aterat | Story Event

Entry tags:

Story Event - Nomes

Who; Mono and anyone! Open to all!
What; A Network Story and a Log for the event!
Where; All around Aterat!
When; Early August
Warnings; None to start, but if something comes up I will update.
Note; So I'm thinking this could provide some options. The network could be a fun chat story time, the log for after-story experience, or we could mix it up and people could reach out to Mono via the network if they come across Nomes and the log doesn't grab you. You are also totally welcome to do your own thing with Nomes if you want. Also if you want something personal written up, I’m happy to do so! My plotting post is over here

The Mystery of Nomes - Network Video - Open

[ Mono is not known for doing posts on the network on his own unless it’s strictly necessary. Not that he’s anti-social or anything, it’s just that the static feedback caused by his own abilities gets annoying and a bit hard to explain.

However, here he is with a slightly confused little scrunch of his nose. ]

Anyone ever hear of Nomes before? They’re these little things in my world, at least I think so. They’re a little smaller than me, and they got pointed hats that cover their faces… Kinda like those funny capped mushrooms you see sometimes? Or those hats they make kids wear in school when they do bad, I guess.

Um… Anyway, you see them in pictures and stuff around the pale city. But… I think I saw one once, maybe? It’s kinda fuzzy. I think it happened before a long time ago-

[ By which, the boy means a long time ago. Which is odd coming from someone who looks to only be about 12 at best now. But Mono is far older than he looks, and there are so many cycles he’s been through. ]

Back when I was exploring the hunter’s cabin, there was this little guy that hurried out of a drawer I had pulled out. It was really surprising, ‘cause of all the other stuff I saw in the cabin... So I followed it up to a different part of the attic. It made a funny almost squeaking sound. Seemed really scared, but I guess that’s fair since being little is scary sometimes and I’m bigger than them.

Its shadow was kinda weird, though. 'Cause didn’t match the shape of the nome, right? But other than that, it looked just like the picture I saw! Guess you don’t see shadows in drawn pictures unless someone draws them though, so that makes sense.

I dunno if it really happened or not, could’ve just been a dream too, I guess.

[ And the boy falls silent, tugging the brim of his cap a little lower and rubbing at an eye with a sleepy little yawn. ]

Dunno why I remembered them now… But I guess I was just thinking about stuff.

You get Nomes! And you get some Nomes! Nomes for everybody! - Log - Open

Mono hadn’t thought much beyond the weird need to share the story about the Nomes on the network. He put the tell-phone away, took a nap, and then tugged on his mail-carrier cap and grabbed the bag he used to carry the messages for work to head out the door. The boy almost misses the raspy squeak coming from somewhere in his bedroom, but maybe it’s one of the cats… They make funny sounds sometimes!

Plus, he doesn’t want to be late to the delivery service, so he glanced over his shoulder curiously but kept walking. Mono did stop long enough to grab the little lunch Ignis usually had packed on the kitchen counter before hurrying out the door for the day.

What he hadn’t expected, perhaps what no one expected, was that the day would entail far more than carrying mail. Either interrupted by texts asking more questions about the nomes for good reason, or being stopped on the street when someone recognized him and needed help with their newfound guests. “Huh? What do you mean you saw one? They aren’t here, they might not even be real in my world??” He started, but stopped when he realized this was Aterat and just about anything seemed possible here…

So colour the boy curious as he eagerly hurried to follow and see.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Yin had, actually, never heard of Nomes before. She sat listening to Mono's post intently, trying to visualize them, but was unable to get a proper image of them.]

[Then...she sort of found them. More like one found her, and she almost tripped over it. After using her specter to spy on them - she felt they looked rather different from what she imagined, but they kind of looked like what Mono described. In particular, their hats.]

[She made sure to leave a drawer open for them, recalling Mono mentioned he found one in a drawer, then decided to, of all things, reach out to someone, Mono, first.]

[The message she sends him is monotone as usual, her expression just as even and mild, but it's the fact she sends it that means something.]

Those Nomes you mentioned. Do they need to eat?

[ Mono tilted his head slightly to see Yin again. The boy supposed that was a good question… And meant she probably had run into some like other people had. ]

The one I think I met wasn’t really around long enough to see it eat… But maybe? Stuff that’s alive has to eat, right?

[ at least that made sense to him… Then again, he never saw their faces under the hat, so who knew? ]

Did you find one?

[ Yin nods her head, then takes the device over to the drawer she left the Nome in. She's not entirely sure it's still in there. ]

[ The drawer opens, and sure enough, there's a little creature with a mushroom for a cap that looks wide-eyed and confused at the device. ]

Do you see it?

