[network] @ADMIN; Arrival [open]

[snowblindmods]

Welcome to Norfinbury. The time is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R and the date is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R. This network has been provided for your use. Please interact politely with everyone else on this network.
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫ E҉̘̩̙͢͝͡R̛̫̘̝̮̞̬͓̝̫̻̻̜̦̀ͅŖ̮̳͕̲͚͜O̷̙̖͓͙̗̰͘͟R̯̝͓̪̻̩̟̟͕̥͍̭̪͍͘:̵̛̛̝͖͓̺̥̙̝̀͜ ̧̛͙͚̱̫͇̹̙̥͎̜̖̺̻̕͠͝I͇͓̫̺͖̻͈̝͇̰͕̩̯͝͡N̶̛̪̯̤̭̻͎͚̻̟͙V̧̼͙̹͔͝A̷̸̵̧̰̱̺̗̤̤̹̙̺͕͎͇̦̫͕̣̰̪͟L͏̡͍̣̫̘̖̰̟̤̟̕I̛̜̻̖̦̥͓̟̫͡ͅD҉͏̶̴̷͔̬̗̘͖͓͚͔̗̱̝̹̻͔ ̷̢̗͉͚͓̱̫͙̱̪̥̤͢R̵̢̭͕͖̙̤̣̬̪̜͎͇̙̥̘͕̙͟͜ͅE̴̷̶͇̖̙̪̜̜̫̪̬̣̣̫̺͜F̢͏̸̳̬̟͖͉͎͉̤͉͉͎̣̲̙͉͢E͏̨̧̫̩̭̯͓̬̼̳̳̱͉̤͞R̶͉͈̪͔͈͘Ȩ̧̩͙̦̝͉͇͚̼̫̭̕͘͡N̷̡̖͇͕̻̰̯͈͕͉̯C̳̝͍̤̫̥̰͝Ȩ̴̨͡͏̥̥̯̰̭̻̳̫
E҉̨̢͎͎̗̦͈͎̘R̨̘̦̙̖̳͈͟R̢̞̺͖̩̟̻͙͕̩͜O̢̢̼͉͔̟̯̝͇̙͜͠R̴̛̗̝͕̣̘͙̪͖̀͟:̢̢͉̙̥̝͖͉̯̟͇̖̱̖͓̲̳ ͏̴͉͈͈̦̝̦͉͖̖͉̪̝̠̭I͡҉̣̼̜̩̻̜͓̻̳̼̥̭̯̭̫͉̭ͅL̶͖͖̯̝̥̬̖̤̥̹͎̟̬̻̦̜̝̻̗͟͞Ļ̸̸̸̥̺̝̜̭̘̞͈͎͚͉E̶͍͍͈̬̕͜͟G̳̬͉̙̥̩̼̭̦͔͘͜͡À̴͟҉̤͔͇̩̳͝ͅL̟͉̯̥̝̀͢͝ ͏҉͈͎͇̞̪̬͓͎̖̥̜̦̖̜O̺̹̺̜͉̠͉̠͇̭̣͔͡͞P̢͘͜҉̺̝̥͎̜Ḙ̢͔͇̰͇̯̺͇͓̜Ŗ̦̝̫̯̻̰͍͙̼̮͎̕ͅA̸̬̯͉͓̥̕͢͞ͅT̷̡͎̻̳̥Ḭ̵̡̥̭̥̀͞O̴͈̤͚͇̜͘͘͞N̢̬͕̙̫̦̳̫̭͖͙̤.̧͢͜҉̩̼̬̞̟̻͇̭͖ ̳̝̺̯̣̠̣̲͎̝̞̣̭̫͘͠S̡̧̼͈̱̳̰̰̳̻̺̫̝͈͖͎ͅH̦̖̣̦̱͓͙͓̣́͜͠͠Ù̸͎̹̼̱͈͇̼̼̕ͅͅṰ̤̝̦̞͍̮̦̞̼̪͕̹̬͈͝T͞͏̟͖͔̯̼̫̞̥̣̘͉̫̟ͅI̢͖̪̮̺̰̟͎͈͇̻͈͔͉̱̯͓̻͞N̢̨̮̱͕̣͟Ģ̸̝̟͚̩͙͖ͅ ҉̴̝̭̩̯̫̤̼̬͇͡ͅD̨͏̺͎̝̟͔͉͕̲̮͎̦͓̥͕̹͓̮̖̘̀͠Ǫ̵͍͇̝̱̖̳̦͖͡W̸̧̩͕̹̹̬̰̻̣̣͓̞̼̮̦̺͟͞͡N̡̛̫͙̠͚̠̲̙̟̤͔̦͙ͅ.҉̢̻̝̦͓̀̕͠

Comments

bless

[dr_unconscious]

[...Clayton can just about parse that. He's a little too polite to point it out, though. He can accommodate. This is fine.]

