tushanshu_logs | Ellie ➭ open ➭ arrival

Entry tags:

Ellie ➭ open ➭ arrival

Characters: Ellie ➭ open
Date: 9/16/15
Location: Central Sector
Situation: Ellie arrived four hours ago and is on her way to either the Welcome Center or The Midnight Hotel when she thinks she spies a familiar face!
Warnings/Rating: Swearing/R

Juulans, Ellie thought as she made through a busy street named something she had no idea what. It was important to be alert and aware of her surroundings, that was for damn sure, but she was significantly overwhelmed.

She woke up about three or four hours ago, she couldn't be entirely sure, but what she did know was that she had a lot to keep in mind. She had been told about a consoles that were available in some hotel and at the welcome center that would be beneficial to check out either of those two locations first before she wandered off too far and too deep into this place.

Something more about these beneficial computer-biological anatomic features veined into the buildings was that there were handsets that were a part of this network if she had interest in picking one up.

Either she could communicate widely through the consoles featured throughout the city or she could use her own headset which she likened to walky-talkies of her own world. My own world.. Ellie still didn't feel comfortable wrapping her mind around the fact that she was on a different world, on the back of a turtle, and already walking in a 120+% increase of population she's ever been around in her whole entire life. It was common to see people, sure, see people back on Earth in groups, in communities, but their numbers were barely on the scale to how many people she's already seen!

It helped to soften the blow about the variations of style the kedans came in to have one with scale-green skin, big oval eyes, and feathered hair explain all this to her. It took about an hour before she was receptive to the native's helpful endeavors, however, on the account the novelty of everything was still freaking her quite the fuck out.

Even still she walked with a numb feeling in her stomach and held her arms close to her body in a fold over her chest. Her goal was to get to the center or the hotel, whichever one came first.

"What––?" Ellie narrowed her eyes and looked ahead. There she could have sworn she saw someone she knew, someone familiar. But was that possible? Would they be here?!

"Hey! Hey! Wait!" She started to shove her way through the crowd to try and catch up with them. "Hey! Wait!"

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It wasn't hard to pick out someone projecting their voice toward you in a crowd. Maybe a learned skill, but once you had the mind to pay attention for it, you never quite stopped paying attention. Cain stopped where he had been heading down the street, just another dead end into his personal research when someone called out to him. He turned, located the source of the voice, and waited for her to catch up with him.

Young was the first thing he noticed, with foreigner being the second, slightly-less familiar distinction he had to make. No kedan would stop a foreigner in the middle of the street like that, and most kedan prided themselves on not blending in with the human population even if they did like the humanoid form. There was usually some kind of difference in the way a human wouldn't be able to approximate. No, this was a young girl flagging someone down — maybe because he was a foreigner?

"What's up?" he asked. Even if he didn't look a day over his mid-twenties, he was obviously concerned enough with the exclamation, responsible enough not to turn around an ignore it. Nice enough to not automatically ask if she had any guardians around or if she was lost right off the bat. Chances were yes and no, and not in that order.

Ellie had pushed herself to move faster, to reach further, to overcome her barriers of people shuffling around her and in front of her. It seemed impossible and daunting but with some preserverance she did not give up and she fought like Hell to get before this man––

Who she mistook for Joel.

Ellie put a quick and painful halt on her pursuit and stopped about five feet before the strange young man and nearly tumbled over herself. Her breath was heavy and her heart was racing. A mix of emotions came through her mind and dropped down to the pit of her stomach and she felt the emphasis on depression. She then felt a swell in her throat which was likely where the frustration and anxiety settled for her predicament. This turtle, the amount of people around her, her loss of her companion, and most of all the feeling of loss that was associated with being thwarted from her world and her experiences into this strange new land.

What would face her here? Would she have to continue fighting for that peace she faced with Joel on their way to Tommy's town?

"Sorry, I." Her voice croaked and she cleared that lump and tried her best to swallow that down. "I thought you were someone else..."

He saw that. She really did think he had been someone else, someone close if not good or safe but someone familiar in such a new and otherworldly place. Cain grimaced for the obvious pain and discomfort she was feeling, then looked around briefly. He gestured for her to follow him out of the general flow of foot traffic against a building; still plenty within public sight but slightly more private than standing in the way of everything else.

