gotosleep_idiot | T-T-T-TEST DRIVE! Meme!

Those soft steps keep the girl from doing anything more than simply startling as she hears the approach. Her own steps halt as she turns to look over a shoulder towards the sound. So many sounds are unfamiliar here, but footsteps are not something entirely foreign to her like so much else. Upon spotting the man, she immediately turns to face towards him as her arms curl up to her chest as she falls back half a pace.

But she senses he isn't the reason she's running. No, this isn't the danger she knows, even if he still might be a potential threat.

She stays in place as he nears with her fingers curling, his mask strange but not frightening to her. Somewhat shy with her head slightly tilted forward, she manages to answer in a rather timid voice, "I...I don't know where I am."

A newcomer Edward nods to himself, thankful that at least the girl didn't stray in any of the more dangerous parts of the city before anyone found her. Not everyone who Wakes in Nautlus first thinks to use their communicator-- those that do generally get information about Nautilus right away. Although in this girl's case, perhaps she was too afraid to reach out for help in a strange place.

"That's okay, nobody knows where this is when they first arrive here." He kneels down to her height, and tries to make eye contact. His expression, the half of it that's visible, shows nothing but earnest concern. "I know you must be confused, but everything's gonna be fine. What's your name?"

The idea that no one knows where they are upon arrival to this place is rather disconcerting, but the gesture given in kneeling down to her short height is enough to keep her focused and still. If nothing else, she does maintain eye contact with him, only briefly diverting her gaze to check the position of his hands. With no sign of danger from his posture, she focuses instead on his expression and eyes. It's of some comfort that she cannot pick up on any hints of deception, making it easier to accept his assurance.

Still, doubt remains even as she complies with an answer, "It's Annie...a-at least I think that's my name." One hand drifts up to touch at her temple, eyes narrowing as she struggles to look for some memory to support the notion that simply sounds correct.

Shaking her head softly, she drops the hand back down to her chest and hopes to see if the only other part of her intact memory is of any use, "This place...is it near Gotham City?"

He is about to ask about Annie's apparent memory loss, but then he becomes distracted by Gotham's mention. Another person from a familiar place? Or at least, a version of one.

"Gotham? Gosh no. We're..." He looks around, face scrunching a bit as he looks for the right words. "In Nautilus. It's, ah, not really close at all. We're not even on Earth. People sometimes show up here by accident." He smiles, somewhat nervous. He hopes that wasn't too much to drop on a kid. He hopes more that she will accept the basic explaination so he won't have to dive into a complex account of the existance of multiple universes and individual reality wavelengths. That would definitely be too much.

He refocuses. The girl's memory trouble may have been caused by some kind of head injury, either before Waking or just after her arrival. "Hello Annie. I'm Edward. Is Gotham where you were last?"

That answer seems more confusing to her than not knowing, lips pressing together. That people arrive accidentally more than occasionally is difficult enough to comprehend, but being somewhere other than Earth? That seems downright impossible. She has no way to leave a country let alone a whole planet.

Then again, she hasn't even a certainty in her own identity.

At the very least, she manages to nod her head to him once in a return of greeting when she can't quite muster up following a proper script. She hesitates, then answers his question, "...I-I'm pretty sure? I don't remember much about it but I know I saw that several times."

In an effort to make sense of this place called Nautilus, she asks, "How does someone get from Gotham to here?"

"It's complicated. People come here from all different places, not only Gotham." He can tell she still doesn't understand, and he sighs. The scientifically-minded man has a difficult enough time explaining high concepts to other adults, let alone children. If he was with his daughter, he could simply ask for her trust, putting off any explainations for later. However to Annie, he's just another stranger, someone she might less nervous around from when she first saw him, perhaps, but that isn't saying much.

For now, perhaps explaining Nautilus to someone with memory loss isn't the formost of priorities. "You aren't hurt in any way, are you? What's the last thing you remember for sure?"

By 'different places' Annie gets the idea that he means locations away from Earth. She doesn't understand 'how' or 'why' to any degree, but that piece of 'where' she is able to grasp. However it leaves her more perplexed regarding where Nautilus itself is located if not on Earth and able to reach to other worlds.

Shaking her head when asked if she is hurt, Annie can easily deny that. There is no pain anywhere that she feels, so certainly not. At the request for her last clear memory though... She struggles with that request quite a bit more. Her brow furrows as she tries to concentrate on the traces of memories still present from before waking here, and reaches up with both hands to her head this time with her head dropping forward to meet them. Her voice only shrinks with distress and tension, straining just to get the very glimpses of something, "...r-running. I...I have to keep moving."

"Whatever you were running from, it's highly improbable that it could have followed you here," he says. If Annie truly was last in Gotham (any Gotham), it isn't hard to believe she'd been in some kind of danger. While Nautilus isn't exactly a walk in a non-monster-infested park either, there would at least be people around willing to help her. As for her memory loss, Edward might be able to find someone who would know more about matters like these. A doctor? Maybe that A.I. programmed with psychology expertise.

