Well...

[delphi_bat]

Who: Babs, Roy, Any
When: Arrival
What: So a teacher and a librarian get lost in the darkness...

It had seemed like such a simple plan really, she'd left a series of home made monitoring systems about the size of her palm in an arc from the Penrose bridge and extending out into the darkness. They were just data collectors, measuring everything from ambient temperature to vibrational intensities, and they all emitted a soft little beeping sound out in the Darkness.

She hoped that would have made them easier to hone in on, for both Finders and newly lost people alike...but to be certain, well, she'd asked Roy if he wanted to lend a hand. Nothing like taking a stroll for science, right?

They'd worked like a charm until it came to about the halfway point of her test arc, then the world had slipped sideways and all she'd managed to do was grab Roy's hand and hold tight. When reality decided to realign itself, well, best not to get separated.

She still had his wrist in a death grip when she came to, jerking from unconscious to awake and scanning the new environment in a blink. "Well, we're not in Kansas any more," she muttered softly, grumpy. A quick check and..."Elos are gone too."

They were in a park, buildings looming up above the untamed tree line and her chair parked beside a sculpted bench and Roy sitting on the end nearest her. He was breathing, that was good, though it took her a minute or two longer to convince herself to unwrap her fingers. Hopefully his hand wasn't too numb? In the dim glow from a street lamp a bit further down she couldn't tell if Merlin had arrived safely with them or not.

Here was to hoping?

"At least this world looks a bit more to scale," she sighed, reaching out to shake Roy's shoulder gently. "But if this keeps up I'm going to get really sick of the world shifting." Just saying.

Comments

[p_51]

"More importantly, is my dog still here?" Roy asked, sharply. Merlin responded by barking once to inform him that she was NOT PLEASED and move so that he could grab her harness again. "Also, what's Kansas and what are you looking at?"

[delphi_bat]

"...yes," she noted, a bit wry since Merlin answered for herself. "And I'm looking at a city skyline above trees. You're on a park bench and the street light down the path is anemic at best."

[p_51]

"So what I'm getting here is that Merlin will be leading once we decide what to do." he said wryly, patting the dog's head gently, "You know, I think this is probably my third world in under six months. Not enjoying this trend, Gordon."

[delphi_bat]

"Yeah, I'm not fond of it either," she admitted. She'd had...a lot of things to do in her own world, much less Penrose. A bit of shifting and she had her laptop out, she usually kept it with her so why not? "The good news is unlike the darkness there is some sort of network here. Computer's picking up activity, though it'll be a bit before I can get things translated no doubt."

[p_51]

"That's...good?" he said, slowly, "Did you tell me what a computer is? I don't remember."

[delphi_bat]

"Yeah, part of my tool kit," she chuckled, "tapping like lightning when I'm into something. And most certainly my library access of choice. Anyway, it means this is a more tech oriented location than it could be, which is nice. Electric lights are awesome, computer databases are better as far as I'm concerned, and both are indicators of hot water if the high rises didn't give it away."

And hello. The stream she was monitoring flexed, keyed through a sequence of numbers, counter reading her laptop until it settled on 'Hello Technician Gordon'. Hell. She slapped the lid shut and yanked the battery from her laptop, thinking hard, "So something knows we're here and said hello. I think it wants to give me a job."

[p_51]

"Right, that's right. Sorry." he said, shrugging. "So...are you going to take it? I have no idea what to be thinking right now."

[delphi_bat]

"It's alright, I can't peg most alchemical work even though we've talked," she admitted easily, reaching out to touch his elbow in reassurance. 'And I have no idea. Not enough answers and far too many questions. I think we should poke around before anyone takes anything, jobs or otherwise."

[p_51]

"Sounds like a plan. If you need something on fire use the clock, twelve ahead of me and six behind, along with distance. Where shall we go now?" being blind was, once again, pissing him off remarkably well. He did manage not to let the venom he was feeling into his voice, at least.

