taxonomites | Arrival Post

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Arrival Post

Briar's wary gaze slid around the unfamiliar room, and he prepared a tiny shoot of power to untie the hemp cords that held knives in place under his shirt, an impractical sheath for anyone but a plant mage. No windows, no visible entrance or exit. Metal walls, metal device above his head, metal pedestal with a partly metal device on it. And as he focused on his knives, Briar noticed something unfamiliar on his wrist just below the hilt of the knife. He rubbed at the metal bracelet that bisected a bright blue orchid tattoo. It didn't budge.

"Great, everything's metal," Briar grumbled, magically reaching out to the shakkan, his only company in the bare and polished room. The tree's calm and patience steadied him through their connection. "Y'know," he called out to no one in particular, "I think maybe you were aiming for my sister. I can't do anything with all this metal." That's of course if they were aiming for someone to work with metal. They could just as easily have been looking for someone helpless against it. That last part was what had Briar fighting down a growing urge to panic.

Confusion only added to that urge. Briar couldn't think of anyone who'd capture a person only to give him an anchor and boost for his power. He went down the few steps, fingers running over the walls in search of a catch for a hidden door. Seams would be awfully hard to hide in a smooth metal surface, but illusions and metal mages were both things that could just maybe manage it.

Several minutes of searching later and no closer to figuring out where he was or how to escape, Briar sighed. He tapped into his bond with the shakkan again to give his power the greatest possible reach, speaking through his magic, Daj'? I don't know if you can hear me, but I could really use a hand right now. If anyone could get him out of a metal room, it'd be Daja. When no answer came, Briar strained for a sense of any of the three girls. None were there. He had to be cut off magically if he couldn't even feel them; they'd certainly been in range before, even if all four had closed doors on their minds.

"I'll just sit here then," he remarked dryly, "And wait for someone to tell me exactly what you've snatched me for." While he waited, Briar strained his magical senses for hints of plant life outside the room. He concluded that his suspicions about a magically shielded room were tentatively confirmed, as he could reach no local greenery either, not so much as a blade of grass. The mage stopped trying, saving his energy for whenever his captors did make an appearance.

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Cain listened to the new voice and only barely refrained from rolling his eyes skyward. It was both a blessing and a curse to know new people would be coming here at semi regular intervals; good in that they needed all the bright minds and able bodies they could get to figure out how to get the shining city on the hill out of there - bad because he knew exactly how hard it could hit you to find yourself trapped so far away from home.

He wiped his hands on the washcloth and drained the sink, throwing the cloth over his shoulder and turned to face the tablet, lying on its lonesome on the living room table. He looked at the young man, acknowledged that he really had no idea what actual age he was, and walked on over to send a holo message of his own.

"No one knows why we're here, kid," he said, offering a small, knowing smile to go with his matter-of-fact tone of voice. "I wish I could help. Name's Wyatt Cain...I'd call it a pleasure under any other circumstance."

Briar started at the voice, turning to face a miniature figure, presumably a magical construct, now above the pedestal. "Why we're here," he repeated, emphasis on the significant word. "Obviously that means I'm not alone in this. You don't appear to be locked in a bare metal room, though, at least." He shook his head. Closing his eyes in concentration for a moment, Briar adjusted his vision for seeing magic before opening his eyes and looking at the figure again. Nothing. Not magic. Briar frowned, bewildered and all the more apprehensive because of it. His magical vision slipped away as soon as he blinked.

"I'm Briar Moss," he offered, stifling the worry and frustration before it could creep into his voice. "I don't suppose you'd have any idea where here might be, would you?" It was easy to make the question sound nonchalant, but really, who did Briar think he was going to fool with that? His new acquaintance was right about one thing. The circumstances did pretty much preclude pleasure and pleasantries.

Cain nodded, rounding the edge of the coffee table and sat down on his couch (and after a year in this literal hole, he considered it his couch simply because he'd earned it by now) - his surroundings kept neat and tidy, the decor aiming at what some might call 'Spartan'.

"Nope. But I got a name for you. 'Taxon'. It's a very large city, with just a handful inhabitants like you and I. Prisoners, for want of a better term. We don't know why or when or where, but we're trying to gather information as we go along. Record things, for future reference."

Briar had done a lot of traveling in the past few years, and looked at a lot of maps. One thing he could say for certain was that no city called Taxon was located on any of them. He raised an eyebrow at the name. "I'm pretty sure there's no Taxon anywhere around the Pebbled Sea. Is it a code name?" He hoped it was a code name. Briar didn't want to think about what an alternative might be.

A large city as a prison was a far more intimidating idea than one room or building in a familiar city. It might be a more attractive prison, but it didn't bode well for getting back home. "Any information I should know?" Briar asked with an attempt at a jovial grin. Time to start looking for a way out.

"Not any kind of code I know of."

Cain figured - as he often did - that the basics would have to take precedence over the mind-boggling, brain-breaking stuff that seemed to pile up as the days turned into weeks turned into months.

"First things first: Once you get out of that room, dubbed the Arrival Room, you'll find yourself in a large building located at the very center of the city. From there you can choose to go anywhere you'd like - any vacant house or room you happen upon is yours to claim by pressing your hand to a scanner by the door. The bracelet will keep tabs on any expenses you may have. Housing is free of charge."

...he knew this wasn't the most informal or friendly approach to welcoming the new kid, but he also knew what he himself would (and did) prefer. Hard facts before friendliness.

Edited 2011-11-21 00:38 (UTC)

Looked like the aliens were looking to meet some kind of quota. The newbies were rolling in faster and faster. She didn't mind. It kept things interesting, without her having to dance around like a puppet whenever the little green men wanted her to.

She hadn't really been listening at first. Something about metal, but she waited until he was done with his spiel before speaking up.

"You'll be sitting there 'til the sun goes down, honey," she said, her lips twitching into a knowing, amused smile. "They don't greet their guests."

"Obviously there's a welcome party of some kind, sweetheart," Briar responded with an answering smile, taking his cues from Gwen, "or you and I wouldn't be talking. The party just doesn't seem to be attended by the people who did the inviting in the first place." Well, on the bright side, Briar felt as if he were a little bit closer to familiar ground.

He sat and made himself comfortable within view of the pedestal where the figures had appeared. Only a very slight smirk belied seriousness when Briar added, "Maybe I was just waiting for you."

Oh lookie here, looked like they had a Prince Charming. And one who knew how to use his deductive reasoning. She was impressed that he had control of his wits enough to give her a line. That was definitely something you didn't see often. Or ever. Still, all of Gwen's willingness to be helpful, what little there was, went out the window.

"In that case? You'll still be waiting 'til the sun goes down. I'm not going anywhere near that tin can again."

Alright, Briar was willing to admit he'd misjudged her. A lot of girls he knew would respond poorly to a line like that from anyone. Granted, none of the girls in question would ever call a stranger 'honey.' The idea of Tris or Daja doing so was laughable.

He readjusted, dropping the flirtation for the time being, less playful and a bit more sincere when he spoke again. "'Again' does imply that you were here already and therefore that you know how to get out. Would you mind sharing the secret, or should I ask someone else?"

She smiled wide--mischievous and knowing, her eyes tilting upward and outward. Oh, maybe. Why should I tell you? If this guy were freaking out like most of the poor saps who got dropped in here, she'd be more inclined to be less annoying.

But after a moment, she chose not to follow through with the game--because she had to give him some credit. He was smart, straight to business, and ever-so-important...

"Well, because you asked so nicely..." she folded her hands across her chest, at ease. "The fancy little toy you see there is called a Tablet. Pick it up, a bunch of science fiction stuff happens."

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