sixthiterationlogs | Do the people whisper 'bout you on the train like me?

Entry tags:

Do the people whisper 'bout you on the train like me?

WHO: Rose Hathaway
WHERE: Fountain, Inn, Various locations around 6i
WHEN: Last week of June
OPEN TO: Everyone.
WARNINGS: Description of drowning. Possible references to kidnapping, biting, vampires. Rose. She can be a walking warning depending on her mood?!

OOC Notes

Please feel free to start the tag in at any point in the starter. Want to go in after her while she's still underwater? Go for it.

For those going that route, the whole reason that Rose is able to stay underwater for so long is that she has gills - down her neck and along her ribs - courtesy of her color associated powers. Those gills will disappear once she comes out of the water but you could probably spot them if you're looking when she first gets out.

Want to tag with her but none of this pings you or your muse? Feel free to throw a starter my way.

For the context of those in the game with her before, Rose disappeared from 6i right when the simulation ended. She has never been in this version of 6i until now.

Lastly, if you don't have me on Plurk or Discord, please do fix that!

brooklyn2181. Discord: Brooke#8775

Arrival: Fountain

For many new arrivals, there’s a level of panic when they find themselves here. It shows itself in various ways, from violent outbursts to catatonic stupors. The disorienting feeling of being dragged from the life you knew, to surfacing in the fountain had a way of bringing out the worst in many, and for Rose that might have been no different, if not for the blizzard that welcomed her in her weakened state of injury and distress.

But that was more than six months ago, now.

The time she’d spent in this place before, came rushing back to her the moment she tried to open her eyes beneath the water. It was rather like remembering a dream only in reverse, the fragments of memories fusing together the harder she tried to think about it.

Her body's need for air prompted her to try and swim to the surface, Rose becoming turned about as the memories flooded her conscious thoughts. Her fingers brushed against the concrete wall of the fountain, her lungs burning as she fought against the need to take a breath. The lack of oxygen created a path for the panic to move in, as memories that were both distant and recent at the same time, urged her to move quickly. She tried to push with her arms and legs, limbs growing heavy as the seconds ticked by and the burning intensified. It was only when she thought she couldn’t last any longer, that she was struck with the horrible thought; That she’d somehow survived the last couple of weeks, managed to escape captivity, only to fall at the final hurdle.

She was going to die and in true Rose Hathaway fashion, that pissed her off!

Her vision began to dim, growing dark around the edges, Rose’s consciousness slipping away and prompting her body to take the first watery breath that would spell the end for her. No sooner had she done so, though, than the burning started to ease, the shift of her body in the water rejuvenating her, rather than continuing the agony. She took another, and another, somehow allowing oxygen to be carried through her bloodstream once more, her brain starting to function and allowing the panic to subside as confusion took its place.

To anyone watching, she’d been under the water for far too long, any human surely unable to survive without breathing for such an extended period of time. To Rose even, there was something all too wrong about the way her body behaving. She breathed but there was no sense of water filling her lungs, the act of it feeling strange in a way she couldn’t begin to describe. That confusion was at least enough to make her focus on her current situation, the clarity that came once she’d stopped struggling, helping to see she’d been swimming down rather than up.

Almost five full minutes had passed between a shadow being visible beneath the surface and the brunette finally emerging, her coughs and gasps accompanying the splash of water as she clung to the edge of the fountain. A hand reached up to pat at her neck, searching for something that wasn’t there, the young woman in her wet, Magenta scrubs, looking caught between confused and annoyed as she shot a scowl at the water before dragging herself over the edge.

Arrival: Inn

Unlike other new arrivals, the now, dripping wet Rose, walked with purpose towards the Inn. An action that marked her as somebody who was at least somewhat familiar with where she was going. She didn’t bother to try and take in her surroundings, the changes that showed how much time had passed since she’d last been here because to her mind it couldn’t possibly have been more than a few hours since she’d last made this walk to the Inn.

“If somebody was trying to tell me I need a bath, hint taken, okay?!”

