i_am_not_cute | ⚡ 11th zap | action ⚡ forward-dated to morning of May 5th

[There's a familiar young woman stalking the streets of Luceti today, newly returned from her mallynapping a week ago. But those who know her will quickly realize that something is...off.

There are the physical differences, for one. She's slightly taller, wears her hair longer, and carries herself a little tighter, like a coiled snake ready to strike as needed. Her expression is intense and wary, not cheerful like it usually is. And she carries a katana with her -- a strange choice, considering her trademark weapon as a Hero (and the fact that she never walked around armed in Luceti).

Ah...Heroes and HeroTV. That's where things get interesting with this one. She remembers a certain event from her world rather differently from before, and as a result she's a girl with a mission now. Her purpose in Luceti is to rest a bit from her earlier ordeals and to learn enough to get her where she needs to go; she doesn't intend to stay any longer than she has to. After all, there's nothing that anchors her here aside from unfortunate circumstances. Friends? Don't be ridiculous -- she lost all her friends four years ago. It's the whole reason she's even stuck here in the first place.]

((OOC: Replies to come from

lightningbride! You can find Bride-Lin practically anywhere in Luceti during the daytime as she scopes out the village and tries to gather information. Evening is reserved for other ridiculousness...))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I see.

[...this worries Pao-Lin a bit in light of what she's heard about her forgetting ever living in Luceti and meeting these people. Were there others here with as patchy a memory as this woman's? And was it the result of Maverick's meddling? She'd been told that Luceti was a settlement of people like herself: people who were saved from death through the attaching of these wings. But now Pao-Lin wonders whether she has more in common with them than she originally believed. Were these people victims of Maverick and his schemes, too? She shudders at the thought and sighs.]

So what do you know about your time here?

[She brightens.]

Oh, I've made lots of new friends and I've done all kinds of fun things with them! And I got to plant a very pretty garden!

Would you like to come see it?

[I'm sorry, did you think you were going to be getting useful information here?]

[Pao-Lin wants to say no. It's plainly obvious that this woman is not going to be anything resembling a useful source of information about Luceti and the surrounding locale. Going along with her offer would be pointless sightseeing. It's not like Maverick set a time limit on the completion of the task he set before her, but he's a man getting on in the years who's also involved in risky activities, so the likelihood of his demise in the next couple of insert-measurement-of-time-heres is that much higher even without Pao-Lin gunning for his fall. Who knew whether the conditions of this "game" of his would hold if he died before Pao-Lin got to him? Certainly it would be less satisfying if she outed his misdeeds after the fact. She can't waste any more time here than she needs to.

.......]

Sure. Where is it?

[In the end, social niceties win out, at least for now. Something's clearly not right with Grune, and so Pao-Lin feels some obligation to play along with her quirks for at least a little while.]

[Grune beams, delighted. Maybe if Pao-Lin sees her garden, she'll remember something!]

It's right this way! Let's go!

[And she heads off at a drift. Have fun with that, Pao-Lin.]

[She doesn't technically mind the slow pace, since it does at least afford her the chance to scope out Luceti while accompanying this woman she apparently forgot that she knew. She does her best to make note of landmarks and interesting buildings to check out once she's done looking over Grune's garden.]

[As she rambles along in approximately the proper direction, she asks:] Have you seen your other friends yet?

...I've seen people who've claimed to be my friends.

[...For a woman who believes everyone is her friend, that's a very strange way of putting things.

She sounds extremely confused when she asks:] Who were they?

A guy named Ace and a girl named Anise. Do you know them?

[That second name doesn't ring any bells, but:] Oh, yes, Ace is very friendly! And I'm sure Anise is too.

How long have you known Ace for?

[Countdown to the predictable response in three...two...one...]

Hmm.... [She stops to think.] How long have I know him?

[Zero.]

[A heavy sigh. Time for a different -- and probably more useless -- question.]

So what kind of garden do you have here?

[Now this is a question she can actually answer.]

Oh, I have a flower garden! And I look after Stella's garden, too. It's a vegetable garden.

A vegetable garden, huh. [She's about to ask whether Luceti grows its own food, but quickly stops herself. She doubts this woman would know that.] What kind of vegetables do you grow?

Oh, I'm growing some berries and carrots and potatoes and lettuce and turnips and bok choy and-- [She will seriously keep going if you let her.]

[And Pao-Lin does, until it becomes clear that the woman just isn't going to stop.]

That's a lot of vegetables. Do you share with the rest of the village, too?

[She nods.] I will when they've all grown up. This is my first time growing vegetables in Luceti, so I haven't been able to share them before.

I see. Does anybody else grow vegetables like you do, then?

Hmm.... I think so. [She's certainly seen a few vegetable gardens on her rambles.]

I wonder whose they are.

⚡ 11th zap | action ⚡ forward-dated to morning of May 5th

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]