redshiftlogs | december 2019. welcome to the void.

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december 2019. welcome to the void.

Who: Everyone in Anchor.
What: Sixth Introductory Mingle
When: The Month of December 2019
Where: Around and outside the city.
Warnings: Please add any warnings in the subject lines.

Redshift: Welcome to the v͖͕̺̲̘̱̜͎o̴̦̣̠̦̘̹͞i̯̖d̛̪̬͈̱̦̝͍̕.

Click here to read what characters will experience when arriving in Anchor.

a. the generic holiday cheer prompt.

It's a dark, quiet, uneventful night. Only those up and about in the wee hours will notice something odd starting in the park.

It's snowing.

The phenomenon seems to be coming from a small bank of unmoving clouds hanging suspended above the trees and lake. A cloud that, upon closer inspection by any scientists in the room, appears to be made of harmless nanites whose sole purpose is to unleash a cheery, blustery kind of weather that remains mostly contained to the park.

Some bots are out serving hot chocolate, cider, flavored snow cones, and other small baked treats. Others are building a solid-looking bit of scaffolding that the snow is rapidly turning into a sledding ramp. In fact, there are sleds ready and waiting at the foot of the slide. The smaller ponds have frozen over in a sharp cold snap that came with the nanites' release, and there are other bots handing out ice skates - careful, though, because one of them is a chef bot and he's made the blades of the skates ridiculously sharp. At least they'll glide well?

Around the middle of the day, the intercoms squeal loudly, crackle, and start pouring generic seasonal music out into the air. Is it for Hanukkah? Christmas? Kwanzaa? Some strange holiday no one has heard of? Who knows, since half of it is in alien languages, but man, it sure is peppy! And kind of annoying after a while! Maybe someone should hack the system and change the music up?

b. the body heat trope prompt.

As the day wears on toward evening, the nanite winter storm starts to gather a little more force, sending cold seeping through the halls of Anchor. There are pockets of warmth here and there - notably, for once, the agricultural areas are largely unaffected thanks to their temperature regulators--but most of Anchor has a wintery chill, and snow is starting to bluster across the levels from bottom to top. Temperatures continue to drop when the suns go down.

The bots are out being helpful, though they can't stop the storm. They're rolling around handing out blankets and thermoses of warm drinks. Unfortunately, it's one blanket and one thermos per two people. Better get cosy - it's going to be a long, cold night!

c. the terrifying monster attack prompt.

The cold has woken up some creatures that have been slumbering away in one of the sealed-off areas of the labs. They couldn't get through the door that kept them caged, but they sure could freeze the windows and escape that way when they got cold enough to break. The little critters make a beeline for the park, prepared to wreak havoc-

If eating snow and ice and rolling snow into tiny balls for meal stockpiles is havoc.

These little creatures look conspicuously like the western dragons of Earth, though most are no bigger than a person's forearm. Their wings - some strange shade of white that sparkles when they move - seem largely decorative. They use them to communicate, to posture, and to keep themselves balanced when they rear up on their hind legs, but none of them appear able to fly. They're a mix of colors, blue and silver and white, some of them with a variety of shades swirling down their bodies, others with one color on their bellies and contrasting colors on their back and head. Some have splotches, or speckles, or tiger stripes of blue. They breathe steam and can freeze things with their clawed forepaws.

Also, if you feed them a flavored snow cone, they will follow you forever. No, really. You'll have yourself an undyingly loyal new pet.

Navigation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

At some point in their conversation, it should have occurred to Rey that either of them were indicating that this arrangement would involve a rooming situation that included sharing the same space. However, Rey had not come to that natural conclusion yet, having been more distracted with the cat's needs.

Until now, when she feels her face heat up at the mere suggestion. It's not like it'd be the first time, but Elleru's mild provocative connotations don't fly over Rey's head.

"Ah, right! Two people. Forgot about that. Well, Tripod will probably make more use of the bed, anyway..."

Insert short, nervous laugh here.

