(july intro log) WELCOME TO THE CONTAINMENT ZONE! (for real this time.)

[vestigemods]

JULY INTRO LOG

► PROMPT 1 ► WAKING UP

Whenever you're from or wherever you were, you awaken now with the mildest of headaches in-... oh, this is new. For some people, you wake in a cabin - in a bed, on the floor, amidst boxes in the basement - and for others, you wake up somewhere else entirely. Off in the woods. Between aisles in a run-down gas station. Lying on a branch ten feet up a local tree. Perhaps even on a leaky boat out on the middle of a lake. It's mid-morning, and across the nine square miles of containment zone, a little under two-dozen people are waking up just as you are. I'm sure you'll run into some of them soon enough.

This might be your first time waking up where you don't expect to be. If it is, consider yourself lucky to have missed what came before. For those have been through a Loop or three (or five or twelve), you'll find that waking this time feels different. It's as though you've woken from a dream - and that's what those memories feel like, trapped in the semi-tangible realm between dream and reality, though if pressed you can probably discern that they were undeniably real. (Or perhaps you can't - or perhaps some of the memories are missing altogether. This is hardly a precise science.)

Somewhere in your vicinity (in your hand, in your pocket, on your chest) is a smartphone, if you're able to recognize it as such. The models tend to vary, but they all share the capacity to connect to what seems to be an overarching network, able to connect to others with similar devices via text, voice calls, or even video messages.

But the phone is likely the least of your concerns, at least for now. More pressing is where exactly it is that you've awoken and whether or not you've woken up alone.

PROMPT 2 ► THE CABINS + LAKE

As many as a dozen cabins sit in the general vicinity of the lake, some along the shore and some a bit farther back in the woods. Perhaps you awoke in one, or perhaps you're stumbling into one after dragging yourself out of the lake or through a couple of miles of woods. Either way, you're in perhaps the best place you might have ended up. The cabin's amenities are sketchy but functional, and the kitchen is stocked with food...

And let's not forget about the pamphlets.

On at least a couple of nearby tables or countertops sit a handful of them, fanned for display. They're vividly colored, depicting what you might recognize as the landscape outside, and the title reads: THE CONTAINMENT ZONE AND YOU! Within these pamphlets, a conversationally cavalier voice explains a bit about the Containment Zone, which (as it turns out) you're stuck in right at this very moment.


"THE CONTAINMENT ZONE AND YOU", summarized


• Where am I?
  Earth. Well - an Earth. Definitely not your Earth. if that creates more questions than it answers, glance to your left and right and ask any follow-up questions to whomsoever seems least confused.


• Why am I here?
  To feed the elder gods with your death and/or suffering in order to prevent any more of an apocalypse than we already had.


• Can I leave?
  Voluntarily? No. Involuntarily? Probably not.


• What do you mean, 'death'??
  Oh, calm down. You'll come back.


• I have very important shit to be doing/people to be saving/weed to be smoking back home!
  Lucky for you: If you go back, we'll put you back right where and when you left off. You won't miss a thing.


• Isn't that how you break time!? I'm pretty sure that's how you break time.
  Only if you remember this place and/or what you've learned here when you get back. Which you won't.


• Supplies?
  Cabins and gas station.


• Cabins?
  Yours. Pick one.


• Lake?
  Safe. (For now.)


• Moon?
  Haunted.


• Who even are you?
  Call us the Technicians. Individual identities don't matter. We may give you sweets and toys but we're not your friends.


• Do you at least negotiate?
  We'll consider it. Depends on what you're asking for. And, of course, on what you have to offer.


• Wait! I'm (insert emotions) and have more questions!
  How unfortunate. Expect your next pamphlet in 4-6 weeks.




Well, that certainly is... something. Lots to discuss, lots to consider. If you're the get-right-to-business sort, that could easily occupy you for a good long while.

Alternatively: It's a hot day, and you've just ever-so-conveniently learned that the lake is 'safe (for now)'. Why not go for a dip to clear your head? The water is actually impressively clear, offering visual reassurance of the lack of abject horrors lurking below.

Those who do swim find that the lake is, as promised, mostly innocuous. 'Mostly' being the key phrase, as anyone who swims out close to the center will find it getting more and more difficult to stay on the surface. As if you're getting heavier and heavier, or your limbs are getting weaker and weaker. It isn't enough to drown you (probably), but you certainly might find yourself considering how peaceful it might be if you let yourself sink.

