action ☍ day one

[arbitraries]

[ in contrast to how light he feels, Beyond Birthday moves with the heaviness of solid, conscious reality: the first sign that he hasn't simply woken into another dream. the second is that he feels sharp and alert and when he counts seconds, he doesn't miss any -- his perception of time is accurate, rather than the vague awareness of dreams

Comments

[unamvirtus]

[Hi B, have a very very sharp arrow whizzing by at lightning speed just in front of you. On a building across the street is a crudely drawn target ring which the arrow hits straight in the center, and B may be able to hear a little shout of triumph in the alley ahead.]

[arbitraries]

[ he hears the arrow approach right before he sees the blur of motion right before his eyes and jerks himself backward to avoid it, his balance teetering precariously before he manages to right himself.

cautiously he proceeds, hoping to locate the source of motion. he sees now the bulls-eye, that it holds an arrow where it didn't before, and resolves not to anger such an apparently skilled archer when he does find them--

he almost walks right past the alley before a shock of green and yellow catch his eye, and he finds himself staring at -- an elf, apparently, a child whose name he can't see. ]

[unamvirtus]

[Link is just about to recollect his arrow and see if the tip is too damaged for more uses when a kinda tall, oddly man dark walks around the corner and stares at him-- oh gosh, h-he didn't know anyone was there, did he scare him??? He stares back for minute, not sure how to react before he starts and bows apologetically, oh that was probably very rude of him to startle someone like that!]

[arbitraries]

[ the child's name just doesn't ... show up, he still doesn't see anything, and given the dress and the apparent age, he thinks that perhaps this is an extremely advanced automaton. a cosplaying child isn't unusual, but with no name or death date, he isn't quite sure what else to think, besides that the child is genuinely an elf, which ... he won't pass off as impossible, but unlikely at least.

he knows the boy meant his bow as an apology, but it stirs in him the instinct to bow in greeting, so he inclines his head deeply. B crouches in front of the boy to get a better look at him, and thinks that if he can touch him he might be able to tell if he's a robot or not -- robotic technology is coming along very, very slowly, and wouldn't be able to mimic humanness quite yet. tentatively he reaches out to the boy's cheek but stops just short of touching him. ]

Calm down.

[libraria]

[ Nodoka has gathered her bearings, pulled herself together and is now wandering. The blood from her knees (she fell, foolishly, earlier with the small child) has stained her ballgown a little and she sighs at it as she moves forward. She's learning the lanes around her, trying her best to commit them to memory as best she can.

She's searching still, however, for Negi-sensei and her friends and, when she sees a figure, she makes a small noise of joy before she realises that it's not someone she knows - it's someone new, again, and that's not really a good sign. Gathering her courage and her voice she moves forward ]

Um, e-excuse me?

[arbitraries]

[ the last person he'd expected to see was a cute girl in a ballgown, but at least unlike the others he's seen she's human: Nodoka Miyazaki, so she's Japanese as well. he's actually somewhat relieved to see her; being unacquainted isn't a problem for him as he prefers everyone to be strangers. his relief is because he knows that at least his eyes are still functioning properly, even if the realisation that the people he's run into so far must either be automatons or not ... something, he doesn't know much about how his eyes work really, is extremely unsettling. ]

Pardoned.

[libraria]

[ Nodoka blinks. Of course, that was to be expected, in a way, but it still comes out as a little odd. Still, she plasters a smile onto her lips, moving forward now that she has made contact. Her knees are aching something fierce and she shakes a little, but that is fine; she can handle that. ]

Um... Yes, t-thank you! Do... Do you know where we are, sir?

[arbitraries]

[ he notices now that she's injured, though it seems only mild, and he frowns; of course it won't be fatal, but nonetheless he doesn't particularly enjoy that she's in pain. he almost scoffs at "sir," but refrains from doing so -- he probably looks older to her than he really is, and that's fine. ]

The word "Reduceres" comes to mind, but geographically no, I am not aware of our location. You should rest those.

[ on his last word, he gestures casually at her legs. ]

It wouldn't be wise to push your body beyond its limits. You'll need it, you know.