[open] canon updates are rough

[interpolating]

WHO: elizabeth + you!
WHERE: Near the forest at first, then generally around town
WHEN: October, just before the event
WHAT: Elizabeth got a canon update, which means she had a bad time. So clearly, she needs a chill hang to come down off that
WARNINGS: Likely to have mentions/allusions to torture and murder. I'm not kidding, she had a real bad time!!

i. forest's edge

[ If you've been looking for Elizabeth, she's been nowhere to be found.

It's been three days at this point, and it might seem like she's one of the few to have left this place. Though if you've talked to Elizabeth about her home, that's probably a sadder prospect than it is a happy one. She's been clear that Columbia is the last place she wanted to go to if she left Chroma, and as it turns out, her worries were more than justified.

If you're hanging out near the forest, you might see someone coming out of its depths. At first, it might seem like someone new, because Elizabeth has had something of a makeover in her time away. Her long hair is cut short, and her silhouette is considerably different with her corset drawn tight to a tiny waist. But regardless of whether you know her or not, just by her posture as she emerges from the trees, it's fairly clear that she's in pain.

As she steps out of the shadows of the trees, it's a bit clearer why, since there are visible cuts and bruises on the skin that's exposed. Her eyes also look darker and sunken, as if she hasn't slept in quite a while. And to herself, before she notices you, she just looks towards the town and shakes her head. ]

I'm... back. Here. Why here?

[ Also, she's probably cold. Oddly enough, she's not wearing shoes. ]

ii. home (?) again

[ Once she's gone away from the forest, Elizabeth heads back into Chroma proper. You can encounter her as she's en route to her house (still very much shoeless), or after once she's found a pair. Though if it's after, she'll be idly wandering the town. Her posture is very much drawn in like she's protecting herself, and her gait is still a bit slow, since that massive bruise on her back is far from comfortable, and there's no need to run for her life here. But she almost doesn't believe that she's here. It's why she's wandering. It feels like if she just stumbles across the right thing, this will break, and she'll be right back in Columbia.

...She almost wants that, in a way. Being here when she'd so thoroughly decided to take matters with Comstock into her own hands feels wrong.

You're free to stop her if you know her, but even if you don't, she might just approach you, so long as you look open to a conversation. She tucks some hair behind her ear, then shrugs. ]

Sorry for interrupting. Can I ask— [ She starts, but she seems to just decide that she's going to ask regardless of that answer. ] Have you ever heard of someone leaving Chroma and then coming back?

iii. something else?

[ If you have a specific idea in mind for how your character might encounter Liz or just want to talk out something different, hit me up! As always, I'm flexible for wildcard options. ]

Comments

[interpolating]

That's what I thought too.

[ She reaches up to rub the back of her neck thoughtfully, since though she hasn't really had time to process it fully, that's actually something she definitely prefers to focus on over... Well, Columbia as a whole. So she latches onto that topic as he shakes her head. ]

I definitely don't remember, but that doesn't seem right anyways. I'm... not really a fighter. I never went into the woods in the first place. I knew it was too dangerous.

[withwisdom]

If you trust your instincts on that, then there's no need to doubt. However, it does mean something pulled you in and then spat you back out.

[ what that something is - the force of the town? she has no good answer for it, like a lot of things. they'll be at her place soon though. ]

Do you have any sense of how long you were back in your realm? I'm not sure how long you've been gone from here, but maybe we can make a timeline together.

[interpolating]

Not too long. Time kind of became complicated to keep track of, but... I'm sure it wasn't any longer than forty-eight hours in Columbia.

[ Once you start going through Tears, then time starts to lose some meaning depending on where (and when) you go. That, and tbh who knows how long Infinite takes place over...

She does pause for a moment, but adds: ]

Whatever it was, I wish it hadn't taken me back. There are so many people here that want to go home, so... It would have been better to be them.

[withwisdom]

That may be true, but sadly we're not in control of our fates as much as we wish.

[ not here, and not outside either. and at this time they get to zelda's house. ]

I can lend you some clothes to wear if you need it. We seem to be about the same size? There's a washcloth in the bathroom you can use to clean up those cuts.

[interpolating]

[ Her frown deepens slightly, but only briefly. It feels unfair that she's right, but the more she'd gone through Columbia, the more she realized how true that was. Maybe more for her than other people. With a "prophet" overseeing your destiny, that's a harder fate to fight than most. But with a sigh, she nods. ]

Please. Hopefully the clothes I'd collected are still at home, but it'd at least feel better to get out of this corset.

[ She pauses, considering something, then asks gently: ] Do you think you could help me bandage one up? There's one on my back that I won't be able to reach.

[withwisdom]

Of course.

[ she's not an expert, but she'll do her best. for the meantime she'll head up to her room to grab a change of clothes - a tan colored cotton shirt and a long dark brown skirt - before heading back to offer it to her. there's also a chemise so she won't have to use a corset of all things right now. ]

Go ahead and change. I included a chemise too. You can return it to me later after you wash it.