paixaorpg | We're Going Down [Active/Open]

Entry tags:

We're Going Down [Active/Open]

Character(s): Trudy Chacon, Open
Content: DEATH is wandering around Halloweentown, exploring despite the fact that he looks like he belongs. Have fun.
Setting: Joutenheim Gate
Time: Week 21
Warnings: Lengthy?

Her eyes had stopped clenching when her skin felt like it had stopped burning. Her rattling flight seat had suddenly dissipated and her bottom rested on powder-soft sand on a remote beach. She felt the slightest hint of skepticism in thinking of the newfound tropical locale as her new reality. Yet, once she had recognized that her senses had not attempted to fool her in some form of hallucination, she quickly placed herself back into a typical mindset of cautious awareness. When the sand caked against her hand and forehead from the sudden cold sweat, she scanned the area for possible hostiles before taking the opportunity to walk to the water and wipe it away. She noted her reflection on the water, seeing the warpaint still smeared across her face as a symbol of her solidarity to the Na'vi cause and helping the rebels of the RDA. She hesitated to wash it off considering its symbolic power in what she could only call a "post death" experience but ended up rationalizing herself into getting refreshment before sticking to kamikaze sentiments.

She finally noticed a gate with a hoard of people in line in front of it, moving along nicely, and the wondrous looking city behind it. When she had walked over from the water, she brushed herself off and straightened her hair in the event that she had look respectable in order to get anywhere that had answers about this new place. She tried to get on her toes and peer over some of the taller people in her way, but ultimately remained patient and sullen as she had to piece together details while coming closer to the entrance. She slowly heard stray bits about a place with a strange name, something about a jouranl, and heard some others talking about their backstories. It seemed that some had felt abducted, while others had felt like she did: as though they were in an afterlife of some sort. She then heard a different voice, one that was calm but had a bit of strict business-like tone thrown in. When she finally came to the front of the line, she was busy looking at the bustling streets in front of her to notice that the source of the calm voice had been yelling to get her attention.

"MISS. Name" he asked exasperatingly. "Trudy Chacon, at your service," she said while giving a half-sincere salute. The strange looking man beside her didn't look up from his register and instead handed her a small device. "Here's your journal. Welcome to Paixao." She began looking around with a puzzled expression and was about to inquire further into what this place was, but just as soon as she had turned to him, he had been sorting through the business of three other new arrivals. "What's wrong with a little adventure?" she asked herself, and went into the city streets with a small wry grin.

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Lately, Grace had been walking around a lot more than usual. At first she'd just been observing on the journals and occasionally walking around as her Avatar form. Rarer were the days she walked around as a human. Today was one of the less rare days, as she'd formed the mindlink with her Avatar and gone walking around. However, it was starting to remind her of how she'd felt when she'd first arrived and then again when she'd gone to register to be a citizen as Tirea. The dizziness wasn't as bad as it had been for Braska, but it was still there and every step seemed to be complaining to her.

Thinking she might be able to brush it off, Grace continued down the streets, heading for nowhere in particular and just happening to pass by one of the gates. Joutenheim, she thought it said. Sometmes the Na'vi eyes didn't pick up words the same way human ones did, so reading was a bit of a challenge some days. Or maybe Grace was just getting too old for all this. Still, she glanced at the gate as she passed, wondering who was around, and did a double take, stopping to turn wide eyes at the line behind the gate. Had she just seen...? No... Couldn't be. No one she knew had come by in the time she'd been there.

Shaking herself a little bit, Grace turned her Avatar body and continued onward. If she really had just seen Trudy, the woman would know her Avatar on sight. How many tall blue things did one see in a day?

Only moments after Grace had turned her eyes toward Trudy and then continued to walk, Trudy began surveying all the different types of people walking around the streets of Paixao and admired its diversity. It was the same thing she had originally fought and died for back in what used to be her real world. Now, she wasn't sure what was and wasn't seemingly "real." She didn't like to think too philosophically, but something about her afterlife experience has been incredibly unsettling.

She stopped admiring everything around her when she thought she saw a discernable figure that resembled a Na'vi. It was tall and blue, but that all she could pick up from the distance. She tried to scrape up everything she could remember about the Na'vi language from her previous memories, but she ultimately scrambled a bunch of gibberish. "NA'VI...bshghin'tnka?" she yelled questioningly. She felt a few pairs of eyes searching her for a label that read "crazy."

