Beginnings are hard | Open Network + Action

[whattingawhat]

[Action + Network]

Action

Two seconds earlier, Buffy had been walking toward the room in the Alpha Complex that she didn’t share with anyone. She’d opened the door, stepped through and started to unzip the orange jumpsuit she wore. Two seconds ago she’d been in an underground complex and now...she wasn’t.

Her hand freezes on the zipper of her jumpsuit then falls to her side (it’s only unzipped about an inch).

“Toto...I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” she murmurs. She’s pretty sure she’s not in San Francisco either. There are some pretty important landmarks missing, like the bridge, and the beach looks suspiciously more like the one in Sunnydale than in San Francisco. This calls for an exploration, and some damn information. If she were more certain about the population here, she might find something inhuman and evil to beat information out of, but since nothing is jumping out at her to volunteer, she’s going to have to stick to finding things out in a much more polite way.

She really wishes (for the billionth time since being pulled into the Alpha Complex) that she wasn’t wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. She’s pretty sure it doesn’t inspire trust in anyone. She slips her hands into her pockets as she starts to walk and finds the PDA that was definitely not there before. Her brow furrows and she starts poking at buttons, eventually pulling up the network:

text

Echo one nine, is anyone there? I’m pretty sure I just mixed my military and trucker walkie etiquette, but seriously? Is anyone there?

Comments

Text

[ohhhaleno]

[ Trucker type talk? Okay, she'll bite, if only because it's coming from another female and when Laura thinks of truckers, she thinks of dudes. ]

Yeah, no, I was going to say...I think truckers, it's "breaker" one nine, but I could be wrong. I am neither a trucker nor military; never have been, never will be.

Laura Hale, and yeah. There are plenty of us here. Welcome to the jungle.

Re: Text

[whattingawhat]

[ Honestly, the only thing she knows of trucker talk is in movies and tv shows.]

I know the military uses echo, but I'm not sure what for. I have an ex who was military. It was all Echo Bravo Alpha Blah Blah.

Buffy Summers. Is everyone a transplant?

[ohhhaleno]

I think it's just E in their alphabet. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot,
etc., etc. because it's hard to hear some letters over radios, like F, S; M, N; whatever.

...I could be totally off, I'm completely talking out of my ass right now, don't mind me.

Yeah, I think so. Or at least, everyone I've met so far. Are you brand-spankin' new? Rumor has it you can leave whenever you want, just find your door and head right back through it, but I' not going anywhere, thanks very much. Nailed my door shut and everything. I'll pass. It's pretty cool here, save a little crazy now and again. More crazy than home, but less often by a long shot, so I'll take it.

Where are you from?

[whattingawhat]

Huh. I should have asked him. Anyway, it makes sense to me.

I've been here a few hours so pretty much. I've seen a door, a blue one, but it just opens to this stone alcove. I mean, I'm not keen on going back where I was but it was kind of instinct to try and go back through a door that didn't go where it should have.

Originally, Sunnydale then San Francisco but most recently an underground complex that I only knew by the name of Alpha Complex. you?

[ohhhaleno]

All the doors I've seen look pretty much the same to me, but what's on the other side of my door, I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy —...okay, no, I would. That's a lie, I would absolutely wish it on my worst enemy, but only on my worst enemy — and I wasn't sure, at the time, whether just anybody could open any old door, so that's why I nailed mine shut. But I heard subsequently that you can only potentially get through if it's your own door. I don't know how accurate that is.

Oh, California girls unite! I'm originally from a blink and you miss it town called Beacon Hills, but I lived in Brooklyn for a little while, then I had headed back to BH briefly and now I'm here. Where's Sunnydale? That one doesn't ring a bell.

[whattingawhat]

Hmmm. I guess I'll have to open some doors and peer in. The whole looking before I leap thing.

Yeah, I haven't heard of it. Beacon Hills, not Brooklyn. Sunnydale is the same sort of town. Or it was. It's...sort of a crater now. It has a plaque and everything. It wasn't a crater when I lived there. Obviously. And everyone had been evacuated for the cratering and it wasn't like I knew...I mean no one knew for sure it was going to crater.

[ohhhaleno]

Looking before you leap is such good advice I never seem able to take...

Ouch...I'm sorry to hear it.

[ Beacon Hills was bad, but not that bad. At least, she doesn't think. Although, with the Hale pack wiped out and no one left to protect the town, for all she knows, it's due to implode within the next few years. ]

For whatever it's worth, it's pretty nice here. Things do get a little...crazy sometimes. But for the most part, it's pretty chill. We don't have to pay for anything, so that's always nice.

