Welcome to the Occupation

[jetsetting]

WHO: Annie Walker + OTA
WHERE: The Fountain / Fountain Park / Others
WHEN: November 6th
OPEN TO: Everyone
WARNINGS: Language possibly; updated as needed
STATUS: Open

---

The Fountain; open

As Annie came to consciousness, the memory of being at The Farm and underwater - nighttime underwater - exercises hit. It was the only thing that kept her from inhaling more water than she did, and she did inhale.

Closing her mouth, she followed the upward motion, aware of the weight on her back and feet, and the inability to simply kick off her shoes, something she'd been trained to do if ever in deep water, made her take notice. She shrugged off the pack as she kicked to the surface and, as she broke it, took a deep, gasping breath and looked around.

It wasn't an area she readily recognized, but that didn't mean that it wasn't a test. The pack was snatched under a loop as she swam toward the edge and, throwing the bag over first, she pulled herself up to sit on the stone, then swung her legs over.

Eyes still scanning the area for a hint as to her new place in the world, Annie shivered, aware that cold would be the first thing to do her in if she couldn't bring herself to focus.

Her plan: get away from the fountain and find shelter. She could see light in the distance and headed in that direction, aware she was dripping wet. If she could find answers before then? Great. If not, she'd start there.



The Inn; open

It was likely that the Inn had people stumbling in wet all the time and Annie was no exception. She'd braided her long blonde hair on the way over as a matter of keeping it out of her face, then tucked it into her shirt. She'd done her best to wring out the dark green scrubs she was wearing and, though she didn't know where she'd gotten them, without a second set that was actually dry, she wasn't going to risk taking them off.

Though it was true that wet cotton was worse than no clothing at all, she was fully prepared to offer to do help in order to get food or shelter for the night, hang everything, then start again in the morning.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"



Fountain - DAY TWO; open

There has to be a bottom. There has to be an entrance.

Standing next to the fountain, Annie stared at it with a contemplative look before bending down and picking up a golf-ball sized rock from nearby and dropping it into the water with a 'plunk'. Once it was out of sight, she twisted her mouth thoughtfully, then made a 'tsk' sound before reaching down and lifting her scrub shirt over her head. Her pants, socks, and shoes followed.

Left next to the fountain in cotton briefs and a bra, she sat on the edge of the fountain, then lowered herself in with a hiss; the water wasn't any warmer than she remembered. With a quick count to three, she dropped down with a shove to the edge to see if she could touch bottom.

Nothing.

At the top, she gave a harder shove, then turned over and actually swam to where she hit bottom. Nothing but stone.

She repeated the experiment twice more before she gave up and got out, lips tinted a slight purple. She was cold.

Comments

day two

[almightythor]

Thor did not often come to the fountain to check for new arrivals but this day, he had, and it was a good thing he did. The woman who had arrived seemed to be confused as to how, exactly, the arrival process worked because she kept climbing back into the water and out once again. After the third time, he strode forward, holding up a hand to halt her.

"You're going to die if you keep doing that," he said, sliding his hand down to cup her elbow instead. "You're shivering. Come with me. I'll take you indoors so that we might get something to warm you."

[jetsetting]

Truth be told, Annie was grateful for the assistance in getting out the final time. The water had numbed her enough that she wasn't sure she had the strength to do more than drape herself against the stone edge, but feeling a hand tug her, she went with the motion and swung her legs over and took a breath, nodding.

"You're right. There's nothing down there," she said, not looking at her would-be rescuer, instead reaching for her scrubs top. Her bra was wet, as were her underwear, but she'd rather put something on than walk around in just her underthings.

Standing to pull up her pants, she realized she had to keep looking up to see who it was who'd pulled her out of the fountain and, okay. Not what she was expecting. "Thanks," she added, teeth now chattering at full speed. "I, uh. I was trying to see--" She'd already said it, but said it again. "What was at the bott...om."

Her stammering went with the teeth chattering she had going on. "It's cold."

