ARRIVAL LOG 011

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: November 5
WHAT: The eleventh arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion, loss of autonomy. Further notes at end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #011

Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound and light, color, sensation. Hazy and difficult to grasp on to, but slowly aligning into focus. A series of regular, rhythmic beeps. A medicinal, astringent smell. The sensation of movement, a low hum and accompanying vibration under you. Your eyes are heavy, hard to keep open, but in the glimpses between slow, dark blinks you see four people in black body armor seated opposite you, as well as a man in dark gray scrubs.

You realize there are others next to you. All of you in white scrubs, hair recently cut but at various stages of growth, restrained by straps across your chests, arms, feet, holding you to the bench under you. To your left, an armored interior door, two more people visible, the movement of streets passing through a windshield. You try to open your mouth to speak, but it's as if your tongue is coated in tar, and you manage nothing more than an empty parting of lips.

The vehicle stops. The guard opposite you stands and comes to unbuckle you from the bench, helping you to your feet. Your limbs feel wooden and heavy, slow to move. One guard opens the back of the vehicle, and false, colored light, illuminating the streets in the distance will first alert your senses of being somewhere else, combined with air that's only cooled with the setting of the sun. The nurse moves to stand at the back, checking each passenger over one by one just before they're helped out of the vehicle, quick and methodical. He doesn't climb out after you, moving to sit as the last passenger is unloaded. The guards keep their heads down. Their actions are quick, firm, but not entirely unkind.

"Stay here," one of the guards barks, right before looking to the guard to their left. "You've got the honors of passing on the message from the boss?" he asks. The woman nods, and then steps just in front of him. "Now listen up, everyone! This is way warmer than I'd ever go for, but he's got a soft spot for you." She offers a twisted smile, as if she isn't keen to play messenger. "Hello, everyone. You're likely wondering how you got here." She pauses to roll her eyes at the joke – because it is a joke, albeit a bad one (in her opinion). "That's not something I can share right now. There are too many hands invested in this pie. But I need you all to stick to the festival, and not go looking for trouble. Don't hurt anyone. Don't look for a police officer. Have fun out there until it's time to process you. I don't actually know how that goes, but the ones like you? They've got it down to a science." She pauses here, looking puzzled. She's read this message in advance, but there are still aspects of it that stand out. Oh, they were warned about the others. To avoid them at all costs, because they'd be looking. "And sorry for the scrubs – I know they aren't great for a party, but they make you stand out. Have a good time. Just don't get arrested out there. I can only pull out my Beijing contacts so many times." This message is read entirely off her neural implant – not that the people dressed in scrubs in front of her would realize that.

After she's done, the last of the guards turn to climb back into the vehicle and close the doors. The engine powers up again, and then the bus is gone.

You're left alone in an alley, with no idea of where you are or why you've been brought here.

Around the corner of the alley, there are many food stalls selling foods in mason jars, as well as a stage off in the distance with people in colorful outfits moving in unison. It seems that you've arrived at some kind of festival, and believe it or not, this is low-key compared to some of the last.

◉ Though entirely capable of independent action and thought, new characters will find themselves completely, unquestioningly compliant to any verbal statement which could be taken as a command or request – and that includes the lengthy message passed on from the mysterious patron.

> HARVEST FESTIVAL

The message from El comes the same as usual: insistent, not waiting for any active attempt to open it. Scrolling within your vision as if being written while you're reading it.

Well, everyone, it's time for another round of saving your newly arrived displaced kidnapees. This time they're not blending in at all. It's white scrubs all the way. Probably doesn't really go with a harvest festival – is that some corn-in-the-cob in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Anyway, have fun out there.

The New Amsterdam Annual Harvest Festival begins with a parade bright and early in the morning. Rather than being dressed up with large holographic displays with AR functions that interact with everyone's neural implants, this parade is au naturale. The floats themselves are handmade with careful craftsmanship and designs, especially given the lack of wood available in this world. Everything is bright and colorful. Between each float, there are large dancing troupes dressed in lavish costumes full of colors. Some of the dances featured are unique to this world and its future, while others pay homage to harvest festivals of the past, hailing from regions of Japan, Korea, China, India, Nigeria and the Philippines. The garb itself is unique to these regions – relics of a previous world, celebrating the harvest and promise of what may come in the future.

