The Search for the Newcomers, December 2012 Edition.

[stringmods]

Who: Open to Everyone, but only Newly Accepted Characters can start threads.
Where: All around the city! They appear where you want them to appear.
Summary: Newcomers arrive and by now the Government is more ready and sends everyone out to go people hunting.
Warnings: ARRIVALS. Also assume the first thread is the ones who tell you about the city, and the other tags for the character can be talking with others in the city and learning more about it.

[FOR THOSE IN THE CITY:]
They were getting much better at this, it was for certain.

Last month's initial testing of the HORUS system had worked really well. The device which allowed everyone to spot abnormalities; and now even more refined, they could hone in on newcomers at a much faster pace. The leftover energy from the travel (commonly called Magatama Residue) gave them a few minutes to find them before it would flicker out.

Combined with the fact they could appear in most parts of the city, it made finding the newcomers was both easy yet frustratingly difficult.

As the blips appear on your own radar function, it was also nice enough to calculate for you the best transport and destination routes to take to get there. Speed was of the essence, after all.

[FOR THOSE WHO JUST ARRIVED:]
You're not in your homeworld anymore. That much is evident. So how do you feel? Happy? Sad? Troubled? A little of all three? No matter what, the memories of a butterfly man named Philemon are fading like a dream; you'll remember the details, but perhaps not everything he has said.

There is one word that stays with you, however.

Persona.

So...here to save the city, huh? First you'll need to find out more information. And who knows, maybe a familiar face or two...

[OOC: As stated above, only new characters can start a thread, but feel free to jump in any of them. characters arrive with their clothing and whatever items they had on them the moment they were taken; the remaining items will be later found in their apartments.]

Comments

[threadspinner]

Her first reaction is that this must be some sort of consequence for asking for more time in Three's game -- but then she realizes that she's somewhere completely unfamiliar, and so she stands extremely still, taking in the scenery. There's not much; a wide plain, no buildings for at least a great distance.

It's safe to say that she is thoroughly confused. And also she's impossibly hot -- she pulls down the green hood she's wearing and decides it's probably best to just sit down right where she is and wait for someone to appear and tell her what to do. Getting lost in a strange realm with no teammates sounded like an awful way to spend the time.

[primordial]

Ah, so that's how they had found him when he appeared in this city last month. The little radar blips, and he follows it, not because he's particularly aiming to help, but because he's curious as to what sort of new people would be brought here.

He eventually makes his way over to the spot, looking around, and...there we go. He approaches carefully, narrowed eyes looking her over through his matted brown hair. What an interesting outfit...what did that symbol mean?

"Ah...are you new?"

[threadspinner]

She doesn't recognize him, but that's not surprising to her -- she's used to seeing unfamiliar faces every day at home. So she stands and smiles slightly, brushing herself off.

"I believe so. Though I'm not quite sure what's going on."

Even though she's completely nervous to be in a new, unfamiliar place and surrounded by new people, she doesn't seem anxious; instead, she's carefully composed herself to look relatively neutral.

[primordial]

He blinks, then nods, his mouth creasing up slightly as if he's trying his best to attempt to smile.

"Then yes! Um. You're in Hinoto-Ri. We're almost all you you here...we all come from different worlds, you see, and we're here to help out the city and protect it, apparently."

[threadspinner]

"Different worlds? Sounds similar to my old home." But she doesn't seem willing to explain that very much, so she continues forward. "Protect it how?"

Briefly, she remembers that word. Persona. what did that mean?

[primordial]

Different worlds, huh? Well, he's met a few of those kind of people here, so that statement is not entirely too odd. He's keeping it in mind, though.

"Like..." He makes a vague gesture as he screws up his mouth in concentration, trying to find the correct worlds to convey what he wants to say. It's quite apparent this guy isn't the master at conversation at all. "You...you have these things called Personas. They're kind of like a part of your brain, but they're alive and on their own and...I know it doesn't make much sense, but bear with me. And you use them to fight demons and such. With your Persona, I mean."

[threadspinner]

"That makes absolutely no sense, but I'll take your word for it." She looks completely confused -- brain monsters. Really? It sounds like a children's tale to her.

"So this isn't a game? No Personae? And no teams?"

[primordial]

"That's the way it is. Believe me, I couldn't believe it myself when I got here."

He scratches the back of his head with a slight frown. "No, definitely not. And unless Personae are multiple Persona, I...don't think so? Oh, and definitely no teams. There's a thing called the 13th hour, though. Demons appear and you have to defeat them. Or something like that."

He is he most helpful at the "newbie introduction", he is.

[rewindtime]

[...Well then. A girl that appeared to be around her age was sitting in the middle of the street.
There were many odd things in her own world, not to mention this one, but the girl in the green hood refusing to budge from the concrete still earned a slow raise of a brow from Homura. Perhaps she needed some assistance? Or maybe she was new...]

Hello?

[Homura calls out softly, trying not to startle the girl-- she herself was rather strung up when she first arrived, after all. Also, Daisy might notice that even though Homura was dressed for the warm weather, she had a heavy jacket over her arm and a warm looking pair of tights under her skirt. She really didn't want to get caught unawares in this weather again.]

