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

[sageprincess]

Don't panic, Zelda. Stay calm, and don't panic.

Of course, that is easier thought than done in the depths of the Cancer District, where one young woman with long, pointed ears can't help but jump a bit at each whirring gizmo and gadget she passes by. Being from a world perpetually stuck in a medieval-like stasis, the oddities of this ward are beyond her imagination, and it's disorienting at best.

Think, Zelda. Stay focused.

Right. She needs to find that butterfly man she saw in her dream. She doesn't know exactly why, but it feels like he would know how she can return to Hyrule, and get away from... whatever this place is. What was his name... Augh, it's hard to think through all this noise--

Wait.

Suddenly, the woman stops in her tracks, pulling out a small, blue flute-like instrument and beginning to play a series of melodies, one after the other. She gets a few odd looks from some passing natives (shouldn't she be in Scorpio?), but she pays them no heed, putting everything she has into playing. Maybe you might be able to hear it over the din of the crowd...

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

Pit was in the Cancer district for a Very Important Mission: to buy a handheld console! He missed his 3DS, with all his favorite games, such as including Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and Ocarina of Time 3D. Apparently he has Ocarina of Time on the brain, as he's hearing the warp songs from nowh--

Wait. Hang on. It's not coming from nowhere. Someone's playing them, and on a ocarina, even! Pit searches the crowd for his nerdy soulmate, eager to meet another Nintendo fanatic, when he spots--

Is that--

It is!

Except...except she's probably like the Link from Ocarina of Time and wouldn't know what he's talking about if he mentioned Melee. Given that she's outside in the could dressed in full royal regalia, playing an ocarina for seemingly no reason, she must be new. Which means Pit must be brave, suppress his fanboy glee, and do his civic duty as a guest of Hinoto-ri to introduce the Princess of Hyrule to the city!

...a few moments later, a teenage angel boy is tugging at her sleeves.

"Um um um um..."

[sageprincess]

While she takes no notice of the strange looks she gets from the natives, it's kind of hard to ignore the sleeve-tugging. So she stops, lowers the Ocarina from her lips, and...

... Are those wings?

Needless to say, she's not exactly in the best of states to hide her emotions, so bewilderment is written clear as day on her face as she looks over to the winged boy. Eventually, uncertainly, she manages to eek out a, "... Yes?"

What is going on.

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

"Are you new here?"

The suspicious wings twitch, as if they want to stretch out, but their owner thought better. (Which he did. Stretching his wings out in a crowd is...not the best idea.)

[sageprincess]

No, Pit, she's an old hat here, playing music in the middle of winter (?) in the inventor's district.

"I suppose... I do not know know where 'here' is, precisely."

[killervocabulary]

Ginia's not too fond of this district, either. Granted, some of the more advanced dwarven things she'd seen at home piqued her curiosity a great deal, but this world was simply too much all at once. However, passing through this section of it was a necessity to deliver some things to someone in Libra.

Zelda gets her attention, however - between the way she's dressed and the music, it's enough to give the blacksmith pause as she passes by. She joins those giving the odd looks for a time, but sticks around, until she can at least get a word in between tunes.

"If you don't mind me saying, this is a rather odd choice of place to perform..."

After all, Zelda's clearly a bard of some sort. Right?

[sageprincess]

Damn it, why isn't it working...

In the brief moment before she segues into another melody, the "bard" appears to frown around her instrument, as though frustrated with the songs for one reason or another. But then she gets the sense that someone's talking to her, rather than just about her, and she looks up.

This woman certainly doesn't hold herself with the kind of confidence a bard should - in fact, she seems more than a bit uncomfortable, holding the blue instrument closely, protectively to her chest.

"... I am not precisely playing for others at this time, nor did I choose this venue. In all honesty... I do not know where I am, exactly."

Newbie alert.

[killervocabulary]

You cannot fast travel from this location.

Ginia draws in a long breath, then lets it out in a sigh. "You are in a strange place, not your home. The locals call it 'Hinoto-Ri'. I can tell you more if you come with me - I do have a delivery to make," she answers, patting a parcel she's carrying upon her shoulder.

[sageprincess]

DINDAMMIT.

She looks at Ginia, then down to her Ocarina. She won't be getting anywhere like this, it would seem. Eventually, she pockets the instrument, stepping forward.

"I suppose I have little choice but to trust in the kindness of strangers. I shall follow you."

[nofairy]

Link is heading towards the arcade today, but he hears the faint strains of a tune over the sounds of the crowd. No... it couldn't be.

Could it?

He takes out his ocarina and answers the music with his own, heading towards the source of it as fast as he can. It's not too long until he pushes his way through a pack of people and spots Zelda standing there with her ocarina.

"... Princess!"

She'd been here before, but disappeared not long after... it had been a long while since he'd seen her. He rushes over towards her, pocketing his ocarina again and stopping in front of her. He's dressed a little strangely, but it's unmistakeably him.

[sageprincess]

... Ah, perhaps this is still a dream. She can just about hear Link's returning music, like how he would do so many times before... The tone of her playing almost takes a turn for the nostalgic, when she suddenly hears an all too familiar voice. One she shouldn't be hearing. It... couldn't be.

Could it?

The music stops abruptly, a strange, choked whistle ringing out from the Ocarina as she gasps, staring at the figure in front of her. Her eyes wide in shock and disbelief, she only says one word.

"... Link?"

[nofairy]

"Princess! I knew you'd come back!"

