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 Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:53 pm
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It happened way, way too fast.
She stirred, barely, and then everything just hit her all that once. There was a hiss and then she was cold and then the air smelled all funny--like her grandpa's senior living facility room funny--and then lots of noises and lights. And it was all so bright she could barely keep her eyes open as she stumbled out of...something. Metal, apparently, since it clanged when her feet hit it as she adjusted herself to a sitting position on the floor to hopefully gather herself enough not to outright cry.
She was already sniffling despite the effort, though.
So Mel was, for the moment, a small and very uncomfortable, very unhappy heap on the floor. And to top off her current misery, her head was pounding and she could swear her memories felt like they'd just been violated by something very similar to Creation. Because yes, she already knew what Creation was and had done her very, very best to avoid it while in Canada.
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:58 am
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October was, unsurprisingly, asleep.
Sleeping during duties was frowned upon, but sleeping during pod duty felt like something everyone did, because it was unbelievably tedious to just sit there and monitor the sleepers. He had tried, for once, to stay awake, but the low throbbing of all the machines and the quiet emptiness of everything had lulled October into a light doze.
He woke up, however, at the sound of a pod opening.
It was with a low hiss of steam and a beeping noise. October unfolded himself from where he'd been slumped over the desk and began to slope towards the pods, peering down each of the aisles until he came to one near the end that had a small, hopeless looking figure crumpled on the ground.
He made his way towards them, then came to a slow, uncertain stop, something familiar about the dark head of hair.
"...Mel?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 7:51 pm
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In the time that it took someone to come and find her, Mel had at least gathered enough of herself to not be a teary mess, but she still couldn't bring herself to get up off of the floor. She was busy taking deep, calming breaths when someone finally found her and called out to her. Which cheered her up quite a bit! Enough that she lifted her head to give whoever it was a small and grateful smile.
That smile, when she realized who was standing just a few feet away, slowly got bigger and brighter until she was beaming up at the man.
"October!" the brunette cried, very quickly hopping to her feet and rushing over to give him a nice, big, and potentially very awkward hug. Because in truth she didn't know him that well, but her emotions swung to and fro and she sometimes couldn't quite control herself when she was overwhelmed. In this case, it was with relief because while she knew she wasn't alone in this world of Deus, she was glad to see someone she knew rather than a total stranger.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 12:49 pm
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It made a part of his head swim a little, made a part of his chest ache in a way that he hadn't thought about in months, possibly since he'd arrived on this island, possibly since Brie had been sent away. October hadn't thought that there would have been anyone else from the Apartments that would arrive; he had thought them all lost, in all honesty.
But here she was - not Brie, but Mel, and that wasn't the same, but it was at least someone from a place they had both shared and that was more important than October could quite put into words as he stared incredulously at her.
She'd flung herself into his arms. It didn't really matter that he hadn't gotten as close to Mel or some of the others as he had with Brie and Zelda, because Mel was still one of his people. She'd been there; she knew what it was that had happened back there.
October's arms came up and around her after only a moment's hesitation, returning the embrace before he set her back down.
"Did you just wake up here?" he asked, then gave the pod behind her a scrutinizing look. "I didn't expect anyone else from the Apartments to be here."
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 5:13 pm
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October lifted a hand, the sleeve of his shirt pulled over his fingers, and wiped at Mel's face in an instinctive gesture that said he'd done exactly this quite a few times before. He kept rubbing gently, trying to get some of the dampness off of her cheeks as he said, "I've been to the Victoria base only once before now, it's not surprising that I haven't seen you there."
A small, rare smile touched his lips, faint, but still present. "It's nice to see you too. Familiar seems to be an uncommon thing here, but it's nice that there are people from...you know. From our place."
From our home. From where we lived, where we survived.
It still felt like it had happened to someone else sometimes. October kept rubbing. "I've been here a few years now," he said, back in his normal quiet, somber voice. "Brie was here....but she's not anymore. I haven't seen her since..."
It hurt too much to think about, so he didn't. October said, "My little brother is here, though. November. He wasn't a part of the Apartments, but he's here now as well."
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Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2017 6:15 am
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Thinking too much about Brie meant he was thinking too much about the Apartments which meant he was thinking too much about everything he was trying very hard not to think of. October dropped his hand away from Mel's face as she lifted her own to wipe away the last few stray tears.
"Me too," he said, and then, grateful for a change of topic, "I have one full brother, but probably half a dozen half siblings somewhere in the world."
Not that he actually remembered any of them, or their parents. They had come and gone just as much as everything else had in October's life. His head tilted a little to the side, October running absent fingers through his dark hair, a little past his shoulders now.
"Younger. He's a bit of a spitfire, he seems very happy here, though. It's not a bad place, even if everything is a bit all over and everyone is very young."
Sometimes he felt positively ancient in comparison to the rest of the island, which was saying something.
