First Injection [Action then Audio]

[notyourutopian]

[One moment, Eleanor had fighting for her life through the tunnels of Inner Persephone, the dark secret prison of Rapture, her and her father fighting off her mother's twisted splicer minions. Behind them, waiting for the way to be safe, was a group of young girls, all recently freed from her mother's twisted grip, and all of them hoping to escape the city. And they were going to!]

[And then, a moment later, she was waking up to the soft sound of running water and the strange tickle of grass against her nose. For a moment she simply lay there, her mind trying to process what had happened, before the water sound really pushed its way into her consciousness. She wasn't wearing her suit and she could hear running water!]

[She shoved herself up onto her hands and knees, her eyes searching for whatever leak had to be nearby. Running water in Rapture meant a leak, and a leak meant collapsing buildings, and that meant...that...

[Rather than the twisted metal walls and massive windows of a Rapture tunnel, she found herself sitting in a field of grass, a small stream (the source of the water) bubbling nearby. Trees rose up nearby, healthy, giant trees like nothing she had ever seen, and above it...]

[She had no idea how long she sat there, staring at the sky. There was just so much of it, so blue and distant and massive, looming above her. Her fingers dug into the soft ground, as if she half expected to be dragged up into the emptiness. But she'd dreamed of seeing the sky, and there it was. It wasn't until a bird flashed across her vision (a bird! she'd never seen one outside of pictures) that she was shaken from her trance. She...she could figure out the sky later. And the trees, and the stream! But she had to find out what was going on.]

Father? [She called out, quietly, startling a nearby animal, but nothing else. No response.] Father!

[Okay. He wasn't answering. She took a quick tally of her surroundings instead. She was wearing a dress similar to the ones her mother always brought for her, flimsy and white, more nightgown than anything else, and she plucked at the fabric a few times. It wasn't quite the same. A quick search of the ground nearby found her diving suit, thank heavens, leaning up against a tree, her helmet settled on the lap, the metal framework and gear propped up nearby. If this was a trick of her mother's, some insane thing, why would she have left her her...oh. The syringe was missing. So, a suit without a weapon. Still her suit!]

[Whatever was going on, she'd feel better with the familiar weight on. So she tugged the suit loose from the tree and pulled the back open, stepping into it and tugging it up...and then letting out a startled sound of pain, sending some nearby birds scattered, as she tried to tug it up over something in her back. Something that hurt!]

[Some twisting about finally revealed the strange, white wings attached to her back, their soft color marred by blotches of reddish brown. What in...she frowned at them, and the wings fluttered as if in response. And she could feel them, now that she knew they were there, feel the ache where she'd tried to tug her suit around them, feel them shift with her breathing. She had wings. She had WINGS!]

[Had mother caught her and subjected her to another round of those injections? Was this her own first showing of the awful mutations that had destroyed Doctor Alexander? Although his had been...much worse and much less...well. She had wings. They fluttered again with her shock, the motion sending weird little shivers up her spine, and she had to close her eyes, giving herself a moment to adjust. Whatever it was, she couldn't do anything about them now.]

[So what else was different? She backed away from the tree for a moment, leaving her suit on the ground again. A quick glance around revealed a tree branch, and she held up her hand, mentally willing it to come towards her, feeling the soft shift in the back of her mind as her telekinesis responded and the branch flipped up into the air and towards her. She caught it, hefting it once, then let it drop. She lifted her hand, concentrated, and a burst of fire engulfed her fingers, blisters and burns forming immediately along her otherwise pale skin. She shook the fire and pain away quickly and watched her hand heal back over. So her plasmids still worked. Nothing felt different. She just...had wings.]

[That, and she couldn't put her suit on. So instead she gathered up her helmet and tucked it under her arm, tied the metal framework to the fabric legs of the suit, and drug it along behind her as she started quietly through the forest. Whatever mother had done to bring her here, she'd find one of the woman's splicers soon enough and get answers. Whether they wanted to give them or not.]