These thoughts are simple enough to push away in much the same way you might push through the heaviness of your limbs. One could consider it more a warning than anything: Even that which is 'safe' should be treated with proper caution. (Quick and senseless deaths are junk food to the elder gods - tasty but unsatisfying.)

PROMPT 3 ► THE GAS STATION

At the south end of the containment zone sits an old gas station, run-down and overgrown at first sight. It sits alongside a cracked asphalt road, one which (as you might discover) bisects the containment zone from the east wall to the west without a single other building in sight.

You may have woken up here, or perhaps you found it at the pamphlet's behest. Either way, it's a discovery that you'll thank yourself for many a time as throughout the next few months here, for reasons that become apparent the moment you step inside.

In sharp contrast with the outside, the inside of the gas station looks... well, like a functional gas station should. Floors and surfaces seem recently-wiped, shelves seem stocked and organized... It's enough that if you're familiar with gas stations as a concept, you might find yourself reflexively glancing around for an attendant.

But no attendant seems to be present. Just shelves and shelves of goods - perishables and nonperishables, first aid supplies and whatever else one might expect to find at such an out-of-the-way pit stop, all ready for the taking. You might even find an extra surprise. Oh, and let's not forget a nice array of THE CONTAINMENT ZONE AND YOU! pamphlets on the check-out counter, in case you missed them back at the cabins.

Maybe you encounter someone here - are they friend, or foe? Maybe they're as lost and confused as you are. Maybe they're reaching for that last fucking can of Spaghetti-Os and you're serious about your fucking Spaghetti-Os. At least one person is definitely waking up in a gas station fridge... Maybe you're lucky(?) individual who spots them and has to decide whether or not you've discovered a corpse where the soda should be. The world (or, at least, the gas station) is your oyster.

PROMPT 4 ► THE WOODS + BARRIER

The vast majority of the containment zone is covered in evergreen forest, populated with wildlife that look and act disarmingly normal. It may, in fact, be a nice quiet place to stroll in order to clear your head. While large swathes of the woods are moderately dense, there are a number of paths to make your way along should you choose to. Birds sing overhead, deer occasionally bound across the path ahead... If you didn't know any better, you might be able to forget that this isn't a normal stretch of woods somewhere not far from home.

But nothing in the containment zone is truly harmless. The blackberry bushes that line many a cabin (you remember, the ones that make your mouth and tongue go numb?) are out in force in the woods, and out here they're even more of an infernal menace: While the cabin variety only cause havoc when ingested, so much as a scratch from the woods variety's thorns will induce a tingling numb in the affected area that lasts for the better part of an hour.

And let's not forget the lovely field of "wildflowers" that definitely aren't not infested with poison ivy. It's a shame, really. The flowers themselves are quite pretty, an array of pastel blues and pinks and oranges. It's almost like a painting, if touching that painting happened to make you itch, burn, and blister for one-to-two weeks.

But why are we talking about flowers? What you're truly interested in is the containment zone barrier, aren't you? That's fine, you're bound to encounter it out there somewhere. It's invisible until you touch it, at which point a honeycomb pattern ripples out from the point of contact. As a general rule, the barrier gives back what it gets: Place your palm on it and you'll receive a faint uncomfortable buzz. Run headlong into it, and it will ricochet you multiple yards back into the woods.

The barrier stretches all the way around the containment zone without a single break or point of yielding. No further buildings can be seen beyond the barrier, nor any real sign of civilization at all save for the gas station's road stretching past the barriers and out of sight. The only thing of passable interest is the somewhat concerning tree sitting at the far end of the field across the street from saud gas station, at least two-hundred yards past the barrier. At this distance, it's a bit tricky to make out what flocks in the tree's branches. Those have to be birds... right?

► MOD NOTES ►

• This log takes place from July 4th onward, arguably through whenever the event goes up - though you're welcome to toss up your own logs in the meantime. I'm gonna troubleshoot the HTML to leave a space for IC dates, but I didn't want to waste any more time on that right now.
  
• Vestige is now open for business! You're welcome to post logs + network posts of your own, post memes on vestigechat, whatever you want.
  
• This log is functionally intended to be a tour of the containment zone for new characters and players, with dashes of mild horror or discomfort along the way. Don't worry: The actual horror is rolling in later this month. (I'm tagging this under 'event' anyway, just to keep track of it.)
  
• You can literally have your character wake up wherever you want within the containment zone, even if I didn't list it. Go nuts.
  
• It's worth noting: None of the cabins are recognizable as the precise one from the TDM loop, nor is the forest fog still present. The forest is recognizably the same flora/fauna, but that's about it.
  