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:42 pm
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October made a face.
"Well. I mean, we look alike, but he's kind of opposite. I'm not interested in most of the things he is, and he's not interested in anything I am. Like sleeping," he added somberly, because this was a very important thing that had to be taken into consideration. "Sleeping is definitely important."
He slid an arm around Mel's shoulders, because October was nothing if not a bit touchy feely and besides, she looked as though she could use the comfort. Awakening on the island, after all they had been through, after all, was nothing short of daunting.
The question made his lips curl slightly in amusement.
"I'm almost thirty, does that count?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 8:01 pm
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Mel couldn't help but laugh at his reaction, saying, "It is important, you don't need to convince me. I haven't gotten a whole lot of that done in a while now...not counting the pod, I mean. I'd appreciate a tip or two if you've got any."
She happily tucked in a little bit under his arm because yes she did need the added comfort, though that was relatively short lived as she leaned back to look up at him, eyes wide in disbelief.
"You are not almost thirty. Seriously?"
Not that it was a particularly important detail, but Mel did have to take a second to let the surprise settle before finally shaking her head.
"Oh! Uh, no, that doesn't count. Not 'til you're actually thirty. Does that make you feel a little younger?"
She was smiling up at him now, expression much brighter compared to when she first stumbled about of her pod.
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 8:40 pm
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"Pro tip - don't mind the food here," said October, almost immediately. "It's not so bad. And I keep getting told that sleeping on the training field is bad for some reason; apparently people might accidentally mistake you for a training dummy or something, I dunno. But it has some nice sunlight and stuff, or if you ever want a nap and you want to get away, I have cuddle sessions in my room."
It was one of the benefits of a total lack of interest in anything more than that. Sometimes it was just nice to have someone else's warmth nearby, plus October did sleep better. And Mel was at least smiling now, which was a bonus, considering how distraught she'd been upon awakening.
He didn't smile often, but there was a faint one on his mouth anyway. "Twenty-eight last month," he said. "November's younger, though, he's only twenty-five. I'm not old yet, but most people here are in their late teens or early twenties, I've noticed."
He had no idea how old Mel was, mostly because he'd forgotten.
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:30 pm
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She listened intently, eyes squinting out of concentration. And also because he said some things that didn't make sense to her, but she hoped getting out and about in some fresh air would shed some light on that.
"Cuddle sessions, huh?" It was one of the two things that did make sense to her--the tip about food was the other, and that was because Victoria base wasn't exactly staffed with master chefs either--and she could only imagine cuddling was something a rampant napper would be fond of. "I'm not used to sharing a bed to be honest, but that does sound pretty cozy."
The misery was all but forgotten now and the girl was all smiles, though the tail end of his age observation had her raising her hand slowly, and maybe a touch embarrassed.
"Twenty-one earlier this year," admitted the brunette, "so I guess I fall into the majority. Also belated happy birthday! I hope you did something fun."
A pause, and then she smirked. "Other than sleep or have a cuddle session. Not saying those aren't fun," she quickly added, knowing how serious he took his naps and such, "but there are other things to do for your birthday."
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2017 8:45 pm
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He gave a nod.
"Cuddle sessions are very important, they provide warmth and security and a sense of protection to those who might not have that," said October sagely, sounding as if he was reciting from a pamphlet - which he wasn't, but he'd said this often enough to people to know all the benefits by now. "It's strictly platonic; I just know there are people who like people who don't want anything more than that, and it's nice to have warmth."
He gave Mel's shoulder a squeeze. "Twenty-one is a good age," he said, sounding unfazed by the assumption that he was seven years younger than he actually was, mostly because it wasn't unusual. At least he wasn't November, who had gotten mistaken for someone younger for so long that he'd started getting irritated about it. October just found it faintly amusing.
"I napped well," he said, with a nod, then slid his arm from around Mel and turned to look at her instead. "What about you? Do you think you're ready to start here at Deus? I know it can be intimidating; is there anything you'd wanna know?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 3:18 pm
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Mel listened quietly, smile gradually softening as he went on about cuddling and such. When he was done she simply nodded, saying, "Those sound like good benefits to me. Who knows, I might eventually wind up there if I can't get a good night's sleep or something." Which she wasn't doubtful of that happening at all. It took her several months of getting used to Victoria base before she actually managed to sleep through the night.
It was on those memories that her mind had lingered on when he finally asked about her potentially now starting at Deus, and she blinked for a moment and found she already missed the warmth from being close to someone familiar. "Mm...I think so?" came her answer after she shoved down any other thoughts and really focused again. "I mean I'm here now, and I know there's no turning back..."
Just like that was no turning back from settling in Victoria.
"As for questions, I think maybe just...two. Now that I'm awake, what am I supposed to do? And how do I find you after?" Because yes, she would want to see him again and preferably not just by chance. Not that she planned on being a stalker.
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