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]

[Goodness new friend, you have really good hearing. But at his nod, Seto perks up as best he can in the cold. Water... water is definitely good! Especially now that he can see it as they get closer. There was a river close to the observatory where he and his grandfather would always go to get water and sometimes fish.

So this means...!]

I-I think we're getting cl-closer! [He speeds up a little, pulling his new companion along with the little strength he has. He doesn't know how far along down they are but maybe if they follow it in one direction they might find their way back!] Th-the place where G-Grandpa and I l-live i-is near a r-river. W-We go there a-a lot to get w-water. [Saying as he looks down both ways to think of which way they should go. He still doesn't recognize anything though so he isn't sure]

[tomodachi]

[Good question. Should they go towards the direction the river is flowing in, or in the direction the water is coming from?

Crow doesn't really mind which direction they try to go in first, provided that they don't end up falling into the river--it wouldn't be very good if his circuits were damaged by the water, so he tilts his head a little, as if trying to hear if there's any noise coming from either direction.]

[solesoul]

[Seto stares in both directions for a good few minutes, trying to think as best he can. He's gone to and from the river many times before so he knows what's along the way but there's nothing he can recognize in sight. Doesn't help that the snow is covering everything.

So after a minute, he hesitantly points in one direction, half sure]

M-Maybe we sh-should try going th-this way...? [He points in the direction the river is flowing in]

[tomodachi]

[Crow seems to think about it for a moment, before he turns towards the direction that Seto pointed in, and slowly begins walking that way.

No questions asked, he's willing to just go along with it for now. Maybe if they're lucky, even if they don't find any people, the humans might have built their old houses down that way that they could look around in.]

[solesoul]

[And Seto is nearly pulled once he starts walking since he hadn't expected him to just suddenly start walking and he'd been holding his hand still. But he catches up quick enough and walks beside him.

He's quiet for a minute, looking around before looking back at his friend] W-Were you e-ever with a-anyone before? [He almost sounds a little hopeful as he asks. Certainly this boy wasn't always alone... right? To grow up in this world, it's hard for even Seto with just his grandfather sometimes with all of the dangers out there. So there... must be more people, right? People that took care of him too.]

[tomodachi]

[He almost looks like he's about to say something--maybe yes, maybe no, but then he stops. There's a long, long moment of silence from Crow before he answers.]

...I don't know. [He doesn't really remember having met anyone else before until now, though photographic evidence he's found says otherwise. But he doesn't really remember that person or whether or not he actually been with them before he forgot about everything.]

[solesoul]

Y-You don't k-know...? [He frowns at that and gives his friend a worried look] Y-You can't remember?

[tomodachi]

[Crow nods. Sorry kid, he can't really remember having met many other people before now, so he's not gonna be of much help to you in telling you about whether or not there really is anyone else other than you and your grandpa nearby...well, other than himself, obviously.]

[solesoul]

O-Oh... [His gaze moves down to the snowy ground for a moment. Inwardly, he is a little disappointed, he had hoped that he'd be able to tell him that there were more living people like them but... really, he can understand since he lost his memories too. Anyone he was with, anything that happened before Shin found him has long been wiped from his memories.

So he gives him a small smile]

D-Don't worry, i-it's okay if you d-don't remember. I-I don't remember w-who I was w-with before G-Grandpa found me e-either... [To him, his life started when Shin found him.]

[tomodachi]

[So they were similar, in a way. Except that Seto now had this "Grandpa" person with them, while us on the other hand...didn't really have anyone to go back to yet, save for perhaps the person in that photograph. For now though, the boy seems to accept Seto's reply since he nods in response. No use in worrying about it right now, right?]

[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.

[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.]

[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]

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...

[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"?]

[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?]

[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]

[tomodachi]

...Voices.

[And indeed, he gestures towards the direction of where he hears it coming from. If they keep going that way, they'll surely run into people there.]