Really? That's good news. [It means traveling from his current location to the distant one in a day, without dropping all his toes, might be doable! If he can find something to cover his feet, anyway.] Do you know how long it took you to find the other house?

[armoured]

[He's smart, give him a few weeks and he'll work out all the functions with text to voice and so on.]

FFrew.

[No, no, this really isn't working, so Al gives up in frustration and switches to voice, as he's already semi-mastered that.]

It took a few hours walking, I found a couple of houses in tact with things in them, but... nobody else.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton allows himself to chuckle a little bit at that first message. He doesn't have a whole lot to be amused about right now. He'll take what he can get.]

[He at least has the decency to sober up before switching to voice.]

All empty? That's no good. Wonder where everyone went? I mean, none of us are from 'round here, right? Don't seem like it.

[armoured]

I'm not sure, but I don't like what I've found so far. I walked all day today, though I don't think I got very far because of the snow, and I found a few houses that weren't demolished... everything inside was empty and deserted, though. I found a place with lots of cages and tanks, with the bones of the small animals still inside.

[He's not got enough knowledge of anatomy to have positively identified them as the gerbils, guinea pigs, and reptiles that they were.]

[dr_unconscious]

[This makes him more uncertain. It took him a few hours just to search the area to one side of his house this morning, and there was nothing in sight...he's not sure he could last walking the whole day without some sturdier footwear. The news only gets worse from there.]

Aw, poor things. Guess it makes sense, though, with nobody to feed 'em.

[There's a long pause as he thinks over the implications more thoroughly.]

...They must've left in a hurry, you think? The folks takin' care of 'em I mean. Little critters are easy to carry around if you're movin'--don't make sense to leave 'em behind.

[armoured]

It means they must have been gone a long time, too. These weren't just dead animals, they were only bone, nothing else left.

[He falls silent for a moment, a pang of sorrow in his chest to think what must have happened to the families that had once lived here.]

But not everyone can have gone, or... or else how did we get here?

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton nods, leaning towards the camera to rest his chin on his hands. It all lines up with how empty and musty everything looks, too--no life, nothing for years on end.]

[Though that does raise the next logical question, which Al helpfully brings up first. Clayton shifts to rest on one hand and squints ahead, giving his answer a good, long think.]

Ain't that just the thing. [There's a shorter pause while Clayton absently scratches at his beard. He has the oddest sense of dread brewing in the pit of his stomach...not just because of the obvious confusion, but because he feels he's missing something important. Like that something is watching and intentionally toying with him.]

[He sniffs, then abruptly straightens and stares back into the tablet with an unnaturally flat, skeptical glare. The town's nighttime paranoia is getting to him.]

Awful lot of folks on the network, just happen to be in the same stitch as us. Ain't that interestin'?

[armoured]

[It probably doesn't help Clayton's paranoia that Al isn't using video in return, he's just a disembodied child's voice on a black screen.]

Um, yeah?

[Is that a trick question? Of course it's interesting, this whole thing is interesting and unnerving in equal parts. The paranoia hasn't quite hit Al yet, he's too much of a natural optimist, so the sudden glare is unexpected.]

There are at least a dozen I've spoken to, and I'm sure there are more that I haven't. This many people all in the same situation must be for a reason...

[dr_unconscious]

((OOC: ...This is why I shouldn't try to tag during lecture, whoops. Let's just assume all of that video stuff was elaborate introspection behind a voice transmission.))

Must be. Like some of 'em ain't actually...

[Clayton awkwardly trails off. Al's persistent optimism and apparent innocence grounds him before he can go too far off the edge. He recovers, sounding intensely confused.]

