Welcome to Edensph- wait, WHAT?!
Characters: YOU! Confused new (or old) arrivals and current ES characters alike are all welcome!
Date/Time: Sunday, July 10th, all day
Location: All over the Sphere- if you need a refresher, please consult our handy World Map and the Events Calendar for a description of the current Wilderness! Remember, however, that new arrivals can appear ONLY ON ( Read more... )
Date/Time: Sunday, July 10th, all day
Location: All over the Sphere- if you need a refresher, please consult our handy World Map and the Events Calendar for a description of the current Wilderness! Remember, however, that new arrivals can appear ONLY ON ( Read more... )
Really, he still couldn't quite believe that Sniper was gone. That he wasn't going to jump out from behind a tree and give him a hug, or start bragging about the latest story he'd made up. For the past couple of days he'd been trying to find a way to accept the truth. So far, he wasn't sure what he'd accomplished--aside from avoiding Genius. He still wasn't sleeping right, and didn't want to give his co-worker any chance to make good on his threat.
Currently, he was wandering through the park. It wasn't the sleep he needed, but it was restful--it allowed him to zone out a little, stop thinking so much, which was nearly as good as sleep in itself.
A sound from ahead drew his attention. A thumping noise, small noises of distress... he picked up his pace a little, peering through the trees as he got closer.
He might be somewhat worthless as a medic right now, sleep-deprived as he was, but he could at least make sure this person hadn't hurt him- or herself, and help the person back to the Clinic if they had.
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She spotted finished wood jutting out from the underbrush, and then realize a moment later that it was a pair of wooden crutches. A very familiar pair, at that. And they'd serve just fine for protection, too. She started edging her way along the forest floor towards them, ignoring the mess she was making of her clothes at the moment.
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That thought occurred to him just as he stepped out from between two trees and into a sort of rough clearing, where the undergrowth was low and there weren't many other plants. Which meant that the woman on the ground, who appeared to be in the act of edging toward some of the undergrowth, was quite visible.
His steps slowed to a stroll, and he looked her over carefully as he approached. Purple kimono, no blood or obvious injuries, but she wasn't standing so that argued that something was wrong. "Excuse me... did you hurt yourself?" He couldn't see her face, and he wasn't sure if he recognized her. Something about her nagged at the back of his mind... but she wasn't anyone he remembered off the top of his head. "If you need to get to the Clinic, I can help." And risk bringing Genius' wrath down on his head, but so be it.
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"I'm... not sure. I woke up here, but I can't... remember where here is. And there's something wrong with my leg." She tried to keep the panic from edging into her voice, though she didn't succeed completely.
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He would have been tempted to stare, but the note of panic in her voice prompted him to mentally shake himself out of his mild state of shock and move closer. Hunkering down by her side, he examined what he could see of her feet.
Ginko blinked. The right one was... black. The color of nothing. He reached out toward it, wanting to lift the kimono out of the way to get a better look. "May I?"
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She gave a small nod of assent, and bunched up the leg of her hakama over her knee so he could have a better look.
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Much as he would have liked to continue feeling her leg, trying to figure out what was so very strange about it, he constrained himself to an examination that was almost cursory and very professional. In its way, the leg was just as familiar as the woman--and he didn't want to make a bad first impression. Not with her.
"I think... it isn't anything dangerous." His words were slow, musing. He was groping his way through half-remembered fragments that the sight of her had awoken, and it didn't help that he wasn't exactly thinking entirely clearly just now. "It's not life-threatening, I can promise you that much."
He quirked the corners of his lips up into a faint smile for her. He hadn't forgotten about Sniper, but... was it so selfish of him to seek a distraction from thinking about him? Especially if he was actually helping another person.
He didn't think so. And he really didn't think Sniper would mind, either.
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"...Thank you."
The crutches were in reach - it only took a very small slide and a little stretch to grab them, and then she pulled herself standing with them, leaning on the wood rather than her right leg. There was dirt and bits of leaves all over her hakama - but she could brush that off later.
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As she stood, he rose as well. He didn't think she needed help, but... if she did, he was here. "My name..." He hesitated. If she was the woman he thought she was, someone from his past... it would be wise to not give her his real name, at least for now. "...I'm called Cloud." He hesitated again. "Do you want to go to the Clinic? Or can I escort you back to your house?"
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She brightened up a little at 'your house'. "Ah, you know where I live? That would be... very helpful, actually." The relief was clear in her voice. He knew something. She wasn't totally lost and alone here.
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He paused again before replying to her second question. "And... no, I'm afraid I don't. But I can... show you a place you can stay, for as long as you need to." He still had a house that was due to him, in the 3rd section. He had just never bothered, for one reason or another--mostly because there was no need. But he didn't really want her being forced to stay in temporary housing, even if there weren't many newborns coming in lately. "We'll have to stop somewhere on the way there, but it won't take long."
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"Before I woke up here, you mean? I had a dream that I was surrounded by words that flowed like water around me." She smiled slightly at the memory. It had been beautiful, watching the ink take shape, and then, take flight. "But I don't remember falling asleep, or seeing this forest before."
She gave him a small bow, as much as it was possible to do without toppling over. "Thank you - that's very kind of you."
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He'd heard the rumors, of course. That the cocoons were vanishing, or simply not re-growing after they'd been used. Maybe this was the Tree's new answer to how it brought people into Edensphere? It was certainly less messy and potentially embarrassing to wake up fully clothed on the ground than it was to burst naked from a goo-filled cocoon.
For now, he decided to operate under the assumption she was either a newborn, or had had her memories erased by the Tree, like his had been a few months ago. "Well, I'd like to be able to call you by something other than 'hey you'. Why don't you pick a name?"
He returned the bow. "It's not anything you need to thank me for, really. Everyone here has a similar story--no memories except for a dream, something from their past. The main difference is that I didn't wake up on the ground when I arrived."
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"Ink," she finally replied. "It's plain, but... I like it." Simple, straightforward - a good name.
"So... nobody here remembers who they were before this place?" If that was true - well, it was a somewhat terrifying thought.
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Ginko turned, starting to, slowly, lead the way toward the bridge to the Bazaar. It was too bad there wasn't a bridge directly to the access point... well, they would just go slowly.
"People get memories, sometimes. I've gotten a few myself. But for the most part... no, they don't."
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"...I see. I'm... not quite sure what to make of this place, yet." It still felt like she hadn't quite woken up. Like all of this couldn't possibly be real.
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