Albert Silverberg (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chikaidestroyer) wrote2014-09-18 08:32 pm
chikaidestroyer) wrote2014-09-18 08:32 pm
∞ 106: Echoes in their absence
September 16
[While he had heard of the people -- echoes of people -- appearing around the village, Albert did not happen to see one right away. It's as he's taking a break outside of Celsius Tear that he takes notice of a teenage girl standing in front of the mural by the Welcome Center. He descends the stairs to watch her.
That had been ... almost three years ago now, he recalled as he watched the girl cheerfully set down a bucket of yellow paint. Without paying him any attention or seeing the completed mural in front of her, the girl dipped a paintbrush into the bucket and began making sweeping motions across the mural. Pao-Lin, he finally recalls as she bends over to dip her paintbrush again.
He watches for a while, eventually looking over his shoulder at the other mural that surrounded the fountain. That had been another of her projects with volunteers, done a year later.
He can't help but think about that saying as he watches her paint -- that art only found its value after its artist was gone.]
-----
September 17
[The fountain plaza proves to be a good spot to see the 'echoes,' and Albert decides to take his breaks outside to observe despite the weather looking increasingly storm-like. Sometimes the person he sees is only a flicker of movement, walking around the fountain or sitting on its edge, eating lunch. Once or twice he even sees a person seated or running across a rooftop, leaving him pondering what could have been happening at that time to lead to that behavior.
It's foolish to hope that he'll see a familiar face, he knows. But he still watches.]
-----
September 18, early afternoon
[It seems oddly fitting that he sees echoes of Nami and Yuber on the day of the thunderstorm. Nami, back before she had begun to grow weary of having such awful luck with picking fights with the wrong people. Back before she had been a threat.
...This must have been when Nami declared she would arrest Yuber, going by her uncharacteristic uniform, untouched by the falling rain. He certainly remembered that.]
[Albert can be found in Celsius Tear in the mornings or around the fountain plaza and its stores in the afternoons.]
-----
September 19, evening
Content warning: limb loss
[It happens when he is returning to the hot springs teleporter from visiting his giant owl. The headache comes out of nowhere, like a wave crashing over him, and he drops his journal from where he had been loosely holding it against his side. Shaking his head to clear the disorientation, Albert concentrates enough on Tsinku enough to summon a sphere of contained electricity to light the ground. Upon spotting his journal, he crouches to pick it up.
That's when he notices that there is nothing at the end of his shirt sleeve -- at both of his shirt sleeves.
Dazed, he lifts his hands up to the light to get a better look. But there are no hands. Just dark red masses of muscle and arteries that seem to be in a bizarre state of suspension. The muscles visible twitch as his forearms tense up, and he stares at them blankly for what seems like ages.
The ball of electricity fizzles and disappears as he passes out.
It's over an hour later when he finally wakes up again, his headache worse and his senses slow to reorient themselves. His ragged breathing is answered by a deep hooting noise, and he looks up to see Bilruben's large, glassy eyes reflecting what little light was coming from the artificially displayed moon. The giant owl doesn't move as he sits there in the darkness, a silent sentry while he tries to stop hyperventilating.
He can barely think. The confused, despairing noises he makes are largely incoherent, earning him a tilted stare from the owl as it watches. He doesn't know how long he sits there before he fumbles in the dark, half turned over in the wet grass, to try opening his journal.]
I need help.
[It's breathless and strained. Short and vague.]
[While he had heard of the people -- echoes of people -- appearing around the village, Albert did not happen to see one right away. It's as he's taking a break outside of Celsius Tear that he takes notice of a teenage girl standing in front of the mural by the Welcome Center. He descends the stairs to watch her.
That had been ... almost three years ago now, he recalled as he watched the girl cheerfully set down a bucket of yellow paint. Without paying him any attention or seeing the completed mural in front of her, the girl dipped a paintbrush into the bucket and began making sweeping motions across the mural. Pao-Lin, he finally recalls as she bends over to dip her paintbrush again.
He watches for a while, eventually looking over his shoulder at the other mural that surrounded the fountain. That had been another of her projects with volunteers, done a year later.
He can't help but think about that saying as he watches her paint -- that art only found its value after its artist was gone.]
-----
September 17
[The fountain plaza proves to be a good spot to see the 'echoes,' and Albert decides to take his breaks outside to observe despite the weather looking increasingly storm-like. Sometimes the person he sees is only a flicker of movement, walking around the fountain or sitting on its edge, eating lunch. Once or twice he even sees a person seated or running across a rooftop, leaving him pondering what could have been happening at that time to lead to that behavior.
It's foolish to hope that he'll see a familiar face, he knows. But he still watches.]
-----
September 18, early afternoon
[It seems oddly fitting that he sees echoes of Nami and Yuber on the day of the thunderstorm. Nami, back before she had begun to grow weary of having such awful luck with picking fights with the wrong people. Back before she had been a threat.
...This must have been when Nami declared she would arrest Yuber, going by her uncharacteristic uniform, untouched by the falling rain. He certainly remembered that.]