Unlike many New Amsterdam events, there is very little room for technology and heavy advertisements. While numerous subsidiaries provide donations for the harvest festival, they do so with the understanding that their involvement will be obscured. The harvest festival is meant to act as a way of celebrating the natural way of the world, and of stepping away from technology for a time. That said, there is little emphasis on any artificial intelligence or mentions of the Xelkoven War – it seems as if this celebration is meant as more of a pure revelry of what the Earth used to provide, rather than what humans managed to avoid.

Once the parade is done, there is a large festival in progress. Every worker at the harvest festival is there because they believe in this celebration, and thus they volunteered to be involved. Anyone who wants to be there because they chose to volunteer can. As for the native volunteers – a large number of them will be sporting numerous tattoos of unique symbols that have been seen around the city (most notably the Insomniac's Ball and the shrines to the Displaced). They'll look at any of the Displaced that they recognize with admiration, but won't be quick to engage with them.

The harvest festival is just a one-day event, but it's jam packed full of things to do!

> HARVESTS

While the hydroponic farms around New Amsterdam are always working to keep the citizens fed, they celebrate their harvests once a year at the harvest festival. Many of these farms come together and sell their vegetables in mason jars and even create various sauces for citizens to purchase. Want some delicious spaghetti sauce that's ready to go? What about taco sauce or something to make quick tikka masala? These food stalls have everything ready to go – and they're all too eager to share what they've made. The stalls all offer discounts to anyone who buys their jars in bulk, hoping that they can happily impart their delicious and natural foods to the citizens of New Amsterdam. While hydroponic farms on a whole are "less natural" in how they grow food, these jars of food are less processed. What's in there is, for the most part, pickled or cooked down into a sauce, making it so that New Amsterdam citizens can enjoy a flavorful meal.

> CHARITY

In a continuation of the mindset during Halloween, the harvest festival doubles as a site for charitable activity around the city. Gaby will ask Morningstar's people to set up a booth to collect any clothing donations, and it'll be obvious that while this booth is not noticeably linked to Morningstar, it's set up every year in hopes of gathering these clothing donations for people in need. The Morningstar booth isn't the only of its kind, and many of the food stalls with mason jars will also have a box for people to donate goods should they want to help people in need. Unlike every other New Amsterdam festival, there are no food trucks. Instead, there is an all-day buffet that constantly rotates out food so that people who are hungry can have a full meal as the day goes on. Everything is free. However, this buffet includes no alcohol – as if to counterbalance the drunken revelry during the Halloween celebrations, there is none on the premises here.

> FERTILITY

In the past, harvest festivals have almost always been linked to fertility. While fertility is less of a concern in 2511 – thanks to the rigid population control – there is a sense of hope that Earth itself, as well as the terraforming colonies, will eventually give way to a future where these mandates aren't as necessary. For now, the harvest festival celebrates the idea of fertility, as well as allowing the Earth to replenish itself. Fertility is an aspect in that, after all. One section of the festival's stalls is dedicated to this ideal, and has a unique tradition brought over from Japan. Each of the stalls feature large phallic structures on the top, and like the parade floats, these are newly made every year from scratch. In addition, the food stalls also partake in an all-natural popsicle contest (after all, it wouldn't be a New Amsterdam festival without some kind of food contest). These popsicles come in all different flavors – from strawberry to pickle brine – and are all slender and phallic in their presentation.

> DANCING

Throughout the day, music will always be playing while some form of dancing goes on on the main stage. Most of the day, this dancing is thanks to the dance troupes that come in and perform, even though they've already done it at length on the parade routes. Many of the volunteers will be put in charge of keeping these dancers fed and hydrated so that they can keep at it – though they're always happy for the opportunity that the festival offers them. When these staged shows aren't happening, they have interludes where festival-goers can come on stage and learn more simplified versions of the different dances from the Earth's cultural history. Once it's dusk, there is a two-hour long dance contest where these troupes compete with one another, putting on a unique show that they've prepared for the event.

