The Ocean's Gray Waves (Gisele)

Trips to the slums were always special, in Heather's opinion. It was always nice seeing what had changed visit to visit...usually it was people. There were either more, or less, it seemed. It wasn't that she was eager to find out people had died, or gotten off at the last stop, but it was...interesting...to see who WOULD vanish between trips. With the festival growing closer, it was about time for her visit. She gave a puff, removing her cigarette from her lips, as her eyes dully looked over her surroundings. Hmm...not very many people seemed to really be around at that point in time. She leaned against a wall, after a moment. Jeez, it was filthy down here...though, it wasn't a major problem for Heather herself.

She was used to dirty places, after the...gift she had provided for her planet. Two years in a Anarchy driven city made her take whatever she could get.

The Slums were in their usual state to the surprise of no one. Rundown buildings and ruins stretched endlessly off into the horizon, the streets were cluttered with junk from every time period (un)imaginable, and the scent of death and yesterday's trash permeated the air with a foul stench that proved nigh inescapable for people who struggled to navigate the makeshift maze that was the Lower Ward. Gisèle couldn't say that this home of hers was pleasant necessarily, but it was certainly familiar and she couldn't quite see herself living anywhere else. After all, she was here to answer these people's calls for justice, so it only made sense she'd walk among them instead of taking up residence in some cushy house in the Middle Ward. Truth be told, the place didn't bother her that much anyway; she had already seen enough in her "life" to confidently laugh off whatever this joke of a city threw at her.

Sitting atop the crumbled remains of a rooftop and humming to herself as she idled away some time, Gisèle would look down and notice someone else who had arrived in the area. Her eyes would study the girl closely with curiosity, although the Azure Knight was unphased by the inhuman appearance of the creature, instead focusing on her clothes in an attempt at discerning the stranger's social class. She didn't appear to be wearing anything particularly gaudy at first glance, so chances were that she hadn't stumbled in from the Top Ward, although it'd be foolish to assume that appearances didn't lie. Regardless, she was much more eye-catching to the Scourge of Kings than rusted bricks and abandoned streets, so that was enough excuse for her to engage the girl in conversation. Smiling with an almost eery calmness and waving down at Heather from above, Gisèle would casually call out for her attention in the hopes of alleviating boredom. Who knew? Maybe if she played her cards right she'd be able to rip some information out of this passerby while she was at it.

Heather would stop in her tracks, and turn to look at the person who called out to her. She was then thoroughly unimpressed, not that she would let it show. "Hello to you." She waived, deciding to ignore that she was once again called an Alligator. Honestly, she had nothing in common with that stranger species. She grinned wide. Well, she was fairly certain that she had never seen THIS person before. So that was interesting. The Slums was full of some...less boring than usual...people, too, though it was rare Heather would stop to talk to any of them, ever. Still, this one had called her out, and unless she felt like it was turning into a mugging, Heather would play along at being nice. "How are you doing? Nice day huh?...well, I guess it's kinda hard to tell in here, but like, all things considered, you know? Could always be worse! Like, the place could be on fire, or something!" She giggled a little, in her convincing way. Honestly, she was a master of playing people...though some people were more observant than others. Those ones tended to end up in aquatic ditches, and thankfully no-one on Junction had seen through her yet. Murder in this place would be far harder to pull off...for someone without illusion powers. "So what'cha need, stranger? Directions? Exposition? I mean I guess that's kinda what the robo-guide is for, and all, but..."

Responding to a question with a question? Weird considering it was something so innocuous, but the casual nature of it meant that it didn't matter much anyway, so if the girl didn't want to elaborate for whatever reason then Gisèle would take the hint and move on. "Yeah sure, I get you. I've had worse, so I guess today's pretty alright relatively speaking." She wasn't a half-full kind of girl, but that didn't mean there wasn't any truth in the assessment (even if it was a boring one). Her first few weeks in Junction nevertheless left much to be desired. Perhaps it was her own fault for spending them the way she did, but it was admittedly somewhat difficult soaking in all the information about a city so massive and foreign. She'd managed though and if all went according to plan she'd continue to do so.


She was eager to rush things along, wasn't she? Or at least that was the vibe Gisèle was getting. Either way, she'd watch her and await a response.

"Nope, nothin' wrong with just chatting sometimes! I just don't usually get so lucky around here! People think I'm one of those goths who are always just like 'ugh whatever' to everything, but really, I just like these clothes! They're just SO my color!" Heather decided. Black really complimented her skin color, she thought. And her teeth color, but that was more because of smoking than anything natural. "And can I just say, I LOVE your hair color! That shade is blue is totes sweet!" Heather grinned. "And I have seen a LOT of blue haired people in this place! Been here a while, y'know? It's like a...vacation that never ends."

Had she noticed her eyeing the clothes or was this just a random topic? Whatever the case, there was no harm in humoring it. Gisèle would nod her head promptly in agreement with Heather's sentiments about the color black, although she seemed slightly less enthusiastic to talk about her own fashion choices and would respond to the barrage of compliments and chatter with a halfhearted shrug. "Well you're right that it suits me at least. Glad to hear you like it." In spite of her lethargic attitude to the topic of conversation though, she'd pick up on the woman's comment about how common a color it was and make a mental note of it. It wasn't like she hadn't seen what Heather was talking about with her own two eyes, but it was nice to have someone else confirm it wasn't just some kind of coincidence. While she was far from used to the advanced technology that places like this ran on, she had to acknowledge that in some ways it made her job easier... though it had complications of its own to offer too of course.

