[IC] Alone in the Crowd

[Banba]

Moe shivered, zipping up her sweater a little further as the go- cart type vehicle the scientists were driving whirred down the road. One looked back at her, raising a brow. 
"It's twenty degrees, Ma'am. How are you cold?" Moe calmly looked at him, clearly unimpressed. 
"Australian, mate. Thats how I'm cold." The vehicle stopped, and Moe climbed out without a word, grabbing the few bags she had brought. The rest of her belongings were already in the house, hers the third one on the street. She was handed a clipboard.
"Basic rules and regulations, as well as-"
"Right-o, boys. I'll figure it out. Thank you kindly for all that you've done" Moe gripped it, tugging it from the man's hand before she took the short walk to the front door, waving once to signal the scientists to leave her alone. She didn't pause before going inside, locking the door behind her, glad to feel it was warmer in the house than outside. She took a deep breath, dropping everything in her arms on the floor while she turned, surveying the front hall. Her eyes grew wide, impressed at the accuracy of how the house was set up. Instruments lined the walls and filled the corners, and shelves held even more. A few decorations were set in between, and she could see corners of furniture she picked out through the living room door. Moving to the kitchen, she saw it was exactly how the she made it in the program. Moe smiled, moving to see what foods were in the fridge, but was distracted by a tone from the front door. Curious, Moe stepped back into the hall, noticing for the first time the screen set into the wall beside the door, now lit up and playing an annoying ditty. Raising a brow, she moved towards it, reading the single word "MAIL" on it. Fed up with the noise, she poked at the screen, and it moved to a menu, proving to be touch screen. Referring to the sheet on the clipboard, Moe figured out a way to change the tune to one she liked better- an old 80's rock song. Satisfied, she opened the box below it, noting the rolled up and colourful paper inside. On it simply read
MANDATORY EVENT
1:30 PM
Hillyer Hall
Moe glanced at her watch, seeing it read 1:12. Sighing, she gripped the bags and clipboard, starting to fully explore the house and set things away. From the map she got, The hall was just at the end of the street. 

[ramblingbard]

And we couldn't walk why?

Because these nice guys insisted, Wayne responded to Milo. To tell the truth, he would have preferred to walk. It would have been a good stretch for his legs after the plane then taxi to the facility. Though he supposed he could stretch his legs enough once he got settled. As it was, this was a much easier way to see what there was in the town as he stared out the side of the golf cart. Nice place, all things considered.

When the cart came to a stop outside what he was told was his place, he climbed out. A smile spread on his face as his gaze roved over the house. It didn't look like much on the outside, but he had been assured that they would do their best to make it to his specifications. That was enough to make him extremely excited for this whole experience.

Except for the fact that you're one of - what? - seven people in this whole place?

"Here's some basics, and there's an interface inside that you can use to help more," one of the scientists had been saying.

"Yeah, whatever," Wayne replied out loud before he even noticed the clipboard being offered to him. He blinked, momentarily losing his smile, before it spread back onto his face. Accepting the clipboard, he looked at the scientist. "Thanks, Mac."

"Actually, it was Jim."

"Whatever. Thanks, I got this from here." With that, he headed off into the house after slinging the duffel he had brought with him onto his shoulder. The very first thought after entering stopped him dead in his tracks, door still wide open. Jesus Christ! They weren't kidding. His gaze drifted over the randomly placed - just how he designed it - assortment of books, video games, movies, and random pictures he thought looked interesting.

He dropped his duffel and kicked the door closed, still staring around from where he stood. An annoying chime was what pulled him out of his daze.

What was that? Are we getting attacked?

"No," Wayne replied coolly. He glanced down at the clipboard before turning to see the interface. The alarm could wait until the whim struck him to change it - since right now it wasn't terrible. Something annoying was perfect to make him realize something was up. Instead, he navigated to the messages. "Ooo, an event." He glanced at his watch. "I got time. Time to explore," he mumbled.

He didn't bother to look anywhere else in the house; if they got this stuff right, then surely the rest was correct and he'd be able to put stuff away later. That included his duffel, which he left sitting right inside the door as he walked out and shut the door behind him. Having the last house on his street and half way across town from the meeting hall according to the map, he needed the time to go explore and adapt to his new surroundings. Clipboard in hand, he started off on foot instead of taking the dirt bike he had requested and assumed they had provided.

