[video]

[pinkmin]

The last several jolts of Vianca's consciousness had not been what anyone could call pleasant. The last thing she had remembered about Havenwell was the warmth of morning sunshine. Then that sunshine had lost its warmth, its departure bringing weak stutters of breath and the crumbled remains of a place that had once been her whole world. The sunlight was still there, filtering in through the broken ceilings and crushed walls. Oh, she had thought as she laid there, a dream. A very nice one. It was a shame she couldn't hold on to it in the end.

Then there was nothing.

So when she opened her eyes in a sunlit temple a second time, she was not sure what to do. She stayed right there for a very long time, until one of the kind priests helped her to her feet so she could find her way. It... had been cold, the last time she had been outside? She thought so anyway, but the more she thought about it, the more she wasn't sure. Maybe it had been warm the whole time?

She had only gotten so far through the temple before she had to crouch down in a corner, because things were a little too overwhelming. Thinking about what the season meant was too much. Starting over was too much. What if it was just her all over again? That, more than anything, was far too much.

It took a very long time, but eventually Vianca slowly picked up the tablet that had been handed to her. Whether it was the same one she'd had or a new one, she didn't have the courage to check. The focus was simply on opening the network and keeping her breath steady.

---


[It was a little bit dark there in the corner of Ohma's temple, but it was still possible to see the pink little girl on the screen. Her mouth was pressed in a thin, worried line, and for a moment it might have seemed like the video frame was actually frozen.

Then she took a breath, and spoke in a spectacularly tiny voice into the screen.]


... Hello?

Comments

[video]

[daikonrose]

[ Kyoko's face was almost equally cautious, but nowhere near as still. There was a slow narrowing of her eyes, a furrowing of her brow as she leaned in close to the screen. For a moment, her mouth worked uncertainly. ]

Vi...anca-chan?

[pinkmin]

[Even if it was just through screens, that tense leaning in made Vianca lean back a bit. She carefully raised a hand up to her face to touch it, as if maybe this level of concern was because something was wrong. Had she changed colors again? Was there still-- but no, the preview seemed the same.

Her hand stayed right there in front of her mouth, but Vianca nodded.]

[daikonrose]

It--it is Vianca-chan--!

[ See, she'd confirmed it and everything! But aah, that cautious, reluctant face...

Kyoko's own face falls for just a second, and then she leans in with renewed intensity. ]

--I'm Kyoko! Kyoko Mogami! Let's--let's be friends, okay!!

[pinkmin]

[Oh. Oh no. Oh no. That fraction of sorrow had been enough. Vianca had been forgotten enough times to know, even if Kyoko had not frantically confirmed it with her introductions.]

I remember-- [Was an attempt at an interjection, but then she waited a moment to let Kyoko finish and nodded again.]

I remember, Kyoko. We were...are already friends.

[daikonrose]

[ There's a small sigh, Kyoko's hand going to her chest, and then she smiles into screen with fresh warmth. ]

... Yeah, for sure. I'm glad... I'm glad you think so, too.

Video

[21kingpuddings]

[What a soft, small voice. It would be so easy to miss, especially if it weren't the kind of thing someone would listen for. The video(?) is enough to give Tamaki a shock, but what really gets him is hearing that voice, that little confirmation that this wasn't just, say, an old photo misposted to the network. There's a few moments where he simply stares at the post to make sure he's not just imagining it, before sending his own video back in response,]

Vicchan?!

[For real? Is that you? Have a nice, loud reply to your tiny, quiet greeting.]

[pinkmin]

[It was in fact so loud so suddenly in the quiet of her corner that Vianca dropped the tablet with a gasp. There she goes. There was the ceiling and frantic glimpses of her sleeve as she uttered very quiet "oh no" after very quiet "oh no."]

[21kingpuddings]

['Oh no' is right, oh no he's startled her! Oh no there goes her tablet! Oh! No!!]

Sorry, sorry! [Ah, jeez, okay, he'll lower the volume a bit, for her sake.] You're still there, right?

[Like she would just... disappear again in the middle of the recording, or something.]

[pinkmin]

...Yes!

[That might have been extra muffled, the tablet was now in motion and there were glimpses of her as she checked its corners. And then there she was again, taking a big breath.]

... Yes.

[21kingpuddings]

[Okay, okay that's good. She looks like she's fine after that shock. Tamaki's still pretty stunned himself, but there's a definite look of wonder on his face when she comes back into the frame.]

It's been... it's been a while! [Not even considering the possibility that she might not remember her time here, huh? Gosh, Tamaki.] You're not hurt or anything, are you?

