"Ground floor. Never really bothered to take a look at the other apartments, just picked the first on the way. It’s easier to get out quickly like that." Which was practical thinking, really — and while she had noticed more people arriving and taking residence in the same building as herself, she didn’t exactly deem it necessary to meet them. At best, it would’ve brought her some distraction. At worst, a fight, and that was something she definitely didn’t need around here. At least not just yet.
"Beside that," she continued, "I’ve checked most of the buildings around. Just as decrepit and damp as the houses, mostly. Church seems pretty clean, though. You’ve been there yet?” At the first look, this woman definitely gave the impression of a religious person, and Meg had to suppress a mischievous grin at the thought of revealing her own origin to someone like that, even though she definitely didn’t plan on doing that just now.
The more she talked to and observed her though, the less she appeared to be someone to say prayers on a daily basis. There was something behind the polite, graceful mask, something attentive and calculating, that made talking to her so much more fun. Meg became more and more interested in her fellow captive.
"How’d you arrive here anyway?"
"Ah, I like your thinking," Irene replied with a little chuckle. "I'm lucky that there's a fire escape through my balcony. That way I can be down on the ground in a couple of seconds." The Woman listened to what the other had to say about the houses around the town, and seemed satisfied to hear that they weren't as nice as the apartments. She felt happy in the knowledge that she'd found a nicer place to stay in Incendium.
"Yes, I've been to the church. It was pretty creepy. I met a strange man there, as well. Logan, I think. He had a pretty impressive set of claws on him. Have you met him yet? He and I walked back to town together." Irene's face gave nothing away, neither happy nor annoyed nor scared. The other woman asked her how she'd arrived, and Irene actually laughed.
All she remembered was the blinding whiteness. Searing. Cold. Nothingness. "I don't rightly recall it, in all honesty. I just sort of woke up here, on the outskirts of town, near the woods. I had to walk all the way into town, and then I found my apartment. I was scared and confused, naturally, but there doesn't really seem to be anything particularly bad about this place-- Incendium--- so long as one stays near the center and doesn't try to escape through the woods. I tried that once, ended up right back in the middle somehow-- after that same strange white flash."