[CosmicDeep]

The wind idly blew through Chloe's ponytail as she walked towards two men, her luggage wheeling behind her. She had been instructed that they would be taking her to new home. Though she was assured repeatedly when she signed up for this that it was safe, well aside from the normal dangers of associating with unknowns, she still had her doubts. Both of the men happened to be blond and they greeted her with smiles,'Not so bad..'

“Miss Taylor.” said the man on the right offering her a hand. The brunette looked at the hand extended towards her and momentarily thought about not accepting it. She had no idea where that hand had been, and judging by his fake designer shirt and unstyled hair, he was obviously the dodgy type. Her blue eyes scanning over both of them for a long moment before she came to a conclusion. Deciding that she was taking a big enough risk by even coming here, let alone following through with it, the least she could do was to accept the greeting. Chloe nodded her and plastered a dashingly fake smile on her face as she accepted his hand a moment before he was about to pull it away.

“Hello.” she murmured at them in an even toned voice.

The other man nodded, “If you would come this way ma'am, we're going to take you to your home.” The male motioned his arm off towards the side, where a white golf cart had been parked. ']Don't tell me that's what we'll be driving in.' the brunette visibly grimaced. Golf carts were things that they drove while playing well, golf. No matter how small a town was, a golf cart was a ridiculous idea. What would happen if her bag where to slide out or the driver was to take a fast turn and it was to flip... well the top speed of a golf cart couldn't be that fast. But nevertheless, she was not a fan.

“I'm sure your competent... well, competent enough to safely get us to our destination. So I am going to assume I do not need to make you aware on the dangers of driving to fast in a disproportional motor vehicle.” Chloe said, her voice sweet.

“Yes, ma'am. No need to worry, its just a golf cart. Besides we are just going up the street.” he said giving her an odd look as they made their way to the cart. The brunette shrugged off his comment as she approached the cart, leaving her bag at the side for one of the men to pick up and hold in cart. If she had to ride in the thing at least they could make sure her bag was secure. It was their job to make sure they were happy, right?

Almost as if he expected it the other male grabbed her bag and tossed it in the seat beside him. Starting the cart, as Chloe methodically fussed over the hem of her blue shift dress, making sure it laid just right when she sat down. By the time she had even crossed her legs, the cart had came to a halt.

The men got out of the vehicle, the one on her left had began to speak “We are here, first house on the -”

“Left.” Chloe finished for him getting out of the cart, “I requested it myself. The outside looks alright, but just alright.” The brunette outstretched her hand waiting for the other male to give her her luggage.

“Yes, now. Down to business. You should find that on this clipboard is a run down of everything you need to know. Maps, names, address, and a guide to the interface on the wall, they should all be there.” drawled the driver, as he grabbed the luggage from the other male's hand and placed it on the ground beside her. “We hope everything is to your satisfaction.”

“Right.” she said glancing over the papers, knowing she should probably read it all over as soon as she got inside. Just to be safe. “Well thanks, boys.” she said cooly as she turned around and headed into her new home.

When Chloe walked inside of her designated house. Honestly, the house was perfect, it was exactly the way she requested it to be, down to the little details. But she was used to that, so it wasn't that impressive. She was, however, very pleased with herself. Interior design was something she didn't have much experience in, but this was amazing. The colors of the couch and the curtains contrasted in just the right way, and the vintage pictures gave it a certain vibe. Yes, Chloe was very pleased with herself indeed. She headed into the far back room where her bedroom and ensuite was located. The mint green and gray was lovely, she went towards her closet and saw that the clothes that she had sent over had even been hung up. All expect for the one she brought with herself. The brunette started on putting away her suitcase and got half way through when she heard a beep sound. She ignored it the first time it sounded, but it continued. 'I knew it was to good. What is that noise? A fire alarm? '

Chloe let out a frustrated sigh and turned around to identify the source of the noise. Her heels clacking angrily on the title floor as she made her way towards the wall interface. The screen read in bold text, MAIL. 'That's one way of getting my attention.' Toying around with it she managed to adjust some settings, changing the tone to something more melodic and less likely to piss her off. Finally when things were to her liking, she checked the mail, ' her blue eyes narrowing in on the words. Mandatory meet and greet. Alright, I suppose I'm ready to meet the riffraff. Who knows, maybe they'll have someone worth meeting.' she thought, hopeful for a moment. 'Like that'd happen.'

