[video]

[10_20_15_5_50]

---right?

[If the tone is any indication, that one word wasn’t directed at anyone---it was the sort of mutter manuals muffle. What follows is livelier, as the young woman speaking seems hopeful.]

Right. I don’t want to be a bother, but I was wondering if there’s anyone available to give the ten-cent tour…. and if there’s anyone who would want to. Since ah, I’m not the only new arrival, and there’s sort of a lot to see, I figured I’d ask. If you’re new too, okay, awesome, we can explore together. If you’re not new and you want to show off your stomping grounds, I’ll ooh and ahh appreciatively. Promise. And I’ll owe you one.

Comments

[fractalize]

Good afternoon! Hello.

[ Winded, but not down and out. Elsa doesn't even catch her puzzled expression. Instead, she brushes herself off, and offers a polite curtsy. ]

Sam. It's wonderful to meet you in person. Overwhelming, I bet.

[10_20_15_5_50]

Elsa.

[She'd started to offer her hand to shake, but the curtsy prompted a moment's pause---more a second's slowing, really, since Sam opts to follow up on her original intent and holds her hand out after all. Like her neck, it's covered in intricate inkwork: notes from the nails up, though her left hand is unmarked.]

It's... a relief, honestly. The robots have been perfectly nice people for the most part but going without someone to talk to on my own level, I could tell, was going to get lonely.

[fractalize]

[ She's hesitant to even shake it; not because of the delicate looking markings, instead, because of her paranoia. She still carried it despite her journey so far out of Arendelle. Elsa looks confused more than anything; her hand hovering before shaking Sam's hand briskly. It's short and blunt, but could still pass off as an unfamiliar custom. ]

Well, luckily for you, there's plenty of us here to go around, if not just to help each other with the little things. Like tea.

[ Which is an image she'd never thought she'd have; a giant robot nearly crushing a teacup. ]

No one's given you any trouble so far, have they?

[10_20_15_5_50]

[Brief as the shake is, Sam beams. Elsa's curtsy may've stirred up some concern in reminding her 'standard etiquette' is up in the air---and at Everest's elevation---but it seems like she should be able to get by, banking on intention.]

Man, I'd be inviting you over for a cup if I weren't in the process of picking a semi-permanent place. Consider it pending; as soon as I've got a tea set, and a place to put it. Three PM's the traditional time, right?

[Sam's smile slips a little at the question and she shrugs, offering Elsa a non-committal noise.]

Not really. That Dirge bot is some kind of sketch, but I think I know what I need to to handle him.

[fractalize]

[ Thinking nothing of it her smile is infectious, as is her friendliness. ]

That sounds lovely. I may be looking for a place to call my own soon, given the...er. Circumstances. Perhaps a contest to see who can find one first; they'll serve it. I've never much cared for the 'traditional' time.

[ Matters, matters. ]

So he is. Oh?

[ That piques her interest, seeing as how her only reply was 'be nice or i'll turn you into a popsicle.' ]

How so?

[10_20_15_5_50]

I like that! It's on! And if we come across a place and are both eyeing it, we can flip for it. Granted, I don't even know what you're looking for in an apartment, but I say so to be safe; flipping seems fair.

[She nods in response to the remark on 'traditional' time, looking a little relieved.]

That's flexibility I appreciate, since Earth time has less and less bearing on what I'm actually up to.

Well, he's so goddamn greedy---and sort of impulsive, or at least very 'point A? point B!' given the way he went after his drone. There have got to be ways to exploit such open self-interest---stack the deck!---since he's all about what he has to have and there's no loss like the loss of opportunity.

I think stressing the bridges burnt when a person does things detrimental to others will be a good angle to play. There's all the deals he'll be out if he harms anybody... and some scaremongering, I can manage.

[She can't quite keep a crooked little smile from surfacing, though there's something almost sheepish in it---she knows that this assessment doesn't sound like a very nice person's assessment, even if it's a matter of pragmatism.]

[fractalize]

Scaremongering was the only thing I'd managed to get to him with, but I suppose you're right. I don't know him very well though, so. Thank you, for the insight.

[ She began to wonder; just what was one to look for in an apartment? ]

What does...someone look for in looking for an apartment?

[ Maybe...high up. Like in a tower. Or very spacious, with lots of seating.

She doesn't know how small they are.

Or perhaps close to Lea, that couldn't be a bad idea. ]

[10_20_15_5_50]

I don't know him well, but we talked long enough I've got a few things figured. Since it really is 'whatever works,' scaremongering sounds fine.

[...and besides; Elsa's admission makes her feel a bit better about turning to it so readily.]

Good lighting! [The answer is immediate and emphatic.] It's important, because even if a place is small? It can be bright, it can be cheerful. Default-dim lighting can leave a place looking and even feeling dingy all of the time. So; good lighting, and it's nice to have some natural. Ideally, with windows one can get wide open.

[Sam speaks with the kind of conviction that only comes from experience---in this instance, a great deal of experience with student utilities.]

Little windows that only open to an angle? They just don't do it for me, and especially not here, with it so nice.

[It had to be what, something like 17 C? --that's overestimating-- Warm enough anyone would be alright wearing short sleeves.]

[fractalize]

[ She's honestly shocked at her enthusiasm. ]

Good....lighting.

[ Oh. Oh no. She's being subconsciously reminded of her sister, and she looks on with a sense of slight remorse and perhaps, even nostalgia. ]

You sound just like my sister. Big windows, big lights, bright canopies. Nice breezes.

But I get the idea, I think. Look for...well. An ideal structure?

