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

[richesse]

Doesn’t it feel too strange to be real? I agree with you, though.

[ there’s a ripple of sweet laughter through the murmur, a feeling like a nudge. ]

I’ve been exploring looking for warmer clothes. Should we go together?

[closetdweller]

I'm just trying to figure out how it happened,

[He admitted, musing.]

Last time I did any world hopping, it was through a Gate. Unless that weird dream we had was the Gate...

[Literal gates or figurative gates-- the difference didn't matter terribly much to him, except for the fact that he was pretty sure he was supposed to be human. If this was still Earth, anyway.

After a tight moment he heaved a sigh.]

... I'll join you, [He said,] under one condition:

Don't laugh.

[richesse]

[ Lortel bites her lips together. There’s a short bright burst of sweet amusement, but she reins it in with a sigh. ]

For you, I won’t. Only because you asked.

Will you come find me?

[closetdweller]

Thanks.

[There was a flash of white and the hot sting of embarrassment behind his words which were quickly dampened. Urushihara, unnerved by how deep this Murmer went, couldn't help but bristle like a little bird that had been caught in the rain.]

I'm at the Miggy R's in some kinda city square, [He added, willingly bending with the Murmer to share an image of the dilapidated structure at the doors of the restaurant he woke in. The yellow paint had faded and flaked away, but the pair of arches were recognizable in any dimension.]

And I can get some altitude. What's near you?

[richesse]

Miggy R’s? I have no idea what that is, [ she laughs, taking a mental snapshot of the scene he shows her. it’s more than enough to go by. she lets the murmur whisper to her and guide her feet. ]

Very tall buildings. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

[ she’s smack in the middle of midtown—not that she knows what that is. ]

[closetdweller]

I get that.

[He really did. It was only about a year ago that he entered the Gate and slipped from a classical kingdom in a holy war to a city that was one of the pinnacles of modern society.]

It's confusing, but if we're lucky then the streets will have an order to them. Names, maybe numbers... Sometimes they're laid out like a grid.

We'll need to try to find a map.

[richesse]

You do? Hm~

[ well, at least it’s not just her.

a map… that kind of item is still a rare thing back home, drawn bespoke by cartographers instead of mass produced. still, it can’t hurt to look. she’s been scouting for food and clothes on her way, anyway. ]

Do you have warm clothes? I think I found something.

[ she’s picking her way into the debris of a ruined shop, spying what she thinks might just be a jacket. ]

[closetdweller]

-- I didn't even get a chance to grab shoes when I left the apartment,

[He said, embarrassment creeping though. ]

I was kinda rushed. Someone left their boots in the dumpster, so I'm using those, but shorts and a tee shirt aren't great in this weather.

[richesse]

You—ah. [ for a moment she thought he was barefoot in this cold. there’s a pang of faint sympathy that she hopes will pass quickly. stupid murmur.

digging through the rubble and detritus, Lortel unearths a long, puffy jacket. it’s dirty, but it’s whole, and more than she has. perfect. this she tugs on immediately, letting out one hard shiver. she was cold, too, little though she showed it. a little more picking through nets her a second coat, and this she folds over one arm as she navigates her way back out onto the street. ]

Well then, I’ll take care of you. In exchange for a favor, hm?

[closetdweller]

Sounds fair.

[He replied, the warmth of his gratitude for the assistance slipping through. Self sufficiency had been his philosophy for a long time-- too long, perhaps-- but nothing was truly free, even in a world where money didn't matter.]

What sort of favor are we looking at?

[richesse]

Ah ah. [ she grins with her teeth, lips peeled back. ] That’s for me to know, and you to find out, when the time comes. Don’t worry, I won’t ask too much of you.

[ the murmur smiles. ]

Keep picturing where you are. It’s easier to follow, that way.

[closetdweller]

[Oh. Another Player.]

Game sees game, sis. Gotta respect it.

[And he did- this would be quite interesting to work with while he found his way back to his comrades and his King.

In the meanwhile, he had wandered closer to the broken window and was staring at the dilapidated and fungus encrusted skyscrapers in the square, sharing the images as he did.]

It's a MgRonalds. Or,a place like it. A restaurant, so I bet there's other touristy spaces nearby.

[richesse]

Haha! I’m glad you can understand.

[ the continued images make her job fairly simple. she keeps the location, and him, fixed in her mind, letting the murmur tug gently at her feet. as long as she doesn’t think about it too hard, it works. ]

What in the world is a MgRonald’s, anyway,

[closetdweller]

It's a fast food place that sells burgers,

[He said, flashing her an image of the double patties stacked high on a seeded bun with lettuce, tomato, and the fabled 'secret sauce'.]

They have them all over the world. I think that's part of why my boss chose to work at one.