The Perfect Storm [Accepting&&Open]

[MommiiDearest]

Echo shook her head, "No, we totally did. I just didn't know if ya'll still did. Same machine then? Hold the carton of chips under neath, press the button for the cheese and the salsa?" She didn't wait for his response and instead mosied around the store until she spotted what she was looking for. Setting the bag she already held, she popped the lid on the nachos and added the cheese. Eyeing a small black container with a plastic lid of jalapenos, she decided to toss a few of those on as well before going back to the machine and adding a squirt of the beans and replacing the lid. as she was walking back to the male she had been with, she snatched a mtn dew off the isle and then waited patiently by his side.

Blythe shrugged and looked a little perplexed. "Paper and coins have been out of circulation for several years in my time. I know of people who still have some and occasionally use it, but my family switched to cards. So, perhaps? We could always try at one of the atms." She looked at the others and shifted from foot to foot a bit nervously. The more she looked around, the more primitive this time seemed.  

[Greedy Fat Cat]

Ren left the coffee shop with a look of bemusement. He had never seen so many people lined up for coffee before, but then again, he had rarely left his apartment to go outside. When was the last time he left his cave for the city? Ren couldn't remember, only that when he did go outside, coffee shops were never that crowded.
He walked down a block, now trying to remember the last time he was outside. He very much hated this town, and holed himself up in his apartment for this very reason, but he had forgotten the wonders of the outside. The way the wind chilled his cheeks, or how the pavement glittered right after it rained. The people passed by him ignoring him. He supposed they thought he looked pitiful. Ren had forgotten how it felt like to have people look at him, and how many people he didn't know. He could remember what it was like back then, when he was younger and didn't have much of a care what others thought of him.

He happened to glance at his reflection in a local storefront. An unshaven, haggard face looked back, hair uncut, old and wrinkled clothes, and pale skin. Ren could understand why they thought of him that way, a little disappointed with himself. After the accident several years ago, he had changed from a young free-spirit to this. Ren looked away and moved on, scratching his chin. He passed by a grocery store, one which buzzed with activity and busy bodies who had work and life to get to. All Ren ever did was sit in his apartment and work on his writing. He couldn't remember when he went to a grocery store last, so entered it half-hazardly. He wandered the eyes, picking up things that caught his eye, things he used to like, and things he hadn't seen.

A man who looked a little homeless. He looked young too. Ren stayed in the same aisle with him for a while, and while Ren couldn't explain it, decided to go up to him. "Are you hungry?" He asked, a little hesitantly. Ren didn't know why he came up to him, or why in his head he had decided to help. Maybe it was because after being holed up for so long, he missed talking to other people. There was an urge in him to be nice and helpful, maybe to redeem himself of being isolated for so long. He wanted to feel something, to talk to someone. Ren didn't know why he decided to talk to a bum, but he did, and looked at Thomas with a waiting look.

 

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"You got what you wanted?" Trace asked, stirring his coffee with a small plastic stick after adding a little bit of milk and sugar. He tossed the plastic stick in a garbage bin next to the machine. "Well, I have what I want. What about you?" Trace asked, putting the plastic top on his cup of coffee.  

[Another Damned Vampire]

Daniel tried to memorize the names of his new acquaintances. "I am from 1906, and from this same location, Lockehart. Much has changed since my time. And yes, I do have some money." He took out a purse - black leather, but clearly a purse, something a woman might have rather than a man in modern times. He opened it. There were silver dollars in it - genuine silver - as well as some ancient, no longer valid banknotes.

[Sorry I was gone so long. redface ]  

[MommiiDearest]

"Uhyah." She nodded and gave her items a little rattle before stepping off towards the registers to go pay. "You know... not a lot has actually changed much." Echo glanced towards Trace, then down at her shoes. "DO you think I'll ever get home?"  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"I don't know" Trace admitted. "I don't even know how you were able to be brought here in the first place. No one has created such a machine, that I'm aware of, and no natural phenomena is that powerful." After a moment, he thought of something. "Do you think there would be others that were transported to this time as well?" he asked.  

