[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!

---

[ 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

[scenting]

No, I'm a coyote.

[ it was an automatic reply and she pauses for a moment, realizing that she didn't really think about it and oh no.

but also months of being in cerealia has sort of made the whole "it's a secret" thing super tiring so after a moment she just shrugs and lets it sit. ]

Do you know what they are?

[reprizesal]

[He nods, looking around the area.]

Where should we start?

[She lives here, so she should... generally know the area better?]

[immobileyes]

... They're... like wolves? I think? [ She's never seen one, personally, but she's read a lot. ]

[overgrowth]

[ fortunately, kanda is a little more calm today than previous, and instead of being super rude he's just... a little bit rude. ]

Hey. What're you doing out here? Trying to kill yourself?

[immobileyes]

... [ Points at a whole bunch of smaller chunks, not too far to the right. No, she doesn't really know the area when everything is squished, but that seems doable. ] There.

[immobileyes]

No! [ It's a bit peevish from someone who's actually fairly scared of strangers, but Mary's too tired to care... much.

She does shrink back a little, though. ]

I'm trying to find things...

[overgrowth]

Like what?

[ kanda comes down a little further down the rubble, moving steadily but slowly until he's close. ]

[immobileyes]

... Like.... everything.

[ WELL SHE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO GRAB THINGS... ]

[overgrowth]

How're you going to do it by yourself?

[ that is... kind of sort of an offer to help. kind of. ]

You're tiny.

1/2

[immobileyes]

That's--!

[ True, but Mary doesn't really want to admit it to someone who is so obviously not short. Especially a stranger. And truthfully, she's questioned herself several times on how far she'll get like this, but... but...!

Them's fighting words. ]

[immobileyes]

I--I have a backbone, s-so you shouldn't underestimate me!!

[ SHE WEIGHS AS MUCH AS 130 APPLES SHE CAN TAKE ON THIS PROJECT AND YOU--

Okay, no, please help her. ]

[overgrowth]

Just because you have a backbone doesn't mean you can do anything.

[ but, kanda isn't leaving. he adjusts the sword that's at his waist so it's not in the way and crouches down to pick up a piece of rock and toss it out of the way for her. ]

[yourfononsarewhack]

[A sigh, both irritated and weary.]

Are you truly so persistent on this?

[theshiningone]

... I've got a tough crowd today. Even a courtesy giggle would've been good.

[immobileyes]

Yes.

[ Well. She's an honest one. ]

[yourfononsarewhack]

[Ugh, he can't even find the energy to fight her on this.]

Hm.

I suppose that at the least, I can provide you with adult supervision.

[Man, he wishes there was an intact lawnchair nearby.]

[immobileyes]

But it wasn't funny at all.

[thatdamnknight]

[someone else was searching around the rubble today. flynn lack much in the way of stuff, but trying to find some of his things couldn't hurt. that ceremonial outfit would be especially nice to recover. what a shame that searching around fails to find any trace of it.

he gives a small sigh as he straightens. maybe searching would yield better results with a fully healed arm, too. it's still in a sling, but a trip to the hospital helped A LOT. better doesn't mean healed and it means only having one hand to use. his eyes survey the area only to fall on a very distraught looking girl nearby. watching her for a moment reveals her digging around in the rubble (likely also in search of personal belongings) and then attempting, or rather, failing to lift a large piece of debris.

flynn wastes no time in walking over to grab a corner of the debris. perks of being a knight who can probably lift twice his own weight means that one hand still helps a lot.]

I've got it.

[so feel free to look around underneath being implied. holding this up for more than a few minutes won't happen, but hopefully that's enough.]

[babermetrics]

Heh . . . come on, like I can let a cute girl like you be sad by herself.

[It's just hovering on the edge of flirting. The only reasons it hasn't tipped fully over into flirting territory are, first of all, he can't quite tell how old she is, and second, he does have some sense of time and place. Flirting with a girl while she's mourning the loss of her home and possessions might be a little inappropriate, especially if she's like fourteen.

(She is cute, though, and he's not shy about that part.)

He stoops again to grab another chunk of rubble, though he doesn't lift it yet, looking back up to her first.]

You don't mind, right? I'm not gonna bite!

[sewayaku]

... I see.

[ it's to be expected - porcelain and ceramic aren't exactly the sturdiest of materials - but for her sake, he'd been holding out a little bit of hope. ]

It's all right. We can purchase a new one for you.

[harepiece]

[It doesn't seem shallow to him at all, if the worried crease at his brow is any indication. He knows how much gifts can mean - and he'd be doing the exact same thing Mary is if their positions were reversed.]

Even if they might be damaged, it's better to find them, right? I'll look with you. Could you tell me some of the things you're looking for?

[He'll already go scout out another patch of rubble while waiting for her to respond!]

[immobileyes]

I'm glad everyone living here turned out to be safe, but... losing everything else--

[ She slowly shakes her head, fighting back tears with every swishing movement of her hair. No. Zara's right, she can always buy a new tea set. But then the gifts her friends had given her, the sentimental value... that was something else. ]

[immobileyes]

Yeah, there's... um, a tea set, and dried flowers, and a little bear, and text books--

[ Mary stills, now a little mortified. Oh right, her books... all of her manga collection and her fairy tales and what she'd been using with Sousei--! ]

[immobileyes]

[ Fourteen, or one hundred and forty, take your pick- flirting would probably bounce right off of her anyway, even if Mary knows what it is. She's read manga, after all!

... Manga, which is also buried underneath all of this rubble, probably too far soaked and dirtied to be salvageable. ]

You look a little dangerous, [ and yes, she'll tell him this. ] But if you're going to help me, I don't mind.

[immobileyes]

I can lift the little ones--!

[ But her voice kind of chokes off in confusion, because why is he...

Is he helping? ]