Grabbing the clipboard that she had forgotten about while she was unpacking her bag, she sat down on the nearby armchair. She mentally scolded herself for not reading everything like she had originally planned, but things happen. The brunette thumbed through the papers until she saw the map, locating the designated hall that she was supposed to head towards. She looked over at the screen and saw that it read 1:20, plenty of time to make it. Taking the papers and folding them over she left her house and headed towards the hall.

[Lucius Cypher]

Yume's memory of the trip was fuzzy. How or why he was here was as much of a mystery to him as it was to anyone else. Something something science something something Yume's got a new home. He rather liked the place; large, spacy, and next to others! His choice of furniture emphasized romance and comfort. Despite being underage, there was plenty of wine and other alcohol bottles lined up on one side of the wall. Scented candles provided atmosphere and illumination, with a warm fireplace giving the most light to an otherwise fairly dim house. Instead of a couch in the living, there was simply one large heart-shaped bed, perfect for viewing the television while cuddled up to your mate. The kitchen was made in such a way that it wouldn't look out of place in a high class restaurant, but was fitted for at least a group of four. In stark contrast to the rest of the house however, one of the rooms upstairs was an armory; lined on the walls and hanging from racks was various types of weapons, knives, guns, explosives and more. It was even stocked with some archaic swords and shields, which were not just for decoration. The other rooms were each personalized for different types of pleasure, fetishes and such. You don't want to know what's in the basement.

As Yume was considering marking his home with his love juices, there was an annoying ringing at the door. Putting his things down Yume went to the door and was expecting visitors, but instead he had mail. Some sort of meeting at 1:30. Meeting met people. People he could make love to. Yume's face broke into a smile as he closed the door behind him. He wanted to get a look at his neighbors, see which one he should conquer first.

[Major Ursa]

"DAMN~? DAYUM?!" There could be no real words to describe how impressed Toms had been, setting foot into their new place of hers. Everything was fancy like she had specified! A modern living space like out of an Ikea magazine, a big window showing the courtyard. Going over to the living space, noticing the couch, she tossed the clipboard onto the matching armchair and hopped right onto the big couch...running shoes on and all. "Real leather?!" Something like this was pretty nice! Lazily, she barely reach out and grabbed the clipboard she just tossed. Everything matched the house layout like she wanted, and--oh? How helpful, a map, something she'd definitely need. Still, she couldn't help but lay down on the couch and just stare around at the place. Just a day or so ago, Penelope Toms was living with seven of her older brothers in a small house...new furniture was a big nope, all so they could to pay for more important things they needed, and she was lucky enough to have her practically closet sized room back home. Now...now this was putting things into perspective! Her home was tiny, this place was huge.

As if an alarm to wake her from this not-dream, some sort of ringing sounded through the living area...coming from the front door. Well, not the front door. Some sort of advanced house interface they mentioned on television a few times, or something, a buzzer and security thing as well or something. Going on over to the door, she checked the screen thing out...oh, some sort of orientation thing at 1:30? Well, this was a job thing of sorts, Toms first job, actually. Some sort of human zoo thing, or something, like those news articles. Deciding that she didn't want to mess up her first job thing, she went and grabbed the clipboard and left through the front door. It was always the thing to arrive early by 15-30 minutes, that's what her bro Joe kept saying...that hypocrite. Closing and locking up the front door, she looked around about her before staring down at the map for a long while.

[Pathfinder]

Rick was bored. After the plane ride and a taxi, he was hoping to go for a run or something. As the golf cart prattled down the road Rick was starting to see the experiment place, not really impressive, but it was quiet. Something Rick had needed.

As the golf cart stopped in front of his house, the scientist was talking about something and giving him a notepad. Probably important, Rick scanned it and saw names, places, and times. He would look at it later. Thanking the scientist, Rick grabbed his luggage and walked towards the entrance and noticed the punching bag he had asked for was on the porch. As he opened the door, he was astonished. Everything was as he specified. There was a large stone fireplace, a bear skin rug, and a comfortable love seat in the living room, while the kitchen had wood finishing and stocked with lots of scotch, whiskey, and the good bottled beers. As Rick made his way upstairs he placed his luggage on the floor next to his closet. The bed was a queen sized mattress with an oh so soft be comforter. The floors were hardwood and a large rug covered the floor. Looking into the bathroom, Rick also took note of the large shower, it was one of those that had multiple shower heads so you get to feel water flowing at you from multiple sides. Which was nice. Walking back down the stairs, Rick made a happy sigh and just savored the quiet, which was shattered moments later. With an annoying buzzing sound, Rick made his way to the source which turned out to be the mail. Messing with the options, Rick changed it to a blues song he had liked in the military.