[Audio: Hours later]

This is Eleanor Lamb speaking. I was told that these books would allow me to communicate with other people that have been brought here as I was. I still don't quite think I believe it, but I suppose there's little point in doubting, given everything else that I've witnessed since I awoke.

[She hesitates, letting out a breath. She's talking to a book. It would've felt insane if not for the wings, and the strange people, and the sky...]

I am not certain what I am supposed to say. This is all...quite surreal to me. Am I supposed to talk about what I am thinking? That's what we did with the diaries back home, but they were personal, they weren't meant for others to hear.

Still. I guess it cannot hurt. All of this is rather overwhelming, honestly. Just a few hours ago the sky was nothing but a dream...and trees, and birds...and now it's all just...here. Rapture was a nightmare, and yet I'm not sure if I've woken up to something worse or better, or if this is all still some trick of mother's...

Heh. Maybe it's both. I don't-

[She cuts off, silent for a moment, and then makes a frustrated sound.]

This is ridiculous. I'm talking to a book.

[And the book closes with a thump.]

[ooc: Eleanor is supposed to run into Sheena first, but she can meet anyone else after that! She'll most likely be skulking around the edge of town, not quite willing to head inside yet, and be somewhat less violent once she's gotten some answers.]

Comments

[mountain_sage]

[Near the end of another patrol of the forest, Saleh is ready to head back to the village. He can be found at the edge of the village just before he enters. He hasn't found any new feathers yet this cycle, so he retires a little early.]

[notyourutopian]

[Despite what Eleanor has been told about the village, she doesn't trust it at all. Any of it, honestly. This could all still be some trick, she's sure of that. But it's all so real...She's sitting against a tree, her helmet in her lap, watching the distant people, when she hears approaching footsteps.]

[Immediately she's up and crouching, her dark eyes searching for the approaching figure, her hand held up threateningly in the direction of the sound.]

Whoever is there, come out or you'll regret it!

[mountain_sage]

[Saleh steps out of a clearing, then stops to face her, staring curiously. He's just carrying his sack of supplies over his shoulder, and his healing staff in his hand.]

Hmm...?

[audio]

[250mhzwabl]

You can think of it as a very odd telephone, if you like.

[The voice on the other end of the connection is similarly English, though male and exceedingly affable. He's long since reconciled himself to feeling like he's helped, even if all he does is talk to newcomers and become one of the myriad voices reinforcing a frankly unbelievable story.]

Pleasure to meet you, Eleanor. I'm Jack Holden. Are you all right?

[audio]

[notyourutopian]

[There's a delay, because she honestly wasn't expecting the book to talk back. So she takes a few moments, trying to figure out what the trick is before she leaves it open in her lap again.]

It's hardly anything like a telephone. [A pause.] And no. I'm not alright at all, why would I be? This is all insane. Who are you? Where are you?

[audio]

[250mhzwabl]

Sorry, I meant more in the sense of 'are you injured' and 'do you need food.' I know that arriving here is a shock.

[Jack grins, itching at his hairline as he settles down in front of his book. Behind the little, automatic picture the page periodically refreshes of him, there's nothing but bright, open blue sky.]

Right now, I'm at the beach to the east of the village. As for who I am, I can give you the entire biography, but I'll warn you it might take awhile.

voice;

[degleamed]

For what it's worth, this isn't a trick. I know it's very confusing at first, but if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

voice;

[notyourutopian]

[Well, she doesn't sound dangerous, at least...]

Questions. I have a million questions. I wouldn't even quite know where to start, honestly.

voice;

[degleamed]

That's not too surprising. Things might be a bit overwhelming now, but you'll settle in eventually.

[action]

[corrinesbell]

[It is a mystery what, exactly, Sheena is doing in the forest at this time of day. Whatever it is, it takes sufficient concentration and she completely misses the new girl walking along just a few feet from where she drops out of a tree. Neat landing, too.]

[action]

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor immediately took two steps back, her eyes wide at the woman who had just dropped out of the tree. To attack her, presumably, it was the only reason she could think of to hide like that...and it wouldn't have been the first time someone had jumped off a higher ledge to get at her and father.]

