It's Not the Waking It's the Rising

[praypal]

WHO: Kurt Wagner, You!
WHERE: Fountain (Open to 1), Inn, Various Outdoor Locations
WHEN: Nov. 27 - Dec 4
OPEN TO: OTA, Arrival Locked to 1
WARNINGS: None yet.

---

Arrival

Yellow eyes open in the dark. It's cold. And he's weightless- wait, no, he's in water. Did he teleport in his sleep? No, that hasn't happened since he was a teenager. He struggles for a few precious seconds to locate the light, and bamfs-

Or not. His movements feel clumsier too, though that might be the oxygen deprivation. It takes him several more seconds to truly register the full extent of his situation as he struggles to the surface- he can't even cling to the stone walls of the well! This is strange.

He gasps loudly as he breaks the surface, groping one arm over the ledge of the fountain and spitting out a mouthful of water. "Scheisse," he coughs as he begins to haul himself over the ledge- and noticing just how much harder it is than it should be to do so. The laws of gravity are not meant to be so restrictive where he is concerned, and he feels downright clumsy. This isn't right.

Also, it is definitely not Central Park.

Inn

Dressed in the dry set of light grey scrubs he'd found in his pack, Kurt has made his way to the social center of the village, even if he's not feeling too much like his usual social self. But there's hot food and, most importantly a roaring fire that he's gotten himself as close to as one can without risking burning off one's fuzz off.

He's got a bowl of something hot that someone was kind enough to spare, and it reminds him enough of the big pots of stew or curry that they'd leave bubbling in big pots around the clock when the circus was performing that it's bringing him some modicum of comfort.

The Great Outdoors

This feeling of unbalance, this simply will not do. If he is to function here as anyone else, he has to get used to life without the superhuman agility he's been used to since his very first steps. So he's found somewhere nice and empty aside from a few felled trees, and clad in sadly very drab scrubs, he's doing what he would with any other setback-

Pushing past it, and with style.

Even with the loss of his powers, he still has his tail. That lends him more balance than most would have, and he's making the most of it as he makes running leap after running leap, pushing himself into handsprings, backflips, using the tree trunks as balance beams.

And, every so often, falling on his fuzzy blue butt. Or face.

The muscle memory of years in the circus and cross-time swashbuckling is still there, it just feels hindered. He can work with hindered. Hindered just means it's harder, not that it can't be done. The effort of having to work these muscles and his spacial awareness this hard means- well, he's not as aware of the rest of his surroundings than he might be.

He does not realize he's being watched until he stops to perch on a sufficiently stable rock to catch his breath.

Comments

Inn

[ataashihunter]

There is something very nice about seeing someone else obviously not human and Bull smiles as he goes to grab a bowl for himself. Then he heads over to sit down not far from the other. "Hi, mind if I sit?"

[praypal]

Kurt offers Bull a fangy smile, and if it's a tired one, the fuzz hides it well. "Please, be my guest." He speaks with some sort of accent, more guttural than Orlesian or Antivan.

"I only arrived here a few hours ago. I have not met many people yet. I am Kurt Wagner, a pleasure, I'm sure."

[ataashihunter]

"Indeed it is" Bull grins. "I am the Iron Bull. And you'll get to know people soon enough" Bull's got an accent as well, though it is hard to place. Just that of someone who isn't a native speaker of English even if he knows it well.

"You've gotten the whole explanation of where you are?"

[praypal]

"I am sometimes also called Nightcrawler," he adds, assuming The Iron Bull is some sort of codename- it looks like it would be an apt one. "And ja, mostly? A man named Zevran pulled me out of the water when I arrived."

Inn

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

Thor is in the very, very early stages of starting to memorize faces. He's spent a good amount of time in the building he's learned is called an "inn" (and someone's been kind enough to explain what that means, as he was confused as to why it would be "in" and not "out"), and doing so has allowed him to recognize the usual patrons. Some come and drop off food for future meals, some appear to be living upstairs, others come simply to socialize. It's a place of warmth, literal and otherwise, and Thor finds that he enjoys sitting near the fire, especially as his stupid mortal body seems more sensitive to the frigid outdoors.

Pathetic.

He's on his fifth or sixth bowl of stew when he sees someone walk in with the most shockingly blue skin he's ever seen. Thor wonders if it might be a Jötunn, but his smaller stature tells him that he is not. Perhaps he's a younger Jötunn, not yet fully grown into the giants they turn out to be.

When he gets close enough, Thor leans over and says with a friendly smile:

"It's very good." He raises his own bowl slightly to show he's talking about the soup. "It isn't a box of Poptarts, but it is still very good."

[praypal]

Kurt grins. There is... something very familiar about this man and his presence, his bearing, even his looks- and his outgoing friendliness. Given that sort of greeting, Kurt can't help but respond in kind despite the fatigue of adjusting to the lack of his powers. The Pop Tart remark earns an honest laugh.

"It is, yes!" he replies- his accent is clearly Midgaurdian, German to be more specific, though is English is clearly fluent. "Ah, another blessing of modern life to curse our lack of. I believe I am still missing central heating somewhat more, but I did pull myself out of a well into winter air only a few hours ago. It may take some time before my sweet tooth overwhelms the chill."

