[ text/anon (not heavily encrypted) ]

[devotedtothecore]

I have three questions. One specific, two more general.

1. Are there any known instances of Transports who managed to return to their home worlds, or travel to worlds beyond this one?

2. Would you consider the level of technological development in this world more advanced, less advanced, or on par with that of your own?

3. To date, have you encountered others from the same world as yourself?

Your time is appreciated.

Comments

[velveteened]

( not at all a straight answer, which was of course the intention. there's little benefit to telling a stranger (a newer arrival from the sound of it) about the horrible events of that day, which is a pretty self-justification for how little he wants to relive it. )

Nope! Just the one so far, luckily.

( that they know, anyway, and isn't that the rub? )

[devotedtothecore]

[ "Luckily". He thinks of Corehaven alone, and the hundreds and thousands of people working, living, walking its streets; of all the cities and towns and villages of Cepheus, of the rest of the lands beyond it, of the sum of lives to be counted across the world he could consider his.

Family among them. Friends among them.

Casualty: One world.

What a cold statistic. ]

Thank you for the information.

[ What else is there to say? ]

[velveteened]

( luckily because the ue has made it quite apparent now that they could wipe this flimsy island off the map were they so inclined, that the destruction of a single world was so easy to do that they could do it again anywhere at any time, and who could stop them?

because looking at it any other way is still sickening, but some measure of luck feeds hope. )

You don't have to thank me for information like that. If you have any other questions though you can ask me. I've been around long enough to probably be able to answer.

[devotedtothecore]

[ Enough questions to fill a storehouse, and each one begetting more. But through this form of communication... ]

The offer is appreciated. Though I would prefer to ask some questions in private and in person, if that would be acceptable.

[velveteened]

That's fine. Do you like tea? There's a shop near the Hold I like to go to, unless you meant more private than that.

[devotedtothecore]

I have no objections.

[ and then shortly after, a private text message: ]

My name is Chrysos.

[velveteened]

It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Oz.

( he sends the directions to the place, a small and cozy one still transport-friendly, in the reply. he'll go ahead and start on his way there after sending the reply. )

scene change scene change /o/ \o\

[devotedtothecore]

[ He takes a moment to shoot back a brief description of who to look for (blonde short hair, a purple headband) before tucking away the device and starting for the place in question.

It isn't too long after Oz arrives that the doors open again and a tall young man-- no more than early 20s, surely-- steps in, raincoat dripping from the weather. Casually scanning the place as he shucks off his raincoat and folds it over an arm. ]

[velveteened]

( oz has been keeping an eye out, so when chrys walks in, he'll be greeted with a cheerful wave from one of the booths. he's not especially tall and somewhat slight, but makes up for that, it seems, with enough good spirits for about three people. his own raincoat is beside him on the seat, an umbrella balanced against its end. )

[devotedtothecore]

( There's a blink, and an acknowledging nod on spotting him. Chrys wends his way to the booth in question, though he doesn't sit down just yet. Just to clarify: ]

Oz?

[velveteened]

That's right.

( he affirms easily, tone just side of well of course. )

You're a lot taller in person, Chrysos.

( oz you might just be short. )

[devotedtothecore]

[ Politeness means not commenting on any height issues faced by the other party. At the first meeting at least. So he'll raise an eyebrow, since it's not the first time he's heard that line, anyway. ]

Well, you are seated. [ Levelly, as he sets his coat down and slides into the seat across from Oz.

There. Issue somewhat rectified. (Somewhat.) ]

[velveteened]

( somewhat, and the serious answer makes him smile. )

Have you ever been here before?

[devotedtothecore]

[ A shake of the head, and a glance back at the rest of the premises. It's a little nicer than most he's been to in the last few weeks. ]

I'm afraid not. ...though I've seen it in passing. [ Places like these are rarely ventured into without someone to meet in them, anyway. At least for him. His brother, on the other hand...

...thinking about Red brings that familiar faint gnawing feeling in his gut, so he turns his eyes on Oz again, studying him frankly instead. To cut to the chase or not? It's not as though there's reason to hurry this minute, but.... ]

[velveteened]

They have a tea called "chai" that's really good here — I'd never heard of it before I got here, but I've heard it's pretty authentic! Their regular teas are nice too, and Gil likes the coffee, but my favorite is some of the pastries...really, you have your pick of what you'd want to try.

( the study isn't lost on him, but he waits until after he's finished talking, and a beat after that, to address it without changing his tone a bit. )

Though maybe you'd prefer to ask your questions first.

