01 ♪ video/action ♪ wake up sleepyhead!

[wildsaber]

[The feed shows a nice view of absolutely nothing. There is, however, the sound of someone spitting. Very lovely. He just woke up with a mouthful of dead rotting leaves. His day is off to a great freaking start, that's what.]

Ugh, nasty! Ow--... ow... ow. [Don't let the nonchalance fool you. He's realizing he's alive. Taking in a deep breath, and letting it out.

He's alive.

... And also FREEZING COLD. But wait until he finds a way home! This is impossible, but maybe-- just maybe--]

Hahah... jeez, it's c-c-cold. Am I in K-Keterburg or something?

-- Hey, what's...

[And here's when he brushes the journal off. Hello, there's a half-naked redhead getting up close and personal, and turning it upside down, and then shaking it out a bit. What is this strange and mystifying technology? It sure as hell isn't his journal.]

Weird.

[Feeling something tickle his shoulder, he reaches over to brush it off. And then he notices the wings, red with gold tips just like his hair. He has wings. This is not a drill. Luke drops the journal in favor of screaming like the grown man he isn't.]

W-what the hell is going on!?

[NO LUKE DON'T PULL ON THOSE--] —OW! [Yeah, that hurt more than anything else in his life. Now he's curled up over his knees again, trying not to cry. He almost blacked out there.]

G-guess they're real...

Comments

~fonic link~

[dissonates]

[That voice is unmistakable - it's his own, after all. And while there's surprise, uncertainty, and trepidation that washes over him at the thought of Luke's return (Does he remember? Where is he from? What does he know? What does he feel?), Asch's initial response is all instinct and impulse-]

"Don't pull the feathers out, you idiot replica!!"

~fuck you, Asch~

[wildsaber]

[Luke clutches at his head as it begins to spin. Wait... Asch? But Asch--

Whatever he's about to snap back, he totally forgets. He's stuck on one little detail.]

Asch-- you're alive! You're okay! Where-- where are you?

[He's so relieved and happy, even though every inch of him is in pain right now.]

~wow rude I'm trying to help~

[dissonates]

[Well, that answers his second question, at least. And the fact that the fonic link is causing him so much pain means that it's regressed, too... meaning he's either forgotten how to handle the link, or he never knew in the first place.

Neither are promising.]

"I'm in the village. Where are you?"

[He tries to get a fix on Luke's position by the area he's in, but the majority of the woods surrounding Luceti is too similar to recognize one tree from another.]

[voice]

[etherealblast]

[...Geez-- New feathers again, huh?]

You pull any of those feathers out, you're going to get sick. So don't do it, alright?

[video]

[wildsaber]

[He catches his breath for a minute before responding.]

Ugh... yeah. I won't pull any feathers--

The journal talks...?

[And it's giving me ADVICE?]

[video]

[etherealblast]

[He laughs. Typical.] Nope, sorry to disappoint. Think of that book like a communication device. You can speak to anyone else with one of these things over them.... and you're on camera right now.

[In just a moment his face will appear in the video screen grinning wryly.] See?

video;

[dedicatednoless]

Yo! It's a bit like Keterberg, isn't it? [his hand goes up to wave. didn't expect to see him, did you?]

Though I'd recommend against pulling on your wings again.

video;

[wildsaber]

[More like didn't expect Peony's voice to come out of the journal.]

Your Majesty...? What's going on?

And what's with the book? Is it some kind of weird fonic arte?

video;

[dedicatednoless]

[No, Peony guesses he wouldn't. And is able to realize this isn't Luke with the memories of his previous stay.]

Uh, well... I'll explain it all in due time [Or rather Jade or Guy will], but right now it'd be wise if you got out of the cold before you freeze to death. Where are you right now?

1/2 [VOICE??]

[relinquishing]

[It never sits well with Guy to forget the sound of someone's voice. To cling to whatever memories he still had of those that he no longer could see was, in itself, a small, stubborn comfort. In the months that he had returned to this godforsaken place, the absence of his former master gave him yet another voice to focus on, to dig up through memories of Auldrant and Luceti and refuse to acknowledge the day that those memories would fade.

He didn't want to forget Luke. Really, Guy doesn't see how he ever could.

Worn and weary from a mission nearly an Auldrant month long, Guy's last desire is to be social. He wants to go home, wave off Peony's prodding and Jade's trolling. Maybe sneak through the bedroom window and soak himself in a shower for a while. Maybe the sky wasn't actually blue.

He at least has managed to get in through the window. But curiosity works with common sense to get him to scan his journal, sprawled out on his bed with exhausted interest...

...And the sound of that voice is like a bolt of lightning to his warm nerves. Gloved fingers clench at the binding of the book, a million thoughts flying through his head, all coming to one conclusion. Luke was here. Luke was here.

Alive.

Screw his own privacy.]

Luke--!! [A forced pause - he wants to chide, to call the boy an idiot and tell him to stop messing with things that could hurt him. But it all goes out the window.]

2/2 [voice/action]

[relinquishing]

[Literally out the window.

There's a clumsy bit of crashing from the back room of House One as Guy hefts himself back out the open window, breaking into a dead run as soon as his feet hit the ground. No point in using the video, but hope he doesn't mind some jostled voices from his magical book.]

Luke -- Hey, if you hear me, stay there! Don't go wandering off!