Looking over the letter, it seemed there was a mandatory meeting happening pretty soon, about ten minutes in fact. Gazing at the map, Rick found the town hall and decided a jog could do him good. As he started his jog he noticed some of his neighbors were leaving their houses as well, "It was bound to happen sometime Rick. Just try to keep your cool." With that in mind, Rick continued his jog and made his way to the hall.

[Misuji]

". . ."

So this was the place? Small footsteps corralled the young lass into the threshold, converse the shade of charcoal clad onto her feet. One just did not know where to start, not in this strange new place. Not a word had been said to those who had brought her here-- for Mika's mind was on other things. The emotion that welled up in her heart and mind couldn't have been mistaken for anything less than sheer excitement. A pale hand rose shakily to cup the side of her cheek thoughtfully. Unceremonious shudders made her silhouette quiver, that hand slid from her cheek to brace across her mouth. Mika was laughing.

She'd done it. No one was going to get out of this place, right? It was just her and them, right? That meant only one thing to the bubble-gum haired girl who meandered the non de-script, almost homely household. They couldn't leave her now-- everyone she met from this moment on... wasn't allowed to leave her, and how this pleased the girl who fell back onto the couch with a louder chuckle.

'I think I'm going to like it here!'

Her train of thought came crashing when a peculiar noise echo'd through-out the household. What was that? The variation of some tablet screen, she imagined, one that, interestingly, proclaimed she had a letter to read, or something similar. "Huh... I never get letters." The sensation of receiving something in those post was quite unfamiliar to her. Taking the vibrantly hue'd message, Mika's lips formed a deceptively gentle smile. How exciting! She'd finally meet the people she'd be sharing the unforeseeable future with! Though it was still a little too early to leave for the 'event' as the letter had proclaimed it to be, Mika wanted to be there before the rest, and so, the colourful haired lass slammed the door behind her exit.

Would they all be nice?

[ramblingbard]

Wayne took his sweet time meandering through the streets, stopping every so often to stare through a store front. One of the ones caught his attention long enough for him to stand there for a few minutes. Nifty, a music shop, he thought to himself as he stared at the instruments. Sure, he had asked for a guitar he kind of knew how to play - he could sure pretend well enough he knew how to play anyways.

<You realize you will be late to the mandatory meeting. Mandatory - meaning you have to be there.>

{Yes, but it doesn't say we have to be there on time.}

"Exactly my thoughts. Besides, what's the point of being in this place if I can't explore," he commented while finally deciding to move on. If this place had a music shop, then it had to have a sweets shop. A meeting can wait if candy was somewhere to be had. With candy on his mind, his meandering turned to a pointed stride in his search for a sweets shop. According to the map there was one somewhere near here, and it was on the way to the meeting hall. The stars were in alignment for him. Destiny!

[Banba]

Moe glanced at her watch again, internally groaning as she saw it was time to leave. She'd rather stay in the house a bit longer and investigate more into the instruments she'd filled the house with. She didn't even know what some where, but she was excited to learn anyways. She was most excited about the small collection of didgeridoos mounted on the wall in the living room.
"Alas, I'll just go for as long as I need to, then come straight back." She muttered, pulling on her backpack as she went to retrieve the map, heading out the door. She noticed others on the sidewalks, but kept her head down, staring at the map as she briskly walked to the hall. Looking up at it, it seemed old, but in a way that it was meant to look old, like a house from a historic village. It was plain red brick, concrete steps leading up to an ornate wooden door. Various Windows were set into it, and there was a sign beside the door boasting "Hillyer Hall."
"Simple. Alright." Moe took the stairs two at a time, swinging the door open and stepping inside, which didn't surprise her at all. It looked like an underfunded public school's gymnasium set up for a pta meeting. Plastic chairs were strewn about the single room, fold out tables covered in snack foods and juices placed around. There were two doors on the other side, presumably to the bathroom and basement. As Moe stepped further into the hall, she saw the very far side boasted a fairly impressive stage with curtains and even a fancy light setting. Raising a brow, she moved to it, using one hand to let herself jump and sit onto the hardwood. As more people filtered into the room, Moe stared down at her map, not really paying attention to them.
"Odd sort of place, this is." She said, wondering if this was a good idea. At least the money was good.

