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Who: Anyone and everyone
When: March 6-16
Where: Namalos
What: A reprieve, for now

The light spreading through the battered interior of Avagi station comes with a sense of displacement. No longer a journey they can choose, residents will find themselves traveling somewhere—being sent, it seems, by an echoing voice that can be heard on the edge of consciousness. Whoever is directing you, and whatever their intent, one thing is clear.

There is something—someone—they want you to find.

The silver glow vanishes. Reality returns... if not as smoothly as before. The space around you seems to lurch and stutter, and you feel yourself stumbling against a wall—pressed, for a moment, under a vast and dispassionate regard. And then, this barrier dissolves. As they return to reality, Avagians will find themselves somewhere completely new: far from both the storms and the light that displaced them.

No light. No portals. Around you, you may see your friends and allies—but nowhere is there any sign of a way back.

Namalos

This land is deceptively beautiful—and just as deadly. The thick forest spreads in all directions, filled with bioluminescent foliage that prevents true darkness from ever descending, but it holds few comforts. The temperature ranges from stiflingly hot during the day to frigid at night, and while there is little fauna to be found, the many insects that make a home here are hungry, aggressive—and often venomous. Even the more edible of the available plants come with a bitter taste and little nutrition.

The wilderness may seem endless, but refuge can be found in half a day's walk to the north, where larger life signs may be detected—an oasis of sorts, in the form of a clearing large enough to hold a small city. They are not alone.

Despite its untamed surroundings, the settlement of Namalos appears extremely civilized—even mundane. Unlike many worlds the travelers have encountered, it has a spaceport. Small crafts appear above the sky, descending below to trade with the locals. Perhaps because of this connection to other planets, Namalans appear to have no single native species, ranging from humanoid to tentacled to oddly reptilian.

Although surprised by guests appearing from the land, not the sky, the Namalans will cautiously welcome the new arrivals, offering them temporary quarters in the outer ring of the city where interstellar travelers sometimes rest before embarking on a return trip. There are local scientists who will offer to look for any traces of portal energy in an attempt to see if a portal can be opened again. Still, getting back isn't the only goal some Avagians might have, and those who spend some effort searching may turn up unsettling facts.

Exploration

Life on Namalos is far more organized than any of Avagi's residents are likely to have experienced before. Despite the different species that call the world home, all locals depart their houses at the same time each morning and return at the same time in the afternoon. Traffic flows freely on pedestrian paths and roads, with no lights or overt signage, but no vehicles collide—as if all beings know their place. In the afternoon, children will appear in front of houses at the same time, play games, and return indoors for dinner like clockwork. If stopped, Namalans will politely answer questions asked of them before returning to routine.

Within the city itself, the Avagians may note some places of interest:

The Central Authority: The government building of Namalos is large and ostentatious, but extremely quiet within, with little noise but the soft sounds of data processing—and there is a great deal of that. No courts can be found, but this bureaucratic machine generates an enormous amount of paperwork.
The Spaceport: This facility, located just outside the largest ring of the city, appears to facilitate trade with other worlds in this solar system—and possibly beyond. Passengers on the ships that come and go appear to be interested in commerce, not leisure visits, but will have no unkind words to say about the Namalans. Rarely will they venture into the city itself, and only for a short time if they do.
The Wellness Center: This large complex near the city's inner ring serves as a place of self-improvement for all who wish to pursue it, free of charge. Physical fitness classes that consist of rhythmic, dance-like routines exist in place of standard gym workouts, and spaces for meditation and quiet chanting in an ancient local language are available to soothe the mind. Other spaces are marked for classes on rhetoric and group facilitation, but these are scheduled by appointment only.
The Locked Building: The lack of crime or violence on Namalos means locked doors are rare, and Avagians may go where they please—with the exception of one utterly plain, undecorated building in the central ring of the city. Located in the shadow of the Central Authority, it is guarded every hour by pairs of Namalans who are no less pleasant for their refusal to let anyone pass.

While some amount of leniency is shown to visitors, the Namalans find disruptions to their routine extremely grating. As strangers disrupt their streets and lives, Namalans grow cold to the prospect of indefinite guests. Those staying in the city for longer than three days will be asked to pay back the hospitality of their hosts, and assigned a task with which to do so. For children, this will consist of school attendance, but adult jobs can vary from stamping papers to mining ore. All complaints about the suitability of an assignment will be thoroughly disregarded, and little sympathy will be provided by your temporary coworkers to those unable to keep pace.

