flickerflash | Backdated to the 15th, after Jilly's post

Backdated to the 15th, after Jilly's post

[Recently Katie was kidnapped by the Malnosso. The usual story, really. Only she found herself not minding so much, because mostly all they did was shut her in a room with a box of chalk and blackboards and pens and paper and television with all kinds of cartoons, and music, and they told her to do whatever she felt like. The only thing she hated were the shots, and she doesn't know what those were for. But they were meant to be for her own good, so they said. Weird and made no sense.

Today, she finally understands what they were trying to do.

Might have helped, if they weren't who they were.]

[Written]

Dear Jack,

I seem to have forgotten everything, so I'll be home in a few minutes to look under the couch cushions. It's always the last place you look, isn't it? Don't worry, I'm still alive.

Love, Silvertoes.

Dear everyone else,

Could the person who gave me a hand the other morning come find me? I'd like to thank you for saving my life. If you don't have time, don't worry. I'll find you instead.

Love

[...screw it. She leaves it there. She can't go home yet-- the glamour is newly awakened and she can still feel it spitting and sparking and sometimes dying, and she can't properly control it. And right now she has a lot to think through. Not the least of which being she died.

So she'll be out in the forest until further notice. Angry and upset and thinking she's going to kill someone for doing this to her, or maybe she'll just give in to the urge to cry instead. She's only nine. Going on three hundred.

Someone's paying for this.]

((ooc: You are more than welcome to stumble across her in the forest; however, keep in mind that if you do, you run the risk of your character being enchanted. That means seeing the world the way Katie sees it, and that includes seeing all of your echoes and the echoes of others. For more information, see Katie's permissions post.

...and fill it out while you're there, if you wouldn't mind. |Da

Just to set the date right in everyone's head, this is the same day Ragna is tearing up the forest.))

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[Vash was out in the forest as he tends to do. Nothing like a walk to ease your mind and clear it from the latest experiments. However, then he could have sworn he heard some not so pleasant noises coming from a different area of the forest.

As he went to investigate he was not expecting to run across Katie.]

Katie! I'm not sure you should be out here right now!

Edited 2012-06-17 15:24 (UTC)

[She wasn't expecting to run across anyone out here, and good lord she's out here for a reason.. Glamour is still roiling through her, sparking out in fits and starts, and Katie jumps up from the log she's sitting on and...

...takes off in the other direction.]

I'm sorry! You're very right, I'll go home right now!

[BYE VASH.]

Edited 2012-06-17 15:25 (UTC)

K-Kat - w-wait! What- [Wait? Is that even the direction home is in?! Vash wasn't expecting that and takes off after the girl. If there's danger in these woods right now he wouldn't forgive himself if she got hurt.]

Go away!

[But she'll take the decision out of his hands by leaving the fast way, she thinks. So she skips once, twice--]

[--and then trips over a tree root with a faintly shocked look on her face and tumbles in a heap.

Well. That's nothing new for a child, really. Though Vash is perceptive enough he might remember Katie has never before this been clumsy at all, in Luceti.]

[In the back of his mind Vash realizes that Katie is usually much more graceful, but the priority to him right now is that a small child just tripped over a root and fell.

He comes skidding to a halt next to her.] Katie! Are you alright?! Are you hurt?!

I'm--

[She's at a loss for what to actually say. She's not hurt, so she should tell him she's broken both her legs: he won't go away. And at the same time, she's most definitely not fine in many other ways--

Her magic. The knowledge is there. The glamour won't connect. She can't just leave.

And that makes her vulnerable, because if there is a monster charging through the woods and some killer (or two, or six in this place) that finally preyed on her--

And Vash is far too close, and she sounds angry all of a sudden.]

Go away.

Edited 2012-06-17 15:57 (UTC)

[Vash stops moving to help, but he does not go away.] It's alright, Katie. Let me help you.

