oo1 ✦ let’s begin.

[richesse]

[ There’s a whisper through the murmur, more a breath of feeling than a fully formed thought. It’s sweet, and warm, and laughing—though it is not gentle, nor kind.

A voice follows the whisper, chased by darkness and shadows, the very suggestion of a nightmare. ]

Do you think we’re still dreaming? Or is this a living nightmare?

[ a hum, and another brush of teasing laughter, there and gone like a brief burst of memory, the last moment of summer that you can taste on your tongue before it’s irretrievably gone. ]

You’ve changed, haven’t you? We all have. What are you thinking, right now…? Who are you?

What are you?

Comments

[untilldeath]

Lortel.

[Lortel Kehelland. Is he supposed to say all of it? She introduced it first with just the initial name, though. If he's wrong, she'll probably correct him.]

I found somewhere to sleep.

[It isn't much, and it isn't exactly warm but at least it will keep the immediate elements off him. The entire city is abandoned. There's lots of nooks to hide in, but finding anything useful that is still good beyond that becomes more difficult.]

Supplies are harder to find. A lot of places seem like they were picked out a long time ago.

[Food, especially. He's still trying to decide if the plants are safe to eat or not.]

. . . Is there a location with, uh... necessary items?

[It might depend on how organized the humans in this place are. If they all recently arrived like him, that might be a harder ask.]

[richesse]

... I don't know. I've never seen this place before. I've never seen a city like this before. The buildings are so tall.

But I've found shelter and warm clothes. Weapons. I'm working on food and medicine.

[untilldeath]

[ . . . . Hesitancy crosses the murmur. He hates asking. He doesn't know how desperate people might be to hoard whatever they have. She seems friendly enough though, through the connection.

Like maybe her initial questions were trying to assess whether or not he was in dire straits.

Hah... ]

. . . Was there more? Where you found them. Warm clothes, I mean. And, uh... weapons, I guess...

[richesse]

Oh my. Do you need help finding supplies, Till? I can help you. You’ll owe me a favor, of course.

[ sweet as cyanide. ]

[untilldeath]

[Yeah, figures. But it isn't like he doesn't get it. Anyone would bargain in this place at least a bit.

And also he doesn't have much choice right now either when he's cold as hell and hungry as shit. His punishments were usually pretty physical, and occasionally food would be denied, but not enough that his stomach felt like it was scraping itself for nutrients and eating itself.

And she said she was working on food, which means she probably doesn't have any either.]

I don't expect anything for free. If it's something I can do, then deal.

[He doesn't know a lot about this strange place, but he keeps his word.]

. . . I don't want to scare you or something.

[A girl could be intimidated or something just meeting a strange guy, right?]

So if you're more comfortable bringing someone with to wherever we would meet, I'm okay with that. Or even just... dropping the stuff off somewhere I guess...

[richesse]

Don’t worry, I won’t demand anything outrageous.

[ genuine surprise filters through the murmur at his concern. ]

And why in the world would you scare me, hm? Don’t be silly. Can you show me where you are?

[untilldeath]

I dunno... this place is crazy. Who knows what weirdos there are.

[Or what someone desperate might do. He has to look outside his little room and the building for a landmark. He finds something that he thinks stands out a bit more than the rest, and... tries to share the image in his mind.]

I'm kind of near this. I can wait at that location. It's probably easier to describe than where I'm sitting here now.

[richesse]

What if I’m one of those weirdos, hm~? [ she’s teasing. (probably.)

Lortel shuts her eyes, focusing on the image he’s given her. it will take some doing, but… ]

Alright. Besides food, do you need anything else? Weapons, clothes?

[untilldeath]

[It feels so lame saying all of the above. There's a hint of embarrassment in the strange bond, but the reality is that he doesn't have a lot of strength right now. He can't be proud at the moment if he wants to survive.]

Clothes, especially something warm, if you have anything you're able to spare. And uh... what sort of weapons? I haven't used one before, but considering all those things that look like they wanna eat us, I'd feel better with something other than the giant stick I found.

[ . . . ]

You mentioned something about medicine earlier...?

[richesse]

The best I can offer is knives or metal piping, I’m afraid. Still, either is likely to serve you better than a simple stick.

I’ll bring you a jacket. As for medicine…

[ a beat. ]

That might take me some time to procure. What is it that you need? Are you sick?

[untilldeath]

I have an injury. I thought if I had ointment, or... I dunno, an antibiotic of some sort, it might help it heal faster, or dull the pain.

[He at least answers that honestly.]

It's not like there's any vets in this place, though, so I guess medicines gotta be made from the plants...? I don't know much about that kind of stuff.