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Post by Justitia on Jun 20, 2016 7:55:41 GMT
 Cities were a new thing for her.
The first time she had encountered one was when she had to board an airplane--- flying vehicles, she were told, that allowed one to traverse long distances, crossing oceans and plains by passing through the skies. That experience was definitely memorable, but it was an experience of flying and of airports and the way towards them--- not as much as an experience of a city.
Her cursed eyes were uncovered, but from how they did not exactly look at the same direction people do when they walk, one could divine that she was blind. Still, already, she could hear many things--- myriad sounds of people and vehicles--- even the idea that they were not pulled by animals was still rather novel to her--- going their various ways, the tinkling of chimes in certain shops and the opening of doors and windows and a lot more sounds that she had yet to ascertain the nature of. It was so different from her hometown, which was relatively quieter, even when it was market day; so different from the forests and plains she explored in her childhood, in her training. She found herself wondering, idly, how all this looked like, what colors were there to the shapes she could make with her echolocation.
The person that was leading her... she was called Valkyrie, much like she was called Justitia--- she had heard her name was Thalia. Apparently she was... a fellow defender of the oppressed--- she still wasn't quite sure how she felt of the epithet 'superhero'. Being a hero was already enough work, she surmised. She was... assigned to her, to familiarize herself with the city--- well, perhaps not the entirety of it; even with her senses it would take a while to map such a large area... it was yet another stark difference from her previous experiences. Still, she kept her composure, following the more experienced hero as she walked. They had only managed to make some distance from the entrance of the Initiative Compound.
"Miss Thalia." she enunciated, voice even, softly and just the right amount to be audible. "Where shall we go first?"
VALKYRIE
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Post by VALKYRIE on Jun 21, 2016 4:51:12 GMT
 Something about Thalia must scream "tour guide", although she hasn't the faintest idea what it is. But this isn't even the first time she's been asked to take an Initiative recruit new to the modern world on a waltz around town, and she's willing to bet her not inconsiderable salary for the month that it won't be the last time, either.
Thalia slows down and looks at Julia as the other woman speaks. She makes eye contact, even though it's probably pointless. It's just habit and she feels weird staring at like, her neck or something while she talks to her. Or worse, looking somewhere else entirely. It feels rude beyond belief.
"Is there anything you're curious about first?" Does she even know what to be curious about, or is this world just out there to her, vast and incomprehensible?
Thalia's stomach rumbles.
"...Have you had lunch?"
Justitia
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Post by Justitia on Jun 21, 2016 9:54:51 GMT
Her inquiry brings about slight shifts in the body of her guide, as she turns around to address her.
"Curious...?" Well, she was curious about Miss Thalia, what she is like, what she can do--- there was a certain uneasiness in the way she handled herself, but perhaps that just might be her imagination; time will tell if what she could hear and smell and feel from her are simply habits or symptoms of something more.
She was curious too of the city--- what sort of material were the roads made of, the houses, what sort of things did the shops sell, what sort of things the people did to pass the time, and what they did to earn their keep--- well, you could say that she couldn't quite answer that question because she didn't know the parts of the city well enough, or... "...I think it would be easier to say what I am not curious about." she said, a trace of passing mirth in her words as a wan smile graced her face for a moment.
...ah, and then her stomach rumbled. Maybe that was the uneasiness she sensed. The wan smile crept back.
"I have not, yet, Miss Thalia." She tilted her head a little. "Shall we look for a place to eat, then?" She had heard they had shops like that, where you can enter and purchase a meal and sit down--- she'd only ever eaten in her own house before. This might just be... interesting. Oh, who was she kidding. Kingsport, to her, was interesting as a whole.
VALKYRIE |
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Post by VALKYRIE on Jun 23, 2016 8:20:31 GMT
"You can just call me Thalia," she says weakly, with the resigned air of someone who knows they no longer have control over what people call them. At least it isn't "that pink-haired bitch", which sadly enough she's actually gotten before.
"A place to eat sounds good," she agrees. "Is there any kind of cuisine you like in particular?"
It occurs to her a moment too late that someone raised in an isolated village probably doesn't have any experience with various global cuisines. Maybe Thalia should just show her the beauty of a good old fashioned McDouble.
