i got two hundred seconds

[succored]

WHO: Ty Rhodes and you!
WHERE: Bunker, Peach Orchard, House #15 in the South Village
WHEN: Around 9/30
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: None, TBA


[BUNKER ARRIVAL]
The sound of water rushing past him was what woke him initially, but like some kind of paralytic lucid dream, he was sluggish at waking. Which was odd, considering Ty was usually fairly alert as soon as he was awake, but he had difficulty even opening his eyes. Then there was the sudden sensation of falling, and hitting the unforgiving ground.

Groaning, he opened his eyes, vision blurry for a few moments as he tried to get his bearings. The last thing he remembered was heading home, snow crunching underneath his boots, mind racing a thousand miles a minute but this-

Gingerly, feeling returning to his limbs as if he’d been asleep for a long time, he reached up to wipe the water from his eyes. He ran his hands through his hair to keep it from dripping more liquid into his face, undoubtedly spiking it up in odd directions as he tried to slick it back.

It took a few heartbeats to figure out he was in some weird laboratory looking room, apparently he’d been stuck in a tube up until now, and whoever was standing at the console was the one to let him out. Or put him there in the first place.

“Thanks, I think.” His voice was rough with disuse, scrapped a bit raw. “Think I could trouble you for a towel?”



[PEACH ORCHARD]
Though there seemed to be communal resources, going for those first felt like some sort of failing on his part. He wanted to have something to contribute before he took anything, and unfortunately here it didn’t seem like he had anything from home. And while he was grateful the pack had given him clothes, he was a bit disappointed there hadn’t been one tool in there for use.

So instead he’d decided to forage, taking a few test bites of the peaches to make sure they weren’t anything strange. Quite the opposite, it seemed like eating them made him feel better somehow, so he was stuffing a few into his backpack when he heard someone approached. He had looked around the orchard to see if anyone was tending to it, but it had seemed like it wasn’t really anyone’s. Perhaps he’d made a mistake?

Slowly he raised his hands to show he didn’t have anything in them but a peach, turning his head to address whoever was coming up.

“Sorry, is this your land? Didn’t mean to trespass.”



[MAKING A HOUSE A HOME]
While Ty had some trepidation about using the communal resources for now, turning down shelter would just be shooting himself in the foot. Especially since he had no real tools to call his own and he had always been susceptible to cold.

It was a bit creepy to put roots in a house that looked like it had been abandoned for a long time, but it gave him something to do while he came up with a game plan for this place. In an effort to help out his mother, he had gotten in the habit of keeping things neat and tidy, so airing out the house, trying to combat all the dust and cobwebs, and checking to see what was in working order kept him from panicking too much, initially. He was here, he might as well make the best of it. And be on good terms with the people who lived nearby, considering he had no idea how long he was going to be stuck here.

He was in the process of beating all the dirt out of the linens, the blankets draped over the railing of the front porch, when he finally saw some signs of life in the neighborhood. He waved and called out a good morning to anyone who passed, before covering his face back up with his sleeve, and going back to work.

Comments

Peach Orchard

[our_promise]

Natalia has taken to exploring the village and environs daily. She isn't so accustomed to the area that she isn't pleased every time she remembers properly where something is, so when she walks into the orchard it's with an victorious air.

That expression turns to surprise when a stranger puts his hands up.

"It's the village's land. You're not trespassing."

[succored]

While it was definitely a relief to know that he was allowed to be here, he didn't know how to feel about still being on village property and taking when he had nothing to give in return. But for now, hunger was more important than his pride, so he let his hands drop back down.

"That's good to know, thanks." He held out one of the peaches he'd picked, figuring that might be the reason she was here. "In that case, want one?"

[our_promise]

She smiles and accepts the fruit. It isn't as plump and juicy as it would have been in the peak of summer, but they can hardly be as picky here as she was in Baticul.

"Thank you. I'm Natalia. What's your name?"

[succored]

"Anytime. If it's for everyone, we should all enjoy it right?" That being said, he was pretty sure he had taken more than enough for now, so he started zipping up his backpack.

He returned the smile easily enough, hefting the backpack strap over one shoulder. "Nice to meet you Natalia. I'm Ty. Have you been part of the village long?"

[our_promise]

"No, not long at all. Only a week." She inspects the peach, making sure it doesn't have any dirt or other litter on it. But it would be rude to start eating it now, so she'll wait.

"What about you, Ty?"

