thenearshore | Bright and Refreshed

Entry tags:

Bright and Refreshed

Who: Romeo and open!
When: 19th March
Where: Elfnein's library, random grassy areas of the far shore, the abandoned temple beehive of doom.
What: Romeo wakes up after a long sleep and then goes adventuring.
Warnings: Bees.

Library

It wasn't the first time that Romeo had fallen asleep for a long time but this time had been even longer than the last time. He bet he had missed loads of important things. He hoped Elfnein had been alright without him!

He bounced through the library checking on Carol and mister Goat. Once he had made sure everyone was alright he spent some time in the library, before he had fallen asleep he had been looking through an atlas to try and find a place called Milano. The place from his dream.

It was hard work though because it turned out the world was really really big! Anyone who wandered into Elfnein's library could find him sat leafing through an enormous atlas.

Outside, around the far shore.

Romeo was a child who loved to learn but sitting still was something he found difficult and he had just slept for two whole weeks and so it wasn't too long before he put the atlas aside and put on his coat and shoes. It wasn't as cold anymore and he skipped through the streets of the far shore waving to anyone he knew.

There were a lot more flowers now as well! When he had arrived in the heavens it had been winter and it had always been beautiful but now it was spring and the world was so much more colourful!

He paused at one of the cherry trees, they had stopped being flowers so quickly! They were all green now. Romeo didn't know much about flowers but he was a little sad that they had gone so fast, they had been pretty.

There were other flowers though! Lots and lots of flowers, pinks and purples that made Romeo smile brightly. He grinned even brighter as he turned a corner to see a whole sea of blue.

He skipped towards it, "I wonder what they are called? They are so pretty!" He might take some back for Elfnein, he was sure they would make her smile!

Beehive of Doom

It didn't take very long for Romeo to find adventure. Adventure coming in the form of Gachimei and a bunch of some other older kid shinki. Soon he found himself outside of a old abandoned temple. "Gachimei's a chicken! But I bet if you go in with him he will go!" Gachimei quickly protested that he was not a chicken and he had been about to go in, but if Romeo wasn't too scared then he could go in too.

Romeo was a little unsure, bees sounded like bad news! But he also didn't want to be a scaredy cat so here he was at the door of the temple peering into the darkness. Surely if they snuck in quietly the bees wouldn't notice them! Gachimei grinned nervously at him.

"You can still stay outside if you're scared Romeo."

Romeo shook his head, "I'm not scared!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Can we say Romeo's invited Joss over? Otherwise I can edit the tag.]

"There you are." This is Joss's first time in Elfnein's temple, and he'd gotten quite turned around looking for Romeo. Of all the places he'd searched, it hadn't occurred to him at all to check in the library. He probably wouldn't have, if not for the fact that he hadn't realized it was a library until he opened the door. "I've been looking all over for you. I thought we were going to play video games."

He walks over to Romeo, peering down at the book. "Why are you looking at maps?"

"Oh hello Joss!" Romeo had sent a message to his friend telling him he had woken up and asking if he wanted to come around, but he had lost track of time.

Very easy to do when you can't actually tell the time. He felt a little bit bad, he should have met his friend at the door. But at least Joss had found him!

"We can play, I have video games in my room!" He looked down at the atlas. "I had a dream. Before the boats and the dolls when you fell in the water. I dreamed about a angry man with a scar and a whip and a boy with blonde hair and we were going to a place called Milano. I think it's in Italy but..." He sighed, "Did you know there are so many countries in the world Joss."

Something cold settles in the pit of Joscelin’s stomach as he realizes what Romeo is looking for. Milan. He’s started to remember. The blonde boy...was that Romeo’s friend? Romeo’s friend and a slave-driving man with a whip.

Joscelin has to unclench his jaw to speak. “It is. It’s in the northern part of Italy. Here.” He leans over and points with a small finger. “See? Milan.” He has to distract Romeo from this. He can’t let him continue to remember something so painful.

“There are hundreds of countries. Like this one. That’s England. That’s where I’m from, I think.” His own memories had made that abundantly clear. London had been a feature of those memories and of his dreams. “And if you flip the page to Asia, you’ll be able to find Japan, where we are now.”

Romeo peered over the map and grinned as he finally saw the dot with Milan written next to it. Joss was so clever to have found it so quickly! It was in the northern part of Italy.

His eyes flickered up to where Joss was pointing next. "England? That's where you're from? Did you have a strange dream as well?" Had he remembered something? He flicked over the page and found Japan, "It's all surrounded by the ocean!"

Did he also have a strange dream? Joscelin shrugs and nods, looking away. "My mother was in it," he says, forcing his voice to be normal, conversational. "We were in London, at our house. See, London's there." He points. "It's the capital. The Queen lives there, at least part of the time, and the Houses of Parliament are there. There's a big famous clock tower attached to the Palace of Westminster, where Parliament meets. The clock is called Big Ben, but not the tower." All of those things that he should know personally are facts and pictures from a book he'd found in a fit of curiosity about his home country. He'd known he was English even before he had the memory of his mother's execution, but only vaguely, just like how he'd known he could read without needing to test it.

