032. Video

[foolishwren]

[Beep beep! What's that, Lassie? An incoming message?! Oh, looks like it's coming from one Hal 'Otacon' Emmerich's PokeGear! How lovely. What does the nerd have to say toda-- .... HEY, THAT'S NOT OTACON!]

[The screen blips into life on a face that's bruised, scraped, and... freckled?]

[Once its owner is sure the thing is on, she withdraws-- making

Comments

[video] ffff I can stare at your drawings all day long

[profpuzzle]

[Oh man, finally some word from Miss Mason. Good Heavens, the Professor was starting to think that she got lost or kidnapped somewhere. He got over his own nightmares just about a week ago and he recovered pretty well, especially since the person that died in his dreams was now in Johto with him. But Jesus, Heather, you look like you got beaten by the mafia or something. Hershel is actually having a bit of a hard time not to go a;slkfjs mode.]

Miss Mason...It's good to see you safe...Are you holding up well?

[video] IS IT A CREEPY STARE?

[foolishwren]

[Yeah, about friggin' time! Up till now, she'd been missing for over a week-- more like a week and a half, really. And she hadn't done a whole lot of recovering in that time... even if she's really good at grinning and bearing it.]

[The Professor gets a tired grin.]

Well as can be expected, Proff. [Yeah she called him 'Proff'. What are you going to do about it.]

You?

[She doesn't even know that he spoke on her behalf to the police...]

[video] CREEPY AS THAT ONE FLASHER IN YOUR MALLS

[profpuzzle]

[Since the Professor deals with a lot of younger children and students in his care, he is used to worrying about others. So, be thankful that he's not in Azalea right or he'll be freaking out more.]

That's good to hear. I'm glad, though you look like you're in horrible shape. Please get some rest soon.

I'm rather fine actually. My...nightmares has been dealt with and some old faces appeared, so I am much calmer now...

[He pauses for a second.]

...will you be escaping from the police, Miss Mason?

[video] EGADS! *monocle pops out*

[foolishwren]

[His nightmares. Heather bites her lip a little (and then gives up when she remembers-- ow.)]

... That fog hit you too, huh? ... It must've been pretty crazy if everybody was going through that.

[She'd... pretty much only JUST found out that she hadn't gone... y'know... home... that she'd just been seeing things.]

.... Well I sure don't plan on getting caught, if that's what you mean.

[video]

[overthedratini]

--!!

You're [he pauses, then, what the hell] You're okay!

[video]

[foolishwren]

Relatively, anyway.

How you been, man?

[She might be battered as all hell, but she's alive and that's what really matters.]

[video]

[overthedratini]

Me--? I'm... fantastic, now that I can see you're okay now! Glad to hear from you!

[video]

[foolishwren]

[That gets a bark of a laugh out of her-- it's a little sheepish but it's not forced. It's so... surreal, having people who like... CARE when she's gone. She's just... not even USED to that and it's both nice and WEIRD at the same time.]

Well gosh, I'll have to turn up still in one piece more often if it makes you that happy!

What all'd I miss?

[She was sort of trying to make it sound like she'd just... been on vacation or something-- not lost and delirious in the woods for a week.]

[voice] I want your pencil skills ;_;

[shellderkillder]

Were your wounds treated properly?

[Yes. This is how Shelly shows concern.]

[voice] They betray me more often than not. 8(

[foolishwren]

Otacon patched me up, yeah.

[If it had been video, she'd have gestured to the band-aids and stuff littering her face.]

[voice] D8

[shellderkillder]

[Maybe it's a good thing this is not video, because he would have found something - anything - that needed improvement.]

So... You are a fugitive now.

[voice]

[foolishwren]

[OH SHELLY. To be fair, Otacon's a hacker, not a doctor!]

... Yeah, I guess so.

[She's more bothered by the fact that she doesn't have any memory-- or at least not any memory that wasn't COMPLETELY HALLUCINATED-- of what happened that supposedly got her in so much trouble than she is of the fact that she's a wanted criminal.]

[It's not as though she hasn't been in trouble with the police before.]

[.... though it was usually for things like shoplifting or trespassing, or other stupid things that teens did to be cool and edgy. Not assault.]

[text]

[pwndby_pillow]

Heather?

Dear are you alright?

[A pause.]

You're running from the law!? Oh...I had no idea Heather sweetheart! I'm so sorry!

Please, let me know if there's anything I can do!

[text]

[foolishwren]

i'm ok

but apparently im super dangerous

thats true enough so i guess i cant fault them for saying so haha.

you dont need to do anything, i just wanted to make sure you were ok.

i saw the alert for james too, is he all right???

[text]

[pwndby_pillow]

Dangerous?

What happened? Do you remeber anything at all?

I, I'm fine dear. Don't worry any about me. I'm more worried about you now.

[text]

[foolishwren]

... its not really important... i guess everyone was seeing some pretty freaky things in that fog...

[... Mary was James's wife, right? He'd said that both of them knew about Silent Hill. But did she know about the other side of Silent Hill?]

[There's a LONG pause before Heather's next response comes through.]

i thought i was in silent hill.

[action] oh god cujo i want to cuddle you so bady

[philanthrotaku]

[And once he got back, Otacon set to work; using Kotai's coils as a chair and tinkering with Heather's obliterated Pokegear. Luckily the doctorate wasn't just to make his name sound cool, and MIT sure as hell didn't turn out a graduating class of amateurs.]

[So he'll be over here whenever Heather decides to approach, hands remarkably steady despite how visibly exhausted and less visibly shellshocked he was.]

Have to admit, you take a pretty good mugshot. [He managed a smile, focusing more on the Gear as Kotai rested her head on top of his.] I didn't see Liquid listed--probably a good thing, really. Still, all three of us should stay low for a while.

[action] HE ACCEPTS CUDDLES FROM ALL SOURCES <3

[foolishwren]

[She doesn't exactly keep her distance-- for whatever reason, she's been... a little clingy ever since getting back. Not... needy, but... it's almost like she's worried that if she's not THERE all the time, everyone will disappear again. Though Liquid and Otacon are the only ones RIGHT THERE at the moment so they just have to deal with her.]

[So once he's back and tinkering with the 'Gear, she's right there next to him, knees to her chest and chin perched upon them.]

I'm super glamorous in my mugshots. I have standards.

... But yeah. I'm not particularly eager to get tossed in jail.

[She paused for a moment. As much as she blew off the 'dangerous' part in that video, it... stuck with her.]

... Hal... what... exactly did I do?

[She hadn't said anything too specific about just what she'd seen yesterday-- having... well, wanted to be supportive for Rise at the time. But there's a hint of worry in her voice now that wasn't there yesterday either.]

[action] YAAAAAY

[philanthrotaku]

[Otacon probably needed someone clingy around--it was par of the reason he'd kept Kotai out so often. He was, admittedly, more than a little afraid to be alone at this point.]

You won't. Promise.

...Assault and property damage, so I've heard. A coupe people on the network mentioned kicking a police officer in a less than pleasant place to be kicked.

[action]

[foolishwren]

[Arguably the worst part of what she'd experienced over those horrible few days was the fact that all the friends she'd made here-- more than she could remember ever having back home-- were gone, and she'd never been able to tell them goodbye. Or even show how much she really appreciated them. ... That was all going to change. And that was why she was clinging just a little.]

... I did?

.... [A sort of hollow laugh, as she sweeps some of her hair behind one ear.]

Man, I don't remember ... any of that... it sounds like it must've been a hoot to see.

... I just... I don't remember even seeing any police officers... just...