[the_dawnster]

[ The second the name 'Buffy Summers' pops up on her screen, Dawn is texting back. Having her sister here makes the entire situation better, end of story. ]

Breaker breaker one-nine, we've got a white christmas situation in the land of plenty. Also, I'm here. Do we know what happened?

[whattingawhat]

[ And having Dawn here makes this situation both better and more scary. She doesn't know enough about this place to be comfortable with having the most important person in her entire life here, not when she knows that Dawn is safe back home with the others. At the same time, she hasn't seen Dawn in over a month. She's dying to see her little sister, to know how she's doing.]

White Christmas Sunnydale style? Over and--where are you? No idea what happened. Are you okay? Over and out.

[the_dawnster]

[ For Dawn it hasn't been over a month. In fact, she's just seen her yesterday and she has no idea about where Buffy has been. That doesn't change the fact that she's absolutely positive that things will be okay now that she knows Buffy is here. Without Buffy here, she'd be a lot more cautious and wary. ]

White Christmas as in the there were never such adorable sisters. You and me. I'm hoping it's not a white christmas Sunnydale style. Those never end well. And yeah, I'm okay. I walked out of our apartment on my way to classes and ended up here. Kind of glad I had my bookbag with me. The Kindle alone... plus other things. Spike is here too.

[whattingawhat]

[ She could be cautious and wary with Buffy around. Just saying. However, if they're stuck here, Buffy is happy to have her sister with her. At least she can fight the threats against her rather than trusting someone else will.]

Those are the kinds of Christmases I can handle. We could do a photo card. Spike is here?

[ That's going to complicate things or so she thinks.]

Where are you? I'm coming to find you. I think a sister hug is in order. Also me checking to make sure you're the right size, species and not a robot.

[the_dawnster]

[ Knowing Spike and Buffy's history, Dawn feels a little awkward talking about Spike with her sister. But in her world, Buffy has been busy with police and government and Spike and Dawn have gotten very close. So, it is what it is. Right? ]

Yeah. He's safe.

[ Safe as in not evil!Spike and safe as in not going up in flames. Maybe that accounts for everything. Probably not. ]

I'm on main street, right next to a park with an awesome looking playground. Definitely hug time. I swear I'm normal size and that I didn't do this!

[whattingawhat]

[ It's a little awkward for Buffy as well. Things are different when (where) Buffy has come from. That's going to be a fun conversation. ]
Good. You haven't seen Willow or Xander, have you?

[ Because with three of them showing up here at once, it feels purposeful and that's not a good thing. Her assurances that Spike is safe do cover a lot of bases. She assumes Dawn would have used different words if Spike were evil. ]brb

True to her word, Buffy finds the park with the playground in some what record time. When she sees Dawn, she breaks into a jog, moving toward her sister and enveloping her in a hug. Maybe there's some sort of bigger evil reason for them being here together, but at this moment, she doesn't care. She's just so glad to see Dawn safe and sound.

[the_dawnster]

Negatory on the rest of the scooby gang. I'm still trying to figure this place out so that we can tell if they're here or not.

[ But why bring just some and not all. Dawn is hyper worried about this because she's always been concerned about being used against Buffy for something again. She never wants Buffy to have to quit or lose or give her life for her again. ]

--

When she spots her sister, however, it becomes a slow motion movie scene cause Dawn is jogging toward her too. The only thing that keeps it real is that Dawn stops short and stutter start stops into a hug instead of making a crashing, or even smooth, transition. Yep, very Dawn, very Summers girl-y.

"You know we have to quit meeting like this, all apocalypse-y but in a Stepford kind of way." She realizes that her sister is holding on longer than usual. Harder. Just... more. "Hey, I just saw you yesterday, ya know."

[rouxgaroux]

One of the first things Alcide did upon arrival was to stash the orange jumpsuit in an alleyway and shift. The moment he felt his wolf again he'd had to shift. After so long of not, Alcide had to. He'd run into the woods and had been running for awhile until he caught the scent of something familiar. Sorry Buffy, but also not sorry, he's sniffling you out.

It doesn't take very long. Alcide can move quickly as a wolf. He finds her looking into the window of some store, still wearing her orange jumpsuit.

When she feels a nozzle press against the back of her knee, Buffy will see this large wolf with golden eyes looking up at her. The wolf whines and huffs before backing up into an alleyway. Then the wolf peeks back at her, hoping she'll follow.