• You're welcome to include a network post with your top-level (or to put it up on vestigenet as per usual) - but don't forget to consult the NETWORK: USERNAMES ARE FUCKY drop-down of July's Infopost before you do!
  
• Direct any and all questions at Trace on plurk/discord or (for slightly slower answers) this top-level.
  
• My deepest most heartfelt apologies for the lateness, I failed to factor in my own godforsaken attention span.
  

Comments

Naminé | OPEN

[lethechained]

[ || A. LAKE

[ The strange alignment of sagging boards haphazardly supporting her weight is by far the most peculiar feeling that's ever startled Naminé out of her sleep. And it is a startle; she jerks awake all at once, hands naturally seeking purchase on whatever it is that's beneath her as her mind tries to make sense of what it's perceiving. Something slides down her side, landing in the shallow water at the bottom of the boat with a splash that only serves to make her flinch. The tiny vessel sways disconcertingly as she tries to get some part of herself upright, at least enough to see anything more than the unfamiliar expanse of sky above her.

But once she's seated awkwardly on one of the uneven, rotting planks and as level as can be managed, she finds no comfort in the knowledge of her surroundings. The trees are pretty enough; the cabins are picturesque. But the lake… just so happens to be all around her. Her head turns sharply, her hair unsettled from her shoulder, but looking is a fool's errand; in every direction, there's more water. And that would be fine, except for the fact that she can't swim.

Panic rises briefly in her chest as she double-checks over her shoulder, just in case there was somehow less liquid that direction. That goes about as well as could be expected, and with that option exhausted, Naminé remembers the only other information she's been presented with so far. Glancing down, she has to shift her legs out of the way to spot the phone lying on the decrepit wood making up the base of the boat, miraculously spared the fate of sliding through the nearby gap and sinking into the depths of the lake. With some hesitation, she fishes the device out, looks at a loss for a moment, then finally elects to carefully wipe it off on her otherwise dry dress.

Which leaves the question of what to do. Because she has to do something, doesn't she - and a cursory re-search of the area informs her that there is a paddle for this boat, it's just... floating on the surface of the water some distance away. It doesn't get any closer when she stares at it forlornly for a moment, and so begins her rather nerve-wracking effort to maneuver her weight in some way that won't tip the boat over as she tries to reach for the only method she has to get herself to shore.

It might be a bad idea to distract her. Her balance is looking pretty iffy, there. ]


[ || B. GAS STATION

[ There's ice cream.

This fact shouldn't be surprising to anyone who's ever been to a gas station convenience store, but looking at this girl, you'd think it was some kind of tremendous revelation. She's certainly been standing there staring at it long enough, lingering in front of the cooler like some kind of pathetic, sad-eyed wraith cursed to be forever unable to open doors or process dairy. Naminé looks the part, anyway, with her vaguely damp white dress and skinny, empty-handed limbs. Seriously, you'd think she'd have picked up at least a few other things by now, but it seems she's rather distracted with the concept of sweets.

So. Hope you didn't want ice cream, because she's kind of in the way. ]


[ || C. WILDCARD

[ Choose your own adventure! It can be related to these prompts or something else entirely. She'll be wandering around a lot, so go crazy. ]

lake

[skittering]

( oh, he definitely shouldn't distract her. that much is obvious even from the shore a decent distance away. but whether or not she knows him, he can't shake the - need to make sure she gets to shore safely.

and thus begins lalli's first runo in a just under a year. hands lift out to the sides just slightly, eyes closing, and under his breath he recites finnish that i'm far too tired to translate and naminé can't hear regardless - beseeching ilmarinen to lend steady breeze along the water's surface to assist the boat in travel.

perhaps naminé notices him as he casts. perhaps she only notices something has changed once the water around her ripples, her ramshackle boat beginning to drift toward shore with or without her aid. it's not terribly quick-moving, but it's something at least.

lalli, meanwhile, opens his eyes to squint out at the boat. is it moving? yes, it does seem to be moving - a fact that has an unanticipated wave of relief washing through him, as if some part of him had doubted himself a mage after all this time, or doubted his gods might hear him so far from home. it's enough that the slightest smile curls his lips, though that's long gone by the time naminé comes anywhere near the shore. )

[lethechained]

[ As concentrated as she is on not capsizing her flimsy vessel, Naminé hasn't the presence of mind to keep watch on the shore. The first warning she gets of his interference is a weird prickle on the back of her neck, but the feeling is easily overlooked in favor of her straining fingers. It seems hopeless to try to reach something so far away, but--

The introduction of a different kind of movement has her pulling in her hand abruptly, instinctively grasping the edge of the boat. For a second it feels like she's falling, yet she realizes just afterward that it's actually the boat which is moving. Disbelieving and uncertain, she angles a puzzled frown down at the water, then over toward the shoreline, trying to gauge if it's really getting closer. And it is. Which is odd, odd enough that she recalls that weird feeling she had just a moment ago. She's more sensitive to things like that here, where her powers haven't been taken from her; enough so that the strangeness of the experience prompts her to glance around further, and thus spot a figure that she'd half wondered if she'd dreamed.

