hadriel | 008 [Video]

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008 [Video]

[So the fighting may be over, but that doesn't mean everything is going to be immediately fine. Finally having the time to really think about everything that's happened, and for everything to sink in, is going to make the next few days and weeks just as much of a challenge for some here as the last have been, if not more so.

But that is, hopefully, something he can help with, if at least a little. And there are new arrivals as well, who not only had to deal with the end of the invasion but also everything that goes along with suddenly finding themselves in an entirely new world, not to mention the sudden setting change too.

So he's trying to look as composed and calm as possible, which is a bit of a struggle since--like pretty much everyone else--he's exhausted and didn't get out of the whole ordeal with the Null entirely unscathed. Compared to some people he definitely fared better, but there's still a pretty obvious bruise across his cheekbone and around his eye; it's not too serious, but the main problem is that it's also not very helpful in looking as professional and put together as he's trying to appear.

Still, he's doing his best, and he lifts his chin a little and takes a deep breath before speaking.]

If anyone is injured, or just in need of somewhere safe to rest, the hot springs and the fire station are both serving as temporary locations for the clinic. Additionally, considering the seriousness and extent of everything that's happened in the last few weeks as well as the arrival of new people, it's worth reiterating that I'm a psychologist and so if anyone wants to talk, whether about recent events or otherwise, I'm available to meet.

[A short pause.]

I'm... Not exactly sure where, since my office doesn't exist anymore, and I probably should've thought about this before making this announcement...

[That would've been good planning, if he weren't so tired and scattered, but okay, refocus--]

But that can be decided on an individual basis. Additionally, if you'd like to respond privately, you can do so.

[And he includes a brief explanation of how to make a conversation private. With all of that out of the way, he'll put a filter on the post himself and add another message.]

[Private to friends and coworkers]

I hope you're all okay, and... If anyone who wants to let me know for sure that they are, that would be great.

[He's worried about everyone. :c]

[[ooc: Anyone on the Clinic staff list or who has positive CR will be included in this filter; feel free to assume your character's included if they and Lance know each other and are on good terms!]]

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Basically, yes. To both questions.

[The hobo comment is both funny and pretty accurate, honestly.]

Right now, I'm not sure they expect much from us other than surviving. Has anyone explained to you what was going on when you arrived?

There was some kind of message? Like, on a phone? But not my phone, some other phone that I guess they put in my pocket at some point? [Frustration is leaking into his voice. None of it makes sense.] But like hell if I'd believe whatever explanation they tried to give me anyway. If you have something to add, I'd rather hear that.

[The background of his video feed has been moving during all this time, as Kiran walked towards the clinic without comment, but he slows and stops.]

Um... are the hot springs outside and away from all the town buildings, or is it within them somewhere?

The newcomer guide was written by someone here, so although I understand the hesitation to trust anything on a mysterious phone that just showed up in your pocket, it's actually worthwhile to read.

[The way Lance says it makes it clear he genuinely understands; he thought his own phone might've been a bomb at first, so he definitely gets the suspicion.]

The hot springs are directly across the lake, so if you take either bridge across the river and then head toward the lake you should see them.

[Fortunately they're relatively easy to find. But as for if Lance has something to add--]

When you first arrived, before the city moved, did you see any of the robots wandering around?

[The river is sort of far from where he is right now. He's feeling impatient, but he doesn't want to use any more of his magic on unnecessary flying either - magic doesn't feel quite right here, and he doesn't know if what he's got with him is going to last.

The thought makes him sigh and run his hand through his bangs. Well, no choice but to go speed-walk through his heat, then.]

You'd have to be blind to not see them.

[At least that's a confirmation that they really were giant angry robots though.]

[Alright, well, that answers that well enough.]

About a week and a half before you and the others arrived here this month, those robots--called the Null--invaded the city. They're in opposite to the beings that control this place, and pretty much wanted to kill everyone here; we moved locations to avoid them.

[Hence the dramatic scenery change.]

[That's... a lot to unpack. Every few words birthed another five questions in Kiran's head.

