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

[solesoul]

[He smiles a little brighter at his nod and looks down again, giving Crow's fingers a small squeeze] B-Besides, w-we'll stay together n-now... s-so you w-won't be alone a-again.

[solesoul]

[Seto listens carefully when she does her best to explain it, trying his best to understand it.]

I-I think so... [He doesn't sound as unsure as he could, at least. It's still a little confusing and hard to wrap his head around since it's an idea or thing he's never seen done. But if its like trading things for things he can kinda get it... ] Do people a-always do that?

[tomodachi]

[Wow, he...really doesn't know what to say to that, even more so than before. No one's ever said anything like that to him, not that he can remember. He doesn't know how you're supposed to respond to something like that.

So he doesn't say anything for now, but Seto may or may not notice that Crow's fingers might have curled around his too, intentionally or otherwise.]

[disastergirl]

[She glanced at Crow with a worried look before answering.]

I don't know about all the time. [But she sure wasn't going to talk about theft or anything like that. Thankfully they were close enough to Celsius Tear for her to gloss that over.]

Like I said, it's not something we have to worry about here.

[foundafamily]

There's Treasure Island, Peter Pan, a bunch of 'em. And movies, too.

[tomodachi]

[There's a slight pause as Crow seems to be thinking to himself for a moment--is it just you, or does it almost seem like his eyes are flickering a little oddly for a second there, as if he's going through some kind of strange thought process of searching whatever data he has stored in memory.]

Treasure Island...Peter Pan..."memory not found"...

[...Which must be Crow's odd way of saying that he has no memory file on those names, indicating that he can't recall having heard of or read those stories before.]

[tomodachi]

[Oh, okay then. Crow gives the smallest of nods, indicating that he seems to have been paying attention. Still, he does file this information away somewhere in his memory, just in case it does turn out to be helpful later.

For now though, he's looking up at Celsius Tear. Was this the place that she had wanted to take them to?]

[solesoul]

I-I've never heard o-of those b-before!! [Of course you haven't, Seto. But nevertheless, he's excited. He doesn't catch Crow's strange way of wording or the look in his eyes but he does give his hand a small squeeze. Don't worry Crow, you'll read it together with him soon!]

B-But... wh-what's a movie?

[solesoul]

[Seto does indeed notice and looks up at Crow, a little surprised at first, but then he smiles brightly. Though he can't feel the warmth of the hand that's holding his and even though Seto himself is cold from spending so much time out here... he feels surprisingly warm, his especially chest does.

There are few times when Seto has felt like this around his grandpa. Maybe it was because they were so distant, maybe it was because most times he felt more alone than he did anything else. But the few times his grandpa would let him hold his hand (even though his grandpa wouldn't hold his back), the few times he'd carry him to bed and he could feel the warmth and closeness of this other living human, this is the very same feeling he'd have.

Happiness.

But it's different this time. Because this person is causing this happiness through his actions, through the little words he gives him, by interacting and being with him. It feels as though he's truly there, living with him, and Seto doesn't feel so lonely.

He stops walking and weakly tries to act almost tough though he's too cold for the image to go through and puts a trembling hand on his chest] W-we're friends n-now. [And gave a smile]

[solesoul]

O-Oh... okay! [He's still kinda curious about it but it's probably a good thing since he doesn't have any of this money stuff or anything to trade for things...

But Seto looks at his friend then up at the building he's staring at with big eyes. He's only seen the village for a few hours but he still isn't used to the sight of how the buildings look. They're so tall and clean and amazing unlike the ones near the observatory!!] Is this the tea s-shop?

lies down on the floor and sobs WHY DO YOU WRITE TAGS LIKE THAT

[tomodachi]

Friends?

[He looks a little confused. You and him are..."friends", now? Is that a human thing he should know more about? You're smiling, so that must mean its a good thing, right?]

BECAUSE IT'S A NECESSITY WITH SETO

[solesoul]

Y-Yeah! I-I read about i-it once and G-Grandpa told me that f-friends were p-people wh-who you cared a-about and made you h-happy when y-you were around th-them. [Asking no doubt hit a sore spot on Shin's end considering the life he lead and what he went through before everything happened but Seto doesn't know that.]

A-And that's how I f-feel about y-you! So... w-we're friends now. [He pauses, a little anxious] I-Is that okay?

[tomodachi]

Friends... [...Really? Even if you only just met him? Even with him not being a normal person like you? He's not sure if he really understands it yet, but it sounds like this is something important. After a long moment of thought, he gives a nod. He can try this..."friends" thing that you speak of.]

