a new arrival

[tinico]

i. december

Nicholas was out for errands, a shopping bag slung over his shoulder with things that he'd been sent to buy, and he was almost back to the orphanage, smile already on his face to be returning to the shade. Then there was an odd shake of the ground, making him stumble, and when he looked up, everything was very different. Where buildings had been standing, now there was much damage, his familiarity the only reason he could recognize them anymore. Where people had been wandering around, laughing or yelling or just going about their business, there was... nobody. Only silence. And there was a strange smell in the air, like something wet had been spilled a while ago.

Nicholas's smile faded, eyes going very wide, and he ran towards his home, only to find the worst of the damage to be around it. He was calling out names - Miss Malanie's, everyone's - but there was only silence. Soon, he could see that there were signs that someone had been holed up in the basement, and then upstairs also but those were more recent.

And nobody was answering. Nobody.

ii.desert walking

Everyone had left. So he had to go somewhere else. He had no idea where, but. He'd managed to find a wide brimmed hat, and had added to his shopping bag whatever supplies he had. And he was walking to the next town he had seen on the maps. Which he'd also taken. There would be someone somewhere, right?

iii. octovern

Luckily for him, before walking in the desert could become too much for him, there had been another earthquake - and then he was among people again. After many, many hours mostly alone, other than some random encounters, he kind of needed a moment to lean in the shade and close his eyes in relief. He had not been to this city, but at least it was alive. He would take that.

Then he squared his shoulders, and went exploring. Even if he knew nobody, he should be able to find people who needed help that he could earn a living with, right?

iv. wildcard

ooc: have another idea? he'll pop up there! brackets and prose all good, will match.

Comments

III: Because Nick is a bit preoccupied rn and Ghostwoo would be very careful to avoid being noticed

[celestialcrybaby]

Finding his way back from the little cabin Knives had holed up in, after he'd been so unceremoniously pulled there from across reality, had taken more time than he'd liked. He'd barely been able to make it back before the room rental he'd paid for for a few days had been up and he'd lost all of his belongings, and honestly, that had been scarier than the fact that he'd been thrown across the world to who knew where. He didn't own much, never had. But the things he did own were his, and after so long, and living with so little, he had become rather attached to them.

Still, it meant that he hadn't had time to really look around the city properly, to try and get in to where the Plants were being held and try and talk with them, and he was out of money for the room.

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence; truth be told, he probably spent more nights sleeping under the stars than actually in hotel beds, anyway, which didn't exactly help his back aches. But when you lived your entire life on the road, traveling from town to town without any real job to speak of, money was tight, and modern conveniences were even tighter.

So he'd been wandering around town, his coat stuffed in his duffel bag and his hair styled down, looking for odd jobs that he could do that would get him some money for food. It was easier to get lost in a large crowd, and Octovern was if nothing else, for the past year, one giant sea of people. Still, he didn't want to take any chances.

For the past few hours, he'd been helping to wait a tiny cafe, and by midday, the morning rush had died down and the owner was talking about closing up for the evening. He was listening quietly as she counted out the tips when he saw, through the front windows, a small form taking shelter under the awning. They had to have been very young, dark haired and clothes that looked like they'd seen no small amount of wear and tear, and he couldn't help but watch with growing concern.

Where were their parents? Were they one of the refugees? What were they doing wandering the crowded streets like that?

He was so worried that when the owner called back out to him again, he didn't immediately respond, and gave a start when he felt her tugging at his arm.

"What? Oh, Sorry! You said something?"

"I said here's your wages, Val. Are you ok?" He gave an embarrassed sort of laugh and scratched the back of his head, turning to glance at the child by the window again before looking back at the cafe's owner.

"Oh, yeah, sorry! I just...have you seen that kid around here before?"

There was a soft hum as she glanced over, and then shook her head.

"Not that I can remember. Why?" He shrugged, his gaze lingering on the tiny form. "Well, maybe he's one of the refugees. It's hard to keep track of everyone, these days. Here you go, sweetie, and go ahead and take one of the leftover sandwiches out of the cooler display when you head out. Will we see you again tomorrow?"

He turned, blinked at her a little owlishly before smiling and taking the small handful of bills she held out to him, and shrugged again.

"Sure, if you could still use the help. I think I'm gonna be here for a while."

"Honey, we're always in need of a helpin' hand. Just come on back in the mornin' around 7, and we'll get started."

He waved at her as he walked towards the front of the store, chirping out a friendly "Sure thing, see you tomorrow!" before he paused to glance down at the sandwiches that hadn't sold for the day, selecting a simple ham and cheese with lettuce and tomatoes and tiny nuts and seeds in the bread. And then he turned back to the door, happy to see that the kid was still leaning under the shade of the awning, and walked outside the door to join him.

"Hey. You hungry? I had a lunch earlier, so I'm not really hungry, and it seems a shame to let it go to waste." He slid down to sit on the sidewalk against the front of the cafe and, with the sandwich held out in his hand, turned to look up at the kid, now that he was close enough to see him properly. Strangely, something in the back of his mind twitched, some tiny bell of familiarity ringing out. Had he met him before? Had he seen him wandering through town? Or had he been in one of the refugee ships he'd seen sailing in back home? It was an unusual sensation, and he was usually pretty good at remembering everyone's faces.

Octovern

[louboutinjudas]

Melanie and the kids are in Octovern, the sad bastard had told him. Wolfwood wasn't entirely sure he could trust a word that came out of the man's mouth, Vash or no -- he's never met somebody with as much of a self-sacrificing death wish as that guy. But even if it turns out Needles was wrong and Melanie and them aren't here, a populated town is still a populated town. There'll be work, if he decides he wants it, food that isn't entirely worm-based, maybe even a chance to connect with the Eye again, to get an idea how many of them are left and get himself invited to their hideout. It'll be much easier to kill them all in their hideout.

But Melanie and the kids from the orphanage are his first priority, which means Wolfwood is skulking around the edges of the city, looking for any kids who seem lost. It's not the best way to go about his search -- in fact, he's starting to feel a bit like a creep -- but it's not like he can just march into downtown and start calling her name. He's keeping a low profile here! Or at least he's trying to.

So when he spots the dark-haired kid taking a nap in the shade, he figures it's worth the ask. The closer he gets, however, the more familiar the kid seems, until Wolfwood lurches to a halt, standing over his younger self.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

sighs..........gimmie i

[graveresemblance]

He'll come around this spot every once in a while, just to make sure things are as they should be. Lately Melanie had been trying to decide what to do, to return, or to find elsewhere in the more populated areas where reconstruction was on the rise.

So Livio had volunteered to come check it out, self-proclaimed repentance, isolation, whathaveyou. It still looked the same--

--At least until the world had once again been upended into chaos, and now with the added flavor of more confusing things than plants talking.

And a little voice calling. A real one, not just the echoes of the children who had come through here.

"....Hello?" He calls back, cautious.

II

[rejuvenation]

The rumble was weird, but it wasn't the first time the strange teleporting had brought her out into the desert like this. The sisters must want something, like the time she was brought out and checking on the red brother that was face down in the sand.

Tessla hurries to find a higher sand dune and climbs up, looking around to see if she can spot any red brothers... but what she sees instead is an unfamiliar boy. A child, just like her - but she can't sense him.

Human.

Fear grabs her heart and she panics, almost losing her footing as she tries to scamper away before the boy sees her. Of course that makes a lot of noise, including a terrified squeak, so it most likely does the opposite instead.