And what if I don't want your help? [She can feel the glamour rising, and Katie bares her teeth and shoves at his leg.] Do you really think you're better at taking care of me than I am? Go away!

[Because she's getting up and limping off again, you big jerk.]

Katie, please. You're hurt. Let me help you. It's alright to need help. [Child, do you really think you're going to get rid of Vash while limping!?]

[No. Which means she'll just. Stop limping now.

Katie turns and stamps her foot down-- the one she's favouring-- and stares at him pointedly. Burning a little glamour to heal the smallest of twists, and at least that part of her magic works, and it's such a waste but if it gets him to go away...]

Who said anything about being hurt? Maybe I just want you to feel sorry for me.

Well, I'm more worried than feeling sorry for you right now. [He's still not going away.] Please, tell me what's wrong.

None of your busine--

[Spark.

It's almost like a faulty wire, she thinks. Like the cord in dad's workshop that she nearly pounced on once with all its pretty distractions before he shut the power off and yanked it out from the wall. The moment she thinks she's pushed the tide down enough, keep the balance in check, her glamour flares out across the clearing.

Katie goes stock still.

And Vash can hear a song.]

[Vash freezes in his desire to help Katie when he hears the familiar song. Sung by the voice he dreams often about, but this is no dream. It sounds so real, but it couldn't be. Could it?]

Katie, please, I- [Since when did you have ears. The song - it's not fading away. He just can't ignore it anymore. He turns towards the sound of the song and there stands a woman smiling at him.]

R-Rem? [Can this really be real?]

[...dammit.

Katie starts backing away when his attention is gotten by Rem. Normally, you'd get a warning. But she knows how much Rem means to you and she just. Doesn't want to answer questions. Not now. Not when she remembers how much that hurts.]

[For the briefest moment Vash doesn't even notice the retreating child. By the time he's gotten over the shock of seeing Rem, Katie has had time to sneak away.] Katie!? [Crap. Where had she gone? He was still worried about her, but now there was Rem too.]

Rem... [He turns back to her smiling face. She'd understand wouldn't she? That they needed to go together and find Katie. Only when she opens her arms offering a hug, Vash can do nothing more than melt into it.

Damn it! He needs to find Katie! He has to pull himself out of the hug, but it's alright. Rem was here now. When they find Katie again, she'll know how to talk to her.]

Dear Little Silvertoes, Under the cushions or in the treasure trunk. Either or. Come home soon and we'll suss it out. With all Affectionate Feelings --Capt. Jack

Dear Capt. Jack, Do you think there might be other treasure in the trunk? I'd hate to melt it all by mistake. The mermaids might be cross with you again. Yours faithfully, Silvertoes (Cabin Girl)

If you melt it down we can shape it into anything we like. Your own captain, Jack PS -- The mermaids will always be cross with me, no matter what I do. Especially Marina. It's alright.

Edited 2012-06-18 17:43 (UTC)

[Long silence. Or at least, a long absence of a reply.]

Are you sure?

As sure as I've been of anything. Where are you? What's wrong?!!?!

I'm in the bar. I thought I'd get drunk. Do you think being drunk is catching?

What if I get drunk for the both of us? Buffy would like that more better.

But I'm already drunk. Also, don't drink the ginnes guiness. It tastes like honey.

......I shall be there promptly. Don't move.

I shall stay precisely where I am, in the bar. If you can't see me, it's because I'm hiding from assassins.

[She really doesn't want him to go to the bar looking for her when she's nowhere in evidence there.

[Too bad, he's going. :|

The next message comes a bit later:]

Bloody hell child there are no assassins here come OUT.

[Drat.]

You were too late. I've been assassinated.

[Though he might run into a certain Slayer there, if Buffy follows through on that threat.]

[It is definitely possible that Buffy will be there, too.]

Could you unassassinate yourself for a pirate what cares?

Only religious people can unassassinate themselves. [But she's giggling to herself, despite the day. It makes her feel better.]

I could come and haunt you.

Would you bring me rum from the underworld?

