pullmeoutalive | Scattering the roses;

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Scattering the roses;

[ it was a blur, one Sharon had tried to latch onto, because she needed to know what had happened. It hadn't been long since her bond with Equus had returned, and she knew they'd been headed to Sablier, but whether they had been close and the Abyss' effects had come into play or whether it had been something else... she couldn't say. She had felt a tug (to put it lightly), and before she could call out to Break, she fell.

And kept falling.

Had she still had her ribbon, she would have lost it to the force tossing her in every which direction, but she can't bring herself to think of that right now, when it feels like she can't draw a breath under the weight of this pressure.

Then, abruptly, it ends. She has enough awareness to register that much, at least, that everything hurts and that the ground is hot-- but with the promise of something solid and a last thought towards her family, she loses consciousness.

Sorry, citizens of Xian Du, please don't mind that limp, somewhat battered blonde figure on the ground as you go about your day. ]

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[ it's evident enough that she doesn't hear him, unable to register anything else until well after he's lifted her up. It's gradual, but there's a feeble groan from Alvin's armful, and she shifts against him with all the expectancy of someone who doesn't want to wake up because it's too early and too bright and she'd rather bury her face in her pillow--

Except that's what prompts her closer to wakefulness. There's a strange weightlessness about her, like there's nothing supporting her, but if that was true, there wouldn't be warm fabric against her cheek.

Her eyes finally open, just barely. Just enough for her to make out brown and black, not enough to see the indistinct shapes of puzzled people. And when she opens them further, wincing as the light makes her vision burn at the edges, she looks up.

For all of a few seconds, she doesn't know him, this dark-haired man staring down at her. But then, suddenly, she does. She remembers fairy tales and tea in two mugs and a larger hand moving through her hair to gather it up. She remembers fire and an angry loneliness. ]

... Alvin... [ it's barely a whisper, but there's a sense of wonder right next to the hoarseness. It's a dream, she thinks, it has to be, and she'd be more than willing to go back to sleep. She doesn't have the energy to move. But that's not what leaves her mouth next. ]

Where am I?

[The breath of air that escapes him sounds almost like a relieved sigh. Her eyes are open, she's talking, and there don't seem to be any traces of injury; those are good signs.

Gently, carefully, he lifts her up a little higher.]

You're-- you're in my world. This is Xian Du. [Not that that would mean much of anything to her.] I--

[Alvin hasn't fumbled for words this badly since... well, in quite a long time, but there he has no precedent to base a reaction off, and given that he isn't exactly in the best place, mentally, himself, all the more reason why he's so frazzled.]

How are you here?

Xian Du? [ the words are unfamiliar, his explanation even more so. It shouldn't be possible. The Abyss' power might have been leaking into Sablier, but it shouldn't have been able to place her in a different world entirely. And if she was here, with Alvin, what did that mean for Break, who couldn't even straighten up without her to support him?

She's too confused to properly hide her distress, eyes clouding over as she presses two fingers to her forehead. ]

I don't-- [ a breath, one that trembles more than it ought to. ] I don't know. Even if this was an illusion, it shouldn't be like this-- [ and she shouldn't be talking to an illusion in the first place, but she's so sorely confused now.

Which is why she slowly reaches up, fingers hesitantly touching along the side of his jaw in a way that would normally have her flustered. But she wants to make sure, and he's as warm as expected. Solid.

With a small noise of affirmation, she lowers her hand. ]

Not... an illusion, then.

[He would normally shy away from such intimate contact, which is odd when he's always the one draping over other people, but Sharon ought to know he still isn't too good with sentiment. Even now. Perhaps even especially now. Still, he doesn't move when she reaches for him, fingers ghosting his jaw. Maybe it's largely due to the fact that it's Sharon that he can accept this.]

No, this is real. I'm real, I'm here.

[And then he glances up at the crowd around the two of them, feeling some measure of distaste that they're still there, like this is some kind of show. When his gaze meets Sharon's again, any trace of that contempt has been banished.]

We can talk somewhere quieter. Are you hurt?

[ it's still difficult to focus beyond the immediate, of the odd surge of relief that rushes into her when he confirms his existence, even if she'd already known. There's just something about the way he stares down at her that makes her throat tighten.

She won't cry, of course. She's not anywhere ready enough for that sort of release, and he does draw her awareness to the situation, in which there are a lot of people gaping at them. ]

I'm... [ fine would be a lie. Not when there's still blood matting her hair and she's covered in dust and scrapes. ] It's not anything that won't heal soon enough. I can walk.

[If her injuries aren't too serious, there's a chance he'll be able to use Guardian Field on her, after they arrive at his home. For the moment though, it'd be best to get away from all the onlookers.]

Alright, come on.

[Gingerly, he guides her to her feet, taking care to take things slow. Alvin keeps one arm around her shoulders as they walk, thinking he'd need the other to push through the crowd, but they part around the duo, murmuring in hushed voices to each other as they pass.

