Mia was amiable to Sonia's lead, happy to make conversation regardless. "Do you guys deal in quantum computing, then, or is that farther off than I thought?" She looked around at the strange openness of dense Shanhu, almost forgetting why she'd come. The populace here was anonymous in its number, but the closeness of humanity was practically cozy, here. For her, this was a paradise.
"Or maybe it's all clever algorithms, and you don't need any quantum nothing!" She grinned, as usual, though shortly afterward she dampened that and scratched her head while sitting. "Did anybody ever warn you about coming here? In-house, I mean, since you transferred quarters for business, right?"
Sonia chuckled softly. "They don't quite have the computers for that, I'm afraid. 'Clever' algorithms are all we have, for now." Taking a few seconds to take in Shanhu, Sonia turned her head almost like an owl's before closing her eyes.
"Naturally. It's quite dangerous, as I assume you're well aware of. I'd imagine few would come here without that knowledge. Why?"
"I've heard rumors that skeptics who come here leave as converts." Mia leaned into the back of the bench, enjoying a moment of Pacific sunlight, herself. "Supernatural stuff, like ghosts and Slendermen and the like: Apparently this place is full of all sorts of them." She peeled an eye open, raising the same brow. "I don't see any." There was another grin, then, and she sighed deeply.
"It's all just rumor, but I wonder if there's some basis in fact. Lots of creepers around here, maybe?"
"Hmm, disappointed?" Sonia asked without moving. "But, if they were to be ghosts and such, would one be able to see them with just a glance around?" She opened her eyes and leaned forward, resting her arms on her thighs.
"They say every tale has its base in reality. If that is to be believed, then Shanhu truly is a scary place, isn't it?"
"I suppose so. Kind of makes the train ride here seem a bit more cozy. Danger was ahead, not behind." Her tone was gentle, but there was a creeping sentiment of doubt, and it showed in her breathing that the subject was a new concern that she'd only just now realized.
"I guess we'll find out in time. I've got an aunt I've been meaning to meet up with some time today," Mia appends with a note of openness.
"That's true, but I don't suppose we came here for the coziness, after all." As far as Shanhu was concerned, Sonia had already made her plans and expectations having done research beforehand. That was just the way she was.
"I see," she nodded. "I don't have anywhere in particular I need to be, so long as I check in to my place on time. When do you plan to meet your aunt?"
"Good question. She doesn't even know I'm coming, yet." Mia didn't seem at all concerned by the fact that she had put herself into a very uneasy situation. "Phones never were my favored means of communicating. But we're in good standing so I hope she'll tide me over for a few days while I sort things out."
Her gaze evened out at Sonia's bag for a moment before she stood and offered a hand. "Time for a new beginning, huh?"
"A-ah, is that so?" She was a little surprised at the fact Mia hadn't alerted her aunt she was coming. Perhaps it was a surprise or something, though? Sonia could only smile as she sighed, though.
"I'm sure she'll be accommodating. Now, let's go," she answered, taking the other girl's hand.
"She's nothing if not accommodating. Very stoic woman, but she means well." Mia grinned and pulled Sonia to her feet. "Her place is just up the road from here. Should only be a dozen minutes or so."
Sonia shrugged and decided to go along with Mia, though she'd pretty much already decided to do that quite a while ago. Stoic wouldn't be anything particularly new to her, so that was quite alright.
Just as Sonia got up to her feet, Mia's grip suddenly tightened and she tugged hard: The ground had thrown her into a stagger, shaking like a quake, but there was no aftershock. For the moment, nothing else happened.
Mia let go before throwing Sonia with her, falling into a sit on the ground. She looked more than a little confused, baffled to speechlessness. Mia looked up at Sonia with her transparent face — as if she'd expected Sonia to be the first to regain her bearings — and spent a moment swallowing the adrenaline rush.
Even with her accelerated mind, Sonia couldn't predict everything. Mia was proof of that. But the next event proved to be the second thing within a few hours that she couldn't anticipate at all. Though not exactly strong physically, she was somewhat dexterous, likely something to do with processing everything a little faster.
But it wasn't quite enough.
As Mia pulled her off balance, Sonia fell into a lunge to try to keep her balance. The quake was a little much for her, however, and she started to fall to the side. Placing her hand down, she spun herself around and got to her feet, though by then the quake had already ended, with no aftershock to speak of. Strange.
Sonia looked to Mia, who didn't exactly seem to know what happened either. Though confused herself, she did her best to hide that fact, keeping a neutral face all the while.
"Stay close to me. Somehow, I don't think that's going to be all..." she muttered to Mia in a low voice.
Mia gets to her feet and shrugs her bag over so it rests across her instead of dangling off one shoulder. "What do we do?"
