🐺 o1;

[nominal]

WHO: nicholas d. wolfwood ( the little one ) and you?
WHERE: his labyrinth + the network once he's gotten out of it
WHEN: the first week of february / shortly after the libra app appears on his phone
WHAT: arrival of a small, snarky child
WARNINGS: NONE ( that i can think of )

i / labyrinth arrival;

( when he comes to, it's — he's pretty sure there's nothing but sand surrounding him, but it's only the first thing he sees when he first opens his eyes, and there's nothing else as far as the eye can see when he twists his gaze this way and that. great. he's no stranger to the desert by any stretch of the imagination, but he generally doesn't go very far from the orphanage, because what is he going to do if miss melanie needs him to take care of one of the younger kids —

he doesn't think that's going to be much of a problem here, or at the very least it doesn't feel like it, but. it's still there, in the back of his mind, just on the off-chance it crops up and he finds himself back within the reach of the orphanage. of the call of nicholas! —

he walks. and he walks and he walks and he walks, and eventually. eventually he'll make his way out. how long it takes is anyone's guess, but. he made it, and that's something, right? )

ii / network, un: woofwood;

( well. once he's made it out of the labyrinth he has access to something he wouldn't have paid attention to otherwise, but.

he manages to get the video option up and looking in his general direction, and he looks a bit grumpy as the camera pans around the church in the background. )

What is going on here!?

Comments

i. spiderman point

[asipofbride]

[ usually Vash is the one that goes traipsing into these weird magical bullshit portals, but Vash is at home and Wolfwood's the person that's here and now, and the voice in the back of his head that sounds like Vash is whinging about how somebody might need help and

anyway, he regrets it almost immediately when he slips through the portal, only to end up stepping into sand and heat. some things trigger your flight or fight response, and when you're used to weather, going back to the desert is not only a no, but a fuck no.

... but if one of these magic buttholes has appeared, that means someone needs help, so Wolfwood stuffs his hands in his pockets and grumbles as he starts to trudge forward, looking around for something other than the unfortunately familiar scenery. ]

Oi! Where are you?

[nominal]

( he hasn't heard anything for the last little while, wandering as he has until he does hear a voice calling out to him, and he shakes his head. back and forth, back and forth until he happens to look in the direction of the voice he thinks he's heard. something tells him he needs to take a step in that direction —

and he does, but he's still lost, so he calls out — ) Here!

( he might just wave his hands around, hoping that voice is going to actually see him. ) Where are you?

( please, don't mind him; it isn't like he has any idea where he is, but he likes to pretend he does. so.

he's just going to keep going toward that voice, and maybe … he'll make contact. )

[asipofbride]

[ it's a bit fuzzy, in the distance, but considering there's not much in this place other than sand and canyon walls and... circling creatures in the sky, waiting for the whoever's here to set the table and collapse, well. it's easy to change his direction, to follow the voice that calls back to him. ]

I'm over here! So's the way out!

[ it's like playing Marco Polo, but you're from the terrible desert future, so you don't know who Marco Polo is. ]

[nominal]

( the maze is pretty linear, to be sure, even if he's still almost convinced that he's going to be stuck in here because a disembodied voice in the distance may or may not end up being helpful --

but he follows that voice because it's not like he's going to fare any better on his own, and clearly, it knows what it's talking about ...

or he's walking into a trap ans about to get eaten, but. he's definitely not thinking that.

he gets close enough to make out a figure in the distance, and he squints in that direction, waving a hand just in case it's actually visible. ) I think I see you-- do you see me?

[asipofbride]

[ it could be a full-ass trap, truth be told; they don't have will-o-wisps on Noman's Land, on account of the lack of forests, but that's not to say there aren't devils in the sand dunes, worms that'll twinkle soft at you to draw you out where no one would find you in the wall of golden heat.

Wolfwood's starting to suspect that it is as a trap, when he and the fuzzy shape get closer to each other--when the other half starts look like a person, or a half a person, because something's creeping up his neck. a sense of wrongness like someone's walking over your proverbial grave, and yet, Wolfwood's walked into worse situations without stopping before, so it's not like he's gonna run back from this. ]

Yeah. You're startin' to look people shaped. [ he waves in turn, hands leaving his pockets as he continues closer. ] Hope you're a person. I probably still count as one if you squint.

