Welcome to Gaia! ::

So he was rejected, by the gorgeous magnificent Captain, in this world he knew nothing of. How painful it was, he re-considered to farewell the cruel world and went back to his safe pod. He grabbed his shirt at the position of the heart, pretending.

Following the cool lady to the entrance, the tall man squinted at the pitch-black hole he couldn't see anything. "Here? Do you have a torch or something I can borrow?" Was it some sorts of tests again? Maybe there would be monsters waiting for him down there, he wasn't afraid of dark, but something in hand would be more reassuring. He could make good use of it.

"Before I go down, can I know the name of the Captain?" A quick hug easily made with his arms reached out, she looked like she needed a warm hug to melt the icy attitude. "I'm Ace, how can I find you if I can get out safely?" Obviously he wanna sign up to be her crew member.

Horace thumbed to the next page of his book. Lady Weathership was kidnapped and, while he realized he should be hoping for her eventual rescue by the dashing Lord something-or-other, as a protagonist she was damn annoying. He kind of hoped she'd die. But it was only chapter three, so it was highly (and sadly) doubtful. "You knave!," she cried out as the sleeve of her imminently fashionable gown was torn, revealing one creamy shoulder. The milky blue-white of her skin- He snorted. This was awful. It was also from the library, so he at least it didn't have to haunt his shelves forever. He'd return it after his shift.

Something hissed. Something blinked. Horace dropped his - no, the library's - book in surprise. For the first time on his shift, someone was waking up! He grabbed his clipboard and darted out the door. Eventually, he slowed, nearing the pod in question. Horace ran a hand through his hair.

"Hello," he called out amicably.

"Yep, as awake as possible. How're you feeling, Li... Lig... Ms. Santos?" Horace peered at her pod, trying to puzzle out her first name before turning his eyes to the woman. Fairly average height, dark hair and currently sporting an expression that certainly spoke of her confusion. But otherwise, she looked hale and healthy. Horace reached out and placed a hand on her arm before pinching her, just a bit.

"Definitely awake." He grinned. "Congratulations and welcome to Deus, and all that! I'm Horace Nokoni and I will be your guide for this evening. Think you feel up to walking?"

Well, that was a lot easier to remember. Horace's hands reached out to steady Joy as she clambered out - he remembered how he'd almost fallen flat on his face getting out. "Oh man, are you in for a shock. Most of the people here are either super tiny-" He held his hand at waist height. It might've been a bit of an exaggeration, but the island did have a lot of short people. "-or tall, sometimes taller than me." His grin widened and Horace clacked his tongue piercing against his teeth.

"Depends on the favor - if it involves getting half-naked and mud-wrestling, I am not up for it. Anything else - my wish is your command." He waggled his eyebrows at her playfully. Horace was a bit nervous (this was the first person he'd seen pop out of a pod!) and nervous Horace meant unfunny jokes and bad flirting.

Horace grinned at her. Whatever type pf person Joy was, she looked fun. Her request was more than a little odd, though. "Hit you? Now why would I wanna hit a lady like you?" But he did it anyway, giving her a light tap on her shoulder, nothing hard. It was more a gentle push.

"That good?" He snorted and folded his arms.

"Huh. A computer program? I guess I'm glad that didn't happen to me in pod." He paused and when he spoke again, his voice had taken on an exaggerated robotic quality. "I am flesh... and blood, human. Not ro...bot." Although, he was a smutbot, according to Harley. He eyed her cheek thoughtfully and pulled a face.

Drawing back his arm, Horace punched her square in the jaw. The crack of it echoed in the pod room. Oops, maybe he hadn't meant to hit her so hard...

"You ok?" His voice was woirried but then she laughed and stuck out her hand. Whew. He shook it, his own grin falling back into place. "Feel more awake now? Or at least convinced I'm not a program? Which, by the way, you have to tell me about sometime. Please." It sounded like one of those odd dream states the other hunters had spoken of. There was something fascinating about collective dreams - especially how the same people seemed to run into each other.

Abruptly, he pointed to the arrows on the floor. "Before anything else, you've gotta get your weapon, Joy." The clipboard was pulled out from under his arm and he flipped through a few things. "Then you get your coat, your room, your phone and twitter. Oh, looks like you're in moon, awesome. Unless, of course, you wanna pepper me with questions - it's why I'm here!"

"Thanks," he said. Horace pursed his lips for a second. "So, you go down the stairs to get your weapon - I'll walk you. You'll know which is yours, trust me. Remember, you aren't crazy. Much... maybe." He gestured for her to follow him down the row of silent pods. There were faces inside each one: sleeping hunters-to-be that might never make. Joy was lucky, if you could call it that.

"I'm in death, so I don't know anything about moon. But if you need anything from Moon division, you see either Edith, the head, or you talk to Harrison - he's the most ******** helpful guy you'll meet." He paused; they were at the top of the stairs. "Head on down, Joy. Find me later and I'll show you and you can even touch." He winked at her and made a shooing motion with his hands.