+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.

[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.]

[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]

[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?

[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?

[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.

[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.

[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.]

[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?

[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.

[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.

[secondchances]

Same story for everyone here.

[She offers him a smile and holds out her hand for a shake.]

I'm Stephanie. I've been here a while, so I'd be happy to help you out.

[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.

[hellofist]

Yep.

[That's kind of nice, not having to deal with immediate denial. It's not every day someone just goes right along with it. You get a point, Raleigh.]

Not so bad, here. Plenty of food, safe... as anywhere else. Can relax a little.

[raleighs]

[He has this moment were he stares at her hand like he's forgotten how to shake hands with someone and a little voice in his head has to tell him to move and be civil and polite and shake her hand back.

Wow Becket, pull your shit together, come on.]

Raleigh. You could start by telling me why I'm here.

[raleighs]

[Could be better too. Could have Mako. Could be convinced that this is actually real, which for the record, he's not really. Convinced that is that this actually is real.]

Yeah, I doubt that. [That's more muttered to himself than directly at her. Sorry Cass, really, it's not you. It really is him. How's he supposed to relax with a headache like this?]

I'd really rather leave.

[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?

[hellofist]

Stuck here, unfortunately.

[Which is relative, really, because some people like Paradisa much more than what they've got waiting at home for them. She is concerned about that headache he's got going on though, so that can be their first goal, fixing that.]

Can wish for stuff, here. Almost anything... you could need.

[raleighs]

[Now that? That sounds too good to be true and Raleigh distrusts it because of it. Wish for something and you just get it?]

Except for a way home. Why's that? What am I doing here?

[defyingfrigidity]

[BOY YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT WANTING TO BE LEFT ALONE, LET ELSA TELL YOU A STORY.]

I hope not. That would mean I must've dropped dead so quickly I didn't even know I died. [She laughs nervously at that, hands fidgeting. She's not used to joking around with people.] All the explanations I've heard are... extremely confusing, but none involve death. From what I've been able to gather, we were brought into another realm by a mysterious entity whose goals are currently unclear.

[Because like hell is she believing this THE CASTLE DID IT explanation yet.]

[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]

[DID YOUR BROTHER DIE WHILE INSIDE YOUR HEAD? NO? OKAY THEN.

But that explanation though. It's not like Raleigh can in good conscience deny that other worlds exist because well. Kaiju. But he is just staring at her for a long moment.]

You're actually serious, aren't you?

[defyingfrigidity]

[HOW ABOUT NEARLY KILLING YOUR SISTER WHEN YOU WERE ONLY EIGHT. OR DEPRIVING YOURSELF OF HUMAN CONTACT FOR THIRTEEN YEARS BECAUSE OF IT. OR BELIEVING YOU ACTUALLY KILLED HER BY FREEZING HER FROM THE INSIDE OUT.

She looks a bit unsure as he stares, but relaxes a bit when he speaks. Phew, she was afraid he was going to call her crazy...]

I wish I wasn't. I really do. But I've seen things... unexplainable things... that happened here soon after I arrived. Things that give that explanation much credit.

[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?