[OPEN] I'm in here

[immobileyes]

Who: Mary Kozakura (immobileyes) and YOU
When: IC 2/27-3/01
Where: Residential District, right by the not-so-standing apartments
What: Mary tries to dig up things from her fallen apartment over the course of a few days, success is varied
Rating/Warning: None!

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[ It was hard enough, waiting for the water level to go down enough so that Mary could return to where her apartment was (had been) without risk of drowning. Seto's hoodie, the jacket Hiro had given her... they were the only things she'd been able to find at the time, but now she can search for anything remaining from their apartment.

So feel free to come across a tiny teenager over the afore-mentioned days, getting drizzled on and trying to pry up pieces of the smaller rubble - and HNNNNNGHing at the bigger pieces of debris that she can't budge at all - as she hunts about. The stuffed animal she'd received from Lily is gone, the headband from Kaoru and Shiho has been twisted and bent beyond repair when she miraculously finds that... the dried flowers, from the bouquet Elza had given her... no sign of them. All of her tea...

Mary almost wants to cry, but not yet. She just keeps looking.

And don't be alarmed if she seems worn-out when you see her. It's not some weird elemental effect, she's just terrible at stamina. ]

Comments

[immobileyes]

I lost... um, almost everything in my apartment. Like my tea set... and the blankets... and...

[ She trails off, reaching out to move a smaller chunk of debris, something she can fit both of her hands around.

'Everything' seems legit. ]

[immobileyes]

My cup!

[ One of like... twelve, but it's amazingly (almost) intact, and Mary reaches out to take it with an air of amazement. ] It really... didn't break...

[immobileyes]

Yeah. A lot of the people who lived here were there. I thought... when they disappeared, maybe they'd found a safer place to be. But to find them, all strung up and not even moving...

[ She's just unintentionally bound and determined to rain on his parade, oops. ]

[immobileyes]

[ What a nice jerk he is! Careful, Kanda, there's a very soggy, dirty blanket under there. ]

It took me an hour...

[harepiece]

[Somehow, that seems extremely morbid when it's worded like that...]

You could press them, right? Maybe that will help.

[sewayaku]

But of course. If you weren't sad, I think I'd be even more worried.

[ he removes his hand from her head, crossing his arms instead. ]

Still, if something like that happens, all we can do is move on. Such is life, as they say.

[immobileyes]

They were pressed before... I'm not sure if I could do it again.

[ Well, it'd get the water out, at least. ]

[immobileyes]

That's... not it...

[ It's all she can manage, with a quivery voice and watery eyes. It's not that the humans rubbed off on her. When was the last time she'd had this many friends who thought of her, enough to give her things? Things she ought to have treasured more? ]

[immobileyes]

R-right... I can't fix things that are this broken, anyway.

[ Mend clothes, yes. Not buildings. ]

[sewayaku]

[ a small chuckle. ]

Of course not. Even that headband looks like it may be hard to mend. [ he certainly doesn't know how. ] But your memories aren't broken at all, nor is your spirit. That's what's most important.

[harepiece]

[One problem solved... maybe.]

You could press them and then laminate them once they dry out! That way you won't have to worry about them falling apart or getting wet again.

[overgrowth]

[ that's nasty, kid. still, kanda's in a good enough mood that he's still here and helping...ish. ]

Why don't you ask someone for help? I'm sure someone would take pity on you.

[ because normal people have sympathy for small children, right?? ]

[immobileyes]

Lamin-- you mean, like make them into bookmarks?

[ ELZA YOUR LEGACY MIGHT LIVE ON... ]

[immobileyes]

My spirit...

[ There's a pause, and then Mary sighs, lifting a hand to rub at her eyes. ] I don't know why everyone keeps thinking that I'm that strong.

[thatdamnknight]

I may have heard a story similar to the latter one, but I've never heard of the first one. Would you mind telling me more about it?

[why a frog and why would doing all that break the spell?? color flynn curious.]

[immobileyes]

I'm not sure if I could tell it right... b-but um, I can try. [ Her first time being a storyteller to someone besides birds!! This is important. ]

[coexistent]

Maybe you can show me one day, then...

[if she believes that strongly in it, then he wants to see how it's possible!]

[immobileyes]

If something else attacks us and I have one, anyway.

[ Yep. ]

[cutebutexpendable]

Oh really? What kinda stuff is so important that it can't be replaced, huh? Nothing's worth fucking yourself up for, unless you got so much greed in you that-

[ Belatedly, he notices that trembling voice and those unshed tears, and he finally shuts up- though it's less from dismay, and more due to confused disbelief. Hard-bitten, bloodstained outlaws are more his type of crowd, not fragile teens desperately trying to figure out their place in the world. ]

Holy shit, are you crying?

[coexistent]

I'm gonna hold you to that.

[...he's joking, really.]

[deontology]

It seems not everything was broken despite the destruction.

[There's probably a deep metaphorical moment waiting to be uncovered here, but Sousei doesn't wait for it. Instead, he just goes right back to work as soon as Mary has her cup.]

[immobileyes]

Just a lot of it.

... But maybe the rest are nearby. [ So she's gently nestling the cup in a nest made of one rediscovered dress (now muddy, but still mostly intact) and scooting over to see if she can help. ]

[harepiece]

Exactly! You can press them between two sheets of laminate and then cut it down to any shape you want. I've seen them do that at the library before, too!

[Bless future libraries for having copy machines and laminate machines and that bigass scary paper cutter.]

[immobileyes]

Don't worry! I'll show you its power!

[ IT DID NOTHING, MARY. EXCEPT HURT WHEN IT GOT STUCK IN YOUR HAIR. ]

[immobileyes]

Have you ever done it yourself?

[ OZ... SENPAI????? ]