kenoslogs | and if you're still breathing, you're the lucky ones [CLOSED-ISH]

[This particular seedling takes a little longer than the others to sprout.

Messed up dreams aren’t exactly a new thing for the young woman finally stirring beneath the earth, but this one has such bad vibes that she’s practically got chills when she finally wakes up. Then a crystal is grabbed and the earth starts pouring in from above, and that’s when the panic really kicks in—a sharp spike of feeling from a newly arrived Iconoclast surging through a mental connection she’s not even fully aware of yet.

Had she been buried alive? Even as she digs her way out of the soft yet oppressive soil, she can’t help but recall vivid memories of digging through the dirt in a junkyard. The disbelief and fear, the sharp stab of grief that followed when the dirt gave way and revealed the last thing she’d ever wanted to see lying buried and forgotten in the earth.

This time, the dirt gives way to open air and the sight of an enormous tree stretching its branches overhead. She can hardly focus on it though, scrambling to pull herself out enough to be on her hands and knees, panting heavily and hardly cognizant of the dirt and sap smeared all over her skin and clothes.]

What the fuck. What the fuck?!

[She feels like she’s gonna throw up.]

[She’s kind of digging the spooky vibes of this weird night city. A little old fashioned, but whatever. She can pretend she’s returning to her nerd roots and getting into some serious larping or or some shit instead of, well, thinking at all about the reality of this fucked up new situation she’s in.

She almost wants to laugh when she sees the glow of a sign above a diner in the distance: Benny’s. Sure, she could go for some grub right about now. It beats wandering around and getting lost some more, at least. She crosses a street, but nearly jumps when movement registers at the corner of her vision, just alongside the nearest darkened alley. She could have sworn she saw something reaching out from the shadows… or the shadows moving itself. But she watches, and finds nothing out of the ordinary for a beat, then another.

Alright, forget what she said about liking those spooky vibes.]

This place is fucking creepy.

[An observation made aloud and only half-under her breath. She turns then to continue on to her destination—only to collide with someone else walking the moonlit streets at this hour with an undignified grunt.]

[ ~~According to Google~~ Chloe may well have Subaru outclassed for height. Despite this, being barreled headlong into is cause for little more than a half-stumble and a suppressed, startled sound trapped behind closed lips. He recovers quickly, perhaps too quickly to quite register as normal, and catches her arm to brace her.

The grip of his gloved hand is a gentle thing. It also proves to be fleeting, because the instant it's clear she isn't at risk of falling over, Subaru lets go. It's a swift little process that begins and ends before the surprise has even left his wide green eyes. ]

Are you alright?

[ The question that comes from him is soft, but clear. In the stillness of Highstorm's endless night, Subaru's calm voice isn't so easily drowned out as it can be in Springstar's sundrenched, lively streets. His eyebrows knit together in concern, as though he'd been the one to walk right into her rather than the other way around. ]

[She sure does have nearly half a foot on this guy’s height… The collision is not as bad for her considering she’s the one running right into him, but she still steps away with a glower, pulling her arm from his gentle and fleeting touch as if burned.]

Dude, watch it! I was clearly standing right there.

[Nothing is ever Chloe’s fault, as you can see. So the answer to his very well-meaning question is: yes, but still grumpy.]

Stupid dark city. Never thought it’d be so lame to be in a place without sunlight.

[She is very much out of her depth here, and the way her very modern-day jeans, plaid shirt, and beanie stand out against the very old-fashioned look of things here probably just hammers that fact home.]

My apologies.

[ Subaru allows his hand to drop to his side as he responds, his tone nothing but sincere. He should have been more alert to the presence of others potentially around him, and perhaps he would be if he had harmonized. But the matter is still something that he debates, disadvantageous as his delay is.

When he doesn't truly believe either wish can be realized, would it even work? Strength of belief doesn't seem to wholly matter, but if so, what does?

The matter is one he'll doubtless ponder later. ]

It isn't so bad here after a while, but it does take adjusting to.

[ There isn't any denying that there is an adjustment to be made. It was either all night or all day, between the two cities. Which was more tolerable was a matter of preference. In Subaru's case, he thinks Zenith's aspirations are less impossible... And he truly is dressed for winter, looking like someone cosplaying a thoroughly Victorian vampire.

Half of that wouldn't be wrong. ]

[ Kowloon is an active, thriving place no matter what time it is. Whether it is the dead of night (or the equivalent to the city of eternal sunshine above) or even if it is early morning, Kowloon practically thrums with active energy. It is wild, it is free, the city constrained within only a few blocks deep underneath Springstar, past the tunnels and mazes where even one wrong turn will lead toward danger, death, or vile experiments let loose by god knows who. Bondrewd? Aetós? Another wild scientist? Who knows!

