[OPEN] standing dumb in the light

[glowsferatu]

WHO: Kanaya Maryam and YOU!
WHERE: Dormitory levels
WHAT: Kanaya wakes up, she is not at all fond of her circumstances. And so the Tower receives a glowing alien girl conspicuously and shiveringly sneaking through the hallway.
HOW: Action

[ thirty seconds of sleep paralysis is a hell of an introduction to a new setting. by the time it's worn off, kanaya has found plenty of time to begin panicking. it doesn't look like any memory she's ever had, so the most reasonable explanation is that it must be someone else's. it's a dream bubble, right? it has to be. that doesn't explain the collar. something is wrong here. who put her in this ugly jumpsuit? who would even make such an ugly outfit?

once she's on her feet, she spares a moment to wonder if she should make the bed before deciding that there are bigger problems at hand, and ends up missing her introduction letters in the process. she elects to sneak out into the hallway instead, only to find it's cold. unreasonably cold, especially in this miserable outfit. her best hope is to keep moving, see if the bubble doesn't change if she does, stopping at each corner to peek around it. you never know what you might encounter in these things. ]

Comments

[iron_infidel]

[The cold had started to nip at his nose so to speak. In the moment he was hunched over, trying to keep warm with the cloak he had on hand. Every so often he would lift his head and blow into his hands, creating a wispy cloud around his face. His ears twitch at bit at the sound of one approaching. Slowly the older troll lifts his hand, bringing his hands to curl around his body as he comes to comprehend just who approaches him.

At the sight of her, he can't help but smile. There was no need to process just who she was even if she was in an atrocious garment. Her form matches, horns and even the structure of her face. Younger and elegant, this was the younger version of his lusus. He had to speak to her.]

Hello, young one.

[glowsferatu]

[ okay what the hell. no, really, just straight up What The Hell. she stops dead in her tracks once she sees him, just trying to imagine what kind of timeline could have produced a guy like him. he wasn't karkat, at least she didn't think so, but the resemblance was pretty plain. ]

Uhhhh.

...Hi.

[iron_infidel]

[Her hesitation was acceptable and he retreated. He dropped to a more relaxed pose, muttered a cough fro under his breath and slowly came to stand against the wall. He did not approach for fear of spooking her.]

I apologize I am used to the others, knowing of my title and being. I do hope I did not spook you.

[A pause, she looked so much like her. It was hard to look away.]

Perhaps an explanation of the location might be helpful?

[worldend_dominator]

[Rosa had almost gotten used to this feeling of having someone watch her, but turning around to see no one. However, this time, when she turns around, she can see a strange glowing girl. She almost jumps back in surprise.]

W-who are you?

[glowsferatu]

[ kanaya definitely jumps back. certainly not ready to attack, but on her guard, prepared to defend herself if anything. ]

I could just as easily ask you that very same question!

[worldend_dominator]

I'm one of the Tower residents.

[She couldn't see the girl's face well with this lighting, but she seemed a little familiar.]

[hystericull]

[Not amused. This kid was not amused - and definitely not fucking warm, either, despite the brand new winter coat that he was trying so desperately to homogenize with. On the upside, said winter coat had just been freshly washed, to the jubilation of Tower inhabitants and nose-owners everywhere. Despite being a sour-spirited, filthy-mouthed basket case, Gamzee Makara radiated the pleasant scent of Mountain Breeze detergent.]

[Bent awkwardly in some sort of vertical pretzel before one of the Network terminals, the boy's fingers slammed on the keys, sending half-hearted death threats and strings of profanities through cyberspace to randomly-selected recipients. Honestly, the whole procedure was only an attempt to get some circulation going through his fingers. The messages he was sending were probably too jumbled to read anyway, as shivers wracked his hands every time he'd even considered turning a thought into text.]

[An approaching figure soon distracted him from his stewing, and the more he ignored it, the more its tentative movements on the edge of his vision irritated him. Snapping his head around rather quickly, he caught sight of Kanaya.]

[Again.]

[He wouldn't have given her a second thought if she hadn't been in that fucking hideous jumpsuit. Not hideous in the unfashionable sense - because this particular troll was lacking not only all senses, but especially the fashion variety - but hideous in the "extremely hard to piss" sense. That was an endeavor he wasn't too keen on experiencing a second time.]

