★ OPEN

[pathologise]

Who: adrienne peters + anyone!
When: october catch all
Where: free cities + nocwich
What: getting her bearings initially then event things later
Warnings: tbd

Comments

★ nocwich

[pathologise]

( there were many things that adrienne was trying to ignore, many things that she honestly wasn't convinced that she even believed were real... which also made some bad habits easier to fall into. avoidance was the first one, trying to pretend that none of this was real even as she stepped through a medical portal a few days later and found herself in yet another place. it didn't make sense but she wasn't certain that she wanted it to make sense.

walking in the direction of the market adrienne's first thoughts were to try and find something familiar: food, alcohol, non-magical conversation. the last felt hardest to find even if adrienne didn't have any money for the first two.

around the market she's easy to startle: a little overwhelmed, too focused on one thing and unsure where to go. after a while she finds somewhere to sit, eyes closed and trying to pull some of herself back, to make a little sense of things. even later in the day she's back there trying to barter for some food, no money to her but maybe there's something to trade? )

[wwrench]

It's only Wrench's second time in Nocwich, and the first was no less disorienting to the tall man than his initial arrival in Solvunn. It's been a couple of months now and while he hasn't entirely found his footing, he approaches the market with a newfound sense of purpose. His commune may be sorely lacking in money, but he hasn't come unprepared: the man's clearly been busy. He's packed with him enough to start bartering. A loosely woven bag slung over his shoulder displays an impressive array of freshly picked fruit, from apples to pears to nectarines.

The first order of business is a winter wardrobe. The tunic he was given on his arrival looks a little worse for the wear by now (including a few rogue pinprick stains of what might be blood), but everything Wrench picks through looks several inches too short for the 6'4" man. He holds up what looks to be a tanned hide vest and sighs through his nose.

[pathologise]

She'd been turning from one of the other nearby tables, stepping back with a jumper in her hands to open it and get a better look at it. What Adrienne hadn't realised was that someone had slipped into the space behind her, not turning before she stepped and ending up stepping back into them.

It's a classic (and cliched) bump, Adrienne startled and a little embarrassed, the jumper dropped with her loose grip on it and a hand moving to her mouth before it quickly fell.

"I'm so sorry." There's a look at him, a quickly shifting gaze to what he's holding as she checks that he's okay-- and she really can't help the look of oh no at what he's holding.

[heavymetals]

[ Trying to get food without any money might be a difficult task. Erik applauds her for her attempt at bartering, alas it doesn't go as well over here as it does to him back in Solvunn. He's got a trick or two up his sleeve to fix that himself, and when he spots her being turned down yet again, he steps closer, surreptitiously passing a hand over a pin keeping some napkins together. The metal vanishes, and when he turns his hand over there are a few coins in his palm.

He winks at her. Shh, no one saw a thing. ]

I'll cover her bill.

[pathologise]

( adrienne honestly can't say what it is that she's seen -- nothing seems fitting, and her brain attributes the very human sleight of hand to it even if that somehow feels... not enough.

but she's not thinking too heavily about it, offering a smile to the man a few seconds slower than she probably should. she's confused (and hungry), forgive her?

thankfully, the coins are accepted by the vendor and her pastry ends up in her hands, adrienne taking a few steps away before speaking )

You didn't have to do that-- I mean I appreciate it but... thanks.

[heavymetals]

It was nothing. [ Literally. It's true, he didn't have to. He's walked away from people in greater distress than that, and if the recent past has proven anything to him, it's that sometimes helping people will cost you dearly.

But he feels safer about using his abilities here. No one's coming for him, he's not living under a false name, and he's definitely not the only one with unique powers. Chalk it up to him waking up in a good mood. ]

We don't have much need for credits, back in Solvunn, but it comes in handy in a place like this. Is it any good?

[ The pastry, he means. ]

[pathologise]

What's Solvunn?

( the question comes quick enough that she misses his at first. it's also very likely that adrienne had heard of the other factions, the people within them, but with how new and weird things were she hadn't retained much of the information that she'd yet been told. her brain's not great.

but then she realises his question and takes a bite of the pastry, a little tilt of her head )

It's decent. They didn't fuck it up at least.

