contempsi: ({sorrow})
Hope Estheim ([personal profile] contempsi) wrote2011-01-23 12:12 pm

001 || {Audio / Action}

[Groggy and disoriented, Hope awakens in the middle of the forest—just as he'd left it.

Or maybe not so much. The air is cold against his skin, and that's the first thing he notices as he lifts a hand to rub at his eyes. His clothes are gone entirely; there's nothing on his person but a simple pair of white pants, and in the chill of winter, they aren't much help.

Never mind the fact that Pulse wasn't this cold in the first place, by a long shot.

There's also a stiffness in his back, and when he folds his bare arms around himself for warmth, feeling the bumps raise on his skin—the ache in his shoulderblades is almost excruciating. Wincing in pain, the boy automatically lifts a hand to touch the afflicted area as his eyes dart around in search of his tiny companion, who had accompanied him on his food-gathering expedition.
]

...Chocobo...?

[The confused question immediately catches on a gasp of surprise as his fingers brush against something decidedly feathery on his back. Hope immediately twists his head back to see just what the heck is wrong with him, finding a pair of wings there, of all things—wings with silken feathers the same pale silver as his hair.]

What—

[His heart begins to race in fear and uncertainty, though he attempts to will it down. If he allows himself to become too stressed, after all... Hope lifts his arm, staring at the marking on his wrist. The crimson eye, slowly on the edges of awakening, stares back—and he immediately squeezes his eyes shut, turning his face away. As he lowers his hand again, it brushes against something. He snatches the object up: it's a book.

It doesn't take Hope long at all to figure out the thing—he's a smart kid. Clearly, with the marked buttons and everything, it can be used to communicate with others. But where did it come from? This doesn't look like anything they have on Cocoon, even with its advanced technology... and Gran Pulse is so primitive in comparison. It doesn't make sense.

No matter. Finding the others is of the utmost importance, before it's too late. Pressing the button that would enable him to broadcast his voice, Hope attempts to send out a message to the other l'Cie, in hopes that maybe they were able to locate a similar device, or that perhaps it would transmit to some kind of central beacon.
]

...um... guys...?

[His voice is thick from sleep, slightly slurred. He clears his throat.] Can anyone hear me? I... I think I got lost, and I can't find Chocobo either. Someone... or something... robbed me, too. As... as weird as that sounds. So... it doesn't look like we're alone here after all.

Um... I'm going to try to find my way back, but... [He trails off, biting his lip, feeling a little silly.] ...if I don't make it back... just... go on without me.

[Voice]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-23 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
My message did reach one of my friends, at least... s-so she's meeting me there.

Thanks for your help, mister— um... sorry, I didn't catch your name.

[voice]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-23 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Someone else mentioned that name, too... [He sighs. Somehow, that just affirms how real all this surreality truly is. It's rather sobering.]

I... I got some information, and I'm heading for... some kind of village now. Thanks for the offer, though. Um... do you live in the village, too?

[Voice]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-23 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
There's a bunch of big trees... and a river, though it's kind of far away. I was told to go there, though... and follow it to... some kind of village. So that's what I'm doing right now.

[He pauses then, because she had also reacted to the word "chocobo".] ... um... by any chance, did you see a small yellow bird anywhere?

[Voice]

[identity profile] hallowedlight.livejournal.com 2011-01-23 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm glad to hear it. Arriving here entirely alone would not be easy.

I am Cecil. And yourself?
thestormishere: (leave and let live)

[voice!]

[personal profile] thestormishere 2011-01-23 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ... Oh. And that's just brilliant, Malnosso. Bring Lightning her friend and then try and freeze him to death. Bastards. ]

Your clothes weren't with you. [ Completely flat here, without a trace of it actually being a question. Not that it matters, since even if they had been, Hope doesn't really wear things warm enough for a place like this anyway. Therefore... change of plan. ] Think you can build a fire?

[Voice]

[identity profile] oncebright.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 12:01 am (UTC)(link)
Mogget.

You can go to the Welcome Center in the village; they've always room to spare for new arrivals. Do try not to freeze to death while you're at it.

[voice]

[identity profile] mydearapple.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
I'm sure you'll make it back. Eventually.

[/helpful]

[Voice]

[identity profile] eidolon-soul.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
That's right, follow the river upstream. You'll find the village that way, though I can try to look for you. I don't want you getting cold out there.

...as for the chocobo, no. At least, no free-roaming ones. The only one I know is black and belongs to someone else.

[Voice]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks, Mogget. I'll do that if I can't find any of my friends. And... well, I'm trying not to freeze to death... [A quiet, wry laugh.]

[Voice]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks, Cecil. I'm Hope.

[voice!]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
N-no, when I woke up... everything was gone. I... all I have on are these strange pants. [Another exhalation—his shoulders feel raw and sore where the wings meet his body, but he doesn't want to draw too much attention to them just yet. Not until he sees Lightning in person, at any rate. The faint possibility that this is something that could further make him into an outsider is at the edges of his mind.]

I... I don't have anything. I think it'd be easier to just... hurry up and get out of the cold than to try and stop. [Though it didn't occur to him to even try to create a fire until she mentioned it. He was so in shock over everything else that attempting to use his power here didn't even cross his mind.] I found someone who said he can help me get back... b-but I guess if that doesn't work out, I can try and make a fire... a-and then you can look for it.

[He's braved worse circumstances than this, after all, even if the climates on Cocoon and Gran Pulse weren't so harsh... but he can make it through this! Somehow!]

[Voice]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 01:43 am (UTC)(link)
So... so there are chocobos here? Really? I don't know if I've ever seen a black one before, though...

[His breathing is a bit shivery.] D-don't worry... I met up with someone who said he knows how to get back. So I think... I'll be okay.