And then suddenly, a yell split the air. Few people knew what a Na'vi was here and of those precious few of them would actually yell at her with that name. Most would have simply called her by the name she'd taken to giving in this form, "Tirea."

Grace swung around, heart pounding a little. Could it be she'd really seen a familiar face just then? Her eyes scanned the crowd and then...

Yes!

Grace moved forward hurriedly, making sure not to hurt anyone as she headed for the gate again. She was about to call out to her friend when the dizziness suddenly overwhelmed her senses again. Shit! She swayed on her feet for a moment before losing consciousness. The Avatar crashed to the ground, scattering civilians all over as they tried not to get crushed beneath her large body.

A long distance away, Grace woke up to her human body and cursed fluently. "Shit!" Trying to calm her nerves, she closed her eyes again and attempted to throw her consciousness back into the mind link... with zero success. Damn. She had to keep trying!

Trudy began searching through the crowds once a clamor emerged. Her hands pushed aside many people as they gave her scoffs and looks of offense. Her own expression of desperation didn't seem to affect their sympathies. It was the mere hope of seeing someone from her own world here as opposed to drifting through town like an amnesia patient.

She spotted a point where the crowds circled and there was a hole in the mass. When she had found her way there, she saw the Na'vi body draped across the ground with a few of Paixao's citizens looking dismayed and frightened. From the looks of it, they were about to be crushed.

Trudy shook her head and only hoped that the Na'vi wasn't dead. "Dammit," she muttered as she excused herself to the body on the ground. She held up her palms in a passive manner and explained slowly, "I'm only looking to see if she's okay. Someone better get some help."

When she had rolled the body back over to its front, she searched the face and finally recognized her friend from the past. "Grace?" she asked, as though the lifeless avatar would respond. Trudy looked displeased to say the least, and with a sneer and an air of hostility, she added to the crowd, "Did I freaking stutter? Get some help NOW."

It was about the time that Trudy finally made her way over to the Avatar body that Grace managed to reconnect the mind link. The Na'vi eyes opened and she winced. "Shit," she whispered, reaching up to feel her head. "Second time that's happened here. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Quaritch was trying to screw with me again."

But he was gone. He was still fighting the damned war on Pandora. Where Grace should have been.

She sat up, waving off the circle of gawkers. "Do I look like a zoo animal?" she snapped. Why did this keep happening? Was it because of the airwaves or something here?

Shaking herself inwardly, she turned back to Trudy and pushed herself to her feet. "Let's get back to my place. We can talk more there. Can you run?"

Observing Grace in her Avatar state stand and make a point to the surrounding onlookers, Trudy smiled wide and gave a generous slug to her friend's arm. "Don't even bring up that son of a bitch," she said, remembering how she had arrived in the first place.

She turned to look around and responded, "I can always run." She brushed off Grace and herself from being on the ground and joined her in sprinting wherever she was headed. "Is there a reason we're running or is it normal to do around here?"

The punch to her arm barely made Grace flinch, but the grin on her face was more than enough to show how she felt about it all. And at least they shared sentiments on Quaritch.

"Nah, I figured running would get us there before these brilliant minds try to stop us." That and Trudy would have to hurry to keep up with Grace in general anyway. "Or I could just sling you over my shoulder and go from there." She smirked a little wider and set off at a fair clip, one that was quick enough for her tastes but slow enough for Trudy to keep up.

"I've got an apartment-type house at a place called Villas Salonas. It's not that far considering the size of the city, but it's far enough."

With a smile to the offer of a piggyback ride, Trudy donned her aviator sunglasses and lovingly patted her on the back. "You were always so complimentary of others."

A huff to the gawking onlookers later, Trudy followed with haste. She ran as fast as she could alongside her Na'vi companion and threw her replies out when she could manage time between breathes. "Villas Salonas? Even this place has tacky names for their apartment complexes."

"I tell it like it is," Grace answered with a smirk as she continued. "If they earn the title, I don't see why I shouldn't use it."

At least it wasn't too long of a jog. That helped a little bit and Grace knew the way well enough by now. She'd certainly taken it enough times. How long had she been here anyway? The time was starting to blur together. She let out a snort at Trudy's words about the names of the places. Scientist or no, she had to agree. "Could be worse. Could be Villas Skxawng. But then I'd have to move and invite the rest of the city to live there in my place. There it is."