[Pathfinder]

Rick had been jogging for a couple minutes before he got to the hall. As he arrived he noticed that it was kinda dingy, not like his house he had just left, but in a homely way. When he entered the building he noticed another one of his neighbors had already beaten him to the punch. She was a small thing, and she seemed to be taken with the stage. As he walked around the place, Rick tried not to gauge it for choke points, sniper positions, and hidden bombs but it was a little harder than it sounded. With a sigh Rick grabbed a cup of juice, opened his flask, and poured the contents in. A little kidney courage never hurt.

As more of his neighbors entered the room, he noticed that there were quite a few characters among them. At least it wouldn't get boring. With that Rick stood around the chairs, not really wanting to sit down after having to for hours.

[CosmicDeep]

Well manicured eyebrows pulled together in contempt as Chloe looked over the building before her. This was the meeting place of the well funded experiment? Her blue eyes darted back down at the map in her hands. Considering the size of the town and that she had seen a couple of people enter into the building, she was certain it was the place. It was tacky, it was a failed attempt at being vintage. Although if she were being honest with herself, there was certain parts that weren't all that bad. But she'd never admit to that.

“I guess they had to cut corners somewhere...” she murmured to herself, her thoughts tracing back to the well furnished town.

Taking a deep breath, climbed up the steps and opened the door. It was nothing like she'd seen before, a thrown together room, that was trying to be something it wasn't. It stunned her for a moment, it was rather homely, and not in the good way. The few people that had entered into the room, weren't exactly what she was expecting- but then again, what was she expecting? It wasn't like she spent much time with people the last couple of months.

Scanning the side of the room Chloe saw a table with assorted food, and she was instantly reminded that she had yet to eat today. She grabbed a container of orange juice and despite her better judgment a cookie. She ate the baked good before she took as seat at one of the set out chairs. Taking a swig of her juice she awaited for the rest of her neighbors to come in.

[Lucius Cypher]

Yume took notes of the people she saw as they headed towards the town hall. All very promising, he had the idea of who he could try to go after first. The plan did have some gaps in them, but that was mostly so he could make adjustments as they are needed; a solid plan can shatter, but a hollow plan can bend. Yeah that doesn't make sense to anyone but Yume.

Yume walked in with a stupid grin on his face and swinging his hips so much that he might body check someone into a wall. "Hello everyone~" Yume said in a friendly voice as he walked over to the snack table. He took the apple juice and the a few cookies. He ate it quickly and threw the trash away when he noticed the bombshell on the stage. "Target locked, commencing hospitality!" Yume walked over and onto the stage, where he made sure that everyone could see and hear him. "Thank you all for coming in today for this experiment. Before we begin, why don't we introduce each other? After all, we're only going to be seeing each other for the next while. I am Yume Rame, your local hedonistic entertainment provider and nightly company. To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

[ramblingbard]

"Brilliant," Wayne nearly shouted when he spotted the sign for the sweets shop before he happened upon the store. After all, if he was going to be getting along to a mandatory meeting at some point, he was going to want something to snack on and who knew what they might have at the hall. He wanted to know he liked something he was snacking on. What luck.

{So do you know how this works? Oooo, what are we getting? Watermelons? Sour strings?}

"I like surprise," he replied and entered the shop. Candy lining the walls, display cases for the better - 'home made' - sweets, aisles of brand names and others of candy like against the wall - for filling bags to buy by the pound. A lovelier sight he had yet to see, at least since showing up and especially since he hadn't actually looked around his place.

"Just lovely." Quickly throwing two bags together - one of assorted chocolates and one of assorted sugared sour treats - he checked out with a swipe of the card he was handed along with his welcome package.

<Great. Can we get to the meeting now?>

"Stop being so impatient," he mumbled. A handful of sour watermelon candies popped into his mouth. A grin spread onto his face as he wandered out of the shop. The hall was only a little ways away, a short five minute walk really. He'd be there in no time.