Given Sonia's perception, she could probably reckon the direction the shockwave came from. Buildings have a way of giving advanced warning and then slowly wobbling long enough to observe. Well, not just anyone; perhaps somebody who hasn't quite noticed just how accelerated their mind really is in this moment. Something's definitely new, and it's not just what's shaking the Earth.
Crowds are starting to form, looking up the road into town. It's kind of like a Godzilla movie, actually.
By the by, I've been taking a storyteller posture so far, but you're totally not stepping on my toes if you want to take the reigns yourself; I don't mind at all!
Unfortunately, Sonia wasn't exactly sure what to do either. There wasn't enough information present to determine exactly what had happened. However, whatever it was could be dangerous so perhaps moving away from the shockwave was the best course of action.
Yet strangely, she was certain that she had to move towards it. It was uncharacteristic of her, and that didn't escape the girl herself. Assuming Mia had perceived and observed as quickly and carefully as she did, Sonia extended a hand.
"Let's go."
Not an earthquake. Otherwise there would be aftershocks. The shockwaves seemed to have a source, so whatever it was had to be massive. A weapons test? A rogue machine? Or perhaps even...
Arriving, Sonia's sudden hurry seemed to disappear. What was before them looked to be a large, metallic egg. The crowd just sort of shuffled around gaping in awe, taking pictures of the strange, alien object. It wasn't an Abyssal nor weapon, or at least it didn't seem to be.
But though Sonia had calmed down the rush, she wasn't quite convinced. Squinting a little to focus, she scanned the surrounding area as well as the object carefully. Pining for every detail she could manage. Noise, chatter, the settling of the buildings, ground and surrounding area. A large pulse.
...
That last one demanded some more attention. The pulsing appeared to come from the "egg" which would be strange for a mechanical object, as it seemed quite organic the way the thing subtly contracted and released. Not only that, but the rate and intensity at which it did so seemed to be slowly but steadily increasing.
Perhaps...it was one of those "Abyssals" after all. Did they have some sort of cocoon stage now? But why now?
There were many questions, but their answers would have to wait. Contrary to her normal self, a burning passion, or maybe anger, surged inside Sonia. Her free hand clenched into a fist and her teeth were gritted together so tightly it was visible. But as she began to ball her other hand, the extra hand she felt caused her to remember something.
Mia. Her new...acquaintance? It didn't seem quite proper to insist the girl was her friend yet, even if she wished so, but regardless it wouldn't do to involve her in a personal feud. That was just silly, stupid, and illogical. The fighting would have to take place another day, wouldn't it? Maybe Shanhu's military would be able to take care of it. A cocoon stage indicated something just barely maturing, after all. Heroes might not be needed. Might.
Relaxing her body, Sonia exhaled sharply before turning to face Mia with a small smile on her face. "Let's go, Mia. We need to get to your aunt, right? I'd hate to keep her waiting to look at an oversized metal rock." But as she turned her back, the pulsing's rate increased exponentially. Soon, just about anyone would be able to notice it...
I see. I'm not good with stories but I tried my hand here >_> If it feels weird or rushed or something just tell me what to change haha
Mia hadn't picked up on the subtlety, but Sonia's stoicness was fairly convincing, and so she complied. Upon arrival, however, "Sonia, why here?" She hadn't known Sonia to be the brash type — she hadn't really known Sonia to begin with — and it unsettled her. "Are you all right?" Of course, there were forces at work that neither of them had yet fully grasped.
The pulsing egg was an unnerving sight, but she hadn't yet been exposed to the concept of an Abyssal; at this point, she was yet mundane. She was only a clever girl, nothing extraordinary. But that pulsing...
Mia turned to her peer and was startled by the aggressive posturing Sonia was starting to apply to her. "You look so scary." But then she turned to face Mia, and another shock came.
"Th—that sounds great," she replied half-heartedly. A crooked smile appears on her face, clearly not a look of courage. "But I think it's angry."
No, no, it's fine! And you don't have to if you're not into it, I just didn't want you to think you weren't supposed to. We didn't really discuss who was going to lead, we just sort of improvised. But it's working!
Sonia didn't quite feel the need to explain why they'd come here. That thing did the talking for her in that regard. But Mia's comments on Sonia's well being were a little disconcerting. Was she that obvious about it? That was something to work on, then.
And, of course, it was quite obvious that Mia wasn't actually on board with her idea. No reason to push it, then. But before she could think anything more, she finally picked up on the pulsing that she'd turned her back on. Her gaze fixed itself upon the "egg." Angry, huh? If these things had emotions, something she wasn't sure herself about, that sounded about right.
"..."
