It's One of Those Weeks

[therewerefifty]

Who: Makie and you
Broadcast: Nope
Action: Planetside / Iskaulit / Twin Roses
When: 16 April - early May, most likely.

A - Business as Usual

[Makie finds this new, skyless world daunting, but given it's not underwater like the last one, she'll take it. She can be found plying her shamisen music in the crowds and taverns, sometimes on her own but often with company, though she's more likely to move swiftly to avoid crowds afterward than stay and talk to them, so you might find her lurking just inside a small cafe or down an alleyway taking a breather. She makes a nominal search for saplings or seeds which might work well for a memorial tree, but she doesn't really have the gardening experience to know which of these will flourish on the Iskaulit. Their care system is entirely different, after all.

As the week wears on, she becomes more relaxed and lets herself enjoy this place a little more. Misty is popular, and that's partly Makie's teaching, and that means she's passed on something worthwhile... and it's a good feeling all round. Later in the week she forgoes wearing her kimono entirely, indulging in the peasant dresses she picked up so many planets ago, and spends more times just basking in the musical environment down here. Even being vaguely sociable.

Blink and you'll miss it.]

B - Another Perspective

[On 23 April, Makie takes a shortcut between two buildings and promptly disappears. But a small child shuffles out soon afterward, trying very hard not to trip over the hem of an overlong and unfamiliar dress, shamisen still wrapped carefully in both arms and hugged to her chest. It's the only familiar thing here and it looks expensive, so she clings to it like a lifeline and blinks owlishly around the strange world she finds herself in.



There's no sky.  The lights and the crowds are the conflicting sounds are overwhelming, and she soon retreats, clinging close to walls like a ghost until she finds a place to hide.  If the last year has taught her anything, it's how not to get noticed in a dirty street, but the shamisen and the tent of a dress she's wearing do kind of tend to stand out.

There's no sky.  And she remembers a field, and an angry old man, and what happened after, and she's not hurt now, but this place is a miserable cacophony of alien impressions... She shouldn't eat the food here, just in case it means she can't ever go home.  She remembers that part.  (Though honestly, would it really matter?  There's nothing really to go back to--)

If you run into her here, she will eventually leave again.]

C - And Then There Were Assholes

[By the time she's singled out as an easy pickup by a handful of drunken traffickers, Makie is too tired and hungry and miserable to put up a fight.  This is what happens to outcasts, anyway.  She just doesn't care, as long as they don't take the shamisen from her, and so she stumbles along behind one as he pulls her along by the wrist roughly, joking with his friends, heading for their ship.

"Gorgeous skin, right?  So pale--"
"And that hair--"
"She'll make a fortune, sell her to the right place--"

Oh.  The more things change... she's not stupid.  But she just follows, eyes dark.  Frankly at this point, she doesn't give a damn.  It's not like anything different would have happened at home.

...so intervention would be welcome.]

D - Catch-all

[For any time after the events of the 23rd.  One can assume she's exploring, and probably pretty taken with the fox park and all the sneaky quiet places she can poke her nose into on the Iskaulit.  She'll be very polite and try not to get in your way.  I can roll with whatever!]

Comments

[therewerefifty]

[Despite her wariness, her eyebrows tick up a little skeptically at that last part.]

It wasn't ugly. [Her voice is quiet, barely there, and she draws back even more just in case it annoys him to be contradicted.

But. Even with her recent experiences, both here and back in the field, she thinks he's not going to hurt her. So after a moment, she swallows and bows her head. It's kind of all she can manage with a giant dress on and the precious shamisen in her arms.]

...thank you.

[ahappylie]

[That's an interesting response. He keeps his hands raised to show her that he means her no harm and takes a moment to study her.

Her voice and face are familiar, but he can't quite place why. She's certainly afraid, a little uncertain about her clothes right now, and extremely protective of the shamisen.]

Of course. I couldn't just leave you be like that.

[Then slowly he reaches into his kimono top, pausing so she can track his movements before bringing out a long sparkly hair tie. He got quite a few of these from Nami awhile back and they're probably long enough for her.]

You seem to be having trouble with your clothes. Would you like me to help you tie it back?

[therewerefifty]

[There's instant wariness in the way her face tightens. But it helps that he brought out the hair tie for all its glittery nature, and after peering at it a moment, she nods in response. He means it exactly the way he said it, and she's in danger of tripping every other step.]

I don't know why it's so big. [It's a small and guilty admission.] I don't think it's mine.

[ahappylie]

Oh? Then why would you be wearing it?

[He moves forward a bit and holds the tie out to her so she can put it around her waist.]

[therewerefifty]

I...don't know... [It's not even Japanese. And it'll slide off if she moves too fast, she's sure of it. Makie pushes one shoulder back up, and then takes the tie, wrapping it tightly around her waist. That'll help a bit.]

I woke up and I was wearing it. I don't... think I would steal such a dress. Or-- I don't steal. But I don't know. I don't remember.

[ahappylie]

[Once it's wrapped around her waist, he'll move a little closer and try to help her, pulling the fabric up like a kimono fold over the tie. That should at least keep it from tripping her.]

You just woke up wearing this?

[With a shamisen.

In space.]

...You're not from this asteroid system, are you?

