singillatim | open | chapter 1

Entry tags:

open | chapter 1 | march catch-all

« Who: John Doe and you!
« What: John makes his way to Milton
« When: March! Starting early March! Prompts to be added as needed!
« Where: Woods, Milton, and in between
« Content Warnings: none so far!

[ i. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep... [journey to Milton] ]

John hadn't liked the castle, even after their host had stopped being a secretive fucking asshole, but he certainly liked it better than whatever fucking cave he wakes up in. The first reason is because it's cold as hell. Or. Maybe not hell, but it is extremely goddamn cold. The second is that somehow, somehow, he is not where he is supposed to be in a much more disorienting fashion than any other: he is not within Arthur Lester. He is in a body, a body that feels like his body, that has a collection of limbs and pieces that feel like they belong to him and, from his limited ability to look at it, looks the way he feels like he ought to look. The gold of the robes, the matte black of his skin and hair and claws, the way his right arm seems whole until the individual tentacles that form it separate and stretch like spread fingers-

Legs are new. He can't say he's a fan, especially these that don't even have toes like he'd gotten used to. It takes grabbing a freezing cold stone to push himself up, hooves skittering across the uneven floor at first before finally finding a catch, and then he's hauling himself into an upright position to start really looking around.

"Hel-"

A pause before he puts his claw to his throat. What a sentence that is: his claw, his throat. But more importantly, is that what he sounds like out loud? Fuck, that's weird. Okay.

"Hello! Arthur!?" A pause before- "...Yorick?"

That's what makes him look around, or rather pat down his robes to find the items that had apparently come here with him. The coin is surprising, given where he'd last seen it. The beastiary is a boon, one he's glad not to have lost. But the skull on it's chain, dead and lifeless, no yapping to be heard...

"Shit."

It's not the most auspicious start to a day, but it's also not the worst that he's had. After all, there are trees and snow and rocks, pieces of the real and physical world. It doesn't look like Addison to him, from what he remembers of that place, but it is at least Somewhere. Not the Dark World. Not the Dreamlands, or so he hopes.

It means he needs to get walking, try and find people, or at least a warmer place to stay. As such, he'll set off into the forest, looking for signs of life, movement, and always, always Arthur.

Feel free to find him on the way. ...he'd appreciate if you didn't try to kill him, but he won't be surprised if it happens.

[ ii. And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep. [entering Milton] ]

It's been a long, cold, unfortunate slog, the only benefit of which is the fact that he can wear with pride the 100% success rate at not falling into holes during his first sojourn on legs. It's the sort of thing that he holds to himself as tight as his robes against the frigid temperatures and the rising dark, something to tell Arthur about when he gets back to him.

Because he is getting back to him. That is not up for debate. It's just a matter of how long it'll take him to get there.

He sees the houses, avoids those that are dark and heads towards the greatest source of light. He'd considered trying to sneak around, gather information, learn what this place is and who lives here and what they might do to him if they saw him. But he also knows how clumsy he is in this new body of his, and large, and cold, and that someone caught sneaking would no doubt be thought of as a sneak. Instead, he decides to go (tentatively) for the larger gamble: he heads for the main area of town, the brightest light, the most people. He'll walk slow, gauge reactions, see if he can get someone to trust him at least far enough to let him get near a fire or perhaps provide some food (hunger? sucks) before he gives up, runs, and seeks some other place to go.

He remembers 'hands up' from those police on the island and readies his arms to put them up if asked.

Once more with feeling and in he goes.

[ iii. From what I’ve tasted of desire / I hold with those who favor fire. [community hall fire w/Arthur] ]

It takes a bit of coaxing, and more than a bit of looking out, but John does eventually come in from the cold. They head for the community hall, since the fire is always going there and John's been out in the wilds for quite a few hours. He'll finally get a chance to rest and soak in some warmth, his arms wrapped firmly around Arthur Lester now that they've been reunited. The size difference is a little funny but hopefully the giant non-human figure looks significantly less terrifying while shamelessly cuddling someone who seems just as glad to be there as he is. (The vibe is a lot more My-Neighbor-JohnDoedoe than anything else.)

Feel free to come by and say hi. He doesn't bite!

[ iv. I have walked out in rain—and back in rain. [around Milton] ]

Once John's here, he's... well, he's here. He can be found with Arthur or without Arthur, often in their home on Thompson (neatening up) or in the community hall, getting a feel for...

