I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.

[keephersafe]

Who: R & you
Where: The beach
When: 21/10
Rating: G for now
Summary: Still trying to keep out of the way of the general population as much as he can help it, R takes himself down to the beach.
The Story:

[The wind ruffles at his hair and tugs his clothes, and R closes his eyes to take a deep, unnecessary breath. He can almost feel the way the salty air should sting the inside of his nose, and he can almost feel the chill from the wind, and that almost is so tantalisingly close that he loses a good hour reaching for it.

He sits cross-legged in the sand, oblivious to the way that the position strains the tendons and joints of his knees. His fingers dig gently into the sand, and he watches the way it slides over his hands with an expression that could only be called curious.

His head tilts slightly as he hears steps behind him, and he glances back over his shoulder. The time he's spent here has done absolutely nothing towards making him look any less Dead, but he's finding that he cares less and less about people's reactions to it. If someone's going to shoot him, then... they're going to shoot him, and there's really nothing he can do about that.]

Um... hey.

Comments

[noreason]

Hey.

[Naoki's been out running around with no real destination or reason in mind. That's his norm--he simply has too much energy to stay still for too long at a time.

Without being invited, he crouches down in the sand a few feet from R. He looks at the water, then over at him.]

You looked really engrossed.

[His tone is friendly and comfortable. Like R, he's cared less and less over time about how people will react to him--to the stripes and the glowing and the horn at the back of his neck. He's a demon whether people like it or not. That's something he's pretty much decided to own.]

[keephersafe]

... Mm.

[He doesn't expect to be joined so readily, or by anyone who looks so... unusual, but he doesn't appear to be disturbed by Naoki's appearance any more than Naoki is disturbed by his.

Yet, R is still unsure of how he is supposed to react to immediate friendliness. He prepares himself for suspicion and aggression in the first place, and it takes a few moments for his reactions to rearrange themselves.]

It's... nice out here.

[noreason]

[Naoki nods, touching the sand with his fingertips, feeling its warmth.]

It kind of makes you think we're not actually trapped here.

[Having an open horizon gives the impression that things are much bigger than they are.]

[keephersafe]

Yeah.

[Clearly his actions have not been taken as strange, so he looks down and digs his fingers into the sand again. It's warm and almost soft, and sticks under his fingernails.]

A pretty... cage.

[Right?]

[scoutsniper]

[ Frank had been out here once before, when he was just scouting the area, learning the limits of this place. He's out here now, because he's getting restless--the lull making him edgy. This place has to have some shit in store for Halloween, and it ain't gonna be good. And no amount of patrolling is going to make it suck less, but it's still something to do.

He hadn't really seen the guy--or if he had, the stillness had registered as something like another of the creepy weird statues that litter this place. So, when it talks...? ]

Waiting for something?

[keephersafe]

['It'? That's not very nice, Frank.

R lets some of the sand slide through his fingers, then pulls both hands self-consciously back into his lap. He glances up, pewter-grey eyes lingering on the man's face for a moment and--

God, this guy looks like a bruiser.

--his internal monologue provides a momentary distraction that delays his response.]

No. [He fidgets for a moment.] En... joying the view.

[scoutsniper]

[ He's not a nice guy especially when the statues start talking.

And this guy looks...off. And sketchy. Frank steps a pace back, just keeping his distance, for now. ]

Yeah. I guess. Hard to enjoy much in this place. [Or, in Frank's case, in any place.]

[shslliar]

[Kokichi's new here, so he's been kind of exploring on his own. The fact that there was a beach here was so awesome! But it's the middle of fall, so no one else wanted to go there...]

[No one else except this stranger sitting in the sand. Who looks pale and sickly and...]

Hey! Whatcha doing sitting all by yourself? It's not summer vacation you know!

[keephersafe]

['Pale and sickly' is the running theme for first impressions as far as R goes, though it's a better one than 'this thing is Dead and I have to shoot it'.

He flinches slightly at the sudden greeting despite the fact he had noticed the boy was there. People tend to approach him with some level of quiet wariness, but this is... different.]

Um... [A little baffled, he shrugs awkwardly.] S-sorry?

[shslliar]

[Yeeeeah, zombies aren't exactly a thing in his world, so he has nothing to compare this dude to.]

[Also, the zombie isn't immediately trying to claw anyone's face off.]

Huh? What are you apologizing for? I just wanted to know why you're just sitting here.

[You never answered his question, zombie boy!]

[naughty_nurse]

[Mikan doesn't like going outside - and definitely not near the beach, it brings bad back memories - but even knows staying inside 24/7 will drive her mad. She needs fresh air, to walk...]

O-Oh!

[That nice boy that was there during the dreamwalking!]

Um, I-I'm sorry to bother you.

[keephersafe]

Oh.

[It's that girl who accidentally walked into his room while she was trying not to fall asleep. He shifts in place, trying to make his seated position look a little more natural.]

Y-you're not... bothering me.

[naughty_nurse]

[Now that she's had sleep and is... slightly less panicky, now she can see how abnormally pale his skin is. weird.]

