tushanshu | 21 ❄ ( VIDEO )

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21 ❄ ( VIDEO )

[ Jack's been largely off network for about a month, other than replying to those whom he's closest with. But there's too much to do and too many people who needed him to not be uselessly hung up on his own issues. So he faces the console screen with something much closer to his usual good cheer and Baby Tooth is perched in her usual spot on his shoulder. ]

There's been a lot of new people lately so I thought I'd bring this up again. My name's Jack Frost, this is Baby Tooth and I'm... kind of in charge of the Welcome Center here in the city. For anyone who's arrived lately, the kedan who showed you where your suite was should have mentioned it to you.

[ There will be a location ping that shows a very centrally located address, one that if anyone else in the city has tried to procure a business of their own will know is normally unavailable. ]

If you need anything that the kedan weren't able to provide at your suite, let me know and I'll see if I can track it down. Don't worry about if it costs money you haven't got yet. I've collected information about the city that'll help you get settled in and they're in brochures, there's books you can borrow that aren't in kedanese if you want to borrow them, like a library. Just bring them back in one piece, 'cause there aren't that many and we only seem to get more when we visit a mainland. Oh, and I have a list of some kedan shopkeepers who are willing to take on Foreigner employees so they can start working.

If you want to volunteer some time, just let me know. You don't need any kind of experience, just be willing to answer questions and help people learn about the city.

[ He thinks for a moment but can't come up with anything he's forgotten. ]

Yup. I think that's everything.

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[Despite the map and the directions from the Kedan, it takes Russell longer than he expected to find the place. He hasn't been here long enough for anything to look familiar, and he gets turned around more than once, distracted by the people, the buildings. Pretty much everything. Still, he finds the place eventually and looks it over. It looks good, very new, very clean. He scrapes non-existent dirt off his shoes before coming in.]

"Hello?" [He calls, looking around.]

Hi!

[ Jack comes out from the back office where he stores all the extra boxes of maps and papers. He notes the unfamiliar man and offers him a grin, not realizing yet that he hasn't actually been seen. ]

Uh, hello?

[Russell takes a step forwards, looking towards the back office. He eyes pass over Jack, unseeing. He's frowning, the office, from what he can see from this angle, seems empty, but the voice had sounded close.]

Whoopsie, bit of a non-believer, huh?

[ As soon as Russell's gaze sweeps past Jack without stopping, the spirit understands what's wrong. It no longer causes a pain to settle in him as it once does, having had a year to soothe under the situation in Keeliai of most being able to. He moves instead to the large chalkboard on the opposite wall, picking up a piece and drawing a smiley face on the surface. ]

Over here.

[Russell's frown deepens. What's religion got to do with it? But he's distracted by the scrape of chalk behind him. He turns in time to see a piece of, apparently floating, chalk finish drawing a smiley face.]

[His whole body tenses.]

What. The fuck.

[ chiding lightly: ] Hey now, no need for language like that. There's kids in here sometimes, you know.

You're not going crazy, by the way. Not everyone can see spirits.

Spirits? [His gaze flickers around the room, coming back to rest on the board where the voice seems to be emanating from. He steps away from the desk, giving himself a little more room to manoeuvre. He really has no idea what's going on here, but he wants the space, just in case.]

Spirits. You're a... spirit? [He obviously doesn't know what that means.]

[ It's not hard to see the way the man is tensing and Jack keeps his voice even and light. ]

Spirit of Winter, in my world. It's all right, there's nothing to be worried about. What's your name?

[Nothing to be worried about? That's asking a lot. But despite the strangeness of the disembodied voice, it's the, in my world, that gets through to him. He's starting to get used to kedan strangeness, and the idea that foreigners aren't always from the same place, well, he'd begun to suspect as much.]

[Still, he remains tense even as he answers.]

It's Russell. I, uh, came here for the welcome centre. [Which this obviously is, but it can't hurt to make sure.]

Nice to meet you Russell, I'm Jack.

[ Even if the man has his name from the message on the network, the introduction is a touch of normalcy. ]

And you're in the right spot for the welcome center. Sorry there's no one else here at the moment who's a little, uh... more visible. But I can still help you, what were you looking into?

Right. Uh... [He trails off, then visibly pulls himself together. Invisible people. Fine, he can deal with this. Is it really any stranger than giant turtle? He doesn't move from where he is though, certainly not to try and get any closer to the voice. Jack. The voice called Jack. He realises his thoughts are turning circular and more than a little hysterical and gets a hold of himself again.]

A job. Is what I was looking for. That is, I heard, I mean I guess I heard you, uh, say you had... that you could help?

[He presses his lips shut. Babbling now? This was just embarrassing.]

