Day 276 [Action, Open]

[cyan_maid]

Who: Jane Crocker and YOU!
Open: Open
When: Day 276, in the morning
Where: Around the Monument
What: How exactly does this Skyway thing work? Jane wants to know!
Format: Action
Warnings: None

[Donut trees, entire buildings, chocolate jerky cows...it was entirely ridiculous, and yet all of it Jane had seen with her own eyes. Their existence and the powers of the shards had bothered her more with every new thing she came across, and now she wanted to test it out for herself...but to do that, she'd need her own shards.

From the Skyway.

Though she'd come from there, just like everyone had, it was safe to say that she was hesitant to return for any amount of time. She knew there were supposedly monsters, and that the amulet she'd been given would help make paths for her to walk on, but that wasn't much to go on. If Jane was going back into that place, she wanted to be prepared, and where better to find folks who frequented the Skyway than the Monument that turned their shards into things? So that's where she is, approaching all who pass by to ask,]

Excuse me, but what do folks usually bring along with them to the Skyway if they want to look for shards?

Comments

[cyan_maid]

[No apologies needed!

Jane pauses for a moment, looking around to try and find the source of that...voice. Did she hear it, or was it in her head? It most certainly wasn't her own thinking. Feeling a little foolish, she calls out,] Er, hello...?

[notachickenhawk]

[Tobias flaps his wings from the building he's perched on.]

<Up here. Yes, the bird. No, you're not going insane.>

[cyan_maid]

[She can just make out the flapping and she turns, catching sight of...well, wow, yeah, that is indeed a bird. Some kind of hawk, even.

What the hell.]

You're...um, not fooling around with me, are you?

[Hey, she's not dismissing Tobias entirely. Thank the chocolate jerky cows for that.]

[notachickenhawk]

<No, I'm not. It's a long story. But yeah, can you fight? You might want to take someone else with you too, even if you can. Safety in numbers and all that.>

[cyan_maid]

Is there a Cliff Notes version, if you don't mind me asking, Mister Hawk?

[Because telepathic hawk. Of course she's going to ask.]

I can fight just fine, actually, but I do agree, there's great safety in numbers. Do folks usually congregate for these outings, or...?

[notachickenhawk]

<Tobias. And sometimes they do.>

[Uhh Cliff Notes version...]

<An alien gave me and my friends a piece of technology that let us change into any animal we touched, but it had a time limit. I went over the time limit. I got the power back later. But when you're in a different body you can talk mind to mind like the ones who developed the technology could.>

[cyan_maid]

Tobias, then. [Certainly better than Mister Hawk.] I'll have to keep an ear out, I suppose.

I...see. I think. To be quite honest, with my own experience with aliens, that...doesn't sound too terribly far-fetched.

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah, I've... encountered a bunch of different aliens. But that aside, if you want help on the Skyway I'm more than happy to be a scout. I can fight, too, if we need to.>

[cyan_maid]

Oh - yes, I would love that, thank you! Ah, would your fighting have to do with that animal shapeshifting you mentioned?

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah. I can morph into a Hork-Bajir, for one - they're like giant lizards with blades all over them.>

[... A thought occurs to him.]

<What's your name?>

[cyan_maid]

Is that the alien that gave you the shapeshifting? Because I can't say I've heard of any animal called a Hork-Bajir.

[That's a good thought to have.]

My name is Jane Crocker. I probably should have introduced myself before...sorry about that.

[notachickenhawk]

<No, that's a different one, called an Andalite.>

[... Like Betty Crocker? But he doesn't say that. Even though he really wants to.]

<It's okay.>

[cyan_maid]

[Yeah you might not be ready for the can of worms that is Betty Crocker and Jane, Tobias. It's a mighty strange can of worms.]

Huh! How many aliens do you happen to have met before? I've only met one kind in person, even counting the Bastion, but I did communicate with another.

[notachickenhawk]

[It is just not worth the trouble.]

<A lot. The Yeerks - that's the slugs - relied on host bodies, and Earth wasn't exactly the first planet they tried to conquer.>

[cyan_maid]

[Maybe some other time.]

Slug aliens? Er...I don't think I want to know how they got their host bodies if they're slugs.

[notachickenhawk]

<Oh. Yeah. The Andalite gave us the ability to morph to fight back against them. And they crawl into the ears of their hosts. Apparently it doesn't hurt but I don't exactly want to find out.>

[cyan_maid]

[Jane wrinkles her nose and shivers as she rubs at one of her ears. Eugh. Nope, definitely not down for that.]

I would definitely have to agree with you there. Golly, I'm glad I've never had to meet anything like that.

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah. It's... easier here.>

[Though there's still a lot of people he wishes were here too.]

[cyan_maid]

[She hums, frowning a little.] I...suppose it is. I mean, no one has to go out and fight unless they want to.

[It'd be nice if there were more people Jane knew here, too.]

[notachickenhawk]

<Yeah. I mean, it's not perfect... but we're all trying to help each other, at least.>

[cyan_maid]

In this sort of situation, I don't see why we shouldn't.

[A pause.] Say...have you been in the Bastion very long?

[notachickenhawk]

<... A while. Why?>

[cyan_maid]

Just wondering.

...Does it get easier? To, um, to be here, I mean?

[notachickenhawk]

<In some ways. Sometimes you wake up and you think things are normal. Sometimes you wake up and... wonder where other people are. It's easier to distract yourself, but... I won't say you stop wondering about the people you haven't found yet. ... Who might not have made it.>

[cyan_maid]

[A sigh. Jane folds her arms in front of her.] I see.

Sorry, that was an odd question to ask, wasn't it? Especially when you've only just met someone.