[10_20_15_5_50]

What can I say? I've lived and I've learned and I've developed some strong opinions throughout my adventures with student housing situations.

[She's a little surprised by the sister remark, but smiles and shrugs.]

Pretty much. Lighting and airflow are extra important inasmuch as I'm concerned because I sometimes paint, but also important? Storage space, and water pressure. Those are probably the four big points. Layout is just personal preference, but... light, air, places to put things, and the pipes are, I think, of-interest to everybody.

[fractalize]

Water pressure?

[ Her inexperience becomes apparent. ]

Pipes.

[ Things she knows of, but...doesn't know how to inspect. Nodding with some...questionable ease, she changes the subject suddenly. ]

You paint? Really?

[10_20_15_5_50]

I don't think it's something to sweat, here, since it's not like we're signing on for anything. If the water's working right and running clear, it should be fine---it's just that, in my experience, if the pressure is low and there's just a trickle at a tap, it could take any amount time to get fixed. But... I guess that's not exactly a universal.

[The curtsy, Elsa's uncertainty... Sam is again aware of the unknowns.]

On occasion. I like to do landscapes, since I've seen a lot in the couple of cross-country moves I've managed. D'you mind if I ask where you're from?

[fractalize]

Cross country? My, that sounds like an incredible feat.

[ Moving across the country? Insane. Mere travel across her country was a bit dangerous, but...not unheard of. But uprooting sounded...intense. ]

What? Oh, no. Not at all. Arendelle. I'm from a smaller country called Arendelle.

[ She didn't really have a frame of reference to give Sam, she had no idea where Sam could've been from. Though it wouldn't hurt to ask; it may ease her curiosity at her peculiar markings. ]

A-and yourself?

[10_20_15_5_50]

It wasn't too bad. I've actually been planning to move again, in about a year, but... well, I was going to go west, and here I am in Haven.

[Insane? Perhaps a bit bold; her second cross-country move had been all for experience, and experience alone.]

...I'm sorry. [She's sincere, frowning thoughtfully.] My geography's not bad, but I have no idea where that would be. Haven't even heard of it.

Oh, Canada. Its Northwest Territories, originally.

[fractalize]

You like the constant moving?

[ She couldn't wrap her mind around it. ]

The transition...must not be all that foreign then.

That's alright. The 1800's haven't been exactly the best in terms of exploration, anyways. We're still trying to get our bearings, at least...in terms of king and country.

It's no surprise, but...I've never heard of 'Canada'.

[10_20_15_5_50]

Well, maybe not constant moving, but I do like the learning experience it is. I first moved south for school, and then out east to what it was like living on that side of the country---and to test my independence. This, though... [She smooths a hand over her hair, blowing out a breath.] This is something else.

What.

[It's flat, not even close to a question.]

That... [Sam looks at Elsa with some uncertainty, rubbing the heels of her hands together as she weighs the words.] ...makes a sort of sense, since Canada started with the Constitution in eighteen-sixty-something. Seven or six.

[fractalize]

That's....not for another twenty years.

[ Uh. Yeah. ]

That makes sense.

But that also sounds like...fun. Like a...constant adventure. I'd love to do that, one day. Just travel.

[10_20_15_5_50]

Yeah...? The, ah, really wild thing is it's way past twenty years past from my... present. It's 2014, as far as I know.

[Yeah. Yeah, 'uh. yeah.' is about it.]

How has your own adaptation to all of...this been?

It has been fun. The places I've lived are all very different, even if the people aren't so different from place to place. Canada's divided into thirteen areas; I'd like to spend some time in all of them.

[fractalize]

[ ....2014. WELP. ]

It's been a little bit rocky, so far...but I've been here before. This world...isn't new to me. I've been here before, we...were here before. It's difficult to explain.

[ Nodding, she continues. ]

Sounds like an amiable goal.

[10_20_15_5_50]

I won't pressure you to, then; I'll just be open to any advice.

Four down; nine to go. I hope I'll hit them someday... but having the here-and-now to handle, I guess we should get going.

[fractalize]

Sadly, I don't think my advice will be very withstanding; this place was completely different before....it was like a barren wasteland.

[ She chuckles, taking a few steps forward as a beginning. ]

We should, you won't get there any quicker by just gabbing with me.

[10_20_15_5_50]

Really? I'll take information as happily as any advice! And maybe be a little more likely to actually act on it.

[She grins, doubting that the tendency to very selectively accept advice has changed at all through human history.]

But for the talk, I'll be getting there in better spirits.

[Still, she nods and starts for the apartments alongside Elsa. Within a few steps at a regular walking pace---which, for Sam, is a little slow---it's apparent that she favours her left leg a little, despite no noticeable discomfort.]

[fractalize]

Well....it was... [ How u say. ]

It was strange. Different, I suppose. Almost like it was uninhabited. Imagine a flat plain, a plain untouched by life. Then, suddenly, there's about a hundred or so people plucked from all different places, all different universes. Just there, plopped down there with no frame of reference.

We sort of made do with what we had; here though....Here is so much different. Everything has happened so fast, so quickly, that it's...it's all different. Unrecognizable. I didn't believe them when they told me this was the same Cybertron.

[10_20_15_5_50]

That sounds like it would've been a struggle and a half...

[Sam glances over, sympathetic, but also impressed by the tone Elsa takes in talking about what was. It sounds like she dealt with it well.]

I've got to admit, I've found myself floored by the creature comforts available. Never would've expected being marooned could be this comfortable, let alone on an alien planet.