[open]

[equinoctials]

WHO: Riku and various people he meets.
WHEN: Arrival, settling in (February)
WHAT: Riku's arrival, his efforts to get the lay of the land (and get accustomed to actual sunshine again, wow).
WHERE: Gazin
WARNINGS: depending on the thread there might be mention of depression or grief.



Arrival

They were sitting around the table when it happened. Riku had a mug of hot coffee in the cradle of his hands when he looked into it, watching their combined lantern light reflected on the surface of that dark liquid. His hair was still damp and the scent of what he'd washed with fought back against the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Something felt different, in the moment when he drew in a breath, preparing to speak. Something electric in the air.

"If I could ask for one thing, I'd wish..."

I could regain something precious that I lost, he thinks.

"That we could leave."

Someone else at the table said something. Already it had sounded distant, warbling like a voice heard from underwater. He thought it was an observation about the paw having moved. He'd forgotten all about that thing; a peculiar monkey's paw he got from the riddle-dispensing machine, that macabre example of taxidermy had occupied a shelf in the kitchen for months, sitting right next to two other keepsakes he had leaned against each other. A wood carving of a key, a plush charm in the shape of a star. Knickknacks, like it was a home.

Quickly, Riku had looked up in alarm, his hands knocking over his mug as he reached out blindly for the others, like his heart somehow knew something his mind didn't. The room where he'd been sitting receded far away, a dim scene on the end of a long, black tunnel he was falling through. It receded until it was but a speck in the distance, a solitary star that winked out of sight. He raised his head and saw it.

Stained glass that bathed his face in soft blue and violet...

When he came back into himself, it was with a hard landing, thudding into the ground on his back. Everything was a bright, diffuse white, like shining a flashlight through cotton cloth and he instantly threw his hands up to shield his eyes.

He's ended up on a patch of land between two roads which diverge from the nearby city of Gazin. It's just an overcast midday. Still, over half a year in total darkness has made his eyes unaccustomed to this much light, so for a few long moments, all Riku can do is lie there with his hands over his watering, stinging eyes, catching his breath. Trying to make sense of what just happened. Even without seeing, Riku can tell he's somewhere else. It isn't the first time he's suddenly found himself on another world... he just typically has more control over the circumstances leading to it.

Around Town

A new world. A new set of challenges.

Information could be just as useful as tools or weapons, armor. Food, water, and shelter are immediate needs that Riku sought to satisfy by whatever means. His clothes make him stand out too much, so the black bomber jacket was stuffed away and a worn (and reeking) cloak was stolen off a peg near a carelessly open door. He took whatever work he could to earn enough to buy food and something to drink, whether it was mucking stables or hauling goods. Strong, able-bodied, and not too proud for ugly, dirty labor, he prefers to have something to occupy his hands rather than let his thoughts run wild.

Being here changes so much. Far from home, far from the world he'd been taken to when he was lost to the Darkness, far from everything and many of the people he ever knew...

He's still deciding on the way forward. In the meantime, he does what he can to survive day by day. When he isn't working or seeking out more work or resources, it's possible to encounter him in the marketplace or in a tavern, trying to engage others in conversation to learn more about current events.

The city isn't the type he's seen on some worlds where the action continues on well after the sun sets. That means if he's to get an understanding of where he's ended up, Riku can't wait around for it to get dark. Until his eyes re-adjust to sunshine, he shields them by tying a strip of cloth around like a blindfold. It's threadbare enough to still see a gauzy image while dimming the light, though it likely draws stares and perhaps incorrect assumptions about his ability to see.

Nevertheless, the presence of a blindfold doesn't seem to stop him from navigating around objects and people as if he could see just fine. It is, however, quite the conversation starter.