Big City Living (Midpoint Mingle)

[midpointmods]

The town of Midpoint: called thus because it is at the exact center of the game arena, a busy little Western town full of strange people, many of whom don’t look remotely human, because this is where all the players gather and live. Midpoint Saloon: called thus because it is the only bar in Midpoint. It’s also the biggest building in town, four stories high, dotted with windows, painted a jaunty yellow and decorated with red and green flowers in all the window boxes.

This is where your veteran teammate points you. Or just stomps off to and hopes you follow.

Downstairs is a bar and tavern, Old West style, right down to the upright piano in one corner and a raucous crowd of locals - largely locals, but with a healthy smattering of unusual or downright alien faces that clearly indicate the presence of other Players - eating, drinking, gambling, and getting into trouble. There’s a broad, bearded man behind the bar, waving cheerfully at you as you enter.

The rest of the night and the next day is yours to do with what you see fit. Explore the town, take a long nap in your new room, try to get to know people... everyone is here for the next twenty-four hours before travel to the mission site, so it’s a good chance to scope out the competition, at the very least.

Comments

II. Stables

[unofficial_ambassador]

"I was thinking of naming him Aethon since he wants to eat everything." True to form the horse already has the end of her braid in his mouth again, chewing placidly while Inara tries to work. "He’ll chew your hands too if you don't watch him."

[shadowsran]

Wonderful. Endearing. Brilliant horse.

"'M afraid I'm not familiar with the meaning, but I love the sound of it. Very dignified." Her appreciation is sincere enough she's only wryly amused at the contrast of that classy sounding name on something actively trying to eat hair. "Are the hands in a meaner way, or just likes to chew?"

[unofficial_ambassador]

"Oh no, he's very gentle. He just seems to have a constant need to be chewing on something." It doesn't even seem to be hunger as much as that he needs something to occupy himself. Though he hadn't made many horse-friends trying to chew on the other horses’ tails on the way here.

"I'm Inara, by the way." Probably also an excessive name for a woman with a horse chewing on her hair.

[shadowsran]

"Mine can't go without fidgeting, so they'll be good neighbors for each other." Or terrible neighbors, but she's a glass half full type. "Also love the sound of that! Misty, as pleased to meet you as I can be considering the...circumstances. Hopefully you woke up to someone a little softer spoken than Rocket?"

[unofficial_ambassador]

"Misty." Inara inclines her head politely even though it tugs on her braid a bit. "I'd shake your hand, but -" She did just say a horse had been chewing on it.

"I don't think I've met Rocket yet, so I couldn't say." Soldat probably is the softest spoken by default, but he had seemed so painfully private that she's reluctant to say anything about him. "Is that another robot?"

[shadowsran]

It's a fine enough excuse, if Misty's laugh is anything to go by.

"Talking raccoon, big on firearms, he's got a very...commanding presence," she replies, clearly taking a moment to ensure her phrasing isn't short of courteous. "Abrasive, but not so bad. Hangs around a talking tree, real tall, absolute sweetheart, you'll love him." As any citizen of taste would. "Taking it you've met some robots already?"

[unofficial_ambassador]

Those are definitely people that Inara hasn't seen yet. Once again she's grateful that this isn't her first time around people from other universes. The day she'd awoken in the pod on Salvation a blue-skinned humanoid had terrified her, and that's nothing compared to what Misty is describing.

"Just one. He's very... large and polite. Too big for his horse."

[shadowsran]

Misty's had only one such bout of exposure, but it's stuck enough. Of the two she would even argue Midpoint is better; nobody she's met thus far has put her at significant unease. Not much by way of comfort, but settling for the absence of fear or imminent risk is thoroughly trod ground.

"Knew someone kind of like that. Novelty never really wore off for me." Which is not quite code for she's quite excited to see this individual. "That mean he's stuck walking, or is someone out there riding a bison or something?"

[unofficial_ambassador]

"He was provided with a horse - also very large - but when I saw him he was leading it around by the reins." Time will tell whether either Daylight or his horse manage to work up the courage to try getting in the saddle.

[shadowsran]

What she wouldn't give for a giant horse.

"Hopefully he'll be easy on it, then." Poor things put up with so much already. "Show up in the same jail as you, or just spot him in passing?" As he clearly hasn't made it yet - not unless there's some impressively large and well hidden stall she isn't aware of.

[unofficial_ambassador]

"I'm not certain that's something I should be revealing, " Inara says, unaware that Misty is friends with the man who let her out and will probably know her team composition soon anyway, if she doesn't already. On the other hand, Inara has already inadvertently revealed that she's not on Rocket’s team, which narrows things down a bit. "But yes, I did arrive with him. He barely even fit in the cell, poor thing."

