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Who: ever.
Where: away from the Orpheus common area, the lake, and other common areas.
When: Day 148, morning.
What: releasing tension.

[Someone's snuck out of the dorms vvvery early. And appears to be taking it out on the rocks with his materia.

Watch out for minor earthquakes.]

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... so there's no way I can get a map-to-go?

The way I make it isn't exactly permanent, unfortunately.

So how do you make it?

Like so.

*with no particular ceremony, something about as detailed as this (http://sabra-la-mods.insanejournal.com/2306.html) is hanging in the air horizontally between them. it doesn't show the hidden tunnels around Pavo and the detail gets fuzzier as the map goes further east, but other than that it's fairly complete.*

[. . . dude.]

It's illusion, is the problem; intangible.

... well, is there some... intangible way to, I dunno... carry it around?

...I'd actually have to think about how to do that. I don't think it'd last forever regardless, after I stopped sustaining it, but I can hold it here for a while if you want to copy it into a journal or something.

... nah, I think I can get the most of it with a quick once-over. It's cool.

Take as long as you need.

[study of the map is go.

... man, he's actually pretty serious about trying to memorize all the details]

*keeping it there until he gets a sign one way or the other*

[after a couple of glances around to get a bearing of his position on the map, he seems to be pretty much done]

*and the map vanishes as if it never was*

I don't know why I never thought about doing that before.

... before? You mean this is some new thing?

*shrugs*

I've been giving a lot of directions recently, and when I was talking to Yukito I had the idea of just showing people. Usually teams handle it, but...

New teams, new people, bad games, not enough time for getting the skinny of it--yeah, trust me. I'm aware.

Not just the new teams; there've been a lot of new arrivals recently, you know?

[man, this is the sort of look that basically is sarcasm in its purest form]

Sure, I know. Course.

*meets that with a very level look*

...look, I'm sorry if it's getting tiresome being reminded you're new every five minutes. Believe it or not, I know what it feels like. Canis wasn't new when I woke up, almost all of the members who preceded me were gone: most permanently, one or two not, and the one who was there had only woken up a few days before. People kept asking me where the missing ones were, or who I'd replaced.

The thing is, nobody means anything bad by it; there's no shame in being new. Most people around here have good intentions, and we all remember what it was like, so we try to pass on what we've learned. It'll wear off once people are used to seeing you around, but until then, there's no point in taking offense over it.

[long pause, pursing of the lips for a moment]

Glad we all get how frustrated I am by being the new guy, but I was mostly going to the "Yeah, man, I have totally no idea how many new people have been coming in recently because--oh. Wait. I just woke up--what? Three days ago?" reaction.

But you're right. I'm tired of it. I'm also tired of dealing with the idea of being part of the new people on a new team full of people the other, older teams don't get two shits for if push came to shove. You all got attachments, alliances... hell, you guys probably would have started hacking off limbs to rescue Lacerta, even though sacrificing yourself and your team is the one thing that these judges really don't seem to like and punish teams for. So even with the explanation that you guys have all been there... really? Why do you guys bother trying to hash out the basics to some new batch of teams whose just one more team who might just play that much harder against you when push comes to shove?

*shrugs*

Bad phrasing on my part, but that's not really either of our points.

To answer your question? Because even though we fight each other in the Games at times, most of us think that doesn't have to extend to other things outside them. There's no excusing or extenuating what the Judges force us to do, and we all bear the weight of the choices we make -- or should -- in or out of the games. But we don't choose to live as though we were in the Games all the time; we reach out to others, new or not, within the bounds that are set for us. We share information, we trade, we make friends that aren't on our teams or our partners, and life gets a little better for everyone involved. It's true that there are some people who reject that, but I'd wager that's true of every society. And most of us like to help people when we can, because when we can't always do it freely, passing up an opportunity to do something right is more significant.

If you turn around on the people who've helped you and hit them as hard as you can when you have the chance, it's not going to do you any favors. At some point, your life is going to be in the hands of someone who you've made the same choice for in the past; it's inevitable. Isn't it better for everyone to have a reason not to throws those lives away?

... from what I've heard so far? From what I've seen so far?

Lives are gonna get thrown away. Again. And again. And again. Some willing, some not. I don't know what we'll do in the games--hell, I sure as hell hope we still have a moral standing after a few. But I won't let what happened to Lacerta happen to my team. I can't.

Just so you know. 'Cause, I mean... it's not that I don't appreciate the help...

...but you and yours come first. I can understand that.

It's not that I'd expect you to make that kind of sacrifice for me and mine, or for anyone. That's not what I meant. We don't expect a return on our actions, like some kind of banker, charging interest on generosity. Advice and information are some of the few things we can share freely.

And maybe, in the Games when the only choice we're given is who to save and who to condemn, you'll remember the people that offered you an outstretched hand kindly. And maybe you won't. It's a risk we thinking beings take every time we reach out to something new, that they'll reject us or turn against us. But either way, the people who've helped you will know they tried to do something worthwhile for others, and be able to face themselves that much more easily.

. . . [just nods after a moment of thought]

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