"It's fine, I get that a lot," he said. It wasn't even a lie. Having his genetics passed down over countless generations, not to mention the ghost of an identical twin brother lingering around the world, tended to get him a lot of turned heads just for the sheer familiarity he invoked. This reaction was more painful than most, however, and he could relate to seeing phantoms in the corner of your eye. "Now don't let me stop you if you want to keep looking around, but you look new here and I'd be remiss if I didn't offer to help out if there was anything I could do."

Ellie followed the stranger's direction to move aside the moving crowd. However, moving through the crowd she allowed a few bumps, shoves, and collides as she filtered through the motion.

She felt a rush to her head yet also a numbness that made her feel heavy and lethargic. Ellie couldn't decipher if it was the thoughts that were scattered and she couldn't keep her feelings up with those thoughts or if her feelings were scattered and her thoughts could scarcely make sense of the rush of them.

The stranger began speaking again and she brought her eyes up to the man's face and with some focus she managed to stay in this moment with him. Rather than float away into that abyss of chaotic mix of emotions, information, novelty, and response to her circumstance.

Just keep it together. It's going to be fine. I can do this. I got this.

"I'm new." She nodded, though she couldn't even begin to conceive of the best direction to respond to his offer for help. Ellie ended up shaking her head and lowering her eyes to her feet. "What can.." you do? Though she didn't think it with any connotation of dismiss, but with honest desire for some help but without understanding of what kind of help to ask for. "I don't know how you can help me." She looked to him feeling vulnerable and awkward after her honest admission.

Cain dipped his head to the side, just a slight motion, pity for her crawling down into his heart. He wasn't one to be moved by a single person's plight, but it was different here in another dimension where there were so few people in comparison to the crush he was used to; where there were only so many that could be relied upon. Here in the Dreaming, on a floating turtle, there was nowhere else this girl could turn and she obviously recognized that fact.

"Since you're new, you probably didn't show up in the city proper," he surmised. The same thing had happened to him on his own return to the city. He shifted, gestured around them and down the road. "There are a few shops and cafés around here. Not all of them like people like us, but how about we get something to eat while we figure out where you want to go from here. I've learned the city pretty well by now, so we can help you make an informed decision. Sound good?"

Food was a hard offer to resist, and Cain knew that one for a fact. For someone who looked to still be growing and had probably been out in the heavy humidity for who knew how long before coming into a city full of strange people and stranger circumstances, he would put good money down on her accepting the offer. Even if she didn't, there were other things he could do such as guiding her to the Hotel or putting a word in at the Welcome Center or the Healers' Guild. He just didn't want to see someone willing to accept help being forced to stand alone.

Food? Her demeanor expressed her being more aware of her situation all the sudden with the mention of food. He head lifted, her eyes widened, and her lips parted as if ready to inhale. Ellie reached one hand to her gut, squeezed her not too clean shirt, and then her other hand went to her hip.

You ever go to these.. cafés? These coffee of shops?
No, not really. But I do miss coffee.
.

Ellie didn't even consider her food situation here, if what was native to the back of a turtle would be edible food or something she would have to get used to. Would she have to build a tolerance to it, like snake or frog legs? Hell, what if it was something stranger than what desperation drove Joel and herself to try anything just to have something in their stomachs to keep them moving. But it was never, ever, human. The thought brought a grimace to her face and she shook her head as if to try and shake that thought and feeling away.

But, back into the present, Ellie focused on the stranger. "Coffee, take me some place that has some coffee?"

Her change was subtle and yet noticeable and Cain smiled for the specific request. The girl was becoming more alert just at the promise of food, which was a good sign. For all that this world and arriving to it was overwhelming, at least she seemed used to surviving in difficult situations. Cain could work with that, and was thankful for the small favors as he got them.

"I can do that," he said easily. Motioning once again for her to follow along, he waited until she started to move before turning to face the tide of the people around them. There weren't a whole horrible lot considering the heat, but more than there had been and unfamiliar to his erstwhile companion besides. He would take it slow until they were somewhere safer, quieter, and let her set the pace. "There's one a few blocks away that's probably best."

Although he intended to let the girl speak as she wanted and not force her into anything until she was fed, had more energy to keep her own attention and focus, he figured a little introduction wouldn't hurt first. "My name is Jacob, by the way."

