011 [Action]/[Audio]

[ribbonbon]

[On the 11th, Pilouette watches as the the world and life she knew, her life, gradually breaks down around her, returning to its original state. But hadn't really been her life, had it? Memories, both real and false, flow forth mixing and separating and mixing again.

For more than a week, she had been Pilouette Panda, a rich girl with a father who gave her all the time (and money) in the world. She had two younger siblings that she did her best to steer in the "right" direction...but she had also been rude and nasty, looking down on those who had less. Pilouette had also been spoiled and arrogant, never satisfied with the things she was given, yet she was confident in her place in the world, a place she didn't earn and didn't need to earn. It was already hers, after all.

Pilouette Bonheur was the only child of a workaholic father. She went to school and came home every day, where she often found herself alone, chatting with friends or doing homework, doing exactly what she was supposed to do. She worked hard to prove she was capable and to get others to like her and had a few close friends who she loved dearly...yet no matter how much she worked or how hard she tried, she never quite felt as if she accomplished much and seemed to always need someone else's help.

For the moment, she isn't quite sure which is real. Or which one is worse.]

12th

[As the village continues to right itself, Pilouette trudges back to her apartment, keeping her head down the whole way. She does not leave. She does not want to leave. She answers the door when someone comes calling, but she does not leave. She watches the journal closely, but makes no attempt to broadcast anything herself. And the more she sits there and thinks, more and more things begin to weigh on her mind, leaving her feeling like a mess.

In her time in Luceti, her memories had been tampered with before. She had been made to think she was a boy and always had been. Another time, her memories had been stripped away entirely, left with only a small card telling her who she was. But each of those times, she had still been herself. Silly Pilouette who was awkward and nervous, wanting people to look at her and like her but not wanting to bother anyone with her silly little problems.

This was on a different scale entirely. Her real memories were more settled and she's starting to get a handle one what is and isn't real and it's hard to deal with.

For the whole time she had been Pilouette Panda she had been awful. Worse than awful. She had been abyssmal. She had been dispicable.

She had been a real bitch.

She had the means and power to help others, yet she refused to do so. And as she really was, she wanted so much to help others, but lacked the skills and confidence. But either way...she had been unable to really help anyone. Even in a completely different life. She always thought "Maybe if I was different, maybe if I was someone else..."

For a week, she was. And it didn't help. She knew nothing, learned little and had no skills.
Instead she was everything her grandparents had told her not to be. ...Her grandparents. Her dad. Her friends. She had forgotten her loved ones, pacified by fake relationships. Siblings that weren't really her siblings! Her beloved father who doted on her wasn't her father at all. He was a bear. That bear.

And the cultists! They had been in the village! She had seen them! She had scrambled around during the battle trying to keep herself out of danger, terrified the whole time. It hits her, really hits her for the first time that, aside from the kidnappings and the shifts...the enclosure isn't safe. The cultists had gotten in. How long had they been there? Surely the Malnosso had noticed, hadn't they, that the cultists were there? They must have. They had to have seen it. Did the Malnosso even try to help? Had they ever intended to? Or were they willing to just leave them to the cultists? She wasn't even entirely sure what had occurred during that week.]



[She needs to get out.

In the late afternoon, Pilouette leaves her apartment and heads for her spot behind the school. She sits for a while, talking to anyone who approaches her, but she's unable to clear her head. It's not far enough. So she scuttles back to her apartment and packs her small messenger bag, before heading to the forest. She's not sure exactly where she's headed or for how long, but she goes. She feels just a little childish, like a little kid running away from home, but at the moment, she doesn't care. She walks and walks for a long time until she can't walk any more. She slumps down, leaning against a tree and stares at the ground.

And then, she cries for a long time.

But it's not until she decides to head back to the village in the early evening that she realizes...she's lost. In her hurry, she had forgotten a map and no matter how long she wanders around she can't seem to orient herself. So,reluctantly, Pilouette turns to the journal. When she speaks her voice is quiet and a bit shaky. She makes sure to cover the camera. Even like this, she's not quite ready to show her face after how she acted.]

U-Um...I'm sorry, but...

I think I got myself lost. Um, in the forest. Th-this is probably a lot of trouble after...after everything, but...