Chloe has made it down here when things are... interesting. There's an odd energy to the city, like a held breath in anticipation. She's likely heard word of attacks topside, but down here, to the unharmonized, or the explicitly known Zenites, it's easy to pass by like a shadow. (Mostly) Unbothered.

Unfortunately for Chloe, she's only spotted for half a moment, out of the corner of someone's eye. They'd been dealing, money exchanged hands for... well. That wasn't important anymore.

Now see, Silco is used to seeing things out of the corner of his eye, with increasing frequency since the Iconoclast oracle, like a shadow that lurked at the edge of his vision. It was always the same, because Silco's attachment was easy to oblivion, for it had twice taken it from him, and each time it had gotten worse, and worse, and worse. An unattainable specter that he'd not even had the strength to hope for, because he knew what it meant, to care and want for something — it made it unattainable. Always out of sight, always out of range, he knew that was how it went. Not only was he a Zaunite, it was who he was, to lose even something he so desperately wanted. Even so, the barest sight of it — his head whipped, mouth half-open. The deal was left to Gregór to complete without even an order, his retainer used to his odd moods at this point, but this was unusual even for Silco.

He had no hope but to follow, trying to catch up, and the crowds in Kowloon certainly did part for him, which made it easy, but —

But even so. He was still half a block away, though he was gaining. It was always just out of his sight, so he hadn't quite caught sight of more than a few strands of blue hair that swayed into view, the hint of a tattoo that he couldn't quite catch sight of. Silco's blood rushes so loud in his head he can't hear anything, the loud clamor of Kowloon's usual activity is silent to the thudding in his chest — Why hadn't he checked? — He'd taken to carefully checking it daily to make sure her shard was still safe, after — after —

He reached out, when he was close, to try and reach for her shoulder. ]

Wait —

[ The person between them moved out of the way, as his hand fell to his side automatically as realization crashed down, and the too-short hair on a person that was far too tall to be his daughter — hell, she was taller than him — and his jaw clenched. ]

Ah. [ He manages to sound dour, his effect concealing his disappointment. ] How embarrassing. I mistook you for someone else. [ Why had he even bothered? ]

[Between his clothes and that comment, Chloe’s pretty quick to assume this guy’s a local. Or at the very least, someone who’s been here long enough to embrace the fancy—if old-fashioned—vibes. Like, look at the guy. She’s not about to take back those comparisons of being here to a larp, but this is less ren-faire crap and more… spooky goth?

Whatever. His unfaltering politeness at least gets her to turn the dial of her temper down a bit. She crosses her arms over her chest, but it’s largely to fend off a little bit of that winter chill.]

Yeah, I’d say that’s an understatement.

[A pause as she glances up at the sky, gaze lingering on the two moons above for a moment. Man, that’s a sight that tugs at some shitty memories. She sighs and lets her attention return to Mr. Polite Goth.]

I’ve had to adjust to a new home before, but this is on another level.

[You’d think she’d be more prepared for it, having a home practically wiped off the map once before. Turns out it’s a bit different when it’s entire worlds they’re dealing with.]

[Chloe is no stranger to doing stupid shit for stupid reasons.

And here she is, freshly torn from home and told she’s supposed to be someone of influence in this weird new world, someone with power, someone who is—for a certain definition of the word—technically immortal. So of course it’s the perfect recipe for ramping her usual boldness up even further.

Yet while it might be emboldening, it’s still a fucking crazy situation to find herself in, one she’s becoming in desperate need to take her mind off of. Of course she has one answer for that, and in her unabashed searching she finds one common trail of advice: she’d have better luck underground. What she hadn’t expected was how insanely literal that was, a path lead through sewers giving way to tunnels that twist and turn for what felt like an eternity. Long enough that she’s almost sure she’d fallen for a fucked up prank, or was about to walk headlong into the lair of a serial killer or something.

But then one pathway finally brings into sight the fabled underground city, lit neon from enormous scattered mushrooms, buildings packed tightly and reaching up higher than she would have expected from a city underneath a city. Crazy to see something like this with her own two eyes; it feels like something out of a video game.

Even after spending a year in a real, normal city, it still feels weird to be around so many people at once, especially in as packed a space as this. But she is a woman on a mission, and there is no time to waste feeling daunted by the prospect of the ebb and flow of bodies all around her, of the fact that she has no fucking clue where she’s going.

She holds onto that shaky bit of advice that had brought her down here in the first place, moving with the flow of the crowd and keeping her eyes peeled. It was hard to miss all the gossip upstairs about the attacks, and of course the reputation Kowloon itself had regarding its attitude toward people coming down here from above. And while she might be stupidly bold, she’s not completely stupid—she knows damn well that this is a place where she needs to watch her back. Which is probably why she eventually catches the odd way the crowd almost seems to part a little behind her as she makes her way deeper into the city.