[whattingawhat]

Buffy has never seen Alcide in wolf form and she's got to admit that it's a little startling and she's without any weapon at all, which is probably a good thing as it allows her to pause long enough to realize that despite the fact that this is a very large wolf, it doesn't seem threatening. The way it whines and huffs is weird behavior for a wolf, as is the way it backs away then peeks, or she assumes it's weird behavior. She's never actually seen a wolf. The only werewolf she's ever seen in wolf form is Oz and there's very little about him that resembles this wolf.

After some hesitation, she follows the wolf into the alley, aware that her slayer powers are active here and she can make a weapon out of almost anything if necessary. Her body language is absolutely defensive. She may be blindly following this wolf into the alley, but she's not defenseless.

[rouxgaroux]

Right now, Alcide's only hope is that she's true to her word, that she doesn't kill on sight or just because something is different than her. She'd assured him of that in the place where they came from and Alcide has to believe in it now as he tries to lead her into the alleyway, as he peeks around to see if she'll follow him. When she does, he backs up, further into the shadows, and further still until his white fur almost looks ghostly and his golden eyes glow brightly.

Even then he waits a moment to see if she's going to attack or not. She doesn't. That's when he shifts, quick and painless into his human form, tall and broad and... naked. He holds his hands out even still to try to show her he means no harm until she notices that it's him.

"It's okay. It's me." He says. "Buffy, it's me. Alcide."

[whattingawhat]

In that case, she's glad she doesn't disappoint him. Of course, if she starts just willy nilly killing people, she's going to disappoint herself as well. She tries not to do that because that way lies darkness and a dark Buffy isn't a Buffy that anyone wants to see. Her suspicion and curiosity grow as the wolf continues to back further into the shadows.

"If this is a trap, you should know, you look nothing like my grandma," she says to the wolf (and to herself) because banter is what Buffy does and this feels like it's keying up and leading to something.

She just doesn't expect that something to be Alcide. Naked. She's speechless for a moment, mouth gaping as her eyes rove over him. At first, it's the shifting that shocks her. She's never seen Oz shift because...privacy, but she's heard it and it doesn't sound as painless or as quick as Alcide's shift. Yes, she knew that Oz and Alcide weren't the same type of wolf simply from what Alcide had told her, but seeing it and hearing it are two different things.

Once the shock of the shift wears off, there's a lot of gaping (admiration more than shock) at all the nakedness. She finally manages to look up into his eyes. "I--you--that's..." she blows out air and takes a deep breath. "Yup. You. HI. It's me too. Less---more clothed and now I'm re-evaluating that because...jump suit and this is--hi."

[rouxgaroux]

There's that moment of shock that Alcide has expected and he waits for it to wear thin. She's rambling and Alcide's first thought isn't because he's naked. Wolves in his world are completely comfortable with their bodies and nudity. You have to be when this is how you end up out of a shift. No, he thinks it's still the shock of finding each other here and the shift itself.

So he tries to add some levity to the moment, smirking, tilting his head and arching a brow. "Your grandma?" As if to say 'really?'. His smirk grows into a small grin.

After a moment, that grin subsides as he sobers and steps closer to her. "I didn't mean to startle you... just, when I smelled you I had to get to you." That probably sounds way more creepy than he intended it, but again, wolf.

"Looks like we ended up somewhere else. You're straight from the Complex, right? How do you think this happened? Do you think we can get... others here?" Derek, Zee, Gracie - just to name a few.

[whattingawhat]

Buffy is not nearly as comfortable with nudity as Alcide is. She's just never been the naked sort of girl. She's not totally repressed, at least she doesn't think she is, but public nudity is a hard no for her. Also, has she mentioned that Alcide looks really good naked? Because he does. She's trying not to stare only semi successfully.

"Wolf. Red Riding Hood. Grandma. I don't know. It makes sense in Buffy Brain." Yes. Really. She's rattled, okay and it has little to do with the shifting thing.

It probably would be creepy if it weren't for the fact that she's used to being smelled. Little weird, but also normal weird. "Good thing I took a shower this morning," she quips, knowing that has little to do with the whole smelling thing.

She nods a little at his question. "I don't know. There are people here that aren't from the Complex though. Dawnie is here." She presses her lips together. They can talk about Spike being here later. "We--we should probably get you some clothes and me something that isn't orange. We can--I've got a key that says it's to an apartment here. Want to check it out with me?"

