There you were, with that look on your face

[alittlelonger]

WHO: Rinoa Heartilly
WHERE: Bunker, Hot Springs, outside House 16
WHEN: November 2nd and then the few days after
OPEN TO: Bunker for Squall, OTA to the others!
WARNINGS: TBD

Bunker, closed to Squall Leonhart

She comes to very slowly. Rinoa might have gone in and out of consciousness for longer than she knew, or that's how it felt. This wasn't the first time she was so groggy and confused that time had no real meaning. Dark eyes slowly opened and then closed, unable to focus too much on what's in front of her. Where was she? Her hand reached out and hit something solid, and it stung, leading her to whimper and pull it back. No, this was all wrong, this couldn't happen to her again. No more tubes, no more containments, no more sorceresses.

Rinoa started to flail, confused and stuck, when abruptly it seemed to open, letting her tumble out and into the room. This all felt like serious deja vu, because she was only falling for what seemed like a very long second before she collapsed into waiting arms. This time, though, she couldn't stand back up, but merely crumbled to the ground, clinging to the familiar body. "Squall?" she whispered.

The Hot Spring, later

Rinoa was curious to get to know this village, but she stayed overall within the boundaries of what was recommended. Still unsettled and thrown off by the experience, she needed a little space to unwrap her brain and breathe easy. She hadn't heard about the hot spring or what they were capable of, all she knew was they looked peaceful and nice and she decided to sit own next to them. She took off her shoes and set them aside, letting her feet dangle in. She reached down to take some of the water and rubbed her face with it.

She was unfortunately not someone who was very aware of her surroundings, so anyone could easily walk up to her or sneak up on her, and she'd never know.

Outside of House 16

The one thing she absolutely was all for about this place was an actual house! Rinoa lived with the SeeD and she tried not to complain about being constantly interrupted or a living quarter that was nothing like what she grew up in. She loved her friends and the others, but there was just something about having an actual room. Multiple rooms! And a kitchen. It made her miss home and her father so intensely she never expected it, but at the same time, it was comfortable.

She replaced her gray scrubs very quickly with shades of blue, as it was her most comfortable shade. At the moment she was cheerfully sweeping out the indoor of the house. No one had lived in it any time recently, from what she could tell, and Squall certainly wasn't going to think of that. She was going to need to clean and maybe set up some nicer living areas for them. She was in good spirits though, dark eyes bright, smiling up at the sun.

Comments

[connatural]

"Have you been down to the bunker? There's these lists with the names of people that have been here. People that from all we can tell, lived here. Except, there's like a handful of lists and some names repeat. Six times they've been listed. Names of people many here know. I just wish I knew what any of it meant."

And it only kind of confirms what Rinoa says. Ashley nods. "It feels that way, which only makes it weirder to me. The same with the memory loss. Do you wonder how much you forget between when they snag you and when you wake up in the tubes?"

[alittlelonger]

"Oh, I came in there, but Squall brought me back here immediately. I didn't look around." She was really messed up and confused that first day. Not curious enough to look at the odd situation they were in and question all of it. Rinoa frowns at that information, rubbing at the back of her neck. "Maybe that's people they've brought here before and then ... sent away. And brought back?" Like Ashley's mother, only she didn't come back. She isn't sure, because this isn't her wheelhouse. She's not even great at the survival part of what they were doing.

"I guess I wonder now. But ... those names could also be a test, couldn't they? They want us to find those things. It could be a clue or a red herring." It would make them all think something that wasn't true. But Rinoa can't imagine why. It makes more sense it's real, but this is all so weird.

[connatural]

"That's how it looks. But how are our names on there? I mean, maybe not yours but mine and Druitt's are both on there more than just now," she admits. "And he doesn't remember being here before and neither do I."

Though she accepts that Druitt could have gone missing in all that time they actually thought he was dead, when Ashley had been incubated and all her life until recently.

"You're right on that, I admit, but honestly? I just don't know. It feels like it's something, even if I'm not sure what."

[alittlelonger]

"I agree. I mean we can keep speculating, but until they actually give us clues, we won't know what to do." Rinoa shrugs.

"But at least we're all willing to try to figure it out together!" That was a bright spot, and Rinoa smiles.

[ooc: okay to wrap? moving on to dec and jan new thingsss :)]