The words left her mouth as she pushed inside, talking to anyone who cared to listen (or not), her features twisted into hard lines to show her displeasure at what had passed before now. Until she’d entered the Inn she hadn’t allowed herself to consider alternatives to what might have happened, Rose latching onto the first easy answer her thoughts conjured, and accepting it as fact. It made more sense that this was a prank than that she’d somehow left and returned without any memory of what happened in between. Her disjointed thoughts in the fountain, the sudden return of her memories? It was just the shock of the water and nothing more.

It was only now as she looked around The Inn, that doubt started to creep in. Rose’s eyes narrowing on an unfamiliar face and staying locked on the stranger. They didn’t look like somebody who had only just dragged themselves in out of the fountain but as somebody who had lived at the Inn, a day didn’t pass without her spotting a newcomer.

“When did you get here?” Throwing the question out like an accusation.

Inn + 6i Village + Hot Springs

It doesn’t take long for Rose to adjust to life back here again, mostly because for her it doesn’t feel like any time has passed. The room she’d taken in the Inn might not be the exact same one as before, but one is much like another and it’s not like she ever owned much to notice the difference.

The idea that so much time had gone by was disturbing for her to think on too much, but as long as she stuck to the Inn, Rose barely noticed anything had changed. She couldn’t avoid the new faces, though, especially with her living at the most frequented place in the Village and Rose had never been somebody who could handle being locked up for too long.

She lasted all of a day before she ventured beyond the Inns walls, tension slowly building whenever she’d head towards the outskirts of the village itself. Gone were the sheer canyon walls that made her feel like a fish swimming around in a bowl, in its place the native flora and fauna that was all too new to her.

If you don’t encounter her at the Inn, you’ll most likely find her walking the edge of the village. Almost as if she’s looking for evidence of where the canyon wall had been. There’s only so much investigation that Rose can make herself do, however, and when frustration hits even she’s not immune to taking the downtime she needs. After living her life in the darkness of night, the one thing this place offers her is the ability to enjoy the sun on her skin, Rose seeking out a grassy spot along the waterline, or even heading for the hot springs.

Sooner or later she knows she’s going to have to find herself a routine here, but she was faced with exactly the same problem she’d encountered the last time around. What the hell kind of contribution could she make in a place like this, when the only thing she was good at, the only thing she even knew how to do, was fight?

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Most of the fucks that Sam had left were gone. She was a vampire and everyone knew it. Her skills, both good and bad, were out in the open, or at least in a census. And fuck modesty. It was too warm to go around in both a shirt and a wig. So she'd chosen the wig. Anyway, it wasn't like the bra she'd been given wasn't far more coverage than she used to wear to the beach.

As with most of her days, she was tucked in a corner of the inn's common area, working on a sketch of the Los Angeles skyline. La de da. Same old, same old. At least until the door was thrown open and a very wet, very angry Rose came stomping in.

Sam remembered her, of course. And had taken note when she disappeared. But like so many of the other 'disappeared ones,' there had been nothing Sam could do about it, except try her best to put it from her mind.

It was disturbing that it was becoming easier, but what could you do? A Skinner Box was a Skinner Box.

But her lips curled into something of a smile when she saw Rose again. There were few people in this--or any other--world Sam had been able to tolerate. Rose had made the cut, somehow. So when the angry kitty made herself known, Sam stuck two fingers into her mouth and let out a sharp whistle, waving to her from the corner, where she had her feet up on a table, her back against the wall. "Welcome back, Stinky," she said.

Dripping wet and and quite obviously spoiling for a fight, Rose’s head snapped around at the shrill sound of the whistle, the murderous look on her face lingering until she focused on the person responsible. At least some of the tension drained out of her shoulders as she locked on a familiar face, even the sight of Sam in a bra, not enough to make Rose bawk as she sloshed her way across the room.

It was only as she reached the table Sam was sitting at, that her words fully registered in Rose’s mind, the brunette clearly turning them over in her head as she tilted it to one side.

“I was gone?!” For once, sounding unsure, rather than pissed off. “Where?”

"You'd have to tell me," Sam replied, standing up to greet her. "All I know is I haven't seen you in about six months." There were some people here who were sure that when a person disappeared, they went back home. Sam however, wasn't so generous when it came to her expectations of their Overlords.

Specialized testing. That was her going theory.

Possibly dissection. Although, clearly, Rose was still in one piece. But then again, if they had the power to create an Einstein-Rosen bridge to over a dozen different worlds, Sam was pretty sure they could bring someone back after an autopsy.