While technically free to travel through the city, Avagians will find that no matter where they go, nearby Namalans keep watch. Their gazes are neither malevolent nor friendly, and can only be deterred through distance—though somehow, outside of the temporary quarters, they will find at least one local always in sight.

Even more curiously, the longer they remain, and the more time they spend personally interacting with Namalans, the more absorbing they may find the local rhythms. Wake up, work, dine, sleep without deviation. They may even find themselves slipping out of awareness for brief intervals... but in such a peaceful place, is this really a bad thing?

[OOC: For more information, or to note particular disruptions your character might cause, please check out the OOC post here!]

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It feels unreal. Seeing her here putting vegetables in her skirt as if this were some normal every day activity. After everything that happened... part of him almost expected he wasn't going to see her again. She doesn't quite look herself, looks like she needs as much rest as he probably does.

But it's her.

There's absolutely no mistaking that smile. Or that laugh. Just like there's absolutely no stopping his brain saying screw it to the weight of his right arm, pulling it free of the sling around it.

Putting both of them around her.

"You're ... you're a lot to handle."

Nailed it?

In the midst of the breath between the end of her sentence and when he moves to hug her, Diana lets herself feel exactly how relieved she is to see him. He looks exhausted, but he's whole. Then he's hugging her, and the weight of his robotic arm is heavy--but so solid, so there and somehow reassuring. She doesn't hesitate before letting go of her skirt, sending the fruits and vegetables all over the ground again in favor of returning his embrace.

This is so right, she almost can't believe it.

Another laugh, quieter this time and closer to his ear. "Nobody has ever told me otherwise." She realizes now how foolhardy it had been to attempt what she had, and she's made peace with it, learned from it. They're both here, alive, and that's what matters. Her voice takes on a teasing tone, and she pulls back a bit so he can see her grin, but she doesn't let go. "And I would say the same about you."

She's real. She's alive, he can feel the warmth of her, the weight of her leaning into him. It's more real than anything else in this place so far. The first friendly face he's seen since he woke up all the way. So maybe it is a dream. Maybe it is a hallucination.

But you can't fake that laugh. His brain could never conjure up something like Diana's laugh.

It could never fake her smile, either. And when he looks at her, he may as well be looking at a star. Something to leave you breathless.

"I'm just a tired... tired man who doesn't know when to quit..." he tells her. But his left hand has moved. Touching the side of her face in imitation of the last time they'd seen each other. "Are you -- are you all right?"

It feels so strange to laugh after the hardship of the past weeks. They hadn't known what the future held. The worst case scenario had been staying on the station with the terrible creatures, doomed to starve or suffocate. This is... well, it can't be called the best outcome, but it's worlds away from being the worst. Literally.

Hearing him admit it--that he's just a man, as she'd told him so long ago--makes an impossibly soft expression take over her face. She can only guess at what had happened to him between the time she'd seen him and right now. Whatever it was must have taken such a toll on him. She doesn't know if she should be grateful or scornful for it.

It's easy to tilt her head into his hand, surprised as she is by the gesture. Even at their most vulnerable moments, Shiro had rarely initiated contact like this. But he has, and it seems like... a step, somehow. And it makes her want to be more honest with him than she might with someone else. "I feel weak as a newborn colt." It's still hard to admit, but perhaps a little less so because he's still holding her. "Other than that, yes." A line of concern forms between her brows, and she asks: "Are you?"

Strange to laugh, but also easy to do. When Diana laughs, it feels like it's contagious. Like he's doing her a disservice if he doesn't. Maybe this is stress-release, too. Laughing with her, in the middle of an alien city, alive and whole against all odds.

Her admission just makes him tighten up his grip. In order to support her, help her stay on her feet. He should maybe find them somewhere to sit, or at least pick up her groceries. Fruit? Whichever. He's exhausted, even with sleep, with rest, but it's still second nature to hold her up.

Even... while his hand sort of stays curled against her face. Maybe he should pull away--

"I slept twenty hours and still feel tired," he tells her, blowing out a breath hard enough to flick his hair out of his eyes. "My arm's not working right, either."