[minus infinity]

"Would you like help out?"
It was a question she was required to ask, even though only a few people ever accepted the offer. Today was different, however, because when she made the offer to the woman standing in front of her, she nodded and said "Yes, please."
"Just a moment," Emma replied. Normally she would ask one of the baggers to help someone out, but they all seemed to be busy. So she led the woman outside herself, and began to help her put her things in the trunk of her car.
"Some storm last night," Emma said to her conversationally.
"Oh, yes... I figured I should stock up just in case something like that happens again. You never know."
Emma smiled a bit and murmured an agreement. There were a few moments of silence and the woman looked like she wanted to say something as the last of the groceries were put into the car.
"You know, I have the strangest sensation," she began with slight hesitation. Maybe she wasn't sure if she should blab to an employee who still had a lot of work to do, but she felt like she should tell her. Her husband would never understand, she thought. She looked at the girl, who looked back at her with curiosity, before continuing. "I saw a man... I'm sure you saw him too, he was wearing those old fashioned clothes and looked a bit dirty..." Once again, the woman looked at Emma for her reaction. She nodded, confirming that she had seen him as well. "I don't know if I'm seeing things, but I swear he looked just like my husband's father. My grandfather-in-law, that is... Thomas Vanderhouse, yes, that was his name. I just thought that was so strange."
"That is strange," Emma agreed. There was another short pause before she said, "Have a good day, ma'am."
"You too," the woman replied as she closed her trunk and went to unlock the driver's side door. Emma waited until she got into the car before walking away again, thinking the conversation nothing more than the ramblings of an old woman.


Thomas had learned by now not to make eye contact with any of these strangers, lest they feel compelled to give him a handout of some sort. He had seen the looks people had been giving him, and honestly it was making him just as uncomfortable as they seemed to be. Most kept their distance, and so Thomas was surprised when someone actually approached. He finally looked up to assess the man in front of him, his gaze indifferent but slightly fearful as well. Just as he had suspected, the stranger assumed him for a beggar and asked whether he was hungry. Not wanting to be pitied, Thomas' first instinct was to say no. But the truth was that he hadn't eaten yet and there had been close to nothing yesterday, when he was in his own time and in his own home. All he could remember was his parents saying they were going to start packing, because they were finally just going to leave. To start a better life.
Slowly, Thomas nodded. Being in a grocery store meant temptation, and there were certainly a lot of things he had never seen before. He was still uncomfortable with the prices, though. He wondered if this stranger might be as well.


Kitty was back to studying the map Jeremy had bought at the information center. It was at least something to do while the others conversed. Daniel, the one with the purse, had said that he was from this area. She really didn't know if it would be any help to anyone, but was there any chance that he would recognize something? In the meantime, she studied the map with curiosity. She hadn't gotten a close look at it before, and she figured she might as well know where things were. She had a feeling they would be here for a while, but she wasn't ready to admit to herself that they might just have to adapt to life here... forever. The thought chilled her even more.

 

[Greedy Fat Cat]

Ren accepted the nod for a yes, and bowed his head slightly. He was taller than Thomas, and older than him too. "My name's Renard. Sorry, I don't mean to pity you or just humiliate you," he said, his sentence trailing. Though it wasn't like Ren knew exactly just what he was doing. "How old are you?" He asked, but immediately followed with a, "Ugh, sorry, that wasn't supposed to sound creepy. You just look fairly young."
Ren pocketed his hands and looked down the aisle. "Well, is there anything in particular you'd like to eat?"

