Young Writers Society

OOC THREAD

The world in the 22nd century is experiencing the greatest turnaround in human history since industrialisation. What was only thought to be a construct in science fiction films was confirmed in various parts of the earth. Dimensional rifts opened up and a whole new world emerged.

An exchange of cultures, people and living beings arose. But above all, one thing was in the sights of some high-ranking personalities. The raw material Triton. It seemed like a miracle cure, an answer for space travel and the possibility of taking the next big step in a civilisation where globalisation was just a blink of an eye.

It was decided to finally create a veritable space colony and within a few decades, a space elevator was built to take people to the space station some 18,000 km up in the air. The space elevator was built in Antarctica and over the years a city called Amundsen City grew up around it. Climate change transformed the entire continent into a warmer area with new flora and fauna.

But this was only the least of the evils. This raw material Triton used to build a space elevator had one disadvantage: it slowly but surely destroyed the atmosphere that surrounded the earth...

Characters:
1. @Magebird
2. @ShadowVyper
3. @ScarlettFire
4. @MailicedeNamedy (Edelgard Emmeline von Bellingshausen)

Edelgard Emmeline von Bellingshausen

Character:


A stray penguin scurried past on the pavement and disappeared through an open gate into an old, desolate courtyard. Rubbish piled up on one side, a dead tree was on the other. Between some cardboard boxes and broken glass, what looked like mould was already growing. But the penguin didn't care as it waddled over to the pile of rubbish looking for something edible.

There was a banging on the road, a honking could be heard and then two men shouted at each other. The penguin continued to be absorbed in its search for his supper and was not disturbed by it. It was much more disrupted when a bucket of fresh leftover food was thrown out of a third or fourth floor window. The penguin was buried under potatoes and asparagus, salmon lay wrapped in rice clumps. Full of joy at this, the penguin gathered up the food and was about to make his way back through the gate to his nest when a motorbike came hurtling through the doorway.

"Get out of the way!!!"

A honk of the horn and an emergency stop caused the driver to drive into the pile of rubbish and come to a halt. The penguin, startled but unharmed, gathered up its food and ran from the courtyard.

"Wait!"

Quickly the driver scrambled to her feet and rushed to the gate with a bone in her hair, but the penguin was already gone.

"Crap! Again my lure didn't work..."

"Miss Edelweiss! Do you have a moment?"

Edelgard turned around and her expression changed from disappointment to a serious smile. It was one of those newcomers she still had to train. She couldn't remember his name, Eduard or Edward. But it could have been Adrian, she wasn't sure anymore and stared at him.

"What is it?" She barked.

"There's someone trying to reach you on the phone."

He winced.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

Again he winced.

"Is the person still on the phone?"

"I don't know."

"I'm coming," Edelgard grumbled, picking her bike out of the rubbish heap.

"Maybe it would be better to ride with a helmet," suggested the newcomer as Edelgard took her motorbike to the car park in the second backyard.

"Shut up."

Edelgard did not bother to wait for the newcomer as he stood outside while she entered the side building and climbed the creaking stairs. Passing some doors that were open and door frames that were missing a door, listening to music and meditating among the smell of tobacco and unwashed people, she reached the conference room. But the phone was long gone and more newcomers, where Edelgard didn't know if their names were Blake or James, eyed her.

"Who called?"

"HQ," stammered the smallest of them.

"Crap."

Edelgard slammed the door behind her and continued upstairs to the attic. She searched for a key and rummaged in her pockets. When she didn't find it, Edelgard stormed downstairs where the newcomer continued to wait for her. She ordered him to look in the rubbish for the key while she went back to the motorbike and found the bunch of keys there. Without stopping him from his venture, she marched back upstairs and locked herself in her room.

"What a day…"

Berry stretched as they stood near something that was apparently called a car park.

It had been about a month since they came to Amudsen City, and about a week since they actually felt like they were getting the hang of what this place was all about. They were usually good at picking up new cultures, but this one was so different than the ones they were used to. Sumeru scholars would have been losing their minds over Amudsen.

But, anyways: Berry was here, and they supposed it was their job to gather as much intelligence as possible. Bleh. They had already started the process, but there was only so much you could do as a person just wandering a city.

Berry, luckily, was very good at getting into places that they weren't supposed to be, and was even better at finding out information they weren't supposed to ever know. They had eavesdropped on plenty of high-stakes, political meetings before, so overhearing a conversation or two about a rebel organization wasn't all that hard. And finding out where one of the bases of operation was happened to be even easier.

They looked themselves over again, checking their form for any oddities. Their vision was carefully tucked away in a secret pocket, and their sword was tucked away in their own personal bit of the Abyss. Satisfied with what they saw, Berry strolled into the building.

"Are you new, too?" a man asked them as they casually checked out the building. "I haven't seen you here before."

Berry nodded. They twirled a strand of blond hair around a dainty finger. "Is it really that obvious? Today's my first day here." They sighed. "I was supposed to see someone, but I can't remember their name! I must be making a terrible first impression right now."