The muddling of her memories from the loop wasn't enough to make her lose hold of them entirely, since recollections are her domain. Rather, she'd begun to wonder if it really was some strange kind of fever dream, though she'd never been accustomed to having that sort before. Yet that fellow on the shore looks suspiciously like the one she remembers - remembers not remembering - and if that's not proof that she didn't imagine it all, then she doesn't know what is. Hesitant, she regards him as the boat moves ever closer to land, not bothering to hide that she's seen him. Her legs tuck in to keep themselves out of the leaky bottom of the boat as she shifts position, adjusting her placement to wait patiently with both arms and legs inside the vehicle until it comes to a full and complete stop.

But that's taking an awfully long time, so as soon as she's certain she's within earshot, she calls out - in a voice quite unused to being raised - ]

Hello...?

[skittering]

Don't move. ( the words are called back just loud enough to be heard, his own voice similarly unused to volume. he doesn't see her moving all that much from here, so the words are more of a caution than any kind of scolding, but lalli would much prefer not to have to come in after her because the shambles of a boat she's floating on decides to tip or take on a sudden rush of water.

as for the next order of business... a slightly more wary, ) Do you remember me? ( just so that he knows from the get-go how to approach this once she reaches the shore and in the brief timespan before it. )

[lethechained]

[ The warning coincides with her own plans, since she's loathe to shift even the slightest amount while in such an unsteady boat. Nevertheless, she manages to dutifully remain even more still than she already was, which probably takes some talent. (It's a well-trained skill for her by now, given how often she's wanted very badly not to draw attention to herself.) ]

I won't, [ she agrees after a beat, just in case he needs the confirmation. Surely she can be forgiven for lifting her head a little at his question, though, since it doesn't cause her any additional wobbling. ]

Yes...! [ It's a bit louder than her previous response, considering the fact that this one is a touch more important. If she needed more confirmation about the accuracy of her memory, his inquiry is exactly that. But of course a moment later she has to amend, subtly apologetic, ] From the cabin.

[ Not from... before that. Even at a distance he might be able to see the faint sinking of her shoulders - and the boat, actually, because it's very slowly sagging lower and lower in the water as it moves toward the shore. Since she hasn't noticed that yet, she's instead preoccupied with making up for her supposed past forgetfulness by reaffirming the memories she does have of him. ]

Your name is Lalli, isn't it? You were looking after me.

[skittering]

( he nods an affirmative before realizing she might not be able to see it quite so far away and following up with a - ) That's right. ( it sounds mildly awkward, especially raised to this volume.

the awkwardness might also in part be a bit of distraction, since now is when it occurs to him that the boat seems slightly lower in the water than he recalls it being. is it sinking, or is he imagining it? his eyes are henceforth on the boat rather than its occupant, just in case. ) Can you swim?

[lethechained]

[ Fortunately she was watching closely enough to see his initial confirmation, but the second one still doesn't go amiss; she did have to squint. He likely won't have much luck seeing the subtle relief in her expression however, despite being the cause of it. (It's good to know that at least her memory hasn't failed her a second time, not least because she's well aware how much it hurts to be forgotten even once.)

Naminé straightens slightly at the question, blinking as her attention shifts from the momentary distraction of her thoughts and back to Lalli. ]

Swim? [ There's a sinking feeling in her chest, even when she can't actually sense the boat sinking - not yet, anyway. Although the shore does seem a little taller than it was before... ] No. [ A beat; she's half afraid to ask, ] Why?

[skittering]

( at the 'no', he solemnly begins to unbelt his outer tunic, shrugging out of it to drape it across a driftwood log. )

You're sinking, ( he says, because why mince words? ) Might make it, might not. ( then, with the appropriate amount of grudging acceptance for one who has at least twice been accused of being a cat in human form. ) I'm coming in if you don't.