 

[minus infinity]

Even though he was still a bit wary of this tall stranger, Thomas also appreciated that Renard wasn't deliberately trying to humiliate him. "My name is Thomas," he replied and stuck out his hand to shake. He had been brought up to be polite and respectful at all times, no matter what; the gesture was as natural to him as breathing. Surprisingly, the hand that he offered was not dirty, because he had been in the bathroom earlier to try and clean himself at least a little. He was a little apprehensive about answering the second question, concerning his age, but the explanation that was offered shortly afterward helped. Thomas himself had seen that Renard did indeed look taller and older than he was, and that was probably why he wanted to know. Maybe most of the homeless looked older than he was. "I'm eighteen," Thomas answered after a brief pause. "And... if you don't mind... I'd like to go into the produce section," he added, gesturing vaguely in its direction. He wouldn't get much, maybe a fruit or two, because he would just feel uncomfortable trying to purchase a bucket's worth.

 

[MommiiDearest]

She gave him a disbelieving look for a moment, "You mean to tell me that in the 21st century there are still no time machines? What about jet packs? Flying cars, maybe?" Standing in line to pay, she set her items on the conveyor belt and gave a soft shrug. "I hope so... but at the same time it would be aweful for the others if they did get stuck here too...."  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"You do realise that's it's only been 15 years since the time you're from. I was one year old then. Technology can only advance so far in a given time" Trace retorted. He then thought about the last part Echo said. "Maybe we could go look for them. Well, I suppose I should see if I have class first. My teachers are very strict about attendance" he said.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

wolf_with_a_dragon

((I think we're waiting on your character to reply to people, since he asked the question about money.))  

[wolf_with_a_dragon]

((I knew I was forgetting something! Sorry...))

Jake nodded as they all told or showed him what all they had. So far it seemed like only two people had money that would work for sure. The rest would probably not work seeing as to how their bank accounts weren't made yet. "Well, I guess we need to figure out what we're going to do next. Prices have gone up a lot in the last six years. And the silver dollars would be better off being sold unless we find a way to send you back to your own time. As for you future folk, I'm not sure if your cash would work seeing as to how you haven't made the bank accounts yet. Any suggestions what we should do first?"  

[Greedy Fat Cat]

Ren was relieved to hear that Thomas didn't think of him as too much of a creep. He scratched his chin before motioning towards the produce section. "I'll make pasta. Grab whatever you'd like, and meet me at the register. I'll pay for everything." Something in Ren made him want to help Thomas. He hated this town and never left his tiny apartment for a very long time. Upon self-reflection, he just wanted to do something to make him seem, well, like he was doing something in his life.

He headed for the pasta section, and gathered some simple ingredients. He hadn't cooked since forever, and his stomach grumbled. The coffee this morning did not help his hunger.

[ sorry, I've been have a bad case of writers block in all my rp's ]  

[minus infinity]

(Same here)

Thomas was both grateful and surprised by Renard's generosity. "I don't know when I'll be able to pay you back," he said, working on the assumption that he somehow might be able to, even despite the fact he had been catapulted into a new and strange world. If it so happened that he had to learn to adapt to 2014 and not 1935, one of his first priorities would be getting a job. He headed toward the produce section thinking about just that, and as he selected an apple and an orange. There were sure to be places around here that were hiring, right? Maybe he could ask around. Once he had the fruit, he headed off towards the checkout aisles to wait for Renard. He looked around while he waited, and once again found himself looking at the young woman with the pink and blue hair. She suddenly blushed and looked away, though, which made him curious.

There he is again, Emma thought. My manager thinks he's going to try to steal something, but there he is with some fruit and he's not even trying to make a break for it. He seems harmless. Emma was curious despite herself, and looked at him for a few moments until he very briefly returned her gaze. Then she blushed and quickly looked away. What had that woman said about him? Her grandfather-in-law... Thomas Vanderhouse... a younger version of him, of course... but how could that be? She had to be mistaken, Emma thought. Maybe he just looks a lot like him, that kind of thing happens sometimes. Perfectly logical.

Kitty folded up the map again and listened to Jake as he talked, then made a suggestion when he asked. "We should probably go somewhere so that we can dry off, first," she said, then asked, "Are there such places here where we may go to sit and talk?"