Peach Orchard

[3ofswords]

The waves do some of the work, carrying him in from the pod; it’s gotten too cold to make the swim, but enough of the canvas boats survived to ferry people back and forth from their shifts. It’s maybe the first time he’s used it as more than a sled, and paddling with the single oar had taken some getting used to. Not trusting the canvas to run aground without tearing, he drags against waterlogged jeans and boots to stow the folded boat in the last house before the shore, ready for the next person heading in to watch the tubes.

Someone had come through on the shift before his, and he’d passed his own stretch ducking into other rooms, taking notes. His sister’s name on the list had seeded that old anxiety, a will-they-won’t-they tick in the tempo of his heart.

He doesn’t want her here. He doesn’t want any of them. It was a list of the dead, and too many names repeating.

The lists in his notes demand he follow up, but later. While not an overnight shift, the sun is far enough along that he’s missed all of the morning, probably more than one hot meal. With a deep breath, his physical stretch stretches it into a yawn, and he angles west toward the grove– a couple of late season peaches will last him to home.

Dragging his wet feet, eyes adjusting to real light and blinking away screen-fatigue, the back and shoulders are just a back and shoulders. Just someone already picking up fallen peaches, and Kira finds a stick to break underfoot to announce his approach.

Funny: even stripped of prescience, he didn’t think this place could surprise him.

“You’re not–” trespassing– “here. You’re not here.”

A beat: he stares. The familiar face does not resolve into someone he does not know. He does not wake up.

“I’m not doing this right now.” He turns an invisible corner and stumbles back toward the path in his heavy boots.

[succored]

Even though they hadn't seen each other for years and when Ty had returned, were tentatively getting their friendship back on track, Ty still considered Kira one of his best friends. So while he couldn't say he was too surprised at that reaction, it was still exasperating. Hadn't they just done this song and dance not too long ago? Did he really have to do it all over again?

Usually, he would let him go and let Kira get his self-control back in place, but he wasn't too savvy about the layout of this place yet. There was a distinct possibility that if he let him go now, they wouldn't find each other again.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ty quickly zipped up his backpack, jogging after Kira, reaching out to grasp his arm to slow him down, before thinking better of it. "You really know how to make a guy feel welcome. You can't even say hi?"

He wasn't too offended, not really, and he tried to get a better look at Kira's face so he could see he was mostly teasing.

[3ofswords]

Definitely some kind of hallucination, definitely not someone who just recently got a look at this place. Fuck knew that that lily he'd carted home did, how it worked; who knew what else the Observers might do to fuck with him. Mold in the bunker ducts, the flash of neurons before he unwittingly drowned in a broken pod.

Or they'd just--do this. Give the coat, hide the samples, scrub the name from the list. Fucking Redacted written into a blank slot, no names underneath. No point in including them except to show that they hadn't. Never any answers, never anyone for him--

A fucking year. Ty the last thing he saw before he woke up in the fountain, bedridden and pale, sweating out a fever that wouldn't quit on its own. Here he is acting like Kira snubbed him at the fucking corner, and there's no bus or train to dodge into and away. Stomping on his own foot, Kira pulls out of his boot and kicks it backward, right at the sound of that voice. "Do not even think about touching me, Jesus Christ. Go away."

[succored]

"Are you-" Before Ty could even finish that thought, that sentence, Kira was actually kicking his boot at him. He caught it without blinking, a bit surprised by the hostility that Kira was exuding, but without knowing the cause, for all he knew, he could just be mad that Ty had scolded him for not getting out of NYC. It was best to wait for it to blow over with Kira, so he held the boot in one hand, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched his best friend stalk away, with one shoe, an eyebrow raised.

Some days he had to wonder if the theatrics and dramatics that went hand in hand was necessary, or just an excuse.

"It's nice to see you too." He muttered, shaking his head.

[3ofswords]

This is some kind of nightmare--and does he mean Ty, here, after a year on his own and both the smell and stain faded from the jacket? He's only glad he didn't wear it today: he doesn't take anything from home into the bunker, like there's something worse about it than home, like it could swallow them up.

Or does he just mean this: the weight of what it means to see Ty's face, healthy and without guile, a copy of a copy of a copy--

And he's just here, picking peaches, because the sky could fall and Tycho Rhodes would give him a look like ha, you see this shit? Then go pick up the pieces. Is it a nightmare because it caught him off guard, and he can't actually just leave him here? A dozen paces on, leaning to his booted side, Kira turns to look back.

He told Karen the blood was a misdirect, and fuck--it feels like a kind of violence to see him so shiny and new. Didn't even put the old scratches back on, and he drops a look to Ty's hip, but from the way he's walking--it's probably fine. Probably didn't even fucking happen.

