Pao -
Was it something about being the newbiest newbie on the island that she was assigned the boring too-late-into-the-night shifts? Not that Gabby was complaining; she actually liked staring at dormant pods with hibernating lifeforms that could potentially awaken into super-FEAR-infused human beings that helped save the world from the secrets looming in the darkness.

Not.

If it involved moving around more, maybe, but doing "rounds" every few hours to pretend like she actually had to be doing something on this assignment was driving the little girl nuts. She was on her third round and fighting down many a yawn when finally, finally, there was a very loud hiss that broke the silence. Like a bat out of hell, Gabby shot off to find the source. And hopefully a live and (relatively) well human being emerging from a pod.

Because what else was supposed to happen on pod duty?

Aria -
Hikaru was shaking, dizzy, as she woke, a strange hissing noise in her ears. She slowly lifted her head. Why had she fallen asleep standing up? That made no sense at all... and she was still fully dressed, too. What was going on? She vaguely remembered something about faking her suicide, and a job to fight things, but that was it. She hoped things would get clearer as she woke up more, but for the moment she was very confused.

She finally managed to focus enough to see where the door was, and slowly, carefully, she stepped out. She was heaving, for a moment, but managed to control it, though she slid to the floor in front of the pod she was in, unable to maintain her balance enough to stand, while dealing with her gut. She took several deep breaths, her eyes closed, one hand pressed to her belly, the other on the floor in front of her to support her upper body.

Finally, she looked up, and around, trying to spot either someone who could help her, or something to tell her where she was.

Pao -
Gabby came to a skidding stop as she rounded the corner to look down the row of pods she suspected the hissing had come from. Sure enough, there on the floor just a few pods down was a new hunter. Newer than her. Which was important for some reason right that very moment. She gave a bright and beaming smile at the figure, only half-noticing that they looked about ready to heave whatever their last meal might have been, as she approached.

"Deep breaths, you'll be perfectly fine," she said cheerily, though along the way she whisked the conveniently placed garbage bin and set it down right nearby the new hunter as she crouched down and offered them a hand up. "I was, though I do have kind of a stronger stomach than most. My bladder, on the other hand..."

She quickly recalled her desperate need for a bathroom on the day she awakened, then went wide-eyed for a second and hurriedly tried to get herself back on track. A rare things for her. "I'm Gabby, by the way! And...uh...good morning? I guess. And congratulations, 'cause you made it!"

Aria -
Hika stared up at the woman who was approaching, her eyes focusing, her expression curious. She listened to all of the things the other woman said, noting her name with care, then finally she spoke. Her voice was on the deep side for a woman, but it sounded cultured, maybe like it was carefully trained, with a hint of an accent, but just a hint. "Ah... I am Hikaru, Hika... Where, exactly, did I make it?"

She paused, and said "Is it morning? It is hard to tell in this room, with no windows but many creepy pod shaped things, such as the one I came out of. And I will be fine. I have dealt with worse, with some of the medicines I have had to take over time." She took a few more breaths, and her skin began to regain a more natural tone then the pale greenish it had been initially.

"I... remember very little from the moment I accepted a... job?"

Pao -
"Hika, nice to meetcha!" Gabby greeted, her cheeriness still carrying despite what was probably supposed to be a not that pleasant truth of the nature of what she's just woken up to. "Deus Ex!" she said, "They'll give you a pamphlet and tell you all about it later, once you're a little more settled--and by that I mean you're not newly woken up and all dizzy 'cause of it."

She shook her extended hand a bit so Hika could take it and she could help her off of the ground.

"It is morning, but super early morning. Like, a couple hours before sunrise early. And what meds? Y'know my sister had to take some pretty nasty meds, totally messed her up...I hope that's not what you had to take. But no worries, even if it was you'll feel a lot better once you've gotten your shield and everything!" She rattled on about a recurring rash of hers that suddenly just stopped recurring as soon as she got on the island, and then finally remembered that Hika had asked a question.

"Oh! Yeah, this is technically a job I guess? I mean, they pay us and all. Free housing and stuff so it's for when we go on leave. Lucky you, it's holiday season so the usual 3-month wait before you can take leave is lifted!" She would have clapped, but she still had a hand out for Hika in case she was so inclined to take it.

