aterat | 001

Who; Cole Cash and YOU
What; Introduction & Catch-All
Where; All around town
When; Last week of April & All of May
Warnings; Will update as necessary

i. arrival (fountains » market district tavern)

One should never discredit a shiny sack a midget shoves into your hand before running off into a crowd and Cole wasn't one to disregard the usefulness of anything handed to you for free, but he'd think about that later after he found the guy and made him start talking. There were a lot of people milling around, though, and as he cut through the crowd he lost track of Raimon quickly.

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath to no one in particular, running a hand over his unruly blond hair, the few days of stubble peppering his chin. He was a tall man, broad of shoulder and sporting two pistols in shoulder holders at his sides. Fingerless gloves and rolled up sleeves coupled with dark cargo pants and combat boots finished the picture of a man who was accustomed to combat, and accustomed to a place far more advanced than this one. His brows lowered on the street outside the Market District Tavern as he took in his surroundings. Locals moved around him on the street as he looked around, taking in the market stalls, the cobbled streets, the...actual tavern? The giant birds hauling actual carriages?

He reached into the pocket of his shirt, producing a slightly crumbled but serviceable pack of cigarettes and sliding one between his lips, not really minding he was in the middle of everything seeing as people were just giving him a slightly wide berth, and he lit it with a zippo lighter from his pants pocket.

"Well, Toto. I think we're a long way from Kansas." It would seem less weird if he were talking to anyone in particular.

ii. the market district tavern

Cole is the best at what he does, and what he does...is drink, which is to say he goes with the best way to process this new place is to try out their liquor. The little guy did give him some coin. He'd better get to wasting it. Walking into the tavern itself feels a lot like going to a Ren Faire to him, only the corsets are way better done, and he isn't paying with cash, but actual coins that weren't minted by a machine. So weird, but he could groove with it. He takes a seat at the bar, and the tavern keep gets his order. "Something harder than the beer," is his only specification.

The keep slides a glass of amber liquid his way and he smiles, pleased, at the aroma. "That's what I'm talking about."

iii. network || text

[He could have gone shopping, but Cole is aware some of the people here have been here for a while and they might be a place to start.]

Hey, old-timers. I hear some of you have been around for a long time. How familiar are you with the products available around here? Best place to find arms and armor? Alchemy ingredients?

[He may be attempting to pretend he's in a video game and figuring out how someone would refer to something normal.

He may also be looking into how to make explosives. Who knows?]

(OOC: If you'd like a personalized prompt here, just let me know, or feel free to start your own! This will also be used as a catch-all for logs throughout May (with potential even shinanigans)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Cole!" Insea approached with a warm smile. She was wearing what she normally wore in the sphere, a pair of worn leather boots and a loose light pink dress. She hadn't met Cole formally but she had known everyone who had arrived in the Sphere and Cole was no exception. "I do not know if you remember me?"

She pointed to her face before placing her palms together in a light clap. "Oh! Perhaps you remember the store. I often created styles for those just arriving to the Sphere."

Inesa didn't even consider that Cole might not remember her.

There were a couple of bright red flags right away: 1) very few people knew his name who weren't personal friends even in his own world and 2) he clearly wasn't in his own world anymore. To top that off, the speaker didn't register as familiar on his own little built-in telepathic radar, either.

He arched an eyebrow as she approached, looking her over. She didn't look like much, but there were a lot of really deadly things in existence that didn't, and others who could just as easily look like something innocent and harmless to trick you.

"We know each other?" Maybe that would get it across to her he had no idea who she was.

Inesa was far more than her innocent appearance however she was harmless.

"Ah." She slowed to a stop and then carefully considered the situation. Inesa had no intention of lying to him but she wasn't sure where to start. "I have seen you before in a place called the Sphere but it is possible that you do not remember or that it was another you." With her explanation out of the way, Inesa bowed her head. "Please excuse me if I made you uncomfortable. That was not my intention."