He looks back down at his phone, directly into the camera, and furrows his eyebrows in silence for a moment.]

...okay. If they're gods, why couldn't they just, like... make all the robots implode or something?

[He looks up again as he crosses one of the aforementioned bridges, maneuvering around a few people walking back into the city.]

I don't know exactly how and why they can do the things they're capable of and yet can't fight the Null.

[And it's a little annoying, but right now he's just accepting that part of things. There are too many other things more important to worry about.]

There must be some sort of limit, or maybe robots are less susceptible to their powers, or something. But whatever the reason, it meant those of us who are here did most of the fighting.

[Which, you know, of course they did. They all get dragged into a fight they're not a part of and then end up having to not just be a part of it, but pretty much carry the whole thing. Sounds about right, for how these things work.]

[This explanation is unsatisfying. Sure, Lance is not to blame for that, but unfortunately he's got to be a stand-in for the gods for a moment and listen to Kiran's reaction.]

These gods suck. Fuck them. [scowling, he glances back at the camera.] So they can teleport everyone to safety, but they wait like two fucking weeks to do it and let everyone deal with it in the meantime? What the fuck.

[The reaction doesn't bother him, especially since he really can't disagree. He may not want the gods wiped out, and he has some sympathy for Hope, but overall he's not exactly a fan of the gods especially with the recent occurrences.]

Sort of. I believe they moved the city twice, once to cut off additional Null from entering and the second time after we'd eliminated all of the ones that were already here, but... Pretty much.

[He gets Hope not participating in the fighting, and of course Delight was on the other side, and he can even get Fear and Sorrow not expending the energy they might need for moving the city and protecting Hope respectively. But what about the others? It would've been nice to have some sort of help, even if it were nothing more than encouragement.

Still--]

But it's over, at least for now.

[And they all need to focus on recovering while they can.]

I guess.

[Not exactly reassuring.]

I'm stuck here, I have no idea what's going on with my friends and stuff, my sister's probably all alone and I know nobody's taking care of her 'cause my mom is such a dumbass...

[It feels like this situation can't possibly get worse.

Kiran can see the hot springs ahead, but he's not quite there yet.]

...guess I get the idea of the clinic now.

It may or may not help to know that, as far as we're aware, no time passes back where we came from while we're here.

[So, provided his sister and friends are okay last her knew, they'll probably stay that way. And he makes a note about the comment about his mother, but doesn't address it for now.]

[...That does give him some pause, and it'd make him feel better if it were true. But Kiran is too skeptical, and currently too emotional, to just take it at face value.]

How do we know that? Did someone escape and get recaptured? Or is it just something they've told us to keep us obedient.

['Cause that sounds like time travel, and he's been informed by ageless demigoddesses in the past that time travel is impossible, even with all the magic in the world.]

People have left and returned, as I understand.

[None of anything about this place is really supposed to be a thing going by Lance's world, so he's stopped questioning the impossibility at this point.]

[Kiran would continue with his unwarranted skepticism if he wasn't coming up on the hot springs shortly. His eyes scan the area, but there are a few people scattered in the area. In the blistering sunlight, he can't really tell where this guy is.]

Do you see me? I'm basically here. My name is Kiran, by the way.

[It's good timing in general, because Lance is only at the hot springs clinic location for a specific reason and doesn't plan to be here long, at least not for his own reasons. He's totally willing to help Kiran getting settled in temporarily though, if that's something he wants to do.]

I'll look for you.

[It's easier for Lance, since he has the advantage of just finding the person who's unfamiliar, which he soon does. Lance is tall but very nonthreatening, dressed casually in light layers due to the heat, and offers a small smile of greeting despite looking exhausted and sporting a dark bruise across his left cheekbone.]

Hello, Kiran; I'm Lance.

[A man approaches him; he assumes it's Lance. Kiran tucks his phone into his pocket. Despite the heat, he's wearing the odd outfit of light blue dress pants and a ocean blue and purple suit vest, trimmed here and there with gold fabric. He looks a little sweaty, but... not quite sweaty enough for what he's wearing.]