> WRESTLING

The other event that goes on all day is an event borrowed from Korea: ssireum. Multiple people enter this wrestling contest, and thanks to the amateur-nature of it, there is little concern about who wrestles with one another (outside of age, of course). The sport itself involves two opponents holding on to each other's red and blue band called a satba. Throughout the contest, they try to put the other person down, making it so that their upper body touches the mat. There are rules set up to ensure that no one brings any real harm to their opponent, and since it's wrestling, there is no room for any dirty tricks like punching, kicking, biting or anything similar. When it's over, the person who's wracked up the most wins throughout the day is given a sash that declares them "The Most Powerful."

> SAFEHOUSE

Located under an abandoned hover-bike garage, access to the safehouse is a hatch in the floor beside a rusted set of metal shelves that used to hold tools and supplies. The immediate area is similarly abandoned: full of rundown and dilapidated warehouses and forgotten businesses, where numerous people squat in hopes of having some stability because they can't afford a place themselves. A dark haired woman called Gaby is ready to greet the new arrivals and get them settled in, brusque and no-nonsense – she'll be open for in depth questions later, but will advise everyone to ask the people who brought them in for the beginning bits of information.

◉ The safehouse is a large space with multiple rooms for storage, with the largest of the rooms filled with rows of basic cots set up to sleep a large amount of people. Basic, but outfitted with everything necessary for daily life. A few doors lead to back rooms for storage, medical care and a large communal bathroom, and past the long rows of cots there is a communal kitchen, fully stocked, and an eating area. Privacy is at a minimum.

◉ New characters will be asked to pick their beds, and provided with a change of (second-hand, mismatched and somewhat threadbare) clothes and basic toiletries.

◉ There is a mini-bar set up in the kitchen. The quality of the alcohol inside is akin to what someone might get from the well, but it's well-stocked.

◉ Gaby will make it clear to all new arrivals that if they have any requests or queries, they should contact her or El.

◉ The drugs making new characters compliant will remain in their systems for a few hours after their arrival at the safehouse before finally beginning to fade. They will be gone entirely after a night's rest. In the meantime, they may want to be careful of what others say to them.

◉ New characters will be given rudimentary access to the network on arrival in the safehouse, but will not have their ID set up yet. They will be able to make posts and replies, but their messages will be anonymous and they do not have inboxes yet.

◉ New characters will not be allowed to leave the safehouse until NOVEMBER 09 (JUNE 17). These 4 days are for them to adjust, learn about the world they've arrived in from their fellows, and for El to speak with them and work on setting up their IDs.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

Welcome to Meadowlark, newbies! You're now free to post to the network and logs comms. To reiterate, your characters will have no IDs or inboxes, nor be allowed out of the safehouse until NOVEMBER 09 (JUNE 17). At that point it's expected they'll have gotten a good idea of their new situation from their fellow characters, and will have discussed their background and job potentials with El in order for their false IDs to be set up.

As a note: all new characters arrive after the parade ends.

If you have any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, please head over to the plot engagement post and drop us a comment! For questions specific to this log, there is a thread below.

Please check out our June calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month, as well as some additional notes from the mods.

As a note to the entirety of our playerbase, we are at 58 players, which is 2 players away from our game cap! This is very exciting for us as moderators, especially as we quickly head toward our one year anniversary! There is a very good chance that this will be our last "full" arrival log for a while, though we have plans (and ideas!) in mind for future months.

As a reminder, AC for new characters accepted in June will be 10 comments across 2-4 threads, while current characters will need to provide the full AC of 20 comments across 2-4 threads. AC will be posted on July 1 at 12 AM UTC and close on July 8 at 12 AM UTC. If you do not reply to AC, you will be considered idled and dropped from the game. We will not post a warning list.

> NAVIGATION

Comments

ah, my favorite kind of drama

[heliophilous]

[ he's not expecting anyone to follow him. honestly, he hadn't even realized she was there, so caught up in the arrival of new people and then the onslaught of memories that he'd forgotten their previous plans.

when she calls his name, he doesn't react at first. he rubs at his eyes and then through his hair, an automatic attempt at making himself presentable in case this was someone that needed to be helped.

a half a second later, he realizes the voice is familiar and he remembers what he'd forgotten. goddammit. he turns around, an apologetic expression on his face. ]

Hey. [ he's fine, he's all right, all good. ] We were supposed to do something tonight.