Alvin actually wonders if he'd have been the same if he never knew Sharon. If he'd forgotten. It's a scary thought.]

Sorry about that. Not much of a welcome, I know. [The jest is weak in comparison to his usuals, but he's still wrapping his head around all this.]

They didn't hurt you or anything before I arrived, did they?

[Because the state of her hair, and those cuts. He remembers Elize was treated was treated badly too...]

[ an unmarried man with his arm wrapped around a young lady would have been cause for scandalized whispering pertaining to virtue or the lack thereof. Thankfully, Sharon heard nothing of the sort here (though she had a feeling the tale of "The Girl Who Fell From The Sky" would be circulating shortly). The fact remains that this is Alvin, and regardless of how wise a decision it truly is, she trusts him. It's why she lets him guide her without any form of protest, doing her best to keep up a decent pace despite his care with her. ]

No, this was at someone else's hands. [ he's not Break, she doubts she needs to keep him close to keep him from going on some angry rampage, but she curls her fingers into his jacket as it swings by. For additional support? As a continual reminder that even in a foreign world with people she doesn't know, he's still here? She won't clarify. ]

... And I can't say I was expecting a welcome at all. [ it's still soft, still as distant as her thoughts-- but then her expression softens. ] I'm grateful it came from you.

[They already have, as a matter of fact, but there are more important things to attend to currently. Alvin's house isn't far, but it's up a flight of steps. If she can't manage it, he'll carry her.

When she mentions her injuries were caused by someone else, feels the slight tug on his coat, Alvin sends her a Look. Maybe she doesn't want him to probe, maybe it isn't any of his business; he certainly can't do anything about it from here, but he'd be lying if he wasn't concerned.]

I'm just glad they didn't try anything. There isn't much of it here, but I've seen it happen in another town. Some don't treat outsiders as well as others.

[But no sense getting into any of that.]

Were you fighting? Before you, y'know, woke up here.

[ some things didn't change, she thinks, the way society viewed people. The way certain things were valued above all else, regardless of personality. Close-minded, Sharon felt, so hearing that towns might take umbrage with a stranger doesn't really surprise her.

She's quiet when they reach the steps, though that's mainly because she wants to focus on ascending without her legs buckling. She may be breathing hard when she reaches the top, but at least she'll have gotten there without needing a lift.

But now she has to answer him. ]

Just before... I was set to be executed, along with Break and my grandmother. We were only just able to call on our Chains again and break free.

[The look he sends her now is frantic, concerned, grave.]

Why? Because of Pandora?

[Odd that yesterday, if anybody was to mention the name 'Sharon' in passing, even as a mere coincidence, it wouldn't have meant anything to him to him at all. But seeing here today, passed out on the ground, memories of Haven had come flooding back almost painfully. Months worth of memories and experiences had returned in as simple a motion as flicking on a switch.]

Are they safe?

[ seeing frantic on Alvin's face is a little disconcerting. She'd remembered him mostly with his lazy smile, the occasional thoughtful glance he'd send her way. Anger, once or twice, but panic?

That had been even more rare. From what she remembers, and she thinks it's odd that she hadn't remembered, up until the point where she'd stared into his face and wondered at first, who on earth this person was.

Again, her grip tightens. It's all too raw now; everything that had happened was still so recent. ]

Pandora fell under attack by an opposing group; our connection to our Chains was lost, temporarily-- [ though she hadn't known it at the time, when Equus had suddenly slipped through her fingers like an actual shadow ] My grandmother had been badly injured and we were taken hostage... well. [ with a humorless smile. There's so much to tell, but to explain the Baskervilles would take more energy than she currently has. ] They would have wanted us dead, either way.

But they're as fine as can be expected. I was with Break before... [ she gestures briefly, at the scenery that's still so unfamiliar. ] All of this.

['As fine as can be expected.' It's a line that Alvin seems to think doesn't bode too well with the situation, but he can ask for more specifics later. Right now, he needs to see to her properly.

It isn't until they both step inside the elevator leading to his home that he speaks next. The dim lighting within makes it easier for the words to come.]

Either way, we'll work on finding a way for you to get back after you've rested up.

[In truth, he wouldn't mind if she... just stayed, but that was asking for the impossible. That was being selfish. He may not have a purpose anymore, but that's no reason to deprive Sharon of hers just to sate his loneliness, his helplessness. And on top of all that, she doesn't belong in Rieze Maxia. Alvin, of all people, ought to know about all that better than anyone.]

They need you back there, right?

[ there's a momentary sway of surprise when the elevator moves that has her hands returning to his jacket. Stability, of course. She's too disoriented by the movement to look up at him, but that leaves her sifting through the layers of his voice for hints. Perhaps it's just her imagination, soaked in exhaustion as it is, but it feels as though there's something vulnerable, almost wistful about him. ]

It would appear I'm needed here, first.

