Glimmer, glitter, shine...

[thecanopycrew]

| characters | Everyone!

| date/time | March 15, all day

| location | First Floor

| rating | Currently G

| summary | A flash of light, and a new adventure.


LIGHT

Warmth, love and kindness.
The Life Stream glimmers and glitters with joy, swirls of shimmering dust dancing around the ray of life.
It was time for new ones to test their wings.


One by one, new adventurers now arrive in the Tree. As one gain wings and rises to the second floor, another light brings in the next person. Soon, a steady stream of people from all kinds of worlds, times and realities come to join the others. Whether confused, angry, excited or scared, your arrival is welcomed with nothing but joy as the fireflies and glow worms descend to greet their new friends.

The Tree offers no explanation and no reason, but the truth is undeniable.

As you will soon realize, it isn't easy to be tiny.

Comments

[dissemblance]

[She's been to a prom. Exactly one, when she was sixteen. Went through the whole process, had a nice dress, a corsage. Having to kidnap a diplomat's son sort of put a wrinkle in the evening, she supposed, but it wasn't much of an evening anyway. Mostly people just stood around and listened to the (terrible) music, once in a while someone would venture away from the herd and do a bit of unenthusiastic swaying during one particular track and then run back to the punch table when it was all over.

That's what this reminds her of. A prom. And she's entirely too old for proms, so Natasha (Anastasia this time around) heads to the nearest person and offers them a piece of bright-pink chewing gum. Providing, of course, they look or seem human enough to be able to chew it.]

Well hello, fellow kidnap victim and/or vivid hallucination. Bubblegum?

[Her accent is American. The Bronx. She's dressed in an array of casual clothes, and has her hair swept back into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. Definitely no superspies here, no sir.]

[redactions]

[ He's found a sturdier section of the branch at the side of the room, idly letting fireflies zip between his fingers for lack of anything to do with his hands. The jacket's peppered with already-melting snow and mud's caked on his boots, he dimly registers that he should probably clean them. Or make some kind of attempt to be a little more presentable. The wings are folded, with any luck no one saw him flinch when he first noticed them and almost draw his sidearm to get rid of the change in the air he felt, assuming it was an intrusion. ]

Hello to you too. [ he takes the gum, tips it to her in a little cheers gesture. hello fellow New Yorker ] Thanks.

[ The smile he gives her is more remembered than felt; once it cut a swathe through the WACs, now it's habit even if the sentiment is weary. ]

[dissemblance]

[Him, she'd approached on account of sheer disbelief. This man, with boots that echo on the floor and a blue jacket she recognizes from old photographs and filmreels, and a museum exhibit she visited only once. It's the eyes, the hair, the accent (Brooklyn, not a trace of anything Russian) and - the hand, when her gaze falls to it. James Barnes. Threat assessment: unknown. For now.

She pops her gum, and gives him a smile.

Still a soldier, but not the Soldier. His hand when he reaches for the gum is flesh and bone, warm where she 'accidentally' touches him in an effort to give him the piece of it.

But she can't help the adrenal response. The last time she saw this man, he was trying to kill her, and the scar at her shoulder has not yet begun to fade. People can be programmed. To act, seem normal when they're anything but. If he's here, there's-- a better-than-average chance that Hydra has something to do with this.]

You're welcome. I'm Anna. [That's said with a very faint trace of a Russian accent, implying it's short for Anastasia.] Brooklyn, huh?

[redactions]

[ some real mirth enters the smile. Anastasia. Pretty name for a dame definitely worth appreciating, but he's hardly in the mood to escape. The problem with already suspecting yourself in a fantasy of some kind was that the rabbit hole wasn't supposed to have layers. His dreams of late certainly were nothing like this, and hardly as detailed. ]

What gave it away?

[dissemblance]

You're kidding, right?

[Her smile turns the slightest bit playful, and her wings shift and settle against her shoulders. Softer,]

A real New Yorker can recognize that accent anywhere.

[She says it in a tone that suggests she's honestly, earnestly grateful for something familiar, something from home amidst all this madness. Natasha isn't scared, and has no reason to be. Anastasia, on the other hand-- she's never been kidnapped, never been hurt just because it's someone else's prerogative or mission. She's just a woman who runs an art gallery.]

[espigeonage]

Vivid hallucination? That's a new one, I should remember it!

[he really doesn't look like he could chew gum. Yuuya tilts his head in a friendly way.] Your drugs must be better than mine, the most I've ever got was dizzy. [...he actually has training to think and act with perfect lucidity while on psychotropics.]

