[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

[harepiece]

[TIME TO GIVE IT A VIKING FUNERAL.]

Oh! That's good, then! We'll get you a new copy as soon as possible. Let's look a little more in the meantime, okay? There might be some others in that area...

[He'll helpfully start poking around once more!!]

[immobileyes]

Y-yeah! [ But now that he's here-- ]

Was everything really okay with you, Oz? Nothing got ruined?

[harepiece]

Nothing that can't be replaced. [Not even their menagerie of cybuddies managed to get swept away!]

We got lucky since we're on a pretty high floor... Oh— [DIG DIG, oops, that looks like a soggy and smushed flower...]

[immobileyes]

Oh--! That's...

[ ... SHE'S SO SORRY ELZA YOUR FLOWERS ARE DEAD-- well even more dead.

Would he be mad, she wonders, if he knew what had happened? ]

[harepiece]

[IT'S JUST ONE, IT'S PROBABLY FINE-- maybe... He picks up the flower carefully.]

Is this one of them? It doesn't look like there are any others under here...

[immobileyes]

Yeah... I dried them, so I wouldn't have to throw them out, but I don't think there's anything I can do about it now.

[ IT'S A LITTLE SAD-LOOKING. ]

[harepiece]

[Maybe it can be re-dried...... He's still holding it carefully because he's not sure if he should put it down or not WHY.]

Hm... It might not be the same as before, but it should still be able to dry out again, right?

[immobileyes]

I... hope so. If flowers retain too much moisture, the head will fall off the stem...

[ She knows that much, at least. ]

[harepiece]

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

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

[immobileyes]

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

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

[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.

[immobileyes]

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

[ ELZA YOUR LEGACY MIGHT LIVE ON... ]

[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]

Have you ever done it yourself?

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

[harepiece]

[HE'S NOT WORTHY OF THAT TITLE YET...]

Not yet, but I could give it a try so I can help you out! Does that sound all right?

[immobileyes]

... Yeah! It's easier if I'm not doing it by myself.

[harepiece]

Okay! [A nod!] Then we'll have to find somewhere safe to put this in the meantime.

[This soggy-ass flower...]

[immobileyes]

Here-- [ She points off to her left, where one of her dresses (soggy and muddy and sad-looking) is being used to cradle any salvageable items. ] We can tuck it in there.

[harepiece]

[Mary why... But he'll trot over there without voicing his "Mary why"s aloud, placing the flower in as safe a place as he can find.]

There! It shouldn't get crushed like that.

[immobileyes]

[ SHE CAN'T EXACTLY WEAR IT OKAY, it's got a good use like this!!! ]

I'm just glad we found one of them... [ Even if the others got crushed beyond hope, there's at least this much.

... Mary, don't actually tear up. ]

[harepiece]

[MARY NO DON'T CRY... This is an emotional moment, but still!!]

—Right! And it won't be too difficult for you to take care of now!

[He's quickly fishing in his pocket for a handkerchief HERE, SMALL FRIEND.]

[immobileyes]

[ THANK YOU, EQUALLY SMALL FRIEND. She'll accept this handkerchief and dab at her face with it like a truly mature young woman. ]

S-sorry-- I just... [ It keeps hitting her hard, when she least expects it. ]

[harepiece]

[She's going through loss okay, she deserves her moment.]

You don't have to apologize, Mary. Those things meant a lot to you, right?

[immobileyes]

Because I've never had this many friends before... a-and when I think about it, how they've all given me things because we're friends, and then those things are all...

[ She trails off, shifting from foot to foot. Most of what she's found hasn't been in the best of shape. It's like that flood's trampled on the feelings of her friends and it hurts. It hurts that she couldn't get all of that to safety. ]

[harepiece]

[He thinks he can understand where she's coming from with this, at least, and his brow creases in sympathy.]

If they gave you such nice things, I don't think they'd want you getting upset over losing them, right?

[Nice people are usually understanding, too.]