[ but this is very softly stated, because she can't be sure that's really the reason for her presence here, and because he's right. She needs to be by Break's side, doesn't she? ]

Alvin... [ and now she peers up at him, carefully. She doesn't know the situation. She can take her cues from very little. ] Are you all right?

[He looks down when his name is called, and temporarily, words fail him.]

Fine as I can be. [Those are words he speaks without thinking them over.] It isn't everyday you see this sort of world-jumping, y'know? I'm still kinda reeling, I admit.

[Not entirely the truth, but also not entirely a lie. The things he'd done, tried to do, don't have to come to light. These aren't things Sharon needs to know about him. After all, how safe would you feel around someone who agreed to attack someone they spent the better part of a year with?

When the elevator doors open, he guides her outside and takes a left.]

Almost there.

[ Sharon's second meeting with Oz involved him holding a knife to her throat, she's certainly not going to offer up too many judgmental comments. Not that she knows, so for now, she accepts his words with only a trace of lingering concern. Something still doesn't seem right about him. Then again, she'd only just remembered him, so her memory could have still been patchy in places. ]

Break came to us from another time.

[ the remark is less conversational than thoughtful; she's concentrating on making it to the door. ]

So coming to you from another world... I won't deny it's unusual, but perhaps the possibility always existed.

[Pushing the door open, Alvin holds it in place for Sharon to walk through. He catches the words 'Break' and 'from another time', but he doesn't exactly possess enough knowledge about her world to question it.

So instead, he sticks with what he does know.]

Through... the Abyss, was it?

Yes. The stronger the connection to the Abyss, the further Equus' paths can extend.

I can't say for certain, however. I don't think Equus can make it back, either.

[ her legs aren't the steadiest, but she'll wait to sit until he offers, looking around in the meantime. It's certainly not large, but if he lived alone, as she suspected, it didn't need to be. It's still got a charm to it. ]

[That would imply quite the connection then, wouldn't it? And from what he can remember of being told of the Abyss, he doesn't think that's an entirely good thing.]

That's the only lead we have right now.

[His home is small, but given that he rarely has company, it's enough. More than enough; Alvin himself is hardly there these days.

He leads Sharon over towards the corner suite, brushing aside the thin blanket strewn across it and sits her down. He doesn't linger, instead moving towards the kitchen, or what passes for a kitchen, and tends to the stove, igniting the kindling within to boil water. He's pretty sure Isla kept tea somewhere in the house... Just excuse him if it's over-brewed or something, he doesn't normally drink it, as Sharon would know.]

But we can talk about that when you're feeling better. [Sharon then gets a glance as he's poking around his cupboards for that tea.] Those scrapes... are they your only injuries?

[ she's more than happy to sit, hair fanning out behind her. She feels younger again, unusually small in a foreign place, but she'll remind herself that now isn't the time to feel vulnerable. She's in good hands, she knows that much. ]

It was mainly my head that was hit. [ she knows better than to touch the spot, so she keeps her hands in her lap, following his movements with weary eyes. ] The scrapes are just when I fell, so they should be easily taken care of.

Good. [And he means that in more ways than just the obvious. After Alvin finally unearths the tea, he comes back around and sits by her.

It's been quite a long time since he last cast Guardian Field, which is why it takes a moment longer to initiate. It starts with a soft glow between them, and pans out in a circle around them, and when the light fades, those little cuts and scrapes are gone.]

I think that should do it. Does anywhere still hurt?

[ she can't see what's happening, not entirely, though the glow makes her flinch a little in surprise. She can also feel that exact moment when the stinging ache on her face vanishes entirely, and she brings a hand up to feel the skin. ]

No, that... helped tremendously, thank you.

[There's a brief moment in which he allows himself a small smile.]

Don't mention it. I'm just glad it worked.

[Glad that she's here. Glad he's doing something again. But he doesn't allow himself the time to dwell on those thoughts. Self pity is something he himself had given up on long ago.]

Well, you've... probably guessed this is where I live.

[Can you tell he doesn't really have guests over? At all?]

[ even if she hadn't lived in a mansion--]

It's very cozy. [ well, it is! ] And you really do live by yourself?

[ perhaps not surprising, but Alvin seems like he'd do better having people around him. ]

[His eyes flicker over to the bed on the far wall before they return to Sharon.]

Yeah. Just me. It's lonely, but being a merc, what can you do, right? This place isn't exactly a five star resort, but it's home.

[And for the first time, he smiles.]

This is Xian Du.

[ somehow, seeing his smile makes her feel a little better about this whole situation. Lighter, at least. ]

From what I've seen of it, it's lively. But it seems to be your sort of location.

Scattering the roses;

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We can probs start a new thread + timeskip/go straight to Fennmont now?

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