Good. Ellie thought at his compliance, it wasn't something he had to do but to further exemplify his good Samaritan nature he was leading her further into his kind-nature. Ultimately, really, he was helping her feel a lot more confident in following him around and more comfortable with being vulnerable in his company. Though, Ellie didn't intend on admitting too much of her insecurities if she didn't have to. Wouldn't it be obvious?

While she was wrapped up in her thoughts she blindly followed his steps as he lead her through the streets, and listened half-heartedly as he spoke of the best place to go for the coffee she wanted.

Those kinds of comments sent her even deeper into her thoughts really. Back in her world there wasn't any such thing as the best, there was only getting what you could get or taking something from someone else. The idea that those abandoned shops back in her world were once full of life and product was amazing and to come here and see the system in play was even more incredible. Bizarre, perhaps even a better explanation of the feeling she was plagued with as she slowly began to wrap her mind around resources available at one's beck and call. "Jacob.." She looked then to the man and swallowed with a feeling of bewilderment overwhelming her. "Ellie.."

Even if she was behind him, Cain kept an eye on her. Looking back every now and then, keeping aware of the space where she followed along, everything he could to make sure she was close by and not about to wander off or get lost. Not because she was a child, but because she was in shock and he knew better than to let someone loose in that state with nothing to really protect them. Whatever world she had been from, whatever she had been doing before, there was something about this place that made it difficult to cope. Well, it was either that or she really had been out in the wilds for hours upon hours before finding her way to the city.

The reasoning behind it wasn't overly important so much as the lost girl he was currently herding into the coffee shop once they'd arrived. It wasn't too full, but there was a clientele around and the server that passed them by didn't even seem to notice them — or was just not even caring to look. "Ellie," he said, committing it to memory for now. "It's nice to meet you. Anywhere look good to sit?"

Prodding her every now and then would hopefully keep her aware enough without sending her down the wrong spirals. At least until they could both focus on each other more directly, keep her out of her head together while they sorted out a direction for her to go now that she was stuck here like all the rest.

This was difficult. Ellie suddenly felt a new sort of tension that was creeping up from her feet and seemed to anchor at her hips. She had two steps in the shop before she was in battle position, half crouched, arms out, fingers splayed, and wild eyes that peered wide and took in the surroundings with obvious apprehension. Cain's forward steps brought Ellie's attention back to him and with some conscience effort she straightened her self up and lowered her arms back to her sides before she took another step into the shop. Her eyes, however, continued taking in her surroundings with a wide disbelief obvious to her expression.

This would be the first time she's ever been in a shop, a functioning shop! Her insecurity for the novelty of it dissipated into a certain kind of excitement that had her heart palpitate. She caught sight of people moving about, holding cups, holding trays with indescribable foods on it -- things she's only seen in magazines, posters, and billboards. The smell, that was something else entirely! She couldn't describe the smell that had her mouth instantly watering, nothing back home smelled like this shop did. Sure, there were some mouthwatering dishes they managed in a post apocalyptic world, but this was beyond anything they could've gutted and set over a campfire out in the wild.

"Jesus.." Ellie swallowed and licked her lips before she was drawn not to a table but to the counter which had a beautiful glass display of pastries and treats in which every single one of those edible delights called to her sweetly. This sort of display existed in old worn out advertisements and her dreams. I'll take my seat between the third and second shelf, thanks very much. She was nearly drooling and the only saving grace was likely at that point she decided to stand up straight and swallow back the collected saliva pooling in her mouth to address Cain. "How.. how do I get this.. to me.. immediately?" Was taking a seat necessary? She was standing right there, it seemed the quickest way is to reach over the counter and grab the food being served to her.

This girl definitely was not from somewhere normal, not from a life lived in leisure or even difficult economic times. That was a fighting stance, taken naturally from instinct and lack of having any other reaction to something like this. Cain took note of it, didn't comment specifically, allowed her to take it all in on her own time; he was somewhat amused for how quickly she accepted it, moved on, and that part was probably showing. It was a good thing. If nothing else, she'd get a taste of something better for her time on the turtle.

"Pick out five you want to try," Cain said as he moved up alongside her and checked out what options there were. He found one for himself and pointed it out to the young kedan behind the counter, who took it and placed it on a tray with some tongs before turning to look at Ellie expectantly. "We'll start with those. This stuff will make you sick if you're not used to it, so take it slow and savor it."

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Ellie ➭ open ➭ arrival

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