( open )

[overclocking]

Date & Time: Several days after the necromorph outbreak
Location: A VR room
Characters: Chrono + Rosette + open!
Summary: Lil bit of coping in-between zombie apocalypses and civil wars, nbd
Warnings: None! KEVIN AND BREAK
Notes: Feel free to tag around also! ♥


[ Chrono doesn't bother to close the door when he finally decides to try one of these rooms for himself. Something about the last few days (weeks) (months) has left him unwilling to stay in enclosed spaces too long, with no obvious path of exist. Too much like a lab or an undead-lined hallway.

But these concerns slowly melt away as he sets about instructing the AI, and the room gives way to a place that isn't a room at all.

Mountains rise up in the distance, framing a blue, clear sky, and a faint breeze rustles the treetops of a thick Michigan forest. Birdcalls ride that wind, and the air smells cleaner, fresher, than any moon base could reasonably boast. Where the blanket of trees ends, a large, glassy lake gleams in the sunlight. He takes care with this part—instructs the AI to make the water a temperature a bit too low to be entirely comfortable for swimming, knowing full well that this won't actually be a deterrent. But it wouldn't be right, otherwise.

He takes his time strolling from one familiar landmark to the next, having the computer make adjustments as necessary. He doesn't miss details, either; for all the times that Rosette brought him to this very place, his eyes had missed nothing. They were wide and all-absorbing, like someone who had been born anew and was discovering the world for the first time.

(Likely because, in all honesty, he had been.)

He stops once he circles back around to the open door—a black silhouette hanging oddly in the landscape, and the only giveaway that none of this is real. It's here that he surveys the scene as a whole, the sum of all its little memory-parts. ]

Perfect.

[ Well. There's still a thing or two missing. ]

... Almost.

Comments

[heartstorage]

[COLLISION!! He slams right into her and since he's a small guy? Gets knocked straight into the water with a splash!]

[Mini-game: Failed.]

[soul_sister]

[On the other hand, Rosette lands on her butt in the mud. SHE RUBS HER HEAD.]

JEEZ! Watch it!

[But still, there's a tug of a smile on her face as she reaches a hand out towards the kid in the water.]

[heartstorage]

[he meanwhile sits up so he's no longer in the water. Jeez, now he's wet and covered in mud]

Gah-!

[But he'll take that hand to pull himself up]

Thanks. Are you okay?

[soul_sister]

I'm pretty hard headed. [She waves it off, in too good of a mood to have much of a temper at all.]

I'm Rosette.

[heartstorage]

Oh...that's good! So am I.

[THE SPIKES GIVE EXTRA PADDING. but he'll smile too, since the good spirits are infectious]

I'm Sora! Nice to meetcha Rosette!

[soul_sister]

[She laughs and nods.]

I GUESS I'll be nice and call it a draw for now. I wont be so easy on you next game.

[heartstorage]

Haha, oh don't worry! I don't plan going easy on you next time either!

[soul_sister]

[She scoots back to a drier part of the bank, still close enough to wriggle her bare toes in the mud. She picks up a few shale stones, gauging them for skippability.]

Good! There's nothing as terrible as a sorry challenge.

[heartstorage]

[He meanwhile moves over to the bank to kick off his shoes. Since man, they're soaked now]

Well then it's a good thing you won't ever find that with me!

[soul_sister]

Hmmm~ Lets see if you can beat a master at skipping stones then.

[heartstorage]

You're on! I used to do that all the time!

[soul_sister]

[She grins widely and flicks a rock off. It skims the surface, bounding four times before sinking.]

Hmm. That's a warm up.

[heartstorage]

A warm-up? Alright, alright.

[He looks around for a good skipping rock before finally picking one. He flicks it off. It goes five times before sinking]

Not bad!

[soul_sister]

Ah! You are good at this.

[She bites her lip lightly as she lines up the next shot. Five solid skips before it wobbles and sinks.]

[heartstorage]

I grew up on an island! There was a lot of water to skip stones on!

[He chuckles]

You're not too bad either!

[soul_sister]

[This one only skips twice, but her serene smile doesn't diminish.]

It was a quieter way to pass the time. Sometimes, those were just as good as tree forts and exploration.