sojournerdeep | Location - a disturbing hallway

There is a passageway in Sojourner dotted with irregularly-placed stone plinths that serve as columns for a latticed ceiling. The first thing one might notice about it is the scent wafting forth; a sweet, warm smell that is... well, what is it? A scent from one's childhood, surely, a comforting scent. Fresh bread for some. Mown grass for others. But it's a scent that tugs one's lips into a smile, and twinges a string of nostalgia in the heart, and more often than not, draws feet in that direction.

Finch has one such pair of feet. He limps down the corridor, his leashed dog at his side; and he pauses occasionally to sniff the air, to smile absently, then to resume his forward progress and idle inspection of each of the rough-hewn stone monoliths he passes. There are no markings, but they glitter as if fine mica or quartz had been dusted along their slate-dark surfaces.

Another scent, replacing the fragrance of (for Harold Finch) a pot roast dinner. This one is... thick in the air, cloying, and Finch pauses with a slow blush creeping up his neck. (For Harold Finch, it's now the smell of a former lover's aftershave; for others it might be any number of scents that bring to mind intimate moments.) After a long, hesitating moment (while Bear whines in confusion, his canine nose registering entirely different things than a human might), he keeps going.

And any others who follow this fascinating olfactory trail to its conclusion - well, they find Harold Finch standing at a blank wall that fills the passage floor to ceiling. It appears to be steel - or something like it - its blank, ugly surface scarred and pitted with gouges and gashes, like a spoon put down the garbage disposal.

And for those viewing it? They feel a curious sense of existential dread, visceral, dwelling in the gut rather than the mind. There is no obvious threat. There is no sense of a knife-wielding maniac or a monster about to devour you. There is only that wall, flat, scarred, final as a summary execution, and the slow flooding awareness that all is meaningless, has been meaningless, will always be meaningless.

Harold Finch stands and stars, stands and stares. There is a cold sweat beaded on his brow, and he looks somewhat grey around the gills.

The dog barks, a worried sound, unsure what is wrong with his human but knowing that something surely is.

[ooc: Open to any! Finch is going to stubbornly return to this wall a few times, so multiple people should feel free to jump in and we'll assume chronological jumps if necessary. Feel free to add any details about this hallway you think would be interesting!]

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"Oh, no, don't loo--"

Too late. Finch snaps his own eyes shut and stands there a moment, wincing in a sort of empathetic fashion as he imagines what Brier might be feeling. Or rather he doesn't have to imagine it; he's felt it twice, after all. Finch exhales and gazes down in the direction of his shoes before carefully opening up his eyes. He walks forward, gazing down fixedly at his own toes, Bear trotting along fairly unconcerned.

"Miss Brier?" he says when he's closer, hoping he can jostle her out of what he expects to be the traumatic despair-bomb of the wall's impact.

Brier takes a shaky breath. She looks down, and just like that, the near crushing despair lifts. She turns away and sinks back to the floor, on her knees. She can smell Zora again, the thing which had made her sad before, but the regret of knowing that Zora would live the rest of her life without her was nothing compared to the feeling that she'd been subjected to a moment ago.

"What is it? She asks, looking up at Finch. "You felt it too?"

Finch takes a deep breath. He's being quite careful not to look at the wall again-- twice before was more than enough, thank you-- but he certainly remembers the sensation.

"Yes, I'd stumbled across it earlier. I put the blanket up to try and keep anyone else from doing the same," he admits with a touch of wryness. He shuffle-steps closer, and Bear is tugging on the leash now, so he lets the dog go-- Bear bounds on over to Brier, greeting her with happy whining and a blunt nose into her hands. Bear isn't bothered by walls, but he is bothered by the people he likes being sad, and Brier's managed to qualify as such.

"Easy, Bear, let her breathe," Harold murmurs half-heartedly, eyes still on his toes as he shuffles the rest of the way near. "Are you alright?"

Brier pets the dog, careful to not look at the wall either. "It's a very strange thing. Thank you for the rescue." She smiles and scratches those every itchy ears.

"Thank you both."

"I found it in the dark. It smelled like...someone I used to know. I was sure she must be here." Brier doesn't realize how telling her statement is.

I'm sorry I upset the blanket. I'll put it back up." She turns towards the wall, but keeps her eyes on the ground for the moment, inching forward towards the half covered wall. She gets a hold of the corner of the blanket and stands, closing her eyes as she lifts it back to where it was, at the top of the wall.

Finch... knows what he smelled, in that section of the hallway; he gives a slight blink at Brier, then clears his throat.

"Let me help you, it's a bit tricky just with one--"

Together, they manage to hoist the blanket up, even if Finch has a stiff shoulder and an awkward lurch to get it up all the way.

"There." He makes a show of brushing off his hands, trying to radiate a calm matter-of-factness about this all.

"You're very welcome. Have you had much trouble with the gravity? Things becoming too light or too heavy?"

Brier seems unaware entirely that she has said anything surprising.

"Thank you for the help, as well" she says, softly, when they have finished the task. She offers Finch a smile and absently pets Bear for a moment.

"Gravity." she repeats. "Yes. I have been having that trouble. I try to sit down until it passes. It seems smarter to do that, somehow, I suppose I should do that when the lights go out, too."

"Everyone seems very nervous."

Bear is more than happy for the pets! He licks at Brier's hands in a friendly fashion.

"Yes, unless you have some way of seeing," Finch agrees. "And you should avoid areas that don't have roofs, if you can, until this stops happening-- I don't know what would happen if you got too light and fell upwards and there wasn't a roof, but it's probably safer not to test it. If you have to go through an open area, make sure there's something nearby to grab hold of."

Brier nods. She looks down to see Finch's lantern "You're doing all right, it looks like, though." She smiles.

With one last glance at the blanket and one last shudder she starts down the hall, keeping a slow pace out of consideration for Mr. Finch. "Let's get away from...that." she says.

"Are you hungry? I've been...trying to cook. It doesn't go well, always, with the things I get out of the dispenser. But, I can try again."

"Yes please," Finch says rather fervently at the notion of leaving the wall behind.

The comment on his lantern makes him smile, demurely pleased; the question of food makes him arch his brows and smile a different smile.

"That's quite generous of you. I'd very much like that, thank you. Can I do anything to help-- bring something?"

"If you know where to get bread, I think some would be very nice. All I seem to be able to get out of the dispensers is crackers. I've learned to make a sort of cream soup with some broth and cream sort of stuff I can get out of the dispensers. I've found a root vegetable that tastes a bit like burdock, only softer, and another that's a bit like carrots, only less sweet. It's the best thing I can make, so far. But I will keep working."

She looks over at him "Does that sound like something you would like?"

Edited 2016-11-05 10:52 (UTC)

"Hmmm, I think I might be able to acquire bread," Finch says with a little smile. "And that all sounds delicious, honestly. Would it be alright with you if I brought a friend of mine, to meet you and share our meal?"

He's a little wary that he hasn't actually seen John eating terribly much.

Brier is a little surprised by the request, but she shakes her head "No, I don't mind. I'll see you this evening?" Whenever evening is...

"We'll be there," Finch agrees. He gets some directions from Brier, and tugs Bear gently away from his ongoing infinite desire to lick Brier's fingers to stubs.

Location - a disturbing hallway

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