Justitia
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Jun 26, 2016 10:27:24 GMT
Post by Justitia on Jun 26, 2016 10:27:24 GMT
"Would that be all right?" she asked as Thalia told her to just call her by her name, with a resigned tone--- did she not usually have the choice of what people would call her? That was rather strange. Why was that so, and would the same be true for her one day?
"We are but acquaintances, yet, Mi-- I mean, Thalia." she shakily corrected. At the very least, if she really was called whatever by various persons, then she would address her as she wished to be addressed. Still, calling someone by just their first name was a rather new thing to her. Then again, there were so many things that were new to her that she supposed she needed to get used to new things, however strange and difficult that may sound.
"Cuisine?" she voices the word as a question--- Thalia's hindsight was right on the mark: Julia had no idea what the word meant.
VALKYRIE |
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Jun 26, 2016 12:35:02 GMT
Post by VALKYRIE on Jun 26, 2016 12:35:02 GMT
Thalia shrugs, then feels guilty about it. "Things aren't so formal here," she says. "You can call someone you just met by their first name, if you'd like. If they want otherwise, they'll generally tell you. We're going to be working together, after all, as--" Weapons. Soldiers. "--colleagues, so it makes sense for you to just call me Thalia."
Ugh, she was right. She hates being right.
"Cuisine is like..." She trails off, fumbling for the words. "Different countries and cultures all have different ways of making food. I really like Thai, for example."
Justitia
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Post by Justitia on Jun 28, 2016 3:41:51 GMT
She nods as Thalia explains; apparently the people of Kingsport, or perhaps that included America as a whole, were... a lot less formal than what she was used to. She'll probably still call people by mister, or miss, or by whatever title they went by, but at least, for Thalia, she would acquiesce.
Colleagues... right. I'm not... going to be alone... in helping people.
She waited as Thalia gave an answer to her other question. She nodded, yet again; she wondered if the food they had back in their village was considered Italian cuisine... probably not. It didn't smell the same as the food she'd detected when on the way to the airport...
"Shall we have this... Thai cuisine, then?" |
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Post by VALKYRIE on Jul 1, 2016 5:16:56 GMT
"Sounds like a plan," Thalia says. There's a good place, imaginatively named Thai Fresh, just a few blocks over. She gets them all the way there (trusting Julia to follow her, because it seems insulting to offer her a hand, no matter that her instincts are screaming that she shouldn't just let the blind girl walk around unaided), to the point where they're sitting down for their food to arrive, before she has her second moment of 20/20 hindsight.
"...how spicy is your food, usually?" she asks with a sinking heart.
Justitia
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Post by Justitia on Jul 3, 2016 6:48:30 GMT
She followed Thalia easily through the sidewalks, but beyond the glazed look on her eyes one would never suspect she was blind, with the ease she navigated and the elegance with which she moved.
(There was that uncertainty with Thalia again. Did she do something wrong?)
They entered the establishment, and already Julia's nose and mouth were assaulted by various delicious scents and flavors, some of which she had never smelled or tasted before. Spices... ah, Thalia was asking something about that, too, as they were seated and waiting.
"Not very much." she replied honestly. She sniffed the air. "I think I might be able to handle it, though--- Thai cuisine is spicy, right, Thalia?" she deduced, though it was rather obvious from her observations and Thalia's reaction.
She had heard what Thalia ordered, and could feel the writing from the menu with her fingers, but she didn't really know what the dishes were supposed to be beyond those uttered names. Still, what she could smell from here seemed promising.
VALKYRIE |
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Post by VALKYRIE on Jul 4, 2016 7:16:09 GMT
"Yeah, for the most part," she says quietly, staring at her glass of water. She ordered three entrees and two appetizers. An active duty diet is hard to maintain, and when the waitress brings over her spring rolls and fried tofu, she pushes the plates into the middle of the table. "Have whatever you want. These shouldn't be too bad."
Thalia chews on a spring roll for a moment, swallows, and tries to think of conversation. She's not good at this. She doesn't know why they keep choosing her for this role, except that she's famous and brightly-colored.
"Why'd you come to the Initiative?" she asks, mostly because she is truly curious about why other people become heroes.