It was as logical as anything else.

"C'mon," she said, nodding her head toward the stairs. "I'll get you a towel. They gave away your room I think, but I'm pretty sure you can claim another."

Katniss had actually found the springs one day while hunting and today, since she's only gathering plants, she thought it might be a good idea to try them out. If they're warm enough to ease the ache in her muscles and joints, maybe they'd help Peeta with his leg.

She supposes she ought to expect someone else having the same idea. It's not exactly a secret that the springs are here and everyone in the village seems to just...turn up randomly, even in the woods, and so Katniss tosses a quick wave at the girl already there.

"I thought I was the only one who'd think to come up here today. I guess every good idea has at least two thinkers, right?"

It was difficult for Rose to conceal the stiffening of her shoulders at the sight of Katniss’s arrival. She was one of the faces that were new to her here, a reminder of those missing six months of her life and as much as Katniss wasn’t to blame for the unease Rose felt every time she didn’t recognize somebody, it didn’t alter the fact that Rose felt her barriers go up at seeing her draw close.

She watches her for a quiet moment, as if making sure the girl who had to be at least close in age to her, wasn’t about to transform into something else and try and kill her. It was a ridiculous thought, one even she knew to be foolish but given the gaps in her memory she wasn’t willing to take anything at face value, especially here.

There was nothing in her movements to suggest she was a threat, however, Rose clocking her as somebody capable but whom she could best in a fight and that alone was enough to see her relax a little, even attempt a half-assed smile in greeting.

“It’s one of the of the few things this place has going for it.” Well that and being out in the day, but that wasn’t something Rose was keen to share with a stranger. It would just end in too many questions and a generally awkward conversation. ‘Hi, my best friends a Vampire so I’m one with the night.’ - Hard pass.

“That and…” She fumbles through her brain for something else to say, the blank expression on her face speaking volumes. “No that’s pretty much it.” Her half grin turning wry.

"I like the woods," Katniss says, pretty much agreeing with the assessment as presented. She preferred being alone much of the time which was at odds with her desire to protect her people, to keep them safe from Snow and everything else the Capitol could throw at them and somehow she'd had to become social as a means of survival even if it went against her better nature.

This place was more relaxed, almost like 12 before she was reaped and before the peacekeepers cared whether or not they followed the laws and Katniss has lowered her guard the tiniest bit, just enough to find herself comfortable enough to talk to someone new.

"It's not home but at least we're not in mortal danger. Right now, anyway."

Rose glanced in the direction of the line of trees that wrapped around the whole settlement, her nose wrinkling in distrust as she scrutinized the too new to her woods in question.

“Can’t say I’ve checked it out.” Mostly because despite peoples reassurances that it was just… a bunch of trees, Rose was still foolishly expecting a mountain range to fall from the sky at any moment.

Nobody ever said Rose!Logic had to make sense, okay.

“As I remember it, you’ve just gotta wait five minutes.” A wry, half grin playing across her lips, despite the negativity of her words. If she were being honest? Brutally honest. Rose thought that was one of the things this place had going for it. At least when things were trying to kill her, she felt a strange sense of normalcy.

"Usually my experience too," Katniss says. She laughs in spite of herself; it's macabre humor but it's the sort of humor dancing on the edge of a knife she's had to develop over the years. Her life means nothing to the Capitol and she's had to become someone who lives at the fringes of danger more often than not. Someone who seems to look at life the same way is rare and someone she has interest in getting to know.

"What's your name?" Katniss wants to ask what District she's from but she's found, over the last little while, that most people don't have an answer to that question. Most give her blank stares and ask what a District is, unless they're someone she already knows. Maybe asking for names is better.

"I'm Katniss Everdeen."

He doesn't live in the inn, and spends long portions of his day either fishing or doing repair work on one of the boats he'd discovered, so most days he's maybe at the inn for a few hours as most. So sometimes he misses things, like arrivals. Or, as the case may be, re-arrivals.

He comes into the room not through the front door but through the door from the kitchen, where he dropped off some fish for the lunch meal. Usually after he leaves the fish at the inn, he sticks around for awhile to take a break, see if anyone he knows is there, find out if there's some other way he can help. And today's no different. When he comes into the room and spots a familiar -- if previously missing -- face, he gives Rose a smile. "Welcome back."

