savetheearth | ~~TO MEET YOU~~

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TO MEET YOU

[ Kallie had suggested to Miles that if the place they held their grand three-of-them-in-one-place meetup was up to her, she'd probably choose somewhere with coffee... and while in the end pizzeria had been chosen instead, the young woman's still managed to secure a cup of black caffeine anyhow, as overcooked and otherwise indistinct-tasting as it is in a place like this.

... She tries to keep her nervousness and uncertainty down, resisting the urge to tap fingers on the table. Sierra doesn't worry her - she's positive the other woman will definitely show up - but "Raven"... she's not so sure about. Paranoia makes for not just a stubborn determination to be able to see her motorcycle through the restaurant's window at all times... but a straightness to her back that almost seems painful to her, too.

All she can do is hope this doesn't turn into a disaster, somehow. Ignoring the curious gaze of a random child, she pulls at the yet again newly-shortened tips of her hair instead, tamping down a frown. ]

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[ Well, isn't this awkward. At least the silence from Kallie - whom Sierra supposes she shouldn't keep looking to for answers, here, even if Kallie knew more than she did about who they had been - gives her time to try to ease into something else. At least Jake seems to have recovered from being stunned, and Miles seems to be all right, too. Even if Miles also seems annoyed.

She'd nodded when Miles glanced her way, and since Kallie didn't outright protest even if she's sulking... ]

I wouldn't say it's gossiping, but that was what we had on the menu. Aside from pizza, I mean, which we actually hadn't quite decided on yet. They don't like pineapples or gold flakes, so I think we're going with veggies. Hopefully you like those?

[ And since there's space in the conversation now... ]

I'm Sierra Callahan.

[ Which is just as Irish as it sounds, although she doesn't have the accent. She'll let Miles decide whether or not to introduce himself. ]

Which number were you planning on offering up?

[ ...May as well get this show on the road and ask, even if it's not as direct as it could be. ]

Ngh. What if he has a lot of numbers though? [Miles twitches when he notices how things have become even more awkward. So he takes it upon himself to be the rude one at the table and pulls out his phone, before tapping on it then sliding it across the table towards Jake.

But instead of his contact list, the screen is open to his very first post on the network, which he knows is invisible to people not on the network. This is him, testing Jake one last time, and at the same time letting him know that they're all in the same boat, just so they can stop going around in circles.]

Here, number. Just so you wont keep saying we're going behind your back and gossiping about things. [He's not really asking for Jake's number, but the statement's other people.]

And we're not gossiping, sheesh.

[ He... has no idea what she even means with gold flakes, but he figures it's some kind of joke and snorts. ]

Well obviously, they haven't truly lived. But if we're settling anyway, yeah sure. Whatever's fine.

[ Actually, Jake is of the firm belief that pizza isn't really worth having if there isn't some kind of meat on it. But if they were all going to be sharing and they'd already come to some kind of decision, he isn't going to be "that guy" and complicate everything. Besides, food probably isn't even going to be a main focus here.

He's glad to actually start getting some names though, and offers a smile and a nod when Ser-- Sierra introduces herself. He's also thankfully given a reason to not stare at her when the kid slides his phone across the table, a post from that network up and visible for everyone at the table to see. Welp. That pretty much cleared up any doubts, now didn't it? Ahhh, he can't help it. He just shakes his head and laughs a little under his breath. ]

Yeah, that's it. That number. For our little "support group". Thanks. [ He taps the phone so it slides halfway back in the kid's direction. ] And it's kind of gossiping if you think about it. We're talking about people who aren't us without them knowing.

[ He pauses for a moment. An awkward moment. ...Should he say it? Do they know? If they don't, well... then he should say something, otherwise he won't get any answers. So after some consideration and without looking at anyone in particular: ]

...Knowing numbers isn't the only thing we have in common, is it?

[ Sheez, she makes just one comment and-- anyway, thank God that they aren't going to be going around and around over freaking pizza toppings some more. At least until they're actually ordering, anyway...

