(OTA) A not so warm welcome

[firacrux]

WHO: Seifer Almasy
WHERE: South Village Park fountain; Around town
WHEN: December 7th - 8thish
OPEN TO: Anyone
WARNINGS: Swearing. Usually lots of swearing.

---

Fountain Arrival:

One good thing about growing up near the ocean your entire life was that it's very uncommon to not know how to swim. The downside being the water was never this cold. It felt like a dream, no, worse, it felt like clawing through Time Compression all over again as he breached the darkness into blinding daylight with gasping breaths. The shock of icy air was in many ways worse than the water, chilling him straight to the core as he flopped gracelessly in a sopping pile on the ground, coughing water out of his lungs. Hyne, what a terrible way to wake up.

After spending a few moments laying on the ground spluttering water out of his lungs and wondering what his life had come to Seifer finally pushed himself up, shivering. Miserable. It was cold, he didn't know where he was, and he had no idea who he'd pissed off this time. Whoever it was he must have really done it to find himself tossed, presumably drunk, into a fountain in the middle of winter. Wait.

"...When the hell did it turn winter?" He glanced down at himself then, finally realizing that his clothing didn't feel right. "And why the hell am I dressed like this?" He looked like a mental patient. Did he have a psychotic break? If so, who the hell throws mental patients in fountains? Even giant assholes like Seifer. Not that he could blame them, but still! That's just screwed up. With no one immediately around to hear him talking to himself, he presumed, Seifer decided to shuffle off toward the nearest building he could find. Maybe someone would take mercy on him and give him a towel before he froze to death.

Out and about the town:

This place had a serious rodent problem. He'd never been anywhere with mice just running around out in the open like it was nothing. They could really use some of Timber's cats here, or a truckload of traps. So far in his wanderings Seifer had managed to dodge stepping on any of the bold little creatures though it was quickly becoming increasingly hazardous to explore. Everywhere he went was a minefield of mice darting around, chewing on things, skittering right at him as though he weren't large enough to step on them and make them into tiny mice pancakes. Although, something was weird, anywhere the mice went was covered in thick ice. Which didn't make much sense to him at all, were they that hungry they were trying to eat ice? Or was he missing something?

Wait, no, crazy, of course. Just one big hallucination that was the obvious answer to all of this. He never expected he'd go this crazy, and yet the evidence couldn't be denied. One such piece of evidence was a small evergreen shrub of some kind he'd just witnessed a mouse go skittering out from beneath that was now a very intricate ice sculpture. Idly he meandered over to tug at one of the frozen over branches in wonder. "Guess I have a vivid imagination." He mumbled to himself, now more certain than ever that he was just lost in his own delusion. Probably meandering down the street somewhere screaming at himself. Or locked up in an institution.

Comments

Out and about the town

[skyward_eyes]

When it came down to it, there was a whole wealth of reasons Nida didn't want to go outside today. Pretty high up there was the fact that he frankly didn't want to deal with the fact that he and Rinoa were both a bit bummed over the lack of Squall, for a number of reasons. After all, it had so little time since they had realized he was gone, and Nida didn't much know what to do with that. No chance Squall was dead, he refused to believe that. But he'd read about gruesome deaths in the chronicles of the village before.

The other reason he didn't want to go out was the mice. His last encounter had left him as a popsicle, the one before had been an instance where he'd found 7 had burnt down her house, and then at his arrival there had been... well, there had been the mouse that had frozen his bag. So yes, he was leery to go out with them out in force. But that didn't change that he had responsibilities, and today he intended to find Iron Bull and talk about this watch idea of Altair's. So, despite himself, Nida was heading outside, bundled up in his coat and wearing the gloves Squall had left behind.

Which meant he was out on the path despite himself. Which meant he followed the line of a mouse skittering under a bush and it turning into a sculpture. From where he was he saw a blond further down the path watching as well, but he didn't think anything of the man. Didn't think anything of a specific familiarity of those shoulders, of that hair cut. There was no chance. After he took a quick glance he kept walking, heading past the blond and slowing just long enough to raise a hand to greet him and...

The word hello doesn't make it out. Because only a brief glimpse got the vivid eyes and the the scar and the scowl.

"Seifer?" he asked, shocked. Too shocked to be aggressive. Just... not sure what to do with this.