He is, of course, assuming that she remembers being here before.

She was getting so used to the fact that she didn’t know half the people here - either because she hadn’t met them in her previous stint in this place, or because they’d arrived in that time in between - that Rose hesitated to respond at first, her eyes narrowing on Killian as if not trusting her own ears.

She recognized him, of course. It was hard not to in light of the fact that she’d woken up in his house and her first real memory of arriving here was seeing him come to check on her but it took the space of several long heartbeats before she allowed herself to believe he truly did recognize her.

“Thanks.” Nose wrinkling. “I think? Haven’t decided how I feel about being back.” The hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth as any tension she carried drained away.

"That depends on what life is like back home." He's gotten used to being here now, but that doesn't mean that he wouldn't go back home if he could. And if he had been home, would he be disappointed if he ended up back here again? Maybe. Probably.

"You missed a few things while you were gone." Some of which should be obvious.

She barely managed to keep from visibly wincing at the mention of life back home, shadows running across her features before she could straighten and shrug whatever memories that surfaced, away.

"Thanks, then." Smile tight, forced, but she tried to keep it casual.

"Apparently that includes an entire canyon disappearing?!" She'd seen it, yes, but had yet to get any real answers as to what had happened. She still expected it to fall out of the sky at any moment, though she wasn't quite dumb enough to admit that.

"That bad?" He's good at reading people, though of course he's better at it with Emma than with anyone else. He has had a lot of practice in general though. "You don't have to tell me." He knows what it's like to want to forget.

"Among other things. We're not nearly so limited on space anymore, either." As far as he knows, no one has yet found the boundary of their new home.

"It's complicated." Which though true, wasn't exactly why she wasn't going to dredge it all up. There weren't many people who would understand what had happened in Siberia, let alone the kind of life Rose had lived before ending up here. Complicated was a short but sweet way of saying that her life was a disaster of epic proportions and she figured most people didn't really want to hear it.

"Not sure if woods for days counts as space." Though she'd yet to explore beyond the boundary and hadn't gone beyond the main settlement. Not because she couldn't this time around. It was her mind rather than her body keeping her prisoner.

He's had a complicated life too, at times, so it's an excuse he'll accept for not hearing about it. There are also plenty of things he'd rather not talk about.

"There's more water here. That's good enough for me." Maybe not for everyone, but he'll take small pleasures where he can find them.

"That's right." A smile pulling at the corner of her mouths as she remembered their first real conversation.

"You're into boats and stuff, right?" Well, he called himself Captain Hook and talked about having a first mate. She might not know much about... anything, but she'd understood that reference.

"Aye. I used to make my living on ships." It hadn't always been honest work, but it had been his life for centuries. It's hard being grounded. "I used to be able to go where I wanted, when I wanted. It's been an adjustment."

A huff of laughter spilled over but it held little humor. The smirk that touched her lips, in no way reaching her eyes.

"Never really had that problem." She admitted, thinking of how sheltered her life had been back home. Or had been anyway, until she'd walked away from the Academy.

"Sounds nice though, being able to sail away whenever you've had enough of a place."

"It was. Its own kind of freedom." Especially when he was the captain calling the shots, and a pirate who answered to no one.

"The only freedom I have here is the freedom to decide where I want to go fishing. Having a boat should at least help with that. I could go farther, or to different places."

"Why not make one?" The all too obvious question, no doubt one that others had already considered, but Rose didn't stop the think about the how of things, only the destination.

"Not like there isn't plenty of wood around to do so." Though even as she said it, she doubted it would be that simple. She was sure at least somebody here had the smarts to build a boat, but she very much doubted their ability to leave, not if their captors didn't want them to.

"I'm repairing one." That's certainly faster and easier than building one from nothing, and if he doesn't have the specific tools necessary for this task, he can at least make the ones he does have work somehow.

"It's slow going with only one hand, but I'm making progress."

By now, Vanille has a mini-menagerie to walk around with every day. Four purple woolly mammals, one reptilian dog, and one fluffy grey/white puppy with small black spots and light brown points on its face and legs. The puppy hasn't grown into itself yet and it's clear that Vanille has only had it for a few days at most, but it seems happy enough to run around and then be carried when it's too tired and needs to sleep. The larger purple animals are content to graze while the reptilian dog seems happy enough to play guard.

