(all open)

[debtor]

Date & Time: Around December 9th (forward-dated)
Location: around town, Earthside
Characters: Allen Walker (debtor) and YOU
Summary: Allen returns from his canon update and avoids all his friends like a dumbass.
Warnings: terrible hair and eau de hobo


[It's not the Moon, at least.

He remembers it vividly enough now. Had forgotten it for a year, he'd forgotten all of it — a massive, terrible gap in his memory he hadn't realized was missing until it'd all come rushing back the moment he'd returned. It'd left his head spinning for a day, but by now he thinks he's got a firm enough grasp of it. No, this isn't the Moon, but it isn't the Exsilium he knows, either.

It'd all turned to snow, Kaneis had told him...

He hasn't sought out Kaneis. He hasn't sought out any of them. Not his friends, not his comrades. He can't.

He's been gone a long time, he's sure, and if any of them are still here, they've gotten on fine without him

(better off without him.)

He can't let himself want to. They're probably not even still here.

This is how it should be.]


[But if you know him, the boy is more or less in the same state he was in a few days ago. A fraction of an inch taller, just barely thinner about the face, changes so insignificant they'd be too difficult to really pin-point; save for his hair, which is unmistakably longer and tied back in a ponytail, presently. He dons a battered old coat clearly not intended for subzero temperatures, and carries with him everywhere a worn brown suitcase (stuffed to the brim mainly with clown props. Don't ask.) He's spent his energy seeking supplies, since arriving. If there's one thing he refuses to do, it's succumb to starvation or frostbite here and now, of all times. Once he's set, he can figure out what to do next.

And he really doesn't know.

Can he still fight this war? How can he help in this world, when he's like this? He thought he was following his own path, really his own, finally, only to be thrown off it entirely. Again.

He does what he can do, what he thinks best. He stays the course. He moves through this place as he did his own world - alone. He's not an Exorcist, he's not a soldier or Transport to anyone he meets, he's wearing the mask of a nameless drifter; he tells the locals he's nothing but a traveling entertainer, just passing through town, when they inquire. It's only half a lie. He brushes off the mistrustful glances he receives, smiles genially at every unfamiliar and unfriendly face, never stays in one place long, covers his tracks and fades into the background just as he'd learned from Cross. (Easier to do when everything's so dang white.) It's second nature now. And he does well at it

except he's neglected to actually disguise himself, and you may just be able to spot him around the town.

Throughout the day he can be found within and without various shops and businesses, bartering for food or winter clothing or a room in an inn. Inflatable balls and moth-bitten shirts can only fetch you so much in this market, though, he's finding, but he haggles as hard as he can.

At one point, he wanders out into the snow, shaking in the chill despite himself, squinting into the stark landscape, but finds himself unwilling to step out too far into it like this, lest he lose himself in some featureless snowdrift and die a terribly undignified death. Possibly at the hands of a polar bear. Like that one maybe, right over there, which is getting alarmingly close...

...And in the evening, he finds shelter back in the tunnels, curled up in some dark, uninhabited corner where he can catch a few hours of undisturbed sleep, perhaps. Somehow, he manages.

He's totally got the hang of this, he's doing great on his own, don't worry.]

Comments

[boundbydevotion]

[Link stands almost at ease, both hands visible for Allen to see. It may not mean much given how he could simply attack with a gesture, but it's meant to be diplomatic. His tone though is a bit scolding, same as always.]

Not until you have the decency to tell me why it is that the very first thing you do upon seeing me here is to run.

[debtor]

Drop it, first! [JABS A FINGER A THE BARRIER.]

[boundbydevotion]

[BARRIER REMAINS UNMOVING] Don't think I don't know that you'll make another attempt to run off the moment I remove it.

[debtor]

I won't run this time.

[Is he lying? Who knows! But he's certainly not inclined to speak now, caged in like this. It's precisely what he was trying to avoid.]

[boundbydevotion]

[Link sighs, and though his expression says he doesn't believe Allen at all, he starts on the barrier behind himself. The unsealing starts at the top, one by one each talisman neatly stacking themselves on the next as it moves across each row.

As this happens Link approaches Allen slowly, until he's within grabbing distance.]

If you hadn't run at all I wouldn't have done this to begin with. What happened? [Did Allen go home after all? He certainly appears a bit changed...]

...Are you injured? [He presses a hand to his own gut illustratively, indicating where Kanda had run Allen through once in his mindless fight against Alma Karma. At least if Allen reacts Link will have a place to start.]

[debtor]

[...He doesn't run, at least. He knows he wouldn't get far. Although he looks very much like he'd like to; it's become instinct.

And unconsciously, eyes widening as Link gestures, his hand moves to his own side - indeed, where Kanda had impaled him. So he does know... About that.

He quickly drops his hand when he realizes, shaking his head.]

I'm not hurt.

[ and after a pause, he decides that if he's going to talk, he may as well just cut to the chase, ] Link, what's the last thing you remember? From home?

[boundbydevotion]

[Frowning slightly at his assurance, but willing to let it slide for now in favor of trying to get Allen less jumpy. He pulls the other barrier down as well, it honestly wouldn't do if any locals happened by and saw such a blatant display of spellwork now that his goal of getting Allen to stop was accomplished.

He draws up at the question, stowing away the talismans and regarding Allen with a searching look.]

... The Noah had taken you from your holding cell after you.. had an attack, I suppose. There was a struggle.

[debtor]

[He deactivates his Innocence, gripping his left arm.

What happened in the holding cell was two months ago. He hadn't seen or heard a peep from Link since - he'd been unwilling to think the worst, had to have faith it had turned out okay. Is Link here proof that it did? He has to be, right?