So forgive her for feeling a bit jumpy by the time she catches a hand reaching out toward her in the corner of her eye. She whirls on her heel (heedless of the way she makes an obstacle of herself in this foot traffic) even as said hand drops abruptly away. She flinches away from the near-touch, planting her heels and ready to shove back the instant that hand might rise toward her again—and she certainly doesn’t regret it when she gets a real look at the guy responsible. That expression and that freaky eye of his don’t exactly make a sterling first impression.

So yeah, she’s not buying that excuse.]

Yeah, sure you did. Or is that just the line you give to every girl you stalk through the streets?

[She’s angry and defensive, and the feelings bleed through to her words just as much as her posture.]

[ Subaru eyes the closed posture for only a moment, gaze flicking from her crossed arms back to her face immediately after. He doesn't comment upon it just yet, because his initial impression of her reminds him of how Kamui is around strangers. If he volunteers his cape too soon, she may decline, then be reluctant to ask upon re-evaluating...

Though that's only one purely speculative possibility, he knows. ]

I've found it jarring, myself. For all that I've traveled, I'd never woken to find myself buried.

[ Nor had he ever arrived in a new world without his twin. Subaru hasn't yet given up on the possibility that Kamui is here, that whatever has weakened him has prevented them from sensing each other, yet he's neither seen nor heard from him. His search with Ann hadn't turned up either of the people they wished to find. ]

Not the warmest of welcomes, is it?

[ Was that an attempt at humor? Hard to say... ]

[Ann had been sitting nearby, her legs drawn up so she could rest her forehead on her knees, zoning out while she waits, practically begs, for something to happen at the tree. Maybe someone from home could come along that she recognises -- someone who isn't Akechi -- so she can feel a little less alone in all this. She's... She hates to admit it even to herself, in private, but she feels scared. So it's that thin, tense feeling which is suddenly crashed into by unfamiliar feelings of panic.

She snaps her eyes open and jumps to her feet, startled and ready to help dig someone out if they needed it. But the girl manages to claw her way up on her own, even as Ann hurries over.]

H-hey! You're safe... Just take deep breaths.

[“Safe.” She doesn’t feel safe, and that much is clear from the way she rocks back at the sudden approach of someone unfamiliar, one arm raised up defensively. But… aside from the two of them, it’s quiet. The girl doesn’t look like she’s out to get her. Safety might be real relative in these circumstances, but she can at least feel that she’s not in imminent danger. So she lets that arm drop back to her side, but there’s still clear suspicion behind her eyes.]

What—

[Fuck. Deep breath, chill out girl. The initial surge of panic that kickstarted her adrenaline-fueled escape is leveling back out, but there’s still a faint background hum of it lingering.]

Where the hell are we?

['Safe' is a very relative term considering their current predictament, but... In terms of immediate threats, at least, it's not exactly inaccurate. Ann hangs back to give her some space while she gets her bearings, holding up her hands to show she's unarmed and not about to hurt her.]

Do you remember having a weird dream before you woke up? [Ann pauses. She doesn't want to say that it's true when there's still a lot she's struggling to believe about their situation, but she lets the implication at least hang in the air before continuing.] We're... far away from home. They said this place is called 'Kenos'.

[She takes another breath, and exhales it in a bitter laugh.]

So, what, that was real? Everything back home is… is just fucking gone?

[Because that had been the feeling that freaky dream had left her with. If she hadn’t seen first hand just how willing reality was to tear shit up when something goes wrong, she’d be calling bullshit on all of this right now. But this right here doesn’t feel like part of the dream. The humidity in the air, the dirt clinging to her, the ache in her fingers after tearing her way free—that all feels way too real.

Why would it even happen, though? What would—

She tenses for just a moment, then abruptly tries to push herself up onto shaky feet, head whipping around as if in search of something—someone—here amidst the enormous roots.

Max, what the hell did you do?]

[ Silco's lip curled instinctively. It's an ugly thing, with the scars, with the marring on his face, but it gets across the revulsion clear enough. ]

Don't insult me.

[ He said, his tone sharp, a rebuke like a knife. His hand already at his side, stock still. The crowd parts around him, even those coming from behind him knew who he was, and Silco was given a wide berth. Chloe will find that they don't close in yet, like Silo is a rock parting a wave, and the river is redirected for some meters past him. He straightened to his (not) considerable height, and looked up at her. Somehow, despite the fact that the old man was shorter than her, his presence seemed bigger than his thin, weak-looking frame. ]

Choose to believe me, or don't. You aren't the only person with blue hair and tattoos.

[ Of course, she had blue hair and tattoos.

Really, from a distance, it had been all he could do to try and follow her, and catch her. The mistake had been in daring to hope that this was a different person altogether. Go figure. Does it make him despair? No. He is only angry, angrier each day. ]

Now, if you wouldn't mind?

[ He indicated the path in front of him. Which was where she was standing.

Was he.

Was he asking her to get out of his way?

