[OPEN] November Catchall

[lightkeeping]

Who: Aloy and YOU
When: throughout November/December
Where: Solvunn, Nocwich, the Horizon
What: boot camp, survivalist nonsense, robot dinosaurs, whatever I WANT
Warnings: will list as needed!

[open and closed starters in comments! If you want a custom starter or something specific, just hit me up. I’m on plurk at whitticus or on discord at whitticus#8139]

Comments

i.

[harmonian]

[Sasarai is exploring the Horizon, searching for other Summoned when he encounters a domain he hasn't seen yet.

He calls out, asking if anyone is around, but gets no answer. There is something out in near distance that looks like a door so he carefully hikes towards it.]

Hello? Is anyone here?

[He shouts as he steps across the threshold but he doesn't dare enter the base without being invited.]

[lightkeeping]

[By now, Aloy has learned that she can lock areas of her domain if she doesn’t want to be bothered, so the fact that the door to the Base is open at means she either expects visitors, or has begrudgingly accepted that they’re going to happen regardless. It doesn’t stop her from reciting her apparent verbal diary, though as soon as she hears the door open down the hall she comes to an abrupt stop.

Listens for a moment, and then--]

Yeah, someone's here.

[But her visitor doesn't seem to have made his way inside. Trying to be polite, maybe. Her response comes after another moment, somewhat reluctantly.]

You can come in.

[harmonian]

[Sasarai gingerly pads into the base and peers around at the surrounding architecture. The bright neons and curved metal surfaces are so alien that he has to squint to make sense of them.]

Thank you very much.

[He turns and starts walking towards Aloy's voice.]

I'm sorry for the intrusion, I'm looking for other Summoned to talk to about recent events. Do you mind?

[lightkeeping]

[Whether Aloy is naturally suspicious or just antisocial has yet to be determined (spoiler, it's both), but suffice to say she gives Sasarai a good look up and down, assessing as soon as he makes his way into the main room.]

No, not yet.

[Yet being the operative word--she folds her arms and gives him a little go on gesture.]

What do you want to know?

[harmonian]

[Sasarai searches for a seat and lightly brushes the top out of habit before sitting down and folding one leg across the other.]

I'm trying to assess the political landscape of Abraxas. Find out how the people of each nation are doing, what they're feeling...

Where I am, in Thorne, we are given a rather biased, narrow view of things. That's not ideal for diplomacy, I'm sure you'd agree.

[lightkeeping]

[Well, he's certainly making himself comfortable. Aloy, for her part, remains standing, an eyebrow raised. She can appreciate him getting right down to the point, though the nature of his questioning seems...subjective, at best.]

No, Thorne hasn't proven itself to be very diplomatic.

[There's no small amount of suspicion in her voice. She dislikes the way Solvunn is trying to avoid choosing sides, but she likes unprovoked attacks on civilians even less.]

You're probably going to get a lot of different answers from a lot of different people. It might help to be more specific.

[harmonian]

[Sasarai huffs out a breath of laughter.]

Actually, different answers from different people is exactly what I'm looking for.

[His features relax into a smile.]

Think of it as me broadening my perspective. I want to understand so I can help the Summoned prevent any unnecessary conflict.

So, would you mind telling me about your host nation?

[lightkeeping]

What about it? It’s a farming commune.

[Suffice to say, she might find all of this a little silly. Aloy might not be great with people, but she isn’t naïve. Someone she doesn’t know, arriving here from Thorne, asking for information? Well, suffice to say she’s skeptical.]

You got a name?

[She hasn’t offered hers in turn, but if she’s going to be part of what seems to be someone from Throne running a one-man survey (to what end, she’s not sure, because he sure as hell isn’t going to be able to solve this conflict by soliciting fellow Summoned for their personal experiences), but it seems better to rewind a little. Start from the beginning.]

[harmonian]

[Sasarai rolls his shoulders in a shrug.]

I'm Sasarai.

[Answered plainly, he doesn't feel he has anything to hide. The fact that the stranger hasn't offered her own name doesn't escape him, however.]

You don't have to answer my questions, you know. If you'd rather it, I can be on my way.