(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

number five | open

[callidus]

waking up + cabins

[ between his work and being home with his siblings, he'd gotten used to waking up not choking on dust and dirt. he'd grown pretty damn fond of it, actually. aside from the fact that it was a far more pleasant way to wake up (sleep was unpleasant - was, is and probably always will be, at this point - so it's a little nice when at least waking up is half way decent), it was a reminder that he'd left the apocalypse behind.

not that his current situation exactly screams apocalypse. no this feels more like he drank a little too much and passed out (something that dolores would be both pleased and disappointed to hear him admit where she still with him), right down to the headache.

five gets up from the floor of the cabin (apparently) and brushes some of the dust from his face and hair, heading outside to look around, grabbing one of the pamphlets along the way. he stops a few feet from the cabin he woke up in to actually have a look at the information he picked up ]

Goddammit. Diego?! Allion?! [ he calls out to (some of) his siblings as he crumples up the pamphlet and tosses it on the ground.

did he seriously just trade apocalypses? ]

the gas station

[ the pamphlet said there are supplies in the gas station, so sometime over the course of his first day, five has made his way to the gas station. he searches around inside, nothing particular in mind as the object of his search except for something useful. he stuffs some things in his pockets, like medical supplies and some non-perishables, alternating between walking to the things that catch his eye and teleporting in a quick flash of blue light. the items that he takes particular interest in, however, are the switchblades. he grabs one and opens it up, peering closely at the blade, then testing the edge with his thumb. it's not the best weapon he's ever had, but if he needs to use it, it'll do what it needs to ]

wildcard

[ feel free to also run into the obviously poor lost child anywhere between the cabins and gas station as well. or anywhere else if you have an idea you'd like to run with! ]

gas station

[subroutined]

[ Green had read that there were supplies in the gas station, too, so that's where he had headed. He hadn't actually expected to see anyone else there, so when he sees the figure of a teenage boy from behind, he walks up, starting to speak up to him. ]

Hullo, there, are you--?

[ --And then the boy disappears in a flash of blue light. Green stands there, a bit dumbstruck. ]

...Alright, then.

[callidus]

Am I what?

[ five is on the other side of the gas station, examining some more medical supplies. there's nothing especially interesting - it is just a gas station, after all - but obviously still tremendously useful. he lifts his head to look at the stranger as he stuffs the supplies into a pocket with the rest of what he's grabbed, eyebrows raised expectantly (and maybe with just a touch of impatience) ]

[subroutined]

[ Oh, there he is. Green isn't totally surprised by the teleporting. It must just be the boy's imPort power. Green has a few of his own. ]

...Are you going to take that knife? Is what I was going to ask.

[ But it looks like he is taking the knife. Green decides to stay well on the other side of the gas station shop from the boy, knowing that if he gets within ten feet his own power will turn the knife into plastic or rubber or something else that the boy probably won't be too happy about. ]

gas station.

[skittering]

( though lalli is (as a general rule) obscenely stealthy, five has almost definitely been in survival mode for more than long enough to recognize somewhat quickly that he's being followed. peered at with narrowed eyes around the corner of an aisle. skittered after when he teleports.

when he recognizes that he's been spotted, he'll five's eyes unrepentantly for a moment before emerging, fingers spreading slightly in the bare minimal 'i'm unarmed' gesture. )

Follow me. ( and he's turning to head for the door. he has an idea. please don't make him explain that idea. )

[callidus]

[ there's certainly been the distinct feeling of eyes on him as he'd been perusing the gas station's wares. he glances from side to side as he moves about, trying not to make it too obvious. every once in a while, he catches movement out of the corner of his eye but it's usually gone before he really spots what it is.

of course if he really wanted to, a quick spatial jump could probably make quick work of this whole situation. depending on who or what is watching him, of course.

five is about to jump when he catches a proper glimpse of who (so it is a who) it is who'd been following him. doesn't really look like much, but then, neither does five so... ]

Where are you expecting me to follow you to?

sorry this is so stupidly short

[skittering]

( of course there are questions. he stops and turns around with a put-upon sigh. )

Outside. ( a beat, and then - ) Thought you might be able to jump through the fence. ( a knit of his brow, barely visible under his hood. ) Unless you already tried.

unforgivable!