Pointing ahead, Grace picked up the pace just a little bit, ignoring her head. Just a little further and then she could let the Avatar rest again. She would definitely need a smoke after this.

While the Avatar for Grace had continued talking to her and she distinctly remembered replying as per her usual snarky behavior, but at the same time, Trudy considered the whole series of events a blur of adrenaline-fueled running and befuddling observation.

The place was tremendous. It reminded her of the first time she arrived to Pandora and gained familiarity with the subtleties of flying around the Hallelujah Mountains. Getting to know the doglegs and the drifts around the corners and getting used to the mist around them was the easy part; appreciating them for their majesty without killing her passengers or herself was something that took more time. Of course, now she was subject to that same treatment she gave Jake Sully only so long ago in Paixao. She wished she could have someone see her face.

Grace thought Trudy's expression was rather priceless, and if not for the fact that they were hurrying by everything, she would have appreciated it more by stopping. That'd have to wait til Trudy saw the types of living arrangements this place had. Grace's was pretty high-end, though not the absolute best in the city.

"Here we are." Finally finding her apartment, which had enough rooms that Grace could have her Avatar in one, herself in another, and still have a leftover for living room and one for a guest, Grace turned the lock and entered, somehow managing to tuck her huge body into what seemed like a very small space. Then again, Na'vi were rather flexible. Much more so than humans.

Once inside, Grace shut the door and locked it behind them, made sure all the windows were shut, and headed for the back room. "Time for me to get out of link. I'll be right out, Trudy."

Which was also Grace-speak for "Make yourself at home." Not that she expected Trudy to just stand there until she got back. The first room was a living room-type, connected to a kitchen with laundry rooms off the kitchen. To one side of those rooms was a hallway and that led to the three "bedrooms." Grace was pretty sure her guest room was supposed to be something else, but she didn't really particularly care. The place was small, but it suited her needs just fine.

Less than a minute later, Grace, lit cigarette in hand, walked out of her room. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."

Panting a bit when they had both arrived to the Villas Salonas, Trudy finally got some rest and managed to get the rest of the sand off of her jumpsuit before walking in, as she imagined her grandmother's voice yelling at her about being rude and dirty in other people's living spaces. Then again, her abuela hadn't met Doctor Grace Augustine, researcher and cigarette-smoking badass extraordinaire.

"Happy to see me? I guess you wouldn't be the one for a banana in the pocket joke," she giggled. She gave her old friend a quick hug and then sat nearby. "So, any idea where the hell we are or am I gonna need to get you a full pack of those before you even start?" she asked with a hint of sincerity.

The last thing Grace cared about was sand on her carpet, but the sentiment was appreciated anyway and at least it meant that they both had time to prepare for the talk. Grace sucked in a huge breath of smoke and blew it back out again, feeling it fill her lungs again. Making sure she didn't breathe directly in Trudy's face, she returned the embrace quickly and then sat down at the kitchen table.

"I've got two packs in my pocket," she answered with a grin, patting her side and taking another breath of the sweet cigarette air. "You can replenish my stock tomorrow, though. Something tells me I'll need it." Reaching into her other pocket, she pulled out her small journal and flipped it open, moving so Trudy could see it.

"This is the map. We're in a city called Paixao, it's entirely inorganic, and I feel like I've been imprisoned." She breathed out, holding the cigarette between her teeth as she brought up the city map, taking it bqck between her fingers once she was done. "From what I've seen, we're in a castle and this is just a floor. The next floor is over here and it's called Destiny Islands, leading to Halloween Town. I've been there in my Avatar. It's as creepy as some of the old movies."

As in, not at all.

Taking in the small amount of information displayed by the electronic journal and by Grace's testimony, Trudy stood still and let the haze from the smoke swirl in the air and dissipate before she said anything. "Okay, given all that...how am I gonna get you another pack of cigarettes tomorrow? I'm guessing they're either imports or disgusting."

Trudy scratched the back of her neck and then reclined back into her seat until she sat hunched back into the cushions and had her head against the back rest. It was akin to either a person slipping away from consciousness or a kid laying out in the middle of an arduous chemistry lecture. "More importantly, Doc...are we dead?"

