[VIDEO]; @fatima

[dust_of_life]

[Fatima's life dictates that she has to carefully manage and regulate her appearance. It's a bit of a neurosis, really. She's had to dedicate much of the last few years to proving that she's every bit as capable and mature as a bunch of vampires who have seen more than a few centuries. The mortal girl is not going to sit at the kiddie table, thank you very much. Which means not looking like a kiddie.

She wears a lot of make up. Like, a lot. It's well done and attractive, certainly. But noticeably an inch thick. Her hair is pulled back in a braid today, draping over her left shoulder. But what really completes the "I'm not a child" look is the attitude. It's her carefully schooled expression, just the right amount of jaded blase, as if to say "I've seen too much to ever be wide-eyed again."

It's her first network post. She figures first impressions matter. Although this is not how she imagined greeting the network.]

Hey, Fatima Merali here.

[She's got a thick, West Coast accent. She even says her name in a disgustingly Americanized way.]

Los Angeles, 2009, for any of you keeping track of that kind of thing.

Listen. Has anyone seen or heard from Ray Palmer lately? It's like he just vanished.

Comments

[earthy]

I see. I think you could probably call him a friend, in that case. Or maybe a teammate?

[dust_of_life]

I guess?

[Who would have thought that words like "friend" would get so complicated in a place like this?]

But right now, he's kinda a missing teammate.

[earthy]

Yeah... [He has so many other questions he could ask. Is this chin-butt fellow from wherever she's from? Where were they fighting monsters and what kind of monsters were they? Has she ever seen dark, twitchy, red-eyed monsters, either here or in her world?

But she must be pretty concerned about her missing friend/teammate/person she fought monsters with, and all of that would just be wasting time.

After all, Ray Palmer might have just gotten busy (or just been sent home), but he also could be in some kind of trouble, right?]

Well. I've got a couple hours I can spare right now. I'll go take a look around for you, Miss Fatima Merali.

[Upgrades mission from 'I'll keep an eye out while doing other things' to 'actively search this huge place for hours for your friend-ish person', sure, why not. The greenhouse, she'd mentioned. He'll start there.]

[dust_of_life]

[She smiles. It's not exactly a fully-powered smile. But it's nice to meet someone who maybe doesn't have an agenda.

Maybe.]

Thank you, I...

I don't even know your name.

[earthy]

I'm Terra.

[There's apparently a world out there somewhere where that name isn't considered feminine.]

[dust_of_life]

Terra.

[It's a little girly in Fatima's experience, but she's hardly going to judge someone based on their name.

After all, her name is Fatima. And people make lots of judgments about that.]

Nice to meet you, Terra.

1/2

[earthy]

[There's a brief pause before he replies.]

Nice to meet you, too, Fatima Merali.

[And then he's off.]

2/2

[earthy]

[He returns to the messages not a couple hours later but a solid eight or so.]

No luck, I'm afraid. [He sounds appropriately tired. Also disappointed. With a sigh-] I saw a few men I thought might be him, but none of them answered to his name.

He could still be out there somewhere, of course. Off in the forest or... in any of the buildings. [Of which there are so very many. No feasible way to visit them all, asking if anyone's seen a Ray Palmer... If he had more time, he could maybe put up signs or posters or something, but no. This has to be as far as he goes.]

I'm sorry. [He has failed in his endeavor to reunite her with her maybe-a-friend.]

[dust_of_life]

[Fatima is more than a little surprised to get a response. She kinda figured that would be the last she heard of Terra.

It's not a bad surprise.

Well, the part about Ray still being AWOL is bad. But this guy seems actually...genuine. That's not something she gets a lot of.]

I...was afraid of that.

But thank you. For trying.

[earthy]

[Time to revisit those questions from earlier in an attempt to puzzle this out.]

Was he from your... Was he from where you're from? Do you know if he'd have gone back, if they managed to reconnect the portal to...

[He trails off with an unseen shake of his head. No. Enough.]

You're welcome. I hope he turns up.

[dust_of_life]

No. He wasn't from my world. I met him here.

[She sighs. It's more than just the loss of a 'useful' friend. She genuinely liked Ray. He was thoughtful and seemed to actually give a damn.

But if he's found a way home, she can't really hold it against him.]

[earthy]

Ah. [Hm.] So you were fighting monsters here. Are you a part of the Guard?

[dust_of_life]

Oh, no.

I just volunteered when they needed some help.

[She shrugs.]

I work in the greenhouses.

[earthy]

As a gardener? That the job they gave you when you got here?

[dust_of_life]

Yeah.

I've always been pretty good with plants. Runs in the family. Mostly, they have me working on herbs.

[earthy]

But you can fight, too.

[dust_of_life]

Everyone should know how to defend themselves.

At least, where I come from...

[earthy]

[He's not sure what to say to that. "I'm sorry," comes to mind, again. It shouldn't be that way. People shouldn't have to know how to defend themselves. They should have protectors, like the Guard here, people trained to fight for them, to keep the peace for them. He knows that's not always the case, though. Every world is different and some have more than their fair share of darkness, literally or otherwise.]

I think it's like that in a lot of places. [Worlds.] Unfortunately.

[Anyway.]

The people here made me a... [He clears his throat a bit, adopting a more proper tone.] Teacher's assistant. At a school for younger kids.

[And then sheepishly-] I've never even been to a school before.

But I can also fight. If you ever need back-up, if you volunteer again or if trouble finds you... [An offer to help. In case Ray Palmer doesn't resurface.]

[dust_of_life]

[Fatima offers a slight smile. It's her tendency to insist that she doesn't need help, that she can take care of herself. But it's not hard to tell that he isn't really questioning his skills.

Sounds like he's as adrift as she is in this circus.]

Thanks. I don't know that I'll volunteer again but...it's a kind offer.

For what it's worth, I have no teaching experience either, but I do know a little about wrangling kids, if you ever need pointers.

[earthy]

[Terra's much the same when it comes to accepting help. He's always happy to lend a hand and has never thought less of anyone who's needed his assistance, but then when something goes wrong in his life... Help? Who needs help? Not him. He can deal with everything all on his own.]

Oh yeah? I'm not expecting it to be too rough... I do have some experience with kids. [But that experience is limited to being around just one kid at a time. He doesn't fully appreciate how much more challenging handling whole classfuls of children can and will be.] But I guess I'll know who to come to if I run into any problems.

[He might swallow his pride and ask for advice the first time a bunch of unruly kids work together to take him out at recess.]

I should get going. [Fight the good fight for sleep.] Sorry again, about Ray Palmer.

[dust_of_life]

[She bows her head. Which is probably the closest a Merali girl ever gets to humility.]

Thanks.

[earthy]

Take care.

[A few moments later, he succeeds in ending the feed. Slowly but surely getting the hang of this 'smartphone' business.]