voice; un: spiderlily

[higanbana]

WHO: Ris and whoever would like to take pity offer help!
WHERE: Blue Fish Park and the hospital
WHEN: Morning, February 4
WHAT: Ris has woken up feeling a bit... under the weather.
WARNINGS: Health scares specifically related to eyesight, vaguely-gaslighting-adjacent questioning of sanity


U-um. Is this thing on? ...I think it's working. Ah... hello, everyone!

[The voice coming through the speaker is... cheerful, but in a way that sounds fake. Like it's trying too hard, like the edges are just clipped enough to sound wrong.]

So, um, I... have a bit of a predicament, I guess. I woke up today with... with something weird going on, but Dad's acting like I'm crazy? S-so, um, he wants me to come see him at the hospital so he can check me for a concussion.

[There's a little catch in the way she pauses for breath.]

N-not that I couldn't get an Uber or something! But... um... if anyone's free... if anyone... you know, just happens to be near Blue Fish Park...

Would someone be willing to come with me? I'd really... really appreciate it.

[She pauses again, before ending the transmission with one last thought. This time, there's no attempt to hide her vulnerability; her voice is shaking and small and desperate.]

...I really don't want to be alone right now.

Comments

un: hierophantcherry; voice

[kokaiwanai]

[Okay! Well! That's incredibly worrying!]

I'm not far away. I can be there in a few minutes.

[higanbana]

[...This guy is way too nice. Still, she's grateful.

She swallows, and while she's given up trying to sound as chirpy as she was, she's definitely trying to make herself sound... you know, less like someone who's been crying.]

Okay. I'll be at the entrance of the park closest to [street name here]. Long blonde hair, pink sweater.

Thank you so much.

[kokaiwanai]

Okay, I'll see you soon. Do you want me to keep talking while I'm on my way there?

[higanbana]

No, it's okay... I need to actually get ready to head out still. Just knowing someone's going to be there is a big help.

[...All right, maybe it's also that she's stubborn and feels strange even asking for this much help. Asking for him to stay on the line would be too much, she thinks.]

I'll see you soon.

[She'll drop the call, then, taking a deep breath before convincing herself to move off of her frozen bed and put on real pants to tackle the outside world.

True to her word, she'll be at the gate when Kakyoin shows up.]

voice

[the_redventurer]

[Adol's response is immediate.]

I'm in the area at the moment, so I can get there pretty quickly. Are there any specific landmarks I can meet you by?

[Not that he wouldn't have gone even if he'd been halfway across the city at the time, but you know. Convenient walking distance instead of trying to deal with public transport.]

[higanbana]

[...Man. Now she almost feels bad for having teased him so much.]

[Insert name here] condos, right on [insert name here] street. The park entrance right there. It's right outside my building, so...

voice --> action

[the_redventurer]

[Honestly, he just took it as some goodnatured ribbing after the fact, so he actually found it funny after the joke was explained.]

On my way.

[There's a small stretch of minutes - five at most - where any further messages go unresponded to before he arrives. It's at this point that it occurs to him that he completely forgot to tell Alice what he looks like or ask what she looks like. Oh well, that's what the phone is for.]

I'm here. The one with red hair and a green scarf is me.

[higanbana]

[That's fine, she needs to pull herself together enough to put on real pants and get outside anyway.

So, by the time she reaches the gate, she's getting another call, and she readily picks up.]

Okay. I've got long blonde hair and a pink sweater— oh! I think I see you.

[She waves from where she's standing. There's not a ton of energy behind it, but it should make her stand out more.]

voice;

[thavnairian]

[Amal is pretty sure that's Ris's username and voice, and while they aren't exactly besties or anything—he's resigned to being the Weirdo Stranger—he's liked the conversations they had. Naturally, he'd want to help anyone in need, but especially the girl who understands his position a little. And he owes her for making sure he didn't die that one time and also not calling the cops.]

Hey. Ris, right?

[Mostly they've spoken by text, so he wants to make sure he's pronouncing it correctly.]

I'm pretty close to the park. Just stay where you are—I'll be there before you know it. Do you think you could take some deep breaths for me? I can count for you if you like.

[higanbana]

[He is absolutely the Weirdo Stranger, but... he's been friendly, despite everything. And he's trying so hard to be calming...

Okay, okay. Swallow, deep breath.]

Ris, yeah. [Like "Rees."]

Um. It's okay, you don't need to count for me, but... yeah. Yeah, I'll take some deep breaths before I come down.

I'm in the building on [insert name here] street. I'll wait at the park entrance right across the street.

[...]

Thank you, Amal. Really.

[thavnairian]

[Oh, good, he said it right then.]

Perfect. I'll be there soon.

[He pauses halfway through putting his coat on, and then resumes the shuffling as he heads out the door.]

Don't mention it. [lightly] We can't have the town figuring out I'm nice or else I'll never get any peace around here. [A poor attempt at a joke, maybe, but it is what it is.

Now to sprint all the way to the park because he is in fact one of those people who just runs everywhere all the time...]

[higanbana]

[It's a poor attempt at a joke, but it does earn a laugh. A small one, weak, but it's there.]