Grace smirked around her cigarette again. It really had been too long since she'd seen anyone she actually cared about. Trudy was a welcome sight for sore eyes and her voice was a welcome sound for pained ears. "There's a place over here." She pointed out the place she'd found them at before. "Somehow they have some, though where they get it when they can't grow anything here is beyond me, but at least they do the job and don't make me hallucinate any more than I already did." Which was an added bonus.

She watched Trudy lean back, sucking in another breath and blowing it back out slowly. That was an odd question, but Grace supposed she couldn't blame Trudy. After all, she was pretty sure she should have died had she stayed at home. That gun shot wound wasn't healing on its own. Stomach wounds were always hell to survive. She knew that much of war and medicine. And from the way she'd felt back on Pandora, she was pretty sure she wasn't going to survive that. Unless by some miracle she would have been transferred to her Avatar body. But that was pushing it.

Grace rested her arms on the table and watched Trudy seriously. "Not that I'm aware of. If this was the afterlife, I'd have to believe in it and Eywa would have to be here. I did see her, right before I found myself here." A frown creased her expression then. "Though I have to wonder why you're asking. Is it because I'm here?"

The thought of there being no real organic life besides their own troubled Trudy. It was as though they had instantly gone from one extreme to the other when they had departed from the lush forests and intricate ecosystem of Pandora. "It's like sausage. You don't wanna know how it got tasty, you just know that it is," she said, finding even more disgust in the analogy than she had originally intended.

The question reflected back to Trudy was one she was hoping she didn't have to answer. Still, the sand on the beaches felt real enough, the warmth of the sun felt hot enough, and the smell of the smoke in the room was pungent enough to be real. The thought had crossed her mind that this was real, but at the same time, she remembered feeling the heat of an exploding Samson chopper around her body. "Not quite. I think it's because I'm here."

Grace let out a soft snort at Trudy's analogy. It was grossly accurate in a way and the good doctor was no more amused by the sudden change in location than the pilot, but at least it meant she was more alive than she would have been back home.

However, before she could address that, Trudy answered her question. Both of Grace's eyebrows rose and she blew out an incredulous breath of smoke. "Don't tell me you had a date with Eywa, too." The idea of Grace dying was bad enough, but to lose another person who was so set on helping Pandora and the Na'vi against the idiots from the RDA was like a physical slap to Grace. What she wouldn't give to show Quaritch exactly how much she hated him.

"We had a handful of flyers and one Samson piloted by the best. They had an entire fleet of 'em and a Dragon gunship, so for once, it was quantity, not quality," Trudy quipped. "I knocked a few out of the box, but that scar-faced son of a bitch hit me with my back turned." It was awful for her to report all this to Grace, another victim of Quaritch's malice and hot-blooded rage.

The explanation, short though it was, made Grace's eyebrows slide further up her forehead in shock. Quaritch had gotten Trudy, too? Bastard had a lot coming to him as far as Grace was concerned and if Jake didn't manage to give it to him, she was going to have a couple of choice words for him when they met again.

"Shit, Trudy," she muttered, taking another drag on her cigarette and flicking the ashes into the tray on the table. "Guess I'm not the only one who wants to kick his hard ass when I see him again. And I hope I do." That hard ass needed kicking and Grace sure as hell wanted to be the one to do it.

"As far as I know, this isn't the afterlife or whatever. I haven't seen Eywa anywhere."

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We're Going Down [Active/Open]

Because I had to and the dice decreed it 8D

The dice don't lie. :D

Nope, never :D also I apologize to Trudy |D I had to make it hard on Grace

Grace can never be happy. Ever. :|

It must be a rule or something, geeze

Avatar? Totally made by a DM. :3

XD our girls must have rolled crit fails on their war checks >( no wonder they had such a hard time

Well, with all that charisma, they needed a dump stat /nerdery :3

Sure wasn't their win stat. Must've been luck XD sob, poor girls.

I think they were too busy with their int, wis, cha, str, and dex to bother. :3

Especially int and wis... cha not so much on Grace's end XD she kind of didn't care enough

But her intim. skill points are through the roof! (also, sorry for late n' lame sauce and icon win)

no rush <3 and I love that Grace icon |D Grace gets a natural intim. bonus

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