"Oh," the man said, "you must mean Miss Edelweiss. Her room is upstairs. She usually keeps the door closed and locked, so it isn't hard to miss it."

Berry smiled. It was a warm smile, but also suggested they weren't really putting much thought into this conversation.

"Thank you," they said. Then they turned and went off on their way to this Miss Edelweiss. If Berry played their part right, she'd never suspect that they weren't really part of this group.

Berry's smile became a little less human, and a little more other. She'd never suspect where they were really from, at least.

They kept walking until they finally reached the locked and closed door. With a knock, they cleared their throat and said, "Miss Edelweiss?"

Sadie had gotten arrested.

Again.

And now sat in a cell in the county jail.

Again.

The first time she'd gotten arrested she'd merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She'd been hanging around the local pool-hall hustling tables when a sudden police raid came in and started checking licenses. She wasn't even drinking, but was, apparently still breaking the law by being there as a minor.

Her case got tossed out so she didn't actually end up with a record, but Mr. DeLuca's lawyer -- Stephanie -- had been the one to come represent her. So now local law enforcement associated her with DeLuca and looked for any and every little thing they could possibly arrest her for, even though her hands were immaculate and they could never get a single thing to stick.

But that didn't stop them from arresting her today.

Oh, no.

Why? Because she'd been jaywalking. Jaywalking. Were they allowed to arrest her for it? No. No, they weren't. And yet. Here she sat. Behind bars. Waiting for Stephanie to come to rescue her again.

She smirked slightly as she listened to Stephanie absolutely flay the officers at the front desk. Stephanie threatened harassment and defamation of character charges and all sorts of things Sadie didn't understand, but before long, she was exonerated without so much as a fine.

"Thanks, Steph," Sadie said with a grin as they walked out of the courthouse side-by-side.

"I swear, this is getting ridiculous." Stephanie pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. "Jaywalking..." She shook her head and looked at Sadie. "Use a crosswalk next time, I guess."

"I will." Sadie dipped her head. "I didn't even know they were allowed to arrest you for something like that."

"They're not," Stephanie hissed. "This is... absurd."

"At least I keep your life exciting," Sadie joked as they approached the curb.

"Oh, your life is about to get 'exciting'," Stephanie said, nodding ahead.

Sadie's smirk faltered as she saw a few of DeLuca's bodyguards waiting in a black SUV ahead. Of course, Stephanie had already told him. She sighed softly.

"Best of luck," Stephanie said with an ironic salute, then cut to the left, leaving Sadie to justify herself to the bodyguards as she climbed in the backseat of the SUV.

They both thought it was hysterical that she kept getting arrested more than they did, even though they moved drugs and assaulted people whereas she committed crimes such as failure to use a crosswalk.

Before long, she was standing awkwardly in the center of Mr. DeLuca's office, shoulders rounded, feeling very much like a schoolgirl stuck in the principal's office. He looked her up and down and sighed. "How many times does this make now?"

Sadie thought for a moment. "Seventeen, but--"

"Seventeen times," Mr. DeLuca emphasized. "I have had to send Stephanie to bail you out of jail seventeen times. How many arrests, exactly, is it going to take for you to be satisfied?"

"They arrested me for jaywalking," Sadie defended. "That's like arresting me for..." She gestured vaguely, not wanting to name any of the other petty crimes she'd been unfairly arrested for. Expired tags on her license plate. Rolling through a stop sign. Getting accused of shoplifting even though she didn't. All things that would be a warning if the cops were reasonable, or at the very most a fine -- but, no. Incarceration for a few hours until Stephanie came and fixed things for her.

"Don't make it eighteen."

"Yes, sir." Sadie dipped her head obediently. "I won't."

He sighed, looking at her. "You will."

They both knew it was bound to happen. "I will... use a crosswalk next time?"

He snorted and rubbed his face. "This is getting ridiculous. And expensive to keep calling Stephanie in for this nonsense."

She was a good lawyer that charged hefty prices, and Mr. DeLuca paid her even more handsomely than she required, in return for her being available at the drop of a hat, day or night.

"Sorry." Sadie cringed. She tensed as Mr. DeLuca turned an irritated glare on her. Right. He didn't like apologies. "I will..."

"Get out of my office."

"I will get out of your office," she agreed. She dipped her head quickly to him and quickly took her leave, finally taking a deep breath as she got outside.

Sadie groaned and rubbed her face, annoyed at how this day had turned out. She'd been planning to go check out this rebel organization and the Big Barker who ran it. It seemed like exactly the sort of cause she'd like to lend her services to. And, well, she still had time left in the day. So, why not?

She quickly made her way to where she'd tracked activity coming from the rebel organization, and then walked up to the building, looking for an entrance and to spot whatever look out they might have watching it.