[ you have to tell him if you're a hallucinatory mirage, okay? that's the rule. ]

[nominal]

( it should be a trap, yes! because he might not be allowed very far from the orphanage, just as far as miss melanie can see and she always has impeccable sigh when it comes to see certain ones under her care within her periphery. the ones that have a tendency of wandering off … the adventurous ones, or the curious ones, or just the ones that couldn't be bothered to sit still for longer than a handful of minutes at any given time.

nicholas is a restless spirit, or at least he is at this age. maybe he'll mellow out when he's older, but only time will tell.

the closer he gets to the other voice, the more the blurriness becomes more person-shaped, and while it doesn't necessarily feel like a trap, it doesn't not feel like one, either. there's a familiarity that doesn't seem like it should be there in the first place, an uneasiness that shivers over the back of his neck like a cold touch, but. he still keeps right on going.

he actually laughs at that last bit. ) I'm a person. Last time I checked, anyway. ( a small, child-shaped person, but a person nonetheless. ) Whaddya mean ya probably still count as one? You don't just stop being one.

( kid logic. )

[asipofbride]

[ miss melanie could see everything--from the children who wandered too far from the courtyard, to the children who ducked into the quiet, hidden places to smoke insect stingers, she was a beacon and a watchful eye all the same and Wolfwood misses her. not as often as he used to, too accustomed to locking his feelings down and burying them deep where they can't be used against him, but it's still there in the deep sod of the black murk of his heart.

if Wolfwood is any indication, the restlessness never leaves--but they wring the joy out of wandering when they hang enough chains around your limbs and tell you to march on.

he keeps drawing towards the blip even though some strangeness crawls down his spine and digs into his nerves. the laugh is... familiar. somehow.

(in the way that your laugh is familiar when it's on a recording, played back to you--) ]

I mean there's a lot that can happen that can muddy up the waters, so to speak, but if it ain't hit you yet, then pass the hallelujah and praise whatever god you still believe in. [ he comes to a respectful stopping distance--close enough to be seen and perceived, without feeling like he's about to spring to action and hunt a little lost lamb down.

probably. ] You used to deserts like this, halfpint? I've got some water and I mighta stolen one of Spikey's hats. We've got a bit of a walk an' I'm sure you've got questions.

voice : un: ♡☮STAMPEDE

[doubledollar]

[ there's a breath caught somewhere in his throat.
He's staring, with eyebrows up and a thousand words running wild in his brain.

He was grounded in the cottage due to Recent Events, but like a madman he always scanned the network for new posts. So imagine the way his brain grinds to a halt when he notices this post from someone who...

isn't wolfwood

but it... is wolfwood.

He needs to quickly scan the userlist to make sure Nico is still on it--and after confirming it, he's... staring at this one--small one--with a look between wonder and something like quiet joy.

Of course he's immediately going to respond. ]

--Hey.
Hey there, little buddy. Don't freak out too much. You're in a really safe place--promise. Hey, I'm a friend of Miss Melanie's.

That church behind you, can you get me a better picture of it? I'm going to come look for you, okay?

perma-video / WAY TO BRING MISS MELANIE INTO THIS!!

[nominal]

( sucks to be grounded ... especially when your name is vash, but it's not like he knows anything about that yet. this is all for the sake of introspection and narration's own amusement and / or enjoyment of impending angst.

it's both.

his nose wrinkles a bit a 'little buddy', even if the other isn't trying to be condescending; he's never taken very well to being reminded that he's small, still too young to really know any better with regard to anything, and he resents that. he wants to grow up and be useful already!

anyway. he squints into the feed at the mention of this disembodied voice being a friend of miss melanie's, because: ) I know all of Miss Melanie's friends. Who are you?

( because it wouldn't be him if he wasn't immediately, objectively suspicious. them's fightin' words, pal.

he relaxes infinitesimally at the mention of this being a very safe place, though it stands to reason that the only safe place he's ever known is the orphanage, and he. he's not good with change? this is going take a lot of getting used to.

before he replies, though, he turns and tries to get as much of the church in-frame as he can, or at least enough to give a better look of it in general. ) You don't even know me-- why come looking?

( this is like. the most suspicious child in existence. have mercy. )

LISTEN he has so few things to work with here

[doubledollar]

[ Fuck. fucufucufkc he's got him, there. Of course, while it's the truth that he DOES know miss melanie, the timelines aren't. Right. The Melanie that this tiny kid knew would be far different than the one vash knew--god knew how many years was between then and there.

God this was stressful. He's a ball of really needing to help but also not... knowing what's best to say not to freak out this tiny little. Little wolfwood. Ugh. UgH!!!

