Seventeenth Firefly - [Action] - backdated to the 5th

[presumablyalone]

[When little Seto first wakes up, he finds himself staring off into the white covered distance, his purple eyes barely open, nose and cheeks red and small hands reflexively curled up into fists to keep his already stinging finger tips off the snow. He lets out a long exhale, his breath clouding out in front of him before disappearing into the cold air. There's a long minute of silence as he slowly wakes up, watching his breath blearily, before he finally blinks and moves to at least lift his head off the snowy ground, his entire body aching from the cold.

…Outside. Why is he outside? And in the snow?!

Seto can feel his heart beat rapidly as he quickly makes his way to his feet, dusting the snow off his legs and arms as fast as he can before grabbing his arms. There’s only one winter that he can remember in the short time he spent with his grandpa and it wasn't kind.

What plants his grandfather normally fed them died, leaving them with barely anything, it was always freezing cold and drafts would find their way into the observatory through cracks in the walls and doors and he nor his grandfather never had much in terms of ways to keep themselves warm with clothes. When winter came, his grandfather told him to never go outside or bad things would happen, especially in the snow that fell and covered everything.

He didn't understand it... how something like this could be so scary.

As he moves to step back, looking around in a panic to find the observatory, his heel hits something behind him and he trips and falls backwards over whatever it was with a yelp. He quickly tries to scuttle away but looks back to see what it was he tripped on and…

…A person. Another person.

There's a moment as he stares in surprise. But... he thought there were no other people. His grandfather told him so--didn't he? It's always just been him and his grandfather. He’s afraid that if he touches this person, he’ll disappear… but if he tripped over him, he must be real, right? He's hesitant but slowly turns around in the snow and he puts his hands on the other boy’s chest and starts to shake him.]

M-Mm… w-wake up… [His voice is small and shaking as he shivers, but he’s trying]

ACTION

[Today, the people of Luceti may come across a rather curious duo. Normally, seeing Crow and Seto together is not strange at all--in fact, it's practically the norm, but after a week or so of being gone, when they return, they are noticeably different.

Seto has clearly been affected by his "mallynap", as he's now a little boy instead of a young adult. Unlike the Seto we all know and love, this Seto has yet to experience large crowds of people, or even seeing so many people in general, so there's a lot of wide-eyed staring as he looks around as well as looking back to make sure he's not too far away from his odd companion.

Crow, on the other hand, appears almost exactly the same as before he was taken in for experimentation too...except for some odd differences. His bright green eyes are now a dull, lifeless grey, and he's quieter than usual, barely saying a word, and when he does, there's very little emotion put into it. For now, he's sort of aimlessly following along behind Seto, or occasionally stopping to stare at people or things.

Well, hopefully this will wear off soon, but otherwise they're both lost and confused at the moment. Would you like to offer a helping hand?

(ooc: Seto and Crow have been de-aged as their mallynap effect upon their return. Both of them will be replying per thread, unless specified otherwise.)]

Comments

stares at that cut text...

[tomodachi]

[Despite the cold, this person you've found doesn't appear to be affected by it. In fact, he might have continued to lie there motionless, sleeping forever. That is, until Seto starts trying to shake him. It's a slow process, but finally, after what might feel like a minute or two, the boy's eyes finally start to open.

At first, he does nothing. Dull, grey eyes simply blink once or twice as he looks up towards the sky from where he's lying down...before slowly turning his head a little to look at Seto. He's not really saying anything yet, mostly just staring. Maybe he's even a little surprised to actually see someone hanging over him, and struck speechless for a second.]

i will never let you live it down

[solesoul]

[ ...He's alive.

There's a brief second as Seto lets out a little gasp and stares back at the person staring at him with more lifeless eyes and momentarily forgets his fears and worry of the snow around them. In all honesty, Seto wasn't sure what was going to happen just then when he was trying to wake him up. Well, okay, he can say that he wasn't really expecting him to move at all, like he wasn't real or he was dead, not stare back at him, alive.

And what flies over his head is that something doesn't seem particularly right about him. All he can see is a person, another living person. He's never... seen one before. He wasn't sure if anyone else existed outside the observatory. Never had he seen anyone, no traces of anyone. It was just him and his grandfather. So, behind his surprise, he can feel happiness bubble up in his chest.

But his worry quickly returns as he releases his breath and watches it cloud up between them. So shyly, he struggles to pick out his words.]