He smiles faintly at Romeo's surprise. "Japan's an archipelago. That means a series of islands, all formed by volcanos. England's an island country too--see? England, Scotland, and Wales are all on the Island of Great Britain." He points to each in turn, and then flips back to Italy. "Italy's a peninsula--a thin bit of land that juts out into the sea. It looks like a boot, doesn't it?"

"Your mother?" Romeo might have asked more but he is very quickly distracted by Joss pointing out London where his queen lived. "Big Ben? That's a funny name for a clock." Funny that a clock should have a name at all, he peered at the map as Joss continued to explain. It was a bit worrying that Japan was made of volcanoes, Romeo had been up the volcano that had erupted in the heavens and it was bad! It would be even worse in Japan where there were so many people!

"It does look like a boot?" Peninsula was another new word but he nodded as he looked at the map again. "Is the Island of Great Britain made of volcanoes too?"

Joscelin just nods, and is happy when Romeo doesn’t press the subject. He doesn’t want to think about the fact that now, months later, he still dreams about the noise the sword made as it cut through her neck in a single stroke, or the wet thud of her head hitting the stones below. Especially now that he has her ring hanging around his neck, under his clothes.

“I’m not sure why they call the clock that,” he admits, “but they do. It’s just a big, stupid clock but it’s one of the most recognizable things about the whole city. It’s famous.”

He laughs when Romeo asks about volcanos. “No, just rocks and grass and trees. The standard stuff. Italy has volcanoes, though. Some quite famous ones. Two thousand years ago, Mount Vesuvius blew its top and destroyed two ancient cities. It buried them in ash, rather like what the volcano did to the Western District a few weeks back. Mount Vesuvius is...ah, here.” He searches with his tongue between his teeth until he can point to it triumphantly. “It’s not where I thought it was, for some reason.”

A famous clock. Romeo is not sure what is so great about a clock. He vaguely understands that people can look at them and know what time it is, but he's not really sure how time works. He knows there is morning and afternoon and night. But Joss is really clever and knows so much. Even about Italy!

He leaned over the map again to see Mount Vesuvius, "It's near the bottom of Italy." Quite far away from Milano. He tilted his head. "Where did you think it was?"

Alex happened to be walking by and witnesses the exchange, although she doesn't approach, waiting to see what Romeo would decide to do.

"Right then! Let's go!" Gachimei didn't look too convinced but Romeo nodded at his words and stepped towards the temple door, pushing it open and stepping inside, the other shinki following him closely.

They woudl’t actually—Oh, but they were. Alex goes in from another entrance, not letting her presence be known. She catches sight of Romeo through one of the entryways. She follows quietly, though the silence starts to fill with buzzing.

She starts to exhude a calming scent. It doesn’t quiet down the buzzing, but it hopefully keeps them from getting agitated. It may take a minute before it takes effect though.

Inside the temple was dark and the buzzing was loud. Gachimei stepped closer to Romeo who turned and smiled reassuringly. It would be fine, they just needed to keep their spirits up and it would be okay! "If the bees come near you you just got to stand still and they won't sting."

He's not sure how he knows that, this is his first time being around bees. But he's gotten used to his knowledge having no context.

They don't go very far before they are indeed approached by bees. Lots of bees. Despite Romeo's certainty he gets stung, and again. He stands still though, Gachimei not so much. The other shinki starts panicking, trying to brush the bees off. "Gachimei!"

The bees start to calm. The ones that aren't actively around the two boys back off, going back to whatever bees do in abandoned temples. Romeo reaches out to grab Gachimei, to try and help him. Being stung hurts!

[ It seems to work, but not before the kids get stung a little. Hopefully they took that as enough of a warning and decide to leave. She can offer some treatmeant at her temple after. You just don't mess with bee-- ]

Ouch!

[Of course it's not. They are eleven. Bees don't scare them. Romeo does look round as he hears an ouch from someone that isn't Gachimei though.] Hello? Is someone there?

[ So much for keeping quiet. She glares at the bee before stepping out. ]

Hello, Romeo..

[ She smiles like a kid that just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Caught and a bit ashamed. ]

Oh! Miss Alex! [He waves a little sheepishly, he knows he and Gachimei aren't meant to be here. Gachimei looks stricken, like he thinks they are going to be in big trouble now that they've been caught.]

[ She sees the look on their faces and she already feels for them, but she did have to put her foot down. ]

This wasn't a very safe idea, but I think you kids know that. [ Her voice is firm, but she doesn't raise it. ]

I don't think these bees appreciate you barging into their home like this.

Library

Inviting is good!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Beehive of Doom

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Library

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject