Intro Log: The Forgotten City

[atlasmods]

GOOD MORNING NEW ARRIVALS This time for real! WAKEY WAKEY. As the storm finally peters out and characters can once again move above ground it becomes abundantly clear that the landscape has changed. Where vast expanses of sand dunes once laid is now the half-buried remnants of what looks like some sort of...city? Full of structures. It stretches so far it's really hard to tell. But there is one thing characters will notice: There are more stasis pods. Revealed by the sandstorm, a whole new flurry of pods can be found scattered on the way to the city (curiously though, not in it. Hurry and wake those guys up! SPREAD THE LOVE. OR ACID. With the departure of the storm there's even more new arrivals to be found besides those fellow travelers of yours! The "Seedlings" and "Cactus" are now both available, the former blown in by the storm and the former uncovered. The Seedlings are generally pretty harmless. They like to burrow into the sand so only their "Leaves" plant-like leaves remain above ground, and they're quite happy to stay that way until surprised. Then they pop up and trip over themselves a little, before slowing down and wandering aimlessly. When they find a patch of sand that looks comfy they begin burrowing back down. Pull or yank on their leaves though and you'll find yourself with a face full of pollen that makes you want to just tell everyone how super-cool they are. It lasts a while, and then you get a fever and vomit for two hours. Good times. The Cacti are much less harmless and just...why would you eat them? Everything about this plant is poisonous, and cracking it open causes a corrosive acid-like substance to spill out. It'll eat through everything but...dirt, oddly. Metals and flesh are like hot oil on plastic. DON'T GET LOST And last but not least: The Forgotten City. Maybe you want to check out the Hull first for some loot, but maybe that's not such a cool idea anymore? Although it looks like the ship's definitely more powered after draining the suits of whoever went in, now it's started to spread and fill the sinkhole the ship's in. Suits can go from 100% to 0% in just ten minutes--not good! Lucky for everyone else, it looks like finally there's some sort of civilization up ahead. Go on and check it out! OR DO. THAT'S OKAY TOO. Go nuts, have fun, and enjoy! (This is the wildcard option) OOC The Flora, Fauna & Resources page has been updated with information on the seedlings, cacti, and crystals! These items are now all available for Discovery, and The Forgotten City will be available indefinitely from now on! Characters can take this time to settle & build up a foundation for themselves, explore the area, and of course, harass those poor little seedlings. We encourage players to make their own open posts for this setting--you don't need to stick to just this intro log! But make sure to make our newbies feel welcome!

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Pidge Gunderson | Voltron: Legendary Defender | Open!

[sweatysometimes]

[ A. Wakey, wakey! ]

Pidge, having awoken from her pod, is stumbling amongst the dunes trying to scavenge what she can from ruined pods and other debris. She's doing her best just to focus on putting one foot in front of the other and not think about how generally awful this situation is. No Lion. Stranded. At least some of her friends are here, right? She pauses to check another pod, shakes her head. This stuff is impossible to scavenge, really, without any proper tools. With an annoyed yell, she finally just kicks one--something she immediately regrets as pain shoots up her foot and she dances around clutching her toe before falling into the sand with a puff of dust. Oops.

"Stupid piece of junk--!"

[B. Spread the love ]

Pidge isn't one to go poking weird plants, herself. She'll leave that up to other people. Still, she's bound to be the subject of a pollinated hug or two as she makes her away across the sand towards the strange city that's emerged from amongst the dunes. Her reaction is almost universally annoyed or exasperated as she tries to avoid affection and get on with her hike.

[ C. Exploring the city ]

Pidge is picking her way among ruined buildings and sand swept streets, listening occasionally as the wind moans through the ruins. She doesn't like this place. It's empty and ruined and the strange markings on the buildings give her the heebie jeebies, but she needs to do something with herself. She pauses, lifting a hand to touch along the impressive claw marks.

"What the heck did this?" She murmurs the question aloud, though it's more meant for herself than anyone else.

[D. Wild card!]

[bladebabysitter]

"Try not to break anything. I'm not sure how well it would heal, with everything else going on."

Elma had clearly been here a while -- there was probably no other explanation for the fact that she had chitinous plates attached to her suit with wire, like armor. At least that might be hope that some salvage WAS possible.

The woman offered one hand to Pidge to help her up. "It may not be safe to stay around these pods. I'd suggest we leave immediately."

[sweatysometimes]

Pidge winces and looks up at Elma--it's kind of a relief to see other people out here. Ruefully, she rubs at her foot and gives a nod.

"Breaking something is not my idea of fun," she agrees, then reaches up to take Elma's hand and haul herself up to her feet.

"Why wouldn't it be safe? I'm trying to find anything I can use for tools or salvage..."

[bladebabysitter]

"Because the original set of pods we all emerged from exploded," Elma said, very calmly and matter-of-fact. "We don't know why, but my personal guess is that they were designed to do so intentionally once we had the chance to exit them, collect what we could, and get away."

[sweatysometimes]

"Exploded?" Okay, that sounds... not so good to Pidge. She takes what little she's managed to gather into her arms and moves to follow Elma away from the pods, glancing back nervously as if they might go off right at this moment.

"So, uh... What's your name? How long have you been stuck here?" She's inquisitive, trying to find out what she can, even if Lance and Allura have given her a bit of a rundown on their situation already.

[bladebabysitter]

"My name's Elma." She glanced over at Pidge, willing to take something off her hands if she needed the help. "I and several others have been here about twelve days... twelve of this planet's days. How long that translates to in times we'd understand from our own homeland..."