( he's tempted to remind her not to move, but she has never been stupid, however naive at times. it's one of the reasons she has always been so much easier for lalli to tolerate. )

[lethechained]

[ Naminé doesn't say 'what--?!' but her face does, eyes quickly growing round. Although her head turns so that she can take a few darting glances to assess the boat situation, a combination of the facts that she's not stupid and that she naturally tends to go still rather than flailing about like a moron when stressed ensure that her movement is minimal.

Not that it matters, because by now the boat's descent has become all the more noticeable. At first she thinks maybe it's just seems so because he's pointed it out, but no - the small vessel is beginning to dip more and more quickly into the water. Going slightly pale, she lifts her head to respond with as much--

Only to stop short when a very ominous creaking noise interrupts her once her mouth is already open. She shuts it, hands tightening around one of the boards she's sitting on. It's starting to sag, and although Naminé does not have much firsthand familiarity with boats, she's pretty sure they're not supposed to look as precariously rotten as this one does. Suddenly she isn't liking her chances of making it to shore before the thing gives out quite so much. ]

Um, [ she says, because she doesn't quite trust herself enough to finish that with, 'You might have to come in.' ]

[enflame]

❰ naminé is a familiar enough face to emil -- not someone he goes out of his way to see or think about, but her existence was more noticeable than a lot of people in asgard, at least in his view. it's certainly interesting to see how many people are here from asgard, actually, and softens his mood as he moves over to her next to the glass doors. ❱

It's all free, as far as I know. Might as well take what you want. ❰ truthfully, he's also excited by the concept of ice cream being here, but if she gets what she wants...he's next in line. ❱

[lethechained]

[ His movement attracts her attention before he speaks - but probably after she should have noticed him to begin with, preoccupied as she was. The girl turns, looking over at him; her expression falters in the midst of her surprise as he addresses her. Is he another of those people who knows her? She only wonders because she's had that experience a few times already, but she elects not to assume. He might just be friendly.

In any case, Naminé has met enough other people in this place - in the loop, at least - not to be as suspicious of a stranger as she otherwise might be. Swallowing, she hesitates only one moment longer before nodding, hands folding together as she turns back to regard the ice cream. (The instinct to draw into herself is there, but she fights it.) ]

I suppose they wouldn't have told us about this place if they didn't want us to use anything that was here.

[ Even if she does still feel rather nervous about taking the advice on those pamphlets, considering they seemed to be from the ones who brought them here. The reserved little line of her mouth lowers slightly at the corners, though it's actually because she's considering the ice cream now, and, ]

But I've never tried any of these flavors before. Most of them aren't even ones I've heard of. [ Which presents its own problem. (The sad part is that vanilla and chocolate are included in at least one of those lists since, you know, she's never actually eaten ice cream. Not this version of her, anyhow.) Somewhere between shy and cautious, she angles her face his way again to ask, ] Do you know which ones are... supposed to be good?

[enflame]

❰ perhaps if he was more polite, or not as self-focused, emil would think more about the potential moral repercussions of just looting a place with no real knowledge of whether or not it's theft. but no one is here, no one is yelling at him, and that's great -- might as well take her down with that ship.

the more important thing to consider here is ice cream, which emil isn't particularly used to, but that just makes it all the more exciting. he finally has access to it, and goodness is there a variety to select from. he has no real formed opinion on any specific flavor, but he can intuit which ones should be good based on some context clues. ❱

Chocolate and vanilla can't be bad. Anything with fruit -- well, I suppose it depends on whether or not you like the fruit or not. Anything that sounds like another dessert. ❰ one of his knuckles taps the glass right over one entitled "cookies and cream," which he has no qualms taking if she doesn't. he might do it anyway; first come, first serve...but she was here first, so scratch that. he'll figure out his argument if it comes to it. ❱ Some of them I can't imagine how they taste, like whatever a pistachio ❰ though not at all pronounced correctly ❱ might be. I'd stay away from things like that, unless you want to take a risk.

[lethechained]

[ Naminé has considered the moral implications - but she's been in the store enough to know that there's not exactly anyone on duty to purchase anything from. Since the pamphlets directed them here (and she's not exactly accustomed to things like economies and law enforcement in the first place) she can only assume they're all expected to take what they need. The cabin from the loop was well enough stocked, after all, and it was clearly intentional for them to be stuck there, just as it is that they're here. ]

I like fruit, [ she chimes in quietly, because that's true in a general sense. She's never had much chance to worry about the specifics, since in her experience acquiring sustenance has usually been a thoroughly binary decision between a, eat what you're given, or b, starve. Her lips purse a little at that word; 'pistachio' isn't exactly in her vocabulary, either, and she gives a slight shake of her head to indicate her agreement with as much when he comments on it. ]

I don't, [ she decides after a moment, then realizes she probably ought to clarify. ] Want to take a risk, that is. Maybe...

