001 █ radio

[arkproject]

[ Sometime after radio communications are restored to people at the mall, Catherine acquires one and clicks it on, broadcasting to all receivers. ]

Sooo... what's it like out there? Seriously. Anyone who's been out-- tell me what it's like?

I'm trying to make something that can help. Oh, my name's Catherine, by the way. Nice to meet you. [ She sounds calm, even-voiced, more sincere than sarcastic. Let's face it, this is not the worst next place she could've gone after PATHOS-II. Not the best, but there's other, living humans, so Catherine can make do. She just wants to make herself useful. The objectives seem completely obvious to her, and provide an immediate direction: help everyone survive. ]

Comments

[officerzeppelin]

[The radio he hadn't been able to get to do anything suddenly chirps to life beside him. Dean is so surprised at the voice in the relative quiet, he drops the knife he's been sharpening, very narrowly missing his own foot. He recovers quickly enough, though, and grabs the radio.]

Hello? Catherine, this is Dean Winchester. Are you here in the mall?

[kiseijuu]

[ It would be Shinichi Izumi who would manage to establish what may be considered a boring routine even in the mall from Hell -- but it's a comfort to him. Anything mundane is welcomed, even sought out. Doing regular rounds of the various shops has become part of that routine, and it has its purpose, too. Migi is constantly checking to see if anything has changed, to keep tabs on supplies and the whereabouts of the other mall residents.

Even now Shinichi is found with the familiar notepad in hand, letting his counterpart jot down at will, the quick scritches of pen against paper the only sound in the quiet area. He's taken to moving stealthily these days, adopting a much less clumsy walk than used on his first days here. No more running around panicking, either. Now he slips behind things and hesitates before moving forwards, and steps lightly -- which means he can accidentally sneak up on people even when he didn't mean to.

Indeed, when he hears the voice, it's definitely close enough to take him by surprise. He pauses, at first thinking it's directed at him, when he tilts his head around a corner and catches the woman who is speaking, into one of the radios. His own was left behind at his "campsite" this time, to free his hands for any potential supplies he may encounter.

Shinichi knows Catherine by association; he's made it a point to introduce himself to nearly everyone else in the mall by this point, not only because he's a painfully polite young man by nature, but also for the fact Migi wants to consistently take notes on everyone here, even just on people's surface behaviours. She's seemed quite pleasant to him, amiable, but there's something distinctly off about her. It could be dismissed as awkwardness -- and Awkwardness is his figurative middle name, so he gets that -- but after encountering a variety of oddities around this place, he supposes he is a little wary.

It doesn't stop him from still being polite. Even if the politeness comes after lingering long enough to eavesdrop on what she just said, process it a little, and then act. When did he start doing that? ]

Ms. Chun! [ His greeting is bright, left hand lifting in a wave. ]

I was just looking around and heard you over here. You're trying to make something that can help?

[theseuschip]

[ It’s not the worst next place, not that it’s a high bar when you didn’t expect a “next place” from PATHOS-II. Even the cold, automated voice they were greeted with when they were dropped in here is more communicative than the WAU, although telling Simon that his goal is to “survive” is pretty redundant and unhelpful by this point.

Anyway, this is the most relieved Simon has ever been to hear from Catherine. And not only is this moment up against some incredibly stiff competition, it also occurs shortly after he’s inadvertently passed out in one of the massage chairs.

It results in the radio flying across the floor when he jerks up into awareness, where it probably hits the button once or twice and transmits half of Catherine’s name in the ensuing kerfuffle before he’s secured it.

And even then, Simon waits until the end of her surreally casual message, where she identifies herself, to respond, clutching the radio in both hands like the lifeline that it is. Now that it works. How did Catherine get the century-old walkie-talkie to work before century-old Simon did? That’s just how life works. ]

Cath- Catherine, can you hear me?

[avengeme]

Bleeding. Lots of it. We didn't last more than two minutes.

[cheffeur]

This is Ignis Scientia. I've not ventured out myself, but I've witnessed others. [He just... won't call Noct out by name because wow what a dick move that would be.]

It seems the majority of those who wander out are rendered apart by something lurking out there. The one person I saw manage to return was physically uninjured, but was quite disturbed by the event. I'm not certain if the mist has any sort of mind-altering properties that would play into that, but I wouldn't rule it out.

You say you're making something?