What an asshole. ]

Tell me about it. Pretty sure I’m still shaking dirt outta my ears.

[She’s mostly genuine in her flippancy about it, but it’s partly out of a need to play it off and not let her think too hard about the whole thing; the thought of people unceremoniously buried calls up a memory that makes her chest ache fiercely, even a year later.

So she leans against the side of the nearest building and closes her eyes for a moment, as casual an act as she can muster while she tries to keep her shit together. It’s that or lash out, and as cathartic as that might be… it’s feeling a little pointless at the moment.]

I don’t even know what the hell I’m supposed to do here. [Blue eyes open once more, and their attention returns squarely to him.] Like, they just yank people out of the void and expect us to know how to make a new world?

[They really fucked up grabbing her out of anyone else on earth, that’s for sure.]

[ Considering how Subaru kept finding dirt in his layers of clothing days later, he can easily sympathize. He'd rather they have arrived in some other far less jarring way if they must be brought here. ]

It's difficult to say... There seems to be little proof of anything we're told, as far as I know.

[ Which has left Subaru with a healthy sense of doubt about the entire affair. What they're expected to do and what they should do may not be the same thing. Both intended goals are impossible in his eyes, understanding the universe the way he does. No price could pay for entire worlds, surely. ]

I'd been on my way to another world with my brother, only to find myself here alone.

You seriously expect me to buy that?

[Man, that is an oddly specific thing to be mistaking someone with, so it’s not doing a whole lot to convince her she’s wrong here. Sure, a coincidence like that might be one of the least weird things she’s encountered since digging herself out of the ground here, but it all feels a little to neat. Still, for half a second she contemplates whether a change for her hair would be in order—and then just as quickly discards that idea, because like hell she’s gonna let some weirdo influence her like that.

She’s never given much of a shit about balking at people trying to make themselves seem more important or authoritative than they are, so as Silco straightens up, she simply stands her ground, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. But even if she might chafe against the tough front this guy is putting up, she’s not blind the the very obvious way the crowd is putting a lot of space between him and them as the flow of foot traffic continues around them. It’s a very real signal that they know what this guy’s about… and even if she doesn’t buy this being purely a case of mistaken identity, she can’t deny that he’s probably got a lot more going on here than that spindly appearance of his might indicate.

Which admittedly causes a little bit of unease to well up in the pit of her stomach, because it might mean she’s biting off more than she can chew here. And the thought of how she’s very distinctly lacking in backup or any sort of familiarity with this place down here gets that sneer she initially responded with to falter a little.

At least, until he has the gall to tell her to move out of the way.]

Fuck that. You can go around, your majesty.

[Since he seems to think so highly of himself.]

[Look, Chloe’s the last person to just blindly follow the word of authority, but unlike Subaru, she’s 100% certain that everything they once knew is gone. The dream they all got hit with when arriving is one thing, but the last thing she remembered from home was the way time was twisting itself in knots to fuck with Max again, so of course it could just break all the way and delete everything.]

Seems like it’s all pretty damn real to me.

[But wait—back up a minute. She frowns at him as the last thing he said registers.]

Hold on, “on your way to another world?” Like, are we talking some sci-fi space-travel stuff or like— [She waves a hand broadly at their surroundings] —something weird like this?

[ As though to reconfirm, Subaru surveys their surroundings. Green eyes slowly drift one way, then the other, and slowly settle back on her. He knows what she must mean, but he gave the notion that brief consideration just the same, for it isn't the first time he had perplexed someone with the casual mention of it.

In truth, he and Kamui cross dimensions. Knowing the vastness of all this encompasses, erasure of all he has ever seen strikes him as absurd. ]

Not quite like this. Never alone, and never a world in which anyone claimed all others were gone.

[ As for the rest... He places a hand over his necklace, fingertips brushing delicately over a pendant resembling entwined, feathery wings. ]

The means to do so was given to us, for a price. I've never partaken in space travel.

[ Like with the first statement, he balks, the look of disgust flickered across his face yet again. Silco, after all, was a man of distinct opinions about such things, and this was one of many. He didn't like that, disapproved, even, but more than that, he knew the tone.

She might not be as... excitable, as the person he'd mistaken her for (read: insane) but she was every bit a teenager as well, and Silco could only lift his only real eyebrow. ]

Obstinate.

[ He says. He doesn't deign her with a response to her fighting back. After all, he'd meant it when he'd said he didn't really care if she believed him or not. after all, her opinion didn't really matter to him, now that he'd realized she wasn't who he thought she was.

Trick of the light. How often had that happened recently? ]

A small word to the wise, hm?

When in Kowloon, it is best to read your surroundings a little more carefully. It is not for those who refuse to look carefully.

[Obstinate. Yeah, whatever, she’s been called worse and by way more annoying people. But she hates the way it almost feels like he’s lecturing her—especially when he does go on to offer his little bit of unsolicited advice. She bristles against it, glaring down at him.]