[heavymetals]

[ He looks surprised at the question, brow raising. Even to newcomers, he figured knowing the names of the factions would be a priority. But it also makes him wonder just how recent an arrival she is. (Not everyone will have the same priorities he does, though.) ]

One of the factions here. It's much like a commune. Very spiritually inclined. I take it that's not where they've placed you.

[pathologise]

Factions... not cities, towns... countries?

( it's definitely not how she's used to a place being referred to outside of a book. or... war? considering the soldiers she's been helping to patch up a little it's slowly starting to seem more fitting )

But no. Uh the... Free Cities I think they called it. Like a group of them?

( it was a big area out of the window and she'd only explored a little so far )

★ free cities

[pathologise]

★ the barracks

( she'd seen the damage quickly after arriving, had heard the whispers of what had happened and finding the wounded wasn't difficult. though there were hands already there adrienne had offered her own even not knowing what had happened. but she could clean and stitch wounds, keep people company... do something that felt normal.

she'd grabbed some supplies, moving from bed to bed after doing what she could and letting more experienced hands move in after her, ignoring the questions about magic or healing and focusing on what she knew. until she'd reached for something and found that she'd run out )

Could you pass me some more gauze?

( or equivalent, asked of whoever may be nearest to her whether she's introduced herself yet or not )

★ cadens

( it's at least a week before adrienne takes herself any further, having heard from conversation about the area and finally going into the capital. an open mind is harder for her to keep but after a few days she's a little less panicked (for the moment) about the buildings she sees. and some even look almost normal, that she can tell herself it's just a city.

which is how she ends up at one of the museums, looking to find out about history, culture, look at what the people here value. even if her walk around even the first exhibit room is slow, almost timid )

cadens

[theidlemaiden]

[ The museum isn't exactly the sort of place that Hilda would normally choose to spend her time in voluntarily. They're mostly a little too dry and a little too boring for her tastes - unless it's the art museum that is. Unfortunately with her still recovering body the quieter hallways and less crowd prove to be a nice place for her to continue stretching her legs while not being confined to the loft and going stir crazy from seeing the same four walls.

Besides, there's some perks to meandering. It gives her some time to think and stare absently off into space giving her the appearance like she's in deep thought when actually she's just daydreaming about pieces she might make or alternatively things she'll never make because she'll talk herself out of it.

Hilda takes a chance on a science museum she had never bothered to walk into that day, wandering into the room that Adrienne is in minutes later. Maybe it would serve useful for the fanciful things she may or may not decide to draft designs for. Whatever display Adrienne has situated herself in front of, Hilda slides right up beside her. ]

Don't you think it's amazing how people come up with these sorts of inventions out of thin air? Before coming here I never would have thought half of these things were possible.

[pathologise]

( it takes adrienne a moment before the question gets answered, her first having to drag her thoughts from the display (she could recognise some similarities in it to home but the rest seemed fantastical) to the question that the woman's asking her.

and-- she can't say that she (always) thought that way, often appreciating what she saw. though often her museum trips were art or history, this time she'd ventured to science to hopefully find something more familiar )

It's not always thin air... I don't think, anyway. A system that prompts a change? Dreams?

[theidlemaiden]

Dreams make a lot of sense. Although anytime I have a dream I always feel like they're gone by the time morning comes.

[ Amusedly she turns back towards the empty contraption on display in front of them. ]

This must have been a vivid dream. Or someone that was incredibly lazy and didn't want to wait for tea to steep.

[ She peers down at the plaque that reads Espresso machine. ]

Are there similar things like this in your world?

[pathologise]

Uh... ( she has to pause, to align the conversation she's having with what she knows and... admit everything is going to be weird for a while ) Yeah. Not quite looking like that but yeah.

( it definitely gives vibes of... she's not entirely sure what, steampunk being the most likely but it's not a word quickly popping to her head. just older. prototype-y? is that what they first looked like before getting smaller? )

Have you never seen one before?

[theidlemaiden]

Never. Coffee is a delicacy in Fodlan and even then I can't be certain how people who do have access to it prepare it.