[ he blows out a breath and shakes his head. ] Sorry. Bad timing, I guess. [ it's still hot even now, even as the day stretches into night so he rolls the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows and leans back against the wall of the alley. ]

[gasping]

[ they've both forgotten, but maybe that's for the best. if she'd remembered and he'd gotten sidetracked, caroline likely would have spent the majority of the evening overthinking it, wondering what kind of rejection he couldn't bother to confess had changed his mind. and, though less tragic, her forgetting while he remembered would have simply been awkward — she'd been busy, her mind entirely full of the necessities of new arrivals instead of on herself, and certainly hadn't dressed the part.

but instead, they've both forgotten, and so blame simply falls away, swept aside by genuine concern and friendship as caroline moves to join him, leaning one shoulder against the wall to his right in order to get a better look at him. ]

It's not a big deal. Tomorrow's another day, right?

[ another botched gone with the wind quote for the collection. she's really on a roll with those lately. ]

Is everything okay?

[heliophilous]

Always.

[ he can feel her eyes on him but he doesn't squirm, thankfully. he's okay because he has to be okay. it would be so easy to give up and lay down and just admit defeat but...something's keeping him going. his need to help his friends, to atone for what he'd done in his past and to, maybe, get a chance at a miracle. ]

Strange to think I've been here awhile now. Feels like only yesterday that you were dragging me through the snow despite my mood. [ he'd been grumpy to her then, grumpy to her after and she'd taken it all gracefully. ]

What about you? You okay? [ let's talk about you. ]

[gasping]

I'm not the one who bolted after dinner.

[ a little hint of something in her tone. not quite outright amusement, but there's disbelief in it. she may not know for sure, but she's willing to guess that he's not as okay as he says he is.

and, also, maybe she doesn't want to talk about herself. her own life is complicated, confusing — her supposed future fairy tale love has a kid that's apparently not hers, her former dungeon master ex just offered to no-strings-attached with her, and now the good guy she did some not-so-innocent things with looks sadder than a girl cut first round from cheerleading tryouts. it's just easier to not talk about any of it. ]

Are you trying to tell me you want me to drag you around again? Because I kind of got the vibe you didn't exactly have a great time.

[heliophilous]

I didn't bolt. I...vacated the premises in a brisk manner. [ he'd just...needed some air. he sighs, shoulders slumping a bit before he turns, one shoulder pressed into the wall so he can face her. ]

I wasn't having a great time but that wasn't because of you. That was because I was confused and overwhelmed.

[ he sometimes still felt that though it was lessening day by day. the longer he was here, the more comfortable he got. but the more comfortable he got, the worse he felt because that meant he wasn't thinking about what was going on at home. ]

This place could do a little better with the whole welcoming thing. [ he'd just been lucky it had been her that had found him and not someone else who might have been less understanding and tolerant. ]

I'm fine. [ the words are softer, sincere. he's feeling better now that he's gotten some space, some distance. ] Just felt a little overwhelmed there for a second.

[gasping]

I didn't think it was about me.

[ maybe that comes out a little defensively — because this isn't the first time caroline's been accused of being shallow — but she doesn't mean to be. she hadn't thought even for a second that he was running away from her... which, now that she thinks about it, is kind of incredible.

because she's always framed things that way, and for once, she's finding herself thinking about other people first. it's a nice change. a transition into being less of a kiddie pool and more of an abyss. ]

I was just worried about you.

[ and so she'd bolted too, heading right out the door to follow him right out here. it was a good thing he wasn't a serial killer. ]

Do you want to talk about it?

[ the answer is probably "no", but she's going to ask anyway. ]

[heliophilous]

I didn't mean anything by that. [ once again, his tone takes on an apologetic tinge. he'd just wanted her to know that he hadn't reacted the way he had because of her. it had been the situation and everything surrounding it. ]

I wish you wouldn't. [ worry about him, that is, but it's said in a way that he knows asking that is futile. when people want to worry, they're going to worry.

do you want to talk about it she asks and he has no idea how to talk about something like this. none whatsoever. ]

When you touched me that first time, that day I got here, what did you feel? [ something had triggered that light of hers and, while he thinks he might know the answer, he wants to be sure. ]

[gasping]

[ his question makes her stumble, hesitate, thoughts surging to the surface that crowd and overlap each other, each less helpful than the last. there's so many things she could say, but she wants to be careful here — wants to be careful with his emotions, with the way her answer might make him feel — and not say something stupid.

eventually, though, the silence gets to be too heavy, and so caroline just... talks. it's what she's best at. (talking a lot, specifically, not necessarily knowing what she's talking about.) ]

It felt... like losing something, I guess. Like being alone, being afraid.

