[Most of Varric's memory has come back by now. There's a few things that still escape him, especially around the zombies and what he suspects did him in, but he's gotten to the point where he at least remembers some of his time at the Keep.
He's heading for the kitchen in the barracks when he spots someone unfamiliar. Normally he'd keep on going, maybe with a nod or something, but he does indeed recognize that coat. It's enough to give him pause, and he stops, raising an eyebrow at the guy.]
[Riku stops, looking at the man in front of him. Something screams in his mind that he knows him, that he -ought- to be familiar, but the truth is that Riku can't remember anything at all about him. Struggling to remember is like trying to hammer down a brick wall.]
[Varric eyes the man as well, paying careful attention to his voice. He doesn't recognize it, either, which means this guy's either new, or someone who didn't post around on the journals much.]
I haven't. Last I checked, there wasn't anyone here with that name.
[He pauses.]
Did you just get here? Don't remember seeing you around.
[Lea still isn't convinced that this place is a different world. After all, until he woke up here, the idea of there being other worlds was just part of a children's story. No, this is definitely Something Else. Whether that Thing is kidnapping or just the most elaborate prank ever pulled, he doesn't know.
[Whatever the case, he's not one to sit around and wait for answers to be provided. So he heads off to explore this weird castle-that's-not-the-castle. And it's during this exploration that he sees some really tall guy.]
Hey!
[Perfect! Someone to ask questions! He hurries right on over.]
[Riku pauses at the voice, half-turning to look at the boy hurrying up to him. He's younger, sure, and the voice is different, but the sight of the spikes of red hair triggers an entirely new flow of memories. More pieces connect, and Riku turns toward Lea, frowning.]
Axel.
[Were you asking a question? Whoops, he must've missed that.]
[And now Riku's confused, too. He -looks- like Axel, and he remembers that Axel was not his friend... but what if there's something he's not remembering? Maybe this isn't the same person. He has no way of knowing. He'll just have to go with it for now.
So Riku shakes his head.]
No, I thought you were... somebody else. That's all.
[As she made her way back towards her own or Riku's room - she had yet to decide - Kairi's thoughts were far away.
She thought - hoped - that maybe it might be okay. Riku... Riku had died. It felt like something heavy had been dropped on her chest every time she thought about it. He had died. But... But so had others. And Bobby had said that people who died came back. And they had been coming back. While she was stuck alone and hurting in quarantine, she had been reading her journal and they had been coming back and well... Riku wasn't back yet
( ... )
[That... was not any sort of reaction he'd expected to get today.
Riku frowned slightly, perplexed, as the girl in front of him gasped and nearly dropped her food. Fruit. Why? He glanced to the side, then behind him to make sure there wasn't something there to startle her so, then looked back to the girl.]
[A hundred expressions fly across her face, beyond her control, her confusion and care paramount. Finally, she sets her jaw, and shakes her head once.]
No. You're still you.
[And hesitating only half a step, she walks up to him and moves to hug him.]
[He watches her expression change, unable to understand why each one is there, but knowing there's something wrong. But then she's stepping forward and hugging him, and his mind and his heart are at odds because his heart tells him that this is right, but his mind tells him that he doesn't know her at all.
So Riku steps away, his confusion plastered all over his face.]
Do I... know you?
[But wait. He takes a closer look at her face, sees her for an instant with different hair.]
[Zhaneel had never met Riku before, but to be honest she hadn't met terribly many people as of yet. The gryphon liked to keep to herself, perched or roosting on the keep wall walk rather than staying in her own room.
However, she wasn't terribly inclined to go hunting just now and the Barracks kitchen was closer and would amount to less work on her part.
She is moving down the hall, the soft click of her talons and claws on stone as she moves, when she spies an unfamiliar figure ahead. Rather used to new arrivals coming at any time, Zhaneel isn't concerned, but curious. She shifts her wings along her back and pads to a halt, not wishing to approach too closely should her form alarm the newcomer.]
[ooc: Imma set this after Riku's talk with Varric, just in the interest of not doing the whole "I don't remember who I am!" thing a fourth time |D If that's all right with you?]
