July Arrivals

[sixthiteration]

WHO: Arrivals
WHERE: The fountain park
WHEN: July 1, 12:00 PM
OPEN TO: ALL
WARNINGS: N/A
STATUS: CLOSED

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In the snug circle of an old park, a fountain sits burbling beneath a broad, midday sky.

Once-neat paving stones have buckled and cracked from the slow nudge of wayward roots. Benches stand covered in lichen and rust. Three paths push into the underbrush like the spokes on a wheel, the encroaching forest creating lush tunnels through the dark.

But the fountain stands singular and pristine, brightly splashing in open rebellion of the deep, muffled sounds of a place long ago gone to seed. A vibration hums through the ground, there and quickly gone, and the water in the fountain trembles, lapping against the high walls of its cool, pale reservoir.

It is the first of July.

It is precisely twelve o'clock in the afternoon.

Comments

[tooktheblack]

As they walked, the wind began to pick up and it was enough to make Jon wish that he had more clothing than that which was on his back and in the pack he'd been provided. With his wet scrubs, the wind was biting and he glanced over to the other man to see if he was experiencing the same level of discomfort.

"I wonder if a storm is coming!" Jon shouted, words lost in both the winds and the keening sound of some kind of horn or bell. It was a sound he'd never heard before, that sound, and it seemed deafening and without end. Jon couldn't even tell where it came from and it seemed everywhere all at once.

[generalginger]

The wet clothing was uncomfortable, but Hux was enduring until the wind started to pick up. Arkanis rained constantly, and Starkiller's weather was either freezing or more freezing, but in both of those environments, he always had adequate clothing. The same can't be said for now, so finding shelter was even more of a concern.

"We should hurry up before it gets worse!" He could just barely understand Jon over the wind, and the siren made things even worse. Hux grimaced, and after gesturing toward the building in which they were closest, he broke into a run. He wasn't sure from where the sirens were coming, but the winds alone were foreboding.

[tooktheblack]

Jon took his lead and started to run himself, trying to keep the other man in his sights as he headed toward the closest building. They needed to get inside some kind of shelter before the winds threatened to knock them flat. It was something he hadn't experienced on the Wall without a storm following; Jon didn't want to be out in the open if rain or snow was forthcoming.

Once he reached the building, he ducked inside and tried to catch his breath among deep, struggling gasps. He'd only just caught his breath after the fountain before the winds. "Are you all right?"

[generalginger]

Hux always liked to keep himself in good shape; it was a necessity when he was essentially raised in and continued to live within a rather Darwinist society; there was no room for weakness in the First Order. But there was a difference between using the gym facilities aboard a star destroyer and running against the wind on a planet that has a completely different environment that to what he was used.

Needless to say, he was relieved to be inside the building. He only hoped that it could withstand whatever this storm through at them. "I'm fine." After catching his breath, he glanced outside. Of course this would be a place with horrible weather. When he turned his attention back to Jon, it was with an extended hand. He did have manners, after all. "General Hux."

[tooktheblack]

"Jon Snow," he offered in return, shaking the man's hand. He'd met military commanders before, yes, but he still felt a bit awkward about introducing himself to one here when he had no political standing to speak of. He had been Lord Commander at the Wall, yes, and now he'd been named King in the North but Jon still never felt certain of his footing.

"Do you have any idea what this place might be? Never felt wind like that before in my life." And he'd been at the Wall long enough to experience what he felt like was the most inclement of inclement weather.

[generalginger]

Hux shook his hand in a firm grip and nodded in acknowledgement. He wasn't going to say it was nice to meet him, or any other chitchatty pleasantry. As far as he was concerned, it was insincere and a waste of time right now.

"No. It's unlike any planet I've visited in the past." Which was not necessarily true. They could be in a secluded sparsely populated area, but he was certain that this was definitely not a core planet. He had his doubts about them even being in the Outer Rim.