It's surprising how much of memory is built around things unnoticed at the time.

[glass_beddau]

[Fifteen minutes past amnesia, January 13 (day 227)]
[Miskatonic Café]I'm on the road. On a street, rather, neat cobbles and scabs of snow and buildings (in fine enough repair, low-built, a storey or two; lived in, like enough) under the grey air. Sun's overhead through dim clouds and I'm guessing it to be midday

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[silence_excolo]

Nothing here seems familiar to me. I wonder if it's a place not in the Real but a creation of the Master. But it doesn't seem so- there's too many details; too much here seems, well, real. And as powerful as he is, I doubt even he could make something like this. Well, not without help, I suppose.

The cafe before me (Miskatonic. Is that a joke, Master?) seems normal enough, if a bit old fashioned. A bell chimes as I open the door, but there's not one face I recognize. I stand in the doorway for a moment, scanning the place, when my stomach gives a loud rumble. Well, that's a start. I fumble around in the pockets of this jacket & find I've some money. Guess I'll eat. But where to sit...

[sapphira_ststep]

...this is, this is really not something, anything, I was expecting. I heard a murmur like an audience when the lights come up all unexpected, and when I looked around a scattering of the tables were populated by people who were trying very hard to wear their own faces. There is a smooth light touch on my face and I put up my hand to find a mask there, figured leather and a subtle scroll around the back of my cheekbones. Its presence calms me, and I lift my head and look around.

There is a plate on the table in front of me, fried potatoes and sandwich crusts and a steaming cup of coffee. I wonder if I have already paid, and look around to see if I can catch the waitress. As I do so, the bell chimes (enter, stage right) and a young dark woman comes in, a Viola thrown down into this green sea. I catch her eye and motion to the chair across from me, tilting my head to one side in a questioning gesture.

What fun this could be. I wonder if she knew me.

[silence_excolo]

The people in this place (well, are they truly people?) seem to be gathered from all walks of life, if their outfits are any indication. I take stock of what I'm wearing - worn jacket, faded black jeans, scuffed boots & - gloves? Fingerless, at that. Maybe I put them on to hide my scar, but I don't remember. Seem like work clothes of a sort. My fingers are clean but there's a touch of black under the nails.

I look back up & see a motion off towards the back. A masked woman gesturing. Towards me.

Master, this seems a bit obvious. But I'll bite. Something of her hair reminds me of someone, maybe one of my cabal-mates. I take a deep breath & cross to her table, not sitting just yet.

"So..." I start, but really, what should I say? The woman has a full plate before her, & the scent of it brings another low rumble from my stomach. When was the last time I ate?

"I... don't suppose you know why I'm here, huh?" I offer, the side of my mouth crooking up to a small grin. Might as well start with the obvious.

[sapphira_ststep]

Smile a little as she comes over. Yes, definitely a Viola, or a Joan. "I... don't suppose you know why I'm here, huh?" she says, looking down.

Well, it's not quite a riddle, but it does make me smile. "I know some things," I say cheerfully. "You're looking for something, and this is not a bad place to try. An eating-house is a good place to speak, and it's a little early and a little bright to start with the drinking." Small strong coffees smelling of chicory, iced and sweetened for summer heat... I remember those, and ironwork lace in the tables.

I lower my voice conspiratorially and lean forward a bit. "But I think half of everyone here's not quite sure of why they're here, now, as they are, so I suppose I haven't earned myself any prizes by guessing you're looking for something like that." I smile. "I'd offer you my name, but I'm afraid that I'm a little at a loss for that at the moment, so I think I will go with Marrana today."

[silence_excolo]

The face behind the mask smiles a bit, & I find I relax a little. There's a buoyancy to her voice that definitely reminds me of someone...

"I know some things. You're looking for something, and this is not a bad place to try. An eating-house is a good place to speak, and it's a little early and a little bright to start with the drinking." Well, ask an obvious question. But before I can respond, she leans forward & continues. "I think half of everyone here's not quite sure of why they're here, now, as they are, so I suppose I haven't earned myself any prizes by guessing you're looking for something like that."

I frown a bit at that & look around. I'd not really done more than a quick scan of the room when I came in, but now I see that people here are acting strangely; emptying pockets onto the table, looking at others with searching glances, almost as if

[sapphira_ststep]

I would say she is thinking quite carefully, and I wish this were a play, that I could hear a soliloquy of her thoughts. Still, wish in one hand spit in the other, and that she is actually thinking is a pleasasnt sign. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, please," I say. Silence. Well, that's a name to conjure with, isn't it? I consider her again and smile, and now I'm thinking of other characters, Syd, Laurie, Chris. "Do you smoke?"

"People here do seem... out of sorts," and I nod, and when she adds "It's as if they don't know themselves. Anymore," I can feel a smile blossom.

"I would say that's exactly it," I say, cupping my chin in one hand and leaning on the table. "And more, they have noticed that they don't know themselves, which is quite peculiar. Although I don't think this is exactly the sort of situation which is likely to promote introspection," I add, glancing over the room.

"Is this a common occurrence in these parts?" Silence says, and I shake my head

[silence_excolo]

I sit opposite her once she says it's OK, but I notice she seems to be studying me. The mask, of course, hides part of her expression, but that continuous smile. I'm struck by a random thought of the Cheshire Cat but I shake it off. "Do you smoke?" she asks & I grimace before catching myself, not wanting to be rude, & shake my head. "Stuff'll kill you," I murmur.