[delphi_bat]

"Do you want that in meters or feet?" she asked promptly. She could work in either! And better something get toasted at a distance than hand to hand in a strange city. "And I have no idea honestly. My instinct is to find a secure building with some height and then figure things out from there..." but her instinct had also said hello to something here.

So.

"Buildings are taller to our right along the street outside the park we're in."

[p_51]

"Either as long as you tell me which you're using." he responded just as promptly, "You can also refine the cardinal directions with degrees. Finding a high building works for me. Lead on!"

[delphi_bat]

"We'll stick with metric then," just to get things settled before they started moving! "And have I mentioned I like a man who can do either on the fly?" just to get the mood back to pleasant one hoped.

Anyway. "Keep a hand on my shoulder, I don't have handles for you to keep a bead on."

[p_51]

"Metric it is." he laughed even as he put his hand on her shoulder, "Well, I do try to be likable. I'm not the smartest person around...that's definitely you...but I'm damn good at what I do and proud of it. Modesty is not what I do."

[delphi_bat]

"It wouldn't suit you," she chuckled, "You stand out a bit too much for modesty." And he was damn good at what he did, science and flame alike as far as she'd experienced.

"Funny note, the lights behind us are dimming as we move, and the ones ahead coming on. This is not boding well for a functional elevator." Ah, well, stairs weren't impossible.

[p_51]

"If it ends up being needed I can carry you on the stairs and go back for your chair." Roy said mildly. He knew he could do it.

[delphi_bat]

"My hero," she teased easily. "Hate to bind up your hands though, we'll figure it out when it comes to that!" When, not if, since there were most certainly tall buildings ahead. They were going to go up into one at least. So.

"In retrospect I really should have stuck at least one grappling hook in this chair."

[p_51]

"You can always hold onto my shoulders." Roy pointed out with a laugh, "I trust you to not choke me if I have to let go of one of your legs in order to immolate something. You can keep a look out for things you could turn into a grappling hook, I'm sure."

[delphi_bat]

"And just like that he dashes my dreams of romantic poses!" she laughed, the sound echoing from the walls they of the buildings they were approaching. "My poor broken heart...but I do appreciate the practicality!" Utterly in fact.

"I'm just bemoaning my lost toys. I was working on replacements in Penrose, but, well, it was more important to bring the other gadgets in our outing." Because they'd been a little inelegant but she'd wanted to field test prototypes in the darkness to see if the idea was worth refining.

[p_51]

"If I thought you actually wanted romantic gestures I'd be happy to provide them." he said dryly, "As a dedicated ladies man, however, I'm quite good at picking up 'just teasing, not interested' from a mile away."

[delphi_bat]

That honestly had her laughing softly, which was good, it relieved tension and an increasing paranoia about their new environment, "wouldn't tease if you weren't aware of such," she admitted at last. "Hmmm, this building seems to be residential. There's a bank of buttons on the wall with blank spaces beside them, one assumes for names or residents."

"Accommodations available!" A hidden speaker spoke out. "Grand views of the sky dome, spacious rooms, and tenant amenities! Come tour the Jade Plaza building today!"

[p_51]

"Yes, because I desperately need views. Sky dome? What do they mean by sky dome? Do you want to check in?"

[delphi_bat]

"Aw, be nice, the building only has it's prerecorded drabble to work with," she noted, buying herself a moment of time as she peered upward. "Could be a dome, the sky I mean, the night looks a bit static." Did they want to check in?

"I don't know, want to go house hunting with me? It's as good a way as any to find high ground but the coffee on those tours always suck."

[p_51]

"I'm a military man, Gordon, there is no coffee as bad as third watch coffee. Lets go find a place to lair up while we decide what to do next." He liked defensible places. He liked them a lot.

[delphi_bat]

"Fifth precinct after a riot," she noted off hand. "Dad was a cop, part of the deal when he was promoted was better coffee." Ah, but going inside now it seemed. "Front doors are sliding glass, automated, lights are still going off behind us as we move."

[p_51]

"Not that lights are too much of an issue for me." he murmured, "What's the room look like? Obstacles, most importantly." he let the riot talk go, it came too close to the heart of his issues with his own morality.