Warehouse PSL: Devi and Helena

[feellikeibelong]

[For continuity's sake, let's say this is set in season 4, after the Astrolabe business, but instead of the whole Evil Giles and his family arc and Helena leaving the Warehouse completely, she came back and BAM there's Devi. Sound good?]

The Warehouse had a new recruit. Another woman was being added to the current line-up of Agents. The new Agent was going to be Helena's partner, which was rather relieved about. She'd been feeling like the third wheel given Pete and Myka were partners and Claudia and Steve were partners. As much as she had grown to love the four of them, going out on pings tended to get a bit tiresome when the other two were better in-tune with how they worked. Helena had managed well enough, but she didn't like feeling like the third wheel. So hopefully her new partner and her would get along well.

Helena had been wondering if she'd do well at having a recruit to teach about the Warehouse and the Artifacts, especially since it had been a very long time since she'd been in such a position. She missed Wolcott dearly, but hopefully she could do him proud once again.

Helena had been on the floor of the Warehouse doing some inventory when she got the call to meet Artie in the control room. Of course, getting to the blasted control room took a while when the Warehouse was, well, gigantic. But finally, she came into the control room where Artie and the new recruit were waiting.

"Took you long enough," Artie grumped. "This is Devi, our new recruit. Now give her the tour."

Helena shook her head at him, and smiled, extending her hand to Devi in greeting. "I'm Helena Wells, it's a pleasure to meet you." As they made introductions, Artie headed off to attend to his own business, leaving them alone.

Comments

[artistwithasickness]

[Aye aye, Captain.]

Between Artie and Mrs. F, Devi had a vague grasp of the Warehouse and it's purpose but this was the first time she was actually there. With intent to stay. The first round of Devi's conversations had ended with her walking out of the Warehouse and into the desert of South Dakota. She'd come back a few hours later and a little more put together and after a suspicious eye from Artie, here she was.

"Devi D." Helena's hand was taken with a moment of hesitation and shook before Devi took a step back and slipped her hands into her pockets, a very slight rusty smile on her lips. "So I heard something about endless wonder?" she starts awkwardly.

[feellikeibelong]

Noting the slight hesitation and the slight rusty smile, Helena knew to proceed with caution. She wasn't certain if those were telling that Devi wasn't comfortable around people, or if what Mrs. F and Artie had already told her was overwhelming her. She understood the Warehouse was a lot to take in, and Artie and Mrs. F had a flare for the dramatic by dropping the anvil on people in explaining the Warehouse.

"Yes, the Warehouse will open you to a world of endless possibilities. Mrs. Frederic and Artie have undoubtedly already given you the more dire explanation of what the purpose of it is, but I have long come to find that showing is far better than explaining. The Warehouse does tend to defy explanation more often than not as it stands." Helena gave Devi a friendly smile. "If you would like to come with me, I shall take you into the Warehouse proper." She moved over to the door she had appeared through moments earlier, opening in and motioning for Devi to step out onto the balcony. Once she did, she would be greeted with an impossibly huge Warehouse, countless rows of shelves with all sorts of things stored on them. There were also notable other things within the Warehouse. There was a complete dinosaur skeleton of a brontosaurus , a giant windmill, an intact ship from the early 20th Century, among other things.

Helena would let Devi take in the sight before moving on. After all, some people needed the introduction taken slowly, others didn't. So Helena would simply wait and see which type Devi was before proceeding.

[artistwithasickness]

It was the people and the dire circumstances that had Devi wigged out. She didn't tend to do well with people in general, her officious and apathetic nature was what the majority of people saw but Mrs. Fredric had explained that Devi's volatile nature would also have to be minded. She was trying to start with a good foot forward.

At Helena's prompting, Devi stepped through the door and out onto the balcony. "Fuck," Devi said lowly in awe as the Warehouse stretched out in front of her. Automatically, the childish side of her wanted to scramble up and over every aisle. To explore every nook and cranny of the building. She didn't know that the Warehouse expanded, but even if she found out, it would always be shadowed by that exploratory urge.

Devi leans over the railing, gaping. There was too much. "This is so cool," Devi chuckled brightly, a broad pleased grin lighting her face up as her mind starts wrapping around it. Curious and sharply intelligent green eyes swing over to her.

"What else?" Devi was officially stoked. Lead the way and earn an eager puppy with a sponge hungry for new and interesting doubling as Devi's mind.

[feellikeibelong]

Helena could certainly understand that part of it. Mrs. Frederic did tend to be rather heavy-handed in expressing dire circumstances. But that wasn't all that the Warehouse represented. Why they felt the need to lead with the dire circumstances instead of stressing the endless wonder portion was beyond Helena. But she would at least do her best to instill the endless wonder part on Devi now and hope she took to that easier.

