[ the audio of the tablet is all that clicks on first; there’s some muffled noise, and what is possibly recognizable as the voice of Tidus, depending on who you are, saying something just out of earshot but sounding suspiciously like “don’t think that worked.” What isn’t working, exactly, isn’t clear, considering the screen’s just showing black, but it sounds like something’s being moved, and this time, more audibly:]

Let’s try this one...! [ A click, and the video shows the top of some blonde hair for half a second and a triumphant little noise before it shuts off again, and evidently hands it over to a nearby party. ] Got it?

[ after a sound of being handed to another, some of the excess noise subsides. It seems the person who has received it has a much gentler, delicate handling on the tablet. ] No, that’s not quite right. Here. [ a sound of a button being pressed, and then, the smiling face of a young woman some may recognize as Yuna. She turns the tablet around to show a blonde boy with a quizzical expression. She points to the button on the front. ] It’s this one. It took me a while, too. [ but she’s from a non-tech world, Tidus, you loser. extending her reach, she hands the tablet back to Tidus. ]

Er... Hey! Hi, Exsilium. Tidus here. And - this is Yuna. [ he offers a little wave and tilts the camera towards her a bit. ] Oh— H-Hello. [ boy, he should’ve thought this out a little better, but he’ll carry on fine. ]

( non-IC cut for length! )

[a long delay in saying anything, just the sound of muted rustling and breath.]

I'm...sorry, I still don't know. How to make this thing talk only to certain people. [quieter, self-conscious:] I guess I'll find out...

[a beat. a breath.]

Anora? Alistair? May I see you? To talk. There's...a lot to say.

[Really, does this girl ever look happy? Because she's still as frowny faced as ever when the feed kicks on, idly rubbing at the fading scratches and bruises still left over from the fighting not so long before.]

I know at least some of you here are capable of holding your own in combat. [And even the way she says it almost gives the impression she's giving everyone much more credit than she thinks they deserve, whoops. But she's getting itchy feet without her apprentice here to help her practice her stances....] I need a sparring partner. This "training" is useless without one.

[Totally not so she can also gauge who might be a useful ally in this place. Who might be a threat and who might be worth keeping tabs on. Nope, never.]

Oh! Andaran atish’an! This is such an interesting way to talk to people, don't you think? I can see your face and you can see mine! It's like a mirror, but it reflects other people back at you.

[Merrill waves, smiling broadly, her large eyes sparkling with delight.]

My name is Merrill, and I'm looking for my friends. I appear to be a little lost. [She swings the tablet around too fast to really see anything useful. Just a lot of stone.] Did you see that? I'm lost. But I have friends who can help me become, ah, not lost.

Sometimes, when I was lost in Kirkwall, Isabela - she's one of my friends - would swoop down from the top of a building and tell me where to go. She's very pretty, with dark hair and a lovely blue bandana. Oh, and a necklace. It's quite hard to miss her necklace and what's below it. And there's Aveline, but sometimes I worry she doesn't like me. She has red hair, like the sun, and quite a lot of freckles. I like her freckles. I wish I had freckles... [Merrill trails off, tapping her fingers against her cheeks as if counting freckles. She comes back to herself suddenly.] I'm sorry, I tend to get lost in my thoughts. I think that's how I ended up here. Do you ever do that? You start thinking and then you just don't come out. What was I saying before?

Oh, yes, my friends! I have quite a few of them. Isabela and Aveline and Varric! Varric is a dwarf, and he's very funny, but his stories aren't always true. He tells me stories about pirates, but Isabela says they're mostly made up. And Fenris, he's elvhen, like me, but--that's not going to be trouble, is it? In Kirkwall, they make us live in alienages, and they're very dirty. I had a nice house, but it was very small. No one in Thedas seems to like the elvhen very much, and living in the alienage is very uncomfortable...

[She stares past the tablet screen for a moment, thoughtful.] I hope there aren't any alienages here...