... I was.. getting some air. Were you doing that too?

[angewiesen]

[Sometimes, when Jean had already finished his 3DMG training for the day, and couldn't find anything else to do that suited his mood, he wandered down the the beach. It was something he'd never seen before coming to Wonderland. And while it didn't mean a whole lot to him, he remembered a few of his comrades who's dream it was to find the ocean. Coming here reminded him of them, when he wanted to be reminded.]

[It was usually empty though, so he lifted his gaze in curiosity when he ran across R.]

Hey yourself. [Jean raised one of his eyebrows. This guy... He didn't look so hot. Corpselike, even. And Jean had seen enough corpses in his life to make that distinction on the spot.] You doing okay there, bud?

[keephersafe]

[R had never seen a beach before, either. At least, he can't remember ever having seen a beach, and Zombie-Infection-Induced-Amnesia works as well as never having experienced a thing at all as far as new scenarios are concerned. After the time spent in that tower, the quiet is very much welcome.

There's that question - the one he's used to hearing, and the one that usually means the person asking it is trying to decide if he's sick or a threat - and he nods once.]

Y-yeah, I'm okay.

[Say something human.]

A... are you?

[angewiesen]

I'm fine. [Although he was obviously growing more suspicious at R's sparse response, and his strange, guttering voice. Jean hadn't seen a zombie before coming to Wonderland, but after the vents he'd been through, he was starting to connect some dots.] Am I safe here? I haven't been bitten yet [By a Titan or a zombie.] and I'd like to keep it that way.

[slapfight]

[Fortunately, Peridot cannot recognize the difference between a dead human and a real human, and she's immune to all zombie viruses, so, honestly, the sight of someone sitting on the beach like this means nothing to her.

Except for one thing.]

This is my spot. [As if the beach isn't huge. She is a possessive little cretin, and she would like to think she's being perfectly polite in a... arguably super judgey way.]

[keephersafe]

[That's... fortunate, but it doesn't do anything to ease the way her statement entirely throws him off. He looks at her, then up and down the beach - the wide stretches of sand and grassy dunes - then back up at her.]

... N-no I'm not.

[R isn't generally an argumentative person, but he's pretty sure that he didn't turf this... interesting-looking individual off this spot when he got here.]

[slapfight]

[oh clearly this abnormally pale human is going to be difficult.

it does not occur to her that she's the one being difficult.] This spot is precisely in the middle of the beach. It has the most optimal view of the ocean and the surrounding area.

[dramatic]

( r isn't the only one who's decided to take himself down to the beach.

winter will arrive soon enough, and she's heard the snow is brutal. means the beach will be off limits to them for who knows how long; mj thinks a walk along its shore would do her some good. she's been uncharacteristically mopey and pensive since the last event, and she'd very much like to change that. )

Hi. ( her features shift into something a little more amused as she notes r's tentativeness. ) I won't bite.

( hopefully, he won't, either...? )

[keephersafe]

[For a moment, he stares blankly at her, then one corner of his mouth twitches up in a half smile and he lifts his shoulders in a small shrug.]

M-me neither.

[She doesn't look... afraid, at least, and that's something he can latch on to. Despite it being more familiar when people react to him with fear, he's finding it to be far more pleasant when they don't.

It's still strange to deal with, but the more it happens, the easier it gets.] Promise.

[dramatic]

( four months ago, maybe she would've been.

afraid, that is.

but her set of best friends includes a green alien, a superpowered man with the abilities of a spider, and a wizard who could blink someone out of existence if he wanted to. the threshold for not scary has shifted considerably during her tenure in wonderland. ) A pinky promise would be best but a verbal promise will do...

( a tiny smile curves on her lips as she gingerly sits down close by. )

What brings you out here? ( she's curious to see how many people come for the same reasons she does. )

[beautifullies]

[ Claire isn't looking to shoot anyone or even create any sort of conflict as she walks along the beach. Revelations from her husband have made her contemplative, and she was simply looking for a distraction in the waves.

It's when she sees someone sitting who looks rather...well...deceased, that her head tilts and she frowns, approaching and then kneeling down a bit. She's seen so many bodies in her time as a war medic. She knows what dead flesh looks like and that's concerning in and of its own. ]

Hello.

[ Her voice is gentle and she smiles just softly, looking over his features. ]

My name is Claire. I'm a nurse here.

[ Or something like that. She's not even sure if titles matter in Wonderland. ]

[keephersafe]

[Ah. She's... looking at him. A bit more closely than he's used to. R leans back slightly in the face of her appraisal, meeting her eyes with his own a little bit widened. Pewter grey, but with an undeniable spark of life and self sitting behind them.

His body might be on the other side of this mortal coil but his spirit certainly isn't.]

Um. [R says, quiet and hesitant, looking all the world like the most awkward patient in the world.] I-I'm R.

[beautifullies]

[ Well, he's most certainly alive, that much seems true, and she smiles politely. ]

It's nice to make your acquaintance, R. May I sit with you?