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

Thor blinks at the stranger's way of speaking, unsure of what central heating might be, but he's still maintaining a very pleasant and inviting air. He's come to realize that there is a lot about the mortal, Midgardian world he does not understand - and, even though it feels more like his hand has been forced, he is willing to learn. He shovels another spoonful of stew in his mouth and chews thoughtfully, then motions to the empty chair caddy-corner from his own.

"A well?" Thor asks, thinking. "Oh! The one at the center of the village, yes? I hadn't realized you could arrive in such a manner. I arrived through the strange underground tubes." He says this all so matter-of-factly, even though none of it is remotely normal, even if Thor was already human. He motions to the quietly roaring fire in front of the chairs. "This will assist in helping you warm up. These bodies are so sensitive to cold!"

[praypal]

Kurt takes a seat in the chair, happily warming his fuzzy hands in the heat of the fire.

"I take it you also find yourself unable to access certain abilities since arriving here?" Kurt asks, intrigued by the comment about the cold. "I'm not normally any less sensitive to cold than most humans, save the extra warmth of being covered in fur. But I do feel far more clumsy than usual," he admits. Because you don't just start a conversation with my teleportation powers are gone.

The Great Outdoors

[to_defend]

7 is impressed.

In her world, she was the quickest, so it's refreshing to be here and to find people who could keep up with her, offer her a challenge.

She's content to just observe, watching him try and fail and try again. She understands that mindset; that getting up after you fall is the most important part to learning, to trying again and doing better.

Eventually, though, her target must sense she's had her eyes trained on him for some time; she steps from the brush, swinging her spear around to stab it into the ground, and pushes up the cave-dog-skull-mask she'd finally finished.

"Not bad. How did you learn to move like that?"

[praypal]

Well. That is a very interesting choice of a mask, but not the strangest one he's seen. He's always wondered how Wolverine's hair manages to keep his signature style after he pulls the cowl off.

"I was raised in the circus," he answers without hesitation, giving the young woman an affable smile and hopes the fangs won't startle her. "I performed as an acrobat from the time I was very young. If we had a trapeze set up, I could really show you something." He says this with confidence that doesn't quite step over the line into bragging- more lamenting the fact that he has no access to such facilities. "I am Kurt Wagner, by the way. New arrival."

[to_defend]

Fangs are new, at least on people. She was well aware of them from her experiences with the Beast in her own world. Here, though, it gets a look of passing curiosity and little else.

"Circus? We didn't have that. It looks like a lot of fun. I'd really like to hear about trapeze." If she had to guess, she'd say it sounded like some kind of entertainment, the way he's offering to show off in such a manner. Her own movements were born of necessity.

"I'm 7, I'm ... not exactly new, but I haven't been here that long."

[praypal]

It's very hard for Kurt not to think of Laura when 7 introduces herself. A young woman with a numerical name, and there is some quality to her bearing that almost reminds him of Wolverine's daughter-clone.

"It is a great amount of fun. I am used to having an easier time of it, I admit. I am used to having a little more to draw on than my devilish good looks," he jokes.

Arrival

[ombranera]

Zevran hasn't at all been making a daily pass at the well in case someone he knows might arrive. That would be foolish. That would be bordering on some manner of sentimental and he knows far too well that it is best to leave such things behind as he finds his footing in the village. It is not at all a slight twist of fear that Taliesen might break the surface and require prompt drowning.

That Rinna might float up all sodden curls and betrayed grimaces.

Or worse yet- Oghren with his foul breath and frustrated snarling.

Well practiced in denial Zevran knows it is for none of these reasons he makes a circuit of the park each day- it is pragmatism. Pulling someone from the fountain, hurrying them to the Inn? How better to earn himself a few favors than to assist the newly arrived? That is his story and he is sticking to it.

Water ripples, breath catches- and he darts forward to offer a hand to the soaked new arrival- ignoring the skin and ears and eyes for a moment. "One moment, we shall have you free in no time at all!"

[praypal]

Kurt tries not to feel too much like a waterlogged cat as he gratefully takes the offered hand to pull himself out of the pool and into the cold- oh Gott in Himmel is it cold- air.

He rolls onto the stone ground. His fur isn't doing much to keep him warm as drenched as he is. There are some words muttered under his breath in some other language before he meets Zevran's eyes. "Where-?" he starts to ask, but the words are cut off by a slight shiver.

"Where are we?"

[ombranera]

Zevran hauls and hefts, trying not to think too hard about the fur, the color the eyes. Demon he might be but- he seems as honestly befuddled as anyone else. "You know, I do not think anyone has actually named the village as of yet? But we are in a village."

A beat.

"That is worlds away from any of our own."

Another, longer beat. "And there are monsters in the mountains that might consume us all!"

Honestly about that he sounds...far too cheerful. For him, it is a day ending in Y. More or less. "But right now? You are in the Fountain Park, and I shall take you to the Inn where you may warm and dry yourself by the fire, yes?"