Underworld rum is very bad for you. It can make you see ghosts.

What about tiny goblin-men?

Those too. Goblins with little red hats and big spiky boots.

They don't kick a man, do they? With said spiky boots? Right in the boons?

You should be fine as long as they're not hungry.

Why? What happens then?

Their teeth are sharper than their spiky boots.

But can they get a man very, very drunk?

Very drunk. You'll be seeing things for days.

Buffy would not like that.

[And, if he was honest, neither would Jack.

Neither would I. Seeing things is very boring. So perhaps I shall avoid the bar.

Perhaps so, cabin girl. I'll get some cheeseydoodleos for you at the shops on my way home.

[....8(]

I'll be home as soon as I can.

[Cas is generally all over, but then he feels something weird and ends up following the string of strange to its source.

A little girl would two souls, one of which is way too old for her.

Yeah. That sounds like something that requires further investigation, so Cas just zaps right up into her space to take a closer look.]

[sdklfd

and strange guys teleporting right up into her space are enough to make Katie yelp and fall backward off her log. Then she peers at him over the edge of it with a faintly accusing look.]

Go away.

[No idea who you are, but quarantine is for everyone, as far as she's concerned.]

Are you possessed?

[Maybe by a ghost, a very old one? Or a minor god or demigod, perhaps. Cas can't think of any other reason why a human would have an extra soul floating around inside it.]

[Okay so that's an interesting question and Katie narrows her eyes somewhat, but Luceti has always been full of Interesting People.]

Of course I am. I'm possessed by the spirit of grubby overcoats. You should go before he decides to collect yours.

[And she's going to back off a bit to try and keep a safe range.]

[She's not talking like a spirit.]

No. You're something else.

[Cas doesn't stop her from backing away, but he doesn't stop his intense scrutiny, either. Maybe if he can get a good, working network of the gods around here, he can get closer to finding out where his own is, or why he's even here, for that matter.]

It's rude to talk about someone like a something, you know. [As he doesn't follow her, Katie stops at a reasonable distance, trying to keep her glamour held close.] Anyway, I'm perfectly safe to be around so you should probably just go home.

You're trying to hide yourself...? [Cas isn't positive, but he thinks she is.] Your powers are unreliable. Are you a god?

[...wow, Castiel, you're kind of blunt for an adult.]

Yes. I've been a god for centuries. Will you go away now?

Why do you want me to leave? [Cas is just that bad at reading the atmosphere in a room. Really.]

Because--

[Because she doesn't want people running around crazy for the next few days. It's dangerous and all sorts of bad for you, even if you can just teleport.

Can't say that, of course. She scowls.]

Because I'm not very sociable!

[Oh, yes, of course. Castiel understands that very well, so he nods along. He gets it.]

Perhaps you should make yourself less noticeable. [To, y'know, things with heightened senses and sight and all. Just some friendly advice for a fellow non-friendly.]

But I'm out in the middle of a very crowded shopping mall. How on earth can I manage that?

[Pooka logic. Yes.]

[dude what]

You're deep in the forest.

[this is not a shopping mall]

That's what they want you to think.

[Your overwhelming blunt disbelief i sjust plain rude, Castiel. Also, she's backing up another step.]

You're most likely correct, [Castiel agrees, because he can't deny the possibility that this place is supernaturally manufactured. Not with all the "NOT REAL" vibes floating around in the air in this place.

She keeps backing up though. People do that when they feel threatened. Well, it doesn't matter; he's investigated, and he's satisfied that she's not dangerous. He'll just go with a sound of wind and flapping cloth.]

[Hey she is too dangerous! Just... in a woobie kind of way okay. Katie blinks as he vanishes, but largely she just feels relief. She'll apologise later. Maybe.]

Katie? Is that you?

[ silvertoes. it must be. ]

No.

[That's her first response, too blunt and fast because Katie is too distracted to bother putting any thought into a better lie.]

