The Deadland

[ The second she saw the TV turn on, she knew it was time. It was obvious to her: something odd like that... must be what that Oliver guy was talking about. Even so, that hour seemed to pass too quickly. Cornelia had been out with her hunting knife going after the smaller, injured and secluded monsters. They were still a struggle to bring down, but she managed to kill three of them and so she was able to collect three bottles of energy.

After a brief rest, she flicks on the radio. ]

Mercy Apartments: we're all well aware everyone needs at least one bottle a day. We have just over 15 people. In addition to this, we need food. Water. We're doing well with that, at the very least.

But Energy is a much more pressing issue. Anyone with Energy, hand it over to me. I'll distribute it among us and make sure it isn't wasted. It's best to regulate something like this. [ What she doesn't say is that preference will be given to those who aren't dead weight. ]

We need more guards for the doors. Let me know if you'd like to take a few shifts.

And unless you've proven you can handle yourself, don't think you're going out to forage alone. Go in pairs. The last thing we need is for any weapons and ammo to be lost along with an arrogant imbecile.

Cornelia li Britannia, out.

[ Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep. If you need her, you can find her pouring over legal documents in the Superintendent's office. ]

That morning, Lightning and Golbez were standing guard outside the front doors to the Mercy Street Apartments, making sure nothing dangerous tried to get in. No monsters would be getting past them.

Visitors might also have a hard time of it. But as long as you don't mean any harm, you'll be let through. Probably.

[radio]
[ if the child handed it to her, it's got to be useful, right? So after a few minutes of fleeing to find somewhere safe, she examines it and - a little doubtfully - presses the button. ]

H-hello? This is Lillet Blan, a student of the Silver Star. Oh, but that might not mean anything... um, I'm a magician, but without crystals I can't-- Oh n- [ aaand it cuts off as she has to relocate ]

What am I meant to do with a Laboratory, out here?

[action]
[ at any point in this weird broadcast, you can come across Lillet running from building to building, trying to find a safe place to draw a Laboratory Rune from the overly large tome she's cradling. And failing. ]

Hello? [A man's voice, and although it is likely that none of you would recognize it belonging to the American Senator, she takes it on as a cover. It's pitch perfect, though as she reclines in a chair she doesn't bother taking on his physical appearance. This is just about gathering information.

Clearing her throat, like he would.] I'm looking for more information on this place, bewildering as it is. I'm Senator Robert Kelly, and last I knew I was in America. I'm interested in knowing who else awoke in this area same as I, and where it is you hail from.

... I don't know how they expect us to use these bloody radios, but there's no cell reception.

[Muttering, mostly away from the radio:] What a dump.

This is Kelly, Over.

[Voice // Open]
There's some things in our apartment I don't think we're going to need, but just getting rid of them when someone else might find them useful... Well, that sounds like a bad idea.

So-- does anyone want to trade, or pool our excess resources? Things we don't need right now might be useful in the future, or to anyone else that shows up here.

[Action // Mercy Street Apartments]
[After making his audio post, Souji can most easily be found in the hallway in front of rooms 202 and 203, moving back and forth between the two, often times while carrying stuff. He'll periodically slip downstairs and through the rest of the second floor and will be at it for the rest of the afternoon.]

The town square is silent.

Cornelia paces, waiting for people to show up. She thumbs the hunting knife she'd picked up from a house near where she had woken up. Should any troublemakers appear, she was prepared-- unless, of course, they appeared with a gun. The city was too big to explore alone; too dangerous to wander the streets aimlessly. So that's why she doesn't have one herself. The only reason she didn't go to pick anyone up so they didn't have to traverse alone was because that would be setting herself up for an ambush. For a similar reason she waits off to the side of the square, concealed behind a food vendor, rather than sitting in the middle.

Trusting these people could be her downfall-- so she won't trust until they've proved themselves. But they're largely children. And she thinks of her late sister because of that. Euphie wouldn't want these people to go around alone in a place where any danger could be lurking. So that's her primary motivation in doing this. It's a mixture of that and the wholehearted desire to go home, to find the answers of this place. Cornelia knows returning home could be impossible with or without help, but she isn't about to give up on that hope. So she seeks help, because her chances are higher that way.

She scans the surrounding areas, alert. If that false Zero were to appear before her, she thinks, child or not-- she would destroy him. Anger swells once again, a sort of madness and hysteria that she finds unbecoming in other people. Cornelia breathes.

[ ooc: Mingling post! Starter in prose, please don't hesitate to switch to action. Cornelia isn't going to be coming out of the shadows until there are a few people there/ someone she knows appears, so please interact among yourselves!

Speaking at the Square
At the Apartments ]

[ After waiting a moment to make sure no one else is going to chime in and interrupt her, Cornelia takes a step forward and holds down the button of her small radio. ]

That's enough fooling around.

[ It seems as though most of them have only just arrived. But listening in on the radio has told her enough: she's stuck here with a bunch of lost children. There are a few adults, and not everyone has spoken up obviously... but an organizer. They need someone to efficiently manage them and direct their efforts towards returning home. ]

My name is Cornelia li Britannia of the Holy Britannian Empire; Chief General of the Imperial Army and Viceroy of Area Eleven. If you would like to survive with ease in this barren place and efficiently find a way home, you'll follow my orders and my command. If you would like to forage like a rat in the filth, go straight ahead.

We're meeting in town square. If you don't know where that is, there should be a map inside a building near your current location. It's along main street; connects with Beck, Baker, Indigo, Parkview and Hawk.

The majority of you are children, so I'll say this much: being brave and alone in a place where virtually any threat could exist is stupidity. Remember it.

[ Beeeep goes the radio before static. ]

[[ ooc; I'll be putting up a log for the town square meeting tomorrow morning, assuming characters are interested. ]]