Shake things up [OPEN]

[morethan084]

WHO: Skye and open
WHERE: Residence #031 and around Hereropa
WHEN: First week of November
WHAT: Skye is adapting to the area.
WARNINGS: Cursing

Skye has been trying to figure out how on earth she had gotten here. With everything happening in her life at the moment, this was just adding more stress onto it. The fact that she has yet again left her team, against her will no less, was making her feel sick to her stomach. Still, she tried to adapt to being here. Meeting people in various places, trying to get information on 'Hereopa' and, well, everything. The tattoo especially bothered her, and apparently it wasn't just her. Everyone was 'branded'.

At the least the weather was nice?

Skye is uncomfortable with the fact that some people seem to know her, when she has never seen them before. This just added more questions in the long list of questions she has made in her head.

Comments

Downtown Heropa

[hostage]

Jesse's on lunch break when she sees her. Just a glimpse of her across the street before a bus pulls up and obscures her from view, but that single glimpse hits him like a punch to the gut. It's enough to break traffic laws for. He darts into the street, weaving around traffic and inspiring a chorus of screeching tires and honking horns, until he catches up to her and calls out breathlessly, "Skye!"

[morethan084]

Skye had just been walking down the street when she suddenly heard a loud commotion coming from the streets. Thinking an accident had just happened, Skye turned around to see what the hell was going on when she caught eyes with a stranger running up to her.

...And he knew her name. This was really getting to be unnerving.

"Um, hi?"

[hostage]

Jesse comes to a stop as soon as she turns around, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry, I didn't - I didn't mean to surprise you. It's just... You know." Hasn't quite caught on yet, has he? He rolls his shoulders in a light shrug, prattling nervously on, "You didn't call or anything. Not that you owed me a call! It's just - I had no idea you were back. I mean, Jesus, it's been... Months. Actually. Scared the shit outta me, like maybe something happened to you."

He takes a moment to suck in a deep breath, giving her a twitchy little smile. "God, it's good to see you." That's all he's trying to say.

[morethan084]

No, she didn't 'know'. Eyes going wide when he mentioned her not calling him, and how long it's apparently been since they last saw each other, Skye shifted away from him.

"Sorry I don't-" Skye was cut off by his apparent relief over seeing her again.

"I don't know you." She finally said once he was done talking. It obviously made her feel bad, whatever had happened with...them. He clearly had been worried about her, and she had absolutely no idea who he was. She didn't even know his name.

11/9 - en route to the Heropa Hospital

[flowerette]

Raina had only just returned, snuck home for a change of clothing and was heading to Chilton's office to pay him a surprise visit when she caught sight of a far too familiar face. There was still a part of her that resented Skye, a part of her that knew what fate had in store for her and how Skye would always get everything Raina herself had ever wanted. Even in spite of growing a bit more comfortable in her monstrous skin. Even in spite of learning about the power of her gift.

This was supposed to be Raina's world. Why was Skye showing up here again? Why now of all times?

"You're back."

[morethan084]

Raina. Seeing her here made Skye's stomach churn for a whole bunch of reasons. Obviously they were not remotely friends, but after whatever premonition Raina had that saved Lincoln's life, there was the slightest bit of respect there. Still, Skye had this feeling Raina hadn't told her out of the kindness of her own heart. There was always some sort of ulterior motive when it came to her.

"Yeah. Apparently." Skye said shortly.

"And I can't seem to escape you for too long either."

[flowerette]

"It's a large world, Skye."

Raina sauntered forward, a confident sway of her hips. She might have adjusted to her inhuman form back home, but back in this world -- she'd returned to the same sultry creature she once had been. Flower dresses, heels, and oozing with elegance.

"I see no reason why we have to see each other here at all. As a matter of fact, it's more beneficial for you to stick to your own devices while I stick to mine. Isn't that what you wanted, more or less, when you threatened me upon my arrival? When you claimed this was your city and I was to stay away from your friends?"

[morethan084]

Rolling her eyes, Skye finally turned to face Raina. And by the sudden change in Skye's expression, it's pretty clear Skye is thrown off. How was she...?

Her confusion is only furthered by what Raina was telling her.

"I never said anything to you. I literally just got here last week." Not that she had to defend herself, because it did sound like something she would say. Still, Skye had no friends here. She apparently had at one point.