[almightythor]

"There is stone at the bottom," Thor said, eyeing the woman for a few moments before sliding his arms around her and lifting her up into his arms. Her lips were blue and she was shaking; it had been cold the last fortnight or so and repeated trips into the water could not have done much to keep her warm.

"You could have ascertained that without trying to freeze yourself to death. I'll carry you back to the inn," he said, shifting her weight in his arms to hold her closer to his chest. He only had a fraction of his true strength in this strange place but it was more than enough to carry one woman the distance from the fountain back to the inn.

[jetsetting]

"Got that," she told him, "no entrance, no hands--" She'd felt the push, she knew it.

Suddenly, more hands and arms and a solid (very warm) chest to go with them. "You don't have to--" It was actually impossible to sound authoritative with chattering teeth and a shivering body that she couldn't control. "Carry. Me."

Once there was more heat surrounding them, Annie was sure it was a slice of heaven; the heat of the Inn and the man holding her. As color came back to her lips, she looked up at him and frowned a little. "I'm okay now."

Mostly.

[almightythor]

"Have you regained your senses along with the color in your face?" Thor asked, his tone slightly more teasing than it'd been outside. She looked much better now within the walls of the Inn and in proximity to the fire than she'd looked outdoors shivering in her brief undergarments and dripping from the fountain.

"There are ways of doing things that do not involve risking yourself. I don't know about them, myself, but I have heard that there are ways of doing things that don't involve throwing yourself into danger headlong." That, at least, was paired with a true smile and not just an approximation at one.

The Inn

[lastofthekellys]

"Many people!"

The voice - Australian accent - belongs to the young woman currently popping her head up from behind the heavy desk in the foyer. Dark eyes, dark hair, faint freckles over her pale skin. As she gets to her feet, more of her shows: short, slender, not wearing scrubs.

Kate is, in fact, wearing a white blouse with a plaited cord belt around her - narrow - waist, and a brown skirt. Under the skirt, unseen, are petticoats, because Kate's been busy and it's cold.

"Good evening," Kate says, coming around the desk with a faint limp. She offers her hand. "Welcome to the In."

[jetsetting]

Many people was the response, but Annie only saw the one woman. Still, the one was better than the none and though she was glad to see her, Annie was curious about her attire - almost as curious as she was about her own.

"Annie," she said by way of introduction, holding her hand. "Sorry, just, uh." She motions over her shoulder to the door. "There was a fountain and I'm not sure how I got here..."

Not usually so inarticulate, Annie looks around. "Where is here?"

[lastofthekellys]

Kate shakes Annie's hand, her own small but strong, calloused from work. "I'm Miss Kate Kelly," she says, then her welcoming smile turns rueful. "Yes, um. Unfortunately, all of us here have the same story. We all woke up in the fountain, in those strange clothes you're wearing in various colours. No memory how or why.

As best as people tell me, the environment looks like the north-west of North America. If that's actually where we are..." She spreads her hands and shrugs. "I honestly ain't sure. It's the kind of place which likes to play tricks on a person."

[jetsetting]

"Hello, Miss Kelly," Annie answered out of respect, listening to the woman explain that, waking up in a fountain in clothes that weren't ones own was commonplace, which really didn't do a lot to ease Annie's apprehension.

As she went on to talk about the environment of the Pacific Northwest, Annie's gaze drifted back toward the door and she blinked. Sure, the vegetation might have been the same, but-- "If it's the Northwest, do you have any idea where? It seems like a lot of a lack of people. Civilization."

[lastofthekellys]

That Miss Annie calls her Miss Kelly straight away, without Kate having to insist and explain, makes her instantly warm to the woman. It's a little thing, but she appreciates it.

"Now then, do I sound like a local?" she asks, but it's warmly, lightly spoken. A joke. "As to the specifics, no. I don't have the faintest idea, and neither does anyone else. This village is situated in an enclosed canyon, with no way out. And we ain't exactly been left with any information. Whatever village sign might be erected, it'll be our own doin'."