Oh. Oh no, oh noooo, that nervous laugh is like music to Elleru's ears, the color blossoming across Rey's face as enticing a sight as a spring rose. Elleru's ears flick up, a pleased smile crossing her as she slides off the bed and meanders back toward the door -- toward her new roommate.

"We could let him have the other bed," she suggests, batting her eyelashes. "Bundle him in blankets. We can keep each other warm."

Edited 2019-12-21 09:43 (UTC)

What is this what is happening AHHHHH--

Stifling her internal screaming, Rey starts to peel Tripod off her chest, only for him to press his weight against her even more insistently. A muffled, guttural groan escapes the animal, then tucking his head over her bare shoulder, taking in her warmth.

Rey's mouth stretches into the most awkward, lopsided smile (if it could be called that), giving Elleru her best 'Well, what can you do?' face.

"Looks like he wants to stay close."

Good kitty.

Though she pouts visibly for a second or two, Tripod's insistence only seems to strengthen Elleru's resolve as the needy cat gives her another idea. Her grin winds its way back onto her face as a smirk, her tone soft, playful, knowing.

"Then we will keep him warm together." She gestures toward the closest bed before going on the hunt. A drawer slides out from the side of the bed at her touch, and inside is what she's looking for: a spare comforter. While its black color is a match for the rest of the room, its soft, velvety texture is a sharp contrast to the hard, sterile surfaces that make up most of Anchor. Scooping it into her arms, she deposits it on the mattress before shutting the drawer with a kick of her leg. She grabs the spare comforter from the second bed too, the quilt in the drawer identical to the first.

And then she has a seat on the bed, using the blanket she's had wrapped around her as extra padding for the little nest she's made. Now all it needs is Rey, which she indicates by patting the space next to her.

Wrapping up in a blanket does sound like a more effective way to keep Tripod from freezing to death. It's bad enough that the poor thing lacks proper fur for warmth...

No other way around it, then.

"Ah, right. You're pretty cold too, aren't you?"

Elleru doesn't strike Rey as someone who does well in arctic climes. While it's not that frigid yet, most people here don't seem well equipped to handle these conditions. Reluctantly, Rey adjusts Tripod in her arms and complies, moving to sit beside Elleru as casual as she could possibly be about this.

Elleru nods as Rey slides onto the bed next to her.

"Yes, I am."

She pulls one blanket around them, pinning it to the wall behind them with her back; another, she sets across their laps, folding it around their legs, letting the extra hang off the side of the bed. As for the third blanket, she drapes it across her far shoulder and chest, leaning across Rey just a bit so she can fold it over her shoulder, enveloping them in blankets and completely covering Tripod. With that, she sits back down, resting herself against Rey's side. She is very warm.

"Where I come from, we are protected from the cold. When it snows in the winter, we often stay in our homes rather than brave the cold."

Very warm, indeed -- and getting even warmer at the proximity between them. It's not often that she lets people get this close, but... the last person Rey offered her body heat to was Faye.

And they had kissed, and gotten fairly cozy until everything went south. By no fault of Faye's, despite the scar in Rey's back that would suggest otherwise. As someone who's very familiar with the effects of trauma, she never blamed Faye for her temporary psychosis.

Everything else was just fucking complicated. Easier to push in the back of her mind and not think about it. Why does she have to think about it now? This is normal. Totally normal. People cozy up together when they're cold all the time and it doesn't have to mean anything more than that. Although it doesn't help that Elleru's been particularly friendly ever since they met, but that seems to be how she is. Not everyone who's nice to you is going to think of you that way, right? Least of all her...

Rey's rapid-fire thought process has her silent for a moment, almost missing what Elleru said. She realizes she actually is much warmer now -- not hot to the touch, but enough that her face is flushed as the blankets drape around the two of them.

Three of them. Tripod makes three, naturally.

"Cold's not so bad, if you know how to live in it. Not everyone's thing, of course," Rey finally says, trying to mask her awkwardness as she draws her hand over her mouth, shoulders tucking inward to keep the cat close as well.