Everything, frankly.

He's new to this place, he's new to having a body, he's new to clothes (namely the largest coat he could find and a heavy blanket used as a kilt) and food. He's new to people seeing him, acknowledging him, speaking to him. He's new to being able to pick up a book by himself, being by himself in the physical world. He's new to fatigue. He's new to all of these senses that are both more vibrant and duller than what he might have had.

So if you catch him looking confused or looking around, or if he points at himself and looks to make sure you're talking to him, well... he's not fucking with you. This is all a lot to deal with.

[ v. One can see what will trouble / This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is. - closed to Arthur ]

It's as they're settling down in their home (their home!) in the loft area that John starts feeling the pull on his eyelids, the way his limbs are heavy and the urge to get comfortable becomes incredibly strong.

"Arthur... what's-"

[ Return player! New character! As you can see, he's a very obvious non-human! If you want to chat, or an individual starter,

yarnzipan or the same on discord works just fine! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's not that John's stupid. He isn't, really.

But he has spent an inordinate amount of time being invisible, literally inside of another person, and that means people addressing him is a new (and slightly bizarre) thing (at least without a heavy New York accent... or... Yorick, he's not glancing down to his hip to look at 'Yorick'). This is why John legitimately turns his head, looking back and around to see who Levi's speaking to before the glowing golden eyes blink and he nods.

Tentatively-

"...uh... yeah. I was in a... cave?" Beat. "It's fucking cold out there. I thought I'd, um, try to find someplace warm."

He, unfortunately, did not show up with a certain lighter.

But he does see the weapons. The fact that's on his back and now drawn is encouraging.

"Can I move, or are you going to shoot me?"

He's just checking.

He raises an eyebrow at John's momentary confusion but doesn't say anything. Maybe a culture thing? At least they spoke the same language. "Inside's much better. We've got a fire going in the hall most of the time. I'm sure there's some food too."

He cants his head, "Why, is there a reason I should shoot you?"
Sure, John looks strange and sinister but he's seen a lot of weird shit so demon-looking guys doesn't seem that strange. The skull on his belt is concerning, but, well, his world was far from pretty and after the man wearing the deer skull he's glad its just an accessory.

Immediate headshake. Oh, wow, that's... a lot when it's your head. It used to be bad enough when Arthur did it. But he peers a little closer.

"No." Just to be clear on that. "But I just-"

He gives a smaller shake.

"Forget it. So... towards the big building at the center there? With all the light?"

He nods, "This is the community hall. Its like a meeting place but some of us sleep there too."

He turns towards it but pauses before entering. "Um, I've never seen someone like you before. I-I'm not sure how people will react."

That has him pausing mid-step, and he puts his hoof back down where he'd started. That leaves him at a bit of an impass.

"That's... reasonable, yes." Think think think. "Is there- I-I don't suppose someone else has shown up recently, a-a man named Arthur. He's hard to miss, has a- a scar across one side of his neck, another near his eye. Probably... wearing gloves of some sort. An English accent, a mustache-"

He looks back to Levi.

"Is any of that ringing a bell?" He continues after a second. "He's my companion. H-he can vouch for me, perhaps, o-or we can go, find somewhere else if it's a problem. I don't want any trouble."

"Oh! Y-yeah, I know him. I think he lives near the hall, but I'm not sure. But, um, as long as you don't cause any trouble I can, um, help...I-I guess, if someone wants to start something I can step in."

That immediately gets a perk up; this one does not have what you might call a 'poker face', not even close.

"You do? He does?"

Wait, 'lives'? What the-

He shakes his head again, starting to get the hang of the gesture. The trick of closing your eyes when you do it so your vision doesn't get swimmy- that's definitely helpful.

"I won't, I swear. I just- I need to get back to Arthur."

The way he says it is like he's missing a limb. It's not inaccurate.

"Um, o-okay, we can go look for him if you want. A lot of people hang out at the community hall so it still might be a good idea to check inside?"

There's a furtive look towards the hall before he turns back to Levi.

"Do you think it's a good idea for me to go?"

Just... large amount of people. If it goes south, it's going to go really south.

"Um...I-I don't really know. Its pretty much just humans here and I think in a lot of worlds that's all there is. But, um," he looks over John. "You do look, um, i-intimidating." Hopefully that wasn't offensive! "I-if you want I can check inside for you first? You probably want to get out of the cold sometime though..."