[firacrux]

The trend, insane and unlikely as it seemed, was starting to be impossible to ignore. Mice go here, everything turns to ice. Mice go there, ice again... interesting. Had he... blundered into some unknown monster's nest? Was this some kind of plague building up to be a town killer? And here he was without his gunblade or even a Remedy on hand. Not the best situation to be caught in.

Beginning to realize the danger he'd begun to take a few steps away from the frozen evergreen, turning enough to watch the person now passing by. There was something weirdly familiar about him, but he wasn't going to say anything if this guy wasn't. Instead he just started a nod until the man froze, not mouse froze just normal froze, and said his name. "Huh?" Good response there, Seifer.

He frowned, several scenarios running through his head at once. Someone who recognized him from Deling, Timber, Garden maybe? Hyne he hoped not. The other, and right now the more likely option to him was that this was someone from wherever he'd been to end up in scrubs. "Do I know you? Look I don't know how I ended up in the fountain either but it'd be real great if we didn't call security to come tackle me in the snow, alright?"

Yes he's leaning on the probably being an escaped mental patient and he just doesn't remember it angle. That sounded plausible.

[skyward_eyes]

Okay, Nida can understand being forgotten, more or less. When it came down to it he wasn't exactly the most memorable of the students at Garden, but he had made use of that face rather well. But surely... surely there was something there, some glimmer of familiarity.

But that wasn't the big problem, was it? It was the fact that Seifer thought he was in a place where security would make sense. For a moment Nida truly looked like he didn't understand what was going on, and then the understanding dawned on him. Scrubs? That was very hospital, or mental institution or things like that. His expression softened at that.

"Seifer, you know me, even if you don't remember it. Where... do you think you are?"

Yes, the guy almost destroyed the world, but someone still had to explain what was going on.

[firacrux]

Nida was certainly familiar, Seifer was just of the mind that if he does know this guy then it was probably from whatever mental institution he wandered out from. That was the most logical conclusion to him right now. Yup.

"I think," He paused, frowning and looking around. Yeah none of this made sense. "I think I broke out of a mental ward after a really serious psychotic break and now I have no idea where the hell I am. Or when it got cold as fuck."

Yeah he looks completely lost and confused here. That was the only thing that made sense. Worst part was he didn't feel crazy, then again they never do do they? Hell if he knew. "Say, you seein' mice? I think I might be hallucinating." It's pretty bad.

[skyward_eyes]

Just what did the Sorceress do to the once confident and powerful head of the Disciplinary Committee that he just took it as a given that he'd be in a mental ward? It made Nida think of the reports he'd heard, of what had happened to some people under the influence of the Sorceress, made him think he understood. At least in passing. The Sorceress had messed with his mind.

"Okay, let's start with the easy thing. Yes, I see the ice mice. I've been literally frozen by one, giant ice cube. Almost suffocated. So I'd really rather get us somewhere away from them before we talk about how not crazy you are. Just... unlucky."

[firacrux]

If asked directly Seifer might still deny it. Still try to shoulder the full blame for his actions, his weakness and failings that lead down that path. But he couldn't exactly say that things were entirely screwed down up there anymore. Not with this being something he couldn't entirely tell if it was reality or not. Had he even gone fishing with Fujin and Raijin? He sure hoped so, that was a nice memory. One he was able to keep, to boot!

The claim about being frozen alarmed him, he might have been less inclined to immediately believe Nida had he not witnessed something firsthand, so instead he nodded. They might as well get away from the danger Blizzaga mice. "I dunno about that, but I'll take your word on the mice. Let's go." Not like he had anything better to be doing with himself right now.

[skyward_eyes]

Truth told, Nida would happily let Seifer claim his weaknesses and failings. And the fact that he was a dick. Probably not too much more than that. Because there was no denying Seifer was an asshole, but Nida had known Raijin and liked the big guy. And when Raijin said Seifer wasn't really like that, Nida believed it.

"Come on, I have a place near here," Nida said. Sure, it was backtracking, but the house was warm and he knew Rinoa wasn't in right now so he could avoid that issue for the moment. A slight gesture indicated which direction he wanted to go, and Nida turned to walk there, leading the way. Better to make Seifer feel comfortable, not like Nida was watching him too closely. Helped that he knew the former-knight wouldn't have his gunblade. Or magic. He should be safe all the way to his door and through it.

"I live here with a friend. Come on in, it's warm and you can sit down while I explain a few things."