"Of course," Elleru agrees, for once not noticing when her company is embarrassed -- she's closed her eyes and is just basking in the warmth radiating off Rey, letting it seep into her limbs bit by bit. The baths of the spa have not been working, but this? This is better, if she had to choose between them. The fact that Rey has a cute cat helps.

"The cold never came so suddenly to my colony," she continues. "The seasons were slow. Gradual? It allowed us to prepare for them. I would decorate my den with furs to help keep me warm through the night. I had many beautiful ones. Gifts."

For now Elleru's lack of notice is a blessing. Rey keeps her head ducked, eyes focused on the top of Tripod's hairless little head as he continues to slumber, purs rumbling against her.

"Ah. Guess no one would be ready for this. Didn't exactly get a warning sign..." She trails, pausing when the realization dawns on her. "Shit, hope this hasn't affected the area where food is grown."

Hungry people on top of cold weather never leads to anything good.

Oh, now that's something Elleru hadn't thought of before. She turns her head toward Rey, her worry apparent.

"The agricultural level?" She enunciates every syllable of that, as one might when parsing out the parts of an unfamiliar word. "It was warmer when I was there a few days ago, but it is so much colder now than it was. What will happen to the animals that live there?"

That's right, living things inhabit those areas as well. The thought is enough to give Rey pause as she mulls it over.

"Maybe they'll be all right?" No one can be sure of that, though, so she adds: "Could always build shelters for them or something, if it gets real bad."

People here seem to have a lot of time on their hands, so there's no excuse not to pitch in whenever possible, right?

"Could we?" Oh no, that sounds like it might be a genuine question. "I would not want them to be cold, but there is not enough room in here for all of us."

And she looks around, her ears dipping as she clearly considers how many of Kieran's animals they could fit into the room. Not nearly enough, clearly; her natural form would take up a good chunk of the floor space if she were to shift into it, and most of the animals up there are almost her size.

Rey stares, squinting at the other woman. Is Elleru thinking what she thinks she's thinking?

"We can absolutely not fit that many animals in one double bedroom," she says flatly. "Aren't there barns and pastures and such up there? Pretty sure someone mentioned setting up a ranch a while ago."

Much as she'd been tempted, it's not like Rey had gone up there to investigate closely. She'd mostly been avoiding people for a good while after coming here.

Though Elleru lets out a quiet, disappointed warble, she knows Rey is right. Clearly, they should have grabbed one of the rooms with four beds if thy wanted to adopt half the animals in the barn. Is it too late to do that? It's too late now that she's made a little nest in this room from the blankets, isn't it?

"You are speaking of Kieran," she replies, settling back against Rey. "I am sure he is worried about his animals, but I must remember that they will keep each other warm, just as we are."

That thought brings her a little comfort. Still, she might swing by his room tomorrow just to see if he needs anything. How terrible it must be, not being able to see and knowing his animals may be freezing.

It's too late for any if that, but Rey oddly appreciates the nest.

They might not be thinking the same person, and Rey doesn't even know who this Kieran is, but she doesn't cared. She just shrugs.

"We'll figure it out. But one thing at a time." It's something she tries to remind herself sometimes as well.

"Yes, one thing at a time. We must first get Tripod warm, and then we will consider how we will decorate our room."

Because apparently, that is the second-most important thing on Elleru's mind.

If reality hadn't sunk in enough already, those words Elleru just spoke really drove the point home. Staring into space, the words repeat from Rey's mouth like water falling out.

"Our... room? Decorate?" It almost sounds like a different language to her.

Edited 2019-12-26 10:35 (UTC)

"Yes," Elleru replies calmly, despite Rey's obvious befuddlement. "Our room."

She leans forward just a bit so she can turn to give her new roommate a teasing smile. "Do you not know how? You have told me you do not have a home, but is easy to do. You simply find what you like, and bring it to your room." Yes, that is how decorating is generally done. She keeps going, hoping Rey is processing this as she continues. "This will be our bed, of course. And we will make Tripod a bed in one of those boxes?"

She points to the cubes on the wall that are likely meant to be shelves, but as far as Elleru is concerned, they are perfect potential cat beds.