U-Um... Y-You gotta get up... G-Grandpa said it's too dangerous to s-stay out here. [His voice is still quiet, grabbing his arm and pulling at it]

[tomodachi]

[He looks down at the arm that the boy is pulling on, before moving it away so that he can at least sit up. He can't really feel the cold, but he can sort of sense that that the outside air has a low temperature to it. But his biggest concern is that he doesn't recognize this place--this doesn't look like that park he chose to rest in last night when he was wandering around, nor does he recognize the kid. There's a little more staring before he finally starts to saying something.]

...Who are you? State your identification. [His speech is odd and monotone sounding, but it sounds like he wants to know your name?]

[solesoul]

[As he sits up, Seto scootches back in the snow a little to give him some room and simply watches him with big and curious eyes.

You lost him at the second bit there Crow, bUT HE UNDERSTOOD THE FIRST PART AT LEAST. So teeth chattering, he speaks up] M-My name is S-Seto. [He tries to smile a little with purple lips] What's y-your name?

[tomodachi]

Seto. [...He doesn't have any memory of that name, so why is this boy here.

But it looks like it's his turn to answer the question.]

I am...H-0-0-5-3-3-4-8. [...That's not a very easy name to remember, is it, just a letter and a bunch of numbers following after it. But it's written on his body, so that means it has to be his name, right?]

[solesoul]

[THAT IS A MOUTH FULL CROW. Seto blinks and tries to repeat it though]

H-H...zero zero... t-three... [Nope he doesn't got this] I-Is that really y-your name? W-Why are th-there numbers? [Is it... normal for people to have numbers in their names?]

[tomodachi]

It's my model identification number. [To identify him from all the other robots that came before when he had been built, perhaps. But he doesn't remember any of the others personally.

And that still doesn't solve the question of whether that's really his name or not.]

Action

[foundafamily]

[Like the worried mother he'll vehemently deny he is, Firo's been watching the journals for any news of Seto and Crow's return. He knows the Malnosso have to bring them back eventually. (Actually, they don't have to do anything, but Firo can't bear to think of losing those two forever). But the journals haven't brought any good news for days since the kidnapping and he's starting to feel antsy.

So, of course, when he's out walking and spots a very familiar face he wastes no time in calling out to them. The words are hardly out of his mouth when he starts rushing over to the pair, carelessly elbowing anyone who might get in his way.]

Hey, Crow!

[And... Seto? Thanks to the age, Seto's a bit harder to recognize, but Firo's sure that must be him. No one can be as cute as his little brother.]

[tomodachi]

[Sorry Firo, but Crow doesn't really respond when you call his name. He does tilt his head in Firo's direction to look for a second, but most likely because he's wondering why someone is loudly saying something about crows. Then again, there are a lot of odd humans here, aren't there?

But hey, maybe you'll have better luck with Seto standing next to him, if he's noticed the guy calling out and coming towards them...]

[solesoul]

[Nope, sorry to say but Seto's focus is elsewhere. Or rather, it's everywhere. His little heart is beating rapidly in his chest, butterflies in his stomach as he watches everything go on around him, holding Crow's hand and tugging him along accidently as new things catch his eye. He's way too enthralled with it all; the people, the buildings, the lights--did I mention the people.

You're gonna have to try again Firo]

[foundafamily]

[Damn it, these kids... Firo speeds up to catch up to them, gently laying a hand on each of their shoulders when he does.]

Hey. You're-you're Seto, right? And Crow?

[It's gotta be. They may be a little different--more than a little, in Seto's case--but there's no denying it's them.]

[tomodachi]

[When Firo touches his shoulder, he automatically turns around to look. Or perhaps stare, more like, as if his blank eyes are somehow attempting to scan his features. He doesn't recognize this person or the name Crow, but he does recognize the name "Seto"--that's the name of the kid that been tugging him along by the hand, right? He doesn't know if Seto knows this guy, but Crow might be moving to stand just a little protectively in front of the kid.]

Who are you? State your identification. [Get used to odd manner of speaking Firo, it comes with the strangely lifeless eyes.]

[solesoul]

[Seto nearly jumps when Firo touches his shoulder since he wasn't really expecting it, gripping Crow's hand, then looks back at him with big eyes. Another person!! Which excites him even more, especially since he's talking to them and he can feel the warmth of his hand. But... ]

M-Mm, I'm Seto... How do you know my name? [Looking around Crow as his new friend stands in front of him]

[soheartless]

[Help? Well, that may be a bit of a tall order.