I call shenanigans.

Shenanigans is me. I think I shall call myself that for the rest of the day.

It's a good synonym. Where are you?

I'm at home. I've been home all day.

So...you won't mind if I swing by, do you?

[...uh. Hmm.]

Well, I was about to go out. I'm invited to go to dinner. Perhaps tomorrow?

Maybe I'll catch you before you leave, then. I could stick around and wait for Jack anyway.

[...uh. Hmm. She doesn't want to be found, but she doesn't really want Buffy wasting her time, either.]

I think Jack's gone to the bar. At least he said he was going to.

[That's almost true!]

You're making a persuasive case.

He said he was going to drink enough for two people, too.

What's wr --

[ if she believes katie, then... ]

Maybe I should go find him.

I think that is an excellent idea.

[Besides, if Jack is disappointed to find a lack of Katie at the bar, he's not likely to be for long if Buffy's also there. She hopes.]

[Guess what, Katie? Sanji too is in the forest, angry and upset and thinking he'd like to kill someone, and though he's not to the point of tears, smoking half his cigarette pack in the span of an hour is a decent substitute.

Come, let us be in fearsome bad moods together]

[~~Isn't this how we met~~ Katie has learned by now that she can't jump away from sudden encounters, and that means when she hears footsteps this time she just hides. Right behind this tree, yessir. And hopefully whoever Mr Stompy Pants is he'll just keep right on stalking through and she won't cause any extra problems and--

--oh, it's Sanji. She likes Sanji a lot, and she's half tempted to call out, only that's still a bad idea.

...

...Sanji, the tree over yonder is addressing you. It's just a tree, everything's normal.]

What's wrong?

[~~My gods you're right. Fitting reunion!~~ ... Well, Sanji has met stranger things than talking trees, but all the same, he puts a halt to his hissy fit and glances up curiously.

That Mystery Tree sounds suspiciously like a little girl he hasn't seen in a while. For that reason, he does this the nice way.]

Maaah, the usual shit. Crazy bad guys and damsels in distress. [Or also titled "Shitty Black Beasts and Lady in a Comatose". Sloooowly approaching that tree] But I'll be alright.

... Katie-chan, is that you?

Oh no, I'm just a tree. A very curious one. [He approaches the tree and Katie backs away from it in attempting to keep the same distance, but as the tree doesn't move with her this pretense fails spectacularly. Curses.] What sort of crazy bad guy? Is it a monster?

[She wonders if it's the same thing she ran into earlier.]

That so, Tree-chan? [Okay... she's backing away from him. Thrown off by this, Sanji halts all advances, unsure if he should be hurt or worried. That she's lying doesn't register clearly yet.]

Yeah, it was a monster. [In the forest... where you are now... And these two coincidences click together and spark of a mild case of panic. He tries approaching her again, this time making his concern obvious]

Oi! Did you-- You didn't run into anything out here, did you?

[Katie's constant backing up fetches her against a tree, and she jumps-- but the concern in his voice overrides her other worries for a moment and she raises a hand to shake at him. The other one steals straight to her forehead like she has a headache, which probably isn't exactly reassuring. She can feel a dizzying rush of glamour. Not now. It makes her speak fast.]

Oh no, no! I haven't run into a single thing out here! Especially not monsters. It was so quiet I fell asleep under a tree. Really. Anyway, if there's monsters out here, don't you think you should go home where it's safe?

Edited 2012-06-21 11:30 (UTC)

[He could say the same for you, Katie, even knowing you're not a normal girl. And sadly, the same tactic won't work on him twice; he sees that hand meeting her forehead and very pointedly disregards every warning with a suddenly quick-footed approach, because it's starting to occur that you're lying]

Katie-chan. [It's not a tone he usually strikes against her, but Sanji's being serious] What's going on?

