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

[unofficial_ambassador]

The sudden movement startles Inara into taking a step back as well. This is the most emotion she's seen from him so far, and it had seemingly come out of nowhere.

"Of course, you're right, " she says, her voice as carefully neutral as if she's talking to a spooked horse. She glances around for help but Soap is already inside. "My teammate. Forgive me."

[worthallthis]

It looks for a moment like Soldat might just bolt back inside-- they're sorely tempted to-- but they've already fucked up this new-person-guide thing enough. So instead, they just disengage for a minute, shutting their eyes, breathing carefully, imagining their way through a few steps of folding piece of paper a crane.

When they're calm enough, they say, "Sorry. That. There were some not-great people who used to call themselves my handlers. Makes me think of shitty things, now. Things that I'm never gonna do to anybody."

[unofficial_ambassador]

"You didn't do anything wrong, " Inara says, still careful but a little more secure. He doesn't seem like he's about to lose control in a way that might harm himself or anyone else. The comparison to River seems more apt than she'd realized. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I wasn't trying to hurt you."

[worthallthis]

They shake their head firmly, feeling particularly stupid in that moment. Of course she wasn't. She didn't, even, just-- scared them for a second. "You didn't know. It's fine. Nothing to apologize for."

[unofficial_ambassador]

She can't even say 'I know you won't hurt me' because she mostly knows how this game works now and once they're on opposing teams she's positive that he will. It's a strange feeling, to trust someone and know that at the same time.

"I am sorry, " she says anyway, thinking about River again, cowering and shaking under Inara’s bed because a logo on a soup can had thrown her into a flashback. "But you must be tired, I won't keep you any longer."

[worthallthis]

Someday she's going to have to tell them about River. (Or not. Hearing about another kid who got tortured to make them a government asset might just be depressing.)

"It's fine," they say again, feeling every bit as tired as she probably thinks they do. People didn't used to be this exhausting, did they? (We're out of practice, maybe? Can you practice this sort of thing? Why not?) A point, they suppose. For now, they're going to take the graceful exit. "Go watch Soap. He'll show you how to look after Aethon. Get a room from North. We'll talk again later, promise."