For a little while, Sonia wasn't sure what to say. We need to run cause it's probably a monster? I think something like this killed my parents so I'm in a bit of an uncharacteristic rage? It's just a mechanical object, don't worry about it?
"I'm...fine. Sorry for worrying you." Her fake smile faded, replaced with a look of honest worry. How many even knew what an Abyssal was? And if they did, wouldn't announcing what it could be just cause a panic? Well, it was pointless to worry about that. The only one she could control was herself, after all. The masses were not reliable. She looked right at Mia before continuing.
"But I think I'm going to have to make you worry a little more. That...thing? Angry isn't a bad way to put it. But, though I'm not 100% on this, I have a strong feeling we're going to need to get away from it. You remember those stories about Shanhu? Sticking around to see how true they are might not be a wise move."
Trying my hand at it isn't so bad, though of course feel free to take the reins as well when it suits you :p So I was thinking, of course I think its more or less obvious it's a (baby?) Abyssal in the cocoon/egg, but should we have the two discover their powers here, or just run away and have the Abyssal cause a panic/some destruction first?
"All right." Mia took a look around the place to find an escape route that wasn't too crowded already, but her face turned upset when the way they came wasn't one. "Something's wrong, Sonia." With a point, she went on. "Those people are seeing something." To Sonia, the patterns in the crowd's movement were clear to see, but that's not the sort of information Mia should be able to pick up on, was it?
"Do you know this area?" she asked. "I don't know the backstreets here, yet." The major roadways were pretty full by then. Maybe they could assert their way through, but that'd be shaky ground. "Or do you think we can go around this thing without much trouble?"
I think doing that a little bit down the road may be a better opportunity. I get the impression Mia and Sonia aren't suited to this sort of danger level, just yet!
Sonia had begun searching for an escape herself. Where they came from was blocked off and only lead to the train station anyway. If the situation was as bad as she suspected, on a train wasn't where they wanted to be anyway. Let's see, maybe if...
Her thoughts were interrupted as Mia called her name. Sonia's head perked up as Mia picked up on the people's reaction to the thing. Sonia knew she was capable of observing things like this by processing individual reactions and the overall kind of atmosphere they gave, but normal people couldn't do that, could they?
But now wasn't the time to question her about that, really. They had to get to safety.
"Yes, I do. I memorized the map before boarding the train, which has turned out to be more immediately useful than I thought," she nodded. Hmm, back to thinking about escape routes. Obviously all major roads were taken up by people stopping to gawk at the strange object. Backstreets were normally to be avoided as they were ridden with shady business, but between what that thing could be and some slight potential danger, she had to choose the latter.
"I'm not sure how safe it would be to try to walk around it. Were it to suddenly take action while we did so, we'd be in some rather serious trouble, no?" She jerked her head over in the direction of some of the back ways, which seemed even less populated than usual. "We just need to get away from this thing first, then we can decide what to do. Alright?"
Assuming Mia was on board with the idea, Sonia would offer her hand and begin walking into the narrower streets.
Mia showed her agreement by taking the offered hand. "Where exactly are we going, though?" Of course, the initial escape didn't really require that information; it was only a matter of getting off the main road, there.
The two wound through the alleyways, making quick pace given Sonia's unnervingly precise memory; even an eidetic had to compete with detail decay. But Sonia was no mere eidetic. Kid graduated with a degree at ten. What's that tell you?
Mia wasn't entirely devoid of endurance, but eventually, "Sonia, hang on; I have to breathe."
Sonia didn't really have a reason not to answer Mia's question, so as they took off she simply said, "My hotel." Despite her enhanced brain functions, completely predicting the future was still impossible. Factors she didn't expect or see coming into play could occur, this egg-like thing in the main street being one of them. Yet, thankfully, her hotel happened to be a great distance from it.
However, that also meant a very long walk. And while Sonia knew the path to where she wanted to go, that didn't exactly mean she could just sprint there effortlessly. A bit of full speed running later, Sonia was beginning to get winded. Judging by the voice right behind her, Mia was feeling the same.
"Yeah, that's...not a bad idea..." she panted, letting go of Mia's hand and taking a seat on a box in the alley. Resting her arms on her legs, she began to slow her breathing in an attempt to keep her heart rate down. As they'd stopped running, Sonia began thinking again.
Was the hotel the best place to hide away? Her room was on the third floor, so if that thing hatched and made its way there for some reason, they'd be hard-pressed to escape. Some sort of underground bunker would be best, but she didn't recall one anywhere as those weren't really the kinds of things one put on maps, and would they be allowed in such a thing anyway?She glanced at Mia, who was recovering her breath as well. Maybe...?
"Sorry to throw this from out of the blue, but where's your Aunt's house? That...might be a better place to hide. As long as you tell me where it is, I can get us there through these alleys."