Aria -
Hika listened to all of this, eyes widening slightly at the information about the rash. "Ah... I do not know why you suddenly stopped having the rash, or anything, or what shield you mean, but I do not think anything can stop me from needing these meds. They..." She paused, wondering how to say it, but took the hand and slowly pulled herself up. She was still dizzy, but at least she was upright. Her testosterone inhibitors had made her far dizzier when she first started taking them.

Finally, she said "They help me stay the way I need to be." She did not know if the woman she was talking to was trans friendly or not, and she was not in a rush to find out. She had just arrived here, and this was her first point of contact. The last thing she needed was to have her point of contact go hostile, so, for the moment, it was better to leave the issue as close to alone as possible. "

"Housing is good, so is... leave, and pay. It's the Holiday Season? I was... asleep for several months, it seems. Was I in a coma?" She sounded concerned, and it wasn't unreasonable.

Pao -
Once Hika was up Gabby was about to go into a flurry of more chatter (because when was she ever not, particularly with people she hardly knew) because the new hunter had paused, but before she could, Hika finished her explanation and Gabby just blinked for a moment. "The way you need to be...?" she echoed, obviously questioning but soon waving her hand to dismiss it. "If you need them then I hope you can still find a way to get them here on the island. I'm not sure how medical prescriptions work and stuff, so you'd have to ask someone else."

After giving Hika a moment to get used to being on her feet, Gabby started ushering her down the hall, grabbing some pamphlets along the way and handing them to her. "Yep! The holidays are upon us all. Honestly just glad that I get to take leave for the first time. And I think coma's a good word for it. I was in one for two-ish years, so if only months passed for you then I think you're better off."

She gave the girl a clap on the back, grinning. "As for the pamphlets, that has most of the information about Deus, just the stuff you need to know right away like the Mission and Vision statements or something or your typical organization. It also goes into details about the divisions--you'll find out which one you're in later--FEAR shields and basically what we do on a day-to-day basis."

Once they made it to a set of doors she turned and smiled over at Hika, still as cheery as ever. Perhaps even bordering on creepy if one wasn't too familiar with her. "Any questions?"

Aria -
Hika nodded quietly. "Yes... I will have to enquire into that. They did make it fairly clear I would not have to stop taking those medicines." She shrugged a little, and then followed Gabby, still dizzy but so far, able to keep herself under calm control, and not stumble. The pamphlets Gabby handed her were glanced at, then carefully tucked away, so that Hika could read them later, in better lighting and under better conditions. She was in no rush to worry about it right now.

"Well, it is good to know I was not in there for so very long. I suspect I would find that quite... disconcerting, to go to sleep 22, and wake up 25, instead of a mere 23." She stumbled, a little, at the clap on the back, not having expected it, and she grabbed the wall for a moment, then straightened herself back up. "Sorry, my balance seems a little off right now. I wish I had known, I would have asked to be put to sleep with better shoes on then my heels..."

She listened to the rest of that, however, her brows coming together at the strange way the word fear had been emphasized, and a 'fear shield'? What even was that? She did not know what to make of it, and the ongoing cheerfulness was unnerving Hika, but she kept a mask of calm on her, unfortunately unmade up, face. "I... do not think so? Not yet at least. Perhaps once I have read these pamphlets." She paused, then said "Actually, one question. What do I do next?"

Pao -
Gabby, of course, didn't notice that Hika was a little put off by her cheerfulness, though even if she had she would have left it alone and went on with being her cheery self. It was probably because she was finally doing something on pod duty that wasn't just sitting around, so there was very little that could ruin her mood right that second.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, smile finally faltering when she realized that she'd made the new hunter stumble. She would have offered to help but Hika was already up and seemed pretty much alright so she stepped back and waited to see if there would be questions. She was more equipped to answer them now, having gone over the pamphlet x amount of times given how often she was here. When a solitary question, a very important one of course, came, Gabby clapped her hands together, bouncing a little in her spot as she gestured toward the door.

"You head to the Cove to get your weapon! This door leads straight there, and there are hunters on duty right by the entrance to give you more instructions if, when you get there, you get a little confused. Like I did, but they helped so you should be fine!" With that Gabby shuffled over and opened the door wide, smiling up at Hikaru.

"Welcome, again, to Deus!"