Mystery of the North

[tronntronn]

Laugh at those rumors about death. They can't be real, if you were in any danger someone would've warned you. Right?

[Fish]

Oh I'm definitely excited! The whole "death sentence" aspect was a bit off-putting at first but then I remembered that the gods couldn't kill me even if they wanted to. Sounds like it's gonna be FRIGID up there though. I didn't hear about the important experiments though, what sort of experiments are they doing?

It's so cool!! You’re super excited about whatever the fuck you’re doing up in the north. You’re even more excited at the prospect of a good seat buddy and future friend. You roll back your shoulders and dive in.


“I mean, they say a lot of things are death sentences, right? So I’m not taking that part too seriously, you know? Besides, there’s been tons of missions up here, I guess. I hear there’s like, a caretaker person and everything. The cold’ll be hard to deal with, but, whatever. These uniforms are great at keeping the heat in.”




The city fades from view behind you as you continue to talk.

“Oooh, yes! That’s a good point!”


“Haa, yeah. Any idea what the experiments are going to be like, anyways?”


“Nope! Most of the science people went up ahead of time, so I haven’t gotten to do any talkin’ with them. I was hopin’ you’d had a chance to meet them.”




“Naaah, as if some fancy science people’d want to talk to random soldiers. Their loss, but that’s just how it is.”


“Maybe they’re workin’ on growin’ vegetables in cold places! Ooh, ooh, or, what if they’re researchin’ the sun!”


"Hah, what? The sun? It's just, like, a big ball in the sky, there's nothing to research about that."

"I dunno, I bet there's a whole lot of secrets about it out there!"

"What, are you going to solve them?"

"Hee!! Maybe I will! I'll figure out 'why is the sun?'"

You talk as the night stretches on.




You only stop talking when weariness catches up with you and you let yourself drift off.

--

You’re startled awake by the feeling of cold air on your face as Oliver opens his door and gets out. You rub at your face and pull yourself together.



This has to be the base. It's a lot plainer than you imagined, but you decide you can cope for now. Oliver shuts the van door and straightens himself up. He looks tired, but composed. He gets Midge's door open and takes out a key.

"We'll take today to rest and settle in. It's two per room for sleeping arrangements. If there's two names on the door, it's taken. If there's one, you can ask to room with them."

He unlocks the cuffs and stuffs them into his pocket.

"No causing trouble. We're all going to be a team out here and I want as few conflicts as possible. Understood?"

[fuzzysocks]

Either Hanish (we gotta make everyone here like us, and what better way to do that than being roommates with them!) or Math.
(Harlow mentioned liking Math, right? Let's learn more about them! ...She could've meant ~math~ but only NERDS like lowercase m math, so she was probably taking about Math.)

[tronntronn]

Can we get a roll call? I don't think we learned the cat boy's name for instance.

>What Midge's sentence is exactly? You wouldn't want to have a crazed axe murderer for a roomie if you could avoid that please.
>Suggest that you should bunk with Cinnabar. Try not to make it sound awkward.
>Fail.
>End up with the crazed axe murderer for a roomie.

[Eversor]

Hey I mean, you can always be the crazed axe murderer, no need to hope for one to appear. Be the success you want.

[Fish]

Can we get a roll call? I don't think we learned the cat boy's name for instance.

Oh shit, that's right! You haven't figured out his name yet. 

"Hey, catboy!" 



"What."

"What's your name?"

"...Hanish."

Ok, cool. Name obtained. You feel better about your list of possible roommates as you head in out of the cold. You keep thinking about your list as Oliver explains the front supply room and shows everyone where to put their coats, boots, and other necessities. The pros and cons of each person weigh on your mind. You'd like to befriend literally everyone in the base, and making sure they're stuck as your roommate seems like a good way to start a friendship off. If that's the case, Hanish and Midge are good options. 

Wait, Midge is like, an actual prisoner they've put on a work release program or something. Maybe you shouldn't room with them without finding out if they're an axe murderer or something weird like that. 

Then there's Cinnabar, who is literally one of the prettiest people you've ever seen. You take a moment to imagine what rooming with him would be like. 




You'll have to make up your mind soon. You're in the main hall and you finally understand what Oliver was talking about with the whole name thing. Some of the doors already have names written on them in chalk.
Origen and Venet, Ana and Nari, Math and-

Wait, hold up. 

Harlow mentioned liking Math, right? Let's learn more about them! ...She could've meant ~math~ but only NERDS like lowercase m math, so she was probably taking about Math.

YOU NEED TO ROOM WITH THIS PERSON. YOU DON'T CARE THAT HARLOW ALSO SAID SHE HASN'T GOTTEN TO TALK TO ANY OF THE NERDS YET, THIS IS TOO WILD TO BE A COINCIDENCE. 

You look at the name written under Math's to figure out who you need to smooth talk to get Math as your roommate. 

Lina.



UGH, OF COURSE IT'S LINA. OF COURSE. Ugh, you can't stand that lady. She's loud, in your face, doesn't know how to mind her own business, and worst of all? She has red hair. Red! Of all the desolate ice bases for her to also be assigned, it had to be yours. 

This will make the whole roommate thing harder, but you need to make up your mind. Who will it be? 

-Harlow: I feel like this friendship is really going somewhere and imagine how cool she'll be to talk to!
-Cinnabar: Wow, he's pretty! He seems nice, too. Just imagine getting to know him one on one!
-Hanish: He's almost as small as I am and there's something nice about that. Also, I need to befriend everyone!!!
-Midge: A total mystery. Why were they in jail? Do they identify as anything or are they just pure grump, no pronouns?
-Math: WHAT IF HARLOW'S ONTO SOMETHING HERE??? 
-Lina: No!!! Fuck Lina, she can take her overwhelming height and red hair somewhere else! 

[tronntronn]

Ask Cinnabar first, then Harlow.

[fuzzysocks]

Try to get Lina to budge so you can room with Math. If that doesn't work (which hopefully it will) room with Hanish instead.

[nuggies]

da na na na da na na na CAT BOY

[waka]

midge obviously, you'll never get close enough to befriend them otherwise

[baropin]

Midge, let's live dangerously.

[Eversor]

Cinnabar, otherwise Mystery Midge!

[klondipedia]

Midge, of course! Mysteries are fun.

[Fish]

Look like Cinnabar decided to go with Hanish, so that means... 





"Heyyyyy Midge, we should be roomies!" 

Midge looks you over, then looks at Harlow, who is currently writing her name on a door with 'Sera' written on it. They then look at Oliver, who's maintaining an active distance from a door with the names 'Origen' and 'Venet' on it. They're taking their time with this, and you appreciate that. 

"Only if I get top bunk."

Are these terms acceptable?

[fuzzysocks]

They WANT to bonk their head on the ceiling? Their loss. Definitely acceptable terms.