awashlogs | Event Ten.

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Event Ten.

Little Willie, mean as hell,
Pushed his sister in a well.
Mother said, while drawing water,
"My, it's hard to raise a daughter."

t's pretty dark and miserable down in the well. The cavernous area feels much larger than a well should be, bodies milling about in the darkness and knee deep, frigid water. So you're here -- and you're not alone, and the only way out appears to be the thin circle of sunlight from above, the opening of the well.

(And elsewhere, in the Town, everyone's waking up to gifts of various usefulness, but hopefully they remember to check the well today even so!)

What now?

Welcome to Awash's tenth event log, and the intro log for this month, everyone! All new characters have found themselves waking in the well in the middle of the Town. Hopefully they can get a hand out! For more information, please go here!

Meanwhile, the current characters have some new gifts.

If there are any questions, please ask them here, and have fun! Thank you!

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[ Oh. No one's pinpointed that about her yet, and she's wondering if she didn't dry off well enough or if this lady just so happens to know everyone else.

All the same, while she doesn't look any more reassured, she does carefully nod and-- stare at the ground, shoulders hunched a bit. ]

[ Selina's a people watcher, it's just how she is. Stay observant, stay on guard, and try to get a read on everyone around you. Stay safe. Chroma isn't exactly filled with the kind of freaks and weirdos that inhabit Gotham, but she can't help but catalog the residents here. This girl is either new or she's stayed otherwise very well hidden.

She offers the girl a sympathetic smile as she lowers herself onto the ground, kneeling so they're a bit closer to eye level. ]

I came through the same way you did a few months back. Not a very pleasant way to wake up, is it?

[ The girl is quiet and Selina assumes she's just shy, but she gets it. A lot of the kids that came through the various foster homes were the same way. ]

I know this all has to seem scary, but I promise, you're safe for now.

[ Safe?

But no one from home is here. Her mother isn't here, Hatsuharu and the other Zodiac members aren't here, and Tohru isn't here, and as Kisa finally lets that fact sink in...

Her eyes start to well up. ]

[ Oh. She should have saw that coming. ]

Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Don't cry!

[ And... this is where she doesn't know what to do, because hugging the kid seems like a lot for someone who is clearly uncomfortable just being someplace new and not doing anything feels a little heartless. Selina reaches out, hand hovering over the girl's shoulder, and if she doesn't pull away she might even put that hand down. ]

I know. I know, this isn't where you want to be, but you're not alone here. We're all in the same boat, we're all just... we all have people and places we're missing.

[ She's eyeing that hand, shoulders hunching a little defensively and hands raising a bit as though she's expecting worse things from that hand than comfort and reassurance. Because the woman in front of her is replaced by someone else for just a second, tall and slender, hair short and glossy black, and every nerve in her body had screamed not to do anything, she could not disobey God--

But that's another person, and while Kisa freezes up for those few seconds, she ultimately allows Selina to rest a hand on her shoulder. There are a few stilted breaths in which she's clearly struggling to try to cry a little less, because she realizes she's trying to be comforting, but right now? The tears are still sliding down her face, even if she nods miserably. ]

[ Selina's touch is gentle, her hand giving the girl's shoulder a gentle squeeze. She doesn't have many weaknesses, it's not in her nature to be soft, but she knows this feeling like a phantom pain, the dull ache of something she thought she'd cut off and left in the past. She's found herself some place new, terrified and pulled away from the people she loves.

She used to be the protector at the orphanage, always protecting the smaller kids. Defending the ones that couldn't defend themselves. This is a big ol' soft spot. ]

It's okay, kid. Let it out.

[ Sometimes you've just gotta. ]

[ It's true. She doesn't really want to cry right now, but as one small hand lifts to rest on the larger hand grasping her shoulder, she squeezes her eyes tightly shut.

