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001↠ Action/Voice
[There is something extraordinarily jarring about finding yourself in a chilled, unfamiliar forest, when two seconds ago you were under the sea, fighting off a legion of crazed fishmen. The blonde man clad in the usual New Feather's garb is none too pleased with this switch once he gathers his bearings, and he sets off in a direction that might be right, straining to hear any sounds of battle, only half-mindful of the journal he hasn't ditched yet. The hows and whys can wait until he's back with his crew.
He'll come across the town, eventually, once a certain child skipping school sets him straight. And it will feel like the longest half hour of Sanji's life, hearing what she says to him -- and once she's safely back home and past her tears, he's going to... head straight to the grocery.
Cigarettes. Need them. Now. He flies through a pack of the damn things before grabbing another, shoving it into a flimsy pocket like it's his last sane lifeline. It might as well be. Navigating back home (...home), along an all-too familiar path, makes his head and chest hurt from the seeping memories.
Heh, what a load of shitty bull. He doesn't want to be here. Except he sorta does. Maybe. And damn, it'd be nice if he could make up his mind.
There will be no such luck today. He goes home, combing the house for available crew members; any kind of anchor and stability. And after that, there's the clothing shop for his suits. Then Seventh Heaven. Then tracking down every person his memory supplies a name for - Xion. Miyabi. Sayo. Katara. Vash. Wolfwood. Isamu. Shit how many are there? - until his head feels too full and he goes to collapse at the bar around evening. Only then does the journal open.]
... Oi. [Fuck, where does one begin? Let's start with a name] It's Sanji. [Pause, and then with tired ire] Guess you shitheads aren't rid of me yet.
[ooc: If you think Sanji would look for your character... then he would probably look for your character. XD So yeah. << RUN INTO HIM ANYWHERE, previous CR or otherwise! He's all over town, and I care not for these things called continuity and time (save for who finds him in the forest - that honor goes to Elicia.)]
He'll come across the town, eventually, once a certain child skipping school sets him straight. And it will feel like the longest half hour of Sanji's life, hearing what she says to him -- and once she's safely back home and past her tears, he's going to... head straight to the grocery.
Cigarettes. Need them. Now. He flies through a pack of the damn things before grabbing another, shoving it into a flimsy pocket like it's his last sane lifeline. It might as well be. Navigating back home (...home), along an all-too familiar path, makes his head and chest hurt from the seeping memories.
Heh, what a load of shitty bull. He doesn't want to be here. Except he sorta does. Maybe. And damn, it'd be nice if he could make up his mind.
There will be no such luck today. He goes home, combing the house for available crew members; any kind of anchor and stability. And after that, there's the clothing shop for his suits. Then Seventh Heaven. Then tracking down every person his memory supplies a name for - Xion. Miyabi. Sayo. Katara. Vash. Wolfwood. Isamu. Shit how many are there? - until his head feels too full and he goes to collapse at the bar around evening. Only then does the journal open.]
... Oi. [Fuck, where does one begin? Let's start with a name] It's Sanji. [Pause, and then with tired ire] Guess you shitheads aren't rid of me yet.
[ooc: If you think Sanji would look for your character... then he would probably look for your character. XD So yeah. << RUN INTO HIM ANYWHERE, previous CR or otherwise! He's all over town, and I care not for these things called continuity and time (save for who finds him in the forest - that honor goes to Elicia.)]
[action]
They hurt so much, but he wouldn't trade them for the world right now.
After another solid minute of holding her, he... doesn't let go, really - more like he gives her just enough room to breathe, laughing off his wet eyes as he smiles down]
Maaah. Still haven't grown an inch, have you? [Whereas Sanji might seem broader, if nothing else. Maybe even taller. Two years of training show.]
[action]
One faintly trembling hand releases its grip on him, so she can reach up and, very slowly, touch his face. His cheeks are wet. It's no surprise to her that now hers are too.
