Arrival Post

[thornandmoss]

Briar's wary gaze slid around the unfamiliar room, and he prepared a tiny shoot of power to untie the hemp cords that held knives in place under his shirt, an impractical sheath for anyone but a plant mage. No windows, no visible entrance or exit. Metal walls, metal device above his head, metal pedestal with a partly metal device on it. And as

Comments

[holo}

[tin_hearts]

Cain listened to the new voice and only barely refrained from rolling his eyes skyward. It was both a blessing and a curse to know new people would be coming here at semi regular intervals; good in that they needed all the bright minds and able bodies they could get to figure out how to get the shining city on the hill out of there - bad because he knew exactly how hard it could hit you to find yourself trapped so far away from home.

He wiped his hands on the washcloth and drained the sink, throwing the cloth over his shoulder and turned to face the tablet, lying on its lonesome on the living room table. He looked at the young man, acknowledged that he really had no idea what actual age he was, and walked on over to send a holo message of his own.

"No one knows why we're here, kid," he said, offering a small, knowing smile to go with his matter-of-fact tone of voice. "I wish I could help. Name's Wyatt Cain...I'd call it a pleasure under any other circumstance."

[holo]

[thornandmoss]

Briar started at the voice, turning to face a miniature figure, presumably a magical construct, now above the pedestal. "Why we're here," he repeated, emphasis on the significant word. "Obviously that means I'm not alone in this. You don't appear to be locked in a bare metal room, though, at least." He shook his head. Closing his eyes in concentration for a moment, Briar adjusted his vision for seeing magic before opening his eyes and looking at the figure again. Nothing. Not magic. Briar frowned, bewildered and all the more apprehensive because of it. His magical vision slipped away as soon as he blinked.

"I'm Briar Moss," he offered, stifling the worry and frustration before it could creep into his voice. "I don't suppose you'd have any idea where here might be, would you?" It was easy to make the question sound nonchalant, but really, who did Briar think he was going to fool with that? His new acquaintance was right about one thing. The circumstances did pretty much preclude pleasure and pleasantries.

[holo]

[tin_hearts]

Cain nodded, rounding the edge of the coffee table and sat down on his couch (and after a year in this literal hole, he considered it his couch simply because he'd earned it by now) - his surroundings kept neat and tidy, the decor aiming at what some might call 'Spartan'.

"Nope. But I got a name for you. 'Taxon'. It's a very large city, with just a handful inhabitants like you and I. Prisoners, for want of a better term. We don't know why or when or where, but we're trying to gather information as we go along. Record things, for future reference."

[holo]

[thornandmoss]

Briar had done a lot of traveling in the past few years, and looked at a lot of maps. One thing he could say for certain was that no city called Taxon was located on any of them. He raised an eyebrow at the name. "I'm pretty sure there's no Taxon anywhere around the Pebbled Sea. Is it a code name?" He hoped it was a code name. Briar didn't want to think about what an alternative might be.

A large city as a prison was a far more intimidating idea than one room or building in a familiar city. It might be a more attractive prison, but it didn't bode well for getting back home. "Any information I should know?" Briar asked with an attempt at a jovial grin. Time to start looking for a way out.

[holo]

[freaks_myword]

Looked like the aliens were looking to meet some kind of quota. The newbies were rolling in faster and faster. She didn't mind. It kept things interesting, without her having to dance around like a puppet whenever the little green men wanted her to.

She hadn't really been listening at first. Something about metal, but she waited until he was done with his spiel before speaking up.

"You'll be sitting there 'til the sun goes down, honey," she said, her lips twitching into a knowing, amused smile. "They don't greet their guests."

[holo]

[thornandmoss]

"Obviously there's a welcome party of some kind, sweetheart," Briar responded with an answering smile, taking his cues from Gwen, "or you and I wouldn't be talking. The party just doesn't seem to be attended by the people who did the inviting in the first place." Well, on the bright side, Briar felt as if he were a little bit closer to familiar ground.

He sat and made himself comfortable within view of the pedestal where the figures had appeared. Only a very slight smirk belied seriousness when Briar added, "Maybe I was just waiting for you."

[holo]

[freaks_myword]

Oh lookie here, looked like they had a Prince Charming. And one who knew how to use his deductive reasoning. She was impressed that he had control of his wits enough to give her a line. That was definitely something you didn't see often. Or ever. Still, all of Gwen's willingness to be helpful, what little there was, went out the window.

"In that case? You'll still be waiting 'til the sun goes down. I'm not going anywhere near that tin can again."

[holo]

[thornandmoss]

Alright, Briar was willing to admit he'd misjudged her. A lot of girls he knew would respond poorly to a line like that from anyone. Granted, none of the girls in question would ever call a stranger 'honey.' The idea of Tris or Daja doing so was laughable.

He readjusted, dropping the flirtation for the time being, less playful and a bit more sincere when he spoke again. "'Again' does imply that you were here already and therefore that you know how to get out. Would you mind sharing the secret, or should I ask someone else?"

