(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

[tatra]

Tatra was out for a walk about town when she spotted the poor boy. She often went out for walks like this, greeting familiar faces as she went, perhaps stopping for a bite to eat in one of the local shops. It was not often she saw someone having so much trouble just walking through the street.

It was as though the others didn't see him at all. One or two people took care to give the boy a wide birth, but others brushed by him without a care in the world. It made her heart ache to see him having such trouble and looking in so much pain. She said a quick farewell to the shopkeeper she had been speaking with and hurried to his side, gently pushing people out of her way as she went with a small frown on her face. He seemed strangely familiar.

"Excuse me," she called out to him. "Would you like some help? You look like you're in quite a bit of pain."

[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.

[consultmybooks]

As Shin is going along, he might slowly start to get the feeling that he's being watched. Largely because he is, although examining the people around him won't reveal any obvious culprits.

The feeling will persist until he reaches the edge of town. Giles appears to have had much the same idea as Shin, although without the same cause to it. He's sitting in the grass off the path, under a stray tree. His eyes are closed, and both hands are held out in front of him. Between them, a small, square mirror is gently turning, seemingly of its own accord.

After a second, a frown comes over Giles' face. It deepens, like he's feeling an itch he can't scratch, until finally he lets out a yelp, coming out of the daze with a start. The mirror clatters to the ground. The feeling of being watched will vanish.

"Well...that's, um, that's new."

[yumemi_no_ou]

"If you were trying to hide your presence doing that you did a pretty crappy job," Shin remarked dryly, taking a moment to lean against the tree catch his breath. Belatedly he was starting to realize that going so far to get out of the town was a stupid idea, but it was too late now.

...besides. It wasn't as if he couldn't call Aralu to come pick him up.

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?"