[sweatysometimes]

"I'm Pidge," she replies and rubs a hand across her shoulder, nodding as she digests the information. Twelve days, possibly longer or shorter than Earth's days. The information is filed away.

"How many others are there here? Like, from the pods?"

[bladebabysitter]

"Twenty to thirty. If I can't give you a precise number..." She paused, wondering if there was a gentler way to break this. But lying or deception wouldn't help, not when Pidge could hear it from others anyway. "It's because some of the people who woke up with the rest of us are gone. We don't know when, or where."

[sweatysometimes]

"Wait, people have disappeared?" This is news to Pidge, though she's been acquainted with the general situation. She exhales, stumbles a little as she misses her footing in the shifting sand beneath her feet.

"That's... kinda creepy."

spread the love

[mousewhisperer]

[ Those little seedlings are just there. No really, one minute you're walking over some patches of leaves and the next, there are little seedlings jumping up and surprising you.

Allura's generally sensible, because she's always had to be, but she's also still curious and the seedlings don't seem harmless, until she tries to grab one and gets a face full of pollen. And well, the pollen has the same effect on Alteans as it does on humans. ]

Pidge! [ Sorry Pidge, as the first person Allura sees, there is another hug in your future. Allura bends down to sweep her into a brief, but tight hug. ] I'm so glad you're here with us. I just want you to know, you can tell me anything.

Re: spread the love

[sweatysometimes]

[ Pidge is double-checking what sort of supplies she's salvaged from her pod when she suddenly gets a big ol' hug from Allura. There's an awkward little squawk and she returns the hug a little awkwardly. ]

Ah, yeah. I knew that. You told me before...

[mousewhisperer]

It's important though. [ She steps back, though not far, she just wants to be close to the people she likes. ] It's sad you're here, that any of us are here, but I'm so glad. You're smart and can figure out the secrets, we'll be off this planet soon.

[sweatysometimes]

[ Pidge isn't sure what to say for a moment, especially with Allura standing so close. She coughs, then formulates a reply. ]

Thanks? I'm glad you guys are here with me, at least. What kind of secrets are there to look out for here?

[mousewhisperer]

Oh no.

[ Allura's eyes get comically wide at the cough. ] Are you getting sick? We can't get sick here, there's no medicine and no one is very comfortable sleeping on the ground. And you won't be able to explore if you're sick.

[ Allura looks around for some place to sit, but one spot is just as good as another, so she sinks to the dirt, reaching to pull Pidge down with her. ] Rest.

[sweatysometimes]

Ah, no! No, I'm not getting sick. My throat just really dry from this heat. I don't do well with heat, you know? I get sweaty...Ack!

[ Pidge flails a little as she's tugged down to sit next to Allura, then plops into the sand with a wince. ]

Shouldn't we find some shade?

[mousewhisperer]

[ Oh that's right, Allura still forgets how fragile humans can be sometimes. ]

There's not too much shade to be found, but we'll find something. It does cool down at night. [ One of the tolerable things about the planet. Allura stands and helps Pidge up, even tries to link arms with her, but their height difference is such that it isn't entirely comfortable and hampers movement. ]

[sweatysometimes]

[ Awkwardly, Pidge stumbles along with Allura in the quest for shade. ]

Maybe some of those ruined buildings off in the distance? They seem like the best plce to take shelter...

[ The outskirts of the city are faintly visible through the shimmering desert air. ]

C

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka crosses her arms from where she stands behind Pidge-- it's uncertain when she got there, but she moves silently, so it's unlikely her approach was heard.]

I'm not sure. We saw them in the boneyard too.

Re: C

[sweatysometimes]

[ Pidge jumps about half her height into the air at the sudden voice behind her. There's a yelp and she jerks around before slumping back against the wall, a hand against her chest. ]

Jeez. You scared the heck out of me.

[ Pidge sucks in a breath, then frowns as her startled brain begins to catch up with Ahsoka's words. ]

The boneyard? Lance didn't mention anything a boneyard.

C

[resnipstance]

[Sheepishly:] --Oops. Sorry. My bad. [She holds up her hands in a gesture of apology.]

[Thinking this is some new person who has just met him and not an old friend, Ahsoka rolls her eyes at the mention of Lance, though it's with a certain fondness.]

I don't know how accurate Lance's descriptions are at the best of times.

Re: C

[sweatysometimes]

[ Pidge gives a sheepish grin and nods. ]

It's okay. I should've been paying more attention...

[ She snorts as Ahsoka rolls her eyes. She can see that Lance has already made a lasting impression on this girl, no matter how long he's been here. ]

That's a bit harsh, but he does tend to be kinda, uh. Excitable.

[ She smiles up at Ahsoka. Tries to, anyway. Smiling isn't easy right now. ]

I'm Pidge!

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka chuckles.] Sounds like you have his number already. Anyway, we were camped out a boneyard a few miles back. There were scratches just like these.

It's nice to meet you, pidge. I'm Ashla.

[sweatysometimes]

He's a good guy. Just kind of a dork sometimes. Good to meet you, Ashla, considering where we are and what's going on.

[ She smiles, then runs her hand across the clawmarks again, frowning. ]

Whatever made these must have been pretty strong. Kinda makes you worry, doesn't it?

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka gives what she hopes is a reassuring smile.]

Try not to worry too much. If you see anything scary, you can always run and find me. I may look small, but I can fight off most things.

[sweatysometimes]

[ Pidge nods, giving Ahsoka (or Ashla, rather) an appraising look, then a grin. ]

I can believe that. I'll keep an eye out if I get into trouble.