If you know my friends, would you tell them I'm looking for them? Ma serannas for your troubles. Or, if you recognize this place-- [She ducks out of the frame, an alleyway filling the screen for a few seconds before she fumbles the tablet and then drops it. Merrill's face pops into the frame again, a worried expression on it.] Oh, dear, I hope I haven't broken you...

[ooc: Feel free to engage the very lost Merrill in actiony posts. As a Dalish elf, she tends to speak in the elvhen language frequently. You can hover over the text with your mouse to get a translation!]

Well, that was something of an adventure! Between the Russians, the newest arrivals, and our monstrous friends, why there's been quite a few things to keep track of. An awful lot of people. One of which in particular I seem to have misplaced... I don't suppose anyone has seen Bela lately? Bela Talbot?

[ A pause, as if he's actually listening for a reply. Or maybe just asking a completely rhetorical question and taking a moment to gather himself afterward. ]

Well, it was always difficult to keep her in just one place. Not like Sierra, Annalise, and Adamo, three natives caught by the UE bombs, near a month ago now. I would say they were entirely too — too stationary. That old woman in the market, too— with the jerky stand? She always claimed it was dog meat, but I really had to wonder. But she always had a kind word for anyone who stopped to chat, didn't she? I found a bit of her stand some time ago, but no sign of her. Maggie, she told me her name was...

My apologies, to anyone who knew any of those caught in disaster. At least we've managed to turn this latest one back to the status quo, mm? We have that much.

[ Another pause, and this one comes with a slow breath out. So... that's awkward. But! He can make it better. When he speaks again, he sounds just as cheerful as he had at the beginning. ]

You know, for all their flukes and faults, I would say there's one thing the Initiative is truly bad at. They can throw our lot into a room with food set out, but that's not any sort of party. So I propose we arrange one ourselves! We've the musicians for it, don't we? The cooks, surely! The tailors, seamstresses? We certainly have the headcount for it, by now!

Any opinions, mm? I'm thinking, perhaps, a masquerade. A ball! We kitrites excel at the organization of them, you know. I would be pleased to offer my services to a properly interested crowd! Have I any takers?

Now that there's some peace and quiet--

[ 'sup, guys? Someone's figured out the contraption she's holding and yes, she does have that weird headgear on while talking to you right now. ]

I can't help but say that I was expecting something a little more...unhelpful, given our sudden departures, but maybe we are lucky after all that our hosts want us to be as prepared as possible. As for myself, my name is Blazenova for those who did not meet me at the party. I expect nothing but results when working on these missions, so try to not waste my time.

[ She seems thoughtful at what she's about to say next, but decides it's for the best in the end. After all, it's better to be prepared than wait for certain disaster to come. ]

[...]

That said, how many of you are priests, paladins, monks - or, if you are not familiar with those terms, how many of you can heal injuries, cure poisons, and the like? I ask because while I can serve as a field medic, I rather like to be there to help take down opponents that much faster. However, if anyone has any kind of cloth they can give me, I can start preparing a stockpile of goods for us to use should we run out of medical supplies.

If there is nothing else, then I bid you farewell for now. Al diel shala!

[for a moment Castor experiments with the tablet, trying to get it to work. once he gets the little confirmation sound, he looks at himself through it and then sets it on a table across from him. he sits with his hands folded on his lap, perhaps maybe a little unsure how to begin. this is all a little too much to take in]

Ah... [give him a moment. his gaze lifts up to the tablet and he pauses before chewing on his bottom lip] Forgive me, I am a little at a loss of how to take in this.. situation. [it's baby's first war after all!]

I hope I... can be of some use here. [there's a slight uncertainty in his voice and maybe a tad smidgen of a tremble but he swallows down his nervousness and looks to the feed again, cracking a small smile]

M-My name is Castor, it is a pleasure to meet you all. I will do my best to aid in the fight here. If there is anything I can do, please feel free to use me how you'd like.