But suddenly, beautifully, bright like the sun breaking cloud cover after a storm, she is smiling, too. So hard it makes her face hurt. Her voice is still little better than a whisper. ]
No, but you sure have. You look older, Sanji. [ More tears spill down her cheeks as she blinks a few times, and a very quiet laugh escapes her. Briefly her fingertips stretch to brush the fringe of his hair. It's her right hand on his face, gently hovering beneath the eye that was for so long covered. ] I like what you did with your hair. [ She's teasing, even, very gently teasing.
But then her throat locks up all over again, and a few more tears escape as her eyebrows draw up close and tight. Her arm falls, for her hand to tangle in his shirt again. He's real. He's really real. She won't just wake up from this, it won't just be a dream. It can't. She couldn't. She couldn't survive the heartbreak of losing him twice, if this was all just a dream. ] I missed you so much, Sanji.
[action]
... C'mon. [He takes a step farther away this time, though pushing lightly at her back with the palm of his hand, so she'll come with him] Do you have anywhere to be?
[He'd like to catch up, and in fact is a little anxious to do so. He hasn't convinced himself this is real yet. After living in hell for so long, and only being with his crew for a handful of days... this could all be a dream to keep himself sane on that shitty island.]
[action]
... Sanji ... how long has it been, for you?
[action]
Two years, I think. [He curls a hand through some of his hair, smoothing it down in the back]
[action]
[action]
Re: [action]
To her it felt like years. Endless, awful years.
He missed Halloween.
Her expression darkens further, and to hide it, she shuts her eyes.
She wants to lean against him -- lean on him, like she's always done, like he's always been willing to let her do -- but somehow right now it doesn't feel right. He's the one reeling here, shell-shocked by reappearing in this place and having to deal with what must be two sets of very confusing memories--
But it's hard.
It was so hard, without him. ]
[action]
... Yeah. Vivi-chan told me.
But still, a lot can happen in a month. [He has yet to look away this time]
[action]
It was a long month.
[ Her voice is quiet. A little rough around the edges. She can barely think about Halloween without wanting to cry.
The whole month was a haze of grief for her.
But she won't tell him that. Best let him think it's mostly Halloween. ]
Do you remember what happened on Halloween last year?
[action]
[He pinches his eyes closed for concentration.] Something about a ball, right? And... fog. [Screams and sobs in the night. Hallucinations] A feather snatcher. [Paranoia. Fear. And suddenly he stiffens at the sudden chill on his skin.
Watching himself stab everyone he cared for]
... I remember some of it now.
[action]
What did she make him remember? ]
I .... Sanji, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ....
[action]
No no, it wasn't anything that bad! [The lingering emotions are one thing, but he's still has two-- no, three years between that and now]
I would've remembered eventually.
[action]
She stays silent, lost in her thoughts. ]
[action]
... What happened this Halloween? [He's heard from Vivi already, but now he wants to hear her version]
[action]
But the mild surprise on her face fades when she looks at him, and turns to sadness. She knows she can't keep this secret from him, but it's still hard to talk about. Very hard. ]
... can we sit down somewhere first? ... where no one else will hear?
[action]
Not that it contains any personality quite yet. The desks are barren of books or trinkets, the bed covered by a flat, unimpressive blanket. It's the usual Luceti fare for a New Feather.
Once she's inside, he closes the door and motions towards the bed, taking a seat on it himself.]
[action]
I'll have to get you something to put on your walls. Or at least some sort of keepsake. It's so empty in here.
[ Of course it is, but ... she shakes her head and sits down beside him, looking up into his face for a long, quiet moment. ]
... Sanji ... I really do feel kind of bad that one of the first things I'm doing when you get back is telling you how bad Halloween was. [ Her smile turns crooked. ] Are you sure you don't want to talk about or do something else? It can always wait.
[action]
... I know it can wait. [Xion has a point. His expression probably says as much]
But I wanna know what's happened to you while I've been away, good and bad. [He folds his hands on his open lap] So there's no better time than now, right?