01: Blank Slate

[returntosender]

†01「Locked to 336 Brady」

[Waking up in a bed in a room full of things he didn't recognize, clothes he didn't remember owning, in a place he didn't know: left Hope in a of a state of panic. The last thing he remembered was jumping down from an airship onto a race track, following after his friends to infiltrate Eden. Thinking about it now, he couldn't even remember landing on his feet after the leap. What stood out most to the young teen though in his fleet of uncertainty was his left wrist, which was no longer branded with the mark of a l'Cie.]

Hello?? Is anyone there?? [He'll call out into the home, cautiously going down the hall with a bat, which he found in 'his' room, at hand.]

†02「Phone」Morning

[The phone in Hope's new home was very different from the phones he was used to, but after a little bit of investigation and time to calm down he's decided to use it and try to contact his friends.]

This calls out to everyone, so uh, can someone tell me how I got here. This is place is called Mayfield isn't it....? I'm... I'm looking for some people too.

†03「Action」

A 「Streets of Mayfield」Afternoon

[After determining his 'fake home' was the last place he wanted to be: Hope went to the streets exploring. So where ever you are, regardless of what you might happen to be doing; you might see a small young teen wandering around. He doesn't seem exactly sure about talking to others, but he is rather interested in the homes and vehicles he keeps passing. He might even stop in front of the one in your driveway or just outside your home or shop and start fiddling with it.]

B 「At the Park」Evening

[He didn't know anyone, didn't recognize anything in the town, really the park was just one more brand new place he would have to familiarize himself with. Probably the only consoling aspect of the play ground was that it didn't have pictures of him and some random family hanging around the walls.

It's getting dark out though, and he wasn't exactly sure how to get back to where he started.]

... I guess it's not like I haven't slept outside before.

Comments

B

[sara_mudou]

[Sara was sitting on the swingset, just thinking, when she saw the boy approach. It was getting dark anyway, and she was about to head home, when she glances up and sees the boy. It's hard not to react to what he's saying.]

Huh? Slept outside?

B

[returntosender]

[He jumps a little because that response caught him by surprise.]

Who's there??

[sara_mudou]

It's me. It's Sara!

[...which probably means nothing to him. She jumps off the swing and it creaks. Then she moves towards the sound of his voice.]

I mean, don't be afraid. I'm not dangerous. But why are you planning to sleep outside?

[Not another person with bad family...?]

[action] B

[hasitmemorized]

[That was an awful contemplative look you were giving that bench right there. What was this kid...

Slept outside? Woah. Wait a second. It's January. And that is a bench.]

Bit... cold for that, don't you think?

[action] B

[returntosender]

[Desperate times call for desperate measures dude.]

Uh-well, I'm not serious... [It was cold out, yeah, but not horrible.]

[action] B keywords relevant

[hasitmemorized]

[He's just going to slowly raise his eyebrow.]

Really? [Because you looked pretty serious, buddy.]

[action a]

[eveningcalm]

Don't be dumb. Why would you ever want to sleep outside in the cold when you know you have a perfectly warm house waiting?

[Intruding for... reasons... 8|]

[action ] B ?

[returntosender]

[Wow Izumo, just go ahead and be mean to this clearly nice boy.]

...It helps if you know where your house is.

...yes I meant that

[eveningcalm]

[She will indeed.]

You didn't even bother to remember that?

A

[fineinthefire]

[He's just gonna stand there and watch Hope explore a little bit. He could have just walked away, let the kid find out what was going on the hard way, but he hadn't been dropped on his ass when he got here, had he? Was it really his job to be the nice guy though? He sighed when he felt was he was pretty sure would be a pang of guilt and stopped mid-turn to walk over to him.]

You new here kid?

A

[returntosender]

[Aw Axel, Hope appreciates your concern. Even if he looks a little flustered himself at the sudden attention.

He's not used to being noticed by people with good intentions.]

Yeah-easy to tell I guess.

[fineinthefire]

[Concern? What concern? No concern here nope. Don't know what you're talking about.]

Only... a lot. People might start getting suspicious of you if you keep looking around like a snoop.

[He moves to take Hope's elbow in his hand and start leading him away from the houses.]

You don't want people around here thinking you're a thief. Let's find a spot to sit. I'll tell you what's going on.

A

[ryougi]

[Hope you picked the wrong motorcycle to fiddle with... P.S. She shares a voice actress with Lightning so uhhh trippy SCREAMS.] Oi. The hell are you doing.

A

[returntosender]

[His heart nearly leaps into his chest based on her voice alone. Hope instantly drops whatever wire he was tugging on and turns to face the woman who'd spoken to him.]

Light-![But of course, he wasn't greeted with the image of his friend. So his smile falls into an expression showing confusion and worry.]

Oh-I'm sorry. [He steps away from the bike, obviously nervous.] I thought you wer someone else...

[ryougi]

Alright then. [Not the weirdest thing to have ever happened but what kind of name is Light to begin with... anyways.] You always nose around things that aren't yours, or did this just catch your eye?

B

[forgotten_titan]

(Tara was on the way back home, when she noticed the young teen lying down on the bench. She slows down from her brisk walk, confused. It's not uncommon to take naps in the park, but this late? Slightly concerned, she walked over.)

Hey. You ok there?

B

[returntosender]

[At least the bench didn't have any snow on it! Nevertheless Hope glances over to the girl, and sits up almost immediately.]

I... I'm-[Cold. Stuck in a new world with no way out and no one he knows.]-fine. [But 'fine' stood for more than just one state of mind.]


[After a moment of silence though Hope will speak again.]

Uhm... You don't know if there, isn't some, shelter somewhere, do you?

[forgotten_titan]

Why do you need a shelter? I thought everyone who woke up here was assigned a house.

3

[gezellig]

Are you lost?

[He's just doing some yardwork, is all. He has an extremely nice yard, good and tidy.]

3

[returntosender]

[Hope stops, silently admiring the groundskeeping on the yard before hesitantly answering the man.]

Being lost would mean I at least knew where I was going right? [...]

I guess, yeah, I am ...

/slow . . .

[gezellig]

[Even though most of it's dead because of the season, there's still work to do.]

So you're not trying to find any place.

A.

[unexculpable]

... What're you doing?

A.

[returntosender]

[Hope glances over his shoulder then returns to his investigating.]

Trying to figure out how this works... [It was similar to the cars back home, but, still very different.]

01 - Sorry for the late reply!

[ex_finnish_604]

[It doesn't take much to make Finland jump, and hearing an unfamiliar voice call out into the hallway is no exception. Of course, running to the voice's source and seeing a boy wielding a bat definitely doesn't help his fretting.]

Please don't be hasty! Just calm down and listen to me, okay?

It's okay!

[returntosender]

[Finland appearing around the corner and jumping did nothing to stop Hope from raising the bat in self defense. He wasn't very strong but he could at least pretend that he was. That guy seemed pretty afraid of him-]

Where am I?? How did I get here?? Where are my things?!