I saw you coming, didn’t I? I can take care of myself here, thanks.

[Said a lot more confidently than she truly feels about it, but whatever. It’s just because she’s new here. She’ll get the hang of it and run circles around everyone here before long.]

A city is a city. You find where the good shit is, avoid the freaks, [hmm, pointed,] and move on with your life.

[A little over a year ago, she might’ve laughed and called someone insane for claiming otherworldly travel to be something they got up to. But if it was possible for someone to rewind time, and it was possible to wake up and climb out of the earth to find herself in a place like this… then why the hell not? Anything is possible at this point.]

Damn. This must just be like another Tuesday to you, huh?

[She gives him a scrutinizing look, eyes alighting on that necklace of his for a moment.]

Could you do it again now, if you wanted to?

[Color her intrigued about how this kind of thing could work—especially if the other worlds are all dead and gone now like she figures.]

Not exactly... This was my first time finding myself buried, weakened, and without my brother.

[ He says all of this plainly, because it is the simple truth. Traveling from one world to the next was a matter of survival, something he and Kamui had done for so long he can't quite recall how it was not to be hunted. Now he's here, alone, unable to sense or search for him.

Subaru would rather any loss instead of his twin. ]

I can do nothing that I should be able to. Perhaps harmonizing would corect that, and perhaps it wouldn't. They want us to fight for them, so what are the chances we'd be allowed to leave?

It would definitely throw holes in their story if people could just waltz on out of here that easily.

[So yeah, she’s willing to bet even if he did pick a side already, there’d be no way in hell a power like that would work. But while she agrees on that point, it’s not so much the case for why that is.]

I’m not usually eager to go taking the word of people in charge, but… I don’t think they’re bullshitting us here. I don’t think there’d be other worlds to even go to, if you could try it.

[There’s almost a bitter edge to the words, because while she might believe a lot of the weird things they’ve been told, it doesn’t mean she has to like it. She doesn’t like being put in this position, hates the idea of the weight it dumps right on her shoulders. It’s like her life is being treated as the linchpin in the safety of countless others. She still feels guilty about the last time that’d been the case.]

Mm, I doubt we'd be permitted to "opt out".

[ Even if all Subaru cares to do is find his brother. Even if he struggles to believe in either side's goals, or that all the worlds in existence could so easily be snuffed out. Nothing he has seen or experienced suggests this is possible, let alone probable. ]

While they may believe it, I can't say I'm convinced... [ He sighs, the sound permeated by an exhaustion that rests at odds with his youthful features. ] When I spoke of other worlds, the truth is we crossed dimensions. I can't imagine it's possible for anything to snuff all that out at once. That would demand an omnipresence I've never heard of.

[ It's all speculative, any which way they look at it. His soft voice suggests nothing of argument; Subaru only speaks to his perception of all this. None of them can know whether they're right or wrong when they're confined to this place, given the vaguest accounting of what has supposedly come to pass. ]

[ He doesn't point out that he'd called for her, before he'd realized who she was, that led her to "see" him, but his lips quirk anyway, as if what she'd said was extremely funny. ]

Avoid the freaks?

[ He asked, a single real eyebrow lifted, and his smile was a ghost of a real one, but it was there for only a second. ]

Well then, you're doing an excellent job thus far.

[ He gestured with a hand toward a sign, down the walkway. 'DRAUMAHOL' it read, the 'o' replaced with a large eye. ]

The goods you're looking for? Might make that a touch difficult, of course. I do suggest you find your footing, before you decide your survival tactics will work here too.

[Chloe’s got this little problem of being as stubborn as a mule once she sets her mind on something. She’s already decided how much of this whole situation she buys—which is most of it, surprisingly—and as a result, Subaru’s skepticism just seems like a foolish way to stick his head in the sand here. Maybe having seen a bunch of different worlds (dimensions?) before all of this gives him a different view of things, sure, but Chloe’s had her share of experiences telling her that this might as well happen.]

Yeah, well I can think of one thing that can tear reality apart pretty easily: time. Fuck with time itself too much, and everything’s gonna come unraveling.

[Unlike his softer tone, Chloe’s words have an edge to them; it’s not quite seeking out an argument, but it’s enough to hint at how she’s firmly set in her views on this topic. And all that talk from Yima about “pulling souls from the timestream” or whatever has only further hammered it home for her.]

Someone somewhere got way too ambitious messing with it, and now we’re all screwed. I’d bet money on it.

[Does she believe what had been happening to Max was fully responsible for breaking things this badly? No, but it had to have at least played a significant part. Chloe had seen and felt the pull of different timelines right there along with her, so there’s no denying it in her mind.]

[Look, nothing Chloe ever says could possibly be wrong, so of course that look of amusement of his only prompts her own expression to sour further. She’s nearly bristling enough that she’s tempted to snap at him about it, but manages to bite her tongue long enough for her gaze to follow that gesture to the indicated sign.