[Banba]

Moe looked up as someone spoke, and her brows immediately furrowed. She had seen some pretty impractical clothing, but this man would burn under the sun in less than a minute, unless he was wearing copious amounts of sunscreen.
"Oi, girl. Slow down, this ain't your hometown." She took a breath, ignoring the man's introduction to continue staring down at the map. A ding only moments later distracted her once again, but this time it was over a sound system near the top of the walls.
"Hello subjects and welcome to the experiment." A woman's voice sounded, smooth and calm. Moe glanced around, counting bodies. They were missing some, but the voice kept speaking, despite the absenteees. "I hope you all found your acomidations to be acceptable, and encourage you to read over the lists of the buisnesses we provide here in town. Let me remind you that there is a wall surrounding this town, and while you cannot see it, it does exist and it will stop you from leaving. If you do wish to leave the program, please contact a scientist. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a scientist. Be mindful, however, that any non- buisness contact inquiries will be ignored." Moe pressed her lips togehter, raising a brow as she listened to the voice. Was this it? They were all gathered for rules and other things they were already told? She slid off the stage, folding the map and slipping it into the back pocket of her jeans, moving to the door. She wasn't sticking around for this, she had instruments to investigate.

[ramblingbard]

Wayne hummed lightly to himself as he walked along the street. He had been expecting - hoping was really too tame a word for it - to have run into someone else lousing about, even if it was an experiment in isolation. If he hadn't, he would have brought his Ipod with him to at least partially distract him - a small part of him anyways - from the lack of other bodies. This was going to be a long experiment.

<See, this is why you shouldn't doddle.>

"Yeah, but I'm betting I'm the only one with candy," he mumbled around a cheek full of gummy fish. The hall was only a few more moments away, after all.

{Strangers love candy!}

A chuckle escaped Wayne as he pulled open the door to the meeting hall.A lopsided grin spread onto his face after he swallowed the mound of mostly chewed candy. His gaze landed right on the girl crossing the room - probably because she was moving and in direct line of sight. "Don't tell me you're leaving already. Didn't this thing just start?" Not that he knew what "this thing" was, but he knew there had to be some fun reason for them to all be gathered. He may have missed everything aside from a faint murmur of something being said while he was outside, but who got the lonely hearts club - or so he was planning to call it for now - together if not for something fun?

The lopsided grin grew a bit; he walked further into the hall. The bag of candy tilted a bit more forward so the lid was pointed toward the woman when he extended his arm toward her. "Care for a sweet? Candy's always better coming from a stranger." It took a lot of effort, but he held back a chuckle; it escaped him through twinkling in his eyes.

[Misuji]

Was this the place?

Well, it must have been, the sign was clearly marked, and for an experiment-- one that must have cost a hefty price to run, the place seemed to be sinisterly under-done. Merely a few feet infront of her was an ebony haired individual, perhaps the tallest man she had ever seen in her life. He was offering some type of sweet confectionery, to the girl who... seemed to be escaping. Though outwardly, such a thing did not seem to phase the girl in any way shape or form, inwardly, was another matter, however. Her eyes didn't leave the poor lass for quite some-time.

Where did she think she was going?

Pink strands sa-shayed in the form of two long pony-tails, perhaps impractically so, but then, hair dye and 'large' hairstyles were often one way to get attention, unwanted or otherwise. Gingerly did her footsteps lead her further into the Hall of which layout seemed to have been inspired by a school assembly lay-out-- particularly the chairs. She half expected a desk with a tray for crayons, but perhaps that was pushing the budget too much. "Hey..." What a strange turn out-- of course her eyes lingered on the 'hedonistic' entertainer with something very akin to horror. What WAS he wearing? Infact, was she even in the right place? 'How disgusting...'

"Are you all taking part in this too, I assume? I'm Mika, but you call me Mimi... did I miss anything?" What if everyone else was at an advantage? Something about that didn't sit well with Mika. They were ahead of the game... they had the upper-hand, at what, who knew, but it was how the lass felt when cheerful eyes scanned the faces. Lingering upon each one more than what would maybe have been considered normal behind the glass veil of her spectacles. Brown depth's narrowed slightly. They all looked interesting.