"Believe it or not, I'm actually new around these parts. I'm Gisèle." She'd introduce her before proceeding to segway into a more relevant discussion. "If you've been here that long does that mean you know about that 'Festival of the Jump' or whatever it's called? It seems like nobody'll shut up about it. I have to admit, I'm curious: is it really that important?" Of course, she already knew about the fundamental facts, but it never hurt to see if there was anything she was missing knowledge of.

"Not that I know of! I think this is actually the first one!" Heather remarked, smoothing out her dress, with a hum. "I think I'd remember such a thing being talked about! Since I don't..." She gave a thoughtful sound. "Newbie here huh? You from this planet we're on? The sand is nice, but the red sun is a bit much! Still, I can appreciate being new here! It's big and confusing in Junction...the people more-so. I've seen some tall guys up in this place, y'know?" Heather tilted her head. Ugh. Newbies. She hated newbies.

"Anything else you'd like to ask about?"

"Wowie! I guess it actually is relevant then. What a momentous occasion. You must be excited." Yeah, sure, the first one her ass. Gisèle studied the woman with a crooked smile only obscured by a mask of false naivete. She wasn't sure what this person's game was. They didn't seem to stand to gain anything by lying, did they? Did they derive some sort of amusement from tricking newcomers? Hopping down from the ledge, the Azure Knight began to pace around the Tearinjaw with her hands resting folded behind her back. "Yep you got me. And yeah, I totally feel you on the red sun. I couldn't stand it! That's why I'm here now." Even if she had been speaking to an honest and actually helpful person, there was no chance in hell (pun intended) that she was gonna blab about her identity so flippantly. Not while she was in her current state.

The reality was that Heather just never cared about the previous festivals. People didn't interest her unless they had something to offer, or were running in panic. And as it stood, she doubted very much that she'd find either of those things at the festival. She wasn't an idiot, she could tell the sarcasm was just driiiiipping off of this girl's voice. "Well, duh! It should be totes obvi." If there had been previous festivals, she didn't remember, but she wasn't going to do something like start yelling Bah-Jumpbug. It wasn't even worth the effort it took to shit-talk it.

"Oh, wow, do NOT even get me started on those fashion NIGHTMARES!" Heather huffed. God she hated those things. Not only were they the ugliest shoes she had ever seen, they gave people excuses to make dumb jokes at her expense. As it stood, she couldn't even murder the people who dared. But That would come in time. Once she figured out EVERYTHING about Junction, she could decide where to begin for tearing it down. "Seriously, they are like, the absolute worst! And, like, apparently the Earth Worlds have these things that look like me called Croc-somethings? Ugh."



Ugh.

Truth be told, Gisèle actually had no idea what crocs looked like. She knew of their existence, but she hadn't actually ever seen a pair; she had just exploited the opportunity to make a dumb joke. Nevertheless, she'd play the role of the sycophant and give a look of sympathy as she listened to the woman's words. "It must be difficult. I'm guessing they never had them in your old world? Although that makes me wonder, what is your species called anyway?" At this point she was just spitballing, but maybe she could get back to the actual inquiries soon... assuming they had any intention of answering them that was. If not, oh well.

"Murkloch never had the ugly things, no." Heather shook her head. "Tearinjaw. That's what we're called. There were a few different species back there, but...it was mostly us. And that was for the best! Cuz us Tearinjaws are the best of the best! We're like, super awesome." Heather chirped. She honestly had never seen a decent outfit that included Crocs. It was nearly enough to make her fly into a rage whenever they were mentioned.

Murkloch huh? Maybe she could squeeze a few details out about the world. If it was in need of someone like her than there was no harm in keeping it in mind. "I've never really gone to any other worlds unless you count this city. What's Murkloch like? Do you guys have some kind of aristocracy or...?" Her voice trailed off and she'd leave it up to Heather to divulge what she wanted. It wasn't particularly relevant to her current situation though, so she didn't plan on lingering on the topic for long. "Unrelated but I should probably ask: who is it that calls the shots around here? Not like, the Slums specifically, just Junction as a whole. Is it those Toha Heavy guys? What do you think of them?" She'd rest her hands casually in her pockets and lean against the crummy wall while staring idly down at her nails.

Heather shrugged. "Well, most of the planet was just a huge swamp, full of lowlife murderers, thieves, and cannibals. What was left was a city full of assholes! I lived there. buuuut then the city's defenses went down, and 80% of those assholes like, died in really funny ways. What was left kinda just ended up like the rest of the planet! And then Junction showed up!" Heather mused. "As for who runs this place...I'd say Towa! But only because I haven't seen anything to say otherwise."

Gisèle's eyebrow would raise at the casual tone Heather used while describing the slaughter of her homeworld. The honesty was odd, to say the least, but it was refreshing too in its own way. And safe in the knowledge that they were the only two there, she'd waste no effort holding back the wry grin that started to form her face. "Oh really? That's terrible! Could you imagine something like that happening in the Skies?" Her words overflowed with blatant sarcasm thanks to the smirk stretched across her lips, although on their own they might have sounded like a genuine cry of mourning.

As for the information about Toha, it seemed this Tearinjaw didn't have anything worthwhile to say, or at least not anything she cared to share. She had been hoping for some kind of tirade a la the one against crocs, but you win some and you lose some. Gisèle figured she could ask that CWIS if necessary even though it was far from preferable. Whatever the case, she didn't see much of a point dawdling around the area any longer.

"Well it was a nice chat. Before I run off though, I don't believe I caught a name?" After awaiting a response the Azure Knight would abandon the area and head out of the vicinity.