snowblindrpg | [network] @ishtar; nothing but the creaking of a settling house [day 004/open]

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[network] @ishtar; nothing but the creaking of a settling house [day 004/open]

[When Yuuri posts to the network for the first time, it's about 6 pm on the fourth day. Using technology again is taking some getting used to, it was easy enough to figure out the tablet's video function. She's using it now to broadcast an image of the house she's approaching.

It's an A-frame house, two stories, and from the outside it looks normal enough. She takes a breath as she comes to the doorway and puts a hand on the doorknob.]

Well, let's see what's in here...

[She pushes the door open, to reveal... nothing. Or rather - the house itself is intact, and as she wanders through the entranceway, her footsteps echo against the empty walls. There are no decorations, and there is no furniture at all. The living room is utterly devoid of any of the comforts of home, the dining room lacks anything that could actually be used to dine, and the kitchen is woefully empty. Even the bathroom and the two bedrooms on the first floor look as though they've never been used.

There's a staircase that she climbs, but from her mumbling, it doesn't seem as though she expects to find anything upstairs. The master bedroom and bathroom also lack furniture, and there's nothing of note on the balcony. She pauses out there for a moment or two to look around.] I guess the view isn't so bad...

[But she only stays there for a short time before heading back downstairs. For lack of anywhere else to sit, she uses the stairs as a makeshift chair.]

...that's a little disappointing! [She breathes out; it sounds a bit like a huff.] I hope all of you are having more luck tonight than I am. Has anyone else found anything?

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[It's not the most interesting video, but Al watches it intently all the same. He looks for landmarks when she's out on the balcony, and any other clues she might have missed, but it doesn't look like there's anything.]

At least you've found shelter, that's something to be grateful for. Maybe there aren't any clues there, but you might find some tomorrow.

Maybe! I'll look around some more in the morning.

[She's planning on rewatching the video, too, but she's not sure what else she'll find with a second look-see.]

There's got to be something around here somewhere. We've just gotta stay positive!

[It's her name that catches his attention first. Ishtar. Could she have been brought here, too? Was he truly not separated from everyone?

Of course, then she speaks and all hope of that is lost. Not the Ishtar he knows, just someone else with that name. Maybe even named after her. If that's her real name.

He responds anyway, since he's there already.]

I'm afraid not. The house here is fairly barren, too.

[He switches to the outside camera to show her the unforgiving house 80, devoid of soft furniture and already starting to leak a little.]

I feel better for leaving the house I woke in, though, even if it was more accommodating.

[She would feel bad about getting his hopes up, if she knew; at the same time, she couldn't not take the username. On the off-chance that anyone she knows is here, she wants to be immediately recognizable to them.

She wrinkles her nose as she sees the water dripping from his house's ceiling.]

Do you have anything to put over your head so you don't get completely soaked while you're sleeping...?

[She's concerned, not that there's a whole lot she can do about it even if he doesn't.]

[He switches back to the inside camera and smiles as he tugs the hood of his cloak over his head. He pulls it down all the way, until it completely covers his eyes and all that is visible of his face is his mouth, corners lifted in a small smile. He's just fine.]

This cloak has seen a few rainy days in its time. One snowy night won't be all that different, so long as I'm sheltered from the wind.

[He raises his head to the ceiling, watching the leak. Some water drips on his face.]

But, it's strange...it wasn't leaking at all when I entered.

[She nods approvingly when she sees the cloak. It looks well-made - it should serve him nicely, she thinks.]

I'm glad you'll be able to stay warm and dry.

[You know, unless more water drips directly onto his face.]

...that's really weird, though. Did it start snowing or raining after you got in there?

[He pulls it back up so it doesn't obscure his vision. Really, the only purpose pulling the hood down over his nose serves is to sleep. It's a really deep hood; it had to be, to accommodate the odd shape of his armor. Which...he can't summon here. That's definitely very worrying, and it's something he's trying not to think about too hard. Even The Darkness left him his armor when his weapon vanished on entering it...]

Surely, it must have, but it was snowing earlier today, as well...

[He steps away from the majority of the leaks and sets his tablet against the wall, settling down in front of it on his stomach, chin resting on an arm before him. He hadn't found much of use and there was little left to do.]

There are so many strange things in this place. There are no human remains, and yet, there were many personal belongings left behind I am not certain anyone would leave. I have in my bag a book that a woman worked on for what must be twenty years of her life, chronicling her travels in pictures. Something so tied to her life, I'd think she would want to take.

Right!

[Finally, someone else who shares his positive can-do attitude.]

I haven't found something in every place I've stopped, but that just meant I had to move on and keep going until I did.

That's even weirder... Be careful. Water can be... [She frowns. Honestly, her theory about how she got here doesn't make a lot of sense now that she's seen so many other people here - she can understand Nakia wanting to send her away, but all of these others..? What purpose would that serve?] ...dangerous.

[Nevertheless, she's seen water used as a weapon far too many times to be totally comfortable with it now.

She rests an arm on her knee and rests her chin on her hand, deep in thought.]

For someone to leave behind something like that... [A photo album... maybe they couldn't get to it in time. But what could have happened that would make someone leave behind all those memories? If Yuuri had been able to document her time in Hattusa with pictures, she never would have let it go.] There are a couple of possibilities I can think of, but none of them are really good. Unless she had more than one, or had copies of the pictures somewhere else...?