[callidus]

[ five simply isn't trusting enough of strangers to not ask any questions. hell, he barely trusts his own family on a good day.

at the first answer (not that it's much of one), five is immediately ready to go back to what he was doing, or just get on with his day. see if any more of his siblings are here, that sort of thing.

but then the stranger manages to say just the right thing to get at least a little more of five's attention ]

I haven't gotten around to trying it yet. [ in case he can't get through it (even though he does have his doubts that will be the case. he's good at what he does), he wants to make sure he's got some supplies first. who knows how limited they might end up being ]

[skittering]

( on the one hand, lalli is fairly used to being disregarded. back in finland, he was disparaged quiet often outside of his specific professional venues for being antisocial, overly lazy, obtusely clueless to what was going on. on the other hand, it has been quite a while since then, so this child very clearly turning with intent to disregard him entirely has his brow knitting just enough to sharpen his gaze into something more irritated.

but his words seem to have done the trick - at least they're on the same page now. the boy's saying he hasn't gotten around to it, which implies that he's busy at the moment. and so, with every shred of patience he contains, ) I'll be outside. ( as much as he wants this answered now, he can wait until the boy's done.

and sure enough, if and when five emerges, lalli can be spotted pacing a quiet restless path back and forth along the asphalt. )

[callidus]

[ good because if he wants this answered, he'll have no choice but to wait until the boy's done.

it happens, though, that five doesn't spend too much longer inside the gas station. he just has another quick look through the inventory, seeing if there's anything that he missed that's either important enough for him to take now, or something that he can easily live without if he happens to come back after indulging this stranger (and his own curiosity, quite frankly. the pamphlet said they can't leave but he can't imagine these people had him in mind when they wrote that up) and it's gone.

satisfied that he has or has seen all that he cares about, five walks out of the gas station with his hands in his pockets, approaching the pacing stranger with a sarcastic grin on his face ] All set. Lead the way.

[skittering]

( lalli stops in his pacing once the boy emerges, regarding the cavalier way he walks, the equally irritating grin on his face. lead the way? sure, he'll lead the way.

lalli stoops just enough to snatch a crumbled bit of asphalt from the road - a stone, for all intents and purposes - and tosses it off to the side of the road opposite the building. it soars through the air for a couple of yards, then bounces off of something invisible, sending a fractal-patterned glow rippling outward from the point of contact.

eyes return to the boy, a brow lifting slightly. is the way sufficiently led? )

[callidus]

[ that irritating grin melts away as his eyes follow the arch of the asphalt. everything says that it should simply soar through the air and then hit the ground. except that's not what happens. five watches the fractal-pattern spread through the air from the impact of the bit of asphalt ] Son of a bitch...

[ the way has been sufficiently led, annoyingly quiet stranger ] Why didn't you just say that it was right here?

[ don't worry. he's not expecting an answer this time. honestly, what does it even matter at this point?

in a quick flash of blue, five blinks toward the barrier, though makes it a point of coming up short. he'd like to reaffirm exactly where the barrier is before he passes through it. a miscalculation of the distance he needs to go could end up with him on both sides of the barrier and what comes of that is certainly not something he feels like testing out right now. at least not on himself ]

Throw another rock at it.

[skittering]

( good thing he's not expecting an answer, because the question was a stupid one. 'right there' means nothing if you can't see it. the stone-toss said it more than well enough and provided distance.

sharp eyes watch as he blinks from place to place, narrowing just slightly with intrigue veiled by something that looks quite a bit warier - and then comes the request. it's an easy enough request, eyes dropping to scan the road briefly before identifying and seizing another piece.

this one's lobbed just as the other one was, and it ricochets gently off the barrier just the same as well. )

[callidus]

[ true, but it would have given him an idea of how far they were going, some sort of idea of how long he'd be in the company of the silent stranger. in the end it doesn't matter. because it really was just a rhetorical question.

five watches the empty air in front of him, waiting for the moment when the barrier becomes visible again. he could have done it himself but, well, it doesn't really matter in the end, does it?