A gentle knock woke Edelgard from one of her thoughts about what she would do tomorrow. It was a little shy and reserved, and yet it was a knock. That much was certain, and yet she didn't feel like talking at all.

"Is it you, Eduard? Or Edward?" shouted Edelgard from behind the table, "I'm busy right now."

Edelgard was sure that this would chase everyone away for the rest of the evening and so she could prepare herself for a relaxing finish before waking up again in the middle of the night to hunt for a penguin.

But the knocking could be heard again. It hadn't changed in sound and after pondering for a while Edelgard was sure it must not be one of her goofy subordinates. They would all have run away by now because of her screaming.

Relaxed, she took her agenda out of a drawer, already a little singed and damp in places from spilled drinks, she rummaged through today's agenda, looking for any appointments she might have forgotten. But there was none.

With an annoyed shake of her head, she made her way to the door, decided and opened it.

In front of her stood what appeared to be a young person with blond hair and blue eyes. It seemed so out of place, almost as if they had turned down the wrong street. They looked too elegant for the whole neighbourhood. And yet they didn't seem to have lost their way, because no one would dare go all the way to the top.

"Who are you? And what do you want?"

So this was Miss Edelweiss. Berry wasn't a fan of copying people all that much, but they did their best to commit her appearance to memory. It was always best to be prepared.

"Hi," Berry said. "You're Miss Edelweiss, aren't you? My name's Berry. I'm new here and was told I should meet with you. I meant to get here sooner, but I got a little lost on my way in."

Edelgard was not sure who she was looking at. Of course, she now knew it was Berry, and yet she was unsure what was to come. It was too spontaneous and too unprepared. Was this some kind of test from headquarters? Edelgard was unsure what she would do and eyed Berry from top to bottom.

"I still lack information about who sent you here. And what is the reason for the visit? I settled all the outstanding bills last month."

This wasn't going as Berry had guessed it would, but they could improvise.

They crossed their arms and furrowed their brow in thought, like they really did know who had sent them and had just forgotten in time it had taken for them to get here.

"I don't think it's bills," Berry finally said, still looking a bit uncertain. They sighed in fake confusion. "I think it's supposed to be about some kind of training?"

Edelgard tried to pretend she was looking at a watch, but she didn't have one. She thought she could finally have some peace and enjoy the end of the day, but for her, there seems to be no end of the day.

"Come in and sit down. Then we can talk about it in peace."

Edelgard pushed Berry inside and then propped herself up against the banister.

"Bring something to drink upstairs!" she yelled downstairs.

Sadie had managed to talk her way into the building a few moments before Edelgard shouted for drinks.

Which, honestly, was the best possible timing, if she did say so herself. She looked at the man off to the right who stood up with a sigh, sending an annoyed glance upward as he muttered sarcastically, "aye-aye, boss."

"I can get it," she offered.

He looked at her skeptically. "Who are you?"

"Drinks are in the kitchen, I presume?" Sadie questioned, brushing his skepticism to the side with a wave of her hand as she strode further down the hall.

The man grunted but gestured down it with his chin. "Yeah. There are some bottled waters in the fridge -- and some of those little Veo flavors on the, uh, counter-cabinet-thing off to the left. Take her a few to pick from."

"Got it." Sadie inclined her head to him, and quickly strode to the kitchen to get the water and flavoring, then climbed the stairs up to where the shout had come from. She slowed as she approached the door. "Got the drinks, ma'am!"

Edelgard just sat down and pulled a form out of the drawer. Like her agenda, it looked a bit messed up, as if it had been used before. She frantically searched for a pen and began scribbling on the blank table to get the ink out of its rigidity.

"Berry is the name?"

In a rather elegant stroke, Edelgard wrote "Bäry" on the top of the sheet and showed it to Berry.

"Is that right?"

Just as Berry was about to answer, she heard another person standing at the door with the drinks.

Sadie stood awkwardly by the door and knocked, not sure whether to let herself in or wait to be invited. Perhaps she should have planned this a bit better.

Bäry was almost right. When Berry stared at the letters enough, they could see why Miss Edelweiss had swapped the e for an ä and removed one r.

"Almost right," Berry said. "It's spelled like the fruit. B-E-R-R-Y."

Then they turned, as if they hadn't fully registered that someone had yelled about bringing drinks. The newcomer had brown hair, blue eyes, and looked right around Berry's age. She felt important, even though Berry couldn't put their finger on why they had that impression of her.

Edelgard didn't like being corrected at all, but at the same time, she knew how cruel it could be when someone misspelt her name.

"All right. B-e-r-r-y."

Just then Edelgard sought eye contact with the person now standing at the doorstep.

"The drinks. Good, come in and bring them."

While Edelgard was still wondering who the person was, she had to realise that it wasn't one of her minions.

"Who are you?"

"Sadie Lovett," Sadie said, striding in and setting the bottles of water down on Edelgard's desk. She held up bottles of Veo as she turned to make eye contact. "And I brought the goods."