Headcount

[turbedon]

[A far too cheerful sounding voice pipes up over the Network, the owner of it nowhere to be found in Liminal Space in a rather telling way.]

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking-

Everyone okay? Anyone gone missing after the last Jaunt?

... Any newcomers we need to get off the brainway asap? Because just arriving and then being run over would really not be astrous. At all.

Comments

[willyousee]

Present and uninjured... and it seems that Maestro Leonardo is somewhere about as well - his workshop is likely available as respite already. You are uninjured yourself?

[He somehow manages to sound a little out of breath, and is clearly distracted.]

Has anyone seen Phedre or Joscelin as of yet?

[turbedon]

Yup, all limbs attached. You sound a little distracted though, need any help there?

[willyousee]

Not... [pause] Yet. There. Navigating this place is more difficult than ever, but I think I have the trick of it.

Am I imagining it, or do these vehicles seem to be more intent upon doing us harm than they might in the outer world?

[And more softly, like a half-shielded personal thought] Where are they?

[turbedon]

Oh no, you're not imagining it. I was sticking to my lane and one of the trucks tried to run me over.

[He catches onto the half-shielded thought and asks:] Want some help looking for them?

[willyousee]

[Sigh.] I appear to be on an interior mid-level strand - there are perhaps six levels above me at present. If you hear of anyone who needs assistance nearby please alert me and I will do my best.

...If it would be little trouble, let me know if you hear from either Joscelin or Phedre, or see them about? My guess is that they will be looking for ways to help others rather than retreating to safety, if Phedre has aught to say about it, but it is unusual for them to not answer me - particularly right after a Jaunt. [His quiet calm is undermined by a jangling sense of unease - he suspects something, but he's trying not to think about it.]

[turbedon]

I'll scan for them. If they're in Liminal Space, I'll find them, don't worry.

[willyousee]

Thank you. I greatly appreciate your help, Robin. Also, there may be dungeon portals hidden away. If you would keep an eye out for those as well?

[turbedon]

Sure thing. Stay safe, Alcuin.

[willyousee]

You as well.

[Private]
And thank you for looking out for me. [There's the slightest hitch before the personal pronoun.] Fading would have been unpleasant.

[canbebrave]

You haven't?

[willyousee]

No, my lady, but it is early yet. I did not see them much during the jaunt that I can recall - it may be that they need to recover before making an appearance. Are you safe? Would you be willing to help me look for them?

[canbebrave]

That is true- they are probably recovering, together. [ If thoughts could have an anxious tone to them- Sansa's would. ]

I am well-- if you think it to be necessary, I will help you search.

[willyousee]

You needn't go out of your way. If you should see them, let me know, if you would please. If they are here, we'll likely know within an hour or two.

[The link acquires the quiet, closed-room feel of a private exchange]

Lady Sansa, are you injured? Would you like me to come see you?

private

[canbebrave]

Not injured, no. I did not escape the... words though. It's very disagreeable.

private

[willyousee]

Indeed. [If one could sigh over the Network, he would be.] So far I have heard of none who have remained clean, small comfort though it is. I expect fashion to suddenly revert to long sleeves and fully covered legs as soon as Travelers can find Maestro Leonardo's workshop.

private

[canbebrave]

It seems I'll fit in, for once.

private

[willyousee]

...My lady, if you feel so alone and out of place, you are always welcome in my chamber. Perhaps I can assist you in becoming accustomed to some of the more unusual forms of speech and dress among the Travelers, should you so desire.

[shiroganeheir]

I do not believe I have met Joscelin-san, however, I do know Phedre-san, and will let you know if I see her. I am doing some fly-overs of the roadways.

How are you doing, Alcuin?

[Naoto's voice is still a bit raggedly tired.]

[willyousee]

Joscelin will likely be at her side - tall, hair like an autumn wheatfield, eyes blue as the summer sky, bearing twin daggers and a sword, and as handsome as Phedre is beautiful. Thank you, Naoto-kun, I appreciate your assistance.

[It goes without saying that he is worried about them.]

Better than one might expect, having been dropped in the center of an active roadway with no warning. Disoriented, but it passes. I am likely to make for the workshop shortly, but if you need a place to land safely, there is a wide stretch of stone here blocked off from the vehicles.

How do you fare yourself?

[shiroganeheir]

Understood. I will inform you at once if I see or hear from either of them. It is no problem.

[Naoto's mental voice is calm, but there's an edge to it that is not usually there.]

I am passable myself. Slightly tired, a little worn down, but nothing terrible. I am glad you are well. Or, at least as well as anyone can be having just come off of a Jaunt into a tangle of vehicles and roads.

[willyousee]

This is certainly not my element, I admit, but then we are rarely given that opportunity. I suspect we are all in need of a rest after that. I don't believe we met in the city, but I may have seen you in Yomi? [There's just enough of an upswing to make it a question rather than a statement, but plausible deniability enough should she wish to avoid the topic.]

[shiroganeheir]

Almost certainly so. It was a good place to get information, and Naoki did provide quite a lot of it to me. However, in the end, I was not able to find the Name in time.

[willyousee]

A local favorite of the information trade. That and the... Souk. [A little careful pronunciation - it's not a word he's familiar with outside of Melaserai.] For all my hunting, I could not find the Name in time either. I have several suspicions that might have borne fruit, but my counterpart was careless with himself and could not complete the task. But then I am not certain that would have produced a satisfactory ending either.

I am sorry I hadn't the chance to speak with you. Were you a denizen of the city?

[shiroganeheir]

No. I was myself. Which... I cannot decide if it is better because I did not know the city, or worse because I was just ineffectual.

[Naoto sounds a bit exasperated in his mental voice.]

I had some ideas and theories, but in the end, I was just too slow.

[willyousee]

It is not easy to work within a system you are unfamiliar with. If you were on the right track, that is admirable in and of itself. In addition, I expect that there were things which you learned about yourself and your process which will allow you to do better on the next attempt.