['Soon' was probably not soon enough, as Stellaris was down at the Housekeeping Petal when she saw Lyle's journal writing. She was out of breath, flushed and disheveled when she rushed to open the front door of their apartment, looking to confirm that the writings were not some kind of cruel jape that the Tree played.]
[When she opened the door Lyle was treading the floor in front of the table, journal in hand. Knowing how much he had to have missed, he had a bit too much nervous energy to just sit down.
The second the click of the door registered he tossed the journal on the table, covered the distance in a few quick, long strides and wrapped his arms around Stellaris. He had to check the urge to squeeze her as tightly as he could since she sounded out of breath as it was.
After a moment he murmured in a tone that was both sheepish and wry.]
[He was here. He was here, and he was hers. Three weeks were more than long enough to wait, especially when there was neither word nor a sleeping body inside a glass cocoon giving promise of his return. Stellaris wrapped her arm around Lyle in return, tight and clumsy, fingers digging at his shirt. Face buried against his chest, her response was muffled and a little shaky.]
Not the shaking in her voice or the obvious distress she'd been caused. That he felt awful about and resented the Sphere for. It was a horrible, terribly effective way to have your nerves frayed, waiting for someone to come back when a return was in no way guaranteed.
No, what he'd missed was the contact, the way she seemed to fit against him perfectly. There had been a pervasive loneliness in the old abandoned house that, despite his best attempts at pretending it didn't exist, had gotten under his skin and started to leave him with an eerie 'last man standing' feeling. Still, he knew he was the one who had gotten off easy here; it had only lasted for a three day stint and hadn't begun to chip into his sanity yet.
After an undetermined amount of time where he ran his fingers through Stellaris' already disheveled hair and enjoyed the feeling of just belonging, he spoke up again.]
I'm glad to see you're okay. Things were pretty insane when I'd left off, if I remember correctly.
[For a moment, she did nothing but clutching him close, reveling in the brush of his fingers through her hair, until her breath steadied. Then she let go a little, just enough to lift her face and looked at his. She was smiling now; a relieved sort of smile. Her right hand reached up and stroked the side of his face with gentle affection.]
They were, and... after that a different sort. But more importantly, are you well?
Well, you've seen the space-time tear. Then from what I've heard, people have been sharing dreams. And that boy, Souji... he found new bridges off Stuff Inc. Seems the chaos isn't lessening any time soon. [She exhaled. Her finger fiddled with a lock of his hair near his collar.]
What have you seen there? Twinkie and... come again?
I have. Read it's been spreading around the Scavengers' Yard, too. [Which made him more than a little uneasy.] As for the dream sharing, we've had something like that happen before, right? It seemed mostly harmless, which is a bit of a relief.
[He frowned in slight confusion at the mention of new bridges, though the expression was unconsciously tempered by a measure of contentment when she started playing with his hair.]
Any word on where the bridges lead, if anywhere? Or has there been a chance to explore it, yet?
[He snickered a little at her confusion regarding the junk food. He had to admit, the names were ridiculous and he'd never heard of the stuff before coming to the Sphere, himself.] Prepackaged junk foods, some more tasteless and long-surviving than space food. They were tucked around here and there. The only time I've seen most of them were in Genius' possession. ...Which I suppose leads me to what I saw.
[This was more a point of confusion than any great revelation, but Lyle still thought it would be a good idea to sit
( ... )
No one have really come up with clear information on when the rips lead to, I believe. As for the bridges, Souji drew a map in the journals. We can check it later. [In the last few weeks, she wasn't in the mood for much exploring, or other activities that might pull attention to her from the rainbow or grey.] But right now you probably need some home-cooked meal, mm? Maybe all the junk food already gave you a round belly.
[Lightly chuckling, she poked his stomach as she followed to the chair. Happily obliging when he pulled her onto his lap, one of her arms rested around his shoulders. Her expression sobered a little when he described the fourth-floor scenery.]
I take it previously the fourth floor never behaved like so? At least your brother told once about spending time in a spaceship, but nothing specifically from the Sphere was mentioned. I have to say I am not surprised. All sorts of patterns have been breaking for some time.
Somehow, the lack of information doesn't surprise me. I wasn't exactly raring to jump in and go exploring, so I doubt anyone else was, either.
[The suggestion to look at the map later was met with a nod of agreement. Best to get re-oriented before galavanting off on exploring ventures.
Meanwhile, the poke to his stomach resulted in a playful attempt to snatch the offending hand up in his own.]
I got sick of the junk pretty quickly, so I don't think we have to worry about any sudden potbellies. Still, a decent meal would definitely be welcome. [Almost as if on cue, the belly in question rumbled. He'd been so wrapped up in the excitement of getting back that he'd just about forgotten he was scrounging around for food before.]
As for the fourth floor, I'm only going by what I've heard, but as far as I know Rick and Genius are the only others who had experiences on the fourth floor involving little bonuses like this. They've been a few times before and they seemed to have the impression that this was out of the norm. [He sighed when
( ... )
[The offending hand was too swift to catch! Especially by a hungry one. But the playful atmosphere had faded the moment they shifted topics.]
Rick and Genius were there pretty recently. Sounds like a new phenomenon, then. [Sigh. With all sorts of pattern breakage, it was difficult to pick a particular case to analyze deeper. Frowning, Stellaris looked straight at Lyle's eyes.] I wouldn't know about the fourth floor, but there are words that one of the Wilderness last month had that kind of rips as well, appearing even earlier than the ones at the fifth. But this month... since the beginning of the month, the Wilderness has been that white empty space. It's not sporadic any more.
I do remember hearing about tears like that, though I never encountered them personally. It'd be a nice stroke of luck if these ended up being temporary like the ones in the Wilderness were. [Lyle had been returning Stellaris' gaze with a level one of his own, but when she delivered her update on the current state of the Wilderness, his eyes widened considerably.]