[shadowsran]

"In the cell?" This is clearly more than she'd initially pictured. "Christ, whatever horse they gave him could probably misstep and kill somebody."

Hardly the worst that's happened, she would guess, but unpleasant. Hopefully unentertaining.

"Have to see if he'll manage in the saloon, now."

[unofficial_ambassador]

"Very large," Inara confirms. "I haven't seen many draft horses before, so they surprised me." Most of the horses she's been around had been pretty baubles for travelling ladies.

[shadowsran]

"From more of an urban area, back home?" There may be some bracing for a sympathetic wince; this could be a harrowing transition for someone more accustomed to...decent living, really, but especially anything metropolitan.

[unofficial_ambassador]

"Mm. Lu’Weng, where I was born... There's a local legend that it's a dragon that came down to sleep, so you can imagine how large and bright it was." An 'ocean of light', she had called it once. Even after everything she still misses it. "I've been travelling to some more rustic places recently. The last one actually had a sort of large lizard that filled the same niche."

[shadowsran]

"Can't say I've heard of it, but anyplace with dragons or large lizards is probably a sight worth seeing. Most exciting I had back home was alligators, hardly stands up to dragons." It could very well be local legend, but she hadn't had that much either. Considering the current crop of players, it's not a stretch of the imagination. "Traveling for pleasure, or business?"

[unofficial_ambassador]

She had mostly been travelling to try and find a place where she could die by herself, like a stray cat in an alleyway, but that's not really a discussion for polite company and she's fine now besides.

"I'd always dreamed of exploring the universe, and I was lucky enough to be granted permission to work at a distance. So both, I suppose. The last time before this was a bit more of a fluke. I fell through a rift of sorts, and then the ship that rescued me crashed into a planet. It was a nice enough place, more amenities than this, but sometimes you could be late for meetings because a T-Rex migration got thrown off course and wound up blocking a major thoroughfare." Yes, that kind of large lizard.

"I can't imagine living near alligators, though. Where are you from?"

[shadowsran]

Her eyes widen almost comically. Something almost giddy skirts beneath it, this is clearly a pleasant kind of surprise. Clearly a more worldly sort, this woman.

"Louisiana. Down in the swamps, not by anything anybody'd have heard of. Alligators around ain't much to write home about - probably not anybody's friend if they've got free-roaming livestock or something, but other than that it can't be much different than having...I don't know, bears in the area?" There is, of course, bias. "They're fascinating to watch, really. Underrated. Loads smarter than people give them credit for, and not much for bothering you unless you're where you shouldn't be."

Which she often was, but. Latent magic has perks.

[unofficial_ambassador]

Inara can't help but laugh a bit at that expression. She’s been living in Poseidon for over a year now and sometimes it's easy to forget that there was a time where being invited to Thor the god of thunder’s dinosaur burger grilling party had seemed unbelievable.

"Louisiana -" the way she says it makes it clear that it's not a name with which she’s familiar - "isn't a place I've heard of, I'm sorry to say. Isn't it humid, living around a swamp?" Terraforming means that she doesn't have much experience with the kind of biomes that rich people don't like.

[shadowsran]

It's good natured, Misty trusts, and takes no offense.

"Incredibly. Not for everyone! But I had my whole life to be accustomed, and it really does grow on you after awhile. Air's richer, everything's lush, so much more to it than muck." Not that she doesn't have a fine appreciation of muck as well; it's proven to be an invaluable tool on more than one occasion. "Louisiana's a state, southern United States. There might be a map in the library? I've never looked for one, but I'd be surprised otherwise."

[unofficial_ambassador]

"Ah, " Inara says. She should have guessed. "Earth. Of course." She still isn't certain that she believes in the ice continent, despite Christine's assurances, but the planet had clearly hosted many different environments at one time.

[shadowsran]

"Not Earth in your case, then-?" The real question asks itself; in the meantime Misty merely cocks her head.

[unofficial_ambassador]

"Earth in a general sense, I suppose. It's where my ancestors were from but they left it behind long enough ago that all that remains are myths and the Cultural Preservation Enclaves."

Inara generally tries to be delicate about it; it turns out that people don't take well to the implication that their home planet winds up destroyed eventually.

[shadowsran]

"You are far far future, then, wow. We're not even on Mars yet, last I heard." Fortunately, Misty's got quite a bit else to be preoccupied with. The issue will cross her mind during later contemplation of the day's chats, but in the moment it's more of a bizarre misstep in a choose your own adventure book. "Kudos to you and yours, I guess. That's some accomplishment."

[unofficial_ambassador]

"We’ve built something beautiful out there, but all the same I think I'm happy to have left it behind." It's not that things on her new homeworld aren't complicated, but it's the sort of complication that she's willing to accept. "I admit I might be missing it a bit now, though."