A Gentle Network

[ though this is a heavy thing for her to do in a number of ways, zita feels like this has to be done.

so she uses the physic link, her attempts to get the others' attentions gentle yet persistent nudges as her message begins to ripple out. ]

Hello, everyone... I'm Zita. I feel like I should introduce myself to you all, just in case.

After the events of last month and in light of recent events despite it being so early, I thought it wouldn't hurt to check on how you were all doing. Between the conflicts and the disturbances, it's certainly been a rough few months for all and-

[ uncertainty clouds zita's end of the connection for a second, but she pushes through it and some measure of determination shines through. ]

-and I want to do my best to help out more in the city as a result. There's much to do and we're here, after all, to fulfill that task

So... I'm planning some activities and would greatly appreciate company and help along the way. If you're interested in joining these tasks or are simply in need money or healing, please let me know so we can talk.

If you're in need of help with anything, please feel free to make your needs known too and I, and, hopefully, others, can aid you in someway in return.

Thank you.

[ ooc notes; feel free to interact with yourselves and hijack other threads! zita will have an month-long open log for activities up within the week and will be linked here accordingly for those who would like to participate in some influence jobs with zita. :> ]

[Might be bad timing, but Rhus reaches out to as many Strangers as he can after the daily morning exercises held by Allairavar are over, before the meager breakfast offerings.]

I've been workin' on growth formulas to speed along plant growth, but for a stronger one I need somethin' that cant be available here. That means I've an adventure to undertake, an' I need three companions to come with me. [Forgive him, he prefers making his delivery of the facts concise-- perhaps too concise, sometimes.] I'm off to the wilds of Adh Rikair down south to get to the plants there, an' the librarians tell me it weren't easy. On foot it takes too long, but there's a way to quickly travel. The darker your Jewel, the faster an' safer the psychic highways will be, I'm told.

But the wilds are full of dangerous people, hence they insisted I have companions to help out-- aside from you helpin' me transport back the plants I need to work with. The Winds are darker'n Red, an' I should be safe as a Sapphire. I don' know what these Winds are truly, or how they operate, but if you're close to my colour or darker, an' you've no issue with combat if it becomes necessary, mayhap you could come with.

[A pause before he starts up again. He almost forgot.]

An' whoever else who don't come can still help out-- I've some plants already dosed with weaker formulas. They need tendin' an' close examinations while I'm away.

[ooc: plotting can happen in my ooc post too!]

Hello, everyone. I’m Zita.

[ the woman on the screen smiles at the direction of the far caster, giving a polite wave before she returns to the task of packing up some things for the day.

judging by her surroundings as packs her things while she speaks towards the far caster, it seems that she’s taken residence in, well, the queen’s residence. ]

I hope this isn’t presumptuous of me to ask on this but— I’m hoping to offer my healing services to those here in the Queen's Residence or around the city for free.

However I’ve been informed that it’ll be in my best interest if I had an escort with me when I do this. If anyone is willing to keep me company, I would be grateful for it and be willing to pay you back somehow. You're all welcome to seek me for healing too, of course.

[ she pauses. as if considering something.

usually, she would end her message here and refocus her attention on the next task at hand - in this case, her packing for her when she heads out - but... ]

If you’re not interested in that, you’re welcome to also make use of my fortune telling services instead. Payment for this will be required but I promise the price for it is reasonable enough. I only ask for a story.

And that's it. Thank you for taking the time to hear me speak.

[ added ooc note;; for those who would like to thread out their and zita's time out in the city for the free healing services, i now have a log post with that activity as one of the top-levels! feel free to hit it up if you're interested. ]

[Peter looks...high up in his far-caster video. God knows where he is in the city right now, but it's definitely not at ground level.]

[He's still not sure about how he's decided to deal with his secret identity here. It feels like he's playing a dangerous game allowing people to see him without the mask, and just hiding his name, but with such a small group, it'd be exhausting trying to keep the identities apart. If he was just a guy hiding himself in a big city, it'd be one thing, but it's the other Strangers he has to work with. It's not a big team.]

[So he shows his face and if a few people connect his voice to that weird guy in the spider jim-jams he's not going to deny it. Bare minimum, they're probably going to notice that said face was nowhere to be seen anywhere during the fires.]

Anybody else notice how some places in the city are exuding an aura of bloodshed and pure evil? Just me? It might just be me. I don't know how many of you have gotten close to some of them.

[In his aerial exploration of the city, he'd passed over or past a few areas that had just...felt bad. He'd made sure not to land on the roofs or linger long; who knew what security they had.]

Food's not the worst, I've noticed. [He bites into a Frankenstein approximation of a hot dog and keeps talking with his mouth full.] There was a sausage vendor in the bazaar that makes some decent brats. A few people watched me combine one with a roll, some ketchup-like stuff, and some relish - think I blew a few minds. If pizza doesn't exist here, I'm going to see if I can talk someone into inventing that next.

[Just casually reporting on the food, because clearly that's important.]

[He segues into what's actually important without much of a segue at all.]

I also don't know how many people heard, but two of the queen's guys were talking, loudly, after the fire. Yada yada Queen was hurt - maybe bringing us in - blah blah she might have lied about eventually sending us home. We should maybe talk about that? And the fact that we're strangers here - hence our nifty little built-in magical superteam name that none of us actually agreed to.

As we all know, this world is a garbage fire [he feels secure in calling it such, being one himself] and the city occasionally is on normal fire, and that means even the people that want to fix it like the Queen might be willing to completely screw us to do it. So instead of being reactive, we need to be proactive.

[He looks like he feels a little stupid pulling a "go teamwork," and that's because short of the other spiders he's never actually had many other superheroes to do any teamwork with.]

We have to try to help this place in whatever way's best for everyone but we're going to have different people pushing their own agendas. So we need to cooperate. Pump as many sides for intel as we can, share information, and try to get a spin-free picture of everything that's happening. And also watch out for our own butts, because nobody else is going to. [He gestures with the hot dog.] We should maybe be low-key about it. It's more useful to us if everyone else thinks we're an uncoordinated and easily-manipulateable group of stooges that can be nudged around the board. Element of surprise and all.

[It probably doesn't sound that illogical but the man it's coming from doesn't really seem like someone who knows what he's doing. Starting off with a report on the food options, getting relish on your shirt, and not noticing the ketchup at the corner of your mouth tends to damage your credibility when public speaking to a group.]

I'm Ben, by the way. Ben Reilly.

[ooc: set after the fire and the tdm, but before Fayura's open.]