[ Her eyes flick over the selections again before she takes a step closer to the freezer, carefully outstretching her hand for the door. She could have stood there waffling a while longer and possibly even talked herself out of taking the ice cream at all if she were alone, but Emil's presence prompts her to make a decision more quickly. (For the better, probably; she really needs to learn to let herself have nice things.) Of course, he might not be excited about where she's reaching, because her hand's awfully close to the cookies and cream--

No, wait, she grabbed the peach ice cream next to it instead. It's got pictures of fruit on it, not just in the name, so. Obvious choice there, really. Hesitation colors her expression and her movements, but nobody jumps out of the back of the freezer to castigate them for presuming to take the food they were directed toward, and that seems to boost her confidence enough to make a step back with her prize in hand. ]

I'll try this one. [ There's a hint of wistfulness as she adds, more quietly and half to herself, ] Since they don't have sea salt.

[ Which. Doesn't sound like a good flavor, but her tone of voice suggests that'd be her first choice. ]

[enflame]

❰ ironically enough, this is emil's first thought: ❱

Would...you want something to taste like sea salt? That sounds awful.

❰ he's scrunched up his nose, but now turns to look at what she's actually chosen. there are quite a few fruit that emil is familiar with, and he can acknowledge that this looks like one. but is he directly sure of what a peach is? not really. it only sparks a lightbulb in his head as a pet-name and a picture he saw once upon a time. ❱

This looks like a good choice, though. ❰ he's not going to tell her any of his thoughts, though, instead confirming that she's made a nice selection. ❱ Probably better than salt, anyway.

[lethechained]

[ It seems she fully understands his reaction, because her own features pinch slightly, as though she's tasted something unpleasant just by talking about it. ]

Uh-uh, [ she concedes, with a narrow shake of her head. Then, to clarify, ] It does sound pretty strange, but sea salt ice cream doesn't actually taste like salt. Not entirely, at least. They say it's sweet, too. There are... a lot of people who like it where I come from, but I've never been able to try any for myself.

[ That might explain why she looks a little melancholy toward the end, there. But Emil's approval of her choice coaxes the ghost of a smile out of her, brief though it might be. ]

I hope so. [ It should almost definitely be better than actual salt, regardless. It's just a small carton, one probably meant to be eaten solo, but after a moment she still thinks to offer, ] Do you want to try some...?

[enflame]

❰ he raises an eyebrow at the description that she gives. emil has been told that ice cream is a dessert, and desserts should be sweet. conclusion: all ice cream should be sweet. but the title 'sea salt' doesn't really offer up that clue. and if it only minimally tastes like salt...what does it taste like? the ocean? some kind of fish?

there's just no way it could be enjoyable, but he's also not going to rain on her parade. ❱

If you're offering. ❰ someone more immediately thoughtful would probably turn her down, but. that's just not emil. ❱ There's a little counter with spoons and the like on the opposite wall.

[lethechained]

[ Naminé has the decency to appear very slightly sheepish in the wake of her description and his subsequent eyebrow raise, but it's minimal; she knows full well how difficult it is to imagine that sea salt ice cream will be any good without the real experience. (Or a memory of it, anyway.) He doesn't need to say what he's thinking, and it seems she doesn't blame him for it either, because her shoulders lift in the barest suggestion of a shrug before she lets them relax again. It's not as though either of them can inform the inventor that there's issue to be taken with the choice of names.

To his if you're offering she responds with a nod, because she is offering. Not entirely for the sake of being polite, either, since she's got thoughtfulness enough for both of them. ]

Ah - that's convenient. I was just starting to wonder how we'd eat it.

[ She recollects having seen the counter in question in a vague kind of way, and immediately sets about pulling the memory back up to the forefront of her mind. After a moment's thought she turns, then begins to walk in the proper direction, ice cream still held carefully between both hands. Except, as she comments contemplatively a moment later-- ]

It's awfully cold...!

[ And she's not exactly in practice holding chilly stuff, so there might be a lot more palm going on there than there should be. ]

B

[coolmotivestillevil]

[ At first, the gas station catches his attention because it just seems ... ill-fitting, out of place both because of the trees surrounding it and because it looks nothing like the cabins scattered around the lake. When he enters it, he is even more surprised to find that the inside doesn't fit the outside of it either.

Yes, the pamphlets hint at the presence of some sort of overseer, but this is just strange.