[dissemblance]

[That. Sure is a talking bird. Natasha actually stares at it, and for a moment she is honestly surprised. Sure, she's seen weirder - aliens, anyone? - but this certainly takes some sort of cake.]

You... take a lot of drugs, then?

[It's Anna's best stab at being polite and not at all unsettled by something that's completely off-the-charts weird for her quiet little life.]

[espigeonage]

[He's getting used to the looks he keeps getting. Back home Yuuya is basically the default for 'upper-class person'. He can go anywhere and no one thinks twice - clearly that isn't the case here.]

Welll. I'm not sure how I should answer that. Are you with the police? [He winks.]

[dissemblance]

[It 'startles' a laugh out of her, and her wings flutter with it, revealing the little flickers of red throughout the black.]

What, me? No, I'm-- I run an art gallery in New York. About the farthest thing you could get from a cop.

[handtowels]

[This whole bizarre situation is so far beyond Takatora's experience that the tone of her words is a blessed streak of normalcy.]

I'd be the former.

[He glances at her offering.]

What is it? Some kind of sweet?

[His armour gives him away as a 16th/17th century samurai, which explains his lack of recognition.]

[dissemblance]

[Natasha lets her gaze drift over him as if she's the director of an art gallery taking in a very nice exhibit. In actuality, she's doing a threat assessment. In its era, the armour would have cost a pretty penny. Money meant training. Training means dangerous.

But 'Anna' gives him a very nice smile, partially because Natasha's decided she's the type to flirt to cover up her 'fear' at being kidnapped and--]

Sort of, yeah. Only you don't swallow it, just chew it until it runs out of flavour. Which will probably happen in about twenty seconds, just so you've got a heads up.

[handtowels]

[Her smile, while pretty, doesn't affect Takatora, but he takes her wholly at face value nonetheless.]

That's a little odd.

[He remarks, taking a stick of bubblegum anyway. Before he tries it, he glances her over curiously.]

Can you think of any particular reason that they'd want you?

[For all he knows it's pure chance that any of them were spirited away, but it doesn't hurt to ask.]

[dissemblance]

[Not that kind of guy, huh? Well, it's not the only weapon in her arsenal. Just the easiest. The smile stays where it is, at least until he asks his question. Then, by degrees, it slips.]

I have no idea. I'm just a girl from the Bronx. I've got a few unpaid parking tickets, but I'm not-- [she gestures at his armour, looking Suitably Impressed] you know, anyone important, like you must be. I recognize the armour.

[misster]

[That is a very tempting offer in the eyes of someone who is around twelve years old and currently taking a break from running─ or, well, more accurately flying─ into the walls. Even so, Platinum (Luna, to be precise) gives the stranger a suspicious look. In fact, she seems to be taking her time replying, seizing her up first.]

Staaaaaaareee...

[Yes, for some reason, she feels the need to voice the fact she's staring at her. Don't ask. It's one of the less weird things about this girl anyway.

As evidenced when Platinum (Sena this time) speaks up, seemingly talking to herself:]

Luna, it's not polite to stare like that... This nice lady only asked─

[Suddenly, the girl cuts herself off (or so it looks like, anyway), pointing dramatically at Natasha.]

Aha! Luna's got you figured out! You're the villain!!

[... In reality, she just really wants that bubblegum, but there's one thing about the woman in front of her that rubs her the wrong way, so she's choosing to be difficult instead. (No, it has nothing to do with superspies. More like being jealous of someone's, uh, cleavage.)]

[dissemblance]

[And like all good superspies, Natasha does the only logical thing when being presented with the suspicion of a small (and possibly disturbed) child. She throws her hands up in the air.]

You caught me. I'm definitely responsible. Now do you want a piece of bubblegum or not?

[Going once... going twice... Natasha wields that stick of gum like a professional snake-charmer over here.]

[misster]

[Platinum's eyes grow wide at the, er, confession. That might not be the kind of response she expected here.]

Wha─ Already?! No boss battle or anything?!

[Who can tell what kind of scenario she was writing in her head. Fortunately, Platinum's more reasonable half is here to make sure her imagination doesn't run wild, or at least attempt to.]

Luna... this isn't a video game, you know...

[Not that Sena is getting his hopes up for her to listen to him, but he'll still point it out─ only to be outright ignored, as Luna is already far too invested in trying to figure out with a way to not only get what she wants, but also how she wants it. For better or worse, it doesn't take her too long come up with one.]

... Fine! Since it's victory for the great Luna, I'll be taking this!

[With that, she snags a piece of bubblegum, looking rather pleased with herself (as if that's some sort of an achievement on her part). Somebody has probably told her before that it isn't wise to accept sweets from strangers, but really, this girl makes her own rules.]