Kallie just watches and listens in, hiding her reaction once it occurs to her that Miles and Sierra are having to try and suss out whether or not Jake is numbered without her help. They're pretty on top of it, though, even if Kallie has to wonder... just how many times has this guy had the network shoved under his nose as a test by now?

She's not sure what to even make of his own gossiping comment, but the question? Now that is finally enough to snap her out of her silence, before the others have a chance to even think about pausing uncomfortably over how they're going to answer (...like she might have, were she in their position). ]

No. [ As mostly something to do, she reaches out to put her hand on the top of her sub-par coffee cup, pulling it towards her just a little. ] Welcome to the - reunion.

[ Delivered with only moderate amounts of irony in her tone! Of course, there's still some lingering lowness to it too on account of her still being thrown off by the sheer coincidence here, but... ]

[ Sierra will finally drop that, since someone finally laughed. Even if it's the new guy who wasn't there for Kallie originally joking around (which apparently Sierra finds worthy of remembering for always, or at least of thoroughly encouraging - it's hard to tell). She flashes a bright grin in Jake's direction, although considering he's trying not to stare, it's possible he misses it.

And with the number thing confirmed, she relaxes a little. It seemed pretty likely, but...it's always nice to be thoroughly on the same page, isn't it? ]

Is it gossip if there's no real chance of ever running into those people, though...?

[ Apparently she's just going to pick the silliest things to ask about. Although she does damp the joking to actually contribute. ]

If I had to guess, I'd say you already got your reunion gift. ...Are we going to go around in a circle about things, or...?

[ She automatically looks over at Kallie. Somehow Sierra seems to have decided Kallie is leading their little brigade meeting - though Kallie had originally called it together, so. ]

[The moment Jake pushes his phone back to him, he snatches it back and turns it off just for good measure. He's about to give Jake a scathing reply, but then.

Sierra.

Miles whines at Sierra's question, and stares at ~~Lightning~~ Kallie too. He cant stand talking in circles because it's just confusing and annoying. No. Just no no no no no. He'd rather talk in some kind of code, rather than in circles like a mad scientist or a villain with a giant white cat.]

Oh god please no. I feel like we're in a spy movie. Our lives are a movie, let's not make it into a spy movie or else even our freaking support group wouldn't be able to do a thing for us.

[ "Reunion." And "reunion gift." Well that isn't a fucking creepy way to put it or anything... This whole thing is awkward enough, but this is also starting to work on his nerves and make him tense and paranoid. He doesn't like this at all and he's not sure what the hell to make of this mess.

Honestly, Jake has no idea what to really think about any of them either. Kallie is probably the one he's most on the fence about despite knowing her longest. Quiet and serious and can't take a joke for anything... that about sums her up. Not really the type he'd go hang out with. Sierra, on the other hand, seems pretty cool so far. She's the only other one at the table who's even smiling. And the kid?

Well, he doesn't really know what to think of the kid either until just this moment. ...This kid is kinda hilarious. Jake can't actually take his comment as an expression of honest-to-god anger and just laughs. Okay, he's finally feeling like he can actually relax a little. This is nice. Thanks, kid. ]

Oh come on. We could've seen how long we could manage to keep it going. You totally ruined it. [ He gives a fake sigh of disappointment. ]

Though I wouldn't mind cutting the conspiracy cult-ese either. Not like anyone'd care to get a place like this wired or anything. It's probably fine if we're just direct, right?

[ Without thinking, he also ends up looking at Kallie when saying this. He knows she's more of a veteran at this whole thing than he is so she's kind of, sort of the authority here, he guesses. At least compared to him, who will shamelessly admit he doesn't know shit. ]

Edited 2014-02-02 05:12 (UTC)

[ Kallie glances between them, feeling a sense of slight but growing exasperation. Going in a circle seemed reasonable enough to her, if only as a way to get some sort of conversation started. There's an almost sympathetic look aimed at Sierra (even though Jake too backed it up). It's not like they'd have to keep doing it under a strict system; they aren't children playing introduction during the first day of school or anything.