Link reaches out to touch her arm, not caring that it might be a little disrespectful... he's just glad to see her safe.

"I'm glad you're here..."

[sageprincess]

"Come back...?"

That is not the voice of someone who knows what's happening. She doesn't exactly move away from the touch - oh, no, she's far too frozen in place to do that - but she does flinch a bit, as if she's surprised he can touch her at all.

This... is real?

"... I do not understand."

So many questions swirling about her mind, and not enough clarity to focus on a single one.

[pastalishe]

The Cancer district is not a place Cloche normally likes to visit--it's a bit noisy for her tastes--but she's adamant in her desire to know the City as well as she can. The sound of Zelda's music catches her ear; it's strange to hear a live performance outside of the Scorpio District. Out of curiosity, she'll stop and listen to the woman's music. When Zelda finishes her set, Cloche claps politely.

"You are quite accomplished with your ocarina, madam; it takes skill to convey such a range of emotion."

[sageprincess]

So engrossed in her songs and playing them to their fullest, it's actually a bit alarming when she hears someone clapping, presumably for her. It certainly was not her intention to draw an audience - no, she was hoping for something much different to happen - but she tries a grateful smile all the same.

"Ah, thank you. Though, I must admit, it is the songs themselves that have been written with such emotion. I have merely had years of practice with them."

... A bit of an understatement, that.

[pastalishe]

Cloche shakes her head. "Not at all. A beautiful song, if handled incorrectly, loses much of the original composer's intent."

Although Zelda is smiling, it's not so difficult to tell that there's something else she's hiding behind it. "My name is Cloche Leythal Pastalia. Forgive me if I am wrong in assuming, but... are you a new Guest?"

[sageprincess]

And yet the intent - to warp - is not there regardless, she thinks but doesn't say. She opens her mouth to respond to the compliment (awkwardly, no doubt; it has been... quite some time since she's been complimented for anything), but then Cloche introduces herself and hits the nail right on the head.

Zelda nods.

"Indeed, I am, I believe. It is a pleasure to meet you, Cloche, or it would be more so if I knew exactly how and why I came to be here." She bows her head slightly, in greeting. "I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

[awww_yeeeeeaaaah]

This district was a regular stop for him, so Kaito figured he'd stop by here before he went home and...wait, was that music?

...Don't mind the teenager with unruly hair just staring at you before he goes into the store, Zelda.

[sageprincess]

Oh, she doesn't mind at all. In fact, she's either completely oblivious to the stares she's getting or she's ignoring them, too focused on her songs. Even when she finishes and takes the instrument away from her lips, she just stares at it, visibly concerned and frustrated for some reason.

Quietly, she mutters to herself, "Why isn't it working..."

and i'm back

[awww_yeeeeeaaaah]

...What wasn't working?

"...Hellooooooooo?" Hello, rich-looking elf(?) lady, come in.

and I'm slow even with consistent internet access, herp

[sageprincess]

Blink. Blink.

"Yes?" Forgive her for looking at you a bit warily, Kaito. Medieval-stasis girl in the big city and all.

Don't mind me being over a week late.

[maybe_a_king]

It was the music that drew Arturia in. She'd been between deliveries and was looking for a small shop to get a snack at when she heard it. Strange, this wasn't the Scorpio District and the last time she'd heard music such as this it'd had a super natural quality to it.

Upon investigating Arturia was surprised to find the woman playing the ocarina to be a woman she could only describe as regal. It had nothing to do with the fine clothing and the jewels she wore, but with the way she held herself, the sheer focus she put into her art was one that Arturia couldn't help but to admire and once the woman was done playing, Arturia couldn't help but clap. It was the polite thing to do, was it not.

She removed her helmet as she approached the woman, her moped safely parked near the curb.

"That was lovely playing, Miss."

Psh, backtagging is what all the cool kids do.

[sageprincess]

Polite, maybe, but not something the regal woman was expecting. Really, she wasn't expecting to stay around long enough to draw in an audience at all, but something is blocking or disrupting the Ocarina's magic...

She sighs, frustrated as she draws the instrument from her lips, but she does look up to acknowledge the audience she unwittingly gathered. She bows her head politely in return, though there is no real joy in her eyes as she does so.

"Thank you. I had not meant to draw in an audience, in truth, but I am glad someone appreciates it, at least."

Because she herself is a little disappointed.

ALL THE COOL KIDS! ALL OF THEM!

[maybe_a_king]

The lack of joy or, really, anything, clued Arturia in just a bit, as did the fact this woman hadn't meant to draw in an audience. She took a step closer to be able to speak more easily with her, but keeps a respectable distance to not invade her space.

"I take it you've just arrived here as well, then?" She'd made the mistake in the past, but if this woman was new here then she would need answers. Lots of answers that Arturia felt she had to provide for the sake of helping people.

"Ah, forgive me. My name is Arturia Pendragon, what would your name be, Miss?"

Don't worry, Zelda. Overly formal is Arturia's default.

INTO ETERNITY!

[sageprincess]

She appreciates that, really. Though she hadn't meant for the fact that she is quite lost to be so obvious, she supposes it's for the best that she find people who know what's going on as soon as possible if she cannot just warp back to Hyrule.

"I suppose I have, yes." It's still a bit odd, thinking herself as a "new arrival." Arrive implies some kind of purpose - something she doesn't really have since she has little interest in 'protecting' a city she has no connections with.

She bows her head, in greeting. "A pleasure, Arturia. I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule."