(no subject)

[yumemi_no_ou]

Characters: Shin and anyone who wants to spot him
Open? Yep!
Where: The streets of Schwanheim
When: 20th of Rebirth's Decline
What: Fed up with the sorry excuse for a wheel chair he has, Shin is attempting to get back on his feet. Slowly.
Warnings: Shin is an emo kid and still a grumpy pants.


To say that the streets of Schwanheim were inhospitable to a wheel chair was a gross understatement. Between the bumpy cobblestone and parts that were just well worn dirt, sometimes it felt like the chair wasn't even helping with how his back ached when he was out in it, not to mention how badly his arms were fairing.

But staying inside still was not an option. The Dreaming was empty (and he was not inclined to go prodding people's dreams again after getting at least one person mad enough at him to want to hurt him) and there was just simply nothing to do inside. Or outside, for that matter, but at least outside he didn't feel so trapped or cooped up...

Finally, a solution: A new back brace made by Hawk (with direction from Aralu) so that his back was supported, and a new walking stick to help keep him upright. The brace was uncomfortable as hell, but it wasn't as if there was molded plastic that could be used. Cloth and metal was the best they could do, and as long as it held his back in place so he could walk again, Shin would suffer it.

He still was moving very slowly and carefully, fingers white around the walking staff as he hobbled along, keeping his eyes on the textured road under him as he hobbled towards the edge of town. Getting away from this mass of people -- every one of them a chance to be knocked into and hurt his back even more-- was top priority...

Comments

[yumemi_no_ou]

"I'm fine," Shin half snapped, face tense with concentration. He could do it. Just ignore the pain, it wasn't so bad, just keep moving to get out of this stupid town with it's stupid people and stupid uneven streets...

His foot slipped just slightly on one of the stones and his grip on his walking stick tightened as he swore under his breath. "Who the fuck paves with stones, goddamn!" he cursed, breath hitching a little.

[tatra]

Tatra said nothing. He was obviously having trouble, but she didn't want to make anything worse by forcing her help on him. Instead she began walking a bit behind him and to the side, physically moving people when she could and outright glaring at the others.

This had an effect rather like everyone's mother had just scolded them for bad behavior in good company. Nobody every saw Tatra frown. For the most part they cleared away, those who knew Tatra looking downright ashamed. At least when there were two of them people took a bit more notice.

[yumemi_no_ou]

Shin looked over at her a moment before mumbling an almost chagrined "Thank you" as he continued to carefully hobbling along.

[tatra]

"My pleasure," she returned warmly, even offering him a smile before turning her glare back to the crowds.

[yumemi_no_ou]

Shin glanced over again, relaxing a bit now that he wasn't being brushed against. "You... you're the one with the twin sister, right?"

[tatra]

"Pardon?" She glanced over at him again, this time in surprise. She hadn't thought she had met him before, but now she wasn't so sure.

"I do have a twin sister, yes."

[yumemi_no_ou]

"Sometimes people look different when they're awake, wasn't sure if you were one like that or not," Shin explained, paying more attention to the cobblestone than the conversation.

[tatra]

That was right, she had it now. She had seen him before, once in a dream. She struggled now to remember it. It seemed long ago and far away, as dreams often did.

"You were in the garden," she suggested, more a question than a statement.

[yumemi_no_ou]

Shin nodded, pausing to use his walking stick to push a fallen basket out of the way. "Yeah."

[tatra]

"I must admit I'm not terribly familiar with dream magic," she confessed, an edge of admiration in her voice. Any power that let you into someone's heart was great indeed.

"Perhaps now we could have a cup of tea in the waking world!"

[yumemi_no_ou]

"It's not really magic," Shin corrected before giving the faintest of smiles. "But yeah, that sounds good. As long as it's not anywhere too crowded." He'd already had his fill of being knocked into, and he was sure his back wasn't going to do will with much more of it....

[tatra]

"There's a little place near the edge of town," she suggested thoughtfully. It wasn't too far away to be an inconvenience, but it shouldn't have been too crowded either.

Ack! This got eaten by the inbox!

[yumemi_no_ou]

"Edge of town sounds good," Shin nodded, with a bit of a wry smile. "The farther away I can get from this place the better..."

Oh no!

[tatra]

"Perfect," she declared. The edge of town it was then. She lead the way, carefully avoiding what crowds she could and still glaring at anyone who dared come close enough to knock her companion about.

Every now and then stuff gets buried if I don't reply right away. ^^;;;

[yumemi_no_ou]

Shin hobbled along, paying far closer attention to the cobbled road than his companion, wincing every now and again, but remaining stubbornly upright. It was better than the chair...

Still, he was rather relieved when the outer walls came into view. Almost there...!

Well I'm glad you found it again! ^^

[tatra]

When they finally arrived Tatra allowed the frown to fall from her face and slipped into a sweet smile that was much more comfortable. A quick word to the owner and a selection of teas was brought to a table out in front of the store.

[yumemi_no_ou]

Shin's shoulders sagged with relief once he was carefully settled at the table. "I swear, this place is going to be the death of me..." he muttered, reaching back to put a hand on his back brace, pushing against it to help readjust. "I am not cut out for this crap in any way...."

[tatra]

"It must be very difficult," Tatra agreed sympathetically. He had such a hard time getting around, and the layout of this world did little to help him.

"Isn't there anything I could do to help?"

[yumemi_no_ou]

"Not unless you can magically get these roads not to suck or find me a wheel chair that can hover," Shin replied bitterly. "I can't just go live in the Dreaming here because there's no one there except like.. 10 people and one person already wants to kill me for being in his dream..."

[tatra]

"I'm afraid I don't have nearly that sort of power," she replied apologetically. "But perhaps there's someone who can." There were certainly others among those brought from other worlds who were more powerful than she was.

[yumemi_no_ou]

"I doubt it," Shin dismissed, shifting a bit more before giving a deep sigh as the tension in his back eased. "Might just be easier to find a way so people can see me when I'm astral. That was the best way it worked back home..."

[tatra]

Tatra selected her tea and set it to seep, moving the bag around a bit with her spoon as she thought.

"How did you manage it back home, then?"

[yumemi_no_ou]

Shin smiled wryly. "Different people," he shrugged. "There was a whole world of different people who could just see me that way..." His voice softened with a touch of sadness. "I didn't have to even do much in the physical world. I could just see everyone in dreams and it was fine. This place is different. And I have to actually take care of this stupid body," he scowled.

[tatra]

"I see." That wouldn't be easy to duplicate, then. There might have been some spell that could accomplish that, but she didn't have the power to set it in motion.

"And you said someone here wants to kill you? Because of your dream power?"

[yumemi_no_ou]

"Because I stopped his nightmare," Shin scowled. "He'd rather wallow in misery, so he got pissed off at me."