[Action: Open]

[schoolingfish]

WHO: Luca and you!
WHERE: Somewhere in the city
WHEN: Right after Luca's arrival
WHAT: He just got out of the labyrinth, found a weird device with directions on how to use it, and he's trying to figure out what's going on
WARNINGS: Fear of extreme isolation and mentions of whale carcass


Luca doesn't know how he got here. One moment he's on Genova, the next he's suddenly deep underwater. He's never been to the part of the sea he finds himself in before, but he instantly knows where he is, because it's exactly how he pictured it. The Deep.

It's dark. Completely pitch black, nothing to see. Nothing to hear, either. It's quiet, incredibly quiet, enough to make him feel alone and isolated because clearly there aren't any other sea monsters around. He doesn't even hear any other fish or sea life around to catch his interest. There's just...nothing to see or do, just endless emptiness with nothing to engage him but his thoughts...and the smell of rotting whale meat that seems to permeate the water.

Why is he here? He was in Genova, on land. His parents had gone back on this, they weren't going to send him here. He shouldn't be here!

Terrified, not of any imminent threat because there certainly doesn't seem to be one, but of being trapped in this place while he slowly goes mad from the endless monotony, living off the bits and pieces of floating whale carcass that he feels brush past his skin as they float past, he screams.

"No! No, no, no, no, no! I'm not supposed to be here!" he yells out to no one, because no one's there to hear.

Luca then takes off, desperately swimming up to escape the Deep, even though he can't see any signs of even the slightest sliver of light piercing the darkness to indicate that he might be escaping.

He's in such a frenzied panic that he doesn't even know how he ends up reaching land, only that he finds himself in a new place he's never been before. He quickly shakes himself off to remove any remaining droplets of water, triggering his transformation back into his human form. Still trembling slightly from the sheer panic of thinking he'd be trapped in the Deep, he looks around and spots a nearby bench and decides to have a seat. That's when he notices the strange, rectangular device next to where he's sitting, and under the device is a little booklet with directions on it's use. Strange...why would something like this just be left here? Is it for anyone to just pick up and use? It must be, because why else would someone leave it with step by step instructions on how to use it?

Curious, Luca picks up and starts messing with the strange device, following the instructions to try and understand it.

Comments

[schoolingfish]

"I'm Luca and...thanks. Honestly, I have so many questions I don't even know where to start."

He thinks about it for a moment.

"So...it sounds like people coming from a different world and just ending up here happens a lot," Luca says, "What do people usually do once they get here?"

[findingways]

Moana hums thoughtfully. "It depends, really," she answers after a moment. "Most of the people I've talked to have been trying to find a way back to their worlds. But for the time being they're settling down here and trying to get by. Some people find jobs, some people are going to school...I guess it just depends on what you want to do."

[schoolingfish]

"Well, I definitely want to go to school!"

It's something he'd wanted so badly and he'd only just begun before he was brought here.

"But I don't really know how to sign up or anything like that."

[findingways]

To be honest, Moana isn't entirely sure how people from other worlds enrolled in school in the first place. She had to guess that they would go through the Zodiac office first, and someone there would help them. But she's a bit hesitant to bring him there right away.

"Hmm...say, how about I take you to the school so you can look around before you decide? If you still want to go to school after the tour, I'll help you figure out how to enroll. Okay?"

[schoolingfish]

"Well...okay, but I already know I want to go to school."

He'd already done so much to be able to go back home, he's not about to give that up just because he's in a new universe.

[findingways]

She laughs a little as she gets to her feet. "Well in that case, you definitely need a tour of the school." She motions for him to follow her before starting to head down the sidewalk. "Maybe while we're there we'll find out how to get you signed up for classes."

[schoolingfish]

"Yeah! That sounds like a great idea!"

Sure, they probably will just enroll him in next year's classes since it's the beginning of summer, but he'll still get to go. He'll be a bit disappointed in that, though. Back home it had been September and classes were just about to start and he was just about to go to school for the very first time.

