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[clockworkrepeat.livejournal.com]

It has been some time since she first entered the pod caverns. She's lost track of it-- it's hard to tell time in this ship to begin with, and so without any sort of measure here it's especially hard.

Homura can't make out the faces of anyone inside. Just a vague silhouette. She knows she's trying to do something nearly impossible. She could look through these pods her entire life and never find Madoka, but she still looks. She said it herself to the others, didn't she? Giving up is the same as dying. Homura judges from the particulars of these people's bodies, their wrists, their ankles. Their hair. She searches for a glimpse of pink in a sea of green and finds nothing; that's alright, she'll keep looking.

On and on her trek goes, up and down the spiralling walkways and stairs. Pausing at every single pod that holds a glimmer of hope, a human figure of a young girl. Illuminating the insides with the light of her soul gem, she can never get their faces to show. What she can see of their bodies usually shows something Madoka doesn't have. A faint scar, a distinct freckle or mole.

She's started from the bottom and is moving her way gradually up. It's easily been a day since she started looking. She's hungry and she's thirsty and she's tired, so tired. It's nearly too much. But she knows if she moves from this spot to get food or water or sleep she'll lose her place, and she'll have to start all over again. There's no food or water here, but she can at least get some rest.

Exhausted and frustrated, Homura transforms her soul gem back into its compact ring form and sits down. Leaning gently against a pod and feeling the swell of Stacy's breathing, she tries to get some sleep.

Comments

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"Miss, are you all right?" Zouichi was only here by chance. Unlike some of the crew, he had few friends he'd have liked to see on the ship. Most of them were already dead and gone; having the ship pluck them out of their timelines and set to work here would be, in his opinion, inexcusable.

[clockworkrepeat.livejournal.com]

Homura jerks wide awake at his voice, blinking before coming to her feet. She'd only just started to doze off, too. It wouldn't be hard to get back to sleep, she is just that tired, but for now she puts on her usual formal airs. She wasn't expecting to see anyone here. "... Yes. I'm okay. Thank you."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

Just so you know, Homura, Zouichi wasn't buying it. After all, you didn't wander around in the creepy Pod Caverns unless you were looking for someone. And you didn't wander around in there until you fell asleep unless it was someone important.

"Did one of your friends get repodded, too?"

[clockworkrepeat.livejournal.com]

She looks away towards the rows and rows and rows of pods. "Yes," she says quietly, and her gaze does not stray back to him. She just looks out at all of these people in their pods, above and below them, their lights shining like an infinite, unclimbable amount of stars.

[carrieswar.livejournal.com]

"Man, I really hate being down here."

Patrolling the pod caverns wasn't Jr.'s favorite thing to do, but being part of Security sort of made it part of the job. He was used to dark, creepy stasis chambers with eerie glows and vague figures of humans - and other things, in their secret room on the Durandal. It was a little relieving knowing that those contained in these pods were only sleeping, but that didn't really do much for shaking the unsettling atmosphere.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

"It is a little eerie, isn't it?" Zouichi looked at one of the pods, which appeared to contain a small boy of about twelve years of age. "It's like they're trapped in amber."

"Do you ever wonder why there are so many people here, but so few of us awake?"

[carrieswar.livejournal.com]

"Pretty sure it's a Stacy problem," Jr. responded with a little shrug of the shoulders. "You know, like all of the other parts of her that we don't know about, are malfunctioned, have something either wrong with them or waiting to spring something ugly on us."

He followed Zouichi's gaze to the pod, and then up at some of the others that lined the walls almost endlessly. "I mean, it's gotta be. We're all chooooosen, aren't we? And our help is needed pretty badly. What reason would she have to purposely not wake everyone else up?"

[starbolts]

Starfire does not come here to search for her loved ones, not anymore. They may emerge with time, and perhaps they will not. Her thinking is not entirely as optimistic as it once was. To her, the main appeal of the caverns is the high space with open air---perfect for flying. She comes here sometimes to weave among the pods, wondering who may be resting here and who may join them in the future.

It's very rare that she sees a currently active crew member here, though, and that catches her attention. Wondering, the floating girl dives down to a place near a pod.

"Hello. Are you lost?" she whispers, gentle as can be in case the unfamiliar
girl is asleep.

((Just a forewarning that I'll be a bit slow. About to go to bed, actually. But I want to try this!))

[clockworkrepeat.livejournal.com]

She jerks awake, eyes wide for a brief moment before she sees the source of the voice. This girl can fly, and that interests her slightly. What manner of magic does she possess? Homura wonders, stepping to her feet. She's still slightly unused to all the oddities on board the ship.

"I'm not," she says quietly. She'll need a little prodding to come out with the reason she's here.

