ataraxionlogs | thirty-fifth jump;

Entry tags:

thirty-fifth jump;

CHARACTERS: Any and all.
LOCATION: Gravity Couches and beyond.
WARNINGS: Maybe some swearing, or even some violence, and more than likely some implied (and possibly explicit) nakedness.
SUMMARY: Another month, another jump, another round of new faces.
NOTES: You wake feeling cold and alone. There is a strange sense of emptiness, and the jump holds no surprises for you. There is nothing buffering the jump sickness and disorientation for you this month, and those still suffering the lingering effects of August's plot may find it more difficult than usual to get through the post-jump routine.

New arrivals will find messages spraypainted across their lockers telling them not to follow their tattoo numbers, and instead to find a room on Floors 001-010.

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You wake up in darkness.

There's a breathing tube jammed down your trachea, and you're suspended in a tube of clear blue fluid. Upon registering your level of consciousness, the gravity couch drains the fluid surrounding you and retracts the breathing apparatus; the doors in front of you open, and you're deposited on the floor of a stark, sterile medical bay.

You are not alone.
There are others who have come before you, others who are awakening beside you. Some may be familiar to you, perhaps even friends. Others have much less amiable plans. Some are merely alien and inexplicable, but there are always those who might mean you harm.

After you catch your breath and your vision returns, you notice a number on the inside of your forearm. Maybe it's a familiar number. Maybe it means something. Maybe it's just a number. But the number—completely unique to you—is a tattoo, and it does not come off.

If you enter the room adjacent to the medbay, you will find a small locker with your number on it, surrounded by rows upon rows of identical lockers. Inside, you will find a few of your personal items, a communications device, and a ship's uniform in your exact size. The comms device is fully powered and connects directly to the ship's network; it's your only means of communication beyond physical conversation. Upon turning the device on, a neutral, automated voice will say, "Please take the blue lift to the passenger quarters." Any other attempts at communicating with the rest of the network are met only with static.

This is your welcome party.

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[He smiles wryly, holding up his thumb and index finger so that they're less than an inch apart.]

'fraid I missed that racket by this much. It's been a busy century.

[The frame time slips out easily; he's not worried about keeping what he is a secret. No reason to, here. Better to be up front. That way anyone who doesn't want to risk hanging around a fang can steer clear -- or won't be surprised when they see him sipping on some synthetic blood.]

You're gonna be okay.

[He can't promise anything for the long run, but in the immediate sense? She'll be okay.]

Just gotta take it slow. You got a name, sweetheart? Let's see if we can't get you caught up to speed.

[ She takes a breath, steadying herself before she really hears him. A busy century? Caroline latches onto that little piece of info. ]

Caroline. My name is Caroline. [ Her hands go up into her hair, right beside her temples, and she presses them against her head. Maybe it'll settle her mind a little, 'cause it feels like her head is spinning with everything she's learning. ] You said a busy century. How long have you been alive?

[ It's on the tip of her tongue to ask vampire, but God knows who they've got around. Anything's possible, isn't it? ]

Mine's Benny.

[Introductions are good, they help create the illusion of normalcy. He can't help feeling sympathetic as she presses her hands to her temples; it's a hell of a lot to take in, enough to make you feel like your head is spinning all the way around, but she's handling it better than some.

He cracks a warm half-smile, hooking his thumbs into his pockets.]

Hard to tell. Hundred and fifty years, maybe more. Lost track for a little while.

[That initial blood frenzy made everything that came before it feel hazy, and fifty years in Purgatory helped -- but unlike her, he's pretty damn sure he can tell what she is without asking. She's not exactly the same as him, but close. Real close.]

You're like me, aren't you?

[ His question catches her a little off guard. While she was putting the pieces together, his many years a huge clue, she didn't think she gave off an aura of the undead.

Well, maybe she did. Or maybe space does something to vampire abilities that changes them. Whatever it is, she's tempted to deny it. Always her initial reaction. Yet, she finds herself nodding. He's been nothing but nice, and if it's anything she needs on here, it's friends.

Especially vampire friends. ]

What gave me away? [ She tugs on the sleeves of her suit, slightly self conscious. Too bad there isn't a reflective surface around, so she could do a quick check to make sure her eyes look normal. She knows they probably do, but the urge is still there. ] Are there a lot of people like us on here?

[ Saying vampire out loud, in a room full of strangers, just seems like a bad idea all around. ]

I can smell it.

[Not all vampires are created equal, apparently, but even if he hadn't been able to catch the scent of death and faintly stale blood, he would've felt it. It was easy to spot someone who clearly wasn't prey.

She didn't smell like food, not that he enjoyed the fact that other people did.]

More than a few. Enough that they accommodate for us pretty well. Can get eats in the med bay. Synthetic, but-- does the trick.

Edited 2014-09-29 16:49 (UTC)

[ Smell it? She resists the urge to lift her arm up for a sniff, but it's a very close call. What, did she carry the stench of the undead with her?

Totally not gonna ask, but she is going to shower again once she finds a room. ]

Weird. Where I'm from, we can't tell if someone's...you know. Unless we get into some kind of fight with them, or they just flat out tell us. Witches can tell by touch, though. [ She's thinking back to when she first turned, Bonnie reaching out to grab her. The look of horror on her best friend's face. Not good memories. ]

Synthetic? That should be - okay, is it good? Is it like animal? [ Stefan tried to get her to go down that road, but ew. ] Not that I'm all about attacking people in the halls or whatever. I only do bags.

[Even if it's just for a moment, he can see that shift of uncertainty -- he laughs, just a little, unable to hold it back.]

Don't worry, it ain't like that.

