broadcast to investigators;

[blackhand]

Seems like the Trumps already want us back to work. [Oh, look, it's that one asshole everyone was probably warned about talking in your head. Congrats, Travelers, he'll make this quick.]

Those of you that are new, this is a Jaunt. We're here to investigate and fix something, so first thing's first- you need to blend in. If the people here get suspicious, we'll get blocked out of opportunities to find something, and sometimes they might even take our presence around here negatively.

[That's Garrett's way of saying "don't be an idiot and play your part or I'm going to call you a moron beyond this Jaunt." There's a sigh, but he continues.]

I'm not one for leading, someone else is going to have to take that job. Might want to sound off, just to see who all we have for this round.

Garrett, Investigator. Your turn.

Comments

[amadine]

Never? [There's undisguised surprise at that.] We'll have to fix that. There's nothing better for telling stories, or for making plans.

[neverfeltthatway]

Ah... no. I don't think it was as common back home as you seem to be used to. And I didn't really have access to it. [He might have, if he'd wanted - he'd never considered it before. Once he was an orphan, alone with Eren and Mikasa, they didn't exactly have the means for it. And after that he was a soldier, they didn't have the access or the time.]

A-all right. If you say so.

[amadine]

Even at home, most places aren't quite like Camorr. [It's humour and pride and wry self awareness all in one; most places are probably glad not to be.]

[neverfeltthatway]

Will you tell me about it? [There's a small pause, and then, a little too quickly -] I also try to keep records of the worlds we've been, and the ones we come from. Nobody's mentioned Camorr before.

[amadine]

Have you ever found yourselves in someone's home world? [It's not an evasion, wonder of wonders, she's genuinely curious about how this whole thing works.]

[neverfeltthatway]

Not that I know of, no. But... that's not really surprising, as this is only my fifth jaunt, and I wasn't myself for two of those.

Well, my fifth that I can remember, anyway. [He doesn't even think about how odd it must sound as he says it - not knowing how much of his life is missing due to Moebius has become normal for him.]

[amadine]

[Strange, yes, and disconcerting, especially given the earlier discussion concerning the possibility of fabricated memories.]

You think you've been on more that you can't recall? Beyond just...not being entirely yourself?

[neverfeltthatway]

...

[There's an extended silence from Armin's end. Eventually he breaks it, subdued and frustrated.]

Yes. I have been. Most Travelers who've been here for more than six months have been. Several jaunts ago was a place called Moebius.

I can't speak for anyone else. Nobody likes talking about it. But I woke up the final day we were on Moebius inside a morgue, with fresh aches and scars, and no memory of ever having been a Traveler. I found out later that others have some vague memories of jaunts before that point. Nothing concrete, but they sometimes know how long they've been Traveling - and apparently I was in at least a couple jaunts before Moebius.

[amadine]

Is that why you started keeping a record of where you've been, and what you've been told?

[There's an edge of calculation there - it's not the only thing she wants to ask, but she knows better than to just interrogate a stranger on their traumas.]

[neverfeltthatway]

...I don't know.

The first record I have is from the jaunt following that - but I already had the notebook, and there were pages ripped out of the front of it. I don't know what had been written there.

[amadine]

Then perhaps you stumbled across something that someone wanted you, all of you, to forget.

[neverfeltthatway]

I've considered it. But there's no way to know. Not that I can figure, anyway - at any rate, I didn't manage to leave myself any messages that survived. So either I didn't know what was going to happen, it happened too suddenly for me to do anything, or something thought of everything I had done.

At the very least, it does hint that there might be something out there to find. Though there could be consequences if we find it again.

[amadine]

I'd wager on there being consequences either way. Dire ones. Better to choose the course yourself than hand someone else the reins.

[neverfeltthatway]

I know, and I agree. I just wanted to make sure you knew as well - anyone who chooses to pursue this mysterious truth should be aware of the potential consequences.

[amadine]

Not as well as those who've seen more of this, but I can draw the reasonable conclusion. I accept the risk willingly - not rashly.

[neverfeltthatway]

Good. [The tone is a little grim, but definitely approving. People with both the sense to know what they're getting into and the guts to do it anyway are rarer than one might suppose - but they make valuable allies.]

[amadine]

[There's little else to say to that (think to that? one day, perhaps, the question of terminology will cease to give her a headache, but today is not that day), so:] Watch your back.

[neverfeltthatway]

[It takes a while, but you get used to it.] You too.

Let me know when you want to see my records. Or, ah... when you want to tell stories over wine. [There's hesitation on that one, as if he's still a little embarrassed about it.]

[amadine]

When we've made some headway here, perhaps.

[Ah, optimism. That won't last.]

[neverfeltthatway]

[Even if he thinks it, he doesn't say it out loud - they need more optimism, or they'll never have a chance of moving forward.] Right.

Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mention - I'm Armin Arlert!

[amadine]

Armin. [She repeats it like she's committing it to memory...which is pretty much the case. The name sounds unusual to her; whether this helps or hinders recollection remains to be seen.]

It's good to meet you. I'm Sabetha.

[Which she'd already told Garrett, and presumably that, too, had carried. But introductions are a familiar pattern, and a little familiarity goes a long way just now.]

[neverfeltthatway]

[It's true that they'd both projected their names over the psychic network before - but it's also true that it's more difficult to remember names by the tone of one's thoughts than it is in person, especially just in passing. And that had been before they had spoken directly, even just mind to mind.] It's nice to meet you too, Sabetha. I'm sure I'll see you around.