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 Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:07 pm
Underwater Observation Post
Not for the claustrophobic, this is a station submerged underneath the island that floats along with it. Shaped like a giant metal pill, one side is metal, and houses the portal, readout equipment, a console full of observation monitors, and a few pieces of comfort such as a table, chairs, and books. The other half is made of thick, clear plastic, allowing a full and unobstructed view of the local underwater life.
In the distance, it's not unusual to notice massive shapes moving in the distance, and it's the purpose of this station to keep an eye for any of these, or anything else unusual, coming too close to the island. The Island of Deus Ex Machina floats quietly along the edges between this world and that of Halloween, and with that comes certain, calculated, risks.
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:16 pm
Clerise didn't THINK she was claustrophobic. It wasn't a thing that had bothered her in the past, living in a tiny trailer sometimes shared with several people, but apparently, it was different if she was under several hundred feet of ******** WATER. It hadn't BOTHERED her until she was through the portal and had looked out into the abyss, and jesus ********, Clerise would have sworn that it looked back into her. Into her. For real. Not like that you pervert, but SLITHERING down her throat and into her gullet, curling up into her belly like the void. The Life trainee was stationed here with someone she didn't know, some guy named Jordan. He wasn't here yet, and for once in her sorry existence, Clerise was the early one. It was not as comforting as she thought it would be. She turned on her heel to poke through the books (boring!) available to her, nervously toying with Balthazar's chain. {[ I can hardly believe you're afraid of a spot of water, sheila. ]}"Well I'm not AFRAID of it, so shut up," she replied tersely, chewing on her bottom lip. Settling on a trashy romance novel to torture Balthazar with, Clerise sat down in a chair, facing away from her given duty and not giving even a single ******** s**t was scary.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:08 pm
When Jordan stepped through the portal, the other trainee assigned to observation duty was already here. It was someone he didn't recognize, which meant she was one of the Lambs he hadn't met yet; he hoped quietly that she was one of the more reasonable ones. "Hi," he said neutrally, and went to sign in on the clipboard. "Anything interesting in the water today?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:13 pm
"If by interesting," Clerise replied back in a clipped tone, sounding more nervous than snippy, "you mean what is certainly going to ********' kill me, sure."
She turned the page without reading, sighing. "There's...not really anything out there. I keep seeing all these ********' shadows..."
She trailed off. The mission had left her jittery as hell towards water, which was in addition to the healthy dose of paranoia she had about being submerged to begin with. She turned to wave at the newcomer, recognizing him as the one Robert had brought coffee to after that disastrous mission with Allan. "I'm Clerise, by the way."
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:26 pm
Oh, is the big kraken hanging out with us today? Nope, not actually saying that; Clerise looked tense enough already, and Jordan didn't know her well enough to tease her. Instead he nodded and said, "Nice to meet you; I'm Jordan, and this is Ferros." He held up his right hand so she could see the heavy ring on his index finger.
He hooked a toe around the leg of an empty chair and turned it so that he could sit down. "This duty is pretty boring most of the time," he offered.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:37 pm
A good thing Jordan refrained: Clerise may have legitimately meeped at that in her current state, which would be downright embarrassing. She fishes around in her pocket a moment, then the other, producing an ancient looking silver pocket watch. "Balthazar."
She stared down at her romance novel again, bored by its "Hilda heard the fading sound of galloping abs" and "Torolf entered her like she was a lottery." Maybe if she stared at the text long enough, it would burst into flames.
"I wish I had known that," Clerise offered dryly, offering him a crooked grin. The structure containing them groaned a little, making her shudder ever so slightly. "I don't suppose you have any cards on hand, huh?" the redhead asked wistfully. God, she could go for some poker right now.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 6:47 am
Jordan nodded to Balthazar as well, wondering idly what kind of weapon he was when not a pocketwatch. Maybe he'd see if Clerise felt like running a training course later. He grinned back at her amiably, and produced a pack of cards from an inside pocket of his coat. "It's your lucky day," he said. "I came prepared. Nobody cares, as long as you keep an eye on the window."