[ the words are lighter than they ought to be, but she doesn't want to necessarily tell him just how miserable the feeling had been. he doesn't need that weight or the extra guilt. ]

It wasn't just you, though. You felt it too, didn't you? Through the bond?

[ he felt her sadness and loneliness just as strong as his own. ]

[heliophilous]

[ it's about what he expected and so he nods slowly, looking down at his feet and trying to figure out just how far he wanted to go with this, if he was ready to talk about this with anyone here. there was only one other person, besides caroline, who he would even think of talking to but she wasn't here right now. ]

I felt it too. I didn't know if it was you or me at first but it was both of us. [ it had been intense for a few moments, a dark, sucking chasm of blackness that he'd been unable to pull himself out of until the light she had inside of her had emerged. ]

I lost something. Someone. [ his shoulders tense at even going that far and he bites down hard on his cheek to keep his emotions in check. ] Here.

[ he realizes quickly that he's not going to be able to talk about this so he holds a hand out in front of him. ] Let me show you.

[gasping]

Okay.

[ perhaps she should hesitate. touching him, sharing those emotions — it's a form of recklessness that's harder to bear, her own strength no matter in this kind of pain. if she bears that weight of sadness and sorrow again, no amount of physical strength will protect her.

but she doesn't say no, either. can't. not when he's giving her something so real and raw of himself, without even being begged or forced to be honest. she can't just ignore that.

so, though she's hesitant and uncertain, caroline takes his hand. the touch is soft, but she tries to focus her emotions into something reassuring, gentle and calm, rather than the fear that lingers beneath. her own fear — that if his honesty prevails, she might be forced to share a secret too, one that she's not entirely ready for. ]

[heliophilous]

[ he's a half second away from just pulling his hand back when she does take his hand. her reluctance is very evident and he doesn't want to look as if he's forcing her into something that she doesn't want. ]

I won't touch you for very long. [ he forces a smile onto his face and then focuses on his own emotions. he stays away from the misery that he tends to feel when he thinks about this and goes right to the happiness ⁠— the elation ⁠— he'd felt when he'd first gotten to see his daughter. how light he'd felt. how proud.

fatherhood was one of those things he wanted but never expected, not when it had happened but he'd been ready to face it full on. he'd wanted to be better than his father. he'd wanted to be a better man and he'd...never gotten the chance. but he stays away from those feelings. he concentrates on the good. on how he'd felt when he'd held her slight weight and when he'd spoken spanish to her quietly and when he'd watched her fall asleep against his shirt.

he starts to think about lorna, about what she'd done and that's when he yanks his hand out of hers, keeping his promise to not touch too long and to keep her away from those feelings. ]

Anyway, that's all. [ he crosses his arms and takes a small step back. ] You just caught me thinking about her but I'll be fine.

[ he'd be fine when she shoved those feelings back into their box and repressed them down. ]

[gasping]

[ softly, so quiet he might not even hear her, caroline chides: ] I like when you touch me.

[ but the moment is gone as quick as it comes, replaced by the swift clutch of his hand in hers, the tight smile that curves over his mouth. empathy isn't quite as clear-cut as a memory might be. joy and pride and gratitude might spill between them, but it doesn't paint a picture so much as lighten the space between them. when marcos pulls away, that light drops out like a trapdoor on a stage, and caroline can only frown a little in confusion. ]

You were happy. [ not an accusation, but an attempt at clarity. ] Who was she?

[heliophilous]

[ he definitely hears...something but he's not sure he's heard right. maybe he'll ask her later. maybe...not because if he hadn't heard anything, no need to embarrass himself, right?

instead, he nods in response to her words. he had been happy. just for a few moments, he'd been happy. but, that wasn't a thing anymore. he stares down at his feet and chews on the inside of his cheek to give him time to gather his thoughts. ]

My daughter.

