blessingone | (no subject)

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[At the south of the village, once a bit farther out of the way before the higher numbered community buildings and the battle dome appeared, is a single-floor house surrounded by way more gardens than any reasonable person could ever need. There, in House 34, an eclectic group from the Legacy reside and raise the child left behind by Senel and Stella.

This is their fourth wall post.]

[Specifically, this is a group post for Norma, Grune, Fenimore, and Walter. Comments inside for each will give more detail on what they're up to.]

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[Fenimore relents, just a little, at Shirley's protest, but she is still clinging tightly. Missing Shirley...maybe it hadn't necessarily gotten much easier than it was a few months later, but she had been better had pushing it away to the back of her closet, figuratively speaking.

Now, it was coming flooding back. Seeing Shirley, hearing her voice, and feeling her in her arms -- it all felt very right. She even smelled right, though that was something that was never going to be brought up. But they say that smell is closely linked to memory and it's at that realization that her eyes are filling.

Her pride returns at this and she blinks the wetness away before she starts to cry, because she is not going to start crying. After she's gotten that under control, she pulls back -- though not too far.]

When did you get here? Geez, you could have let me know when you came in. [Her tone of voice is starting to sound more like her usual, but she can't keep the smile off her face.

She hasn't registered that there was something feathery missing from that hug, having been here long enough to take wings for granted. So if Shirley wasn't in a New Feather dress, she must have come in on her own after retrieving her clothes. A part of her is noting that this doesn't make sense, but she refuses to acknowledge it.]

I'm sorry. [Apologies are still something of a reflex for Shirley. She knows it's something that she needs to work on, especially once important people start visiting the Legacy more often. Apologies, Madam Musette has told her, are a sign of weakness in the world of politics. They're a concession.] I-- I just came back.

[She means that quite literally. She was in her bedroom at Musette's house one moment and, before she could really process the change, home the next.

... ...

Why was she thinking of this place as "home"...?]

Edited 2013-01-28 08:07 (UTC)

You don't have to apologize for something like that.

[Despite her tone, her expression is fond, though with a quirk at the corner of her lips expressing amusement. The amusement is mostly directed at herself as she realizes that she's probably going to spend days fondly thinking how like Shirley every action is until she gets used to having the girl there again. Though she is loathe to release Shirley, she begins to draw her arms back to release Shirley from the hug completely instead of just drawing back a little. If she doesn't take a little distance, she is just going to look completely sappy all day.] It's not like y --

[...Her hands, as she took them away, missed completely something that should have been there. There were no wings to maneuver around.

Her expression stays the same and her voice is level, but both show a care that hadn't been there before as she pronounces each word slightly separate from the one preceding it.]

Where are your wings?

I... [Shirley's breath hitches.] I don't know. [She can't help it. She didn't want to cry. If she cried, everything good about this dream was just going to disappear. But, somehow, not having wings... it's heartbreaking. Tears well up in her eyes and, before she can wipe them away, drip down her cheeks.] Fenimore, I don't-- I don't understand. What's happening? Where am I? And how did I get here?

[For a moment, the happiness she has been feeling crashes completely. If Shirley doesn't know where she is, then she must have forgotten her time in Luceti. Fenimore's met people whose memories took a while to return, but she doesn't think of them right away. Right now, she is sure that, in Shirley's mind, they only knew each other for a month. The memories of a friendship of more than a year must be gone.

Maybe this is what Sokka felt like when Suki returned without memories and he got back a girlfriend instead of a fiancée, even if the relationships weren't exactly the same.

And a lack of wings meant there was something very wrong....]

Edited 2013-01-29 00:37 (UTC)

[But that moment passes as Fenimore brushes those thoughts aside. Memories or not, this is still Shirley, and Shirley is confused and upset. Anything else can wait.

(She's especially willing to sweep aside thoughts of the lack of wings. Maybe it doesn't mean anything like it seems and Shirley really is back to stay. Her insistant thoughts that something is wrong can go and bother someone else.)

She places a hand on Shirley's arm and attempts to make her smile as comforting as possible.]

We're in Luceti. I...I know that won't mean much to you, but it's all right. We're safe. Um.

[How had Shirley done this when Fenimore had been the confused one just arriving? She had managed to -- well, okay, actually, Fenimore recalled being unsettled for quite a while at first, but Shirley had done her best.]

