(no subject)

[ateratmods]

Who; Everyone!
What; Pulse log; REMEMBRANCE
Where; Throughout the City
When; August 8th - 15th
Warnings; Will update when and as necessary


In the days leading up to August 8th, the city is abuzz with activity. Businesses in the Merchant district have posted notices they will be closed the following week in observance of something called “Remembrance”. The Aspects are absent this week, though that doesn’t seem particularly out of the ordinary, and it’s easy to get caught up in what is quite a celebratory time in the city. Harvests and meats are being brought in from the outlying farms, the main square is being cordoned into stalls for food, drink, and performances. The guard is more present this week, keeping a close eye on the organization and watching for any miscreants.

As the time of the festival approaches, a quiet excitement seems to thrum through the others here, young and old alike, and on the evening of the 8th, a commencement parade makes its way through the market district.

The procession, filled with musicians, dancers, jugglers, and the like, make their way from the fountain square to the center of the market district, where a crude stage has been erected in the square at the center of the market district, in front of the guard headquarters. It’s nothing fancy, but it does serve the purpose of bringing to the attention of those gathered those who stand atop it.

A tall man in a Guardsman’s blue uniform climbs the stairs, steel plates glittering in the midday sun. He has a stern countenance, and there’s a stiffness through his shoulders that suggests he isn’t overly fond of public speeches. He takes a steadying breath before clearing his throat.

“People of Aterat, those of us who were risen from its ashes and those of us who have been gathered to kindle its flame,” he pauses here for a moment, giving his address an air of gravitas. “Welcome. I am Captain Orson Khannar, of the Aterat City Guard. I was a guardsman before the Fall and I can tell you we stand as a shadow of our former selves, but we do stand. Two years ago, today, the Aspects descended from the Fountain, all that remained of our once proud land, they saw the ruin wrought upon it, and they began to weave. There was little of us left, but what stands was reassembled because we Remembered.” A cheer rises from the collected locals, along with a few scattered cries of ‘bless the Aspects’ and ‘long may Halcyn reign’. Captain Khannar raises a hand to still the crowd and after a moment, their cheers and raised prayers quiet.

“But we did not remember enough. This year, the Creator has provided, and we welcome among us memories from other worlds. This Remembrance, do not forget their sacrifice.” His tone changes then, and his piercing gaze moves across all those who have come here from elsewhere. “Outlanders, I expect nothing of you, but I offer you a warning: we are not your captors but we are your neighbors. As such, we will hold you to the same standards to which we hold ourselves. I am the Captain of your guard, and it is my sworn oath to keep this city safe from miscreants. That said, those of you who are willing and able, I would welcome your aid. Surely by now you have seen our fair city has its share of problems. My office is just there across the square.”

And with that bit of business handled, he directs his attention back to the crowd. “A Happy Remembrance to us all!” The crowd cheers again, though less enthusiastically, as a few look around at those gathered from other worlds, uncertain if they share the Captain’s willingness to welcome the aid of ‘Outlanders’.

The rest of the week is a city-wide party. The taverns are overflowing with merrymakers, there is wine and food for all, music at all hours of the day and night. Performers come out in droves, there are artists, artisans, and the like. If you can think of a festival occurrence, it happens at some point, though all the shops are closed for normal hours. It seems it’s quite the holiday, and you are welcome to invent whatever you'd like for a scene.

The Captain remains true to his word, and the Guard HQ in the Market Square seems to be the only place operating normally. There are regular patrols throughout the events, but Captain Khannar can be found most days in his office, upstairs in the HeadQuarters, should anyone like to question him.

Comments

Shalimar | Open!

[abreedapart]

A. August 8th: Arrival, around the residences and Red building

It probably said something about her life that Shalimar wasn't completely thrown by being brought to this place. Second time in her life she'd ended up stuck in a place that looked like it belonged in one of Jesse's video games. Maybe it was actually more than that if she counted some of the other weird places she'd landed in. Either way the strangeness of it all didn't manage to stir too many emotions in her aside from annoyance. That was the emotion that had taken completely over at this point as she headed towards the residential area. Her arms were folded over her chest and her expression was guarded and tense.

She didn't have time for this. Not with what was going on back home. Her family needed her and now she was here in this fantasyland being told she needed to fix someone else's fuck ups.

