Dual Video

[overarching]

[ Caroline has perfected the fine art of selfies and video chat angles, so there's but a small tumble of her hands when she gets the phone's recording rolling. A shot of her face, not offensively close since she knows technology, honed gaze and blonde waves all about. Then, she holds the phone farther out, squinting just so and making sure that the brunette beside her, Elena Gilbert, is also in the frame.

The lighting outside really isn't optimum for the best pictures on these things, though. Either way. ] Hi, Hadriel. I'm Caroline, and this is -- [ she shoots a glance and smile over to her friend, her best friend, waiting for her to fill in her own name. Caroline doesn't actually want to hog the whole debut video! ]

[ Oh, her turn? A smile from her, too. ] I’m Elena. We’re new.

And, as we think happens to maybe anyone new around here, we could use a bit of help from someone when it comes to the weird -- [ back to Elena, nose scrunching ] kind of an understatement, but, anyway. The stove. And microwave. We can't get them to work. Correctly. So, we'd like to meet someone who knows how, and afterward... [ she's always the more generous talker, but they're doing this together. ]

[ She knew they’d be broadcasting together, but she didn’t expect ending whole sentences. Maybe she should say more. ] Caroline will make you dinner. [ Caroline will. If anything, Elena can chop. Or, handle the salad. Nobody wants Elena cooking for them. ] Or, lunch if you can’t make it until tomorrow, but we really need the help. We’ve never seen symbols like these and I froze our last attempt at breakfast. Literally.

[ Caroline's eyes go extremely wide at that, lips pressing together as she holds her head back from fully nodding. ] Kind of alarming. So, if you're up for it, let us know. We'll be...around, and we can always meet you somewhere to talk -- first. And, if this is a regularity with creepy cave appliances to the point that no one ever gets to do any cooking, [ annoying, if so ] let us know and tell us some recommendations for where we should go to eat instead.

[ A beat. ] Thanks! [ She gives a final look to Elena, along with a teeny, quick, and pleased shrug of her shoulders, giving Elena a chance to smile in parting. Just as Caroline does before the message cuts off. ]

[ Caroline is blue, Elena is green. Replies will come from both Caroline, and Elena! ]

Comments

[overarching]

Great! See you soon! [ Always aiming to be polite, and she hopes, so so much, that her first impression of this girl being a nice person is accurate. Bluntness is wonderful, but a little bit of kindness never hurt anyone either, right?

Providing unnecessary filler, it's the way of Caroline in times of nerves and weird anxieties. She knew what Cashmere meant too though, or, she's thinking along the same lines as Elena at least.

She looks over to Elena after the video ends, eyes wide when she hears the tone. ] Some sustenance that we actually cook up ourselves [ that she'll do most of the work for, no? no repeats of that chili ] won't hurt. [ As for Caroline's diet, well she's always a planner, so certainly has her ducks in a row there. She'll also buy into calling everything there foreign, as anyone who doesn't go around touting themselves as a god really should.

She hears footsteps as someone approaches, catching sight of Cashmere before Elena but letting the other woman approach naturally. She takes in the bag, too, wondering what might be in it: then again, people are allowed to carry bags, right?

A nod with what Elena says, thinking its sufficient on the behalf of both of them, since she did all of the talking in the actual video relay once Cashmere replied. ] It's kind of a cruel joke if we do, but by all means...we can try to be mechanical, too? [ The corner of her mouth purses to the side, smiling over to Cashmere as they patiently wait.

So very patient. In a hellcave. What a great word for it. ]

[64th]

People here tend to be a bit more straightforward than warm and fuzzy. [ Cashmere included, though she's certainly softer than she used to be. plus Caroline and Elena seem pleasant enough, the kind of people she could be friends with. there's no need to be tough with them. ] Maybe it's the lack of sunlight. Or the monsters. But some of them are just assholes.

And this, [ she nods to the bag. ] is a little something to get you started. You've probably seen the shops, but it's a lot to dig through. The appliances work fine on their own, once you know what buttons to push. [ and learning that is certainly an experience. ]

[ she lets them lead the way inside and to the kitchen. ] Have you met anyone else yet?

[rehashing]

[ Cashmere barrels through every point quickly, reminding her of Caroline, actually. Where Caroline rambles, Cashmere hits everything methodically, but with a quickened pace.

Elena has seen the shops, her mother would call them a hodge podge, but she knew if they took the time they could find useful things. Luckily for them, Cashmere's given them a head start. Elena takes the bag, not peering inside yet. Elena's also grateful her and Caroline don't have to get mechanical. ] That's what we were hoping to clear up. [ What she's hoping Caroline can clear up. There can never be enough references to Elena not being the friend that does the cooking.

Caroline leads the way up the stairs with Elena taking the rear. ] Some people like you described, though, one or two cracked smiles, so I know people down here aren't allergic. [ When faced with adversity, the going gets slightly sarcastic, something she's picked up from both Stefan and Damon. It's few and far between, but it's about a rapport. Cashmere did say some were assholes. Elena doesn't really use that term. Ass, sure, but asshole is a little above her rating. She has no problem implying it. ]

[overarching]

Not getting enough Vitamin D [ or any real?? ] would help that along in anyone.

[ Her eyebrows perk up, somewhat touched that Cashmere thought to bring them any kind of supplies (there ARE friendly neighbors there.) She faintly sighs in exasperation, very aware of how much they couldn't figure out the buttons' complicated workings. Then nods to Elena's comment.