It's not that he doesn't notice Naminé, because he does. It's just that she looks very far from dangerous (doesn't mean she's not) and there are other matters at hand that are more important. Like how someone cared to clean this up, and how there are so many things here that he hasn't seen the like of.

So he doesn't speak to her, at first, but mutters to himself, frowning at the floor and the organised shelves. ]

Cabins are moldy and dusty but they cleaned this place up? Why bother?

[ If that doesn't get Naminé's attention already - because she can undoubtedly hear it through the silence - he starts making his way over to the freezers next, because all this bears investigating. Including the girl standing in front of them. ]

[lethechained]

[ As powerful as her distraction might be, the girl has at least enough presence of mind to take note when the murmur of an unfamiliar voice makes it evident that she's not quite as alone as she was before. Her shoulders rise slightly, weight shifting as she turns to look back over her shoulder toward the door. What she sees is mostly a glimpse of the fellow, but--

Well, the last time she met a tall, dark-clothed stranger with silvery hair, it didn't turn out in her favor. She knows, intellectually, that the Organization is already done for, and even if they weren't she'd surely recognize any of their members even at a glance. This fellow doesn't resemble most of them beyond a few vague similarities, and she doubts they were hiding any extra personnel carefully enough that she wouldn't already be aware of them. Yet there's some of part of her that hesitates all the same, that just in case adding on top of her natural - and justified, probably - caution about new faces in this less than ideal setting.

So by the time Geralt heads over to examine the cold storage, Naminé is already in the process of trying to very conveniently happen not to be there to undergo investigation. (She isn't the type of individual who feels the need to sugarcoat their own actions; most people would call it, you know, hiding from him, and she wouldn't actually claim otherwise.) In any case, the end result is that when he gets there, all he'll see of her is a brief flash of white as she disappears around the opposite end of the aisle.

She'd actually be pretty decent at staying quiet if she weren't wearing such thoroughly unstealthy sandals. That one flaw makes it pretty obvious to anyone with well-trained listening skills that, judging by her light footsteps, she hasn't actually gone much farther than she needed to to be immediately out of sight.

If he waits long enough, he can probably catch her peeking at him past the shelves. ]

[coolmotivestillevil]

[ Skittish.

For now, he doesn't visibly pay any attention to her, though he does listen very closely. Since the door to the station doesn't open, he knows she's still in here, and most likely she's right behind the nearest shelves. For now, however, he's more interested in the freezers and it's contents, so he opens them and ...

Looks genuinely surprised at the cold air that hits him, as he leans down a little to get a closer look. Where is that coming from? It's out in the open, not underground or anything. How is it so cold?

He curiously reaches down to take a pack of ghost pepper ice cream before he straightens up. Then, he walks over to the counter with the cash register where he's left his sword, turning the pack over in his hands.

And, yes, he did leave the freezer door open. ]

[lethechained]

[ Naminé holds very still. Poor choice of footwear aside, that's one part of staying hidden that she's got quite a talent for. In the end, however, curiosity (and, more importantly, the need for further observation in the attempt to figure out whether or not he's a, quote unquote, 'Bad Guy') presses her to move. Leaning over to peer past the weird tubes full of potato chips doesn't make much noise, and yet it still feels almost like a mission too easily accomplished. Did he really not see her when he came in?

No matter why the opportunity's been presented to her, however, she chooses to make the most of it. He's easier to see now that he's not quite so far away, and a closer inspection only confirms to her that he's unlikely to be part of any group she's had personal problems with in the past, as it were. His outfit's the wrong style, for one thing.

She spends a few seconds weighing her options as she watches him lean into the freezer, because yes they're trapped in the same weird murderbox and that means they're sort of on the same team, but that doesn't mean he sees it that way. She hasn't actually come to any conclusions before Geralt abandons the frozen section, and the development effectively pulls her off of her train of thought. She shrinks behind the shelves again, only to realize upon glancing to the side that there was another opening she could have been looking through this whole time without being quite as obvious.

It's a moot point anyway, because he's headed toward the front again. And she could just stay where she is, really, and wait for him to leave - she knows that. But the more she thinks about it, the more she considers the long-term. There's only so much space in this place; shouldn't she be sure who she could be dealing with in the future?

