intro log.

[fracturamods]

welcome mingle

( AND SO IT BEGINS. )

There's nothing but the clatter of train tracks, and the odd feeling of almost floating.

When you wake, it's hard to tell exactly what it is that you're missing - only that you are. There are pieces that aren't quite right, even if you're not sure where those pieces would normally be. Pieces of what, exactly....? Well, if you had to put a word to it, it would be - yourself, probably.

The place you've found yourself in is strange, certainly. It's probably worth exploring a bit. Though it just as easily seems that the only form of welcome or explanation that you have, comes from nothing more than a slab of marble.

Well - that, and all the people who seem to have woken up alongside you, lost and also probably Doing Their Best™.

There's no need to fret that much though. It's hard to say exactly where you're going next, even though some places might feel a little bit more like a clue, but what you do know is one unshakeable thing:

There's still much more ahead of you.

Comments

[merrygopound]

[ Mizuki turns to look at him, a myriad of colors sparkling on her face and revealing a glossy sheen of frustration in her eyes. ]

... Seriously? [ It's a low, dispirited mumble-- she's not calling him a liar, but she can't even take out her anger on this stupid chunk of rock and it's left with nowhere to go except back inside of her. ]

[amberspirit]

I have watched others try, but it repairs afterward.

[His eyes lift from her to the column that has the words etched into it. RIP Mizuki's attempt to let off steam.]

I wouldn't bother wasting your energy breaking it. You could get hurt instead.

[merrygopound]

But I can't... stay here... I don't care what it says about me being broken or that no one realizes I'm gone! That doesn't make it okay!

[ Well. She's still making a fist, but she's not decking the marble slab, so there's that. ]

[amberspirit]

[In a small way, this reminds him of someone, he thinks. A frown thins his lips, and he looks around them at the room. He thought perhaps the words would change after a while, so he had returned to find out. They're still the same, though.]

You aren't broken. You're missing something. We all are. We'll get it back.

Have you been anywhere else?

[merrygopound]

No... not yet.

[ She pauses, then glances down to the side. ]

I wanted to make sure... no one was trying to find me first. But no one's showed up that I know.

[amberspirit]

It's better if they aren't in this place with us.

[After a moment, he lifts his hand and offers it out to her.]

Come on. We can search the other places. I have a melon and some candy if you haven't eaten.

[merrygopound]

[ Mizuki stares at him for a long moment-- because honestly, she's not used to someone her age trying to be nice to her. Most of the kids had stopped bullying her after she'd fought back, but now the majority gave her a wide berth.

Finally, she reaches out to take his hand. ]

Have you eaten?

[amberspirit]

[The grip of his hand is at least not overly soft; it's got a firm resolve. He leads her along the multicolored floor, pace not rushing but also not slow.]

I haven't needed to yet. [He glances over his shoulder briefly.] Who are you searching for? What do they look like?

[merrygopound]

My friend Iris, and her mom-- Iris is older than me, and she's got pink hair in pigtails and her mom, Hitomi, has brown hair and wears a white knitted sweater. Then there's Ota... he's what you'd expect a nerd to look like.

And Date.

[ She says this all very rapidly. ]

[amberspirit]

[Wow. He'd be surprised if they found even a hair of one of them, but stranger things have definitely happened. He continues to lead her along back to The Space. The colorful floor beneath their feet has merged into... wood? Like the old wood of a bridge, creaking included. Nearby is nothing but the twists and turns of other paths, the distant rumble of a train.

But somewhere, there's the sound of a river.]

I haven't met anyone like you have described, so they may not be here.

[merrygopound]

... That's fine.

[ It's not fine, but he doesn't have to know that!! Mizuki isn't looking at him anyway, head turned towards the rushing sound of the river. ]

I'm a lot better at handling myself than they are. If anyone had to be pulled here alone, it should be me.

[amberspirit]

Don't be absurd. None of us should be here if we don't belong.

[Somewhere down along the path, the rumble under their feet gets heavier. Lying across perpendicular are slats of railroad, and he slows to a stop on their side. One of the trains comes coasting down another path, following the one over and in their way.

While they wait for it to pass, he drops her hand as he turns to face her.] Here. [From the fold in his outer layer of clothes, he produces a box of pocky and offers it to her.]

My name is Haku.

[merrygopound]

You're really blunt, you know that?

[ Mizuki, you can't talk. But also, she'll take that pocky box and crack it open, pulling a stick free to offer to him. ]

I'm Mizuki.

[amberspirit]

There isn't any use in sugar-coating things.

[His eyes lower to the offered stick. He takes it after a moment, but he doesn't eat it yet.]

It doesn't mean we won't find out how to return to the place we should be. We just have to be prepared for whatever happens from here on.

[merrygopound]

[ Well. She's just going to chew on her own pocky stick before she answers him. ]

I can do that. I'm not going to let this place stop me from getting home again.

[amberspirit]

[His lips thin, but he doesn't exactly look upset.]

Don't stop thinking that way.

[He turns to watch the last bit of the train pass. The pocky stick lifts, and he eats it in two quick bites.]

Let's keep going.

[merrygopound]

[ Good. He ate something, and Mizuki is satisfied that he won't just suddenly swoon while he's being all firm and dramatic. She'll take the first step forward now, glancing back at him. ]

Where are you from, Haku?

[amberspirit]

[He peers at her for a long moment, and then he looks away once he starts continuing on their journey.]

Another world. A different one than this place and a different one than your own.

[Human, he means.]

[merrygopound]

...

[ Rather hushed. ]

Are you a ghost?

[amberspirit]

[He pauses in his focus without pausing in his step, though he does slow a bit from the unexpected question.

And then he--laughs? Once, quietly.]

No. I'm not a ghost. You touched me, remember? [He raises a hand to her, palm up.] See for yourself.

1/2

[merrygopound]

I know you're solid!! That doesn't mean the rules of solidity apply here! They've already bent the laws of physics by dragging in a ton of people and look at you! You're like my age and you've got that fancy princess haircut and you look like someone serving the imperial court so you're already really medieval-looking and they died young back then and--

Ugh! I'm just saying, touching has nothing to do with it!

[merrygopound]

...

[ But she presses her palm to his anyway. Just in case she has to call his bluff. ]

... Stupid. So fine, you're not dead. Probably.

[amberspirit]

[There, see. He is absolutely still solid.

But he does have a kind of exasperated expression again as he draws his hand back to himself. Wow, he can't say he's ever had anyone to insult his hair or his outfit before!!] I'm not dead. I'm not a ghost. [Though, yeah, the hairstyle and the outfit really do scream Ye Olde Ancient Japan.]

I'm a sorceress's apprentice.

[merrygopound]

[ Someone had to tell him it was a really dumb combo. Sorry, Haku. ]

An apprentice?

[ Wait a sec-- ]

So you can do magic? Seriously?

[amberspirit]

[Let him live, he didn't choose the hime hair life!]

Yes. Some. I'm apprenticed so I can learn more since she is so powerful.

[Not everyone can walk around lifting a 250 pound dumbbell, Mizuki. Not a twink river spirit.]