Ehe. Your secret's safe with me.

[She'll leave it at that. As promised, she takes a couple minutes to do some breathing exercises before putting herself together and heading down to the promised meeting place.

When Amal gets there, Ris will already be there, hands in her pockets and shifting between which leg carries her weight anxiously. When she sees him approaching, she perks up a little.

While he hasn't seen much of her, from afar, she looks pretty much the same as always. It's not until he's close enough to make out her facial features that something will click as being off.

Her eyes, previously a greyish-blue, have changed. The left eye is an unnatural red, and the right eye is so clouded as to appear white. The redness of the left eye is only exacerbated by the puffiness of her eyes— there's no hiding that she's been crying.]

...Hey there.

[There's a vague attempt at sounding normal in there, but more than anything she sounds tired. At least she's not as on edge as she was.]

UN:SHIROGANE voice

[killjoyprince]

[For once it's voice and not...Texting. At least she's trying to be concerned?]

Did something happen?

[higanbana]

[She's trying. And, well, if Ris ever sees Naoto in person again there's going to be absolutely no hiding what's happened, so...]

Um. Yeah.

You know how you said you woke up with blue hair? I woke up and my eyes changed color.

[...]

And, um. I can't see out of the right one at all.

[Which would explain why she sounds so shaky.]

So I panicked and called my dad, but he says I was born with this cataract and seems confused? So now he thinks I'm crazy and that I must have hit my head or something. But I didn't. I had blue eyes last night, I could see out of both of them just fine when I went to bed.

[She almost sounds pleading with her next question.]

You were with me in Helheim. You remember, right? I'm not losing it?

[killjoyprince]

You had blue eyes when I saw you... [She gave a little sigh.]

It was less drastic, but my grandfather reacted the same way when my hair changed. I wonder how extensive these changes will be if they continue...

[Would people lose limbs and such next?]

[higanbana]

I don't know. I don't think I want to know.

[Sorry, Naoto, Ris isn't in the mood for musing about the future right now. Too busy freaking out over the present, you see.]

I just want it to go back to how it was. Dad says the cataract's inoperable...

UN: Rose | Voice

[nefilim]

[Usually Ana would ignore this sort of thing; it's not her problem, nor does she want or know how to deal with it. It would be easy to just scroll past and let all the other bleeding hearts here help the poor girl. But...

But she finds herself responding anyway - there's the faint background noise of the street and the steady clack of heels on pavement, already on her way.]

I'm nearby. Will you be near anything specific?

[higanbana]

Um. My building is across from the entrance on [one day I will come up with a name and stick with it] street, so I can meet you there, if that's okay?

[nefilim]

I'll be right there.

[She's quiet for a moment.]

Do you want me to stay on the line? I should be there soon, but just in case.

[It's left open-ended, but it's an offer for many things. For company, for noise to fill the silence - whatever she might need right now.]

un: starfruitsora

[oathkeeper]

Hey, look who's using the network again! Are you okay, though? What happened? Do you still need someone to go with you to the hospital??

[higanbana]

[She laughs, but it's pretty obviously fake.]

Um... define "okay?"

Technically I guess nothing's going to get worse. But, um, as far as what happened... I kind of woke up blind in one eye.

My stepdad's a surgeon, so I called him freaking out. But he's acting like I was born with this, like it's always been there, and it hasn't. So now he's worried that maybe I have a head injury or something, and he wanted me to come in and see him so he could give me a check-up.

[...]

I still haven't left the house yet, so, um. Yeah. If you aren't busy, or you know someone who's not...

[oathkeeper]

What?! You woke up blind but your family thinks you've always been like that?

[He doesn't get it! Is her family going crazy?]

I can come with you so you don't have to go there on your own! I can come pick you up at your place, if that's okay? We'll get you checked out, just try to take a deep breath for now!

UN: ZW🌹; voice

[wilder]

[Well that's a worrying message to get, and it's hard to tell what she could be talking about. And based on how he's used to people like himself or Colette acting, this could be anywhere from she had a new power show up that spooked her to an entire limb got cut off.]

I can head over if you want. But first thing first- you hurt?

[higanbana]

[Good news, it's neither of those!

Bad news: It's closer to the limb end of the spectrum, unfortunately.]

Um... technically not hurt, I guess. It's just... um.

You know how people have been saying they woke up with different hair and eye colors? Well, I got the latter... but also I can't see anything out of my right eye anymore.

So I freaked out when I woke up, and called my dad... but now he's acting like it's always been this way. Said I was born with the cataract, but I know I wasn't. [...] I thought I knew I wasn't?

[...She sounds like she's hoping Zelos will confirm that. How does one say "tell me I'm not going crazy" without saying it?]

...S-so now he thinks I have a head injury or something and wants me to come over for some tests, or something. That's what's going on.

[wilder]

[He listens to that explanation, and really there's only one proper response]

What the hell? [How do you just lose sight in one of your eyes?]

No, that's definitely new. I remember you having two working eyes before. [He would've used different pick up lines if she was blind in one eye! ]

He must be one of those folks that don't notice weird shit. I get that all the time about my hair. [And the gem on his chest, but no need to bring that up. ]