the_isle | Don't Be Afraid To Be Who You Are

Don't Be Afraid To Be Who You Are - Isle Side

The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down

Just over a week after the Isle visit people would find themselves drawn outside. The weather was finally getting warmer, but that wasn't all of it. A strange foul smelling - and fairly toxic - mold had begun growing in some of the classrooms. Thankfully not the ones where people were sleeping but it was still enough to make it unpleasant to remain indoors. Some might blame the growth of the mold on a certain obsessive compulsive cleaner, though others might say that he just discovered it and accidentally gave it access to oxygen and such.

Whichever the reason, sleeping outside for a few days was sounding like a better and better plan with every passing minute. Even the drizzling weather couldn't make the indoors terribly appealing for anyone with a sense of smell.

And it was over night on one such night that the rain was... different. Warmer and a bit tingly. And some people would awaken quite a bit older than when they fell asleep, perhaps. Their memories might have caught up with their age, or might come to them slowly. However it happens, there might be some very confusing moments as those who seemed to be young just a moment before are now... less so.

Gift In Time Gift In Time Nary A Reason Nary A Rhyme Gift In Time!

Weirdly, there was something good to come not long after the rain. In addition to aging some folks up, it also seemed to wash away the worst of the mold, allowing people to return indoors once more. And each of them would find, soon after, in some place that they considered theirs... a small gift. It was rare that positive things happened on the Isle, but perhaps this was a sign of things to come.

Or perhaps even a broken clock is right once in a blue moon...

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"...Mhh?" His voice came out a little odd at first, too quiet for how his tone sounded, but it didn't last long. Though his rays had pulled back in a little as the touch and voice registered, he relaxed again after only a very slight pause. Voiceprint recognized: Foulques. His rays slid back out most of the way as he lifted his head, reflexively moving one big hand up to wipe at his eyes in one of those gestures that really didn't make much sense, considering what he was, but wouldn't have seemed out of place at all, if not for that.

It sounded... an awful lot as though he was yawning, at first, the way his voice warped a little before settling into its usual tone. "Yeeeeaaaah, must be dawn already. 'S a welcome sight up there." Rub, rub... he shifted to sit up a little straighter... but didn't uncurl yet, his rays sinking back in a little as he tucked his chin down onto his knees again, even as he tilted his face up to see the lancer. He might've been joking around already, but he was still just as poor a liar as ever: he wasn't actually in a great mood. That, or he was just still too sleepy to be his usual enthusiastic self? ...Maybe. Possibly.

"Not quite dawn, but morning, yes," he said. "And a better one than most on this god-forsaken Isle. I suspect you've been hard at work while most of us have been largely forced to avoid the indoors, but thankfully a... highly unusual rain passed through during the night and cleared away much of the mold. It had other effects as well, but I expect that one to be the most immediately relevant to you."

After a moment, he added, "No one is angry with you, you know. Well, perhaps the old virago, but there seems to be very little in the world that doesn't earn a glare from her, so her opinion isn't to be counted."

Sun seemed to sink at that regardless, rays retracting a little again. "I was doing what I could to get rid of it, I swear...." Quieter, "Sorry. I had to. It isn't all clean yet, and--" He didn't finish his sentence. Foulques might catch the way he was already starting to rub the shiny surface of his pants near his knee, a fidget that wasn't as smooth a motion as it could've been. "I thought-- I was cleaning. It shouldn't have-- I was trying to get rid of it, and--" He looked away, putting his faceplate back down on his knees. "I'm sorry. At least it's gone now...? But what if it happens again? I have to keep cleaning; it's not done yet, and-- and--" He left off that part of his sentence again, sliding one of his hands up to hold the edge of his head. "I didn't-- I don't want to start trouble...."

Edited (typo) 2025-04-25 09:47 (UTC)

"Sun," Foulques said gently. "You did nothing wrong. None could have predicted what happened, and you did you level best to try and rectify it. Perhaps in the daycare you were forced to take the blame for every bit of ill luck, every unwanted happening that frustrated your masters, but not here. I will not allow it."

"Understand that you do not have to do anything. Your cleaning has done much to improve the state of things here, and I told the young King as much, but you are by no means required to do it. If you wish to, then you are welcome to, but I will not force you, nor allow anyone else to do so. Whatever may have been the case in the world you hail from, here, you belong only to yourself. Your choices and your actions are your own."

"But--" His protest died after a sound, uncertain how to continue... or, honestly, uncertain if he wanted to. He'd seen no staff uniforms here so far... maybe it was like Foulques said, that he didn't have to?

It was subtle -- barely enough of a movement to register as any kind of flinch or wince as he worked over the logic. He had to keep the Daycare's public-facing areas clean, that much he'd been taught, repeatedly and sometimes very painfully. But despite Foulques's reassurances, he couldn't quite disable the priority on cleaning....

He must have been having some sort of internal conflict, the way his rays bobbed in and out, just barely, in a sort of wave around his head. Were the lancer from a more modern setting, he might recognize it as akin to a loading-circle animation. But the way he held the poofy, half-stiff pants around his little knees was surely just as telling about whatever internal conflicts he was dealing with....

