[ it takes him a while to work up to this, to figure out what "legend" to use and what to say that might give everyone hope and something positive to take out of this. even for a few minutes after he turns on the video, he sits in contemplative silence until finally choosing something to use to break that silence. ]

My people have a story, an ancient legend passed down through the generations. [ yes, kathryn. it's as much an ancient legend as that other one he told you so long ago. ] It's a story about a goose who was shot out of the air by a hunter. He was too injured to keep going and he fell to the ground under a grove of trees. Thinking his life would soon end, he closed his eyes and lay very still. The goose was surprised when he felt a small paw against his side. He opened his eyes to find a fox nudging him.

The fox examined the injured wing for a moment and then whistled. Fearing the worst, the goose closed his eyes again and let himself rest. The end would soon come and this would all be over. But the next thing he felt was a tiny, soft nose against his wing. Confused, the goose opened his eyes again and saw a hare. When she was done, she told the goose to move his wing. Still confused, the goose obeyed... and found that his wing didn't hurt anymore. The hare had healed him.

The goose slowly stood up. "Why did you help me? Why did you not eat me instead?"

The fox and the hare looked at each other. "We've been trapped for a long time," the hare explained. "It didn't seem right to leave you there."

The three of them worked and worked, but they couldn't escape. No matter what happened, what they did, the trees seemed to hold them there. They did their best to survive and believe that one day they would return to their homes. They talked every day and learned so much about each other that it seemed they'd known each other forever.

One day, the hunter finally arrived and decided to let them go. They were given a short time to say their farewells and because of what they had learned about each other, the goose, the hare, and the fox knew they would likely never see each other again. In tears, the hare tore off two tufts of fur. These turned into rabbit feet, which she told her friends would bring them good luck. The fox clipped off two of his claws, said to bring great strength to his friends. Feeling that his gift was the least useful, the goose plucked off two feathers and gave them to his friends, saying that when they needed help, these feathers would fly them to safety.

The three friends said their goodbyes and left, each returning to their homes and their families. Even though they never saw each other again, they always carried those gifts as reminders of the place where they had met and the strength and fortitude of those friendships.

[ he's silent for a minute to let that sink in before he takes a solemn breath and continues. ]

For every event, every action in our lives, there is a beginning and an end. It may not be tangible or easy to see, but both exist as a part of our very beings. These actions and occurrences shape who we are, the people we meet mold us into different people and we're never the same after it. Despite what might happen when we leave, we'll never forget each other and the gifts we have shared.

[ to the average curse-goer, the hogwarts curse was by no means traumatic, but that's not the case for the crew of the starship voyager. for those who once had neural interfaces implanted at the base of their skulls that directly connected their neocortexes to the ship's computer, making them believe they were actually part of the holodeck scenarios they were forced to play out, it is. it's an unwelcome reminder of that time, of a point in their journey when their sense of control, along with their sense of self, was lost to a group of hirogen who treated them like foxes to the hunt. they were toys to be played with, broken, repaired, and sent back out to be broken again.

which is why when the video feed clicks on, the city's treated to an almost avengers-style scene: all four officers, clad in uniform from the ranks pinned to their collars to the polished boots on their feet, sitting around a table in their apartment, eating pizza in utter silence. they're a sea of red and gold; harry's arm's still in a cast and captain janeway's feet are shamelessly propped up on the only unoccupied chair. there's a pile of phasers at the center of the table, the group quietly distrustful of their restored reality as if they're calmly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

it's chakotay who breaks the silence. ]

It could be worse. At least no one was expecting a Nazi's child this time.

[ the table lurches as b'elanna kicks him hard in the shins for that crack, the commander grunting in pain as the video disconnects. ]



[ ooc: responses might come from any of them! ]

[ today has chakotay not yet asleep. this is hardly much of a surprise considering what's been going on lately. it isn't affecting him as badly as some people, but the way everyone's been reacting to it is definitely setting his nerves on edge. so that's why he's decided to make this hopefully encouraging transmission. ]

I know a lot has been happening lately. It seems like most of the City is cursed or seeing things that otherwise might not be real. I know it seems difficult. But we'll get through this. If [ his understanding of ancient earth culture ] memory serves and this place follows some of the rules, this sort of thing shouldn't last much longer. All we need to do is--

[ guess who just walked out of his room and into the apartment's living room to see... his captain... reading a physics book. ]

...Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have a doctorate in quantum physics?

Quantum Cosmology, but it's all relatively within the same field. [ people familiar with her will recognize the voice of kathryn janeway. ]

Then why are you reading a physics book?

I'm not. I'm correcting it. [ they can't see it, but she's holding up a red marker she's been going to town with on the poor outdated textbook. ] The science of the time is, well... painfully behind.

[ well that's new. ] I guess there are worse ways to spend your time.

I thought about trying out a few recipes, but suspected there might be a round of protests.

Only a few, I would think. If you feel like entertaining me with how you've corrected your physics book, I'll make dinner. [ if you people listening think he's grinning, he totally is. his voice is entirely amused. ]

You always make dinner.

[ he chuckles in amusement at that. ] Let me finish this and we can argue about dinner.

[ all he receives in response to that is a warm laugh, because they both know if there's an argument to be had, she'll emerge the victor. in return, he turns back to his communication to finish it. ]

As I was saying, I believe we can all make it through whatever curse is happening this month. We just need to do it together. Find people you can trust or whose company you enjoy and talk about the good things you can remember. We'll make it through this. Just keep that in mind.

[ and that's it. he's turning off the phone so he can "argue" with kathryn about dinner and her book. ]

[ he's decided to spend the day at the beach. the cross-gates have been quite useful and despite not knowing how they function and being very curious as to that exact question, he utilizes one to get to the northern beach. once there, he settles into a more secluded place where he, hopefully, won't be found very easily and takes out his lovely little city-phone. ]

For all of the City veterans still here... I was wondering how often these curses hit, if there's any way to stop them, and if there's a way to determine the probability of one affecting someone.

[ not counting harry. chakotay's expecting harry to get hit by curses more often than not because that's just the way harry's luck runs. poor ensign. ]

Whatever the case may be, I think it's time for me to start keeping track of how many curses I notice. I wonder if there's a running list of them somewhere?

[ once that's all taken care of, he settles back for another attempt at contacting his animal guide. he's been having a difficult time of it, since his medicine bundle is back on voyager, but he's slowly been trying to gather up things that might help him with it here. it's difficult and strange, but it just might work. so he begins quietly, murmuring the ancestral prayer and taking deep steadying breaths as his eyes slide closed and he focuses on the items in front of him. they're covered by pieces of cloth, wrapped up on the sand in front of him, as he'd rather not have some of them be seen, and some are simply tucked into his pockets. this is mostly an experiment and he has no idea that soon enough a friend will drop by for a visit. ]

[ his day has not been a good one. actually, the last few have been... less than ideal. he's been trying to do something a little more normal and had almost no luck. perhaps it's his mind running wild; perhaps it's the lack of personal items he would normally have at his disposal. whatever the case, his days have been... extremely difficult to adjust to. so when he decides to test the system, as it were, he chooses to make his presence known by voice only for now. ]

I realize I am still very new to this City, but I have a question for any who would answer. Do any of you have personal items that you normally have in your own homes, items you no longer have with you? What do you do now, with the emptiness that comes of having lost something extremely important? I find myself... missing certain things and I'm at a loss as to how to connect to something that is no longer with me.

[ it's a vaguely-worded question and he's not sure he'll answer with complete honesty if someone asks what he's talking about, but it's a question that's bothering him now. perhaps the answer is to gather a substitute and make do with what he can here. for better or for worse. ]