Her arms rest comfortably around his waist, and Diana can't remember the last time she felt so at ease. There had always been something in the background of her mind to distract her and bring her back to the present crisis--but right now, it's just her and Shiro surrounded by bruised produce, not baring their souls as they hold each other together. It's a comfortable companionship she doesn't ever want to let go of.

Her entire body shifts as he adjusts his hold on her, and she feels... secure. It's a strange feeling to have directed at her. Usually, Diana is the one making others feel safe. But she's going to hang on to the feeling for as long as she can.

"Perhaps you should sleep another twenty, then." Another, softer laugh floats between them, and she reaches up to brush his hair to one side when it falls again. And then her hand settles gently on the bicep of his robotic arm. Sympathy blooms on her face. Her movements are gentle, leaving room for him to pull away. She'd forgotten about the weight of it, but now that he's mentioned it, she feels how heavy it is. She can't imagine carrying it around in her current state--or his. "Has anyone... looked at it?" She doesn't know about this kind of technology, isn't sure if there's anything anyone can do.

It's sort of ridiculous. How they can go from holding each other while she's on the brink of death, while then station is dying around them, to this. Their feet planted amidst the little round lumps of fruit and vegetables. How simple it is just to hold on.

And how it makes his chest ache to do it. She's the first one he's found. The only one really here. Which only makes him wonder again if he'd done the right thing.

If he'd broken another promise to the others.

He tries to laugh at her joke, he really does. It helps when her hand temporarily moves, hides his face from view, though she's only moving his hair aside. "Yeah, sounds nice."

But he can't -- because if he'd broken another promise... He looks away from her again, down at the offending piece of metal in question. Honestly ready to move it away if Diana wants him to. When he answers her, the words speak more than he probably guesses:

"I haven't found anyone who can."

I haven't found anyone.

She can tell she's misstepped. She doesn't quite know how, but the way he looks away is indication enough, but his tone of voice only confirms it for her. Diana isn't certain if she should pull away from him--does he need the space? Is she making him feel worse? Humans have developed such complex emotions and personalities. That isn't to say Amazons haven't--it's just that they're better about being up front with one another. But Diana has learned it's best to tread carefully with mortals, if for no other reason than to keep from upsetting them.

But Shiro is upset because of something she's said, and she isn't quite sure what to do about it.

Gently, and watching his face closely for any reaction, Diana shifts her hand back from his arm to cup his cheek. Skin-to-skin contact is better, she thinks. Calming, reassuring. She doesn't make him look back to her, but wants to let him know that she's still here, still invested in this moment and those to follow.

Her voice is earnest, and she really does believe every word she says. "You will." Whatever, or whoever it is he's looking for, he will find. Humans are resilient, and Shiro more so than others, she thinks.

It isn't her fault. It's not even close to her fault. She had no way of knowing. Unless she can somehow read his mind. Which he doubts, even as strong as she is, as capable as she is.

So when she touches his face, he looks back at her. As if figuring out, slowly, he's made her feel responsible for something she didn't do. He doesn't want her to pull away. Doesn't want to make her feel like that. She's too important to him, already, to let things lie that way.

He doesn't say anything for another few moments, though, instead tightening his arms around her again, and nudging forward into a full hug. One step more grounded than before.

"Found you."

To confirm what she just said. If he found her, then she's right. The others can still be found. One way or another.

She's surprised that he's come back around this way, but doesn't question it. Diana lets him pull her in, and follows suit, keeping her palm against his cheek as she tightens her other arm around his waist. They're here together, right now, and that's what matters. A small smile finds her lips, and she nods, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"You did," she affirms. Keep him grounded, keep him here. Make sure he knows she's here for him, whatever he needs. Her shoulders are becoming sore from the weight of his robotic arm, but she doesn't much mind it. If this is what it is to be mortal, even for just a bit, she can deal with it to keep Shiro's focus here with her. It's selfish, but she's tired and weakened. She can be a bit selfish for once.

But of course, that can't last.

"I'll help you," she offers. Help him look for his friends, for someone to manage his arm. Anything he needs, really.

"Thank you."

He breathes the words out, and he means them. Every syllable. They come out and he feels himself lean into her just a little more. Breathing slower. More easily. Like that one simple offer takes the weight off his shoulders. His head bows slightly, into the hand at his cheek.

Even how heavy the metal at his shoulder feels -- it seems like it fades for a moment.

