Adapting Is Key

[splattershot]

"Well, shit."

That was all Tidal had to say when she awoke in the grassy field that was very much not her apartment. She'd fallen asleep in her jacket and pants after an exhausting - but highly satisfying - day of turf wars, excited to have more fun the next day. Well, now the next day was here, and this was not the Inkling's idea of fun.

As she rolled onto her back and sat up, she took in the area. It seemed like there was a city nearby, from the smoke rising up beyond the hills. Where the hell was she, and how had she gotten here? This wasn't good; she didn't even have her Splattershot.

Damn. She didn't even have her hat.

But she wasn't going to find anything out by sitting around, so she pushed herself up to a stance, tied her 'hair' up into a topknot, and began to walk towards the rising smoke. At least she'd be near some kind of civilization, then.

Comments

[morganknight]

"Uraaaaagh."

Right nearby, a figure sat up just as she had a moment ago, rubbing both hands down his face. One moment he'd been strolling down the street; the next, he'd opened his eyes to find himself staring at a blue sky that didn't really look familiar at all. With slow blinks, he tried to parse his new setting, even as he tugged at some of his hair to get it unsnagged from the grasses.

"I didn't realize, when I woke up, that it was going to be one of THOSE days."

[splattershot]

The sound caused Tidal to jump, startled, and she turned around to see a being that baffled here for a moment, but that she then recognized from history books in her school days. "A human?" she muttered to herself, blinking in disbelief. Then she cupped her hands over her mouth and called over to him, despite the fact that he wasn't far away.

"Hey, oy, how'd you get here?"

[morganknight]

"Ugh, good question." Morgan rubbed his head to get some of the fog out of it, squeezed his eyes shut tight, then leaned back again. A quick kick of his legs had him on his feet, long coat streaming dramatically behind him before settling back down at his ankles. "Probably some portal or something. That happens!"

[splattershot]

Tidal stared for another moment, then shook her head in exasperation. "What the fuck? You mean this has happened to you before?"

Even as she spoke, she couldn't help thinking that it was a very nice coat. Fashion was a huge part of the Inkling culture, after all.

[morganknight]

Oh, it was a very nice coat indeed, one that flowed almost like water -- or liquid metal. Brushing it off, even though it didn't have any dirt on it, Morgan finally looked up to start heading her way. "I live on a nexus world. A lot of different portals and worlds sort of collide there. So yeah... though it doesn't normally happen like THAT."

[splattershot]

"Okay, that sounds super annoying. But if it's not usually a surprise, I guess that's not as bad as this," she concluded, muttering. If he lived somewhere crazy like that, it probably explained why he wasn't confused by her appearance, too. She could imagine he'd seen things that looked way more weird. Of course, Tidal didn't think she looked weird, but she figured to a human? Probably a little.

"Well, I'm headed for civilization," she went on, jerking her head towards the rising smoke. "You coming with?"

[morganknight]

Morgan shut his eyes, lifting a pair of fingers to his forehead as he concentrated for a brief moment, letting his senses fade so he could reach out, for lack of a better term, for magick.

Nothing. Huh.

"Sure, I'm in," he said, opening his eyes and grinning her way. "If I'm going to be lost, I might as well be lost with cute company."

[splattershot]

Tidal was curious as to what he was doing when he put his fingers to his head like that, but that curiosity was all but forgotten when he called her cute. This was her kind of guy; he clearly had good taste.

"You bet," she said with a smirk. "Name's Tidal, and yours?"

[morganknight]

"Morgan Knight," he said, rather dramatically putting a hand to his chest and bowing slightly. He could, after all, be a bit of a ham. "I like your name, it's cool."

[splattershot]

Tidal snickered at his bow, amused by the way he was playing up the formalities. While that kind of thing taken in all seriousness wasn't her style, the idea of playing with it certainly was.

"Thanks! You're right, of course, but thanks. I like Knight. That's pretty cool, too."

She raised her hand in the air, waiting for Morgan to her high-five her.

[morganknight]

"Well, thanks!" He delivered said five with perfect control -- he was fairly strong, as his build hinted, but utterly in control of that strength. "I got it from my parents, y'know."

[splattershot]

"Ha, you're cute," she said with a smile, starting the walk towards civilization. "So, you said you've never had this happen this way, right?"

[morganknight]

"Nope." Morgan shook his head, which sent waves down the mass of hair on the outside of his coat. He didn't seem too worried about tying it up. "Usually it's portals. Spaces you have to be deliberately trying to walk through. Even if you go through them by accident, they don't disappear behind you."

[splattershot]

There was really only one conclusion Tidal could draw from that information, with her disposition. "Well, I guess we're just really lucky and the universe loves us," she huffed.

That said, she was enjoying Morgan's company so far. It was entirely possible this wouldn't be the worst thing after all, but she wasn't about to admit that out loud.

[morganknight]

"Maybe," he said, flicking an amused smile her way. "I wasn't doing anything important, and it seems to me there's a lot to do and learn out here. Experience makes us grow. Also," he added, lifting a finger which he then pointed at her. "Cute girl, remember? That's always worth points."

[splattershot]

"Eh, I guess I wasn't up to much, either," Tidal admitted with a shrug. "Although I'm not sure about all this growth crap..." She laughed it off, though. It didn't hurt that he called her cute. "You bet it is."

[morganknight]

"Well, that's getting into my philosophy, which would probably bore you," he said with a genial self-deprecating shrug. "Still, we either bemoan this or we enjoy it, right?"

[splattershot]

"Oh, I'm sure it would," Tidal agreed. Discussion of philosophy seemed awfully dull and pointless to her. "But I'm sure we'll have some here, yeah."

[morganknight]

"It's already an adventure. Here's hoping it's a good one!"

But on that note... Morgan brought his left arm back so he could stick his right arm into it, a slight frown on his face as he checked the equipment he had easy access to in there. "By any chance, do you know how to fight?"

[splattershot]

"Hell yeah! I'm dangerous." It didn't occur to Tidal that being a got shot with what was, essentially, a paintball gun was probably not what Morgan meant. What did occur to, however, still proved a problem: "My Splattershot's not here, though... Hmm."

[morganknight]

"What's it close to? Never heard of it, but I've got a few weapons in here that might come close to something..." Sounded like a SuperSoaker more than anything, but Morgan wasn't gonna say that out loud.

[splattershot]

"Close to?" Tidal repeated. "Fuck, uh, it's close to... You know, like..."

She proceeded to mime shooting off her signature weapon, which, yes, probably did look like she was wielding a SuperSoaker in thin air.

"...You know? You guys had 'em, too, but they were different. Look, I didn't pay attention in history class."

[morganknight]

"Uh, hmm. That's getting up into really heavy weapon territory." Morgan paused, arm elbow-deep in his coat as he considered. "Don't suppose you have a knack for melee weapons at all?"

[splattershot]

Tidal considered the question for a moment, then smiled up at Morgan. "I won't know until I try, but I might. You got something with you we can use to find out?" she added, noting him rummage about.

[morganknight]

That he could do. With a flourish, he drew a bo staff out of the coat, in a shameless violation of physics, then offered it to her. "Doubles as a walking stick, excellent for bashing."