[therewerefifty]

No. [By the confusion on her face, she has no idea what an asteroid system really is. But the answer is quick enough. If she can't recognise it, the answer is obvious to Makie.] I'm f-from--

[Headtilt. He's Japanese too, isn't he?] Do you know... Monzen-Nakacho?

[ahappylie]

[So she must be from the Fleet - and something has happened to her to make her forget everything. He can't recall hearing of any recent shuffles that included children, but he's also been stuck inside for awhile.

His eyes widen at the mention of Monzen-Nakacho, but he manages to tamp down on most of his surprise.]

Near Edo, yes?

[And now he's starting to pull things together. A Japanese girl, scared and alone, familiar features, from the Edo area, carrying a shamisen - could this be Makie? She doesn't remember him or anything about this place though, so suddenly recognizing her would likely only frighten her. If it's true that people can deage and age up and change memories or whatever else the augment "malfunctions" can do, then it's entirely possible that his suspicion is correct.]

I do know of it, although I did not live near there. I am also of Edo, but now live in the capital.

[therewerefifty]

[Makie's shoulders sag a little in relief. He is from Japan. And knows the area, even if he lives so distant now. She wonders if that means the shamisen is his, but he would have said so by now, wouldn't he? She glances at it briefly, then back to Soujiro's face curiously.]

Do you know who this belongs to? [She shouldn't take it if someone is looking for it.]

[ahappylie]

[He glances at the shamisen before shaking his head. It isn't Kubo's - that's for certain.]

No, I thought perhaps it was yours? You clung to it so tightly, after all.

[It's a beautiful piece, though, and it does make him wonder if he's right about the girl's true identity.]

Shall we can look for the owner together?

[therewerefifty]

[She's a little relieved, not wanting to let go of it yet. But Makie nods. Finding the owner might mean finding someone she at least vaguely recognises.]

It was just in the alley with me. I thought someone threw it away, but it's the only thing that makes any sense here. [Everything is VERY WEIRD. Which brings to mind her other, earlier fear, but events have happened enough she's pretty sure she was wrong. Nevertheless.] Where are all the stars?

[Kind of the problem of technically being in a hollowed out asteroid or some such.]

[ahappylie]

...That-ah...

[How to explain this to someone of his era in a way that won't utterly terrify them? He remembers the panic and fear when he first woke up, the information about space pouring into his conscious mind from the augment, and how unpleasant it was. He was able to remain calm through training, but how would a child react?

He reaches out a hand for her to take if she likes.]

They are out there, but we cannot see them where we are now. The sky is blocked.

[Please assume it is by clouds or some such, Makie.]

[therewerefifty]

[...she assumes it just by dint of not wanting to think on it too hard. And after a moment, will timidly take his hand.]

But they're still up there somewhere?

[ahappylie]

[He holds onto her hand, but not too tightly. She's so timid it would likely be taken as a sign of aggression to squeeze her hand too much. He begins walking, not entirely certain where to go to begin their "search." Perhaps toward her ship, where some memories may yet remain?]

Yes, they're up there somewhere - don't worry.

Did you often watch the stars at home?

[therewerefifty]

Mm. When it's night and quiet and I can't go home yet. [She finds it easier to move now in her tied-off dress, for which she's thankful.] They're... very pretty. And really far.

[ahappylie]

["Can't" go home, huh? He walks with her and looks up at a dark "sky." What would she think even if she could see the stars here? They were entirely unfamiliar to them, stars from a distant galaxy, planets that looked nothing like their own. She wouldn't find comfort in them as she once had.]

Like little gems in the sky, so far away. Is it often that you can't go home?

[therewerefifty]

Mother... [She quiets a moment. Some things are still too new, and she's not sure how to answer.]

...Mother works late. I need to keep out of her way.

[ahappylie]

...I see. [He smiles, but he can guess what that means. Mothers don't often work in their day and age.]

Well, since we're out and you have an escort for the evening. What would you like to do while we search for the shamisen's owner? It might take us awhile. Are you hungry?

[therewerefifty]

[Oh, she is very hungry, and her traitorous stomach will chime in on that regard. But rather than look hopeful, Makie looks wary. She's pretty sure she's not dead not, but--]

Is eating okay? We won't have to stay here if we do, right?

[It feels like such a silly question, and she flushes almost immediately.]

[ahappylie]

[He is trying SO hard not to laugh right now at her stomach rumbling. See how he bites his lower lip? He's trying SO HARD RIGHT NOW.]

How about I taste test it first? If nothing happens to me, you'll know it's safe.

[therewerefifty]

[Are you biting your lip at her, sir. :T It's somewhat reassuring he makes the offer, but--]

But we won't get trapped here if we do? [Old legends about not eating in the land of the dead, man. She's a little paranoid.]

[ahappylie]

...

[Give him a second until it clicks.]

Oh! Oh no no, you'll be safe.

[And he does give a small laugh here, mostly good-naturedly.]

You're not on the other side. Just in a place that is confusing, but not very dangerous at all.

[therewerefifty]

[She has no real basis to believe him, but... his laugh does make her feel foolish, and that in turn helps in its own way. Makie relaxes at last. Inasmuch as she ever does. She even smiles a little.]

I'm... very hungry.

[Oh god it's been a long day.]

[ahappylie]

[He smiles back at her and gives her hand a reassuring squeeze.]

Then let's find something good to eat. We can even make a competition of it - who can eat the most of whatever we find!

[Aka please eat without reservation, small child.]