She sighs quietly. ]

... It's why I picked early in the day instead of dinner-time.

[ You know, for at least relaying plans to the two here who were actually invited. Whatever. On the other hand, the sound of chatter from other customers could have worked as a pretty good source of camouflage as well- something Kallie acknowledges, but... even if she's not sure if either way is actually better than the other, she prefers fewer people just by default.

Trouble tends to happen whenever there's a group of numbered people around. Kallie even looks away then, as if expecting to see one of the monster cats or sentient lighters that have plagued her in the past.

She's not sure what else to say. Something about her Echoes or even narrowed down to them in general? With the thought about gatherings and coincidences in mind... ]

So, we all 'knew' each other, one way or the other. I've seen others, too, but...

[ They have yet to make an appearance outside of her brain only. She has to wonder if they're already numbered and on the network too... or if just maybe they aren't but one of the others already know them... ]

[ Sympathetic look acknowledged and filed away, Kallie. Sierra laughs softly at Miles' complaint, though, not really minding doing it another way, so long as they, you know. Actually decide on what they're doing. At least the pizza has been locked in, and Jake seems to be helping with the tension-cutting comments.

Sierra's so far managed to avoid big meetings of numbered folks, aside from agreeing to help with Danny's intangibility, and the whole barn-whatever meeting later today. She's easing into being involved. ]

I've seen a few others, too, but I only heard names for...well, me and two of you?

[ She points at Kallie and Jake, respectively. Most of the people she'd seen had been there for just seconds, except for one boy not at the table. She's not bringing it up, for now. ]

And I only really know for sure how I knew Kallie.

[ "Hero" isn't too descriptive and seems awkward to bring up, anyway. ]

I'm afraid I don't really "remember" a whole lot, overall.

[Okay, that's much, much better, and Miles breathes a sigh of relief. Spy movie. Ugh.

But he perks up just a little more when he hears the others talking about other people. Other people they've seen in their own old memories. Because he remembers some people too, but maybe not the same ones they do, so it's a good starting point for information.

Because seriously, Miles wants to know more of who he'd been before. He's in too deep to just get up and walk away from all this, and there's something about his past life that's just... well, he doesn't know the word for it. If there's anything more alluring to him, it's knowledge, and this? This is knowledge about himself.]

I remember a couple of others too. I also know your names [nods to all three of them] but not my own. Or the names of those other people.

We should probably compare notes about that, because that could be important.

[ He's surprised, though he probably shouldn't be. They all seem to have more information than he'd been expecting, and he can't help but feel optimistic about this. So the other had not only had visions involving each other, but had managed to get some names out of it? And they remembered other people? Hmm. ]

...I think you guys might have more to go on than I do on this. I've "seen" two of you, but only know one of your names.

[ He glances over at Sierra for a moment. A name is basically all he has on her. That and that feeling of her being somehow important. But that was too vague to be any sort of clue right now. ]

Another name's been brought up but I haven't actually seen anyone else. Who else do you guys remember?

[ He's not sure about this line of questioning, honestly. Even if they knew each other, the chance of them all knowing the same people aren't high. But at least some of them might be the same and it might help them figure something out about what was going on or who they were. It's as good a place to start as any. ]

[ She knows for a fact that she's been having her "pulses" longer than any of these three, so she figures too it's probably likely she has the most of them, memories or otherwise. It's kind of weird. Especially when a good number of the things are nonsense like knowledge of who-knows-how-many monstrous creatures that she's never seen or heard of before.

It's knowing this that prompts her to answer with what she can in response to Jake- ]

Black guy, green suit... maybe military?

[ She puts her hands up flat near her collarbones, thinking of the wide collar and lapels on Sazh's coat, before letting them hover there a little indecisively, frowning as she tries to decide how to describe further. It makes her feel a little silly. ]

There were two other women too - with us. [ A brief, distracted gesture to indicate Jake and Miles. ] Their clothes... were... kind of bright and tribal? But, one was red-headed, while the other's... dark.