...Lord. That ain't right. [Was he seriously about to start pointing fingers at people he hasn't even met yet? What's wrong with him?] Sorry, don't know what...er. Sorry. You're right, kid. Someone's gotta be around, pullin' us in.

[There's a long pause. The paranoia has been replaced by that deep-seated discomfort again--that anxiousness clawing at the pit of his stomach. He's very worried.]

You doin' alright, kid? Found someplace warm?

[armoured]

[OoC: Don't even worry! I assumed Clayton was using video and Al wasn't, so it didn't seem off to me at all.]

[Al feels it too, perhaps less than Clayton right now, but it's still there. An anxiousness of a new situation that is quite obviously not benevolent in nature, and a fear that he will be too late to return home to help when he's desperately needed there.]

H-Huh?

[The sudden change in direction startles him for a moment. In truth, he does feel cold, bone-deep, and a weariness that it's getting harder and harder to deny. But he's too afraid to look at those sensations, dismissing them as a trick, for to actually feel would be the strangest thing here.]

Yeah, I walked pretty much all day and found another house, but I'm warm even while walking! Honestly! Please don't worry about me.

[dr_unconscious]

You sure? [Clayton doesn't sound especially convinced.] Hypothermia ain't nothin' to shake off. You keepin' dry, least?

[armoured]

[He's probably going to be one of the first idiots to die, because he just doesn't realise he has to worry about things like the cold, eating, and sleeping after five long years of being unable to do any of that.]

Mm, I'm okay.

[He clears his throat awkwardly, and then changes the subject. Smooth.]

Maybe we'll find the same place to shelter soon? It would be good to meet others who were here properly.

[dr_unconscious]

Mmhmm. [Clayton's skepticism is almost audible. He is going to worry about you, child that he doesn't realize is actually a suit of armor, and you can't stop him. Out of sheer stubbornness, he takes Al's subject change and decides to turn it on its head.] What's your name, kid?

[armoured]

It's Al, Alphonse Elric.

[He isn't the suspicious type, he'll share pretty much anything he's asked to quite happily.]

How about you, what's your name? Have you met anyone here you know?

[dr_unconscious]

Alright, Al. I'm Clayton Epps. Haven't heard from nobody familiar. [And here he brings his concerns back, full-force, as his tone takes another turn for the quietly serious.] That's why it's important that we get to know each other and stick together where we can. You find someone out there, you stay with 'em and you don't go wanderin' off on your own, ya hear?

[armoured]

Mm, I can definitely agree with that, we need to find one another and then stick together so there's always someone nearby to offer aid.

[He hesitates a moment, but it seems unfair to withhold information.]

There is actually someone here that I know.

[dr_unconscious]

That means you too, Al.

[There is no escaping the worry. At least, not at first. This next subject change is much more successful than the first.]

Well I'll be. [Clayton sounds more confused than anything else. On the one hand, it's great that Al has some kind of (hopefully) adult figure around that knows him and can speak for him if needed. On the other, that's another kidnapping victim, a friend of someone also made to suffer. It's strange.] And who's that?

[armoured]

His name is Greed.

[He's not entirely sure if they're allies or not at the moment, though Greed definitely has the benefit of the doubt for now.]

I wouldn't say that I knew him very well back home, but we've... met.

[dr_unconscious]

"Greed."

[It bears repeating, because that is a very odd name. A pseudonym of some sort? His network ID? Whatever the case is, it's not Clayton's place to judge.]

Well, at least that's somebody, ain't it? [Now he's trying to sound hopeful--better to try and spin the situation for the positive, keep Al calm.] You know where he is?

[armoured]

No, but I should probably try and find him.

[Which is a good reminder that sitting here won't do any of them any good.]

I should look around some more now, and then see if I can track him down. Will you keep in contact with me?

[OoC: I'm sorry this tag is coming to you after such a delay, I have been on hiatus for a family vacation. If you no longer wish to continue, please know there are no hard feelings in dropping the thread. If you do wish to continue, I will happily do so. Thanks!]

[dr_unconscious]

Sure thing! Guess if one thing's good 'bout these tablets, it's that you'll always know where ta find me. [There's a pause as Clayton instinctively nods on his end of the discussion.] You take care, Al. Don't get too ahead of yerself lookin' around, alright? Stay warm.