You could have it all; my empire of dirt [OPEN]

remi Though Isla might have just been trying to make him feel better, naive as it might have been, Remi was happy to grab onto the sliver of hope that she produced. Nodding with am emphatic smile, the alchemist was eager to agree. "True. If there really is this magnetic field all the way around here ... perhaps they are all just on the other side of it?" Lingering questions of how and why they were here aside, truly all Remi was worried about was finding his lost friends. 2 in particular; 1 he had gone without for so many years, having her gone again was easier than the loss of the other. The hawk felt the absence of the fox quite keenly. "Ianto." Remi answered, saying the fox's name with his Italian lilt rather than the man's own scottish. "He is about my height and build–" The alchemist answered, trying not to let his mind wander too far into just how keenly he knew those details. "With copper hair. His eyes are blue, though they often appear golden and he speaks..." Frowning, Remi winced adoringly as he recalled the fox's musical cadence. Shaking his head with a laugh, Remi shrugged his shoulders. "He has an accent. Not like mine, but I cannot replicate it." "His shift is a fox ... so if you ever see one sneaking some chicken, that will almost certainly be Ianto."

Isla this won't hurt a bit "Perhaps, yes..." Isla smiled and glanced over her shoulder back towards the outskirts, as if she might be able to discern this magnetic field. She hadn't tried to get through it - she hadn't really heard much more than that they were all stuck - but it wasn't at all a far cry to believe that some of the missing were simply... on the other side. Was it? "Ianto," she repeated after Remi, nodding and committing the name to memory, along with the description of him. A fox shift? Isla laughed, finishing off her apple and absently tossing the core out to where some crows were pecking at the fields. "Lounging in the sun, stealing chicken... he sounds delightful, Remi. I daresay I'll know if I meet him. I'll be sure to mention you're looking for him." She nodded. "Though, if he is on the other side and depending on how long we're here, he might find you before you find him..."

remi "Delightful is one word for him." Remi agreed with a hearty laugh, for once not caring about the potential connotations of his phrasing. This was a new world after all, and after his embrace with Loren when he'd first arrived (though the Duke had similarly embraced the captain (unknown ironies abound)), maybe this place would be different. And until Remi was told otherwise, perhaps he'd continue to live without the weight of who he was constantly pushing him down. "As long as I find him again, I do not care which of us does it first." Remi answered with a soft sigh. " As long as he is careful ... I was near the barrier just once since coming here, and it felt ... " Raising his hands, Remi jittered them slightly. "Like waves in my bones. The man we met, Rory, said that bad things tended to happen if you stayed too close. And if you persisted, you died."

Isla this won't hurt a bit Isla raised her eyebrows at Remi's description of the magnetic field and its effects on those who got too close. She was interested, of that there was absolutely no doubt, and a flurry of questions were already racing through her mind. How does it work? How does it hurt people? Is there a way to bring it down? What put it up in the first place and could it create more if it wanted to? Forcing herself to slow down, Isla heard Remi out in full and let out a long sigh, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "If that information came from Rory I daresay it must be true - growing up here, that must be a lesson you learn quite quickly. A frown flickered across her face. "I'm sure your friend Ianto would be careful around something like that, though. He'll turn up, I bet. Probably when you least expect it.

remi The alchemist nodded in agreement. Though Elyna had been stiff around the native, Remi had thought him entirely trustworthy. Then again, Remi offered his trust fairly readily in most situations, but the slightly older man had given the alchemist no reason to think that he was being disingenuous. "I wonder if there is a way for us to study it from a safe distance. I daresay your medical experience will likely come in quite handy. Without any of my tools from Northaven I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to go about studying it on my own." Taking another bite of his apple, he tilted his head towards his fair-haired counterpart. Would she be interested in studying the field? Or as she said before, perhaps it would be better to establish a baseline for all first, before going off on extraneous quests. "I hope that is not the case." Remi chuckled, running a hand along the back of his neck and up through his curls as he shook his head. "I expect him always. I doubt there will ever come a day when I am not expecting him to simply pop out from behind a tree, or fall of my roof." Grinning at the memory, Remi realized how out of context it likely was. "Ah, this is how we met. And though I hope it isn't how we find each other again, I do find myself looking on top of roofs for him quite often."

Isla this won't hurt a bit "Perhaps we can study it together," Isla said almost instantly, not even trying to hide the excitement in her words. "Remember, you might not have a lot of your tools from Northaven, but you brought the most important one with you - your mind." It was what she had been telling herself, anyway, when she'd been trying to piece together everything with the infirmary and everything. Thank goodness she'd met Remi, at least, and they could try to fashion her with something a little better than mere knowledge. "The least we could do is spread the word to the rest of the people who arrived, if they don't know already? I wonder if it might be an idea to make a notice board, the same as we had in Northaven. Especially while we're exploring..." It was only a suggestion, and it sounded pretty good to Isla's sensible head. "You could even put something up mentioning that you're looking for your friend," she said, smiling softly to him. The story about the roof was a puzzling one, but Isla found it positively charming, and as they stepped back onto the dust and gravel that doubled as a path back to the Sanctuary, she could almost see it in her mind's eye. "Was he a fox at this point, I wonder?"

remi The alchemist blushed. Remi wasn’t trying to fish for compliments or come across as insincere about his understanding of his abilities. But all that he had learned of the world, he had taught himself. There was every possibility that he was incredibly wrong about the way he thought everything puzzled together. Not a man of hubris by any means, still the thought of being so plainly wrong in front of such learned people like Loren and now Isla made the alchemist feel a cold sense of dread, as if he’d been somehow misleading them all along. A notice board? That was a fantastic idea! Remi grinned broadly. ”That’s a wonderful idea. There is probably so much that most are ignorant of..” Mention of searching for Ianto made Remi’s smile both broaden and faulter as he nodded. Chuckling at the memory, the alchemist just shrugged. ”All I know is that when he hit the ground after having fallen off, he was definitely a man.” Definitely a man. Even in the darkness of that midnight, Remi could remember how knee-weakeningly handsome the fox had been.

