asgardeventide | video and action; 1st Snowflake

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video and action; 1st Snowflake

[Normally when a person connects to Asgard's network, they greet villagers with a view of their face. However, this particular new Traveller is busy showing the city…snow. In particular, the fresh snow and frost that graced the city just two days prior to his arrival. Lots of snow, because this particular new Traveller just tried to fly and promptly fell into the snow instead. There's a frustrated sound from Jack Frost as he stands up, bracelet turning to face the snow again. Good thing nobody saw that. He's not really thinking about whether anyone can hear or see him though. The whole "being seen and believed in" thing? Still sort of hit and miss with this guy, and he's working under the assumption that most people still can't. However he's very much visible to anyone looking. They'll see a white-haired boy covered in snow and walking through the city like it's no big deal. Oh yeah, and without shoes. He's still not showing his face to the bracelet for the network to see, but he's soon speaking up to talk his way through the situation.]

Uh huh. So the fate of all existence rests within my hands. Thaaat sounds kind of familiar. [Speaking of hands, one of his hands soon appears as he bends down while walking, scooping up some snow to form a snowball.]

What I want to know is who beat me to it. [That snowball starts getting tossed up and down.] Because this? This isn't my work. [The snowball stops getting tossed and he brings it up, presumably, to his mouth to try and work some magic on it. No such luck though. He immediately stops in his path, giving the snowball a curious look.

Okay, well, how about we make it snow? …no luck? What about fros--okay, no luck there either.]

You gotta be kidding me. I mean I get it, I have a new power. [In fact, he's going to test the strength of his new power, using his mind to create snowballs without his hand and allow them to float and hover around him.] …which is kind of cool, I guess. I get that supposedly old powers won't work, but how am I supposed to be a Guardian if I can't even make the snow come?

[Aw well…even if he can't make new snow, there's no sense wasting the snowball that's in his hand. So what's Jack going to do? He's going to take a look around…and that snowball's suddenly getting launched…who knows where. If another traveller's nearby, it might just hit them. Totally on accident. Really. Oh come on, he's still working under the assumption that most people can't see him. Someone missed the memo that when they say everything's been stripped, they mean everything. So assuming that there's no harm done here, he'll just start to walk off with his telekinetically-created snowballs drifting behind him like baby ducks following their mother.]

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[He considers this for a moment, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that she's right. That's sort of how he came into the Guardians, isn't it? Focusing on what he could do versus the fact that he couldn't be a Guardian. Still, he worked a lot and risked a lot to get to where he was, and it was a good place. Having to redo it doesn't sound that appealing.]

That's one way to look at it. [A pause.] You've been here a while, huh?

[Perhaps in that sense it was easier for her - the 'good' place in her life was more or less the end of it, or at least theoretically the end of her separate existence. Even if it had been her goal and one that she believed was right, it hadn't exactly offered her everything she'd ever wanted. It just offered her the closest she thought she could get and what she thought was necessary.]

It's always helped me. [That pause is matched with one from her side; she's no stranger to silence nor is she hesitant about sharing it. Hers goes on a little longer, though, just because of the contents of that question.] ... Yes. Or at least - what most people seem to think is a while. By Asgard time, I've been here about six months. That's a year, most other places. [Silly time differences, and all.]

Then I'll definitely remember it for the future. [Quiet one, isn't she?] So time here is about twice as slow. [That. Is not really comforting to know. Nor is it comforting to know that people have been here so long. And now here comes the million dollar question...] ...do you like it?

Something like that, yes. [To the best of her understanding - which isn't inconsiderable. She's aware it's not exactly a comfort, but better that he find out now than later.]

[... It would have been a harder question to answer a few weeks ago, when she wasn't as comfortable with the idea of claiming to like anything. Now, she can say with much less guilt,] I do. It's a very nice place to live. At least-- it is when things are calm. I've had a lot of opportunities here I never would have back in my worlds. I didn't think I'd ever have so many friends or see so many things, before Asgard. [But her previous situation wasn't exactly normal to begin with, and she knows it.]

[He was following her up until right about the middle of that sentence...]

When things are calm? [He'll come back to everything else that was said in a minute, he's got a feeling that's more important.]

[-- Ah. She'd been wondering whether he was aware of those things already; her guess had been an accurate but not hoped for 'no'.]

Yes.... You haven't heard yet? About the war?

Usually it's quiet, but... from time to time, things happen to the city. Attacks from other places. There was a dragon, an epidemic - and other things. It's not always an easy place to be. [It's just that for someone like her, for whom the other choice wasn't as much of an improvement as it might be for some people-- well, it's a lot easier to be content here.]

If the maid explained all of that, I guess I wasn't listening. [Whoops.] And that's what they want us to stop so that we can "flourish", isn't it?

[Off to an A+ start, Jack.]

More or less. Helping fight the grayness is part of it, too, but-- well, there's more than one sort of fighting we're responsible for.

[It hasn't really got the drive of someone deeply dedicated to a cause; she's more resigned than anything.]

If it makes any difference, we're all [what's the expression--] in the same boat. You won't have to do any of it alone.

I dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing. [Because teamwork's great and all, but if everyone's forced to do something they don't want to do...] But it's better than nothing.

[Yeah no, he's not looking forward to this. Don't the gods know he's got his own cause he needs to be fighting for? Even if it's more just protecting than fighting...but still. He'll have to figure it out later, maybe see if one of the others came here with him.

Until then though there's another pause before he speaks again.] Well...I'm Jack.

I know exactly what you mean. [Oh boy, does she. It's not something she'd wish on anyone, but not being alone... that's also not something she can fail to appreciate. Not after the way her life was before.]