["Can someone help me?" As if anyone would want to help her after all the nasty things she said and the way she acted.]

...I'm sure I'll find my way back. I just didn't want anyone to think anything happened to me.

[She sits for a moment as she considers maybe asking for help. Instead, she abruptly ends the feed and goes back to wandering the forest.]

Comments

[audio]

[hisapprentice]

I'll help you!

[Luke is no navigational expert. He can't really sort through all of his memories either. The thing is, he remembers this girl from school and that she was Toph's sister even if she was insufferable about it.

Neither version of Luke would really be able to turn down helping a lady.]

Which way did you leave from the village?

[audio]

[ribbonbon]

[She's not sure if she should accept his help. After all, she's not sure she deserves it. However, after a moment, she comes to the conclusion that...well, wandering around the forest aimlessly isn't going to help her situation.]

Um...I'm not sure. I remember passing by the playground, so...n-north, maybe?

[audio]

[hisapprentice]

Now that you've let people know you're lost, I'm sure someone will be able to find you even if I don't manage it.

[So cheer up! It's hard to do that in light of the events that took place last week but Luke is trying his hardest for other people.]

North of the playground. Not so far north you got to that hill with the flowering trees, though, right?

[audio]

[paladinlost]

Are you certain of that? I can quickly find my way around the forest, if you need assistance.

[Young ladies should hardly be left alone in the woods following upsetting shifts, after all.]

[audio]

[ribbonbon]

I'll be fine, um, thank you. Everyone is dealing with a lot right now, so...it might be best for me to just try and do it by myself. I think.

[She had bothered enough people over the past week, she didn't need to bother someone she didn't know.]

[audio]

[paladinlost]

Many people are upset at the moment, and the forest is popular with those who wish to let off steam. Can you protect yourself if someone is not particularly careful about where they aim?

[He has a feeling more than a few trees will be destroyed by the end of the week.]

[action]

[shinesbrightest]

[Shinji spends the 11th quietly, mostly keeping to himself, but on the 12th, he decides to try and sort some things out, so that morning, he knocks on Pilouette's door to talk to her.]

Pilouette?

[He's a little nervous, truthfully, because the whole homecoming dance thing was embarrassing. (Though it was no one's fault but his own, he was just way too shy for those things.) Still, it wasn't a huge thing and it would be better to get it over with, so that's what he wants to do. He just hopes she's not mad or anything...]

[action]

[ribbonbon]

[Oh, she knows that voice. Shinji is probably one of the people she's most nervous about talking to right now. How can she even face him after how she acted? She's not even sure why he would want to talk to her right now.

She doesn't open the door all way, instead just, cracking it open a few inches, doing her best to keep out of sight. When she answers, her voice is small and timid.]

Y-Yes? Did...did you need something?

[action]

[shinesbrightest]

[He actually looks away as he explains the reason for his visit, avoiding eye contact out of embarrassment.]

Oh, um, it's nothing important. I just wanted to apologize. I, uh... probably wasn't a very good date.

[Yes, even though Pilouette might have had a major attitude problem, Shinji still felt like he was the one who should be making an apology. It's a really bad habit.]

action / not here

[bamboozler]

[Panda isn't sure what to do, either. He's been avoiding a lot of things himself...family issues are really beyond him! He's just a simple panda, and it's weird in a lot of ways. He's not nearly as bothered as Pilouette, but he still feels really bad for her...because she lost him as a father, kinda, but also more than that...he has a lot of things to be embarrassed for himself.

When he goes to her apartment, she's already left...so he leaves some snacks in the living room. None of them are bamboo, but a bamboo leaf or two that got caught between the bags make it very clear who's left them. Candy, mostly, but there's some snack cakes, too.

Once he arranges it all nicely on her apartment table, he leaves. Panda in the night...]

audio

[descrier]

[ She believes the past Shift is highly taking their toll on everyone — wether they were effected or not — and though Marita feels weary and tired, dazed from her venture into the asylum, she knows she is not the only one suffering. Though she is only on slightly professional terms with Pilouette, she still worries.

It would be strange for her not to because first and foremost, humanity matters to her and always has. ]

Would you like to talk, Pilouette?

audio

[ribbonbon]

[She's not quite sure what to say. Pilouette has never been good with opening up to adults, especially ones she doesn't know. She always tried to put up a front of being an adult herself. But right now...well, she doesn't know what to think.]