Isla this won't hurt a bit "The idea of a fox on a rooftop is an interesting one... if he was in that form, it almost explains why he fell... Isla chuckled as well, grinning across at Remi and seeming endeared by the blush on his cheeks. As he also spoke about the notice board, she nodded in hearty agreement. "Perhaps we ought to set one up?" she suggested. "That temple thing seems to be the biggest structure around - we could set it up just inside, perhaps? I'm sure there is plenty of leftover wood from where we cleared the infirmary..." She could put up a sign advising that there was and infirmary as well, then. Remi was right - as well as being ignorant of the place they found themselves in, even developments might be lost as they established themselves in the Sanctuary. A board would help with that.

remi “Almost” Remi said with a wink. Briefly he thought about mentioning how Ianto said he was a roof inspector (or had it been wood inspector? It certainly had been a few weeks later). “That sounds perfect. We could put up descriptions of the missing, a notice about the barrier...perhaps who is living where? To create a sort of...roster?” Remi was by no means a politician or any sort of leader, and so his mind fumbled trying to think up what information would best suit their needs. Isla clearly had a better handle on things. She’d know what else was needed. “I believe I saw some rope and tools in one of the houses. I’m sure we could make use of those as well. “ With more spring in his step, Remi tossed his apple core out into the field where some small animal would likely finish it off.

Isla this won't hurt a bit Isla nodded in enthusiastic agreement at his suggestions. "Yes, that sounds like it would be very helpful. Perhaps we can also have notices about parts of the place that have been renovated, or help wanted signs, or if people need anything in particular?" It all sounded both plausible and logical, even - that Remi knew where to get some further materials was even better. Isla smiled to him. "Let's get going, then." They proved to be a quick and efficient team - Isla dropped off the apples at what counted, for now, as their food store, before heading to the infirmary to gather the leftover wood. Combined with the tools and the rope, she was feeling quite optimistic as they arrived at the little anteroom just inside the Temple. The place was more inviting by daylight, but she still recalled the strange occurence with the torch and thus avoided going into the Temple proper. A large, conveniently blank wall stood to their right, just within the door. "Right - shall we get to putting this up?"

remi With so many areas likely unexplored, having a list of the newly renovated or discovered made a lot of sense. It would save time on duplicated efforts and would help everyone coordinate the lengths they were all trying to go to get some semblance of society up and running again. As they picked up supplies, Remi chatted easily as he often did. He spoke of some of the local flora he’d identified as being relatively similar to that of Northaven, as well as some basic tests they could run to determine whether or not certain plants would be edible or not. @Isla’s medical knowledge on this subject proved incredibly useful, and soon Remi was filled with assurances that they might well make a great team. “Seems as good a place as any. Easily accessible, but protected from the elements.” Grabbing the wood and nails, and with Isla’s assistance, the pair began to create what would be an impressively sturdy frame for the notice board (at least given the materials they had to work with).

Isla this won't hurt a bit "Perfect." Isla nodded in agreement, smiling to Remi and helping him get to work on the frame. It took the two of them the better part of an hour, during which time a couple of people had come in and out of the Temple to ask what they were doing, until finally they had a workable frame hanging on the wall and ample space to put up notices and bulletins. Isla stepped back and dusted off her hands. "There," she said, laughing softly. "Do we need to put up a notice to tell people there's a notice board?" She arched an eyebrow across at Remi and grinned. "You ought to make your missing poster for Ianto. I'll make a notice about the infirmary, and we can both work on something about the magnetic field around this place?"

remi Thoughtfully Remi nodded. “Yes. And then probably a notice to alert them that there is a notice? “ Grinning, he chuckled. “Or perhaps word of mouth might be a bit more successful.” Nodding, Remi pulled out a piece of paper and a stick of charcoal. Handing these to Isla, he fished around for two more. Remi almost always carried these sorts of things with him. After a few moments of consideration, Remi put up a notice about both Ianto and Martha. The vet was hardy and Remi knew she could take care of herself (not that Ianto couldn’t), but he’d be lying if he said he missed them both equally. Martha had been his childhood best friend yes, but Ianto ... Well. Some firsts just couldn’t be forgotten. “For the magnetic field ... ‘keep away’ seems like it will just invite people to explore .. Should we perhaps list some of the symptoms and occurrences Rory described? “

Isla this won't hurt a bit Isla laughed and folded her arms across her chest, stepping back so that Remi could put together his missing posters. She nodded as he tacked them in place, seeming satisfied with their work together on this. The notice board still looked a little naked, but she had no doubt that it would fill up in time. "Word of mouth sounds like the most practical idea," she agreed, peering at the names of the missing. Ianto she knew, but Martha... actually, she thought she and the veterinarian had arrived in the same Mini Wave. Isla would certainly keep her eyes peeled for both. "That sounds wise," she said of the magnetic field. "Perhaps less 'keep away' and more of a warning? If we mention, too, that the information came from someone native to this place, it might sound as though it has more weight to it. We can't stop people exploring, after all..."