[This, at least, is a lighter topic of conversation, and her voice lightens as well, deliberately but not insincerely.]

It's nice to meet you, Jack. My name is Naminé.

Naminé...that's an interesting name. ['Pretty' is the word he was looking for, but that sounded weird in his head. Instead he's just going to keep going with his train of thought.] So as someone who's been here six times longer than me, I bet you can tell me about some of the other good things about this place.

[That earns what's almost but not quite a laugh.]

Thank you. [She'll take that as a non-negative response, which is good enough for her. 'Interesting' is better than 'awful', right?]

[And that part seems to cheer her up a little more - not that she wasn't doing pretty well at managing to stay positive there, herself.] Of course...! There are plenty of them.

[Now-- where to start?] Well, there's a very nice park, and a library, [and which ones she chooses to mention first kind of give away where she spends her time] and a theatre, and all sorts of other things, like shops and restaurants. There are many wonderful people here, too. I'm sure you can make a lot of friends, if you want to. [And goodness, how much she actually seems to appreciate all of these things, even after living in the city for so long. The people are really what makes it worthwhile for her, in truth - but she knows that's a bit more subjective than the other things she figures she should mention.] There's... also an amusement park in Hel, but I'm not sure I'd suggest going there. At least-- not at night. [She's mostly stayed away from Hel district as a whole for a number of reasons.] But-- anyway, sometimes there are festivals, or other sorts of parties. Those are always a lot of fun. [Er, to her, anyway.]

[Definitely better than "awful." Either way he listens semi-attentively, and he's finding that maybe this won't be so bad. He definitely can't stay long, and he's not going to ever really be satisfied with his new powers, but the city sounds like it has some perks.

It's the fact that she uses the keyword though that really hooks him: fun. Fun's important, and though he's pretty sure Asgard's idea of fun is a lot different than his, maybe he can make things work out.]

You're making it sound so normal. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I came here on my own.

[She perks slightly - that's a good thing, right? Or at least, she can take it as one; this situation is one neither of them really have a choice about, and so whatever she can do to make this easier for him is something she's glad to do. It feels like a compliment to hear him say that, and it causes a quiet laugh.]

After a while, it sort of is. It really isn't so bad for a place we were all brought to against our will. [She would know, after all. She says that a bit more naturally than some people would; it's not even really a joke.] This world and so many of the people in it have been good to me. It would be ungrateful of me to act like it hasn't been nice living here. I just hope it can be that way for you, too.

[He takes note but he's not going to comment on it. It's not his business (yet) and he's really more interested in hearing her opinion of the place.] I think it'll be okay. It's not what I'm used to, but--[And something occurs to him.]

Hey. If I wanted to find someone to see if they're here, how would I do that?

[She's all set to say that she's glad, because she is - she's always happy to see a newcomer settle in well, and he's made a good impression so far, so that's all the more reason to hope for his success. But then he stops and she straightens slightly, uncertain what caused it. Finding out makes her relax again; good, something she can answer.]

That's not hard. There's a list on the network that contains the names of all the other Travellers in the city. Whether you're looking for someone from your world or any of the others, that's the place to look. All you have to do is-- [Here, have some instructions, Jack.]

Yeah? [He'll have to put those instructions into effect later, but he's at least absorbing what's going on.] That doesn't sound too hard. How many times a day does it get updated?

Mm-- come to think of it, I'm not certain. You can see if you're on it already if you like - that might give you an idea. As far as I know, though, it's usually accurate.

[So maybe it updates automatically whenever someone leaves or arrives? It's an interesting thought, but not something that's easy to investigate on her own.]

If you do, could you let me know, please? You've gotten me curious.

[He's fiddling with his bracelet, following Namine's instructions to figure out what's going on. He's not a stranger to technology and it doesn't take too terribly long to access the list.]

Jack Frost. I'm there, but I don't know how long I've been there. [He hums to himself, scrolling through the list.] I'll keep an eye on it and l'll let you know how fast it changes.

[A good sign, that - understanding at least loosely how those sorts of things work is definitely a plus for anyone coming to Asgard.]

Thank you. I think I'll take a look at it, too.

[-- Oh. Speaking - or thinking - of settling in,]

By the way, Jack, there's one other place in the city you should know about. There's a hospital in Sigyn District. Just in case.

[In a place like Asgard, however, sometimes it seems like that's almost an eventuality rather than a possibility.]

It's not a bad way of keeping a head count, I'll give them that much. [For now though he closes the list...and he gives her a somewhat skeptical look.]

The hospital? Do people end up there a lot?

And a way of staying safe. [If you know how to use it and what names to look for, anyway.]

From time to time. Mostly it's only really busy when there are attacks, but... it's better that you know where it is before something happens to you, if it ever does. [And another 'just in case' seems to apply here;] Don't worry, it's a safe place to go to for help. [Because she does know that's a concern for some people. Gotta cover all the bases.]

[...when there are attacks? Give him a second because she may hear him scrambling around in the snow suddenly.] I don't doubt it, but I'm kinda hoping to avoid that all together. [Digging through the snow, don't mind him.] Man, where is it? [Someone's just noticed his lack of staff. He was having a little too much fun with his snowball army to realize it right away.]

Most of us are, I think.

[But that doesn't mean they'll be successful. She pauses a moment when she hears him doing... something or another, then, a touch hesitantly out of concern for disturbing him,]

Jack? Are you okay?

Oh come on! [He's now just kicking up snow as he keeps searching. It's gotta be close by, right?] They already took my powers, did they have to take my staff, too?

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