[IC] Myriad Reality

[Etcetera]

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[Etcetera]

...

[Balance]

*The remains of a house collapses, shattering into pieces, and the pieces coalesce into me, just outside of the city's threshold* Pretty sure nobody lived there. *Spots a sign* Toxic fumigation... Definitely sure nobody lived there. *Twirls a flute in my fingers and blows it, creating no sound but instead a gust of misty wind; the mist settles around my body and gives me a shimmering appearance* Take a note: green cities will make you green.

[Stabby]

*Crawls over a bent door that's jammed into place and takes a look around the building's deteriorated interior. I inhale before letting out a satisfied sigh as I walk around, looking at the overgrown remains of a desk and what could have been a computer.*
Man, I bet the waiting time here is shorter than ever now. *Smiles at my own joke as I brush away some dead vines covering the drawer and open it up, looking for anything useful.*

[Balance]

*The remains of a house collapses, shattering into pieces, and the pieces coalesce into me, just outside of the city's threshold* Pretty sure nobody lived there. *Spots a sign* Toxic fumigation... Definitely sure nobody lived there. *Twirls a flute in my fingers and blows it, creating no sound but instead a gust of misty wind; the mist settles around my body and gives me a shimmering appearance* Take a note: green cities will make you green.

@Balance

*Shouts into no direction in particular* Nobody here, right? Okay! *Starts to turn around and then stops* Wait. There is, isn't there? Weird. *Turns and starts walking in Thania's direction*

[Stabby]

<Snipped quote by Balance>

*Shouts into no direction in particular* Nobody here, right? Okay! *Starts to turn around and then stops* Wait. There is, isn't there? Weird. *Turns and starts walking in Thania's direction*

@Balance

*Finding nothing of use, I walk away and look out over the remains of the city from where a wall once was, smiling at the ironically peaceful landscape before me. Hearing what's left of a shout, I look over to where Soren is walking back down on street level with a surprised and mildly cautious look on my face. Making note of where he is, I quickly head back to the bent door and crawl back over it. Grabbing onto the elevator cable I let myself slide back down before exiting the building and finding a somewhat hidden spot to observe him from when he passes by.*

[Balance]

<Snipped quote by Balance>

*Finding nothing of use, I walk away and look out over the remains of the city from where a wall once was, smiling at the ironically peaceful landscape before me. Hearing what's left of a shout, I look over to where Soren is walking back down on street level with a surprised and mildly cautious look on my face. Making note of where he is, I quickly head back to the bent door and crawl back over it. Grabbing onto the elevator cable I let myself slide back down before exiting the building and finding a somewhat hidden spot to observe him from when he passes by.*

@Stabby

*Stops in your vicinity* Hi, whoever you are. I'm assuming you're somewhere around here but whatever trackery thing I'm probably using to find you is on the fritz. *Mumbles* Everything is on the fritz, all the time. So, uh, well, I'm nice and not as deadly as the toxic gas. Also, my name is Soren. Names are important, right?

[Stabby]

<Snipped quote by Stabby>

*Stops in your vicinity* Hi, whoever you are. I'm assuming you're somewhere around here but whatever trackery thing I'm probably using to find you is on the fritz. *Mumbles* Everything is on the fritz, all the time. So, uh, well, I'm nice and not as deadly as the toxic gas. Also, my name is Soren. Names are important, right?

@Balance

*Steps out from my hiding spot and looks at you cautiously before speaking.* There hasn't been toxic gas around here since most of it dispersed into the atmosphere a good 200-300 years ago, or so I'm told. That said, how did you even know I was here?

[Balance]

<Snipped quote by Balance>

*Steps out from my hiding spot and looks at you cautiously before speaking.* There hasn't been toxic gas around here since most of it dispersed into the atmosphere a good 200-300 years ago, or so I'm told. That said, who are you and how did you even know I was here?

@Stabby

Take a note: green cities are a green light. *The mist disappears* Aw, I'm wet now. Anyway-- Um. *Looks for a wall, finds one, leans on it, and grins as nonchalantly as I can* I guessed.