[visual]

[poisonousparty]

"Look alive, sunshine. Welcome to a gilded cage that's pumped up full-throttle, expanding your universe one day at a time, cityrat."

Have a shock of red hair on your tablet, hazel eyes staring intently.

"Aliens. Kidnapped. Some sick kinda social experiment. Watch the food and water, it's drugged. Watch the people without bracelets, they're automatons. Watch the people with bracelets, they've all got their fair share of emotional baggage checked-in an the Holiday Inn, ready and waiting for a whole ton of excuses to fuck you over." A wry smile. "I'm Party Poison, and if you know what's milkshake, bring the slaughtermatic jams over here, if you're picking up what I'm putting down."

Hey. Party was trying to explain things. Not his fault if no one here save for Kobra Kid spoke the peculiar dialect of English that Killjoys did.

[holo] - Briar has no idea how to change the settings on this thing

[thornandmoss]

Briar laughed at the easy stream of mostly unintelligible slang as he got up and walked over to the pedestal to look down at the screen. Party Poison did not seem like a very welcoming name, but the speaker sounded nice enough. And as someone who had once been named Roach, Briar really didn't think he had room to talk about names.

He responded with a grin, completely unperturbed by Party's phrasing. "Drugged with what? What's an automaton?" Briar skipped over the emotional baggage part. That, he was fairly certain he understood correctly, and he was no exception to the rule. "I can't bring anything anywhere till I figure a way out of this room. I'm picking up a decent amount of what you're putting down, but I could probably stand to pick up a bit more."

[visual]

[poisonousparty]

Party blinks rapidly, clearly surprised by something. Or more accurately: this guy responded to him with something other than just a confused stare and 'what?'

He runs a hand through his hair, sighing slightly. "Alrighty, well, you gotta touch the tablet thing my face is on, and then sssshhhhhhhkrt, door'll open. Anyway--dunno what it's drugged with. I ain't eating it." It shows on his face--he's gaunt, pale. Starving himself due to pure paranoia.

"And those automatons? They're Extras. They're here but not really here, trapped in a cycle of living and not-living. Personally? I don't give two zappers and a lawnmower about 'em, but other people do." He's still bitter about the Molotov cocktail incident.

[holo]

[thornandmoss]

Briar recognized that blinking stare. It was the same one he got every time he met somebody new in a slum and broke out in the same street slang they used. Even if he looked like a Bag now, that didn't mean Briar had forgotten how he talked for half his life. The best thing to do in response to the stare was grin and carry on as if no pause ever happened

[visual]

[goodluck_kobra]

Kobra watched the newbie on the tablet, sunglasses hiding his eyes as always and a few strands of blond hair hanging in his face.

"You'll be sitting for a while then, tumbleweed," he mumbled, flashing a grin. He was sure others had explained already, were better at explaining than him anyway.

"Welcome to Taxon, I guess."

[holo]

[thornandmoss]

Briar frowned thoughtfully at the greeting from the newcomer hidden behind tinted spectacles like the ones Tris had lately taken to wearing. "I'd like to think that if I'm a weed, I'm at least one that's nice and rooted to the ground, growing like weeds always do," he mused. "Then again, if I wound up here I suppose tumbleweed fits well enough. I have been traveling a lot lately."

He smirked at the welcome, returning it in kind. "Thanks, I guess."

[holo]

[goodluck_kobra]

Kobra actually laughs at that, the sound scratchy because of his cold. It's a good answer, as far as he'd ever heard one.

"Where you been traveling too? Apart from this cage."

[holo]

[thornandmoss]

"Make sure you take care of that cold," Briar advised with mild concern. Colds weren't much to be concerned with, unless you were in conditions that made them worse. He didn't have his kit with him, so he couldn't offer any teas or medicines

[Visual]

[imperial_long]

"Good afternoon, and welcome," says a man's voice, very British-sounding (not that 'British' means anything to Briar). "Inasmuch as one can in good faith offer a welcome.

"My name is Mayland Long. Has anybody explained how to leave the room yet?"

[Visual]

[thornandmoss]

"Ah, so it's afternoon," Briar said. "Hard to tell in a big metal room without windows." Afternoon was good, he noted with a grim smile. It meant a little bit of daylight for exploring. Not that Briar ever minded wandering a city at night, but he liked to get to know it a bit first.

"I'm Briar Moss," he answered with a nod, handshakes being an impossibility over the device. "And as for leaving, I've got that covered now. The offer is still appreciated though."

[Visual]

[imperial_long]

"Very good. There is quite a bit else you should know-- of the glitches, of the Extras, how to use your tablet-- has any of this been covered yet? Or perhaps I should ask if you have questions."

[Visual]

[thornandmoss]

Briar thinks for a moment about what he wants to know, beginning with, "A map of the city would be nice, if you know where I could find one." He doesn't really need it; exploration of the city will happen either way, and be more informative. But a starting point would be helpful considering this city doesn't seem to function along the lines of any other he's visited.

He frowns, looking down at the tablet. "And as for this, I've never seen anything like it. I've idea how it works aside from whatever it's doing on its own right now.