[Pathfinder]

To say Rick was confused would be an understatement. He was just sitting here, enjoying his drink when some girl...boy...thing waltzed up to the stage and declared itself the "Nightly companion", which meant it was a prostitute...great. Plus the announcement was just a recap of what he already knew. With no indication of any change and not wanting to be in the presence of the prostitute while sober, Rick got up and fallowed the lead of the girl that had just left.

He was about to leave when a girl walked in and seemed a little confused. She announced herself to be Mika, or Mimi, and seemed to be wondering if she had missed anything. With nothing better to do, Rick said "No, you didn't miss anything. They just told us what we already know, names Richard by the way but call me Rick." With a smile and an outstretched hand.

[Banba]

Moe was taken aback for a second by someone talking to her. It took her a second, but she registered him offering her candy. Did they have a sweet shop? She wasn't used to having sugary things at hand, aside from the few fruits that grew in the hot climate of her home town. They had more salty treats- dried meat, penuts, things like that. Moe swallowed, blinking.
"No- no thanks. This is just a recap of whatevers on the sheets. I've heard it all before." She jammed her hands into her pockets before once again moving to the doors. They had nust closed behind a pink haired girl, but shen Moe leaned on them, the didn't budge. Going red in the face, Moe pulled at them, but they still were kept shut. "Locked..." She muttered, again trying both ways.
"Welcome to the first event. You will have noticed by now the doors are locked. This is on pourpose. They will unlock again at 6 o'clock tonight, five hours from now. If there is an emergancy, the scientists will see and have the appropriate measures taken. Have a nice day." The woman's voice over the intercom sounded almost threatening to Moe as she tried one last time to open the doors. Groaning, she checked her watch, made from leather and an old belt buckle.
"1:37." She said under her breath as she moved to the corner furthest from anyone, dragging a chair with her. She almost wished she had brought an instrument with her, to at least entertain herself. At least then she'd have an excuse to not speak with anyone. "Five hours, girl. You can survive that. You'll be free Right in time to dinner."

[ramblingbard]

Wayne shrugged when the chick declined the candy. Her loss. With that thought, and while she continued, he drew out a bit more of the sugar coated gummies and popped them into his mouth. Half pivoting let him keep her in sight, only to get distracted by all that color moving through the gym. His gaze followed the latest entrant, a bit of disappointment sinking his shoulders slightly at the knowledge that he wasn't the last one into the meeting hall, on her path to find her met by the other guy - since he didn't know what that thing by the stage was aside from something he didn't want to catch around his place at night - in the experiment.

<By my count, there are five others. So at least we're not alone.>

Fat lot of good that does us if everyone blows people off, Wayne mindfully retorted in his head. His gaze continued past the pink girl and the guy to notice another girl kind of standing off on her own. Maybe she would socialize. He was just about to start moving when the voice came back over the speaker. His gaze drifted up, almost as if looking at a speaker would tell him what the person speaking looked like; though, some of the impulse to look was just years of socialist training that you had to look at the person speaking to you. "Right, sounds like they're forcing a party," he said - not exactly to himself but not shouting either.

{You mean they purposefully made people have to socialize with us? These guys are awesome!}

<I doubt anyone is being forced to socialize. It's just that they locked all of us in a room together and gave us the potential to get to know our neighbors.>

{I liked my idea better.}

So did I, Wayne thought. A sigh escaped him. His gaze dropped back down toward the girl sipping juice. Second time's the charm.

A pleasant smile spread onto his face as he walked over to the girl (Chloe). "Care for a sweet? Candy's always best coming from strangers," he said, adding a wink to his toothy grin at the end. He offered out the bag to the girl. Who really knew if she'd go for the line. There was always a hope she would.

[Lucius Cypher]

Yume smiled curtly as one of the others wanted him off the stage. He understood it well enough; he probably puts some people off. But they'll come around to him eventually. The same girl tried to leave but noticed that the door was locked. "Seems like we're be each others company for the next few hours. I have an idea!" Yume jumped off hte stage and landed lithely on his feet, sauntering by a chair and pulling it over to the others. "Before I'd bother to begin, I'd like to know who's willing to play. Now maybe you don't exactly trust me, but come on now, we'll be together like this for the next near future. Might as well get comfortable around each other, nya?" Yume eyed everyone, wondering who's going to play the loner and who's willing to take a chance to approach him.