June 2021 - A New Arrival?

[staymods]

A New Arrival?

For the last two months, arrivals in the settlement have all been the same. First an Otherworlder is picked up by the Finnish government, then they are quarantined and questioned, and finally they are brought to the island. There has been no variance to the pattern, and the familiarity of it gives life in the settlement a kind of rhythm to live by.

Or at least, it did. Up until today.

Because at some point in the early afternoon, the air around the settlement shifts. For a few seconds, anyone outside will feel the hairs stand up on their skin, not unlike a static charge. Then there is a, audible snap, the feeling abruptly disappears, and all returns back to normal.

Except for one important detail: there is now another person in the settlement, standing on the sandy, treeless banks of Snake Island.

Comments

[suddenlybees]

[ ?? ??? Hello? Is anybody seeing this? Against better judgement, Kano comes skipping up to the mysterious stranger. ]

Yoohoo~! Hi! Hello!

[ What's going on, does this person look like a wizard? they're not bleeding or dying or looking anything alarming, are they ]

[ghoulserrand]

[Well, uh, the person doesn't not look like a wizard. There's a hood over his head and a gaiter over his face and a pair of dark welder's goggles over his eyes. Arguably wizard-ish... but, probably more like a punk fan driven to bank robbery given the latter guise mixed with a leather jacket and patchy pants.

He might look a touch alarming. Maybe. But it seems he's just as alarmed as the sudden approach has him straightening, turning to quick to look directly at Kano.]

...Hello?

[There's a raspy quality to his voice.]

[suddenlybees]

[ This was a mistake already, but it's a smile that's plastered on Kano's face all the same as he blatantly looks the other person up and down and up and down again. ]

Hi!

[ Just in case ]

Did you do that zappy thing?

[ghoulserrand]

[There's a pause. The man answers slow.]

...Zappy... thing?

[His head tilts.]

What is the... zappy thing... and... where is this?

[suddenlybees]

Zappy... thing... Like, you know...

[ ...it doesn't look like he does, though, so Kano supplies some visual help, both hands up in the air before flinging them down to his feet with a ]

Ka- POW! BOOM! KKkkkkkkkkkkkkkrrr—-

[ It's supposed to sound like a lightning strike, as emulated by somebody who's never heard one in real life before. ]

Anyways, you're in Finland.

[ghoulserrand]

[Impressive not-lightning. But--]

F-Finland?

[He glances around.]

But that's- [He coughs.] I wasn't... in Finland...

[Oh god. Did he forget again? Did he lose himself? No. No. There's no way he could have gotten to a whole continent even if that did happen.]

[maidofmistakes]

[Supergirl runs over and skids to a stop, stumbling and clailing her arms a bit so she doesn't fall.]

Whoa! Did you just get here? I didn't see a boat bringing you or anything.

[ghoulserrand]

[He reaches out, almost moving to catch, but catching himself before that happens. Not a good idea. But, not really important. There's a living person here.]

Yes... yes... I don't know how... was just here...

[The man before her speaks with a rasp. His breath seems to strain, breaking up his words.]

[maidofmistakes]

Oh, no, are you sick? They're gonna make you quarantine so none of us get it. They're already really worried here about the plague from this world... But hey, at least you showed up right on the settlement! The rest of us had to be rescued by the people who live here, and they sent us to this island to fix it up and live here until they can figure out how to send us back. I mean, hopefully.

[ghoulserrand]

No.

[It comes out sharply, with him taking a step back.]

No... I'm... fine. [He hates this part.] I was... injured... long time ago. [He shakes his head.] What do you mean... this world? Or back?

[maidofmistakes]

Sorry!

[She winces at the sharp response. Oh, great, she's messed things up again.]

We all just kind of... ended up here. This is an alternate dimension from where any of us lived. We're in Finland on Earth, but in this Earth, society's kind of gone way back to no electricity and having to use lake water for everything, since everything was wrecked by a zombie plague? I mean, it sounds like a zombie plague. They call them trolls here, though.

This island's safe for now, we just have to rebuild everything to live on and stay out of trouble. That's what they tell us when they come in to check on us.

[battling]

[Well. That was sure weird? He looks around at the feeling, but the only thing that seems to have changed is the new arrival.]

Just got here?

[ghoulserrand]

[He startles slightly. He's really not used to be addressed in any way.]

...Would seem so... Where...?

[battling]

"Otherworlder Settlement #5" accordin' to the people who brought us over.

[ghoulserrand]

[Five settlements worth of people from other worlds. The impossibility of all of that is stunning. But one thing goes beyond impossible. He shakes his head.]

No one... brought me over... was just here... Are you an otherworlder...?

[battling]

Just a sudden arrival...? Huh. That's some weird shit goin' down.

Yeah. I ain't from 'round here.

[relictus]

[That sure felt like some kind of magic. Or whatever equivalent this world has, probably.]

[It's not too hard to notice the dark figure on the otherwise barren Snake Island. He opts to take the quick route there to investigate, which is to say, he summons his broom and flies over, keeping it in hand after he lands and dismounts.]

How did you get here?

[ghoulserrand]

[Because he is so visible on Snake island, it stands to reason that anyone crossing over would be too. Spotting someone flying overhead isn't particularly difficult. Processing the fact that someone is flying to him on a broomstick, well that's another story.]

...Wondering... the same thing. About both of us...

[relictus]

[He notes how covered he is and the rasping voice, and unless you'd prefer he doesn't it's possible Faust may get a sense of what's off about him- but either way, he doesn't comment on it. He wouldn't be the only one here to give him nonhuman vibes.]

New arrivals aren't usually dropped off on this part of the islands... or did you suddenly find yourself transported here?

[Since that's technically how they all arrived in this world, though it seems unlikely they'd appear directly on the islands... but not impossible.]

ooc: absolutely okay for him to notice!

[ghoulserrand]

Second one.

[Which is bizarre enough.]

Are you... a witch? Wizard...? [Was there a difference? God, he can't remember.]

:|b

[relictus]

[Oh, this one knows how to recognize a wizard. Which may not be a good thing. His eyes narrow slightly.]

I am a wizard, yes. Is that a problem?

[Sorry if his tone is a tad defensive.]

[aono]

[Me, coming back to this a week later.

Rin is absolute shit at rowing those canoes around, so it's going to take him a minute to get there. Or like twenty. He's Trying, and his curses while he tries can definitely be heard.

When he finally does finish rowing his way over, he's going to scramble out of the canoe and up the beach.]

Hey! You okay? It felt like something went boom over here.

[ghoulserrand]

[There's more than a little worry when he simply appears on an island. The most likely explanation is that he lost a chunk of memory, but that doesn't actually explain how he got here. There is an option to panic here.

But, it's hard to focus on even that when observing this boy desperately struggling to row across the watery expanse, curses getting louder the closer he gets in earshot.]

Didn't hear... anything... Feel like I... should be asking you that...

[aono]

[Wow, this guy talks slow! Rin wonders what's up with that.]

Nah, it wasn't that kind of a boom. It was like a weather-boom, when the pressure gets all high.

[He knows just enough about the weather to say something like that.]

...hey, I haven't seen you before either! How'd you get here?

[ghoulserrand]

... I don't know... that much about weather...

[He has a feeling that's not something he forgot either. He shakes his head.]

Just here... don't know how...