getting to know you

[lyingheart]

WHO: Housemates of Residence #016
WHERE: Residence #016, Heropa, Florida
WHEN: Tuesday, May 6th (onwards)
WHAT: Time to meet the housemates!
WARNINGS: None at this time!

Learning to live with people you didn't know was always an adventure in adjustment. When those persons unknown all came from widely different backgrounds and realms of experience, adventure might be the kinder descriptor. For some, the every-day mechanics of a modern kitchen or laundry area were far beyond their comprehension. Even modern plumbing was new and untread upon territory for some, prior to the first few days since their arrival at the Cape.

Now, how to explain the four foot iguana that'd moved into their backyard...

[ ooc: feel free to tag in with any set-up you'd like, then tag around! the iguana mention is for flavor, if anyone's interested in playing around with having an iguana in the backyard! ]

Comments

[naw]

[lying to herself and ignoring her fear only makes it somewhat easier to process everything that has happened so far. that feeling of anxiety isn't easy to look past, but Nah isn't unfamiliar with it. an old companion, one could say.

she really isn't sure where else to go aside from where she's told to be, so here she is. everything about this residence is a wonder of unfamiliarity, from the humming things in the kitchen to the glowing glass bulbs in the ceiling to every smooth surface she can brush her fingers upon. it's so clean. bright. solid.

the open air of the backyard is a welcome relief. a young girl with long pointed ears is squatting near the iguana, her cape loosely curled around her small stature. she tentatively reaches out with one hand. the iguana doesn't move.]

If you bite, I can't promise that I won't bite back.

[she sounds awfully serious about that.]

[lyingheart]

[ Annie feels more wonder now than she did before, having the testing grounds of Nonah under her metaphorical belt. The kitchen makes no sense, and she doesn't understand what the room with the metal boxes is for, but she knows how top operate most of the restroom. Annie counts that as a victory. She understands what a shower is, and she finds the decadence astounding.

She slipped out into the backyard, uncertain what to make of this plot of... land, really, without it being any set-up she's familiar with. The person she spies crouched down nearby is unfamiliar, but that's not so remarkable at this point. The strange protrusions from the other person's head are odd, while the cape isn't. Annie quietly walks closer, peering over the stranger's shoulder to see who they're speaking to.

Scratch that: to see what she's speaking to. ]

What is that?

[naw]

Ah-! [she practically falls upon the iguana but steadies herself at the last second. the iguana, to its credit, seems entirely unruffled by Nah's startled outburst.]

Who are you?! Don't- don't sneak up on me like that!

[someone might have mentioned something about other people living in this house. is this one of those people? she looks Annie over, sizing her up.]

[lyingheart]

[ She really did know better, but she hardly looked contrite. More accepting of the reprimand, inclinging her head forward and briefly closing her eyes.

Very briefly. ]

I'm Annie. I've been assigned to live here for now. Who are you?

[ Annie sizes her up in return, looking down her nose at the other girl... mostly because she's standing up.

Yes, those were definitely ears. Very, very long ears. ]

[lyingheart]

[ It's certainly one sort of convenient to have the market relocate entirely indoors. Outside weather didn't have much of a dampening effect on people's enthusiasm for shopping, but it'd also been so... sterile. There was no haggling, few individuals hawking their wares, and shelves on shelves of barely identifiable foodstuffs that Annie had ended up avoiding the headache in figuring out right now.

There'd also been fresh greens, and potatoes, and bread. Even meat, and tempting as that thought was (there was so much of it behind those glass displays), she avoided it for now. Things she knew would be easy on her stomach had the priority.

Only the fridge is a foreign concept Annie hasn't gotten around to exploring yet, so when she's taken her bagfull of groceries home (in one of the bags they had for sale, none of that strange plastic or paper stuff - "Want a renewable bag, miss?"), she lays them out on the counter surface in preparation for washing. She uses one of the pots scavenged from the cupboards to hold water for washing. It'd taken her too long to figure out how to get the turning faucets here to be functioning in a way she can use, reminding her of the mishaps in the hotel room from the weekend, but eventually she has cold water in the pot in the sink, and Annie sets to scrubbing the potatoes. ]

I should have sharpened the knives first.

[naw]

Nah.

[a brief pause.]

N-A-H. Nah. That's my name. [gods knows how many times her name had drawn confused reactions. and at worst, pitying amusement.] So... we're supposed to live together, huh?

[she stands as well, standing at an impressive not-so-impressive height. and it suddenly occurs to her that she'd been asked a question before; Nah spares a brief glance at the iguana, which still hadn't moved from its spot.]

I think it's a lizard. A very, very large lizard. I've never seen anything quite like it.

[psychup]

[Hello, housemate! She's still exploring the new surroundings, when she steps outside and notices the girl looking at the lizard.

Anyway, she comes bounding outside, without any sort of awareness that maybe she should approach more quietly when the girl is trying to put an animal at ease.]

Wow! What is that thing? It's kind of cute! Did you tame it?

[psychup]

[So she may be one of the only ones around who actually know how a kitchen works, but she hasn't quite caught onto that yet. Athena is still making herself at home, but hasn't really had a chance to introduce herself to her roommates yet.

Hearing Annie in the kitchen working on cooking seems like as good a time as any. She comes into the kitchen, or more accurately, just kind of barges in, without any of the awkwardness of making sure you're not interrupting you'd expect with roommates.]

Hey! Can I give you a hand?

[soldiarity]

Hey--

[ By the time Reiner is at the house, he's not had a lot of time to walk around and inspect the place even in spite of wanting to -- he'd never been inside someplace so nice in his life -- before he glimpses grass from the background through one of the windows, as well as... something else.

