[Thread] Lost and a Little Scared

[former_ai]

Characters: Aelita Hopper [OU], anyone else who wants to drop in
Where: Outside the Church
When: Aelita's arrival in Econtra
Summary: Aelita arrives in Econtra and tries to find her way around.
Warnings: No verbal or violence warnings, but I have no idea what the church looks like, so I might describe something non-"canon". I'm going off the

Comments

[phantasm_sky]

Cloud was wandering. This was something that didn't quite need to be registered in thought; it was Cloud, and everybody was quite used to the gloomy sight of the man wandering aimlessly down the streets, looking a little lost. He was walking in his own world, not thinking about anything at all (the way he liked it, after all these years), two pale hands in his pockets and two glowing eyes focused without seeing in front of him.

He wouldn't have noticed her if she hadn't spoken, even with enhanced senses. There wasn't much notice of small girls when hovering through his own foggy mind. But her mutter broke his dislocation and he looked up at her in front of him, startled.

[former_ai]

She stared right back at the strange man in front of her. There was something different about him that she couldn't put her finger on. Then again, it was probably her imagination, prompted by the creepy surroundings.

Tentatively, she took a step forward, allowing her arms to drop at her sides.

"Excuse me," she began, her voice quivering just a little, "but I'm a little lost."

She internally winced. That was probably the understatement of the entire millennium.

[phantasm_sky]

Cloud broke out his reverie and managed a small smile after some hesitation. He'd been abandoned again, but he could manage to be competent at life for some lost kid.

"Oh. Did you just get here?" He'd been the first to encounter new people a few times at the compound - it was strange, how well-adjusted he was to Econtra. But he had been there for more than a year, now.

[former_ai]

She returned the smile, happy to see a friendly face.

"Yes, I did," she answered. "Though where 'here' is, I'm not sure. The, uh, Warden wasn't very specific."

[eyebeheld]

Ryou frowned as he walked down the streets of Econtra. During his talk with Sora, the PDA announced that the person in which he was trying to reply with was ‘invalid.’ With all the strange happens as of late, the teen now turned middle-aged man found himself very worried. “I do hope he is safe.” He mumbled slowly as he pushed the glasses back into place. He couldn’t wait to be 16 again; the fact his glasses were continually slipping down his nose was annoying to say the least.

As he neared the church he caught sighted of a young girl with bring pink hair. The poor dear looked lost and bit frightened of her surroundings, a feeling Ryou remembered very well from his first day in Econtra. With a kind smile, he walked over to her, hoping that he wouldn’t startle her. “Are you okay? You look as if you’re lost.”

[former_ai]

Aelita turned at the sound of the male voice. She blinked at the middle-aged man before her before offering a smile.

"Yes, I am," she said honestly. "I'm trying to find...Well, I'm not sure what I'm trying to find." She fiddled with her hands. "I'm Aelita."

She paused for a moment but then decided that it really didn't matter if she said her true name. It was unlikely that the men and black were here. "Aelita Hopper."

[eyebeheld]

"So, you are new then?" Ryou asked kindly, she looked new to Econtra that was for sure. "Trust me when I say I know the feeling, in fact I'm still trying to get use to this place.” He thought it best not to get into the magical happenings for he own sake.

"It's nice to meet you, Aelita-san." He bowed his head slightly. "I'm Bakura Ryou."

[former_ai]

She nodded in response to his question. "It's nice to meet you...Um, can I call you 'Ryou'?"

If there was only one thing she'd learned from Yumi, it was that most Japanese addressed each other by their family names. And even though he'd called her by her first name, he might get offended if she returned the favor. The last thing she wanted right now was to start a fight with a potential friend.

[[OOC: He probably should've warned her. Poor soul's gonna find out the hard way anyway. XD]]

[machines_talk]

Kaylee'd been lost in her own thoughts as she trotted down the street, wrapped up in a world of plans used to insulate against concern. She'd only vaguely noticed it seemed quieter than normal, deserted enough to suit the rundown air. Deserted enough that the girl standing near the church registered outside the regular bustle of people.