[The touch on her arm helps calm her down, a little. Shirley awkwardly reaches up and and wipes at her eyes. No, she won't cry. Not in front of Fenimore.]

I'm sorry... [Her eyes (mostly) dry, her free hand reaches to nervously tug at one of her braids.] This is just, um... it's very unsettling.

[Even the word "Luceti" sounds familiar. It's not the name of any Ferines village Shirley knows about (and thanks to Maurits, she knows about a lot of Ferines villages) and she can't see Fenimore living happily in an Orerines village. This dream-- it's so strange.]

[Fenimore can't stop the slightly crooked grin the crosses her face.]

Yeah. I can understand that. I was definitely...unsettled when I got here first. [But you were there to make it better. That she probably should come after a little more explanation.]

[Her expression turns more serious] I...well, I can't really explain it in a way that makes any sense, because it doesn't. [She takes a deep breath.] This is a different world. People just...appear here, sometimes not even from the same time. And then they return without remembering it at all.

[And then that little grin is tugging the edge of her lips again.] And it's as weird to say as it probably is to hear.

[The idea that there is a world there where people from different times and places appear and disappear, without warning, is ludicrous. But Shirley finds herself easily accepting the concept--it's a little like learning to use her teriques again, after three years of being separated from it.]

And the people who were brought here... [She stares down at Fenimore's hand.] They live together, in the village.

[There's something she can't remember. It's just out of her reach, but-- maybe if she stretches, she can brush her fingers against the edge of those memories.]

[Fenimore nods.] Yeah. We're in one of the houses --

[...Huh? She didn't say they were brought here, or that they were in a village. Neither was enough to give her pause -- it made sense that something would have brought them here rather than it just happening, and the standard place to have a house was in a village for Ferines -- but both of them in a row is a little strange.]

I...didn't say we were in a village, though. Were you outside before?

No, I haven't... I'm sorry, I guess I just assumed. ["Village" just seemed like the right word to describe the situation.]

[Fenimore shakes her head. As someone who jumps to conclusions at the slightest provocation, she can understand assuming.] No, you're right. And you're right that we were brought here. The Malnosso --

[...You know what? No, she's not going to start off with that part. Shirley is worried enough as it is.]

They mostly just leave us alone, though. We can talk about that later. More importantly...are you feeling all right?

[She holds the smile, but her eyes are worried. She seems to recall hearing that they need wings to survive and that's why losing them is such a problem. But Shirley doesn't have them....]

The Malnosso... [Shirley says it thoughtfully, as if she's considering every syllable.] They're--... mm.

Everything is... so strange. [She shakes her head, as if trying to clear her thoughts.] I'm- not dreaming, am I.

[What she's experiencing is too clear and vivid to be a dream, even a lucid one.]

No, it's not a dream...though I guess it doesn't make much more sense than a dream.

I could pinch you if that would help convince you.

[She very well may have done so if Shirley had tried to insist it was a dream, but she's not quite mean enough to do it when Shirley is feeling so confused.]

No, you don't have to pinch me...! [Fenimore pinches hard, okay. ... but when did Fenimore pinch her?]

Well, if you're sure. [She flashes a grin before her expression gentles a little.]

Don't worry. It will be strange for a while, but you'll get used to it. You did last --

[...So she had intended to be a little less abrupt about telling Shirley she'd been here before, but...well, that wasn't going to happen now.]

...You did last time. You...probably don't remember, but you were here once before for a while.

[Except with wings last time LALALA NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT PART.]

I've... been here before. [It's not a question, but a statement. Fenimore wouldn't lie to her. Fenimore has always been honest with her, no matter what.] Did I-- ... ... did I live together with you, in this house?

Yeah. [There's a fondness in her voice and her smile.] When I first arrived here, you'd...already been around for a while. And then we lived here for a little over a year together.

It... [She hesitates and her eyes shift away from Shirley's face.] It was good that you were here, then. [And then her gaze is back on Shirley.] I guess it made it worth getting used to all the weirdness of this place, to get to spend a bit more time with you.

So, that's why... [... everything is so familiar, but not.] I'm sorry I can't really remember, Fenimore...

Shirley....

[And then her hand is used for something a little less in the realm of comforting.]

What have I told you about saying you're sorry so much for things that aren't your fault? Geez. [Even though that's not really what "I'm sorry" means in these kinds of circumstances....]

-- Though, I...guess you wouldn't remember that, either.

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