Edited 2019-12-26 23:13 (UTC)

While Rey isn't so obtuse that she doesn't know how home decor works, it's never been something that she's dabbled in. That's something that you go into when you have a sense of making roots somewhere, or establishing a homestead. She's never had that stability before, not even in Chicago. Everything has always been a temporary roost for her, and she has no illusions that this would be any different.

So the thought of adorning a space that won't even last seems like a waste of time to Rey. However, just about everything here could be considered a waste of time, when there's nothing else to do and your only prospect of 'home' is a rod of metal inches from your mechanical heart and a manic synthetic woman.

All things considered, her situation could be worse. It's all just a matter of keeping up now.

"Um. Those 'boxes' are usually for putting stuff in, for one thing..."

Though that probably won't stop a cat. Tripod is likely to find ways to curl inside all kinds of nooks and crannies when he's on his own.

Then Rey stops and gives Elleru a look right now, squinting at her. "We've got two beds. Will just sleep in the other one when the cold goes away -- doubt it's going to be like this forever."

Which means cuddling for warmth won't be a necessity for too long, or so she would think.

Rey gives Elleru a look and Elleru gives her a look right back. There's a second of silence before she closes her eyes and smiles knowingly. "Of course. It will not be cold forever. Perhaps Tripod will sleep with me in my bed to keep me company."

Or something will inexplicably happen to Rey's mattress, leaving only one usable one. What a tragedy that would be.

"What else will be put into our room? Something you like, perhaps?"

Edited 2019-12-29 09:37 (UTC)

Such a tragedy that would be. A travesty. Completely.

Rey doesn't suspect a thing.

She arches a brow at the mere suggestion that she would have even an inkling on how to plan any interior design for this room.

"Haven't thought about it? Don't really have much shit." Rey inclines her head towards the room. "Isn't there enough stuff in here, anyway?"

It's fully furnished, and that's all Rey thinks she needs.

There's something about Rey's reaction that causes Elleru to laugh -- it's a bright laugh, warm and lively and with an undercurrent of a bird-like thrum beneath her deep timbre.

"Enough stuff! What a wonderful joke!" She pats Rey's arm, leaning into her shoulder again. "We will make this room our own, and then you will see what 'enough stuff' is. I will show you."

She gestures to the boxes on the wall. "That one is Tripod's bed, for when he is not asleep with me. And there" — she moves her finger to the box next to it — "is where our books will go. We will have many in here. We can start with mine. And on that box will go flowers. I have learned to fold them from paper, and they are quite lovely. We will hang a chain of them over the door, and a rrug in front of it? Oh, and in the drawers beneath the beds will go our clothing."

Something about 'We will make this room our own' all but confirms Rey's suspicions on Elleru's motivations. She's pretty sure this was where the other woman was hinting at from the start, so maybe it was all on her for refusing to see the signs that were right in front of her.

Still, it's weird. This whole thing is weird. Rey was just tentatively prepared to settle on finding a room to settle in for a while, but having someone else to share it with seems to alter the situation in a way she hadn't anticipated.

She casts a sidelong look upward as Elleru goes on to reveal her plans on renovating this space in her image.

All things considered, it could be worse.

"Sounds like you've got a pretty good idea on what you want. So, you should probably handle... all of it, then. Since, ah. Am no good with any of that." A nervous sound escapes her throat before she can stop herself. Keep your shit together, Rey!

"But I will not learn more about you if you do not help me," Elleru replies simply, giving Rey a soft, encouraging look.

Her smiles fades just a little as she bites at her lip and casts her eyes away. "Although... if I am pushing you too far, you will tell me, will you not? I do not want to chase you away."

It's when Rey's reminded of their conversation at the library that she again stops to consider what Elleru is doing. Or, rather, is trying to do. She exhales a sharp breath, glancing away in thought.

"Mn, no, it's not you. Am not an easy person to get on with -- or live with. Can keep this place warm if it stays cold for long, and can fight. Never been good for much else."

They're not things she likes to admit, but Rey feels like she owes it to Elleru for spending so much time on her that might as well be a waste.

december 2019. welcome to the void.

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