The sob is silent, but the tears are still very much there. ]

[ Selina waits patiently, giving the kid a moment to work through some of those emotions until she's ready to talk, or well, let Selina do the talking. ]

My name's Selina, by the way. I live not far from here, in one of these little cottages. How about we head over that way, yeah? We can sit out front, and when you're ready, maybe we can figure out where they put you. We'll make sure things at your new house are all good.

[ Selina is more than welcome to do the talking, Kisa will follow along like a silent duckling. So she nods, as though it's all she can do at the moment. Accept she's trapped here. Accept that she's without any members of her family and she's too far away to see them.

At least... other people don't seem to find her odd-looking. It's a strange reassurance, but she'll take it. ]

[ She rises slowly, standing up and releasing her grip on the girl's shoulder to offer her a hand instead. She can turn that down, too, but the offer's there.

The cottage Selina shares with her husband and their roommate isn't far, and she leads her down the dirt path to the front door. She pauses at the door to pull off the dirty boots and set them aside, then goes in to retrieve a couple chairs or a stool for them to sit on. ]

Can I... get you anything? Would you like something to drink? I'm sure there's something to eat in the kitchen. My friend Clark drops by with food a lot.

[ Kisa's barefoot, after her socks had been very unfortunately soaked in well water. By the time she'd made it further from the well, they'd been totally darkened with mud and dirt.

But she'd taken Selina's hand without complaint, shuffling a little sheepishly to try and make her feet less dirty, and plops down on a chair.

... As her stomach grumbles. Oops. ]

[ Selina doesn't notice the dirty socks until the kid's already fussing with them and it digs at a weird, sensitive spot. They can wash the socks, leave them out to dry, but Selina makes a mental note to go hunting for some kind of shoes and says nothing of it for now.

Instead, she smiles and nods. ]

You're welcome to come inside, if you'd like, but if you're more comfortable waiting out here, that's fine too. Whatever feels safest. I'll be right back, okay?

[ There's just something about "hey, kid, I'm a complete stranger, come in my house!" just doesn't feel right. Best to let her decide whether or not to follow Selina back into the house herself.]

[ It's true, it's a tad unnerving, and while she thinks Selina is nicer than that, Kisa's got to gather her courage for things like this. So, while she nods, she ultimately opts to stay put and try to remember to even her breathing out.

It's so incredibly overwhelming, but she thinks she maybe ought to try a little harder, too. ]

[ Selina returns a few minutes later with an assortment of things, just in case the kid has the usual, picky kid tastes -- some fruit, some things Clark has brought over for his poor, helpless extended family so they don't starve to death. It's not much, but it's enough to fill her belly. She holds out the makeshift platter, offering it to the girl, then takes a seat on the stool beside her.

She's quiet for a moment, trying to decide how to proceed. They'll have to figure out which house she was assigned to, get her settled, track down some clean clothes for her to wear. ]

You should let me wash those. [ A nod towards the dirty socks still on her feet. ] We can wash them and leave them out to dry, I bet it'd only take a few hours.

[ Kisa clutches the platter, and doesn't appear to have much of an issue with the food choices (though she does have some picky habits). But when Selina makes her offer, she looks at her with a great deal of uncertainty.

Why is she so nice? Isn't she just causing this lady more trouble? There's a desperate desire to trust her, bright in her eyes, but even more than that, there's a layer of fright. Self-loathing. Indecision. ]

[ Selina's been on all sides of this, so if the kid needs a little -- or a lot -- of time to learn to trust her, she doesn't mind. She just doesn't want her to feel like she has to spend the whole time hiding, literally or otherwise.

She takes a seat in the empty chair nearby, watching the girl, but trying not to make it quite so obvious she's watching. She catches her in brief glimpses, making sure she's eating and all that, otherwise watching the surrounding area and the rest of the town in the distance. ]

You just take your time, hon. No rush.

[ She's eating. Slowly and carefully, and still very much wondering about this woman, but at the very least not flinching or making a run for it.

Kisa, at least, can also manage a nod to say that she'll think about it. ]

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Event Ten.

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