"Damn if I haven't had enough of cleaning up someone else's mess," she muttered under her breath as she entered into the red building. "Great start to this, Shal, talking to yourself." Then again who else was she supposed to talk to? Nobody else was here. A pang of sadness washed over her and she tried to shake it off her expression. The last thing she wanted was for some stranger to notice any sort of emotion on her expression. All she wanted to do was explore this building, get a good feel for it, and then check out the city itself.

B. August 8th-15th: Throughout the City

The speech had done nothing to sway Shalimar's mood in either direction. She could be seen off in the shadows, leaning against a building, arms folded across her chest, listening to the Captain speak with a minor scowl. There was something about the entire situation that made her uneasy. It wasn't just that they'd been brought here against their will. No, it had more to do with the idea that these "Aspects" seemed to be worshiped as saviors to these people. If there was anything she was tired of it, it was alleged saviors with too much power. Maybe it was paranoid of her to be so distrustful, but she had plenty of reasons to be paranoid after everything that had happened in the last few years.

She let out an audible huff and rolled her eyes as someone shouted 'long may Halcyn reign.' Somehow these people made her skin crawl, felt a bit too cultish and that was way too familiar to her.

Despite the jovial aspect of the performances and the native people (at least she thought they were native), she didn't seem particularly happy herself. She watched some of the performances from a distance but never ventured into joining in. There was something about the way the natives looked at her that made her wonder how welcomed they really were. She put her hands up in a gesture of concession to one native that had been watching her with suspicion.

"Trust me, I want to be here even less than you may want me here," she said before just walking away. Might've been a bit of a harsh reaction but she wasn't in the best of moods.

C. August 8th-15th: Tavern Drinking

They said felines were nocturnal and for the most part Shalimar was no exception. Night was her time to shine, sometimes quite literally when her abilities activated and her eyes changed to resemble the yellow glow of a cat. She seemed more lively at night and she moved quickly through the market. For the most part she stuck to the roofs, hopping from one to another with ease. Eventually she came down to the ground at the tavern. A drink or two seemed like a really good idea right now. Maybe more than two. After all this shit going on she really felt like she deserved a few drinks.

That was where she could be found most nights, drinking away the problems that came with being trapped in this place without her family. Was she sulking? Yes. Yes she was. She slouched over her third drink of this particular night while sitting off in a corner of the tavern. Any others who may have been frequenting taverns this week might have noticed her coming in almost every night. Each time she came though she kept to herself almost completely. She offered a few smiles to people that she'd seen before, more out of politeness than an interest in stirring up a conversation. That wasn't to say she wouldn't respond if someone tried to speak to her. She would. Occasionally she'd make a joke or a flirtatious comment to locals who wanted to know about the Outsider.

Every now and then when she catches someone looking her way she responds with a simple: "See something you like?" in a light, almost flirtatious tone. Might as well try to start up some friendly banter here and there.

City

[faithfulsupport]

Having decided to go see if he could perchance speak to the Captain that had come out onto the stage, people teemed around and it was so hard to move with barely any room to do so.

With a determined sigh, Ignis excused himself repeatedly just to try and politely and swiftly get through the gathered throng of people that had come to celebrate this week long festival. Even the streets of Lestallum hadn't been this packed, but then again the advisor hadn't found himself in another world there.

He was getting closer to his target when he heard a woman speak. Had he accidentally bumped into her or spoke aloud and hadn't realized it as he made his path through the crowd? So he stopped to look at her a little curiously.

"I beg your pardon?"

[abreedapart]

"Seems like some natives are more suspicious of the outsiders than others," Shalimar responded with a tense shrug to his question.Felt like something out of a movie to call themselves Outsiders and she couldn't help but find some sort of vague humor in that at least. She tried to offer a smile of some sort to the man but there was still a curled tenseness on her lips that she couldn't hide. Seemed like her entire life she'd been paranoid to some extent and there was no expectation that it'd end in some other reality.

"Guess you can't blame them. There's no way for anyone to immediately know where we came from and what kind of person we were there. Or what we were." Which meant their suspicions were founded to some degree. The natives of this place had no way of knowing if the people brought here would be willing to help them or if they'd just make the situation worse.