But... His brow furrows. Allen had an attack, 'he supposes'?]

We were both attacked. [And he'd left Link in the dungeon with that...

creature.]

But you make it out all right?

[boundbydevotion]

[He winces again, trying to examine his memories and instead recalling the dark and shuttered look on Rouvelier's face when he had made his report. "Did you see anything else...?"]

The Noah hardly had reason to attack you if they intended to turn you to their side...

[boundbydevotion]

[He shakes his head slightly, mostly at his own thoughts, turning his attention to the last question.]

It seemed irrelevant to explain this to you before but... The Order believes that I died in the escape. However, I'm whole and well, as you can see.

[debtor]

[The second part comes as something of a shock. The Order believes he died? Why-? How? Does this mean Link faked his own death - but to what end? Where did he escape to?...

However, the question forefront in Allen's mind is why Link seems to be ignoring(?) one crucial little detail:]

I don't mean the Noah, Link. [ for once. prompting, ] The Apocryphos, he attacked you.

[And it was highly distressing! Certainly unforgettably so]

[boundbydevotion]

[Link regards Allen with a solemn if troubled look, but not at all doubting, which probably feels rare even with his experiences from Exsilium on top of his memories from home.]

Apocryphos... I'm afraid I don't recall it. But if you mean to tell me it was something else besides the Noah that prompted your escape then I believe you.

[debtor]

[Oh, it's definitely disconcerting.]

You can't remember it, at all? [He runs a hand through his bangs, composure slipping a bit. How could Link forget something like that?

Unless the Apocryphos...

the attack was a blur to Allen - he'd been in so much pain, his limbs felt leaden, he could hardly see straight, let alone think, he'd just been desperate to stop it - but "you won't remember"...

he thinks he might have heard something to that effect.]

He must have done that to you...

[Goddammit.]

[boundbydevotion]

If you still remember it accurately then I'm relieved for that much... [He hesitates slightly] I would like to hear the truthful account...

Though that can wait until you're properly settled.

[debtor]

I've been settling in all right. [ on his own. ] But we can talk somewhere in private.

[boundbydevotion]

Have you. [He sounds mildly unimpressed by this news, though not entirely surprised either, given that he now knows Allen has been on the run.] You might have asked another Transport to contact one of us to let us know you were here. You disappeared for four days, leaving all your things behind, you know. The others were quite concerned. [He's scolding again, naturally falling into his usual patterns...]

[But then he huffs, as if intending to let the subject drop for now.] Come along, Walker, I have your tablet. We'll at least fetch that and then we can find someplace to compare notes.

[debtor]

[Looks mildly ashamed at first, but Link, thankfully, drops it.]

...Okay. [ his tablet, right. he'd almost forgotten about it. he

supposes he should have it. Even if he doesn't really intend to use it (yet.)]

[boundbydevotion]

[Heading off to the transporter facility and temp housing then. When they get there he finds Allen's bag (presumably in a locker or somewhere in the facility, along with Kaneis' and Sophie's things, for security until more permanent housing is found) and digs the tablet out for him along with a scarf.]

I suppose we could find someplace to feed you while we talk.

[debtor]

[Follows along, quietly. He receives his things with a quiet thanks, and wraps the scarf 'round his neck, before tucking the tablet away in his suitcase.

And then he visibly perks up at the word FEED.]

Do you have a place in mind?

[boundbydevotion]

There should be somewhere recommendable. These are the rest of your things, by the way. [And he locks the bag back in the locker as he says it...]

[Nodding for Allen to follow, he turns, leading back out of the facilities, looking for one of the connecting tunnels. It had been a bit of a trek, occasionally out into the snow, from the main town to the Transport facilities, but food is good business in this environment if one can get the supplies and there are places along the way and nearby to choose from.

Link picks a pub that's still bustling, so that the sounds of other conversation will mask their own. At this hour the patrons are less to Link's tastes but he knows the food will be good and Allen will likely be glad for their meat-heavy menu.]

[He nods to one of the more sheltered booths] Will this do?

[debtor]

[Allen's built a considerable tolerance to pubs for one so alcohol-adverse, and he doesn't raise any complaints at all when they enter. In fact, he looks almost pleased, because indeed he can smell delicious meat dishes somewhere under the stench of beer.

He follows Link to the table with a nod.]

It's fine.

[boundbydevotion]

[He waits until they've ordered and the server leaves before bringing up what they came here to talk about to begin with. Though what he ends up saying is a little bit round-about.]

So you've remembered everything, then. Or rather, you've gone home and lived through everything up to that night in the prison...?

[The significance of that is starting to sink in properly, now. This is an Allen that knows him, that doesn't need what they've been through to be explained or privately set aside as irrelevant. It's a new set of worries, but more than that he feels an undeniable sense of relief that he doesn't quite have the will to attempt to quash down immediately.]

[debtor]

[Allen tries to keep his order until five dishes. Something reasonable.

He settles back in his booth. Of course he's happy to see Link whole and healthy (and still very much concerned, about what the Apocryphos might have done to him), but it's.

Complicated. A part of him is still itching to get away.

He glances down, at his hands resting in his lap.]

I returned home for... it must have been over a year. I've lived through it all now. For me, it's been two months since that night in prison. [ he supposes he should just get this out there, ] I never returned to the Order, Link.

[ firmly, ] I'm not going to. Not now.

[boundbydevotion]

I suppose that is why you ran from me? Well you can relax on that front, Walker. I have no intention of bringing you back to the Order.

[debtor]

I know you don't. [ IT'D BE A BIT DIFFICULT TO PULL OFF in a world without the Order. obviously. ] But do you intend to carry on with your duties here...?