[ ...Is that offensive KALLIE DOESN'T KNOW. She looks a little agitated, but can't think of any other way to have described Vanille and Fang. Her Echoes haven't been kind enough to hand her names for those folk, even though she's got... quite a bit on the three seated here.

On that matter, even though she initially ignored the first time the thought occurred to her, she looks at Miles directly, her tone changing just slightly towards less matter-of-fact. ]

... I know your name, if you want to hear it.

[ As well as Jake's, she guesses, if it's required. ]

[ Sierra suspects she knows at least one way to force an echo - Kallie did it to her inadverdently, and she then used that echo to trigger Kallie, although they'd guessed what might happen after - but given Kallie's reactions to that topic, she's not bringing it up. Names and faces are safer ground, and she's more or less happy to contribute. ]

I saw that man off to the side, twice. And a younger boy, maybe family? Only once, for him.

[ She doesn't recall seeing either of those women, as of yet. ]

The only person outside of those two and us would be...a boy, late teens, dark hair and blue eyes. Taller than me.

[ ...So more than 5'5". He possibly resembles someone she knows, but...if so, she'd prefer to keep quiet about it, so.

...Was that offer only to Miles, Kallie...? ]

And I know yours. [ To Jake, just in case he's curious. May as well be inclusive. ]

You mean the guys with the afros? [Miles tilts his head at Sierra.] They're definitely family-- I saw the boy sitting on the man's shoulders. I don't think anyone would do that to a kid unless they're really family.

[Are afros genetic though, in what that world would call genetics. It's a legitimate thought, considering people have pink and orange hair over there.]

I know only one of the other girls you've described, if we're talking about the same people. Pigtails, pink top... and I think I remember some fur on her skirt? The other one... I'm blanking.

[Miles almost resorts to drumming his fingers on the table to give his hands something to do as he keeps searching is fragmented past-life memories. There's got to be something more he's missing, because while he has a lot of memories by this point, they're still sadly lacking in a whole lot of things. He's opened his mouth to ask if they've seen anyone resembling them around, but Kallie's question makes him pause.

Of course she knows his name, he shouldn't be surprised. But he still takes a few seconds to decide whether or not he actually wants to know it.] I know your real name too, if you're really interested in that past.

[Because he remembers a conversation a few months ago. "That's not real," she'd said. If she's going to reject it again, he doesn't want to get pieces of who he used to be from her.]

[ Jake's listening closely to all these descriptions, trying hard to see if any of them spark some kind of memory. So far, he's got nothing. Either he didn't know those same people or the descriptions were too vague or something. Why is it every time he's trying to make himself remember stuff, he's never able to do it?

As far as he can tell, they seem to remember a lot of different people. There weren't too many matches, though, with one significant exception. ]

So all of you remember this afro guy then? Huh.

[ He's got to be linked to them significantly then. If he had a kid-relative on his shoulders around them, they must all be familiar. ...And if he's sporting an afro, Jake's gonna assume that guess about him being in the military is dead wrong, cause there is no army in any universe who would let that fly. I mean come on.

The only other similarity seemed to be one of the hippie girls Kallie was describing, but only she and the kid remembered her. Everyone else mentioned seemed to be a miss.

He looks around the table though at all these offers for names. The kid's offer in particular seemed... interestingly worded. For several reasons. ]

...If we're all gonna have a bunch of memories that might be connected, it'd probably be a good idea for us all to know each other's names. That way if we remember someone saying something about another person, we'll know who they mean.

Edited 2014-02-03 11:57 (UTC)

[ Jake thinks Afro-Guy can't be military because of the hair? Just wait until he finds out that not only was pink-headed past-Kallie a sergeant, but what she wore on duty....

There's confirmation for two of the same, though in return... Kallie definitely doesn't remember tall, dark, and blue-eyed teenager-guy, or even the little boy, for that matter. To be fair though, she figures, the conversations she's recalled starring these various characters so far have been rather... serious in tone. Maybe the kid, apparently young enough for shoulder-riding, had been deliberately excluded...?

