lifeaftr | [OPEN and one closed prompt] A very backdated arrival

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[OPEN and one closed prompt] A very backdated arrival

Who: Aziraphale & anyone else!
What: An angel arrives to the archipelago and is extremely confused. Plus a bit of exploration
When: October 27th - November 4th
Where: Mostly Ensō
Warnings: Stress and confusion

ARRIVAL [Closed, for Crowley]
Beach holidays are lovely in concept. The sun, the sea, the sand, all the good marks of a nice time, should the weather permit it.

What is not so lovely, however, is finding yourself, alarmingly, somewhere where you're not supposed to be. Somewhere where you definitely were not just moments--hours-days-- hold on just a moment. He doesn't even quite remember ever settling down or in any way losing consciousness. Which, you know, wouldn't make this whole situation any less cause for alarm, but it would be somewhere to start.

He's stepping through the damp sand, holding, in his hands, a knapsack that, for some reason, has his name embroidered on it. The items inside do nothing to answer any questions, and he's looking around every which way.

Something about this place is...different. Something feels strange - well, all of it is strange -, and he can't quite put his finger on it. What on Earth did he get himself into?

"Hello?" He calls out, somewhat nervously.

STORYTELLER'S TEMPLE & MANA POOL
The day after his arrival, he sets off to have a look around. This particular building easily catches his eye - hard to miss the structure in the island as is, but there's something else about it. Something-- oh, darn it. Yet another thing he can't quite comprehend, and it's entirely frustrating in an already confusing and stressful situation.

For a few hours, this strangely dressed humanshaped being walks around the temple, examining its structure. He can be found stopping at times, seemingly focused on something, although it doesn't quite seem to be whatever piece of stone or mark on the wall his eyes are landing on.

And then, there's the mana pool; he stands at the edge of it, staring into the water intently.

This place, it's...

What is this?

DENNY
Well, this is...something.

The small gathering of buildings make things feel a little bit more-- hopeful, in some strange sense of the word. Somewhere where one can expect more inhabitants to show up, he would assume, and where he could perhaps get some answers.

Steps into the mess hall and he notices, right away, the effort that must have taken to put this sort of place together. He also notices, immediately, how he must entirely stand out in a place like this. Still, it feels cozy and lively in here. Yes, this is not too shabby at all.

Regardless, he steps quietly along the room, rubbing one of his thumbs into the palm of his other hand.

As soon as he spots someone, he steps to them a bit quicker, clearing his throat to make himself known. Tone light and polite, he addresses them with a smile, if a bit awkwardly:

"Pardon me. I do apologize for my intrusion, but could I take a moment of your time?"

LIBRARY
A library! Oh, of course, a library. He'd find himself soothed if it were not for the lack of, well, most things he'd say were necessary to establish a library of proper quality and structure, but it's a start. He has to assume that there isn't necessarily an abundance of resources in a place such as this.

Still, it warms his little nervous heart, as well as give him some hope to find some proper information about their situation.

He approaches one of the shelves, a dainty finger held up as he looks along the book spines to find...well, he's not sure what he finds. He shouldn't have exactly expected anything to stand out to him specifically, but maybe he could-

The angel looks around, looking for some sort of curator or some sort of keeper. Much like in the mess hall, he approaches the first person he sees with a polite and slightly awkward smile.

"Excuse me. Could you tell me, is anyone in charge of this establishment?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They could certainly trade tips on how to completely deny your current chaotically stressful situation in favor of pretending to pay attention to your own self-imposed work until they can halfway convince yourself that everything's going to be fine. But that's neither here nor there.

Aziraphale follows along at a respectable distance, perking up as soon as he gets his eyes on the map. Stepping closer, he takes in the shape of the island, then the marks on the map.

"I see..." He furrows his brows slightly, looking for the spot where Crowley and himself should have first stepped foot on the island.

"What about these symbols?"

