1st Devouring

[dontrunawayfromliving]

The feed snaps on to reveal a woman with dark hair and bright red eyes, dressed in a heavy tanktop and pants. There's a massive red bracelet on her right arm, and leaning against the wall behind her is a sword at least as long as she is tall.

"Hello. My name is Lieutenant Sarah Snowdon, Fenrir Far East Branch - I am a new resident who came here by way of Geartopia. My medical exams have been cleared and I've been given a clean bill of health. I look forward to working with the rest of you in defending this city."

She relaxes minutely after delivering the rigid, rapid-fire introduction, and her next statement is much less painfully formal.

"Alright then, now that the formalities are out of the way, I think I should get down to the actual reason for this broadcast."

She steps out of the direct video feed at this and gestures to the giant sword behind her.

"This is my personal weapon, a God Arc. It's an extremely dangerous weapon, so I need to explain some basic safety precautions concerning it, since I can't rely on them being common knowledge here."

She leans in, emphasizing her words.

"Never touch it. Every God Arc is genetically attuned to exactly one person and can never be safely used by anyone else. The best case scenario is simply that my Arc will devour you if it's touched. The worst case scenario..."

She trails off at that, her eyes going distant before she turns back to the feed.

"There are worse fates than mere death. Thank you for your time."

Comments

[video]

[demifemme]

"Are you a god?"

Priorities!

[video]

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah blinks.

"...that's a new one. No, I'm a God Eater."

Re: [video]

[demifemme]

A god eater you say? Shura likes your style.

"What kind of gods do you eat, then?"

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"They're called Aragami - the Devouring Gods."

Sarah flashes a small, restrained grin, her voice full of bitter humor.

"Nice bit of poetic irony, huh?"

[demifemme]

"I like it. I bet they're devouring the world, huh? They get what's coming to them." Shura you are the epitome of sensitivity.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"What's left of it, anyway. There's nothing they won't eat."

Her gaze turns distant and slightly dreamy.

"...I never thought I'd see an actual tree in my lifetime, you know?"

[demifemme]

Shura nods. "I understand more than you think. Glad it could brighten your kidnapping."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah nods, a small, reserved smile on her face.

"...what's your name, anyway?"

[demifemme]

"People call me Shura. It works for me." Better than the "The Hitoshura" awkwardness.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"A callsign, huh? In that case, call me Owl."

[demifemme]

Shura nodded. "Something like that, Owl! It's mostly that I don't have a name anymore." She doesn't seem bothered by that fact.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

A nod.

"Some of the other God Eaters do that...I have a subordinate that won't answer to anything but Calypso now."

[demifemme]

"Yeah. Sometimes your name just doesn't fit anymore..."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"That's...pretty much what Calypso says, too."

[demifemme]

"Well then! I dunno if it's a wise thing to say, but it's a thing I can understand.

Welcome to Hinoto-Ri, by the way. I'm the resident public decency problem."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"...should I ask?"

[demifemme]

"I like not wearing a shirt at night when my markings are all showing." Yep.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah waits for a few more seconds.

"...and?"

[demifemme]

"And it really pisses the Mayor off for some reason."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

It takes Sarah a while to figure out the appropriate response.

"You've gotta be shitting me."

[demifemme]

"Nope. My tits are 100% scandalous, even when they're all black and there's no nipple showing."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah just stares blankly.

"...if they're not showing, then how is it a problem?"

[demifemme]

"Your guess is as good as mine there."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah is actually thinking about this.

"...all I can come up with is that this place has some sort of...nudity taboo? Old Man Gen told me those used to be a thing, but I figured he was drunk."

[demifemme]

"You... don't have a nudity taboo?" Even demons don't usually show their genitals to everyone and their moms.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"Apparently not as much of one as this place has. You have underwear, nothing's showing that you don't want to show, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

[demifemme]

"You'd think so, right? But nope, not how it works around here."

[Video]

[prettytamer]

"Don't touch giant sword ever. Got it!"

Midori isn't quite stupid enough to risk her life for just a cool weapon.

"My name's Midori Komaki, it's nice to meet you."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"Likewise. Have you been here long?"

[prettytamer]

"Since March, so..." Midori counts on her fingers quickly. "Nine months."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"Well. I've certainly signed up for the long term, then."

Sarah flashes a reserved smile.

"So, seasoned vet, any advice for the rookie?"

[prettytamer]

"Have you heard about Personas yet? That's the most basic part, it's better to start with the basics before you get into the other stuff."

There was a lot of stuff, after all.

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Nod.

"I got an explanation while I was in quarantine."

[prettytamer]

"Dark Hour too? How about the giant zodiac monsters that come around once in a while?"

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah frowns, thinking.

"...Zodiac monsters?"

[prettytamer]

"Once every couple of months, everyone with a certain zodiac sign starts acting weirdly, and then these giant monsters show up and we have to take them down," Midori explains. "The next should be coming right up, I think..."

[dontrunawayfromliving]

"Is there documentation on these incidents?"

[prettytamer]

"There's a web document, let me pull it up."

[Midori turns off her video, and a minute later two text links pop up.]

Astrology Master Document/Event Master Document

[dontrunawayfromliving]

Sarah spends several intensive minutes poring over the information contained in the links before turning the video feed back on.

"Thank you, that was...informative."

[prettytamer]

"Anything to help out!" Midori gives Sarah a thumbs-up.