[Katie visibly cringes at that tone. If she were a cat, her ears would be wilting-- wait 8|]

It's nothing. I-- I forgot. That's all. I forgot why I was out here. Really, I'm f-- [And if he's worked out she's lying, that's just not a good thing to say, is it? She breaks off, gritting her teeth a little as the other hand runs through her hair.]

I mean, I'm not fine. Terrible, in fact. I could die at any moment.

[It's just as much a lie, really. She tries to slide around the side of the tree though as he broaches her personal space, because she only barely has a lid on it. If he touches her...]

[Color Sanji visibly startled; he's never seen her like this before, and to be honest, her last outburst takes him aback. Was that a lie, too? He can't be sure anymore, so there's a distinct pause as she tries to wiggle away into more distance.

Ultimately, what pushes him forward is the deep-seated fatigue he's been carrying all day. After having Nami and Shikamaru affected by Ragna's poison, nearly seeing Noel killed, and then there's a chance Katie ran into him... No, he's not leaving until he works out some type of answer he can be happy with. He's sorry, Katie.

At least he tries to tone down his concern, attempting a sympathetic smile as he reaches out and touches her shoulder] Oi, then maybe I can help.

N-n-- [She tries to flinch back, and ends up falling back. Whoops. But it's too late. Sanji's touch feels like static shock-- and the glamour surges forward, through that offered conduit and into Sanji's body.

It might feel kind of pleasant, that warm, faintly fizzy-tingly feeling that sweeps over him. But the world doesn't even let him do the courtesy of blinking before it abruptly changes on Sanji - voices that weren't there before, shifting, golden strands of light in the air. And Katie throws up an arm reflexively to hide her face, but it doesn't hide the ears poking through hair suddenly shot through with white.

Hell.]

[Um.

Shit.

There really is no pause between his fingers brushing her shoulder and Luceti suddenly exploding into a Wonderland on steroids - if this can still be considered Luceti. After his last experiment, he's immediately inclined and desperate to believe they're stuck in another memory, even if that doesn't stop him from reeling back in shock--

And bumping into someone. Which, funny enough, he isn't exactly expecting, seeing as he and Katie were alone two seconds before.] Wha...?

[Between parsing the sight of his friend with cat ears and the voices whispering all around him, shrill and quiet and hushed and explosive, Sanji turns like he's struggling against a tide of sensation. And then he nearly bites his tongue off keeping a scream to himself. That he's frozen in place is the only reason he doesn't jerk forward and try to grab her shoulders - Vivi's shoulders, that look so thin and fragile and malnourished that he's afraid of breaking them, like the rest of her.

This isn't real. This can't be real.]

V-Vivi-chan?!

[Damn, damn, damn, damn--]

Ignore them! [Her voice is muffled behind her hands.] If you don't, you'll give them power!

[Honest truth, that. It hurts. But in Sanji's case, given the baggage he hauls around? She has to tell him, for his own safety.]

[Only heard on the outer ring of his attention, Sanji doesn't have a chance to heed that warning. Or much of a choice, either. Vivi is looking back at him in misery, eyes sunk deep into her skull. Her once lively figure is thin enough to put a skeleton to shame. Nausea threatens to overpower him the longer he stares on in horror, and it's only when she steps back and turns away that he catches himself, shaking and needing to lean against a tree for support.

And then he begins to take note of the rest of his surroundings. It's not just him, Vivi, and Katie; there are other figures nearby, and fish in the air, weaving through the golden strands of light. More sights and sensations that he can name.

Ignore them. Ignore them. Shit, he's trying. He really is. He holds a breath in his chest and stares at the ground, slowly releasing it through his mouth.]

... Katie-chan, are you-- [What are you, is the first question his mind asks. He never cared to know before, designating her to the category of powerful children with powers, but considering the situation...

Another deep breath. He inclines his head in her direction] Are you alright? [She did fall, after all]

I'm all right.

[She's not all right. Katie turns her head away and finally lifts a hand to cover the ear closest to Sanji, as if not seeing it will make him forget. He may forget in a day or two, when the mists come down; she'll hope for it.]