So although it might be ill-advised, once she's sure he's back where he started, Naminé begins to trail along after him. She stays on the opposite side of the shelves from where he's standing, and since she hasn't got much height to her name it doesn't even require that she bend down not to be seen over them. All goes well - aside from her realizing the cooler door is standing open, which she is very mildly affronted by but doesn't actually do anything about - until she reaches the sodas. That's about where she sees fit to stop, making use of the cover provided by the bottles pretty effectively... right up to the moment when she tries to put a hand on the shelf and hits one of the glass containers instead, instigating a clink that wouldn't seem so loud if it weren't pretty much the only sound in this place aside from the hum of the electronics.

All her lurking aside, she's more prey than predator. (She'd have starved by now if she were the latter.) ]

[coolmotivestillevil]

[ While he keeps tabs on where she is, he's mostly focused on the ice cream that he's procured. It takes him a moment to get the pack open in the first place, and when he does, he scoops some of the ice cream up with a finger.

The glass clinking is very loud, but he still doesn't outwardly react to it. Instead, he wonders at the cold on his finger, before sticking it in his mouth. Which is equally as cold, at first, but the next moment it turns into heat, spreading across his tongue and through the rest of his mouth until it reaches the back of his throat, and he scrunches up his face in a grimace as he shakes his head. What the hell is this? Why is it burning like that? Is it poisonous? Doesn't feel poisonous.

Well. He feels none the wiser, so he finally turns to face the direction of the shelf where Naminé is hiding. ]

How long were you planning to watch me?

[lethechained]

[ Lips pressed tightly closed, Naminé listens for any reaction to her misstep, too wary to actually poke her head around the shelf. There's an almost concerning lack of response; surely he must have noticed, provided he isn't hard of hearing. Her brow knits as she considers the possibilities, only--

Her shoulders jump at the sound of his voice, and she does an admirable job holding in most of her tiny gasp of surprise. Eyes round, she resumes her earlier stillness, remaining fully hidden behind the shelving. But the jig is up regardless, and she's not foolish enough to try to bluff her way out by staying silent. (It's not as if she's had any illusions about her own skill with sneaking, anyway. It honestly makes more sense that he was humoring her.)

So although for a handful of seconds there's a rather reluctant pause, presently Naminé steps out from behind the shelf. Her hand hovers by it a moment, as if she might pull herself back again, but eventually she lets go even of that, fingers coming to lace together in front of her instead. She looks even smaller than she already is as she bows her head just a little, visibly contrite. Going by appearances, he was probably right not to think her a threat; she's just a slip of a thing who seems cautious about even meeting his eyes. ]

Until I thought it was safe, [ she confesses in a soft voice that sounds more apologetic than shy, though her demeanor suggests both. Really what she means is that she was trying to make sure he was safe. Not all sword-wielding tough guys are a good bet, that way - although she doesn't make the excuses that she could aloud.

Hesitantly, she angles her gaze up at him. The big, sad blue eyes would make for a really pitiful hangdog look, if that were what she was going for. It isn't; for all her skittishness, she doesn't seem to be making any attempt to hide from the facts of her impoliteness. Quieter, she admits, ]

But... I guess I wasn't going to figure that out by staying out of sight.

[ Unless he decided to conveniently trash the place or otherwise be a jerk for no reason in a very obvious, this-guy-is-bad-news kind of way. ]

[coolmotivestillevil]

[ Just because she's small doesn't mean she can't be dangerous. She's smaller than he first realised, though, especially with the way she holds herself. Like she wants little else but to disappear.

Puppy eyes have never really worked on him, and hers don't, even if they're unintentional. ]

Probably not.

[ He steps away from the counter, but not towards her. No, he goes to examine another shelf that's stocked with non-food items, and grabs a flashlight. ]

Don't happen to remember how you got here?

[lethechained]

[ Strictly speaking, Naminé is dangerous, and tremendously so. Or powers like hers are, in any case - except that the very nature of her personality renders that largely irrelevant. The fact that she can crush someone's heart to bits with a thought doesn't mean she wants to; looking at her now, it's not hard to see she'd have much preferred not to be noticed at all.

Case in point, the way she tenses just a little when he takes a step. It's subtle but not invisible, and when she realizes his intent is to move toward something other than her, it seems to soothe her back into her careful observation. ]

No, [ she responds thoughtfully, only a beat late. ] When I woke up, I was in a boat on the lake. And before that, a cabin.

[ After a few times in the loop, she's pretty confident he won't remember much more, either. No one else did. After a brief hesitation and a subtle, uncertain tightening of her hands around each other, ]

It-- is pretty strange - how clean this store is. [ If she's owning up to hiding from him, she might as well admit to the eavesdropping, too. She at least has the decency to look a smidgeon bashful about it. ] This place doesn't seem like any of the other buildings I've seen here.