[ Yup, that’s a nome! Considering he wasn’t usually pleased with the idea of stuff from his world showing up in Aterat… Nomes were the best-case scenario, and he was pretty happy to get the chance to see more. ]

Uh-huh, that’s definitely a nome!

[ Mono considered the original question, and tilted his head one way and then the other at the Nome through the feed. ]

I think if you wanna try to give it food, something little that could fit under the hat might work? ‘Cause I dunno if they ever take that off. The one I think I saw never did, and none of the pictures showed them without one either.

[Yin doesn't seem happy, but she doesn't seem to mind the presence of the Nome, either, having given it a little space to live in, and even a small towel as bedding.]

I can try crackers.

[They could be broken into smaller pieces, at least, and were very thin. Yin isn't sure if they have the nutritional intake a Nome needs, but it's a start.]

Crackers would probably be good. [ He confirmed easily enough. Though the boy was very new to the idea of considering the nutritional value in things, so he probably wouldn’t think of that himself. ] Do ya need any help with it? I’ve been helping around the new office for the delivery service. We got a whole bunch of them there, too.

[Yin wouldn't have even considered help, so it's a good thing Mono asks.]

Yes. [PAUSE.]

You deliver things? [She hadn't considered things like getting a job. It would help, though.]

Then I’ll come help. What building did you get put in when you got here?

[ Mono’s guessing that was the case. She didn’t seem young enough to end up in the House of Solace. ]

Uh-huh, there’s a whole delivery service. Me and the other kids all deliver letters and small packages, bigger stuff or rushed requests get delivered by my boss Tommy. He’s really awesome. [ Mono learned that word here, and he liked it! ] We just moved into a bigger building too.

Gray, A-10.

[Mono is, indeed, correct. Yin isn't terribly old, but she's old enough to live on her own and programmed to be independent.]

[She listens intently, and curiously.]

Good. You have a good boss.

I’ll be there soon then!

[ There is the faint sound of things being moved as he grabs his hat and bag to head out. ]

I do. I like working with him a lot! [ Five seconds of pondering follows, before curiosity strikes as he walks (runs) towards the part of the city where the coloured buildings are. ] Do you got a job? Um… I guess you just got here. Is there a kinda job you’d like?

No. [She doesn't have one yet. The next question causes her to pause. Like?]

No. I sold items back home. [It wasn't her real job, just her cover job, but she has experience doing that. The real job she isn't supposed to talk about.]

What kinda items?

[ He’s curious, and has time to ask while he makes his way from the house where he lived with Nida and Ignis. Having seen so many kinds of shops and stalls in the market where people actually bought and sold things made him wonder what she might have sold. It’s so different from where he’s from. ]

Convenience store items. Gum. Cigarettes.

[At least, that was what the little box had to offer. People had to specify exactly what they wanted, but she had the sections memorized. It was literally only a cover, though people wanting legitimate cigarettes came by from time to time.]

Convenience stores… I think I know what those are, little stores that got lots of random stuff, right? I think I found gum before, it’s all weird chewy.

[ He’s learned a few things. It’s just taken him some time given the state of his own world to put names to things and figure out what they were meant to be like normally. ]

I bet you could find somewhere like that here, too. There’s a lot of little shops, and people actually buy stuff at them!

[ The boy looked up at the area in front of him as the coloured buildings came into sight. He makes an easy beeline for the gray building, entering the familiar space and starting towards the apartment she said she lived in. ]

I’m almost there!

That kind of store. [Yin confirms. And gum, yes, it is very chewy.]

I have not chewed gum in a long time.

[There are so many things Yin is learning, herself. Very importantly, Mono has just given her very good knowledge.]

Thank you. I will look. [Because having a job is good for a lot of reasons. In particular, having money for things.]

Good.

You’re welcome!

[ Mono is always happy to help. It seemed only right after so many people helped him when he first got here, and still continued to help him now and again! Plus… It was nice, because you got to know people better! Making his way into the door of the apartment she said she lived in. ]

I’m here, so I’m gonna hang up now! Since we can talk without the phones.

[ He awkwardly hangs up at that. He still was a bit awkward sometimes with phone manners. But she would hear a knock at the door shortly after that, the boy waiting on the other side patiently (if slightly eager to see the nome). ]

[She isn't supposed to be able to think of it, but Yin notes how well mannered Mono is. Manners seem to very important, to people who are not contracted killers, at least.]

[Yin doesn't respond, just gives a nod, so Mono is alone in the awkward tell-phone manners. When she hears the knock, Yin responds, though it might take a little while for her to answer the door and open it. She can never tell how much space a person needs, so she opens it the whole way and steps aside.]

Do we need to be quiet? Do they scare easily?

