[Well, he’s dead.

That’s the logical conclusion, anyway, not that he’s thinking particularly logically in the haze of whatever this is. He’d sort of expected—he’s not sure what he expected. Maybe, more nothing, and less water. The water’s not great. Really not great. The more he comes back to himself the more he realizes he can’t breathe, and even though it lasts only a moment before hands are pulling him onto the warm ground and he's gasping and choking and entirely bewildered by absolutely everything about this.

There are answers, sort of, but Viktor doesn’t like any of them. Sorry about the circumstances, they said, like he hasn't just been pulled away from his work. Worse than that, like he hasn't just been pulled away from the best chance he has to save his own life, something he's reminded of when they give him a blanket and he stifles his coughing with it and the fabric comes away red. He folds over the edge automatically, not wanting anyone to see.

So, still alive, for now. Just misplaced. Somehow.

Viktor finds it almost too much to take in, and it's not until he's alone in the barracks room that he allows himself to fully process what all this is supposed to mean. It's apparent that he's been brought to this room, specifically, to allow him some time to recuperate, but he doesn't have time, so instead of attempting to clear his head he gives in to his frustration. There's a chair near the door that he jostles violently with his free hand on the way in, and he all but throws down the crutch they've given him before sinking down onto the nearest bed with some effort, scrubbing a hand through damp hair and letting out a long, shaky breath.

That's about when he realizes he isn't alone (it's you, you're here, walking into this, congratulations).]

Sorry. [He seems to have the wherewithal to be embarrassed about the temporary outburst, but at the same time there's too much exhaustion behind the apology for it to seem fully sincere.] I didn't realize anyone else was here.

[Just, you know, forgive him for having a Moment.]

[Sitting around in the barracks and feeling sorry for himself, however, is not going to accomplish anything. If this is real, and if everything he's been told is true, somehow, then he needs to get to work immediately, even if it’s the vaguest outline of plan. To his understanding, there are other displaced people here, like him, which means there are patterns to find and puzzle pieces to slot into place.]

a. [It makes him a little more sociable than he might ordinarily be, but for someone like Viktor that mostly just means asking weird questions. Maybe you are nearby in the mess hall, or just trying to get some reps in at the training grounds, and this guy is chilling nearby on a crate or something, taking notes (weird) and looking like he's thinking very hard about a lot of things (he is).]

The card on the pedestal, back in the cave. Did it mean anything to you?

[Yes. Hello. Nice to meet you.]

b. [Or, he's backtracking to the storage facility, just in case he missed something the first time around (because he was too thoroughly addled to catalog anything useful). They did tell him to make himself at home, and though he's pretty certain they didn't mean "go through all our stuff", he finds it pretty hard to care, given the circumstance. Despite experience when it comes to sneaking around in places that he shouldn't be, Viktor knows he will always make some amount of noise, and therefore plays it completely cool if and when someone else is passing through—or has the same idea.]

Ah. Just looking.

[Everything is totally legit!]

[Viktor asks around, and finds out very quickly that they're near enough to a city that it's worth making a trip, even if a few hours in a wagon is not really on his list of favorite things. Still, there are academies in Cadens, and museums, which means if he's going to learn anything about the general state of what he has to work with, it's going to be there. There's magic, too—real magic, which is a lot to unpack, and might have to wait. The sciences are what he knows, and therefore the best place to start to get his bearings. What he finds is...interesting. He's not optimistic, not yet, but this is better than being somewhere with no technology at all.

So, predictably, there's a guy here, and he's having a fairly animated discussion with one of the shopkeepers-slash-scientists about what is apparently esoteric nerd stuff. Maybe you understand the esoteric nerd stuff. Maybe it just sounds like a lot of nonsense about the reactionary properties of such-and-such material on whatever-that-thing-is. Either way, it seems a little heated, ending when Viktor thanks the shopkeeper for their time and turns away, intending to head back down the main drag. If there are eyes on him (yours), he offers a shrug, even though he knows he's got no reason to explain anything at all.]

Not as open to constructive criticism as I anticipated. It happens.

[hey what’s up I got spoilers up to and including episode 7 of arcane—if you need me to avoid anything, just let me know! happy to wildcard anything/anywhere at the outpost or in cadens proper. feel free to shoot me a message!]