[threadspinner]

Oh, hello.

[ She looks up and offers a smile. The face on this girl looked moderately familiar, but it definitely wasn't someone she had any contact with regularly. So she stands, putting on a pleasant expression. ]

You aren't new here as well, are you? I'm afraid that if you need directions, I couldn't possibly tell you. I'm quite lost myself.

[rewindtime]

Ah, no, I've been here for around a month now. Certainly not as long as some people, but long enough to know the basic gist of what goes on around here. I was curious as to whether or not you had just arrived, which I suppose you have with that response.

[She offers out a hand as if to help Daisy off of the ground.]

My name is Homura Akemi, and you are?

[threadspinner]

Daisy. I'm afraid I don't have a last name, but it's a pleasure to meet you. [ That's a lie, but she's not sure if going by Rose Lalonde will help or hurt in this moment. So she settles for sticking with her Aather name. That's safer. ]

Well, you'll know more than me. I seem to have been placed here without a second thought.

[pastalishe]

[Ugh, fluctuating weather is the worst. One day it's frigid, the next day it's unnaturally hot... Cloche has had it up to here with Hinoto-Ri's shenanigans!

The little blip on the radar of her COMP is a welcome distraction from the heat. She focuses her attentions on it until she narrows it down to Daisy's location. Out of all the people in the area... the girl in the strange green nightclothes looks like she's out of place the most.]

Excuse me. This may seem odd, but--are you in need of any assistance?

[threadspinner]

Me? Yes, I believe so. I'm quite new and extremely lost.

[ Hey, they're comfy nightclothes. ]

My name is Rose.

[pastalishe]

It's a pleasure, Rose. My name is Cloche Leythal Pastalia. [She gracefully turns towards the currently out-of-sight city, gesturing towards it.] This is the Capricorn District of the City of Hinoto-Ri.

[threadspinner]

I take it that there's multiple districts? It must be a large city.

[pastalishe]

Indeed. There are eleven others; I believe they're all named after a fortune-telling system called the "Zodiac."

[threadspinner]

I know the Zodiac; it was very popular at home. People tended to swear by it if they could.

[pastalishe]

[Cloche nods.]

It seems to be common knowledge for those who come from the planet Earth. I have had to study it, myself- it did not exist on my homeworld, Metafalss.

[tastestherainbow]

[ OH THANK GO--wait, what is with the green? Maybe Kanaya is conf--no, that is totally Seer God Tier pajamas and that is the light symbol but why is it green did something happen.

Ok whatever that is definitely Rose even if she is acting unusually...sitting there. Yes, sitting there is a weird thing for Rose to be doing as far as Kanaya is concerned. But regardless...

Finding Rose here is a definite boon and will surely alleviate her anxiety as she can allow the other girl to take the lead. Excitedly, Kanaya unconsciously uses her impressive STEALTH ATTRIBUTE to get to Rose almost immediately unknowingly not making a sound (after all Rose is used to that and has never been bothered, so why would Kanaya worry about such a thing?) and immediately speaking as she appears next to the girl. ]

Hello, Rose, I am relieved that you are here.

[ just barely managing to sound normal and not HAPPY or ANXIOUS, she has got to keep it cool. ]

[threadspinner]

[ Well. To say that Rose is surprised is an understatement. She only remembers one instance of Kanaya sneaking up on her -- and to find her here, in a strange city when she's wearing ridiculous colors and with none of her normal Peridot teammates in sight to salvage the situation....

This is awful.

So she -- well not jumps up so much as "gets up with a deep purpose," brushes herself off and attempts to also not sound OVERLY NERVOUS because she only remembers talking to this perhaps attractive troll three times out of the whole scheme of her life. ]

Hello Kanaya. Do you happen to know where we are?

[ Yes, that sounds very put together Rose good job! You know how to pretend to be yourself! ]

[tastestherainbow]

[ Ok, something seems off. Something besides the change in color. The slight jump and the...appearance? Hmm. Considering the strange circumstance at the moment, these are hardly important. ]

Uh, no, I was hoping you would be able to enlighten me.

[ Haha. Get it? ]

[threadspinner]

[ She does indeed get it, and it prompts a small smile. She's careful to keep herself in check; at home she didn't smile as much, so it's reserved. ]

From what I've been told, this is the city of Hinoto-Ri. We've been brought here to fight against monsters using our Persona. Other than that, I'm vague on the details, but I'm sure it'll make sense eventually. I'm hesitant to ask when we'll return home, but now that there's a familiar face, I'm less anxious.

[ But not completely so; she's still down teammates and a few key friends. ]

Are you holding up?

[tastestherainbow]

[ She takes that in. Not that it helps, because it leaves her with more questions than answers, but. ]

I should be the one asking that. How is your head?

[threadspinner]

I'm...afraid I don't understand quite what you're asking.

[ Well it was either be completely honest or lie, and lying to Kanaya has always been a deliberate task that required much forethought. ]

I think we might be from completely different times -- I'm not even sure if my time counts as a time at all, to be honest.