[console] [video]

[quiet]

[the boy who appears on the screen is a handsome one, with artfully scruffed brown hair, hazel eyes, and a small, friendly smile. he looks directly into the camera with the sort of confidence that comes from public speaking experience.]

Well then. I feel a bit like a tourist on a very, very strange island. As much as I do enjoy traveling, most of the time I attempt to prepare more thoroughly.

[another little smile, this one more wry.]

In any case, my name is Gansey, and I'm looking for a companion. An exploration companion, to be precise. Maps are delightful, but actually learning your way around a place is even better. An experienced Traveler with some free time or other newcomers like me would be equally welcome. I'll be here in the Hotel lobby for a bit, and I've picked up one of those handset radios if that's your preferred method of communication.

[he gives a bit of a wave, and the video goes dark.]

Comments

[quiet]

[gansey doesn't know, so he spends a moment mulling percy's words.]

Do you mean like breathing and digesting and...talking? Making turtle-y sounds, whatever they may be called. You're right, but the turtle is so big...we don't hear magma moving beneath the earth's crust, either. Definitely something to ask people who have been here awhile. Before you came, someone told me that sometimes the turtle makes landfall on a planet. She said it like it's sentient, so there must be some kind of plan in its mind. Whether there's a way to contact it, though...

[he gives a helpless shrug.]

It does raise the question of whether it carries all this willingly or not, and I don't have the slightest idea how one would even begin to try and answer that.

[nacl]

Well yeah, exactly. I don't know....I feel like you could argue we hear magma. When a volcano's erupting, that rumbling is all that magma and pressure built up inside. Earthquakes are also kind of like, sort of the result of plates, aren't they? And you hear those.

(Percy rubs at the back of his neck, frowning. He didn't know too much about the subject- or rather, he thought he didn't. The earth was a good deal more relevant to him than America's capital though.

He does feel a bit frustrated that he can't talk with the turtle. What would he even say anyway? Hey, sorry about living on your shell. What's your cosmic journey all about?

Yeah, right. Percy frowns at Gansey.)

Since when do animals ever do anything willingly for humans like sacrifice their entire homes and bodies for- what? So we can build some stupid skyscrapers? Not likely, dude.

[quiet]

[gansey nods.]

You're right about both those things. In the human context, we would call those disasters. I would certainly hope that the shell of the turtle never shifts or explodes that way, but you're definitely correct in that the earth makes itself known, and the turtle may do the same. The girl I was talking to--Zatanna--she might have more insight. She's been here nearly five years.

[percy's point makes gansey frown. it's not that he hasn't considered the implications of living on a turtle, more that he's not quite so quick to assume the worst of people. ]

Humans on earth have wreaked havoc on nature, that's not even remotely arguable. But I think we need to learn more before assuming that we've been brought to a place where people are doing terrible things to the being they live on, or whether it's some sort of symbiotic relationship. I wish we could actually speak to the turtle. Zatanna believed that we were brought here for a purpose, although her ideas definitely extended more toward the populace. Maybe it's more complex than that. Certainly worth investigating, especially if there's a way we can help the poor thing.

[as much as he's advocating research and not assuming the worst, gansey stll looks disquieted by the idea.]

[nacl]

Would we call them disasters?

(Percy smirks just the slightest bit at that. He does make a note of the name Zatanna though. Percy had enough experience in his lifetime to know how important names could be.

He stares at Gansey a bit, smirk having vanished from his face and something a bit more serious in place. And maybe even a bit pinched up in his brow.)

If you say so, man.

(Percy's still pretty positive that building whole cities and cutting through the animal's back couldn't possibly be symbiotic. He didn't have enough examples or ideas to back that up though so he lays it down for now. All he knew was that it felt wrong all the way through to his gut.)

I guess I'm just not down for living on an animal. I feel bad enough if I accidentally step on a cat's tail.

[quiet]

Earthquakes and volcanoes? Depending on the strength and location of them, yes. Not, of course, that those events are unnatural for the planet.

[gansey's frown doesn't leave him.]

I'm not saying much either way. Just that I want to be informed. The idea of living on an animal is...discomfiting, in several ways. It changes...approximately everything.

[nacl]

Yeah. I wonder if maybe when this guy gets indigestion we'll feel it.

(It was a horrible joke but also kind of a point, right?)

Yeah, it does. I guess you're right though. I'm not great at research though. Maybe word of mouth stuff. I saw some libraries around though if those are up your ally. Do you want to check those out or something?

[quiet]

Turtlequake?

