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

[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."

[pastalishe]

Cloche politely returns Zelda's small bow. She isn't bothered by the other woman's formality; to be honest, she's more comfortable with it than she would be with a casual conversation.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you how you came here... but I may be able to assist you on the 'why.'" Cloche is familiar with the supernatural but, when she stops to think about it, she still grapples with the idea of a force that plucks people from different universes and gathers them in a single city. "Before coming here... did you have a dream, where you spoke with a strange man in a mask?

[sageprincess]

Fortunate, that, since the princess can't really remember the last time she had a truly casual conversation. Besides, someone of her status is supposed to remain formal and dignified at all times, right?

"I did," she responds, visibly perking up some. "I recall him saying something about... 'persona' and protecting the city."

Things she could hardly focus on when she has her own country that requires protecting.

[pastalishe]

As a Holy Maiden, Cloche understands well the importance of maintaining an aura of dignity and poise in front of others.

"That is correct." Cloche gestures to the cityscape around them. "This world is, for all intents and purposes, destroyed. Hinoto-Ri, if it is not the last stronghold of life, is cut off from any other settlements. It is under siege by supernatural forces-- demons, to be precise."

[sageprincess]

"So... we have been summoned as an army of sorts to eliminate the demons? Or to attempt contact with some other vestige of civilization?"

Not a prospect she's entirely thrilled about, by the looks of it. She is no one's soldier but Hyrule's...

[pastalishe]

"If we have been summoned as an army, we are woefully disorganized." Cloche sighs. If there's one thing that she can't stand, it's a sloppy military structure... "For now, everyone seems to be taking life one day at a time."

[sageprincess]

"That would seem to be the wisest course of action, though perhaps not the most productive, if information is scarce. Personally, I am in no hurry to fight for a cause I know nothing about."

[pastalishe]

"As am I. Fighting a war without proper information is incredibly foolish."

But, the longer that Cloche stays in Hinoto-Ri, the more she respects the government that holds the city together.