calling_net | [CALL] Video; UN: wardenka

[It was an odd device. A tiny seam down the middle was the only indication it was manmade at all, it seemed so alien. Flawlessly smooth black material that, alarmingly, she didn't recognize, a glossy panel on the front that lit up and showed her things when she touched it. Spoke with a voice she couldn't speak to and showed her visions without once reaching into the Fade.

It introduced itself, in a way. A "CALL device", a means to communicate with places unimaginable. A means to go places unimaginable, if that label marked "TRANSPORT" did what it said it did. Song without singers or instruments, music captured somehow. Portraits straight from reality, with no painter's bias. Visions with no warping, events preserved exactly as they happened, a journal of sight and sound. Speech and writing across distances unreachable.

Somehow.

She touched the screen as instructed, opened a video post. If she understood right, it would be the closest to in-person interaction. She didn't want to hit that button just yet. She'd sensed no disturbance in the Veil (and Alistair would have sensed it before he left if she hadn't), so she doubted it was a demon's work. But all the same, what if something went wrong? She wanted to test first.]

[The camera looks up on a woman clothed in crimson, curious eyes searching the frame. A huge brown mastiff looms over her shoulder (showing her to be seated on the ground), watching the recording with equally inquisitive eyes - equally discerning.]

...Have I done it right?

[The dog whines curiously.]

I might as well, at worst nobody hears me. Um... [She clears her throat.] This is Warden-Commander Katherine Amell of Ferelden. This device said it could be used to communicate with others who had another one. Oh, like a tiny eluvian... [she murmurs in sudden realization, before remembering herself and focusing on the screen again.] ...Anyway, is anyone hearing this? ...I see myself on the screen, is anyone seeing the same?

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I've had mine for a while, actually. Or what feels like a while.

[ He scratches at his ear for a moment before tilting his head at her. ]

Are those tattoos?

[Her hand goes up to one of her tattoos on instinct.]

Yes, they are - I got them about...I think it had to have been eight or nine years ago? I thought they might flatter the shape of my face.

[Only partially true, but discussing old scars doesn't sound like a good time to her. At least, not with someone who isn't even from Thedas. Kurloz was a jarring example of just how different these other worlds are.]

That's cool.

[ He doesn't look particularly apt to question her on it. Just friendly interest. As it is, the general air of this one is that of someone genuine and excited to 'be' there, as the case happened to be. Even if 'there' was 'on the Network'. ]

They look nice. And they totally do.

[And it does wonders - it's a trustworthy sort of presence that makes her feel more at ease about this entire idea. Stepping into the unknown and meeting new people was exciting, but not without risk.]

Well, thank you, um...

[His username doesn't sound like a name, either. Her own only uses her initials, it isn't as if she can complain.]

I'm sorry, I never asked for your name.

[The dog whines sharply, courteous enough to not bark in her ear, and she chuckles.]

Nor did I introduce him. [She reaches up to pat the dog's neck.] Since he insists, this is Thunder.

[ He actually waves at the dog before blinking, holding up a finger, and rushing off. He returns a few moments later with a big fluffy-looking sheep dog.]

This is Shelby.

[ There's a glance around his room before he walks over to a cabinet, reaching up to pull down a large white cat who looks fussed but settles out as soon as she's actually curled up against his chest. ]

And this is Fuzzball. And I'm Clark. Sorry. Probably should of said that first...

[Thunder pants happily when he's waved at, getting drool all over the shoulder of Katherine's robes; she motions him back and he obeys, instead looking in at the device over her arm, clearly wanting to keep an eye on what his owner is watching.

As for the mage, herself, she can't help the fond look at the pets. They're so cute, after all, and that he thought to go out of his way to introduce them just made his presence seem all the nicer.]

It's nice to meet all three of you.

[A brief pause, before she adds:]

So if you've had this device for "a while", has this...distribution of them been happening very long?

[She says "distribution" with a little bit of unease - after all, it was given to her by someone entirely undetectable to an extremely intelligent dog and two people who could sense magic.]

Well, a couple months anyway.

[ He settles onto the bed easily enough with the cat still taking up most of his arms. The camera bounces a little as Shelby decides to head back down to the kitchen where his mother is making dinner. ]

I woke up with mine on the bed next to me. I don't know how it got there, but so far, everyone I've met has been pretty nice.

So far, I could say the same. [It helps, certainly, being met with such decent people. Even Kurloz isn't that bad, just coming from a very different direction.]

Mine appeared in my tent without warning, too. There was no magic, and my dog wasn't alerted at all. Nobody knows how they can accomplish this? If a strange person entered camp all of a sudden, Thunder would get my attention.

Don't know. I mean.

[ He's gonna scratch at the back of his neck now. ]

I'm pretty sensitive to strangers in the house and I didn't pick up anything either.

[Odd. He doesn't look the part of someone hyper-sensitive to his surroundings. But maybe he has some sort of low-key magic sensing going on that even he doesn't know about? Or isn't willing to share. She has no idea what his thoughts on magic even are.]

That's a little worrying. Is there any purpose to it?

[Sorry, Clark. She'll be happy to chat about giant dog care after she gets the important questions out of the way. So far, it just so happens he seems to be the one with the most experience with the device so far, based on how long he says he's had it.]

Well, the one thing I noticed was that there's some networks that some people have and some that other people have.

I've got access to HERO and CALL. Someone else mentioned a C.A.D. one but I've never seen that one.

Oh, I have that "HERO" one, too. I saw it, but this one seemed related to the device itself - "CALL" and "CALLED".

[She thinks about it - why would they need another one? She doesn't really know how these things work, but she did notice she had the option to not use a username at all...]

Why do we have others? We can call ourselves whatever we like on this one, so privacy doesn't seem to be a problem.

Not really sure. I guess I never thought about it? But there's probably a reason to it. I mean HERO sounds...

It sounds like something deliberate.

"Hero" and "cad"... Yes, they do, don't they?

[Are they separating them by morality? Or is it reputation? By what observation? It's a little unsettling - have they been watching them?]

Do you have a reputation as a hero?

HA.

[ Sorry, that's- ]

Uh, no. I'm just a kid.

[It was worth asking!]

That makes this more puzzling... I'm well-known here now, but if they have someone with no reputation at all, it surely can't be that.

...Were they watching us, somehow?

[Literally all it would take to answer this is for her to actually hit Transport and listen to the explanation that she, in relation to this world, is fictional.]

No idea.

I was just really glad to find it.

It is a fascinating device. There's a scholar in the capital who would love to have something like it.

It sounds like it's brought something good into your life.

[CALL] Video; UN: wardenka

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