That's... unnerving to say the least. So the Wilderness is stuck in nothing-mode, the fabric of the bottom floors seems to be becoming unstable, there are new bridges on the island... [He paused, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger as he let the summary sit a moment.] Any changes in the upper branches, or have they been unaffected.
Makes you wonder whether it's still safe for our little lunches in the Yard, doesn't it? [Stellaris' free hand came up to meet the one around Lyle's shoulder, and thus encircled him. She smiled wryly in a way that suggested she wasn't talking about mere lunch.] The last major change in the upper floors was when the newborns stopped coming from the Hall, but you know about that.
It does. Seems like 'safe' is kind of a shaky concept all around, lately. [The implications of her statement and expressions didn't go unnoticed.] Hah, if I didn't know better, I'd think we were being herded into the upper floors.
[Lyle's tone had a flippant quality that made his statement sound off-hand and dismissive. But the quirk of his brow and the set of his mouth would likely tip Stellaris off to the fact that this was earnest speculation.]
Are your keys with you? I'll be there soon, though.
I miss you.
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Missed you too, love.
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The second the click of the door registered he tossed the journal on the table, covered the distance in a few quick, long strides and wrapped his arms around Stellaris. He had to check the urge to squeeze her as tightly as he could since she sounded out of breath as it was.
After a moment he murmured in a tone that was both sheepish and wry.]
Sorry I'm a little late.
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You've returned. That's all I need.
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Not the shaking in her voice or the obvious distress she'd been caused. That he felt awful about and resented the Sphere for. It was a horrible, terribly effective way to have your nerves frayed, waiting for someone to come back when a return was in no way guaranteed.
No, what he'd missed was the contact, the way she seemed to fit against him perfectly. There had been a pervasive loneliness in the old abandoned house that, despite his best attempts at pretending it didn't exist, had gotten under his skin and started to leave him with an eerie 'last man standing' feeling. Still, he knew he was the one who had gotten off easy here; it had only lasted for a three day stint and hadn't begun to chip into his sanity yet.
After an undetermined amount of time where he ran his fingers through Stellaris' already disheveled hair and enjoyed the feeling of just belonging, he spoke up again.]
I'm glad to see you're okay. Things were pretty insane when I'd left off, if I remember correctly.
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They were, and... after that a different sort. But more importantly, are you well?
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A different sort of insanity? Well, now you have my curiosity piqued.
I'm fine. In no hurry to ever look at a Twinkie or a Funion again, and a little... mystified by some of the things I saw back there, but I'm fine.
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What have you seen there? Twinkie and... come again?
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[He frowned in slight confusion at the mention of new bridges, though the expression was unconsciously tempered by a measure of contentment when she started playing with his hair.]
Any word on where the bridges lead, if anywhere? Or has there been a chance to explore it, yet?
[He snickered a little at her confusion regarding the junk food. He had to admit, the names were ridiculous and he'd never heard of the stuff before coming to the Sphere, himself.] Prepackaged junk foods, some more tasteless and long-surviving than space food. They were tucked around here and there. The only time I've seen most of them were in Genius' possession. ...Which I suppose leads me to what I saw.
[This was more a point of confusion than any great revelation, but Lyle still thought it would be a good idea to sit ( ... )
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[Lightly chuckling, she poked his stomach as she followed to the chair. Happily obliging when he pulled her onto his lap, one of her arms rested around his shoulders. Her expression sobered a little when he described the fourth-floor scenery.]
I take it previously the fourth floor never behaved like so? At least your brother told once about spending time in a spaceship, but nothing specifically from the Sphere was mentioned. I have to say I am not surprised. All sorts of patterns have been breaking for some time.
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[The suggestion to look at the map later was met with a nod of agreement. Best to get re-oriented before galavanting off on exploring ventures.
Meanwhile, the poke to his stomach resulted in a playful attempt to snatch the offending hand up in his own.]
I got sick of the junk pretty quickly, so I don't think we have to worry about any sudden potbellies. Still, a decent meal would definitely be welcome. [Almost as if on cue, the belly in question rumbled. He'd been so wrapped up in the excitement of getting back that he'd just about forgotten he was scrounging around for food before.]
As for the fourth floor, I'm only going by what I've heard, but as far as I know Rick and Genius are the only others who had experiences on the fourth floor involving little bonuses like this. They've been a few times before and they seemed to have the impression that this was out of the norm. [He sighed when ( ... )
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Rick and Genius were there pretty recently. Sounds like a new phenomenon, then. [Sigh. With all sorts of pattern breakage, it was difficult to pick a particular case to analyze deeper. Frowning, Stellaris looked straight at Lyle's eyes.] I wouldn't know about the fourth floor, but there are words that one of the Wilderness last month had that kind of rips as well, appearing even earlier than the ones at the fifth. But this month... since the beginning of the month, the Wilderness has been that white empty space. It's not sporadic any more.
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I do remember hearing about tears like that, though I never encountered them personally. It'd be a nice stroke of luck if these ended up being temporary like the ones in the Wilderness were. [Lyle had been returning Stellaris' gaze with a level one of his own, but when she delivered her update on the current state of the Wilderness, his eyes widened considerably.]
That's... unnerving to say the least. So the Wilderness is stuck in nothing-mode, the fabric of the bottom floors seems to be becoming unstable, there are new bridges on the island... [He paused, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger as he let the summary sit a moment.] Any changes in the upper branches, or have they been unaffected.
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[Lyle's tone had a flippant quality that made his statement sound off-hand and dismissive. But the quirk of his brow and the set of his mouth would likely tip Stellaris off to the fact that this was earnest speculation.]
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