Yeah, how about we don't get into THAT extreme denial right now huh? Great. At least right now he has a Job, so he shifts back to the tubes to retrieve another, smaller paper, that holds a key to the meanings of each symbol. The fine details are not always marked, though the Enso map is more detailed than others.

"Ah, shorthand notices. Where something is dangerous or quite literally fruitful, among others. I believe for Enso we have a manifest somewhere for more detailed food gatherings, but I believe that's over at the farming islet for collection." He should really get a copy here, now that he thinks of it. "I would uhm, try to avoid anything marked as catastrophe or... well, most wildlife, though you're liable to see them about regardless."

The angel listens carefully. This, this is something he can do, this is something that is useful for him and his demon friend. While it's not information on how they got there or how to leave, at least it should help them stay out of trouble. Specially with their newfound limitations...

He studies the map and the symbols.

"What kind of dangers can we expect to find here? I assume it should be best to keep an eye out."

"Well that's... varied." Kravitz runs through his mind of things that could potentially run into him, and decides to err on the wild side. "Catastrophes are mostly natural disasters, sinkholes, earthquakes, the like. But some are... alive. I hesitate to call them animals. If you see anything that looks akin to an amalgamation of bits sunk in a gelatinous cube, you should really just run."

Oh, fusterclucks. So much fun. "Most of Enso is fairly safe, or at least enough predators have been removed so that we may live. Other islands are not as ideal, most of the time."

Kravitz may excuse Aziraphale if he stares for a second or two. It's all a lot of information, gelatinous cubes notwithstanding.

"I, uhm, will most definitely keep that in mind."

He should probably take some time to come back here, gather more information. It's somewhat comforting to know there's at least a small hub where they can get their bearings without barreling into potential danger.

"What other islands are there?"

I'm so sorry Aziraphale. You deserve better than having to grasp the concept of a fustercluck on day one, but here we are. Kravitz meanwhile is enjoying this more than he thought he would, if only on virtue of the fact that he finally has answers for someone who appears much like a kindred spirit. If he had arrived later, or Aziraphale earlier, he has a feeling they'd have bonded much more over the lack of information that Lifeaftr provides.

"Quite a few, but none accessible- or well, their accessibility varies. I recommend checking out the different maps; they include notes on potential effects you may experience when visiting." He gestures towards the book of his that he gave Aziraphale to page through. "I also have been working on a compendium of the gods present at each location, and how willing they are to talk. Some give much straighter answers than others."

Perhaps they'll be able to bond over other things. Though Aziraphale does know the satisfaction in having the information another may need, although some people might take that as somewhat pompous at time.

Aziraphale is nodding along, until the mention of gods. It immediately peaks his attention, quite visibly. "Gods, you say?" He's heard about one, so far, which is enough of a hard concept to take as what he is, but...

Eeeh, pompous is just a word... that happens to describe them both sometimes. It's fine. Kravitz nods to the question, continuing easily.

"Yes, gods. Each island is ruled by its own force, representing some form of life. We have met gods of fun or bliss, for instance, and others of balance and justice. I don't know how many there are, but-- I have conversed with all of them, when I was given the ability. Happy to give you a description of the ones we know, and others that may exist."

Aziraphale seems to need to take a couple of seconds with yet another Unique concept exposed to his perspective. He has his doubts about these creatures being gods as he perceives the definition of the word, but he's really not going down that line of debate. There's more important matters at stake.

"Right. Yes, that would be very helpful, thank you." A small pause as he thinks. "What can you tell me about the Storyteller?"

It's nice to be getting questions he can answer thus far, but this is a bit harder. He leans on the desk, twirling his wrist as if turning a bingo cage and hoping the right words spit out on the balls.