"No kidding," he says in a huff, not annoyed at Levi but yeah, it's fucking cold. He's fucking cold. He'd love to just go to the hall and get warm, especially if Arthur might be there. The idea of waiting even one moment more than he needs to to get back to Arthur makes something in his chest hurt.

"But I can last a few minutes out here. If you go in, find Arthur, bring him here- hopefully he can explain and I can go inside to the fire then."

Two people to vouch for him is better than one.

"You know, since... 'intimidating'."

Nah, he's not insulted. But he can admit that, if only given the height difference between them.

"Okay. Maybe, um, stay a little back. J-just in case." He really has no idea what to expect from people seeing John but it was probably better safe than sorry. He doesn't want to get somebody shot or something.

That said, Levi heads into the hall to see who's in.

It might take him a second to notice Arthur, but he is actually in the hall; by the piano, sitting with it closed as he works on copying new notes down slightly more permanently. He's focused on his work, though, not immediately looking up when Levi walks in.

Levi notices someone at the piano pretty easily, and normally he'd be a bit sad to see they weren't playing but he's pretty sure this is the guy he's looking for. He steps towards the other man and clears his throat. ~~Fuck he has to initiate conversation this is hard.~~ "Uh...A-arthur?"

Yes, Arthur jolts a little at the throat-clearing. Hyperfocus is a hell of a thing.

But he doesn't look upset for it, instead giving Levi a confused smile. "Levi - hey, er. What's up?"

He gives a shy, awkward smile back. Levi's not so good at those. "I, um, t-there's someone who wants to see you. O-outside. He says he knows you."

"What?"

The confusion only increases, honestly. He'd - not given up on the idea of more people from his world arriving, exactly, but it certainly wasn't high on his mind.

Still, he's standing to follow Levi. "Did he give his name, or - w-what does he look like?" As if he'd know on sight.

"N-no, I forgot to get his name...b-but he's, um, s-striking. R-really tall and, um, b-black with, um, h-hooves. He's dressed in yellow?" Hopefully that was enough without him trying to go into even more because Levi's not sure how well he can describe John without just calling him a monster or something.

He's starting back towards the entrance though. They'll see soon enough.

"Dressed in... yellow?"

It couldn't be. It had to be. Right? It was the only option that would want to see him.

He tries to keep pace with Levi, trying not to seem desperate, but when they're outside he can't hold himself back and rushes forward down the stairs, his gaze flicking desperately around the empty snow in front of the hall.

"John?"

John is some distance away, but he knows that voice better than he knows anything. From the distance, Arthur will hear a voice he hasn't heard in a few months, completely unconcerned with volume control.

"ARTHUR!"

He won't run into the crowded square and towards the hall, not yet, but- it's pretty damn clear who it is.

Levi doesn't try to stop or slow down Arthur as he begins to rush. It was clear they knew each other and it really sounded like a happy reunion instead of one he might want to step into.

"He's, um, I-I asked him to step aside a bit..." Though he's pretty sure they'll be able to find each other quickly. With the shouting and all.

Song of his soul, his voice is alive.

"John!!"

And Levi is completely forgotten as Arthur abruptly bolts, with a shocking turn of speed for a man so unhealthily thin, towards that hidden voice.

John had been hiding behind a shed or something, some manner of structure, but when he sees Arthur barreling his way, he immediately slips out, golden eyes wide and both arms open. Arthur is getting caught and lifted, all upper limbs wrapped around him as he lets out another sobbing cry of Arthur's name.

Definitely a happy reunion. Levi feels good that he was able to help here. "I'm glad he was the right person."

Arthur doesn't slow his roll when he sees the giant figure stepping into sight - it probably ought to, he knows logically, but after being chased by a fucking ghost bear for the last month or so, after almost freezing to death and almost forgetting John entirely, he doesn't care.

That's John.

And every inch of Arthur is wrapped in thick layers of clothes, so he doesn't realise how fucking cold John is yet; he just throws his arms around John's neck and shoulders to cuddle him, burying his face immediately in the nest of frosty yellow fabric around his neck to snuggle into his partner. His friend.

"Jesus Christ, John, h-how?" He pulls back almost immediately, though, so he can look at John. "Y-you--"

One hand comes up to cup John's jaw (mask?), the other still bracing himself. "You have a body..."

Re: ii

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