(no subject)

[sadandsingle]

Hello? [You can't really see much of anything for a moment, until Tosh pushes herself up into a sitting position on a pile of sand, fumbling for her device. She's been in better shape; right now, she looks exhausted, like she hasn't slept or eaten for more than a day, and she's been crying, to boot. Oh, yeah, and her clothes are ripped, dusty, and have bloodstains on them. She pushes her glasses up for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose, before she begins speaking again.]

I have to say, this isn't what I expected. Though, after speaking with Owen, I'm not sure I expected anything at all.

[She scoops up a handful of sand and watches the grains fall through her fingers - then, because it's the scientific sort of thing to do, she takes another handful, sniffs it, and...yep, licks a few grains.]

Well, the sand seems ordinary enough. And what about this thing? What is it?

Comments

[coyote_walking]

[Another one? This was getting to be like old home week.]

Tosh?

[sadandsingle]

[...hello, completely unfamiliar woman.]

Yes?

[coyote_walking]

You don't know me, but I knew you - or another you.

It's confusing here in the City.

Anyway, my name is Mercy, and I'm staying in a house with Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones. Gwen's here in the City too.

We have more than enough room for you, even have a room with some of your old things, and I know Jack and Ianto would love to have you here.

[sadandsingle]

That sounds confusing, and I'm used to dealing with strange things.

Jack, Ianto, and Gwen are here, too? [But not Owen? Sadface.] I guess this probably isn't the afterlife, then.

[coyote_walking]

It is confusing, sorry.

And no, not the afterlife, though some people have arrived here after their deaths. It's a strange sort of pocket universe where people from all sorts of worlds and times end up.

It's not a terrible place, though there are days...

But anyway, wanted to let you know you have a place to stay where you're welcome and among friends. I know that helped me when I first arrived.

[sadandsingle]

I don't think I died, though it doesn't really seem like the sort of thing you'd remember. I mean, I was close, but-

[Sorry, she's having a bit of an emotional moment right now.]

Thank you. This is all happening so fast - one moment, I was back home, trying to save Cardiff, and the next, I was in a pile of sand here.

[coyote_walking]

I'm sorry. Sounds like you had a really rough time of it.

Want me to come find you and bring you back here?

[sadandsingle]

I'd appreciate that, yeah. It's nice to meet you, Mercy.

Voice To Action

[coyote_walking]

No problem. I'll be there in a few.

[And indeed in a relatively short time a native american looking woman in jeans and t-shirt, black hair braided away from her face was there.]

Tosh, hi. I'm Mercy.

[sadandsingle]

[Tosh offers Mercy a hand to shake - it's probably only a little blood-smeared. Uh, sorry about that.] Oh, right, we did the introduction bit already. Sorry, it's been a bit of a long day.

[coyote_walking]

[Mercy smiled at her.]

Don't worry about it. Arriving here is enough to leave anyone turned around.

[She nodded back in the direction she came from.]

The house is back this way. It's a bit of a hike, but there's clean clothes and a shower - or bath, if you'd rather - and a room all your own. It's a huge place.

And I know Jack and Ianto will be happy to see you.

[sadandsingle]

Clean clothes and a shower? That's the best thing I've heard in a long time. {She grins at Mercy, brushing a stray wisp of hair out of her face.] Have they been here long? [pause] Have you been here long?

[coyote_walking]

I figured you'd like that.

[She had to take a second to make sure her voice stayed level for the next part. Ianto's arrival had really, well, made everything awkward.]

Ianto got here this past weekend. Jack's been here almost a year. I've been here, well, it'll be three years in June.

[She gave Tosh a rueful grin.]

Sometimes it seems like forever.

[sadandsingle]

Three years? [Have an incredulous stare, Mercy.] Not that I really have any alternatives, but, well, that does seem like forever.

[coyote_walking]

Yeah.

[Mercy's quiet for a moment.]

I... it's hard. Sometimes I get so homesick...

But I try and remind myself that when I finally go home, it will be like no time has passed.

[sadandsingle]

Really? So time here passes differently than time back home?

[Sorry, Tosh is kinda terrible at sympathy sometimes.]

[coyote_walking]

That's what they say. And there are those who've left and come back and it seems to hold true for all of them.

[Don't worry, Tosh. Just wait till you walk into the awkward which is Jack, Mercy, and Ianto!]

[sadandsingle]

So there's no voluntary way out, but you can leave and return involuntarily? And time passes here while you're back home, but not vice versa.

[coyote_walking]

So, I'm told.

It runs differently though. People who go back home can be there for months and only days will pass here. Or vice versa.

[sadandsingle]

So the instantaneous travel is only one way, then. Strange.

[coyote_walking]

What can I say, but welcome to the City.

[Mercy grinned at her.]

But you're really smart from everything I've been told, so maybe you can figure some of it out.