INTRO EVENT ;; OPEN

[nosotros]

Who: Everyone!
Where: All over the city!
When: June 19th
Summary: The newcomers to El Sera have arrived.
Rating: PG-13ish, likely!

For everyone who arrives in El Sera that day, it's the same. Whoever the newcomer might be, when he opens his eyes, he's alone in a calm quiet room. In front of him is a box. In his hand is a letter:

Hello. I'm sure you've got a lot of questions, so I'll do my best to answer them.

To start, you aren't on your home world anymore. You're in a city called El Sera, in a country called America, on a planet called Earth. A lot of you might recognize the name Earth, and you might even be from it, but if you're reading this then I can promise you one thing--this isn't the Earth you're thinking of.

Magic exists in this world, and that magic is what pulled you here. It's given you magic of your own, if you didn't already have it, and the ability to defend yourself from the monsters that inhabit this world. I want to ask you to take a more proactive role in fighting these creatures and do more than just defend yourself, but I'm a transplant from another world myself. I understand some of what you're going through and I won't force you into it, but it makes it easier for us -- Xochipilli -- to find a way to send you home.

Whatever you decide, whether to join us or strike out on your own, is up to you. I only ask that you keep your magical abilities and status as, well, an alien hidden. Xochipilli will do its best to hide and protect you, but there are limits to what we're capable off. This city is a bit of an odd one, so simply behave like you belong and most people won't give you another glance.

Sincerely,
Jackson Rau

The box primarily contains any objects or clothing of the newcomer that would draw undue attention in their new, modern surroundings. However, it also holds a phone complete with instructions, a key to the recipient's room, a map to their apartment or dorm (with an attached note reminding them that their roommate is probably a normal person and that they should maintain their secrecy), and a plastic debit card.

Whoever arrives here, the setup is the same: In front of him is a set of double doors, leading into a room filled with milling Xochipilli employees. Any questions he has about the city can be answered here--and if he's discrete enough about asking, he can even get some basic instruction on how to use their magic.

Behind him is a door labeled 'EXIT'. Should he choose to step through this door, he'll find himself in a deserted stairwell that opens up into an alleyway.

The choice is up to him.

The Welcome - The Festival - Roommates - Around the Town

Comments

[warmgun]

[John has to make the conscious effort not to grab his gun and whirl around at the sound of the door opening. He simply closes the door to the refrigerator and turns to look at the other man, a smile plastered on his face. An Aussie. Well, fancy that.]

Not busy in the slightest.

[It's then that the scent of cigarettes hits him. Perfect.]

Sorry, I'm John. John Watson. [He steps forward and offers his hand.] Just transferred over from London. Are you... new, as well?

[smokefilledroom]

[John's smile is returned by Elijah's own, and he accepts the handshake, nodding at the last question.]

Elijah, just in from Melbourne. Pleased to meet you.

[warmgun]

Melbourne, eh? Cheers! My dad took me to see the football match up at the Olympic Stadium when I was, God. Seven? Eight? I'm not sure you would've been born yet.

[His smile turns rueful as he withdraws his hand. Elijah seems an all right bloke at the moment.]

Should we sort out who's got which room, then? [He jerks his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the corridor.]

[smokefilledroom]

Missed it by a few years, unfortunately.

[The lie's smooth, barely takes thought. He knows nothing about an Olympic Stadium even being built, but if this man's normal, he can't know that Elijah's missing over ninety years so far. Means he's going to have to find a way to study, and fast...

That can wait.]

Sure. Any one that you prefer if you've got a look at them yet?

[warmgun]

I'll take the one without monsters, preferably. Superstitious lot, these Americans. Did you hear they've got tours for their ghosts downtown?

[He laughs lightly as he leads the way. Some of the regular employees at Xochipilli seemed to have an idea, at least, that there was something odd going on in their city, and John needed someone to scoff at the notion with. Universe-hopping he could, perhaps, stomach with all that String Theory, multiverse, resonance research. The rest, though? Really.]

[smokefilledroom]

I did-how much do you think that someone got slightly frightened by a mouse running in another room, called it a ghost, and it caught on?

[Tours for ghosts. Wasn't that more likely to agitate the spirit, being treated like a performance when it had some sort of goal it was trying to get to?]