[The sight of the gryphon makes him stop. He's seen several humans, rediscovered all manner of things inanimate, but he doesn't feel even an echo of familiarity when he sees her. And then she speaks, and Riku's even more confused.
But her questions give him structure.]
No. I've been here before, apparently, but I didn't look like this.
[Dying, changing appearances... neither she nor Varric have really been that surprised, aside from Varric's first reaction to learning who he was. A lot of things happen in this keep.]
I'm not... sure. I don't remember a lot of things yet.
Comments 123
He's heading for the kitchen in the barracks when he spots someone unfamiliar. Normally he'd keep on going, maybe with a nod or something, but he does indeed recognize that coat. It's enough to give him pause, and he stops, raising an eyebrow at the guy.]
Looking for someone?
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Yeah, a girl. Her name's Xion. Have you seen her?
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I haven't. Last I checked, there wasn't anyone here with that name.
[He pauses.]
Did you just get here? Don't remember seeing you around.
Reply
No. I've been here before, I think.
It's all a little... unclear.
Reply
[Whatever the case, he's not one to sit around and wait for answers to be provided. So he heads off to explore this weird castle-that's-not-the-castle. And it's during this exploration that he sees some really tall guy.]
Hey!
[Perfect! Someone to ask questions! He hurries right on over.]
You live here?
Reply
Axel.
[Were you asking a question? Whoops, he must've missed that.]
Reply
[He blinks up at the tall man, momentarily confused. "Axel"? What kind of a weird greeting is that?]
Lemme guess. That means somethin' like, "Bad weather we're havin'," right?
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So Riku shakes his head.]
No, I thought you were... somebody else. That's all.
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She thought - hoped - that maybe it might be okay. Riku... Riku had died. It felt like something heavy had been dropped on her chest every time she thought about it. He had died. But... But so had others. And Bobby had said that people who died came back. And they had been coming back. While she was stuck alone and hurting in quarantine, she had been reading her journal and they had been coming back and well... Riku wasn't back yet ( ... )
Reply
Riku frowned slightly, perplexed, as the girl in front of him gasped and nearly dropped her food. Fruit. Why? He glanced to the side, then behind him to make sure there wasn't something there to startle her so, then looked back to the girl.]
Is something the matter?
[She looked familiar. Why was that?]
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No. You're still you.
[And hesitating only half a step, she walks up to him and moves to hug him.]
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So Riku steps away, his confusion plastered all over his face.]
Do I... know you?
[But wait. He takes a closer look at her face, sees her for an instant with different hair.]
You look just like her.
Reply
However, she wasn't terribly inclined to go hunting just now and the Barracks kitchen was closer and would amount to less work on her part.
She is moving down the hall, the soft click of her talons and claws on stone as she moves, when she spies an unfamiliar figure ahead. Rather used to new arrivals coming at any time, Zhaneel isn't concerned, but curious. She shifts her wings along her back and pads to a halt, not wishing to approach too closely should her form alarm the newcomer.]
Have you just arrived?
Reply
[The sight of the gryphon makes him stop. He's seen several humans, rediscovered all manner of things inanimate, but he doesn't feel even an echo of familiarity when he sees her. And then she speaks, and Riku's even more confused.
But her questions give him structure.]
No. I've been here before, apparently, but I didn't look like this.
My name is Riku.
Reply
[Just as Riku curiously studies her, so she studies him as well, head tilting slightly from one way to the other as her ears perk forward curiously.]
The same but not the same .. I had not heard of such happening here, but I do not think I should be surprised.
[At the introduction she fluffs up her facial feathers before flattening them down again, beak gaping slightly in the gryphonic equivalent to a grin.]
Heyla, Riku .. I am Zhaneel. Are you in need of assistance?
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[Dying, changing appearances... neither she nor Varric have really been that surprised, aside from Varric's first reaction to learning who he was. A lot of things happen in this keep.]
I'm not... sure. I don't remember a lot of things yet.
Reply
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