Either way, Kallie gives Miles a weird look at his offer, obviously a bit thrown off. ]

I...

[ "...already know it," is what she meant to say, but the way he stresses real soon catches up with her. 'Lightning' doesn't sound like something parents would give their newborn daughter, does it? Especially if they then went on to bestow 'Serah' on their next one. Likewise, 'Hope' and 'Snow' also seem to stretch it a bit, even if Kallie already has suspicions about the general sanity level of the culture the people the four of them seem to be pulling pieces of life from lived in. ]

... You think 'Lightning' is a code name or something?

[ Her brows draw together, but it's out of reluctant confusion rather than any sort of anger over the matter. Off the top of her head, she can't think of anything solid to refute it. ]

...It does sound a little weird next to "Serah", when you think about it.

[ Sierra is apparently following the same train of thought as Kallie regarding their apparent family naming scheme. Actually, if she thinks about it...Serah is the only remotely usual name she's heard, isn't it? Granted, she's just been assuming Lightning was a usual sort of name given the others she'd heard and the fact that pink hair and magic were apparently Normal. ]

I mean, I know they don't have to match, but they don't sound like they came from the same people at all.

[ And Lightning had been in the military. Code names were a military thing, right? That was a thing they did?

Maybe it was like her...call sign? Was that it? ]

...Although "Snow" isn't that usual either, I guess I thought maybe weather names were just a...thing?

[ She sounds dubious now, though. ]

[His entire posture changes, from slouching and unsure to straight and dominant, because he doesn't appreciate his knowledge being doubted like that. Of course, they don't know exactly what he knows, but still.]

I don't think. I know it's a codename.

Besides, we know her name [points his thumb at Sierra.] Don't you think 'Serah and Lightning' is an awkward combination of names for sisters? 'Snow' is a thing, yeah, but 'Serah' doesn't scream something similar to an electrostatic discharge in the atmosphere.

I know where we came from is downright weird, but seriously. It's logic.

[So he tilts his head at them, challenging them to think about it, but more to Kallie because he hasn't heard her answer yet.]

[ They probably didn't mean to do it, but for a few moments there Jake was pretty fucking lost on the context of this discussion. That's what happens when you walk in mid-discussion, he guesses.

On one hand, it was great to get confirmation from something that wasn't some stupid sixth sense that this girl was definitely Serah. On the other, he couldn't figure out why the hell they were comparing "Lightning" to Serah. As far as he could tell "Lightning" was the name Kallie went by. Which... yeah, he didn't think it was going out on a limb to say something like that was a nickname or alias instead of her actual name. But he couldn't understand why they were saying Lightning had to be an alias because it didn't match "Serah".

But apparently... Lightning had been Serah's sister? So Kallie and Sierra were relatives or something in this other life? He's not really sure what to think of that. They seem pretty blasé over that fact, too. Huh. They must have known for a while.

Well regardless, Jake has to keep himself from frowning at the way the kid had decided to speak about it. "It's logic." Duh. Like it was stupid to even consider something different. The hell is with this attitude? They're all freaking lost in this whole thing and don't have anything but fragments to work with. He figures one thing out before someone else and suddenly he's tough shit. Fucking kids, man. ]

Well to be fair, "Lightning" and "Snow" are pretty weird even for aliases. And as far as I've heard, lotta stuff in these pulse things don't always follow logic. A weird naming pattern's nothing. But I guess in this case, we at least know we're dealing with aliases. Since you're so sure and all.

[ So at least two of them had code names then, right? Snow had to be either himself or the kid. ...That was a pretty weak alias compared to something like Lightning. But more than that, why the hell would they have to have code names to begin with? What the hell were they doing? He really hoped the spy movie analogy didn't end up being accurate. Especially considering some other details. ]

[ Kallie is tense, putting off just a little visible agitation here despite herself. In all honesty, the temptation to present some sass in defensiveness is strong- the idea of pointing out how, would anything really be so weird in a world where a teenage boy is going by 'Hope'? Alias or not...

