notyourutopian | First Injection [Action then Audio]

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First Injection [Action then Audio]

[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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You know what? Me, either. But I'll take free stuff over no stuff.

Only about as long as I've been here. [His tone is playful, teasing. He knows that's exactly what she was implying with her question.] A few more months and I think it'll be a year. I always thought it was weird when people'd say it never feels like it, but I'm starting to think they're right. Time flies, you know?

A year...

[She's quiet for longer than she really means to be.]

Everyone keeps saying things like that but I...I cannot believe it. I can't be here that long.

I know it doesn't count for much, but at least the world's not goin' anywhere without ya.

So people keep insisting.

I'm just finding it rather difficult to believe. It sounds like something that is meant to placate me, rather than something that can actually be true.

I can't say I blame you. I still haven't heard of anywhere where stuff like this is normal. But I don't think people would say it if they didn't have a reason to believe it.

Edited 2013-07-12 07:58 (UTC)

Because they need to, it makes them feel better, to believe that being here doesn't ruin the life they've been stolen from.

[She sighs.]

I want to believe it too. And I've seen the impossible happen, so maybe...

[She definitely has a point. And he understands it, because haven't they all been in a place like that sometime in their lives? Still, though...]

Well, the reason I believe it is because someone I'm sorta close to back home was here once. A good friend told me about it. But the guy I know never left home—I'm pretty sure I'd know if he'd just been replaced by a robot or somethin'. So I think that whole thing about time not moving has gotta be true.

Maybe. [Eleanor was too bitter right now to really believe it.]

It's a nice thought, at least.

Sometimes, that's all we really have. But it's important to stay positive, you know?

Sorry I can't be much more help, though.

I wish it were that easy. But I spent so long working for something only to have it snatched away...

There are some things here that are amazing. I've never seen anything like them before. But...

It's not enough.

'Til we can get outta here, I'm not sure anything will be enough. There might be some people who don't mind it, but most of us just do what we can to get by.

[He's honest, perhaps a little more than he'd usually be, because he really does get the feeling. This place did have plus sides, but man, the things he'd do in order to be able to get home...]

If I had arrived with my family, this might not be so bad. I could...not minding it.

But I didn't.

Well, you never know. I mean, New Feathers are still due to show up for a few more days. You could get lucky.

[He doesn't discourage her. Some people might, saying that they wouldn't want their family here and all that, but family was important. It was easier here when you had someone you could trust around.]

But you know, I can vouch for the people here, too. They're alright. Really good about helping each other out. They might not be family, but they can be great friends.

So everyone I speak to keeps insisting.

[She hesitates.]

I...have not spent much time around people I would consider...trustworthy or worth knowing. It's a difficult thing to believe.

Then take it at your own pace. You don't have to believe it 'til you're ready. If you're ever ready. Things like that take time. I kinda know how that feels.

But if you ever need anything? Don't be afraid to ask. I, for one, would be happy to do what I can to help. I mean, you laughed at my jokes, I kind of owe you.

Thank you. I suppose all I can do is wait. I still haven't even gone into town.

[She doesn't really have any plans to, either.]

They were fairly terrible jokes.

Then you'll be happy to know there's a ton more where that came from.

[He teases, of course! He amuses himself, tbh.]

The town ain't much to look at anyway. It might be hard to believe, but this place is actually pretty quiet most of the time.

That's such a relief. [Apparently she can tease a little, at least.]

The...village...does look quiet. I am used to a city, albeit one that was in its dying moments. I'm just...mm. I am not especially comfortable around people.

It's the people that usually make it interesting. But if you're not comfortable around them, you've probably got plenty of ways to keep yourself busy, huh?

I've kept myself busy with things that don't seem to matter in the least here, so I doubt they apply.

And it's not that I wasn't around people, just that the people in Rapture, they...

Well. They hardly qualified as people.

[Jason almost wants to ask, but he wonders if that might be too personal. He decides it's probably better not to.]

I think the people here are mostly people-like. [...oh, wait a minute. Ponies. Turtles. Beasts? He should account for them, too.] Uh, well, sometimes, they're not, but as far as I know, there's nothing bad about them.

You know, a lot of the things I like to do aren't all that useful here, either. That's when you gotta get creative.

Sometimes they're not? Not what?

[Don't be confusing!]

I spent years trying to revive my father and escape from my mother. Neither of whom are here. So I rather doubt those particular skills can be...retasked.

...oh. [Well, now he feels just a little awkward. What are you supposed to say to that?] Uh. Sorry. I didn't realize it was so... complicated.

[It's an awkward apology, but an apology nonetheless. That feels like a pretty good place to start.]

Well, I mean, sometimes, they're not human. I know for a fact that there are talking horses here, brought in from other worlds just the same way that we were. There's animals, monsters, spirits... But not usually the kind you have to worry about.

Edited 2013-07-14 10:41 (UTC)

Talking horses.

[Well, she met a girl from a fairy tale, so...why not?]

They're probably better company than the humans I am used to.

They might be. Sure, it's weird, but you can't judge a book by its cover. Especially not in a place like this.

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