[voice]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
Th-thanks? I... I think I will, too.
thestormishere: (the hero will drown)

[voice!]

[personal profile] thestormishere 2011-01-24 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ Are you a l'Cie or not, Hope? You've been casting Fire spells much longer than she has-- ah, except... ]

You found someone...?

[ Well, that's good on a few fronts - it at least means he's probably pretty close to the village - but still doesn't really solve the problem of frostbite. Also, as if she's just going to let someone else handle this without her; she gives a rushed sigh, and a beat later there's the sound of a door slamming rather angrily in the background. ]

You're coming towards the village, right? Is the sun... a little behind you, or to the right? [ Trying to figure out if they're on the west or south river, and since she doesn't know whether or not he'd understand any directions... heck, she's hoping he figures out what she means by the sun's position, here. Guess who's totally unaware about just how long he's been running around Gran Pulse? ]

[Voice]

[identity profile] eidolon-soul.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 03:26 am (UTC)(link)
Alright, but if you need anything, feel free to stop by the Welcome Center. That's what we're here for; to help the newcomers whenever they arrive. It's in the center of town, across from the clinic.

[voice!]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
[He flinches a little at the jarring sound of said door being slammed.] I-it's... it's to the right. [He sounds a bit distracted as he says this—probably due to him actually looking for the sun's position in the sky; it's something he never saw before landing on Gran Pulse, given Phoenix's role in providing their daylight on Cocoon.]

[Before long, there's the faint sound of rushing water in the background.] I... I'm following the flow of the river—well, opposite the flow, I should say. Just like you and the others... have said. Someone gave me a guide through this book, too, but I haven't read it yet.
thestormishere: (not a question of can or can't)

[voice!] > [action!]

[personal profile] thestormishere 2011-01-24 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ Her agitation towards this whole thing is sort of lacking a proper outlet... even if it might sound like it a little, she's not actually mad at the teen himself. Just extremely frustrated. ]

Good. Just give me a minute.

[ Fortunately, his word is enough for her to figure out which side of the forest he's been thrown out in, and once she's outside means she has reason to feel cooled down in more ways than one. There isn't time to hit the stores or anything, and so she just brings what she has on hand, hastily stuffed into a bag and slung over her shoulder as she swiftly makes her way to the edge of town.

... Hopefully it won't matter too much that what she's wearing now hardly resembles anything from home any more- to the point where her boots and holstered gunblade are about the only things that have obviously stayed the same amidst new choices in nearly everything and the addition of a thigh-length, green-stitched white coat to go over it all. However, there's also her own wings to take into consideration: one is white and the other red, which makes them fit in with the remnants of her Guardian Corps attire much better than most would realize.... ]

[voice]

[identity profile] infinitepath.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 07:05 am (UTC)(link)
Mii. I do. I could show you around, if you'd like.

[Voice]

[identity profile] hallowedlight.livejournal.com 2011-01-24 11:25 am (UTC)(link)
[Hope. It's a good name, in Cecil's opinion.]

Pleased to meet you then, Hope.

[voice]

[identity profile] mydearapple.livejournal.com 2011-01-25 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
Might take a little while, though. But the people here can be pretty helpful when they want to be, so it shouldn't be too bad.

[action!]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-25 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
[Hope isn't sure if Lightning plans to wait at the village for him, or start walking until they meet halfway somewhere. Either way, he's able to make it in the direction of the village. Seeing it loom on the horizon immediately has him scoping the area for his comrade's imposing presence.

After parting ways with Ven, he soon comes across what could very well be his long-lost partner at the edges of the village—or someone else with the same pink-hued hair and militant posture.

...Not likely. If it weren't for those things, and the sheathed blade at her hip, he wouldn't have been able to pick her out otherwise. Hope breaks into a jog, ignoring the cold air cutting at his skin.
] Light...!?

[voice]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-25 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
I... I'm meeting up with my friend, but maybe after I figure out what's going on? [It couldn't hurt, could it? And he's obviously not the only person trapped here.]

Oh... what's your name? Mine's Hope.
thestormishere: (accept what's been done)

[action!]

[personal profile] thestormishere 2011-01-25 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ She would have gone out to meet them halfway, definitely, but it seems she was fortunate enough to miss making that a necessity. Recognizing him at a distance isn't hard at all for her either- his stature and hair color are unmistakable themselves, and... most people don't really make a habit of wandering around half naked when it's so cold. So there's that too. ]

Hope!

[ Bad circumstances or not, she is glad to see him... although damn, she feels frozen just looking at him! Worry clearly crosses her face, and the bag comes off her shoulder the instant she's in range; a moment later, she's practically throwing a blanket she took from her apartment around his shoulders. Hopefully she doesn't catch a wing too bad in doing so? ]

Let's get you inside somewhere.

[action] 8| LJ ate my comment, so if this double posts, that's why.

[identity profile] risingwinds.livejournal.com 2011-01-25 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
[And Ven sure doesn't hesitate in taking Hope's hand and giving it a shake.]

Name's Ventus, but you can call me Ven. It's nice to meet you, Hope!

[And whenever Hope's ready, Ven'll get started towards the village.]

[action!]

[identity profile] contempsi.livejournal.com 2011-01-25 02:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[A mixture of relief and gratitude washes over his face when Lightning does, indeed, confirm her presence. Though along with it comes a pang of fear—if they're here, then what will happen to Cocoon? What about their Focus?

He's grateful, too, for the blanket—though he lets out a quiet gasp and winces as it disturbs the wings on his back. He lifts a hand beneath the shroud and rubs at the place where they meet his body. So sore and tender to the touch. But he gives an affirmative nod to Lightning's statement, still shivering. No argument there.
]

G-good idea. [There's a lot of questions burning in his mind, but they can wait.]

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