[warmgun]

Sounds about right, yeah. I can't imagine it's hurt tourism, either. Talking of, I saw that festival on the way over. Have you stopped by that, yet?

[John pauses as they reach the doors to the rooms. He glances into each and notes they're fully furnished. That's a relief, at least. His instinct is to take the smaller one to the right, as much to be polite as Sherlock's trained him not to bother fighting for the nicer accommodations. He leans against the door frame to smaller one. He'll let Elijah have a look first, at least, before they make any decisions.

Hopefully his stay in El Sera would be brief, but he couldn't count on that.]

[smokefilledroom]

Not yet, though I want to. Might as well, you know?

[The rooms are better than he expected. Considerate, if they were going to be putting up those yanked in, to give them somewhere decent to rest their head. Elijah briefly considers asking for the room on the left, but sense snaps in, and so does the fact that the fact that he's on his own will be less noticeable in the other. So, it's the room to the right where he points.]

Do you mind if I take this one? I don't need that much space, after all.

[warmgun]

What, really? You don't have to. [John's a little surprised. Judging by Elijah's dress, he would have guessed the other man was a little posh and wanting a room to match. This is mad, though, is he really going to argue for the smaller room?] I mean, certainly if you'd like. I don't mind at all. I think the larger one's the only one with a bath if that's something you'll be wanting, though.

[smokefilledroom]

[Elijah shakes his head a little. A shower or a bath, it was the same thing in the end to him.] I'll be fine. I'm used to smaller rooms, anyway-growing up with siblings can do that to you.

[warmgun]

Oh, you've got siblings, too? [John relaxes back into his easy lean against the doorframe.] Got an older sister, myself. Always nick the bigger rooms, don't they?

[smokefilledroom]

Younger sister and brother. She got her own room because she was the girl. [The way he says it, though, there's no resentment, even jokingly. It was just how it was.]

[warmgun]

Lucky her... and you. Harry and I got stuck in a room together till I was Year 9 at school. [He shakes his head. Sharing a room with his sister through the start of puberty had been awkward enough, let alone the snide remarks he got from anyone who found out. Rugby tended to help a young lad's image on that front, at least.]

Are they both back in Melbourne, then?

[smokefilledroom]

Yeah. [For the briefest second, his smile gets a bit sad-oh, he does hope they'll be alright, especially with him leaving. Then it's gone, because he's with a practical stranger.] Yeah, neither of them thought the company was as great to sign up for as I did. They're both back home.

[warmgun]

You've got your position sorted out already, then? Still fighting with the paperwork for mine.

[By which he means looking for the paperwork, but Elijah doesn't need to know that.]

[smokefilledroom]

Not entirely. They might still transfer me around, so I'm not saying anything definite yet.

[warmgun]

[John looks Elijah over with a critical eye, trying to pick out the small details Sherlock would to piece together what sort of job he might do. Apart from 'smoker,' and 'vaguely posh,' though, he comes up with nothing. He goes for the old-fashioned approach.]

What is it you do, then? Or would like to do, I suppose.

[smokefilledroom]

Internal Affairs.

[It's automatic to say that, but reason hits him in a second to clarify.]

More or less helping out making sure everything's running properly inside and that when things flare up that we can keep them contained. Usually it's all very boring, but you can learn a lot from it.

[warmgun]

[Bureaucrat. John's heard Greg moan about that sort making every single investigation that Sherlock's a part of a nightmare. He isn't terribly familiar with it, though.]

That's something to do with law enforcement, isn't it? Were you with the police?

[smokefilledroom]

Not exactly. Just working in Parliament.

[He can just imagine it now, being asked what year he came in and automatically responding 1920. These half truths are getting complicated.]

[warmgun]

Keeping the politicians honest, eh? That's admirable.

[And futile. John's not about to go judging a man for his line of work when he's been utterly unemployed, though. He shifts the topic. There are enough half truths he doesn't want to deal with if Elijah starts asking his own questions.]

Well, I was going to head down to Tescos... or whatever they've got here that's like it. We haven't got any milk. Did you want me to pick you up anything particular? Marmite, if they've got it?

[He keeps a straight face at the last question, but his tone is clearly teasing.]