[ $ 1 ]

[strangelyliteral]

[Action]

[Waking up unceremoniously in Luceti with no idea of where she is and what she is doing there is of course a disorienting experience. Anya finds herself out on the beach, lying prone on the sand. It could be Sunnydale, except the area she's been deposited in doesn't have much surrounding it besides sand and blue skies.

Her back hurts, and by the time she sits herself up and reaches back there...] Wings? Is this a joke?

[Some more time passes with her half-ranting to herself, trying to get oriented and squinting at the placement of the sun. She almost misses the fact that the journal is there completely, save when she finally starts to walk and nearly trips over the thing, half buried in the sand.]

[Accidental voice]

- Ow! I have sand in places that I don't want to think about, there's no sign of anyone - what is this, a book? I don't even get a pair of shoes, or even suntan lotion, I just get a lousy book? [She turns the journal over in her hands, pages rustling, her image still not visible, though there's the sound of the ocean's waves in the background.] ... my name is on this book. This just entered a new level of creepy.

Comments

[herotypical]

...And yet -- somehow -- I believe it'll actually be worse when I do start making sense. Hang tight. I'll be there in ten. [ ... ] Eh. Fifteenish.

[strangelyliteral]

I'll be out here, then. You know, just waiting.

Re: [voice]

[handing]

Oh, you know Buffy? [In Pepper's mind, that's a very good person to know, and she immediately feels better.] Are you from her--from the same place as her?

[Not world, because the woman's already picked up on Pepper's first use of the word. She's pretty quick on the uptake, however.] It's not a wish, not that we know of. We don't know how we got here. But you've pretty much got the right idea. This isn't the world where any of us are from.

[The skepticism actually makes Pepper grin, in the way that someone used to dealing with disbelief does.] I'm Pepper Potts. And I'm talking to you because I know how hard it is when you first arrive.

[voice]

[strangelyliteral]

We lived in the same place for a while.

[Though she's quiet for the rest of that explanation. It still doesn't make much sense, not for the circumstances she last remembered being in, then again, different worlds didn't care for that. It was just rarer to actually be aware of the change to begin with.]

So you're... just like some sort of book greeter?

Re: [voice]

[handing]

Well, I'm sure she'll come and find you soon. [Maybe it's a little presumptuous, but Pepper doesn't see Buffy as the sort to leave someone from her world stranded.

The comment about being a greeter gets a laugh, and a quick reply.] Oh, no. Not really. You'll find that most people in Luceti are very helpful, especially towards newcomers.

Have you seen the guide yet? That will answer a lot of the questions you probably have.

[Action]

[niceguypose]

Ah... well, this "here" is a world outside all others! That most likely includes your own world of origin. This one does not have a name that I know of... But we are currently within an enclosure known as Luceti!

[voice]

[strangelyliteral]

Helpful people and a guide. What is this, some kind of magical happy land? [She's taking in the information, really. It's just easier to put on the snark than deal with the implications of what this world might actually be.]

[herotypical]

[ and she'll leave anya waiting for the full fifteen. granted, it's only because she's busy filling a bag with a few staples. a sweater. a pair of sandals. something to eat. she slings it over her shoulder and starts on the lonely -- if not long -- trek from house seven to the barracks.

it's a journey she's made hundreds of times, but hasn't lately. not as much. not since jack moved out of cullen house on a temporary basis that never seemed to end. the only real reason to head shorewards these days was to see the boats.

and now to see an ally. a friend? a scooby, certainly. and that means something. it means something as the stands on the beach with an arm raised, hailing the figure in the distance: the figure she assumes is anya. ]

[Action]

[strangelyliteral]

You do not make a lot of sense.

[Action]

[niceguypose]

I apologize, Miss! I am trying my hardest! It took I myself many tries to fully comprehend the situation. Please, give me another chance!

[strangelyliteral]

[Anya has had a few distractions to play with for those moments, anyway, as the journal keeps churning out voices. She doesn't like it - the book can't seem to make up it's mind, whether it's a magical thing or a technological thing.

Eventually she gives up to stare at the shore for a few moments: the water lapping sand is something that makes sense, for all the sense she can make of her last few memories. It had gotten rough. Floppy, hoppy, bunnies.

Shaking her head a little, she'll start to walk toward where she had seen the buildings in the distance - and not before long, a waving figure appears.

It has to be Buffy. So she'll keep moving forward.]

[entreats]

I don't know if you've noticed it yet, but they also decided to put a pair of wings on your body. [ It's a liiittle dryly since it's such an obvious thing, so she's mostly joking about it.. ]

And a bar code, but you usually can't see that one yourself. I guess that part adds to the creepy stalker factor though.

Re: [voice]

[handing]

Not really. Everyone's just been in your position before: stranded some place they've never seen, discovering they've been given wings, and completely confused.

[She's silent for a few moments then, before a written link shows up on the page.]

Touch this. It will show you the guide I was talking about.

[Action]

[strangelyliteral]

Understanding and being able to explain are two different things. Anyway, I don't recognize this place, so if it's true that it's not the one I last remember, that answers something.

[strangelyliteral]

Barcodes? You mean, what the grocery girl scans? I prefer being on the other side of it. In the purchasing way. That's just sick.

[voice]

[strangelyliteral]

How convenient.

[A little too convenient, for her.] I think I'll wait and see what Buffy says.

[herotypical]

[ she crosses that strange and awkward no man's land between sight and sound -- waiting until she's close enough to properly hail anya before she speaks. she keeps her distance, if only because she can't ever picture herself hugging anya.

though part of her wants to.

instead, she holds out the knapsack. ] I packed a few things. My things, really. But...you can keep them. I probably have too many things.

[strangelyliteral]

[There was that one time - the wedding that wasn't - when Buffy had tried so hard to save everything for them. It might have been appreciated then.

At a time like now, so rife with confusion still, it probably wouldn't be.

Anya frowns a little, reaching for the offered pack. She had heard a few things - tidbits, really, about the world - but somehow, all of the strangeness could be summed up in that utterance.

But then she remembers: time in other dimensions doesn't have to make sense. Though some would be nice.]

Your... things. You've had time to gather your things. [She needs time to process this idea.] When did you get ... things here? When did you get here?

[herotypical]

[ she doesn't know what to do with her newly freed hands except to plunge them into her pockets. ]

...Four years ago. Like...exactly. To the very day.

[Action]

[niceguypose]

Yes! It does! You are no longer where you were. And now you are here! This is another world entirely.

[strangelyliteral]

[She opens her mouth, closes it. Opens it again.]

I was expecting maybe a few days or so head start, you know, with how time in other dimensions can be all crazy. But four human years?

voice

[weaponry]

Yeah, the Malnosso tend not to leave you with much. [ She sighs and shakes her head. Yet another newbie? Eh. She'll guide this one through. ] You're in Luceti. This book is actually used to communicate others through text, video and sound.

[herotypical]

[ self-consciously: ] Four human years. I'm twenty-seven. I don't even thing I qualify as a young woman any longer. And I have wings. And -- oh, look -- so do you. They're very lovely, by the way.

Re: [voice]

[handing]

I don't blame you. I don't think I would've believed so much of what I was told if it hadn't been someone I trusted telling me.

[strangelyliteral]

I didn't see any harps around so I didn't get the cherubic vibe from the place. Wait - [Back up a bit - somehow the time difference seems harder to take in than the wings.] You're almost 30? Are we even allowed to talk to each other anymore by human standards?