[findingways]

Moana can't help a small smile as she walks with him down the street. It's been a long time since she's met anyone so eager to attend school.

...well, other than Varian, but even then Varian didn't seem as excited about it.

"The only thing is that we are technically finishing up the current school year, and then school will be out for a few months. So you probably won't be enrolled until school starts up again later in the year. But there's also summer school, if you wanted to take some classes for those couple of months, so you can pick up on some stuff in the meantime."

She can't be sure of his actual educational level, but summer school might at least be helpful for him to get used to the school setting before the school year starts.

[schoolingfish]

"Oh. It was the end of summer back home, so I guess I just expected it to be the end of summer here, too." He's disappointed, but quickly perks back up. After all... "Well, at least there's summer school! And that might be a good idea, anyway, because I've never been to school before!"

[findingways]

"Yeah, I think it was a different time for some others that arrived here too. I guess time moves different between worlds?" She honestly has no idea how it really works.

She did have a feeling that he'd never attended school before, so summer school was probably a good option. Still, she can't help feeling a bit curious, and they did have a bit of a walk before they got there.

"So, what kinds of things did you do back home, if you didn't go to school?"

[schoolingfish]

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Because since nothing about this makes sense and he has no idea how anything works, anything could be correct. "I mostly helped out of my family's farm. Herding animals, stuff like that."

[findingways]

"Oh yeah? That's kinda cool." It probably got a bit tedious sometimes, but working on a farm was still admirable work. "What kind of animals did you guys have?"

[schoolingfish]

"Oh, um..." Humans don't farm fish and crabs, do they? He's not real sure and he doesn't want to risk it. "Oh. You know. Normal farm animals."

There. Perfect answer.

[findingways]

Moana doesn't think too much about it, because honestly, she'd probably answer pretty similarly if it was her. "Nice. Did you have any favorites?"

[schoolingfish]

"Uh, yeah! Giuseppe! He's a..."

Oh, carp, he just walked into that one, didn't he?

"He's one of the animals we've had on our farm for a long time!"

And he hopes she doesn't ask what kind of animal he is, since Luca has no idea what farm animals they have on land.

[findingways]

This time she does notice Luca trail off a little before finishing, and while his answer still isn't too out of the ordinary it does get her a bit curious. "Oh yeah? That's pretty cool. So you've been raising him for a while, huh? Is he a horse or something?"

[schoolingfish]

Perfect! Does he know what a horse is? Nope! Does he know it's probably some sort of land animal found on farms? Yep! So he's going with it.

"Yeah! He's a horse!"

[findingways]

"Oh nice." She's about to ask another question, but she cuts herself off as the school building comes into view.

"Oh, here we go." She gestures towards the school. "Welcome to Kaisou High."

[schoolingfish]

He looks at the building. So this is it. This is the school he'll be going to. Well, he'll probably be enrolled in middle school, but of course Luca doesn't know about all that yet. He stares at the building in awe. Then, remembering the school bad home in Genova, he thinks about the library there and all the books.

"I wonder how big the library is here..."

He can't wait to look through all the books.

[findingways]

"I think it's a pretty decent size for a school," Moana says with a shrug. The one here was at least bigger than the one at her old school, or the high school she would have gone to if she'd still been back in Hawaii.

With a grin, she nods her head towards one of the buildings. "Wanna go check it out?"

[schoolingfish]

"Yeah!" He says with a giddy excitement that's extremely unusual for a kid that's just getting a tour of a school.

Shall we wrap this thread here?

[findingways]

Moana can't help a small laugh. He definitely seems like a bit of an odd kid...but then, so is she, so she can't really say anything.

So with a nod, she gestures a hand towards the library. "All right yeah, let's go."

Works for me!

[schoolingfish]

"Okay!" he says, happily letting her lead the way.