It's a shuddering breath, a sensation of being
pulled to elsewhere and finding oneself pressed against something rather hard with the sound of water coming from nearby. However, before one can fully stir, there is something that lifts you up from the rather warm (yet why did it feel like a chill going down your spine?) stone when you begin to drift off once more. It felt as though someone had thrown you from the frying pan, and then into the freezer - all you wanted to do was sleep...
Yet the feeling passes quickly, and when you awaken, you begin to realize your surroundings. It looks like...a plaza of some sort? As they look around them, the ground beneath them is an intricate mosiac - a water fountain at the center of the plaza in this foreign world. There are many buildings around its perimeter, making this location seem like a central hub of whatever town this was. Some may even recognize the peculiar design of the buildings and sloped tiled rooftops as a Far Eastern theme. Were they somewhere along the Pacific? Who knows! But what is quite apparent is this: Along with the many buildings surrounding the plaza, the first thing that is noticeable is the amount of people sitting or standing around you in a similar daze.
You are not alone...One building seems to stand out among all the others; one that seems large enough to house all of the completely lost and confused masses gathered here to the welcome plaza. A sign outside the door reads:
WELCOME CENTER
Newcomers: Please come inside for refreshments and your welcome packets!Odd... This wasn't written in your own language, and yet you find it easily understandable. Soon enough, if you don't enter on your own, someone comes from inside the double doors to usher you and everyone else inside.
"Welcome to
Saeng Seong! I know you must be confused as to where you are and what's going on, but we promise to explain this to you once we're inside and away from the hot sun!"
Whether you go inside immediately or linger outside a little longer, eventually you must come in from the hot summer day, and sooner rather than later would probably be better. You'll find yourself in a well-lit lobby, filled with comfortable-looking couches and chairs. Along one wall are refreshment tables, loaded with all sorts of food and drink, including some you probably aren't familiar with. On the wall opposite are a pair of desks, each with a sign and a person seated behind them -
Irene, General AssistanceDevin, Technological AssistanceHowever, before you can go over and give them a piece of their mind and ask for questions, the same person who ushered you inside hands you a manilla envelope that contains your welcome packet, urging you to read this before asking the three figures questions that the packet likely answers.
Inside it, you will find: a ring with a key and apartment number on it, some kind of cash card, a
map and informational guide to the city, and a letter folded neatly on the top -
Welcome to Saeng Seong!
You are among a new group of arrivals to our city, from many far-apart worlds.
We have gathered you here because our city is in a crisis, and we are at our last resorts. The energy of the city is in a slow downward spiral, and is dangerously close to expiring altogether.
That's where you come in - you and everyone else we've brought to the city. Unlike those of us here, you have the potential to generate the energy the city needs, but you'll need to work together to do it.
Why? Because the energy can only be generated when two people touch each other. Any touch will do, but it must be between two of you who are new to the city. If you don't keep in contact with someone, eventually your energy will begin to drain as well, making you dangerously ill.
A few other things:
The closed-off sections of the city are closed off for a reason; approaching them will cause your energy to drain very rapidly. We're working to open the rest of the city to you as soon as we can, but for now, please remain within the two central districts of the city.
You have been given a key to a one-bedroom apartment in a complex set aside for you and the other new arrivals, near the riverside in the 1st district. You're free to change your living quarters whenever you like, and we encourage you to move in with someone in one of the larger apartments. When you want to change, just come back to this building to exchange your key.
We've also included a cash card with a living stipend; if you're unfamiliar with this system, or the network established for new arrivals, you can talk to Devin in the lobby for help. It's what he's here for. If you need medical assistance, contact Mai, one of our nurses - she'll be going around today for anyone who needs help.
Again, welcome, and thank you for all your help.
Irene
Arrival Liaison
Back behind you, others still linger, and through the translucent glass you can see a banner hanging from the tiled roof of the building across the street in the blistering summer day:
WELCOME TO SAENG SEONG
(ENJOY YOUR STAY!)
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rekindleme2013-07-18 07:41 pm
Outside
"It's alright..! Please, stay still for a moment... I may be able to help you with your injuries, at least a little."
She had no idea if her healing powers would work on someone from another world, but she could at least try. She'd feel awful if she let someone stay in that sort of condition without doing something to help them.
aaa yukina was one of my favorite yu yu hakusho characters ;u;
"There is no need... I will be--"
She cut herself off, thinking better of her refusal; she certainly could use some healing magic. Lowering her head and letting out a breath, she replied.
"Very well. Thank you."
