[log] Noisy Black, Part One [closed]

[snowblindmods]

Characters: anyone who signed up for the Noisy Black event
Location: an office building
Date: Morning and Day 260
Summary: You wake up in a room.
Warnings: nothing of note for this part, please note any specific things that happen in the comment sections of your posts

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Converted Top Level

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[mrcreamsicles]

[Royce. He didn't really expect to hear him, but the tone in his voice cuts through the surprise and his front of indifference. He move along the bars as quickly as he can like this to look the way he heard him speaking from.]

Over here. I don't know where otherwise. Looks like an office building? Are you alright?

[bywolves]

[ There he is. Royce isn't far - Davesprite's across the way, but it's fine, at least he can see him. And uh - wow, he wasn't expecting to see a human form. ]

Fine. [ He looks like garbage, even clean, but aside from hating being trapped in an 8 by 8 foot cage, he's alright. ] You're alive. And you... have legs.

[mrcreamsicles]

[Davesprite huffs something kin to a laugh but humorless, and looks down at himself. Human hands, pale skin, legs indeed. It's weird to not have the edge of his gaze framed by ruff feathers, just like it's strange not to have the weight of wings at his back. His shoulders flex; he wants to fold and unfold what's not there.]

I lost my spritehood.

[As much an answer as any to it.]

I revived last night a few hours after I talked to you.

[bywolves]

I didn't know. [ But he's relieved now, and it shows on his face. He slumps sort of heavily against the bars. A beat. ] Didn't last very long. It's. It's good to see you.

[ He sounds very genuine about that, at least. ]

Do you see Karkat?

[mrcreamsicles]

I'm glad I'm back. Only sucks that it was for this.

[He breathes out again, more shakily, then points. It took him a bit to notice with everything else going on, but he's at least addressed Karkat by now.]

He's right next to you.

[bywolves]

[ Oh. Good. He can't see him, because there's only one wall of bars, but he's glad to hear it. Royce breathes out slow. ]

Mm. [ That's both of them accounted for, and Gabriel. ] Do you see Solomons from where you're at?

[ Sorry, he just - he needs to know where everybody is. ]

[mrcreamsicles]

[He hasn't yet, but he takes a moment to scan slowly across the cells he can see and strains his ears to listen for his accent.]

I don't. If you can't see him from your side, I don't think he's here.

[He hopes that's for the better, but after that loss...]

[bywolves]

That's what Gabriel said. [ Royce holds onto the bars in front of him tightly. ]

... John was nearby. He'll look out for him. [ That's said with some difficulty. ] Can't hear him either. You know he would've said something to House by now if he were here.

[mrcreamsicles]

[Davesprite laughs, brief and weak but genuine.]

Fuck House.

[And there's emphasis in it. He means it.]

Watson will keep Alfie safe. He's a good man, he'll be thinking about all of this and what to do. I think the running guess is that we're in the sealed building? It seems big and obvious, and there had to be a reason we weren't let in earlier. I mean, can you even imagine if waving my chips at it had worked and we'd found this?

[He shifts his weight, though he's still leaning pretty heavily on the bars.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce agrees with you, buddy. He's been listening to everybody's conversations - not on purpose, but more because he has to. ]

Spoilers. [ Royce says, almost wryly. Maybe it's good thing they weren't able to sequence break, here. ] Obviously it's much more fun to experience firsthand.

[mrcreamsicles]

[He laughs again, louder and clearly surprised.]

What, did Steph teach you what those are? Or did you have that concept back in your world?

[bywolves]

Brown explained what the concept means for people from Earth, but it's not much different. [ Dryly: ] We don't have movie theaters, but we do have plays, Davesprite. They're almost the same thing.

[mrcreamsicles]

Hey, man, I'm not questioning the existence of plot-based entertainment in your world. I'm just saying I'm not up on fantasy land slang.

[Which is pretty hypocritical considering all the fantastical goings on brought by Sburb, but his life is no J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired pseudo-medieval-plus-elves type of tale.]

[bywolves]

You'd be surprised how many words align. [ Fantasy slang in Elan is real relaxed. ] But yes. I know what spoilers are.

[mrcreamsicles]

Tell me slang I don't know, then. Teach me Elanese, Royce.

[So long as they're trying to kill time and push off inevitable dread.]

[bywolves]

[ He makes a face. ] Elanese.

This might surprise you, but I don't know a lot of slang. [ A beat. Dryly: ] I'm old.

[mrcreamsicles]

How old?

[He's... not sure how to tell. Don't elves live a really long time in all those books and movies? He's not about to bring that up, though.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce has no idea how long he's supposed to live, and that's one of those things he does his very best not to think about. ]

I don't know. Early forties, I'd guess.

[mrcreamsicles]

Not sure exactly how old I am either.

[He shrugs at him, all shoulder, hands held tight to the bars for balance. Different reasons from him, he's sure, but he doesn't want to go asking. Royce has told him enough of his past to guess.]

Though I've got a closer range to pin it on. Probably 17, or 16 but close to it.

[bywolves]

[ He appreciates it, Davesprite. ]

I'm not surprised. [ Royce says, leaning heavily against the bars of his own cage. ]

[mrcreamsicles]

[Things fall silent like that for a short stretch, until his breath leaves him in a tired sort of sigh.]

I wish this wasn't how we had to meet up again.

[There's no blame for either of them, but god if it doesn't suck. They had to be a week away at most. If they could have just kept going...]

[bywolves]

I wish it wasn't either. [ Royce says absently, staring out at the rest of the room. ] Wonder if they'll just put us down where we were taken from, once this is all done.

[mrcreamsicles]

It's happened before.

[This place looks distressingly real if he lets his mind think too long on it, though. Hadn't Winter told him that even the white maze where he first met Royce was real, though? And they had passed up through the exit, into the memory of Winter's death, and finally back to their resting places. He'd been with Natasha at the time; he feels a pang for missing her as the memory passes.]

Makes me wonder if they'll just drop me back in the funeral home, or put me outside it. I would have had to leave this morning if not for this.

[bywolves]

[ He closes his eyes. Alfie will have moved on, if they're dropped right back where they were taken from, and he doesn't want to have to try to find Alfie when Alfie can't see anybody. ]

I don't know. I don't know what to expect, here. The waiting is the worst part.

[mrcreamsicles]

[He looks down the row of cells one way, then the other. There's only so much he can see and hear, and none of it gives enough sign for what may yet be set to happen.]

Have you got any stories you don't mind telling here? So long as we have time to kill.