Be brave enough to burn

[notsogreedy]

Who: All the Alices (and Ankh, his name is Ankh)
What: Just a mysterious castle built on top of a restaurant. What could possibly go wrong?
Where: World Two – Wings to the Sky
Warnings: Who even knows? Will update as necessary.



Ankh wakes up at the edge of the water, his arm draped over a rock and his face cushioned by a bed of sand and seaweed as the edges of waves wash over his body. The first thing he notices upon waking is that it's uncomfortable. The second, upon lifting his head and starting to pull himself out of the water is that it's familiar. Awareness dawning, he scrambles to his feet and looks around wide-eyed half expecting Eiji to be there somewhere. Of course he isn't.

But this... this is his last memory. For a moment he wonders if somehow this whole thing came to an end and he wound up back home, but that's wishful thinking. No, this is just his world. His heart, as the guides like to call it. It's only more obvious that this isn't real as he scans the horizon and finds Cous Coussier where it shouldn't be. And then on top of it... that's-

His eyes widen, and then narrow. He's not sure what to expect out of this other than nothing good.

But, after wringing the water out of his clothes as best he can, he makes his way to the restaurant and curiously to the freezer, where he finds the ice pops he expects to be there. Pulling one out, he gives it a skeptical look for a moment—does he dare assume it's really the same or even safe to eat?--but ultimately pops it into his mouth and discovers it tastes exactly like he expects. That much is something he can appreciate. But as for the rest of this...

With popsicle in hand, he continues exploring.

Comments

[mearry]

[ The sudden voice makes C-ta jolt, head snapping in the direction of the voice. Ah--

Thank god it's not the cat. ]

Yeah. [ He stands up, arms crossed and close against his chest. Unlike the Cat, C-ta emotions towards the cat are...strange. Somewhere between nostalgia and lots of doubt. ] At least it wasn't a gunshot.

[ he heaves a sigh, trying to choose his words carefully. ] That thing the cat stole...do you also know what it is?

[apatheticguide]

[ A quiet yawn. ]

... No. Whatever he takes is his own doing. As I said previously... I don't want to be thought of the same as him.

[mearry]

Mm, I understand. It must be a hassle to deal with him, huh? Does he do this a lot? I mean, I won't even ask how he does it [ he chuckles a little. ] but he does kind of look like a repeat offender.

[ So he doesn't know either... C-ta had thought of asking, for at least a hint on who the missing person is but it's clear that it'll be to no avail ]

[apatheticguide]

... What do you think?

[ He says it appraisingly, as if he expects C-ta to figure that out for himself. IS the Cat a repeat offender? ]

[mearry]

It's hard to say. I can't say that I know him well.

[ And saying that he is is a little scary for C-ta to think about. What would that mean for them? Would it even matter? ]

But, whether you're stealing clothes or memories, you can't be that good without practice. Therefore...he's probably done it before, I think.

[apatheticguide]

... If you can already guess, then you shouldn't need to think too hard about it. Does it surprise you overmuch that he is always causing some fashion of trouble?

[ He's said it before, really. He hates him. ]

[mearry]

Ah-- well, when you put it like that...

[ C-ta manages to chuckle, already far more relaxed than the beginning. His chest continues to hurt but...it's not as bad. ] it's a pleasant surprise to know that he hasn't caused more mayhem.

[apatheticguide]

[ Yeah. Exactly. ]

... That depends on your definition, I suppose.

[ He's grumbling those words a bit. ]