Day Two

[zomboligist]

Ravi's actually concerned about the madwoman. Yes, everyone has a natural curiosity about this place and the fountain is a natural focal point of that curiosity, but there's investigations and then there's madness. Madness defined by a half-naked woman snorkeling without any equipment in these temperatures. He heads to the inn between attempts one and two to fetch some sheets and is out there by the time she surfaces again.

"Are you actually insane?" he demands, thrusting out the sheet to imply she'd best step into it. "I mean, godspeed and all if you are, but diving multiple times into near-freezing water is not a clever plan," he criticizes. "And I should know, having been part of many less-than-clever plans in the past."

[jetsetting]

To be fair, Annie wouldn't call what she's doing snorkeling as she would diving. And yes, of course the water's cold, but she's not actually planning on staying in it that long... and when she sees the man hurry over, she pulls herself out with a huff of air that turns into a shiver. She's not stupid enough to turn down the sheet, though, and wraps herself in it.

"I wanted to know if the bottom was solid," she explains, as if it should be obvious. "I woke up in the water, and I don't know where I came from." A roll of her eyes. "I mean, I know where I came from, but I don't know how I ended up in there." She pointed with an arm covered by the sheet. "I don't think it's insane to want answers." A look. "Unless you have them."

[zomboligist]

Ravi raises his brow. "I don't have answers, but I do have vaguely better ideas about investigating whether there's a bottom that doesn't involve giving yourself hypothermia," he says. "Namely, an anchor that would stop upon the bottom or any other number of experiments that don't put your health at risk," he says, aware that he's nagging and must sound like a broken record, but it's a genuine and valid concern.

"Come on, we should get you near a fire," he goes on, still fretting.

[jetsetting]

The appreciation for his clear intelligence showed and, even as she rubbed her arms down with the sheet, Annie flashed him a quick smile of both thanks and something that might have resembled amusement.

"An anchor can't tell me if there are any openings, holes, grates..." She trailed off and her smile widened. "Trust me, I wasn't gonna stay in there much longer. I don't have a death wish," and she had a heart condition. "I just wanted to check it out before too much changed." Looking him over, she finally holds out a hand. "I'm Annie."

[zomboligist]

"No, but if we used a fishing hook and there was a grate, you might pull it out. Or," he says, raising a brow as he works his way to victory with the point, "you could talk to the villagers, like me, who was trapped in it when there was no water and I can most certainly tell you that I was standing on a firm bottom."

"I'm Ravi," he replies, shaking her hand, "and I'm not trying to make you seem stupid, I'm just also a doctor and worry about pneumonia when we've hardly the supplies to treat a cold."

Day One

[vdova]

It's dark, and normally Natasha would be in her room, sleeping, but she's been restless, lately. Her room is drafty, but she's used to that. Maybe it's the howling coming from the woods coupled with the all too familiar chill, that's got her remembering days from long ago.

Whatever it is, it has her awake far past what would be considered her bed time, and she's sitting next to the fire with her knitting, fingers working quickly over the yarn. The scarf is about halfway done — she's hoping to have it done before the real snow starts.

The moon is bright, illuminating the snow-dusted world outside the inn, and the movement out there catches Natasha's eye. There isn't, usually, so when the dark shape flits across Natasha's vision, she sits up straight, brow furrowed. One of her needles in hand, she stands and heads for the door to the inn, stepping outside into the chill.

And she pales when she sees what it is. A person, soaked to the bone, carrying a very familiar pack. Another fountain arrival, and it seemed that whatever was bringing everyone here had no regard for weather or time. She slides the needle up the sleeve of the thermal shirt she's wearing and heads down the stairs towards the woman, reaching her in just a few strides.

"Whatever questions you have, I'll answer to the best of my ability, but we need to get you inside before you catch hypothermia. We're not exactly equipped to help with that, here."

[jetsetting]

Startling slightly when she's joined in the darkness by another woman, especially when she was still trying to get her bearings. Though Annie wasn't used to taking help from the first person she found, especially after waking up in a strange place, in clothes that weren't hers, and a backpack that yielded more questions than it did answers, she moved with the redhead rather than away from.