But, she's being careful anyway. Mutual exchange of information aside, she thinks it only courteous to try and avoid prompting Echoes knowingly without warning. She's not actually sure, but handing out a full name seems pretty likely to her to be a trigger of some sort for the phenomenon. There's been seemingly less significant things that have set her off in the past, after all.

Which means that if she agrees to hearing this supposed "real" name of Lightning's, there's a pretty strong chance of a pulse, that she'll be feeling that familiar sensation of something at once alien and disarmingly natural shoved into her head within the next few minutes. Just like she had when Sierra had offered to show her the "tattoo" she'd received thanks to something she'd prompted previously, Kallie frowns as she thinks, weighing the perceived pros against... just how unpleasant she finds the experience in general-- and of course, the possibility that whatever she gets will be much more undesirable than she could have even imagined... ]

... We'll just have to see, then. What is it?

[ Sierra doesn't speak immediately this time, instead glancing over at Miles after Kallie gave the approval. Given their connection in the other life, it's possible that Lightning's "real name" might spark something for her, but she has to admit she's curious. And anyway, Miles and Kallie seem to be a little focused on their conversation at the moment, so...

...Well, for good reason.

Or at least Sierra doesn't really mind either, way, so she uses the time to drink some of her iced tea, looking around the table to gauge where everyone is at emotionally.

Her only remark is absent-minded and low-voiced, to Jake. ]

She was in the military. So...that's the other half of why it sounds plausible.

[ Not that Sierra is sure that would make sense for everyone else, who...didn't strike her as particularly military, if she'd had to guess. ]

[Sensing that all eyes are on him... Well. He opened up that avenue, so he's got to go through with it, even if he doesn't like being the center of attention.

Besides, if he's right, then there might be some new echoes for both Sierra and Kallie, and he's going to get his own name in return. It's a good trade-off, in his mind.]

Claire Farron.

[If there'd be a huge fall-out from this, he's torn between wanting to see it through and wanting to get the hell out of dodge. But he sits back anyway, and waits.]

[ Jake looked at Sierra, a little surprised. ]

...Are you serious?

[ He glances back at Kallie, concerned. From what bit he had gotten, nothing about her appearance had screamed "military" to him. Far from it. But more than that, he wondered what that was supposed to mean since he remembered saying something about fighting the army. That along with what little he remembered of her... well, he was starting to think it might be best if he kept that little bit of info to himself for now.

He was tempted to turn and ask Sierra some more questions regarding that, but by then Miles had gone and given Kallie her name. That name didn't ring any bells for him anymore than "Afro guy" had, unfortunately. And compared to Lightning, it was spectacularly bland. ]

[ No need for Miles to wait long. Kallie blinks, but then immediately flushes red, expression faltering as she finally joins in on the 'getting Echoes in the pizzeria' club. She's not sure what she was expecting, but... ]

She changed it.

[ Because her - and Serah's - parents had died; Kallie keeps that detail to herself, her eyes down. The need to 'protect' Serah... she doesn't know what life might have been like for a couple of orphans in this past-life-culture of theirs, but that... definitely puts a new layer of meaning on things.

Now she's sure she really understands why Serah was crying during the argument with Snow, where Lightning seemed to think declaring she needed to deal with l'Cie was a good idea. But the question still remains- what in the world was going on? What exactly did being a l'Cie even entail??

Uneasily, she glances back to Sierra, ignoring for the moment anyone else who might be looking at her. She hasn't totally forgotten her promise to hand out names herself, but her preoccupation with this newer information obviously comes first. ]

[ A nod, confirming she's serious about the military thing, although by that point Miles has given out Kallie's real past life name and Sierra is a little...distracted.

She's unaware of what happened to cause it, but...that's right. ]

Something happened, and she changed it. That's right.

[ Vague, but it feels right. Sierra can't pinpoint how or when, but...

Not an alias, then. Just a change for some unknown reason. And that has to be her last name, too. Serah Farron, if her sister was Claire Farron. The information doesn't throw anything else into the light for her, but it's interesting, if nothing else. ]

TO MEET YOU

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