Which is what they "hey" is for, because that lizard is huge, and he can't tell if the girl near it is having an issue. ]

Whoa, what nightmare did that thing crawl out of? Do you want me to get rid of it?

[soldiarity]

[ Compared to North Carolina, Florida is almost uncomfortably warm even for Reiner, who is someone built to withstand heat fairly well. So after coming to the house -- after allowing himself to explore every room, the upstairs and downstairs, turning faucets and switches on and off with careful fascination as if it were all so fancy he was afraid of what would happen if he broke something but still couldn't help himself touching it -- he goes back outside, hovering between the backyard and the air-conditioned living room indecisively.

He strips his shirt off and steps barefooted out onto the grass, brow furrowed in frustrated discomfort despite the amenities that surrounded. The house next door has a pool; Reiner walks to the fence and leans his arms over, looking curiously into the extraordinarily blue water in the other yard.

Can he swim? He's not sure, actually; attempts to recall the skill from experience go nowhere. He's almost certain he can, but-- ]

Why didn't we get one of those?

[naw]

[another person...! who seems friendly enough. she glances over her shoulder at Athena, her hand still offered out to the iguana.]

Hardly. He's been sitting here when I arrived and hasn't moved since.

[it is cute though. she doesn't know if the iguana lives here or is just passing through, but she hopes it's the former.]

I'm trying to speak to him, but he won't respond.

[maybe because... iguanas don't talk......]

[naw]

No! Don't you dare hurt him!

[reptilians gotta watch out for each other, or something. she stands, taking a protective stance before the iguana. that guy looks tough... kinda scary. are her legs shaking? no way, no way (they are, sort of). stranger danger and whatnot.

she's not scared, nope!!]

He hasn't done anything wrong!

[lyingheart]

[ Annie doesn't move any closer to the iguana. She's content staying further away from it, though it's a fascinating looking creature. She's never seen a lizard anywhere close to that size! Or many lizards at all. ]

So it seems. I'm surprised none of us are sharing bunks.

[ Such a waste of space, and such... strange, sudden privacy. It's more lavish in accommodations than what she'd even had at the Military Police outpost. ]

I've never seen anything like it either. Has it moved since you found it?

[ Part of her wonders if it's edible. Potentially... Yet food isn't the same kind of problem here as it was back home. ]

[lyingheart]

[ Annie turned around, a potato and a paring knife in her hands. It isn't Nah this time. Another one of her bunkmates? Annie believes that's more probable than learning the custom of most people here is to barge in to homes that aren't their own to offer help in the kitchen to strangers.

Who knows. It might be! ]

Can you chop an onion?

[ May as well put eager hands to work straight off. Annie isn't inclined to do all of this on her own if she doesn't have to. ]

[psychup]

[She comes over, a little more cautiously, trying not to scare away the iguana, but she's not the most light on her feet.]

He won't respond? Maybe he's sick?

[psychup]

Of course I can!

[And she'll grab a knife and start chopping. A little bit messily, but it's fine enough.]

What are you making?

[lyingheart]

[ Annie returns peeling her potatoes, keeping the skins in a neat pile to the far side of the sink. ]

Vegetable stew.

[ It's easier to keep going for several days, or at least keep reheating and adding things to over time. If needed.

Even if she doesn't need to think that way, it's still her first instinct. ]

[lyingheart]

[ After North Carolina, Annie really figures she's best off not being surprised by anything, including Reiner in the backyard looking over the fence between this residence and the next. She has no idea what he's speaking about at first. She moves closer to the fence line without her usual hooded sweatshirt on, leaving her in a loose grey shirt and the sport khakis she'd picked up in Nonah.

Coming to a stop outside of immediate reach, Annie peered over the fence and evaluated what she saw. Furniture, which perhaps he's talking about, not the flora, they have enough of that of their own, and then there's the giant, blue, eye-catching expanse of water. ]

A pond?

[ Or does he mean something else, like sensible rooming arrangements? ]

[naw]

[there will be no reptilian stew in this household!! not if she can help it.]

He looked up at me but that's about it. [it looks like the iguana isn't going to be doing anything interesting anytime soon, so.]

I think he needs a name, if he'll be living with us too. It only seems proper.

[focusing on the iguana is a nice distraction. she'd been tempted to transform and fly away to anywhere but here several times before, but nothing good would come out of that. at least she was even given a place to stay, even if it's nothing close to what she's used to.]

[naw]

[it's like the iguana's on heavy sedatives, or something, with the utter lack of interest it has in either of them. Nah withdraws her hand, standing up.]

No, I think he just doesn't care.

[a small sigh. ah, well.]

Are you going to be living here too?

[psychup]

Looks like it. I was assigned to this place.

I'm Athena, by the way.

[psychup]

[She's not much of a cook, but she knows how to do basic kitchen tasks without direction, so she'll help out in whatever small ways she can.]

Good idea.

Have you been here long? I only just got here.

[psychup]

[She sees him looking over the fence and speaking, and she'll give it a look as well, standing on her tip toes to get a better view.]

Oh, no fair! We should sneak in.

[lyingheart]

... He's an imPort?

[ Missing the point of this, slightly on purpose - how is something in the back of where they live actually living with them? - and slightly because for the life of her she can't imagine why anyone would want to name a random lizard past the age of oh, say, six or so. ]

[lyingheart]

A few days, not quite a week.

[ She started quartering the potatoes, dropping them into the big metal cooking pot. Annie appreciates the help, directing Athena into placing her chopped portions into the same pot. Nevermind that Annie still can't figure out how to use the not-wood stove, or figured out how to handle the lack of cooking hearth or outdoor fire pit, which makes more sense in this weather.

How is it they keep it so cool inside? ]

What's your name?