[Slowness is just fine! ;w;]

[starbolts]

"You would prefer to sleep here?" Starfire's not judging here, she's just...curious. It seems so strange to her. There is humidity and open space, but the angle is not like what she has seen before. "I see! You prefer open air and solidity."

...somehow, yes, that was her conclusion.

[sonofthewarrior.livejournal.com]

Nanaki recognized her from when he first woke up. Surely she had to actually leave the chambers since then, but why was she there now? And why was she sleeping -- unless she wasn't sleeping.

Cautiously, he approached, speaking gently but loud enough to hear. "Excuse me, miss? Homura?"

He thought that was the name she gave him, anyway.

[clockworkrepeat.livejournal.com]

Homura doesn't jerk awake, just slowly opens her eyes and looks him over. She's slightly surprised he knows her name, but-- then she remembers. Yes. She nods in recognition but does not stand.

She says: "Yes, that's right."

[sonofthewarrior.livejournal.com]

He glanced around, as if he'd see something that would answer the question he was about to ask her.

"Why were you sleeping here? Are you searching for something?"

[pocketloli.livejournal.com]

Sometimes Rein came down to the pod caverns to think. She had remembered some of her companions who had come and gone. Signum once before returning with no memory of the previous arrival, Hayate her meister, Vita, Arf and even Subaru. And yet, she floated along, trying to pinpoint a familiar face, someone she had lost to the stasis sleep.

Not really able to do so was the key word, as she placed a hand on her stomach.

"Are you sleeping well, Shiro...?"

Floating along, she noticed Homura sleeping there. A twinge of worry welled up as she floated over to her, sizing up to her usual form. "You shouldn't sleep down here."

[clockworkrepeat.livejournal.com]

She remembers this girl from the baths. She tilts her head slightly at her concern, then comes to her feet.

"I was just resting my eyes," she murmurs, transparent. "Not sleeping."

[pocketloli.livejournal.com]

"Sure you were," remarked Rein. She sighed, reaching into her bag and holding out a bottle of water and a couple of wrapped cookies. "It's the last bottle water I've got but hey, take it. You look famished."

[clowmaster.livejournal.com]

Sakura has no idea why she's here in the first place? Curiosity perhaps? Why not - her familiar was probably in one of these pods, along with possibly her family and the boy she's in love with. It might be just that little bit of shining hope inside her that refuses to give up.

As she continues her search, she spotted Homura resting, catching her attention. "Oh, my...!" she uttered, running up to her. "A-Are you okay?!"

[clockworkrepeat.livejournal.com]

Homura is surprised to see someone else here, but does not let this show on her face. Instead she instantly slips into something pleasant, faking a smile effortlessly. "I'm okay. I'm just resting for a moment."

[clowmaster.livejournal.com]

If Sakura caught the fake smile, she doesn't show it, instead returning the smile. "I see..." she couldn't help but look up at the various pods. "...there's so many of them here. Are you looking for someone here, too?"

[magicgunworks.livejournal.com]

Luckily for Homura, Mami's... well. Not calmer; she's no longer near hysterics, but it's quite obvious that she's not okay. There are deep circles under her eyes, a sign that the recurring nightmares she once tried so hard to get rid of are back and worse than ever. But she's recovered a little bit, and after seeing no sign of Homura for a while, especially at mealtime, she felt it was time to go pay her a visit.

So here she is, in the Pod Caverns. It takes her a while to find the other girl, but find her she does, and even though Mami feels a little bad for doing so, she nudges Homura awake. She's probably hungry, right?

[clockworkrepeat.livejournal.com]

She shifts awake, slowly at first but then instantly the moment she realizes who it is waking her up. It's Mami. ... Homura is surprised. She didn't think that Mami would come after her.

"Mami. ... why are you here?" She says it curiously, with no ill intent behind it.

[magicgunworks.livejournal.com]

Mami holds out her hand, offering Homura the bowl of slop she had taken with her from the mess hall.

"You've been searching all day, haven't you? Someone needs to remind you to eat, and since I don't think Miki-san would be jumping to do so, it's up to me."

[morganknight]

"You're looking better than the last time I saw you... but not much. And given how I saw you last time, that's saying something."

What had brought him down this way? Pure intuition and instinct, that's all. He knelt down next to her, putting his back against the pod as well. "You looking for someone?"

[clockworkrepeat.livejournal.com]

"... I am," she says quietly, not meeting his eyes. Does she really look that bad? She doesn't know; there's no mirror here, after all. "I would like to thank you again for your treatment."

[morganknight]

"I'm glad you pulled through it." And shocked and baffled by it, but he had no intention of questioning provenance, not when it meant someone had lived instead of died.

"Want to talk about it? Looking for your someone, I mean."