You're just seeing things. I'm not really here. Go home and sleep it off.

... Katie-chan, it's okay. I already saw the cat ears. [There are probably other cat-like features on display, too, if he gets a good enough look at her. Not that he's really trying now, mind. His eyes are closed in the vain hope that maybe she isn't blatantly lying and he just... hit his head without noticing. Or that Luceti is gifting him with a horrific hallucination made of fish and nightmare fuel.]

They're-- [She stops short. Because really, there's a line every fae gets to, and the one they don't cross is denying their own existence. Which she's perilously close to doing.

Ignore me and I'll go away. She glances up at him with a nervous look and finds his eyes are shut. Oh. That's... good.]

It wears off. A few hours, a few days. Somewhere there.

[Ow.]

[Truth or lie, that one? It's hard to tell, listening to the pitch of her voice alone. But the alternative (if it's a lie) would be weeks or months, and that's enough to scare Sanji into believing, for his own selfish sake.]

Alright, I understand. [His eyelids itch, curiosity starting to rise up in rebellion. Eventually he'll have to open his eyes.] We're... still in Luceti, right?

No. We're on the moon. Which looks like Luceti. {There's only so many truths she wants to tell right now. She has faith Sanji can work that one out. The same as this:] I'm sorry. I did it on purpose.

[That wins a very tired, but very startled bout of laughter. The moon, she says. Despite the predicament he's found himself in, Sanji appreciates that convoluted bit of truth. And he supposes this answers once and for all if Katie is conditioned to lie no matter the circumstances; this isn't just a quirk she picked up.]

If it's the moon, I better be extra careful then. [His tone is light, but his eyes stay closed] And no, Katie-chan; it's my fault for pushing it. You were just trying to keep me out of trouble. [And herself as well]

[She's glad his eyes are closed, because it makes it a little easier then to reach out and pat his hand timidly-- with her fingertips, keeping those sharper nails away from him.] Will you be all right? Do you think you should ask someone to come get you?

[Despite the vivid surge of denial that wants to surface, Sanji considers that angle... only to dismiss the possibility seconds later. He's not technically injured, as it were - just hallucinating. Or something like it. Whatever this is, he figures it's a secret Katie would prefer guarded (and let's face it, who the hell would believe the chef anyway?). Sanji's better off clearing his head and then stomping home by himself.]

I'll be fine. [He means it, and aims a smile in her direction. His eyes finally open.] I've only got a few shitty days of this, right? Think I can handle that much.

[She shies away when his eyes open, but given he's smiling at least she doesn't retreat all the way back around the tree. So she smiles uncertainly back, and her eyes shift to the Zeff shadow that's followed him around for as long as she's known him.]

It's not okay to listen to them sometimes. Not while we're on the moon. But parents usually have good advice. [Zeff's close enough to count, she thinks.]

[Strange advice, that, and Sanji can't make sense of it until he follows her gaze upward -- and promptly chokes on a noise in his throat. Considering there are flying fish in the air, he shouldn't be as surprised as he is. Too bad his hunched shoulders and round eyes point to another truth.]

Zeff-- [But he's not-- can't be real, right? Zeff's back on the Baratie, cussing out his employees and customers alike, not... not here. A protective selfishness demands he not be in Luceti, and even if this one is just an illusion, Sanji alternates between opening his mouth to speak and gnawing on the bottom lip caught between his teeth, distressed and too tired to hide it.

But not gaping, oh no. That's reserved a second later for when he catches sight of the malnourished ten-year-old peeking out from behind Zeff's leg.]

[Katie is silent as the grave, now, too tired and hurting from the honesty she has shown. She exchanges a glance with the Zeff shadow and shuts her eyes. At least she knows one of them will do his best to keep him out of trouble.

While Sanji's attention is caught, she takes a step back. Two. And then vanishes into the trees, quietly as a cat.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Backdated to the 15th, after Jilly's post

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