- Chromatus -

          The Hive’s technology was familiar enough, thankfully. In fact it didn’t seem all too dissimilar from Trigleph, save for some key differences here and there. Tall buildings, districts, subway stations and roads, even the little devices and appliances that made life just a little easier was something Ludger was well acquainted with, much to his relief. But because of the city’s very nature, it wasn’t uncommon to see folks struggling to understand. the technology around them.

Like this young woman, for instance. She’d been staring at those vehicles on the road for some time now.

          Settling in wasn’t too bad, though after seeing what he had to work with back at his assigned district, Ludger did start missing his apartment back in Trigleph. In fact, he started missing his own city in general, wondering how everyone else was after he left it. Namely Elle, Jude and the gang and Rollo, his cat. Hopefully, everyone was well. He did the best he could, facing the inevitability of his life at the time. 

But now was not the time to brood. Something more pressing required his attention: that of his weaponry.

     To his surprised exclamation, the blonde can only offer a small hum of conformation before he continues on. While it’s something to that effect, this place is also something like another timeline as well… Or perhaps it’s simply some sort of isolated universe or dimension completely. Truth be told, the finer details are still being worked out by One within her mind.

     ❝ Something like that, yes. ❞ she agrees, pausing for a moment as he asks her another question… One of which is very sincere. Perhaps a bit surprised by the notion of how he’s concerned for her rather than his own situation, the blonde’s eyebrows raise slightly before offering the other the ghost of a smile.

     She isn’t fine but of course, she’d rather keep that to herself.

     ❝ I’m fine as anyone can be within this city; and what of you? If you need help with anything, don’t hesitate to ask. ❞

          Well, it wasn’t comforting news, but that was the reality of the situation and he would have to cope with that for now. Having a familiar face like One’s definitely helps in putting some ease on Ludger, despite the tension he felt being in a foreign land and the circumstances regarding his disappearance back in his own world. Still, he is certain of himself; he will adapt as he always has, no matter how bleak a situation. After all, it wouldn’t be his first foray into another dimension. It just happened to be a different kind, if he’s understanding her correctly. 

Still, her answer doesn’t surprise him. She’s as confident as always, even in the face of uncertainty.

    “Getting by somehow,” he answered, albeit with a nervous ring to his tone. It’s clear that he’s still taken by the issue of his current existence here whereas he shouldn’t really be existing in the first place. Briefly does he glance on his palm, clenching and unclenching it into a fist. He truly is here... alive and well. That troubled him.

     Cheerful, as always. While she can understand the sentiment (for she, too, often shows her sisters a smile in their time of need), One still can’t understand why he still insists on such a gesture. Surely he must know that she, of all people, can see right through such acts? And though she’s well aware of that, somehow… His smile still seems genuine, despite it all.

     In a way, he reminds her of herself; of how she used to be once upon a time.

     ❝ That, unfortunately, makes two of us. ❞ she informs rather matter-of-factly, sympathy apparent within her expression.

     ❝ While I have been here before, I still am not able to pinpoint the exact location of this ‘Hive City’. Even if it’s in another realm, not having any idea where this is or how to get back home is… More than troubling, as you may imagine. ❞

          The familiarity she emanated was a welcome change, a beacon he can cling to while he tried to set his head straight from the initial confusion of the city. But he knew that she can see right through his smile. Though, while genuine, Ludger does have his concerns that troubled him at the back of his mind. But he wouldn’t want to trouble her with that. Not when they were having, to Ludger, what felt like a reunion ages in the making.

It felt like a lifetime ago since he last saw One. Indeed, his smile upon seeing her was more than genuine.>

    “You’ve been here before?” Her words surprise him. She’s been in this city before and yet she’s surprisingly calm compared to Ludger, who’s only keeping it together through sheer force of will. “So... we’re in another dimension entirely, is that it? I wonder...”

          Trigleph was a glowing utopia compared to this place, but moping about it won’t help him solve his confusion. Questions like, why he was here and what was happening to the two worlds he left behind. Just off the top of his head, really, as many more bubbled just beneath the surface, including that of a certain blonde. For now, it’s looking like the young man was in dire need of a distraction. What better way to busy his mind than to go back to what he knew to do best: cooking.

In no time at all, he was already using his Hive currency, shopping for ingredients in the nearest grocery store. Tomatoes were on the menu, of course, the Elympian feeling a certain craving of sorts for them. It wasn’t until he eyed the red of an apple that he then came in contact with a curiously dressed young woman with jet black hair, his hand just about to reach for it..

@corpseshelled

     To say she’s displeased to be brought back to this place is something of a severe understatement.

     After all, the Intoner has a great deal of tasks to take care of back in Church City… And the rest of the world, as well. To be so easily whisked away in the midst of a worldwide crisis is not only troublesome, but it’s extremely worrying, as well. To the blonde worries deeply for both her sisters and the citizens of their countries, she simply cannot put up with this sudden turn of events.

     Humming in thought for a moment, the sound of footsteps approaching her figure becomes apparent to the blonde. While her senses have been dulled down since her return to this place, the Intoner’s heightened senses are still far more powerful than that of a normal human. Expecting to see someone she’s not acquainted with, One is instead met with the familiar visage of another she met some time ago…

     In another place.

     ❝ Oh? So you’re here, too? Since I doubt you followed me from that other place, I have to wonder how you got here along with myself. ❞

          He remembered fading, fading away in a last bid attempt to save a little girl from being erased from existence. He remembered giving it all up, his life, the life of his brother and leaving the friends he made in his journey behind, entrusting to them a future where Elle could live a normal life. And so he faded, satisfied with his decision to sacrifice himself to fate, knowing he gave her a chance at something grand. It was bittersweet, but he was smiling till the end, humming a gentle a tune.

Then, he woke up here. An unknown city, far from his own but with relative familiarity to it. Was it all a dream? No, it couldn’t have been. In a daze, Ludger wandered out into the streets, confused and lost. It wasn’t until he saw a flash of white in the crowd that he felt something he was sure of since he woke up. Suddenly, he was drawn to this figure and before he knew it, he was walking towards her.

A sense of familiarity filled him the closer he got to her and more memories were jolted to the surface. From another place, another time... and another life. He knew her, he was certain of it. Finally, he was face to face with the young woman and Ludger couldn’t help but smile upon seeing her face once again.

    “I’m just as surprised as you are. It’s strange... but I suddenly remembered some things when I saw you. It’s been forever, hasn’t it?” A lifetime, it would seem. Regardless of that, he continued to smile. It eased him to know that One, someone he knew from another life, was here with him.

14. our characters getting caught in the rain together

Scion of Kresnik, monster hunter, dimension-hopper, agent of Spirius… and yet there was still nothing he could do against mother nature’s heavens opening up above them. Frankly, it was a surprise for Ludger. Trigleph hardly experienced rain due to the environment suffering from spyrix usage, so he certainly didn’t expect something like this.