I hope I do her justice then! ^^;;
"You're welcome..." She reaches out so that her hands are just above the worst of the wounds and focuses. A faint, blue-white light forms at her fingertips and then spreads out over her hands and over the injuries; Freya will feel a definite cooling sensation. In fact, the temperature around them is only dropping lower and lower.
The Ice Maiden looks up with an expression full of concern as she works. "What happened to you? This looks so painful..."
i wouldn't remember enough to criticize, haaah. i'm sure you do great!
Still a bit disoriented (but why, exactly? she wonders), she still uses her weapon for support, but is able to remain on her feet without too much effort. Freya shakes her head, a frown coming to her face.
"I was defeated by the general who invaded my home," she replies, regret in her voice. "Her skills were too great for my comrades and I to manage..."
But how had she been brought here? She clearly remembered taking the telepods to the queen's airship with her friends, and watching as that same queen destroyed the place she'd sworn to protect. Had she passed out? What about the others; where were they? Were they still injured, as well, or as confused as she was?
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Yukina swallows hard. That sounds so - violent. Violence is something she's used to (it comes with the territory when dealing with the people she calls her friends) but definitely doesn't like.
She pulls her hands back as the magic does its work and mends the knight's skin, and she pauses for a moment to inspect it. Perhaps it's not perfect, but it should probably ease Freya's pain at least a little. That's all Yukina can hope for, at the moment.
"You must have fought valiantly..."
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A moment passed, and Freya pushed thoughts of her home away. Now was not the time to dwell on the past, even if it had been just moments ago. She had to figure out where she was and how to get back. Perhaps Yukina could provide some information.
"Madam... would you happen to know what this place is? I cannot recall how I arrived here."
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"We are in a city called Saeng Seong," Yukina says, fiddling with the hem of one of her sleeves. "I'd never heard of such a place before, but... they are a city in need of help, or so they say." She's still very apprehensive about the manner in which people can help them, but... if they truly need the assistance - and from the events of the last month, it seems that they do - who is she to say no?
"Energy here is generated through touch, but their own efforts haven't done anything to produce the energy they need... so they've brought people in from other worlds to try."
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"I... hope you'll forgive me if I find that hard to believe," she said. It wasn't that she didn't trust the Ice Maiden, it was simply... bizarre to hear, was all.
"So you are telling me... this is another world? That I am no longer on Gaia?"
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A moment passes, and she nods. "That's exactly what I'm saying. I'm sorry if that's hard to hear."
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"How long have you been here?" It sounded as if some time had passed for Yukina. If there had been others stranded in this new world for some time, would she, too, be trapped? Whatever Brahne was planning, Freya needed to hurry to stop her; she needed to return home.
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She pauses to consider Freya's question, and when she answers, there is just a hint of melancholy in her voice - she might have come to accept her situation, but that didn't mean she liked it. "I've been here for about a month. They say that when we finish our duties here and return home, it will be as though nothing has changed on our worlds... but there's no way of knowing that for sure until we leave, and there's no way of knowing when that will be."
Some people who had arrived with her weren't here anymore. Yukina can't help but wonder how they made it back, and why she wasn't able to find a way out herself. But she supposes there are worse places to be than Saeng Seong. When she can stave off the withdrawal effects, it's really quite peaceful and pleasant.
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"As though nothing has changed...? That is a rather bold claim for them to make." It was one thing for them to take people from countless other worlds, but to work against the flow of time, too?
She sighed. Though she still had more questions, they were things only the people who'd taken her there could answer. "Thank you for your help, Miss...?"
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"I don't know how they intend to follow through on their promises," She says, her brows creasing as she allows a slight frown.
She's lost in thought for a few moments and almost misses the question in Freya's voice, but then she blinks and looks up at her with a bit of chagrin. "Oh! Yes, you're very welcome. I'm glad I could help you. My name is Yukina... and yours is?"
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She smiles politely at the Ice Maiden's introduction. "My name is Freya. It's a pleasure to meet you, Yukina; it was fortunate for me that we crossed paths."
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But then, wasn't that true of most people? Everyone had things they didn't want to tell anyone else. The secrets kept from them in Saeng Seong were, perhaps, more substantial than most, but... She couldn't fault them for it, not really. As much as these people needed the help of outsiders, they couldn't really know that the outsiders were trustworthy. She's not sure she'd give people free access to whatever it was that allowed people to come and go.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Miss Freya." Yukina smiles, and the smile reaches her eyes. "I live in apartment 4-04 of the second building... if you ever need anything, feel free to let me know. I've been spending a lot of time there, and at the riverside, to escape the heat."
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"4-04 in the second building..." she repeats to herself with a nod. "I will. Thank you."