[voice--> action]

[wildsaber]

[Whoa, whoa, whoa. Adding to the chorus of people telling him not to push the big red button is his best friend, which demands a lot of his attention. If not all of it.]

Guy? Guy! You're here, too!

[SOMEWHERE. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS BOOK. He clutches it as if that will help.]

Okay. I won't move. I think I hear a river...? But the rest is just woods. I don't think I've been here before.

[voice]

[seleniahymn]

[The mention of Keterburg is strangely familiar, it was the first thing she had wondered herself when she first woke up to these woods. But that question isn't what makes her slowly freeze, eyes widening ever so slightly...

It's been some time since she heard his voice, alive, and to hear it again was—

No, that isn't what she wanted to hear just what was he doing?] Don't go pulling them out!

[video]

[wildsaber]

I'm not, I just--

[Wait. He leaaaans over the journal, peering down.]

Is that... [His voice is little more than a desperate whisper. Did he really find a way to come home? Why doesn't he remember it?

-- Does that really matter?]

Tear?

[video]

[seleniahymn]

[At first Tear can't respond, not when he says her name the way he just did. There were so many things it could mean and she didn't know which of them she wanted it to be, so her only answer is silence.

But she knows she can't leave him like that, nor does she want to for all the emotions welling within her. So she smiles for him, sad and small yet genuine in her happiness to hear his voice again.]

... Yes, it's me. Please, don't do anything reckless.

[Video]

[yourfononsarewhack]

["That's why you must come back alive... Or rather, I hope you do."

Jade glances down at the video feed, not having yet turned on his own recording, with an odd and distant look. It's as if looking into a window to a different time, a simpler time. No, not simpler. But more... enjoyable.

Could it really be Luke? With all these worlds, with the possibilities of replicas, could it possibly the same Luke that he knew?

Then Luke starts pulling at his wings. And Jade gives a nostalgic smile. He turns on the video feed and immediately replies snappily.]

I'm confident that, if it had its own consciousness, Keterburg would be insulted by the comparison.

[And then he gives a tug at his glasses.]

You know, Luke, you really should take better care of your wings.

[video]

[wildsaber]

[What a way to say 'welcome home'. Honestly. Luke groans, but it's in a good-natured sort of way. If Jade is bitching at him then he's definitely alive.]

I just had to know if they were real. I'm not going to go crazy on them or anything, but...

[He rubs at his temple.]

What happened? I've never seen a book like this before. It's like the communicator in the Tartarus, right?

[Voice]

[distressedude]

[Ion recognizes that voice the moment he hears it. Unfortunately, the sound of that same voice crying out in pain is enough of a distraction that he doesn't really think before calling out in response -- not taking into consideration how Luke might feel about hearing the disembodied voice of someone he knows to be dead.]

[...you know, assuming Luke recognizes the voice talking back to him. He still sounds enough like Ion, but his voice has grown a bit deeper in his time being in Luceti.]

Luke! Are you all right?

[video]

[wildsaber]

[Luke fumbles the journal, then catches it. That sounds kind of like... someone going through puberty? But it's unmistakably--]

Florian?

[WELP THIS JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT MORE AWKWARD]

action

[risingwinds]

[Some people hate the cold, but for Ven, who's always lived at a pretty high elevation, the winter weather's always a dream. Of course, the fact that he's dressed up in a scarf, mittens, and coat might have something to do with it. The Malnosso were never that merciful with newbies, plopping people down without more than pants and light dresses.

And who's Ven to ignore cries of distress? When he hears Luke shout-- and he knows that voice, Ven never forgets a friend-- he grinds to a halt, places a hand to his ear, and sprints towards the sound. Luke's appearance confirms his suspicion, and Ven picks up the speed before he does anything else.]

Wait, stop! You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep at it!

[So here we have one blonde haired dork, now roughly Luke's age. A total stranger to him, no doubt.]

[wildsaber]

[Luke doesn't even finish pulling out a single feather. It hurts too much, so he's just laying there, feeling like he's going to pass out if he does something stupid like that again. If he's crying from the pain or the revelation of being alive he's definitely too cold to feel it.

Someone's voice penetrates the fog, though. He peers at Ven through messy red bangs. If he's shaking, it's because he's cold and kind of stupid and not because he's afraid or anything.]

S-- sorry, I didn't... I didn't know what they were.

[His wings fluff out a bit. He has like zero control over what they do, so he just ignores them for now.]

Where am I...?

[Video]

[knightofratatosk]

[Wait a minute, he recognizes that voice. He'd know that yelling anywhere...]

... Luke? Is that you?

[video]

[wildsaber]

[That's pretty sad when he's only known for his yelling. But that's life. REPLICA LYFE.

At this point, Luke's discovered the journal. He peers into it, trying to see if he recognizes the kid who said his name. He doesn't.]

T-that's me... Have we met?

/is late/ video;

[universal_charm]

I kind of understand why everyone does that, but at the same time, why? Guess you learned not do that again, huh?

_{[ He doesn't immediately recognize Luke, but then, it had been a long time for Kirk since he last saw Luke. ]}

no such thing!! :3 video forever;

[wildsaber]

[He's flustered, red cheeks and all, from being scolded from every conceivable direction.]

I-it's not like I've had wings before. [He draws his shoulders up around his ears, frowning.]

I won't touch them again. I can't imagine actually pulling feathers out...