...I don't know if I can talk about it. I feel like my entire mind is like, totally messed up.

audio

[descrier]

[ Her brief silence means understanding. Judging by the journals and those she has come across, it seems everyone's mind is, including her own. ]

Would you like to meet me in town and grab something to eat? It might take your — [ Our. ] — mind off everything.

[action]

[mechanize]

[ There's a big ol dragon wandering the forests as well. And Pilouette may just happen upon him and his steam trail as he mutters and muses to himself all the while. Should Pilouette step into the mists fog lingering around the large figure that may alert him to her presence, where ever she maybe. ]

[action]

[ribbonbon]

[Pilouette can't help but feel just a little more nervous when she seems to walk into a particularly foggy part of the forest. It's...kind of spooky. And it's a little hard to see. She can sort of see something through the fog and squints her eyes, not that it really helps much.]

What the heck...?

[action]

[mechanize]

[ He senses her before he sees her, but Tethelesal will look over his shoulder with a curious howl, and deep, rumble in his throat. ]

I beg your pardon. I hope I did not startle you. [ The fog will slowly begin to recede a little as it swirls gently around Pilouette's ankles and back towards the large dragon, which is more easily visible now.

He'll give her a toothy smile. ] You are a bit far from the village the from all on your own. It is a good thing there are not more dangerous creatures in these woods.

(voice)

[seismicity]

[ Toph has no idea how to deal with this. It was her first Luceti experience, technically! And it was confusing, to say the least. Frustrating, too. A life as a blind child born into the lap of luxury but without her earthbending... She was just happy things were back to normal.

In any case, it's a rare moment when Toph opens her journal that evening in time to hear Pilouette's message. She hadn't known how to approach her, afterwards. They hadn't even known each other, prior to this whole mess. Now she had all these vague memories of an at times overbearing but ultimately well-meaning older sister. A distant part of her worried. ]

What kinda person gets themselves lost?

[ . . . okay maybe that didn't come out right. ]

(voice)

[ribbonbon]

[Likewise, Pilouette wasn't sure what to say. She wonders if Toph is angry with her. After all, though her intentions may have been good, she wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world, deriding Toph's friends and choices. They hadn't been a real family, anyway. It was all a big lie. For the past day or so, she had told herself this over and over. It wasn't real. It never had been.

...But she had to admit...she had enjoyed being an older sister, even if it had only been for a little while.

She forces a small, nervous sounding laugh and tries not to sound too down.]

Y-Yeah, I know, right? I, um, I guess I just wasn't paying attention.

(voice)

[seismicity]

[ Dryly: ] Tell me about it. Last week was crazy. They weren't kidding when they said this place could get nuts about that kind of thing.

[ Toph wasn't sure if she believed people when they told her about the sort of experiments and the kind of war they had here in Luceti. But after last week, and the tail end of it with all that fighting? It wasn't exactly something she could question, anymore. ]

[Voice]

[knightofratatosk]

You're lost?

[Honestly, after everything that's happened lately, he can't say that he finds that to be too much of a surprise. That whole thing was disorienting for everyone, even those who weren't affected by it.]

Do you need someone to come find you?

[Voice]

[ribbonbon]

N...No, I have a few people helping me.

[The last thing she wants is for people to worry about her, especially if they're people she doesn't know very well. She tries to force a little cheerfulness into her voice and laughs, just a little. It probably isn't very convincing.]

C-Can you believe I let myself get lost like this, though? Like, how even, right?

[Voice]

[knightofratatosk]

[Emil gets that feeling... all too well, in fact. His own first instinct is try to joke around to cover things up when he's in a bad place emotionally too, so far be it from him to scold someone else for doing the same thing.]

Yeah, I know what you mean... I once went out for a walk and got so lost that it took me two hours to get home. I don't even know how I did it. It's not like it's that hard to find the village or anything.

[Voice]

[rashness]

What're you doing so far out in the woods, anyway?

[Voice]

[ribbonbon]

I just needed to be by myself and think for a while. I didn't realize how far I went. I just...kept going.

[Voice]

[rashness]

Yeah, I get that. [...] But, did someone come out and get your or something?