Fountain

[alittlelonger]

Rinoa was on her way to the fountain for a few reasons. One, she organized the occasional patrol and it was one of those times when no one was around, and two, maybe Squall would crawl out of the fountain again. It was a foolish hope, that he'd be taken and spit back to her so quickly, but she didn't know what else to do. She'd spent too much time staring into space at the house, willing things to change. She went through the motions of existence and brought a blanket toward the fountain to sit with in case someone came through.

She would never in a hundred years expect Seifer to be the one she spotted from a distance. She did know him, too, even in the strange clothes, even shuffling off, Rinoa knew him. She paused. This was something of a cruel joke, she thought, but that wasn't his fault. In true Rinoa fashion, she didn't even think to herself that he might be a version of himself she didn't want nearby. She simply assumed he was Seifer enough for her to figure it out; the sorceress wasn't here and neither was her influence. It would be okay. Even if looking at him made her want to cry some more, but she'd been crying enough for most of it to be dried out by now.

"Seifer," she called out to get his attention, hurrying to meet him in the middle. It was so cold out and he was wet, so she didn't even ask him a question, she simply tossed the blanket at him. It was warm, from being inside the house and with her body heat, and he was going to need that. "I'll explain everything once we get inside the inn, okay?" Rinoa gestured toward said location, where everything was warmer and grounded.

[firacrux]

Distracted as he was by the strange situation and the cold Seifer didn't even notice he was being distantly followed. Much less by whom. Were the circumstances less miserable he might have been tempted to bolt upon hearing her voice, either he was living in a waking nightmare and this would go badly, or it was reality and would likely still go badly. As it was he was too miserably cold to put up much fight, instead hesitantly turning to look over at the source of the sound.

The good news she didn't look like a twisted amalgamation of Ultimecia and herself, the bad news she was definitely Rinoa. Which probably meant there was soon to be some serious trouble for him. No trouble came, just a blanket tossed over his head which he gladly tugged tightly around himself, shivering violently. Seriously, who the hell throws people in fountains in the middle of winter? Right now he couldn't come up with a reasonable argument so he just nodded dumbly, moving to follow after her. Explanations might be nice. Maybe he'd been dumped out of the mental hospital and stumbled his own way into a fountain? That could be it too.

[alittlelonger]

Rinoa was glad Seifer didn't put up a fight, because she was in a mood and it wouldn't take much for her to fling the blanket at him instead of offering it nicely. She led him to the inn, where it was much warmer and homey, a place she spent much of her time now. "The fireplace is right there, get warmed up." She hung up her coat at the door and headed into the kitchen area for a moment. That was in part to put her set of rings under her shirt, so the cold metal pressed against her heart, because she wasn't in a place to see them regularly while she talked. Also to get him water. He might be covered in water as it was, but drinking it was going to be helpful to get him through what might be a shock of information.

She came back in to set the water down, brushing her dark hair back past her shoulders. "In the pack you showed up with, there should be dry clothes too to change into." She was so tired and she was trying not to wish that he was Squall because that was wrong and rude, but all the same. Rinoa wasn't always as good as she wished she could be. She stepped toward him and poked him right in the shoulder before backing up and sitting down nearby. "Just in case you were questioning whether or not I was real. It's a little crazy for people at first, I know."

[firacrux]

Seifer was way too cold and confused to put up a fight. He'll put that fight up later don't worry Rinoa. He'll be a pain soon enough. Baffled by the turn of events he just sauntered along after her, moving to curl up in a tight little ball next to the fireplace. He probably looked pathetic, he also didn't care. It was cold and he was wet who the hell does that?

Pack? What pack? A shrug of the shoulder and yup sure enough there was a weight there. That pack. "Dunno how they're gonna be dry we both came outta the well." He grumbled, finally uncurling enough to get the pack off to dig through. Sure enough, clothes. He didn't quite want to get up to go change though just let him melt here by the fire for a bit. The poke earned a briefly alarmed glance that melted in to vaguely wistful confusion. "Aren't delusions usually real enough you think they can touch you?" He countered with a slight smirk. She probably wasn't one, didn't mean he wouldn't challenge her test.

He still wanted to know why he was dressed like a mental patient.

[alittlelonger]

"They dry out fast with the fire, just give it a little while." Of course he was impatient, but he was also cold, so she would just sigh at his impatience this time. Rinoa rolled her eyes at his reply and leaned over again, this time to whack him playfully on the back of his head. "Nope, not really. That's why people pinch themselves." Rinoa knew a thing or two about delusions, same as him. She remembered the floating feeling of being inside one, or feeling like she was spinning in circles out of control. She thankfully (or not thankfully?) remembered very little of being possessed. She woke up not knowing where she was or what happened.