"Apparently I've been here before, but I don't remember anything about this place."

And now on to the question she's been pondering since she saw Raina back to her former appearance.

"What happened to the spikes?"

downtown

[coppelganger]

Sarah is not as familiar with Heropa as she is with Nonah, but she needs to get away from "home" every few days or she'll go crazy. So she's hanging out downtown, looking for a new bar to try out, when she sees Skye. She's gotten fairly good at picking out imPorts, especially new ones, and this girl looks about as new as you can get. That confused, uncomfortable look says volumes.

Normally Sarah wouldn't be so quick to stop and talk, but hey, she's feeling charitable today. So she takes a hand out of the pocket of her leather jacket and gives Skye an awkward wave. "Need any help?"

[morethan084]

Skye perks up when she sees someone wave at her. Unsure if this is someone else that knows her or not, Skye just gives a weak wave in return.

"Oh." Okay, not someone she's supposed to know.

"Is it that obvious I'm new around here?" Skye asked, laughing weakly.

[coppelganger]

"You've got the look, yeah." Sarah shrugs. She doesn't mean anything bad by it, but she's not going to lie. Everyone goes through this period of weirdness when they first get Ported in, and the sooner they learn what's what, the better.

[morethan084]

"Right." Skye said, laughing a little as she put her hands in her pockets. "I'm Skye." She may as well get the introductions out of the way before she possibly hounded her with questions.

[mightthinkthat]

At least one person doesn't know her from Eve, because he's only been here a couple of months. He's done well for himself in that time, going from PR Undersecretary to Ambassador after merely a month. There seems to be more than one or two new faces about the network, so he decided to take a day to visit Heropa.

It's not difficult pinpointing ImPorts from the locals, if only because the locals tend to give them a lot of attention.

"You look preoccupied," he called to her, being some distance away, enough for him to not come off as threatening. "I hope you're not too alarmed by being unceremoniously plucked from where you were?"

[morethan084]

Skye perked up from her seat on a park bench when someone acknowledged her. Eyes flickering over him as he approached, Skye all but rolled her eyes at his question.

"No, totally normal to wake up in a place I've never even heard of before and find out I've been branded." Skye replied sarcastically. It wasn't anger towards him, hell she had no idea who he was.

[mightthinkthat]

He smirked. "It was quite a shock for me, though that might have been because what was happening before I was snatched," he replied. "And well, once you get over the cattle image, it's..." He paused to consider his words. "Extremely annoying."

[morethan084]

That made Skye smile. At least he was being honest. He was quite old, and Skye had to wonder what they would want with someone who didn't look like they were physically capable of taking someone on. Although, judging someone by their appearance alone was probably a mistake.

"I'm Skye."

arrival at heropa #31

[sweetarts]

[ The first thing that will greet Skye when she arrives at her new home is the sound of steady hammering. A very literally pink girl dressed in overall shorts, a purple shirt, and sneakers. Her hair is done up in a high ponytail. The hammering stops when she raises the hammer to her side and wipes her forehead with her forearm. ]

All the stakes are in!

[ She means a basic fence where she's building a pig pen. Speaking of which, since Bubblegum's back is facing Skye, she won't notice that she's there yet. The first person to greet her will be an adult pink pig, who will not approach her too closely, but instead waver a few feet off, raising a wet and sniffing snout as it looks at her. Hamma is still a bit shy. ]

[morethan084]

Skye wasn't sure what she was expecting when she entered her new 'home', but it wasn't this. A pig came out from behind a corner, which just made this whole scenario even more interesting.

Looking around to see who it was that this girl was talking to, Skye knelt down as the pig slowly approached her.

"Uh, for what?" Skye asked the girl, who didn't seem to notice her just yet.

[sweetarts]

Whoa. Bubblegum's brows raise before she whips her head around in the direction where her pig had run off to.

"Hamma?" she says in a quiet whisper. She had owned this pig for nearly a month and a half, and she's never heard it speak a word before. Did she just learn some divine secret about her own pig?

...Oh. There's a person there. She turns around completely, smiling and placing her hands on her hips, one still holding onto her hammer.

"Nope," she answers, giving the stranger a once-over before her smile brightens. "Just a pig pen. I've gotta get the little house built later, but I wanted to give Hamma a place to hang out outside."