"They are... complicated. God of this island, Enso. God of stories. They are not the one who brought us here, though they have done their best to accomodate our presence, however harrowing it is on their composure." Which is his formal way of stressing not to be a nuisance, even though he can't imagine Aziraphale doing anything in particular. Maybe he's just subconsciously trying to prevent another him from wandering in and wearing the gods' patience. "They are the one who brings us back to life if we die, as well. So we may return to our proper stories with threads left unfrayed."

Once again, a lot to take in, but the information is getting more digestible as they go along. Aziraphale listens very closely, already taking note to go through all of the books in the library when he has the opportunity to return to it.

The idea of a creature being able to bring people back to life...Gods existing as ruling entities to a space...the concepts aren't entirely alien to him, is the thing. But they're certainly a good few degrees to the left, enough to give him trouble in accepting them as reality, even as it is all around him.

"Who has brought us here, then?" He jumps right to the biggest question, with a tinge of frustration; not directed at Kravitz, of course, but he can probably be excused for it.

"I truly wish I had that answer myself." Kravitz sighs heavily, knowing that isn't the response the other man wants, neither is it the one he desires. "It has been what we've been attempting to figure out for our entire time here. Many suspect the Storyteller, but after seeing their reactions time after time, I am less inclined to believe it the longer I remain."

He looks sympathetically towards Aziraphale, a bit of discomfort in all this. "I'm sorry I don't have those answers for you. Rest assured if I did, many of us would not remain here."

"Of-- of course." Polite as ever. He doesn't think anyone would really opt to be stuck somewhere away from their home, much less their own world, just to live in a place like this.

"Truly, thank you for all of the answers you did provide. It's been a rather...interesting couple of days. Just trying to make sense of it all in any way I can."

"I don't blame you. I had many of the same questions when I arrived. You're, uhm, more composed than I was at that point." He accused a lot of people of a lot of things, let's just nnnnot worry about that.

"Anything I can provide going forward, I'd be happy to. And of course, the library is here for you to make a resource of any time. Feel free to make yourself comfortable, you-- you don't need to run off just because I can't personally offer you more answers right now, you're not obligated to leave."

He did just step out from an Almost End Of The World As They Knew it, and all the personal craziness that came with it. Besides, he's more prone to freezing up when he's nervous, and these newfound physical limitations have been leaving him more exhausted than he's ever quite had the capacity to feel. Also it helped to know he wasn't alone, that he had a friend to come back to and try to sort it out as much as they could.

"Oh--oh, of course, thank you. I best be off for now, though. I have someone waiting for me, you see."

"Right, right-- of course." In a real attempt not to make it awkward, Kravitz naturally made it More Awkward, Like A Winner. He nods like he isn't ruminating on many conversational mistakes and starts gathering the information he pulled out on request.

"Take the time you need, and-- be sure to rest. These islands are... overwhelming, at best, and you should use the start of your time here to rest and get used to the setting." Don't be him, Aziraphale, don't be the guy who collapsed asleep in the middle of camp. He's going to be, but at least Kravitz tried to warn him. "I'll see you in the future, I'm sure."

You're alright, Kravitz - for what it's worth, Aziraphale finds him quite polite and amicable, and will keep him in mind. And not just because he works in the library, which he will definitely keep in mind.

He nods at the advice. He doesn't particularly look forward to sleeping on the hard floor again, or...having to sleep at all to begin with, but he supposes he'll have to keep an eye on it now.

"I'll most definitely keep that in mind. Thank you." Giving Kravitz a polite smile and a nod.

"Cheerio." And off he goes, committing to mind all the useful information he can impart on his companion in the near future.

"Of course-- I'll see you, then."

He waves in turn, giving a little smile to Aziraphale as he goes. It's nice to have another person on his wavelength, someone much like him around. For now, he's going to head back to keeping the library tidy and keep things moving, and hoping that the other man takes to this place easier than he did. Kravitz remembers a lot of those early bumps and mess-ups; if he sees him again, he'll have to be sure to check in on him. But for right now, everything's just fine.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[OPEN and one closed prompt] A very backdated arrival

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wrapped!