(Untitled)

[niteo_mods]

Characters: You, you, and YOU.
When: June 11th - June 24th
Where: Nesreca. Everywhere.
Rating: PG and up.
Summary: The fog is everywhere. Sounds are heard at night. There are no inhabitable buildings. What do you do?

Comments

June 15th, evening; SOMEWHERE FOGGY

[fallforthesky]

You know the saying 'when it rains, it pours'? Well, it's stopped raining here in Nesreca but in exchange it's rather begun to pour. She lost her PDA. She lost her PDA. Normally Lenalee would not be the sort to care about this, but given that surviving here hinges rather firmly on using it almost daily, she does in fact care.

It's been days since the fog rolled. Days since every building more than a knee-high wreck of decaying wood and mortar vanished, leaving little more than dead silence (and recently, not even that). Lenalee has spent the last four days wandering. Wandering (most likely in circles) and rebuking herself almost non-stop for going to the library alone-- for falling asleep inside-- and, worse still, for making the rookie mistake of putting her PDA aside for even a moment, because damned if she isn't paying for it now.

Four days alone can be a long time. They get longer once the separation anxiety sets in. And when you start hearing sounds every evening? Well.

"I knew there was going to be something worse

[tothelastbreath]

A beat before he's laughing, not out of any real humour at the absurdity of their situation, but because it's better than nothing. Well, not quite nothing. Here's one out of three missing people found, she sounds unhurt, and everyone else back at the bridge's fine. Take that, Libitina.

"Sorry, I suppose it is a silly question. How about we just keep talking and try to find each other?"

He seems to be taking his own advice, voice getting nearer as he speaks... But at a tangent. Still, it's nothing that can't be fixed with more verbal cues and some careful navigation.

"You can't be too far away, if I can hear you without you having to shout."

[fallforthesky]

This feels crippling, somehow. Being so close to one another and yet still completely incapable of handling the problem without resorting to playing follow-the-sound. It's like scrabbling around in the dark. Lenalee doesn't like it. Yes, one of three missing people found, but four days late-- and part of her wonders if this is Libitina's way of proving just how easily she can tear down a group of so-called "organized soldiers". What good has their lifetime of training done to prepare them for this? If the girl wanted to hurt them... well. Lenalee at least is still of the mind that she could. Very easily.

She sets her lips in a grim line and strains her ears for which direction Allen's coming from. Moves a little more to the right.

"I've been looking for everyone for days! I lost my PDA--" In a quick change of tone, she goes from verging deep agitation to so very chagrined. Verbal whiplash.

1/2

[tothelastbreath]

...Lenalee lost her PDA. So that's why she seems to have fallen clean off the network. It's such a mundane reason compared to all the other theories Allen has had four whole days to fabricate, the only reaction he can muster at first is a half-dazed sort of, "Ahahaha..."

2/2

[tothelastbreath]

But it doesn't take him long to partake in some verbal whiplash of his own either, glossing right over that and straight into his usual warm inflections of it's alright, really.

"Don't worry about it, I'll help you look when the week's over."

A simple solution to a complicated situation, but who's to say it isn't enough.

"We're all staying together at the bridge, so you won't even have to use the network. It's been rather quiet, actually. You haven't missed much."

He's still picking his way through the fog as he chatters on, and she'll be able to tell by the increasing proximity of his voice that he's barely a few feet away now. Close enough for her to catch the slight strain of worry when he adds, "Almost everyone's been found, too. Matt and Riku are the only ones still missing."

[fallforthesky]

It's all right, really. God, his tone of voice practically does bleed those words. After going so long with only her own muttering and the ghostly sounds to keep herself company, she's honestly a little relieved to hear it.

"But what if it gets crushed when the buildings come back? ...Can that even happen?"

This close, the hoarseness to Allen's voice is as apparent as the worry. Sad to say she doesn't particularly reciprocate his concern towards the others still MIA, however; for his sake, she murmurs a quiet, empathetic "oh...", but doesn't remark beyond that. They're less important to her than to him. Lenalee twists her lips into a frown and her head to the side as she catches a flicker of a shadow-- a-ha. She reaches out a slightly shaky hand.

Hey, Allen.

[tothelastbreath]

It is with a decisive sort of positivity when Allen answers, without further mention of the missing residents, "I wouldn't worry too much about it."

...Because if Libitina wants them to have continued access to the network, she'll make sure they have it, but Allen isn't about to explain that. He recalls hearing about someone who lost their PDA on purpose, only to have it delivered right back to their room.

"Libitina took away everything we didn't have on us at midnight, right? That's― A lot to crush. I'm sure the buildings will come back with everything in them, just as we left them. Where did you..."

Leave your PDA, he's about to say, but that's when her hand finds his shoulder, making him stutter around to face her with a soft sound of surprise. His eyes flick over her once, quickly checking for injuries, then crinkle slightly at the edges from a wound-down smile that speaks volumes in its understatement.

"Ah, that went faster than I thought it would."

[fallforthesky]

She looks tired-exhausted, really-with enough dark lines beneath her eyes to give Miranda a run for her money. Of course, there are no injuries to speak of, because she can handle herself, contrary to what she feels everyone seems to think. Her eyes flick over him in an almost mirror-image, instinctive motion, but this time Allen doesn't get a smile in return; just a blunt, "Good," to cover up her half-grab for his sleeve.

Faster is better. Faster is what she needs. The anxiety that's been wringing in her chest the last few days finally fades a bit. "You sound hoarse."