(no subject)

[loose_cannon]

"Hey, uh . . . anyone here ever had to, you know . . . reconnect with anyone before?"

The question comes from a man seated at the edge of the forum. A heavy, fringed overcoat is draped over the back of the speaker's chair, and he's kicked his pair of dusty boots up on a nearby tabletop. Overall, it looks like the man would be more at home in the American west: he wears a bolo tie and bandana around his neck, embroidered denim shirt, heavy belt buckle holding up crossed gun holsters and reinforced jeans. The tanned, scarred skin of his face contrasts starkly with his shaggy white hair. At a glance, he appears to be (at least) in his late 40's, but his eyes have a youthful, fiery spark to them.

The gunslinger swings his boots down off the table so he can sit forward and pour himself another shot from a brown-bagged bottle.

"Family in particular?" He adds before taking a swig.

Comments

[loose_cannon]

"Glad you got it sorted out. 'Cause yeah, sometimes the other party isn't keen on reconnecting at all. They just want to cut ties and have it done with. I don't blame folks who'd rather do it that way. Less messy ... usually."

Jesse cocks his head, interested. This man seems to know a thing or two about this world-between-worlds. He notes the cane and waves to the empty seat across from him. Take a load off!

"What do you mean by people 'they think they know'?"

[bitterguardian]

"There are certainly people I'd rather not reconnect with, here or anywhere..." He nods mildly, and moves to the chair with a rocking limp that hints more at poor balance than a non-weight-bearing leg. He doesn't look at all infirm, apart from that.

"Mmm. Have you been here long? There are sometimes... what's referred to as alternates. It's possible to run into versions of people who look familiar to you, but who've had a somewhat different path in life than you know they've had in your own world. Or even versions of yourself who chose a different course. I've been fortunate enough not to meet any other version of myself here, but I have met people who knew a man I... perhaps could have become, with just a different choice or two along the way. People mistook me for him, at least briefly." He gives a thin smile that isn't really a smile at all. If he ever does meet his alternate, he'd like to knock his lights out. "It wasn't a pleasant experience."

[loose_cannon]

"I haven't been here long. I'm still learning all the rules and lingo." When the other man takes a seat, Jesse plays the good host and offers a drink.

"Alternates? So it's not just unique worlds that are linked here? All the possibilities in between? Shit. That's crazy."

His eyes light up with a sudden thought. "Say ... you ever run into someone who died in your world, but they're alive in another?"

[bitterguardian]

"Ahh, welcome to the Nexus, then. It has it's good and bad points." He hesitates, on being offered a drink, because while he doesn't want to appear rude, there's also some Nexus etiquette lessons everyone has to learn sooner or later. "...Thank you, but no thank you. It can be risky to accept food and drink from anyone you don't know well, here. I mean no offense, but..." His smile is apologetic and not at all unfriendly, but they have only just met.

"And yes, this is a crossroads of realities. I... haven't met anyone deceased from my own world here, yet, but I understand it's very much a possibility."