[infomodder]

A local coffee shop was the only place Will could think of. It was a generally unoffensive sort of suggestion, and one that came with the gift of coffee. Who could complain? He was just where and as he said he'd be—in a corner if he could find one (and he had), wearing a plaid shirt, a dull blue hat with a fishing hook tucked around the brim, his wedding band sporting a snake motif. Predictably, like an old person, he'd snagged up a newspaper and was entertaining himself with the crossword puzzle. Barely took any thought but made him look busy, served a purpose.

Some people could be reasoned with even after they'd hit a point, some could not. Will had no worries about today. Whatever happened, happened, and he'd give Raina details later. Easier to do what needed to be done if he didn't fret about it, if he went into this unafraid of potential outcomes. So he scribbled away as answers cropped up, idly wondering if he could siphon out whether or not he could find something to serve as blackmail should things go south. Wondering if he'd stoop to that level should he find it possible.

Idly because he didn't really have to wonder.

[morethan084]

Admittedly, Skye was a bit confused as to why the dude she had only spoken to once previously via text message was asking to meet up. He had mentioned that he was married, so this wasn't some sort of weird attempt at a date or anything. Curiosity always getting the better of her, Skye made her way to the coffee shop around the time he had suggested they meet up.

If it hadn't been for him telling her what he was wearing, Skye would've walked right past him.

"Hey, Will. Right?" It was a dumb question, but she asked it anyway as she took a seat across from him.

[infomodder]

Dumb question or not, he still appreciatedsit. Always preferring his first name to anything else, always pleased to hear it from a stranger (whether that stranger was someone he once knew, but semantics). He's quick to put the pencil down and look up, give her a small smile and nod of recognition. Something one would expect from a mutual acquaintance, there is no overly strange staring, no disappointment or excitement. Nothing awkward. Coming around to find people who knew her was awkward enough by itself.

"That's right. Good to see you in person." Though Skye might not believe that, he takes into account, believe that it's good to see her considering he cuts right to: "We need to talk about Raina."

This wasn't how he imagined the two of them meeting again but oh well. Shit happened.

downtown heropa

[brushoff]

Ever since his conversation with Raina, Dorian had spent his free time partly in downtown Heropa, hoping to catch a glimpse of Skye as well as figure out just what precisely her habits around this place were. It wasn't stalking if you were careful and Dorian was very careful. He'd go a round-about way to visit people he knew in Heropa, just to see if he could piece out where Skye lives, he'd linger around downtown areas to see if he could find her normal haunts.

And really, it's just his luck that he should be here, sitting outside a coffee shop when she walked by. He had his guitar out, practicing a little bit when Skye walked by. It's windy enough outside that Dorian could "accidentally" nudge a piece of his loose-leaf sheet music, letting it catch a breeze and start to float away vaguely in Skye's direction.

He wasn't an actor, but he'd had years of experience lying and keeping his secrets close to his chest and pretending to get what he wanted. As such, he puts on a pretty convincing worried expression as the sheet music flies out of his grip. Dorian springs up, trying to grab the rest of the paper to keep it from flying away while also trying not to drop a guitar or knock over coffee. Dorian's doing a damn good job of playing the part of some harried twenty-something. Calling over towards Skye, he shoots her a worried look.

"Hey, can you grab that piece of paper from me?"

He's got a British accent, which is pretty much a dead giveaway that Dorian's not from here.

[morethan084]

Skye had heard music playing, which was clearly being played live rather than a CD or something. The music suddenly stops and that's when she noticed the guy, who had been playing his guitar, struggling to catch a piece of paper that was flying away from him.

He had barely asked her for help when she was out reaching for it, she would've done it without him asking. Grabbing it after a decent jump in the air, Skye went back over to him to hand it over.

"Here you go." Skye said with a weak smile.

[brushoff]

Dorian gives Skye a weak smile of his own, one that's entirely grateful, slightly frazzled and very well-rehearsed. Taking the sheet music, he set it down on the table, setting his phone on top of it to act as a weight. "Thanks," said with a small nod.

He paused for a moment, looking Skye over. "Well since you're here, got any requests? Accounting for different worlds and my own skill level, of course—my taste is a little bit dated."

Dated as in it's currently hovering somewhere between the 1960s and the 1980s. A little dated is a bit of an understatement.