? He decides he's going to blame his bad leg for it. "Woah, sorry, sorry," he says to her. "Well, I gather that I'm in Chicago, and," he pauses. "You been here long? Born and raised here?" he decides to ask.

For all he knows, Jo could be one of those natives that's not at all happy with people like him coming into this realm.

[yourwonderings]

"Been here since April. Might not seem long to some, but it's been one helluva long time for me," Jo's quick to answer, and hey, Alex, anybody that's had their world turned upside down like this might not be watching where they're going. Jo's iron knife is tucked back into her boot strap, and she shakes her head in response.

"It's fine. Look, it's gonna sound weird and you're gonna look at me like I belong in a straitjacket but you fell through somethin' called a Rift."

[embraceyourhell]

"Wow, since April, and it's what date now?" he asks, because back at home it was October 17th, 2008. He's going to be just a little bewildered that he's now in the year 2010.

He scratches his leg, reminds himself that he really needs to change the bandages on the thing. Maybe he should go to a hospital, but those cost money, and other things that Alex doesn't have.

"Yeah, someone told me," he says, shaking his head, he exhales, "Still think it's a load of bullshit personally."

[yourwonderings]

"It's October. 2010," Jo supplies for him, and trust that it was a shock for Jo, too. Considering she was from the year 2008 as well. "I skipped a year or two on my way over, apparently." And she's dead in the future timeline she was taken from, but thankfully, Jo doesn't know the details.

She eyes him some, and then gives him a faint, sympathetic smirk.

"Yeah, I thought it was a lot of crap myself. Took a while to sink in. If they told you about the Rift, I'm guessing they told you about the Tower, too? It's got free room and board, a medical ward, cafeteria. The whole works."

[embraceyourhell]

Alex shakes his head. This, this is almost too much for him to process, and he's halfway expecting to see zombie dogs coming out from the corners now.

"Yeah, one of them did. Almost sounds too good to be true," he tells her.

Then he realizes that he hasn't actually introduced himself yet, and that this needs to be fixed.

"Name's Alex," he says as he extends his hand towards the blonde woman.

[yourwonderings]

"That's what I thought at first, then I decided I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth," Jo says to him with a faint smile. Hunters like her come with enough trust issues on their own. She can't exactly blame Alex for being cautious.

Soon enough he'll figure out how tough Wanderers have it and the Kashtta's one of the only safe havens he'll find.

But if he's stubborn like Jo, he's gonna have to find that out for himself.

"Jo," she adds, shaking his hand. Firm grip, but not too tight. "Name's Jo."

ack, didn't get the notice.

[embraceyourhell]

"Guess it's pointless to do that, look a gift horse in the mouth and all that," Alex answers back. Yeah, he wants to be cautious, but he needs that place to stay, and the Kashtta may be safe enough.

"Nice to meet you Jo," he figures that it's short for Joanna, but doesn't mention that.

Because that would probably be stating the obvious right there.

"People get pulled here often?" he decides to ask, even though he already got an answer earlier from another person.