000 [Action] 4th Walled

[aerialassault]

[The mass influx of wingless people doesn't throw Cliff off his game. After the last few weeks of cleaning up messes and dealing with the natural fallout of the Malnosso's influences within the village, the flood of new faces is somewhat relaxing for a laid back guy.

He set's his sights primarily on helping out in the Welcome Center for the weekend, planning on spending his time pestering his friends while he was on the lookout for familir faces that he hadn't seen for a while. When he's not there he spends his time hanging out in the Battle Dome or Good Spirits in the evenings before returning to his apartment in the Ground Building at night.

All in all, it's a pretty normal day.]

Comments

[tocompleteawish]

No, I believe you. There are things here that I have never seen in my life, in Airyglyph or Peterny. [ This place wasn't familiar at all, and it made her nervous when she could have sworn she was just in bed, watching them leave through the door.

Speaking of, it seems the long story will have to wait. Now that she's found someone, the stress of her disease is creeping up on her again. ]

[aerialassault]

Whoa, take it easy.

[Cliff hurried over and offered her a supportive arm to hold onto.]

Let's get you somewhere to sit, and then I'll see if I can get Fayt on over here. How's that sound?

[tocompleteawish]

[ Ameena grabs hold of his arm without really thinking about it, waiting for the episode to subside enough. Once it does she looks to Cliff apologetically, shaking her head. ] I'm sorry, to think I would be asking for your help so soon after you already did. I really can't thank you enough.

But if Fayt is here... why isn't he with you? Is Ms. Zelpher here, too?

[aerialassault]

It's all right, you don't need to worry about a thing.

[Cliff guided her over to one of the more comfortable chairs to sit on and, on a hunch that the two of them could be at it for a little while, pulled one over for himself.]

Fayt's off doing something else right now, [He answered easily-- the two of them stayed in an apartment together, but they weren't with eachother 24/7.] And Nel...she was here for a while, but she went back to Aquios a few months back. People come and go around here.

[And that was the simple version.]

Also sorry for being so rusty, I haven't had much practice. :'D

[tocompleteawish]

It certainly seems so, from what I did see. I wasn't sure who to ask for help, many seem as confused as I am. [ Of course she was more concerned about figuring out where she was at the time, but even in her rush the abundance of people was noticeable. ]

If Ms. Zelpher was able to return to Aquios, then I should be able to return to Peterny as well, right? Maybe after I've had some rest.

Oh, no-- you're fine! I hope you don't mind my whack pace!

[aerialassault]

[Cliff shook his head in reply to her question.]

It's not that easy, Ameena. People don't just come and go around here on their own, unfortunately. We don't even know how we all got here in the first place.

[He glanced outside for the umpteenth time that day, surveying all of the people and their conspicuously unwinged shoulders.]

...We don't normally get this many people coming at once either.

No worries!

[tocompleteawish]

Is that so? [ The wings haven't gone unnoticed either, they were quite unusual even though she wasn't sure how to bring up that topic. ]

What would you suggest I do...? If I must stay here some time, I would have liked for my neighbor to know of it... [ She must be so worried with her disappearance. ] Otherwise I can search for somewhere to stay. Unfortunatel...y I don't have money...

:D

[aerialassault]

Don't worry 'bout any of that. There's no money here, and your neighbor will never know that anything even happened when you get back. This place...is sorta special like that.

[The dead were able to have another shot at life, after all. For all of the frustrations that came with this world, the gifts sometimes balanced it out.]

You'll be staying with Fayt and myself, [He said, with a finality in his tone that wouldn't take any arguments.] He'll be really glad to see you again.

[tocompleteawish]

What?! [ Everything Cliff says raises more and more questions, but that final proclamation is what grabs her attention and warrants the exclamation now.

No arguing against the arrangement? She most certainly will try. ] I couldn't possibly do that, I would be fine on my own. Really.

[aerialassault]

Then you can stay next door, if you'd prefer. [There were available room on the floor that they stayed on in one of the apartment buildings.]

But, trust me when I say it might be a good idea if you stayed nearby

[tocompleteawish]

Well... [ There's logic to his reasoning, but that doesn't make her feel any less like she was imposing on them. ]

You're sure it would be all right? [ With the way she was feeling now, it felt as though she would be simply sleeping for quite some time like an awkward guest. ] You said before, coming and going... isn't so simple.

[aerialassault]

I already said it would be, didn't I?