He stands back up, holding out his hand to her. "But if you like, we can try to find someplace safer." He figures if the urge to keep moving is so strong in Annie, she'd only become more anxious by staying in one spot to talk.

Not leaving her to dwell on the ingrained urge is certainly the right course to take. While she has not encountered what sent her fleeing in the first place since waking, emotions like fear usually do not respond readily to reason or logic as evident in the tightening of the muscles in her legs.

Inhaling as she lifts her head from her hands at the sound of him rising from kneeling, Annie looks up at him with an expression of anxiety bordering on panic that fades at the sight of his hand held out to her. Her dark eyes focus on his hand for a pause, and with only a brief hesitation midway, the girl reaches to accept the offer. The smaller hand feels warm and smooth, not yet roughened by labor if the lack of callouses are any indication.

"..i-is it really okay for me to call you Edward?" She has the impression that most adults would prefer something denoting greater respect than a first-name basis.

In comparison, Edward's hand is far more worn, both from years of crimefighting and long-healed burn wounds. His grip is steady and gentle... though it falters, just for a fleeting moment as he thinks about how long it's been since he's held his own daughter's hand. His attention snaps back to Annie when she speaks, and his smile returns.

"Of course it's okay. Just Eddie is fine as well," he responds. After a thought, he adds, "Or, Mr. Nashton. Whatever works for you. I'm not set on any one particular name." Admittedly, 'Mr. Nashton' would be a weird one for him. Too formal. And, it's a cliche, but really. Mr. Nashton is his father.

He looks around, wondering what direction to take her first. Finding a Welcome House for her could come later. For now it might be better to get her more comfortable with the city. "The market in the Southern District, I think," he mutters. He turns back to Annie. "Is there anything more you wanted to know? I can try to explain things while we walk."

Calmed quite a bit by the contact despite the flicker of disruption, Annie straightens her posture with knees separating and head lifting fully in preparation for moving. Her free hand finds a place tucked at her chest, fingers curled over her sleeve. A single step takes her closer to hand she holds, but otherwise she waits until he begins to move to follow his lead.

She nods at the answer regarding his name, and given that he had presentend his name as Edward first, she'll stick with that. Patiently she waits as he deciphers the best way to take her, half hearing the murmur regarding a market somewhere. She knows what that is, but fails to visualize it. Soon enough she just might see one for herself, but his question gets her mind turned to other matters.

"...maybe you can tell me about Nautilus? I've seen buildings that look very different from each other, and a lot of trees, but that's it so far." The rather open ended question is posed with a tinge of uncertainty, but she figures if he can tell her something about this place, she can think of better questions.

The open market is a quaint little place, something of a novelty to anyone used to Gotham's industrialized urban environments. Annie might even like it. It's quiet and out of the way of Nautilus's busier areas. The market also offers unlimted food, all safe to eat, completely free. Nothing not to like about that.

As Annie has already observed, the way there is mostly marked by dense trees and foliage. The pair pass by the occasional building, none that resemble the last. He continues, "There are some places with less trees," Edward says. "Depending where you are in Nautilus, some places look so different that you'd never believe you were in the same city. That's what Nautilus is, just one city. It's sort of... magic." Internally, he winces at the simplification. Creation energy is to magic like what magic is to a rock. There's just plain more to it than that. "Differnent looking buildings and structures can appear at random."

Free food means no more picking through discards for scraps to ward off hunger. Plenty to appreciate just in that fact alone.

Falling into pace with Edward, Annie adjusts her cadence as necessary to keep up with him while walking beside him, feet naturally having to move faster due to her shorter stature. Given her tendency to run, a quick pace would suit her fine should that be needed to match him.

Rather surprised by what he tells her, Annie definitely has more questions now, "A city? Do a lot of people live here then? And...do the buildings ever appear where someone is?" In other words, do these randomly manifesting buildings have the chance to appear on people?

"Not a lot of people, actually," he says. "We're only a few dozen over a hundred. People are pretty spread out, but we all keep in contact with commnicators. Everyone has one when they arrive. You should have one, too." The city's population really is minuscule when compared to the numbers of a normal city. A person could claim an entire block for theirself and still be without neighbors.

"And, no, it's not like the buildings fall out of the sky on top of our heads," he says with a laugh. "You'll just find them, standing in places that were empty yesterday. They'll never appear where someone already is. Somtime places can change around us, but no one gets hurt." And it wasn't like Nautilus would deliberately endanger people so carelessly. Which then begs the question. How is he going to explain the city being alive? Some people who have lived here for weeks or months still don't understand it. Maybe he can open the topic with a discussion about souls. Or gods.

Or he could just say "magic" again.

T-T-T-TEST DRIVE! Meme!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Ah, no fair giving me feels-!

you'll take your feels and like it

If Annie gets accepted you are so getting payback

Bring it on!