riverview | [ text | un: jkent ]

Yeah. I'm on the Cadet program but I haven't done much yet.

[ Mostly because Jon can't show off his abilities. ]

[Well, this kid was definitely young. Al was on the Guard proper, and he didn't know if they went by the age he said he was, but they're both painfully aware that he looks 13 despite the fact that he shouldn't.]

My brother and I do a little bit of everything, but we're mostly on Salvage and Repair. I'm used to Freelance myself, so it has ... been an adjustment.

How long do they keep you on Cadets, do you know?

Probably until I'm older? It's not super clear.

[ Jon is only ten. Even if he's the strongest ten year old there is. ]

Ah.. I meant- do you know how old you have to be?

[He's guessing no, based on that response.]

Nevermind... You on your own here?

[Ed developed a habit of watching after kids with no one else in Purg, so asking is second nature at this point. This place seemed more inclined to bringing families back together than splitting them up though, it was new.]

Probably fifteen and above? I'm not sure.

[ Jon runs a hand through his hair. ]

No, my dad is here. Well, my not-dad. He's an alternate version of my dad and he looks out for me.

[He actually smirks a bit at that. The whole not-actually-who-they-should-be thing was definitely a head trip.]

There seem to be a lot of those running around. Apparently there are a few different "versions" of me and my brother, too.

[Ed was automatically reminded of the General arriving, demanding answers from him, surprised to find out that she wasn't anyone Ed knew. She had expected to find an "alternate" version of him in that place, and her frustration at being faced with a stranger instead had been pretty obvious.]

Yeah, that's normal when realities collide in one place. Time and space tends to get all screwy.

[ The most versatile ten year old when it comes to this stuff. ]

You sound like that's something you have experience with. This kind of thing doesn't exactly happen where I'm from... Just other worlds I've been to.

Kinda? I was born on an alternate world which collapsed so.

[ He shrugs loosely. ]

[Hold please.]

.... Collapsed?

[Give him a moment, he's getting his brain back after that one.]

They say one of the reasons we could end up here is because our world is destroyed, but-

[He hadn't actually talked to anyone that applied to. So far, the displaced and near death theories panned out, though.]

They also said accidents happen. I'm pretty sure the world I was living in before coming here is still standing.

[ He got new memories after all. That implies things are still okay. Plus, Jon feels he would know if his world got destroyed on him. ]

[okay, if he had another home before coming here it didn't add up, so he nods at that.]

The displaced feeling kind of explains why I'm here well enough that I didn't think about the other possibilities much.

[He felt very displaced in Attollo, it was a wonder he stayed there that long if this place existed, honestly. It did only get worse when his friends started disappearing though.]

Have you been here long?

Uhmm. . . four mouths?

[ Jon ticks the time off his fingers before nodding. ]

Yeah, it's been four months.

[Four months seemed to be the answer, Ed was starting to wonder if he'd disappoint someone in the future when they asked and it had been four months. Or maybe people only stayed here for four months before leaving, which didn't really mesh with the five year estimate they give during orientation.]

That's the longest answer I get. It's also the most common one... It's a little strange.

[but maybe he's going about this the wrong way.]

Do you know anyone that's been here longer than you?

[ Hmm. ]

My dad? And I think some of his friends were here a month earlier?

They got here a month before you?

[There's some thought that needs to go into that, it's possible the people that he'd asked before who were still here were on their fifth month by now - so it wasn't exactly an extraordinary answer. If he's right it fits into the pattern pretty neatly.]

Seems like there's been an uptick in new arrivals these last few months.

I think so? My dad was here and he had friends and stuff. That usually takes time.

[ Jon doesn't fully know and it shows. ]

Yeah, there's more and more people. Which is nice!

[Don't tell Ed friends take time, that's not how he operates.]

I wonder if it will keep up like this... Maybe there's a certain quota the portal is trying to meet.

I dunno if that's the portal or whether it's the rules this reality lives by. Portals rarely have that kind of stuff. They just pull people.

[He wasn't really serious about that part, but SURE OKAY KID.]

You seem to know a lot about this stuff.

[ Jon shrugs. ]

My world's kinda special. We have had portals and all kinds of crazy stuff for a long time.

Must make it a lot easier to adjust to.

[On one hand, Ed had a similar advantage having been to other worlds before, but on the other hand - those worlds had someone running the show and claiming to be in control of it all, so this was still different.]

It does, actually. But everyone here comes from different places so it's cool to hear new things. Like the aliens! The aliens are cool.

[ Jon is really into aliens. For personal reasons. ]

Aliens, huh?

[Not something Ed's really ever had to address before, but it occurs to him they're on the moon of some other planet so he shrugs.]

Aren't we all by default, technically aliens at this point?

[ Jon pauses as he considers this. ]

Yeah, I guess. But not the cool ones.

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