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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.

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Then...[observing her more closely.] This memory belongs to you, too?

Mmm. I grew up here.

[It didn't matter that it was fake. It didn't matter that it was a hologram. Right now, she was sitting at the lakeside that they set a fleet of paper boats to sail. Behind her was an old hollow log that they told the orphanage headmistress that was filled with fairies that pretended to be mice. Just a stones throw away was the clearing she tried to encourage her brother out of a sick spell by telling him she saw a unicorn in, and he had to get up and get better fast, before it moved on.

It was where she, Chrono and her brother would hold hands, and sing songs far past any bedtime or consideration for time.]

I've always thought of going back... but we never had time.

There is a lot of you tied to this place. [that's...well, it's something that should be obvious to only one here. but.

it bears noting, lest he frighten her:] I can sense them. The memories and feelings this place is evoking.

[There's no fear, just a dawning look of curiosity and awe.]

You mean, like an esper?

Esper...? [blink.]

Ah... They're mysterious people who have developed amazing powers that they have to keep hidden. But then there's always a faction who work hard for the benefit of humanity, and a smaller set who are working for their own gain and puts EVERYONE at risk.

It's a terrible clash, but in the end, good wins.

[his brow knits as he listens, some things more familiar than others.

but other things...]

They...serve humans?

Hmm. Not quite like that. In most stories, the humans didn't even know it was going on.

That seems more familiar... [a thoughtful beat.] And if those beings can possess psionic abilities as I do, perhaps it's a fair comparison. But I don't know.

My kind are called Mu.

I hadn't heard that name...

[She smiles.]

My brother and I used to argue whether you existed or not. I guess I lost that one.

....

So, I should say thank you.

[he...doesn't know what to say to that. he stares at her with a faint trace of wonder for a beat.

and steps closer, a hand against his middle as the precursor to a bow that winds up being little more than a nod.]

My name is Blue.

Like the sky, huh?

[She holds out her hand to shake. Her gloves long shed there is drying mud just beginning to flake off, and there's a powdery orange on her fingertips from making flower crowns with dandelions.]

Rosette! Good to meet you.

[the dust and dirt isn't what makes him hesitate. he knows he'll feel more than just those small glimpses of her state of mind, but...she's been nothing but kind.

his handshake is brief, all but just squeezing a few fingers. and even that puts the answer in his head:]

You've a connection to Chrono.

[He is certainly at a center of anything he could pick up. Memories on memories of him and this place, another younger boy with them, blond hair, blue eyes and a sickly manner.. all of them are fond, all of them are happy and carefree. They overflow, pouring out into a singular, relieved joy to be here. A simple acceptance of the present for everything it is. A thread of honest friendship between the two of you, a fondness borne of being here, willing to be here with her. A childlike view of the world, and even Blue, still held strong by iron clad hope.

Oblivious to all of this, Rosette smiles at the tiny demon.]

Mmm. He's my partner. My best friend too.

[Blue's hand withdraws rather quickly, lest his heart break with all those images and feelings. they mingle with his own, relating to people and events of his own life – none so idyllic as hers, but the intentions are there. you make do with what you have.

it does pull a small smile out of him, because how can he not.]

It's a strong bond. Without even searching for it, I can feel it.

[She seems terribly pleased at that, nodding.]

He's a good kid. Don't let his occasional grouchiness drive you off.

He's never been anything but considerate in my regard. [his eyebrows are raised, trying to imagine grouchy. but that's tied into memories he's not prying into; that's rude.]

You've never had him throw you out of a window.

[stare.]

...You have.

[It's just a flash, ridiculous. Waking up as you hit the water. Watching a fish swim by. And somehow hearing "Don't worry, there's a pond below." And a thought I WILL MAKE HIM EAT HIS BOOTS!]

... Oh yes.

[his mouth twitches. she's so very...vibrant, in more than one way. his hand lifts to shield the smile only briefly before he's moving, slowly kneeling down to collect one of the stones there. it's what she'd asked for minutes ago, after all.]

I'll work to avoid such a scenario, I think. [still smiling, extending the rock to her.]

It's hard to get him that grumpy, you should be fine.

[She takes the rock, eying it this way and that.] Oooh. Not a bad pick... [She takes a deep breath and hefts it once, twice in her hands, like it was a competition or an art form.

[She flicks her wrist and off it goes, skipping once... twice... a third and the fourth almost on top of that. But she sits up as it makes the fifth pass and CHEERS as the sixth skims the water a moment before sinking.]

PERFECT!

[he watches where he's kneeling, only more focused because of how focused Rosette is. her outburst startles him a little, pulling his eyes from the water to her.]

Your record...?

By one skip!

Try to beat THAT.

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