But if you want to see a prancing ballerina boy, there's one dancing near the fountain in the plaza right now.]

[tomodachi]

[...Well. That's certainly hard to miss, and Crow does stop walking once he notices the other boy dancing by the fountain, so now Mytho will get to have an audience member.

Hopefully, Seto will notice that his companion is lagging behind and doesn't stray too far away from him while Crow's watching this.]

[solesoul]

[Seto doesn't notice Mytho at first, his attention is elsewhere in the plaza, staring at the crowd people in a different direction. He's so focused in fact that when Crow stops, it takes him a good minute before he stops walking and turns around to see his new companion not at his side anymore.

He panics at first but when he spots him, he runs over, grabs his hand then... joins in with Crow staring, watching this person move like nothing he's seen before (and he hasn't seen much). You have a second audience member Mytho and he looks rather amazed because what are you doing]

[soheartless]

[An audience! Mytho can often be oblivious of any audience, for the most part. He performs primarily to act out what emotions he has. However, his dancing brings him closer towards the makeshift audience, with elegant and sweeping movements.

And he gently comes to a pause near them, blinking as he finally notices them.]

Hello.

[tomodachi]

[Crow gives a small nod in greeting...before turning to look at Seto.

Little boy, start explaining what that was because we don't recognize what kind of dance that was, surely you know, right?]

[solesoul]

[Sorry Crow but this little boy has absolutely no idea what he was doing. But Seto starts to fluster when the older boy speaks to them and just starts to grin happily. Oh boy hE'S TALKING TO PEOPLE TOO what a day this is an amazing day if only the grandpa he still needs to find was here right now]

U-Um, h-hello! [There's a bit of a pause because he isn't quite sure what to say. How do you talk to people.] What were you d-doing just now?

[disastergirl]

[Her anxiety about losing more friends was not aided by Crow's disappearance. After hearing nothing from him for a lot longer than she liked she had finally started thinking that he really was gone, but this was one of the very few times she was actually glad to be wrong about something.]

Crow!

[She ran up to the duo, which probably didn't help things much in Seto's case.]

You're... You took way too long to get back!

[Oh boy. However, it was then that she noticed Seto, and that irritated front quickly melted away. Apparently she wasn't convinced that Seto was warm enough, because she was shrugging off her coat and offering it to the little boy without a second thought.]

[tomodachi]

[Yet another person referring to him as "Crow"...was that really supposed to be him that they were talking about? He mentally tries to recall if the name means anything, but all that really comes to mind is a bird, and he is certainly not a bird.

He doesn't say anything yet, though he does eye the offered jacket with some level of curiosity, as if only just now realizing that Seto probably was cold. Should he have offered something to help the kid stay warm? Hmm...]

[solesoul]

[When the young woman first runs up, Seto is focused elsewhere, staring at all the people and things, but comes out of his daze when she speaks up to his friend. He looks to her curiously then to Crow. Is this someone he knows? It isn't the first time someone came around and started talking to him... so Seto watches his companion curiously to see what he does.

But his attention returns to the woman again when she moves again and holds the coat out to him. There's a moment as he stares at it then blinks curiously]

...I-Is that for m-me?

[disastergirl]

[She nodded.] It's too cold for you to be walking around as you are. You might get sick!

[She knew now that Crow would be fine as he was, but it was strange to not even hear a peep out of him yet. In fact, it was even a little unnerving...but all she could do was take one thing at a time and work from there.]

Just how long have your guys been walking around out here, anyway?

[tomodachi]

Two hours, fifty-seven minutes, and twenty-five seconds. [A pause.] ...I think.

[He's not sure if his internal clock is very accurate right now, most of his attempts to check cause it to act a little buggy at the moment.]

[solesoul]

[Seto can agree with you readily on that, young lady.] I-I don't want to get sick... [It's dangerous to get sick in a world where there's no medicine or much to help you, he knows this all to well. Or at least his old man's made a point of it to him before. So he takes the jacket with his small hands and tries to put it on. It's obviously a little big for him (especially being so skinny and frail in the first place) but even as it hangs on him, he beams at her and bows a little]

T-Thank you very m-much. [Then he looks to Crow]