[faithfulsupport]

"Well I suppose they are." And with good reason Ignis figured. But if people being unwillingly pulled into a world to basically provide some sort of assistance, that doubt went both ways. This wasn't as dire as back home where the denizens arriving in Insomnia from the Niflheim Empire were viewed with suspicion and rightfully so given all that had happened. However, they were strangers to each other and something had to give so he nodded to Shalimar's words.

"That is precisely the case here. Trust will have to be shown in some form or fashion so that we can get moving with what we need to do." And as he said that, his green eyes looked over at the person who seemed to be gazing at the two of them with said distrust.

He was usually called upon to act or speak when the king needed him to. But as far as decisions made, they were always up to Noct as he was the 'heart' of the group and one of the things his advisor admired about him was that he led with that heart. However, that was noticeably absent and Ignis found himself trying to think through what to do.

"And I have a feeling that will be established sooner rather than later."

[abreedapart]

"Might help if we really knew what it was we were supposed to be doing," she said with a shake of her head. There was no doubt that she understood the suspicions they had towards them. It's not like she didn't have suspicions of her own towards the natives here and their Aspects. But suspicion was nothing new to her. It almost felt like second nature by now.

She followed his gaze to the person and tried to offer the person a smile. It was more terse and crooked than she might have intended in a better situation. At least it was something though, right? Better than just returning suspicion with a continued scowl.

"Hard to believe we get pulled here against our wills and yet some of these people are suspicious of us. Unless they've had some bad experiences with people brought in."

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis shook his head. "There are no expectations and life is what they need to rebuild their world." It was pretty damn cryptic and he still wondered what Halcyn had meant precisely. Rebuilding to him meant creation after their world had died. City halls, technology, medicine..all of those things made more sense to him than just being alive and that being enough.

He carefully monitored the other person's response to Shalimar and waited. It appeared nothing really happened except that person turning around and leaving, but he would've been there to protect her had something happened. It was just who he was really.

There was a slight shake of his head. "Unfamiliarity can do that. Both sides need to build bridges instead of walls." Says the man who experienced that himself. Ignis was working on a solution to that as they were simply ideas at this point, but he had nothing solid as of yet.

"Time will change that."

[abreedapart]

"There are always expectations," she shook her head. No matter what they said about the lack of expectations, Shalimar just couldn't believe they meant it. There had to be more to why they were brought here than just needing them to exist. Maybe she was too paranoid though.

"Sounds like you've got some experience with having to build bridges." Personally she didn't have much experience with that. Other members of her team had always been better at smoothing things over and building bridges than she had. Maybe it was just the territorial nature of a Feral to be bad at compromising.

[faithfulsupport]

There was a slight nod because Shalimar spoke the truth about this place and neither of them were fooled. And even back home there were expectations not only set upon him but on his king and their friends.

At the part about bridges though he shook his head. He knew they needed to be built but the way it had been gone about back home left quite a bit to be desired. As it had turned out, the Niflheim Empire had no intention of keeping to it's so called promises of peace and had utterly destroyed Insomnia and took the crystal.

So Ignis pushed his glasses up over his nose. "Some indeed."

A. speech

[prodigalvampire]

Thomas looked over as he approached the red building himself, distracted as he thought back over the speech he'd just witnessed. He didn't know if he bought everything that was being peddled around here, but he knew he wasn't in Chicago anymore, or anywhere in the Nevernever which was even more disturbing.

He recognized the voice before she came into view, and a smile broke his lips. It wasn't much as far as familiarity went, but it was something to cling to when everything else was circling around a drain.

"You're right, Shalimar. Talking to yourself's a bad habit to start."

[abreedapart]

The voice was what she recognized first. Thomas. They'd spoken before but hadn't actually officially met yet. The scent was something she definitely recognized though. She'd picked up on it in the building she was assigned to. Guess she could count him as one of the housemates she'd been thrown in with.

"Guess you could say I have a bad habit of picking up bad habits," she said with a touch of a grin. It wasn't untrue either. If there was a bad habit to pick up or a bad choice to be made, she'd make it. Or she'd already made it.

[prodigalvampire]

He moved closer, running a hand back through his curling black hair as he did so. Somehow, it managed to catch the lights in the foyer just right, proving his hair to be so black it almost looked blue. He chuckled at her self-deprecating humor, arching an eyebrow.