"You said... the rain is what got rid of the mold? So... so maybe I should try using some of the rain water to wash off the rest?" This topic, he could deal with, ridiculous as it may have been, to return to just then....

Foulques watched as Sun's rays moved in an odd rippling or undulating motion around his large face. It was, like many things about him, strange, but to one who'd come to be familiar with his body language, it was it was reasonably clear what it signified, especially when combined with the rest of his posture; Sun was thinking over what he'd been told, and having some difficulty with it.

Foulques smiled gently but a bit ruefully. "Had we been expecting it, someone might have set out containers to catch some," he said. "But alas, it was as unexpected as it was mysterious, so is likely all absorbed into the ground or mingled with the rest of the surrounding water. Though that's probably just as well, given its other effects."

"Other effects?" He sat up a bit more, finally, lifting his head to look up at Foulques properly. "What other effects?" Oh great, was there reason to worry? The way he'd mentioned it sure sounded like it could be a negative thing....

"Nothing harmful, for a wonder, just... strange," he assured Sun. "There is a tale- perhaps you know of a similar one- of an enchanted spring, where if one drinks its water, it restores their youth. This rain had rather the opposite effect on certain individuals; instead of getting younger, they aged a number of moons- months- in the space of a single night. And moreover, they recalled that time as if they'd lived it in their own worlds, despite never leaving this Isle."

"Given its obviously magical nature, tis likely for the best that no one was able to keep any, when we've no idea what the passage of time might do to it in its pure form. Would it degrade and lose its effectiveness? Would it grow more potent, like wine left to age? Or would it simply become ordinary water the moment it ceased to fall from the sky as rain? We've no way to know. And frankly, this is one instance where I'd rather not test the waters, to turn a phrase."

Sun tilted his head a bit, listening without interrupting. He stayed silent a second or three after -- not frozen, just processing again, rays only just barely moving in in a little circular pattern again, and slowly back out after... at least he seemed more relaxed.

"Wait..." Uncertain, still, he tilted his head the other way, rays barely bobbing a little more. "Wait, but if it washed away whatever mold was smelling so awful in here... then it was inside the building too? Did-- did it flood the place or something? How-- Awwwww...." He was not looking forward to what he figured the situation had become, while he'd been powered down. "This is going to be a mess to mop up, isn't it."

Something about the way Sun said that caused Foulques to let out a short laugh, a rare, real smile crossing his face. Part of him wanted to give the gangly mammet a friendly slap on the back, but that may well send him flying off the chair, so he restrained himself to a pat of what passed for Sun's shoulder instead. "Hah!", he said. "Only you would be concerned about such things after being told about a magical rain."

"In any case, you needn't be concerned. Even if you could find a proper mop, there's no more water in the building than there generally is. How the passing rain washed it away then, I don't know, but tis unwise to look a gift chocobo in the mouth, especially here."

"And speaking of gifts, did you find any unexpected items waiting for you when you came in to recharge?"

Sun relaxed again as Foulques clarified, rays sliding back out. He'd even lifted his head up more again, encouraged by the notion that things had only improved--

And then the lancer just had to go and ask that.

His rays sank back in while he spent another silent second or several clearly trying to figure out how to answer that. No wheel-animation this time, just that gradual deflation of what had passed for a good, or at least decent, mood, the spikes disappearing between his head's layers.

"Maaaybe?" He tried to sound cheerful enough as he said it, but it came out more like a question than not. "Did you put them there? Heh heh... I thought for sure I hadn't brought them with me, in that box there...." A subtle turn of his head as he peeked to the plastic crate sitting on the chair he'd had his feet up on a few minutes ago. That box.

He wasn't going to draw attention to the cardboard box under the chair just yet.

Foulques had been glad to see Sun's mood improve, but was mildly confused when he deflated like that. "It wasn't I who left them- whatever 'they' may be-, no," he said. "I merely asked because Chara and I received unexpected and significant gifts as well. I suspect others may have too, but I haven't yet asked. I can only assume that whatever magic caused the strange rain left them for us; only magic could explain what I received."

Edited 2025-04-27 09:45 (UTC)

He perked back up at that. "Really? Why, what did you get?" He was just happy to hear about someone else's surprise, as his tone made so evident! And his rays had come back out to prove it, too! ...Deflection? What deflection? There's no deflection here!

"I received my father's lute, which had been lost a number of years ago along with its former owner," he said. "I've tucked it away beneath the desk, but I don't mind pulling it out for a moment to show you. And Chara received a book about snails that their adopted mother often read to them. I send them off to show it to Chell, in part so that you and I could talk more freely; I've noticed that you have difficulty expressing certain things in front of them, and thought it best to make certain you didn't feel the need to put up a front."

The last bit was slightly more pointed than it perhaps needed to be. He could tell Sun was stalling and trying to deflect interest away from himself.

As his rays sank back in again, posture wilting once more, Sun made the sound of a sigh, quiet and a bit drawn-out. It was pretty convincingly realistic, one of hesitation and sheepishness... he knew he'd been called out. He only hesitated another few seconds, and then reached down to simply slide the cardboard box out from under the other chair.