as soon as the barrier shimmers from the impact of the asphalt debris, five blinks through it, not at all surprised when he reappears on the other side. what is surprising, however, is the fact that once he's out there, before he has the chance to go any further or even return to the containment zone, everything goes dark and he collapses right where he's standing ]

waking up;

[channellings]

[whenever the moment arises, klaus would just like to point out he would've much rather woken up on the floor than inside a fridge down in the basement he struggled to get out of for twenty goddamn minutes before finally blowing the damn door off with a well-placed telekinetic push.

he's made his way upstairs and is investigating a nearby bedroom when he hears it: a familiar little voice on the wind, calling out two of their siblings' names.] You gotta be fucking kidding me right now. [but as he says it, klaus abandons his search (whatever he was looking for) and rushes toward five's voice, his own pamphlet tucked away in his coat-pocket. while it may seem useless, he's sure it'll have some important information to keep on hand. if not, then screw it, he'll have tinder for starting a fire should it happen to go out.]

Well, well, well— [a beat, just long enough for the lanky clairvoyant to sashay his way into the room with his brother.] Look what the cat dragged in! You've seen better days, old man.

[like he's one to talk with all the wild, messy hair piled atop his head in something that can barely be considered a bun. at least what he's wearing is pretty trademark; his leather and lace-up pants and fur-coat with a star-patterned mesh shirt underneath. as per usual, however, he looks like he hasn't slept in days and is also covered in dust, so really, who's had the better day?]

[callidus]

[ five twists around as he fixes his uniform blazer, eyes searching for the source of a familiar voice that he could swear he just heard. familiar or not though, five narrows his eyes and clenches his jaw as he bounces a little on the balls of his feet, looking every bit like he's about to bolt. but really, he's poised to attack. or defend himself, rather. it's a precaution, really. just in case the familiar isn't all that familiar after all. he won't be caught unaware.

he's alone. he's in an unfamiliar place. his siblings are gone again (maybe? that familiar voice though). he won't fall victim to whoever else is in the cabin with him.

unless it really is klaus.

while still tense (when isn't he?), five relaxes his stance a little, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts and rolling his eyes ] Oh. It is you. Of course you'd be the first person I run into here. [ his tone is every bit as warm as it usually is. truth be told though, he's rather pleased to see at least one of his siblings. relieved, even.

looking down at himself and then back at klaus, five shrugs his shoulders ] Thanks. And you look like you've been living in an alley. So have you seen any of the others?

[channellings]

[luckily(?) for five, it is really klaus who's standing there, hands stuffed into his pockets and the widest shit-eating grin on his face. if he has any memories of asgard, this won't be nearly as awkward as it could be but if he doesn't... well, hopefully it shouldn't prove as weird, considering their unfortunate time-traveling problems. (which isn't the same as world-hopping, obviously, though they needn't get into those details!)

he spares himself a glance as well, peeks back up, an eyebrow lifted with contemplation.] You're welcome. Guess that means we're both perfectly fine and nothing's amiss. [right? still goes unsaid, though.] Wherever there's trouble, you can bet I'm most likely there.

[or one of them usually is to be fair. like, take into account the fact five would be here by himself had klaus's stupid ass not shown up.]

Haven't seen any other siblings y— [wait, no, that's not right at all!] Actually, I saw Vanya. She and I got stuck in a time-loop together for a little bit. [he remembers her taking his right hand; hello in the most perfect nonverbal acceptance and he recalls the weight.]

She's definitely here, too.

[callidus]

[ not that it's something he would readily admit, but he does feel a little lucky that it's klaus. he feels lucky that it's any of his brothers or sisters, really. were this a different time, a different situation, klaus may not be five's first choice of sibling to end up with, but here? now? well, he's just as glad for klaus as he would be for any of them to be trapped here with. though, truth be told, being surrounded by a barrier doesn't exactly sound trapped to him.

he'll have to look in to that barrier as soon as he gets a chance.

five looks down at himself as though looking for anything that might be amiss, then shrugs his shoulders as he looks back up at his brother ] I can't speak for you but so far there's nothing amiss. Except for being here.

