[log] Wandering Eyes [closed]

[brokethefirst]

Characters: Quark, England, and Luna
Location Building 2, Building 19, and some various little places in between.
Date: Days 148 and 149
Summary: Shimmer event leads to some robot problems and two human popsicles.
Warnings: Eventual death, some skin horror; WILL ADD AS WE GET TO IT

[Building 2: This house has almost entirely collapsed, but the basement door and staircase is against all odds intact, meaning as long as you don't mind staying overnight in a basement, it will keep you safe overnight. The basement has old furniture: a crib tucked away in a corner, a couch that's seen better, less-stained days, a small white dresser and matching child's bed, although it would have to be put together again and lacks a mattress. There are large, blank pieces of posterboard abandoned beneath some boxes of long-dried paint. There is also a sealed trapdoor in the center of the room. The snow has been scooped away from the area around the house outside, but there's nothing of note there.

Building 19: A standard single-story house with a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and bedroom. There's a hanging bird cage in the living room, but the door has been left open and there's no sign of bird remains inside. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, STEPHANIE BROWN, GREED, EDWARD ELRIC, DAY FORTY FOUR, TRAVELLING EAST." has been carved into one of the walls. A cardboard sign on the dining room table reads "DAY 61, REACHABLE SHELTER TO EAST, RESUPPLY POINT TWO DAYS EAST."]

Comments

Day 148

[brokethefirst]

[keepscalm]

[It is horrifically cold. England regrets leaving their previous shelter, especially given the strange conditions outside.

Nothing to be done about it now that they're settled in, but still, England struggles to fight the chill from his extremities. He's planted himself in the living room, and he sorts his supplies on the floor by the bird cage, arranging and rearranging and consolidating things as much as he can. While he doesn't take everything out of all of his bags at once, there's quite an assortment of interesting things that make an appearance as he organises.]

[brokethefirst]

[Luna hasn't quite been able to notice the trail of white starting to crawl and crack the very edges of her face due to the temperatures, but she's well aware that her reaction to the bitter cold will be much different and less deadlier than for England and Quark. Once she's finished bundling the boy up, the redhead quietly makes her way over to England, trying to fight against the stiffness already building up against her joints.]

I-I hope I'm not interrupting, but... [She offers a quiet smile, extending her arm to show the remaining blanket she has tucked around it.] Please. Use it.

[keepscalm]

[England looks up from his supplies as Luna approaches, then offers a slight curve of his mouth that's almost a smile. He hasn't yet noticed any abnormality in her face.] Not at all.

[His eyes travel to the blanket and his expression changes again, becoming concerned.] Shouldn't you use it? [England, admittedly, does not know a lot about robots, but he's pretty sure such low temperatures wouldn't be good for anyone.]

[brokethefirst]

[She shakes her head, eyes softening sympathetically at his worried look.]

Circulation isn't something I really need to worry about. I'll, um... I'll likely have some more cosmetic changes if these sorts of temperatures continue for too long, but... it's not dangerous on its own.

[If her ABT fluids started to freeze, then yes, she'd be in trouble. But she could operate on the frigid surface temperatures of the moon, to a certain degree. As long as she stayed cautious, she could survive this frigid cold just fine.

England, on the other hand...]

Please. I don't like seeing you so cold.

[keepscalm]

[Cosmetic changes? England's curiosity is evident in his eyes as he looks at Luna, and that's when he notices. Close to her hairline, and the edges of her cheeks...

He reaches out to take the blanket, but his eyes are fixated on the strange white cracks as he does so. After a moment, his gaze refocuses to Luna's eyes.] Er...when you say "cosmetic changes," do you mean...

[He gestures a bit at his own face in indication, his expression worried again.]

[brokethefirst]

[Her brows crease in confusion at first, mimicking his motion as she feels along her face--]

Ah.

Yes, that's what I meant. It happened when I first arrived, too, when I didn't have anything to cover my hands. I think the fibers just become too brittle like this.

[Her smile tries to stay encouraging, though there's a soft sadness to it.]

