Etraya Inbox

[hexcope]

𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 | 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎 | 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

Comments

[godsandbats]

Whatever it is, it might be more complicated than you think. Just cowardice seems out of character for you.

[Then again, Kirk has misread someone before]

[hexcope]

[It's audio, so Kirk doesn't see the quiet little smile Jayce wears as he sighs.]

It's nice to be thought of as brave.

[godsandbats]

[In a matter-of-fact tone]

You asked a complete stranger on the first meeting to help you help a close friend. It's a sign of how committed you are to this.

[hexcope]

Not really a sign of bravery, is it? Being afraid of losing someone close?

[godsandbats]

It's only natural to feel that way. You care about him.

[hexcope]

And what, you'd do the same?

[He knows Kirk wouldn't. Not on the first meeting.]

[godsandbats]

It depends. I've been on the receiving end of someone helping me when we first met. We've become close friends since then.

[Kirk's downplaying it for now as this conversation isn't supposed to be about him]

[hexcope]

[Well now it's gonna be about him!]

Oh yeah? Who is it?

[godsandbats]

[Damnit]

Hernan. He came to Etraya a little before I did.

[hexcope]

Right, you've mentioned him.

["Close friends..."]

I'm glad he's here for you. And you're here for him. Those days you mentioned, where you're further in the timeline than him- did anything significant happen on those days?

[godsandbats]

Yes. We had a battle.

[With the military and his formerly best human friend]

He was in the middle of it. I’m from after it.

[hexcope]

And he's... okay?

["In the middle of a battle" is so ominous.]

[godsandbats]

He is. We’ve all recovered.

[Though it came close to being otherwise. And then there’s still Kirk’s grief]

[hexcope]

Good.

[A slightly longer pause.]

We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I hope you know by now I'm here if you need someone to talk to. Or at. I can keep my mouth shut sometimes.

[godsandbats]

[It's probably good that Jayce can't see Kirk arching his eyebrow. They haven't known each other for very long but it's strange how quickly their relationship is tightening. Kirk... doesn't hate it]

Thank you.

[Kirk isn't sure if he'll ever take up Jayce's offer but it's nice to know at least]

For what it's worth, Metropolis was in the middle of recovering when I came to Etraya.

[hexcope]

Metropolis. What's the population density on a city like that? Is that where you're from?

[godsandbats]

Metropolis's population is approximately eleven million. Gotham is about the same size. I tend to travel between the two cities. Metropolis was where the battle was.

[hexcope]

Eleven million?

[What in the goddamn...]

That's massive!

[godsandbats]

[Huh... interesting reaction]

There are other cities in my world that are about the same or more.

[hexcope]

Doesn't it feel pretty... crowded? That many people in one place?

[godsandbats]

It depends on how you feel about crowds. Metropolis is composed of seven islands. Six of them are for most of the population. Stryker's Island is for the penitentiary.

[hexcope]

I guess that's pretty spread out. Piltover's got a population of maybe a million? I can't even imagine a city over ten times that size.

[godsandbats]

A million is relatively small for a city in my world. What is Piltover like?

[hexcope]

Nothing like here.

Bright. A lot of glass, big windows. Tall, heavily detailed architecture, everything's pretty close together. Nowhere near as big as this place, maybe the size of one of the islands here? It's dense but it doesn't always feel dense. It's... safe. For the most part.

[godsandbats]

In terms of aesthetics, it almost sounds like Metropolis. Gotham's architecture is older and uses less glass. But it's still heavily detailed. Gotham's also denser because it has three main islands.