[He didn't really have the energy to deal with another newcomer Maryam, especially since this place seemed to pluck people out of any old time it fucking felt. Maybe she wouldn't even know who the hell he was? Whatever. It'd been so swift, her disappearance and return, that he was just a little curious, is all.]

[When her wandering put her within a respectable distance for conversation, he placed his bony chin on the palm of his hand, still curling in on himself in that chair to keep warm.]

You fuckin' be forgetting something after you up and bounced, motherfucker? Fastest motherfuckin' turnaround rate a brother all was ever to be fucking seeing, for fuckin' real.

[glowsferatu]

You.

[ well would you look who it is? after a year of fruitless searching, he suddenly reveals himself of his own accord! much as she may respect this sudden desire to eschew cowardice, she's not about to let the opportunity slip past her, either.

she hunches her shoulders immediately, assuming a more battle-ready stance, then reaches out her hand to accept her weapon, only to find nothing happening. okay she knows it should be there, what is the deal? where is her sylladex at all, for that matter?

she would pat her pockets, but she doesn't have any. these aren't her regular clothes, and even if they were those wouldn't have pockets either. really the whole pocket-patting instinct is entirely absurd to begin with, so she just dismisses it instead. she took him barehanded last time, she should be able to do so again. ]

[hystericull]

[To say Gamzee wasn't extremely surprised by her reaction would definitely be a lie. However, in place of the startled, wide-eyed expression he was so used to wearing in a situation like this, he couldn't help replacing such anxiety with a look of... amused fascination. Bereft of the fear he was so certain he should have on the receiving end of such hostility, he instead found himself entertaining the possible catalysts for this Kanaya's seemingly newfound anger.]

Motherfucking me.

[A crooked-toothed grin spread across that painted face as he watched her discover (quite belatedly, in fact) that her sylladex was gone.]

Motherfuckin' me, motherfuckin' you. Being all kinds of fucking glad we all could be gettin' them mother fucking introductories out of the way like that.

[He turned himself to face her, still keeping his posture as relaxed as he could without leaving himself totally defenseless. She was obviously from a point in time he was not, and even if she was a jadeblood, he couldn't be sure she actually came from his universe. Although, given what information Karkat had revealed to him about how shit went down for everyone back in the Veil, he was pretty sure he had some idea of why she was so confrontational.]

[He liked it.]

[myblueskies]

[Just to add to the feeling of surrealness have a tiny barefooted human waving at you as he passes.] Hello Kanaya!

[Not even noticing the different clothes, mostly because his head hurts, he sounds funny because his nose is all blocked and he keeps sneezing.] Ken [A pause to rub his nose] Ken is calling a meeting soon, if you've got spare warm things you can share can you bring them? [And another sneeze...]

[glowsferatu]

[ there is a small human child who apparently knows her. okay, that happens in dream bubbles, there are a lot of hers floating about, much as she'd really rather not have to think about that. he's making weird noises and she's wondering if she should be concerned, she hasn't encountered that before. this ken fellow will be another mystery.

warm things would be nice to have, he is right about that. ]

What?

[myblueskies]

Another meeting tomorrow or the next day! [His repetition was followed by another batch of sneezing. He tilts his head at her] Are you okay Kanaya? Are you ill too?

[septette]

[ Sup. Around this corner is a Remilia, wings flapping in slight irritation, raising an eyebrow at...sudden glowing girl.

Wait. Horns. Yellow eyes. The face seems mildly familiar, too, from the leftovers of Karkat's memories resurfacing in her mind. She's one of the trolls.

Remilia just yawns. ]

Ohé! Which troll are you?

[glowsferatu]

Um.

[ okay she legitimately has no idea what she's looking at here right now. she at least thinks it's a girl, but what kind of girl is really anyone's guess. "humanoid" is about as far as she can conclude. ]

Well, that's not exactly privileged information, but generally an introduction is expected to carry some level of exchange to it.

[septette]

What, do you want to know my name? It's Remilia.

[tentacletrainer]

[[Rose was mostly attracted to the light. Light, at this point, was good. It was good and it was safe and it--

It was radiating from a very familiar person. Color the Hero of Light surprised, but not surprised enough to keep from glancing over her shoulder as she approaches her friend. By her side is a worried purple fox-like creature, but all it seems to be doing is following at this point. She's given up on trying to herd her trainer to her room.]]

Kanaya? I had no idea you were here too.

[[Pause to glance around in an almost nervous manner, scrutinizing their surroundings, checking to make sure no one is behind Kanaya...]]