Her ever-present smile widens at my observation of the crowd. "I would say that's exactly it. And more, they have noticed that they don't know themselves, which is quite peculiar. Although I don't think this is exactly the sort of situation which is likely to promote introspection," she says, leaning an elbow on the table & turning her gaze towards the rest of the patrons. There's something about the way she watches them (& me for that matter) that makes me wonder what it is she's really seeing. "One place's as good as another, I guess, depending on the circumstances," I offer, but really, these circumstances? At least it seems I picked the right place to start this test.

[sapphira_ststep]

"Stuff'll kill you," she murmurs, and I nod.

"Fair enough," I say brightly. "Just curious." I wonder what I'd do if she'd said yes... I have matches, but I'm not sure I have cigarettes. Oh well.

"How well do you know this area?" she says, and I'm about to say something when she corrects herself. "Or, I mean, how well do you remember this place?"

"Not very," I say thoughtfully. "I think... there's a market here, once a week. I come in for that. But I live out of town." I sip at my coffee. "There's electricity here, but not out where I live. And..." I think a little. "I think strange things might happen here sometimes, but I'm not very sure about that."

"I hope you don't mind the questions," she says awkwardly, and I shrug. "Just trying to piece it together."

"Not at all," I say affably. "Have you been in town long?" I smile a little. "As far as you know?" I give up on catching the waitress's eye and raise my hand, and she comes over with a menu.

[silence_excolo]

"Strange things might happen here", she says. Well, what a thing to remember, above her own name or even where she lives exactly. I wonder if it's the Master's little way of saying that magic is accepted here. I stretch my senses out a little more, feeling the Pattern of the cafe & yes, yes, it's there, almost like a pattern woven in cloth but more subtle. This place has a power to it, as do some of it's residents. The pretty waitress & the pregnant woman (woah, more than I needed to know there, but oh well) in particular ping my radar & I pull back, not wanting to be detected. Not yet, at least. But it has been disrupted in places, very recently, too. Someone or something has tried to yank out threads of memory haphazardly, here & there, & has left a mess behind

[sapphira_ststep]

"Perhaps if you were to walk back to your house..." Silence says, then looks out at the street. "Perhaps if we try to find your house together, walking through this town will jog your memory?" she offers.

"Could do," I say, glancing towards the street. "I'm pretty sure I live alone..." I glance down at my feet, and the stains of slush and mud on my boots, layered and drying. "It might be a bit of a walk, but I suppose we could run into something interesting along the way."

"As far as I know, I've just arrived," she says. "Nothing here is familiar as a whole, but- " She gathers herself and takes a breath, and out come lines that could have been written. "I think, maybe, I'm here for a reason. To help you, & this town." And a counterpoint, a touch of humanity to it, "At least, that's what I feel.""A calling," I say thoughtfully, and I look at her again. I don't think she's wearing a mask, and I usually have a decent sense for such things. Of course, that doesn't mean she isn't someone worth listening to. I've found that

[silence_excolo]

"I'm pretty sure I live alone..." she says, taking a moment to check herself over. "It might be a bit of a walk, but I suppose we could run into something interesting along the way." I nod my head in agreement. "I know you don't know me from Adam, but- well, safety in numbers & all that." She seems together enough that maybe she could take care of herself in a fight, but there's too much going on, too much vulnerability in everyone right now. No one should be dealing with this crap alone.

Her eyes seem to focus hard on me, & while I do not feel anything magical it doesn't mean she isn't seeing something. I just wonder what it could be. Besides, my senses have been wrong before. "You're rather brave, to say such a thing," & I pause in lifting my water to my mouth. "Do you know if you've done this kind of thing before?""Brave?" I say tentatively as the waitress plops a plate down in front of me. "I wouldn't exactly- I mean, it just has to be done, right?" I sure as heck wouldn't consider myself brave, the way I've acted in the past. I

[sapphira_ststep]

Silence seems a bit startled by my assessment. "Brave? I wouldn't exactly- I mean, it just has to be done, right?"

"Oh, not to do it," I say, trying to explain. "To say it, to put yourself forward that way. People..." I take a quick glance around the room. "People can get cruel if they're disappointed, and I'm sure this whole situation is already frightening enough to begin with. I mean, granted, you're only saying it to me--but as you said, you don't know me from Adam. I might turn into a hysterical gossip..." Silence looks a little distant and a little upset, and I stop and shrug, smiling at her. "Although I like to think that is unlikely, even if I'm not very used to this kind of thing," I admit.

"And as for doing this kind of thing before... well, kinda," she says, and an unpleasant realization crosses her face. "But I've always had help in the past. This time I'm alone.""What kind of things did you and your friends do, before?" I say, curious now. Silence is taking off her gloves, and she looks down as she does, and

[silence_excolo]

"Oh, not to do it. To say it," she says, clarifying. "To put yourself forward that way. People... People can get cruel if they're disappointed, and I'm sure this whole situation is already frightening enough to begin with." Huh, I'd never really thought of it that way, but she has a point. Heightened emotions can change quickly from one to the next; I need to be careful. "I might turn into a hysterical gossip..." she pauses & smiles again. I don't get the feeling she would be the type & almost say so when she shrugs & continues. "Although I like to think that is unlikely, even if I'm not very used to this kind of thing." "Well, at least you know that, right? That you're not used to it," I shrug back with a small grin.

She asks about my friends & I wince a little. "I wouldn't say they're my friends. More like... classmates." A few of them I might consider friends but some of the others? No way. But how do I explain without telling too much? "We... we usually study separately, but sometimes we study together, & sometimes our Ma- our