26 • [video|action]

[endthem]

[the journal falls open to the sound of a gasp and a metallic clattering, and the camera might just pick up a glimpse of a boy with long blue hair falling to the ground and scrambling backwards, iron shackles on his wrists jangling like oversized bracelets

Comments

[corrinesbell]

[Sheena isn't affected, this early in the experiment. She's just herself for now. When she sees a child-shaped shadow sneaking around, she has to go investigate.]

[endthem]

[he's sneaking in between buildings, pressed closed into whatever shadows he can find, with the short lengths of chain that hang from his shackles bundled up into his hands so they don't rattle.

When she starts to get close, he suddenly turns to face her as if he's picked up her presence on radar, staring wide-eyed]

[corrinesbell]

[Spotted! That's okay, she wasn't trying to be very ninja. At the look on his face, she stops walking and puts her hands in the air, shaking hear head]

Hey, sorry. I wasn't trying to scare you.

[endthem]

[an anxious sound presses out of his lungs as he flattens himself closer to the wall as if it can save him, looking like he's afraid to even try running, at this point]

[notpunishingyet]

[Don't you just hate when you're trying to sneak and you run right into something anyway? Right after Legato leaves from his window-peeping, he may just find himself bumped into a small, blinking Wolfwood; his cross is back at the house...

He's pretty convinced his stay won't be long, anyway. Fuck it, it's a vacation.]

You lost and confused?

[endthem]

[--he nearly jumps out of his skin when he's spoken to, though the fact that it's just another kid helps a little.

...Not too much, but at least little.

As an answer, he quickly nods]

[notpunishingyet]

[... Looks pretty bad. Nicholas isn't too bad at reading the youngin's.]

Well, don't worry about it. You're safe here.

[He looks around, sighing.]

It's pretty weird around here right now, but I hear it's just a stupid... 'shift' thing.

You need something to eat? Some clothes?

[endthem]

[he's a complete ball of anxiety, and it doesn't look like any part of that made any sense to him at all]

...Wh-what?

[action]

[tehoniongirl]

[she could have asked Horatio to take her back to House Seven, but Jilly preferred to get around as much as she could on her own. As long as it took, it felt right.

Besides, getting down from the ladder was a lot easier than climbing up. Stephen's gift of the little, thread contraption meant that it only took a fraction of the time to get back down to the ground.

Securing the ladder in place, she unfurls the thread over the edge. It doesn't occur to her to look down and see if anyone happens to be hiding below]

[endthem]

[currently huddled against the wall beneath a window, legs hugged to his chest, the kid startles a little when something small lands on his head. Ducking and shimmying over in surprise, that something then falls onto his shoulder instead.

...It kind of looks like... a ladder?]

[tehoniongirl]

[Coming to the window ledge Jilly leans over, tiny face becoming visible. She's about to step out onto the first rung when she spots the boy. Her eyes widen just slightly, apologetic.]

Oh! I didn't know anyone was down there. Sorry.

[endthem]

[he looks up when he hears a tiny sound, and--

oh, big gold eyes suddenly get even BIGGER, and he scrambles back a little.

...He cannot actually be seeing this...]

trauma buckets unite!

[crybabyorphan]

[Looking for a good place to hide, Legato? Maybe a nice quiet corner, or a nice little patch of forest that's has a little bit of distance from town, but still close enough that you can still see the buildings? Or spot between too buildings that isn't too out in the open? Well, if you are, you might run into this kid, since he's trying to do the exact same thing. ]

hells yeah

[endthem]

[this kid is a little too preoccupied with trying to scoot away from a particularly alarming set of individuals to properly scan the alley that he's darting into, watching over his shoulder as he dodges toward the deepest set of shadows. heads up!]

At least it wasn't a head on collision?

[crybabyorphan]

[Oh well he was too preoccupied BEING EMO to dodge. But no really he was just sort of passively registering Legato's existance before he tried jumping out of the way, and by that time it was a little too late to avoid the impending physical contact.

Even if he's kind of a big kid for his age Legato is still bigger then him, and this combined that he is also a tired, starved, emo little orphan who probably has some nice healing bruises under all of those layers of clothing he will tumble like a little featherweight. Or a medium sized sack of potatoes.]

Sorry...

[Yeah he'll just stay on the ground now.]

[endthem]

[for a moment, the blue-haired kid is a tangle of long limbs, heart leaping into his throat as he scrambles to get away from whoever it is he's tumbled into.

It isn't until he's skittered back to press against the wall on the other side of the alley that he stops, eyes wide like big gold coins in his head]

[goldenglasses]

[Passing by the fountain tiny Legato? Because there is a strange man in a cheap looking frog suit begging woman for kisses!]

Aw! Come on miss! Please! I need a kiss to break the spell I'm under!

[endthem]

...

[despite the constant high-strung thread of terror that he's been running along all day, this sight has him pausing between hiding places.

...He's just watching in alarm, wondering how he'd managed to go this insane]

[goldenglasses]

[Denied. Again. Really now, he should be use to this by now. Vash turns to head back towards the fountain when he spots an odd shade of blue. Oh, it's attached to a kid.] Oh, hey there! Are you lost, kid? [Totally forgetting he's in a ridiculous frog suit.]

[endthem]

[the kid freezes up at being addressed, afraid to even nod an answer]