[ he exhales after he says the word, like it's taken so much out of him. ] I only got to hold her twice before her mother took her away. That's what you were feeling. Those two times.

[gasping]

Your daughter. [ an echo of his words, and a rather stupid one at that, but caroline gets hung up on the concept. it isn't out of disapproval or even disappointment — but, rather, the sheer coincidence of the day, of finding out that not one but two of the men she harbors some kind of vague romantic interest in happened to have a surprise kid lurking in their memory.

only, with klaus, it turns out that kid happened to be a teenager caroline's age, one staring her in the face in the kitchen. that was still going to need some time to come to terms with.

this baby bombshell, at least, was a little easier to deal with. for caroline, anyway. for marcos, it was clearly still painful — and the daughter in question still obviously very little. not a teenager who was likely to show up here, in any case. ]

I'm sorry. [ it doesn't seem like very much to say, but really, caroline's not exactly equipped with the right things to say in the face of something so serious. instead, she offers what she knows best: a little physical comfort, if nothing else.

her hand moves to be held out to his, not quite bridging the gap with touch but close enough that the offer is clear. ]

I can't — [ imagine what you're going through? ] I can't have kids.

[ she hadn't meant to share that. hadn't meant to make it about herself, either. but the truth slips out before she has a chance to overthink it, and once it does, caroline can't quite bring herself to try and detract it again. ]

I don't know if that's better or worse.

[heliophilous]

It's different. [ he murmurs the words as he reaches out and threads his fingers through his, a gentler but warmer touch than just a few moments ago. ]

It's...unfair for you especially if that was something you wanted. [ he gives her hand a squeeze because confessing something like that to him seems to imply that that might be something she wanted in the future for herself. ]

It's unfair and I'm sorry. [ the words are quiet but sincere. it's a different kind of pain than his own but it's still a pain that stays with you forever. it doesn't go away. ]

Are you okay? [ with what she's just told him, with what he's just told her, with life in general. it can't have been easy and it probably won't ever be easy. ]

[gasping]

I'm okay.

[ it's not very convincing — perhaps because caroline doesn't believe it herself. but she has to be, because he's not, and she's come out here to comfort him. but there's a lingering thoughtfulness, a hint of regret that colors through the bond as her hand clasps against his own, that betrays her. ]

I'm not really cut out to be a mom anyway. [ monsters were good at many things. raising babies probably wasn't one of them. not that caroline had ever really intended on doing that any time soon... but the loss of the choice about it was hitting her pretty hard today. ] So it's okay.

[ a forced, tight smile curves across her mouth, and her head bobs up to face him. she can't (won't) dwell on this. ]

[heliophilous]

You're not okay. [ but neither was he so she had company in that sort of misery at the moment. h] That's all right though. Neither am I. We can pretend together.

[ he's not going to tell anyone about that sliver of regret and he doesn't think she's going to go around telling people about his daughter. he's quiet for a moment, gaze falling down to their hands. ]

I don't mind that you're not okay right now. [ she's trying to smile her way through it but he wants her to know that she doesn't have to do that. ] You need anything?

[gasping]

[ as sad and pathetic as it is, caroline can't remember the last time anyone said that so plainly. i don't mind that you're not okay. she's always had to be okay — whether for elena's sake or bonnie's or to prove her worth in staying alive, caroline's always felt the pressure to grin and bear it, to weather the storm and persevere like her hero scarlett o'hara. it's a bit overwhelming, if she's honest, to not have to be. ]

I guess I'm kinda hungry. [ the words come out a little sniffly, her eyes a bit watery around the corners, but the smile she gives him is small and sincere. ] Somebody was supposed to take me out to dinner.

[ "somebody" ]

[heliophilous]

[ marcos isn't sure if it's his words or the fact that she's letting herself actually feel less than her best (or some combination of the two) that's putting her on the verge of tears but he doesn't draw attention to it. he gives her hand another squeeze, giving her something to anchor onto and then laughs. ]

Sorry.

[ his tone's light but there's still an apology in there. ]

It's probably too late to get into some of the fancier sit down places but what about a burger or something? My treat. I'll even get you extra fries and won't say anything if you mix the ketchup and the mayonnaise together.

[gasping]

Gross.

