lifenet | 12/4 - Evening

[A lot of you will recognize Gladio's voice, it's hard to miss and he's certainly loud enough at the parties. And as the first day of chaos begins to wind down with no sign of stopping things become much more dire, in Gladio's opinion. A certain Shield doesn't trust the Night. Surprise surprise.]

GUYS we're not going to be able to keep this up through the night, scattered like this. We need a place to regroup! If you're on the main island, Denny's the most defensible. If not... The light house on the farming island. If you can't defend yourself or just need a break, get there. Noct? You better have your ass in that building by sun down or so help me-

We need to stop these things from attacking the flocks. We just got all this shit from Harv we can't afford to let it all get eaten or washed out to sea now. Strength in numbers, right?

[It felt so familiar, like giving orders to the Glaives when he'd been helping Cor and Libertus over the years. Clear decisive action so those that are less experienced and scared have someone to look to. There's a moment where he abruptly wonders if this is why they made him king in the end. But this isn't Lucis, this isn't Insomnia. This place is far wilder than that-]

For Hearth... and Home!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

S-s-so, what about those of us who d-don't know where any of those are?

[ Not the politest or friendliest of introductions, but there's a definitely audible undercurrent of anxiety to her voice. If the quiver alone didn't give it away. She doesn't like being in this position, not knowing where she is, all but completely defenseless. ]

Got any landmarks?

[ At least she can figure out cardinal directions from the sun. She may be a city girl but she's not that clueless. ]

Sorry, kiddo.

[Absent affection for anyone younger than him, oops. He doesn't mean it condescendingly Futaba, he's just a little distracted.]

head East, when you hit the river move inland. Denny's in a cluster of buildings between the East coast and the lake. Working on setting up signal fires now.

If you're on the smaller islands head North and I'll get you across on a boat ASAP.

[ It... she doesn't take it condescendingly, to be fair. That doesn't mean it doesn't hit like a blow to the solar plexus, because that's one of the things Sojiro calls her. And if what Ann and the Storyteller said is true she. Doesn't know. When she's gonna see Sojiro again.

That revelation in and of itself makes her have to stop a minute or two. Find a spot under a tree to hide from monsters and get her feelings under control. Enough to move on at least thank god for her time as a Phantom Thief. Thank god for the past month or so back home actually, for teaching her at least a little how to compartmentalize. She doesn't know if she'd be able to stop the total breakdown her brain's threatening to have.

Breathe, Futaba. Breathe.

It takes a minute or two for her to get back. But she does. And her voice is. A lot calmer. More to-the-point. Numb. ]

East to the river, then just follow it up?

[He hates that he's not there. She sounded terrified and the extended silence makes his stomach drop dangerously. Still he can't afford to split his attention too much, there are others to protect, the livestock to see to...

And he can't help breathing out a sigh of relief when she speaks again, even if it is distant and empty and it reminds him so much of Talcott after Jared was killed and he just wants to go find this girl and wrap her up in a bear hug and protect her from all the bad things.

Big brother instincts aren't going to help anyone right now though.]

Yeah, that's right, sweetheart. [Low and soft and soothing, the same tone he's used for decades to soothe Iris after nightmares.] You're gonna be okay. There's other people heading that way, friends of mine, people that know how to fight. They're gonna keep you safe, okay?

What's your name, kiddo?

[ ... okay 'sweetheart' might be pushing it a bit and she scowls, not that he can really see it. ]

...Futaba Sakura.

[ She doesn't really. Say much. To the rest of that, not yet. Doesn't know what to say, even if she cared to describe how surreal it felt to have a relative stranger - and an adult by the sound of it - trying to be comforting like this? Or how 'safety' for her meant not just physical safety, but the people who- oh. Right. ]

Ann. Is Ann Takamaki here?

[ Nnnnot to mention Ann could fight too. Maybe not as well as in the metaverse but. She's pretty sure Ann wouldn't want to just sit around and do nothing in a situation like this, any more than Futaba herself does. ]

[His sister is 26 and he still calls her sweetheart, sorry Futaba. He doesn't mean anything by it and if he weren't so distracted he'd explain as much.]

Dunno her last name but there's a blonde girl named Ann that's been staying with my neighbors. Laurent's on the main island though. She might be with him.

He's also blond, blonder than her, tall, elegant, fights with ice magic. Prone to stabbing, don't touch him. [He's got a scar on his groin to prove that point.]

[ There's a soft whistle of air, a sigh of relief, when he... well, he doesn't confirm it. But it sounds. Really likely. His description does match Ann, after all. ]

Okay... [ Another deep breath ] okay. [ She honestly just. Does not care about this Laurent guy. Even without the warning she probably would be avoiding him in an anxious panic anyway. ]

I-I guess... If she says anything, t-t-tell her I'm here. I'm going towards... Denny.

[ East to the river, then up. ]

[At least if she does see Laurent she knows he might have a better idea of where Ann is.]

Okay... If you get in trouble use this. Ask for your girl or you can ask for Prompto or Noctis. They're my friends. They will make sure you make it there okay.

Prompto or Noctis.

[ She says the names slowly, with the air of someone who is a little bit unused to fitting those particular syllables together like that. But either way. Right. Got it. And she just. Leaves the call there. Not very good at the whole normal small talk things.

It's an hour or so later before she speaks up again. Part of her was tempted to just leave this but. He had let her know. So she'll. Do this much. ]

Found Ann.

[He honestly hadn't expected to hear from her again so he smiles, breathes out a sigh of relief.]

Good. You girls stay safe.

Thanks for letting me know.

12/4 - Evening

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