Okay, that’s something to work with at least. And it makes that vague as hell advice she’d been given by the one she’d pestered directions to get down here from to “find the eye” make a whole lot more sense. She looks back his way, dropping the agitation from her tone just a tad.]

Well, you’re just Mr. Know-It-All, aren’t you?

[She’s going to frown so deeply when she realizes who owns the place. Connect those dots, girl!!]

Like I said, I’m more than capable of handling it. [A beat in which she crosses her arms over her chest, and then with the flippancy of totally not asking for real, totally:] Got any other unsolicited advice, since you’re feeling so charitable?

[God, she needs to get her hands on a gun or something asap.]

In my experience fate is immutable.

[ Unyielding. Such is the way of the CLAMP multiverse, really. No lone individual could make anything occur which was not meant to, and he's never known anyone to have such an influence without being bound by so many rules. Even a figure with potentially far-reaching influence like the Dimensional Witch followed a strict set of principles, and doubtless, her actions enabled whatever was meant to transpire.

Subaru has never been given the impression that the end of all things has been a part of that. Would all else not be pointless, then? ]

But right now, we lack evidence either way.

[ Subaru can concede this, being an older and perhaps more patient creature. Few have a tether so long as he does, so it's a high bar to set. He's reluctant to take a stance that doesn't allow for possibilities, even as he finds the sudden end of all things too absurd to embrace. They're told so little, with no proof of what is true.

In reality, what concerns him most is Kamui's absence. ]

[See, Chloe’s had a similar experience of learning just how damn determined fate can be to make things play out they way it wants. It broke natural laws and wiped an entire town off the map just because Max had the audacity to let Chloe continue to live when fate, or whatever mystical bullshit you wanted to call it, had it set in stone that she was supposed to die.

That seems like pretty irrefutable evidence to her. This is like that, but on a much bigger scale. Why couldn’t things unravel that badly?]

You can fence-sit all you want, man. I know what I’ve felt and what I’ve seen.

[Yeah, concessions have never been her strong suit, and it's gonna take one hell of a strong argument to make her even consider thinking otherwise. If she has to get stuck in this nonsense, she has to make it count. Maybe it’s her turn to play the super hero, as ill-cast as she feels for the role.]

So if we can salvage something new from all of this mess, I’m there.

[ The trouble is that they have only been told what to believe. They have only been told how they supposedly come to be here. Just the same, they have only been told what these sides purport to achieve, none of which sounds like following any sort of fate. Instead, it sounds to Subaru like driving a narrative to try and dictate what is already destined, when none of them know what that destiny is.

But Subaru isn't the argumentative sort and never had been, so he has no intention of trying to convince her that embracing all this on word alone may prove dangerous. ]

We do what we can with the information we have.

[ He says as much with a shrug, and in the same movement, unclasps his long, silly cape. In the next moment, he holds it out to her. They may not see eye-to eye, but she is clearly cold. ]

Though I admit I have no interest in a world without Kamui.

[She almost wants to argue further, but it’s so not worth it. She only just got here and she’s not the one spearheading this cause; she doesn’t need to waste her breath trying to convince someone that she’s in the right here.

And it probably helps that he catches her a little off guard with the sudden offering of his cape. Christ, that thing is long and goofy. And super warm-looking. And it is freezing balls out here.

It’s given a long, contemplative look, during which she diverts her gaze back to him with a raised eyebrow. But then she sighs and takes the thing in one hand.]

I’m guessing that’s your brother?

[The guy had mentioned they traveled worlds together, so it figures that’d be a priority for him.]

I’d suggest talking to that lady in charge here. [She hooks the thumb of her free hand over her shoulder, in the vague direction of the city’s Great Tree and that fancy manor.] Sign up and she’ll nab you the soul crystal thing of whoever you want. It sounds like too-good-to-be-true bullshit, but she actually managed to pull it off when I asked, so…

[So, it seemed like a no-brainer—and a huge, bittersweet relief.]

[ Subaru's eyebrows knit together. It's his first response to the suggestion. He dearly misses Kamui, yet if someone could truly pull him out of the universe, distill him into some stone... Asking for that to be done to his twin is something he quickly realizes he couldn't bear to do. If it truly is possible, then Kamui would be trapped. He couldn't hear his thoughts, or feel his touch, or speak with him.

For two years, Subaru himself had been confined to a sleep without end. Would it be like that for Kamui, if he asked such a thing of Yima...? No, surely it would be worse than that. Kamui could have no hope of waking — and if he did, surely he couldn't interact with the world.

It would be too selfish of him to impose such a fate upon his brother if he really is...

...No, he's not ready to consider that possibility yet. ]

Yes, he's my twin. Was the person you asked for also family?