She had been excited to see someone else from the Sphere. "There are many of us who had lived in the sphere before being brought to this world."

He'd dealt with his share of crazy shit in his day, and this wasn't that weird, all things considered. If he came here in the first place, it stood to reason he could have shown up in some other place at some point and have no memory of it. It was just crazy enough to be normal, even.

He chuckled at her apology, though. "Sister, it's gonna take a lot more than that to make me uncomfortable." It actually didn't take all that much, depending on the topic, but she didn't need to know that, and the admission would take him actually confessing that in the first place.

"Yeah? I wonder what our friendly neighborhood Aspects liked so much about people who came from that joint?"

Inesa smiled. "I can imagine. You never appeared to be surprised but I am also not skilled at reading human emotions." It was very difficult for her though she'd picked up the obvious social cues over her year friendship with Sansa Stark.

"Please. Call me Inesa." It was better than being called Sister, which stirred strange feelings from the young angels past.

"It's possible that it's because they were already displaced. It would take less energy to pull them here from a location they already didn't belong." At least, that was how she reasoned it but it never occurred to Inesa that this world might have rules that were beyond her understanding.

"Uh huh." He couldn't say that his experience with people new to humans was extensive, but that didn't really change anything. "Well, take it from me, sister...Inesa. Aliens never get how to read humans, even if they live among us for thousands of years."

He thought about it for a second and then shrugged. "They tell you that?" It was as good a conclusion as any.

She shook her head. "No. I only have guesses. I can feel the magic that flowers through this place and it's like a weave that's constantly trying to repair itself. Things change but nothing feels out of place." That probably sounded strange but Inesa really didn't know how to describe the things she felt and she often defaulted to metaphors that included fabric.

"I think I am getting better at reading people. I've also learned that I have so many wonderful emotions too." Inesa grinned, happy to have her experiences even if they involved forcefully being pulled from world to world.

“Right…” He wasn’t sure what to make of that, but it didn’t sound completely bad, either. He nodded, though. It was as good an explanation as any.

He looked at her for a moment, slightly confused, before smiling slightly to spite himself. “Yeah, feelings are good, even if they’re bad.” If that made any sense.

"Well, that is true." Inesa felt her face warm as a memory of embarrassment flooded her thoughts. "I am learning of both emotions and some can be difficult to control." She was lucky that she wasn't naturally disposed to anger. Inesa didn't want to think what would have happened if she let her fears or anger control her and her magic.

"Ah. I stopped you. Is there something you are looking for?" The market was a big place but it was fairly easy to find anything that you needed given enough time and asking the right questions.

"Just gettin' a feel for Oz, Dorothy." He smiled, even though he was pretty sure she wasn't going to get the reference. "What I mean is I guess I'm looking for something, but I don't really know what it is. I just rolled in off the fountain."

Her stare made it evident that the reference went directly over her head and into the sky, but she didn't ask what he meant. She had long come to the conclusion that there were some things that Inesa would never understand.

"Oh. I think I understand that. Sometimes you do not know what you are looking for until you find it." She grinned. "You just need to keep looking. I am sure you will find it."

And if he'd known she felt that way, he would have done his best to find a copy of the Wizard of Oz, because it's a very important part of pop culture she's missing. He probably would have delivered it to her anonymously, but he'd have made sure she'd gotten it for sure.

He chuckled softly. One thing was certain about this Inesa. She might have been the most innocent person he'd ever met.

"Well, with somebody like you rooting for me, how can I go wrong?"

Inesa giggled, her smile warm and bright. "That is a wonderful spirit." She didn't really understand sarcasm and wasn't able to detect such notes if that had been his intention. "And should you need me. I am easy to find."

Not only did they have the communication device but Inesa was also often seen flying around the city now that she had access to the sky again.

"I should leave you. Goodbye." Another smile and Inesa turned to head towards the apartments.

001

ii. the market district tavern

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