I'm sorry if it looks a little strange. Really, I'll be okay.

[keepscalm]

[He's not sure exactly what causes the sadness in her expression, but he's quick to latch on to her apology.] It doesn't bother me how it looks, it just— it really doesn't...hurt, or anything? Is it all right to just leave it like that?

[As far as weird-looking things goes, England probably has weirder stuff in his basement. He just doesn't want to sit by while her face cracks if there's something they should be doing about it.]

[brokethefirst]

Yes. Like I said, it's only cosmetic. Whether it's there or not won't effect how I live.

[She might look about twelve degrees more horrifying, sure, but that wasn't exactly an emergency.]

And no, it doesn't hurt. I guess it feels a little... out of place? Not right now, that is, but after a while it becomes, um... noticeable. Like wearing a piece of clothing askew.

But it's not painful.

[keepscalm]

[It's hard to imagine it not being painful to lose skin, but he has to keep reminding himself that Luna probably doesn't feel things the same way he does in the first place.

Still, he frowns.] If you insist. But if there's anything here [he gestures to his spread of supplies,] that might be useful, do let me know.

[brokethefirst]

[She fidgets a bit at the frown, but doesn't try to speak up her point further. It was what it was, even if he might have to see it happen for the reality of it to be more clear.

Instead, she slowly kneels to take a look at what he has. Her eyes quickly settle on the picture of the Dover countryside, her entire expression softening with awe. It's so much green, and the sky was so blue, and the waves of the ocean licking their way up the white cliffs... things she'd only seen in books and files scavenged from several decades in the past.]

...Could you tell me about the pictures?

[keepscalm]

[England watches as she settles down nearby, his eyes only momentarily tracing the lines of white on her face as they come into closer view. He promptly realises that something has caught her attention, and he follows her gaze to his collection of things.

When she mentions the pictures, he gingerly retrieves them from the binder so that she can get a closer look. His mouth curves with something sentimental.] Certainly. Which one would you like to hear about first?

[brokethefirst]

O-oh, um... any of them will do, really. [Though even as she says that, her eyes noticeably drift back to the white cliffs. With some hesitation, she gestures towards it.] This one, perhaps?

[keepscalm]

[England plucks out the spread of the cliffs and lays it atop the other two in a small stack.] These are the White Cliffs of Dover. They're lovely in person— very striking, and they hold a lot of history. That's the part of me that's closest to Continental Europe, so for a long time, the cliffs were the first thing that any visitor — or invader — would see of my country. [Some pride sneaks into his voice, especially at that part.] They surround Dover, one of my major port towns in the County of Kent.

[brokethefirst]

That would put them to the... southeast, correct? They really are lovely...

[Her voice catches despite herself, trying to resist the urge to reach out and touch the contrasted line of white against black, of the vibrant blue of the sky against the rolling hills...]

Is it always so... so green on the top?

[keepscalm]

Correct. [Luna really seems very entranced by the photo. But then, England considers, she and Quark have said that their world is pretty bad; maybe she's never seen anything like this before.

He glances sidelong at her and chuckles.] It's pretty rare that it's not green. My country gets a lot of rain, so a lot of the countrysides look like this. I've thought that might be why my eyes are green.

[Not that he can know for sure if there's any rhyme or reason to that sort of thing, but it's a nice thought.]

Day 149

[brokethefirst]

[keepscalm]

[England typically wakes early, especially as of late; his body tends to rouse him from sleep before six in the morning, though for the life of him he can't figure out why he's been waking up earlier and earlier. This morning is no different, and he rises from his nest of fabrics with a displeased grunt. Even though it's safe from the wind, the temperature of the house has dropped with the lowered temperatures outside, and they're not pleasant sleeping conditions.

He folds his fabrics and tucks them back into his rucksack, then pulls out a few books: a fantasy novel, a human/AI romance novel, and a novel about pirates. He can be found reading each of them in spurts in the time before lockdown ends, hoping not to disturb his companions before they're able to begin their travels for the day.]