[ smoothly: ] That's right.

[ Jack answers as though he doesn't notice the jittery speech or the man's demeanor, if only because calling attention to it was likely to make it worse. The spirit wasn't offended in the slightest, if anything that was a kind of familiar territory. ]

I've done deliveries for the kedan shops almost since I arrived, it was my first job here. So I've gotten to know quite a few of them pretty well and I ask them if they're willing to take on new employees. I've got a list of open positions over on that wall.

[ He helpfully draws an arrow at the chalkboard, pointing to Russell's right. ]

Thanks. [Russell follows the direction with his eyes. His neck hurts from holding it so tense, so he forces himself to relax, rolling his shoulders. He goes further, finally moving from his spot and walking over to the wall. The spirit is being helpful, no cause to repay it with rudeness. Not it. Him. Jack. Hard to remember, to give a name to a disembodied voice.]

[He tries to focus on the list, picking out a couple of likely looking openings.] You got any advice as to pay? [He's trying not to think about the weirdness, and instead sticking to the practicalities.]

[ This was information that Jack had firsthand and he was happy to share it. ]

Most kedan shops pay you at the end of the day for your work, a few at the end of the week. Almost nobody pays every two weeks like people are used to nowadays. Sometimes they'll ask if they can pay you in goods so... food or supplies. It's your choice whether you want to accept but it's been my experience that you'll actually save more money taking the goods and then not having to buy them anyway later. Barter's still a big thing here in Keeliai.

[ A pause and then he considers. ]

Where are you from, Russell? And uh, what year is it?

Barter, okay. [He can deal with that, might help a little since a lot of the produce and things isn't what's familiar to him. Not that he'd ever spent much time cooking things that didn't come in a packet.] I was wondering what kinda pay I should expect, I mean, it's easy to take advantage if someone doesn't know the currency.

[He figures if he keeps his back to the room, he can imagine the voice has a visible body attached. Only after a while he starts to feel an itching between his shoulder blades, and when Jack speaks again, he turns. Even if he's not in his sights, facing where Jack must be eases his tension a little.]

Pennsylvania. Braddock Pennsylvania, uh, the United States. [He tags the country on the end, realising that what sounds like a familiar accent might not mean anything at all.] Um, and it's twenty fourteen. You?

Edited 2014-01-22 18:51 (UTC)

[ It's truly a shame that Russell can't see the way Jack's face light up like the man has just pronounced the best thing ever but it carries through in his voice. ]

I'm from Pennsylvania too! Originally, I mean. A town called Burgess. And it's 2014 for me now too. It was right at the end of 2012 when I got here, so that New Years and then the one we just had, that makes it 2014.

[ Then he remembers that there was actually a question in there. ]

Oh, for wage. Well, a juulan as far as I can tell is about $5 and most of the food and necessities are comparable to what you'd find. Well, they're actually a little closer to what they were thirty, forty years ago in the States. There are a few things that are going to be higher priced though, like paper and books? And things made of wood 'cause there's not a lot of trees and they're protected. Definitely don't go chopping down trees around here.

No shit. [That he definitely wasn't expecting.] I'm sorry, I don't know a Burgess. I guess that means our Earth's are different. [He gives a slightly nervous laugh.] I guess I shoulda figured with the whole. [He waves his hand to encompass where Jack is presumably standing.] Invisible thing.

[God that's weird.]

Yeah, no, I heard cutting trees was against the rules. I figured I'd look for carpentry work though, if there's demand. [He shrugs.] Basic stuff, I'm not- It's not what I used to do. [Yeah, because steel production is so fucking transferable. He grimaces, his expression darkening.]

[ Jack's rampant good mood tames a bit when Russell says he doesn't know a Burgess and seems awkward about it, so the spirit strives to put the levity back into things. ]

Well, it's a small place anyway, so maybe that's why. But still, nice to meet someone from a place I've heard of!

Hmm... for carpentry, you might be in luck! Since the baby turtles hatched, there's actually a lot of holes in walls that aren't supposed to be there.

Edited 2014-01-27 18:41 (UTC)

Baby turtles? [He's frowning.] I thought it was just the one giant turtle round here.

[He moves forwards, away from the walls a bit, and shoves his hands into his pockets. It's not so hard, talking to the air. Russell finds he's almost getting used to it. As long as he doesn't focus on it over much.]

No, there were fifteen that hatched a little while ago. Their eggs were found back in the summer in Sinbrilee.

If you're going to need tools for building though, I can give you some shops where they'll give you a good price.

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21 ❄ ( VIDEO )

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sorry for the lateness!

no prob! last week was crazy for me anyway

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