Kaylee diverted her path to head over, smiling with benign cheer at the girl, whom the mechanic thought had the unmistakable air of someone just recently forcibly located. "Hey there," she called. "You all right? You're lookin' mighty lost."

[former_ai]

The cheery voice and smiling face banished most of the young girl's fears as she returned the smile.

"As a matter of fact, I am," she said, absently rubbing at the strange cuff on her wrist. "I just got here. Wherever 'here' is."

[machines_talk]

"Careful with that," Kaylee warned, one hand tipping to indicate the cuff. "It thinks you're tryin' to get rid of it, it'll give you a right nasty shock." Her nose wrinkled, expressing mild irritation at the device. "As for here, it's called Econtra. Though folk call this part Neocontra mostly, on account of there was apparently another compound before this one."

[former_ai]

She jerked her hand away from the piece of...could she call it metal? Well, whatever the cuff was made of, she decided to touch it as little as possible from now on. Some part of her griped about having traded one prison for another.

"What happened to the old Econtra?" she asked.

[nightpride_stud]

Ares was making his rounds. There were kids everywhere, and with the dangerous folk he had heard about? He didn't really trust Econtra to treat them kindly. It was his job to protect the kids from the elements beyond their control. From the beasties, and considering econtra, the unknown factors.

While walking past the Church, he caught scent of something. A girl, he could tell. She was wearing cotton, and had the faint smell of dust or oil found in workshops and factories, something hardly noticeable to the human senses. It reminded Ares of the workshop of old Abner, his maker. Maybe it was Abner's granddaught-Oh.. There! He spotted the girl, pink hair, pink cloths..

How did you get pink hair? Wow.

He padded over and smiled, unintentionally baring his teeth as he gave his big smile. "Hi there! I'm Ares!"

[former_ai]

Considering the fact that not only was the creature before her the biggest tiger she'd ever seen but also talking to her, Aelita felt that her little jump of surprise was understandable.

"Um...I'm Aelita Hopper."

Somehow, she couldn't stop staring at his teeth. She knew she needed to stop that but couldn't quite bring herself to yet.

[nightpride_stud]

"Awesome Opossum." Ares replied, wagging his tail back and forth, "Nice to meet you Aelita.. Pretty name too. Guessin' you're a newbie, huh?"

He sat down, his lean muscles flexing before he relaxed in his tall tiger sitting. "Oh.. and yes.. I'm a talking tiger."

[former_ai]

"Thank you," she said in response to his compliment. "And, yes, I'm new."

Her cheeks instantly turned as pink as her hair as he stated what she'd already observed and had been gawking at. "Sorry. I've never actually talked to a tiger before." Hoping to salvage the situation, she offered a small, embarrassed smile. "You're very pretty though. I don't think I've seen a white tiger before other than in pictures."

[shining_nox]

Albel was taking a bit of a walk. Sheifa was a bit darker now that she was older, and Albel wasn't sure he liked it, especially in his own current state. Besides, he needed to work off some energy.

He hadn't been expecting to go past the spooky church and graveyard, but it seemed to have happened. And there was someone looking very lost indeed. He didn't take much notice of the pink hair; Elicoorian hair colors were more varied than Earthling ones, even among humans.

Albel looked up at the girl. "'Scuse me," he said quietly. "Do you need help, miss?"

[former_ai]

"Yes, actually." She rubbed at the arm lacking a cuff. "I'm a bit lost. I just got to...wherever 'here' is."

He seemed nice enough. Someone who wanted to hurt you wouldn't just walk right up and offer their assistance...right?

Then again, times might've changed in the ten years she'd been "asleep".

[shining_nox]

And an eight-year-old child, whoever he normally was, wasn't that threatening in the first place.

"This is Neocontra." Albel smiled and held out a small hand. "I'm Albel. Albel Nox. It's nice to meet you, miss."

[former_ai]

"Aelita. Aelita Hopper." She took the offered hand with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, too."

She tilted her head quizzically. "'Neocontra'?" she repeated.