12th wave;

[learnedtosmile]

CHARACTERS: any and all
LOCATION: Gravity Couches and beyond
WARNINGS: maybe some swearing, or even some violence, and more than likely some implied (and possibly explicit) nakedness.
SUMMARY: Another month, another jump, another round of new faces.
NOTES: Keeping up with the tradition and copy pasted like always from the last one


You wake up in darkness.


There's a breathing tube jammed down your trachea, and you're suspended in a tube of clear blue fluid. Upon registering your level of consciousness, the gravity couch drains the fluid surrounding you and retracts the breathing apparatus; the doors in front of you open, and you're deposited on the floor of a stark, sterile medical bay.

You are not alone.


There are others who have come before you, others who are awakening beside you. Some may be familiar to you, perhaps even friends. Others have much less amiable plans. Some are merely alien and inexplicable, but there are always those who might mean you harm.

After you catch your breath and your vision returns, you notice a number on the inside of your forearm. Maybe it's a familiar number. Maybe it means something. Maybe it's just a number. But the number—completely unique to you—is a tattoo, and it does not come off.

If you enter the room adjacent to the medbay, you will find a small locker with your number on it, surrounded by rows upon rows of identical lockers. Inside, you will find a few of your personal items, a communications device, and a ship's uniform in your exact size. The comms device is fully powered and connects directly to the ship's network; it's your only means of communication beyond physical conversation. Upon turning the device on, a neutral, automated voice will say, "Please take the blue lift to the passenger quarters." Any other attempts at communicating with the rest of the network are met only with static.

This is your welcome party.

Comments

Lockers;

[talkstoengines]

[It's the girl and the dress both that grab Kaylee's attention. The girl seems a little sad despite the pretty dresses spilling out of her locker, and that's what really gets Kaylee to steer herself in that direction.]

That's some finery you got there.

[culver]

[If only Kaylee knew how incredibly ridiculous Nill truly finds these dresses. It's different back home--Heine is the one who gets the dresses for her, and she wears them because she thinks it makes him happy in a small way. But here, it isn't like that. She would be just as happy with regular pants and regular shirts--altered for her wings, of course.

She hears Kaylee just as she's finished dressing, and swivels her whole body to face her. The blonde smiles sheepishly and nods. The are fancy, and she knows they're pretty. They just aren't what she'd consider "her style."]

[talkstoengines]

[Whereas Kaylee unironically loves frilly things, so she'll just smile and nod.] Last jump I got my party dress, I wore it to Jenna's party. It's the best dress.

What's your name? I'm Kaylee.

[culver]

[A party dress? That sounds fancier than these Lolita dresses. Nill kind of wants to see it, but obviously can't ask to. Besides, she's just met this woman--Kaylee, as she now knows what her name is. Nill folds it on the bench almost shyly before fumbling around in her locker for a second to pull out a pencil and a scrap of paper from her locker. She carefully writes Nill before offering it forward.]

[talkstoengines]

[Kaylee reads the paper curiously, then smiles again at the girl with the wings.] That's a pretty name, Nill.

[She gestures awkwardly at the girl, curious as all get-out but not sure if she should ask.] So, uh. Does everybody where you come from have wings?

[culver]

[Her smile only grows. She's grown to like her name, even with its unfortunate connotations. She isn't nothing, she isn't zero. And the question is actually one she hasn't heard much, so her brows raise slightly. Nill shakes her head; no, not everybody has wings. Other animal parts, sure, but she's never met another person with wings.]

[talkstoengines]

So you're unique, then? [Kaylee has this way, of making everything into a positive. Her smile reveals enough that it's obvious she likes the idea - maybe not of having wings, per se, but seeing a uniqueness and seeing it as something to be happy about.]

[culver]

[The blondes eyebrows rise at that. Unique. That's... a nice word that she hasn't heard used to describe her before. She sort of likes it. She's finding it really easy to smile around Kaylee, which is a good change, she thinks. So she nods, even if it's a little shy.]

[talkstoengines]

[It's weird that she doesn't talk, but Kaylee is adaptable.] You okay on your own? You got someone to help you with the dresses?

[culver]

[To help with the dresses? No, she doesn't even really know what help can be given to them except to have them be torn apart and turned into something better. But Nill is definitely not the one to do that. She smiles and nods anyway, because it's the easier answer.]

[talkstoengines]

All right. Well you just let me know if you want some help carryin' things. I got a dress last jump, it's real big and froofy and I needed some help gettin' it to my room!

[culver]

[Her eyes go a little wide, but she can't help but laugh a bit, the only sign of such a slight shake through her shoulders and her open mouth. That must have been a huge dress! She can't really even imagine what it might look like.]

[talkstoengines]

[Kaylee grins, glad she could make the girl laugh. She'd seemed a little melancholy, despite the pretty dresses.] I'll have to show you, sometime. I wore it to Jenna's party, it was the fanciest dress there.

[culver]

[Melancholy is probably a good word; she's a lot less sad now that Heine has come back, but she still worries for him so much. It takes a toll.

The nod that follows is automatic but sincere. She would like to see this fluffy, probably silly dress some day. Hopefully Kaylee won't be forced to wear it because she has no other clothes, though.]

[talkstoengines]

Do you like pink? [It's a fair question - Kaylee loves pink, though she's not really too picky about colors. As long as they're bright, anyway.]

[culver]

[Pink is... an alright color. Nill holds up a hand horizontally and see-saws it; her feelings on pink are so-so. Really, she likes neutral colors: blacks, whites, greys. But blue is nice! Not that she can actually relay that.]

[talkstoengines]

What's your favorite color, then? [Okay, so maybe Kaylee has an idea in her head. A little one.]

[culver]

[Oh okay, now she's going to have to try. Imagine that the lockers are blue. She points to them. CONVENIENCE.]

[talkstoengines]

[That works well enough.] I could make you a sign for your door. I have one on mine, but it's yellow.

[culver]

[Her wings flick with her interest. A sign? She tilts her head; what would it say?]

[talkstoengines]

Somethin' to let everyone know - 'Nill's room'. We could put whatever you want on it! Flowers, or teddy bears.

[culver]

[At the mention of flowers, her wings perk up and she nods. Yes, a sign, that sounded nice. She'd have to add Heine's name to it as well though, and maybe something less cutesy than flowers. Bullets, maybe? She'd have to ask him (though he'd probably say he didn't give a fuck).]

[talkstoengines]

Great! I should probably offer to make signs for other folks, too. I did back on Serenity but no one ever took me up on it. At least they let me paint some flowers in the common room. Made the kitchen nice and friendly.

[culver]

[Her shoulders shake slightly as she laughs, though no sound leaves her mouth. Flowers in a common room! That sounded nice. She doesn't stop smiling once her laughter passes. Yes, a sign and maybe some flowers in, well, the kitchen?]

[talkstoengines]

I did some of that on my floor, it's zero-one-zero, if you ever wanna come look! Murphy lent me some paints.