Vanille herself watches her animals with a keen eye, though her smile doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon, not even when she spots someone unfamiliar by the waterline. Her herd is currently meandering towards the water to drink and they don't seem particularly fussed by the newcomer, so for now Vanille doesn't worry.

"Hi!" she calls out, waving, ever the friendly and cheerful girl.

Rose stiffens at the sound of the approaching animals, bracing herself for a herd of - things she never thought she’d think, let alone see - purple woolly mammals to trample her to death. It was a fate that would add insult to the injury she felt at having lost the last six months of her life, but one she would never have to experience, thankfully.

She’d grown up, used to the fact that animals for whatever reason, didn’t like Dhampir. Something to do with the nature of their existence, or rather the unnaturalness of it. The fact that they weren’t at all bothered by her, was just another reminder that she wasn’t the same as she used to be.

“Hey…” The reply drawn out as she slowly dragged her gaze away from the bizarre menagerie, Rose’s head canting to one side as she took the other girl in. While she hadn’t given much thought to the person these animals belonged with, the moment she laid eyes on Vanille, she realized that if she had? This girl was exactly what she would have pictured.

“Interesting collection of animals you got there…” Her haze dipping to the… what the hell do you even call that thing? “Puppygator?”

The zalpacas seem content to drink for a while, which is a slight relief to Vanille for the moment. It gives her a second to relax. They'll be headed back home soon enough, but some time spent outside can't hurt. Especially since she's still training both the puppy and the reptilian dog. She's gotta have time for that every day.

"Yeah, I found them all. I don't really know what they're all called. Except the puppy. That's definitely a dog." She knows what dogs are. The others are kind of a mystery to her. "Maybe the Observers know their species names, but they haven't shared them with me. I'm still trying to come up with good names for each of them!"

The reptilian dog is the only one with a name so far. He makes his way over to the new girl, tail practically wagging like a happy real dog.

"That's Bhakti the Second," Vanille offers. "He's very friendly."

For a moment, all Rose can see is the gatorpup, her head canted to one side as she shifts her gaze from Vanille to the creature with the reptilian head. Her relief is palpable when the actual puppy bounces into her line of sight, a half chuckle escaping as Rose shook her head and was incapable of holding back a small smile.

“Observers…” It wasn’t exactly the first time she’d heard the term thrown around but Rose’s time here before had been so brief, that she hadn’t done much digging into those who were behind it. “That the nice way of saying the creepy kidnappers who shoved us here?” It was fitting, she supposed, as it was clear they were always watching. Disturbingly so.

“Define friendly…” Stiffening only a little at the approach of the - Bhatki, the second, which made her wonder what happened to the first. “As in, scale of one to ten, how likely am I to lose a finger?” Her hand hovering like she’s thinking about allowing the animal to take in her scent but isn’t going to do so until she’s sure she’ll have all ten fingers and thumbs after doing so.

Vanille leaves the actual puppy alone for the moment, keeping an eye on him just to be sure he doesn't get too far away from her. The last thing she needs is for him to take his playful self and get lost.

"Yeah, those guys," she agrees with a nod. No one seems to really know who or what they are. Just that they are somewhat in charge around here and definitely in the market for watching everything. Vanille still isn't convinced that they aren't fal'Cie, but as she hasn't run into anyone else from Pulse or Cocoon, that isn't a theory she has been really willing to offer yet.

Vanille giggles lightly at the scale the other girl offers. "Zero!" she says with a laugh. "He doesn't seem to bite anything except fish. I don't know if I can train him to catch fish and not eat them, but eventually I want to try. He's been great with everything else. Doesn't bite people or any other wildlife."

Granted, she doesn't really know what its preferred habitat is like or whether or not anything else eats these guys, but so far the reptilian dog has been one of her best companions. As if to prove that fact, Bhakti turns his head upwards, looking for all the world like a normal dog begging for attention.

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Do the people whisper 'bout you on the train like me?

Arrival: Inn

/f i n a l l y

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Hot Springs

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Inn

/ten years later

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out and about

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