That's a good way of thinking about it!

[Yuuri is finding that it's far too easy to get bogged down by negative thoughts here. It's happened to her before; she's just going to have to make a concentrated effort to think positively.]

Sooner or later you're bound to find something good.

But before that, we all need to find one another. It's good to find clues, but it's better if we can all pool what we find and work as a team.

[It frightens him that there are people alone and suffering, he wants to cure that before anything else.]

Ice, snow, and a large building I can't get into.

[Someone might be pissing away time outside trying to get into the school. In a couple of hours it'll get worse. But for now, he's outside. Peering down at the device and then her. (This is why he prefers voice. He doesn't have to pay attention to what the camera's pointing at.]

Some kind of...school?

[Not that he's too familiar with high schools, only passingly so, but it has a school-like feel to it. And then after a pause, he swings the camera to point to it so she can look at the building.

There's absolutely no way to get inside fuck him.]

What do you think, missy?

There's footsteps in the attic of the house I'm in.

[ She might actually be able to hear them in the background -- he's standing directly underneath them. ]

If they all had tablets like these, it's feasible she had the pictures on hers...

[It's clear from his tone he's still skeptical. That's mostly his time period talking; he can't imagine the book he can hold in his hands is less valuable than the same images stored in a device because he can't imagine books as less valuable.]

I suppose something like that would be easier to carry.

Everything feels a lot more bearable when you're working together with someone.

[The worst thing would be to be alone forever. It's only been a day, for her, but she's already feeling antsy without other people around - the network is a good lifeline, but how long will that last...?]

If we can't find a way out of here, it's only a matter of time before we start running into each other. It'll definitely happen!

...it does look like a school.

[That brings back memories. It's been awhile since she's set foot in one, but she spent enough of her life prior to being kidnapped through time and space in a school to recognize one when she sees it.]

But the doors are locked? Maybe everyone's away for winter vacation...

[tHAT WAS A REALLY BAD JOKE.]

[CREEPY. Her brows furrow a little and she leans forward a little in concern.]

...someone else is in there with you?

[Then again, he'd only mentioned the footsteps, not another person...]

Well, maybe...

[It's a little more likely to her, but it still seems a little weird. But even if she did have all the photographs on her tablet, what could have happened that would make "easier to carry" a priority?]

But it does seem sort of weird. ...this entire place is kind of fishy, actually.

[ No, unfortunately not. He switches to video as if to prove his point, and when the tablet makes the switch, it's pointed at the ceiling -- where the footsteps are the loudest -- and then pointed all around him, showcasing a whole lot of nobody. Then he finally points it at himself. He looks pretty grim. ]

Not that I know of. If it's anybody, they're not reacting to any knocking or shouting that I do. [ Pause, and then: ] You can hear that, can't you?

[From the rather disturbed expression on her face, it's pretty clear that she hears it.]

...I hear it. Don't go upstairs.

[If it was another one of them - surely they would have at least responded even if they couldn't come down and see him. Or they would have posted to the network, or something... she doesn't like the implications of that lack of response.]

I can't even if I wanted to. Believe me, I've tried. It won't budge a bit.

[ He rubs his face then, looking every bit exhausted. ]

Something tells me I won't be getting any sleep for as long as that goes on. Actually, I can't decide on what would be worse: it continuing or it stopping suddenly.

Anyway, that's what I've found. Not quite a jackpot, either.

I hope you can find somewhere quieter to sleep tomorrow...

[With weather as bad as it is outside, they all need as much of their strength as they can get - failing to sleep isn't going to be any good with that. It seems like he knows it already, though, so she refrains from commenting on it.]

Well... these are only two houses out of... a lot, probably. We struck out tonight, but tomorrow will be better!

[...she hopes, anyway.]

[ It's nice to hear such optimism, especially in the face of such... eeriness. He smiles slightly, the expression still tired, but hey! It's a start. ]

I suppose that's something to look forward to in all this snow. Perhaps one of the houses has a supply of food and a fire. One can dream.

How have the other days been?

[If he was a better man he'd ignore that joke.

He isn't that man. Pfft.] That was a really bad joke.

[Is he amused at the joke or amused at the fact that she went th- spoilers, he's amused at the fact she went there.] And none of the doors are unlocked. None of the windows are open either. I could try throwing a rock at it, but...

[Well, they all noticed that when a building's intact it's built with indestructibilium and bullshittium and nothing can open them.]

Right!

[She seems like she's got the idea behind Al's optimism parade, which makes him happy because the more people that subscribe to it, the more likely it will take hold in general.]

I guess I better let you get some sleep, huh?

[He props himself up a little, thinking about it again for the first time since the first day. He'd been preoccupied with survival, finding the town hall, and the paranoia that had set in earlier. That seemed to be gone now, at least.]

You mean the way we woke with food and water prepared for us along with these devices? And people who had no cloaks or coats were given one. A few very powerful people who could gather us from across space and time, I could imagine, but how many could have been watching us long enough to steal us away to this place in such a short span of time?

[And then there were people like that "Max" person, who had been, as far as he knew, taken while they were awake and aware. How?]

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[network] @ishtar; nothing but the creaking of a settling house [day 004/open]

voice only ID is LELRIC

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@Enoch, Video

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video, because why the hell not, lancer;

@winston; voice

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video

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