[No vampire body odor to be had, but scent tracking was one of the few perks of being what he was, and everyone and everything had a distinct scent to mark itself by.]

Sounds like it could get confusing real fast-- the hell do you folks get by, not bein' able to recognize your own? Would make bein' a vampire on the run damn near impossible.

[Being able to pre-empt and evade others of his kind was part of what had kept him going so damn long.]

It's-- passable. [He looks marginally unenthusiastic, but he's not about to go biting into people's necks either if he can help it.] Tastes almost like the real thing, does its job just fine. More like human than anything else. I'm a bag man, myself -- can't complain about what's bein' made available.

[ The mention of a vampire on the run reminds her of Katherine, and she huffs a little at that. ]

Trust me, it doesn't keep some people from hiding out for centuries. You just have to be manipulative and sneaky. [ Two things Caroline really isn't. ] At least we've got that. I tried the animal diet once and no thank you. I usually try to snack on stuff between bags so I don't go murder spree on people, anyway.

[ After saying this, she looks around to make sure nobody's close enough to hear her. God, she needs to be more careful, she's not usually this bad. ]

Okay, so, there are a few of us on here. Is it a common knowledge kind of thing, or a secret everyone knows but doesn't really talk about?

[He shakes his head a little at the mention of animal blood. Nope, sure as hell doesn't cut it.]

Thought I'd try that awhile too, but damn if it ain't foul. Besides, makes you weak -- got sick off cow's blood a time or two before I realized it was makin' the cravings even worse. Bagged blood ain't perfect, but it's a decent compromise.

[Hm. How many people did know about their kind around these parts? Good question.]

I'll admit, I'm not exactly out there rubbin' shoulders with the locals, so it's hard to say-- folks in the med bay know since they hook us up with the blood, and people beyond that gotta know because there's enough of us that we can't hide forever-- but don't think everyone is clued in. Can't be sure, but nobody's come after me to try an' take my head off yet, so I'm hoping that means the wrong sorts of people aren't aware of us.

So we don't even have to steal our blood bags?

[ That's actually kinda awesome, the sneaking in and snatching routine isn't her favorite. ]

Guess that means others probably aren't going around, feeding on random people. Unless they're compelling them but then you've have to explain the blood and such. Raises too many questions. [ Sticking with blood bags is way easier in the long run. ] I'll be sure to keep a low profile. Don't want any hunters on my trail.

[ There's no telling if they're super strong like Jeremy or what. ]

Nope, we can get 'em clean. Somethin' I'm grateful for. Got tired of breakin' in and having to swipe 'em from other people.

[But he did what he did to survive, and that had been a hell of a lot better than opening a vein.]

It's possible there are still some goin' around feeding on people and keeping it on the down-low. Plenty of vamps just-- like the way it feels to come close to killin' someone, or worse. [He doesn't approve.] Whattya mean, 'compel'?

[ Caroline is not down with feeding on people, and she hopes others aren't doing it. Guess who's gonna keep an eye out for such things?

This girl. ]

You don't do compulsion? [ She sounds a little surprised, since it seems like The Thing for vampires to do. ] It's kinda like hypnotizing people into thinking whatever you want. You can make them forget certain things, or do certain things, and they really don't have a choice. They can totally protect themselves against it if they know how.

I'll probably keep that to a minimum around here. Probably won't need it, right?

Unless it's just a fancy word for sweet-talkin', no.

[He raises an eyebrow. The hell are vamps getting up to in your neck of the woods, princess?]

So put simply, you tell 'em what to do, and they do it. Sounds sketchy to me. Not that plenty of things fangs do where I'm from aren't, but that's skirtin' the line of a whole new level of wrong. I mean, s'pose it would have its uses, but foolin' humans into forgetting things?

[He pauses. Looking at it from another angle, maybe he should cut her some slack. He deflates, just a little bit.]

You use that to protect yourself?

Ah...

[ Well, she's not gonna lie. There have been times she's used compulsion for stuff other than protection - like making sure certain people left a party when she was in a crappy mood.

Whatever, all in the past! Still, she takes a moment before answering ]

Nowadays, yes. I mean, I've used it before to make people leave places when they annoyed me too much. [ It's not like she hurt anyone, which has her looking less ashamed about the whole thing. ] Trust me, I don't do the whole snatch, eat and erase routine. Not my thing.

[That actually gets a laugh, despite the fact that he doesn't seem to think much of it in practice.]

Well, if you're gonna use it, can't say I don't think that's a half-decent way to do it. Can't even begin to count the times I wish I could've made someone just walk off and leave me in peace.

[The novelty and simplicity of it wins you points, Caroline.]

Good-- that's real good. I'm guessin' that particular routine is pretty common where you're from.

It can be handy sometimes. [ It's not really her initial go-to for dealing with issues, but if she's in a mood, then she doesn't see the harm in it. ] Mostly, I just kinda try to keep all the vampire stuff secret. Kinda atypical for one where I'm from.

[ It's probably not normal no matter where someone is from, really. Brushing her hair back over her shoulders, she sighs, glancing back over her shoulder toward the pod area. ]

Not that I'm not totally freaking out or anything, maybe I should go check and see if I can find someone I know. There's always a chance, right?

Most vamps where I'm from are on the down-low, too. Least, they think they are -- not so great about covering their tracks, if we're being honest.

[That's what gets most of them stamped out by hunters and why they're damn near extinct. The piracy operation had been a good one -- quick, clean, untraceable. Even if he's not proud of what they'd done, he has to admit that much.]

Yeah, always a chance. I got lucky when I first got here -- maybe you will, too. [He smiles faintly.] Hope you find 'em, if anyone you know got nabbed. I'll be around. We should-- talk, later.

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thirty-fifth jump;

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