+1 jaeger pilot - action

[raleighs]

[The room is nicer than anything Raleigh's seen or stayed in in years. Nice and big and empty and he's got this headache, growing right behind his eyes that speaks of exhaustion and his mind rebelling against the fact that he just knows Mako is nowhere around. Last thing he remembers is drifting off in the Shatterdome's infirmary, with people clucking around him about oxygen starvation and broken sensors (were they broken? he wants to argue, wants to say that he thinks he died but he doesn't have the energy for it) and for the first time in a long time, Raleigh doesn't have to try that hard to fall asleep.

Maybe he's dead. Maybe he did actually die in the breach and this is the great beyond. Stranger things have happened but he always kinda thought that being dead wouldn't hurt so much and just sitting up makes his shoulder throb, echoing the damage that was done to Gipsy when the kaiju ripped her arm off. Maybe it's just dreams where things don't hurt and that doesn't apply to the afterlife or heaven or hell or wherever he is.

Right. Okay. Raleigh forces himself out of the bed, grabs a sweater at will from the closet, it's grey and softer than anything he's owned in years but it's thick and warm and right up his alley. And then the steps out into the hallway. Of what looks like a castle.

... what?

And where is Mako?

He reaches up and rubs at his head idly, wandering down the hallway. The castle almost reminds him of the ones that he visited with his family when they lived in Budapest for a year. Got the same kind of feel to it, though this one is clearly not abandoned and clearly people live here and it's definitely nothing you would ever see on the pacific rim.

Toto is not in Kansas anymore and he's lost Dorothy too.]

Comments

[dgaf]

[ There's a girl dressed all in black with way too much eyeliner and too little sleep sitting crosslegged on the floor while smoking something not quite tobacco.

Effy has been hanging around the castle's hallways for long enough to note the familiar faces. His isn't one of them. Besides, he looks like he's dazed enough that she can pull off her prank, even if he's not new. She would smile politely if he catches her gaze, though visibly contrived, speaking up only once he is close enough that she wouldn't have to raise her voice. ]

You could have at least zipped your pants.

[raleighs]

[And Raleigh's totally the dude who would fall for it, looking down at his pants to see if they're unzipped and they're not and ha ha ha, very funny. So he's not totally alone here, which he's not really sure if that's a blessing yet or not.]

Funny. Are you the welcome committee then?

[dgaf]

[ Effy's grin is wolfish, almost a sneer, looking rather pleased with herself that he took the time to look down. Gotcha. She blows the smoke off to the side before standing up, all lanky arms and legs. ]

Sorry. We ran out of confetti. Spliff?

[raleighs]

No thanks.

[It's not all his headache that is making him snappy. Raleigh doesn't like smoking, hasn't since he was eighteen and his mother died from lung cancer.]

I'll just take a way out.

[secondchances]

[Steph's minding her own business, going someplace, or maybe nowhere at all. Her walk isn't rushed in the least, hands buried in the pockets of her purple coat, a little bit of snow left on her shoulders and in her hair. While she may live in the city, the castle is where the fun is at.]

Hey. [She greets with a nod. He's not immediately familiar--cute, definitely, but she's seen a lot of cute guys here and they sort of all blend together after a while.]

[raleighs]

[Raleigh does that have all american cute boy look about him, so that doesn't help. He nods back at her, polite and civil but not overly friendly.]

This might sound weird but where is this?

[secondchances]

[Ooooh, a new person. Steph almost opens her mouth to ask that when she comes to a stop--duh. Of course he is.]

Paradisa. Which probably means nothing to you right now. [She lifts up her hands, as if showing she's no threat and means no harm. Not your kidnapper.] Woke up in a room and started wandering around, I'm guessing?

[raleighs]

[Well, she's right. The name does mean absolutely nothing to him and it totally shows in his expression. Raleigh Becket, not really that awesome at poker because his thoughts are all over his face all the time.]

More or less, yeah. That common?

[hellofist]

[It's never hard to spot someone completely new to the castle, they all have the same kind of lost body language, the same kind of confusion that runs all the way to their bones as they wander around. It always gets the same sort of reaction from her, too. She always feels bad, wants to help, and that's not at all different now.

As he heads down the hallway towards her, Cass lifts a hand to wave at him, a greeting and to get his attention.]

Are you okay?

[raleighs]

[No, no he's not okay. The headache has settled into a dull throb, not too much unlike the one he had for five years after Yancy died, a hole in his head that never really heals. But he's not about to tell a perfect stranger that.

Raleigh drops his hand, nods at her greeting but doesn't wave back.]

About as okay as anyone who wakes up with no idea where they are.

[hellofist]

[He doesn't tell her, but he doesn't have to. He's missing someone, hurting, and now she's just more determined to look after him.]

Can help, with that. This is Paradisa. Magic castle.

[No big deal.]