[ the hargreeves children just have a way of attracting trouble. or trouble attracts them. or perhaps a little of both ]

Van- [ he stops short, eyes narrowing as his brows furrow quizzically ] What do you mean you both got stuck in a time-loop?

[channellings]

[fine with him, they've never been good with that mushy-gushy bullshit anyway. (let's just nevermind the fact klaus had hugged him so excitedly during their technical first meeting and it's not a big deal at all.) at least it isn't only them this time and five will most certainly be happy to see their other sibling that's there, considering who it is.

seriously, five, don't go immediately getting yourself into trouble!

to klaus, he looks the exact same as he last saw him, right down to the umbrella academy uniform, so he'd agree the only thing out of place is their location. it's not asgard, it's definitely not home... where have they ended up now?] Before you ask: no, I don't know where ‘here’ is, unfortunately.

[both seems the likely answer when it comes to the hargreeves.]

It's exactly like I said, we got stuck in a time loop together. [he shifts, upturns his right hand and begins making a counterclockwise circle over his hello tattoo.] One time, I fought a weird ghost monster and another, there was this giant bat-monster thing then – that's three loops now – I ended up meeting Vanya! It was actually a similar situation you and I are having right now.

[callidus]

[ the hargreeves kids were never raised to be particularly touchy-feely, and all of five's time alone has made him even less so. so the fact that five can't remember that hug may not be the worst thing. at least not for five (even if he could desperately use a hug, though he would never admit to such a thing).

it's true tho. it isn't just them this time. and he is glad that it's vanya. but at the same time, he's a little disappointed. not because it's vanya, but because any of his siblings are in this mess with him at all. though they were he before he was so technically he's not here with them which is less of a disappointment. it's... complicated. he just wants his family to be safe.

which is why he is absolutely going to immediately get himself in to trouble ]

Probably would have been more surprised if you did know where here is. [ he gives his brother a sarcastic smile, even though it isn't exactly the dig it may sound like. from the bare minimum information that they were given, five would be surprised if anyone knew where they were ]

A time loop. That's... interesting. [ and he wants to ask about it, keep talking about it, but talking to klaus about time runs the risk of being frustrating and making him angry. and that's not even necessarily through any fault of klaus' and almost entirely on five ]

A ghost monster and a bat monster? What do you mean monsters? That's- It doesn't matter. How long have you been here?

[channellings]

[of all the siblings, klaus is quite obviously the most tactile and very little people would disagree. perhaps allison or vanya would follow closely after, but that's up for discussion. he just knows: five and-slash-or diego would stab someone before hugging them. (most days, anyway, though there may be exceptions.) one day, he'll sneak in another unsuspecting embrace and narrowly avoid any aforementioned knifing again.

is horrortown safer than asgard or the apocalypse? well... that's up for debate too, but so far, nothing horrific has happened to anyone he cares for. he plans to keep it that way, even if it might mean unfortunate things for himself in the future.

(pain and suffering, death. definitely some stuff he isn't looking forward to! it'll always be worth it for his family and friends, no matter what comes his way—) as long as they don't run headfirst into the fray, anyhow.]

...yeah, okay, that's fair. We all know my sense of direction is prrretty nonexistent. [klaus pauses, does momentarily consider more time talk, but decides he'll playfully gibe instead.] Probably 'cause you took it all for yourself with the fancy spatial-jumping.

[after heaving a long-suffering, overdramatic sigh:] Just like I said, they were monsters! And I dunno, maybe a few days? No longer than a week, I think.

cabins

[misplayedmelody]

[ Vanya is actually on her way back from the gas station, thankfully changed out of her white concert suit and with the violin tucked safely away in the duffel bag she now has slung over her shoulder. She's headed back toward an area where a cluster of cabins has been situated, hoping to find a place to rest and orient herself until the ringing in her ear stops. It makes it very hard to concentrate sometimes, and the pamphlet has done nothing but exacerbate her stress levels.

Instead. Even louder than the sound threatening to disorient her, she hears a distinctly familiar voice. One that's calling familiar names. Literally familial names. She hustles her step, honing in on the sound. Of course, Vanya can recognize that uniform at a distance, but as she gets closer, seeing the person wearing it makes her chest tighten. ]

Five?