...are you wandering around alone?

[glowsferatu]

[ oh thank goodness someone she actually knows. she exhales without realizing she'd been holding her breath. rose will probably know what's going on, or at least will be better enough at pretending to get some answers out of this, she hopes. ]

I hadn't really seen anyone to have accompany me. I guess I've just been...catching my bearings, though some may have rolled off into parts unknown.

[ she glances over at the small beast that rose has with her, frowning. ] What do we know about this place, exactly?

hi I am not late at all, nope

[geometry]

[Well that sure is a Kanaya head, a glowing Kanaya head, peering around the corner. And there's a glowing Kanaya body attached to it.]

[What.]

[Equius stares at the troll for a second, trying to figure out whether it was a hallucination or not (he'd been getting quite a few of those lately). It certainly seemed like a hallucination, since last time he checked Maryam had not turned into a night light. But just to be sure, he had to grab her attention somehow...]

...Uh.

[As usual, he is a master of grace and eloquence.]

[glowsferatu]

[ her gaze darts to him the moment he opens his mouth. equius, okay, that's...yellow. is this some kind of roleplay he's participating in? is it a...uh...kind of roleplay that she probably doesn't want to know anything about or witness in a million lifetimes?

questions, big questions, important questions. questions she honestly doesn't know if she wants answered. she tries to hold back a cringe but fails spectacularly. she is not moving from the corner, but she can't look away. he has her full and undivided attention and she doesn't like it one bit. ]

[reddeadvirtuoso]

[Jade was a bit too preoccupied rubbing her arms from the cold (her God-Tier pajama top starting to be woefully unequipped to keeping her warm), and sniffling behind her scarf from the flu, and the clash of temperatures were not very fun. Plus her brain was pre-occupied with...time, keeping, because hey it was at least something to think about, and these all combined to her looking down as she walked down the hallway, and accidentally bumping into Kanaya and jumping back on reflex.]

W-Whoah--! Sorry dudette. [oh hey the jade Kanaya was back look at that.]

[glowsferatu]

[ kanaya had been wrapped up in her own thoughts, mostly involving space, particularly the current one she's inhabiting, particularly what the hell it even is, so she hadn't seen jade until the moment she hit. once she had, kanaya puts her hands out to help steady the perpetrator of her sudden accostment, but they had already taken a step back out of her reach.

there's something vaguely familiar about them, like a nag at the back of her head, but she can't quite put her finger on what it is. ]

Not at all, the fault is just as much my own. I could have paid better attention, perhaps anticipated the collision enough to have avoided it.

[knightime]

Kanaya?

[Dave only really recognized her because she looked similar to a Kanaya that was already here and he had met a Kanaya before she had disappeared again.

He...doesn't recall the glowing, but he's long since stopped being surprised by these small differences. It seemed to be a common trait in that everyone always seemed slightly different.]

You didn't get any clothes in your trunk?

[glowsferatu]

Dave! [ thank whatever god you like, she's in an unfamiliar place full of unfamiliar people and she's glad to see someone she knows. she sprints up next to him, shivering. ]

I only had this dreadful thing I awoke in. What trunk are you talking about?

[caliginous]

[When peeking around the corner, Kanaya will likely spot a pair of familiar horns. Unfortunately, instead of being attached to the inconpicuous long-sleeved black sweatshirt, they are attached to a dapper blue suit jacket and black pants, with horrendously gaudy red shoes. At least she had a friend in the cold, judging by the way his shoulders are shaking.

He also looks as if he's avoiding people, because when he turns to spot Kanaya, he jumps a little, narrowing both eyes in her direction. If it wasn't clear that this Vantas was different before, perhaps the seven-pupiled eye would clue her in now.]

I'd say you should stay inside, but ain't nothing gonna help you now, except for a god damn bubble.

[glowsferatu]

[ she was going to comment on the wardrobe, especially since she couldn't imagine karkat ever wearing hemotypical footwear, but after spotting his eye she thinks better of it. now she just wants to ask What The Hell over and over and over again. she doesn't do that, either. she just stares. she stares and tries to make sure her jaw doesn't drop, which it luckily doesn't.

maybe it's a mistake, maybe there's just something in his eye and it isn't at all what it looks like. why in the world would it be? how could that even happen? she doesn't want to think about this. ]

A-aren't we in a bubble already? Maybe? [ she really isn't sure anymore, but can't think of any more reasonable explanation. ]