Kira covers his face with his hands, rubs at his eyes, sighs. "Ty, please bring me my fucking shoe. I'll walk you back."

Making a House a Home

[killorder]

Ever since he read all the details on the computer, and how many of these so called iterations show the name of Cougar Alvarez, Jake is on a mission. Searching for some sign of the man he knew, of whatever was here before. Others have told him there are items still around, and he's now searching everything.

In part to keep his mind off where he is meant to be and what could be going wrong, in part in need to try and find part of his unit here.

Heading for the Inn, seeing someone by one of the houses, he changes his course and heads that way. Casual, wearing a pair of jeans that are a bit short, and a plain white tee shirt, he raises his hand in greeting.

"Hi." He notes the chores the man has put himself too. "You new too, or just finally setting up home?"

[succored]

"Just arrived here a few days ago. I'm Ty, nice to meet you." Ty said, glad for an excuse to take a break, leaning against the porch railing as the blonde man changed course to head towards him. The coolness of the morning was starting to dissipate, and Ty was debating about heading back to the inn to see if he could get something to drink.

"What about you?" He had said 'new too' but Ty had seemed to be the only person to come out of the tubes when he had.

[killorder]

"Jake," he says, lifting one hand in a kind of wave. Still awkward, that much hasn't changed since he came to this place, but trying to get a feel for everything around him. Including the people there.

"Been here about two weeks now," he says, pausing to consider that and then nodding. "Yeah about that. Still trying to figure out what this place is and what the hell they want. You, uhmmm... You haven't found anything around this place like a hat? Or anything with the name Cougar on it?"

[succored]

Even if Jake was trying to be casual about the question, it made Ty feel terrible to have to shake his head, because he could get it. Everyone here had people they were looking for or missing or worried about.

"I haven't, but I can keep an eye out for anything like that. What kind of hat, and who's Cougar? If you describe them, I can look out for them too."

[killorder]

"Cool. Thanks," he says, nodding because it's really all he can ask for in the end.

He opens his mouth and then he sighs. He can't pretend he doesn't know it inside and out. "It's a brown leather, I guess you would call it cowboy hat. Curled up high on the sides, thin braided leather band. It's pretty battered, and shows a lot of wear right here where you grip it to put it on and off," he says, gesturing to the front of his head like he's wearing one. "And it's got a gun oil mark right along the front brim where it rubs against a scope."

Yeah, that's not creepy obsessive or anything. "As for Cougar, he's five ten..." Not guessing that. He knows. "Brown hair, long and just past his shoulders. Angular face, piercing eyes... I sound like a stalker."

It hits him like a ton of bricks, mostly because he's imagining him in his mind's eye and seeing him clearly.

"Does it help to know he's my teammate and the guy most likely to keep me alive? If not, ignore everything I just said."

Bunker Arrival [I hope this is okay]

[minus1twin]

Wanda turned away from the console with a blanket already in her hand. People didn't need to be released in the bunker but the malfunction had put everyone on edge. They'd set up a rotation to make sure that this room was under watched as often as possible and today just happened to be Wanda's turn.

She wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, the bottom of her jeans soaked with the water that had spilled from the tube. It was closed now but pools of water gathered in parts of the floor while most of it drained in the center of the room.

"Here." Her accent was thick, her voice warm. "Are you okay?" Wanda didn't hover though she wanted to stay nearby in case he needed something. This wasn't exactly the easiest wake up call.

It is beautiful!

[succored]

The quick response and the fact that the woman had a blanket ready already spoke of the fact that wasn't the first, or perhaps not even the hundredth, time she'd done this. It was comforting in a way, if this whole thing wasn't so bizarre. There didn't seem to be any ill will from her, and Ty nodded before trying to stand, blanket wrapped around himself tightly.

"I think so? Thanks for the blanket. At least one of us came prepared." He used a corner to wipe off his face, looking at the tube he had apparently be expelled from in bewilderment. "So either I'm hallucinating, having a really weird dream, or I'm dead. Which is it?" But he would have liked to believe that he would remembering dying and that the door to the afterlife would be some weird tube.

:D

[minus1twin]

There are a small collection of blankets in this particular room of the bunker and while Wanda wasn't sure who put them there, she assumed they were for general use. It was convenient to have on hand after the last mishap with the tubes and likely there for that reason.

She made a mental note to at least replace the blanket that she'd taken.

"None of those." Wanda almost smiled at the list. "You aren't dead or dreaming. The people here were brought here somehow. I don't have all the details because we're still trying to find things out."