[ Mono’s preferences when it came to personal space were a bit of a work in progress. He was comfortable with people being around him, but he did still get rather anxious and kept his distance from people who were significantly tall due to the way things were in his world. Instincts were difficult to fight, after all. But standing next to Yin wasn’t hard, and she didn’t set off any of his personal warning signals. So she was good.

He wandered in, looking around the apartment curiously. It was always neat to see these places once someone moved in. He used to live in the gray building too, before he moved. He glanced up at Yin, though, considering her question carefully. ]

As long as we don’t yell and stuff, it should be okay? And we don’t try to get too close before they decide we’re friends. The one I met was really scared at first. Then it kinda decided to play a game and decided I was okay. Do you got the crackers?

[ Snacks seemed like a good way to show they were friendly. It worked pretty well for Tommy. ]

[Yin is fairly slender, moves with deliberation in every step, slowly and careful, full of grace. Yin's apartment might not look very lived in. She's accustomed to sleeping and sitting on the floor, and everything is very neat and tidy - she does not do much and remains very clean and efficient.]

[She listens to Mono's words and stay very quiet, only giving him a nod to show she understands. When he asks about the crackers, she nods again. Crackers are, thankfully, staples and easy to get. She points to her kitchen.]

On the table.

[That might be a good note for Yin - snacks are the way to go as peace offerings.]

[ Mono definitely notes how neat and tidy everything is, and he is kind of like that honestly. He tried very hard to keep the room Nida and Ignis gave him clean, not just because he didn’t want to trouble them… But also because his world was full of clutter and garbage and seeing things in a neat, orderly arrangement was nice. It made this place feel a lot different and a lot nicer than where he’d been before. ]

Great!

[ The boy responded quietly, turning and making his way over to the table to retrieve the crackers and opening them carefully. It wasn’t long before he crouched on the floor near the drawer and carefully set a couple of crackers on the lip of the drawer in reach of the nomes. Then he slid the package over to Yin with a little rustle. ]

We’ll leave a couple close enough for them to try, then we can try offering them ourselves. Tommy used candy like this with one of the one’s at the office, and they warmed up pretty fast.

[Yin, as of yet, wouldn't comprehend the need for things to be different than another place, a bad place. Her ability to consider for herself hasn't reached that level, yet. As she bonds more with Mono, though, she will care more and more to give him that - different from where he was from.]

[There's a nod of Yin's head as she feels for the package, then pulls out a couple of crackers. She places one, carefully, on the edge of the drawer, feels it, and unintentionally wiggles the offering.]

[That at least gets the Nome's attention. It perks up and approaches them, slowly.]

If this doesn't work, we can get candy.

[ Mono watched the nome curiously for a moment, before smiling as it started to approach to investigate the snacks. ]

Uh-huh, we can! But I think the crackers might just work, they seem pretty interested. They’re just cautious, is all.

[ He settled comfortably to let the creatures come to them in their own time. ]

‘Cause people that are bigger are kinda dangerous where we come from. So, it’s just better to be careful. If you don’t, you usually end up in trouble. They just haven’t had a chance to see stuffs different here.

[ Mono wondered if they were going to stay, because then they’d have more time to learn that. ]

[Yin's eyes widen - slightly - when she feels the cracker is taken from her hand. The nome scurries off to eat it in the corner of the drawer, but watches the other two, curiously while it nibbles.]

[Yin gives a nod, then settles back in a kneeling position, listening.]

Were you in danger? [Mono just sounds very familiar with what he's speaking of, and it concerns Yin. Maybe not enough to call the emotion worry, but enough she's inquiring on her own accord.]

[ Mono smiled a little as he watched the nome scurry back to it’s corner to shove the cracker up under its hat to nibble on. The other two waited a moment or two before toddling closer to the edge of the drawer to also sneak some crackers. They were so cute, and he had a feeling they’d warm up to Yin in no time.

The question gets a slight tilt of his head, nose scrunching a bit as he tries to think of a good way to answer that. Adults were always a bit… weird about his situation. He understood why now, because his world wasn’t normal. But understanding didn’t make the subject easier, because the details weren’t pretty. Especially since he knew more about his world, and himself, after his last trip back. ]

Yeah, kinda. [ Understatement. ] It’s just how stuff is there. It’s really different from this world.

[Yin will spy on the nomes later with her ghost, but she hears them, rushing forward, then retreating with their prize. She can also hear the nibbling.]

It's good. They're eating.

[At least, in Yin's case, she wasn't able to worry about Mono's situation back home, not with her emotions so muted. That didn't mean a part of her didn't have concern for her new little - was this what was called - friend. She did, but the usual upset Mono might be accustomed to won't be present.]

But you're safe here?

The world I come from is different, too. [It wasn't even the world it was ten years ago.]

Video ish / Log ish?

Video ish / Log ish - Yay, of course :D

Yay!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject