When They Arrive...

[Tarik Ante]

Footsteps thudded through the forest to the beat of rainfall, mud sloshing, animals bellowing in the distance. Tarik leapt over logs and branches, swung across vines and ran through the trees. When the humidity began to drop, and the rain began to slow, she knew she was approaching Calida. Suddenly, the trees vanished, and sand appeared beneath her feet. She stopped, eyes wide.

A cruise ship had crashed onto the beach of Calida, tipping over to spill its contents onto the warm sand. Tarik slowly made her way towards the small crowd that formed around the crash, and prayed that everyone aboard was okay. She pushed through the crowd, crying out in the Adonian language, "[Move, move!! Out of my way! Stay away from the crash!]" The people parted, knowing not to stand in the way of the Adonian princess.

Once out of the crowd, Tarik approached the broken hull of the sip, looking up at the strange structure. She had never seen such a huge thing; it dwarfed the boats she was used to. Cautiously, she began to climb into the hole, calling out, "[Hello? Hello! Is anyone in there?!]"

[Alan Wake]

Alan popped his head out of the crash, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the faltering lights of the crashed ship as possible. Already his visions had begun to assault him, and as he sat on the semi-stable edge of a bit of the crash, he was going over his mantra - On-Off - and flipping The Clicker back and forth between his index finger and thumb. The object was in his pocket, so no one could see it, but anyone could tell by his haggard breathing and the way he screwed his eyes shut that something was bothering him.

At the woman's voice, he tentatively opened his eyes. The language was strange, but maybe she spoke English. "Hello? Hello? Who are you?"

[Mark Brown]

Mark clambered over the wreckage of his part of the ship, feeling a bit sick. The ocean wasn't really his friend, and add on to that a boat crash! .....Well, let's just say he was VERY happy to be on solid earth again. Sliding down what used to be one of the ship's pipes, he landed on the sand and buried his hands in it. Throwing a bit in the air, he shouted, "LAND!" Sighing, he looked at his surroundings, finally noticing the crowd of strange people that had gathered around the crash. Scrambling away, his face red, he gulped and put a piece of the wrecked ship between him and them. He had read plenty of stories about crazy island natives to know where this was going.

[Tarik Ante]

Hearing more voices, Tarik continued into the wreckage. She knew English, but wasn't very used to speaking it yet, and so simply spoke in her native tongue. "[I'm coming, just hold on! Please stay where you are!]" She crawled over boards and under broken pipes, until she finally reached Alan. With a gasp, she held out her hand to him, wanting to help him out.

Outside, the crowd approached the little boy. They hadn't seen someone like him before; yellow hair? This was strange to them. Whispers flooded through the crowd as they watched his actions, and, when he threw the sand, they back up, afraid.

[Alan Wake]

Alan blinked at the woman in front of him, but took her hand. "Just... Into the light, okay?" His other hand was still in his pocket, still silently flicking back and forth the switch on The Clicker.

[Mark Brown]

Mark watched them, clearly as afraid of them as they were of him. All he had wanted was to go to a countryside somewhere and farm.....not crash on an island and get eaten by cannibals! He had no clue what they were even saying, but the way they stared at him, and his hair, creeped him out. Still, he was a bit curious despite himself. They were like nothing he'd ever seen before. Maybe, if he made friends with them, they wouldn't eat him! But then, it didn't seem like they spoke English. What was he supposed to do?

[Tarik Ante]

With a smile, Tarik nodded, and began to head towards the light with him. She carefully lead him over and under the rubble, until they were finally outside. "Everyone, we have visitors!" She spoke English now, knowing that the strange people obviously didn't speak her language. Suddenly, the crowd was relieved, and began to speak in English as well.

One little girl approached Mark, and held her hands out to him, to help him up.

[Alan Wake]

Alan stood, blinking in the light, as the last few shadows melted away. He heaved a sigh of relief, and took his hand lightly from the woman's. "Thank you." He muttered, his other hand finally releasing The Clicker and rubbing a path through his hair. He looked around at the people who were gathered, and then back at the woman in front of him. "So... Where are we?"

[Mark Brown]

Mark just sat there at first, but when a woman leading a man came out of the ship and spoke English, and then the islanders did as well, he tentatively took the hand of the girl and let her help him up. He stood there nervously, giving the girl the best smile he could muster, wringing his gloved hands and waiting for someone to do something. At least the language barrier had been solved. Maybe he should try talking. To the girl he said, "H-hello!"

[Tarik Ante]

Tarik glanced over her shoulder at the man. "Adonia. That is the island's name." She turned a bit, tucking her hands behind her back. She wasn't shy; it was a polite way of showing herself to a newcomer. It exposed her body, showing that she had no weapons, and meant no harm. "Where we stand now, this place is Calida." Her hands fell to her sides, and she observed the broken ship once more. "This... This is what?" She pointed at it, looking rather confused.

As Mark greeted the little girl, her dark skin flushed red, and she bounded away, squealing with embarrassed giggles to her mother.

[Alan Wake]

Alan felt his face flush a bit as the woman practically showed herself off. It wasn't noticeable, but he still surely hoped that it was just a custom of her world, and not some sort of weird... mating thing.

He looked back at the ship. "It's a... ship. A vessel that carries you over the water?" He wasn't sure how much of an explanation the native might need. "We crashed here on your....Calida. And from the looks of things we won't be able to return very soon."

[Mark Brown]

Mark stood there, embarrassed. He kept glancing up at the man and woman. He was getting nervous standing here by himself with these natives. At least that man had been on the boat with him, which meant he was normal, right? He kicked his foot in the sand, shyly clasping his hands behind his back, something he had done a lot in the city. He kind of wished they would do something, just so he wasn't kept waiting like this. He tried smiling at the people, to show he meant no harm and wanted to be friends.

[Tarik Ante]

Tarik shook her head, still confused. "No. Boats there." She gestured to the-now crushed- dock that had harbored small wooden boats with paper sails. She sighed, her brows furrowing. "Or... They were." She then cast her gaze on the little boy, and knelt beside him, smiling. "Hello there. Where are you from?"

[Alan Wake]

Alan looked at the wooden boats that were crushed under the broken hull. He was about to explain that this, too, was a boat, before the woman turned back to the younger boy. Hadn't he seen the boy run past him on the deck, eagerly smiling as he precariously leaned over the front? He shook his head. Of all the fellow passengers to survive....

He gazed around him, looking at the other natives, and then at the beauty of the surrounding area. It really was quite breathtaking. Maybe he WOULD fine some solace from his nightmares here.

[Mark Brown]

Mark looked up at the woman. "I'm from Mineral Town! My name's Mark Brown and I was on the boat with....with....AH!" he suddenly cried out, hands flying to his head. "Fido! He's still in there!" He began to run back to the boat, but was stopped by the sound of little barks and then his puppy jumping up into his arms and licking his face. He laughed, grinning. "Fido! Thank goodness you're okay!" He turned back to the man, woman, and crowd of people.