[There had been no such internal conflict on Chloe’s end when faced with the opportunity. To her, everything she’s come to understand about this place and these circumstances they all find themselves in might as well be set in a binary. If you’re here, you’re alive. If you’re not, you’re dead like all the rest of the universes out there.

So even if she can only have a hunk of crystal to hold instead of the hand it truly belonged to… that was fine. It meant Max was safe from all of that reality-imploding bullshit. It meant that one day, maybe she’d be back on her own two feet instead of slumbering away in a stone. It’s better than the alternative. She can feel that it’s her, and it means that Chloe is going to fight like hell to make sure they can finally get some damn peace.

She finally opts to awkwardly drape the borrowed cape across her shoulders when that question comes, and she grimaces a little.]

No family. A friend. [More than that? Fuck.] She’s… I loved her, I guess.

[They’d stupidly tip-toed around it for the better part of a year, because things were complicated enough just trying to figure out what to do in the aftermath of everything they’d gone through back in the Bay. But they both knew it—you don’t sacrifice an entire town of people for someone you’re just friends with. And then… time or fate or whatever decided it was time to give them another punch in the dick.]

She saved my ass, and now I’m going to save hers.

That's what I was told, but I don't know for sure.

[And Ann doesn't trust a single authority figure here until proven otherwise, especially with how unfamiliar this place is and how much pressure there is to pick a side. She doesn't like it. Though she's soon distracted from elaborating when Chloe begins looking around.]

Oh-- I think it's just us here. I was waiting here for a little while, so...

[Is she worried someone else might burst out of the dirt and jumpscare them? Valid!!]

[Chloe will have to contend with how much she wants to believe all of that once she’s had some time to get her shit together… but so far, she’d be willing to buy almost anything. She thought life could not get more fucked up, but as always, it’s raring to prove her wrong.

The news that the two of them are seemingly alone here causes some of the tension to slump out of her shoulders and an almost crestfallen expression slides onto her face. Blue eyes drift back over to the other girl, a little bit of desperation there as she beseeches her.]

You really didn’t see anyone else climbing out of the ground here? No mousy, hipster girl with brown hair? Nothing?

[Damn it, she had been right there with her before all of this… she was sure of it.]

[That's kind of a backhanded description, isn't it... Ann tilts her head a little, as if puzzled, but opts not to ask too many questions for now, when this girl looks desperate as it is.]

No, sorry. [Her expression softens, then she adds by way of encouragement:] But... Don't give up yet! I haven't been here all day, so maybe she left before I got here?

[It's a trend among new arrivals to look for others they recognise, so she doesn't mind adding another to the list.]

I mean, there's a guy I know from home, but I didn't bump into him until I started exploring.

[The confirmation just has Chloe gritting her teeth and almost starting to glance around a little more desperately before that encouragement comes along.

Does she fully believe it’s possible? If she’s being honest, no, not at all; her luck is way too shit for hope like that to get her anywhere. But if this stranger’s had a little taste of that luck finding someone she knows, then maybe…

She sighs and rubs at her face a little wearily.]

That would make more sense, I guess. She’s always been a step ahead when weird shit happens…

[She pulls her hand back from her face, grimacing as she realizes she probably just smeared more dirt all over herself. Whatever, that’s the least of her worries when she’s just dug herself out of a grave at the foot of a monstrously huge tree.]

Dude, I did not think my life could get any more insane.

Ahaha... I know the feeling.

[The laugh sounds a little forced and nervous, if anything, but she's trying to stay cheerful. The other girl's taking this well, all things considered, which is probably a good thing, because Ann has no idea what she'd do if she started panicking.]

Oh-- I'm Ann, by the way. Do you want to come with me? I can show you around and help you get cleaned up.

[Oh, the urge to panic is sitting right there under the surface, but that little light of hope that Max might be out and about somewhere around here is more steadying than she realized. Meltdown postponed, even if there’s still some clear worry there in her eyes.]

…Chloe. And god yes, get me the hell out of here.

[She pauses to glance toward one of the nearby roots, following it to the main body of the Tree and up along its impressive height.]

Please tell me we’re close to somewhere more civilized than this.

Yeah! I can take you to a city called Springstar.

[Ann's really doing her best to keep up the forced cheer here...! So she gestures for her to follow her out of the roots. She's not kidding about the lack of civilisation -- at least once, Ann's boot sinks into the soft mossy earth enough that she stumbles. At other point her pigtail gets caught on an exposed root, and she has to untangle herself with a disgruntled 'uuuugh'.]

I'm so going to need a shower too by the time we're done here... The cornerstone's not far, though, and it'll take us there in no time.

