deercountry | (no subject)

[Vyng is sitting on the stoop of their shared home with Michael in Crenshaw, wrapped in patched-up wool shawl and gloves. Between Billie and Ruby's enthusiastic care, Tuck's complaining and Perell's depression, he needed a moment to himself outside in the chilly night air. The small respite does his own mood good.

When a canine figure approaches from the street, Vyng straightens up with a sudden intake of breath. A dog? A bloodhound? He'd been hoping to get a closer look at one, but...

At this point, the creature is a little too far away to tell. So Vyng simply gives a quiet "boof!" in greeting.]

[The soft greeting is enough to startle her, and the wolf turns and stares at Vyng. Her ears are up, and her gaze is intense as though she's trying to determine whether or not he's a threat. She lets out a quiet woof of her own, but she does move a bit closer.

If her memories were intact and she remembered the night on the beach, she would probably be far less cautious - she would likely be pleased to see him. Instead, she hangs back, and weaves her head a little from side to side, trying to get a better look at them through the mushrooms that crop up everywhere.]

[Vyng leans forward, squinting through the darkness. The creature's larger head in proportion to the rest of its body, along with a narrower chest and longer legs, point toward a wolf.]

Hello? [He asks in Wolf.] What's the matter?

[Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, exploring the town on her own like this. She's generally done a fairly good job at avoiding the other Sleepers, and she certainly didn't expect to run into one who talks like a wolf.

The wolf stays still, tense and cautious as though prepared to run should she think she needs to.]

Who are you? [It's grumbled out softly, with the edge of an uncertain whine.] You understand what I'm saying? How is that even possible?

[Most animals accept the fact he can communicate with them at face value. And that's Vyng's first clue that this is probably a Sleeper.]

Willow? It's me, Vyng.

[He talks like he knows her, and it hits her he's probably someone else she knows only from Trench. She recognizes the name, though. She's sure she remembers Oscar mentioning him before.]

Sorry, my memory isn't what it used to be. The whole murder and all.

[A sharp intake of breath.]

Murder?

[She had figured half the town probably saw the post on the network. Maul popping off again, threatening to target those who had cursed him in the first place. Then again, she hasn't exactly been advertising her role.]

Yeah. Maul's handiwork. He said he ate one of those chocolates, and getting a little extra murdery was the side effect.

[Oh yeah. That, he saw...and Vyng promptly tried to share some pipeleaf with Maul in an effort to get him to calm down and reconsider his piss-poor communication style.

But he never knew Willow's piece in all that, no.]

Murder munchies. Never a good combo.

[Sounds like something out of the Dream. Vyng pats the space next to him, and then adds:]

Do you want to talk about it?

[She pads forward, apparently accepting the invitation, and flops down beside him with a huff. These last several weeks have been far too reminiscent of Deerington for her liking, but all she has to compare to is what she's been told by those around her, and what she's managed to pick up on her own since coming back to shore.]

There's not much to talk about, I don't think. I don't remember it myself. He told me what happened when I got back.

He did?

[It would've been easier to just leave Willow with her confusion. But it sounds like Maul at least sought her out to explain himself.]

What was Maul's vibe like when he talked to you?

He regretted it, I think. He left a bunch of messages for me - they were kind of all over the place. He says he's going to change. I don't know how true that is, though.

[She'd like to believe it, but it's easy to have doubts in light of what she knows of Maul's history. Fully trusting he intends to turn over a new leaf doesn't feel like it's worth the risk if it means she might be killed again.]

I think he wants to change. He knows his usual M.O. won't get him far in this place, anyway.

[Whether pragmatism alone is enough to make the change stick remains to be seen. Like Willow, Vyng wants to believe it is. But he also knows the harm Maul's narrow worldview can inflict on others — and, by extension, himself.]

That sounds about right, and he knows he's on thin ice with most of his friends too, I think. We just have to wait and I see, I guess. But this whole Sleeper versus Sleeper thing gets old fast. It's not even the first time I've had problems with him.

[Willow fully expects him to at least try, but perhaps still experience some backsliding on occasion. Hopefully it won't be of the fatal variety.]

You're telling me. We're all in the same boat. No reason to piss in it.

[But he's preaching to the choir.]

But how're you feeling now? Are you safe where you're staying?

Yeah, that sums it up pretty well.

[Okay, maybe not exactly the analogy she would use, but it works.

She glances up at him and away again as the mushrooms she knows aren't actually there appear to bloom across Vyng's face.]

Kind of weird still. Jumpy a lot. 'Cause, you know. The everything. I'm safe at home, though. There's a bunch of people I live with that I know from Deerington - they're trying to help as much as they can. Some new faces too, but they seem nice.

Yeah. You do seem...twitchy, bud. [He covers one side his neck, where his gills flare in and out with each breath, with a pale hand.] You keep looking away. Am I that gross?

[He's not offended. But also, he's not used to making other Sleepers uncomfortable with his appearance.]

No, no. Nothing like that - you're not gross or anything.

[She pauses, licking her lips. She knows from her talk with Paul that she's not the only one seeing mushrooms where they shouldn't be, but it's still not the easiest problem to address. No one really wants to talk about seeing things they know aren't really there.]

I've, um. Being seeing mushrooms since I got back? They're everywhere, and I know they're not real - that it's just in my head, but I dunno if that makes it better or worse.

Mushrooms? What kinds of mushrooms?

[Sounds a little like a ghost-root-induced spirit walk...albeit one with a highly specific theme.]

I don't know - they're nothing I recognize from my world. I know I'm not the only one seeing them either. A couple other people mentioned them too, so I don't think it's a matter of coming back... wrong or anything. Or any more wrong than not being able to remember stuff.

[She drops her head down on her paws. She hates exactly all of this.]