Standing on the balcony, Helena watched Devi as she reacted to the Warehouse. She saw the awe and wonder come over her face, and Helena couldn't help but to smile. It had taken her a while, but Helena was finally beginning to see the endless wonder portion of the Warehouse once again. She'd never again be wide-eyed in awe of it, but she certainly could appreciate someone else being in such a state.

"Welcome to endless wonder, Devi." Helena greeted, a warm smile on her lips. "Come with me and I shall show you the Warehouse up close and personal." She began to lead them down to the floor of the Warehouse itself. "While this is indeed a place that houses Artifacts that are dangerous, not all Artifacts are dangerous. Some are extremely benevolent and beneficial. While one must always exercise caution with Artifacts, it is moreso the dangerous and volatile Artifacts that the warning exists for. If an Artifact is on the shelves of this Warehouse, it is there for a good reason. While accidents do happen, it is for the best you try not to touch the Artifacts, as tempting as it may be."

She then looked to Devi. "Also you may quickly learn that the Warehouse, the building itself, is not simply just a building. It is sentient in its own right." And just because, Helena felt the need to ask a question that had been asked of her when she'd initially been recruited to the Warehouse. "What do you smell, if anything?" She was simply curious to see if Devi smelled the apples or not. Not everyone did, and it rarely ever happened upon someone first walking into the Warehouse. Still, Helena was curious on the matter.

[artistwithasickness]

The smile Devi wore wasn't so rusty under the light of the passion that came with undetering curiosity and she fell in step behind HG, listening to the warning as best she could while still eyeballing the shelves that they were approaching. When HG looked at her, Devi glanced over and nodded but a keen mind might gleen that it went in one ear and out the other.

Just like with everyone.

As HG gets to the whole 'Warehouse is sentient' thing, Devi looks over properly, frowning slightly in confusion both to the statement and it's following question.

"W-what do I smell?" Devi sniffed and glanced both ways as though looking for a joke sign or cue that she wasn't getting before studying HG again carefully. Maybe this woman wasn't... all there.

"Do I get points for not saying sawdust and dirty gym socks?"

[feellikeibelong]

Oh Helena recognized that it went in one ear and out the other. Many had the same reaction upon first arriving at the Warehouse and experiencing what lay within it. Helena would reiterate it later once Devi was able to retain information beyond the wonder that she was presented with.

Though Helena was hoping that Devi, once she was past the initial rush of everything, would not be like Pete who saw fit to not only touch everything, but also play with the Artifacts in the Warehouse. Seriously. Helena did wonder how the man hand't whammied himself into an early grave by this point.

At the response, Helena smiled, showing Devi that she was pleased by it. "Oh you definitely get points for not saying sawdust and dirty gym socks. Do you smell apples at all?" Not everyone smelled them, and sometimes one would smell them later on in service after doing something to help the Warehouse. Even if Devi didn't smell them, she wanted her to know what the scent meant if she ever found herself smelling them.

[artistwithasickness]

Once Devi got the initial 'Wow shiny' out of her system and learned what the consequences of playing in the Warehouse was, she would settle down nicely. There would still be rough times ahead as she learned that one.

She shook her head. "No, not apples. Why? What does apple smelling mean?"

[feellikeibelong]

Sometimes it did take time to properly learn that, Helena understood it. Though most Agents did tend to learn not to touch Artifacts willy-nilly after the first time one tried to kill them. Near-death experience tended to break one of the touch everything habit. Unless you were Pete Lattimer. It didn't seem to matter to him how many Artifacts ended up nearly killing him, he still played with them.

"Smelling apples is the Warehouse's way of saying it likes you, or it is thanking you for something you have done. Not everyone smells apples, but if you ever are in the Warehouse and smell them, that would be why." Helena explained. She was not above explaining that given Artie liked to keep such information to himself.

"Now, this way. I'll start with the basic tour." Helena said as she began heading down one of the aisles. She did keep an eye on Devi in the event she decided to touch something. "First, when you are handling Artifacts, you must wear these special gloves." Helena pulled a pair of purple latex gloves out of her pocket. "They keep the Artifact from affecting us. Second, as we walk through some aisles here, you will notice large vats at the end of aisles. These contain neutralizer, which we douse the Artifacts in to put them into a dormant state. If you are ever around an Artifact that is currently affecting someone, you take it and put it in neutralizer. Or when we are out in the world tracking Artifacts, we have bags with the neutralizer in them we put the Artifacts in." And again, she was sort of expecting that to go in one ear and out the other, but it was the most important thing to get said at the moment.