"That is probably one of the worst pick up lines I've never heard."

[abreedapart]

There was something about him that stirred her instincts and she couldn't quite place it for the life of her. It was almost like the feeling she got when she was around another feral. Predators always knew other predators, didn't they?

She cocked her head to the side inquisitively at his comment and then quirked an eyebrow. "Now what makes you assume it was intended as a pick-up line?"

[prodigalvampire]

They did, and it was a sensation Thomas was accustomed to, only normally the feeling was reserved for members of his family rather than strangers. There was more to this Shalimar than met the eye, and the Hunger raged at the edge of his consciousness, wanting to know her better. He shoved it down out of obstinance and smirked instead.

"Don't go getting my hopes up only to dash them to pieces."

[abreedapart]

"Well, I'd hate to dash someone's hopes on our first meeting," she said with a chuckle. She leaned in closer towards him and matched his smirk with one of her own.

"If you want to take it as a pick up-line go ahead. Who am I to crush a pretty face?"

[prodigalvampire]

It'd been months since the Hunger had been sated properly, and in the back of his mind, where the twisting chains of his thoughts kept the beast at bay, he knew it was doing the talking, influencing his actions to lure this woman, this poor, unsuspecting woman, closer. He had to admit, even, that part of him, the tattered remains of his human soul, was curious about her. She wasn't a White, nor a vampire at all, and yet there was something predator, almost catlike, in her mannerisms and her teasing, something that appealed to that other part of him, the part he tried his damnedest to suppress with only passing success some days.

Still, it'd be for the best for both of them if he changed the subject right now, and not a moment later. His eyes seemed to flicker a shade or two lighter in the span of seconds as he sorted his thoughts, though maybe that was just a trick of the light.

"It sure does open up a lot of doors, but you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Not exactly stopping the course of flirting, there, Thomas. Get it together.

[abreedapart]

Scents changed when a predator's interest was peaked. It was unavoidable and it was something that Shalimar picked up on in this man. Her head tilted ever so slightly at the change in demeanor and scent. What was he? The question sat on the tip of her tongue but she bit it back. What were the chances she'd even get an honest answer from him anyway?

A flirtatious half-smile touched her lips as his eyes seemed to change and she moved a hand to a strand of her hair and twirled it absentmindedly. "Now, what makes you think I know anything about opening doors?"

[prodigalvampire]

"That smile, for one." It was becoming more and more difficult to hold the Hunger back, it reached out toward her, wanting to taste her, tell him all her secrets, how best to lap at her life force. He hid his struggle behind another smile, resisting the urge to reach out and push her hair back behind her ear.

"But maybe I'm way off."

C Tavern!

[stickyflippers]

There were quite a few people in this place that could relate to being more than a little miffed with being trapped in a strange world without their family (blood or found). Caelan himself wasn’t sulking exactly, not to the eyes of the average person. No, he was continuing to perform or socializing with a cheerful mask in place while he inwardly wanted to put sea urchins in the aspects’ (and that new guard guy’s) beds till they got fed up and sent him home.

Tonight the selkie was distracting himself with a drink and a little people watching at the tavern after spending most of his day among the entertainers. When one of said people he’d been watching spoke up, he raised a brow with a little grin. “Yeah, I do.” He gestured at her table lightly, specifically one of the empty chairs. “A free seat. Mind if I steal it?” If Caelan wasn’t mistaken, he’d seen the woman come and go from the red building a few times.

[abreedapart]

"It's all ours," she replied with a chuckle and shake her of head. Scents all blurred together in this place but Shalimar was pretty sure she'd picked up on his scent here before. Difficult for her to be certain of though with how things blended together in the Tavern. It occurred to her in this moment that she should have been paying more attention to that. There was safety in being able to recognize the scents around her more specifically. Maybe being away from her pack was throwing her mood darker than she was allowing herself to realize.

"Don't see too many thieves asking for permission before stealing something," she joked. In fact, experiences had taught her that most thieves didn't ask for permission for anything. "Not sure if it makes you the worst one I've ever met, or just the most unique one."

[stickyflippers]

“I’d take unique if you’re looking for an opinion on that decision.” He responded a moment later, plopping himself down in the free chair and taking another sip of his drink. “Maybe off duty thieves do though. They can’t be on the clock all the time, now can they?” He added with a small chuckle, though it’s not entirely untrue.