She gently pushed at his backpack. "We all arrive with these, all with the same symbols." They hadn't formally met their host yet though Wanda suspects that it could also be one of them.

[succored]

Gingerly, Ty started drying himself off as best as he could, listening as the woman gently debunked his theories. It seemed unreal, and Ty was going to have to pinch himself hard just to make sure this wasn't actually a dream despite her assurance. He started wringing out his shirt, pausing in his actions to get a better look at the symbol on his backpack, frowning slightly.

"So what do you think is going on here? And when you say 'we all', how many people are we talking about?" The tubes had made him think it was a small scale operation, but maybe he was mistaken. Focusing on figuring out what was going on was a good way to distract himself from panicking, from crawling back up the tube to see if he could just us that as a way to get home, where he was needed instead of... wherever this was.

"Do you know if these tubes go back to where we came?" He asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. If it were that easy, he doubted anyone would still be here.

[minus1twin]

Wanda shook her head, a frown touching her lips as she turned and rummaged through her bag. She pulled out a half empty canteen and held it out for Ty to take. "If you're thirsty. We have a bit of a walk to the village. That's where everyone is staying, either at the inn or in the houses around it."

She watched him and while Wanda tried to hide her worry, it was nearly impossible. It was never easy waking up in this world and she always felt uncomfortable being the welcoming committee.

She'd been here for too long and too much of this felt normal now.

"There are about fifty of us I think. It's hard to count since some people prefer to keep to themselves. This is a test of some kind but I don't know what for. I don't even have theories."

Peach Orchard

[borneinblood]

Druitt hasn't, to be perfectly honest, precisely intended to end up in the peach orchard. It's simply that while he is, once again, apparently without his teleportation, he figures that's no reason to not explore. True, he hasn't found much that's of significant difference between the two villages (which may be a problem, if he means to be teleporting between the two on a regular basis) but that doesn't mean that he shouldn't be familiar with both villages all the same, or so he figures.

Admittedly, he cuts a fairly imposing figure without even trying, between his height and the way he's dressed all in black (though the latter is slightly ruined by his clothes also being the default scrubs), but apart from that he looks ... not so much friendly, perhaps, but at least not particularly bothered by Ty's presence.

"It's not. In fact, I rather imagine it's communal, or intended to be."

He's not about to rule out the possibility that someone else has claimed it as there's, but he certainly hasn't, at least.

[succored]

Though the man's words were friendly enough, there was something still a bit imposing about his demeanor, so there was still some lingering tension in his shoulders when Ty turned around, dropping his hands back by his sides.

"That's comforting." Then, as if remembering his manners, he held out a peach. "I may have picked a few too many. Did you want a some?" First impressions in a place like this were important, and Ty wasn't one to judge someone just because they were tall or dressed all in black. So far, everyone he had met had been helpful and he had little reason to believe there was anyone dangerous here.

[borneinblood]

While Druitt does notice the tension in Ty's shoulders, he doesn't say anything about it. He's long since grown used to people being somewhat less than comfortable around him, and for all that he's well aware that most people here aren't particularly familiar with his history, it's still a familiar enough sight that he pays it no real mind. It's there, yes, but there's no sense in addressing it. Not when it would change the overall tone of the conversation rather significantly.

"I wouldn't say no."

There's a shrug to go with the words, as he takes the peach Ty's offering. He doesn't have any intent to actually eat it immediately, mind, but it's not as if it won't last long enough for him to take it back to his room at the Inn, and his pockets should be big enough to hold a single peach besides.

[succored]

Peace offering peach aside, Ty was curious to know more about the people who were here. Everyone seemed to give him conflicting accounts, but all had tidbits of information that were helping to paint a better picture of this place for him. Whatever this place was.

He shrugged his backpack higher onto his shoulder, zipping it up just as a safekeeping measure. Wouldn't want all that work to go to waste.

"I'm Ty, pleasure to meet you." He offered, to break the ensuing silence. "Have you been here long?"

[borneinblood]

The finer details of this place are something that Druitt is still working on figuring out himself. Not necessarily with any real speed, mind, but to be fair there have rather been more important things that have required his attention. To say nothing of the fact that most of the answers seem to be the sort of thing that have yet to be revealed. But he's not unwilling to be patient, even if it is the sort of patient that could probably be just as easily be considered to be biding his time.

It's just that he doesn't say as much. Instead he offers a nod and a polite smile in return.

"John. And likewise."

There's a brief pause at that, and then he continues on, with a shrug.

"A couple of months, at this point."

Long to have managed to get the hang of most of the basics, but to have been in the village for anything he'd consider to be a particularly long stretch of time.