[stillplaying]

That bright orange is really hard to miss. It makes her think of the bright orange backpack that she had in the arena. She can almost picture a particularly vicious Gamemaker insisting that the Stylists dress the tributes in something similar. But there are no more Hunger Games. At least there shouldn't be. Katniss will never willingly step foot in Panem to see for herself but it's something that she has to believe anyway. Going back to Panem initially ran the risk of losing what she has here. Now she's certain that she can never go back, not given what she is now.

It's been a few weeks and even if life isn't ever going to be what she had previously considered normal again, it hasn't been as horrifying as she thought it would be. Not since the full moon anyway. She's slowly started to approach others again rather than spend all day alone. Laura doesn't stay away from everyone. She needs to keep reminding herself of that.

The bright orange is really hard to miss. She stares at it for a second longer as the woman talks to herself. It's not that Katniss meant to overhear the comment, let alone stare so long. Her intention had been to continue on to the store for groceries, not to gawk at some stranger. But there are things that she's still learning. Like remembering not to always reply. Which she promptly forgets as she mutters, "It's Itinere."

[whattingawhat]

Yeah and that's not even Buffy's least favorite thing about it. It makes her think about prisons, not that she's ever been, but it's a commonly held pop culture image. In any case, she's on her way to get rid of the orange jumpsuit as soon as she figures out she doesn't need money here.

Normal isn't everything, or at least that's what Buffy tells herself. She's flirted with normal, tried to live it and failed over and over again. Most of the time she's perfectly fine with a life that doesn't resemble normal. With any luck, Katniss will learn to appreciate her new life at least most of the time.

Buffy whirls, preparing to attack someone when she sees that 'someone' just happens to be Katniss. She relaxes despite the fact that Katniss is making her spidey sense go haywire. Maybe it's not even Katniss at all, maybe it's this place making the senses all tingley. "Katniss, you got transferred here too? Have you seen Derek or Alcide or Steve or anyone else from the Complex? I'm thinking maybe it was a mass transfer or at least I am now." Hoping is more like it.

[stillplaying]

Katniss had been kept imprisoned during her trial but she hadn't been put in any kind of prison uniform. She never paid close enough attention to know what kind, if any, jumpsuit prisoners of Panem or 13 would wear. It seemed a minute detail in comparison to everything else going on at the time.

Normal should be everything. As horrible as normal had been growing up, it hadn't thrown anything too unexpected her way. Her father had died, yes, but that had always been a peril of working in the coal mines. Normal had also given her the Hunger Games, though. It lead towards a series of events that had taken its toll. Life in Itinere, where nothing has been normal, has been better. Given her gifts instead of taking precious people away. But it's still hard to see werewolf as a gift.

Buffy whirls around and Katniss immediately takes a step back. That's another thing different now. While her reflexes had been good before, they're near uncanny now. She watches the woman closely and frowns when called by name. There's nothing familiar about her and the way she speaks suggests familiarity. More than recognizing the name and face of the Mockingjay. Katniss shifts uncomfortably where she stands. The frown deepens into a scowl. "Who are you?"

[whattingawhat]

Honestly, the jumpsuit probably resembles the uniforms worn in District 13 aside from color.

Buffy understands how powers can seem like a curse. She'd thought the same about her own powers when she'd first gotten them, but slowly she'd learned to accept her power, to embrace it and to control it. Hopefully, Katniss will have the same sort of experience. If she's lucky, it will happen more quickly for her than it did for Buffy.

She's got far too much experience with supernatural beings not to recognize pternatual reflexes when she sees them. Her eyes narrow a little and she stays on the defensive. The Katniss she'd known hadn't been supernatural, but none of them had had their powers and she wasn't particularly close to Katniss anyway. When Katniss asks who she is, Buffy's expression turns confused and worried. "Buffy. I know--Derek and I are friends. We've talked a couple of times, you and I."

[stillplaying]

Being a werewolf is still too new and confusing in so many aspects. The first full moon had been a horrible experience, albeit not the worse she had ever gone through. There are too many awful memories in her life to think that the anger and craze she felt then could surpass any of those other feelings. Laura had assured that it would get easier over time and so far, she hasn't hurt anyone. That has to be a good start.

Buffy's initial assessment of Katniss had been correct. The version of her that had been in Alpha Complex hadn't been supernatural. The majority of this Katniss' life hadn't been, either. It's a recent development and if ever asked how, Katniss might actually be tempted to lie. No matter how bad she is at it or how obvious the lie might be, it's better than admitting the truth: that she let her boyfriend get carried away in kissing her while trapped in a female werewolf's body. No, that's information no one ever has to know.

Still, nothing the woman -- Buffy -- says by way of explanation sounds familiar. "I don't know anyone named Derek."