As it was, he was more the sort of thief that stole what was already stolen. Usually... Sometimes the mark just had it coming to them. He was being on his best behaviour these days, at least until he worked out how this place worked better. Or if the mood to get into stupid shenanigans struck.

“Thanks for the seat though, the name’s Caelan.” He added, gesturing at himself with a small jangle of his bracelets. As far as scents went he probably smelled of the sea more often than not, unsurprising being what he was.

[abreedapart]

"Unique seems more appropriate. Not like you see many seat thieves out there," she replied as she ran a finger around the rim of her drink. "Off duty huh? Guess everyone needs a break now and then." Even a thief. Then again, she'd always assumed stealing was just in the nature of the thief. Maybe she'd just had too many bitter experiences with them though. One was basically asking for a bad time when they fell in love with a career thief who only thought about himself.

"Shalimar," she said with a flash of a smile. "Nice to meet you. Was getting kind of bored of just watching everyone else celebrate." It was a fishing statement, she wanted to know what other people thought of this festival that had been going on. Actually, she wanted to know what more people thought of this place in general. Did they trust it? Did they know things she didn't yet? Maybe, at the very least, she could figure out if anyone else was as paranoid as she was.

[stickyflippers]

“A pleasure then, Shalimar.” He responded, before turning his attention to the people still celebrating around them with a thoughtful expression. He gets what she’s doing, looking for an opinion from another ‘other worlder’ like herself. Some seemed to be assimilating well enough, accepting the situation and rolling with it. Others did so begrudgingly from what he could tell.

“I suppose they have plenty to celebrate. Getting over some sort of world ending event, being alive to celebrate, mass abduction of peoples to ‘help’ rebuild.” He taps the list off on his finger with a wry smile, voice lowering to something a little more subtle. No, he’s not thrilled, and he doesn’t trust this place in the least. It was very rude to take people from their homes for your own needs where he comes from, he taught people who did that the occasional lesson back there now and again.

“Kind of them to include us in the festivities, yeah?” An illusion, something to butter them all up if he had to guess. Keep everyone happy, maybe give everyone a good enough time, and they’d be more willing to lend a hand or settle in.

[abreedapart]

"Pleasure is all mine, not often I meet a seat thief," she said with a flash of a smile.

"Some seem more happy about the mass abduction part than others," she replied. It seemed like some were suspicious of the motives that the people from other worlds may have than others. "Guess you can't blame them. But you'd think they'd have more faith in the people their gods choose," she shrugged. That was a strange part to her. If they revered these Aspects like gods then why weren't they more trusting of who they were bringing in? Unless who got brought in was completely random.

"Not sure if they had much of a choice but to include us. Looked like the Captain wrote his speech to give us his warning," she replied. "Think they've brought people here before that have caused problems?"

[stickyflippers]

“You would think, but then again... their judgment has brought people here that I can’t see being much good for the whole ‘rebuilding’ aspect of the abductions.” He certainly wasn’t suited for this, but there were others even less suited in his opinion. “I met a twelve-year old they brought here. Twelve. She’s not going to be building anything from what I can tell.” He shrugged lightly, “I honestly wonder how long they’ve been around as ‘gods’ considering how they’ve gone about it.”

He grinned wryly at the mention of the captain of the guard, “Oh I don’t doubt that they have, considering how utterly random their choices have been.” Frankly, the speech only made him want to find trouble to cause. A little payback for all the trouble that being here was causing him. This was apparent in his eyes as he continued, “He certainly could have gone about warning people to behave better.”

[abreedapart]

"A kid?" she shook her head. "Huh, maybe they don't control it. Can't imagine someone thinking out how to rebuild their world and thinking a kid can help." But if they didn't control it directly, who did? Or what did? "You seen anything directly from them that shows what kind of abilities they have? Or has it just been all talk?"

She met his eyes for a second and a similar trouble making glint shown reflected back at him. "Doesn't give us much of an incentive to behave if he just throws an ominous warning at us without a reason." The only person Shalimar ever blindly followed was Adam and the Captain definitely wasn't Adam. "Nice to know they expect us to behave for them while not being open with us." Because no matter how she looked at it, it definitely seemed like there was a lot they weren't being told.