Mia

[Mia has been through a lot recently. The invasion wasn't so terrible, but its aftermath and the information surrounding it dealt a blow she still hasn't been able to face properly. Then, some of her dearest people went on a mission that continues to tear them apart inside - and may do a similar thing to all of them in due time, depending on what happens as a result. Then she became, briefly, herself but a few years younger, which might sound like a reprieve but was really just a way of delaying the inevitable backlash. Mia knows better than to think that that might be the 'punishment' coming to them after aiding in the implementation of a shift explosive.

In all that time, the way she interacts with people shifted, too. She is as friendly and welcoming as ever, but in some places more...distracted-seeming, perhaps, or carrying an air of professional civility instead of closeness. If anything, her tenure as pre-adventure Mia only reinforced her ability to stand at that distance.

Things haven't much calmed down, but she can't think of a time better than the present to take care of some things she's put off since the invasion happened. Shuffling them all around her work schedule means it happens at odd hours, but that's just how things have to be. She seeks out specific friends of hers, and stops by the plaza clinic to see who might be around. It isn't her usual routine, but she also goes to the cafe - though hardly a coffee drinker - for a change of pace. The gallery too.

Sometime in the afternoon, she finds a quiet corner to attempt to send a filtered message to Luceti's newest in-world resident, without knowing exactly how:]

Could we speak about a few things in person?

[It might work, it might not.

No matter how that turns out, as night falls she'll skip training, opting to visit the beach instead. To walk along the water with her bare feet in the sand and...hope that helps, somehow.]

[[ooc: Building walls with lego-bricks made of words, around here. Go nuts! Just not totally nuts.]]

Sheena gets the distinct feeling this is all just temporary insanity. So she'll be at work, at the tea shop. Or maybe sparring down at the barracks. Decidedly unruffled, is this ninja - but maybe that's because she's only seen so many people thus far.

Nephry appears at first to be looking for someone amidst the crowd; whether or not she finds that person, she'll be home, or out shopping, or taking shifts at the Welcome Center during the chaos. There's also a meeting she has to attend on Sunday, assuming it still happens.

Mia goes to work at the battledome clinic and hopes it doesn't become overrun; she trains with the X-men without thinking too hard about the very real-seeming people she's seen out there so far. You can also find her taking a walk just about anywhere easy-access.

Luke can't believe his eyes and he will be trying to solve this intense puzzle full of people. Expect a few questions.

Raven has no clue what is happening and it freaks her out. She'll be in the smithy keeping to herself, other than dinner when she goes to Seventh Heaven.

Just name your poison in the subject line! If you'd like a different location than any of the usual ones above, that is cool too.

[On the border between afternoon and evening of the 31st, the draft ends for Mia. For a while, all she can do is look around at the village, standing still near where they all arrive. Then she takes what remains of her notes to the battledome. To turn them over to...well, whoever is there to give them to. She doesn't want to talk, at least not for very long.

Then she goes home, House 16, and checks on her housemates before taking what is perhaps the longest shower in her entire life. The water is freezing by the time she's done, and she doesn't care. The next morning, whoever wakes first will find the coffee is ready and there is no Mercury Adept in sight.

She's out for a walk. It's not a long one: back to the battledome, to check on people. Any people, but especially those she knows well. If there are questions she has to answer - and she doubts very much there won't be questions - then she will, as polite and quiet as she ever is. When she's through there, she'll head for nearby houses and apartments, without going too far. She knows her limits and is waiting to meet up with them.

That autopilot carries her until midafternoon. What follows isn't exactly a crash. It's a slow spiral, one that finds her walking back to the house at a glacial pace, as though she might find somewhere to hide instead. But she can't. Instead she huddles into a chair in the living room, finally opening the journal to write something.]

Thank you to everyone who was there to help us. [She doesn't feel the need to specify where. The next several things she tries are crossed out, until:] I'm sorry we couldn't do more, sooner.

[[ooc: Whew look at all that action! She's mostly bouncing from house to battledome, and if you want to run into her while she's walking or standing and staring off into space, that's great too!]]

This information is especially important for those of you who have been called to join in their war:

In previous drafts we have been provided with portable "scanning" devices that allow the Third Party adversaries to be incapacitated and removed from the fight without killing them. They were fairly simple to use, but have a limited number of "scans" per use: twenty, according to the draft organizer. The last time I used one, we were able to regain those "scans" by taking the machines back to our base area. Something similar may well be available here.

...It's an alternative to killing. [When she reads this through aloud, here is where she drops the polite announcement tone and opts for something more serious.] For times when that is even a chance of possible. I know it seems silly to ask for mercy in a war...

[There isn't really anything else to say. She just stops writing, and stops reading.

Anyone looking for her in person can find her in her usual clinicky haunts. She'll go home earlier than usual Sunday night, though. Best to be rested.]

If you know things about GS and can HMD them, go you!

[Mia's enthusiasm is simple and direct.]

It's snowing!

[something she hasn't seen since that brief detour to the southern tip of the world. It makes her miss home like nothing else. That won't stop her from throwing on her heavier cloak and standing outside in the light snowfall, hands extended as if to catch the flakes.]

It's really snowing! I wonder if it will stay.

I have a small request. Is there anyone available to show me more of how the training space in the dome works? I realize that people may be busy, with so many new arrivals all at once like this. This is just if you happen to have the time.

[Most of her day is spent checking in on the people she knows, particularly those she encountered during the most recent draft. It may have been some time since then, but it still feels recent. Around dinner time, she will visit the clothing shop, then the library, before stopping by the item shop to see if anything from her world has dropped in.

She likes to keep busy.

Later at night, after the sun has started to go down, she'll be behind the barracks, trying - mostly in vain - to aim the ice spires that are part of Ice Horn and Ice Missile with some kind of real precision.]