[For a split second, her mind tried to point out that she didn't look like a splicer. No mask, no scars, no visible weapon. And aside from houdini splicers, they were hardly very good at sneak attacks, always shouting and shivering and making noise.]

[But what else could it be? So she drops her helmet on the ground and leaps forward to try and grab at the girl with her TK and slam her up against the tree before she can react. A less lethal attack than usual, but she needed information.]

Where are we? How did mother DO this?!

[rashness]

[Well he's on the edge of town, he has has a tail...!


...


Okay more context. Rin has a tail, indeed, but he also has a sword in it's scabbard on his back. He's out here to head up to that Sakura tree hill. Of course nothing's going to be in bloom and it's not Rei's shrine, but there's a little shrine there which he found a while back which seems sort of abandoned. He suspects who it might have belonged to, so he's coming with a few cleaning supplies (mostly just a duster, really) to sprouse it up a bit. Just because that seems right to do]

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor had found the shrine on her prowling around the village, and stopped to examine it. She'd never seen anything like it, they had nothing like this in Rapture, nothing like it in any of the books she read or the memories stuffed into her head. So...she was curious.]

[Her suit and helmet were set on the ground nearby as she crouched over to consider it, but at the approaching footsteps she spins around, her posture defensive, her eyes narrowed.]

...Who's there?

[originaljackass]

Stay here long enough, babe, and it'll be the ones reading books that look weird to you.

[notyourutopian]

...Why would reading be weird?

[Sorry, she's too frustrated to put those two comments together.]

voice;

[curiositykills]

Hey, better a book than a tree. That would be ridiculous.

voice;

[notyourutopian]

[That's random enough that she actually laughs, just a short, quiet, surprised laugh.]

They're both ridiculous.

[Voice - SO LATE TO THIS PARTY]

[tearmeanewone]

It's a little weird at first, but everyone can hear you. So it's almost like a book-shaped radio?

[Sort of...?]

I'm Elizabeth. Do you need any help? Are you hurt at all?

[Voice] Late is better than never. :D

[notyourutopian]

Except a radio has parts inside it. Switches, gears...Bits and bobs. [She almost laughs. She hasn't thought of it that way in years.] This is just paper.

Ah...I suppose I am as fine as I can be, given everything going on. I hardly even know what I would need.

[voice]

[fourthgenerationprincess]

It's not just a book! It's a method of communicating with Luceti as a whole, and a way to store all the information you want.

Re: [voice]

[notyourutopian]

[There is a sound of rustling paper as Eleanor shakes her book.]

But it's a book. It's made of paper and a cover. It shouldn't work.

action;

[prims]

[ While she never goes far into the woods, Prim sometimes goes near the outskirts, or in a little ways. Just searching for herbs or flowers of interest, a basket slung over one arm as she hunts, crouching down to look at something there or examining a tree here.

She's cautious but not skilled enough to notice if she's being watched or followed. Prim is not the Everdeen with the skills for that. ]

action;

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor hadn't quite realized anyone else was nearby, a momentarily laps, or perhaps Prims footfalls were just quiet enough that the girl didn't notice. She was used to the hard metal and wood of Rapture, where footsteps carried, not the dirt and grass of a forest.]

[She has her diving helmet tucked under her arm, and is dragging her suit along behind her when she steps out of the clearing and spots the...girl?...kneeling there. For a moment she's defensive, a hand raising, prepared to attack until she realizes just how young she looks...]

[She winds up just standing there staring like an idiot. Whoops.]

september 9th. voice.

[dickmoves]

[ He's nearing the end of the pages, starting to lose interest. There's only so much he can take before boredom inevitably sets in and he's bored with his research.

There is a lot of talking on this thing.

He only catches the tail end of that, he's already zoning out and wondering if he should turn to some actual recon work. ]

And here I was thinking that's the norm.

september 9th. voice.

[notyourutopian]

[Eleanor actually has to flip for a while before she figures out where the voice is coming from, and she frowns at the page before she answers, uncertain what he is referring to.]

Excuse me?