They never got a chance to talk about that. She wasn't so sure if they should, or if he would. They knew each other longer than she knew all the rest of them, but he was never an easy read.

"Can I ask what the last thing you remember is?" Rinoa ran both hands through her hair. It still felt a little cold in the strands from being outside. "When we get here, we don't always come from the same time. Some people are, some people are ... from a long time away." Like Squall, who was six years later. He'd been the same though, in the ways that mattered, or maybe she never got the chance to chip deeper into this new Squall before he was gone.

[firacrux]

Ever the impatient one. Gingerly Seifer began to unpack the things from his bag, laying them out in front of the fireplace to dry. He'd especially like to put on those thermals for the moment. Though he'll probably just stay in the scrubs so he doesn't get them dirty. How's he going to wash any of this? Idly he bats her hand away, stop whacking him he's cold and defenseless that's rude. "Pinching only works for dreams." He reminded her. Plenty of pain never broke the delusions, or did she forget the number of times he'd been whipped, shot, and stabbed?

Thankfully, he'd think. Merciful at the very least. He wished he didn't remember anything that happened. His was different, impossible to separate himself from the things he'd done. He wasn't entirely sure it wasn't all his own choice in the end. Now probably wouldn't be a good time to try to bring it up unless she wanted him to bolt back into the cold, damn the consequences.

His brows furrowed in thought at the question. What did he remember..? "Fishing. Wasn't winter." When did it get to be winter? That part was especially bothering him. Losing huge chunks of time was always a distressing situation. Honestly he had no idea why she was asking. Maybe he'd been out of it and escaped a hospital? That could be.

Out and about the town

[spoileralert]

An adolescent cat hisses nearby and the ground is suddenly clear of mice for a good three feet or so. Only it's not quite a cat, because instead of fur it has the feathers of a peahen, the fan traded for more moderately sized feathers to allow for cat-like movements. Walking with the creature is a young blonde.

Steph is out only because she has to be. Neither she nor Jason can be bothered to prepare hot meals for themselves, so she gets them from the inn when she can. She's been warned about the mice, so she's grateful for the peacock-cat's support here.

"Sorry, did you say something?" she asks curiously. She couldn't quite hear what he was muttering to himself, but if it has to do with the mice she definitely needs to know. She's like a cat that way.

[firacrux]

Instinctively Seifer whips around to face the hiss, initially expecting some kind of monster lurking in the brush. What he found was... both part what he expected and entirely not. It looked like a cat in shape, mostly, as well as sounded like one. That was about where the similarities ended. Bright blue and green feathers, the long cat tail replaced by a moderate fan. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

So distracted by the animal it took him a few extra moments to notice the woman walking alongside it. He blinked, brows furrowed, and finally realized she was talking to him. Sorry, he was just really fixated on that weird cat. "Er, huh? Oh. Just talking to myself." Probably better not to mention that he thought he was hallucinating mice to everyone that passed by. "Your cat is blue." And has feathers. Did she notice her cat has feathers? Seifer is a master at observation.

[spoileralert]

She shrugs, unfazed by this behavior. The peacock cats are still weird to her and she sleeps with one on her bed every night.

"Only a little. You should see the males. They don't have the fan thing going on, but the feather pattern is definitely there."

[firacrux]

It's even weirder for him, he's never seen a peacock. "Normal" Earth animals aren't much of a thing in his world. There are a few, there are far more monsters though. Hard for a lot of animals to survive outside of domestication with the monsters that run around and eat everything.

"What, are the males even more blue?" Because he thinks he'd like to see that actually. And uh... "Okay so I'm gonna go with I'm not imagining these weird mice. Right?" He has reason to believe he might be so some confirmation would be greatly appreciated.

[spoileralert]

"Yes and yes." She smiles sympathetically. Everything here is weird for newcomers, which is obviously what Seifer is.

"And I'd stay away from them. Selina here seems to really hate them." The little cat hisses again at one courageous mouse investigation all that free space around them.

[firacrux]

Very new, very lost, and very confused. It didn't help that he wasn't entirely sure whether or not he was a mental patient who was currently having a very serious psychotic break. Leaning increasingly toward that not being the case, however that revelation wasn't exactly comforting. That just meant he'd actually have to figure out how to deal with all of this soon.

