Lᴏʀᴛᴇʟ Kᴇʜᴇʟʟᴀɴᴅ | Tʜᴇ Gᴏʟᴅᴇɴ Dᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
richesse) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
cultmirror2025-07-01 02:53 pm
richesse) wrote in cultmirror2025-07-01 02:53 pm
oo1 ✦ let’s begin.
[ 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?
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?
no subject
her mind flashes to Ignis, with whom she’d be able to trade images. could one talk entirely mentally?
interesting.
and what a sad, lonely presence this is…
in exchange, Lortel sends him a wash of warmth. reassurance. it’s okay. it’s okay.
I’m here. ]
Unfortunately for us, I think we’re all quite awake.
Are you alright?
no subject
What is real and what is false in this place? That is something he's struggled to fully grasp since arriving. He's guarded and wary, but desperation lurks.
There is no human alive who doesn't wish to connect in some form. And that has increased tenfold in the last few days. Still, the question gives him pause. Not because it is suspicious, but he doesn't know how to answer it.
He's not alright. Not after everything. But is anyone here...? She called this place a living nightmare. He thinks that description is accurate. What he does answer with is honest.]
I'm alive.
[If he is nothing else, he knows this much. He doesn't think he's doing a great job of it, but he's still here. The small pile of sticks and twigs, along with two rocks he'd gathered together to try and make fire with, remains unsuccessful. He's seen it done before. He knows it's possible to create fire from rocks. He just... can't figure out how to make it actually ignite.
His own words come back to haunt him from years ago.
'It's fun and all, but is there any use for a talent like this?'
He's so stupid. He realizes only now that yeah, there definitely is a good reason to know how to create a fire. Then again, he never thought he would have possibly died from hypothermia. Freezing to death isn't exactly a common death type for those bound to the stage and raised within a cage. He's found a small alcove within a run-down building that he's claimed to try and find warmth within. He's slept a lot the past few days. Partly because he needs to regain his strength. Partly, because he doesn't have strength and getting the nourishment that he needs for that is hard to come by.
Just venturing outside is dangerous.
There's the sense of a sigh that crosses over.]
I think everyone is struggling.
[He doesn't want to appear weak, and for lack of knowing what else to say, he thinks that works. Probably. Had this person been a pet, too, or were they like that 'god' fellow? Someone totally separate from the reach of the Segyein?
He finds himself wondering how they've been getting along themselves.]
My name's 'Till'.
[Soft drifts of a melody filter across the murmur, accompanied by his name, as though tied to his existence. More words form, creating voice to his own question.]
What is yours?
no subject
Struggling… yes. I’m sure we are. Have you found warm clothes? Shelter?
Lortel, by the way. Lortel Kehelland.
no subject
[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.]
no subject
But I've found shelter and warm clothes. Weapons. I'm working on food and medicine.
no subject
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...
no subject
[ sweet as cyanide. ]
no subject
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...
no subject
[ 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?
no subject
[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.
no subject
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?
no subject
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...?
no subject
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?
no subject
[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.
no subject
no subject
[ . . . ]
... Thank you
no subject
[ of course, he won't forget that he owes her for the warm clothes she's bringing him. ]
Reach out to me through this strange network. I can find you.
no subject
Instead, he tries to do as directed. He has no idea how, but that doesn't stop him. He just... does, as though on instinct. He mentally reaches out with the desire to see her, and strangely, it feels as though there's a sort of... connection.]
no subject
soft surprise mixes with amusement. he got the hang of that quite quickly, didn't he?
he's not hard to find, after that. she doesn't really know what he looks like, nor what to expect, but their connection acts like a beacon in the dark. who else could it be, but— ]
Till?
[ here she is, in a puffy coat, carrying a jacket in her arms. ]
no subject
When Lortel appears, he isn't exactly surprised by her appearance. But she is... a pretty girl.
In contrast, Till probably looks like something of a mess. The clothes he has aren't too warm, but for a few minutes out in the cold are okay. The bags under his eyes are dark, though, and around his neck are a bunch of torn rags, serving as bandages. They're a little bloody, with angry scratch marks visible around the edges.
Other than a notebook and pencil, Till doesn't have anything else on his person, aside from the blindfold that is shoved into an oversized pocket. He turns the notebook around in his hand and scribbles inside, before turning the message around for her to read.]
I'm Till, yeah.
Thank you for the help. And bringing a coat.