Giving a glance to Elena, a smile back to Cashmere, she starts to lead inside, up to just the first floor. She smiles with Elena's wry joke, head turning backward just the faintest bit as they walk up. ] Then again, with seeing the aftermath of what's happened here lately, maybe it makes sense. But hopefully there's a little more...sunny disposition lurking around. [ Either way, Caroline will bring such to the people! ] I've met a few people. Blunt. Gruff. We all know the type.

[ She stops once they reach their room. 101. In they go. Stepping in to the place where Caroline has tried to reposition furniture several times to get it feeling more them. Any personal touches are rare, since it's not easy finding stuff there in the hellcave.

She looks back to the other two girls, nodding to the kitchen and leading there too. The stove gets a hard look. She glances to Cashmere. ] It's like all the others? [ In other peoples' rooms. She hopes. Really hopes they aren't stuck with some overly, extra complex alien appliance... ]

[64th]

I'll introduce you to a few of the nicer people. [ Connor, Chris, Jade, Matt. Emily on a good day.

Cashmere inspects the buttons on the stove a moment, and then nods. the same. ]

Oh! I put a notepad and a pencil in the bag. If you want to take notes. [ the notepad is a weird shape, and the pencil is oversized and triangular instead of round, but they work well enough. also inside the bag: some dried fruit, a jar of gel-like substance that passes for conditioner, some candles and matches, some bandages, and a knife for each of them. ]

If you push this squiggly one, and then that one, that's the best for cooking most things. But if you push that one, it'll catch fire. [ the corners of her lips turn up in a sly smile. ] I don't usually push it, but it's your kitchen.

[rehashing]

[ Elena would appreciate meeting these nicer people. She hasn't met them. Well, she met one. But, one out of several doesn't count really. Not when she's told the majority are dealing with their defiiciency as she and Caroline will probably refer to it from now on. That, and the person she met was as new as she was. So he probably didn't fall into the category Cashmere meant.

Elena can be notes girl. Setting the bag on the kitchen counter, she reaches in. ] On it. [ And Elena retrieves the notepad and the -- pencil she stares a long time at before -- using it because it's still a pencil. Pencil at the ready, she leans over, watching.

She illustrates the squiggly one and the other one, draws an arrow and writes COOKING. ] We won't be pushing it. [ Then, draws the other symbol and draws a crude x over it, an arrow and a NO, showing it to Caroline with a raise of the eyebrow. ]

What about that one? [ She points to a fourth symbol, not touching the one Caroline and her froze their last attempt with. ]

[overarching]

Thanks. We'd really appreciate that, too. [ Caroline isn't certain how many nice people there might be in a place so dark and depressing, but there's power in positive thinking! Or, at least in not dwelling on the inevitable.

A glance is spared over to Elena when the bag's note taking contents are mentioned. Her body shifts as if she's about to move for the notebook, but Elena has it covered. She'll try the hands on approach right along with Cashmere. Or, the looking in close at the appliance, anyway. She gets distracted by the pencil's odd shape, corners of her mouth pursing down. Back to the stove, though and taking in what their new acquaintance has to say.

Her eyes go wider (no one wants anything to catch fire!), and she can't help but smile a hair awkwardly at the one she sees on Cashmere's lips. Nodding, she hears Elena writing, glancing over when she shows her the notes. Another nod. It's all a good learning experience! ]

Rips apart space and time, maybe? Makes it rain inside? [ Ah, wry Caroline. But wait, does it even rain there, at all? A soft chuckle, happy with the symbol they'd originally pressed and ruined breakfast over being passed right on over. ] Is everything here like this? [ She looks over to the pencil and notepad again. ] Wild and...difficult to figure out?

[64th]

[ Cashmere wonders what it would have been like if she'd had someone to guide her in her first few days in Hadriel. less confusing, probably. but the network wasn't functional then and they all sort of wandered around hoping to accidentally stumble across helpful information. ]

I guess it might rip space and time and I haven't noticed. It actually does something interesting. [ she makes a show of pressing the button with an exaggerated gesture. the stove plays a short, cheerful melody. nothing else happens. maybe someone in a nearby apartment is wondering why their lights are flickering. it's probably fine. ]

Kinda cute, huh? Weird, but cute. Most stuff here is just strange. There's books we can't read, food that looks one way but tastes another, no sunlight... we've been able to make it work. And if you ask and are willing to do something in exchange, the gods will get you what you want. That's how we got a coffee cart.

[rehashing]

[ Her eyes travel to Caroline, then to Cashmere. She actually lets out a laugh. ] The Entertainer.

[ That could get old.

She scribbles down the symbol however and writes that it pertains to music. ]

What did you exchange for the coffee cart?

[overarching]

[ Caroline gawks at the tune that carries out from the stove. Her lips round, a 'whaaaa' silently shaping. And then, hesitantly -- ] Wow, okay...this place has an...interesting? [ a beat, her nose scrunching up in questioning doubt of her own word choice ] Sense of humor.

[ No sunlight is both good and bad, but mostly bad. She feels over the daylight ring on her forefinger, looking to be mindless about it. She'd be safe in the sun (hopefully, the ring would totally work, she thinks), and natural sunlight is healthy for humans. For moods. For everything! She gives a resigned sigh.

Her brows furrow with the same question that Elena presents, looking to Cashmere for an answer. ]