[ She'd had it once, prepared by someone who else had done the work and proceeded to immediately say how much she disliked it. Bitter isn't a flavour profile she enjoys regularly so that hadn't been the best introduction to it as it could have been. She tilts her head to the side curiously. ]

This looks...a little confusing though. If they were a little easier to use I could be convinced to give coffee another try.

[ Because at the end of the day, Hilda is purely lazy and doesn't want to work too hard to enjoy any sort of beverage. ]

How do they work in your world?

cadens

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor, too, spends time in the museums, though it's mostly to clear his head or utilize a change of scenery when his workshop becomes too stifling. He's not a biologist--or an anthropologist, or a paleontologist, or a natural historian--but something he does appreciate is quiet, which this exhibition has in spades.

And, someone wandering around who looks like they've never been in a museum before. Viktor isn't so engrossed in his notebook that he doesn't notice, matching the face to someone he's seen recently around the Sarstina. Ordinarily, he might ignore her, but if she's a new Summoned then he's probably going to end up meeting her sooner rather than later. This seems like a good enough opportunity.]

Are you looking for something?

[She seems a bit lost.]

[pathologise]

( there couldn't be a more perfect words to describe her than lost, lost in time, lost in this place and a little lost in what she was seeing. and her thoughts. those were things that adrienne was trying to shake away, to take the museum at face value and see but she hadn't yet settled on anything in that room, drifting as if to look at it all, to find something to settle on.

except that her drifting just garners attention instead, and she can't blame him, she's usually much better at museums )

Just looking... or trying to. I've never seen any of it before.

( at least these specific exhibits at this specific museum, even if there are parts that might hold some familiarity to home. and parts that really don't )

[techmaturgy]

What, a museum?

[Maybe that's a joke. Viktor quirks an eyebrow, but doesn't move to get up from his stool. The crutch that leans against the wall next to him, at arms' length, is perhaps an indication of why. Still, he peers at her curiously, almost to invite her closer.]

Or do you find the sciences disorienting?

[pathologise]

Not science generally just--

( life? this place? she was just disoriented generally )

I like museums, I know science... some science. It's trying to find the familiar in the unfamiliar?

( she does though step closer to him, looking at the exhibit that he's nearest )

[techmaturgy]

Yes? What discipline?

[Granted, she didn't say she was a scientist, but it piques Viktor's interest regardless. Cadens doesn't summon many scientists or engineers, despite its inclination towards the technological, so the possibility of it perks him up a little.]

There are some things constant across worlds, if that's what you mean. It depends on the kind of place you're from.

cadens

[thedreamer]

[ Nothing much changes with the museums when he circles back around from week to week, but his attention span is such that even when he visits, he never quite gets through everything there is to see and always finds something new and exciting, even if it's the smallest of details. Gives him reason to come back and meet different people each time, too!

Spotting someone lingering nearby who seems less intrigued and more uncertain than anything else, the Doctor naturally takes it upon himself to approach her. She happens to be near some of the relics and remains the museum contains, and he's always quite curious himself. ]

Do you know what they say about museums? Never wander alone! Here I am, your museum buddy, the Doctor at your service.

[pathologise]

( there's a soft frown before it shifts from her expression, a couple of confused blinks at him before she responds )

Museum buddy? Do they do that?

( fully assuming that he works here now, you're welcome )

Like tour guides but... buddies? Individual?

[thedreamer]

[ As assumptions go, it's not a bad one to make. People have assumed far worse about him before. ]

They do, I've just decided! Today, this moment, in fact.

[ Lucky for her, of course, is the implication. ]

Adds to the experience! It should, anyway. We're trialing it. Any and all feedback welcome, particularly the good bits.

[pathologise]

( there's a slight frown and something about his words is-- odd )

You don't actually work here, do you?

( in her defense it wasn't really her fault that she'd assumed that given his enthusiasm and what he'd first said )

You're not here every day are you?

[thedreamer]

Where better to be?

[ He carefully side steps the question about working here. Does he really need to work here to be a competent guide? Really, he's confident he can be a far more entertaining guide than those actually working here. ]