Think, Vash. Use all the soupy parts of your brain, this is not the time to be an idiot... ]

My name is Vash. Vash the Stampede. [ That's a good start, right?? Introducing yourself by name? Letting the kid know you're harmless??? He smiles with a bright, sunny look, waving a hand at the camera to try to show it. ]

I'm a friend to everyone, everywhere. --That's not just a joke, I mean it! You can ask anyone in the city, really!!! [ he's a bit frantic in trying to get his point across--god this thinking thing isn't working. ] I know it's scary to be on your own, so. I just don't want you to be put somewhere you're lost, you know?

The city here is beautiful, but it's sprawling and big.

...I promise I know Miss Melanie. It's hard to explain but. 'Time' is weird here.

still unfair if you ask him!

[nominal]

( we're incredibly sorry to stress you out, vash. but isn't that just how things go for you during your day-to-days? if things go right for too long, you're going to start thinking something is wrong, and we're here to make sure that doesn't happen!

( is that making you feel any better? yes? no? well. we'll just keep going forward and see how this all turns out, yeah? )

the stranger gives over his name and he's quiet for a second, a handful at the very least before he thinks to give his own response, which is something in kind because if someone is going to give you their name, you give yours, right? that isn't going to be weird or traumatic at all? )

Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Uh— don't mind the name that shows up on this thing … it's … it got typed in wrong. I know how to spell my own name! ( does he need to get his point across? yes, yes he very much does.

the smile he gets, the wave, the sunny disposition … he thinks it's a little over-the-top for an adult, but if vash is trying to keep him calm he's going to give him the benefit of the doubt. at least for now — because it isn't exactly like he has a whole lot of options with regard to people he can trust in a place he isn't familiar with.

okay, mister the stampede. ) Vash … the Stampede … did you give yourself that name, or did somebody else? ( because he has to ask. and be a cheeky little bugger about it, but that's neither here nor there.

he's quiet for another moment, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth. ) How do you know her? And what's that got to do with time?

listen the baby is entitled to his opinion

[doubledollar]

[ that's his secret--he's almost always stressed out. it's just hidden under a vaneer of overly cheerful pizazz and an optimism that just won't quit. One day he'll explode but for now he's fine he's totally fine he's just. You know. Staring at a tiny version of Nicholas D. Wolfwood, no big fucking deal or anything.

He knew this world was strange and that the people in it from other worlds were pulled here with no real rhyme or reason---but this was new. Has this ever happened before??? He suddenly very badly needs to talk to some of his friends from this world.

Later
That can come later. His priority is an untrusting, weary black kitten who definitely has a lot more bark than he does bite currently.
He chuckles when the other claims he typed his name wrong. ]

Hey, when you make a mistake, the best thing to do about it is own it! You do this thing where you look at it, go, 'Yeah, I messed up here!' but you laugh it off or make it something you can joke about. Whatever the misspelling is, maybe it was just a creative twist on the word!

Or, You know. Like my name. 'The Stampede' was a nickname some people back home that people gave me because when I'd come through town, I'd get chased around by people trying to challenge me to a gunfight. It'd be like a stampede went through town as I ran away, hahahaha!!

I got so used to it, and there was no point in fighting it, so. I adopted it and use it now. My armour, you know??

[ he makes fingerguns at the camera screen. ]

I know her because I know you.
You haven't met me yet, but.

We're best buddies in the future. That's what I mean about 'time'.

he would argue that he is NOT a baby but we both know the truth

[nominal]

( look. even if this one never canon updates and instead grows up here as a normal child — he's going to come to realize very, very quickly that you, sir, are a ball of stress and anxiety at any given time and he's probably ( PROBABLY!! ) going to take it upon himself to try to alleviate some of that nonsense. even if you have your own wolfwood to do that for you, you're ( again, probably ) going to find yourself with another cling-on ( a la kni ) that cares a lot about your well-being.

so if you don't want a puppybranch tiny wolfwood to make a nuisance of himself where you're concerned, think about that. maybe. or don't.

his eyes narrow just a little bit at vash trying to make light of the typo he made; of course he's the type to not want to admit when he's made a mistake, but he has, already! it's just a really stupid one, because he isn't used to this kind of technology, because some of us don't come from the space-faring age —

ahem. that's neither here nor there. the point is that it's still a stupid mistake and someone ( kni ) is never going to let him forget it. at least for the foreseeable future. but it's whatever.

his nose wrinkles at the suggestion of owning it. ) Yeah, sure, but it's a dumb mistake. What if somebody looks at me later and just goes 'woof'? ( the problems of a ten-year-old … he'll grow out of them. and maybe he'll eventually laugh about this, but it won't be for a while yet. ) Stupid.