[raleighs]

[Magic castle. Can't say he's ever heard that one before and he fights giant alien monsters for a living. Or he did. Now he doesn't really know what he's doing since he might be a) dead b) dreaming or c) kidnapped.]

.... you're serious.

[defyingfrigidity]

[The past week has been a whirlwind for Elsa. Waking up in this strange castle, then the very next day waking up in that absurdly strange village, only to be returned to the castle a few days later... she had wanted nothing more than to be alone. And she had been, for a while. But she knew she couldn't keep doing that. She had to break the habit of retreating into herself and her isolation if she wanted to live up to her father's royal legacy, and show her people that she wasn't someone to be feared. It was just... hard, without Anna here to support her.

But she still tried. Which is why she was out here now, wandering the castle in an attempt to familiarize herself with her (what she hopes will be) temporary home. She spots Raleigh, and a wave of sympathy washes through her. She approaches, though still keeps a bit of distance between them.]

You look as lost as I currently feel.

[raleighs]

Is that obvious?

[The headache is making him crabbier than usual-- which is something that special. Raleigh's not the warmest of people these days, even if the last three days have softened him a little. Mako's started to thaw him out, if he's being honest so rebounding from the sudden lack of her around is not doing wonders for making him not seem like an angry bear.]

Maybe we should start a club.

[defyingfrigidity]

[He's not the first disgruntled person Elsa's had to deal with since her arrival, so she tries not to let it bother her. Still, her smile fades just a bit.]

I'm certain my expression was the same as yours, when I first woke up here very recently. So I suppose it is a bit easy to spot.

[raleighs]

[Raleigh's quiet for a moment, seeming to realize that her smile has faded and he's just snapping at her for no reason and that's-- actually nothing new for him but this is just why he likes to be left alone. Because he doesn't like feeling guilty but he doesn't like socializing either.]

What is this, are we dead or something?

[molotov]

[Molotov has been in Stepford for a week, and that means that the animals have gone without.

So Raleigh is probably surprised to find a six foot redhead in a full-length white mink coat, long enough to drag on the floor behind her, smoking as she walks down the hallway. Oh, and she has a baby black bear on a leash, trotting alongside her, a festive red bowtie around his neck.

WELCOME TO PARADISA!]

[raleighs]

[Yeah that-- is not something he sees everyday. The mink coat, that's not something you see on the Pacific anymore, it's too poor and anyone with sense and money has moved inland and there is the fact that she's got a bear on a leash.

No matter what anyone says, he has to be dreaming. Or dead. But congrats, she's startled him enough that he forgets about his headache long enough to say:]

What the hell?

[molotov]

[This makes Molotov pause, turning her head to blow her smoke away, while her bear comes to sniff at Raleigh's feet.

Her accent is heavily Russian, but it's English when she answers.]

What the hell what?

[wishmadeinfire]

<sub>[ Well, in your walks through the Castle, Raleigh might come across a rather curious looking fellow - long black hair (to the floor), long, pointed ears, dressed in what looked like a mix of Indian and Japanese style robes colored in a series of blues and purples meant, perhaps, to invoke snow.

He turnes, hearing Raleigh, and offers him a slight nod of greeting, golden eyes flickering over him. ]</sub>

Good morning.

[raleighs]

[Yep that is something he hasn't seen before. Strange enough to get a double take from Raleigh, who has really come to just. Accept that things are super weird here and that his head is never going to stop hurting, for more than one reason, and okay.

He nods back.]

Morning.

[wishmadeinfire]

_{[ He caught the double-take and his mouth twitched. Ah, so this was someone who had not met him yet, and given how small their group had grown lately, that was telling in and of itself. He cocked his head at the other, the jewels on his ears flashing. ]}

Glad to be back in the Castle rather than that odd little town?

_{[ He was speaking of the Stepford affair, but he did not expect Raleigh to know, which would give him a better idea of if the man truly was new or not... ]}

[peacockherald]

_{[ He had been something of a success in the kitchen, making up some lovely warm sandwiches for himself and Tylendel, wrapped in twin kerchiefs to keep them warm as he hurried about the Castle to try and find said golden haired boy. He wasn't really watching where he was going as he peered down a hallway and into a particular room, looking annoyed as he spun sharply on his heel, arms ahead of him with sandwiches in hand... ]}

[raleighs]

Watch it.

[He reacts fast, putting out a steadying hand, more out of reflex than maybe actually caring about some spilled sandwiches but such is life. Then takes a step back because you know, personal bubble.]

Can't be in that much of a hurry.

[peacockherald]

_{[ Vanyel jumped when his wrist was touched, but he didn't jerk either. He looked up at Releigh and his cheeks heated from proper embarrassment. Really, his head was in the clouds these days! He gave him an apologetic smile and laughed. ]}

Ah, my apologies. I was looking for someone, I suppose I was to concentrated. I didn't spill anything on you did I?