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:28 pm
"I love you," Clerise gushed, clapping her hands excitedly. "Thank ******** god. What do you wanna play? Gin? Poker? War?" Cards were one thing they generally had on hand backstage at the circus-- quiet, required minimal preparation, and compact. It was also not really a loss if you lost the cards in the shuffle of moving, and easy to get a new deck.
She flicked her eyes the window, sticking her tongue out at it in a rather juvenile fashion. "Maybe this duty isn't so bad after all. I was dreading it."
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 9:46 am
Jordan grinned. "Go Fish would seem to be an appropriate choice given the setting, but whatever you prefer. If you pick something obscure, though, you might have to teach me. Heads up," and he tossed the cards to Clerise. The deck was a standard set of blue-backed Bicycles, opened but still clearly quite new.
"This duty is boring," he said, "but it's better if you've got someone to talk to. Solo observation is enough to put you to sleep, except that that'll get you in trouble, so bring cards or a book. Most of the time you're not going to see much except a few flickers way out there." He shrugged. "Every once in a while you get some company, but I've never seen anything get close enough to be dangerous. There's sea serpents, leviathans, and I know of two krakens that come around enough that they've got names. The bigger one has blue rings on its tentacles. It hangs out way out there and stares."
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 5:41 pm
"Hah." Clerise gave another nervous glance to the outside world, wary. She caught the cards with her left hand, nearly fumbling. Hand-eye coordination was not really her schtick. "Exccellllennttt. Go Fish will work well enough." She set to shuffling them, pleased to have something to do with her hands. And then Jordan told her about the things out there. Her lower eyelid twitched. "Wat."
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 6:32 pm
Jordan smiled innocently. "You okay there?" Wearing a trainee coat was kind of like having a giant TROLL ME sign painted on your back, really. By the time you got promoted, you were about ready to perform a little trolling yourself, mostly the harmless kind. "I've never seen one get close enough to touch the fishtank. Kind of a shame. Once you get used to them they're interesting to watch."
How much of that was true? Enough, anyway. "Your deal," he said.
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 6:37 pm
Clerise let out the smallest of whimpers. "Right! Right." She deals the cards to the table in front of her: seven for each of them, and the rest in a messy pile in the middle.
She doesn't bother to sort her cards, just rearranges them, huhming a little. "Jerks don't get to go first, so. Got any fives?" Flashing a grin at Jordan, Clerise rearranges herself on the chair, crossing her legs. "If what you said is actually true, PLEASE don't tell me. Got enough nightmares as is, man."
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 6:48 pm
Jordan grinned back, unashamed and not bothering to pretend to get offended. "Go fish," he said. "Got it, no actual information about the habits of beasties."
More seriously, he offered, "You really do get used to it. Funny what becomes normal, you know?" He studied his hand. "Got any jacks?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:13 pm
Clerise just quietly shrugged, drawing a card. Balls. Not what she wanted.
With a scoff, she slid a Jack of Hearts to her opponent. "Ffffine, take it, I didn't even want it anyway," she said in melodramatic fashion, sticking her tongue out Jordan.
The acrobat gave him a look. "Yeah, I guess so. I never thought I'd get used to a dude with half his body in snake tattoos or bearded ladies, but I got used to it. Same thing but with monsters, I guess?"
She tapped her hand against the tabletop, red eyes focused on Jordan, observing him. he was probably nice enough guy, and was a lot more perceptive than she was, it seemed. Her gauntlets were shoved in her pockets-- damn things made her hands sticky. "Got any fours?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 7:30 pm
"Thanks," Jordan said cheerfully, laying the jack aside paired with its double in spades. "Yeah, it's like that. You and Balthazar getting used to each other?" It had been some time since he'd been able to remember what it was like to be alone in his head, but he did remember the odd feeling of crowding and vulnerability he'd felt in the first days with Ferros.
Then I nested in your mind and it was all fine, Ferros said lazily.
Hush. Jordan slid a card across the table. "A gift," he teased.
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