[dissemblance]

Now that we've got that out of the way--

[Says the cackling mastermind, ruler of Evil Treetopia]

-- you're welcome. And I'm Anna.

[And you, small child, are a puzzle.]

[sirpisspot]

Natasha would be one of the more serious people he would've met, and someone with a calm collected head. Which he thought, the more of those, the better. Arno was standing about trying to make sense of the whole thing, admittedly not really mingling yet. So when she came to him with gum, he couldn't help but snicker a littler.

Kidnap victim. Hallucination. Because that was really funny.

In a bitter way.

"No thank you, I've yet to try any of the food yet," he said. "Who knows, maybe that there could drive us even into more chaos."

[dissemblance]

"This is mine," she clarified with a firm nod. To abate his suspicions, she peeled off a new piece, wrapped the old (it stopped tasting like anything other than 'rubberized strawberry' about ten minutes ago anyway) and tucked the garbage away in her pocket. "It came with me, and it's definitely not pomegranate." Just in case he was at all familiar with the myth.

[sirpisspot]

Never had seen bubblegum, but seeing her openly eat it made him ease just a little bit. So it wasn't some poison they just conjured up for their amusement? "They", as in, the kidnappers.

He did feeling like he had an empty stomach, so he carefully did then reach out to gently snag a piece. It was better than nothing, eventually he knew he was going to have to try the food here. You know, so at least he didn't starve to death. Maybe that would be a gamble he had to take, he sure as hell didn't like the sound of slowly going into madness and dying from hunger. If he was going to slowly go into madness, it would be when trying to escape.

Again, not the risk he was willing to take just yer.

"Alright then, I'll take your word for it. As long as it's definitely not poison," Arno said as he place the piece in his mouth. Maybe winced a bit at the overly sweet and artificial taste. Then he swallowed it.

Wait, he wasn't supposed to do that.

[dissemblance]

Welp. That sure happened. 'Anna' affected a suitably abject grimace, and in a very small voice, "You-- aren't really supposed to swallow it. I mean, it's fine, it won't kill you. Just for next time, all right? Just chew it until there's no more flavour, then spit it out." She peeled off another piece (after all, she had half a dozen packs in various pockets, the result of her liberating SHIELD's flash-drive from the vending machine) and offered it as a replacement.

So. Definitely from a pre-gum era, then. Bubblegum as the modern world knows it was invented in the 20s. If nothing else, it gave her a timeframe to work with. In fact, most of the people she'd met (one odd pigeon notwithstanding) seemed to be behind her in terms of era.

Natasha gave him a faint smile. "I'm Anna, by the way." The way she said that name, not quite like the American pronunciation, suggested it may be short for Anastasia. If Arno had any cause to be familiar with Russian, in any case.

[greatrage]

[after a bit of instruction from a certain peachy princess (and adjustment of his wings; turns out it WAS an equipment malfunction after all), Eren has managed to wing his way up to the second floor.

And now he's tired.

Really? A soldier like him, in top condition, tired out from just that? He was going to have to train hard.

The boy is still looking around, holding his backpack and shirt over one arm, when a woman offers him something... pink.}

Uh... [he takes the little stick and sniffs it, cautiously] Bubblegum? What's a "bubblegum"?

[dissemblance]

Sugar treat. You chew it but don't swallow, ['Anna' made that mistake once already, oops.] until it loses its flavour. It's not exactly food, but-- [An elegant shrug.] It'll keep you from getting hungry until we can find out what the deal is with the food here.

[Don't mind her, Eren, she's just going to give you a concerned sort of once-over, the sort that any woman with maternal leanings might give to a young teenager. She won't fuss outright, at least.]

Are your-- um, parents? Here?

[greatrage]

So it's... candy? But you can't actually eat it. [Eren is completely perplexed. He sniffs it again, then puts it in his mouth. He chews a few times, then makes a face] Ghh... It's so sweet!! [pretty much the sweetest thing he's ever tasted!! But it's good. It has a flavor that he's never tasted before. It's going to be hard not to swallow it...

Though, at the mention of his parents, he gives her an odd look]

Parents? Why would my parents be here? [both of them are dead, after all.]

[dissemblance]

[Well, enjoy it while it lasts, which will probably be for a grand total of an additional forty-five seconds of chewing before it turns into a stiff, rubbery, flavourless blob. Bubblegum's great like that.]

Oh, I was just-- it's not important. My name's Anna.

[And even her cover identity has enough tact not to inquire further about his parents.]