Pieces of the Puzzle

[terranities]

Who: Cain Knightlord and EVERYBODY (no seriously, he is knocking on every door in the residential areas)
Setting: All dorm rooms on each level
Format: Starting with Prose, but will match you
Summary: Cain has some questions to ask of everybody!
Warnings: Cheerful derpiness?

Comments

[lucidmutant]

When that dorm door opens, it opens to show Cain an enormous green fellow with a rather scary visage, but he's showing no signs of hostility. "Time seems to be all I have here, so I do have plenty to spare." A roundabout way of saying yes.

[terranities]

Well now, that was not what he was expecting when the door slid open, and for a long moment he was left to wonder if the Tower was altering his perceptions of reality again. If it was, then he wouldn't let it affect him, he wouldn't display any outward signs of discomfort.

Maintaining his friendly smile, he raised a hand in greeting and leaned on the doorframe, peering up at the other's neck to check what colour his collar was..?

"Mind if I come in?"

[lucidmutant]

Fawkes' collar was orange, and rather large to fit the big mutant's robust neck. And no, this is no trick of the tower - Fawkes is quite real. He waves off the handshake. "I would, but I do not wish to start a habit of doing so. I fear accidental injury of those smaller than I." His voice isn't as loud as normal as he speaks.

The question gets a nod, however, and Fawkes moves aside. Once Cain enters, he'll see that one of the beds lacks a frame - the mattress is just laid on the floor, and the remnants of the frame and boxsprings are piled nearby.

[terranities]

Orange, like his own. At least that ruled out species as a common denominator in colour choice; but then again, that would have been far too simple and already noted by someone resident here. The other's response to Cain's handshake cemented this was no hallucination, and he wondered what Fawkes actually was.

Tactfully avoiding mentioning the remnants of the poor bed, Cain just perched on the nearest place to sit and rested his arms on his knees in a relaxed posture.

"That's very considerate of you! My fingers and I thank you, though I'm sure you wouldn't have done me any harm."

[lucidmutant]

Fawkes nods a bit, with a quiet, affirmative grunt. "I understand. It is better to not risk it, though. That said, what can I do for you?" Fawkes remains standing for the time being, a rather expectant look on his face.

[terranities]

"I wondered if I could ask some questions about your home world? Perhaps just start by telling me a little about it."

He is absolutely fascinated to hear where this man might have come from, and not just for research purposes.

[lucidmutant]

"My world? Hmn." Fawkes considers for a moment, then chooses to sit down now. This might take a while.

"My world is a harsh place, still recovering from a nuclear war from a good two centuries ago, at least. The specific number is a bit lost on me... People attempt to survive and eke out a living in the remaining wasteland. Despite the ravages of the war, humanity survived in small pockets. Quite stubborn."

[terranities]

A nuclear war..? That shocked Cain into silence for a moment, his mind slipping to the capabilities of the Ark should it ever be utilised for war.

"And what of your place in this world? Where do you live?"

[lucidmutant]

"The remains of what was once Washington, D.C. before the Great War. I have not taken a permanent residence yet - before I was brought here, I had just been released from being imprisoned thanks to an unusually kind soul. I was helping her with some goals of her own as repayment for my freedom."

[terranities]

"Can you tell me why you were imprisoned?"

He knows that might be a personal question, but it would be nice to know if he was casually conversing with a convicted mass murderer or something.

[lucidmutant]

"I am...an oddity among the others like myself. If there were any other meta-human from my world here," as far as he knows, anyway, "They would have openly attacked you upon opening the door." Fawkes rubs the back of his head, a bit of shame in his voice and actions. "I am a peaceful person, they are not. Thus, my fellow meta-humans locked me in a holding cell for a very, very long time."

[terranities]

Ah.

There was a sympathetic light in his eyes, as well as a slight furrow to his brow that suggested he knew from experience what it was like to be persecuted for being different like that.

"You should be proud of your views, and having the strength to hold to them even through such trials."

[lucidmutant]

There's a bob of Fawkes' head in an agreeing nod. "I am. I only wish my brethren could be more understanding. Much more could be done to benefit all of the inhabitants of the wasteland if they were more civil." A sigh. "However, there is little use in dwelling on what-ifs."

[terranities]

"And that's where you were before being brought here, in that captivity?"

He's sorry that this had been Fawkes' situation, but he still needed to gather his information and he was sure this wouldn't be the only sad story he came across.

[lucidmutant]

"I had been released by a human who had come to that location while searching for something important to them. They were kind enough to release me from my captivity, and in turn, I helped them retrieve the item they were after." Fawkes frowns now.

"Unfortunately, other humans captured my benefactor on their way out. I was thankfully able to find out where they had taken my friend, and I attempted a rescue. I owed them my freedom--and I knew no one else, so it seemed the logical thing to do. Once I arrived, however, my friend was on their way out of the facility they had been held in. We then delivered the item I had recovered to where it needed to be taken, and then I found myself here."

[terranities]

It sounded fantastical, almost like something from a book, all quests and unfair imprisonment and unlikely friendships. And yet the proof that this was real was sitting right in front of him, in very large form.

"It must bring you some comfort to know you were successful before coming here?"