video;

[wendigoner]

[ It's Hannah's network debut! The teen looks cheerful enough, for a person trapped in a monster-infested cave nightmare, standing in front of one of her city-decoration projects. ]

Does it work? I know everyone hates when people hit "reply to all" on e-mail, but I haven't really used this thing yet, and I thought I should introduce myself to everyone. We're all stuck here, so... better to have names to go with the faces, right?

[ Hannah, no, this isn't an online college course. ]

My name's Hannah - Hannah Washington. My brother Josh is here, too, and... I'm from the same place as Chris, Ashley, and Emily, if you've met them.

[ She isn't exactly sure how long her friends have been in Hadriel, but it's been longer than her own one-month period for sure. ]

Um - So, I got some cookies for painting, I guess. From Hope, maybe? Are they safe to eat? I know that the "gods" aren't all the same in how bad they are, but if there's any chance of them being risky, maybe it'd be better to throw them away.

[ Hannah pauses, tucking some hair behind her ear. Behind her, occasionally visible, are paintings of butterflies on the walls. ]

Any tips for a cave-city newbie?

Comments

[wormintheglass]

Josh's sister! Oh, how - well. Probably not lucky. But so much better than being alone.

Hope is excruciatingly irritating, but not at all likely to feed you anything harmful. I suspect they'll be sickly sweet, though.

[wendigoner]

Right. It'd be... really bad to be alone down here.

[ Dark, scary caves. She makes a face at the thought. ]

"Irritating" doesn't sound so bad. At least he won't hurt us. [ That last comment earns her a smile. ] I wouldn't mind if they were sweet.

[wormintheglass]

It would. And Josh is an absolute darling, I've grown very fond of him in the time we've been here.

Being trapped is still a nightmare, but we've been very lucky in the selection of people we're trapped with.

I am Bianca. I hope we'll be friends as well.

[wendigoner]

A "darling?" [ Okay, that has her laughing good-naturedly. ] Never heard anyone call him that before. Except our grandmother, maybe.

[ She makes a mental note to tell Josh about the descriptor ASAP. ]

Nice to meet you, Bianca. [ There's something elegant-seeming about her that Hannah can't quite put her finger on. ] I'm glad you get along with my brother.

[ Not everyone does. ]