o1 . june catchall (closed)

[itknowsyou]

Who: Jon Sims + CR new and old; tap me at ochrona for a starter.
What: The Archivist arrives in Trench.
When: June, the month of archives and reflection.
Where: Throughout Trench.

Comments

[itknowsyou]

[ The look Jon turns on him is familiar: it is owlish and deeply incredulous, as though the absurdity of the situation is a personal affront. ]

Wonderful. Everything else has happened to me, why not something to do with... squid.

[ But he falters, here, as though he's said something wrong. ]

At least, I feel like— but it's still— so much of it is gone. [ His expression pinches with doubt and concern. ] I'm... sure it'll come back.

[ But he needs to hole up somewhere to pick at that, to examine the fog. So Jon swallows, steels himself, and steadies himself at Shiro's side— one hand on his shoulder for support, but nothing more dire than that. It could be worse. ]

Should I ask where we're going?

[shiro2hero]

Oh... I know. I know.

[Maybe not everything that's happened to his friend, but what happened in Deerington for sure. Some of what happened elsewhere. He hadn't wanted to pry into too much of it.]

Like I said - it's okay. Not everyone gets everything back right away. Don't rush yourself. I know - I know it's hard, when you can't remember what you want to. [Or don't want to.] But try and take it easy.

Up to the boardwalk, for now. See if sitting down for a bit, getting some water, might help. Then we can go from there.

[itknowsyou]

[ He gives a little huff of impatience, at the lowly goal of making it up the Boardwalk to sit, but Jon does not actually protest. He tips his head in a nod, keeps his hand clumsily on Shiro's shoulder, and follows where he leads. ]

So. What... is this place?

[shiro2hero]

[Up to the boardwalk it is. Slow and steady. Ready to either stop or brace his friend if need be. Honestly, he could probably still just scoop Jon up under one arm and carry him up, but that would defeat the purpose here.]

Trench. It's a city called Trench. People wash up as ... well. Squid.

[That part, he's pretty sure is clear.]

We've all got different weird blood types, some of us with abilities from our blood... and we're just trying to get by.

[itknowsyou]

[ Jon looks at him in owlish bewilderment, again, at blood types. It's impressive that he can manage this while still leaning on Shiro's arm to keep from faceplanting on the cobblestones. ]

We are assigning eldritch significance to O-negative, or...?

[shiro2hero]

[Shiro laughs, but it's... brief. Thin. It cuts out after a few moments.]

I wish. [But they've made it to the top of the boardwalk. To an empty set of chairs.] Here... I can explain in a minute. I want to get you hydrated first.

[itknowsyou]

[ He folds down into a chair and exhales a breath of relief, for all that he's immediately embarrassed about it. He just wants the information— there's a flicker of open impatience when Shiro tries to fuss about anything else unimportant— but he still manages to scrub a hand over his face, push the salt-sticky strands of his hair back from his face, and look grateful. ]

Thank you.

[ For just this one moment, he will sit and catch his breath. ]

[shiro2hero]

[And Jon won't have to wait long. Shiro will be back. Ice tea in hand and ready to give as much of the story as he possibly can.]

[He's honestly just glad to see someone familiar come back. As much as being here is a trial.]