Thanks for the help. [His eyes linger on that bruise on his face.] Damn... did the robots do that to you?

Of course; you're welcome.

[But at the question about the bruise he hesitates briefly; the answer is complicated, but he's not about to get into an explanation of how the Null mind-controlled someone here through a technological implant, and Lance's injuries are a result of an altercation with that person. So he decides on a vague but truthful answer, after a moment.]

Not directly, but yes, it was because of them. But it's fine; it looks worse than it is.

[It'll heal, anyway, and he gestures for Kiran to follow him further into the makeshift clinic.]

There isn't a lot of food, but there's water and places to sleep until you find somewhere you'd like to live.

[Kiran follows Lance along towards the clinic. Hearing his reassurance about his bruised face, he finds himself thinking back to the uncomfortable topic of whether he should tell this guy about his powers.

Then he remembers that he walked here in the sun because he's worried about how magic works here and whether he's going to eventually run out.

Pressing his lips together, he pushes the thoughts aside.]

...a place to sleep would be best. [pause.] Do you... Can I help with whatever you need to do with rebuilding the clinic? I don't really have anything to do around here. I'd be bored if this place wasn't so distracting with how miserable it is.

I'm not sure yet when or where the rebuilding will happen, but when it does you're welcome to help. The more people the better.

[Especially since he's can't really do any heavy lifting at the moment himself, and he knows a lot of people are probably in the same boat on that.]

Boredom can definitely be an issue here, in between whatever else is happening.

[It's either boredom or intense awful most of the time.]

Alright.

[He nodded slowly as they entered the temporary clinic. Kiran's eyes were drawn to the beds, but he's too thirsty to want to go straight to bed. He could also use a bath, too, but... there's never been a situation where he's had to physically change out of the outfit he's wearing right now. He'll probably want some privacy before trying that one...]

Can I have some water? It's not the water from the springs, is it?

Yeah, of course. Not yet; this is still from our previous supply, I think.

[Lance leads the way toward a box full off bottles of water, pulling out one of them and handing it to Kiran. And to think, Lance had wondered if he was being slightly ridiculous with constantly stocking the clinic and his own apartment with tons of water.]

Hopefully the pools of water that are scattered around now are drinkable, though, because this isn't going to last.

[Kiran takes the water, twists off the cap, and chugs half of it by the time Lance is done talking. Lowering the bottle from his lips, he wipes his mouth with his other hand and looks back at him.]

Boiling water makes it safe to drink, right? There's got to be something we can do. I mean, they wouldn't just drop us somewhere with nothing to eat or drink, would they?

[His face winces at the end of that question. Maybe they would. This place sucks.]

It depends on what's wrong with the water, but hopefully yes, that should work.

[Maybe. He's dubious, but this whole situation is hard enough to handle without adding concerns that may or may not exist. That's also why he doesn't answer Kiran's last question with what he wants to say, which is that he wouldn't be surprised if the gods would do such a thing, even if just by thoughtlessness rather than malice.

But, instead--]

I don't know, but there are a lot of very capable people in this place. Even if all we can accomplish is getting drinking water, we have some time before the situation would become dire, and by then Hope will likely have recovered enough to begin supplying us once more. It'll work out.

[Maybe. But worrying about that is pointless, as long as they are all careful to prepare for the worst but hope for the best.]

Right now, you should focus on getting some rest and finding a place of your own; it'll be a lot easier to deal with everyone once you've slept.

[Kiran listens quietly, and when Lance is done, he just nods. It feels so good to have drank some water, and now that his thirst has been taken care of, he's realizing just how tired he is.

Kiran takes a few steps over to an empty bed and flops down onto it, his hair jumping against his forehead.]

Yeah. You're right. [he tips the water bottle at him.] ...Thanks for the help.

You're welcome. Help yourself to anything here; the whole point of it is to help people, so...

[So don't take anything needlessly, but don't hesitate to get more water or something, for instance.]

And as weird as this all might seem, you'll get used to it pretty fast. It's not all bad, either.

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008 [Video]

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