[praypal]

"Sounds exciting," says Kurt, without a trace of irony. It genuinely does sound exciting to him.

He is wobbly as he stands and begins to sort through the dry clothes with tri-digit hands, fumbling a bit with the buckles on the pack. "I apologize for my clumsiness. I am not drunk, just far less agile than I am used to being. There is something dampening my usual abilities."

Inn

[minus1twin]

"Mind if I join you?"

Wanda was dressed in a pair of loose khaki's and a white tank top. She had taken off her jacket while cooking and hadn't gotten around to putting it back on yet. Her long hair was tied back and curled at the ends tinting red the further it got from her scalp. She had a bowl of stew in one hand with a mug in the other.

She waited for Kurt's reply before taking a seat next to the fire. "I don't think I've seen you around here before." Wanda would have noticed Kurt.

[praypal]

Kurt is all too happy to make room for someone to join him- even in an unfamiliar place surrounded by unfamiliar people, he's not much for brooding.

"I suppose I am a little hard to miss," Kurt jokes, motioning to his own appearance. "Though people have been much kinder than they often are even back home, so that is something. Kurt Wagner," he offers a hand to the young woman. "Obviously new in town."

[minus1twin]

"A little." She smiled.

"Wanda Maximoff." She introduced herself as she took the seat at his side. Her bowl was balanced carefully on the tips of her fingers as she began to pick at the stew. It was hot, steam curling up from the thick soup, but it was pleasant on such a cold day.

"Have you been able to ask questions?"

The Great Outdoors

[morphogenia]

Kamala's life is pretty consistent here. She has a home to maintain with many adorable pets. She's still hard at work on her holiday project to make sure all her friends have gifts. It's on her way back home from one of these tasks where she spots Kurt. There is a blue man with a tail. She's trying not to get her hopes up. He is supposed to be dead, after all!

Sure enough once he gets closer it becomes impossible to deny that is in fact a member of the X-Men, dead or not. She responds the only way she knows how: running and screaming with a look of pure delight on her face. "Oh my God! It's really you! Hi! I'm such a huge fan!"

[praypal]

Kurt looks surprised, not only to be recognized but to be recognized so... positively. That... is not something he's particularly used to. At least not until someone's life is in danger and he's about to teleport them out, and their anti-mutant bias is suddenly a lot less important than staying alive.

But it's not as if the X-Men are completely without fans- though he is surprised to find one in this particular corner of the multiverse, if only because he hasn't met anyone else who recognizes him.

"Ah- thank you," he says, letting a cheerful smile replace the confusion for now. The girl seems friendly and he sees no reason not to act otherwise in return. "It's always nice to meet a fan. It certainly beats meeting the opposite."

[morphogenia]

She stops just short of Kurt. It takes all her restraint not to hug him or beg for an autograph or something. Kamala folds her hands in front of her and continues to gush. "I bet! I promise everyone is super cool here about being different. No angry robots are coming after us or you since you know. X-Men." Good cover, Kamala. So smooth. She's honestly too hyped to notice how lame that was. "How are you? Can I do anything to help? Did I mention I totally love you guys?" She's going to calm down eventually, but for now? The biggest stars in her eyes.

Inn

[blindninja]

Living with someone who doesn't really cook either, the two of them often have to venture out for food, so Matt's back at the inn with an empty bowl in his lap after he's finished eating something plain and warm. Probably the same thing that Kurt is having right now.

He's sitting in front of the fire and doesn't seem to be aware that Kurt is there. He didn't turn to say hello when Kurt sat down and, in fact, for the most part he seems to be in a bit of a daze. When he accidentally drops his spoon it clatters noisily on the floor and Matt's brows furrow. His hand crawls dangerously close to the flame looking for it.

(Sorry I'm like a week late to this)

[praypal]

Kurt's brow furrows a little when the other man doesn't seem to notice his (let's be honest very distinct) presence, but the penny drops for Kurt when the spoon does, and Matt starts to feel for it instead of looking. Ah!

He's about to offer assistance when he sees how close his hand is getting to the fireplace. "Ah, pardon me," he says apologetically, gently placing a hand over Matt's when it creeps a little too close to the flame. "I don't wish to see you burn yourself." He picks the spoon up with his other hand, and places it in Matt's searching one.

"Hello, by the way. I'm new here." His hand is strangely shaped, two thick fingers instead of the usual four smaller ones, with a fine covering of velvety fuzz. He's quick to switch subjects from the potentially embarrassing to introductions. "Kurt Wagner."

[blindninja]

Matt's eyebrows rise as he leans back a bit, surprised that someone was there all along and also a bit at how Kurt's hand feels. He curls his fingers around the spoon and offers a smile vaguely in Kurt's direction.

"Thank you." He drops the spoon back into the bowl and sets the bowl down, keeping one hand on it so he doesn't lose it or kick it over when he decides it's time to get up.

"Matt Murdock," comes his easy reply. "I hope you haven't had trouble settling in?" It seems like everyone here is buckling up and looking to stay for the long run, and there hasn't been any reason for Matt to think otherwise.