[devotedtothecore]

[ ...manners. His old caretaker would've insisted on it, considering the courtesy being extended to him. ]

They are not so dire that they cannot-- [ catching himself ] --can't wait a moment longer.

...the coffee would be good. [ With a slight, awkward smile. It was strange, how some comforts of food and drink were constant between worlds. ]

[velveteened]

How adult-like!

( it's — not actually said to tease, even if it could seem that way; and in any case a moment later a waiter comes to ask for their orders. oz requests tea and cake, before both he and the waiter turn to chrysos with an expectant look. )

[devotedtothecore]

[ And judging by the quiet ngrk and instant switch from awkward-smile to awkward-frownlines, teasing it may have landed as. (Damn it, he is an adult. It's bad enough getting it from his elders, but... hrrngh.)

In any case, the waiter's arrival and distraction is just enough time for him to compose himself, and he makes his own request for a cup of coffee, no milk, no sugar, thank you. ]

[velveteened]

( he grins, unable to help himself. there's a bright hum at chrysos's order (even more adult-like, okay, very reminiscent of gil), but he doesn't interrupt; after taking the order, the waiter takes his leave. )

[devotedtothecore]

[ Coffee dark as night's as what greases the gears of men, or at least that's the adage his guild-mentors used to swear by, and from then on it was a matter of dutifully applying the stuff to one's tastebuds until the latter were convinced they were, in fact, a beverage of choice. (Not that Chrys had ever been known for a particularly discerning palate in the first place, but it had still taken. A while. To derive what might be considered enjoyment from it.)

As soon as the waiter disappears Chrys leans back in his seat, clearing his throat, as though the act might reset the mood, and... right. Order of business. Yes.

Ignore the fact that the grin on Oz's face is, more likely than not, directed at him. ]

...if I might ask-- how long have you been in this city?

[velveteened]

( he leans back into his seat, content to wait on his sweets — and content in general, perhaps, because he's decidedly unruffled by the question. )

Almost seven months, by now.

( it's an immediate answer; he's always kept track of the months, strange as they are against the calendar he's used to keeping, and so knows it by this place's reckoning. )

[devotedtothecore]

[ Two hundred seventy-more days and nights, by Earthen calendar year, and there's a figure to sober a mind and its outward face up. He'd never been away from Corehaven for longer than a month.

A glance out the window by the main doors, at the grey and rain outside. ]

I've heard tell that the first Transports were brought here over a year past, for this war. [ A beat's pause, before his eyes flick back to Oz again. Bluntly: ] Would you say there's been progress made at all?

[velveteened]

That's true.

( and longer; collette and caesar have been around a year, but there are those who've predated their appearances here. oz doesn't know any of them personally that he's aware of, but he knows there are such people around.

the question makes his smile start to drop, flatten out into more of a line, and his eyes flick away for a moment. have they made progress, or have things just got worse? )

It's hard to say. The nature of the enemy means that we can't fight them in direct strikes — it's pointless. ( it'd only invite annihilation. ) That's why the missions to the past are the only way these people can fight. As for progress...

( he trails off, then shrugs apologetically )

I'm sorry. It really is hard to tell for sure.

[devotedtothecore]

[ A twinge of regret, almost, at the way Oz's smile falters and fades like a dying candle. But questions like these are answered as much by act and tone as by word, and so the reply, though not the most comforting, at least feels solid to Chrys.

Indirect strikes. Tampering with past and time. He'd wondered, a few times since the first day, what purpose drawing one like him (and of what relicquated knowledge, skill, everything compared to all this) could serve, but in the light of what their true work involved... one could begrudgingly admit they could likely use someone like him. Even if in the last month the days had passed in little more than a blur of aimless training and reading and wandering about the city. A grey sabbatical.

But they'd fought, these people. These ones who'd been here far longer than him. (Thinks of Chrono-- you can see it in their faces-- and cold text on a screen, news of a failure of a mission, a world destroyed.)

He nods slowly. ]

...apologies aren't necessary. It was an honest answer.

[velveteened]

( he almost wants to laugh. it's a rare day he's called honest, and there's so much about the day that world was lost he still hasn't spoken of to anyone, even those he knows would be angry at him for it, because it was too much that day and pushed away after. grief and terror and rage and blood and smoke — spectres of a time past that should stay there, he thinks. )

Still, I'd rather have a better answer to give you.