( but he leaves that thought for another one, the challenge of a gunfight and the name 'stampede' and … running away? ) You ran away? Why would somebody challenge you like that if you're just gonna run away? ( skeptical! but you don't know your pacifist blond just yet, little woo. give it time.

the fingerguns get a slight upward tug of one corner of his mouth … but he is absolutely not smiling! and it only lasts for a moment or two before his expression falls, collapses in on itself into something … neutral, but not as much as he'd like for it to be. it's questioning more than anything. )

Best … in the future. ( his child brain is about to explode. give him a second. ) You know me? Really? Tell me somethin' only I'd know, then.

un: eve - before she hears from ww and vash

[playtag]

[Eve looks at the video.]

[Then the username.]

[Then the video feed again, before turning on her own. Hello, fellow child. Why do you look like her guardian?]

That depends.

Did you just get here, or did this app suddenly show up on your phone?

perma-video; i'm sorry for him in advance, eve

[nominal]

( the username ... is a typo on his part ... because someone thought it was funny. it was lassie. it was me and lassie. i'm a very serious roleplayer, to be sure. but it must get the point across if people are recognizing him for the sake of the name alone.

it's not like he looks anything like his much much older doppelganger, at least in his own eyes, but apparently ... there's enough of a resemblance that it's not too far off the mark. whatever, anyway --

his brow pinches. hello, fellow child ... he has no idea whatsoever what you're talking about! )

Both, kind of. Yeah. I was in a maze-kinda thing? And this old man helped me out. ( sorry, nico prime. ) And now I'm at this church.

[playtag]

[Very serious, no jokes here, no sir]

[On his own, he probably wouldn't look close enough to the older Nico to get folks' attention. Plenty of people have short black hair. But combined with the username, well. It does make Eve wonder.]

So you arrived here from another world. I was the same.

This is the city of Kaisou. A place that connects to the Spirit Realm. Odd things occur around here, including mazes which bring people from their home to the city.

[nominal]

( no jokes here at all. it isn't like they're children, or anything.

vash is going to look at him and immediately know, but. maybe that's just the power of vash the stampede. being able to recognize his wolfwood even at this age has got to be a gift. or something.

he's quiet when she gives that response, mulling it over, trying to make it make sense. )

Is there a reason I'm here, though? Am I expected to do something?

( he would have more to say about it if he'd been taken from the orphanage proper, instead of the eye of michael. but that's neither here nor there!!!!! )

[playtag]

[Vash is knowledgeable like that. Canon insight.]

[Eve is just a kiddo who lives there. Observant, but nowhere close to the eyes and ears of a Plant.]

The reason? Someone tore the Spirit Vein while trying to return to a world that no longer exists.

So now people like us fall through.

[What a neutral tone for an explanation that sounds so out there.]

['Expected to do something?' She ponders, silently sizing up the other kid. He can't be much older that her. So...]

No. There will be opportunities to help in the city and Spirit Realm, if you wish. But it is not required.

People might expect you to go to school though.

[nominal]

( it's his right, honestly.

also … her explanation is more than what wolfwood sr. had given him, so he's just going to. take that and mull it over for a second, forgive the stretch of quiet in the interim. )

Well that sounds dumb. ( thank you, nicholas. what if they didn't know the world they were trying to return to no longer existed? did you think of that?

( no, but. in his defense, he's ten years old and tends to take some things at surface-value. he'll get over that pretty quickly, though.

he slumps a little bit at the admission that he isn't expected to do anything; that isn't how he knows how to do things? something is always expected of him, whether he wants that to be true or not. whether it's helping miss melanie out with the chores or the younger children at the orphanage, he can't very well say that he ever has a whole lot of time to himself.

but that addendum — ) School? ( he perks up, just a little. don't even worry about it. ) Because I'm young? ( look. regular school is going to be a hell of a lot different from the sermons he's been made to sit through so far. color him intrigued. )

text | un: kni

[ornamentals]

'woofwood'?

are you illiterate?

perma-text; oh we fightin early ok

[nominal]

its a typo
and i cant change it
not my fault

[ornamentals]

of course.

what is it a typo for?

[nominal]

( oh if you could see the way his eyes narrow. )

wolfwood

[ornamentals]

no way.

[nominal]

yes way?