[Albert can be found in Celsius Tear in the mornings or around the fountain plaza and its stores in the afternoons.]
-----
September 19, evening
Content warning: limb loss
[It happens when he is returning to the hot springs teleporter from visiting his giant owl. The headache comes out of nowhere, like a wave crashing over him, and he drops his journal from where he had been loosely holding it against his side. Shaking his head to clear the disorientation, Albert concentrates enough on Tsinku enough to summon a sphere of contained electricity to light the ground. Upon spotting his journal, he crouches to pick it up.
That's when he notices that there is nothing at the end of his shirt sleeve -- at both of his shirt sleeves.
Dazed, he lifts his hands up to the light to get a better look. But there are no hands. Just dark red masses of muscle and arteries that seem to be in a bizarre state of suspension. The muscles visible twitch as his forearms tense up, and he stares at them blankly for what seems like ages.
The ball of electricity fizzles and disappears as he passes out.
It's over an hour later when he finally wakes up again, his headache worse and his senses slow to reorient themselves. His ragged breathing is answered by a deep hooting noise, and he looks up to see Bilruben's large, glassy eyes reflecting what little light was coming from the artificially displayed moon. The giant owl doesn't move as he sits there in the darkness, a silent sentry while he tries to stop hyperventilating.
He can barely think. The confused, despairing noises he makes are largely incoherent, earning him a tilted stare from the owl as it watches. He doesn't know how long he sits there before he fumbles in the dark, half turned over in the wet grass, to try opening his journal.]
I need help.
[It's breathless and strained. Short and vague.]
no subject
But since you passed out...there's not, uh, that wing hunter guy isn't back looking for other pieces this time or anything, right? [Albert doesn't know; the mountain landscape suddenly feels much more sinister.] I can help you or I can fight but probably not both at the same time.
no subject
The Wing Hunter took wings, Sheena, not hands.
[Though his voice is approaching a somewhat flat affect, he doesn't sound angry.]
The more-- likely reason for this is either a shift or magic.
no subject
[She's talking for the sake of talking. Trying to forget that Albert's arms just end in sleeve. The bloodlessness of it is more unsettling than his missing hands.]
If it's a shift, this might start happening to other people and I really don't have the stomach to think about that.
[Sheena doesn't realize they've hit her spot of rough terrain from earlier; the ball of fire doesn't show as much as it could, because it takes some extra effort to keep Albert from dropping off her shoulder. There's no warning as some loose stones give way beneath her foot; she can't slide or pinwheel, and in her surprise flail for balance, the fire goes out.]
no subject
Still, he ends up with a knee on a muddy rock as his balance fails somewhat.]
Sh-- Sheena?
[The last thing they needed was for her to have twisted or broken something.]
no subject
Sorry! I'm okay, are you okay?
no subject
[It's an automatic response -- one of those replies meant to keep someone from prying too much. The words come far too easily when he can't concentrate. He falls silent as he carefully pushes himself back onto both feet, his thoughts next moving to the obvious.]
We lost the light.
[This was a double effort right now, so he could hardly blame Sheena for losing the floating flame.]
no subject
You sure you're not hurt?
no subject
[Might as well be honest, if she's going to ask like that; his mind is still trying to focus on them getting out of the mountains, even if he's reeling from the continued surreality of it all.
He shakes his head, hearing the owl hoot behind them.]
Don't push yourself. If this is too much--
[He stops there, scoffing faintly as he remembers himself. Saying such things to Sheena like that would only turn this into a worry cycle. Pointless and unnecessary between them.]
no subject
There's nothing that'd be too much to get you out of trouble, okay? [No joke attached. Sheena turns her attention back to the terrain before this gets too embarrassing.] C'mon, even almost falling got us a little closer.
no subject
[He manages something approaching a laugh at Sheena's comment, but he doesn't say anything else. One step. Two steps forward. Through the limited light from flame and stars, he can soon see the roiling steam from the hot springs.]
Almost there.
no subject
Is anybody waiting for us when we get there? I don't know who else you've talked to.
no subject
I told her to come. She's-- probably waiting on the other side.
[He commits himself to making it to the hot springs without falling over, though he has to stop to regain his footing when they again step over rocks slick with mud.]
no subject
[I've gotta hand it to you is probably not the best choice of words and for once in her life she stops herself on time.]
You're holding up really well under the circumstances.
no subject
I've had a few hours to get over the initial shock.
[It was still a very short period of time, but he had concentrated on the fact that he had to get out of the forest to stay grounded. If he let himself think too much about his hands and what had happened to them, and the possibility of them not coming back... He pushed the thought out of his mind immediately and focused on putting one foot in front of the other.]
no subject
no subject
The giant owl hoots once as they get closer to the hot springs, lingering near the trees as they move further away from the treeline. Albert sighs.]
...Were you working before you came over?
[Yes, this is exactly what he should be asking at this moment.]
no subject
[The adrenaline rush of the fall is long over, and Sheena puts more effort into not limping as much as she wants to. She has to support them both, at least through the teleporter.]
But if it's all the same to you I'm not going back there until I know you're okay.