[Stabby]

<Snipped quote by Stabby>

Take a note: green cities are a green light. *The mist disappears* Aw, I'm wet now. Anyway-- Um. *Looks for a wall, finds one, leans on it, and grins as nonchalantly as I can* I guessed.

@Balance

*I look at you disbelieving as the wall itself crumbles and nearly falls on top of you.* I'm going to be straight with you, I don't think you're from around here given that no one tries to do that without checking first, and I'm gonna call you out on your guess since I saw you start walking into the city from its outskirts.

[Balance]

<Snipped quote by Balance>

*I look at you disbelieving as the wall itself crumbles and nearly falls on top of you.* I'm going to be straight with you, I don't think you're from around here given that no one tries to do that without checking first, and since I saw you start walking into the city from its outskirts, I'm also don't think it was "just a guess".

@Stabby

*Scrambles to regain my balance* I didn't think that would work. You know, they always tell me *in a mocking voice* "be subtle; don't let the locals know that you're totally insane so you don't have to think of lame excuses," but that's really hard. *Pulls a wafer-thin rectangular device with a screen out of my pocket and extends my hand toward you* Heat sensor.

[Stabby]

<Snipped quote by Stabby>

*Scrambles to regain my balance* I didn't think that would work. You know, they always tell me *in a mocking voice* "be subtle; don't let the locals know that you're totally insane so you don't have to think of lame excuses," but that's really hard. *Pulls a wafer-thin rectangular device with a screen and throws it at you* Heat sensor.

@Balance

*Catches it with wide eyes and looks it over carefully as I talk, keeping one eye on you as I do so.* Eh, insanity, everyone has some form of it these days. Kinda why I got kicked out of my group a year or two ago. My name's Thania by the way, but you can call me Than or Thani if you want. *Finally hands the the heat sensor back to you, though begrudgingly.* Where'd you find that?

[Balance]

<Snipped quote by Balance>

*Catches it with wide eyes and looks it over carefully as I talk, keeping one eye on you as I do so.* Eh, insanity, everyone has some form of it these days. Kinda why I got kicked out of my group a year or two ago. My name's Thania by the way, but you can call me Than or Thani if you want. *Finally hands the the heat sensor back to you, though begrudgingly.* Where'd you find that?

@Stabby

Definitely not here. *Stuffs the sensor back into my pocket* Nice to meet you. I think I said my name. Hey, you don't happen to have a phone, do you?

[Stabby]

<Snipped quote by Stabby>

Definitely not here. *Stuffs the sensor back into my pocket* Nice to meet you. I think I said my name. Hey, you don't happen to have a phone, do you?

@Balance

Yea, you did Soren. As for a phone, I'd be surprised if you could find a working one anywhere on this planet, let alone a spot where you'd still get reception. That heat sensor you have is probably the most advanced working tech I've seen, and it's likely to be of more worth than anything I have on me.

[Balance]

<Snipped quote by Balance>

Yea, you did Soren. As for a phone, I'd be surprised if you could find a working one anywhere on this planet, let alone a spot where you'd still get reception. That heat sensor you have is probably the most advanced working tech I've seen, and it's likely to be of more worth than anything I have on me.

@Stabby

Did you come from another planet? You make it sound like you did.

[Stabby]

<Snipped quote by Stabby>

Did you come from another planet? You make it sound like you did.

@Balance

I'm not from another planet, though the thought is nice. Decent technology is a rare commodity here, as you have to either find or salvage and fix it since most of it is either broken or ruined by plants, ruble, and weather. Speaking of other places, where are you from?

[Webmaster]

*Hears a sound and perks up*

[Webmaster]

*Peeks through a distant hole in the side of the building*

[Stabby]

*Peeks through a distant hole in the side of the building*

@Webmaster

*doesn't seem to notice you.*

[Webmaster]

<Snipped quote by Webmaster>

*doesn't seem to notice you.*

@Stabby

*Sneaks a little bit closer and peeks through a slightly bigger hole*