"Where is here?" Annie asked, slipping her feet back into her boots, ones she'd removed to try and do something about the wet socks she was wearing.

[vdova]

"The one question I can't answer," Natasha says dryly, leading the blonde into the inn and towards the other chair in front of the fireplace. "Someplace in the forest, with no tech and no way to contact the outside world. Sit, I'll be right back."

Before Annie can answer, Natasha vanishes out of the sitting room and up the stairs. She doesn't make any noise, and she's quick about it. Natasha grabs the linens and heads back down the steps, handing them to Annie before taking her seat across from her. She slips the knitting needle out of her sleeve and tucks it into the ball of yarn at her feet before speaking again.

“My name is Natasha Romanoff, and what I can tell you is this — there's no way back, and time doesn't matter here. It was 2016 when I left home but the woman who runs the inn is from the 1800s, and I've met someone who isn't from Earth. Whatever you know, it isn't everything.”

[jetsetting]

In the forest.

In front of the fire is better than being outside in the cold, but it doesn't stop Annie from glancing in the direction anyway. She wants back into that fountain so she can do a little more observing. She wants to know what's in there, wants to see if she can figure out how she got in there.

When Natasha comes back with something to dry herself with, Annie gives the woman a sincere smile.

"Thanks." Watching her with the knitting needle, she doesn't say anything about it, but listens to the redhead describe what she's seen so far. "Wait, from the actual 1800's or she thinks she is? And what do you mean, not from Earth?"

[vdova]

"Actual 1800s, as far as I can gather. Someone— someone close to a friend of mine who lived in the 1940s is also here, like she just stepped out of a photo I once saw of her. And by not from Earth... I mean not from Earth. Possibly an entirely different universe, but it's hard to say. Thor would know better than I would, I usually leave that stuff to him," Natasha says casually, leaning back in her chair with a small smile.

"You just came here through a fountain. It's really not that crazy."

The Inn

[thekittenqueen]

Margaery had been seated by the fire, letting the night settle in as she sought to relax and ease her nerves. The previous days had been stressful, and with winter coming, it seemed that the coming weeks would only be getting worse.

It was becoming routine to greet new arrivals, their appearance expected by now and easily recognizable. Before the woman had even spoken, Margaery rose from her seat and quickly ran to fetch a towel for Annie.

When she returned, she approached the woman with a kind smile, holding it out to her. "Come sit by the fire and get warm."

[jetsetting]

The towel was both unexpected and a treasure, something that Annie took from the woman with a grateful smile, not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth.

After wiping her face, she scrubbed at her hair and, giving a small shiver in the warmth of the Inn, looked Margaery over, her expression turning from gratitude to curiosity. "I don't know where 'here' is," Annie started. "Can you tell me anything?"

She said it as she made her way toward the fire, just as grateful for that as she was for the towel.

[thekittenqueen]

"I wish that I could," Margaery said with obvious regret as she stoked the fire, feeling the heat of the blaze as it shot up across the logs. "There's little information we have. Only that we're in the wilderness and there may have been others here once." Which was hardly comforting, but she hadn't even touched on the more disturbing aspects.

"We don't know who or what brought us here and why. We only know that many of us come from different places and realms, but we each had to pull ourselves from the fountain."

Perhaps that was the only comforting aspect of this entire matter. They were at least in this together.

[jetsetting]

The rush of heat from the fire made Annie shiver and her skin break out in a flush because she wasn't expecting it, but it felt better than good and she moved closer, sitting as close as possible. Her clothes were soaking wet and she wanted to get them as dry as possible before she went anywhere else or did anything else.

"You said 'many'. How many people are here?" It was disconcerting to think that there might be a lot of people and that all of them had arrived via a strange fountain in the middle of a strange wilderness.

[thekittenqueen]

"Quite a few. I'm afraid that I don't have a head count." Which might be a good idea to eventually have. The more people that showed up, the less they were able to keep track of everyone. If something should happen to them, they should know. "We each arrive from different realms and worlds, brought here in the same way."

She left to get Annie a towel, offering it out to her, along with a blanket. "You should have something in your pack to change into."