"I think they've been freezing these bushes. Think they could do that to us?" Seifer hadn't quite figured out the watch thing yet. He hadn't even considered that he could just ask on the network somewhere. With the overly brave mouse in their space, Seifer just gently sidles a little closer to the cat. Thank you, strange feather cat, for being terrifying to mice.

Out and about

[enterprisingheart]

To be fair, mice aren't normally this much of a problem in the village. Admittedly, Picard wouldn't be surprised if there are still some, even if he hasn't seen very much evidence of same. But the infestation... that's new. As is the ability they seem to have picked up besides, even if the Observers appear to have granted at least some of the village the ability to counter the ice they've been leaving behind. What they might be trying to see by setting the mice loose on the village (assuming they are responsible) is something he can't say for certain, but that's at least not anything new either.

That said, he's mostly passing along on his way to somewhere else when he catches Seifer's question, though it does have him stopping. He's not in so much of a hurry that he can't take a moment or three for a brief conversation.

"It's certainly possible? Although strange things are known to happen here."

[firacrux]

Anywhere there's a food source theoretically there would be mice. Though usually in hiding, certainly not to this degree, and definitely not this bold. That's the part that's really throwing Seifer. Sure in a filthy alley you might see some scatter from trash cans or something, but just running around like they own the place? Very unusual. Hence why he's not entirely sure if he's seeing things or not. After all, who ever heard of mice that could freeze things?

For the moment Seifer had been content to talk to himself, lost in the wonder of, well... being lost, essentially. But when someone else spoke up he perked up, eyes turning over toward Picard. Oh, guess he did have someone close enough to overhear. He cleared his throat, trying not to look too embarrassed about that.

"Yeah?" He asked warily, eyes darting back to the bush. Which he jerked his head in the direction of subtly. "So uh. Ice bush, or am I imagining that?" He tried to sound casual, like if he was imagining it that would totally not be a big deal or terrifying. Nope, just a normal stroll in crazy town that's all.

[enterprisingheart]

Given that they aren't normally quite this brazen, Picard is mostly assuming that the Observers have something to do with the unusual habits of the mice. To say nothing of the fact that he hadn't been aware of there being mice capable of freezing things in the village before. Not least of all because it would have made storing food at least theoretically easier. Assuming the mice could be convinced to run over very specific things, anyway, and that might very well be easier said than done.

"You aren't imagining it. I wouldn't call it commonplace? But it's very much real."

Or at least, it is for the time being. He can't imagine the ice won't melt off sooner or later, but given the weather patterns of late, it's quite possible that it'll last until the weather starts turning warmer with the arrival of spring. Assuming nothing else particularly out of the ordinary happens, but he's not going to count on that being the case, either.

[firacrux]

Seifer is still far too new to know anything about the Observers. He hasn't exactly sat down and read everything there is to read, this barely being his second day out of the fountain. Nope, he just woke up to weird mouse phenomena happening.

"Good," He nodded, looking between Picard and the bush, brow furrowed in concern. Realizing that if that's the case he should maybe not be standing there playing with it. "Anything like this happen before?" He said it wasn't common, didn't mean it never happened.

Slowly he stepped away from the bush, keeping an eye out for any mice scampering too close to his feet. If they can do this to a bush they could theoretically do it to him. He'd rather that not be the case.

[enterprisingheart]

It's definitely an odd thing to arrive into the middle of, that's for certain. Even after having spent as long in the village as Picard has it's still unusual, truth be told. And has more than its share of potential danger besides, given that the mice don't seem to be particularly concerned about where they happen to be running. Admittedly, he doesn't think anyone would end up entirely encased in ice, but even without that there's a not insignificant risk of frostbite involved, to say nothing of the hassle involved in thawing out any affected limbs.

"Not quite like this, no. But it wouldn't be the first time that there's been something present that has the capability to affect the environment in unusual ways."

True, most of the other ones he's been aware of are... less immediately harmful. But that hardly changes the fact that there have been other things capable of generating a similar sort of effect, at the very least.

[firacrux]

If the mice can cover an entire shrub, or crate, or whatever else they've been running around on there's a strong chance that they could encase a person or another animal. Hopefully everyone was keeping track of each other, lest someone be left out in the cold for too long unable to seek aid. Whatever the case may be, seemed dangerous just to have them running around like this.

"Like what?" He asks, watching as another mouse skitters off somewhere, something else slowly growing a fresh coat of ice. It's almost beautiful in the early morning light. Were it not so alarming.