He does, however, stop, and pull his head back ever so slightly. Enough to where he can look her in the eye more clearly. Study the face that's suddenly become so incredibly important to him. The face that makes him feel lighter when she laughs -- the one he'd jumped into empty space for. Who reminds him so strongly of someone else vitally important, in her own way. Who he had, finally, been able to save.

"Thank you," he tells her again.

Maybe this is wrong. Maybe he shouldn't do this. It's too much, it's not appropriate. But he's so tired. So much has happened. Maybe... he just wants to be reminded he's human.

So when he pulls back, it's only long enough to thank her. Before lightly, gently, returning that kiss from before. It's short, barely there at all. But it's real.

Diana can see him turning something over in his head, and waits patiently for him to do so. This has been a lot to process for all of them, and even she is still trying to wrap her head around it all. Some of them are still missing, and it's hard not to give into the hopelessness that threatens to overcome them.

But right now, that melancholy seems so far away. It's just her and Shiro standing in a street surrounded by dropped produce. It's so ordinary that it's hard for her not to find it funny.

The idea that this is ordinary, however, vanishes when he shifts to look at her. She sees something on his face then--that he's decided upon something. And Diana only barely contains her shock when he kisses her. It's another initiation she hadn't expected, but one that isn't at all unwelcome. There's nothing insistent about it at all, and that's what makes it so lovely, she thinks. Diana leans into him for that ghost of a stolen moment, feeling... at peace. If only for this short time, she feels content. It's such a change from the last few months, and her heart feels whole. Shiro has something special about him that even when he's most vulnerable, he's still incredibly strong. It's a trait she admires, and loves him for.

Diana's thumb strokes across his cheek, and there's an indescribable softness in her expression. She won't pressure him, only willing to take what he will give. She doesn't know what's changed, and doesn't presume to ask. For all their militaristic ways, Amazons are creatures born of love and understanding, and to share the same with mankind has always been their duty. And she feels that here, with Shiro, she's accomplished at least a small part of that great task.

To her eyes, they are both as they should be in this moment.

There is no spell to break, no wrong words to say. She smiles, a steady light through the darkness. "All will be well, Shiro." Diana has never said anything she doesn't mean with her entire heart.

No, it's hard not to feel hopeless. In the face of missing your people. Missing the faces you considered to be family. After what they went through up there, it's probably the worst thing waiting for them here.

But Diana made it out. Diana is here and real. Is it really so selfish to want to take comfort in that?

She doesn't shove him away, or react poorly. He's a little relieved, for her to pretty much reciprocate the gesture. If she weren't accepting, if she didn't want it, he knows she'd let him know. Diana has never been the kind of person to hide those things from anyone. It's actually pretty refreshing to know. Even if he isn't entirely sure what the rest of this means. Is it just a kiss -- just something to say they're glad they're both alive?

Or is there something there?

He should ask.

But not now. Now she's smiling again, and part of him doubts he's ever going to be able to be a functional, logical human being when she makes a face like that. For now, they can let now be now. For now, he can tilt his head into her hand.

"When you say that, I ... don't see how I could disagree."

Being selfish now and then is just another part of being alive--not even just being human. The gods know that Diana has been plenty selfish in her life, even at times she certainly shouldn't have been. But right now, she thinks, it's entirely acceptable for both of them to be a little greedy.

She refrains from pushing further, instead reveling in the easiness between them. Perhaps this is a new sort of beginning--even if it isn't, she isn't about to let go of it. Her smile doesn't fade, and a light, musical laugh escapes her lips.

"Good." Said firmly, but not without affection. She only hopes that she's right.

A slight teasing tone takes over her voice, and she adds: "But perhaps not for my produce. It's a little worse for wear now, I think." She'd dropped it twice, and some of the fruits had seemed particularly delicate. But it had certainly be worth it, for this new kind of connection with Shiro.

He doesn't know if being selfish is something allowed to him. She knows she's more than human. She's accepted it, embraced it. He is human... and always feels as if he needs to be more. Maybe that's part of why they're drawn to one another like this.

He ducks his head for a moment, the slight motion letting his forehead touch hers. Just for that moment.

"Hey, a couple bruises... gives it flavor."

There's something like a wry sort of smile in the words. A bit embarrassed, but still. It's there.

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