[ video]

[pinkxeno]

Hello! Are you new here? I'm Mina, what about you?

[pinkmin]

[Whoa pink. Pinker than she was? So pink!! What kind of pokemon was she.]

No. Well... perhaps.

[Vianca paused, debating that.] I was... here before. My name is Vianca.

[pinkxeno]

[ A very excited pokemon that's for sure ]

Ehh? Here before...? Where did you go, then?

[pinkmin]

[Deep mysteries.]

Back home, I am fairly sure.

[pinkxeno]

Eehh? Do you remember being there?

Ah- when you were there, do you remember being here?

[ video ]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Well that's a small pink she hasn't seen in quite a while. She well knew that in worlds like this, memory was precious and also not something to be relied upon, when people vanished and even returned...

... But none of these other messages were too private, were they? Enough to check without prying. And she could greet her softly, just to see what happened. Or if there were any signs of recognition, one way or another. A similar passiveness in behavior, but there was warmth in it. ]

Hello.

[pinkmin]

[She was getting a little more used to this existing thing again. Enough so that now all the overwhelming factors were just that she was being acknowledged. As much as she was afraid she wouldn't be, Vianca hadn't actually expected to be remembered. She knew how it could go the other way around. It was a lot.

She did remember this soft-spoken woman though.]

... Are you and Lup well?

[shroudedsecrets]

... We are well. You were missed.

[ It's always such an odd question to answer, but she can't be certain of what her state had been since the last time she'd had a chance to properly see Vianca. Better to be reassuring, in that case. More importantly, she was more concerned with Vianca's situation, right now. ]

You aren't alone, are you? To get your bearings in this place again.

[pinkmin]

[There was a small dip of her head at the idea of being missed. What a truly foreign concept. It was a nice feeling. A sad one? Something bittersweet.]

I missed you too. [For however brief a time she was allowed to miss anything.]

Mm... A few friends have stopped by.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ She gets it, as much as it is strange to hear in return, no matter how cautious she might be about it, to not overstep. Sentiment had value though, especially when memories were concerned, and what might be lost at any time. ]

Did you have a place to stay that is not on your own? I know that your shop was looked after.

ollies this directly from the tdm because i can

[carbungle]

( from here )

Immediately he shakes his head at the apology, though he doesn't come close to letting go. "You don't have anything to apologize for. None of this is your fault. I'm just- really glad to see you again."

[pinkmin]

That wasn't right. There was a lot she had to apologize for. She had gone and done the one thing she never wanted to do. Especially not to Noct, he'd already had it happen over and over again. Maybe it wasn't her fault, but that just made it all the more terrible.

"I... I..." Vianca curled her hands tight in his shirt, as if that could help with her wavering voice. "I would have wanted to say goodbye."

When she lifted her head, her face was already a mess of tears, silently overflowing no matter how much she tried not to. She was supposed to be done with crying, she'd said so. At least these ones weren't all sad ones. Overwhelmed ones. Happy ones. He was really glad to see her, and she didn't know what to do with that. She was just upset he was getting fuzzy around the edges.

"But I'm... I'm really happy I got to say "hello" again, Noct."

[carbungle]

He winces a little, seeing those tears; he hadn't wanted to make her cry or anything. Still, there's no shame in it - he's learned that well over the last year - so he gives her head a gentle pat, being mindful of her flower, and smiles back at her.

"Yeah... me too. And I get to say 'welcome back'." It's conciliatory, but he'll gladly take it over the alternative. The fear of losing people and maybe never seeing them again is very much real in this world, especially since they don't hail from the same homes. And... well, now he's kind of in the same boat as her, not being able to go home and be safe there. So his relief is multi-layered in that sense.

[pinkmin]

It wasn't his fault. The tears were somewhat inevitable at this point, despite Vianca's thoughts about it. There were just too many emotions happening in that tiny body, there wasn't room for all of them.

She lifted a hand to scrub at her eyes, sniffing as she nodded. "Thank you." Despite how often she had waited to be the one that welcomed someone back, she hadn't known just how nice it really was to have someone say it. Was this what coming home was supposed to feel like?

With her face a little bit dryer, Vianca tucked back in against his chest for a little longer of a hug. "I'm glad you're still here."

[carbungle]

He can't help setting free a brief laugh at that, going right back to hugging her and petting her hair. Poor kid, it has to be really hard on her...

"Yeah... me too." More than he could ever admit. "Did you just get here? How'd I miss you?"

He hopes it hasn't been too long. He's been a little off-kilter lately (what else is new) so he's not always on the ball when it comes to the network, or the population either.