[ she would never. she has taste, okay. but she does laugh a little, a sound that's small and soft and quiet under her breath, and squeeze his hand back. ]

I was thinking maybe we could get something to go? Maybe a picnic?

[ the weather is cool enough by this time of night that it won't be oppressively hot outdoors, and the sky parks are mostly deserted by now in the nicer parts of town. people who want to be out on the town generally go for clubs or restaurants or bars, not free parks. ]

I mean, if you want to. A burger's okay too, though.

[heliophilous]

Can't even remember the last time I had a picnic. I don't even know if I ever have. [ eating outside because you had to, because you had no other place to go to, did not count as a picnic. ]

Yeah, let's do that. [ it'll be nice to be outside when the weather's decent and most everyone is elsewhere. this city's never going to be quiet but a picnic sounds like a good way of pretending it is. ]

Come on. I can put in the order while we walk if you've got something in mind. So, it's ready quicker and then we can get onto the better stuff. [ that wasn't standing around, waiting for food.

and once they were there and settled, there's a question he's going to ask too. but not until then. ]

[gasping]

[ picnics are a way of life in the deep south. summers by the lake, spring festivals, autumn homecoming events — a basket filled up with finger foods and sparkling grape juice (if not outright wine) and a blanket to curl up on was something caroline had perfected over many years in mystic falls. and maybe this wasn't mystic falls, and maybe the atmosphere wasn't quite as cozy as july fourth fireworks or a homecoming parade, but there was something nice about this too. something special, maybe, about choosing to find those quiet moments instead of having them handed to her.

so rather than complain or rattle off a list of options or otherwise ruin the moment, caroline only nods, her fingers lacing through his as she tugs him out of the side street and back towards the safehouse. she leaves him outside, but only for a moment; only long enough to dart in and grab one of the rolled blankets from the supply closet and a basket from the pantry, one she usually made use of for visits to the farmers' market or to pick up supplies. it would be okay, she was pretty sure, to borrow them for a night.

once she makes it back, she's all smiles, all too happy to reach back out and take his hand and continue the trek. ]

Does this place look okay?

[ there's a grab-and-go place that she frequents, one that mostly sells premade bento boxes and fruit cups, stuff that was easy to take along with you on a busy day. she sends him the address, but they don't take orders. no need, really, not when everything's already cooked and set out. ]

[heliophilous]

I had a bunch of potato chips for dinner last night. This is excellent. [ and it was. maybe it wasn't food he'd typically eat if he wasn't persuaded or with someone but food's food and he knows acutely how much of a luxury that can be so he's not picky.]

I'll run in and grab a few boxes. [ are you supposed to take a lot of food on picnics? he's a novice so once they get to the small restaurant, it's marcos' time to leave her outside while he goes in and picks and chooses a few different things before paying and coming out with a bag full of food and some bottles of water.

he steps back outside and retakes her hand before nodding. ] Ready? You know a good place to do a thing like this?

[ because asking him is going to get a blank look and then some hurried searching through options via his implant. ]

[gasping]

Marcos. [ potato chips was not dinner. ] There was a whole thing in the kitchen of spaghetti, why didn't you eat some?

[ that's been caroline's biggest insistence in the safehouse. she may not be around for every meal, but someone makes a dinner meal every day, whether it's herself or sora or one of the newer volunteers. it's part of her campaign (a stretch to call it that, maybe, but if the shoe fits...) to make sure everyone feels welcomed. ]

I'm gonna start bringing you a plate.

[ but, yes, to answer his question as he comes back, she does know a place. she doesn't bother to send him the address or a map, because she's going to lead him there.

or, rather, to the groundtram station nearby, which will take them there. ]

[heliophilous]

I wasn't that hungry and other people needed it more than me.

[ that was his story and he was going to stick to it. ] You don't need to do that, you know. You're busy enough as it is.

[ but even as he says the words, he'll know she'll insist because that's how she is. caring, compassionate, sympathetic. he hasn't know her long but he does know that about her. and she'll do her best to make sure he eats and he'll have to find some way to repay her.

he doesn't persist with the argument though because this is a nice night and it's not an important subject. they can come back to it later. ]

I'm gonna eat dinner tonight. [ he has to add that. ] I'll make up for not eating later.