[She wouldn't be imposing on them at all. It was better that she stayed near someone who knew her incase something happened. Perhaps this time they could find a cure....

If they had enough time.]

...Listen. There's something about this place that brings people in and sends them away without any warning. There's really no way to predict it, except that we get new people coming in at around the same time every month or so.

None of us know how long we're gonna be here. And, we haven't seen too many familiar faces come through.

[tocompleteawish]

[ Ameena listens to every word carefully, even if it borders on being hard to believe. All she can do is trust that Cliff was telling the truth, because why would he be dishonest otherwise?

At the end of it she nods weakly, her expression wistful. ] To be away from everyone... I should be grateful to have found you, if you haven't seen many familiar people in the time you have been here.

[ And in all honestly, she was. ]

[aerialassault]

That's the idea.

[He smiled, relieved that this was going as well as it was.] We'll get you settled in and work on getting things figured out, so don't you worry about a thing...alright?

[The fact that she didn't have any wings presented itself as yet another variable that they needed to resolve before they could do much more to affect the current situation, and that bothered him. But...they would find the answers to that puzzle along with all of the rest. They always did.]

[tocompleteawish]

I'll try my best not to. [ Even if there were many things to be worried about in these circumstances, she could and would endure them for however long she was here, no matter how ill she felt. ]

Mr. Fittir... Thank you so much... You've helped me a great deal already, and we'd only just met...

[aerialassault]

[Atta girl.

He didn't say the words when she vowed to try her hardest to not worry about the place. There was too much to explain, and he had a hunch that Fayt would want to be with her when they gave her the full story. Instead he just smiled, and was glad that she had her spirit to draw strength from.]

It's fine. Fayt likes you, and that's a good enough reason for me besides the weird way this place works.

Just be strong, alright? We'll take care of things and work it all out together.

[tocompleteawish]

Fayt is very fortunate to have a companion like you. [ Ameena almost laughs, realizing she was essentially saying the same for herself. Instead she leans back in the chair, her expression thoughtful. ]

I may not be able to do a lot with my... disease, the way it is now. But if there's... anything you need help with, please mention it.

[aerialassault]

Can do. [He smiled, knowing full well that there was probably much more that the girl could do than she realized. All she needed was a chance.]

...Speaking of, the doctors here are pretty good. They might be able to help you feel a little better-- we'll need to talk to them and see. [He didn't want to get her hopes up, after all...]

[tocompleteawish]

Huh? [ This news certainly comes as a surprise. Ameena hasn't resigned herself to her illness, far from it truth be told, but she understands how small her chances are. ]


Are you sure? If they can help me, I'll see them... but Ms. Zelpher's acquaintance has already helped so much...

[aerialassault]

We'll be paying a visit anyway, even if there isn't much they can do. We don't want there to be any big surprises if there's an emergency.

[He still wasn't one hundred percent certain about everything that the on-site medical facilities could accomplish. They weren't nerely as good as what he had on the Diplo, but they were still a far step above what was available in Peterney.]

[tocompleteawish]

I don't intend to let them happen if I can avoid it... [ Truly, after the fit in Duggus Forest and the efforts they went to bring her back safely, she had intended of going through with her instructions to rest.

Except she's found herself in this unfamiliar village and lost track of time already. ] Should I stay here for now? You seemed like you were busy, and I don't need to be watched over... if I will only be sleeping.

[aerialassault]

Yeah- that'll make things a little easier.

[He had a hunch that Fayt would be dropping in later, probably for the same reasons that Cliff was there, and there was still plenty of work to be done between organizing supplies and copying out pamphlets.]

There's some beds in the back if you'd prefer being someplace quiet, and I'll be nearby if you need anything.

[tocompleteawish]

I'll be fine here, it would be better to save those beds for people who might need them more than I do. [ If she did take one, who knew how long she would occupy it? ]

Don't let me take up more of your time, everything will be all right.

[aerialassault]

[The offer gave him a moment's pause because of what he already knew about, like how she wouldn't last too long after her journey to Aquios and how she and Dion would finally be together at the end. However, she seemed so certain, and Cliff was going to be nearby...]

Alright, then. But say the word if you change your mind-- it'll be no problem for us, there's plenty of space for everyone.

[tocompleteawish]

[ The pause was almost noticeable, but not enough that Ameena interprets it as hesitation. All she has to givehim is a reassuring and grateful smile. ]

I'll be sure to, Mr. Fittir. I know I said it before, but I really can't thank you enough.