Colin's posts

"Bye, Izea." Levi said, as he started to dash off.

"Was nice meeting you!" he yelled back, before he was out of sight.

She then stood there for a moment, almost stunned, before she heard another voice.

"Excuse me." he said. That's when she realised she was in the way of the tray and dish return, technically speaking, so she quickly got out of the way. Nothing more was said, though, as the people started to return their trays and dishes and filter out.

It made sense, lunchtime was over.

However, other than the odd glance at her, and the occasional look of confusion or surprise, nobody said anything. Good or bad.

Levi was silent for a moment, and sighed.

"Yeah..." he said.

"I guess the tabletops I play sometimes really DO mimic real life in unintended ways." he lamented.

"But I like to think I'm one of those players... or NPC's, depending on how you look at it... that are okay with them." he told her with a small smile.

"Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat, but my lunch break's over." he told her.

"If you wanna find me during work hours, the PR and Media Relations department is where I work." he informed her further.

Levi just chuckled.

"Yeah, I had to learn that, too." he said. "Though I was given a lot of tolerance for... well... reasons..." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head and sighing quietly.

"...also, sorry if this is insensitive or anything..." he then said further, trailing off a bit and changing the subject.

"...but... you're... a real goblin, yeah?" he asked.

"Like... a legit one?" he asked further.

"I've seen a whole hell of a lot since I learned of this side of life, but I've never actually seen a goblin before. I didn't know they were... well... really real." he admitted.

He made sure everything was where it should be, before looking at her.

"You're welcome." he replied.

"Also, never seen you around before." he said.

"You new?" he asked.

When she nodded, he smiled a little.

"Cool." he said.

"Name's Levi." he introduced himself, extending a hand.

She finished eating, and when she went to return her tray and dishes, she noticed that she was just a little too small to get the tray up there properly. And if she tried to stretch her arms out to do it, there was a real chance of the dishes falling off and probably breaking.

But just as she was trying to wonder what to do, someone approached. Someone that seemed very unassuming, much like Tyson had been.

"Ah, heck." the male said.

"Guess the thing's missing again." he muttered.

"There's normally a stepping stool for shorter people here... want me to look for it?" he asked.

"Actually, want me to just help you with your tray?" he then asked further.

"I'll bring up the missing platform with the staff here."

"Not yet, anyway." Tyson replied.

"It's possible to hook you up with something." he told her.

"But you'll discover that soon enough." he then said, waving to her as he noticed someone that looked to be a fox-girl start to leave the cafeteria.

"I have to talk to someone." he finished.

"Hey! Peyton!' he called to the young woman, jogging over towards her.

And then Izea was alone again.

But someone had legitimate reached out to her to talk... that was something.

Tyson laughed a little.

"Well, then you've certainly gotten a taste of the diversity here." he commented.

"Anyway, I just wanted to come over and introduce myself." he told her.

"Hope I run into you again." he continued, rising to his feet.

"And I hope you find your niche here, or in the world, or wherever." he continued.

"There anything you wanna ask, or anything else?" he then inquired.

Tyson just shrugged.

"I hate talking down to people. In ANY sense." he told her. "Simple as that." he said.

"No real deep meaningful reason or anything, just wanted to get a little comfortable and talk to you more casually." he went on with another, smaller shrug.

"Anyway, I'm sure you'll find there's a lot of different kinds of people here." he then went on.

"Who have you met, already?" he asked.

"I know you'll have already met Sharp, and I'm guessing you've already met Jake, but anyone else?"

"....yes, I suppose that's true." Tyson agreed.

"Well, whatever reason you were rejected, I'm sure that won't happen here." he told her. "We're quite diverse and open to others here." he reasoned.

"I'm sure you'll manage to fit in." he added with a small smile.

"And literally stumbled upon this place? Lucky you." he then went on. "Someone up there must be lookin' out for you a little." he said with a small chuckle.

"If you, personally, believe in that sort of thing." he continued.

"...I'VE seen too much NOT to believe in it, myself..." he mumbled.

"...huh." Tyson responded.

"Well, you're right. You're the first goblin I've seen around here." he admitted. "And too short?" he asked further, before looking at the tables and chairs in the large room.

"...oh." he muttered. "Yes, I can see that." he commented. "....swear we have some measures in place for those more... vertically challenged..." he mumbled to himself.

"We do for Mira, anyway..." he then continued, before shaking his head.

"Regardless, hello Izea." he properly greeted her.

"Come here seeking help, have you?" he asked, noticing the 'resident' badge around her neck.

Some of the people looked at her quizzically for a moment, but they figured it was best not to get involved. Not that people didn't care, they just... had other things to concern themselves with.

However, that stopped when a man that looked to be in his 30's approached her, and sat down against the wall, beside her.

"Hey." he greeted her.

"Name's Tyson." he introduced himself.

"Never seen you around before." he then commented. "You new?" he asked her.

"Also, why are you sitting on the floor here in the corner?" he asked further.

"Suggestion noted." the voice responded. "Your feedback is appreciated, and will be taken into consideration." it said further.

"Have a nice day." it finished.

Then, the voice was silent, and the map stayed up for an indefinite amount of time. Izea wasn't sure how long it would last, but as soon as she started to walk away from it, it dissipated into the air.

If she were to wager a guess, it was motion-sensitive or something.

But she had a path, now. And she guessed that, given the time, the cafeteria would be really busy.

Surprisingly, when she made her way to the place, it wasn't as busy as one would assume. It looked to be about half-full, which was still a lot of people.

But all the smells of all the various different foods and cuisines detracted from that. The place smelled absolutely amazing.

When she located one, she saw it was... decently high up, but she was able to reach it... just. When she pressed it, she saw a dark blue 3D blueprint of the place pop up... and heard a voice.

"Please state your destination clearly, or swipe to map out your path." a female voice told her.

"...cafeteria." she responded after a moment.

"One moment, please." the voice replied.

Then, after a few seconds, she saw a red line start from where she was, go down the hall, stop at an elevator, had the elevator go up a few floors, and then continued along its way, until stopping at a very large room.

One she guessed was obviously her destination.

"Can I help with anything else?" the voice asked her.

Her night was calm and uneventful. In fact, it was so peaceful, and for once in a very long time, she actually managed to sleep through the night, and didn't even wake up again until close to noon, as she had predicted.

When she woke up, she noticed that the clock said 11:47am, and she was alone.

But there was a folded-up piece of paper that had been pushed through the mail slot of the door. She made her way over towards it and unfolded it, seeing that it was from Sharp.

Izea.

Your appointment in the medical wing is for 3 in the afternoon. If you do not show up, someone will be coming by to knock on your door, make sure you're all right. If you're feeling hungry, the cafeteria is open at all hours.

If you need to find your way, the blue squares on the walls are 3D interactive maps with user-friendly interfaces. If you still get lost, use the HELP option to call for someone to find you and help you.

Hope you had a pleasant night.

-Agent Sharp it read.