[ She calls out to him the moment he's in her line of sight--but immediately halts. They hadn't exactly parted ways on the best terms. The details of what happened in the hours before she woke up in this place (during the concert and the time preceding it) are still very fuzzy, but maybe it's better to see how Five reacts before approaching too quickly. She takes a few more steps forward to emerge from the trees. ]

Is that really you?

[callidus]

[ five is about to walk away from the area where the cabins are situated (he's got a number of possible destinations in mind, ideas to follow) when he hears someone call out to him. well, it looks like one of his ideas found him first.

one of five's top priorities upon hearing that vanya was here with he and klaus (or rather that he's here with vanya and klaus, considering the timing) was finding her. he wanted to gather up his family as quickly as he could, which would at least prove to be marginally easier than previously, considering they're fewer in number and have no where to go. of course he also wanted to see what kind of state of mind she was in, how she was doing.

so when five approaches vanya, he initially does so with a modicum of caution. despite how confident he is in his abilities (both ordinary and extraordinary), he's also seen what kinds of things vanya is capable of. he opts to walk over to her instead of blinking like he normally would. the slower approaching feels like the safer one ]

Vanya. [ she may yet try to kill him again, but even with that thought in the back of his mind, there's relief in his tone when he says her name ] Yeah, it's really me.

You know, Klaus mentioned that you were here too. It's nice to see that he isn't completely full of shit.

[misplayedmelody]

[ The slow approach is definitely the safer option. Of all her siblings, Five had been one of the kindest to her, but with his new skill set (new to her, anyway) he's also currently the most dangerous. Well. Second most dangerous, if she were to consider herself.

The thought causes a mixture of guilt, fear, and anger to threaten to rise to the surface, the same as when she first met Klaus in the cabin. Her power is a lot to handle when she starts to get emotional, and she's still trying to come to terms with the fact that she has powers at all. But, like before, Vanya quickly works on dissipating that feeling before it becomes volatile. She flexes the fingers of one hand, makes a fist, then relaxes. She doesn't want to fight Five. Doesn't want to fight anyone. She tells herself that she has to keep it all under control... and so she does. For now.

The smile she offers Five as he approaches on foot is a bit weak, but grateful. ] Thank goodness it's you. You're all right.

Klaus and I arrived around the same time. He's not full of shit about that anyway. But there's so much about this place, wherever we are, that's really weird. Do you have any idea what happened? My memory is a little bit fuzzy.

[callidus]

[ see, he knew that the slow approach would work much better. blinking over to her might have come across as a little... aggressive? aggressive may not be the right word for it, but it's somewhere in the ballpark. even though it's something he's done without hesitation even since he gained a certain mastery over his ability (at least this particular aspect of it), he hesitated this time. last time he did it, it was in an attempt to subdue her. he'd like to know where her head is at before putting that image back into her mind.

five shoves his hands in the pockets of his shorts as he stops just a few feet in front of her, looking over his sister a little. everything seems perfectly normal. but it was previously too, until it wasn't. or maybe if he'd just paid closer attention, he would have seen it before it was too late. he spent all that time trying to prevent the end of the world when it was right there the whole time, in his sister. if he'd just given even a fraction of his attention to his family, maybe he would have gotten it right in time in the first place, and wouldn't be going back to try and stop it yet again.

maybe the whole thing with vanya wouldn't have been as drastic and sudden as it seemed. or maybe it never had to happen at all ]

Well, I'm all right, relatively speaking, at least.

[ he takes a few more steps forward, then looks back the way he came, where he ran into klaus initially ] Huh. I guess even Klaus can be right once in a while. Anyway, what happened was that we didn't manage to stop the apocalypse. [ he turns back to vanya. if the fuzzy memory means she doesn't remember being the cause of the end of the world, then he's not going to tell her. at least not right now. right now, it doesn't matter. and if she does remember, well, he doesn't need to say it again ]

So I jumped us all back in time. Except that some of us ended up here, somehow. I'm still not clear on that part yet. So as far as 'what happened to get us here?' goes, I don't have a good answer for you.