Some Kind of Life

[A girl lies sleeping in the forest, bits of twigs and leaves stuck in her hair as she occasionally rolls over or turns. Dressed in the usual New Feather sundress, it would be easy to mistake her for a new arrival. However Pilouette has finally come back from the draft currently unaware that she had ever been out of action.

Whether someone wakes her up or she does so on her own, Pilouette is soon making her way back to the village. Though her regular walks in the forest are making it a little easier, she's still trying to get her head around just what happened. The last thing she remembers was being in Zompania. She was bandaging up Mac's wounds and they were plotting their next course of action. Then...Then the cultists found them and...

And then what? To say it's troubling would be an understatement.]

[Video]
[Later on, when Pilouette is back to her apartment and more put together she realizes that she's missing a few things. Her bag of medical supplies and her first aid kit. The bag can be replaced. Given the conditions, she imagines anything that was in it was taken and used anyway. However, the first aid kit is special. Her best friend in this place had made it just for her. Aside from the features it had, that alone made it unique and precious to her. It's not just a tool. It's a precious keepsake.]

I-It's Pilouette. I'm back. I guess I've been gone for a while. Uh, sorry if anyone worried. Hey, so, like, when we were in... [She pauses briefly. It's almost as if the name hurts to say.] ...When we were in Zompania, I had a first aid kit with me. It's, um, really important so if any picked it up or if anyone has seen it, I'd really like to know.

[As she waits for responses, Pilouette is really starting to put it all together. She died, didn't she? She must have. After all, it was weeks after the last thing she remembered happening and it's not like the Malnosso would have kidnapped her off of a battlefield. She's not sure they could, even if they wanted to. She died in Zompania. Again. There's no other explanation.

There are still a lot of questions, though. She's not even sure exactly how she died which is a bit troubling. Then there's the question of her penalty. She has one. She has to. She just...doesn't know what it is. Something feels off, but she can't quite pin down what it is.. She supposes that she should be glad she was able to be brought back at all, penalty or no, but not knowing is the worst part.]

[AUDIO]

[Pilouette is still a little nervous about making announcements like these. While she's gained a little confidence as of late, she can't help but feel a little bit anxious. With a deep breath, turns on the audio function, and starts her announcement.]

H-Hi, everyone! Pilouette here! Um, I hope all you New Feathers are settling in okay! I know it can be tough, but...um...it gets a little easier after a while!

[She can't help but cringe inwardly as she says that. Being in Luceti may be easier after a while, but she's still not sure if getting used to being here is a good thing or not.]

And like, speaking of! I just wanted to tell everyone about the upcoming New Feather Party! This time, it's going to be a beach party! It'll be at 1:00 PM on the 18th at...um, at the beach. [She did already say it was a beach party...she frowns briefly, making a note to try scripting out her announcement next time.]

It'll be lots of fun and there will be a lot of food and stuff, too! But um...also...if anyone wants to make a dish to share with everyone then go ahead and bring something! Like a potluck, you know? I really hope I'll see you all then!

[ACTION]
[During the day Pilouette will be poking around the item shop, looking for beach-y summer-type things; beach balls, squirt guns, water balloons, beach chairs and the like. She'll also be putting up a few small posters about the party around the village in case anyone missed the announcement.

Later on, she'll be in the library (which she eventually decided probably wasn't a haunted death trap as she previously thought) looking for cookbooks and scribbling down notes and recipes.]

[First aid.

Pilouette has never really had much of an interest in medicine, nor has she ever thought medical work of any kind was within her capabilities. However, Precis did have a point. Since Pilouette wanted a way to contribute and be useful, first aid would be a pretty good skill to learn, especially if her luck finally ran out and she suddenly found herself being drafted.

So, a little apprehensively, she turns to the journals.]

U-Um! I was wondering if, um, if anyone could maybe...teach me first aid? I mean, I'm not asking anyone to do it for nothing! Really! I can clean really well and um, I can cook a little! I-I'd just really like to learn how to do it!

[Action]

( oh gosh, look at all that introspection. )

[It occurs to her only now how long she might have been sitting in the snow in the middle of the forest on that first day in Luceti, sniveling and crying, if not for someone happening upon her and helping her find her way. And so later that day, dressed for the weather (along with her fake glasses, as they did always make her feel a just little less nervous) and with a small bag containing her journal, a little bit of food and a blanket, she walks off into the forest, just in case The Malnosso have seen fit to dump any New Feathers in the forest.

However, that's only part of the reason she sets off on her little adventure. Though she realizes that being stuck in this place for a year isn't something to celebrate or treat as a special occasion, she feels she should do something. She's decided to try and find the spot where she first arrived. Pilouette knows full well it won't really help anything and she's not even sure if she can even recall quite what it looked like as the area was covered with snow (her state of panic didn't help either) but Pils thinks that maybe she'll remember if she sees it.

Spoiler Alert: She probably won't.]