There they were: plushies. He didn't say anything, probably trying to figure out what to say about them, bringing his hands up to him, as though he was about to gesture a little and try explaining... and then he didn't, sighing again instead and dropping his hands back down around his legs, looking away from the box.

Foulques examined the cardboard box's contents. "Toys?", he said thoughtfully. Several different soft dolls to be exact. Two of the larger ones were obviously Sun and Moon, respectively, while the others looked like people in odd costumes. The smaller ones he only recognize one of; Freddie, who he'd caught a glimpse of in Sun's vision. Given that the others looked to be different beastmen done in a similar style, however, he guessed that they must be the other mammets who lived and worked in the Pizzaplex.

"Why did you fear to show me these?", he asked. "Did you think I would take them from you?"

His protest was swift, a head-shake without hesitation. "No! I-- I just.... Would you want them? I-- uh...." Fidget, fidget... and then he perked right back up with another thought, rays back out again, putting back on his usual cheerful tone. "Oh! Do you think Chara might like them? We could give some to other kids that show up, too, right?"

Pardon him if he clearly doesn't believe that, Sun, as his expression makes obvious. But he shook his head. "I have no use for such things myself," he said. "Chara might like one- likely one of the ones of you or Moon, to hazard a guess-, but if so, they can ask for one if you don't offer. Which, I might add you're under no obligation to do, nor to give them away if you don't wish to. These are your things, and you're allowed to keep them and do with them what you like."

"...No." He pulled his hands back to him a little more tightly, not quite curling up again as he rested what passed for his chin on his knees. "I don't know if I really-- ....I mean...." A slight pause. "I think maybe someone else might be happier with them than I would be.

"I-- ...." There was that hesitation again, and Sun looked back down toward the box and its toys, quieter. "...I actually have friends now."

Foulques nodded. "As I said, you can do with them what you like," he said. "But understand that what I told you is a general principle. Your things are your things, and no one is allowed simply take them without your consent. And you're under no obligation to share them or give them away if you don't wish to."

"You know...." He reached a long hand down, and plucked the little gray plush out, holding it up just a little -- a wolf with a streak of green in her bangs, and bushy hair and similar tail. "...I bet Roxy doesn't have any toys of me."

He didn't just drop the toy. The gesture was subtle, as low to the box as it already was, but he tossed it in, making it bounce against the others a little.

"Likely not, given the poor way you've described them treating you," Foulques agreed, taking note of the way the toy was tossed back into the box. "But as you do now, they likely have little need for toys of any kind, unless someone were to gift them one."

"....No." He was quiet, a little sullen, perhaps. "I... remember, back when I could go clean up high at nighttime. Sometimes the curtains were open, to their green rooms, and I could see inside... and they had some things of each other's." Quieter, "Bonnie had a poster of Freddy on his wall. And Chica had a doll of Roxy's....

"But other people do that too, sometimes. They give each other friendship bracelets and stuff... except, it's really pretty easy to get dolls and things from the gift shops. We can just tell the computer to write one off for us, and... even where to have a Staffbot take it, if we want them to. That's... how I got the ones I had.

"They could've had something of mine... but they didn't. And... I don't know that I still want anything of theirs. Not now. Everyone always talks about how nice they are... but...." He made a gesture with his hands, kind of a more subtle sort of shrugging sentiment.

"You're welcome to do whatever with them." He picked up the slimmer plush of himself, considering it a moment, tilting it a little. The fabric was shiny in places -- particularly on what passed for his rays, its visual texture one of large-flake gold glitter, despite physically being about as smooth as the rest of it -- and it caught the light nicely. He didn't bother doing much else with it, just regarded it silently another few seconds before dropping it -- far more gently, this time, than he'd done with Roxy's -- back into the box. He paused, finally noticing the two dolls that didn't fit the theme of the others, now that the one of himself wasn't obscuring the view of them and he was paying some semblance of attention to what was in front of him, and pulled them out to inspect them quietly.

Foulques frowned thoughtfully, but nodded. "Like as not their actions are largely the result of misunderstanding," he said. "But as we're as far from the Pizzaplex as it's likely possible to be, we've no way to go about correcting it, unless one or more of them was to turn up here. And even if there was no malice in their actions, they were no less hurtful, and you have every right to feel hurt or resentful, even if it's best to not dwell overlong on such feelings. I know very well that resentment can be a poisonous thing if allowed to fester."

Foulques moved to get a better look at the last too dolls himself. They didn't look quite as professionally done as the others, and were in an entirely different style. Moreover, they were clearly meant to be humans in odd costumes, rather than beastmen or mammets. "These two seem to be the odd ones out," he said. "Do you know who they're meant to be, perchance?"

Sun offered the dolls over, shaking his head. "No.... They look like they're supposed to maybe be superheroes or something...? Or from one of those shows where the characters are kids that like to play dress-up? Or about some kids going out at Halloween in costumes, maybe? But all I know of about any of that from where I'm from... it's just from kids bringing their stuff in and telling me about it. These two aren't ones I've been shown before, if that is what they are."

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