estoria | (no subject)

Who: Ankh & OPEN for event catch-all. Specific event end prompts for Cole, Hikari, and Eiji.
When: 7/19 - 7/23
Where: Various
What: Memory shenanigans, and then what happens when all the forgotten things come crashing back.
Rating/Warning: Ankh having a total breakdown? There will be a lot of unpleasant memories coming back, so talk of violence and death and things generally going wrong.
Notes: If you're tagging in for general event stuff, ability permissions here and also let me know if you have a preference for memories that are good, bad, or just ridiculous.

Open: 7/19-22 – Around

[Ankh is convinced that stupid little fox is taunting him. Even he can't see where it's hiding most of the time, and for some reason whenever he catches sight of the thing, it's almost always about to go run over someone's foot.]

Oi!

[Too late.]

Cole: 7/23, around noon – Streets, near the zoo

[Ankh hadn't been looking forward to being stuck in a public place that morning, what with the fox liking to cause problems. He manages to spend most of time in the company of just birds, though, which works out well enough. The fox isn't as present today, anyway, seeming fainter every time he catches sight of it.

As he leaves the zoo to get lunch at one of the restaurants nearby, the fox fades out of existence in the corner of his vision – and in the same instant, all the things he had forgotten over the past few days come back to him. Immediately in that moment, this day ceases to be pleasant. He knew he'd lost some things, maybe important things, even, but it had been more than he thought and oh, yes, those were important memories and yesterday was a lie. The things that come crashing back to him now are every reason he had to be wary, every mistake he ever made.

It hits him all at once, and all of a sudden, it's like he can't even keep himself standing. He's by an alley and he staggers around the corner, eyes wide as he slumps against a wall. The only plus side of this is that there weren't many people nearby, and he can at least pretend that no one saw that.]

Hikari: 7/23, after the above - Somewhere in town

[Right now, Ankh doesn't want to deal with people, especially people who happen to have previously talked to him about wiping memories and thinking it's a good thing. When he leaves, he flies, rather than walks; there will be fewer people to bother him in the air. It's only when he finds somewhere that seems presently unpopulated that he lands, collapsing to his knees and trying to force himself to breathe normally.

Unfortunately for him, he's still not as alone as he hopes.]

Eiji: 7/23, after the above – Their apartment

[Ankh wasn't supposed to be done with work this early, and Eiji knows it, but he doesn't care; he's going home. Clearly something happened, because he doesn't even say anything as he comes in, looks at Eiji with a complete mess of not-quite-readable emotions on his face, then climbs up to his bed before falling face first onto it.

No, he is not interested in talking. Leave him alone.]

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[No. He certainly wasn't.]

...are you okay?

[When Ankh looked up--if he chose to look up--he would see the eight year old girl standing nearby. Close enough for her words to reach him, but at a distance that respected personal space. She was alone. Or appeared to be. There was no sign of her usual feline companion.]

[What there were signs of, on the other hand, were those dark circles that had been shadowing her eyes for the past several days. A sure sign that, for whatever reason, Hikari still wasn't getting enough sleep, and that incident in the park where she'd passed out in the middle of her afternoon with Tailmon hadn't been an isolated incident.]

[It takes a long moment for him to get himself to some semblance of calm--any appearance of which is immediately discredited as he hears a voice and scrambles backward, wide-eyed. How do people keep sneaking up on him?

He barely processes the words, but if anything is clear from that jumpy reaction, it's that he is very much not okay.]

[Hikari did jump a little herself, surprised by the slightly erratic movement. Combined with the wide-eyed stare being sent her way and--]

[Very much not okay.]

[She recognized him. She thought she had, but they'd only met once before and a glimpse from behind hadn't been enough. Now, though, when she got a better look at his face, she realized it was the boy from the tree. The one who'd reminded her a little bit of Yamato, her best friend's older brother and older brother's best friend. Too ~~complicated~~ cool and something of a private person. Not unlike herself.]

Did something bad happen? [Usually when people made that face, something bad happened.] Can I help?

[He recognised her, too, once he managed to really look. The girl who had fallen asleep under the tree, who had impressed him just a little bit and reminded him of- No. At the time, she hadn't reminded him of anyone. But now, with a jumble of forgotten memories trying to sort themselves out in his head, there was another girl who had impressed him a little bit, a long time ago, and now he knows she was the one he'd been trying to remember for the past couple days. His hand clenched into a fist, hitting the ground beside him.

"-protect the weak-" That much was all he'd had, but now he has the rest of the memory back and knows who said it. The last words of a girl he'd tried to help and failed miserably. Of all the ironies.

And now there was a girl here who wanted to help him? He just stared at her, blinking once, then trying to force himself back to the present. His eyes narrowed and he looked off to the side.]

I don't need your help.

[And it was the second time he's said something like that today. The words came out a bit harsh, but at least this time he wasn't screaming it.]

[Hikari blinked once. Twice. Her expression never once faltering from its relatively neutral state as she gave a nod of understanding.]

Then whose help do you need?

[If not her, specifically, then surely someone.]

I can go get them for you.

[And for a moment Ankh just blinked back at her because that was not a response he had been expecting.]

No one.

[He finally said, pushing himself to his feet. There was nothing anyone can do to make this better, and the only offer of "help" that would change anything at all is one he'd already thoroughly rejected.]

[Her lips pressed together in a thin line. Looking...slightly nervous now. It was obvious that something was wrong, but this person was still new to her. They'd only spoken once before, and while she had a strong feeling he wouldn't try to hurt her, it would have been a stretch by anyone's imagination to consider him a friend.]

[Still...]

If you're sick, you should go lie down. [Take it from her; she was an expert at being sick. And at...what can happen if you didn't speak up in time.] I can walk with you. To make sure you don't fall down again.

I'm not- [He stopped himself, because he didn't know how and didn't want to explain that he wasn't sick, he was just... so many things were wrong, and he couldn't cope. He shook his head. Why wouldn't she just listen to him? ...Why was she even over here by herself to begin with? If anything, the persistent attempts at trying to be helpful were just making him bristle more.] I said I don't need your help!

[If he heard her thought, about how he wouldn't hurt her, he might have laughed. Because he's Ankh; he doesn't care, and even if he does... He wanted to help a little girl once, and only made everything worse. He tried to save Eiji at Inugami and got them both trapped by a forest fire.]

You shouldn't stay around me, either. [His wings grew from his back again. This time, at least, he knew where he was going. Not just away from people, but to find the one he knew he could deal with... and who could deal with him. He flapped his wings, leaping into the air.] Go home!

[He intended to do the same.]

[She took a step back, eyes widening at his transformation and subsequent takeoff. But it wasn't fear that shone in her eyes. Nor disappointment nor anything remotely negative. Rather, what Hikari saw surprised her only because of...]

[Familiarity]

You...have wings too?

[It's enough to make him pause a second, hovering more than flying, but not more than that. There are too many thoughts already fighting in his head for him to even try to understand that one, and with those memories in mind, the possibility of discovering similarities at the moment is less than comforting. In the end, he flies off without another word.]