[gansey raises an eyebrow, but gives a little chuckle all the same.]

Luckily for you, research is something I do well. Investigating the libraries is definitely on my list, but I wouldn't want to bore you sitting around with books. I've heard once or twice that watching someone else read is its own particular brand of hellishly boring.

[nacl]

(Turtlequake?

Percy stares at Gansey for a moment and then he starts cracking up. His whole body shakes, head thrown back. If anyone likes a bad joke, it's Percy. The laughter peters out and he wipes at the corner of his eye.)

Oh, gods.

(He reaches out and slaps a hand on Gansey's shoulder.)

I like you.

(Simply put. He does. This kid's great.)

I deeply appreciate that. I'd probably be a distraction anyway. Then neither of us would get anything accomplished at all.

[quiet]

[gansey is not good at jokes. he's not good at bad jokes. he's just not all that funny, really. but when percy starts laughing like he's said the best thing percy's heard all week, gansey can't help but grin.]

Oh, no, don't start building expectations of me being funny. I am very not funny.

[all the same, he is glad to be liked.]

What do you want to go see? You've got some say in this expedition, you know.

[nacl]

No, you're totally hilarious, shut up.

(Percy, thankfully, does not need to be entertained regularly. There are no expectations here. He's just glad to know the potential for hilarity is there at all.)

I hear there's an ocean somewhere. It'd be pretty cool to find that. I'm just not sure how long it'd take to find it.

[quiet]

I'm certainly not going to argue.

[at least he can be entertaining.]

An ocean? That would be pretty cool. What about where the canals leave the city? It would make sense that the ocean was somewhere downriver, wouldn't it? Assuming that there is a river. That's usually how canals work, but...

[he shrugs. they're on a turtle. a turtle that apparently has an ocean. all rules are up in the air now.]

[nacl]

Yeah, like. At the shell or something? I don't remember. That'd make sense too.

(He glance around, humming thoughtfully.)

I think we can actually rent a boat if you want to try for that. Or at least see where the canal goes.

[quiet]

Hey, why not? As long as we bring some water I don't think we can get into that much trouble with a boat. Probably. Most likely.

[gansey grins. clearly he likes this kind of adventure.]

The people in that section of the city seem to be pretty friendly, at least.

[nacl]

Most likely.

(Percy says this very sincerely with a intentional slow nod.)

I'm pretty okay with water too. Swimming and boat stuff.

(Pretty okay. Percy was such a little shit.)

Yeah, they do. They're very relaxed. I'm trying to think if we should do that today or not though.

(Thing was? He was still feeling exhausted. That and he actually didn't know if they should go on an adventure if his powers weren't working.)

[quiet]

The odds are in our favor?

[gansey's skepticism is jokingly directed at percy.]

Pretty okay, hm? I've been sailing and rowing since I was pretty young, so I think that qualifies as at least moderately okay. We probably would survive a boat trip.

[percy makes a good point though.]

It would be better to get a start on that early in the morning, if we'll be out for awhile. That and I'm kind of tired. Travel must be draining even if I don't remember a bit of it. Maybe tomorrow, or the next day?

[not exhausted like percy, but still tired.]

[nacl]

Decent enough. I haven't done too much sailing. But my mom used to take me to this awesome beach when I was growing up. I do know basic First Aid at least.

(He grins at Gansey and is a bit relieved that Gansey agreed with him on starting at another point.)

Yeah, I think it'd be best. But at least we met each other and sorted things out. And have a place to start. How about you contact me with a video or something? I have one of those radio things.

[quiet]

Sailing is wonderful. If we're lucky, maybe we'll find some open water.

[the idea makes gansey look somewhere between wistful and excited.]

I also have one of those radio things, so that sounds like a plan.

[he stifles a yawn. apparently not being hungry anymore was all it took to make him tired.]

Someone told me that a lot of foreigners stay in the...sky area? Something like that. Maybe we should find that and see if there's anywhere to crash for awhile.

[nacl]

Have you sailed on a yacht? You kind of seem like the type who has sailed on a yacht before.

(There's still miraculously not a lick of judgement in his tone. He's genuinely curious. He's technically been on a yacht before but that involved a lot of monsters and the like.)

Sounds good then.

(Radio things it is.

At the mention of a place to stay? Well, that was a dream come true. Percy even looks surprised. He was extremely used to not having the luxury of always having a dependable place to sleep when going on quests. Sometimes they got hotels but not all hotels were safe.)

That wouldn't be a bad idea. Do you think it's okay? Like, safe I mean?