[solesoul]

[He beams again when he nods, a bubble of happiness rising up in his tummy and chest. His first friend... his number one friend. Deep down, Seto was never sure if something like this would ever happen. He had hoped, without a doubt. Hoped that one day they'd find more living people just like them and they could be like the pirate and the boy he read about, that they could be friends.

To consider his grandpa a 'friend'... wasn't quite right. He was someone very special to Seto, no matter how distant they are, but if this is what it felt like to have a friend, then that word didn't quite fit what they had.

So now that it's happening... Seto thought that maybe in this dilapidating, dying and once lonely world, everything would be okay.

Holding onto his hand a little tighter, he starts walking again] L-let's keep going th-then, friend. [He can settle on calling him that for now since the name he said earlier is hard to say over and over] W-When we find G-Grandpa we can tell h-him th-that we're friends now t-too! M-Maybe he'll b-be even more h-happy...

[disastergirl]

Yeah, this is the place! It's on the second floor of this building, so you'll be able to get a good view from the window too.

[Not to mention that it was warmer in there. She was already visibly shivering from the cold and all, and the last thing she wanted to do was catch something.]

[tomodachi]

[He nods a little in agreement to keep moving--it's not his name, but if calling him a "friend" is easier than his actual name, then he supposes its alright for now, until the other boy learns it properly.

But do you think your Grandpa would like meeting us, though? Would he be okay with us being "friends"?]

[foundafamily]

["Memory not found." He can't keep from wincing at how differently Crow talks now. He'd rather have the snarkiness.

He glances at them both, smiling. Well, at least this means he can reintroduce them to film; that, at least, should be fun for all of them.]

It's this crazy way of tellin' a story people have--like a play, but it's all recorded!

[tomodachi]

Play...?

[Like...a game? He's not entirely familiar with plays either, Firo.]

[tomodachi]

[Crow's still not saying much, but he does seem curious as he looks up towards the indicated window. He's probably not going to have too many objections with going inside...except that, perhaps subconsciously, he actually grips Seto's hand a little tighter for a second to keep him from being the first to immediately go inside--as his "friend", it should be either him or the girl that goes inside first just to make sure that there's nothing suspicious inside that could bring harm to the younger boy.

...Not that there should be anything suspicious about a tea shop, but given what kind of world he and Seto were from, you could never be too careful about wild animals that had taken residence inside some of the buildings they came across...]

[solesoul]

[Seto can only hope that bringing him back will make his grandpa finally happy... knowing that they're no longer alone in this world, that there are other living people must, right? Right?

But after walking for a little while along the river, Crow might start to hear some noise off in the distance.]

[tomodachi]

[Indeed he does, and Seto should notice as his friend stops and turns his head in the direction of the noise, trying to hear it.]

Detecting sounds... [What is that? There aren't any wild animals around here, are there? ...Or did they go in the right direction after all, to where the kids grandpa might be?]

[soheartless]

[Mytho doesn't seem to particularly notice or judge the difference in skill level. He only notices the attempt at the act of dancing itself. He stops mid movement to address Seto's question with a hint of a smile.]

Yes. [And he flexes some more ballet movements, before turning towards Crow.]

Are you?

[tomodachi]

[...Should he? Would it be considered unnatural if he didn't join in with them?

He seems to be a little hesitant for a moment, before he attempts to copy the same movement that Mytho had used before. Admittedly, it appears that he was paying attention and that his dancing is perhaps a little more decent than Seto's...but in comparison, it almost feels mechanical, like the movements of a doll, than a person trying to express their emotions through dance.

Then again, he's not really used to expressing very many emotions, so maybe that's why it feels that way.]

[solesoul]

[Seto definitely does notice that his new friend comes to a stop since, as he keeps walking, he suddenly can't go any further, holding onto Crow's now still hand. He looks back at him curiously then tries to listen too, a little anxious, hoping that they're getting closer to home.]

R-Really? W-What do you h-hear? [You really have good hearing, friend because Seto can't hear anything aside from the water. But as they're getting closer to the village, the sound might sound like people]

[solesoul]

[Story telling? You can tell stories different ways? Seto's only ever read to himself, not even his grandpa ever read to him, so the thought has him curious and kind of excited. Because he does like stories! But since he doesn't understand all of what he said, Seto follows up on Crow with...]

"Recorded"...? [Firo you gotta remember the world they come from]