Justitia
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Post by Justitia on Jul 8, 2016 5:12:05 GMT
Mimicking her host, she takes a spring roll for herself. She feels it between her fingers and sniffs it--- the texture of the wrapper, the vegetables within, the dip. This only takes a while, and only one looking closely would pick it up. Then, she takes a bite.
It was... a new taste. There were components that she were familiar it, but there were others she were unsure of. She wonders if she could ask what came into each dish. "So this is the spring roll... and that is the tofu." she infers.
"Why I came... well... my predecessor advised me to." she says, simply. "She had met with the people of the Initiative then... and advised me to contact them when I succeeded her."
She tried the tofu next.
VALKYRIE
OC: I'm not that familiar with Thai cuisine, so if there's something that's really spicy in what they're eating, please tell me! XD |
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Post by VALKYRIE on Jul 24, 2016 0:31:37 GMT
"Maybe I asked the wrong question," Thalia amends. "I have to admit, I don't know a lot about your role and the powers it includes. You say predecessor; it must be a legacy position, and it must be passed on before death, in that case. Were you chosen? Did you volunteer?"
She munches on a spring roll absently as she falls into silence and waits for her reply.
Justitia
Nothing here should be too spicy, unless Julia is like...incredibly (supernaturally hehe) sensitive. Maybe the entrees will be though! |
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Jul 24, 2016 11:19:49 GMT
Post by Justitia on Jul 24, 2016 11:19:49 GMT
"Ah." She makes a sound of realization. She thought the other people of the Initiative would know, considering her predecessor's history in its creation, but apparently the organization was much larger than she thought, and information less prevalent.
"My role... has been created since ages past." she begins to explain. "Since the time of the gods of old. Four of these gods--- Themis, Fortune, Maat, and Nemesis--- pooled together gifts for a human who will ensure that those who are unjust are condemned--- even if they be gods themselves. The bearer of these gifts was the first of my predecessors... the first Justitia." She tells of this in the most solemn tone... or as solemn as you can be in a Thai restaurant.
"I was... chosen. When I was very young." she shares. "I was trained for the role, and received it when my predecessor died. She told me to come to the Initiative... she had fought along with the people who created it in the... alien invasion? Some years ago." She is free with her origins. Then again, she is with one who she perceives as an ally.
She continues eating.
VALKYRIE |
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Post by VALKYRIE on Jul 25, 2016 0:23:06 GMT
Thalia's eyes light up, and she swallows her mouthful of tofu hastily.
"I think I fought with your predecessor. I didn't have a chance to ask many questions, though. I was younger, and busy punching aliens in the face, and everything escalated incredibly quickly."
The days and weeks and months after the alien invasion had been bureaucratic hell. She didn't remember them fondly. Her expression dimmed a little though as she fell silent. The gods of old that she had learned about in her 6th grade Ancient History class being real was not something that she was ever going to get over, she thought, no matter if they sent her out on missions with Artemis or not.
"Do you worship them?" she asked, struggling a little with the concept. "Or is it more of a secular role? You don't have to answer that if it's offensive."
Justitia |
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Post by Justitia on Aug 11, 2016 2:49:42 GMT
She might not be able to see her lights up, but it seems Thalia perked up a bit with her mention of her predecessor and her help against the people of other... worlds? It was a welcome change from her uncertain demeanor, even if it lasted but a small while.
"Mrm. I was given to understand that there... had been a lot of trouble. Still, you were there, Thalia?" she speaks, with an interested tone. "Still, it seems this city has survived, with your help and the help of many others. Perhaps I can help prevent similar problems in the future, like my predecessor before me." It was not that she wished for another disaster to nullify; with the changing of times it seemed they came readily--- she was only happy for the chance to be of aid.
"Worship?" she tilts her head, thinking. She had heard of the concept, but it was... a bit unfamiliar to her, ironically, given how her position interacted with those who had been worshipped in the past. "Well, I do hold them in high regard, but I am aware that they too can make mistakes." she explains. "The office of Justitia was made not to keep only humans in check, but gods as well." she says, with no fanfare. No trace of boasting in her voice--- merely matter of fact.
She punctuates her explanation with her finishing a roll.
VALKYRIE |
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