[The comment about a shower gets a dry laugh from Chloe, because she’s feeling like she’s gonna need ten showers to get clean after this herself. She doesn’t even want to think about how much of a pain in the ass it’s gonna be to get this sap out of her hair, ugh…

But otherwise she follows along the path Ann leads them on, gaze scanning ahead a little warily in part, but mostly in hopes that she’ll catch some sort of glance of this Springstar place on the horizon. It’s just a lot of dirt and roots so far though, so it’s not exactly instilling her with confidence.]

Cornerstone? [Her attention drifts back Ann’s way.] Kind of a weird name for transportation.

[If it’s something that’s supposed to take them there, Chloe’s picturing something like. A bus. Or a train. Oh boy…]

Honestly, it's hard to explain, so it'll be easier if I just show you. Oh -- I think this might be a shortcut!

[Getting tired of the route through the roots, Ann spots what looks like a quicker way out. She ducks under some low growth and then pulls herself up a steep slope of mossy earth until she emerges and finds herself back on the platform outside the tree. She turns to peek back down.]

Can you manage? [She's not trying to baby her or anything, but waking up here for the first time can be a pretty disorienting experience, so Ann's ready to help pull her up if need be.]

[ A loved one. Regardless of the details, which Subaru privately acknowledges as not his business, he can appreciate making decisions based on a loved one. Only Chloe could gauge what was right for her own, so he makes no judgements regarding the business with Yima managing to pull the shard of her loved one. Instead he makes a soft, acknowledging sound.

He cannot imagine that, in his position, Kamui would make such a request. Surely, he would try to find or wait for him instead, as he had before. Regardless of which side he harmonizes with (if any), Subaru thinks that is what he ought to do.

Kamui had waited once before. Subaru can only imagine how difficult that had been. If it's his turn now, he should show the same patience and resolve his twin did. ]

I'm sure you'll see your wish through.

[ It's clear to him that, even if they don't see eye-to-eye (clearly they do not), that her care is genuine. Surely that will see her through to her goal. ]

[Fuck yeah, she’ll be down for a shortcut. This little hike of theirs is turning into the realization of how tired she is after clawing her way out of the dirt. Anything that brings them to civilization faster is great in her books.

Even if it means something of a steep climb. Chloe’s gritting her teeth a little and sighing internally while Ann makes the trip up. There’s something stubborn or prideful that refuses to admit how beat she’s feeling already, so she waves off the question as she begins tackling the mossy slope herself.]

Yeah, I got this.

[And to her credit, she’s managing… even if it’s feeling a bit precarious. She might be wordlessly holding out a hand for a little help on that last stretch, though.]

[Chloe wants to say she’s got that sort of confidence about it, but if she’s being fully honest, she’s feeling out of her depth and unanchored here. But what she’s lacking in confidence, she more than makes up for in determination. She has to make all of this work.]

Yeah…

[One hand still clutching the cape draped over her shoulders and the other reaching up to awkwardly run fingers through her hair, she averts her gaze for a moment. And she once again catches sight of that Benny’s sign lit up just at the end of the street.]

Look, enough of this heavy shit. You hungry? [She motions to the soft glow of the diner’s sign in the distance.] I could go for taking a break and getting a bite to eat, so…

[Dude’s been nice enough despite all her bullshit, and frankly she could do with more company for a while as she gets her bearings in this place. Not that she’ll plainly admit it.]

[ There's almost a derisive tip of his head. Alright, so for one: it was insulting that she wasn't Jinx, but the fact that she hadn't immediately put things together meant she wasn't as intelligent as his daughter either — because Silco was a wholly logical man who did not hold Jinx up as the standard that everyone fell short of (😬) — which left him mostly... disgusted and annoyed that the tree had wasted the effort to bring someone yet again, and it wasn't even someone who could meet the standard.

Silco really just. Needs to be a slightly calmer person, and he clearly isn't doing it. ]

Just one small, little tip.

[ His lips twitched, before they turned back down into his usual, derisive sneer. ]

A place like this requires observational skills. [ One of his eyes blinked, the other, stared up at her with distinct malice. It wasn't even personal, Silco just looked at everyone like that. ]

I would brush up on them, before you happen to... annoy someone with enough power to make your life difficult. Particularly if you're looking for goods.

[ A shrug. ] Ah, but what do I know? I'm only an old man, hm?

[ The sarcastic tip of his head was, perhaps, the death knell. ]

[ Subaru spares the signage a glance. In truth, human food does absolutely nothing for him, but he supposes it won't hurt him either. If it's somewhere that she could feel more comfortable and center herself in the face of all this, then that's reason enough to go.

So he nods along, gesturing for her to lead the way. ]

I haven't tried it myself, but the name has me curious.

[ What sort of establishment would Benny's prove to be, exactly? It's a mystery to him, but one they can easily find the answers to. ]

and if you're still breathing, you're the lucky ones [CLOSED-ISH]

for ann;

for subaru;

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KOWLOON — wILDCARD I DO WHAT I WANt (before event)

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oh here we go

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sorry for the delay holy moly

all good!

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