A Bad First Impression [Open]

[a_fate_accepted]

Who: Gwendolyn and YOU
What: Gwendolyn's arrival goes... badly.
When: Early evening sometime.
Where: The new arrivals/the adjacent hallways and (possibly) a men's bathroom.
Warnings: Just an armed Valkyrie, robots trying to subdue her and fire-retardant suppression foam...

Comments

[starthrilled]

Drizzt was not a witness to any of the destruction caused by the Valkyrie. In fact, he had no clue anything had even happened. The ship was so full of noises and strange lights that when alarms went off, Drizzt paid them no attention

[a_fate_accepted]

The young Valkyrie breathed heavily as she set her Guide to the side. There was no information there. Why did she decide to hold onto it, when she knew it would provide her with no answers? Nothing in this world made sense.

She reclined herself against the bench as Drizzt passed by. Gwen's senses picked up the faint smell of the forest and the earthy ground. Everything about him seemed more real that the synthetic world of glass and alloys. She turned her gaze to him, wondering who he was and whether he too was from her world.

Her daydreaming was broken as he saw him get further away and the thought occurred that she might lose him. "Ah! Wait!"

[starthrilled]

Drizzt stopped when he heard the voice. He had thought he was alone. The drow made a mental note to start paying more attention. Normally he would have been able to pick up on anybody close by with his keen senses.

His surprise at finding out he wasn't alone was just further proof that his mind was still reeling from the revelations of the past day or so.

Slowly, he turned his head and glanced over his shoulder. Lavender eyes watched the female for a moment before Drizzt turned around to face her. "Yes?" he asked politely, wondering what she had called out to him for since he didn't even know who she was.

[a_fate_accepted]

Gwendolyn was a bit surprised by the ashen color of his face. She had never seen anything like it before and something about it seemed a little unsettling. She found herself staring far longer than she knew was polite.

Her voice wavered a little at first, but grew in strength. "I'm sorry to bother you... Do youknow where we are? I have not seen a world like it..."

[starthrilled]

Drizzt was used to the staring. He'd been scrutinized and observed nearly all his life. For people who didn't know him or of his reputation, he was just a hated drow. Even the Harpells (a family of kind wizards) observed him merely out of curiosity since they'd never been able to study a dark elf. The only true acceptance he'd found was with Bruenor, Wulfgar, Regis, and Catti-brie, his friends back home.

At least... he hoped they were still back home.

He accepted her staring with his usual stoicism, seemingly not bothered at all about it. At her question, he glanced back up at the stars. "Apparently we are on a ship that sails among the stars."

[a_fate_accepted]

Among the stars? She had never thought that such a feat was possible. And yet... if the stars above were any indication...

"Wow..." She stared dumbfounded out the window. She had no reason to trust this ashen-faced man's words, and yet she had no reason to doubt his claims either. Still, better safe then sorry. "Where did you hear of this?"

[starthrilled]

"The vogons," he answers quietly, subtly studying the girl. He pauses for a moment before reaching into a small bag on his hip and tugging out his Guide. "And there is a wealth of information in this tome that confirms what they have said."

Everything except the state of his world that is...

[a_fate_accepted]

Gwendolyn gave him a curious look. That so-called "Guide" was nothing of the kind.

"Is that so? Mine was blank." Though if she was honest she was not in the presence of mind to flip through the pages too thoroughly. "May I please see yours?"

[starthrilled]

He pauses for another moment, searching her face for any sign of treachery. Unable to detect any insincerity, he deftly opens the Guide. The screen lights up to the last entry he'd been reading, an informative brochure titled So now you're a space traveler: Everything you need to know about the vast emptiness of your new home!

After checking it for himself, he turns the Guide around and offers it to the girl.

[a_fate_accepted]

Gwendolyn's eyes lit up at the screen with it's FEATURES and WORDS. Surely he must be some kind of magician to get this kind of information one what was previous jet-black nothing. Surely this man was a person worthy of respect.

She looks at it eagerly, pouring over the information with a fervor of a food-deprived animal on a well-prepared meal.

"This is incredible. Surely you must be a great sage."

[starthrilled]

"A sage? No..." he replied, shaking his head. He knew it was a form of technology. At first he thought it was sorcery, but he'd been shown how to use it yesterday and spent the whole day today working with it and familiarizing himself with it. It was surprisingly easy to use after you understood what you could do with it.

"Yours can do the same. I am told that every refugee has one and that we can communicate with one another using them."

[a_fate_accepted]

Gwendolyn moved for her Guide and raised it up to him. If he was right, then perhaps he could show her how it's done. If he was wrong, perhaps she could learn the incantation some other way.

"Can you please show me?"

[starthrilled]

She was new like him, and realizing that she had most likely been given the same news he had been given made him want to help her. It didn't matter that he didn't believe the story himself. She might believe it, so he needed to empathize with her situation.

He closed his Guide and slid it back into the pack on his side. Taking hers from her, he opened it and touched the button he'd been shown before. The Guide instantly lit up. "It is not too difficult," he remarked as he handed it back to her. "Most of it is intuitive as long as you can read."

[a_fate_accepted]

They might have told her about news of her world's demise; she honestly wasn't paying attention to any of that introductory information. Instead she was busy dealing with the sudden change of environment, the bizarre new creatures and having a fish shoved in her ear. After that, she didn't care what they had to say to her. She wanted out and she wanted out now.

Though you might not know it to look at her now, as she happily switched between turning the guide on and off, enamored by the ease of this new source of illumination (both... for information and as an actual light source).

[starthrilled]

Drizzt watched her curiously for a moment, keeping his amusement to himself. She seemed fairly innocent, and she seemed as confused by technology as Drizzt was. Could it be possible that she was from a world similar to his?

"Quite interesting, is it not?"

[a_fate_accepted]

"It is..." Gwendolyn's smiled as she turned to him, which quickly turned to a frown. The gravity of the situation came to her like her husband's demise. She had no idea where she was, or what became of her land. Everything about this place was strange, different. Even this stranger, as kind as he was, was not something she was used to.

His kindness, another thought came to her. She hadn't done well to repay his kindness, or showed him any of the common pleasantries. "I'm sorry, where are my matters? My name is Gwendolyn. Thank you very much for your assistance." She moved a hand to her chest and bowed reverently.